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

In fact the a8 equiv trin does appear to have some kind of dedicated side channel link, as well as some kind of actual dedicated apugpu mem. I have seen two different variations on how this separate mem was implemented. I do not know which of the competing designs emerged victorious. One thing that is amazing tho, is THAT for new hardware, these things are amazingly stable. In fact, the trin is so efficient, that the low volt version (17watt) is equiv to our current 3530's, with a better graph card. That is the reason amd decided to trash the brazos replacements, no need, just turn down the voltage on the trinity and rock on. Crank up the voltage and all sorts of good things start to happen Oh, and on these new amd "Ultrathins" , you really have to physically handle the thing to appreciate just how light and thin they are. Astounding. What this remarkable stability suggests, is that the o'clock potential of the new trins is going to be nothing short of outrageous.

seer

 

I hope all your cheerleading proves out seeratlas. You're getting me excited and ready to pop out my credit card already, lol.

 

Care to do a write up with maybe a couple photos to add in my DV6z guide? What you wrote there is pretty complete. Maybe include a link to the caddy you bought as well?

 

anyone get ati tray tools to oc the 6750m or do i have to stick with afterburner?

 

If doesnt seem to pick up the 6750m the one time i tried it.

 

How's the gaming on this laptop? I'm intersted in this or the Envy 15. I have always liked to have AMD when I could.

 

I think with undervolt and stock clocks my 3500m is probably similar to Trinity ULV wattage. Power envelope is about right if I can play Starcraft II for 2-3hrs on stock battery, and older fare like Oblivion and Far Cry for 5 hours. Feels like 1.5GHz only draws about 2W per core, otherwise no way I'm getting so far on this battery. But the Trinity appears to have some level of hardware video coder if it wasn't eating all the CPU. The graphics should be faster, though maybe it just has dedicated mem with a wide channel so you can do MSAA without drowning.

Nobody can argue the multitasking demo isn't impressive. Especially after Sandy Bridge had poor launch drivers holding down graphics even further, and Ivy Bridge was running a damn video in VLC. The Llano and Trinity demos are just so appealing when you see a laptop driving 2-3 monitors doing all the usual stuff simultaneously. So the Ivy Bridge can finally play a game or two, meanwhile the Llano can dual box in MMOs while playing a video and hosting a chat. Much more impressive.

 

I love the fact that the iGPU is so powerful, hoping that the Trinity one will be ~50% moreso than the 6620G currently in the Llano. As it stands I can use the iGPU to play most games at a reasonable framerate at 720p. A 50% performance improvement may actually let me play at 1080p or full detail at 720p. I am certain it will be better than HD 3000, which is already showing to be quite impressive itself.

 

Well, mine has been great for games. It takes a little software tinkering to get the extra power and efficiency that lurks inside the hull, but it feels rewarding when you do.

The i-series laptops have a little more power to start, they also have a fast video coder that's good enough for youtube. The i-series also costs more.

Ordering from HP (and using a coupon code), you should be able to get a nice dv6z-quad for about $700USD. You can get close to that with dv6t also, I hear. What does the Envy have? A lit keyboard? Anything else?

One big thing: The dv6z is MUCH better for gaming on battery, so getting a big battery makes it even better. Playing at a LAN party without plugging in, hilarious!!

I guess timing could be a factor though. If you have the time and want to take chances, wait for Trinity vs Ivy Bridge laptops. If you can't wait I suggest the dv6z, because it's fun to mess around with.

 

Well, you still have four cores with DV6z. i5 mobile chips just can't match that. Sure at single or two threads the i5 may be a bit better but for general Windows use and newer games, more cores = overall better performance.

 

The 6750m is still more powerful though. Unless you're going to sell your dv6?

 

R3d, what?? Are you talking about the new graphics cards in HP built-to-order laptops? Or what? 6750m vs 6770m, that can be fixed easily with Afterburner. Not so sure about the new cards showing up in Europe, are they already part of the build-to-order chain?

