HP dv7t Select Edition Series

Uncola how is the screen?
I have a DV7 from last year and it is nothing to talk about, specially in vertical i can't almost move my head.

 

the horizontal viewing angles are really good, the vertical is about the same as my old dell studio 15.. it's about average I guess. color and response time I'm very happy about.. I'm kind of a screen snob and this keeps me happy.. my desktop is a Dell U2410 s-ips panel and this holds up. watching 720p hdtv episodes is great on it
edit: I'm doing some video playing tests.. using the latest build of mpc hc and vnc. when I'm using intel graphics there's some tearing but with the ati graphics, no tearing..

 

Thanks, seems that HP might have improved the it.

 

Ok so i ordered one of these as well i ordered the dv7-4080us. Nice notebook, but i have to say it is pink...well more lavender. In the right light it is silver, but the wrong light, i look like a poof using it (imagine a 6'1" guy at 220 lbs using this).
now the specs are awesome but the touch pad is the worse i have seen.
Not sure what do do on the color, but i like the notebook.

 

looks totally silver to my eyes.. you guys who think it's pink are crazy

 

Na it has a pick tone to it for sure. i have showed to to other people and they agree.

OK so after playing with it for a bit i realize the trackpad sucks and why.

they have the two finger scroll on it. Problem is theirs is buggy and since the whole pad is working for touch (the buttons are their but they an extension of the track pad itself) similar to a Macbook Pro but badly executed.
I found that if you disable the two finger scroll things get much better and the track pad is not all bad.

it is still very lightly pink though an that may be enough to dump it. to bad as all y power supplies for my Elitebook work for this as well (yes including the 65W travel one)

 

For new owners, has anyone tried putting an ethernet cable in? Mine gets stuck, considering returning it.

 

@uncola and other owners with an i5:
I'm thinking about getting the new dv7 with i5 and HD5650 switchable graphics, but I'm curious about noise and battery life.

First, noise: how loud is the laptop when simply browsing? Watching a DVD/Blu-Ray? Is there a big difference when the HD5650 is activated?
I'm also considering a Samsung R780 which, supposedly, is very quiet.

Battery life: Can anyone give an estimate of how long this laptop lasts with integrated graphics? A minimum value for when using the ATI HD5650 would also be appreciated. I'm aiming for at least 2 hours, preferably 3.

 

so I plan on running a couple of battery benchmarks.. so far I've only ran one. This was the battery eater pro 2.7 benchmark with default settings, all power saving stuff disabled. this is in Balanced mode with the screen set to 100% brightness using the ATI graphics. I have the standard 6 cell battery, not the high capacity one.
It discharged the battery in 1 hour 30 minutes. I'll run another test using the intel graphics in balanced mode. and then one more test with intel graphics in power saver mode with the screen set to 5 out of 10 brightness, which is a more real world use. the battery eater benchmark using an opengl animation so real world web browsing would probably last longer.
Ok I ran the 2nd battery eater test. brightness 100%, intel graphics on, balanced mode, all power saving features disabled. the battery lasted for 1 hour 42
minutes.
I ran the battery eater test in power saver mode with 50% brightness and intel graphics and somehow it only lasted 1 hour 32 minutes.
here's some info about the standard 6 cell battery
Unique ID Hewlett-PackardPrimary
Chemistry Lithium Ion
Temperature Termal Control Not Present
Designed Capacity 55080mWh
Full Charged Capacity 53914mWh
Designed Voltage 10.8V

 

Questions for those with the 9-cell battery option. How many hours of general purpose use are you getting (email, internet browsing)?

Also, does the oversized "hump" cause problems with using the computer on
your lap (does it feel awkward)?

Overall, is the 9-cell a worthy upgrade?

 

Depends what you want to use it for I guess. For me the 9-cell is worth it because it raises the notebook itself a little higher off the ground which helps with cooling. I can get upwards of a good hour from it alone I think. So far I've only realy been using mine for gaming, so I'm not sure how long it lasts under normal use and it's always plugged in. The DV7 is too large for my lap so I haven't tried that yet although I'd imagine it'd feel a little awkward.

 

anyone try to hackintosh this yet? it looks like the new imacs have an ati mobility 5670 which is prettty close to the 5650 in our laptops

 

uncola can you run this test: MAXON: CINEBENCH 11.5

No need to install just download and run. I am mostly interested in OpenGL frame rate.

