*HP dv5t (1XXX series) Owners Lounge*

new 30% off code by the way guys.

 

Can we only use the vga or the hdmi? I tried to plug both in and only the first one worked. Kind of crappy that you can use only one if that's true.

Also I'm getting ready to install a game and the drive sounds like its gonna explode. Anyone else having this?

 

Would the extended warranty be needed for one of these pups runing 24-7 in a fixed location. It will be used for as a web cam server. I've never owned an HP ........... although my office laptop is an HP.

Laptop will have the P8600 (2.4 GHz) processor and 9200M GPU. This laptop should be idling most of the time.

Thanks
JohnG

 

But I want the fan to always be on, it just never powers down like it's supposed to. And no, I don't hear any grinding sound.

 

LOL That's what Chaz has recommended I get... hey now

 

This is so unfair, US people get 30% off $999+ purchase, I maxed out everything on the customisation of the dv5t and it still turns out to be SAR1200 cheaper thn Saudi Arabia, and the US one i customised also had a better config thn the pre-configured one in Saudi Arabia, this is not fair!!!

 

Anyone know what speed the ram is that comes with the dv5t?

Is it ddr2-667 or ddr2-800?

 

DDR2-800....

 

It's DDR2-800 at loose timings.

 

i have read through the thread and people have been saying that the zalmen seems to fit perfectly...but i feel like where the graphics card is, in the back left, dosent get any of the airflow

 

I stand corrected. Thanks. I edited above.

 

just got my laptop in today posting on it right now and its frigging amazing

 

can the timings be tightened or not?

 

That's not 100% true. The rear vents get partial coverage, enough that the GPU temps are reduced. For 100% coverage, I usually move the notebook towards me a few inches. This reduces the temps even further. I don't know if you'll find a better cooler than the Zalman. I can't tell it's even on but I know that it works.

 

What are people getting as the Windows Experience Score in Vista? I have P8400 (2.26Ghz), 3 GB RAM and 9600M GT video card.

I am getting a total score of 4.8 with details like:

Processor - 5.2
RAM - 5.9
Graphics - 4.8
Gaming Graphics - 5.3
Hard Drive - 5.2

 

Those of you who went with 64-bit... r u glad you did.. any regrets..compatibility issues?

 

i kinda wish i got went for the bigger rez didnt realize 1280x800 would be so big

 

I'm not used to typing on a cooler with it slanted up like that. Is it uncomfortable? Also, can anyone tell me the advantages/disadvantages of registering the laptop? Thanks!

 

well i just made the icons smaller so the desktop doesnt look so bad
i can deal with the scrolling and stuff plus i have a 22 inch monitor with 1680x1050 if i really do need that res lol

 

I don't think it's uncomfortable at all.

 

got my dv5t with P8400 4 GB ram 512mb 9600GT DDR 2 yesterday with 1680 x 1050 screen, looks beautiful and chasis was great. However, not sure if its common or just my unit, experienced frequent freeze, when playing call of duty 4 at 1376 x 800 or some resolution close to that between 1280 x 800 and 1440 x 900, even when other detail are turned down, game play was very choppy.

Compare with my previous XPS M1530 256mb of 8600GT DDR 3, the M1530 handled call of duty 4 much better and smoother. Not sure if its due to the ddr 2/ vs ddr 3 or I simply got a bad one....called HP They offer 70 dollars if I keep it, but I declined the offer.

Kudos to HP though, they took the return, sent me a FEDEX return label via email within 5 minutes and the DV5T is on its way back to HP with no extra charge.

Im just gonna stick with my acer aspire one as my ultra portable and building a desktop pc with E8400 and ATI 4850.....at least it was a nice try and HP was very responsive and good customer service.

 

registering with any company simply means that you're allowing them to spam you with new offers/etc.

if you have an extended warranty with them, then it's definitely important to register that. otherwise, IMO, you order + order history is sufficient enough as proof in case you need to call them in a year to order a part or get your laptop serviced, etc.

when you register with most companies, they fwd your contact info to other companies as well. i am not sure hp does this but, in general, this is what happens. you should call and ask for the pros and cons of registering and decide for yourself.

fwiw.

 

Is the NC2000 cooler worth the extra $15 compared to the NC1000? Both seem a bit pricey...but I think I am going to stick with one of those two.

Also, does anyone have any newegg promo codes? The NC2000 + Shipping is $68. Very expensive for a cooler...

 

^ Yes both are pricey but think of it as a small investment for your notebook. I have no doubt these coolers will help extend the life of your system.

