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

haha i posted the same question. I couldn't find the option to activate the volume bar so I downloaded 3RVX as a last resort.

 

I dunno about "vents", there are some grills on the bottom but I suspect there is only one main air intake (by the fan) and one outlet. and there is only one fan. The palm rest gets hot because of the structure of the GPU heatsink, not the hard drive (which is actually under the touchpad not the left side). So SSD won't help.. hard drives don't get hot anyways. But the good news is that the heating problem tends to go away after a few days of use, as the thermal compound sets.

Well in factory settings there IS an indicator, did you uninstall it or something? There are also third party ones that someone posted somewhere, because HP's default indicator sucks (it minimizes full screen apps)

 

i tried it out of the box when i got it the first day and played music and no volume indicator..eh i can deal with just looking at the volume control in system tray.. i don't want to get third party apps as they'll also drain power lol.., can you check if the 3D hard drive protection is enabled on your dv6tse?

 

Yea but bfc2 it will only run that cool if ur running an i5 processor. If u get it with an i7 it will probably run around 78c to 80c.Note i'm also running it with a 9 cell which elevates and allows for allot better airflow. I had a dv7t i7 that another family member is using now and the gt230 and i7 heated up to 84c during bfc2.

 

Thanks np with the messiness.

 

What over clocking software are you guys using to overclock the 5650. Because I can't find any software that will identify the card.

 

HP computers with SSD's don't have hard drive protection enabled because SSD's don't support it nor do they need it. Hence why SSD's are awesome, because you can be dropping at 600000mph and your computer will still boot.

 

... Provided it's still on one piece, which it would not be.

Also, the HDD in my HP G60 definitely gets hot.

How long does the laptop (Core i5) last on the standard capacity 6-cell battery? How much time does the high capacity 6-cell add?

 

The thing is i do not have a SSD.. i have a regular HDD and i can't seem to enable hard drive protection because it says its disabled for my notebook can you guys who have a dv6tse with a normal HDD check this?

 

@City Pig: I've heard that one can usually get about 4 hours on the standard 6 cell battery with WiFi on and brightness at about 1/3. The high cap 6 cell should provide an extra 20-30 mins.

 

Weird, played BFBC2 today and hwmonitor said my machine hit 105*c, but my palm rest or keyboard never got hot...just a bunch of hot air comin out of my fan vent...

 

Mine was around $1300 or so. I used a $50 off coupon and got the 2 year warranty too.

With tax it was like $1450 or something.


For the touchscreen is it pressure sensitive? Thanks.

 

Does HP do this coupon thing regularly? I can't configure an HP with these stats at anywhere close to $970 right now, but I'd pull the trigger on this model with the SSD at this price in a heartbeat.

(FYI, I'm torn between a similarly configured DV6T (without the SSD drive) and this Asus if anyone has any thoughts.)

 

When I hit CTRL and either the F9, F10 or F11 buttons a bar comes up on the screen showing volume and/or mute.

If I launch my 3D Hard Drive software, mine's enabled. however, I'm running a 640 GB HDD setup (that's how it was sold to me) and it's a Samsung HM641JI.

 

does this laptop automatically downclock itself on battery, and stays downclocked even if it's doing something intensive?

 

No, you need to adjust it yourself.

 

Btw, is the general consensus for everybody that this laptop is of comparable value to a similarly equipped Envy14?

 

Been loading some files onto mine today. I have the blu-ray option and when I have a DVD data disc that's copying files over the area next to the touch pad vibrates a bit. It's pretty noticable and even on the left side (as well as the right near the disc drive of course) of the touchpad. Is this normal?

 

Yes it is enabled on mine. And i actually did a clean install.

 

I don't think that is normal... I havn't noticed anything vibrating yet on mine. If it bothers you and if you have time then return it, if it's acceptable I would justkeep it since if anything breaks you have a 1 year warranty.

 

Hey everyone, I'm considering buying one of these laptops and am glad to see generally good reviews, save for them running a little hot at times. Just a few questions - please forgive me if they've already been addressed.

1. Is there a built-in microphone to accompany the webcam?

2. I'm still a bit confused as to how the touchpad works. From pictures, it looks like the left and right buttons are just pressure-sensitive areas, but others have said that they are click buttons but also sort of part of the entire touchpad. Could someone clear up if they are buttons or areas and if you can edit settings such that they are excluded from being part of the entire touchpad?

3. The price difference between the 6-cell and 9-cell batteries is small enough that I don't mind upgrading to the 9-cell, unless there isn't a noticeable difference between the two regarding battery life and performance with WiFi on, web browsing, taking notes because this would be for college, and maybe some music. I'd just find an outlet if I needed to do anything heavier than that.

4. Is this thing a tank or is it practical to carry around?

5. What memory cards does the card reader read (wow, awkward sentence).

 

Thanks, yea I didn't think it was normal. I was pretty suprised I felt it on both sides. I do have time to return it, so I'll probably do that.

