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

A heads up for everyone... free upgrade is back to 6gbs ram rather than a free blu-ray. Thought some of you might be happy to hear that. Does anyone know of any coupons that have come out today????

 

Either Anchorage forgot to scan my box or it completely bypassed customs lol.

 

Thank goodness! now please just post when a coupon is avaliable so I can buy my laptop!

 

Agreed where's it at??? Anyone know?? I just missed the last one so I'm not gonna let another one go by.

 

NBG419735 is the code for $200 off $1399 and up. Expires after 700 uses.

 

Thanks very much for that msajeff! I wish it were a larger one but it will have to work

 

Hi, how many fans does this notebook have? 1 or 2? And is it possible to get it with a higher screen resolution than 1366 x 768?

 

It has 1 fan and there is no stock upgrade for the screen. You could get an aftermarket one but it may void the warranty.

 

Ok thank you.

 

could anyone send me temperature charts for both core i7 720qm and core i5 540m

 

Hello, I would appreciate some feedback on the following configuration.

• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-450M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)with Turbo Boost up to 2.66 GHz
• FREE Upgrade to 6GB 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 [HDMI, VGA]
• 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
• No TouchScreen (includes HP TrueVision Webcam)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
• Backlit Keyboard with Fingerprint Reader
• 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (over-sized)
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
• No additional security software
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

This comes out to $968.34 (tax included).

One quick question, using the $200 off coupon, I can add the 160GB SSD and an extra 6-cell battery, for $160.50 more. Is this worth it? Are the benefits of an SSD really tangible?

 

I want to ask can the notebook run hackintosh,if it can does it have some kind of problems and with which video card ?

 

Can anyone tell me how well this laptop can run games? I'd like to play stuff like BF:BC2 and stuff in the future as well, preferably above low settings. Also, how is the battery life?
If only this laptop had options for a better screen and a better graphics card, I would buy it right away.

 

Bullet is now in flight.

HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition customizable Notebook PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-450M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)with Turbo Boost up to 2.66 GHz
• FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 160GB (Solid State Drive Flash Module)
• 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
• TouchScreen with HP TouchSmart's intuitive multi-touch applications (includes HP TrueVision Webcam)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
• Backlit Keyboard with Fingerprint Reader
• 50% OFF! One 6 Cell (standard) and One 9 Cell (over-sized) Lithium Ion Battery
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
• No additional security software
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Estimated build date: August 12, 2010

$1204 without tax (Just under $1300 with tax)

 

Anybody know if any coupons still work?

 

Wait, is the 450m faster than the 540m?
And is it true that the 540 will use up battery faster? If yes, how much of a difference will it make?

 

Since it's 10am in China I'm hoping that little Chinaman is busy assembling my system and getting it ready for it's trip to the frigid north Ordered it last Wednesday night and I'm hoping It ships in the next 24-72 hours. Getting tired of this piece of Toshiba crap locking up on me every 10 minutes!

 

Re: Driver, BIOS, and Graphic updates-- I just got the laptop on Thursday and am so far happy with it. Is the general consensus on this board to compare the latest versions of the aforementioned with what came loaded on the laptop and update EVERYTHING or will the performance, etc. of the laptop be fine with whatever came pre-installed? Is there an on-board utility that will automatically check all this stuff out and if so, is it already enabled? Thanks.

 

Hi, I have a similar question. How big of a difference is there between the 450m and the 540m? I understand from the other thread that the difference is negligible between the 450m and the 520m, but I am curious if selecting the 450m over the 540m significantly hinders how quickly the laptop become obsolete. I guess my question would be, in a few years or so will there be games and programs that can run with a 540m but not with a 450m? Thanks a ton!

 

540m has higher clock speed so it's faster but 450m has a higher DMI which is the bus speed of processor sort of like the width of a highway it allows more data
to be transferred..in theory all i5s use the same power in reality the lower clock speed the more life you get out however this isn't true of you run high end apps like Photoshop etc. as they'll keep CPU on high load for longer! But for light/medium usage 450m is more than enough, I have it and even rendered videos beautifully! Not worth $100 or whtever for 540m for few higher clock speeds... Games and programs will not be a prob with processors as turbo boost is more than sufficient your graphics card may get outdated but you got a while like ~5 years as this is a mid direct 11 card which is pretty much one of the latest

Umersaeed your question was answered before go read that instead of repeating ur question.. i7 users reported better temps than i5 but worser battery life. There's no chart (there prob is lol) for this u can go read processor manuals for more info.