Review on the NC2000
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235021

NC1000 vs NC2000
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3719934#post3719934

X2P great buyer's guide
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=252773

 

Really wierd you wote that because I was going to say how smooth mine ran COD 4, lol. Also downloaded the newest need for speed demo and it was smooth and crisp as well.

 

I got P8600(2.4ghz), 4gb RAM, 9600m gt, 1280x800 inf. display, 320gb HDD
my score was...

Processor - 5.3
RAM - 5.9
Graphics - 5.0
Gaming Graphics - 5.3
Hard Drive - 5.3

 

Does anyone know if the 1680x1050 resolution makes the font harder to read since more things can fit on the screen so would that make the fonts harder to read? I really want that screen size since it does offer more detail for videos and such, but I'd also want font sizes that are readable where I don't have to squint to read t.

 

Hmm...I wonder if the smaller resolution gives you better graphics?

 

I know some people were asking what kind of Ram comes in the DV5...myself including. I took it apart (really easy just unscrew middle cover).

Mine can with Elpida PC2-6400s-666 2gig x 1 gig.

 

Hey guys.

Been hanging around the forums for the past two weeks; just received my dv5t today. I do not plan on doing a clean install of Vista, but rather just manually remove the garbage that comes preloaded. However, I am having trouble determining what should/can be removed. In particular, what is not even worth keeping on the system? I already got rid of AIM, as I use Pidgin, but want to get rid of more, especially if it can get rid of some of those tray icons.

Oh, and for reference, my dv5t came absolutely fine. There's an ever so slight misalignment of the left speaker grill (in the left-right direction, not up-down), however it's so minor I could care less. I guess I am seeing some keys being "clickier" than others, but again, doesn't bother me. I almost panicked when I first opened up the box, as there is no "Graphics by nVidia" sticker on the laptop, and thought I might have been given the x4500, but it was just a false alarm. I am more than happy with the laptop; my only beef is I wish the volume buttons put some sort of quick on-screen display of where the volume currently is (I have Vista 64-bit.)

And finally, zero issues with the Intel Wireless card; performs even better than the Intel 2945 I had in my previous laptop, which itself was a very good card.

 

so how easy or hard is it to exchange ur dv5t for a higher res and the same specs? and how much would it cost?
wondering if i should do that right now of course i would have to convince my parents to pay w/e the price is....

 

I'll post back here tomorrow. I will try and see what happens(Had to wait till Credit Card cycles)

 

thx i hope its easy and not much to exchange cuz if it is my parents sounded like they'll be ok with it since not having the 1680x1050 infinity is really bothering me lol

 

My speaker grill is off too, but on the left instead of the right. I don't know if it's worth the hassle of returning though. Does it matter any except for looks?

 

woo just pre-ordered my hp dv5t
specs are

# Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
# – Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz)
# – 15.4" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Infinity Display (1680 x 1050)
# – FREE Upgrade to 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
# – [For BrightView Infinity] Webcam Only
# – HP Color Matching Keyboard
# – FREE Upgrade to Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN from 802.11b/g WLAN
# – No Modem
# – 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
# – System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)

Just wondering whether i should change the vista to 32bit with service pack 1 as it can recognise the 4gb of ram as well or just stick with 64bit?

 

Well, they did offer me money to keep it the way it is ... I turned them down... mine is pretty misaligned though (see previous pics)

 

also i hope i can just switch the warranty if i do end up exchanging this laptop since i already registered it ><

 

UGH!! Just sat on the phone with HP for 1 1/2 hours!! Transferred around to one tech to the other and like three different salespeople.

I was complaining that customers who bought their laptop a WEEK after me are getting it for $700 less due to the coupon. I've been buying HP's for 8 or 9 years. The least they could do is give me PART of the difference. I WOULD just return my laptop, and purchase a brand new one, if the same specs were still available. However, they no longer offer the microphone, tv tuner, or high-speed 56k. I don't really care about those, but I'm wary about returning it, getting a new laptop, and having to return it because it's got the wrong specs or something...what if, at that time, they don't have some other specs that I originally had configured. That'd just **** me off big time.

They credited me $260 for the defective speaker grill. Something which the guy on the phone said he "is jeopardizing his job for." I told him there were other people getting the same credit, so don't even try that story with me.

I went to three different supervisors. It just doesn't make any sense to me that they wouldn't want to settle for $400, if it saves them the shipping to get it back to them, ship ME a brand new one, plus assemble one with brand new parts in China. PLUS, I won't call and bother them any more. If they were going to credit me $200 for the defect, another $200 doesn't seem like that much of a loss, if they were going to lose out on $700 when I buy a brand new laptop with the coupon ANYWAY! Seriously, $400 isn't going to make that much of a difference to them, but the show of good faith from HP would PROBABLY prompt me to purchase an HP rather than any other brand in the future!!

