*HP dv6t & dv7t (70XX / 71XX series) IVY BRIDGE Owners Lounge*

I don't mean to downplay anyone's decisions. $50 is certainly minor, and an extra GB of vRAM is nice to have and can be helpful in some situations.
However, I do want to clear up this misconception that there will be a significant difference in gaming:

The benchmarks make it very clear that most video games, including BF3 on high @2560x1600, do not benefit from an extra gigabyte. This means that BF3, high resolution textures and all, does not use more than 1GB of vRAM. Yes, there are video games at certain settings that use more than 1gb (most notably triple monitor setups or high MSAA settings), but those games at those particularly high settings are far too GPU-intensive for the GT 650M to handle. BF3 on high @1080p is already borderline unplayable on the GT 650M, and given the 2560x1600 benchmarks, it's obvious that BF3 won't be pushing vRAM usage beyond 1gb. At playable settings for the GT 650M, no existing game will use above 1gb of vRAM.

Others and I drew the comparison to the HD 6950, because it's a GPU that can handle much higher settings than the GT 650M and has 1gb and 2gb variants.

 

Anyone find any more video reviews online? Why didn't that guy on youtube put the battery in and kick on the laptop and actually run some tests? Lol.

 

Comparing a overpowered desktop card to an under powered laptop card is not a valid comparison.

 

If there is no difference on a HIGH end card, what makes you think there would be a difference on the lower end laptop card?

Personally I got the 2gb 650m because it was the only option on the DV7. Otherwise I probably would have gotten the 1gb

 

Faster cards use memory more efficiently.

 

I am still learning things .. I am not totally trying to replace my desktop but there are times that the wife whines about me being in the the computer room too much. I generally play WOW and will be playing D3. How well will this compare to my desktop ?


Desktop is

Processor, Q9550, 2.83, 12MB Yorkfield, E0
Module, Dual In-line Memory Module, 4GB, 4X1GB, 800, CL6 Dimension
750g hard drive
gtx 470


compare to

laptop


dv6t Quad Ed
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
• NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]
• FREE Upgrade to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 750GB 7200 rpm Hybrid Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection



Am i going to be disappointed?

Also sorry ahead of time if this should have been posted in another area.

 

What is it with all the BF3 comparisons? BF3 is a horrible EA DRM ladden game and runs like crap even on the best of desktops, pick something decent like The Witcher 2

2gb vs 1gb, who cares, if it satisfies you, then go ahead and buy/don't buy it, that simple. Jeez, thank goodness this model has a backlight keyboard otherwise we'd be getting people whining about that too. If this is offensive to people then I'm sorry but this is getting ridiculous.

 

Your Computer's CPU benchmark score is 4294 vs the 8330 that the i7-3610 scored. Will this reflect in usage? Definitely if you're multitasking and it will be extremely cool, as windows 7 will only utilize about 1% of it even when moderately multitasking.

The extra 4gb of RAM won't be really noticeable when comparing the two because laptops need more RAM than desktops to run smoothly.

As for your GPU, the 650m isn't as good, but it's pretty close. It might get 10-20 fps less than what your GTX 470 gets in most games, however that is To Be Determined, as the only reviewer is Notebookcheck and their reviews should be taken with a grain of salt.

This laptop should suit your needs even if you will be gaming, I owned the 7690m XT model and it here's what I found:
-Metro 2033 ran at 30fps at 720p, High Textures
-Skyrim ran at default Ultra 1080p with 4x AA and 8x MSAA at 30 fps
-Fable 3 ran at maxed out, 4x AA at around 40 fps
-Mass Effect 2 and 3 ran at 40-60 fps at Maxed out settings, 4x AA

I didn't test any other games before I returned it for this Ivy Bridge, but the Geforce 650m should easily pull about 50% better when AA is on because it was designed to get good performance in DX11 games.