 

Very nice! Although a little late for me now... I had figured out every clip except the vertical one on the side... I had pressed it hard with a jewllers screwdriver (to the point of warping the clip) but it refused to go out.... doesn't really matter anyways as I doubt I am going back to a DVD drive anytime soon.

 

Just took a look at your Overclock guide. Very nice.

However I'm stuck at the very beginning with the recovery CDs. I didn't get any option to create them during the initial setup. After I was up and running I went into the normal recovery options and created there. It only used the one DVD, not the 4 you mention. What did I do wrong and am I screwed now?

 

Not so much cheerleading as just keeping up with developments. And yes, I am enthused about the new trins. I just wish one of these damned oems would leave me alone with one long enough to pull the chip and get a clear look at the damned fm2 socket. btw...there are some 35watt engineering samples floating around, unlocked...and tho i only got a glimpse as a tech with his grin reaching pretty much earlobe to earlobe, cranked one up...i gotta tell you, no voltage adjustments, no nothing, just cranking the multiplier and whooooosh...the fps gain was nothing short of astounding, and dead stable....AND...that particular unit did NOT have a separated dedicated...just the on apu 7k series.

I was *told* by someone who should know, that HP's models are receiving some extra *love*, as a consequence of the success of the dv6z, hp wants to dominate the trin laptop market. I have also spoken off the record with a similarly informed Acer type, that they see the potential for a homerun with the new trin models and are gearing up to challenge HP. Lenovo appears to be lagging, but it looks like Asus is jumping in with both feet, especially in the "ultrathin" space..which uses the ulv 17watt units. One *very* interesting rumor involves msi. There's some whispering going around that they have *closed door* demoed a gaming box with an overclocking bios, enhanced cooling, backlit keyboard, gobs of super fast ram, a hefty xfire/dual graphics dedicated gpu, and an SSD with separate seagate hybrid hd.

Lastly, and here's a real corker...the proverbial *unidentified sources* have informed me that there is a boutique mfg out there that has been working on a dual socket unit AND, that they have managed to get dual trins, WITH not one but 2 separate dedicated gpus, all running in multi crossfire, crammed into a 17" gaming chassis. They refer to it as a 'graphics workstation'..others suspect its really intended as an alienware killer.

Bottom line, sure going to be an interesting season

seer

 

Very interesting article today. Might explain the jump in the stock price too.

AMD ‘Ultrathin’ Notebooks Will Undercut Intel Ultrabooks by £130 | TechWeekEurope UK

Nothing new about this, but it's the first time I've seen it all tied together with a plan and partners: "Hewlett-Packard, Acer and Asus". I think Acer might be the key for the "low-budge" crowd, and HP too if they'll get aggressive with the discount codes.

Not seeing a lot of consumer confidence in Dell for awhile, and Toshiba and Sony, while good, are consistently too pricey.

Now...if AMD can sew up a deal with Apple and game console makers...they'll have captured their niche.

 

Not surprising, especially since HP completely sold out of the A8-3500M models. Also, they jumped on the "new" discrete graphics models pretty quickly as well.

 

Once you first boot up windows, you go to Start Menu, HP, HP Recovery Manager, HP Recovery Media Creation.

 

I'd love to if you'll PM me your email info, so I can send it and a properly edited and annotated jpg. My photo capabilities are pretty limited, but I think my iPhone will do the job.

The caddy, last time I checked, was sold out, but I can still send you the link. I put an SSD (60GB OCZ Vertex 2 from one of my old HTPCs) in it, which is a good match for the Agility 3 with which I replaced the stock HDD. 180GB total, which is more than enough for the laptop...because...

