*HP dv4t (1XXX series) Owners Lounge*

Well from what ive read else where.. the T9550 (2.66Ghz) processor uses more power and generates more heat than the P8700 (2.53 GHz).. i guess both are good but the DV4t runs pretty hot (based on Review) when its configued with a high end processor (in this case either processor) and a Dedicated GPU (such as Nvidia G105M) which contributes to the infamous fan noise issue ive been hearing about..but either way i assume the P8700 processor was the better choice for less heat and less power consumption

sides like i said $100 upgrade to 13Mhz more is just ridiculous..the 2.53GHz should suit me just fine

 

Just got my new dv4t, about to do a reformat and clean install.
Do I need to worry about AHCI drivers before the installation like I had to with my dell laptop?

Also, I have a dv4t-1400, and there doesn't seem to have a driver download page for this model b/c all I can do is order the recovery disks, what's up with that?

Thanks.

 

There is a driver download page: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=3945147&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us

Click "software and driver downloads"

 

Like I said, there's no drivers to download, I could only order a recovery disk from that page.

 

oops, sorry, I didn't actually check. just use another model's drivers. They are the same thing.

 

Received my dv4t today and so far so good. Fan ran high speed for a brief period on turn on. After that it went to slow speed. I have a lot of exploring to do so I'll report any probs.
I was suprised how hot (no not heat)the digital TV tuner is. Got 14 stations with that tiny antenna they supplied. Anyone know if the picture can be made bigger? I get a small picture on the right side of the channel list. Don't see any place for adjustment.

 

what are the specs of your machine?
an how long did it take to arrive from the date ordered??
i jsut ordered mine today at 3:30PM and cannot wait to recieve it..its ETA build date is june 10th

 

Hi, I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction here:

I know that the 12-cell battery gives the vents more space, allowing for a cooler notebook. I was wondering how much this actually helps as far as surface and CPU temperature go. Is it significant? I keep reading reviewers pounding the heat and noise issue over and over, but none (that I have seen) test with a 12-cell. And I still haven't seen any hard numbers as far as battery life with a 12-cell battery go. Did I miss it?

Thanks a lot!

 

same here. ive read numerous reviews on the notebook but none tested with the 12 Cell.. even HP hasnt given it a rating as far as how long it last..althoug the 12 cell is a pretty huge ugly battery which i really dislike the way it makes the noteboook stand (the rear side) i still ordered both a 6 and 12 cell batteries since i got %50 off of both of them.. the 12 cell ill use when i dont want to plug in for quite some time...how long that battery will last is yet to be undetermined..from what i read the DV4 gets a low life even with the 6Cell High capacity..the 12 cell is rumored to last about 4 1/2 to 5 hrs

 

Ordered 5/22 with build date of 6/3. Arrived 6/1 so you may get yours earlier than stated. Specs briefly: LED display, wireless G, TV tuner, Hi cap 6 cell battery, Vista 64 bit, P7450 Prcssr, 4 gig mem, 320 GB HD, Intel 4500MHD graphicsand DVD. Color black..
Still learning.

 

Guyz
I am new to this forum
I am planning to buy HP Dv4t
with the following config"
Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T6400 (2.0GHz)
4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
14.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card

I am getting a price of $700 on this one
So I just wanted to know if DV4t is worth buying in terms of performance.
I would be using it for entertainment, no gaming, with some programming softwares like visual studio, sql server.

Or should I go for DV5t SE
Any suggestions would be appreciated as I want to make a choice between
dv4t and dv5tse
Thanks

 

Overall the config is pretty good for non gaming activities.

If you want more performance for the laptop, you can consider going for higher end processor.

Portabilitywise you can stick to dv4t than the dv5t.

 

Hey guys! Long time lurker... first-time HP DV4t buyer!

I really dig the HP DV4t... upgraded from a Dell 700m that I've kept around for a looonnng time and finally gave away.

I noticed when I first used the volume slider on the actual keypad, that the volume lights would go "up" or "down" based on my fingers touching the slider. However, after I uninstalled some of the HP bloatware...the volume slider lights show that I'm at max volume, no matter how low the actual volume is...

So, my question is: was there a program that I shouldn't have uninstalled? I like the fact that I can see on my keyboard my volume levels... the other buttons for volume muting and wireless still work, though.

Or... since it was really late at night when I was fooling around with the volume slider... could it have been a dream...?

If anybody has any suggestions, that'd be helpful. Otherwise, a great laptop (so far)!

 

Thanks vikram
Is there any difference if any apart from the design
between dvt4 and dvt4se
are the speakers altec lansing in both
thank

 

No, there's no difference besides the color of the laptop. The SE has less customizable features than the regular version, some components come standard but obviously at a higher price.

