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

I'm wondering if it's just a key code combo that's sending the same codes as the fn-B keycode, that you just happen to be mashing the correct keys at the same time... Just a SWAG.

 

If you open up CCC and go to preferences you can set the hot keys to toggle either intel or amd graphics card. I set mine up so Alt+I is Intel and Alt+A is AMD.

 

Possible I guess.

-fhqwhgads

 

I was wondering if anybody had any recommendations for some quality headphones to take advantage of these headphone jacks that are supposedly built by Dr. Dre and therefore good.

 

Er... Um... Umm...

GOOGLE!!!

Best 5 headphones - CNET Reviews

It really depends on your budget and what type you want. Over-ear, on-ear, in-ear, etc.

 

BEATS headphones, duh.

Joking actually. The whole BEATS thing is just marketing BS. I would never waste my money on that crap. Reminds me of MONSTER, king of marketing overpriced garbage.

Without a budget in mind it's hard to recommend you anything. I mean I could suggest the Grado PS1000, but are you willing to pay $1,700 for headphones? Probably not.

 

Must have followed the link... If he really wants to blow some money discrete vacuum tube headphone amps and headphones to match the price would be the ticket to ride...

 

Okay, so I've had my dv6t for a week and my thoughts are:

The build quality was quite good on mine. Everything feels solid, the hinges are tight, and there's was no need for me snap anything in place. I wish there was more aluminum on the computer though. A pretty good amount of it is plastic.

The burnt umber color is beautiful, especially with the brushed aluminum pattern, but I do spend way too much time cleaning it. I also noticed that my touchpad is already shiny in one area, which I think happened to someone else up-thread. Supposedly, there's a cleaner that can fix it, so I should hunt that down.

I really like the screen too. There's so much space LOL. And watching movies has always been fun, but now it's like...mega-fun because everything looks so much better and there's no more glare ever. I've had to go back to my old computer (Gateway CX200X) a few times since to move files and things of that nature, and I cannot believe the difference. It was definitely worth the extra $150.

The fingerprint scanner is super convenient and makes me feel like James Bond. I wish everything I owned had a fingerprint scanner.

And the system runs really quickly and stays cool. I can play my baby games for hours, and the palm rest stays positively chilly. I do turn Cool Sense to coolest when I want to play games or watch movies, but even when it's on another setting, I haven't noticed any heat problems.

The only things I do not like are:
1. The power brick is freaking beast. The computer itself is actually pretty portable (lighter than my old computer too), and I can get some good battery life (4-5 hours) by using the power-saving setting, but every time I have to bundle up that power brick and put it in my backpack, I feel angry at the world.

2. The band of silver-painted plastic around the edge of the chassis cuts into my wrists if I don't hold them straight. Since I am lazy and don't like to hold my wrists like I'm at piano lessons, I always have red grooves in my wrists and it sucks.

3. I have to press fn to get the f1-f12 buttons to work. I hate that. -___-

4. I wish they at least offered the option to upgrade to a backlit keyboard because I like to computer (yes, I used it as a verb) in the dark, and I would have paid to have one. It also would not have killed them to give the number lock button a freaking light.

But for the price, I think this was the best thing I could have gotten and am overall, the happiest of campers.

 

I use Stoner's Invisible Glass on all of its surfaces... It works quite well.

The function keys can be 'toggled' by a BIOS setting, but then again, their alternate function will require the use of the 'fn' key

 

Does anyone else think the DV 6 looks a bit steam-punky? Almost mkaes me want to put little bronze gear stencils on the back of it.

 

Haha, now that I think of it, that wouldn't be too out of place here. Someone should do that. By the way, I am also contemplating going into the display assembly again and putting something opaque between the display and the HP logo. That glow through the display is a little distracting while the laptop is booting up. Now all I have to do is figure out what it is distracting me from doing...

 

Monster actually makes the Beats headphones

My brother has a pair because he's a sucker for both marketing and rap, and they sound decent, but you can get a lot better for the price.

 

My budget is around $100. I'm leaning towards the Grado Sr80i but since sound is very opinionated it's difficult to get straight answers.

 

Hi, I have the DV7t with the 1030 Intel wireless adaptor. Can I upgrade to the Intel 6205 or 6230 for better performance and are there sufficient aerials in the laptop to properly connect the upgraded adaptors?

