*HP dv6z AMD Llano (6XXX series) Owners Lounge*

I got my tracking number at 10am this morning and it still isn't activated yet. Anyone else having this issue if your Llano shipped today?

 

Yeah, I love Microsoft Security Essentials (used Avira's Antivir before that, which was good). Seems to work well, and has lower CPU utilization than some stuff (not really relevant on these, but WOW is it a difference on my new c50 system :-D ). It's scored well for protection several years in a row too, like 9/10 in Maximum PC and the like.

 

When did you order?

 

I ordered on 6/26

 

How can I get it for 800 bucks or less??

 

30% off $999 or more NBQD5898 (expires 7/31 or sooner if max redemptions made)

 

And even tho I will use CPU intensive softwares, and some gaming, you recommend me the DV6z over the DV6tqe?

 

ok thank you for the advice.

 

No, get the DV6t Quad Edition. Intel CPU is much more powerful and will process it much more quickly. But for daily tasks and web browsing the AMD should suffice.

 

what KIND of cpu intensive software? and for what purpose? If you are going to be doing a lot of commercial single threaded number crunching etc., then the intel i5 solution is substantially better . If you're going to be doing a lot of heavy media encoding and its your livelihood, then the big Intel Quads again are a lot better. However, if you're going to be doing student work, ie. computer engineering coding or 'E&E" type work, you'll be fine with the LLano. In fact the LLano based unit is capable of doing anything computational that the intel chips can do, its just going to take it a bit longer to do it. On the other hand, its a lot cheaper,
has a lot of built in overclocking/undervolting capability which is just beginning to be exploited, as well as having the crossfire option which (with improvement in the bios and drivers) promises overall gaming/graphics performance equal to and in some cases surpassing what a an awful lot of plus 1100.00US intel based laptops can do..

On the desktop versions we're seeing anywhere from 30 to over 50 percent increases in performance from the stock chips thru crossfire and overclocking/undervolting, and we're by no means near exhausting all the possibilities. From all accounts the DV6z llano's are similarly flexible
If you're the kind of person who likes to dabble in that kind of thing, then clearly the DV6z will be more "fun"

As usual, you pays your money, you makes your choice

 

Thanks a lot for all that...but I got a question:

Can't I overclock/undervoltage the DV6TQE???

Also...the difference between what I want in the DV6TQE and the DV6ZQE it's only $100 bucks (800 one and 900 the other).

 

I can only report on what I've heard regarding the dv6tqe. According to reports (and there are a flock of threads on this board) my understanding is that the i7quads are locked down so no overclocking. Second, I do not know if they have resolved the switchable graphics won't switch issue yet. From last I heard a number of opengl based programs/games prevent the tqe from switching to the discrete 6770. Reportedly these include several of the adobe photoshop proggies and World of Warcraft tho wow's new dirext11 eleven might work. If you have the time I'd suggest going over to the dv6tqe forums and checking out the latest. good luck.

seer

btw, whichever one you buy, be sure and exhaust all the coupons available, some of the stackable ones you have to talk to a rep on the phone to get. Also, you might consider one of the web referral portals which offer cash back. I used ebates.com which offers 5 percent cash back. (though it takes a few weeks to get it )

 

You cannot overclock or undervolt Core i3/i5/7. Intel has done that for you with turbo boost, or so they think they're helping you.

 

hey guys,

I have the dv6-6135dx (best buy one)
1366x768 resolution
AMD A-8 3500 APU,
6750m + 6620g
running 11.6 drivers not the stock ones.

Anyways I have played 3 games so far to do some testing- all done at native resolution of 1366x768

BC2 - medium setting - on average 35-48 fps depending on what i am doing but i see spikes to 60 then down to 20's on heavy explosions etc.

Team fortress 2 - settings on high - cl_showfps 1 shows me that im getting 20 - 80 fps again depending on what is going, but normally consistent 28fps

WoW - high setting - anywhere from 38 - 81fps again depending on what is going on.

The problem I have with this is average frames appear to be just at 30fps and this computer feels as though it should be able to perform better with the specs. What can I do to increase the average fps?

 

Yes, that was my understanding. However, he could still overclock the 6770 using the msi utility. Also, there are reports that HP will issue a fix enabling manual switching of the graphics sometime this week or next. It will be interesting to see if by overclocking and thru crossfire, we "z" guys will be able to compete in games fps with the 't' guys. Theoretically, the answer should be yes

seer

 

Luckily for you, several of our members have already done the heavy lifting.
check out Abbadon's A series review thread in this forum where he describes his and others overclocking/undervolting adventures.

There is a LOT of untapped power hiding in your puter just waiting to be unleashed BUT, watch your temps at all times. You will be very pleasantly surprised.

