Will I regret?

Ok so I spec'd out my HPDV6500T on hpshopping and used the 20% off coupon.

I want this: http://forum.notebookreview.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=3
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Windows Home Premium
Core 2 Duo (T7300)
2 GIGS RAM
383MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
160 GIG 5400 RPM HDD.
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Computrace LoJack for Laptops, Three Years
1 YEAR accidental and pickup warranty
HP Imprint (Radiance) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection

For $1286 shipped.

Firstly, is that a fair price for those specs do you think? I don't need an amazing video card for video games, but I will be doing a little bit of modeling and stuff (I make video games) but it will just be basic stuff... I mean everyone always says you need a crazy good card like the 8600 to to video stuff but CAD and modeling programs ran fine on my P3 with 512 ram for gods sake.

Secondly, people with hpdv6500ts, are you happy with them? They look great and I heard they don't get too hot. Are you pleased with your purchase and would you reccommend them?

 

Excellent laptop! You will not regret it. Post here when you got it.

 

Also, are there any links how to do a clean install of vista on these machines?

 

Get it first and you will find here...a lot of threads dedicated to this point.

 

Looks like a great price for those specs. Enjoy!

 

My cousin has one of these and I got to play around with it alot this weekend, and I think its a really great system. It was solid without any problems and performed well. I think at that price its a solid deal. My only complain was with vista, but not the hardware itself

 

I just bought a 6500t today as well. But I made a mistake when ordering online and did not notice that I could have got the lightscribe drive for free.. That was really stupid. Then I read the fine print that I could not cancel order or modify it. I used the 20 percent coupon as well. So I talked with CS and they said they could try to cancel order or they could just give me another 100 bucks off.
I'm like.. oh yeah.. give me the money. I probably would never use the lightscribe anyways. I ended up with a insane deal:

FREE Upgrade from Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic to Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)!
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7100 (1.80 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
- 15.4" WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
- 75% OFF upgrade to 2GB DDR2 (2 Dimm)!!
- 50% OFF!! 383MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS!!
- HP Imprint (Radiance) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
- FREE Upgrade from 80GB 5400RPM to 120GB 5400RPM!!
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works 8.0
Deluxe Microfibre Cleaning Cloth
2-year HP Pick Up and Return Extended Service Plan for HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario Notebook PCs

For a Total of $1088 dollars. Thats includes tax.. free shipping.

That is a screaming deal I think. A month ago I went to HP site and these puppies were expensive.. I ended up buying a Dell 1420 and what a joke that was. First 1420 I got had a cracked lid. The replacement used a cheap AUO display that had bad graininess and what looked like smeared vasoline on white backgrounds. I sent both back for return/refund. Dell has bad bad quality control... again. I just pray that the HP 6500t does not give me as much grief as dell. I know if there is anything wrong with the 6500t I will return it for refund and just reorder new system.. I learned that is the best option since if you are caught trying to fix a lemon notebook and you pass your 21 day inspection period.. you could get stuck with a lemon. That almost happened to me with Dell. But my first system with Dell had free overnight shipping and the replacement did as well. So when I received the second crap Dell 1420, I was only 19 days from original ship date.. that was too close for comfort but still less then the magic 21 day number.

The reason I went with the 15" screen this time around, is because there is allot of grainy 14" panels. It has been a issue for awhile with 14" LCD manufacturers. The review I read on the HP 2500 said they don't have grainy screens. But I also read that the 2500 run hotter as well. I decided to go with the 15" screen since it is a bit lighter and thinner then the Dell 1520 and the 15 inch glossy screens have less complaints for graininess. I just hope the fan is not too loud on the 6500t. Hopefully they have fixed the CPU Whine too. I just don't want another system with bad build quality. My first notebook, a Toshiba was bad too.. they tried fixing that 2X before they ended up replacing entire system.. but that system still works today.. after 8 years. It will be nice if I can just receive a notebook that works properly from the start.

 

After a lot of research, I just purchsed my dv6500t. The 20% off coupon helped sway me. It'll be my first laptop, and I'm pretty excited.

FREE Upgrade from Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic to Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)!
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7300 (2.0 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
- 15.4" WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
- 75% OFF upgrade to 2GB DDR2 (2 Dimm)!!
- 50% OFF!! 383MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS!!
- HP Imprint (Radiance) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
- FREE Upgrade from 80GB 5400RPM to 120GB 5400RPM!!
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works 8.0
Deluxe Microfibre Cleaning Cloth
2-year HP Pick Up and Return Extended Service Plan for HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario Notebook PCs

$1,230.44

 

Just took the drive and ordered. It burns to spend money =[ lol

$1,274.28 after tax. =[

We got the same thing george. except... I got 160 gb HDD, 12 cell battery instead of 6. I didn't get the webcam, and I only got a 1 year warranty with accidental (but got the 3 year lojack thing)

 

Good luck with yours (and mine). From everything I 've read, it seems like a nice machine for the price.

