NEW Review OF H.P DV 6500t

Review of H.P DV6500t on Anandtech.com http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3011

 

That review was posted June 22...its not new.

 

I'm buying one of those this week. How is the webcam on it?

 

Why did you return your Dell?

To be honest with you, if you think going to HP is going to be any better than Dell, you are in for a very rude awakening. HP's support is absolutely terrible. None of the people you speak to for tech support are located within the US. When you finally do get someone who is in the US, like a case manager, they don't even speak English as a first language.

I'm on my second HP notebook now. I orginally had a dv5030us. It had nothing but problems with every component that could be problematic. After less than a year the motherboard died. Then it took HP nearly two months to fix that and finally end up replacing it with a dv6345us. Now that system is having problems. It locks up constantly while trying to play DVDs, the drive itself can't burn discs that are readable with any optical drive, and just the other night it lost its ability to burn discs.

Not to mention the awful build quality. Their systems are very very "bendy" and you can easily watch the plastic bend and shape by just applying very minimal amounts of pressure.

 

My replacement Dell was worse than my original, so I just got very sick of them. The screen on my was terribly grainy which is very annoying for me. The headphone noise was very disappointing as well Is HP's support as terrible as you say it is. I don't understand how it could be any worse than Dell's.

 

Hey Guys what about Sony Vaio FZ ?

 

Too expensive. The only laptop that has the specs I want for a good price is a Dell.

I think I will just settle for the 6500t

 

I am not sure which way to go H.P 6500t SE or Vaio FZ 190. As far as money goes we don’t buy laptops every day so I don’t mind spending a little extra.

 

Go with sony then

 

Sony Support is the worst. I am also considering AsusV1S-AK013E

 

I had a friend who had a terrible time with HP, and switched to Mac. On the other hand, my time with them has been nothing but positive (I have been with HP for 5 years now, Compaq before then...when they weren't doing the cheap stuff). I just think it depends.

I have had only three things ever happen to me concerning HP products:

1. Hard drive died (desktop) after a year. Replaced it, no more problems since.
2. Screen failure due to overheating on the DV6000T (HP replaced it and fixed the heating problem within a week)
3. A drunken college friend peed on my DV5500 (I can't blame HP for not making the laptop pee proof....meh, I guess I can ) But I got that replaced, so all is ok.

My mom had had her DV5000 for...2 years now, and her 56k modem just died on it. She called HP, and they are sending a box to fix it as I type this.

So, I just think its a luck of the draw. All laptop companies have their horror stories I am sure (like Dell's extreme waiting period now)

 

I'm definitely going to go with HP then. And whats the deal with the imprint on the dv6500t? Some of the pictures I look at, it looks like it's not even there. Do all of them come with the imprint?

 

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

 

I have a dv2000t and just sold my dv6000t (weak graphics) to get the $$ to buy a 6500t. The 2000 and 6000 were superb systems for the money - slim and light with great LCD's - and zero problems with either. I'm buying the 6500t for what it is - recognizing that it won't be a high speed gaming machine - but for $940-ish w/ 2-Gb of ram, upgraded processor, and 8400 graphics it's a great deal.

 

What specs are you getting?

That seems pretty cheap.

 

LOL!!! In my year of retail, this is exactly what I hear about every company. Dell, HP, Toshiba, Sony, Acer, Gateway, you name it. People, their friend, their relative, or their friend's relative, have a bad experience with one company and believe that their entire line of computers or their entire support is horrible. I'm not saying that these companies have good customer service, but honestly it's not nearly as bad as people make it to sound. Don't not buy from a company from one bad experience, most of it's just luck.

 

The only way to get true customer service is to buy from a local custom notebook dealer.

And where do I enter the coupon code on HP's website?

 

^^^ during check out. I have a feeling you've figured it out by now though...

 

^^^

I can't seem to find it

I won't be ordering tonight though, I just want to find out what the price is going to be after the discount.

 

You need to go futher into check out where they're asking for your credit card info(obvously you don't need to give that info)...then just get the total price after applying coupon code(near bottom of the page) and close/or back out the window.

 

Are you buying the HP dv6500t or the HP dv6500t Special Edition? Where can I get more information on the Special Edition? I've read the reviews but I would like to hear from some actual owners on how they like the system, its positive aspects and negative aspects. I have purchased a Dell 1520 but am scared that my order will be cancelled (all the stories of delays and cancellations). The coupon out for HP now would give me a great deal on the 6500t SE so I might just buy it too. Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks. MAK

 

^^^

I think the the dv6500t SE is the same but just white.

I would cancel your 1520 if I were you. There are some horrible letdowns when you receive it. You might get lucky though.

 

If you want to get a real Idea of SE go to best buy and look at it it's white with silever keboard no worries of fingerprint.

 

Does the dv6500t come with a vista dvd?

 

NO It doesnot

 

The soundcard/headphone out on the HP isn't usable either. HP uses junk soundcards and the headphone amplification stage is awful. The only thing it would be able to drive is a $10 set of Sony earbuds from Wal-Mart. It doesn't even sound good with the Apple earbuds.

The screens aren't good either. At least Dell gives you the option of upgrading the resolution. HP locks you at 1280x800. ON a 15.4" screen it becomes incredibly soft and blurry with washed out colors.

HP's support has to be the worst in the industry. The people you call and speak to are all based in India. The people based in the US will make you wonder if they're working here legally or not because of their thick Spanish accents.

I know when my dv5030us died, I had to make HP know that I was very aware of the consumer protection laws here in California and that I was willing to pursue legal action if they didn't replace my dead notebook.

And now the DVD drive died in the system they replaced it with! HP is just as bad now as Dell with the whole forcing crapware on you. They used to give you a clean Windows DVD and a second DVD full of software you could pick and choose to install. But now they force a "recovery partition" on you and force you to reinstall all of their junkware unless you get your own copy or use the Vista Upgrade Anytime DVD and call Microsoft every time you want to activate it.

 

thevjm - I didn't see your question until today - I got the 5450 processor, 2-Gb, 8400, the high cap 6-cell and webcam - but no fingerprint reader. The actual total - with PA tax - was $948.06. I've already slipstreamed the ICH8M SATA drivers onto a copy of my XP SP2 - I hope to make a dual-booter out of it the first day!

 

The review in the original post says that the LCD is horrible, while the review from NBR says that it was one of the bests displays he has ever seen. Which one is right?

 

All of the LCD's on H-P's I have owned, or own, were very nice. dv9000 was much brighter than my XPS M170, dv6000 was borderline spectacular, dv2000 is not quite as bright as I would like (like me.... ) but still very nice - I just hope my dv6500 has a nice LCD....

 

I just received my HP dv6500 with the GeForce 8400M GS. I primarily use an external 19" monitor when using my laptop. The dv6500 does not come with a DVI port - but it does have HDMI. If you want to use an external monitor then it is a MUST you purchase an HDMI to DVI cable. Using this cable will enable you to take advantage of your GeForce driver and chose your monitors native resolution. If you just plug a VGA cable into an external monitor you will be stuck with 1280x800 which, for power users, is unusable on an external monitor.

 

So how doe the dv6500 screen look? Does it have any of the grainyness of the dell displays.. notably the ones made by AUO? Can you also tell us who the manufacturer is on your dv6500t display. I am feeling better that this HP forum is not flooded with "i have a grainy screen" threads.. but I am still hoping that HP does not use AUO displays. My last replacement 1420 dell had that and it was so bad I will NEVER buy a dell again.

 

Silkyjumper.. how does the display on the dv6500 look? Is it grainy? I just had a horrid experience with Dell and grainy displays so I am praying the dv6500 I ordered will be good.