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

While it might get there on the 9th, don't count on it completely. A "clearance delay" in Anchorage, AK, can push that date back quite a bit. Trust me, mine was supposed to get here on Thursday, and I probably won't be getting it until tomorrow.

EDIT: By the way, does anyone know if the 9-cell battery for this computer can be purchased (for cheaper, of course) from another online store other than HP's?

 

Does anyone know of any good laptop SSD tweak guides? I've searched google, but there doesn't really seem to be much of anything.

 

@estepor Have you already ordered your laptop? If you have, then I wouldnt recommend getting the battery from somewhere other than HP's website, as you could end up with a battery that could fry your laptop. However, if you havent, go for the 50% off deal in your CTO, as you are basically paying for the 9-cell with a $10 discount, and getting the 6-cell for free.

EDIT: I just saw your signature, so nvm about the 50% off thing.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...sd-performance-tips-underperforming-ssds.html

The SSD Review: Windows 7 SSD Performance Optimization Guide

Hope that helps.

Edit: I just noticed that they changed the SSD Review thing from when I last went there. The guide I used is under "Optimization Guides," called "The SSD Optimization Guide." There is also other info on the site.

 

AAAHHH!!! this thing is pissing me off SO MUCH!!! I'll go to change the advanced settings for the "High Performance" power plan, and change all of the minimum and maximum processor settings to 100%, then apply the settings, and click ok. Then whenever I do someting intensive (like run 3DMark06, for example) and go back to the settings, the processor settings are all changed to 49%!!!! It also says "+ MW" next the plan I am using at the time. I even tried creating my own plan, and it still did this to the processor settings!!! AND CoreTemp says that the highest temps I got over the past 6+ hours (which included running 3DMark06 THREE TIMES CONSECUTIVELY) are only 78 and 76 degrees celcius!! Does anyone know how i can stop my power plan's settings from being changed? I'm returning the laptop tomorrow anyway, but I would like to know how well this thing does on 3DMark06, and I can't get a good reading with the processor running at less than half of it's max capacity.

 

why you gotta in my cheerios!?

dammit!

 

Here's one of my benches when I first got the laptop.

 

@Nsxrrmaniac how did you get hwmonitor to display your gpu information? I cant find how to enable it

 

Just out of curiosity, do you have Granola installed?

EDIT: Regarding the additional 9-cell battery, I did purchase both the 6-cell and the 9-cell. However, I was interested in purchasing another 9-cell (so that I could carry both 9-cells with me to class). I guess I'll stick with what I have right now and maybe purchase another 9-cell from HP later on.

EDIT2: I ask about Granola, because I believe +MW, stands for what ever power plan you are using plus MiserWare's (MW) Granola power management software. I am not 100% sure, but that may be holding down your processor.

 

@estepor91 OH MY GOD THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! You were right!!! I went into granola, set changed the settings to maximum power, started up the cod4 demo, and when I quit out of it and checked the settings, they were still the same!!!!!!! Thanks a ton!!!!!!!!!!!

@everyone I ran 3DMark06 3 times without OCing the gpu, and got an average of 7300. I then OCd to 599/899, and it gave me about 7950. I'm gonna run it again with the new power settings and see what I get. I'll edit this post once I do.

 

Sure, no problem. By the way, are you still returning the system? If so, what is the obsession with the benchmarks.

 

I looked through these guides and they seem good, however some of these tweaks seem questionable for a laptop.

For instance, wouldn't you want hibernate enabled on a laptop, even with a SSD?

 

@ryguy45

Phil's guide I believe is for laptops, so maybe that's why he has it as optional. I don't know about the other guide (it was a link in someone's sig here, though). Disabling hibernate just gets you more space back, it doesn't make your SSD faster.

Note: I didn't do everything in the guides. I suggest just choosing what sounds good to you.

 

Uh...I didn't do anything lol. Just shows it. Even on my clean install with my ocz ssd i still get my gpu temp lol.

 

@estepor91 I'm just curious. I will probably be getting an envy 15, so I'd like to see how this fairs.

