*HP dv5t (1XXX series) Owners Lounge*

I'm so glad that I found this forum! I ordered my dv5t on Monday and it's now `in production' with a `built by' date of August 20th. I really can't wait to get it! My current laptops are a 14" 600MHz G3 iBook with a flaky video chip and an old work Dell Latitude CPx that dosen't charge batteries and has a broken CPU fan, so it also locks up regularly.

My dream laptop would be a MacBook Pro (although the new HP EliteBook, or the Dell Latitude E series look pretty sweet), but back in the real world, the dv5t has just about everything they've got (well, except for battery life and thickness...), but for half as much!

So I'm completely excited about getting such a great laptop:


HP Pavilion Entertainment dv5t customizable Notebook PC

* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz)
* 15.4" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
* FREE Upgrade to 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
* FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* Webcam Only
* HP Color Matching Keyboard
* Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN and Bluetooth(TM)
* No High speed 56K modem port
* SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
* No TV Tuner w/remote control
* 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope


I also ordered the OCZ 4GB PC2 6400 SODIMM kit, mostly because it seemed like such a great deal than necessarily _needing_ it (none of my desktops have more than 2GB, but then again they run 32bit XP). I was going to get the extended life battery, but I'm hoping that HP will come out with a battery with more cells in the future...as it is I'm plenty used to needing to plug my laptop in, although I am hoping that I'll get at least 2 hours out of it.

Anyway, just thought I'd say hi to everyone else, and thanks for all the great information!

 

Yes it does, but be fast these are selling like the wii on its debut (exaggeration).

 

Yeah I figured they would be. I plan on ordering a dv5t in maybe 45 minutes.

 

ugh....so I got my dv5t today and just acouple of headaches.

1) my keyboard is uneven it seems. Its subtle, but there. The right side (around the iopkl;m,. keys) all sit lower than the left side. Idk, might just be me...but its kinda bothersome.

2) DVD drive not reading discs?? things such as the Sims 2 and even audio cd's. anyone have any idea??

 

anyone? please no one has 2c to put in on this drive deal?

 

Okay I downloaded crysis and I cany open up the console with the "~" button... I want to see how much fps im getting but i cant without opening console. Someone help me!!!

 

Just order a Dv5t today, coupon still works. Just hope I don't get any problems when it comes.

 

Chaz, thanks for that great review. I didn't realize it had an eSATA port. That's awesome. I'm so excited to get my new dv5t notebook! Estimated ship date is 8/21. Ordered on 8/12.

 

just ordered my dv5t today. That 400 off deal is no joke.

Your customized PC includes:

- HP Pavilion dv5t Entertainment Notebook
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz)
- 15.4" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
- FREE Upgrade to 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
- FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
- Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
- HP Color Matching Keyboard
- FREE Upgrade to Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN from 802.11b/g WLAN
- No High speed 56K modem port
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
- HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope



Product description
Product #

Qty

Your
extended
price
HP Pavilion dv5t Entertainment Notebook eligible for free shipping KQ574AV

1


$928.99
Summary of discounts for order H104175779:

Instant discounts you received:
$400.00 Coupon NB6997
OH Tax: $62.71
Shipping: Free
Grand total: $991.70

 

I just ordered a dv5t. Could someone tell me what comes in the box? I assume the ac adapter comes standard?

- HP Pavilion dv5t Entertainment Notebook
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz)
- 15.4" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
- 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
- FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
- Webcam Only
- HP Color Matching Keyboard
- FREE Upgrade to Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN from 802.11b/g WLAN
- No High speed 56K modem port
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
- HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Grand total: $1081.80

 

The cool thing too is that you get a free printer after rebate. It might not be very good, but free is free.

 

You can probably go to Best Buy and check out one of the display dv5t's to see if they make a similar noise.

 

I'm surprised not many people are getting the blu-ray. With the $400 discount, it should be more enticing. Thoughts?

 

who gets a free printer?

 

Yup.
Check out this video. It's for the dv7t, but should be about the same.

HP DV7T Unboxing and Overview

 

I think people are more into better performance then blu ray.

 

Does anyone have the D-Link 655 wireless router for 802.11n? It seems it would be a great match with the Intel WiFi.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127215

 

That's true but why not take full advantage of the HDMI output (including audio)? I don't have a PS3 so this notebook will be all-in-one entertainment station.

 

Box, bunch of random HP documents and pamphlets, mini remote control, AC adaptor, screen wiper, battery, and $1000 gift card to HP (jk on the last one).

 

Right before checkout there is an add a printer option button. Click it and it one of the first all-in-one printers is free after $70 mail in rebate.

In fact, my printer has shipped already.

 

I have the Apple Airport Extreme 802.11n that I got last year.

 

Yeah, I almost kicked myself about not ordering the blu-ray, but then I realized I don't watch any blu-ray movies right now. By the time I do, the prices of the players will be less than $200 anyway.

