My Experience w/ dv6500z

I received my dv6500z and after spending a day of fighting with it, I'm returning it. I did a significant amount of research and decided that it met my needs. I bought it because I liked the price, the specs and that it came with GigE. I turned it on, fought through Vista to learn that the ethernet didn't show as GigE. At first I was bummed then I realized that it could have been an issue with the driver. No problem because I planned to downgrade to WinXP anyway. This was a journey into frustration.

I've monitored these boards and tried many install packages (chipset groups) to get the drivers installed. Some things I could get installed but the ethernet controller would not install. I don't mind spending time (many hours) trying to get my system right but there was only so much I could take. I hate Vista and WinXP wouldn't install so I'm returning it. Given time the drivers will improve on Vista but beware if you're trying to install WinXP on the dv6500z.