@Nsxrrmaniac Argh. I'm still not getting mine to show up. Maybe if I reinstall the driver it will show. I'm gonna give that a try.

@everyone So I ended up uninstalling granola, and I OC'd the gpu to 649/899. The final results are 8166.

 

Mine just automatically shows the GPU as well. It doesn't have anything there when on the Intel integrated graphics, though.


And, Method, I like how we're both returning this, probably for the Envy 15.
If only this had a decent screen...

 

@eight35pm Yea I noticed the same thing And yea this laptop would be near-perfect if the vertical viewing angle weren't so terrible. 1600x900 resolution would be nice aswell. Oh and btw, I also want to get an i5 520m just to be safe. I can't stand the thought of having a 2.26ghz processor in a $1200+ laptop.

 

My 450m runs at 2.4ghz when not boosting. Also, I agree the screen is kind of bad, but it's something I've come to live with.

 

Hey guys, I just recently ordered the DV6T Se with the core i7-720qm option. HP says that it's gonna take about a week or two to arrive. Since I don't currently have the laptop at hand. I wanted to know if the HP BIOS allows Hyperthreading/ SMT to be enabled through the BIOS menus? Thanks in advance to the other owners out there for checking it out!

 

I'm probably misunderstanding you, but Intel's HT is already enabled and functioning from the moment you first turn on the computer. So, your CPU will show 8 threads without you having to do anything.

If that's not what you mean, could you explain further?

 

The vertical viewing angle is my only complaint about this laptop so far, but I can live with it.

 

Oh is that so, I see. Because I read in some other threads that companies like Dell or what not leaves HT disabled in their BIOS by deault due to overheating or something. City Pig since you have a core i5, that means that you see already 4threads(2 Cores) since you first turn it on?

If that's the case, that is what I was trying to ask before. Thank you for your help.

sorry for double posting below, I am new to threads and how they work

 

Oh is that so, I see. Because I read in some other threads that companies like Dell or what not leaves HT disabled in their BIOS by deault due to overheating or something. City Pig since you have a core i5, that means that you see already 4threads(2 Cores) since you first turn it on?

If that's the case, that is what I was trying to ask before. Thank you for your help.

 

Is youtube still working for you after taking the back panel off and pushing everything in??? If so I may have to give that a shot tonight. It's strange because my wifi is showing full bars, but maybe that's the issue.

Thanks

 

Correct. My task manager shows four threads running.

 

What percentage of you guys have a trackpad that rattles around alittle when you tap it and who has a solid track pad??? almost like it's loose in the setting. And/or has anyone tried to open the case and reseat it or tighten it up?? Its not something that is too bad but it does sound cheap when you tap it and it does move around and rattle in the housing alittle...as my wife said when she first used it and I didnt even say anything "THAT's cheesy!"
I hate to send this back just for that because the rest of the build is OUTSTANDING...all my keys work...no Case or screen scratches...little to no flex on keyboard (tho there is some but tolerable-afterall it is backlit so the keys have to be somewhat thin to allow the light thru)....I know after reading the posts that QC has been negligible on alot of the builds and I hate to return/exchange for the trackpad and then get another unit that has a problem that far exceeds slight looseness inthe track pad.....like a scratched case or keys that don't actually work as another posted...let me know wht you guys think...
Otherwise I LOVE this laptop.......

Thanks!!!

 

@sdlaw well it seems to have helped a little. HOWEVER, I think I only had problems with Youtube AFTER I had opened up the bottom the first time and removed the cables from the wifi chip, so I would not recommend messing with the cables. The best thing to do would be to call HP's customer support and see if they can help you.

@soren9 Mine shows the same thing City Pig mentioned

@Skione I'll open this thing up and see if i can make it to the trackpad. The last time I tried I could NOT get past detatching the ribbon wire thing for the keyboard. Also, what do you think about the screen? Specifically the vertical viewing angles? I think they're god awful, and thats about 50% of why I'm returning this thing. 49% more is that i don't like having the small amount of storage space that this ssd has. The other 1% is that the screen is a bit small for my taste, and I will also be getting a cheaper laptop. I don't need the speed of the ssd.

