dv6000t Current/ Prospective Owners Lounge

I noticed that the dv6000t has dropped under 7% on the "Most Popular Notebooks" on the NBR home page, and we've hit 1000 posts in this thread---signs that this is a really popular computer that's starting to find other lappies gunning to take its place.

 

Hi folks,

I was thinking about getting a HP dv6000t ... but I made the mistake going to Fry's and looking at a floor model ...

** 2 things that I DO NOT Care for AT ALL about this HP Laptop is

1) What is with a METAL Touchpad !?!?
It feels weird and my finger does not slide on it as easily as it does on Normal "Touchpad" as used in other laptops ... e.g. Fujitsu, Toshiba, ...

2) Why HP dv6000t Lid does not have "Latch Lock" !?!?
I noticed that by accident ... what is the deal with that? I noticed that HP Designers at least had the Thoughtfulness to put a Latch Lock on their 17" model dv9000t. But I DO Not want a 17" screen.

So, I was hoping that some of you folks that own a dv6000t can tell me YOUR feeling about the two points that I have mentioned.

Also, I have a General Q ... how would you rate an HP Laptop vs. a Toshiba A135 ... as far as BUILD & QUALITY?

Thanks,
G!

 

1. The touch pad is fine to me. One thing I really like is the touch pad on-off button.

2. I'm not sure what the issue concerning the lack of a lid latch, or whatever it should be called. There is no danger the lid will open accidentally. I had an HP with a latch and this one doesn't have one. I never had a problem with either.

3. Others have written that the HP's build/quality is better than Toshiba's A135. I have never compared the two, but I was encouraged to get the HP. It replace a four-year-old HP notebook with which I had no problems. I've had my new one for almost a month and have no complaints.

Bill

 

To echo what Broadus said, the dv6000t is designed in such a way that you do not need a latch to prevent it from unintentionally opening, so I don't miss the latch at all. I actually prefer the metal touchpad, but mostly use a mouse anyway, so it really wouldn't be much of an issue even if I didn't like it.

JJ

 

Download DVDShrink and aim it at the target file.

I have never tried to just rip down VTS files stored on a hard drive, so I am not too sure how the menu will appear unless you have one stuffed on a VTS that is loaded there.

You should also have an audio TS file at the onset of this folder. A typical DVD structure will be a "DVD" folder with 2 sub folders. The 2 sub folders will be labeled "Audio" and "Video". The "Video" obviously houses "Video" TS (VTS ) files. Open DVD Shrink and aim it at the DVD folder. If you don't have a DVD folder, try to aim it at the main folder with these VTS files in it. If you are informed that this is an incorrect DVD structure simply create the DVD folder, and place the VTS files in a video folder in it. Then create an "Audio" folder in the "DVD" folder and leave it empty. In most cases the Audio folder is empty since the VTS also houses some sort of audio format within itself, but it is required as part of a DVD structure.

DVD Shrink should recognize the base VTS folder as a workable structure so the creation of the folders will likely be unnecessary, but just in case you have the info of how to do it now.

After Shrink reads the files and determines the structure, go to the backup tab and select output to .ISO. Be sure to name the .iso folder so you can find it later. It will be places in the C drive under c/ chosen name.iso unless you reroute it.

related link DVD Shrink download

 

Hi folks,

@ JJ ... Thanks for your reply ... appreciate it.

@ SandT ... I noticed your LAptop in your Sig line ... I assume that you are using this laptop for your DVD back-ups and so forth ...

Q: How does it handle Video editing & dvd backing up and stuff?

If I do get a dv6000t ... I will mostly use it for DVD stuff ... bacjing-up, re-encoding, ........ and for internet surfing and some PC games ...

G!

 

Ah! To each his own I guess.
Is the touch pad metal? I didn't notice it at all but for not being flat black. It seems to have less drag for me than the traditional. Easy to keep clean looking too.
On the latch less lid, I'm sure it's not going to swing open by accident unless you toss it out of a moving car window.
I will gripe about the glossy "Imprint" finish though. They need to change the name to "Finger-Print" finish. Really pretty until you touch it.

I know folks having lots of trouble with Toshiba's. Especially the battery's. I had one a few years ago and it was a bad experience.
I had a Dell recently and sent it back. I had all kinds of trouble with it right away. Short battery life out of the box. It ran hot and loud. I stuck it out until right before the return period ended. May have been just my tough luck.
I read complaints here on the dv6000t making whining noises and loud fans but mine has no such symptoms. Quiet as a mouse and blazing fast.