...since I was so impressed with the A8-3500M, I built an "on the road" HTPC using the $65 A4-3300 (and no external graphics), using an Antec ISK 100 case, ASUS ITX motherboard, cheapest Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 ram I could find, and leftover stuff including Windows 7 Ultimate, an SSD from my other old HTPC, the HDD and blu-ray from the dv6. Runs flawlessly. Using the spares, it cost me less than just about any laptop which could do the same job. Lots of storage, especially when you consider that I also have a 2TB external drive for media too. (I hate using my laptop for double-duty on the road. Sure...it works fine, but it's a real pain to need to reboot the laptop and stop what I am watching, as well as interrupt my downloads because I need to take the lappie with me.)

 

Doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just post it in my optimization guide thread. I use imgur.com to store my non personal photos for sharing on websites. Pretty easy to use and free. Just upload and copy/paste the direct link option using img tags here.

 

Thanks. I was using the Windows standard create recovery. Didn't think to look at HP specific.

 

Any of the 12.7mm SATA (iirc,definitely not 9mm one and there is only 2 type) caddy on ebay should work.?

 

Thank you too, I thought I added that to the guide, but just added it now. I intended on adding more detail after I did my reinstall, just haven't had the time. That's a long affair especially if you're documenting everything.

Make sure it's 12.7mm SATA external interface and 9.5mm SATA internal interface.

 

Hey guys, quick question is the mainboard in the DV6-6xxx series supportive of 8GB or 16GB RAM?

I was thinking about getting this

EDIT: For the Optical Bay HDD caddy, I use this

 

If you look at the feedback page, "Mishi" says it worked perfectly in a 6135dx. That is the dv6z quad that sold at Best Buy and on NewEgg a while ago. 16GB is the max, if there were four slots the CPU and mobo should have supported 32....

 

The caddy I got here works great

 

So I might repaste today. Do I need to take the entire motherboard out, or just the top case?

 

Overclock guide questions:
- If I do a HP minimal install do I need to also install any drivers from the HP site? It's not clear to me.

- I notice you point to the HP -6100 page for drivers. The website couldn't automatically figure out what I had so I had to put in the serial number and eventually wound up at the the -6b00 page.

 

The whole motherboard, the processor's and GPU's heatsinks are facing below.

 

Minimal install keeps only drivers so far I have read, after that is better to download 12.1 preview drivers with the ahci drivers from AMD.

 

Try better CPU-Z and see your frequencies, also Skyrim plays very nice at 2.4 GHz and that is quite possible with your processor without much heat. Also drivers that run perfect with it are the 12.1 preview, NOT the 12.1a preview.

 

Hmm, I'll have to try 12.1 preview again because I've had zero issues with 12.1a.

 

Its not hard, once you do it once, you realize its really easy. Like Vect said, you gotta take the whole motherboard out. Make sure you got rubbing alcohol to clean the chips, this was the hardest part getting the old stuff off and cleaning it up good. you will see plastic shields on the chips, i removed them as well as a few other guys here. No problem removing them.

Also if you like, you can pull off the mesh filters from the vents, it is minimal but it can't hurt in aiding more air in there.

 

Yes, be sure to nab the service manual though. It's very detailed. I just made sure I noted each screw as I removed them so I would put them back in the right spots.

You can download the service guide here: Manuals for HP Pavilion dv6z-6100 CTO Quad Edition Entertainment Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

 

Just started over from scratch:
- HP minimal install
- Made HP recovery CDs
- Downloaded all Windows updates
- Used the HP Support Assistant which took me directly to driver pages for dv6z-6b00 not -6100

An interesting note is that my current BIOS is F.12. The only BIOS on the -6b00 page is F.02. In using the "Not Your Product link" I see that there are 3 "HP Pavilion dv6z-6100 CTO Quad Edition Entertainment Notebook PC" laptops listed: -6100, -6b00 and -6c00. -6b00 has f.02, -6c00 has f.12 and -6100 has 3 versions, F21 being the latest. Should I really be looking at the -6100 page or stick with the -6b00 page?

Also, there isn't a startup delay option in my BIOS as mentioned in the overclocking guide

 

I would use the bios whatever its telling you specifically for the model it detects. I have bricked a few of my desktop motherboards in the past because I flashed them with the wrong revision model's bios.