I'll be getting a dv7tse with the dual 320gb hdds. That will allow me to swap out one of them in the future for an ssd without having to transfer everything over to the new hard drive. I can also throw that swapped out 320gb hdd in my ps3, which has about 6gb of space left at the moment. Or I could event throw it in an enclosure and use it as an external hard drive. I'm going to miss this backlit keyboard, but thats it.

 

Thanks! I'll give them a call in the next day or two...Recently it's been affecting all internet videos, vimeo, youtube, flash etc even though I've been on both my home internet and my school internet which is really fast.

If anyone else is having this problem let me know and I'll let you know what Customer Service says.

 

Well I opened up the laptop and was able to make it to the trackpad. It is attatched to the metal palm rest thing with, as far as I can tell, 3 screws. I tried to tighten the screws, but they were already as tight as they could be. So I reattatched the metal to the body and made sure that those screws were as tight as possible as well, however the trackpad still made the same sound when tapped. Infact, it almost sounds worse now. Oh well. I suppose you could get it to stop by putting some thin sheets of shock absorbing material like rubber somewhere around the trackpad, but I have no idea where.
Also, some tips for people who want to disassemble the laptop:
- On my first try, I could not get past detatching the ribbon wire things for the keyboard. Its probably pretty obvious to most people how to do it, but anyway, the light-colored piece of plastic shown in the diagram in the manual that can be found on HP's website needs to be lifted up, and then the ribbon may be removed.
- MAKE SURE YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHICH SCREWS GO WHERE. As far as I saw, there are 3 different screws lengths. The shortest ones generally go in the center of the laptop. For example, the screws that hold the wifi card to the motherboard are the shortest of the 3 lengths. The mid-sized screws generally go around the edge, with the exception of in the two back corners of the laptop. I'm not exactly sure if the longest screws do go in those corners, but that makes the most sense due to the back being the thickest part of the laptop
- When removing the bottom panel to acces the hard rive, RAM, etc., unscrew the screws, and begin by pulling the plastic piece towards you (if you have the front of the laptop facing you). Once that section comes away, pull the plastic piece to the right, and then finally just wiggle it while lifting up and it should come away pretty easily. When reinstalling it, insert the parts of the plastic peice in the same order that it was taken out, not in the reverse order.
- When reinstalling the RAM, put it in at about a 40 degree angle from the rest of the body. Don't do what I did the first time, which was try to put them in flat. I put a tiny crack in the bottom one. Also, you don't need to hold open the things that hold the RAM in. They are angled in a way in which you only need to press down on the RAM stick thing to clip it in.

I apologize if these are common sense for people. I just figured I would make sure people knew these things to make disassembly/assembly easier.

If you have any questions, or if there is something i didn't cover, feel free to ask

P.S. - Sorry for the lack of structure in this post. I just wrote down the tips as they came to me.

 

Does anyone know how to switch from IDE mode to AHCI in the bios like it states in that SSD optimization guide on this laptop? I can't find that setting anywhere in the BIOS.

 

How do you overclock the GPU? Is it safe? I've seen it on here a couple times and I wanna know how...or if it is too risky. Thanks guys!

 

@esandorf I overclock the gpu using the AMD Gpu Clock Tool for the Radeon 5870 (version like .9.26.0 or something). It does void the warranty (if they find out you overclocked it ), however it does not void the 21-day return-for-any-reason-at-all thing. The max I have been able to OC my card is about 649mHz for the core, and about 928mHz for the memory. Every card is different, so every card will have different max stable clocks, however 649/899 should work for pretty much everyone.
If you want to OC your card, the best thing to do is do it within the 21 return thing. Get the max clocks you can, and make sure to do some extreme stress tests with those clocks for a long time to make sure they are stable. If you encounter any problems, just send the laptop back for a replacement.

Btw, i get about 7300-7500 on the 3DMark06 test without OCing. With OCing, I get about 8100.