Seer

 

HT, how legitimate is eBates? I have never used it before and I have heard mixed reviews. I am gonna order an A8-3500m dv6 for my brother and I want to save as much money as possible.

 

If you use a Discover card and go to the HP site via shopdiscover.com, you will get an additional 5% cashback. Easier than ebates.

 

eBates is fine. I got some decent money back from them. Only problem is it takes like 60-90 days, but it's legit. Just keep on top of it. It may take a week or so for your purchase to show up in your history. If you don't see it after two weeks email them, and with the one instance I had they added it right away. But if you have a Discover card like jcroyle1970 stated, seems like probably a better route.

 

Any way of getting the 5% for a purchase before you were a member there? (ebates)

 

I just picked up the dv6 from best buy mainly because I was curious about AMD processors. I'm using mine for excel, powerpoint and want to play games on it. I thought I'd use it for some lightroom but after loading it, I don't think I'll do much lightroom work on a laptop.

I loaded an old game, Company of Heroes, it runs great but takes a little longer to load compared to my 6 yr old core 2 desktop. I'm going to buy a couple newer games to try.

I ordered a lenovo 570y to try out. For my uses, will my llano laptop be more than enough? I keep my computers for a long time and don't do much upgrading besides ram.

 

I wonder what parts they are short on. I ordered on 7/13 with the 1080p screen and the 3530mx. Estimated date is still Aug 10th.

 

Personally I'd NEVER consider the Intel + AMD systems because they can't use AMD's normal drivers.

Some people are saying you can install HP's drivers, and then AMD's over the top, but that it's...not perfect.

These (starting in the next release) should have direct support.

 

After never getting money back from Microsoft's equivalent program, I'm just not trying that stuff anymore :-/

Yeah! I can't believe the stores on there...I mean it's big, real stores. If only they had Amazon :-D

Oh man, is Company of Heroes and "old game" now? :-D I haven't played it yet-still in my backlog

Seems like solid mid range stuff, so should be fine for quite a while (if it's fine for you now).

 

Got mine,on it as we speak, its awesome! Way better then my previous dv6's!

 

Mine supposedly shipped yesterday but the first action was taken this morning. It was the shipping info being sent to fedex. The next update was that it was picked up by fedex but it missed the cutoff. My initial delivery date was 7/29 but now it says 8/2. The dv6t that I returned took 6 days to get here (4 days in clearance delay) but it got to my local facility 24hours after it cleared customs. As long as mine doesn't get delayed in customs, is it likely I will get it before the weekend?

 

heres mine...Jul 26, 2011 10:22 AM
Delivered.
On FedEx vehicle for delivery
TEMPE, AZ
Jul 26, 2011 7:27 AM
At local FedEx facility
TEMPE, AZ
Jul 23, 2011 6:11 AM
At local FedEx facility
PHOENIX, AZ
Jul 23, 2011 3:57 AM
At destination sort facility
PHOENIX, AZ
Jul 23, 2011 2:30 AM
Departed FedEx location
OAKLAND, CA
Jul 22, 2011 10:06 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
OAKLAND, CA
Jul 22, 2011 4:56 PM
Departed FedEx location
ANCHORAGE, AK
Jul 21, 2011 1:50 PM
In transit
ANCHORAGE, AK
Jul 21, 2011 1:31 PM
International shipment release
ANCHORAGE, AK
Jul 21, 2011 1:07 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
ANCHORAGE, AK
Jul 21, 2011 7:48 PM
In transit
SHANGHAI CN
Jul 20, 2011 10:00 PM
Picked up
SHANGHAI CN
Package received after FedEx cutoff
Jul 20, 2011 8:22 AM
Shipment information sent to FedEx

 

What would make someone choose this over the select edition with the i5? Normal usage, some gaming, and school work is all I'll be doing.

I'm even considering the dv7t. I feel like the resolution will be more comfortable with the dv7t, and the cost is the same between the dv7t (minus blu-ray since no option for it) and the dv6z 3510mx.

 

This is *exactly* what happened with my Envy 17 3D. I live in New Jersey btw.

I wish I can get it before the weekend but not likely...

 

dv6qe pros
1) Cheaper- best bang for buck
2) Cooler Tempuratures and can be undervolted or overclocked
3) Once crossfire drivers are fixed it should have better game performance than 6770m
4) Same battery life as i5
5) multi thread performance on par with i5
6) Comes with blu ray

cons
1) single threaded performance is less that an i5 which will not be noticed by the average user

 

Just like to point out that as far my machine goes and what I can tell reading around, is that these Llano chips can be overclocked AND undervolted at the same time while staying stable. Meaning higher frequencies at lower voltages ... win-win.

