HP dv7t Select Edition Series

Your sleep problem is listed as fixed in the most recent ATI driver update:

Software & Driver Downloads HP Pavilion dv7t-4000 CTO Select Edition Entertainment Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

My experience installing this update was a bit quirky - it warned me that the screen might flicker or go blank, which it did, but it stayed blank permanently. I was able to sleep the laptop by quickly pressing the power button, and after resuming from sleep (again with a quick press of the power button), was able to restart the computer normally to finish the installation. Be aware that pressing and holding the power button for more than a few seconds will result in a forced shutdown of the system, which is not what you want.

As for the HDMI vignetting - this was comically frustrating for me as well. The problem was overscanning, which for some reason is set to a ridiculous amount by default (20% or somesuch) in the Catalyst Control Center. The way to fix this wasn't at all obvious, but if you open CCC in advanced mode, select Desktops and Displays, right click on the external monitor, and then select Configure, you will be able to change the Overscan to 0 on the Scaling Options tab. IMHO this is ludicrous number of steps to change what should never have been set as a default to begin with.

 

Hi Tepui,

For the HDMI thing. I followed your isntrctions but when I rigth click the monitor in advanced mode,I don't see an option titled "configure"

just disable, rotate all, swap, identify all, identify, properties, and create group.

Any more advice?

Thanks,

jae

 

Never mind, I found it! Haha.

Thanks man!!!

 

Here's the configuration I'm having built:
* • Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
* • 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 [HDMI, VGA] - For Quad Core Processors
* • 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* • 1TB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (500GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* • 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (over-sized)
* • 17.3" diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1600 x 900)
* • FREE Upgrade to Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
* • HP TrueVision Webcam and Fingerprint Reader
* • Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth

$1,154.99 before tax and recycling fee. (Used a $250 coupon and and a $150 coupon.) Free shipping.

 

something interesting i found out for those with the 5650. apparently the only difference between the 5650 and 5730 is clockspeed. My dv7's 5650 shipped at 550/800 and the 5730 runs at 650/800. Using MSI's after burner software i bumped it up to 5730 speeds

 

HP Pavilion dv7t Select Edition series
Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz could also go for i5-450M
Graphics card 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 [HDMI, VGA] - For Quad Core Processor
Memory 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard drive 640GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive (320GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection. Is it better to have one drive or two
Display 17.3" diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1600 x 900) will the 1920x1080 make a difference
Primary optical drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
VS.
ENVY 17
Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
Graphics card 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5850 Graphics [HDMI]
Memory 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard drive 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Display 17.3" diagonal HD+ HP BrightView Infinity LED Display (1600 x 900) will the 1920x1080 make a difference
Primary optical drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support (Slot Load)

What I want to know is which laptop will let me do some serious gaming with the least amount of problems. There is no point of having a top of line model which keeps on heating up madly OR such a well balanced laptop that is just stuck way dead in the middle i.e good for nothing. I am open to other suggestions as well e.g ENVY 15 or any other brand with similar configuration. I need to make a decision in two days

 

I've had no issues so far with my system. I've had this notebook for a little over a month now and have played many games of L4D and SC2 and it's still running as well as ever. I'd imagine the 5850 gets pretty hot and I'm not sure how well the system can handle it.

 

the 5850 will be quite a bit faster. if you are quite worried about gaming then get the envy with the 5850.


I have a question of my own to the current owners of the dv7. Has anyone identified what PLL IC (aka clock generator chip) is used? i havent been able to identify the one if my dv7-4071nr

 

Do you max out your settings in these games? I haven't actually played them but I have heard that they are very demanding. If you think your laptop is good enough for such games then I guess I shouldn't bother with higher end laptops. The games that I play are total war, Need for speed, Call of duty 4, rainbow six, SIMS etc. Of course I would like to play these games by maxing out as much as possible

 

Source games like HL2 and L4D I can play pretty much maxed out. SC2 I play on medium settings and NFS: Shift I have to play pretty much at low settings. I'm not sure how well it'll run the other games you mentioned though.

 

i5 is dual core i think, so for aplications that can use all core, the i7 willl be faster. I think ti would be a good idea to google reviews of that i5 model.

If you are going to view movies at full HD yes. Try to see both in a store.

Two, you have more disk space, and also can put the page file in the drive that doesn't have the OS that way the whole system is faster. Note that 2 drives probably imply more heat.

 

Sometimes I can't lower the screen brightness by pressing the keyboard keys or by scrolling the bar (it disappears as an option entirely).

Any ideas?

 

I'm currently looking for a new laptop, and it's probably gonna be either the Sony Vaio F12s/F12m, or this Pavilion. I will be using it for photoshop, and so I would like a good quality screen. One of the difference between the two Vaio's, is screen quality, which is supposed to be much better on the F12s version. However this comes with specs I dont really need, and so it might be a bit wasteful.

