dv4t Special Edition

Does anyone have experience with the dv4t Special Edition?

I've been researching pretty hard for a while now, as I'm getting a laptop as a graduation present, and I keep coming back to this one. I really like the specs on it (4gb RAM + 400gb hard drive) since I do a lot of digital art and photography work, and even small things like the memory card reader. The estimated battery life is good, and most of the reviews I can find have been positive.

I was just wondering if you guys had any extra input on this- I've seen the dv4 owner's lounge, but the Special Edition seems like a fairly different computer. I want to be absolutely sure I'm making the right decision!

Oh, and Best Buy seems to have a much better deal than the HP site right now. Does this look good, or is there anything crucial I'm missing that I'd be better off custom ordering for?

Also, Windows 7. Presumably I will want to upgrade to this when it comes out. Are there any future upgrade offers I should be aware of? I seem to recall reading something about this, but I don't remember exactly what.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

 

well the special edition HP DV4 is the same notebook as the HP DV4t only that the DV4t is much more customizable.. the special edition of V4 only comes with onboard graphics GPU so if ur a gamer that isnt such a great thing..the customizable DV4t offers a 512MB Nvidia Geforce G105M as well as other options that the Special edition DV4 does not.. they are both identical only that the special edition offers less customizable options for the price..for the price of a fully loaded DV4 special edition you can get a higher end DV4t for the same price and even cheaper.. i assume its the nice paint job that adds the extra starting price to the DV4 SE because besides the paint job there isnt anything different that it offers and the customizable DV4t does not

overall you should deffinitly customize a DV4 not only will you save money but you will also get a higher end PC for the same price as the Special edition DV4..besides it offers alot more options why not get more bang for the buck?

 

Okay, this is hard. I'm messing around with customizations for both of them on the HP site, and I'm not seeing a real drastic difference in price either way.

About some of the options that are different:

What's the difference between the NVIDIA and Intel graphics cards? I'm not a serious gamer, I'll mess around with emulators or things like Tetris from time to time, but nothing that's going to need dedicated graphics.

Is the LED screen a significant advantage over the Infinity? I know a lot of people complain about the glare, will this reduce it?

Also, on the Best Buy website, I've noticed their HP's come with AMD Turion processors. How do these compare to the Intels offered on the HP site?

Just out of curiosity, is the TV tuner worth it? I have a tv that's generally avaliable when I need it, so this isn't really a necessity, but I think it's kind of cool that you can record and stuff.

So, here's what I ended up with just playing with customization:

dv4t, $1048.99:

* • Espresso Black
* • Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* • Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P7450 (2.13GHz)
* • 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* • 500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive
* • Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
* • 14.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800)
* • LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
* • [For LED Display] Webcam Only
* • Wireless-G Card
* • HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
* • HP Color Matching Keyboard
* • 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* • No Modem
* • Microsoft(R) Works 9.0

dv4tse, $1088.99:

* • Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* • Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P7450 (2.13GHz)
* • 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* • 500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive
* • 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G 105M
* • 14.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Infinity Display (1280 x 800)
* • LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
* • Webcam Only with HP Imprint Finish (Intensity)
* • Wireless-G Card
* • HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
* • HP Color Matching Keyboard
* • 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* • No Modem
* • Microsoft(R) Works 9.0

What do you think?

edit: I bumped up the processors to P8600s, since those seem to be better, and somehow they are now both exactly the same price at $1138.99.

 

Well, whats you budget like? The dv4t's you have customized are ~$350 more than the dv4z sp ed.(not dv4t btw). Ofcourse, the Intel CPU will run cooler and faster than the AMD processor in the dv4z but the HD3200 GPU is going to slot in between the X4500 and the Geforce 105M (Probably closer to the 105M rather than to the X4500). The AMD will be a bit slower and less efficient but you are paying $350 more for the faster cooler Intel.

 

After looking at the customization, I think I will go with one of those over Best Buy's prepackaged model. I'd rather have a cooler, faster computer, and the more options I have, the better. The price increase isn't that big a deal- I'd prefer to keep it around $1000, but I hope to have this computer for several years, so I'd like to get the best I can.

 

Don't forget about HP's coupons...... you can usually get a $400 rebate or a 30% off rebate.... I would wait for one of those to come out... they usually come out on a monthly basis.

