*HP dv6t & dv7t Select Edition / Quad Edition (6XXX series) Owners Lounge*

I've seen the Dark Umber in person. It's brilliant - very sleek and classy.

 

Here's a new review that I had not seen before.

YouTube - ‪HP Pavilion DV6 DV6t Quad Edition 2011 General Review‬‏

 

Thanks for the help everyone It's hard to tell by the videos though, looks very black.

But what clokesta says, sounds really cool.

 

Yeah, I found that one yesterday, but I got tired of actually trying to understand certain words.

 

So when I type I randomly disable Beats Audio and turn off my touchpad light on my DV7. Does anyone know the actual keystroke command to toggle these options?

 

fn + B &
fn + Space

 

Thanks! Note to self, stop accidentally hitting the fn key!

 

I have a few questions about RAM in the dv6tqe.

What speed does the RAM that comes with the laptop run at?
What is the max speed this laptop can handle?
My order comes with 6GB of RAM, one 4gig stick and one 2gig stick. Can this run in dual channel mode?
If this can't run in dual channel, am I able to buy a 4gig stick identical to the one that comes with the laptop?

I would appreciate it if anybody could help me. Thanks.

 

1333
1333
No
Yes

 

Thanks for the quick answers.

Does anyone know the model of the 4gig stick? I want to try and find another identical stick.

 

To be sure, I would wait until you receive the laptop to confirm as they could use different suppliers.

 

A guy wrote this some time ago (it's up to you if you believe him or not). You should confirm with others before purchasing the extra ram. IMO the extra 2GB of ram is not going to make the computer faster because you probably (just guessing) wouldn't have that many demanding programs out at once.

The first answer about the ram speed is assuming you have the quad core i7 2630qm processor.

 

How much of a performance boost would I see from running in dual channel mode?

 

I don't know the exact amount, but it would be noticeable; however, you would only notice this difference if you managed to strain the computer enough. If you were adding the memory for better gameplay, it would just be a complete waste; 4.5GB of RAM (I'm not talking about VRAM) is probably the most you could use with only Windows 7 and a very intensive game on highest settings.

 

-1333
-1866 (confirmed by a number of mobile sandy bridge owners using the Kingston HyperX DDR3 1866Mhz Plug and Play)
-It will run in FLEX mode: 4GB in dual, 2GB in single
-Yes

 

Weeeee, happy times. Just bought 2x dV7T QEs with upgraded gfx and the 7200 rpm hard disk for my wife and daughter. That coupon code was just too good to pass up. in case anyone missed it, going through the discover shopping site seemed to work for the additional 5% on top of the coupon. If you are ordering more than one though, you have to do it seperate to get the coupon more than once.

Of course i have selfish reasons for this. Now they will finally leave my poor ASUS G73JH alone.

 

I think that the future proofing of this machine is what should be appealing to anyone. I'm trying to make my wife's Macbook faster and I don't have many hardware options and it is frustrating. The SATA is still 1.5 GB/s, so the hardware is already antiquated with hardware to buy now, RAM is maxed too.

At least some things to look forward to when the applications start to tax the machine are:

-1866 RAM
-SATA III 6.0 GB/s
-Rumors of Ivy Bridge plugging in?

I know that the RAM and SATA III sounds outlandish for requirements right now, but I'm already seeing 98% proc doing video on Cyberlink, in due time, the apps will use those resources . . .

 

Yup, this laptop is absolutely amazing. I already got myself a SATA III SSD. I skipped the 1866 RAM for now because benchmarks show barely noticeable improvements, and they are quite expensive. However, if you do opt to upgrade, I would actually recommend the HyperX DDR3 1600Mhz RAM because those ones have less latency (CL9 as opposed to CL11 on the 1866).

The only thing I'm waiting for now is Windows 8.

 

Here's the first benchmark I've seen that has some ok reviews. However, they are doing the results a disservice by going from non-dual channel 6 GB to paired 8 GB, that has got to play a factor too.

Kingston HyperX 8GB 1866MHz PnP Memory Kit For Notebooks - H.A.W.X. 2 Benchmark - Legit Reviews

 

If you look at page 2 it says their memory is dual channel 6 gig, though not sure how they managed that.

 

I just read that too? I was wondering the same thing. They're showing 2x2gb + 1x4gb, that would make 8GB right? Something is fishy.

Although those results make me wonder what the future of graphics cards is going to be with the impact of more and faster memory is on the HD3000. Just make some OpenGL-specific drivers Intel and you'll own it all.