 

Do you use ethernet or wirleless? If ethernet, is it difficult to unplug?

 

31.49 opengl in balanced mode
31.51 opengl in high performance mode

 

I use wireless most of the time but I have tried ethernet and yes it is difficult to unplug. I noticed that the USB on that side of the system is difficult to unplug too. It must be a common problem to this model but I don't mind. The ports should get a little looser over time.

 

Hmm, thanks. Also, do you know if you have a dual slots for harddrives? I remember seeing that on the website, I wasn't sure if that came standard or is that an option you have to pay extra for?

Thanks again

 

Yeah there are dual slots for the HDD in the notebook itself, but you have to pay extra for the kit (brackets and connector) to install it with. The part number is 605415-001 and costs around $50, probably $60-$70 after shipping and taxes.

 

Thanks. Nice results for a medium card.

here you can compare scores: Maxon Cinebench 11.5 Score Results

 

Hmm thanks. Would I still need this if I installed an SSD?

Also, for owners, has anyone found a good neoprene laptop sleeve that fits snugly yet??

 

I'm pretty sure you'd still need the kit even if you're installing SSD. I'm guessing it's the same size as a regular notebook HDD?

 

Has anyone done a clean install on theirs? If so, is it worth it to cleanse the system of all the extra junk, or is it too much of a hassle to get the drivers and everything set up again?

 

clean install is worth it, drivers are conveniently listed in this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...3-dv7-gen-4-select-edition-envy-17-intel.html

 

Man this ethernet thing is really bugging me, its like completely stuck in there. I'm considering returning. Any thoughts from owners?

Uncola does it get stuck for you?

 

Is anybody having these problems?
-Sound is too low for a 17" laptop. my hp hdx16 was way louder
-it lags, the activity light turns orange for no reason. I could be playing a video or a song...

 

Check the power settings, set it at high performance. Sound is fine, my only problem is the ethernet cable getting stuck after putting it in.

 

So I finally tried using an ethernet cable with this laptop and it did get stuck the first couple times. I figured out the trick pretty quickly.. you have to press upwards on teh bottom of it to pull it out. you can't just depress the tab thing and then grab it on top and bottom and pull it out. you basically put your fingertip under it and press up and pull out.. and maintain the upwards pressure.. now I can get it out every time easily

 

Just ordered one of these and look forward to receiving it in a couple of weeks.

 

Wanted to confirm that the method you describe works perfect on mine. Thanks for the tip!

It's a really awesome system. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Hmm... Thanks uncola. I was on the verge of returning it. Even though I can use wireless, it still would be kind of annoying to have an ethernet jack that gets stuck every time.

I'll try your method to see if it works. At first I thought it was just a problem with my dv7's build quality, but it seems all of them have this issue.

 

Hey guys! Can anyone tell me if the dv7tse comes with a backlit keyboard? I was configuring one and noticed there was no option for a backlit keyboard.
Thanks in advance!

 

No, it doesn't have a backlit keyboard unfortunately

 

Ok thanks

 

It's too bad too. Having a backlit keyboard would bring this notebook one step closer to perfection.

 

which coolers do u guys use for dv7 4000series?

thanks guys!

 

I was asking about laptop cases earlier. I found this on ebay if anyone else is interested:

17.3 Laptop Sleeve HP G70t G72t ENVY 17 Pavilion dv7t - eBay (item 280513789729 end time Aug-26-10 22:04:25 PDT)

 

To owners:

has anyone tried out HP mediasmart pandora

As far as I can tell, there are no audio commercials. Do you know if this will be indefinite or is it a limited trial?

Thanks,

JAe

 

jaedong sometimes on ebay teh sellers just rename their accessory like sleeves to fit whatever the newest hottest laptop or product is and it doesn't fit perfectly.. have you tried that sleeve? any pics of the laptop in it?

 

Just picked up mine the other day from staples

i7-720QM
4GB DDR3
500GB 7200rpm
1GB 5650
DVDRW
9 cell

Only paid $773 for it . Staples had it on sale for $823 and they sent me a $50 off coupon.

Already got some plans for it
1. Add blu-ray - HP has a blu-ray drive u can order for it for $90, seems decent price
2. Add an SSD as the primary and use the 500GB in the second drive bay. Annoying thing about the 2nd drive bay in this. I actually have an extra drive caddy with the correct connector lying around but in this machine the connector is unusally far away from the drive so the cable isnt long enough. looks like im stuck buy the one from hp for $61
3. Might consider bumping it to 8GB of RAM, not needed but thats how i roll lol (my desktop has 12GB currently)

Overally im quite happy with it, the price was too good to pass up!