Ester I should warn you unless you have money or it's urgent don't get ssd. Space is biggest problem so is price, but it's performance beats all flaws, however are you ok with a ~90GB SSD (after hp recovery partitions etc.) you can do clean install but risk prob with drivers. But if you just need a blazing fast laptop for storing few files and just work for presentations etc go for SSD!!


Regarding checking updates of all installed softwares, run HP Update, Windows Update and most importantly run Hp Support Assistant and in there run diagnostics or updates, it's different from normal hp update and updates almost everything to latest stable version. It even flashed my BIOS to latest version! Now if your an advanced user jump on justinw's thread for dv6tse and update everything to latest minor versions! Only advanced users only as you'll need to know how to delete and rollback updates incase something breaks

 

Ironically enough I'm also getting this laptop to replace a Toshiba that's more or less run it's course. I put the order in last Monday morning and it shipped last night, so I guess that would put yours on the plane early Tuesday, or late Monday if you're lucky. According to my tracking number, it completely bypassed Anchorage and went through its international shipment release in Memphis in about three hours.

 

Out of curiousity how old was your's? I had a Dell for 3 years that I sold off to buy the Best Buy version of the dv7tse in '08. Had issues with BB not making repairs properly...first time it came back it wasn't fixed and went right back without me leaving the store, second time it came back with the USV ports still completely screwed. Ended up being talked into the Toshiba last June and it didn't even make a year before the HD failed after months of overheating (only marginally helped by a Targus stand/fan.) Came back from their depot days after the warranty ended and somehow they tested the brick instead of the laptop itself for heat. Called in and was told I was SOL since warranty expired and they don't warranty their repair work in such instances. Then since 3 weeks ago I've been having all kinds of issues that from my research are indicative of the motherboard being damaged from the heat.

I ordered it around 4pm on Wednesday so using your timeframe I'm guessing Tuesday with it getting here on Friday with standard shipping.

Sicne I haven't posted it yet, my build:
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-450M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)with Turbo Boost up to 2.66 GHz
• 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• FREE Upgrade to 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5470 switchable graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
• No TouchScreen (includes HP TrueVision Webcam)
• FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• Intel Wireless-N Card
• Backlit Keyboard with Fingerprint Reader
• 50% OFF! One 6 Cell (standard) and One 9 Cell (over-sized) Lithium Ion Battery
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
• No additional security software
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Order subtotal $834.99
Tax $52.19
Grand total $887.18
Estimated ship date: August 6, 2010

 

Let's see... Where to start? Well first off, someone (I'm pretty sure it was Handa) posted some fps's for bfbc2 running some version of the i5 and the graphics card overclocked to 650/1000 and got an average of 43 fps on medium setting and I think running the screens native res.

Next, chances are, future games are going to take advantage of the i7-720+'s quad cores, so an i7 would be a good choice for gaming. However, there are laptops with much better gaming performance, so if the laptop ur getting is mostly for gaming, you'll probably want to choose a different laptop.

Lastly, for battery life, some people on this thread reported around 3 hours of battery life running an i7 with light Internet browsing on the six cell, and i5 users were able to get around 4-5 hours with similar usag on the six cell.

 

This laptop plays most of my games with most of the settings set on high / max. My i5 450m will run bfbc2 at 45 fps on mostly high settings. I usually turn off shadows cause I never notice them anyways.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I'm getting a laptop mainly for schoolwork, heavy internet and stuff, but I'm also getting into some moderate gaming. I'm afraid the 5650 might be a little too weak, so I'm also looking at the Envy 15, which has the 5830 (along with a better screen). Do you know how much better that will do for gaming, considering I'll be getting the 1080p screen on the Envy? Also, does the screen on the dv6tse bother any of you? I think I'm gonna see if I can go check it out at BestBuy soon.

 

You sure we aren't the same person? I had a Dell Inspiron 5160 for three years (November 2004-July 2008, so closer to four years). It had a bad motherboard but I got an extended warranty so they gutted the whole thing in 2006, but two years ago I saw a good deal for a Toshiba A305-6858 in a Best Buy flyer so I went to that. Since the day I got it, the thing blue-screened about once a week but I just lived with it. Then about a month ago I noticed the webcam and memory card reader didn't work. I didn't have time to bring it to Best Buy until last Saturday, and they told me they don't do laptops in-store and that I'd have to ship it out for three weeks. I went home and basically found out from various forums that if I send it to Geek Squad I would never see a functioning machine again so I decided to just go for an HP directly.

