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

The estimated build date is always about two weeks from the order date. However, it's just a buffer. Your laptop will probably get to you on the 7th. Mine actually arrived a day before the estimated build date.

 

You'll love it, I came from a dv6z-1100 CRAAPPY pc, and I am loving this pc, and we have the exact same build besides i have touchscreen and a backlit keyboard, which IS WORTH IT! and I got a 3 year warrenty with adp and in home service!. good luck!

 

I can only hope so!

I fluctuated between the Blu Ray drive and the touchscreen endless times, then settled on the BD combo. I don't like lifting my hands from the keyboard while working. I already assign shortcuts for virtually anything haha. I guess it's a matter of laziness.

 

Some quick notes on the Envy 15 vs. the dv6tse:


The Envy 15 also has no keyboard flex, whereas my dv6tse had a fair amount (I think more than usual). As a result, the Envy 15 keyboard is great and very snappy. I was disappointed in the mushiness of the dv6tse keyboard.

I am certain now that my trackpad on the dv6tse was messed up. On the Envy 15 it is definitely solid when I tap it, not hollow or loose sounding like on the dv6tse. So far, I have none of the problems such as jumpiness that I was having on the dv6tse (knock on wood).

I love the screen of the Envy 15. It was definitely worth trading the SSD on my dv6tse for, because I can upgrade to an SSD later (although my wallet might not like it), and the HDD isn't as much slower as I thought. I do really miss booting up in 15 seconds, but other than that I miss it a little, but not too much. I think the SSD didn't make as big a difference to me as some people claim because SSDs actually run slower on the HM55 chipset that the dv6tse uses (they also run slower on the PM55 chipset on the Envy 15). There are now a couple tweaks out there to fix this, though. Anyways, the screen on the Envy 15 still gets a fair amount of reflections, but it is much brighter and much more beautiful.

I personally like how the Envy 15 looks better, although I do like how the dv6tse looks. Some (or most) of you might like the pattern on the dv6tse better, but the Envy 15 looks much sleeker because it is thinner. I love the thinness of the Envy 15. The dv6tse isn't really that thick at 1.2"-1.3", but having a 1.04" thick laptop is really nice. I also like how it's completely flat, not slanted like the dv6tse. And the bottom the Envy 15 looks nicer. They both have a glossy plastic bezel, which I hate, but the Envy has metal around the keyboard and in between the keys, whereas the dv6tse has more of that glossy plastic. These are little personal things, however. More like icing on the cake, not the main reasons for liking one laptop over the other.

I haven't has a situation yet where I would need a lot of battery life, but I'm sure I'll miss the extra battery life of the dv6tse occasionally. Fortunately I don't really need the extra battery life, it would just be nice every once in a while.

I also haven't done any gaming yet, but obviously the Envy 15 will be better.

Do you guys have any questions you want me to answer?

 

@Lodorand What made you choose the i5-540m? I've heard from multiple places that the performance difference between that and, say, a 450m is negligable, if existant at all.

 

How's the weight comparison?

Also, the keyboard probably doesn't have much flex because of the metal in between the keys, whereas the dv6tse has plastic. But I definitely think the envy looks nicer.

Quite frankly, I never understood why so many people freak out about keyboard flex, it seems to be one of the most frequent laptop complaints I've read about.

 

Some people just feel like they've bought a cheap laptop if it's not totally solid.

 

Agreed. Especially since the cost of reinforcing it is minimal. There really is no excuse on the manufacturer's end for not doing it.

 

Just picking it up and carrying it around the house, there isn't a difference (I like how the Envy 15 feels in my hand due to its thinness). I haven't had a chance to carry the Envy 15 around for a long time yet, but it feels like it will be a little easier, not a huge difference, but nice.

I don't mind keyboard flex where you have to push down really hard to have any. The thing is, I could actually feel the flex as I was typing. It made the keyboard feel mushy and made me type slower. When I had the dv6tse I did a couple typing tests (from some links off google) on the dv6tse, and on my old laptop, and I was faster on my old laptop. Now, with the Envy, I'm as fast as I was on my old laptop.

 

You're right. According to these benchmarks, 540m is, on average, about 6% faster, which I doubt is noticeable by anyone. I did the upgrade in order to increase the price so that I would hit the $1,399 mark, after which the $300 coupon is valid.

The core i7-720qm presents a performance increase of about 17% over the 540m in multi-threaded apps or when multitasking in general. I didn't opt in for it though, not because battery life is a priority, but because I work with the laptop on my lap for a prolonged period of time, and I would hate for it to get hot or drive up the fan noise. I feel it's unnecessary power in laptops, and the i5 should be more than enough for my needs which thankfully do not include intensive video editing, large code compilation, intensive simulation, or any very computationally heavy application. I do plan on some occasional gaming, but for that the i5 would deliver the needed performance if not more.

