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

You're still on the fence, magus?

 

What I did was to go to MSPaint, create a blank picture that's 1366 by 768, and view that fullscreen. It wasn't that much smaller than the 1400 by 900 I have now.

 

I'm on the fence between this and the Envy14. Which is this but a better screen....

and possibly a bigger price tag.


.....and won't show up at my door for a month and a half at the earliest.

huh.


edit: really I still just can't makeup my mind. Being kinda dumb about it.


I have one little question. Is the super multi combo drive (non blu-ray one) able to burn DVD+ (or -)R DL discs?

It didn't say when you customize it on HP's website. It does specifically say the blu-ray can burn DL discs though. ...even though both say with double layer support.

 

Well. I'm leaning back towards the DV6T:SE.

How's this one look?

* Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
* Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-520M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L2 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
* 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* FREE Upgrade to 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics
* 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
* No TouchScreen
* SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
* Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
* Full-size island-style backlit keyboard with HP TrueVision Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
* High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
* Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Costs $1,187.69 after tax and a $50 coupon.

BCB is at 10% right now and takes 30-60 days right? not worth it unless it's at 25% imo so using a $50 coupon instead.

 

as an addendum to my laptop.

part of me wants blu-ray but sure as hell dun wanna pay 150 for it.

I'm also not sure if I really need the 520 or should use the 430.

I'm gonna be trying out pscx2 on this thing though and need all the processor speed I can get.

 

Isn't the CPU upgradable? You can always pop in a faster i5 later when the price comes down.

 

true but the last desktop I did anything like that to died.

or well. the 8800 and the monitors refuse to communicate and decide to blink at you forever.

...really dunno what's up with that thing. stupid brother's acer (that he doesn't care about anymore now that he has a netbook..and ya know..kinda gave up computer gaming)

and the desktop beforehand I built by hand I forgot to put the rubber divider things in with the motherboard (so it was bouncing and hitting metal).

edit: and comparing it to the 520, the 430 doesn't have VT -d...and...well...hold on.

I dunno what that means. Could I still run windows xp mode with a 430m or not?

 

My dv6t se arrives tomorrow. So excited! I went with the i5-430M, and got the Blu-ray free upgrade while that was still going on. My question is: does the machine come with a Windows 7 install/restore DVD? I'd like to start fresh and bloatware free, which would of course be easier with a disc.

 

Does not come with any media CDs at all. It takes 5 discs, but you can create yourself restore DVDs. I did this right away before doing a clean Win7 install. One tip is be sure you read the sticky here the Win7 out of the box guide. Back up your authentication for Windows. I didn't, and running into issues now with trying to get the product key's to work right.

Magus, for reference the 520m is about 6-12% better than the 430m, and the 540m is about 6-12% better than the 520m. That price tag wasn't worth it for me to go past the 430m. That's what I have and it's plenty fast for everything I'm using it for.

 

alright.

I can always upgrade when it's cheaper.

not like I haven't gotten better at electronic stuff.

...though knowing me if I ever do upgrade it I'll need a step by step guide on how to replace a processor. with pictures/info so I don't screw up the thermal pads and the paste, etc.

 

1238 but hey it has a blu-ray drive now.


hmmm. *shrugs* though would I ever use one of those drives. I have a ps3. Only had one thing I could see myself using the blu-ray drive for too. ...eh.

*saves 150 bucks*

$1,078.17 Yeah that'll work. This thing's ending up cheaper than I thought it would be.

 

I don't have a Ps3, so I opted for the Bluray drive. When I ordered HP was giving instant $150 off, and then I found a coupon for $200 off for any laptop customized $1199 or more. Got mine for $850 plus tax/shipping.

The one draw back of the entire package is the 1366x768 screen resolution. It looks fine, but there are some web pages, or games that I wish I was able to have a bigger screen. Sometimes I have to scroll a LOT, because the resolution is pretty tiny.

However, the screen looks great. Don't get that twisted, I just wish sometimes it was a higher resolution. This is my first laptop and I'm used to 20"+ size screens on my desktop.

 

kinda sad I missed the free blu-ray.

and the $200 coupon.

only got a $50 or 10% BCB (which ain't worth it since it's not 25%)

 

There's a disassembly guide on the HP website: Manuals for HP Pavilion dv6t-3000 CTO Select Edition Entertainment Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

 

well that's helpful.


anyway. 430m it is. Sweet I'm gonna save 105 bucks

 

I received mine a bit earlier in the day and only just unboxed it. My immediate response is, this thing is stunning. The most obvious aspect is it's style. I currently don't regret the touchscreen option... with bumptop pre-installed it seems like it'll be a bit of fun.

The quicklaunch keys on the left are initially tricky but would be something to get used to. Also, although the casing is cool, I can feel the heat coming from the vents.

 

well as long as that heat isn't whatever you get when a 53+ *C hdd radiates onto a metal-plastic plate thing I'll be happy. (it's metal covered in paint with plastic around the sides).

said metal plastic plate sits on your right thigh.

 

This laptop gets hot in 2 spots that I notice. The one that I notice most is in the top left. There is a vent there, so it vents the area pretty well. That one can get kind of hot on the leg after a while.