Yes, both are Altec Lansing speakers.

BTW, the HP site has TONS of information about their laptops. You would do well to read about them, all the features/specifications and what not for those laptops are listed.

 

Hi everyone I ordered the dv4t on 5/22/09 and the tracking # I received a few days ago says its on track to be delivered on 6/04/09 so I'm pretty excited.
I got it using the $400 off $1199 coupon. and my total came to $875.49
- HP Pavilion dv4t Entertainment PC
- Espresso Black
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz)
- 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- FREE Upgrade to 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
- 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G 105M
- 14.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800)
- LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
- [For LED Display] Webcam Only
- Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
- High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery


I ordered it in the espresso black but the day after I placed my order I got to see the espresso black dv4t in person at a store and I realized I didn't like the look of it at all. I much prefer the white version I saw in this youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_pYZDmq4Uk

The reason why I didn't choose the moonlight white option when I placed my order was because it looked like the white wave graphics on the cover and on the keyboard stood out alot like in this picture here.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii78/ollirac123/HP/dv7/3.jpg

But then I saw that youtube video I linked above, and thats supposedly a dv4t in moonlight white, but I can't see any graphics of any kind on either the lid cover or on the keyboard. Either he got some special version in just plain white (which I would much much prefer to any kind of graphics) or the video quality is obscuring the graphics that are there.

Can you guys with the moonlight white version tell me or better yet take a picture and show me how the moonlight white option looks?

Does it look silvery at all? or is it a stormtrooper white (which is what I'd like)? how much does the wave graphics stand out?

**oh and also do you guys think hp would be willing to exchange my espresso black for the same exact configuration but in white?

 

i really doubt they would..after you place and order it is impossible to make any changes to your order..so they say.. i personally like the white DV4t much better than the black one..although i did get the black DV4t i wish i would of gotten the white one man :-(

 

You can return it and order it again... think HP gives you 15 days or something to return it no questions asked.

 

they have a 21 day return/exchange policy. the thing is the $400 off coupon has expired so I couldn't get it at that price again unless I waited for another deal to come along. I have no clue how often they have these $400 off coupons.

 

Hey guys,

My laptop came 2 days ago and I don't think I have left it alone since then! I love this thing - the TV tuner is great, it runs so fast and anything I throw at it runs like a dream. Really really satisfied. Have a few quesions though:

1. Does anyone else's laptop take a long time to enter hibernate mode? Mine takes over 60 seconds to fully hibernate - after a few secs the screen turns off, but quicklaunch buttons are lit up. After 1 minute or so the laptop finally hibernates. Any potential fixes for this?

2. The always on fan doesnt really bother me, but would I be sacrificing my decent temps if I changed it to only run the fan when its hot?

Thanks in advance!

 

again can anyone who has the dv4t in moonlight white please post some good quality pictures of how it looks? specifically the wave designs on the cover and on the keyboard. I'd like to know how well they blend in with the surrounding white colors. Do they stick out pretty visibly? or are they hardly noticeable?

also is moonlight white color scheme a stormtrooper white? is it all the same white on the lid, keyboard and palm rest area?
in some pictures I've seen the lid looks white and the keyboard and palm rest area is like a different silvery color.

 

look i have the black one, i got it black because it doesn't look as dirty, the key board on the white one looks a bit dirty after a while so ive heard, and the graphics on the lid do show i little , but at some angles and lighting it look all white.
only issue with black is the finger prints, they tend to show more but a quick wipe and there gone, so i think its easier so swipe it with a cloth than have to clean the key board , but thats just me. hope i helped , sorry no white pics, friend has one ,.

 

ya thats one of the reasons why i want a white one, i'm pretty sure i will have no trouble keeping the keyboard clean. but i get fingerprints on the black one pretty easily all the time. plus i really dont like the circle graphics on the espresso black.

oh and can you tell me if the parts that are white are all the same color white? like the keyboard, palm rest area, and the cover of the laptop?

 

i went into a local Best buy and they had both the white and espresso DV4s there side by side..i compare the two and fell in love with the white one..the keyboard and top lid are all the same color white..a very sexy white indeed.however i unfortinatly got black instead..as to why im starting to question myself..hopefully when it arrives on june 10th ill remember why i ordered it black

 

well im hyped. my DV4t was ordered 2 days ago and now my status says its in production.. martyd how long did ur status display in production for ?
or anyone else for that matter

 

hey guys how much more battery life would i be getting if i dropped the G 105M and went with the 4500MHD on this config?