Yes, how much price difference was there? How difficult was the return process?

 

Well, what you can't have on your Envy 15 is
1. The touchscreen. Not that it's really necessary but it's a cool feature and I like it.
2. The back-lit keyboard. A great feature that I'm in love with. Looks good, it's practical and the most important part - I can type with no problems even with my room-light out.
3. The fingerprint reader. Honestly I didn't expect to get so addicted to this feature. One of the most practical things on my dv6tse. Saves so much time and nerves and typing.
4. The optical drive. To me, it makes no difference, but some people use it a lot and just want to have it in the laptop. I would prefer the envy for this because I'd rather have an SSD + HDD and an external optical drive, than have the integrated optical drive and an external HDD (since my SSD is pretty limited on capacity)

 

The Envy 15 was only $20 more. There was a $250 coupon for the dv6tse (plus the $150 instant rebate), and there was a $200 for the Envy 15. I got an SSD with the dv6tse thanks to the coupons, otherwise it would be much less, but it also wouldn't have any performance advantage.

Returning was easy. I used their online chat thing, just said I want to return, the rep said ok, asked for some basic info, and sent me the RMA thing to print. Then I just put the dv6tse back in the box, put the RMA label on, dropped it off at FedEx, and the credited me the refund as soon as FedEx scanned it.

1. I honestly don't care about the touchscreen. I'd rather have a nice looking screen.
2. I thought about this, and I don't mind not having the backlit keyboard either. It looks cool, but I don't need the back light to type.
3. I thought the fingerprint reader would be nice, but I never used it. I disabled login to windows, so I never had a chance to use it there, and then all my username/passwords to websites are saved.
4. I rarely need an optical drive. Probably like once a month, so no big deal.

Of course, if you value these things more than I do, then the dv6tse makes more sense than the Envy 15. I just would rather have the nicer screen, thinner and lighter form, and better graphics power. It is a trade-off, though. I sacrificed the SSD, battery life, and the things listed above. I will probably upgrade to an SSD eventually but of course that just costs more money.

 

The Envy's are definitely nicer machines. I almost went for the E14, but the one major thing I could not get over was the laser etched floral pattern on the lid of the notebook. In hindsight, maybe I should've gotten a E15 and just put stickers all over my laptop lol. Currently considering swapping an E15 screen into my dv6t.

For 20$ more though, good buy.

 

Has anybody tried to use GPartEd or a similar tool to eliminate the "restore" partition of the 160GB SSD and expand the C: partition? It would be nice to have those 20-some GB back.

 

To delete the recovery partition go to menu -> recovery manager -> recovery manager.
The program will prompt you for admin access. Under the "I'd like to take precautions" tab select the remove recovery partition option. Then just follow the instructions.
Good luck

 

@City Pig

I`m starting to feel a regreat of buying the dv6tse... all this comparisons between the Envy 15 and the screen / keyboard problems...

Are you happy with it now? Any complaints yet?

 

For me, I don't think my budget could have allowed anything better. I definitely would have returned it for an Envy 15 if I had the money, but that's just it; I don't have the money! I really like it, and I can deal with the screen (though the much better LCDs used with my college computers is making that harder, and having more pixel height would really be great), though there are a lot of indications that it was sloppily put together. For example, I really think that the right hinge on mine isn't going to last. I'm probably going to see about getting it repaired in December (after the end of my Winter term).

 

swapping a screen??? How's that done?

 

Thanks. Needless to say, I've made the recovery DVDs already.

 

Hi Guys:

I'm having problemsw with my dv6tse again. The noteobook freezes each time I watch a blu-ray movie. It occured about three or four times, while watchine one film. I suspected overheating and used core-temp to monitor the cpu temp. GPU temp remained @ mid 60s but the CPU climbed to 90 degrees. That's awfully high for CPU. Is this a flaw with the HP notebooks? I just got it back after HP replaced the motherboard and a fan.

C.

 

You need to buy the screen and the connector. Getting the connector right is the hard part.

Also, I'm sad to see everyone having problems with their Dv6. Mine has been almost flawless.

 

mine has also been flawless. I am adjusting to the screen but for the most part its been a really good machine. 55C avg when watching a DVD? that sound about right for you guys? i5 520M on the 5650 on HDMI...?

 

Kind of an obvious question, but did you try updating the blu ray drive driver and the player software to their latest versions? I'm sorry to hear you're having these issues, it must be frustrating after being excited about the new laptop. I still haven't got mine, but I'm planning on starting an account with Netflix to rent Blu Rays and watch them with this laptop. I suggest you talk to customer service. Get them to ship you a new one instead of trying to fix it. Just curious, what CPU do you have?