 

Looks like you did the same thing as me.. you did not select the free upgrade to lightscribe dvd burner.. at least that is what it shows on your list. I called to see if they could modify order to include free lightscribe upgrade.. they said they could try to cancel or offered me another 100 bucks off.. I suggest you go for it.. you might get another 100 off like me.

 

Actually I got mine for a steal as well. With the AAP discount, no tax, and the instant $1000 dollars savings, I got a $1,500 (I believe it was at this price, with tax) For only $1,200 even. If I had waited for the 20% coupon (which came out a few days after I ordered), I could have saved another $100 dollars.

I feel like I stole this already, so its ok

 

My mistake, HI. I did get the Lightscribe upgrade. Thanks.

 

Damn george, we even ordered on the same day. Let's see who gets theirs first! lol

 

The race is on!

 

I'm not too scared about my computer, from what I've read and heard they are great machines. I'm worried about Vista.

Everyone says it's like going from a 222 horsepower car that weighs 3500 (my old computer) to a 3,000 horsepower car that weighs 40,000 (the new laptop). I have more speed, but my underling OS will limit me. I just hope it doesn't hog all my new RAM and processor speed. If I do a clean install and turn off all the extra features... I should be set right? I don't vista eating my speed ;[

 

I don't have any troubles with my Vista. I am very excited how it works and never had a problem.

 

Vista isn't such a nightmare. It is a lot more stable since it first came out. And lots of programs work with it just fine. Just like with XP, you have to tweak it to get it to wok with your likeness, but thats about it.

 

I agree, you should have no issues with Vista. I recently had just bought a Dell 1420 with the same internals as the 6500t I just ordered. These newer nvidia 8XX series cards as well as intels new X3100 integrated graphics support Vista fully and run all the aero stuff with no sweat. I think the new santa rosa systems that are just coming out now are the first ones to work in harmony with Vista. MS is due to have a SP soon.. so that should smooth things out a bit. I just hope the 6500t boots as fast as the Dell 1420 I had. I had to return the Dell because of grainy screen. Dell uses like 4 different makes of panels and if you are lucky to get one made by AUO.. its a piece of garbage. I am praying the HP won't have display issues. One good thing is the HP forum is not flooded with "I have a grainy screen" threads. So I am feeling positive that the HP panel will be good. One disturbing thing is I read one review on the 6500t that had a 2.5 year old LCD and it did not perform that well. Other reviews say good things about them. But I don't understand why HP would put something that old in a new machine. Hopefully they have used up those older panels.

 

Has everyone seen this youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQB0-9g5H_c comparing the Dell 1520 and HP v6500t?
I really don't see what so many people see in the Dell. It looks like such the klutze next to the HP.. But I understand the real draw to the 1520 is the faster nvidia graphics 86xx series card. But other then that, the 1520 pales when next to the dv6500t.

 

I think the more powerful graphics card and 7,200RPM drives are what draw many people to Dell. Some people also like the color options.

For me, none of those was a major issue. The price and delivery dates on the dv6500t were better, so I went with it. It's got everything I need, and the reviews have been positive.

 

I would like the faster Hard Drive, but that's about it. Gaming graphics on laptops out date faster then milk if you sit it outside on a hot summer day. If it does what you want it to, thats all that you need.

 

Just shipped. =D

 

Well, that took long! So, how are your expectations?

 

This video on youtube is actually our very own Andrew doing a review of the two notebooks. It is also on the review section.

 

I just got it today, and I'm kind of busy. I will post back after I've messed with it more. So far so good, except for the fact I got a 160 gig harddrive with only 120 gigs of free space =[

 

eehhh yea. REFORMAT. Also check out how much hard drive space Vista uses for system restore.

 

Well you have to realize that even though it says its 160GB, its only about 150GB in reality. The HP partition should take up around 10GB or so, then you have the big Vista install which takes around 10GB if I remember correctly.

Once you burn the recovery DVD's though you can get rid of the HP recovery partition and free up some space. You can use Partition Magic to combine the two partitions so you don't have to do a complete reinstall.

 

Yeah I'll be doing a clean install once I get a hold of that damn windows anytime cd.