 

It works extremely well. I was fortunate to wind up with the TSSTcorp (toshiba) DVD writer too. It is quite nice, and my verification scans come back almost as good as my Plextor. For media I only use Taiyo Yuden DVD+R, which helps account for the near flawless verification scan.

I have a 2.8GHz, Pentium 4, 1 GB Dell E510 desktop that is only about 6 months old. My DV6000T in it's config works a film in about 30% less time. Also, where the CPU useage on the Dell is about 80-90% during Cinema Craft Encoder-SP encoding the laptop only uses about 50%. CCE-SP uses alot of memory and CPU.

My base programs for rips and burns are AnyDVD and DVDShrink for rips (I also use RipIt4Me for heavy VOB based Sony protection platforms that AnyDVD will not crush), then I use DVD-Rebuilder Professional backed up by the CCE-SP encoder, and I prefer IMGBurn to burn discs. I also have NERO, but I just don't think it does as nice a job as the suite I listed above. I use it for Data burns.

As to your first queries... touchpad? What's that ? It's not that bad at all. I almost never use it unless I am in the car using the GPS. The lack of a latch? Believe me, you will come to appreciate the latchless latch, it works extremely well, and opening it is a breeze. It is sweet.

 

Probably this is a stupid question:

To adjust the monitor brightness you simply press "fn" and "F7" or "F8".
But how can I adjust the contrast?

 

There is no contrast setting yet. I suspect we will need to wait for some driver updates before we can set them.

 

Thank you.That's why I couldn't find it!

Anyway it seems pretty strange to me that this setting lacks.I need it to adjust during PowerDVD playback.It seems that when on fullscreen mode, the black area around the movie window is not that black.I would say rather dark grey.Instead, on my desktop monitor is true black without making any adjustment at all.

Is it a limitation of notebook monitors?

 

Heh! You tell us. Lucky for me I am happy with it as is.

 

It is a limitation of LCD actually, or any light emitted visual source (TVs, monitors, etc.). They all need light to produce image, and black is an absence of light .

However, what you want is a black level adjustment. Raising the contrast may cause separation of different depths of black. You will see lines in the black that look like a water stain if there is way too much contrast. Too much contrast also makes shadows less realistic. A common adjustment error people make on their televisions (and monitors ) is adding too much contrast and brightness.

 

I see.
I just asked this because my desktop monitor, Sony X-82, does have the ability to adjust contrast.
Thank you.

 

I will be calibrating my dv6000t soon with my Pantone eye-one Display2 and will report the out come. If nothing else it provide a comparison chart of the before and after.

 

Hi Sandt38 & TheRock,

Your replies made up my mind ... I am going with dv6000t and most likely with something to you two guys config ... since I will be 99.5% be using it for DVD backups ... and occasional Gaming.

Q: Sandt ... what size hard drive & what RPM do you have in dv6000t?

Sandt, i use all the ones you mentioned except the freeware versions ... too cheap for the paid version.

Q: BTW guys, just for my own "Curiosity" is Nvidia Graphic card better than ATI's ... as a rule of thumb!?!?

Thanks,
G!

 

I use the 5400 RPM 80GB drive. I also have 2 external drives I use for mass storage.

I think my build works well for me, but it is really up to you what you need. I do highly suggest 2GB of RAM because Vista is a resource hog.

I opted for the 5600 processor because I read enough that the difference between the 5600 and 7200 would barely be noticeable. I wanted to save a few pennies so I could purchase some nice peripherals for my rig while keeping my conscious at ease, and to reduce my wife's nagging .

I also opted for the 8X DVD Burner without Lightscribe, simply because I believe if you add too much to a single product, you are adding more things to go wrong. I also have an Epson RX580 printer, that prints directly on inkjet printable discs, and Taiyo Yuden come in both white and silver inkjet printables that cost allot less then Lightscribe discs, so I definitely didn't need the Lightscribe. Now, in looking at the lesser quality Lightscribe drives they are putting in the lappys right now, i am further gad I didn't opt for one.

Finally, ATI and NVIDIA make similar quality cards. I highly suggest you get a dedicated graphics card.

To finalize, I really like the computer right now. I bought a few other manufacturers' computers over the last few years and have always been left feeling like something was missing. I bought my first HP (a desktop) 7 years ago from HP.com, and it is still in use in my home today (all I have done was upgrade my RAM, dumped ME and got XP Pro, and added a second hard drive, I have had NO failures with it). I bought another HP Desktop 4 years ago, and sold it when I bought my Dell desktop last summer. The old HP was so much nicer of a computer... After dealing with several mfgs and always being disappointed I went back to the only company that left me feeling like I got an awesome computer (and awesome peripherals for that matter) every time. Granted, this is just my opinion on the matter and I am sure many other will speak differantly, but I have to say, I don't think I will buy a computer from another company ever again.

