New SE DV 2500t at bestbuy

best buy has a new special edition verve dv 2500t. now i only wish it had the dedicated graphics and I would pick one of these up

 

I saw one of those at bestbuy a few days ago! They do look real sweet. Unfortunately its underpowered and its a way for hp to get rid of its stock of parts!

 

What do you mean "get rid of its stock of parts?" The 2500 is a brand new machine, isn't it?

And what do you mean "underpowered?" For whom; gamers? multitaskers? What about for everyday users who simple surf the web, do word processing and photo editing.

I almost bought the 2500 yesterday but may be better off with a 15" screen.

 

Just looking at the specs it looks like a good choice for a 14.1" with integrated graphics. The proc isn't the fastest but then again the machine is only $999.99

 

I think the dv2500t se is one of the best looking laptops I have ever seen. It looks so much better than the dv2500t and that is a very good looking laptop. Too bad I won't get it because it doesn't have discrete graphics, but it does seem like a good deal

 

The one I saw at Bestbuy had an older processor (1.5 ghz c2d). This is what I meant by underpowered and getting rid of old stock. I don't think HP even offers that processor on their website.

 

Actually the 1.5GHz C2D was released just recently and not older stock. Intel usually releases the faster processors first and then goes on to release the budget ones. So, the T5250/T5450 are the newest Santa Rosa platform cpu. As for as performance goes I wouldnt call it underpowered either. It wont be as fast as the T7100 series but it is more than capable for a home user. It just depends on what you need.

 

Aah...well my mistake then! I thought these were the older processors. Even so, I guess they would be good enough for home use. I know some companies do this; release special edition laptops as a way of emptying older processor stock when new ones come out.

Anyway, apologies to all!

 

I am so close to buying this notebook at best buy today. My only reservation is a small one...I wanted wireless N but it isn't included. Not that I even have a wireless N router, so maybe it doesn't mean a hill of beans.

What do you think?

Also, I'm assuming the 1.5GHz runs slightly cooler than than the T7100, and cool and quiet are my top priorities. In any case, it will run faster than the Pentium 4 on my PC, right?!

I don't follow this stuff, so I'm trying to educate myself.

Thanks for all the great help!

 

It will run circles around the P4.

It's weird the DV2500 doesn't come with wireless-N.

 

wireless-N is still an option upgrade even direct from HP. You would think it would be standard since it's one of Intels main additions to the SR upgrade though.

Onsale @ Best Buy this dv2550se is still $168 cheaper (after $100 instant rebate) than buying a similarly configured 2500 direct from HP so it's a pretty good deal IMHO if you don't mind the slower CPU, 802.11g only, and no dedicated gfx. Plus the case definitely is more snazzy looking and I appreciate how it comes with the 12-cell battery too. Hmm...I may consider picking one up after all

 

I'm in the same situation here... i wanted to buy today, and this special edition at $999 was looking very good, except for the lack of wireless N, and the "underpowered" processor. I really have no idea how would this perform. I'm in college, studying an engineering, i might need to use autocad, do you think the T5250 and the X3100 will be enough? I might want to play Age of empires III ever now and then.

 

I wouldn't worry about AutoCAD. I use AutoCAD 2008 at work on 4 year old Dell desktop w/ a 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 w/ 1 GB of ram and an old school Geforce3.

The T5250 and x3100 will be more than up to the task of running AutoCAD. And considering AOEIII is already a few yrs old, it shouldn't pose any troubles neither.

 

Wireless N is only going to be useful if you have a router, otherwise its pretty much useless. Its going to ofer better range and higher speeds over a home network(if you have one) but general internet usage wont be affected too much. A tear or two from now Wifi N might make a lot of sense but currently 802.11G is pretty much the standard and you are not going to miss out by not getting the wifi N card.

As for as which runs cooler, a whole lot depends on the cooling system of a particular notebook. If you are just comparing the processors then there wont be too much to pick between the two. Both have similar power management capabilities but the T5250 is running at 1.5GHz with 667MHz FSB, so its going to have a slight advantage but its not a huge difference. Pretty much expect them to run around the same temperatures when idle and there might be slightly bigger difference when under full load. But in the end the average temps will be pretty similar.

