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

Is it worth getting the 160gb ssd($150) from HP customizable dv6 or am I better off purchasing & doing self install?
I heard HP is sata II?

Thanks.

 

Thanks Fictorie10,

Charging the battery on the dv7tqe right now. This is probably the last few hours on my old Dell Inspiron 6000 that was a hand me down from my wife about two years ago. It's been a good reliable notebook but it's getting tired and the 60GB drive is almost full (of what, I'm not sure).

Wow, the dv7tqe is a beautiful notebook. I love the matte look of the 1920x1080 screen and the Dark Umber reminds me of a rich, roasted coffee bean. The SSD will definitely be on the radar as prices drop. I wasn't sure if the HP supplied 160GB SSD was SATA II or III so I opted to wait and do it myself. Intel 320 maybe? Maybe somebody has one and will chime in. I know I could read every post and probably find it but this thread spans a pretty good period of time and things change. Good example, is the video card.

Anybody have any pre-flight instructions?

Looking forward to a good exchange of questions and answers with all of you.

 

Isn't the BrightView display, that comes with the dv7tqe, a glossy one?

 

This one is definitely more of a matte than glossy (comparing it to a dv7 1600x900 I looked at in Staples and Best Buy). My wife has a newer 17.3 Dell with a glossy screen and side by side there is a big difference when both screens are off.

 

I was just about to ask the same thing. So is the screen glossy or matte?
When I spoke to a HP agent, I think they told me that only the 15" dv6 upgraded screen comes in anti-glare matte.

 

Could you post a picture and do the reds look red instead of orangish like the Envy 15's.

 

The screen I have (1920x1080) on my dv7t Quad (ordered 12/26/11, rec. 01/04/12) is definitely matte.



Sorry for the poor pic quality but I only had my phone handy but I think it shows the matte screen. That's the outline of me in the screen with some room lighting in the back. Definitely not reflective or glossy.

Pic of my wife's Dell which has a glossy screen for comparison. Taken in the same position and light.



Both are 17" screens.

 

Yes that is a big difference. I didn't get the dv7tqe because I thought it had a glossy screen. Oh well.

 

Wow! That sure looks like matte, I'm so glad, this give me an alternative 17" laptop to purchase incase I don't like the glossy screen on the Envy 17.
I don't understand why the HP agent didn't tell me this.
Thanks for the heads up.

 

No problem, exchange of good information is what I love about these forums. I think I posted another pic for comparison after you posted if you want to go back and take a look. After talking to two sales agents and a tech support person, I'm still not sure if what I ordered (customized config from website) has WiDi.

 

If you don't mind, when you get a chance can you please let me know the model number of the graphics card you got.
Thank you. And gratz on your purchase.

 

Will do, probably won't be tonight. Almost midnight here and I have to be up at 5:30a but I will get you the info.

 

I just called HP Customer Service and asked them what kind of screen is the upgrade 1920x1080 on the dvt7qe & I was told it is LED with anti-glare. Then I asked them about the Envy 17 & she said the screen also has anti-glare. She said basically the upgrade screen on the dv7 is the same as the Envy 17.
I'm getting confused now! I hope that's true, but the Envy has radiance....

 

I put a 160gb intel 320 series in my wife's dv7tqe, it literally feels almost as fast as my 2500k @4.54 in my desktop. I highly recommend adding an ssd to any laptop these days.

 

Depends upon whether you can find another ssd for $1/gb in the next few months (maybe) and whether you'll ever use the 750gb data drive if you have it. I'm extremely happy that i put an ssd in my wife's computer, but she also has a 3tb usb 3.0 external drive and honestly I think that she doesn't even know about the 750gb internal drive she has. If I could have bought the ssd from hp for $150 up front then I probably would have done that and worried about a 2nd hd later.

 

Thanks for the information. 160gb would be plenty of space for me & I would do the same thing & just use my external drive for additional storage.

