Is this DV6, the one to buy?

I am an inch away from hitting the buy button on this relatively inexpensive notebook for my son.

HP DV6-6138NR in Steel Gray from PC Richard for only $535(after coupon). Shipping is $9.99.

The same notebook on the HP site sells for $679(with free upgrade to 640Gb HD and free shipping).

Is there some kind of catch to the deal which I am just not seeing?
Is PC Richard a reputable dealer?
Is there something that this notebook is missing or something my son won't be able to do without if we buy this notebook?
He will use this notebook to do homework on Office apps, browse the internet, skype with friends, download music and watch gazoodles of crazy videos on YouTube. He'll probably use this PC for at least 3 years.

Here are the notebook specs from the HP site on this model.
2nd generation Intel Core i5-2410M Processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.90 GHz
6GB DDR3 SDRAM (2 DIMM)
Intel HD Graphics 3000
Hard Drive 500GB 5400RPM)
SuperMulti DVD burner
15.6" diagonal High-Definition BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768)
Network Card 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Wireless Connectivity
802.11b/g/n WLAN
Beats Audio
Windows 7 OS
and all the other stuff like fingerprint reader that comes on the DV6.

So, should I finally hit that buy button on this one?

 

The downsides to that laptop is it has a considerably low screen resolution. It would be helpful to know what types of activities your son will be doing on this laptop.

I myself have never heard of pcrichard's website so I can't say they're a reputable dealer, however. They may be, but as far as I know they aren't one of the more prominent sites.

I would suggest this one over that one: HP Pavilion dv6-6135dx Refurbished Notebook PC - AMD Quad-Core A8-3500M 2.4GHz, 6GB DDR3, 640GB HDD, Blu-ray, 15.6 Display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit at TigerDirect.com

It comes with Blu-Ray, a good GPU, nice processor, and decent ram. However it still has the same low resolution, however you will probably not get the HD res at this budget. That laptop is about $529.99 and it has been very popular. About two times it has gone out of stock. It should cover any needs at this price range and is probably your best deal. The only down side is that it is refurbished, sacrificing a better warranty for a 3 month one.

If you prefer a new laptop, you may like the HP Pavilion dv6zqe here.
HP Pavilion dv6 and dv6z Quad Edition series | HP Official Store

I am not completely sure what exactly your son will be doing. If he is gaming, you may want to upgrade the GPU in the laptop when you customize it! Should you provide more information on his tasks I would be able to narrow down a model for you.

If you buy from HP's website, apply this coupon to that laptop: 25SAVINGS to take off $25 of the cost and free shipping. However if you hit the $750 mark, apply the coupon NBP65875 to take off $75 as well as get free shipping.

These laptops should be good enough for him, in that case. If you are willing to go a little higher, I would get the DV6zqe w/ the 1920x1080 screen and you can choose the colour that is not dark umber.

The only issue with getting a refurbished is - you may get a crappier unit. Nearly all of the time you will a good one. It's pretty much the same chance of getting a crappy unit from buying a new laptop. However if the color can be disregarded, I highly recommend the HP dv6-6135dx.

But not to say this: the one you had originally pointed out would be enough to do everything he wants to do on it. But the Pavilion I showed you would of been a great deal, should the color be disregarded.

 

Thanks again Ritzy!

He is nuts over the steel gray aluminum case and really likes the way it looks vs the black keyboard. Since this is a gift, I want to try and get him what he wants as closely as I can afford.

If I could afford another $200, I'd be absolutely doing the NBT coupon on the $1K units and getting a kick butt box but for now, can't afford that and probably wouldn't want to do that for him right now since he is not always careful with his technology and warranties only cover so much. This will be his first (starter) notebook.

 

Cool! That's not a problem. The laptop you showed would be sufficient to do all of his wants and tasks, and I understand if he likes the color. Unfortunately most laptops these days come in black... so that means the best deals are there. PC-Richard should be a reputable dealer, they are an older company. However most people here have little to no experience with their customer service, or if they are good at shipping so I can't give an expert answer.

You may want to search around a bit outside of HP though.

 

Thanks again Ritzy.

I'm probably gonna go and click buy. I'll report back to let everyone know how it goes....

 

Oh well... just my luck that when I clicked the Buy button the unit deal was sold out...... Santa gonna skip this house this year for my son it seems.

 

id recommend the dv6z series laptops for that range.

they have the new AMD processors which while not as fast as i7, it's still more than adequate for most things you throw at it and it has an integrated radeon graphics card built into the chip.

if you spend the 75$ adding the 6750m graphics, you can run both in crossfire and have a very nice gaming laptop if you wanted.

 

govt dog,

I'd second or is it third their recommendations on the dv6. Ritzy Cat is offering solid/sound advice here. Especially on the 6135dx. The recertified unit I purchased at Newegg came looking new, you can't tell it's used in the least and I'm extremely persnickity. Second, you can also purchase a separate warranty in either one year or two year increments if you don't feel comfortable with the return period of 30 days from Newegg/90 days from HP.

I will also mention, some of the pictures online don't give a real representation of how the notebook appears, it's a beautiful dark brown aluminum color. Neweggs pictures are washed out, so I was actually pretty shocked when I pulled it out of the box. First impression...awesome.

Here is a good representation of 'exactly' what this little laptop looks like.

You Tube

I know I love mine. It's performs very well for it's price range/specs and I haven't had a single lick of trouble. And I mean none, I've been very hard on it just to make sure...my 30 days are now up.

Best Regards,

Liquid Cool