 

Hi Guys:

I took the notebook apart to apply AS5 to the heatsinks. The goo they used appears to be el cheapo white thermal paste. I'm surprised that the heatsink didn't cover the ATI GPU memory modules.

Using ATI 5650, idle temperature is @ 50 Celcius. Idle with Intel HD is @ 40 Celcius. is this on par with what you guys have? I played a blu-ray dvd, loaded a whole bunch graphics apps and played a 3D game. CPU temp reached 85 Celcius max. It's not realistic about actual usage but just wanted to see. Hopefully AS5 solves my issue.

I did try to update HP MediaSmart DVD but it doesn't complete. Anyone have any success? CPU is Core i5 520.

C.

 

Wow.... hinge just in 3 months and already going down?
But you are not the carefull type of user, are you?

The main disappointment for me, is the $300 coupoun that appeard on the net few days after my purchase... I could have get a Bluray burner and better CPU... and unfortunatly there`s no way for me to return my dv6t cause I`m going back to Brazil. :/

The screen... well... all my friend have simple laptops... none of them with more than 720p screen... I want to believe that`s a relief...

Thanks anyway... keep us informed...

 

The hinge wasn't built correctly, it seems. It's just a lemon. I'm sure yours will be fine.

For some reason, it looks like there's a tiny whole on the bezel above the hinge, which tells me it wasn't inserted properly.

 

Won't hp take care of it if its a defect? :S

I got a faulty usb and had a tech come over and replace it last week

 

They came over?

Either way, I'd also need them to re-seat the keyboard and touchpad. I'd probably need to sent it in, and I just don't have the time for that.

 

Well over here they do come over, in-house service..

They call it on-site warranty

 

Did you pay extra for that?

 

Nop..Came with one year on-site warranty when I bought it..

All new ones come with that I think



http://www.itnewsonline.com/news/HP-India-Announces-HP-Onsite-Support-for-Notebooks/20510/8/1

 

I guess I'll give it a try then. Thanks!

 

These are about the temps I get with my dv6, cept a little lower. As for gaming, my machine hits mid 80's to low 90's. AS5 helped a little bit, but not as much as I was hoping for. I'm ok though, at least my gpu never goes above 65 like other laptops.

 

City Pig,

its not available in the us, you have to pay more for in house service, i paid 240 for 3 year in house service with accidental protection service with in house....

 

Knew it. I guess I have to wait then.

 

Sorry to hear. Hope it stands the test of time!

 

So, I've been using my dv6 on the battery for about 2.5 hours now and it's on 48% battery life. Fan hasn't run once since I turned it on and the cpu is running at 27*C max of 33. Love my dv6.

 

Surrounding temperatures must be really low xD

Ambient temperature here is 30~ my dv6 runs at 40-50 with browsing + im

 

Nsxrrmaniac you changed your dv6t screen? Where did you found one?

 

Anyone knows how to make the Intel graphics the default vga at windows start-up???
I guess in BIOS, the only problem is that I don't know how to get to the BIOS :$

 

your lappy is great .... ha ha

 

Hi Guys:

Really stupid question for those of you who have the backlit keyboard. Does your space bar have backlighting?

Thanks,
C

 

nope. spacebar doesnt really need backlight anyways. because there is nothing to illuminate on the key.

(I was wondering if my keyboard was defective when i first got it too )

 

Well even though it's not backlighted, it's the biggest button on the entire board.

Though I did find it kind of odd that there was no light surrounding the key. I'm guessing they couldn't find a LED big enough for the space bar?

 

I haven't swapped screens. I'm waiting to see if someone finds a proper connector or pin-outs for the connectors so colors don't show up washed out and all that.

 

The price has dropped $50, but the base CPU is now the i3-380M. However, the upgrade to the i5-450M is on $25. This means that some of you are entitled to a $25 rebate!

Also, 520M and 540M are out, and 380M, 460M, 560M, and 580M are in.

 

How can I get to the BIOS? what's the key? And is the ATI driver on support.hp.com the latest driver for the 5650?

 

Press f10 when booting the laptop


and about the driver..I think ATI released a newer version but i'm really not sure..

I don't update stuff unless I have a known problem or they give a known performance boost..

 

No, but you might still have to use it. If you have switchable graphics, you have to get the driver from HP or else you'll lose your switchable graphics and you might end up with an unstable system.

 

The battery decided to be nice to me today.

50% after two hours! Great for the standard capacity, and since I only need 2.5 hours at most, I might even be able to turn the brightness up next time!

Still considering the high-cap 6-cell, though, since that should allow me to run at max brightness and I won't have to worry about it wearing out from being in the laptop while on AC.