 

Yes theres is actually 2 built in mics, and they're VERY superior than macs. I tried them out and it has background noise cutter lol, and takes in very clean sound. I plan to record songs with this, very nice..

Yep you're right the left and right button you have to apply a bit pressure to click on them. If that is what pressure sensitive means lol, the touchpad is just like the macbook pros, the whole touchpad is usable without clicking the buttons except for the right click menus. It is one tap for clicking, you can disable this and just resort to manually clicking the buttons or allow it all and have the comfortability of tapping to click anywhere on the touchpad or manually clicking the left or right button but this one tap to click anywhere on the pad is amazing. The buttons are included for those who hate this one tap feature.. as it is kind of annoying when you open new windows and accidently open a file or something.. again it takes getting used to, but this is by far the best touchpad on the market for pcs. It fully supports gestures like swiping for scroll etc.

go for the 9 cell, well worth it

I"ll be honest i bought this for college, and at first opening it up i was a little scared i got a tank and not a practical carry around. However after 2 days of use i am very easily moving the laptop around and using it quickly. I think i'll get used to the pace. The screen is gorgeously big so i don't squint. THe built is tough so its sort of like a tank, you need that or a filmsy plastic built will break down after constant use.

5 in 1 LOL heres your answer:
Using and Troubleshooting Memory Card Readers HP Pavilion dv6t-3000 CTO Select Edition Entertainment Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

 

Hey MacGoogle,

I was wondering how tough you feel your Dv6tse is. I notice that if I push down on the display while it's closed, it bends a lot. I feel like there's a lot of hollow space and it's not reinforced much. Similarly, with it open, I feel like I can snap the display off seeing how much it bends left and right. I can't imagine how you can put this laptop under pressure with books or anything going to college.

Thanks ahead of time,
SourOrange

 

I feel my laptop is very sturdy. I don't think it's a "tank" like my old compaq, but then again, this looks nice, the compaq looked like a 13 inch black rectangle, since that's what it was. The screen doesn't flex at all, and it's very light for a 15.6 notebook, and along with it's thinness, I don't think I'll have any problem carrying it along at college.

 

MAX24
In addition to your question about the touchpad. The left and right bottom depresses slightly to give you that mouse click. However, it's not a separate button.

With that said, this touchpad comes with some nifty features and you can add "Two finger scroll" ala Google which will let you put one finger on the touchpad and tap with the other finger for a right click. Oddly enough, it doesn't come standard.

SOUR ORANGE:
For me the only part of this notebook that displays any flexing is indeed the lid top. It depresses quite a lot, making me wonder why the top portion is slightly raised. However, upon further investigation, it has come to my attention that no matter how much the lid depresses it isn't enough to distort the screen. Maybe it's slightly raised to prevent the screen from being crushed? I don't know.

 

Thanks a million MicGoogle and FatPigs. I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on this. Hopefully Alaska's figured out it's just laptops by now and they don't need to hold them for a month lol.

 

I believe the customs issue is taken care of. I would have no worries. I would however, bet on approx 2 weeks from the day you order to the day you receive the laptop.

 

Speaking of issues...

Anyone with the i5 ever been unable to switch graphics?

Like, for example, I'm on battery seeing my battery meter drain and when I try to change it to the Power Saving GPU it clicks but it doesn't do anything. It doesn't switch and I'm stuck with a warm wrist-pad and the ATI GPU.

Doesn't happen all the time though it does happen sometimes.

 

Update the ATI drivers or update the bios to F.09, it's a known problem to pretty much every dv6t switchable.

 

Damn when is a new coupon coming out? I'm trying to order this laptop asap and it's getting down the to wire. You think if I called them and told them my situation they would knock the price down or something similar?

 

Anyone have news of a new coupon coming out yet? I have the money and config, just need the discount

 

Hi guys, I have a similar hp laptop, the dv7t select edition w/ ati 5650 switchable graphics and I'm experimenting with updating drivers. I was able to update to the latest catalyst mobility 10.6 by first installing the hp ati switchable graphics drivers then loading the catalyst drivers over it. I tested it and have no problems in games or switching back to the intel gpu. I was wondering if anyone had managed to update the intel drivers? The reason I haven't tried is that when I look at the driver details in device manager, it appears to have both ATI and Intel signed files in there.. so I don't think the intel driver would work.
Here are the instructions for directly downloading the ATI drivers, thus bypassing the program ati makes you download to check compatibility before it lets you download the drivers: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...deon-device-driver-catalyst-win-7-64-bit.html

you can also download 10.6 directly from here: ATI Mobility Radeon 10.6 Drivers Direct Links - Guru3D.com Forums

 

Really that worked?? Last time, I tried that only my catalyst manager got updated and the driver didn't.

 

Hello, this is my 1st post so please bare with me...

