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

well, yes not to mention that we haven't (yet) really seen a demonstrable performance degredation in a real situation, proven to be caused by the laptop actually demanding more power than the AC adapter can provide, even under instantaneous bursts. this would appear to be a severe corner case, probably impossible to reproduce without resorting to stress test tools. The situation where all four cores are in turbo mode, demanding 45 watts, and the GPU demanding its maximum Pd, at the same time has not been shown to occur.

But, as the original question was about battery life, therer is no harm in gaming with the battery installed, because this does not subject the battery to the condidtions which HP has identified as a risk to its life. Moreover, due to the risk of sudden power loss due to someone interrupting one of the three connections between the wall and the laptop seems to me good reason to keep the battery in there, and that the risk to battery life is much smaller than the risk to the laptop.

 

hi guys may i know how to change ati driver version?
lets say 11.8 to 11.7 version or 11.7 to 11.8 version?
do i need to uninstall, reboot and install the new driver?
or could i just install the driver that i wanted? (downgrade 11.8 to 11.7)
thanks

 

These are different questions, generally so I'll tackle them separately. The first appraoch to upgrading a driver to the latest should alwasy be to use HP support assistant. If HPSA does not report the need, then you probably have all the latest. Alternatively, you can go to the HP software/driver support page for your model, and download individual drivers there. just follow the directions, but generaly the motions are to download some SPxxxx and then execute it, rebooting when the software tells you to.

Rolling back a driver to a previous version is not alwasys that staightforward, so one should alwasy ask "why" before doing that. There are others here with more experience downgrading drivers, and the rationale for doing so. Generally, sticking with the HP version of the driver is the safest ,but if there are specific reasons to go directly to ATI there may be some specific steps requried to be succesful.

 

For those of you looking for a laptop with a better graphics cards for gaming..you might wanna look into Newegg.com - ASUS G Series G53SW-XN1 Notebook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M has a much more powerful 460m...just that it seems some of these laptops are lemons...

 

The laptop will run perfectly fine without the battery, using the supplied 120w 6A power supply. The people running the slim 90w power adapters say everything works fine, but they are crazy. The 90w power supplies will throttle, burn out, and possibly start a fire.

 

Why do you insist that the 90w adapter will start a fire?

 

I've been building computers, li-po battery aircrafts, etc. for over 20 years. I have had power adapters that were poor quality, over speced, or just too small wattage or amperage actually get burning hot and either burn out, melt the plastic casing, or catch on fire. I have seen this happen. HP ships the quad core radeon 6770 Dv6 with a 6A 120W large adapter for a reason, even it gets hot. I would not go with any power adapter with lower specs just to shave a 1/4 inch of its thickness.
And I am a lithium polymer battery expert. To answer the battery questions, it is always best to have the battery at 40-60% charged when the laptop is off. It is also best to remove the battery if you are not going to use it for more than 2 weeks. This will make your battery last the longest. I leave the battery in and run all day on AC at work. About an hour before I leave work I put away the adapter and when I leave work, there is 40-60% of battery left. This is the ideal situation for the battery over night or over the weekend. Once a month it is good to run the battery down to about 12% then fully charge. NEVER run a lipo battery down below 5% or till the laptop dies, that WILL ruin the battery.

 

you've made a great contribution here in these areas too, and I happen to apreciate the bottom line recommendations you have made here, i.e. the 120w adapter, and optimizing battery life, which are well founded. I would only suggest that as regards the failure modes of the 90w adapter those may be overstated, and don't consider that U.L. listing on these bricks means they have to shut down before melting or starting a fire, or lawyers get real happy. THe 90w adapter is still a bad idea on the DV7, of course, as is evident from the HP recommendations, both implied and explicit.

I find it interesting that HP doesn't offer a 90w AC adapter when configuring the DV7. they offer 90w auto and airline versions and these are smart adapters, recognized by the laptop which will throttle accordingly before any plastic drips on the carpet. They are designed to suppport use of the laptop under somethign less than heavy loads.

In order to buy a 90w AC adapter for the DV7 ,one has to ignore this compatibiity chart, which clearly indicates that even HPs own 90w smart AC adpater is not compatible with the DV7. So I guess all I can say is that for those trying to use a 90w AC adapter -- HP wont cover you under warranty.