The only other spot that I've noticed any heat is the left arm rest. Directly to the left of the touch pad. Not sure exactly what is there, but if you are resting your wrist against it while you type, like most lazy people do, it's definitely noticeable.

Props to HP though. I almost cooked my laptop to death the first day I had it. I had done a clean install of Win7. Shut it down, and packed it up in the laptop bag. Went home, got it out a little while later and noticed for whatever reason it had never shut down. Had gotten an error message. The 2 spots I mentioned above were too hot too touch. Literally burning.

I opened it up, turned it on, and within a few minutes it was getting cooler and cooler. Seems to me HP really has their heat issues under control that I had read about from earlier HP models.

 

Well. that's fine.

 

The one next to the touchpad might be the hard drive.

 

*hits the order button*

whelp.

it'll be built by the 24th or so.

 

Welcome to the club. Now if this doesn't work out, I'll have someone to commiserate with.

What specs did you end up going with?

 

Did you find any sweet coupons?

 

I was going to order one but couldn't find any sweet coupons. I have a feeling 1 will pop up soon after the dm4t is expired. I would get the dm4t but that video card is weak. Not much better than the integrated one.

 

nah.

no sweet coupons.

makes me sad. best I got was $50 off.

...well besides what was already 150 off (the general insta stuff for all their laptops right now).

 

The only thing the screen needs is a little bit of calibration so it doesn't look as washed out, when out of the box.

One thing that does concern me is the screen brightness. Yes its bright, but not so great on a fairly sunny day. My friend was comparing his older Dell Inspiron 15 whose lowest brightness was almost equal to this laptops highest brightness

BTW has anyone had success updating the drivers to ATI's 10.5 cats?

 

what sorta calibration? Never really messed with that sorta stuff before on a laptop screen, so I mean where do you go to do that

 

You promised pictures ...

 

You got the i7 720m? What type of heat and battery life do you get?

Thanks!

 

i believe i said probably. but ill honor it still

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-compaq-voodoo-pc/487941-new-hp-dv6-2010-user-review.html

 

Good stuff. Thanks

 

looking around it seems like the catalyst 10.5 don't support switchable graphics notebooks

 

it does but for some reason the discrete graphics chip[ is default. so u need to switch it off if u want to use intel HD graphics chip... everytime u coldboot your comp

 

huh.

you got it to install? ajn89 can't get catalyst to install on his at all.


also how do you switch the discrete one off? Is it something simple like hit switch on keyboard or hit thing on laptop screen somewhere.

or is it more involved (go into control panel somewheres)

 

On my laptop, you go to the catalyst control center program in the programs menu. or there is an icon in the system tray that u can open the CCC from. You then choose power saving gpu or high performance gpu. the screen flickers and the graphics are then switched.

 

wait... i didnt say probably.... but i mean to though

 

cool.

hey, can't you get to the CCC by just right clicking on the desktop like you can with the nvidia control panel?

 

I heard sometimes you have to close open programs to switch, right? Take a look at ~6'20": YouTube - 3ds Max 9 on the HP Touchsmart tm2 with Switchable Graphics

NYC: At this rate, my laptop will be here before the pictures are up!

 

mine won't.

I can expect mine probably at the first week of July factoring in delays....no wait. second week if it gets delayed some and the fourth of july pops up.

man. that'd suck but I did waffle way too long.

 

Oh son of a .

Now it's free blu-ray again instead of free 500gig hdd.

HP!!!!!


...

eh. maybe it won'...oh holy crap it gets the 500gig hdd too.


asdkjflfdj;fd.


edit: if you can't tell, the above is hyperbole and is really more of a "well crap" not a well...the above.

 

eh...I take it back. it's $50 more for the same configuration.

somewhere along the way they raised the hdd price by $50 (and took away the 320 gig option)

 

they also took away the i3cpu as an option (now only i5 or i7) and raised the price a lil...
my same config with the free blue ray added would be about ~$120 more...
I'm not totally bummed, but that bluray drive would've been nice.

 

$50 more with blu-ray but yeah, I'll live.


I wonder how big of a difference the high capacity 6 cell makes compared to the regular 6 cell.

 

You could always call and you might be able to get the blu-ray thrown in. If not you could just cancel your order and place another one.

And the high-capacity should add about 12-15% of battery life.

 

I noticed HP is now offerring a 160GB SSD drive with the DV6t SE.
Does anyone know the specs on that drive and if it is a decent one?
I tried HP chat but they wouldn't give me a model # OR any basic stats.

 

I might try that.


which number do I call? The build time for one of the ones with a blu-ray is now the 28th though.

 

Call the number listed as customer service on HPs website, or you could try chatting online with them as well. HP is one of the few companies that allows you to change, cancel, return, etc on order online through chat.

 

holy crap there's a new $200 coupon that works with the 6t:se


definitely cancelling and remaking and...probably throwing in the 540m

edit: the coupon

Code:

NBA5193862

 

scratch that.

520m.

turns out the same price as my 430m one but with blu-ray too.


HEEEELLLLL YEEEEAAAAAAAAHHH