REVIEW: New HP DV6T vs SONY S15 Comparison

HP DV6T-7000 vs Sony S15 Specs - (HP Specs listed first):

CPU: i7-3610QM (2.3 – 3.3 GHz)
i5-3320M (2.6 – 3.3 GHz)

MEMORY: 4GB (12GB) DDR3 1333 Mhz
8GB DDR3 1600 MHz

DISPLAY: LED Matte Anti-glare 1080p (IPS?)
IPS Matte 1080p

VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 650M 2GB
NIVIDIA GeForce 640LE 2GB

OPTICAL: Blu-Ray Burner (Tray)
Blu-Ray Burner (Slot)

AUDIO: Beats Audio & 4 Speakers
2 Basic (small) Speakers

BATTERY: 6 cell
6 cell

PRICE: $1098 (Total)
$1363 (Total including the Dock and a Free PS3)


So I’ve spent a little time with both the new ivy bridge versions of the Sony S15 and HP DV6T-7000 series notebooks.

Here is my quick review & comparison thus far:




- DISPLAY (Pics attached):
Both displays are excellent. As most know, Sony’s display uses IPS and I personally wasn’t bothered by any lack of “reds” issue if there is one. Viewing angels are excellent as well. While HP says it’s just using a regular 1080p LED display, you could swear this is an IPS display as well! Viewing angls are literally on par with the Sony which are also excellent.

With the same scenic wallpapers, the displays were almost indistinguishable. When I pulled up a plain white screen like Google’s homepage or Notepad, you can tell the Sony IPS whites are brighter and colors might be a TAD more saturated… but if you weren’t looking directly at both you wouldn’t be able to tell.

Both Displays are matte Anti-glare, however HP definitely has a better Matte finish to it. The Sony screen actually still ‘somewhat’ reflects light and images like a mirror, but nowhere NEAR like a Glossy screen would be. I think I would be fine with either screen but the fact I can tell the HP is much less reflective is nicer.

I played the same scenes from my Transformers Blu-Ray on both machines through POWER-DVD and for some odd reason the HP looked MUCH nicer. The Sony looked over saturated, too dark and even a touch grainier. Go figure!

*** Winner = Toss up! (Leaning towards HP)
While the Sony screen ‘seems’ to have ever so slightly more saturated colors and brighter whites, the HP is virtually identical AND has a better matte coating with less reflection. I’m pretty sure the HP is an IPS too. Can’t go wrong with either!





- PERFORMANCE - CPU, MEMORY, HARD DRIVE and VIDEO CARD:
With regards to CPU, I got the i5 for the Sony and i7 for the HP. I’m not going to run and specific tests as obviously the i7 will have better performance than the i5.

Memory wise, I got the Sony with 4GB but will max it out to 12GB if I keep it. The HP came with 8GB (which I might bump to 16 if I keep it). So the biggest difference here is that the Sony uses 1333 Mhz vs the HP has 1600 Mhz. Not sure if that’s a big jump, but its also nice I can go up to an even 16GB dual channel if I like.

As for the Hard Drive, I bought a Samsung 256GB SSD 830 drive that I will be throwing into the victor. However, I just happened to learn that Sony has some sort of a restriction that will keep the SATA II Samsung 830 running at SATA 2 speeds. While a hack may become available at some point, that is a major bummer seeing as the HP will run at SATA III 6GB no problem.

Despite not being a gamer at all, I got the 2GB NVIDIA 650M for the HP and the 2GB NVIDIA 640LE for the Sony. The HP has the better card although Sony does have the switch to go back and forth from Stamina to Speed to conserve battery.

As I said, since I don’t game, I’m not sure this will affect me personally either way as would any of the above component differences. However, it is nice to know you have the extra power under the hood if needed and in theory the computer is future proof for a little while longer.

*** Winner = HP





- AUDIO:
No contest here, the HP Beats and 4 Speaker system totally out perform the 2 tiny speakers Sony threw into the S15. Although, the S15 does have louder speakers than my Sony Z systems had in the past, so for general use they seem ok. Coming from an XPS 15 with JBL though Im spoiled, and while HP’s isn’t as good, its closer.

I was actually thinking of buying a nice compact portable speaker bar for traveling anyways (especially for the Sony) so its kinda of a mute topic as I also use headphones quite a bit as well on my systems too.