 

For anyone running exclusively running on AC sans battery who is concerned about power loss get a small uninterruptible power supply (UPS). CyberPower, APC, Eaton, Minuteman, Liebert and Tripp Lite are brands that come to mind. Just "google" "uninterruptible power supply" and one will find many. "Big box stores" like Walmart, Best Buy, Kmart, Staples, OfficeMax, Office Depot, etc have them as well.

 

the battery makes a good ups

 

I've been running without my battery for about 3 weeks now and I took it out when it was about 50% charge. I now see that this might not be the optimal thing to do? I haven't seen any performance issues running my dv6 with the battery out, even while overclocking and running vantage and 3dmark11.

I guess I'm a bit confused about the hotstocks statement. If he uses AC power for 90ish% of the time, wouldn't it be better just to take his battery out all together and just put it back in for "battery maintence"

I just drag my lappy from home to work everyday and I'm not worried about the powerbrick from being accidentially disconnected. (Sorry if I should have addressed you in the singular hotstocks)

 

No, you are doing the "right thing"
HP's Battery FAQ

"Remove the battery if the notebook will be plugged into AC power continuously (via a wall adapter or docking station) for more than 2 weeks."

 

I think we're getting too anal about this battery thing. If the goal is to maximize the life of the battery, even if it means not using it, then by all means charge it to 50%, wrap it up in hermetically sealed material and store it in an enviromental time capsule j/k. you could even put it back into the Envy from time to time just to track and plot discharge over time so that you can know how to acheive a 40-60% charge, in preparation for another spell of controlled battery hibernation.

I guess it depends on whether or not you want to benefit from the battery or not. If you really don't care to use the battery, but you care about preserving its life, then store it and put it back in the laptop only to maintain the requried charge. Otherwise, store it in your laptop and use it under the conditions specified by HP. use their guideliness which tell us to worry about battery life only if we expect to plug in the laptop for 2 weeks straight. If you're worried about keeping the battery at full charge under daily use, then let it discharge a few times like hotstocks says --for example, before leaving the office for home. He likes his batteries to sleep at night under 50% charge. not a bad compromise between maximizing battery life and using it.

 

My battery says its an LiIon, is that the same? And also, my camera battery is a Li ion battery, should I not let it run out?Just go down to 10% and then recharge?

 

Putting the battery in and out is a pain, besides without the battery in; there is a hole in the bottom of the laptop! If it came with a dummy battery, then I can see removing it and storing your battery till you are away from AC. I guess you could remove the battery everyday at work, put it in your laptop bag where the power adapter goes, and your battery would last a little longer, but eventually you will probably break the battery insert/locking mechanism which would be much more of a pain than just using your battery and buying a new one every few years.

 

Kinda urgent question... rep to anyone that can answer...

I'm returning my laptop for repair, and just now remembered about the webcam. I have a new Windows installation and I can't see the webcam in device manager and installing the CyberLink YouCam Software only tells me that it couldn't find any webcam on my system. Is there a webcam driver or physical switch? I can only find the webcam software at Software & Driver Downloads HP Pavilion dv6t-6100 CTO Quad Edition Entertainment Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

Also, I got the bluetooth driver but my wacom tablet doesn't connect to it. It connects just fine to my XPS m1530's bluetooth. What gives? I'm really frustrated with this laptop, but I really like it at the same time... I hope my webcam and bluetooth isn't broken, that'd suck. My first XPS m1530 order had a damaged screen. Seems my luck with custom laptops is really bad, lol.

 

I think this came up in another thread somewhere. Someone got a laptop with a loose webcam connector cable. You could try to take the top cover off and re-seat the cable yourself, or you could call HP and if they can't help you fix it, I would imagine they will repair it. That is only one possible problem, there are several things that could be wrong, that would just be the easiest to fix. If you decide to take it apart, here are a few words of wisdom, in case you are not familiar with the procedure for taking apart a computer:
1) follow the manual under the removal and replacement procedures section.
2) ground yourself. This prevents excess static electricity building up in you, and when you touch the computer, potentially killing something. This is most easily done by wrapping bare wire around your wrist and tying the other end to a water pipe (metal). You can get anti-static wristbands, but I have never used them.
3) don't use too much force, it shouldn't take too much.

Again, there are many things that could be wrong and this is only one possibility, but this is what I would do. If someone else has a better idea, please speak up. Here are some pictures of the laptop with the top cover off. The webcam cable is the one coming out the right side of the display cable in the top left of the mainboard. It's about 1/4" wide.

