HP dv6500t to dv6 Quad Edition: worth it?

Realizing that my computer is now a little over 2.5 years old, I had a little time to think about whether I should even think about going over to a brand new notebook. Given the specs of new notebooks these days (and a lot of people know here that I spend quite a bit of time at the HP website/FTP), I was wondering what everyone here thinks about me going for a Quad Edition notebook.

In case you're wondering, I use my dv6500t notebook extensively mainly because I am a UCSD Computer Science/Engineering student who does a lot of activities on the computer both casually and for work, for a good portion of the day, everyday. If I get a new notebook, I plan on using it extensively as well.

The specifications for the dv6500t that I currently use is listed in my sig. It additionally has a 12-cell battery which at this moment can only charge up to 58%, and a rather broken left TouchPad button. Warranty is pretty shot at this point, since I had the 1-year standard (which I have no regrets with).

Now, the Quad Edition notebook that I was specifically looking at was the pre-customized HP Pavilion dv6-2190us notebook:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/rts_notebook/rts_notebook//3/storefronts/WA783UA%23ABA

• Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i7-720QM processor with Turbo Boost Technology
• Processor speed: 1.60GHz; with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.80GHz
• Memory: 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 DIMM); Max supported =8192MB
• Accessible memory slots: 2
• Display: 15.6" Diagonal High-Definition LED HP BrightView Display (1366x768)
• Video graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT 230M with up to 2815MB total graphics memory with 1024MB dedicated
• Audio: Altec Lansing with SRS Premium Sound
• Primary CD/DVD drive: LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+R/RW with Double Layer Support
• Hard drive: 500GB (7200RPM) Hard Drive (SATA)
• Networking: Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
• Wireless options: Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n WLAN
• PC card slot: 1 ExpressCard/54 Slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)
• I/O ports: 4 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, 4th port shared with eSATA; 2 Headphone out; 1 microphone-in; HDMI; 1 VGA (15-pin); eSATA + USB 2.0; 1 RJ -45 (LAN); 1 notebook expansion port 3; 1 IEEE 1394 Firewire (4-pin); 1 Consumer IR (Remote Receiver)
• Finish: HP Imprint with the espresso design in high-gloss black

Now there are some advantages to this notebook based on the specs, but there's also the price factor. Knowing that I could get Bing cashback on it (20% at the time of this writing), I figure that I could get it at the following price assuming standard warranty:

$1019.99 - 20% off $1019.99 Bing cashback - 3% off $1019.99 Ebates cashback = $785.39 + $8.00 Recycling + $89.25 California state tax ( ) = $882.64

Now from what I understand this is an excellent price assuming that Bing cashback goes through, which it does for me.

But now, I'd like to ask -- what are your opinions? Should I seriously think about getting it? Should I hold my patience? I welcome it.

 

This machine would be a great upgrade to your current one, except for the low 16:9 screen resolution.

I suggest you try out a demo model first. If you can live with it then it might be worth while asset

 

Thanks for your response flipfire...many of the things on the dv6-2190us are considered more than just a minor upgrade from the dv6500t -- especially the CPU and the graphics card. I am a little worried about the resolution though, which I can relate to now due to the dv6500's 1280x800 resolution.

I'd like to add that the battery isn't a primary concern since I am usually plugged in to an outlet wherever I go.

I also want to mention the fact that I have a great desktop computer to do more intensive tasks that my current notebook isn't capable of doing. However, I still wish to seek out a good balance in size/weight and performance in the HP notebook spectrum (with a slight leaning towards the latter) while getting it at a good price, since there may be times when I may have to do something resource-intensive on my notebook (think: computer science/computation) if I'm away from my desktop. I usually take my notebook to/from campus almost every single day and use it.

I welcome further opinions and discussion from others.

 

I had a dv6563cl for that long as well before I moved to the Envy 15 (even though my has a new battery and the cosmetics are in really good condition). I wasn't expecting to upgrade this early since I usually upgrade in 3-4 years at a time, but I did due to someone else in the family needed my laptop for some reason or another. Surely, the dv6500t wasn't as a great for my needs as I thought from before, but it still worked and I was still willing to upgrade in a year to two years, if it wasn't for the current circumstances.

If you need the grunt then I say the current proposed option is very good for your needs but since you got your desktop and if you don't really need all that power on your laptop yet, I suggest you can wait a bit longer and hopefully upgrade to Sandy Bridge or something, being that your current laptop is still working really well and it is only 2.5 years old. However, if you do upgrade to the dv6 Quad now, do you think you are going keep it longer than your current one? If you are happy with the specifications now and you are willing to keep it for a good 3-4 years, then go for it. If you feel like you need to upgrade in 2, I would wait till Sandy Bridge comes out. You always want to get a laptop that would last you a while, unless money is flowing and you can upgrade in 2 every time.