*HP dv7t Select Edition (4XXX series) Owners Lounge*

To reduce confusion between the original dv7t and dv7t Quad Edition, this thread has been created for all past, present, and future owners of the dv7t Select Edition (4th generation dv7t, 2010 model) notebook.

New features include: Intel / ATI switchable graphics, island-style keyboard, SimplePass fingerprint reader, metallic finishes.

Here are some resources for those who want to know more and get started:

• Maintenance and Service Guide
• The Laptop Out-Of-The-Box Guide 2.0 for Windows 7 - by v3loc1ty2.0
• Latest Drivers and Software - by justinkw1

 

I picked up a very fresh and shiny dv7-4087cl today at Sams. Jury still out, some stuff can't deal with the new graphics. Like the new FFXIV Benchmark and any drivers from ATI.


Second HDD bay is here, the connection is blanked out.

 

I bought one yesterday from Sams also. I havn't opened it yet. One of the reasons I bought it was for the 2nd hdd bay. What do you mean " the connection was blanked out?" what's your opinion of the system so far? I don't game but do some moderately heavy statistical calculations, spreadsheet and database programming. Is there any reason to think this system will choke on heavy ms office programming? Just asking befoe I crack open the box.

 

It seems very much CPU heavy, and loads of ram. It beats the crap out of my E8400 desktop for sure. Thats before I have gotten around to wiping the HDD and loading my own Win 7 load.


I opened it up and the second bay just has no second SATA connector, it has plastic over where it would have been connected to the MB.

 

Ok, took the Beats audio for a run, I think mine is broken. The sound cuts out a lot and just overall sounds sad. I will have to exchange, AFTER I backup my hdd.

 

I still haven't opened my dv7 yet. My hp envy 17 was delivered today. I will probably return it due to all the heat related issues they've been having? Have you tried any games? Have you given the CPU a thorough workout yet? If so how did it perform. I'm concerned about the gpu not being up to some movie making/editing etc...

 

Bummer - I turned on my dv7t for he first time. Screen is very dark. Cannot change the brightness. It was impossible to read. Hp tech support thinks the power cord is bad. I'm returning it in the morning. Strike two- hp.

 

Yeah if the screen were better I might want to keep it. I'm not impressed with the max brightness, it would be nice to know that as the screen ages and it dims a little, I have some headroom. Right now, at max brightness it's not too bright, it's just about right, which makes me concerned about longevity. Also, in power saver or anything other than max brightness it's REALLY dim. Not impressed. What a bummer because the rest of the laptop is crazy fast and a good value. I guess you get what you pay for.

 

How is the battery life on these things? I'm leaning towards the i5 w/switchable graphics and getting the standard 6-cell along with a 9-cell battery, as that would (in theory) give me a wide range of options regarding battery life/performance, but I have yet to hear much regarding battery life from the dv7t SE.

*edit* Nevermind - answered my own question about adding a second HDD. It seems that unless you buy a system with 2 HDD's in it already, you will have to buy an HDD hardware kit from HP that includes a bracket, some rubber feet for cushioning, and the SATA cable to go in the blank spot that was mentioned earlier. On the HP site this kit is rather expensive (60$+) but I'm willing to bet that it's possible to buy the same components elsewhere for far less...

 

i ordered mine last week for 1006 dollars

SPECS:

HP Pavilion dv7t Select Edition PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
• 8GB 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 Graphics + HDMI and VGA ports - For Quad Core Processors
• 17.3" diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1600 x 900)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• HP TrueVision Webcam + Fingerprint Reader + Digital Microphone
• Intel Wireless-N Card
• Full-size island-style keyboard with integrated numeric keypad
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope


I could have chosen more hard drive space instead of extra 2 GIG ram but when with RAM memory instead as it is more expensive if bought separately and i already have a 1 TB ext HD

 

My initial impressions here.

 

this is a crosspost from tor1r's thread.. but has anyone tried charging an ipad from one of these?
edit: answering my own question, no it can't charge an ipad.. I even tried the esata/usb combo port to see if it had extra power.. nope
my initial impressions: the "argento stream" pattern is stupid.. you can tell it's just a laser etching into the aluminum.. I'd have preferred just plain smooth aluminum instead of these etchings that will probably catch dirt. the screen is good.. I"m very happy with the brightness and angles. touchpad is fine once I turned on single finger vertical scrolling.. the audio from this laptop is very good.. easily enough to fill a small room.. I'm really happy with teh build quality and fit and finish. The HP logo on the back is a little TOO bright.. haha I don't want everyone staring at the bright light on my laptop lid. I'm glad I got the infinity display.. it's not too reflective for me, which was my concern. with the intel gpu active, the cpu idles at around 36C which is very cool.. I have the i5 2.53GHz model.
if anyone has any questions I"m going to check the thread every day for a while.. mine came with the new f9 rev a firmware so that was a nice surprise
some unboxing photos I took:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-pavilion-notebooks/484958-hp-dv7t-select-edition-series-5.html#post6504954

 

So for the video drivers, it looks like we can't use the ones released by ATI? We have to use the HP ones that are switchable graphics enabled? What is the deal with that, will be never be able to use drivers directly from ATI?

 

Well, I loaded the 10.6 ATI mobile drivers on my laptop, they seemed to work fine. The graphics on battery would only goto 300 mhz core & memory clock. The normal is 550 core and 800 memory when plugged in. (while playing a game of course idles at 100/150 for both)

 

dmz1958 do you have the intel/ati switchable graphics or do you have only ati graphics? the i7 version of this laptop doesn't have the intel/ati switchable graphics

 

Good news, I just installed the ATI Mobility Catalyst 10.6 drivers over the newest HP switchable graphics drivers and they seem to work fine! It updated the driver from 8.712 to 8.741. I tested with gpu-z and the core clocks are the same as before when the computer is idle and also when in a 3d game. So far I've tested with the game Audiosurf on steam and performance is great. ATI doesn't' link directly to the driver, they link to a utility that rejects our laptop as incompatible. But you can use the instructions on this page to get the direct link to the driver: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...deon-device-driver-catalyst-win-7-64-bit.html or you can download 10.6 directly from http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?p=3613679
edit: I thought about trying to update the intel graphics driver, but in device manager when I look at the driver details, it seems to be mixed ati and intel signed files.. so I don't think it would work. If anyone has tried this, I'd love to hear what you found

 

I do have the I7 cpu, could be why.

 

Just a heads up, HP has now officially released the equivalent ATI Catalyst 10.6 (version 8.741.1.1000) driver package with switchable graphics support for the dv7t Select Edition. The update fixes switchable graphics not working after a system standby or hibernate.

In addition, updated Synaptics TouchPad drivers (15.0.24.0) have been posted.

Check the NBR driver thread for further information and download links -- http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...3-dv7-gen-4-select-edition-envy-17-intel.html

 

I've had this laptop for a few months now. Has anyone else noticed a buzzing coming from the speakers when the volume is turned up above 25%?

I've also been getting random BSODs. Could be driver issues but I thought I'd see if anyone else was having issues before doing a fresh install, hate to lose all the formatting I've done so far.

Any insight helps. Thx.

 

No issues with buzzing or BSODs so far from mine.