 

This question has been asked and answered quite a few times. You can, but you need to update to a modded version of the BIOS that removes the whitelist check. If you put anything in besides the 1000 or 1030, the BIOS will not recognize it as an approved device and it will fail to boot.

 

Has anyone gotten a sudden hissing or buzzing sound when using headphones for the dv6t? It was fine one night and the next morning I noticed the sound. I uninstalled and installed the audio drivers and even disabled them but the buzzing was still there. Pressing mute though almost makes the sound go away entirely. The speakers on the laptop works perfectly. There is also a high pitched sound when connecting speakers into the other headphone jack so I think both must be malfunctioning.

 

Just a quick question. I am getting ready to swap my HD for a SSD in my dvt7 so I need to do a clean install of Win 7. I received system recovery discs but I'm not sure if that will work to do the install. I've got 2 discs that are labeled as "System Recovery DVD" Win 7 recovery media SP1. Can I use these two discs to do the clean install or do they contain other stuff on them in addition to Win 7 (i.e. HP bloatware)? Do I need to download a new copy of Win 7 to get a truly clean install? I did receive another DVD that seems to contain drivers and software so I am hoping these two discs are solely related to Win 7.

 

Hey BC,
try turning off the power management settings in the Beats control panel and if it's alreayd off..dunno what else to tell ya =/

 

Thanks for replying. Yea it's already off. I don't really want to send my laptop into a repair center since I'm in college and I really need it for coursework. Also since this is the third thing that's gone wrong with my laptop (faulty hdd - had to send in my old one and receive a new one in mail, broken fan - had to send it into a repair center in Texas, and now the headphone jacks), is it pushing my luck to request a new replacement laptop from hp?

 

Hm..how about try going into your device manager and disabling the "Communication Headphones." As for askign for a replacement, I'm not too familiar with that as this is my first HP. Good luck.

 

Thanks for replying again. No luck, since Communication Headphones have been disabled since I got my laptop (before I got the hissing noise - I disabled it because plugging in headphones would not cause the speakers to stop playing).

 

I am new to this forum. So first I want to say hello to all! This is great that such a community exists.

My question:
What is involved in installing a integrated bluetooth module into my dv6tqe? On the service manual it appears there are two possible locations for bluetooth modules: 1) one is either installed underneath the keyboard and requires a wire and 2) a module that is entigrated within the WLAN card that is installed underneath the laptop.

It could also be that both are required: 1) is the antenna and 2) is the actual module.

So it is unclear what the service manual says. I have also tried to locate the parts on the HP website with no success. If you guys can help me figure out which part to buy, where to buy it, and how to install it, that would be great!

 

Man this could have been the perfect laptop if it had a backlit keyboard. HP could have killed the market. Is there a link to a place to leave feedback for HP?

 

Nvm, I figured it out.

 

I've been shopping for a new notebook and had been considering the MSI gt780dxr. However there are some aspects of the dv6/7 that I like more.

So, my question is how do the switchable/2 graphics cards work exactly? I have a HPTM2T and I have it configured to just leave the dedicated card on all the time, especially since I have photoshop running non-stop. Can I do with this dv6/7 or is automatic? I've just seen some conflicting info here so I'm a bit confused.

Also, about heating issues...If I use an SSD do you think that will help with heat or is that really only a graphics card problem?

Does the light around the mousepad light up the keyboard area where you can see it? I'm disappointed that this model doesn't include a full backlit keyboard.

Finally - If I get a ssd/hdd combo in the system, I'm assuming that HP will make the SSD the boot drive. It might seem obvious, but you never know what these manufacturers are thinking sometimes

 

You can set up the switching 3 ways. Dynamic, where the Radeon software chooses when to run the dedicated GPU, Fixed mode automatic, where it switches between the two GPUs based on AC power state, and Fixed mode manual, where you control the switching and can leave it on dedicated or integrated if you so desire.

The heat isn't bad, and an SSD wouldn't help that much anyway. The most significant sources of heat are the GPU and CPU.

The light around the touchpad doesn't do much other than tell you whether it's on or off and look nice. The screen lights up the keyboard nicely, though.

 

for those who have warrantied repairs, what's the general turnaround time between when you send it off and when you get it back?