 

Intel 320 series is sata II. I have it in my wife's rig, and it is ridiculously fast. Unless you're doing extremely large sequential transfers on a regular basis then you will not be able to tell the difference between the fastest sata 6Gb/s drive and a pretty good sata II drive like the intel 320. For comparison, any ssd is typically ~ 50 times faster than a spindle drive in random reads/writes, but only 2-4 times faster in sequential reads/writes. A typical hdd or ssd workload has elements of both sequential and random data, but the random data usually makes up enough of the read/write that it ends up being the limiting factor.

 

i have hp dv7 without bluetooth. can you tell me name of bt module that i can install on notebook without problems with bios? or combine module with wi-fi and bt
thanks

 

You can get a tiny blue tooth adapter that goes in a USB port for 10-15 bucks. I never use all my USB ports at the same time so it just stays in. Just find the lowest profile one as some are bigger and squarish looking.

 

I added a 128GB SATA III Samsung 830 SSD to my DV6T and put the original 750GB hdd in an external USB 3.0 case. Works great and only spent $200 ($180 on the Sammy and $20 on the USB case including shipping).

I think it was a much better deal than paying HP for swapping to an unknown SSD and having no option for the external storage.


Mine also had the Intel Centrino Wireless-N-1000 card without Bluetooth so I swapped it for an Advanced-N 6230 (dual band 300) with Bluetooth using a no white list modded F.1B (sp55068) BIOS and it works like a charm!

 

HP Website just updated the information for the dv7t & dv7tqe Display:
17.3-inch diagonal Full HD Anti-glare LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)

 

Is it ok to ask where I can get a "no white list" BIOS for my HP dv7t Quad Edition?

Thanks

*EDIT* I did some searching and I think I may have found a place that has access to "BIOS Mods" but I want to make sure I get the right one.

 

drathaar,

As promised. The graphics card that came installed in my new HP dv7tqe delivered yesterday is a Radeon HD 7690M XT with 2GB RAM

Now I have some questions that I hope some of you can answer.

1. My company gives the employees the same Internet Protection software that Corporate IT uses (Norton / Symantec End Point) for free to take home and install on our personal computers. Problem is, it is trying to write some temp files to a folder with a "yellow lock" on it (c:\users\"user name"\AppData\etc....) and fails. I am running it as "System Administrator". Edit: Looks like I needed to add "permissions" to the "Users" group, might have it fixed.

2. My dv7tqe has b/g/n and my Netgear DGND3300 is set up to broadcast both "G" and "N" up to 300Mbps at 5GHz & 54Mbps at 2.4GHz and has been working perfect with a mixture of "G" and "N" wireless devices. Problem is, I can't get it to see or connect to the "N" network but sees my "G" network as well as a few others in the area. I've had a USB "N" connected to my old Dell and it connected fine and also saw a few other "N" in the area so I know they exist. It's just not seeing anything "N".
Do I have to enable it somehow? I'm probably missing the obvious. Edit: Thanks drathaar, I think the link you provided might help me. I may need to change a setting in my router but it's strange I haven't ever had to change it for any other "N" devices (two (2) Blu-Ray players).

Edit: I switched my Router to a couple different options and still a no go. I need to find the correct "no white list" BIOS and buy an Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230.

3. How do you get into the BIOS to have it "Boot" from a Ghost CD so I can do an Ghost Image backup? Edit: Thanks again drathaar! I'll give F9 and F10 a try tomorrow, it's getting late.

That's enough for now, I'm sure I'll have more.

Thanks in advance...

 

Thanks for letting me know the graphics card, I really appreciate it.
I wish I could of be some help for some of the problems you are experiencing, but I not that computer saavy. Hopefully other members can help you out.
Did you try F10 to enter BIOS? I thought F9 would let you boot from CD.
I don't know it this link relates to your wireless card trying to connect at 5ghz: new HP laptop cannot connect to 5GHz 802.11n network but my ... - HP Support Forum

 

what are the non gaming temp of cpu of dv6t while browsing,downloading,movie play....