Heck, about a month ago I customized an HP for $850.... it had
2.4ghz P8600, 4gb, 500gb, 4500mhd, intel agn+bt, high cap 6 cell, modem, fingerprint, LED... basically everything but the Nvidia card.... so for 1G.. u get a fully loaded laptop...... g'luk

and I would highly recommend the P-series Intel CPUs... when thinking long term.. getting a cooler/faster CPU is well worth the initial investment.

 

well i must say HP has certanly changed up their options on both the DV4t and the DV4t SE..a few months back the DV4tSE was locked down to onboard graphics and a few other things it wasnt nearly as exandable as it is now..also it was inflated at a $250 higher pricetag just for the cool graphics on the lid.. now it seems either version is fine depending on the color u want it i guess

 

The GeForce is a MUCH better card then the Intel, in fact the only thing worse then the intel is a worse intel (unless the GeForce Go 6100 is still around, last i checked its dead).

Pricing a DV4 to match a DV4 SE is actually more expensive. The Default GPU in the DV4TSE makes it a much better buy. The prices have changed since i laced priced but i priced up a DV4TSE against a DV4T and the DV4T comes out more expensive with the closest config.

 

The Nvidia card is subjective depending on your uses.

If you're going to be gaming, the Nvidia card is really the only option.

If you're not going to be gaming, then it would be unwise to buy the Nvidia card since you will be gaining nothing and sacrificing battery life along with higher temps.

 

I have to second the comments made on getting the P-series Intel processors versus the AMD proc's. I have a dv4z - and like everything about it except for the 2-hour battery life (I have the 6-cell 'high capacity' battery). The build quality is very good, the LED LCD is beautiful and it has a great (and NOT glossy!) keyboard. I wish I would have had the wisdom to spend another $150 (last year) to get a dv4t. Oh - and watch out for flaky batteries. My battery, less than a year old, is already exhibiting some remaining charge flakiness - last night it showed 70% remaining when it was booted - right after being on the charger for three+ hours. The Enviro batteries are on sale now and I'm seriously considering ordering one. My dv4z would be a flawless system if it wasn't for the battery life issues.

 

I just read a post on the Dell Studio forum that says that there will be a free or low-cost Windows 7 upgrade program that starts at the end of the month, which will be for machines that are purchased with Vista after the upgrade program start date. If you can, you might want to put off buying your DV4T until the program starts. That is what I'm going to do, plus, beside the DV4T, I'm also considering the new 14" Dell that is out, the 14z. Really like the HP though, but I'll need to see the Dell in person and read some reviews as soon as they come out. Oh, and you should defintely go for the Intel P series chip instead of the AMD.

 

Thank you for the responses! You're all very helpful.

I'm pretty set on this list of specs, which I can get on both computers:

* • Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* • Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)
* • 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* • 500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive
* • LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
* • [For LED Display] Webcam Only
* • Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
* • No TV Tuner w/remote control
* • HP Color Matching Keyboard
* • 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* • No Modem
* • Microsoft(R) Works 9.0

The only differences are the graphics card and the screen. As I said, I'm not much of a computer gamer, and if something ever happens to come up that my laptop won't support, I do have a desktop that should be able to.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but gaming is the only real reason I'd need the NVIDIA card, yes?

And any more input on LED vs. Infinity display? I'm leaning towards the former, but a few more opinions can't hurt.

I did notice in the Windows 7 board that the upgrade program starts June 26th! I'll be ordering my laptop then.

 

I really wanted the DV4tSE at one point but the problem some are having with dust getting under the infinity display scares me.

 

Its part of reality and most of what gets under there is already in the screen just hasnt fallen down yet. I swore that dust got on my psp screen throught he speaker hole as it turns out the screen is sealed around there and the dust was already there from the day it was made.

 

if its not your money its not your money, but do you need these specs at $1000?

imo seems like overkill, P8700 for a non-gamer/graphic designer? maybe the P8400? should shave off a good couple of hundred. anyways best of luck on your new HP,

i have a hp dv4t P8400, 4gb, 320gb, for under $500 (a deal, ofcourse), but i would say it costs $500-$700 on average.

btw how much is bestbuy's cost?

 

IMHO, the processor is one of the things that you should get the best you can afford upfront. There's no such thing as too much processor power. It's better to have and not need than to need and not have. Plus, they can be a pain to change out, or at least not as simple as ram or the HDD.

The other components that are easily changed like the hard drive and ram are where I would focus savings.