 

For WoW and D3, you'll be fine. You should be able to play on max (or close to max) settings on 1080p and definitely on 768p if you got the lower res screen.
The GTX 470 is considerably faster than the GT 650M, but you'll be getting >60fps on less demanding games like WoW and D3 anyway. For more demanding games like the Witcher 2, Metro 2033, etc, you might be a bit disappointed, but you'll probably be happy with what your laptop can handle. Here's a benchmark comparison between the GTS 450 and the GTX 470. The GT 650M is comparable to the GTS 450.
The i7-3610QM is some 30~50% faster than the Q9550, so that won't be a concern in games. It might even help in WoW, which is known to be taxing on the CPU.

Overall, I don't think you'll be disappointed. If you got the 1080p screen, you'll probably be impressed by how games look with a high pixel density.

 

I did get the 1080p screen . Thank you both that replied to me for the info . I was a little worried after all this talk about the gpu's going on in this thread.

 

The 768 res screen on the older dv-6's are just wretched, I have a dv7 and my girlfriend has a dv6 and looking at her computer screen is like looking at a old tube t.v.

 

The 12GB of RAM is plenty... don't worry about the speed of the RAM....what comes from HP is fine. Spending alot of money to change it out for faster speed RAM would be a waste IMO.

These laptops will more than likely have bottlenecks everywhere else before more than 12GB of RAM will be needed, then its time for a new laptop anyways.

 

So, the 8 GB is enough for now? Like even if you got the laptop and bought 2 of these:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 8GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model CMSO8GX3M1A1333C9

or would you even buy it? It's much cheaper than upgrading to HP's 12 GB RAM. And I'm surprised nobody is talking about the CPU as much as the GPU's, the 3720QM has a 9644 benchmark rating compared to the 3620's 8330 rating. Would that justify the $170 upgrade?

 

Imo no it would not. If the the laptop didn't come with a dedicated gpu it would be a good upgrade as the 3610qm has a 3d mark on the low low side. But for day to day tasks its extreme overkill.

 

Really? Everyone says that, but even after seeing the Asus G53 full HD screen when compared to a standard screen, i didn't see that much of a difference... I mean it was defiantly noticeable, but i think the picture of a standard screen is fine until you get five inches from it. The only think i think it makes an actually difference in, is the space it gives you, but not for like regular use, just like CAD and programming. That's why i got it. Well that and the fact that its anti glare.

 

Some ASUS G53 screens are not proper comparisons. If the ASUS G53 has the glossy FHD screen, then it is probably the poor quality AUO B156HW01 V5 which doesn't have considerably better contrast than a typical 768 screen does.

One of the biggest differences between a typical 15.6" 1920x1080 display and a typical 15.6" 1366x768 display is how dark the blacks are.

 

It was the matted version. That's actually how i knew i really wanted a matted screen. Do they even sell non HD matted screens with any laptop?

 

So, in terms of performance, where does the 3720QM benefit over the 3610QM? would it be better for video/photo/music editing? And 4-6 years from now would I find it benificial?

Also I just noticed the new coupons dropped $50 to $350. So i'll have to wait another week or so until i get a better deal. Balls.

 

The i7-3720QM is 5~10% faster than the i7-3610QM. It technically is better for video/photo/music editing, but not by much. The main benefit will be shaving off ~8% in render times, so it depends on whether or not that's worth $170 to you.
IMO, you're better off spending that money on an SSD. $170 is a pretty steep price for a minor performance bump. :/

 

Seriously, dark colors were pretty awful on my old Toshiba 1366x768 and I figured that was just due to it being a laptop screen. I'll never get a laptop with anything less than a 1080p screen now.

 

The difference would be marginal. Were they stand alone gpu's with no dedicated graphics the 3720 would womp the 3610. But the dv6 doesn't come without a dedicated gpu so it's a waste.

I couldn't agree more, save the 170 for the processor upgrade and get a good sata3 ssd. An ssd will give you an insane performance boost. If there was a ssd fanboy club I would be in it. Actually I would be the president of it.