P8600, LED BrightView, Extended 6-Cell, 4GB RAM, 320gb HD, wireless-N, lightscribe 8x dvd drive

 

well from what i hear the 6 cell high capacity last %15 longer than the standard 6 Cell. i guess it really depends on what your doing. the drop of dedicated graphics and the move to P8700 processor along with the LED brightlight should save you some power and last a bit longer.. i really cant tell you how much longer because i havnt recieved my DV4 yet which is coming with Both the 6 cell and 12 cell batteries. HP is having a %50 off both the 6 & 12 cell battteries if you buy them together so i took that deal.. although i really dislike the 12 cell because of its massive size im sure it will come in handy for me when i dont want to jack in for awhile

 

theintoxicatedmofo did you get the G105M or the 4500MHD?

 

oh man look at this picture of the moonlight white dv4t
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii78/ollirac123/HP/dv7/3.jpg

it looks sooo much nicer than the espresso black i have sitting in front of me.
does it really look like that in person? or is that just a beauty shot.

 

I have a moonlight white (but in dv3t...its the same thing though) and the lines on the front look just like that, but i think the picture you have makes them look darker than they really are. on my pc, the lines are less noticeable but still striking.

 

Could someone please help me configure so that my power icon would show me the remain time I have instead of just the % of power? Right now, it won't show me how much time I have left. Thanks.

 

i also got the black one because i noticed that almost everyone had the white one, so i thought it would be better to be unique . and it was 25 dollars more at the time , lol

 

i went with the G105M. i am a big fan of Nvidia cards and besides all of that i am a casual gamer..and also as we all know vistas a memory hog and just to even run anything above home basic (which is an XP make over nothing new added) u need a pretty decent Graphics card.. the 4500MHD will handle windows vista just fine if your not gona use ur DV4 for any games

 

New to the forum, and I'm highly interested in the DV4T, and plan on ordering either that or the soon to be released Dell 14z sometime after the end of the month. I'll be doing typical web surfing and maybe some light gaming, like COD4 and FarCry, but no movies. But a couple of questions first.

How often do the HP $400 off coupons seem to come along?

With the G105M card and a P8600 chip, how hot does the palm rest area and the bottom get? Too hot to use it on your lap?

Will the fan run all of the time, or only when needed? How loud is the fan when playing a game (COD4) versus just typical web surfing?

How do you think the DV4T and Dell 14z will compare to each other, and which might work best for the needs I've mentioned?

Thanks.

 

well the HP $400 coupon is the one to get it really is a jewel. however im not sure how often it comes along. however you shouldnt only be looking out for the $400 coupon. HP occasionally throws their %30 off deal which by the way i utilized when i recently ordered my HP DV4t on june 1st.. here are the specs

HP Pavilion Entertainment dv4t customizable Notebook PC
• Espresso Black
• Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
• Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)
• 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• FREE Upgrade to 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G 105M
• 14.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
• LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
• Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
• Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
• No TV Tuner w/remote control
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• 50% OFF!! One 6 Cell and One 12 Cell Lithium Ion Batteries
• No Modem
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

The total cost of the notebook (this config only Excluding taxes and warranty) was $1494 + warranty & tax came out to $1614 but with HPs %30 discount the notebook build went down from $1494 to $1144 and then with a $200 coupon my final price with tax and warranty was $1083. i didnt get the $400 coupon but i sure as hell got me a Great deal

The palm rest on the notebook based on reviews seems not to be all that bad. with the higher end processor and Dedicated graphics heat does seem to be pushed towards the HDD location which does warm it up a bit. the palm rest gets a little warm but not so much that the laptop becomes a chore to use because of the heat that its releasing. it gets warm after a long use session but not dangeriously warm that would distract you from your work.

The DV4 has 2 options 1 is a power saver which makes the fan speed up only when needed and the other is to have the Fan always on. Based on reviews and numerous post it seems that the DV4s fan is quite loud for some users while others have claimed that it isnt a distraction at all. with the bios set to fan always on the fan will run at its normal speed which will help keep the system cool. when set to power saver the fan will run at its lowest speed untill it begins to warm up which is when it will increase in speed to its normal speed. During intensive applications especially games it seems that the DV4 will increase fan speed to normal to keep the unit cool. according to users it isnt loud enough to distract you from your gaming

As for the DV4 and Dell comaprison i do not know which would be best.. what i can say is why i dislike dell PCs and this is because Dell creates their own parts so that universal parts cannot be used in their systems. for example their power supplies are completely different from the Standard PSUs so standard ones will not work on dell pcs

 

I just ordered my dv4t a couple days ago.... still like 2 weeks to go until i get it though

I got the 3gb ram, 320gb HD vista home premium 64bit (i plan on upgrading the ram later on) and the standard graphics card and processor for $660 with tax and shipping. I found a $30 coupon online somewhere so that canceled out the tax. This is going to be a long two weeks...