 

I would've gotten Blu-ray player, but I realized, even though I have 4 DVD players in my house, I don't really buy DVDs, and I haven't even watched some of the ones I own yet. I figure, Blu-rays are only going to be more expensive than DVDs, so I probably wouldn't even be buying them on the college-student income I'm on right now.

 

haha exactly

 

^ Good points guys. I love watching movies so that's why I got it. Man I missed that deal on the free printer. Is it too late?

 

i missed it too

 

Hi all

I have just ordered the HP DV5T with the following config

• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
• Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz)
• 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
• FREE Upgrade to 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
• 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• Webcam Only
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN and Bluetooth(TM)
• High speed 56K modem port
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• No TV Tuner w/remote control
• High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

how ever I have one concern, is the basic warranty international or domestic. I am planning to take this to India where this model is sold but only with prebuilt configurations. If this has international warranty then I have no problems but if it doesnot have I have to return the laptop as I dont want to have trouble .

 

I have it and it works great with my Sager. I do not see why it would not work great with the dv5t when it arrives.

 

The warranty is domestic for US if you buy it in US. I was in same situation and asked. If you want warranty for while you are in India, HP says, you can buy the extended 3 year warranty for India and then they will service it there also. You can buy a warranty for each country you want one for.

My current system is an hp business laptop with a 3 year global onsite next day service warranty which cost only an extra $200 dollars. It came in handy once. If you want the international warranty, you have to look at the business laptops. There is not much choice in the way of graphics cards, and thus I went with a consumer laptop, the dv5t which comes tomorrow. Dell laptops, I believe, have same warranty issue, business vs consumer.

 

I agree! I got the blu-ray with mine. It's a great combo with the included HDMI output! I plan on connecting it to my HDTV (No PS3, so this will become my blu-ray player). But I do admit that the $200 extra is quite steep! But this is my first laptop and I just wanted to load it up!

 

Use this command:
r_displayinfo 1
Otherwise, run the game in DX9 mode and use FRAPS:
http://www.fraps.com

You're welcome. It was equally as surprising to me to find out that the eSATA port doubled as a USB port. Very handy. I plan to make use of the eSATA port at some point . . . perhaps if I decide to replace the hard drive at some point.

 

ok i just disabled the "fan allways on" option in the BIOS and the notebook is completely silent now, so the noise is from the fan. i still think that the noise is not normal, so i have 2 questions:
1. can i leave the "fan allways on" disabled? is there a problem with that or a danger to the notebook? (while stressing the cpu i see it still doens't pass the 68 degrees because the fan turns on on time, i guess the same will be with the gpu).
2. is there a way i can open the notebook to see if i can fix the fan? (maybe just a little tap would help). should i do it or it's 2 dangerous\will ruin my notebook?
tnx

 

Anyone notice the AC adapter getting a little warmer than it
should be?

 

not really, it gets warm but not more than any other laptop's ac adapters i've owned

 

so lately i have been running this through everything i could think i will run into in college, so far so good. This runs great for everything from surfing net to running games only issues i find besides the mild heating is short battery life but i also have 9600 and 2.53 processor so i guess its expected

 

No, you wont hurt the laptop with the fan disabled. It will still cycle on when the chips reach a certain temperature. It just may cycle on and off more frequently. If you think your fan is making unusual sounds and its a brand new laptop, just send it back. You have a 21 day no questions asked return policy. If you start opening things up, besides memory and hard drive access hatches, you run the risk of voiding your warranty. Hope this helps.

 

I noticed that on the first day that I got my DV5T. However the problem went away on its own gradually.

 

does the laptop usually ship b4 the build date also ?
Mines 21st aug , by when do u reckon it should be shipped ?

 

Usually, if there are no delays the laptop should be at your door on Aug 21st. So, it would probably ship 4 or 5 days before that date.

 

Hi miner: thx for that. mine said "in production" on my order status page ever since day 1 they don't seem to ever update until they finish building it, i guess. the expected "finish build" date is 8/19th.

so according to your estimation, barring unforeseen circumstances/delays, 4 days prior to that would be tomorrow, 8/15th Friday. yea.

the catch is that many of the folks who got their dv5t's relatively early are on the west coast, or, in one case that i recall, is in AZ (still western). i'm on the east coast. so i'd expect mine to take an extra day or two, right? since i only took the standard free shipping, it ought to be "ground service"? then again, i have no idea what "ground shipping" would mean coming from Shanghai China!! It's certainly not like they can drive a FedEx truck from Shanghai China to the east coast of the US!

I have the worrisome task of reinstall Vista 32 when it arrives. i dislike flashing ROM's, updating BIOS, and all this type of thing. always seem to be worrisome and prone to issues. sigh.

 

Hi All

I'm wondering the same thing. I ordered mine through Costco online, customized on 8/12 and it tells me the ship date is 8/22. Besides a couple things, I pretty much just ordered the base config. I am not a gamer, so I stayed with the integrated graphics. I have a 6700t right now that I'm taking back to Costco that has an x3100.. I am assuming the x4500 is at least better than this?