 

We are assuming it is using a RAM module slot, because you get a conflict when spec'ing the laptop with an mSSD and anything over 8GB of RAM.



For people trying to decide what hard drive options to go with:

IMO the mSSD and 7200RPM 750GB is the way to go if large storage space is needed - and with all of the video, photos, music today this couldn't be more true.

Go with a SSD (solid state drive) if maximum performance bypasses all your other needs in a hard drive.

If money is no object get an SSD for the primary drive and mSSD+7200RPM drive for the secondary bay. I'm pretty sure the mSSD should work in a dual hard drive setup scenario, but if not - you could always get the SSD for the primary drive and a Hybrid drive as the secondary.

 

Ok, but if you want to buy laptop and then replace the screen - you gonna buy base 1366 resolution screen and then replace. But to do that you'll need to change the lcd cable also. If someone have any experience in changind screen on exactly this lapton, plz tell me where to buy this lcd 40pin cable?!

Regards, REGEN

 

I noticed that the ads in the link say "Note: Make sure new screen has same size, resolution, backlight as your old one!".

 

The hybrid drive might also be an option if you want 16GB of system memory, since you may not be able to use the mSSD and 16GB. Hopefully, I'll find out soon and post my findings.

I ordered the mSSD and have 16GB of Corsair 1600 memory just waiting for the laptop to arrive.

 

Thanks to all who plan to test this laptop and share. I keep checking this thread every hour hoping for some facts. Reviews so far have been lacking and mostly from outside the US.

 

I have a dv7-6b57nr-- The first thing you should know about hp is that in order to add a second hard drive you have to buy an aftermarket secondary drive cable. I spent 40$ on one for this dv7 and I installed windows on a ssd as the boot drive and re-partitioned the hard drive it came with for storage. While I don't discourage anyone from doing this the only downside to adding a hdd to a system with a ssd as the boot drive is the hdd will make the system laggy and you wont see the 10-15 second boot time with a hdd in your set up. All previous dv7 models required this aftermarket cable so there's no reason to assume the new dv7 won't follow tradition.

People should also note that the dv6 has one hard drive bay so any dual hdd/ssd drive set-up will not be possible for you.

 

Any good coupons out now .??

 

Not really. Just the $350 off one.

 

Is the aftermarket secondary drive cable just a standard SATA cable?

 

The quick ship model has all the goodies without the need for a coupon, and you can have it in your lap by friday with 2day shipping.

 

2nd HDD Cable kit for HP dv7t-6000, dv7-6000 series,dv7qte [HP-dv7t-6000] - $28.95 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

It has a standard sata connector but the side that plugs into the mobo has a right angle so it fits snugly under the cover.

 

Looks like each generation of dv7 has a different caddy (mostly) - unless we know that the new dv7 is the same as the dv6's second bay?

 

The dv6 doesn't have a second hdd bay.

 

Ordered mine on 5-2 My build date was on 5-16.. got an email last night that mine has shipped to be here 5-14

Code:

dv7t Quad Ed
• Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
• 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3720QM Processor (2.6 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
• NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 2GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]
• 12GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• NO mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
• No additional security software
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 5.75 hours of battery life +++
• 17.3-inch diagonal Full HD Anti-glare LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)
• FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam
• Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R)
• Backlit Keyboard
• Included 2 Year Warranty
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

 

Sorry, not the dv6's second may...I meant the dv7-6000's second bay (yikes!).

 

My laptops never get to the fedex plane on time.....

 

The caddy may look different from model to model but its still fits a standard 2.5'' hdd. The only difference between the cables from year to year is the female end that plugs into the mobo. A secondary hdd cable from a dv7-6xxx wont work in a dv7-3xxx and vice versa. I haven't checked on the availability of a secondary hdd cable, because I ordered a dv6. So I couldn't tell you if one exists yet, but it probably does and hp usually wants like 60$ for it.

 

when will we have a > 400$ coupon .??

 

Dude? Where's mine? I ordered on 4/30 and it still has not shipped.

What's the date/time on the email?