 

Well I'm still having extremely frustrating problems with youtube. Sometimes it works, but 95% of the time it doesnt. I'm glad this thing is really going back tomorrow. All i have to do now is decide between the dv7tse and the envy 15.

 

So i just put on 10 web pages, pandora, and three games and the CPU was barely touched with the i7 although it wouldn't overclock past 1.6ghz... I wanna see it boost! My bottleneck ended up being my 6gb of memory, it got all used up ahhaha

Well 85% of my RAM anyway..not all

 

I'm thinking about buying one of these. It was between this and a Dell studio, but oddly compared to just a few weeks ago, today you have to get a Dell xp for a dedicated card.

I'm interested in the keyboard layout. It seems impssible to get a detailed photo or schematic. Are
there dedicated media keys (of the touch sensitive
type?) or are they shared with the functions keys as they were on some hps I saw in a store.

I've never owned an hp but this seems to be a good value for a decent processor i5 with a dedicated graphics card.

Can you assign functions to areas of the touchpad? On some touchpads I've been able to assign keystrokes to the corners such as page down or delete.

 

Just got one of these today with the i5 m450 proc. did a clean install of windows 7. Installed the turbo boost software form the HP site. How can i tell if its properly working? I know the answers probably in this thread.. but i cant read through 325 pages to find it. Thanks

 

ok. so i just got mine. im liking everything but the screen. it kills me. color and brightness is junk. i think im going to have to return this. i waited almost 3 weeks for this order.

 

Two questoins
1. Is the screen (colors, brightness, etc...) the same if you have a touchscreen? If different, is the touchscreen better or worse?
2. Is there any possible way to put another storage device (for example ssd + hdd) inside this laptop, like the Envy 15, or there's enough space for only one?

thank you guys, I ordered mine 4 days ago, it is supposed to ship on September 13, but if the screen is really that bad, i'm gonna return it...
Anybody knows how long a return can take? I mean, how long until everything is settled and I get my money back, because I'm leaving USA in the beginning of October... and, am I going to lose some money if I decide to return it?

 

The screen's defaults are pretty bad...lucky it could be adjusted, the problem that I have to create a profile to each app that needs specific adjustments. Oh well.

 

I think everyone who has recently ordered this system recently should at least give the screen a chance. Personally, I was beginning to doubt about this purchase due to all the criticism. However, I received my system today, and I am pleased with the screen. It may not be the best screen available, but it certainly is better than the one I have on my old dv5-100us. In other words, I can live with it.

In my opinion, everything else about the computer is exceptional (including build quality). This is the way I look at this: While there are definitely other systems with better features (i.e. screen), this setup/configuration is a great value that's hard to match.

By the way, does anyone know where I can get that software to monitor the clock speed of my processor? I searched the info guide, but it is not there. Thanks.

 

Try using CPUZ

 

Yeah, I agree with you, and I'm glad you like your laptop. Personally, the screen on my previous laptop was better, and I just don't think I can adjust. If you are used to most laptop screens nowadays, this screen should be fine.

The performance I got for the price is a great value, mainly due to the SSD. It's still a very nice value if you go cheaper and don't get an SSD, although you can get a cheaper computer with the similar specs but worse build quality. In general, most the build quality and materials in this laptop are amazing for most people. Unfortunately I have some slight build quality issues, that combined with the screen are causing me to return this and just go for something with a nicer screen and/or is a little smaller. The Envy 15 fits this, but is not as good a value performance/price wise. I have decided that the trade-offs are worth it for me. The GPU is better, which is the one thing where performance is better, its thinner and lighter, and it has a much nicer screen. In turn, I sacrifice the SSD on the dv6tse (since I can't afford it on the Envy 15), some battery life, and money. Personally I'd rather have a nice screen to stare at for three years, I just can't imagine using this for that long. I figure I can upgrade to a SSD later, as well (for more money ).

This is a very good computer, but after trying it out, it's just not quite the right fit for me. Honestly, I'm going to miss the SSD and battery life on this thing.