 

That's my thought, too. But it's confusing. HP thinks it's a 6b00 but the only BIOS available for that is significantly older F.12 vs F.02. The 6c00 available BIOS is the same version as mine. If I'm not mistaken, the only BIOS mentions in this thread are for 6100 with three BIOS versions available, the latest being F.21.

 

Looks like 6b00 is Italian version. Not sure what the difference would be though, hardware should be the same. All I can say is try F.21 at your own risk. Should work, but no guarantees.

 

Quick question for you guys. I just updated to the AMD 12.1 preview drivers from AMD's site.

Under my device manager and under VECC it shows my 6620M as my Primary Adapter but my Linked adapter shows up as "AMD Radeon 6600M and 6700M Series".

Is that normal under 12.1 drivers?

 

Found another thread that says HP's normal progression is 60xx > 61xx > 6bxx > 6cxx. Each bump is a small change in the hardware/specs.

This implies that my dv6z is somehow newer/different than the ones everyone else has. Doesn't explain why they don't have a current BIOS version available for mine.

For now I think I'll just continue with the BIOS I have.

 

Worth double checking. I remember some people thought they had the the 60 series chipset instead of 70 series (no USB 3)...

I wonder what could really be different about the hardware though. Most of the designations are for specific versions of the existing hardware options, often completely identical save for destination country.

 

Thanks ya'll, got it repasted with some AS5 I had laying around and it dropped my temps at least 5C. Took a while, but not too bad.

 

Got a reply in the other thread here. It's a continuously updated list of BIOS for the Pavillion series. It confirms F.12 is the latest for my -6b00.

 

so no one else has the msi afterburner giving black screen issue ?

 

There are several possible causes and it can suck trying to remember them. I know all black screen problems went away after I first updated to 11.11c though...but each case is a little different.

Also, general warning: Megaupload has no alias IP address. Opera's trust provider has updated to warn about several of them, but at last count Firefox and Chrome weren't catching them. Batten the hatches and mind any stray links for the next week.

 

8GB ram on sale 54.99 on newegg, so temped but my CC broke already !.

edit: 2x 8gb corsair 109 on frys.

 

I had to look at this message twice, because the first time, I thought, "Wow! Some people will try ANYTHING as a heatsink compound!"

 

I just swapped my wifi card with an Intel 6230 card using the modified bios that is supposed to remove the whitelist but it wouldn't even boot. it said, sorry, illegal hardware found, remove it.

 

Processors with Integrated Graphics: AMD Fusion vs. Intel Core i3 and Intel Pentium. Page 8 - X-bit labs

This article concerns the current AMD desktop parts. It feels a bit suspect in places and has a surprisingly low user rating though. However this specific page interests me. The initial run of a8 desktop chips had a colossal disparity in power consumption between 3800 and 3850. For a very cheap gaming desktop it'd be better in every way to start with a 3800, CPU draws 50W(!?) less than 3850. Gaming performance was essentially identical. I think the HD video playback watts are wrong, doesn't look like either side was using DXVA....by my experience 1080p video draws very little more than idle power with VLC or CCCP/MPC-HC.

I also suspect the desktop parts are dramatically overvolted just like the 35XXs. Would be nice to see more boutique systems that come pre-voltmodded. (When you consider how cheap the chips are and how much extra folks pay for factory overclock)

With how well Afterburner has worked for me right now, I'm thinking to disable dual graphics for a while and test. There's been no stuttering in my games but I want to see how CPU speed and temps behave.

.....if Trinity can deliver on wattage AMD should revisit embedded products. A single Piledriver with at least 100 stream processors, at 1GHz/300MHz and 800 mem should still crush many cheap tablets.

 

Anyone knows whether I can resize the HP_TOOLS partition? Currently it's allocated 2GB but only using 133MB. I'm getting tight on my SSD space