 

Patience man, those Chinese children can only build laptops so fast.

 

Sorry to bum you out, but I also ordered mine on 4/30 and it's already shipped. Almost the exact same config as you except I got the 3820 chip. Supposed to arrive on Friday.

 

Mines exactly where yours is!

 

But, it's 5PM, May 9 in Shanghai. I leave town for 2 weeks on business. I'll have it shipped to me if it doesn't make it by Sat, and it doesn't look promising right now.

I got all excited when I saw that some had shipped. Then, I realized my usual luck when the 5/2 orders were already shipping before me. It will be delivered 5 mins after I step on the plane.

 

You have to run some benchmarks for us with the 3820. That'll get you off the hook for being a bad man and bumming me out.

Only 6 cpus with less than 6 cores rank above the 3720. I want to see whare the 3820 shows on the list.

PassMark CPU List

PS. Tell your son that I used to run Autocad on an 8088 with an 8MHZ turbo button and no math co-processor. He's lucky.

 

Damn, there goes the chance of having an SSD drive for OS and booting and HDD for files. I need alot of space on mines so I can't just stick with a solo SSD and I'm not going to take out the optical drive. Well, I guess I'll order mines next week but I'm still wondering about the RAM, if its worth to buy 2 of these:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 8GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model CMSO8GX3M1A1333C9

and stick it in the laptop for max performance. Also, the Wi-Fi with the Bluetooth, does that increase the range or something? Is it worth the extra $15?

 

Bluetooth doesn't increase the range of your wi-fi. It just adds Bluetooth capabilities for devices such as Bluetooth enabled mice, keyboards, headphones, etc.

The extra memory depends on what you are doing with this laptop. What applications will you be running? How many at the same time?

 

More reviews to help bear with the wait:
Google Translate

 

I'd say unless you are an engineer or have some other use for more than 8gb of ram that it will be waste of money. Upping the oem ram which is in all likelihood 1333mhz to 1666mhz might give you a small performance boost but the usefulness of more than 8gb of ram for day to day tasks is greatly exaggerated.

As an example I will be playing a game in high settings, listening to pandora, and commenting on forrums and my ram usage never goes above 40% with 8gb on board.

 

I hate Fedex..... they just gave me a status update to tell me that my Laptop is still collecting dust at the origin facility. It better not follow in the footsteps of my old DV6TQE......

VS.

Spoiler

Apr 25, 2012 3:56 PM
Delivered
STAMFORD, CT

Apr 25, 2012 8:15 AM
On FedEx vehicle for delivery
STAMFORD, CT

Apr 25, 2012 8:11 AM
At local FedEx facility
STAMFORD, CT

Apr 25, 2012 6:06 AM
At destination sort facility
JAMAICA, NY

Apr 25, 2012 2:47 AM
Departed FedEx location
MEMPHIS, TN

Apr 24, 2012 11:27 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
MEMPHIS, TN

Apr 24, 2012 2:27 PM
Departed FedEx location
ANCHORAGE, AK

Apr 23, 2012 3:41 PM
In transit
ANCHORAGE, AK

Apr 23, 2012 1:38 PM
International shipment release - Import
ANCHORAGE, AK

Apr 23, 2012 11:54 AM
Arrived at FedEx location
ANCHORAGE, AK

Apr 23, 2012 10:25 PM
In transit
NARITA-SHI JP

Apr 23, 2012 4:58 AM
In transit
SHANGHAI CN

Apr 23, 2012 12:46 AM
In transit
SHANGHAI CN

Apr 23, 2012 12:42 AM
International shipment release - Import
SHANGHAI CN

Apr 21, 2012 11:34 PM
At local FedEx facility
SHANGHAI CN

Apr 20, 2012 10:00 PM
At local FedEx facility
SHANGHAI CN

Apr 19, 2012 7:41 PM
Picked up
SHANGHAI CN
Package received after FedEx cutoff

Apr 19, 2012 6:56 AM
Shipment information sent to FedEx