 

Well if you think about it the system memory would directly affect the speed of the Intel HD 2000/3000 performance since it has no memory of its own. Its using the system memory so you're directly affecting your graphics performance in addition to system performance by adding high speed memory.

Going to hyperx or some other high speed memory on a system with discrete graphics would not be as drastic of a difference, but the performance would be better to start with anyways.

EDIT:

I think their 2x2 gig hynix line is a typo.

EDIT2:

Well apparently I havent been keeping up with stuff as well as I had thought. I sort of remember hearing at some point that dissimilar memory sizes could be put in dual channel but I didnt know of any implementations of it. Apparently a rather large number of Intel chipsets support 'flex mode' dual channel where memory of different sizes can run dual channel up to the size of the smaller memory dimm/sodimm. I'd never seen it done before, and I think it has to be supported by the BIOS. I know the dv7tqe with 6 gig that I returned was definitely running in single channel, so I dont think the HP bios supports it.

I cant actually find any specific mention of flex mode for mobile chipsets on Intel's site, it only references desktop boards, but I suppose it could be out of date, or I'm just looking in the wrong spot.

EDIT3:

Heh, check it out:

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=52219

Scroll down to the bottom where it says "Flex Memory Access" and hover your mouse over it.

It says: Facilitates easier upgrades by allowing different memory sizes to be populated and remain in dual-channel mode.

 

Please I need to know if the sata transfer rate of your ssd 3Gb/s or 6Gb/s ... you can check from the intel rapid storage ...just open the application and click on storage system view then click on internal system disk and finally choose advanced ... so you will see what is your ssd transfer rate ....

thank you

 

Intel Rapid Storage is showing SATA Transfer Rate of 6 Gb/s.

Furthermore, the Windows Experience Index for hard disk is 7.9 (max possible). The Crucial C300 is amazing.

 

Depending on the light it's either going to look like a very dark black, or a very dark brown. I love how it has the different looks to it, not to mention the "pattern". It's just a really classy looking machine.

I got mine on Friday and fooled around with it a good bit yesterday. I can't even say how much I love this machine, it's just awesome. I really couldn't be happier with this purchase (dv7t qe).

 

Did you get the 1080p screen? How does it look?

 

To answer your question:

 

The memory controller is on the CPU for these processors. The 2630 supports up to DDR-1333. The 2720 and up support DDR-1600.

You can only benefit from tighter timings(and dual channel) since the BIOS has no options for tweaking the memory settings. I can't imagine the system would feel much different other than in benchmarks.

 

Yeah, no 1080p for me. After my discounts and credits, to upgrade would have meant $300 or so more than what I paid, and I wasn't about to do that. I'm perfectly happy with what I have. It's far and away the best screen on a computer I've ever had, and a huge upgrade from the old 15'' square monitor I've been using for my desktop since 2003.

Other than not having much time this weekend, the only other reason I haven't posted since I got my dv7t qe is because it seems people are only interested in the one with the new 1080p screen now. I'd be more than happy to take pictures or video of the one I have if it was needed.

I downloaded the original Crysis demo on it last night just to try it out, and it looked beautiful. This is also my first laptop ever, until now I've been "chained" to my desktop, which has always been in my bedroom. This sounds so old to most of you, but I love the new found freedom I have gained by having this laptop as well.

 

Glad to hear you are enjoying it. What settings are you running Crysis on and how's the gameplay?

 

Looking to add a second HDD to my dv7tqe for storage and backup purposes.

Interested in 7200RPM and in the 500-750GB range.

Not interested in SSD at this time.

Anyone have any recommendations? Any good deals currently anywhere?

Thanks in advance.

 

Be warned, I'm totally new to PC gaming. I haven't played any PC games since Return to Castle Wolfenstein in like 2001 or so. I just downloaded the demo for Crysis, and played it on whatever the default settings are. I don't even know how to change them to really push it.

I'll comment more shortly.

 

I ran this along with a C300 128GB SD. It's definitely top 5/top 10 from all of the reviews I have read:

Newegg.com - Seagate Momentus XT ST95005620AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ Solid State Hybrid Drive -Bare Drive

 

RTCW!!!!!!

Wow, what an amazing game. I think I still have it lying around somewhere. I just got all nostalgic and now feel obligated to fire it up.

 

Thanks for the suggestion but way too many negative reviews (on NewEgg and Amazon) for me to be comfortable.

 

Could you show a screenshot of that!? I would love to have some proof to go on.