 

Hi Sandt38,

Boy you hit my nagging questions right on the head ... Will I see a "Significant" diff in perf. between 5600 & 7200 ... I am with you for the money deal ... and other pointers and answers.

Thanks again,
G!

 

I went a little different than sant38 in cutting off some fat, trimming the Camera and Larger HDD, I did to help me get to the 2.0 GHz processor and 2MB RAM. Take note the 7200has 4MB of L2-Cache as the others have 2MB. Although the 5600 is no slouch, I believe the difference is noticeable as my recent DELL was a 5600. This dv6000t is fast.
LightScribe? I didn't even know what it was but a free upgrade, Heh! I do not burn regularly anyway.
As for the larger HDD's, some "in the know" consumer buyers guides will recommend you go as low as you can with OE mfg's HDD's as they "MAY" not be top of the line for what they are and to replace it with an after market hi quality larger unit HDD later and come out money ahead using the OE for a secondary or spare. I like the Hitachi 100GB 7200 RPM units as I have experienced one in a friends laptop.
The dedicated graphics card has a bonus in gigabit speed over the on-board graphics in the WAN port. Talk about data transfers over the wire!

Good Luck , We will be watching.

 

Wow, I ordered my HP customized 6000t on the 10th. Originally it was estimated to be built on the 20th, but it actually got delivered today (the 19th.) Overall, I was very impressed with the efficiency of HP.

I do have a question, when I ordered the computer I got the t2250 Core Duo. I understand that the new processors from Intel are coming out soon so I figured I'd just get a Core 2 Duo sometime in the future. So my question is, does HP do anything that stops you from changing a processor or would it be possible to upgrade to a Core 2 Duo someday? Thanks for your help in advance!

 

sorry! i am considering this lappy...but can anyone tell me that does this one is upgradeable to 4gb of RAM???

 

Hi Rock,

Thanks for your feedback ... couple of things ...

1) Just the other I heard from someone on forum that Hitachi 7200's are a bit noisy and run warmer? Can you verify this!?!?!?

2) When you got your dv6000t ... did you order a "Recovery DVD"???

Also, since I have never installed a new "C" drive in Desktop or Laptop ... how difficult would be if I go with your suggestion of getting the cheapest OEM HD from HD anf then upgrading to what I want aftermarket.

BTW, on 2.5" Internal HD ... I don't really see a price break ... at Fry's, Best Buy, or other Brick & Mortar stores.

Thanks,
G!

 

Hi flying,

2GB is the MAX!!!!

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto/computer_customize_components.do

Check it out.

G!

 

gonwk

Try looking at www.newegg.com. Don't be afraid of the Seagate drives. In fact, I recommend them highly.

 

Yes I got the recovery disc's. If the HDD fries what good is the D:\ partition? Poof! It was cheap enough anyway.

Swapping the HDD is simple enough according to your confidence level. You can get the service .pdf on HP's site.

The Hitachi HDD didn't seem to get real hot in the 15.4" DELL Inspiron I was playing with it on. It or the Seagates are good. But I suggest you run your new unit for a month or so before you go into it. Just enjoy it as is for a while and make sure she is going to hold up as is.
Electronics are famous for failing early on if there is a problem. Run it through the mill. Burn movie and data DVDs'. Play games. Network it. Surf it. Don't get too much personal data or programs on it for a while, at least untill after the return period. Do not refgister any of the free trial programs until you are sure you want too keep her.
If you upgrade too soon you will not have enough feel of the machine to tell if you beniefitted or not.

We Will Be Watching For You

 

Hey folks,

@ Rock ... Thanks for your input ... I would have never thought of "Not Putting Too Much of My Personal Info OR Programs" for the first month ... Great Advice.

@ Sandt ... Thanks for the NewEgg URL ... I have bought OEM Desktop DVD Burner from them and I love their service ... as far as getting a Laptop ... I have to work my Confidence level up ... OR see a "Deal" that I can not get at a local drive up store ... for obvious convenience return reason.

Thanks again folks,
G!

 

You know gonwk, like I said earlier, I use external drives with great success. Since I have several computers, external drives are exceptionally handy. You can get huge external drives for very little. The portable USB powered drives are a bit more expensive, but they are worth their weight in gold if you do alot of traveling. I use mine for storing movies and photos while away (I have a JVC Everio HDD Video Camera and a Fuji S5200 DSLR), and it is great for storing huge amounts of media. The Everio piles up 20GB on it's drive pretty quickly when in superfine mode. It is easy to hook both the camera and drive to my laptop and dump all the files from the Cameras to the drive, without hogging my laptop drive space. Then I simply store the goodies on my big hard drive I keep at the house.