Oh yeah and does this laptop recognize 8gb of RAM? I'm not really planning on getting that much but I'm just wondering since hp only offers up to 4gb

 

yes the HP DV4t is expandable up to 8GB of Ramm. Vandals why didnt you upgrade the processor up to the T6600 processor and the extra GB of ramm? you could of used the $200 HP coupon and got it for the same price but better specs. i mean the configuration u have isnt bad but what good is 64bit verson if u cannot take full advantage of it right out of the box? the upgrade would of been $175 upgrade and u woulda saved an additional $25 off

 

I decided to actually use my tv tuner today, but I sadly discover that neither Windows Media Center nor Hp MediaSmart TV recognized it, despite the device manager saying it was working properly. Oh well.

 

You don't gain anything in Vista using the 105m.

Really, the only benefit from the 105m are for games, otherwise the 4500MHD handles the job just fine.

 

did ur TV tuner come with the DV4? or did u buy an external one?

 

it came with it, using these: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&os=2100&product=3860500

 

I didn't want to pay $50 for 1 extra gig of ram when i can do it myself for like $25... Also even with the better processor my purchase wouldn't have been over 1000 so the coupon wouldn't be valid with me, and plus 2.0ghz is enough for me I don't do any hardcore gaming or anything that would need more

 

can anyone who has a 12 cell battery post any photos of their prized DV4t with the 12 cell attached to it? i know the 12 cell makes the rear of the notebook stand up but idk how much it stands it off the ground... also i know it makes the bottom look pudgey so can you also post a photo of the bottom of the DV4 of course with the 12 cell attached? Gracias Muchos

 

Hi everyone. I'm new here, but wanted to get some opinions. I've been researching laptops for almost a month now. I'll be attending pharmacy school this fall, and we're required to have a laptop. I'll most likely be taking it with me everyday since a lot of things will be done online. I finally decided that I wanted to buy the dv4t. I'm trying to decide if it's better to buy a pre-configured model vs customizing one on the hp website.

This is the one that I'm currently looking at:
http://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-D...9HK0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1244181802&sr=1-2

The one that I was playing around with on the hp site is basically the same except for it being moonlight white, the P7450 processor, and wireless n- minicard. Would it be worth the price difference. The Amazon one is $699 ($650 after rebate) vs the one from the HP site being $838.66?

I'm just a regular user. I don't do anything fancy on computers (no gaming). I just use it for internet, powerpoint, chatting, writing papers. I just want to have something that is fast and reliable (I'd like to have it for at least all three years of school).

I've never had a pc laptop (only mac), so it's kind of hard trying to figure out what to get. Any help will be appreciated!

 

Just got notice my DVT4 shipped, from of all places - Kunshan, China. Got dropped off at FedEx at 11:30 pm last night (which would be 11:30 am China time). So from my order on May 28 to shipment on June 4th (US time) they beat the estimated ship date of June 8th by 4 days. I thought these units were customized Stateside, unless there is something in my configuration that required a China build:

HP Pavilion Entertainment dv4t customizable Notebook PC
• Moonlight White
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
• Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)
• 4GB DDR2 System Memory
• 500GB Hard Drive
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G 105M
• HP LED BrightView Widescreen
• Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
• Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
• Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
• HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
• High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• 12 cell Lithium Ion Battery
• Integrated 56K Modem

Will be interesting to see how long it takes to get here.

 

Did you select the type of signal you had connected, cable or
ASTC/ antenna?
What came up when you selected the TV icon in HP Mediasmart?

 

It says: "No TV Tuner Device
No TV tuner card detached...."

Which is funny since device manager is saying the driver is running properly.

 

well if you only want it for that i would go for the cheaper one. and for the most part dv4ts can be upgraded, you can buy better "insides" like hard drive, ram, etc. you get the cheaper one now and if in the future you need more just upgrade it.

 

I've already posted in the "Help me Choose a Laptop" section, but I'm not getting much input from HP users. Would you guys choose a DV4t or Lenovo T400/500? The Lenovo is $600 more, but has a T9600 Radeon 3470 versus the T9550 and GeForce 105M on the DV4t. THe HP has a 12 cell battery and Lightscribe though.

 

I had the same problem, although it doesn't say that anymore after I reformat and reinstall the drivers, I still cannot receive anything (Antenna or Coax) at all.