 

I think the manufactured bluetooth option is integrated on the WLAN card. So my guess, the best solution is to buy the Intel 1000 bgn card with the bluetooth.

 

It is not...

 

Ok guys I just took the plunge and placed my order.

Here's my stats:

steel gray
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
i7-2720QM (2.2 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz
1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
16GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
660GB 7200RPM Dual Hard Drive (SSD 160GB + 500GB 7200RPM)
17.3" diagonal Full HD HP Anti-glare LED Display (1920 x 1080)
FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R) with Wireless Display Support


Very excited! Can anyone tell me about the Wireless Display Support - what exactly does it do/how does it work?

 

problem solved

 

Okay, so I think I lied about the build quality, because one corner of my screen bezel has a little gap now too. It's not like...a gaping chasm or anything, but now I can fit my fingernail into the gap, while before, it was perfectly flush. I tried squeezing it to snap it back into place, but nothing.
I think I will try to take the whole thing off and reseat it...do you think that will void the warranty?

 

I was an early adopter of the latest DV7 Quad Edition. For the most part I've figured things out well on my own, but I do have questions.
While I'm sure many of my questions may have been answered.. I'm not exactly 800+ page thread forum savvy.

How do I update my drivers? I am humiliated to ask this, but the AMD reference notebook driver release notes A) do not support the 6770M and B) do not support notebooks with Switchable Graphics based on Intel Chipsets. AMD insists my only source of drivers is HP.

But HP hasn't released a driver update since MAY!! I've heard new DV7s actually have Dynamic Switchable Graphics now! While that could be nice if it works, I'm pretty satisfied with switching manually. I mostly just want the performance improvements and to fix a few bugs.

I have a horrible horizontal tearing issue where after running a game WITHOUT Vertical sync, any application, be it a video or even Firefox has tearing. I believe the frame buffer isn't working right and starts frames halfway down instead of at the top like its supposed to..

Is there some other way to update my drivers? I have version 8.830.6.2000 which I think is some form of 11.4.
Both the desktop and notebook installers via AMD do a hardware check and refuse to install on my system.

 

Something I hope might interest anyone with overheating issues.. Yes the quad core Sandy Bridge processors do run quite hot. I'm not sure whether to blame the processor itself, the BIOS, the application or the software for its odd behavior, but for me, my processor tends to want to Turbo Boost up to 3 GHz full tilt or run at completely idle speed.

Using Rift or Mass Effect 2 for example, its very frustrating that it will happily run at 3 GHz at 85 C whether its necessary or not. I have found that by using Windows Power Options in the control panel and setting maximum processor utilization to 99% instead of 100% that I can completely disable Turbo boost; which effectively limits my i7-2720QM to running at 2.2 GHz maximum.

I have this set on my 'Power Saver' profile so its easy to switch whenever the heat and noise gets annoying and when Turbo Boost isn't necessary.
I do however wish I could regulate the multiplier manually. With Rift in particular, 3 GHz gets VERY hot, but 2.2 GHz isn't quite enough for smooth frame rates (at max settings in busy situations). I'd like it if I could limit Turbo boost to 2.6 GHz or so.

It is entirely possible that Rift could be fluctuating from being single to multi-threaded and that when properly threaded, a 4 core, 8 theaded monster like the 2720QM surely doesn't need more than 2.2 GHz. I take it as a little of both are the problem.

Anyway my main concern is something like Skyrim or SWTOR requiring a driver update for my 6770M and not being able to get it to play the game.
I hope someone can help me out.

 

Setting Coolsense to "coolest" turns off Turbo Boost... So much easier...

 

I'll plug coolsense "coolest" mode too. its fantastic. the other coolsense modes I'm not so excited about, but this one does what it says, and does it very welll. from my experiements it appears to turn off turbo, but still lets the fan run at full tilt when the core temps are even in the 70s. Im not a gamer so anyone who has tried this let me know if it works but it seems to me this is the bees knees, especially since the GPU and the CPU share the same heatsink.

of course, if you want to maximize BOTH cooling AND processor performance, coolsense is a, well, .... not so good.

has anyone succesfully installed Coolsense 2.0? at least that version allows you to turn it off. nice

 

Thanks for the clarification. Don't won't anyone to waste money on bad info.

 

It is an internal USB Broadcom 2070 if I recall correctly.