Just a thought of an alternative to a huge drive. I bought the 80GB drive with my rig simply because it was a free upgrade, otherwise I might have opted for the 40... but now I am glad I got the 80 to be honest. 40 just isn't quite enough to keep all my programs and have space for extras.

 

I was wondering..is it worth getting the dedicated nVidia graphics card? Or would the other ones work just fine with Vista Premium? I plan on getting the dv6000 with the T2250 Core Duo/2MB L2 Cache. I hope this will be pretty powerful..

 

Heh! I guess you have not read back a few posts. Try it you will likw it.

The dedicated nVidia graphics card has an added bonus being gigabit speed over eithernet port. Talk about data transfers over the wire!
In a word "YES"!

 

I would definitely go with the NVIDIA 7400 over the Intel 950.

Bill

 

Ok, thanks guys. That's definitely something I shouldn't try to save money on..I should go for the nVidia.

 

I just picked up my first laptop. A dv6265ca for $1299 can, which is around $1120 usd. These pre-configured dv6000's in Canada seem to be less expensive than in the States.


Processor Type Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo T5500
Screen Type WXGA Brighview High-Defintion idescreen
RAM (Preloaded / Maximum) 2048MB DDR2 RAM
Hard Drive 160GB 5400RPM
Optical Drives LightScribe Super Multi 8X DVD±R/RW
Graphics Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Battery Type 12-Cell Lithium-Ion
Network Card Integrated 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN
Preloaded Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium

Software: Symantec Norton Internet Security 2007 (Including 60 Days Complimentary Live Update), PC Recovery (Softthinks Restore Solution), Microsoft Works (English only), Microsoft Office 2007 Student and Teacher Edition: 60 Day Trial Version, HP PhotoSmart Premier, HP Quick Play , Muvee AutoProducer DVD Edition with Burning, Sonic Digital Media Plus, Adobe Acrobat Reader

I'm actually not sure about what the wireless connectivity is I guess it's one of these three. Seeing as I have no idea, I suppose it's not really gonna affect me a great deal.

802.11b/g WLAN

Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection

Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth

 

Sounds good. I like my 3945 card with bluetooth. Effortless conections where ever there is a source and it easily paired up with my cell phone's blue tooth.

 

I have to say that this is the best forum i have been in so far, your inputs helped me alot to be rest assured that i did not waste my money.

Its finally Here, I ordered MY dv 6000 with windows vista Premium ,duo core 2 T5600 1.83, 160 G of hardrive, 2gb of Ram nivida 7400 Gragphic card. Bluetooth ..

So far so Good, i love the look and the feel of it. its definetly a pretty beast.

However, I think its slower than i think it should be.

Its takes about 1.38 minutes to boot up . is this normal? How long does it take to boot up for you guess? aslo can anyone tell me how to find out what screen i have , samsung, or LG .... I read something earlier saying some screen manufacturer's are better than the other. I just dont know how to check My screen and the detailed specs of my computer...

Thanks Guess.

 

Totally agree. This forum and a few other sites have been really great to get reviews and feedback.

 

Congratulations on your new notebook. It doesn't boot up any too quickly, that's for sure. However, I almost never shut mine down---just close the lid and let it catch some shut-eye.

As far as the screen goes, here is how to check it:

Click the Start button --> Control Panel --> Hardware and Sound --> Device Manager --> View Hardware and Devices (give permission) --> double click Monitors --> double click Generic PnP Monitor --> click Details --> from the pull down menu click Hardware Ids. Mine says "Monitor\SEC3345," signifying it's a Samsung (Samsung Electronics Company or Corporation, I think). My Samsung is fine.

It seems that I've gotten there by a shorter route, but I don't remember it at the moment.

Bill

 

thanks broadus... Mine says AUO screen but i don realy notice any wash away like other people described earlier, or may be i am not used to laptop LCD screen so i may not even know what the wash out realy looks like. should i return this and try my luck to see if they give me a better LCD screen with samsung or LG ?

 

I wouldn't. For one thing, there is no way to tell what kind of screen you will get. For another, I've read posts complaining about all makes of screens, especially the Samsung which I have. I think there was a problem last fall with Samsung, but it seems to have been corrected. Last, if your screen looks good, don't worry about it. People have problems with all makes. If your colors are good and your fonts are crisp and the lighting is even, it's a good screen

Bill

 

I have the SEC in matte and it's great!