Other than the slight speaker grill defect and "clicky" shift key, I'm perfectly happy with my dv5t - although I would be ecstatic if they were to give me a portion of the difference in price.

Honestly though, the monetary difference isn't worth my time and effort, and inconvenience. I figure, the amount they credited me is almost what I paid for the extended warranty with accidental damage protection...so I'll take that at face value. Any maybe in the future when that shift key breaks (because I can tell it's going to), I'll use that almost free warranty to replace the keyboard...I guess.

Argh...and argh some more.

On the plus side, my brand new LG Dare mobile phone held up like a pro. 1.5 hours on the phone with HP, and only a down one bar on the battery!! Yay.

 

Wow, sorry to hear that. I fully expect HP to accept my return so I can go ahead and repurchase a new one

 

==Total of 5.0== with t9400
Processor - 5.4
RAM - 5.9
Graphics - 5.0
Gaming Graphics - 5.3
Hard Drive - 5.3

Here's some benches also:
4571 3dmark06-marks 1280x800
12759 3dmark03-marks 1024x768
25864 3dmark01se-marks 1024x768

Pretty good for a lappy. As you can see below the gddr3 version doesn't really do much better:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

 

Hi, I hate to be a complete Noob, but I've been having the mute led not change color, there were a few post previously that had the same problem too. It stays orange. When I first received it, it was white.

The button itself works, but the color only changes every so often, whenever there is a reboot. It seems to work intermittently.

I was just wondering if anyone had a fix?

I believe it worked great before I updated all the drivers like HP told me too.

So far I've DL'ed:
sp38358.exe, (1/1 , 7.19M) quicktouch software.

sp39425.exe, (1/1 , 20.14M) quicklaunch buttons.

any other suggestions?

otherwise the thing works great, but i dunno if it's a hardware or software issue. do i need to return it for service?

 

What program do you recommend to partition your hard drive under Vista? Because I heard that Partition magic isn't working well with that OS.

 

Hi, I am interested to buy dv5t as well. I have 2 problems before I finalize my choice.
1. I plan to get the integrated graphics. I wont' play 3D games and is it enough for daily use? I photoshop a lot but the graphics card doesn't help that much right?

2. In case with the integrated graphics card, how's the temperature if I just web surfing? Able to put on my lap to make it a real laptop? Thanks a lot.

I really want to join dv5t family especially with 30% off coupon right now. Thanks

 

Hello again, I havent been on in a few days and of course have missed about 20 pages of comments but I would just like to report that A. I have recieved my DV5T and it is amazing. I love everythining about it from the keyboard to the screen, but i saw how much bloatware was on it so i decided to do a clean install of the OS and I have to say it was quick and painless. (I've only installed a few drivers atm but have gone throught the tweak guide and am running at a base on 500mb of RAM!!!!!) Im very happy with my new system and will call tommorow to try to get a $80 discount on it. Best of luck to you all with the same!

 

Hello all, time for another update. So being the crazy person that I am, I completely disassembled one of my dv5t's today. It is NOT an easy process. Forget trying to get quick access to CPU fan etc. I have also figured out why people are having the speaker grill issues. It is a little difficult to explain, but the top finished portion of the laptop below the speaker grills and around the touch pad is attached to a lower super-structure that makes up the frame of the laptop. Rather than use screws to hold the two sections together, HP/Quanta used a method where plastic columns from the top piece go through the super-structure and then are heated and melted to hold the two together. It appears that the melting process is not done tight enough and there is some slop between the two causing the top finished section to lift up when the speaker grill is snapped in under it. I dont know if that makes sense. I suppose I could take pictures if anyone is interested, or just wants to see what a dv5t looks like on the inside. The cooling system is pretty serious hardware with heat pipes going to the CPU, GPU and chipset running to a double finned radiator with the fan underneath. Some very serious engineering went in to this laptop. Its pretty impressive. Ok enough of my ramblings, take care all.

 

nwperformance, if you have the time to take pictures, we'll be happy to see them.

 

i've been looking thru the posts but may have missed this:

i have a seagate 160gb freeagent go usb-powered ext. drive. On my old compaq, i could run it from a normal usb cable as long as there were no other devices connected to other ports.

on the dv5t, i need the usb "y" cable, getting power from 2 usb ports. is there some setting to increase power to the ports?

is anyone having this trouble with their seagate? what about WD passport drives?

 

can i have some pics of the inside? ;p

 

I have a WD MyBook, but I can't help you because it's not usb powered.

 

guys..whats the best nvidia driver overall for the 9600m gt in the dv5?