Mine looks a little something like:
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-450M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)with Turbo Boost up to 2.66 GHz
• 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• FREE Upgrade to 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5470 switchable graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
• No TouchScreen (includes HP TrueVision Webcam)
• Lightscribe Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
• Backlit Keyboard with Fingerprint Reader
• 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (over-sized)
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
• No additional security software
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
After my academic discount and the $150 rebate, it's $923.31 with MA sales tax and two-day shipping.

 

Can the dv6tse run in Windows XP mode, under Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate? I read something which said that XP mode requires laptops with Intel virtualization technology enabled in the BIOS, wondering if the dv6tse qualifies.

 

These Intel® Core™ processors supports VT-x

• i3-330E / i3-330M / i3-330UM / i3-350M / i3-370M

• i5-430M / i5-430UM / i5-450M /i5-520E / i5-520M / i5-520UM / i5-540M / i5-540UM

• i7-610E / i7-620LE / i7-620LM / i7-620M / i7-620UE / i7-620UM / i7-640LM / i7-640UM / i7-660UM / i7-720QM / i7-740QM / i7-820QM / i7-840QM

Technically any dv6tse that run these processors should.

 

I think we need a first page like the Envy 14s. Take all the info in the thread and summarize them into one post since there's a bunch of stuff lost in the 200+ pages.

 

There is a coupon back up.

Edit: On a related note, they got rid of the free Blu Ray Upgrade and replaced with with the free upgrade to 6GB of RAM. Hoorah!

 

This. I'm dreading having to wade through the 200 pages again to find the programs and customizations when mine arrives. Should be here today!

 

just got my laptop! I haven't turned it on yet, but lets just say it makes my old laptop look like a robot from the 80's

 

Has anyone tried to run win xp or ubuntu linux on this laptop yet? I am wondering if its possible to do either as i am really more comfortable with them over win 7. Please post any details of what you did if you have tried either os

Thanks

 

Hey guys! I am creating a list of all the latest info on the DV6T SE so I can hopefully get a guide stickied and kept updated on page 1. So far I am going to have: Current Discounts (free upgrades, coupons etc), links for guides to update software, Out of the box video links, reviews, comments/praise, and issues/concerns.

If you feel there is a topic that should be addressed on the 1st page please let me know.

 

If you could list benchmarks and some examples of how it performs for gaming, that would be great.

 

Looking through this thread is like reading the script of a soap opera. On p42 of 70 now. Laptop still sitting In Production....that chinaman needs to get his butt back to the factory and assemble it...sleep is for the weak!

 

How to disable/reverse the F1/F2/... keys via the BIOS.
How to remap the quick keys
How to make the touchpad suck less
...
A bunch of pictures \/

 

Guide on a clean install including Driver Links

 

Maybe I haven't stumbled into it yet but wouldn't using the msconfig utility to "deactivate" startup processes/programs do the same as uninstalling if your main purpose was just to get rid of unneeded processes/programs?

 

Yes it would. However, if you arent going to use a program, you should free up your memory and just uninstall it.

 

Mine came this morning and I've been moving all my data over since
I need some practice typing with this, so I'll share my thoughts on the laptop.
FYI, I'm replacing a Toshiba with a 15.4" widescreen at 1280x800.


The keyboard layout is different (than what I've used at least), but doesn't seem unlearnable. The keys actually aren't spaced out any further apart than normal laptop keyboards; being chiclet-style keys, there's no overhang making them look "connected." There's a dedicated lock button (instead of Win+L) and a dedicated backlight button if you opted for the backlit keyboard.
F1=?; F2=brightness down; F3=brightness up; F4=display switching; F5=previous track/chapter; F6=play/pause; F7=stop; F8=next track/chapter; F9=volume down; F10=volume up; F11=mute; F12=wireless on/off with a white light for on and an orange light for off.