 

Did you install a fresh copy of Windows 7 on your laptop and did it recognize the webcam with no hassle? I'll probably ask HP to fix it since I'm still under their 90 day warranty. Thanks. I can't seem to find a way to rep on this forum?

 

No, I didn't install a fresh win7, I just used the default and removed a bunch of the bloatware myself. When you installed win7, did you copy the C:/SWSetup folder to the new install? that's where all the driver stuff is stored. By the way, repping is done by pressing the little icon that looks like a snowflake (it's actually scales) at the bottom of the member box on any post.

 

What IS repping btw?

 

Repping is just adding to someone's virtual reputation. It lets people who get advice from you know how trustworthy you are, in the broadest possible sense. It is shown, obviously, by the 'Rep power' line in the member box thing on the left side of any post. If you go into your user CP, you will find all the reps you have received, along with their accompanying messages.

 

I added to your rep power!

 

Quick question guys....if I am playing a game like CS Source (Directx9) for which the 6770m DOES automatically kick in in DYNAMIC mode, why is there such a huge increase when I use the 6770M in fixed mode? Like in dynamic mode set to high performance i was getting like 90fps but with fixed mode...it's like 125 fps..same with Heroes of Newerth (Directx 9)...now it looks like im getting screen tearing in both grames since the fps is so high.. i mean it's a good thing, but i'm assuming everyone experienced the same thing? i'm just curious as to why there is the increase because it should be the same, no? Thanks in advance.

 

I am guessing that with dynamic mode, both are the IGP and 6770m are running at the same time, and because they are both running more heat will be generated, so it scales back on the 6770m to lower the heat production and thus lowering the performance of the game.

I don't actually know but that is my guess.

 

Or that since it is dynamic, it is still dishing some of the load out to the IGP, instead of using the gGPU for all of it. I also don't really know, so take that as a guess.

 

the two devices can't share load (there is nothing to manage the sharing), so either the IGP is being used when the system claims otherwise, or the GPU is being throttled back.

 

I've noticed the same thing, especially in HoN. If you keep hardware monitor on, the GPU load never goes higher than ~75%. I think some games think it is an Intel HD3000 graphics card so they don't push it as hard.

 

I... sit, I guess, corrected. Please disregard my previous post then.

 

Well, my upgrade to 1080p is proceeding apace. I have now, however, come across reports that recent versions of the B156HW01 V.4 and 7 have bad red ghosting problems. So, I am looking at either a AUO B156HW01 V.3, or the LG LP156WF1 TL F3 (the same HP ships in the 1080p version of the Dv6t). So, my question is, what do you all with the 1080p version think of the screen quality? Specifically if you have had both that and the 720p. The only difference is that the V.4 has a 95% color gamut, which I don't think I would even notice, given that I have only ever had crappy laptop screens.

 

I'm so mad right now. HP is offering a free upgrade to 8 gigs, and I already ordered my computer.
Note to self: never look back again. -____-

 

Yeah, that happened to me. I ordered the laptop with only the IGP, then I looked and there was a deal where I could get it with the 6770m for the same price, so I cancelled and reordered. In my opinion, almost no-one needs 8gb ram. Yet. I'm sure in the future, 8gb will be tiny.

 

somewhere hundreds of pages ago someone called and get a refund

 

Call and ask them for a credit. They'll probably give it to you, and then you can use that money to go buy the extra memory.

 

In my opinion, 95% gamut on a laptop screen is probably just specsmanship. IN fact, a true 95% gamut could cause more problems than a 72% ,simply because the larger gamut isn't even used on the web or required in graphics-intensive apps, unless you are a specialized photographer editing photos for CYA printing presses. Moreover, the larger gamut imposes requirements on the app that may not be fulfilled and could actually make things look worse.

personally I would opt out of the large gamut display. a 72% gamut screen is good though.

 

unfortunately your only recourse may be to return it (are you within 21 days?) and re-order.

 

Not necessarily. If he calls for a return...they will most likely offer some compensation for him not to...that will probably cover the cost of the memory to upgrade...worth a try...

Call first...if they offer you to keep your machine...determine whether or not it is worth it...if YES...take the offer and keep...if NO...then return it and re-order. There are always going to be offers...hopefully within your return window...

 

I hope you're right bobmitch and your advice is good here. YMMV as they say. It didn't work in my case and they didn't blink an eye or offer any compensation not to return. right now is the window of opportunity though, with active coupons for both DV and Envy.