Then comes along the Pavilion. What I would like to know, is what the screen quality is like, especially with regard to the vertical viewing angle. I'm also a but concerned that the resolution is a bit low for a 17,3" screen. Especially since I'm used to a 1680x1050 resolution on a 15.4" screen. Will there be a 1080p option in the near future? Or is this totally unknown? And, has anybody by any chance seen the Vaio's and Pavilion side by side?

 

That happened to me the other day. I think it was just a random bugged that occurred as a result of me putting Windows into sleep mode and bringing it back. A system restart fixed the issue for me.

If you're used to high resolution screens, then this system is definitely not for you. The resolution is relatively low for a 17" and I'm not sure if a 1080p will be available in the future. The vertical viewing angle isn't all that great either. Viewing it from too high an angle will cause the colors to fade pretty significantly. If you'd really like to check out an HP, you might want to consider the Envy 17.

 

AmunNL try to go to a store to see them.

 

Hey Bchreng.

Yeah restart fixes it, but I don't want to restart everytime I bring back from sleep... Any other fixes? thanks

 

I'm not sure what causes it as it just happened to me that one time. Every other time I've brought my DV7 back from sleep, the brightness buttons function fine. Have you installed all the most recent updates for Windows and the GPU?

 

Can someone post the latest coupon for the DV7tSE here or link me somewhere to find it? Did some searching and couldn't dig it up. Looking to get one but need that coupon. Many thanks!

 

Im curious if anyone has done anything along the lines of putting a higher resolution/better quality LCD in this unit, perhaps one from an envy?

 

Hello all,

i purchased recently DV7 4020em.
It is the one with core i5 processor, Ati 5650, 2x320GB (7200).
Just few thing i have noticed.
1. The front the rubber legs are not standing directly on the desk. They are little above the desk and a piece of paper A4 can easily slip without problem. Reason: the plastic leg of the bottom cover for the components is raising it.
2. the screen is not a quality I've expected for LED back-light screen. The black is non existing in case of full black background. It is grayish.
Also the viewing angle quickly deteriorate especially vertical.
3. Speaker sound is bad, at least for my taste. It seams that one of the speakers is not good in place so it vibrates. I am not sure to be exact.
OK, now i am sure. It is the whole keyboard that is vibrating. What to say about that? I am speechless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBHn53OebIw
4. LEFT USB's are a problem. When i connect my external western digital passport 320GB and start for example movie or MP3 it looses power disconnects and aggain connect and this loop continues till i disconnect it manually. The right side is working well.
Does anyone have the same problem? What to do? Is the notebook faulty?
*UPDATE*
5.HDMI sound is not as fluid, crisp and clear as the one comming from IDT sound hardware. I had to disable ATI HDMI sound to get good results. I will try to update ATI drivers maybe it helps.

The build quality is very good. The aluminum case is very sturdy.
*UPDATE*
But overall i am not so satisfied with notebook as i expected. Especially annoying is the vibrating keayboard that comes to fore on vocals (movie).
Hope that i can solve most of them. With the display and vibrating keyboard it seem that i will have to learn to live. I will ask HP support about the keyboard issue.

 

I was wondering if it's possible to hook up two external monitors to the dv7t?

 

That sound you're playing has a very high resonance and it sounds like you have the volume jacked way up.. Does it make these buzzes on normal material at a mid-high volume?

Either way it really seems as if the resonance/volume of the signal is high enough to cause the keyboard to vibrate against itself.. not sure if thats normal but it seems like the same concept I see in ghettosleds that ride by with high bass frequencies in their audio signal causing the car itself to vibrate and buzz. Only way I can think to resolve that is to insulate or dampen with anti-vibration materials such as rubber around the speakers/subwoofer and/or the frame.. wherever metal/plastic is touching or close to touching..

 

The buzzing is always there. It is almost gone only when the sound volume is at about 30% and that is unacceptable.
It is there while I'm watching movies or listening the music I hear it. Normale usage.
Do you also have the same model? If you have and do not experience my problem than it seems like a faulty notebook from my side.

 

I have exactly the same problem with distortion, at exactly the same volume levels as you've described. I chalk it up to poor fit and finish on the keyboard support structure - if I lay my hand firmly over the numeric keypad, the distortion vanishes. Since I use headphones virtually all the time, this hasn't been a huge issue, but it's fairly grating on the occasions when I don't.

 

I have a dv7t select and I had the humming noise that was being caused by the case vibrating. I put two felt protectors (those used for furniture on wood floors) and it fixed the problem. Not sure if you have the same thing but you might want to try it.

 

To be honest I am not sure what exactly you did with them.
Could you explain?
Maybe I don't understand because we don't have the same problem.

 

Hey all I was going to buy what I think was a HP DV7t for a desktop replacement but after reading some reviews, I'm just not sure. -
HP dv7 Laptop

Overall I've heard that HP's are not as good as some other laptops as I've had a few friends have them crap out, one just bought an HP and it crapped out on her 6mo's later. Is this the same for most HP's nowadays?

I don't do any major programs like photoshop, mainly just surf some websites and video chat with family & friends across the USA. Would I have any problems?

