*HP dv6t Select Edition (3XXX series) Owners Lounge*

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get the chance to pick the 540 when I ordered.

But I've heard that benchmark tests show that they're fairly similar in performance for everyday use anyway, right?

 

If you're like me you want to make sure you're getting the best i5 processor for your money.

 

They are extremely similar due to some technical specifications. One has higher clock speed, but the 450 has higher bus speed. So it kind of evens out. I think it will be fine.

 

Well...too late now! This is just a second computer anyway and if I can run AutoCAD smoothly, then I'm good.

If I need an i7, I'll just upgrade my desktop.

 

Call HP and cancel the order.

 

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-540M Dual Core processor (2.53GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.06GHz

or


Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz

Decision, decision...

 

i5.. better battery life and supports switchable graphics. It's a no brainer.

 

Hey Morx, I live in Paradise Valley, when I get my dv6tse we should hang out and Lan or just give eachother dutch rudders... but yeah when the new dv6t gets to ya let me know about that left wrist pad heat issue cant be worse than the metal finish I have on my car armrest after a nice summer day down here. (honestly how dumb could nissan be to do that?!?)

Edit: and if you happen to be on Darkspear then we definately need to hook up!

 

I hope anyone getting there dv6tse will post a review as soon as you get it.

 

I as well. I'm quite disappointed about that lack of coverage on this laptop.

 

Wow, really HP? So bummed I couldn't choose 540 before... The new build I made costs me $909 with the $400 coupon ($80 cheaper) with a 540m and an extra nine cell battery. Cheaper because I did not include the touch screen and Microsoft Word 2010 Home and Student that my current build has, but I picked those on my my current build to get the price high enough to be able to use the $300 coupon. And touch screen sounds interesting anyways.

What do you guys think? Will a 450 to 540 switch justify taking the trouble to ship the laptop back, wait another 1.5 weeks, etc? I really don't want to, but I will if it truly is worth it. Will it make a big difference in terms of gaming, and photoshop?

 

It really won't make a noticable difference for you in gaming unless you are gaming on a hardcore level, or professional level. Im sure in a few years then you may notice slightly greater difference and gaming demands for processor speeds becomes greater... but by then we will be using much greater hardware and the processor you have now will be worth a bic mac meal.

Edit: So I would say see how you like your touch screen, I think it will have a little practicality but will be really fun to show off. Also there will be more and more programs that will utilize the touch technology as time passes. If you really think it uneccesary, then use that 221 day return policy and get the upgraded processor and pocket the difference.

 

Thank you for the input cazper. As long as I get relatively the same fps that I would with the 540 on the same high settings, I think I will just keep what I have (max i'll take is a 5fps hit). I'm not too worried though, after all usually graphics card is what is important... right?

As for the touchscreen, it is getting relatively positive feedback so far. People say at times it is practical without a mouse (so like traveling, or in college) because the touchpad is just meh. But yeah that factor I'll have to experience for myself.

 

Regarding i5 450 versus i5 520, there is a thread here discussing the differences, and after reading it, I convinced myself that the differences will be indiscernible, and I don't need to worry about "only" having an i5 450, and that in some cases, an i5 450 may actually be faster --- according to the Passmark CPU benchmarks that are included in that thread. On the other hand, I suspect that some differences resulting from including the SSD will indeed be discernible --- boot up time for example. I am not an expert though.

This thread is out of control --- a bunch of people canceling, returning and reordering DV6tSE laptops before they even get them!! Please don't talk me out of my order before I get it. Are there any actual owners here?

I ordered on July 4th. Mine says "Order in Production. Scheduled to ship on July 13th".

Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-450M Dual Core processor
Memory FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard drive 160GB (Solid State Drive Flash Module)
Graphics card 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics
No TouchScreen
Primary optical drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
Networking Intel Wireless-N Card
Keyboard Full-size island-style backlit keyboard with HP TrueVision Webcam + Fingerprint Reader edit
Primary battery 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
Security software $1! SAVE NOW!! Norton Internet Security(TM) 2010 - 15 Month Subscription

Total: $970.99 before tax

 

Although having the choice is always nice, I don't think upgrading the 450m is worth it. If they offered the 520m at the time I probably still would have gone with the 450m. The performance difference is minimal, and I say this from the perspective of someone who runs a lot of MATLAB which could actually use the power. For a gamer it shouldn't matter much if at all.

Honestly for $150 to upgrade to the 540m, I'd much rather get the touchscreen, even though I know it's probably going to be a gimmick I'd never use.

 

Have any of you been purchasing the HP warranties with your dv6t SE? I did not, but was curious what the general consensus was about buying the extra protection or extended warranty.

 

The customer service rep said it automatically came with a 1 year warranty even though I didn't buy one. If there is a good deal it's always possible to add on to that.

Also is the lappy really cheaper with the new coupon? My build actually came to more because of the $1 Norton thing, but it was otherwise the same. Though that didn't stop me from trying to weasel an extra discount from customer service (unsuccessfully).

 

Say Hiero, Do you know anything about the USB/ESata shared port? Is this where I should plan to hook up an external storage/backup drive, and do I need a special cable and special external drive to take advantage of the port? Thanks!

 

The 1-year warranty is standard for every electronics products.

 

I think they just offered the i5-520/40 today, along with some other options. I've contacted HP at least three times on inquiries to when those processors would be in stock. I'm canceling my order now and getting that. Good thing another coupon came out.