Also, you have a dv7tqe-6000 correct?

 

God, I've been so out of touch with computers. The desktop I have that I bought this laptop to replace doesn't even have USB 2.0, much less 3.0. To do the same thing on my desktop took around two hours, and on this new laptop with 3.0 it took less than five minutes!

 

Way too many negative reviews? Really?

You sir, are a picky, picky fellow. It's the 4th most popular HD on Amazon and is the 2nd most popular HD on Newegg. Not to mention that it's not really comparable to other HDs because it is a hybrid that has SSD capability. Regardless, good luck with your search for a better HD at that price.

 

Y, sorry, 60 1 star on Newegg and 33 1 star on Amazon puts me out of my comfort zone. Maybe its a luck of the draw if you get a bad one or not.

 

bah.......

 

@DeusExMachina and Beradon
It's an old little trick by Intel called Flex Memory Access. It gives near performance of a native dual channel mode for memory modules of different capacity with same timings.

 

Does anyone know if an mSATA SSD can be used in one of the mini-pcie slots? This question was raised back on page 8 but I have not seen any more info. Please let me know if anyone can confirm yes or no. Thank you.

 

Question:

I have noticed when I play .avi (actually most video file formats) with vlc or windows media player there is a horizontal line across the screen when the video is "moving fast" ie high refresh. The best way to describe it is that it looks like a cracked mirror. Has anyone else noticed this? I've had two machines (sent the first one back for the same problem), the 2nd is doing the same thing!

I have Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics.

Any ideas appreciated...

 

Are you sure all of your drivers are up to date? Perhaps there is also a software update available as well.

 

Is it something you can take a picture of or is it screenshot-able?

 

Well, to each his own. But I hope you do realize that a good chunk of those 1-star reviews are incompetent, impatient, easily frustrated consumers that probably misused the product or didn't know what they were doing.

Anyways, I did some research on 500GB HDs to see if it helps at all.

Let's have a look at the top Hard Drives on Newegg in terms of 1-stars out of total stars:

1. Western Digital WD5000BEVT- 61/722(8%)
2. Seagate ST9500420AS- 124/525(24%)
3. Seagate ST95005620AS- 60/480(13%)
4. Western Digital WD5000BEKT- 11/230(5%)
5. Seagate ST9500325AS- 31/221(14%)

And the same 5 on Amazon:

1. WD5000BEVT- 29/655(4%)
2. ST9500420AS - 25/134(18%)
3. ST95005620AS- 33/195(17%)
4. WD5000BEKT - 2/124(1%)
5. ST9500325AS- 7/68(10%)

If you look further into these drives(and this will be the case with pretty much every kind of 5-star rating system on the internet), 2-star and 3-star ratings make up the smallest percentage of the 5 different choices. Thus, majority of people either a) love it and give it 5 stars, b) really like it, but feel like there's just something missing and give it 4 stars, or c) are one of those impatient, incompetent, easily-frustrated people that don't give their product a fair rating and just go with 1-star.

Just some food for thought. Again, good luck with whatever HD you end up getting.

 

Thanks for putting so much time into it I understand the whole subjectivity in the ratings, and I understand that a a lot of people had good luck with the hybrid drive. Its just that in my experience if a significant group of people had issue then I usually (eventually) have the same problems.

Anyway, I already had the WD5000BEKT in mind (did research myself) before even posting in this thread and that is probably what I'm going with. I know its not as fast as the XT but I think I'll have better piece of mind with it.

Thanks again

 

Its always a good idea to take many of those reviews with a grain of salt as well. With how large Amazon and Newegg are, the vast majority of people that purchase from them have no idea what they are buying or how to properly implement it. They are purchasing it because someone that sort-of knows what they are talking about told them to go buy it. Nevermind the fact they barely even know what they are buying is or how to install it. Even with newegg most of the reviews are not tech-savvy people.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that a very large portion of people don't go and post positive reviews. You're more likely to find someone who makes a review because they were dissatisfied with the product. A happy owner may not care enough to go make a review. The only thing I look at negative reviews for is to see if there seem to be any trends with issues or failures. Otherwise, I wouldn't freak out over 60 1 star reviews since that item may be owned by 100,000 people. It's similar to reading some things on a forum like this. You see a lot of posts regarding things NOT working with someone's computer. Why? Because people who have a computer that is working fine have no reason to come searching for help.

 

True enough. There is a rule of thumb in regards to that:

An unhappy or dissatisfied customer will tell 10 people. A happy customer may tell 1 person, or no one.