*** Winner = HP






OPTICAL DRIVE:
I opted for the Blu-Ray Burner in each system. The HP comes with the standard Tray load where the Sony uses a Slot-load. While the slot load is very cool in that it uses less moving parts, and allows for a thinner profile, Im not sure why I get the feeling it feels cheaper? It much noisier and seems chunkier in operation. Plus, I feel like I would be worried I’d be screwed if something broke or a disc got stuck. Tray loads always have that fail safe eject button.

*** Winner = HP (Albeit by personal preference)






TOUCHPAD:
As many of you have learned Sony went with a button-less but clickable touchpad for many of their new VAIOS. While I love the huge pad with extra space (supposedly designed with Windows 8 in mind) the fact there is no button takes a bit getting used to. I keep trying to press the area under the pad to click things. The pad is smooth and responsive and clicking works fine once you adapt. However, Im having trouble adapting... it can be frustrating.

The HP touch pad is also very nice, albeit smaller and has traditional clickable buttons which I liked quite a bit since Im used to them and they are MUCH better than the XPS 15 ones which I hated. I also like the fact there is a little area you can double tap in the upper left corner where you can turn the touchpad off when typing a lot. Very nice feature.

*** Winner = Toss Up! Much of this will depend on your preference of having actual physical buttons or not.







KEYBOARD: Both have very good keyboards, although since I came from an XPS 15, getting used to the off center layout will be something I need to do. Both are backlit island style and seem to be fairly responsive. The HP feels ever so slightly less mushy with more travel, but its so close its hard to tell.

*** Winner = Toss Up! (Leaning towards HP)







DIMENSIONS:
The Sony, at less than an Inch thick and 4.4 lbs is insanely light and portable for a 15.6” 1080p IPS laptop with top end components. It feels a tad flimsy though and doesn’t seem like it will take much absuse though, although the materials are supposedly much higher end than basic plastic.

The HP on the other hand is noticeably thicker (1.22”) AND heavier at around 5.8 pounds. Its more in line with my old XPS 15. While I honestly don’t mind in the long run, I was hoping to slim down my Laptop this next go around so the Sony is very appealing here. Still the HP feels solidly and more substantially built with the brushed aluminum top and faceplate around the keyboard.

*** Winner = Sony






BATTERY:
I just finished a battery test where from fully charged I left both PCs on with IE on Google’s home page at full brightness. It wasn’t a scientific test by any means, but the HP actually lasted almost a full hour longer! Sony (on Speed Mode) lasted 4 Hours & 25 minutes while the HP went 5 Hours and 15 Minutes. I’m going to guess on Stamina mode though the Sony would last longer. Also, Im sure once the i7 and kicks in it would eat battery faster than the i5. Still, I was shocked the Sony dies first… maybe the screen is more power hungry?

*** Winner = HP. (Although your mileage may vary depending on what mode you are in and what you are doing)







PORTS & MISC:
All the systems have roughly the same ports, although the HP does have a USB 3.0 always on charging port which is nice to have to charge any cell phones, mp3 players, etc while the Laptop isn’t on.

HOWEVER the one big thing that the Sony has over the HP here is a docking port and docking station accessory. That is one thing I loved and missed about having my Sony Z. Being able to just pick up and go or drop in my laptop at a moments notice without dealing with several cables for Ethernet, Monitor, Keyboard/Mouse, Ext Hard Drive, Power, Audio, etc. For some, this isn’t an issue, but its something I love having the convenience of.

Not only that, the new Sony dock has a built in Hard Drive to do direct backups from the PC when docked… very suite. My plan was to throw the 640GB 7200rpm from the S15 in the dock to replace the 500GB 5400rpm they give you with the dock.

Now, I have read there is a really nice Universal 3.0 USB docking station for dual monitors with Power from Targus that I could use for the HP which would only require one USB 3.0 connection (although I may also have another cable for direct connect t to my monitor since I heard video still is just ok). Still I haven’t tried it so I don’t know.

I digress though, as in theory I could still technically dock with the HP, but it would be nice to have the Sony since its made for the S15 and the connection would be even more direct.