When side-by-side with a 1280x800 laptop, this screen looks more "squashed," but that's just because I think this is actually 16x9, as opposed to what previous widescreen laptops were (16x10). The icons, words, etc. aren't enlarged or anything, but there's a noticeable vertical size decrease from my old 15.4"

My only real complaint would be the touchpad. I know multitouch is the way of the future or whatever, but I flat out hate how they do the buttons (touchpad is all one piece). The touchpad isn't centered. It looks centered when just looking at the computer, but when you have your hands on the keyboard it becomes clear that it's a bit too far to the right. Thankfully, PalmCheck (a setting in the Synaptics driver) works as supposed to and guards against accidental cursor movement when turned all the way up without screwing with anything else as far as I can tell.

Other than that (rant), it's great. Sound is good enough for a laptop. If you expected to be DJ'ing parties with these speakers, sorry but look elsewhere lol. I imagine I'll just use headphones most of the time, but the built-in Altec-Lansings (located on the front edge) do their job. The fingerprint reader works and prompts to save passwords for programs (like iTunes Store) so you can just scan your finger next time. When logging into Windows, you don't have to select your username first; just scan your finger and it signs you in. I ordered at a time when the Blu-Ray player was the upgrade; the drive itself seems a bit loose (audible clicking sound when you push inwards) and the eject button is small. A white light comes on when the webcam is active; the webcam is flush with the bezel. The two other holes are microphones. The 9-cell battery definitely adds noticeable weight, but isn't very large or long. Because of vent placement, this and any other batteries sit right-of-center. On the 9-cell (not sure about the 6-cell), there's a button and 4 LEDs that display battery life.

One concern is that when I took this out of the box, the cover for the RAM, HDD, etc. on the bottom wasn't seated correctly. The tabs were sticking out so I had to unscrew the whole thing and then screw it in again.

If you have questions this doesn't answer, feel free to ask.

 

Alright, I have created a new thread that I will try to keep updated as much as possible. Please go take a look and let me know how it looks so far. Sorry it isn't quite completed, but I need to get some real work done today...

Enjoy

 

Very good thread. I actually did not know that I was better off using the academic discount rather than the $50 coupon.

On another note, choosing a hard drive is killing me. I know how great the SSD is, but I am still not convinced about shelling out $160 more just for it. I would appreciate any feedback from people who decided to stick with the 500 GB HDD. Noise? Average boot time? Etc. In addition, do you guys think that the HDD would survive being carried around pretty much everyday to class?

 

This was my concern as well, I am a full time student and employee and my laptop will be going all over the place with me. I know that many hardrives have accelerometers so if the laptop is falling it will stop spinning, but what about when it is jostled around in a pack constantly, even though its not spinning that has to hurt a little... I was fortunate enough to get a large financial aid dispursement that I could include the SSD without too much worry As for the regular hardrive, I am currently using a dm4t and noise really isnt an issue 95% of the time. but when the computer needs to acces large files it does make some noise and slight vibration, but nothing to be concerned about at all.

 

Unboxing my dv6tse right now!

 

Is it necessary for me to make recovery disks since I ordered them from HP with the laptop?

 

The only possible reason to make your own disks was mentioned before (however it is not a verified concern.) If you selected to have the touchscreen on your setup then the stock hp recovery disks may not have those drivers stored. However if that is the case you could easily get them from the hp site as the touchscreen is not a critical part of the system. So basically no, you would not need to make your own disks. Of course you could make the disks after some tweaks to your system and recover to that point, but that is something I am not very experienced with.

 

be sure to tell us your initial thoughts when you boot it up and get going.

 

@max24

yeah, the drive button is small, so what I did was I remapped the help key (rather useless button) as a drive ejector. Works wonders.

 

I ended up with a DV6z SE with the free blu-ray upgrade, went N930, 4GB Ram, HD5650 (Is this a regular one or is it made to be compatible with the quad-core? Seems obvious but I do like to know :S), and a high cap 6-cell. All the other options I didn't opt for (hopefully i don't regret having no backlit keyboard).

Anyways my price was $1015 and my $50+$150 made it $815 (882.16 after tax). I did a 2% Bing Cash Back right before it ended and gained me $16-ish. If I went for the Student Discount, I would have a $60.12 stacked with the $150 but I would lose out the 6 dollars i gained back from teh bing cash back. Apparently Bing and Student Discount don't coincide and I'm still waiting for the $16 to pend. Unfortunately I'm not sure if it'll go through since I used a coupon but it's only $10. If it was higher, I would be tearing my hair out lol.

Also, is 4gb Ram still good for the next few years? It's the only hardware I wasn't sure about (Happy with Processor and Graphics, need to learn how to overclock and undervolt)