deciding between laptops

i'm looking for a sb laptop with 1gb gddr5. i'll need it to carry around class-to-class, so weight is a concern. i've narrowed it down to three hp notebooks; the pavilion dv6 quad edition, the elitebook 8560w, and the sb envy 14.

the last two aren't out yet (elitebook est. sometime in june, envy june 15), and given hp's delays, and the fact i want this sometime soon...

the other thing is the dv6 doesn't have a back-lit keyboard. has this ever been an issue for anyone? also, being more of a lightweigh consumer notebook, how would i thold up compared to the more solidly built envy and elitebook?

 

If it helps, the last generation DV6's alot of them even if they didn't ship with the a backlit keyboard, or have the option. The connection was on the motherboard if you wanted to add one. Mine doesn't have backlite but it had never been an issue for me.

If weight and size is a concern go with the Envy 14. The DV6's can get hefty. Or atleast I think so. It's a pretty standard 15.6Inch but depending on your college its difficult to use.

 

hm ok thanks. yeah i want it to be pretty portable. i looked at the new dv4, but ti doesn't have the gpu i want.

is there a difference ordering a business notebook (elitebook) versus consumer notebook? is there a different process or anything?

 

I'd much rather prefer a business class laptop if I was to lug it around all day. Though I am always careful with my tech products, the build quality of the Elitebooks is an undeniable reassurance of security.

As for the process on ordering: I am unsure. I have never ordered a business notebook directly but I assume it the experience may vary. I suggest calling the order in - many users on here who have HP business notebooks have recommended it for the greater discounts/real sales rep experience.

 

i took another look at the dv6t quad edition, and it's looking pretty good in terms of specs. i think i can live without the backlit keyboard. my only hesitation with the dv6tqe is that it's mostly plastic, and compared to the more aluminum body elitebooks and even envy, im not sure if it has the durability to last 3+ years in college.

 

I have the VERY short lived gen 5xxx DV6 with a back-lit keyboard.

I'm in a different situation. Since the gen 5xxxx DV6/7's are/were being recalled for the SB chipset issue...we are all getting new computers. And after spending 4 months with my DV6...I've come to the conclusion that I don't want another laptop without a back-lit keyboad.
The new DV6/7's would be OUTSTANDING if they offered back-lit keyboards....it was a $25 option for me 4 months ago.

I'm leaning towards replacing my DV6 with an Envy...simply because I don't want to give up the back-lit keyboard. But if you can do without...the new DV6 (with coupon) is a fantastic buy.

 

i just don't want to wait, only to have some less-than dv6 envy come out.

thanks for the response though. i think i'll just learn to touch type better.

 

hp dv6tqe has a 2gb gddr5 radeon 6770m... is there a noticeable difference versus the 1gb gddr5 version? it's $50 more.

 

I don't even think most games will be able to utilize the extra VRAM.

Save the money for the 1920x1080 display. The higher resolution gives you a much larger workspace by making things a bit smaller, and this is great for college work, general productivity, and basically anything. It makes a huge difference and in my opinion is the most important upgrade. Don't miss it!

Of course some people are going to say the 1080p screen will degrade gaming performance, but this isn't true at all unless you're straight set on running games in native resolution. You can run games in 1366x768-resolution on the 1920x1080 display with no performance downfalls compared to running in 1366x768 on the 1366x768 display. In fact, since the 1920x1080 screen is so much better than the 1366x768 screen (most are), games will in fact look better running in 1366x768 on the 1920x1080 display. The overall quality will outweigh the slightly-blurred edges. Plus, it's never really worth it to sacrifice something truly useful that benefits productivity (resolution) just for the sake of games.