 

I am sorry about my explanation, it really wasn't very good. Let me try again.

Right away when I got my new dv7t select I would hear this humming and it was driving me crazy. I picked up the laptop and held it and the humming would stop as I held the case but as soon as I put it back on my desk the humming would start again. The only way I could get it to stop would be hold the case off my desk.

My solution to this vibrating hum was to put felt furniture protectors on the little legs on the bottom of the laptop (the back ones where the battery is located). This may not help if you are lifting your laptop all the time but on my desk it works great.

 

That looks like and older model dv7 while they are linking to the newer one..

I'm not sure I'd spend that kind of money on a used laptop with (probably) no warranty.. If it were me I'd spend a little more if going the HP route and get a new one..

 

I got him down to $550 for it though. Says that it's still in good condition but I want to try it out before anything. for a 17" screen I didn't think that was that bad of a price and came here for help, so is it?

 

To owners:

Is there a way to turn off the monitor (make screen completely black) with a simple keyboard function?

Thanks,

JAe

 

To owners:

Are there other ways to maximize my battery life other than setting it to "power saver mode", turning down the screen brightness, and turning off the wireless?

thanks

 

I wouldn't buy an older laptop off craigslist just to save $200 bucks. Go look at the new dv7st's from Costco - they come with 2 year warranties.

 

I'm on a budget though, being a broke college student does that hah
would that or a HP HDX 16-1140us be better?

 

My nieces lost her a/c adapter for her DV7Tse - can someone please post the specs of the 90W a/c adapter that came with your unit? I will try to find a replacement unit for her.

 

here's the info written on the 90w ac adapter
90w
wide range input 100-240v 1.a 50-60hz
output 19v 4.7a 90w max
hp part no 608428-002
replace with hp spare: 609940-001

 

I think you'll have to buy it direct from HP. That would be the safe option, anyway. I wouldn't risk buying a third-party A/C adapter for something so expensive.

 

Anyone know of any good external cooling fans for the dv7t?

 

Hmm, ok, in my case the humming is always there. Only if i press firmly on the keyboard right side it almost stops but I can stilll feel teh vibrations on my hand.
It seems that the keyboard is not adequate to be used with this speaker configuration. It is just to shaky.
Tomorow the service guys will come to pick up the unit and there is a waiting time.
I am really pissed of and hope they will solve it fast because i got the laptop faulty at the beginning.
But in the whole story biggest problem is that the devices connected to left side USBs of computer are immediately disconnecting and trying to connect back and that in infinite loop in case I play some sound files. As soon I stop playing sound the disconnecting and connecting stops.
On the right side it is ok.

 

DO you think that the Toshiba X505
Qosmio Laptop, i7-740QM
18.4" widescreen TruBrite TFT LCD display; 1680x945 (HD+) native resolution
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M with 1.5GB GDDR5 discrete graphics card
would be better at gaming it only has 4GB of RAM but the video card is better.

 

Better video = better at gaming, always. The dv7 doesn't even come close.

 

My thanks to all thus far everyone I have spoke to on the boards and stores feel that the Toshiba - Model X505-Q894 is the fastest gaming laptop for the money. Costco cost is $1,499.99 (Costco gives a 2 yr warranty 3 yr if you pay for it on American Express).

 

Can somebody tell me what is the theme/gadget used in the begging of the thread (the one on the left displaying weather and time in different cities, and the black clock on the right along with the rss feeds/gmail/etc):

 

It's the rainmeter app.. Heres how to set it up:

Here is my setup



Good luck

 

First time poster here, I have a couple of questions:

I ordered this yesterday:

HP dv7t Select Edition
i5-460M
HD 5470 switchable graphics
6GB DDR3
Dual Hard Drives (320GB x 2)

First, exactly what does " switchable graphics" mean, and how is it useful in this laptop.

Secondly, during normal operation (surfing, YouTube,......) how loud is this laptop. Are the fans very noticable, does the hard drive chatter?

thanks in advance

 

Switchable graphics means that if not needed goes to the board weaker Intel graphic card which needs less energy. To tell you the truth since your graphic cards is weak you'll not get much benefit.

Can't comment on other.

 

My dv7t also lags from time to time when playing music ot watching videos
I have the 2X500gb 6gb/ram 5650 version
any ideas what might causing it?

 

thanks S_Dot

 

man - this $400 off coupon is pushing me close to pulling the trigger on this....

•Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-840QM Quad Core processor (1.86GHz, 8MB L3 Cache)
•1GB ATI Mobility Radeon graphics
•FREE Upgrade to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
•640GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
•FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & Lightscribe SuperMulti DVD burner

this machine is $1799 and comes down to $1399 after the coupon... what a killer setup!

 

okay - i did it - i pulled the trigger. got the laptop above + port replicator for $1585 after taxes. XD

does any know what color the unit is? lol... some pictures show it as black, some as silver but i didnt see any place on the website that mentioned the color on the "custom build" setups....