 

I just ordered mine yesterday for 823 on the staples site. Will I be getting that coupon too? Site didn't say anything about a 50 dollar coupon. LoL

 

The coupon was emailed to me - I got it instore, the coupon says valid instore only. You could try calling back and asking. Coupon code is 52510 - $50 of any laptop or desktop

 

So after a lot of research and consideration, I picked up my DV7-4054 on Friday - exciting, as I hadn't picked up a new computer since getting my four year old dv6.

Unfortunately, my first one had a blown pixel in the middle of the screen - ugh. After going all the way back to get another one, I get home and finish the initial setup and my greatest fear was realized - THE WHINE!!! I was among the many who had audible processor whine with the DV6 from a few years ago, and I used the RMClock throttling fix. I swore that if it happened on the next one, I'd take it back. Now here I am of course trying other fixes...

My question for you guys is - does anyone else have this problem? I know there's a huge issue with the whine in the Envys, and it seems to be a similar issue with me. I can't hear it right now as we have our room fans on, but will be testing it out later with USB/Bluetooth disabled.

I also had to download the touchpad Google app that someone had made - the initial configuration of the touchpad is almost unusable; the scrolling was abysmally bad. With the app, it's actually quite good now.

However, it definitely took the wind out of my new computer sails having to spend the first day or two trying to find workarounds to issues...I'm not sure at this point if I want to bring it back for refund, replacement or to just keep this one and try the work arounds.

Does anyone else have the whine issue?

 

no whine problems here.. what's this touchpad google app you mention?
edit: if you're not liking the two finger scroll, you should install the newest synaptic drivers and enable one finger scrolling on the right edge of the touchpad.. that's what I use it seems much smoother

 

It can be found in this thread:

The one finger scrolling does work quite well, was glad to find that. However, if you disable the Synaptics two-finger scroll and install this little app, it works really well.

 

What do you think about this configuration for $988.00?

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-520M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics [HDMI, VGA] - For Dual Core Processors
6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
500GB 7200RPM 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)
17.3" diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP LED BrightView Infinity Widescreen Display (1600 x 900)
Lightscribe Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
HP TrueVision Webcam and Fingerprint Reader [For BrightView Infinity Display]
Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
Standard Keyboard
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

 

Hi everyone... I just received my dv7t se and I'm pleasantly surprised by the build quality. The body is quite a bit more rigid than the previous generation dv7t's (we ordered one in Feb. for a client) and the reduction in the number of non-keyboard buttons greatly improves the "professional" look of the unit.

Unfortunately... I do have a quick question about dead pixels. There's a pixel approximately an inch from the bottom of the screen, centered, that works correctly on the red subpixel but appears dead on green and blue. I've tried the usual round of flashing applets to try and revive it, and (gingerly) tried rubbing the screen with microfiber cloth. The plastic covering of the brightview infinity prevents much pressure from transferring to the actual screen, which would be great 99.99% of the time, but appears to rule out using massage to restore the pixel.

I've never dealt with HP support - people seem to have a positive experience doing returns, but the lead times involved suggest a minimum turnaround of 20-25 days to exchange for an identically configured machine. And of course this could turn into a round robin quest for a "perfect" laptop, which I'd rather not get sucked into.

Does anyone have a sense for HP's screen defect rate? Our client's laptop went out the door quickly, and this is the first one I'll be personally using for any length of time.

Thanks.

 

Here's HP dead pixel policy ( HP Pixel Policy HP Pavilion Notebook PCs - HP Customer Care (United States - English))

IMHO, if you haven't bought your laptop directly from HP, try to return/exchange it at your local dealer. They tend to be more flexible than HP's customer service.

 

Thanks for the pointer to the dead pixel policy. Looks like HP doesn't consider having one defective green subpixel a big deal. I bought it as a custom config from the HP store, so returning it would be more of a headache than if I could run out locally. I'm sure I could do it... but it might ultimately be easier to convince myself not to nitpick.

 

My dv7t won't go to sleep after closing the lid. Has anyone experienced this?

 

Also, has anyone had difficulty getting the dv7t to connect to an external monitor using HDMI? I don't get it to show up full screen..

Thanks in advance!