 

Hey peoples!

You guys think I should go ahead and get this HP Pavilion dv6 ?

15,6" Full-HD LED-screen (matte)
Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM
8GB DDR3 RAM
1000GB harddisk
AMD Radeon HD 6770M 2GB
Blu-ray-player

It's listed at about $1400, but I live in Norway, so that might be more than in the US, but importing it costs me (full price)+(shipping)+(25% of fullprice+shipping)<- in taxes. So a $1000 laptop with 100$ shipping will cost me about $1375 in reality (and I most likely won't be able to pay it with a credit card, which I have to do).

So, you guys think I should pull the trigger? One guy at this "best buy" told me to stay away from HP because so many laptops were getting returned.

P.S. This comp is for my sister, and she wants a matte screen. And she wants it to look good. Specs aren't all that important, but her last laptop has lasted her for 6 (!) years, so she wants one that will last her again. (She mostly just does papers and youtubes/watches some movies on it etc.)

 

I haven't looked at the "Factory Restore" options on my dv7tqe yet but was wondering what options I have? Is there one that will give you a "factory fresh" without the trial software? Does it come up just like when I powered it on for the first time (something like "preparing system for first startup") or is it a little different? Maybe an option to keep some of the HP stuff?

Thanks in advance...

 

30% Off HP Laptops $999+ NBW4973

 

Could you elaborate?

 

Coupon, use it at checkout. It's still working for me right now. Put NBW4973 in the coupon code. Doesn't stack with instant savings though.

 

So the 2GB option for the dv7q gives the 7690m XT? That's pretty good! I wish they would start listing the details now on their site! Hate this secrecy.

 

Their oem ssd's are samsung. If you're buying the 830 and installing it yourself then it could very well end up being an identical drive but with an oem numbering system. And of course it will either cost you less or at least you'll get the extra 750gb hdd as an added bonus.

 

If I decide to get the dv7tqe, should I upgrade to Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R)? Does anyone know what model number the wireless card is & does it support 5ghz?
Thanks

 

Just placed my order for a dv7t Quad Edition today, spec'd as below:

Dark Umber
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM (2.2 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz
1GB Discrete GDDR5 Graphics AMD Radeon(TM) [HDMI, VGA]
8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
17.3" Full HD BrightView Infinity LED (1920x1080)
Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
802.11b/g/n WLAN w/Bluetooth
Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad


I separately ordered a Corsair Force GT 180GB SSD drive and will need the longer SATA cable to do the install. Plan to boot the SSD and use the oem HDD as secondary storage.

Question: Where can I purchase the SATA cable (or HDD install kit) to install a 2nd drive in this computer?

Thanks for any links or help. This is by far the most capable computer I've ever invested in. I really appreciate this forum and plan to spend some quality time reading about this interesting computer.

 

But at what site?

 

Post edited to make corrections to information.

If you order a dv6/dv7 online, these are the WiFi cards HP is installing:

Realtek RTL8188CE 1T1R Single Band 802.11 b/g/n (no Bluetooth)

and you get this one if you choose the upgrade with Bluetooth (+$15)

Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1030. Combo dual-stream (1x2), single-band (2.4 GHz), 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth adapter.

I'm looking to get this one but need a "no white list" BIOS mod to install it.

Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6230 is a dual-stream (2x2), dual-band (2.4 GHz /5.0 GHz), 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth. Also is WiDi and Intel MyWiFi compatible.

It's a shame I can't install what I want in my notebook to give me the performance I thought I was buying. Less than $20 shipped online for a really good card.

 

HP - United States | Laptop Computers, Desktops, Printers, Servers and more

Better hurry, prices are going up ~$100 on Notebooks this weekend sometime (at HP).

 

I'm in the market for a 1080p laptop, and am about to pull the trigger on a dv6tqe, but have a few questions first:

- What are the model numbers for the 1GB and 2GB graphics cards? Are they the same speed, and one just has an extra gig of memory?