 

Dang it! I received my replacement laptop today. Better, but not 100% Everything was working, booted up, and went to use the keyboard. Sadly the center area of it (s through k width wise, most of the height) make a loud click/clack, like the keyboard isn't actually connected underneath and its slightly raised for some reason. I know it shouldn't be like that (beyond it feeling wrong) because the first laptop keyboard was fine (besides the key that fell off).

Is there a quick fix for that? or should it be sent back? I am going to pull up the manual when I get a chance..just hoping for good news that it is known and an easy fix

 

I would send it back. the only other alternative is to go through the support process and get HP to fix it -- which they will, but this requires that you send it back as well.

the 30% coupon still works, and the price just went down a few bucks to boot, so I'd get a return authorization and re-order.

 

Not to sound like a broken record.. but I hope someone figures out how to port AMD drivers over to us. The rest of the world has 11.8 and HP only officially offers 11.4.

For me, Coolsense didn't make much difference. It slowed down the rate at which the processor moved up to 3 GHz but it still does so.

This is using the both the official Intel Turbo Boost monitor and CPU-Z and they both say the same thing.

Its not as easy to turn off as swapping out power profiles.
If you can see the icon in the taskbar and left click it, well.. it doesn't get much easier than that.

Just make sure you've configured the profiles before you use them.
By default my laptop would go to sleep, then wake up again later to hibernate!
Among other oddball things..

Recent firmware updates have made the cooling fan act less erratic, such as when waking up from sleep mode. It used to wake up on full blast for a second or two, now it comes on more gracefully..

 

Alright after staying up all night with these threads as my newest lead.. while awaiting a response I've backtracked on the pages and found a link to some mobility 11.8 drivers that aren't hardware-locked by AMD.

While I don't doubt for a moment Catalyst Install Manager (CIM) would normally reject my install prompt anyway; I've recently nuked my CCC so many times it probably couldn't find any trace of my system logs.

I've gone as far as manually decompressing and renaming .dl_ files back to .dll and overwriting them in my system32 folder. (It failed because I don't know how to get permission to overwrite files that are in use.)

So, this time around the installer offered to upgrade me to 11.8 without any tricks necessary. I did however manage to brick CCC once again, so I had to delete "ATI Technologies" from Program files(x86) and go back to C:\SwSetup\SP53025\Packages\Apps\CCC2 for the HP provided version and manually run all the micro-installers.

I've only tested Fallout 3 so far but it appears to have been a success.

 

I altered the 11.8 Mobility drivers myself because I didn't want to wait on someone else to make them and post them, they work just fine. There are modified drivers available at Guru3d.

 

It broke a while ago and they didn't bother fixing it.

Best thing to do is use Google and start your search with "site:forum.notebookreview.com". That will search only these forums.

So if you wanted to search for stuff about the Radeon 6770M, you'd type in "site:forum.notebookreview.com 6770M", without the quotes, obviously.

 

Actually, I saw an HP AMD 11.6 driver for the 6770m, out in the wild.

Unfortunately, it was missing the Intel portion. Without that section, it would bork your install if you try to install it.

 

It would not need the Intel driver... how else would I or anyone else have installed 11.5b, 11.8, etc...

 

I'm talking about the HP version of the AMD driver.
Not the modded one or the one who didn't have that substring check.

Based what I'm able to extract from the cab and read the system information and installer logic.


It can be installed it as standalone ie no previous in-place driver.
If you did do an in-place upgrade from an newer build, you're going to get a black screen of death.
(Several people did this on accident if they weren't paying attention. This does override.)

It breaks switchable graphics and CCC is no longer working cause it is also missing.

As for performance, no idea.

 

Does anyone know if this A-data ram is compatible with our dv6t/dv7t? I have a feeling it might only be compatible with laptops that support XMP profile, which ours does not.

Newegg.com - ADATA XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model AXDS1600GC4G9-2
Thanks.

 

even if it does ( with 2720 and above processors) I'm not sure the dv6t/dv7t will run the "front bus" at 1600MHz, so its a moot point. stick to 1333MHz RAM

So it may be "compatible" but that doesn't mean the DV will take advantage of it. like putting a SATA3 drive on a SATA2 bus -- it will work, but only at the SATA2 speeds.