 

I got a B156HW01 V.4 95% screen off ebay to replace the 72% gamut version that I had on my p150hm. The difference is very noticeable in terms of color, viewing angle is about the same on both. I then tried putting the old 72% gamut screen in the DV6. But needed the higher bandwidth cable. so waiting on the cable now.

 

I think both the screen versions for the 1080p dv6t are 60%, but as I said, I have never had anything different, so I don't think I would care. I don't do a lot of photo editing, and what I do is not of great color importance. Mostly just modifying digital logos and things, not actual images. I think I will either go for the B156HW01 v.3 or the LG LP156WF1. The LG has a higher rated viewing angles from the manufacturer, but that doesn't mean much. Which would you all recommend?

 

The improvement was probably in some other area besides gamut. really, I doubt that the color space wider than sRGB is noticable unless as I say you are producing CYA print. But -- it is certainly possible that the 95% screen was superior in other areas. by itself, the wider gamut is just not necessary, and certain apps that are not calibration aware can actually be confused, and the wider gamut makes it even more important for you to calibrate your display and insure that your editor is calibrationn aware.

 

I ordered DV6TQE 2 days ago. Saw your posted, did live chat, got $30 credit. Thanks for letting me know the 8GB free upgrade and I got $30 credit now. I hope it will go thru. If not, I will send HP my chat log.

 

Well....greatly I tried and greatly I failed. The lady was basically like, we don't owe you nothing.
And that's true, so I guess I'll just have my 6 gigs and like it.
Or maybe I'll try again and try to get someone else LOL.

 

Did you tell her that you wanted to return it?

 

why can't you return it? Naturally if that is out of the question, you can always go after market: the price to replace your single 2GB memory stick with a 4GB stick is small, and most trivial to install

 

Yep. It's not supposed to be shipped until the 8th, and I told her that when it gets here, I'll probably return it. Which I'm not going to do, because my current computer is quickly coming to the end of its mortal coil.
But anyway, she called my bluff and was pretty much like, do it then. Which was awkward.

 

I guess I was "fortunate" that the lady pretty much wrote if I keep my order, she would give me $30 credit right off the bat.

Try another chat session and you might get lucky this time.

 

Wow..... 775 pages. I guess this is a popular laptop.

Anyway, just joined the DV7T club and kind of just want some feedback on whether I made a good choice or not. This is my first full retail laptop purchase and just a little above what I had originally intended to spend on one.

I've been limping along with a used Dell D620 (945GM) for the last 5 years.

I did go with a few "upgrade" choices. Here is the rundown.....

HP Pavilion dv7t Quad Edition customizable Notebook PC • steel gray
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 2nd generation Intel(R) Quad Core(TM) i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
• 2GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• FREE Upgrade to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 750GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• No Additional Office Software
• No additional security software
• 30% OFF! High Capacity 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.5 hours of battery life +++
• 17.3" diagonal Full HD HP Anti-glare LED Display (1920 x 1080)
• Blu-ray writer & SuperMulti DVD burner
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
• Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN with Wireless Display Support
• Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Unit Prce: $1,588.99
Actual Price: $1,112.29
Savings: $476.70

So was this a decent bargain? Again, I have no previous retail PC buying experience.

 

I don't actually know myself, but I have heard tell that the 2gb graphics card is not worth it. I wouldn't get it, anyway. The rest looks good. Most people won't need a blu-ray burner, but obviously, if you want to make blu-ray disks you need it.

 

I called instead of using chat, so I'm definitely gonna try again with chat.
I'm glad that you were able to get your credit though!

ETA: I tried again, and failed again. This lady was nicer, but she said that she wasn't authorized to give me credit, and that I would have to call their resolution center number for that. Since that didn't work so well the first time, I'm just going to leave it alone.

ETA(again): I tried one more time today through chat, and it worked! I got a $60 credit, and am the happiest of campers.

 

The price difference for the 2GB wasn't that much, so I figured wth.... I'm already neck deep in it.

The blu-ray burner was a little much, but I can think of some uses for it.

Like I mentioned in my first post, my last laptop lasted me over 5 years. I want this one to do the same, so I tried to think which upgrades will matter later on. The price for the faster CPU's didn't seem justifiable IMO. If I feel I need a CPU upgrade in a couple years I can just snag one on ebay; by then the price will have droppped substantially.