Anyway, I second CPU-Z. CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting


Edit: I just thought I'd mention I'm happy with how the ATI 5650 performs on current games (i.e. BF:BC2) and older games that are still being played today (i.e. TF2), but I will really appreciate the extra performance of the 5830 for future games. The temps on my laptop were also very nice. Propping it up a little (the back of it at least) off the desk also helps, although it's fine beforehand. The left palmrest did stay a little cooler for me when the laptop was propped up, though. And the left palmrest does get warm, but it's nowhere near scorching where you can't touch it, and it wasn't uncomfortable for me personally.

 

I agree i do like the computer but the screen. i dont know. I am coming from a screen that was 1920x1200 and my work laptop also has the same resolution with really great color. Maybe im being a snob i am going to give it a chance for a week but after that i dont know what i am going to turn to because of how great everything else is.

 

Hi guys,

got the dv6t SE(argento blush metal) with the following specs.

• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* • Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720 Quad Core processor
* • 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* • 640GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* • 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 graphics
* • 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
* • No TouchScreen
* • Intel Wireless-N Card
* • Full-size island-style keyboard with HP TrueVision Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
* • High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
* • Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
* • HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

out of the box, when performing wei or even after 5 muns idle, the fans are on full blast and the vent spews out jets of hot air. I am not running any applications but am on idle. Have not calculated the temps yet but this thing seems to be getting much hotter than any other lappies i had earlier.

is this normal?

Thanks in advance.

 

I understand. Personally, I'm coming from a 1280X800 display, so this screen is not bad (relatively). Besides, the build quality of this system is much better to what I was using before.

 

Yah same here, if you look at my old specs from my last computer in my signature, it's quite the upgrade for me to and it makes me sad that so many people are returning it. I understand about downgrading screens though for most of ya'll

 

I donno just got mine yesterday. It's doing the same thing. I have a I520

 

shipping reads as this:

Sep 8, 2010 11:58 AM
Int'l shipment release
ANCHORAGE, AKSep 7, 2010 1:52 PMIn transitANCHORAGE, AKSep 7, 2010 12:42 PMArrived at FedEx locationANCHORAGE, AKSep 7, 2010 8:55 PMIn transitSHANGHAI CNSep 7, 2010 8:38 PMIn transitSHANGHAI CNSep 6, 2010 10:52 PMPicked upSHANGHAI CNPackage received after FedEx cutoff

shipping was released from alaska at noon today. fedex still says i should get my package by 10:30am tomorrow. i live in kansas city. think it will happen?

 

DuDE MY DV6TSE is on the same shipment, here is what fedex says....




Shipment Facts Help
Service type IP Direct Distribution - Indirect Signature Required
Weight 4.4 kg/9.7 lbs
Reference
Clearance detail

Shipment Travel History Help Select time zone:

All shipment travel activity is displayed in local time for the location
Date/Time Activity Location DetailsSep 8, 2010 11:58 AM
Int'l shipment release
ANCHORAGE, AKSep 7, 2010 1:52 PMIn transitANCHORAGE, AKSep 7, 2010 12:42 PMArrived at FedEx locationANCHORAGE, AKSep 7, 2010 8:55 PMIn transitSHANGHAI CNSep 7, 2010 8:38 PMIn transitSHANGHAI CNSep 6, 2010 10:52 PMPicked upSHANGHAI CNPackage received after FedEx cutoffSep 6, 2010 7:08 AMShipment information sent to FedEx

I AM SO EXCITED FROM COMING FROM S TY DV6Z MY NEW SPECKS FOR THIS COMPUTER ARE:

HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition customizable Notebook PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-540M Dual Core processor (2.53GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.06GHz
• 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• FREE Upgrade to 640GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
• SAVE $20! Norton Internet Security(TM) 2010 - 15 Month Subscription (activation required)
• High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
• 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
• FREE Upgrade to Computrace LoJack for Laptops, Four Years from One Year
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Estimated build date: September 9, 2010
I know it will come tomorrow.....

 

It can, but it'll need to get on that plane soon.

Also, we have a shipping thread. http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-pavilion-notebooks/513977-hp-dv6tse-shipping-thread.html Post there with your state and I'll tell you if a flight is scheduled.