Help with buying a dv6

Hi all.

I am probably going to buy a HP dv6 laptop. However, I have a few questions about it:

I am deciding between the 1230 and 1270 model.
The main difference is that the 1230 is AMD Athlon and 1270 is Intel Core 2 Duo. I have heard/read that AMDs in laptops are excessively warm, draw a lot of battery juice and are still less effective than Intels. Is this true? Is it worth buying the more expensive one because of the cpu?

Also, I'm quite puzzled about the battery life. For how long does the 6-cell battery last, let's say while only writing in word or surfing over WLAN? And I hear there's a 12-cell replacement available, it's a lot better I guess.

My original thought was to buy ASUS K50IN, and the thing that draws me back to it is the fact that it has a lot weaker GFX card (14W consumption, as opposed to the HP's ATI with 35W), which speaks for the battery life. I don't know.

And most importantly - how reliable are the dv6's? I have heard from a qualified HP technician that they are very faulty and unreliable. Is this true?

Please, I would be very grateful for any info you could give me.
Help me decide.

Thanks very much.

 

Going to need to be careful how i word this before i end up with a AMD posse on my tail but if i was buying another it would be Intel only cos i think they run a bit cooler.
Also what GPU has it got...if you want to game with it try find the one with the ATI 4650 GPU.
Processors can be upgraded - to change GPU you have to change the motherboard so choose wisely.
Had no problem with my DV6 not had it that long tho 1.5 month.
12 cell battery makes the laptop sit higher at the back so perhaps in theory it should help it run cooler but i've sat mine up at the back and don't see much differance.
6 cell battery for me lasts just under 2 hours browsing

 

Wait another week for Windows 7 and cooler running AMD Turion II (45nm) CPUs, though you might get a good deal on current models.

I haven't had trouble with heat from my dv4 with Turion Ultra ZM82. Having a 12 cell battery to prop up the back of the notebook helps. Unfortunately, HP's quality control is inconsistent and many people have received notebooks (Intel and AMD) where the heatsinks aren't mounted properly, etc. YMMV. Make sure you buy from a store with a good return policy. Is HP any worse than anyone else? Probably not. They all use the same Chinese shops to build the machines (Quanta, Compal, etc).

 

It's Taiwanese... way better than Chinese nonsence....

 

You mean Taiwanese shops...way better than chinese nonsence...

 

My HP parts arrived today (mobo/heatsink) and have Made in China on them..... not Taiwan...
Mobo i have now is Quanta so i'd guess the new one is also

 

Thanks for replies.

What is the battery life of those dv6's? I'm afraid that the powerful GFX card draws a lot of juice...

 

With the DV6 theres 3 GPU choices
onboard/integrated
ATI 4530 512Mb
ATI 4650 1Gb
Processors you can go all the way up to a T9900.

Like i said before just browsing using a usb driven 3G modem i get just under 2 hours with a 4530 on a 6 cell batt with a "P" series processor which should be helping battery life a little vrs a "T' series.(not much probably but a little)

If battery life is more important & you don't want to game then look for a integrated GPU model.
There's a few guys here with the AMD Artist edition/4650 GPU who should be able to let u know how they perform.

 

The 1270 I want to buy here has a ATI 4650 512Mb.

A weird thing is, my friend has a dv5 1240 (with AMD Turion, which is supposed to be more power-consuming) with an ATI Radeon HD 3650 512MB; which has some 5W lower consumption than the 4650. And he says he lasts with the 6-cell batery 3,5-4 hours surfing... Where does the difference lie then?

 

If u want good graphics card and good battery life go for the HD4650 1g gddr3 and 12-cell battery.

 

See that review http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=415893

 

Taiwanese companies but the factories are in Shanghai.

BTW, HP has AMD ProBooks with Turion II CPUs and Radeon 4200 integrated graphics "coming soon" listed in their small business notebook section. I'm guessing that "soon" means when Microsoft lets HP sell notebooks with Win7 preloaded next week.