Edit: Can someone tell me the cost/benefits of these 3 processors?

i5-450M; i5-520M; i5-540M

If I use the 450M as base, the 520M costs $100 more, while the 540M costs $150 more.

Also: I just reconfigured a new dv6tse with the same specs as the laptop I've ordered. Disregarding the $1 for 15-months of Norton, the price remains the same; however, I took a $450 discount off my order while applying only the $400 discount coupon this time. It seems that they increased the price of the base i5-450M processor by $50. I will be having a chat with the HP Resolutions team tomorrow.

 

Actually I've been looking into that, I THINK it's an eSATAp port (which means power over eSATA). There are some drives that will support it but surprisingly I haven't found that much info.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/349325-esata-external-hard-drive-enclosure-supports-power-combo-usb-port-3.html#post5106978

edit: this was in reply to Johnstone

 

Thanks! Looks like you have given me some more info to study.

 

I'm an actual owner of a DV6t and I like it a lot. I wouldn't have ordered another on if I didn't like it. Ya, I'm returning the one that I ordered, but that's just because a bigger and better coupon came around and I'm getting a new machine which will suit my needs a lot better.

I actually made a thread here in the what laptop should I buy thread asking opinions based on what I figured out from owning this one, and I looked at Sony, MSI, and xoticpc machines, and I still came back to the Dv6tSE.

Don't get anything twisted. This is a fantastic machine, and the only reason I'm returning it is because free 6gb RAM upgrade is better for me than free Bluray, and I wanted an SSD.

 

I was at a community meeting for light rail in my area earlier today. During the meeting, I thought to myself I should've brought my dv6t se to take notes on.

And then I remembered that it's still in Shanghai.

 

do the internal temperatures get too hot? i dont wanna a short life span on this babe

 

You certainly would want to get an hdd with eSATA if you are buying one now. It will be faster than USB 2.0. Picked up my eSATA 1tb drive for around $90 shipped.

 

Sweet, mine's on its way! I might actually get it before the built-by date, who knows

By the way, dumb question here. Does this generation of the dv6 have the little media remote? My impression is that they stopped including it since I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, but I haven't seen anything that explicitly says it doesn't. Did the last generation have it? I would actually use it, kind of a shame if it doesn't have it

 

What was your built-by date?

One review on HP mentioned the remote wasn't included.

 

The 13th. By the sounds of it though, the shipping will probably take 5 days.

Too bad about the remote, although apparently it was pretty crappy. It still was a nice idea though.

 

The temps from what I can see do not get too hot. The cooling seems to do a wonderful job. Things warm up as expected, but cool down pretty quickly.

I will say that the hard drive, which sits underneath the left palm rest does get hot sometimes. This can be uncomfortable at times, but my new machine will have an SSD and should run cooler.

It doesn't come with one.

 

Laptop just shipped. Expected delivery date of the 14th. However, due to it missing the pickup time for Fedex, I expect that'll get pushed back to the 15th.

I knew I should have sprung for the fast shipping, as I'll be getting this laptop right after my 6 day vacation from work ends. lol.

 

What have you done on your Dv6tSE? I mean, how does it fair during regular usage? Have you done any gaming on it? Like you, I was also looking at MSI and Xoticpc comps, but I configured a beastly Dv6tSE for ~1000.

 

Only game I've played is WoW, however over the next week or so I think that will change to combat boredom during my staycation from work for 6 days. It runs WoW just fine, without any lag at all, but WoW isn't really a tough game to run.

I've done a lot of video encoding to convert .avi files to DVDs. It's been pretty speed with that, and easily able to multi-task with those processes going.

Other than that, just basic web browsing and email. I haven't stressed my machine all that much, but it's done really well.

 

All three laptops that I have ordered have "missed the FedEx pick-up time" and two of them arrived two days after shipping. The third took 7 days but only 4 of them were business days.

 

Oh boy, my dv6t finally shipped. Can't wait.

 

Abaddon do you use standard shipping? The 5-7 option?

 

You've given me hope and have awakened my inner-gay. I sincerely hope this will be the case for me as well.

 

Yep (10 char)

 

Mines in "July 7th, Transit : Anchorage, AK" ... :3

 

awww...damn. The DV6t's are in transit?


the Envys are still in customs hell.


enjoy your laptops guys

 

Having known the horrors of waiting for a customized laptop. I feel for you.

Thank you for your consideration as well.

 

Does anyone know how long it normally takes to leave Shanghai? Mine's been in transit within Shanghai for two days now.

I got 5-7 day shipping.

 

It's probably not still in Shanghai, it just hasn't arrived in Anchorage, AK yet. I'm sure it'll pop up there soon.

 

Do you know if they have different shipping methods for 2 compared to 5-7 day shipping?

 

I think it goes the same route, just not as fast.

 

Does it stop at Anchorage no matter what? I'm in the Seattle area and I know there's a massive FedEx facility here.

Jul 8, 2010 20:42 In transit SHANGHAI CN
Jul 8, 2010 19:55 In transit SHANGHAI CN
Jul 7, 2010 22:28 Picked up SHANGHAI CN Package received after FedEx cutoff
Jul 7, 2010 02:08 Shipment information sent to FedEx

 

Hawc, I have the exact same time log. Like everything is the same. Our laptops must be riding together.

 

Same exact shipping log here as well. Except mine's heading to CA.

 

Mines going the farthest probably, all the way to maryland.

 

Mines comin to seattle too. A bunch of us are riding on the same boat / plane ha ha.