*** Winner = Sony (For my needs & wants)








OVERALL:
I’ve gotta tell you… I can go either way on this! I’m definitely struggling on which system to send back. Before I wrote this review I was positive I wanted to keep the Sony setup, but now I’m leaning towards the HP (Especially knowing there is a docking setup I can use that should work fine for my needs) Even without that dock, the HP just feels (and seems) like more computer for the money. Its either equal or slightly better in ALMOST every way.

I was thinking of waiting for the new XPS 15 but already heard the screen will be glossy Gorilla glass and do NOT want that.. I find glossy reflections very annoying.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this? Any and all advice or feedback is truly appreciated. I have 30 days to return the Sony and about 5 days to return the HP.

I’m interested in hearing what you all have to say and think!

Thanks for reading!

 

nice job on the comparison.. makes me glad I ordered the HP.. I definitely prefer matte

 

Yeah, don't get me wrong though... the Sony isn't a full on glossy screen, nor would I call it semi-glossy. I think it's just the HP has a more aggressive Matte display which showed less reflections from light.

The Sony matte reminded me of the very low gloss matte hybrid display they usually put on the Z laptops.

The Sony did have slightly whiter whites though, and slightly higher contrast in colors... still its such a CLOSE call

 

can i know which battery you were using on the dv6? the 6 or 9 cell?
also where is the USB 3.0 always on charging port located?

 

Using standard 6 cell battery. The always on port is on the right hand side of the machine.

 

Sounds like the HP is easily the better bargain here. However the Sony does make out to be a better actual laptop due to it's weight and size (I agree, 4.4 lb for a 15.6 laptop is crazy) so it'll depend on portability vs performance (and price too, the $300 difference!)

 

Nice Comparison.... although I have a few observations, first I think the right USB port is 2.0 (I haven't received my Dv6t yet but if I recall correctly 2 USB 3.0 on left and one 2.0 on right). second I wanna ask did you do anything while testing the battery or just left it idle (cause someone using the 9 cell battery managed 9.5 Hours of Light Use "Word editing" which is a big difference between a 6 and 9 cells).
As for which laptop you should keep, I would definitely choose the HP after all; it's cheaper, better build quality, higher specs, and better audio.

 

hard drive status lights on the side = fail

 

Thanks riot... you may be right on the USB port on the right being 2.0, but one of them is the "charging" USB port that someone was asking about.

As far as the battery goes, I just left it idle with IE on. Idle it seems it got close to 5 hours while doing nothing but the screen was also at full brightness, and this is also on the standard image HP provides with who knows the hell what running int he background. I'm almost positive a clean install would probably be more battery friendly.

I'm definitely leaning HP for all the reasons you mentioned. Just seems like an overall better machine if you are willing to deal with a little extra heft and thickness.

Not sure about the Hard Drive lights on the side being a fail as that doesn't bother me that much, but the Optical drive seems very loose and it almost feels like it might break if you grab the laptop from the sides. Im going to call HP bout a replacement possibly, if thats even possible since I have read that is one glaring problem with every one of these units.

 

Well I guess the full brightness lowered the battery life and as for doing a clean install; there is a better option with HP which is the minimal install, this will install a clean windows with only drivers and essential programs but no bloats (much faster)

 

Nice, thanks for the heads up! How do I access this? Also, I have my own copy of Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit Id rather install... wont I have to do a clean install to get that on there?

 

there are 2 USB 3.0 ports on the left and 1 USB 2.0 as well as 1 USB 3.0 port on the right for a total of 4 ports

 

How about HP's touchpad? Is it clacking loud when pressed like in 6000 series?

 

It makes a notable clicking noise but doesnt bother me at all.

 

Like I said I haven't received mine yet but it should be easy to find the minimal install I think through some recovery programs HP installed on windows but if not then you'll find it by pressing F8 before windows start.
as for the windows you got, well the HP come with a 64bit version so you can just use Anytime Upgrade from within windows to upgrade to ultimate. of course you can always do a clean install but you have to reinstall every driver and all the main programs like beats audio & cool sense (which is found on HP website and also on a recovery folder inside your machine)

 

So which did you keep?

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

 

I ended up deciding on keeping the HP... with some reservations. I think I'm going to miss the lightness and thinness of the Sony and convenience of the Dock.

 

I had the same concerns. I know I can go buy a dock, but its not the same as Sony's. Also, the thinness and lightness were really nice. The HP just performs better. Thanks for the update.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2