 

I have a few questions about the durability of the dv6000..has it been holding up good for you owners? I just don't want something that in a year is going to look junky..I don't have a whole lot of money, I hope it lasts. Also, anyone have the 1 GB of RAM in theirs? I hope it'll work fairly fast for me until I can buy the 2 GB RAM upgrade. I'm a multitasker, I think the T2250 Core Duo with the 2MB L2 Cache will be good..adoes anyone have this processor here?

 

Slow? At Boot up only I hope?

Go HERE

I did some of those things and another setting I found somewhere, maybe there, was to reduce the time it displays the type of OS.

She really smokes!

 

I loved my screen till I found out it was the dreaded SEC . Then I realized how silly it is to let others' problems affect me when my screen is perfectly fine. Everyone who has seen my BrightView screen has "oohed" and "aahed" over it.

Bill

 

It should hold up fine. I had a 4-year-old HP Pavilion notebook and never had any trouble.

I'm not sure how well the 1GB RAM will do with Vista. I think you will find a noticeable increase in speed with 2GB, but if you cannot afford 2GB just yet, the 1GB will suffice.

Bill

 

Thanks for your insight! As soon as possible, I'll upgrade to 2GB. My current laptop is 768 RAM and usually only uses around 50% of that with a few different windows open, so I think Vista at 1GB will be ok for a while.

 

I am three weeks in and have had no hardware issues. I really like the computer and am only slightly annoyed by the buzzing. A fix that I found here a few posts ago corrected most of the buzzing while plugged into AC. I didn't make any change on battery for fear of losing battery run time, it is already no so great.

Regarding RAM, I have 1 GB, I have planned on getting two at some point, but I am not having any issues. My RAM utilization is usually between 50 and 75%, but as you read about how Superfetch works in Vista that is not all that surprising and maybe does not mean what it used to.

Vista runs like a champ and the only place I feel like it is slow is during boot-up. My booting is a consistent 1 minute 45 seconds. Coming out of sleep is immediate and coming out of hibernate is 45 seconds, or it was until I accidentally removed that functionality (I will have to figure out how to get it back tonight). I have been doing a little optimizing using the TweakGuides Companion for Vista to address my boot-up speed, but have not hit on any real improvement yet.

I think mine is very fast compared to other PCs I use and have used. GIMP processes images in seconds instead of minutes. Applications install in just a few seconds. I can run GIMP, listen to music, and have a few other windows open without any studdering or resource shortage complaints so for now I am too dumb not to be happy.

Unless I really learn what problems 2GB will solve I will probably leave it alone.

I have also been concerned that I did not opt for the top end processor with 4mb L2cache. So far I don't see a problem, but I would be interested to know what I am missing.

Matt

 

Agreed 1GB will do OK but.........
If you have to run 1GB get a single module of RAM in the form of 1GB. I'm not sure RAM if has to run in pairs or not in these things or if HP will cooperate though.
If you get a set of two 512 modules now and want to upgrade to 2GB later you will be stuck with trying to sell the 512's and have to purchase two 1 GB modules. I do not see a big demand these days for 512 chips.

You may want to think this out as your best buy is to get it now. Beg, borrow, steal!

 

LOL. :smile: If I could borrow some money, I was going to leave it at 512 (And not use it until I get the extra ram) and buy two 1 GB sticks right away (for $125). I think I'd be fine with the 1 GB for a while..I could do that and wait until I can buy the 2 GB. Seems kinda like a waste though, because if I want to upgrade soon...the RAM is kind of a waste. Unles..you could use laptop RAM on a desktop, can you? Because if you could, that would be great. :yes: LOL, If I could get someone to loan me money, would it be better to go for more RAM or bump up the processor to the Core 2 Duo. Decisions, decisions,

 

I have had mine just short of 2 weeks and run it mostly on the power cord. I have the 12 cell battery and have got almost 4 hrs running it in the performance mode. I brought it back up to 40% for storage.

No whiny noise, excessive heat or loud fans.
The 2.0 GHz smokes the tires. I had a DELL for a short and had to return it. It was an XP Pro unit with a core 2 duo 1.83GHz 2MB L2 with 2 GB Ram and the ATI 256 card. It was no slouch but she crawls in Photo-shop CS2 and the Beta CS3 in comparison, from opening the program to making changes at full screen.

Dell had 2 strikes on them out of the chute as they sent it with a glossy screen and I practically demanded the sales rep to only send matte.
I was not disappointed in speed but noticed a a nice performance increase in the HP. I was not really looking for it, I just installed the programs and could not help but take note.
I cannot put up with screen reflections. I will be using it out doors too where it would really be a mess. So I tossed her back. Feeling they let me down I went to HP. We have them at work, not the dv6000t but older models and they catch hell and still work.