I ordered this laptop a few weeks ago when the $400 coupon and the 30% bing cash back was still going on.
*Windows 7premium, I5-450m, Free 6GB, Free 500GB
*1GB ATI 5650, No Touchscreen, Blu-ray rom with DVD burner
*Intel W-N with Bluetooth, backlit KB with fingerprint reader, 9 cell battery
*Total ~904.99 with tax ~961.55
*Bing cashback pending ~271.50

I just realized after reading the bing fine print that bing discount doesn't work with coupons, so I'm expecting a decline anytime soon. It only works with standard hp instant rebate. So If I never used the $400 coupon, but rather stuck with the 150 instant from HP I would of gotten a better deal since the cashback from bing would have been valid and my total would be ~880.62 after tax!

I tried calling HP to have them cancel the $400 coupon, and update my account to reflect the differences and they said they can't for many reasons one being that the bingcash back program is no longer available. I thought it was until 07/31????

Now this week they updated their pricing, I would have been able to upgrade to the I5-540m with everything else being the same for little difference. total new price 1,204.99 after instant 150 from hp + tax 75.31 -30%bing ~918.80

I called them back and told them I'd like to return my laptop for the one with the I5-540m, they said again they can't because it would be placing another new order and the 30%bing no longer applies.

This really sucks...So now at the end of the day it seems I'm stuck with the
i5-450m for 961.55, can someone please make me feel better and tell me that this is an ok deal and that i5-540m is not much of an upgrade and that HP not doing right by the customer sucks (my mistake I guess)...

Sry for the long venting email...

 

Yep, it updated the driver from 8.712 to 8.741

 

Are these computers special in that you can't just download the driver package and install it? I've always done just that with my desktop for years.

 

Expecting the laptop by next Friday. Re: creating recovery DVD, is this something that I should do immediately or should I update the necessary drivers and remove the bloatware before I do so?

 

This will give you an idea. In many benchmarks, the 450 actually outperforms the 520 and 540. http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-compaq-voodoo-pc/495204-i5-450-vs-i5-520-a.html

 

thx hawc1506, I guess reading the link I feel a bit better...still got that crappy feeling in my stomach, I hate losing on my easily obtainable better deals...

 

Can someone point me to the link for HP's service manual for the dv6t se?

 

They took it off their website for some reason

 

any coupon news???

 

DUDE YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY YOU GOT THE i5 450m! I did heavy research before getting mine. The Bus speed on the 450m is twice that of 540m. THe 540m has a higher base clock speed and will drain battery faster. With turbo boost on 450m and double the bus speed it is easily better. Check it for your self on the intel site, look under DMI, for 450m its 4.8 GT/s where for 540m its 2.5 GT/s, basically under heavy use, 450m allows larger transfer of data throughout its system, and with turbo boost makes up for speed lost as compared to 540m.

Also i had used $400 coupon and asked them to match the difference of what i could have gotten with bing, and after arguing with customer resolution center, they tried to tell me bing cashback was unaffiliated with them, i told them it was HP paying commission to microsoft for this, and they had to match the difference. After much talk the price difference of what i could have gotten with 30% bing cashback was given to me on the basis of customer satisfaction. So keep on telling them for the money's worth you should be getting what you got. Do not lie and be straightforward they'll help you out.


by the way i have the manual on my phone.. let me know what you're looking for i can try to get it the info for you..
Update: i found the manual here it is:
http://bizsupport2.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02073871/c02073871.pdf

 

MicGoogle thx alot, it's so funny that u said that. I called HP and spoke to them, without hesitation (maybe because of u, lol), they will credit my account the difference. I think that is classy of HP to do that, without even having to waite for the bing cashback, they just made a very happy customer. Now my laptop comes to 880.68 after tax, which is below my original budget of $900.

On the technical stuff, I read the forums also. From what they say, the DMI bus is only for peripherals so the improvements would be minimal. Also, all I5 are 35W rated so I would think the power drawn will be the same.

 

I think it may be advisable to make the recovery DVDs before you make any changes. I did it after I'd made some and it took a LOOONG time, perhaps because it had to use the material from the recovery partition.

 

Wow, the debate between 450 and 520 is pretty hot But I got 540, how is that compared with the 450? (I know it out performs 520 -_-)

 

Well the 450 is basically equivalent to the 520 so the 540 is faster by a bit. And I highly doubt anyone is going to come even remotely close to maxing out the slower DMI bus because now the memory controller is on the processor. That shouldn't even be a consideration when deciding.

 

Ok, I retried this time. The instructions for it was unnecessarily long. Pretty much copy and paste the download url and edit the target.

Anyways, I got it to update. The results was instantaneous after install; very unstable, core ati gpu temp spiked on idle for some reason, and lost the ability to manually switch intel to ati. Only the automatic switch work , luckily was on.

Maybe cause of mismatch intel drivers?

I play with it later on when time permits.

 

Temperatures. Min was before playing Modern Warfare 2, Max was during Modern Warfare 2, and then the current values are about 15 minutes after playing Modern Warfare 2.



Edit: Has anyone downloaded the Service Manual from HP? It's no longer there and I think I might need it soon.