Also I would also add that if you want the best price/performance then you need to look for any A6-3410MX models - after factoring in the overclocking potential, they are a much better deal then any A8 (minus of course the onchip graphics, which is marginally slower).

 

The A8 models aren't that much more expnesive and will give you a better GPU performance overall. But I'd like to see results from A6 overclocking if they're the same as A8.

 

Ive already posted some of my results in this thread - pretty much the same frequencies/ voltages as Abbadons

The nice thing about the A6-3410MX is that you get the same 45W thermal envelope as the A8, so you get the larger 120W power supply and A8 cooling (if there is a difference)

 

I had occasion to wander by the not so local Best Buy today and play with the lappies they had there. Was very interesting comparing the y570 with the dv6. I had no idea the 570 was physically so much bigger. Took a moment to register they both had the same size screen.

My reactions to the a-8 3500m model was that it was surprisingly compaq ( pun intended) really surprisingly light, and very sturdy. I carefully checked the keyboard for flex and found none in any location. The screen lid is also very solid and stiff and the hinge mechanism was very sturdy, didn't wave around at all. The key travel was a lot less than I was anticipating, but perhaps i'm just too set in my aftermarket mechanical keyboard ways. It was, however comfortable to type on but took very little effort. I would think a good touch typist would fly with that keyboard after some familiarization time. I was also surprised at how quiet it was. Fan noise was undetectable, and compared to my full bore Envy 15, the chassis was nearly frigid. No *hotspots* at all.

All in all a very pleasant experience which added greatly to my anticipation of my own's arrival

seer

oh, and regarding the screen, it was very pleasing, clearly bright enough with good color saturation. It also has a broad range of adjustment permitting you to place this on a desk in front of you and tilt the screen up so you could see if well, if you were for instance doing a presentation. Still can't get over how light it was. The 9 volt would be clearly tolerable here.

 

So it runs as fast as the i5-2410 in dual core performance?

 

no. but apparently he means 4 threads

 

How much slower is it?

 

Tom's Hardware did a very extensive comparo with the Phenom2 965, the I3, and an A8. Reviewing that article will tell you pretty much everything you need to know.

seer

 

Thanks. I'm looking at the benchmarks now, and these are all stock. How much of a boost does the overclocking give? The i5-2520 (which I know is a bit better than the 2410, and I'm comparing this to the 2410 dv6tse version) seems to blow it away. I'd like to pull the trigger on this laptop, and reading through all these posts has me excited, but also confused.

 

I'm starting to wonder too. Not sure how a quad core can be slower than a dual core with 3 or 4 threads? The DV6t SE with i5-2410m costs the same as the DV6z with 3530mx or 3510mx, and has a better dedicated GPU. So far Crossfire hasn't shown to offer the improvements it should provide to exceed 6770m performance.

Here's the article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-a8-3850-llano,2975.html

 

Well, yeah. Plenty of people brought this up before, AMD just has a weak CPU arch compared to Intel... Shouldn't really be a surprise.

And we've also known that dual graphics performance sucks for a while now.

But being able to OC is a game changer, imo. They way I figure it, at 2.6 ghz the 3530MX should match i3-2310 single threaded performance and be ~18% faster than the i5-2410 with multiple threads (extrapolated from cinebench scores) while running cooler to boot. That means it should handle 99% of games just fine.

And if you're lucky, the 6750m can be OC'd to higher clocks than the 6770m, so there's going to be overall better gaming performance than the dv6t because it can't be OC'd right now (the 61xx models, I mean). dv6zqe owners can just enjoy the 6750m OC'd in non-dual graphics mode until AMD improves the drivers.

 

Because SB is way more advanced and powerful than Llano, which uses the K10 architecture from years ago, and because of hyper-threading.

In regards to Crossfire, it is well-known that it isn't working very well right now. Personally, though, I believe that eventually the driver support will catch up and we will see the difference in games that we see in 3dMark Vantage and 11.

 

After crossfire gets going, how much of a boost is to be expected? 460m caliber?

 

I doubt it would be quite a 460, since the 460m is a much better performer in games than in benchmarks like 3dmark11, but 10-15% better than the 6770m, yes.

 

About. It akready beats the 460M in 3DMark11 if you OC the CPU, based on Abbadon's results.

 

3DMark is not a game though, it's a synthetic benchmark.

It's probably too optimistic to say it'll hit 460m level anytime soon, if ever.

 

True. It'll get close though, and since we can OC the 6750M to 6770M levels, it might be obtainable.

 

Just got tracking number for my DV6z!

 

Sweeet! When should the Sager arrive for the comparo?

 

Nice. When'd you order?