Configuration Summary

Selected Features:
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz)
FREE Upgrade to 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X4500
FREE Upgrade to Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN from 802.11b/g WLAN
15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
HP Color Matching Keyboard
No High speed 56K modem port
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
No TV Tuner w/remote control

...was 918 tax included (Hey, I'm cheap)

Ashley.. btw I was going to get more RAM, but I listened to some of you guys and am going to buy more later if I feel the need for some more speed..

 

i just bought a dv5t today! i was wondering how and which graphics driver to update?

do i just delete the existing nvidia driver from the add/remove thing in the control panel? then install 177.83 from laptops2go? (modded inf or original?)
sorry if i sound like a total comp noob!

 

Great.. now I'm reading back through some of the posts about a 400 dollar coupon? So was my above configuration a good deal? I can still cancel my Costco order. Can someone give me advice?

The above config was 874 without tax

 

check your ac adapter. though generally you have to be pretty close to hear it, the adapter makes a noise very similair to what you are describing. is it an extremely high pitched screeching kinda sound? just put your ear kinda close to the adapter and see if thats it because i know mine does it as well as probably everyone elses to some extent.

Quick Question: how do you run Crysis in DX9??? I have heard that if you arent using the very high settings(which i could never consider with my dv7t and 9600M GT), DX9 will give you better performance. Dont get me wrong about the 9600M GT i still think its an awesome card for a laptop and performs great for me.

Also, I have to say thanks to chaz (even though Im not a dv5 owner, im a part of the same dv series ) for doing a great job with answering everyones questions and especially for his review. it would be hard for someone NOT to want to buy a dv5t notebook after reading that. However i have kind of a favor to ask that im sure others might appreciate as well. in your review you showed real-world gaming benchmarks in Crysis and COD4. however i didnt find the specific settings that you used. I was wondering if you (or anyone else playing these games) could maybe post the settings you plan on running in these games (COD4 multiplayer moreso for me because crysis is so hard to run). I am not very good at game tweaking or benchmarking so i was wondering if I(as well as anyone else who wants to know) could just borrow the settings you used This is probably a bothersome task to you so i could understand if this is not something you want to post. but if you did i would greatly appreciate it. If you do end up doing this could you post the FPS you are gettings at those settings?? Thanx again Chaz, you have really guided this forum these past 120 freakin pages!

 

1. Yes, you can leave it enabled. The fan will turn on when the temperatures get too warm.
2. You could open up the bottom panel, but I do not recommend tampering with anything. What is wrong with your fan that would make you want to tamper with it?

As 5strings noted under your post, it gets warm for sure but it's no different than those of other notebooks. The one on my Sager gets even warmer.

Go here and download the 177.72 drivers (or 177.73 drivers if you have 64-bit Windows). Then follow our Driver Update Guide to get them installed.

I just listened to my adapter and I can't hear anything, though my laptop is idle and not charging. I know the sound you are talking of though - my cell phone charger makes a high-pitched intermittent noise while charging.

You can get Crysis to run in DirectX 9 mode by right-clicking on the shortcut, clicking properties, and then adding " -dx9" onto the end like in the attachment I uploaded.

I tested Crysis at 1280x720 with all High and all Medium settings. Call of Duty 4 I ran at 1440x900 with high-medium settings.

I'm writing up a full benchmark review as we speak right now, I'll post it shortly.

My pleasure for the help. It's great to have such a full community of people using this machine.

 

all i can tell u is my dell has same problem... iv had it for 2 years.. dunnno when the sound started or if it was from the begginning at all... its a freaking sound u can hear in small and silent places but.. OMG!!! its annoying!!!
the point is... my computer runs normally so shouldnt be a problem? who knows :?

 

Is there any reason you recommend that specific version of the driver?

 

Good grief..400 dollarsoff = more computer/battery/monitor for almost same amount, help me out oh knowledgeable ones..
New configuration is $970 instead of 918..but hey..here it is..again, I don't game:

– Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
– Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz)
– 15.4" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
– 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
– Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X4500
– FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
– Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
– HP Color Matching Keyboard
– Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN and Bluetooth(TM)
– No High speed 56K modem port
– SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
– No TV Tuner w/remote control
– High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
– Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
– HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Plus HP mobile remote

Tradeoff is..I'm on a budget, so sticking with the base warranty if I go the HP route instead of Costco (which comes with 2 year)
Is it worth it guys? Should I cancel with Costco and instead order from HP.. (sorry this was so long)

 

Wondering if anyone has had a chance to test the heat with the notebook closed and hooked up to an external monitor while gaming. I ordered my dv5t with the dock bar and one of those nice 24 inch glossy LCDs. I will probably be using it about half the time docked and the rest of the time mobile.

I'm going to get a zalman cooler and hope that will be enough to cool it while closed.

 

Also, does the remote come standard - if I added it in the accessories options, I won't get two will I?