 

I just can't understand why would HP offer this great laptop, in one configuration, and one with a slower-than-standard processor! I mean, for a SE, it should be premium. The people that want the cheaper laps, well they can get their dv2500t from HP.com and configure them as they like.

 

We bought two of the dv2550se from Best Buy. I really like the screen, battery like, and the looks of the case. This pair replace a Toshiba Satellite M45-S359, a Dell E1405, and an HP dv8000t.

If I want to make it faster in the future, the processor can be replaced with a T7300 for $260 (current prices). The only issue I have is the lack of doing a completely clean Vista install from an HP provided Vista installation disc.

 

is there any way you could post pics of the hp verve? i don't really trust the ones on best buy's website, since the machines always look very different in real life. also, is the touchpad still sticky/does it get hot like it was on the dv2000t. thank you for your help!

 

The dv2550se looks much better in person than the pics you see on their site. The bronze and brown color scheme are very striking. I was in Irvine while my Lady was in Mobile, on the phone comparing notes, features, looks, etc. It was one of the reasons she liked it.

I have not noticed if the pad gets warm. To solve the sticky feeling and to protect the surface, it got three coats of Zaino Z5 show car polish. Now, it is real shiny!

 

AzizaVFR...LOL, u polished your laptop w/ Zaino? Did you do all the shiny surfaces or just the pad? I prefer Mother's car waxes/polishes personally

 

heres some pictures of it

 

I bought one today at Best Buy. Still getting the feel for it. It's a beautiful machine!

 

Damn thats nice looking...

Best buy is not compatible with the UK?

 

I just saw one at the bestbuy near me. They just had one in a few days ago.
The appearance is very attractive, but what I really noticed is the better feel of the keyboard (I believe they paint the keyboard and somehow that gives better feel while typing), another thing I noticed is that they have made the touchpad buttons less deep now.

Kudos to HP, I still love my DV2000 though

 

Yeah, this was very high on my list of possible laptops that will be replacing my Latitude x300. I was trying to decide between the 2500se and the Sony CR...went to Best Buy and looked at both. Both were very nice, but the 2550se stood out a lot. Probably one of the best I've seen. Almost bought it too, but what stopped me was the lack of internal bluetooth, slower processor, no N.... but damn, that thing is beautiful... 12-cell battery too. In the end, I ended up getting an Inspiron because I got a great deal and couldn't pass it up. If only HP would let us cofig this laptop, I would be right there.

 

You can, at their website. You can order it with all the goodies you want including bluetooth and faster processors. Not sure it has the special design.

The keyboard on this thing is really incredible. I'm a very, very, very happy camper because it runs so cool and quiet...that may, in part, be due to the fact that I have the slower processor...but for my needs, it's surely worth it.

 

looks great.. and its only available at BB.. its not configurable

 

Yep, choy's right, you can't configure the one with the special design. The original desing isn't bad either, but nothing compare to the special edition. If only.... (sigh)

 

Is it possible to swap the casing between the radiance 2500t and the verve edition? I truly dont understand why it's a bestbuy only deal.... Or why the didn't at least put the top components in it

 

You could, in theory, change the casing. You would have to buy both models and exchange the casing on them.

 

All the chassis parts are available for sale through the HP parts website. However, the cost of parts adds up quickly:
eg.
$75 - "Display top enclosure assembly - Includes logo and WLAN wireless antenna transceivers and cables (Best Buy)"
$90 - Chassis top cover (upper case) assembly - Contains the touchpad circuit board (Best Buy)

 

well I dont think $165 is prohibitive.... But say if i did that when I have a problem with my laptop i'll have to pay for the repairs right?

 

awesome graphics on the lcd cover!!

for some wanting to have the chassis replaced on a regular dv2500, take note that those with dedicated graphics have HDMI port, not sure if that will pose as a problem.

 

So far I have been very happy with the notebook. The score rating running Vista was initially a 3.4, but after I removed much of the crapware and installed updated GM965 graphics drivers from Intel the lowest score, based on the graphics, was a 3.5. The machine is very good looking and even comes with a 12 Cell battery. For fewer than 1000 bucks I don’t have much to complain about.

Ratings are:
Processor: 4.6
Memory 4.5
Graphics 3.5
Gaming Graphics 3.5
Primary Hard Disk Transfer rate: 4.5