- Has HP fully fixed the whole "switchable graphics" issue so that OpenGL programs can be run using the discrete video card (as opposed to using onboard graphics)?

- How does the quality of the dv6tqe 1080p screen compare to other 1080p laptop screens out there?

 

We ordered almost the exact same notebook and going to do the same upgrade. Is't this forum great! Now if I can just find a BIOS mod.

2nd HDD Cable

 

The 2GB is a Radeon 7690M XT.

 

That's weird that HP would place different cards depending on wether you ordered by phone or website, either way I guess I'll have to upgrade to another card then. Do you know if Ultimate-N 6300 is compatible with the dv7?

 

What about the DV6T quad edition? Does it also come with the 7690M or 7690M XT?

 

Not sure where you got this info. But the Intel 1030 is a bluetooth enabled network adapter. I assume if you did not pay for the bluetooth upgrade the wireless card would be changed. Doubtful they would use an extra bluetooth adaptor instead of the Intel card.

 

This info came from HP. I called Tech Support about not being able to connect to my "N" network at 5GHz. I was told I had to to have a "dual band" card and the one shipped in my notebook was only "single band". I asked if the only other choice I had (only two choices when ordering online) was "dual band"? She said it was not but had Bluetooth. I said I wanted an Intel card and knew some of their notebooks had Intel cards and WiDi. She said the only way to get Intel cards is to either buy a "pre-configured" notebook with WiDi or call and order by phone and request it.

I thanked her and proceeded to call HP and inquire. She was correct about being able to request an Intel card but it was only a "single band" card. The Intel 1000 and the Intel 1030 (Bluetooth). Wouldn't do me any good. I didn't mention the Intel 1000 because dratharr asked about a card with Bluetooth (Intel 1030).

That's where I got my information. Not that it's guaranteed to be accurate, but that's what I was told.

 

HP BIOS has a "white list" of components hard coded into the BIOS that only permit certain hardware to be installed in the Notebook. The Intel Advanced-N 6230 and the Intel Ultimate-N 6300 are not on that list.

To install them, you have to flash your BIOS with a "modded" BIOS.

I got this from a Google search trying to figure out my options.

 

Thanks for the info. Any idea how it compares to the 1 gig card, aside from having more memory? Is it faster?

 

Last summer I bought one of these with the 1GB GDDR5 Radeon HD 6770M GPU and 8GB of RAM. I also installed a SSD and made that the boot drive. It's a 1600x900 version. The thing is very fast but whenever I watch videos (Netflix Streaming/Hulu/DVD) I notice that the picture quality is great but the motion is jumpy/jerky. This is most evident when there is a lot of action. I've updated drivers for GPU and bios to the latest. What's going on? Is there a way to fix this? It's very annoying.

 

Sorry, I don't have anything to compare it to and really haven't done much to test it out.

 

This is so pathetic that a brand new HP laptop doesn't have the option for the 6230 or 6300 & that you can't install them without having a no-whitelist modded bios. I wish someone would do a write-up with instructions & the parts needed to do the mod, this is really sad! Time to research google.

 

To OhioLefty:
I found this link to download the no-whitelist modded bios.
The guy asking has the dv7-6020sw.
And his BIOS Revision: F.1b
I'm not sure if it matters what model your laptop is.
The dv7 that I ordered today is dv7t-6c00, I wonder if yours is the same?
Anyways, here is the link to download http://dl.dropbox.com/u/45117524/bios-mods.com/sp55068_NWL_ByCamiloml.exe
And here is the link to the post http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-HP-Pavilion-dv7-6020sw-Bios-whitelist-removal
I'm not sure if you have to delete HP tools partition before you install the exe.
I guess you could always post a request to bios-mods forum or mydigitallife forums to be safe.

Please let me know if you ever get the new card working & if you can tell me where you purchased your 6230 card, thanks.