HP Pavilion dm1z Review Discussion

Oh ho?

THIS may be of interest!

 

Think about something like the the DM1z or X120 with a quad core cpu, usb 3.0, and a slight improved screen quality. That be something I'd definitely get, specially since the gpu is suppose to be better than even SB gpu.

 

LLano will be far better than Sandy Bridge. I got the DM1z mainly for my girlfriend, but I am thinking the T400 could be upgraded to a 13" with 1440x900 resolution, LLano APU and an XGP port would be ideal. If that doesnt come out Ill stick with what I have. Maybe HP will come out with the DM3z+! Or I really wouldnt mind if it were a new Acer Ferrari even.

 

I am hoping Sony jumps on the quad core model for a 13in model(maybe an update to the 13in Y with a better screen), seeing as the 11.6in YB has the same Fusion APU as the HP.

 

*expletive*

I love the laptop so far -- the performance, battery life, looks, build quality, keyboard haptics, are all excellent for such a cheap machine.

But... the *beep* lack of pg-up, pg-dn, home, end keys is killing me! I never even thought of looking at the keyboard before buying -- it didn't occur to me even for a minute that they would omit such important keys. What the *beep* is wrong with HP? There aren't even function key shortcuts for them -- and not for lack of space -- the fn key shortcuts for projecting, launching the browser, wireless settings, and help are waaaay less critical than these keys.

Anyone know of a good (lightweight, no-frills, not-buggy) app that can be used to configure custom keyboard shortcuts? I found an app called Keyboard Tweaker but it was ancient, unsigned (unsigned apps make me nervous), and it couldn't do the job.

If I can't find anything I might write some code to do this over the weekend. This is the mapping I have in mind for now:
1. Page up: Alt + Up Arrow
2. Page down: Alt + Down Arrow
3. Home: Alt + open square bracket
4. End: Alt + close square bracket

 

Actually when I think about it this might make more sense:
1. Page up: fn + up arrow
2. Page dn: fn + dn arrow
3. Home: fn + left arrow
4. End: fn + right arrow

 

According to this review the page up and page down keys are already mapped as function + up arrow and function + down arrow, even though they're unlabeled.

 

Autohotkey is a good program for doing macros but it can't bind the Fn key, only regular keys (alt+something is fine)

 

Very interesting discussion about Llano and forthcoming technologies. Just curious, what does this CPU+GPU integration trend (Intel and AMD+ATI) imply for Nvidia? Are they being excluded from this market? or could they offer building the GPU component for Intel's chips later on?

 

Anyone try to play WoW or Heroes of Newerth on this yet?

 

Aha!!

Excellent point my friend

Further -- fn + lt. arrow and fn + rt. arrow are indeed already mapped to home and end.

 

Nvidia and Intel are getting together.

 

So now that these things are showing up at houses, anyone see any overclocking options?

 

According to tomshardware...

ASRock's E350M1: AMD's Brazos Platform Hits The Desktop First : Who Are You, Anyway?

 

@Guys already enjoying their dm1z, I hoping you could report on the overall "typing" experience...some reviews at shopping.hp.com, mention that the location of the trackpad makes it difficult to type as it is easy to move the pointer by accident.

I want to upgrade from a Toshiba NB205, in which that issue of random moving of the cursor (driven by me hitting the trackpad) was an issue for me, so my interest in hearing from users of this machine.

 

Positive review of the Zacate vs ION and ION NG. Lower power usage, better performance in some games.

However, there are still issues with things like flash:

The Brazos Review: AMD's E-350 Supplants ION for mini-ITX - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

Which may, or may not be sorted in good time.

 

What issue? Just double click the little dot on the upper left quadrant of the track pad to disable it.. and a orange light comes on as well as a icon flashes on screen showing its disabled

At any rate, it's not an issue for me. Must be the way I type. Using a wireless mouse most of the time anyways.

 

I received mine yesterday and I have no issues with the keyboard and touchpad but as one person pointed out you can just turn on and off the trackpad it takes all of a second or two if you're worried about it.

 

Many thanks, for completeness, this is the point I was referring to:
"However, I must warn those who plan to do a lot of typing away from the purchase of this laptop. The touchpad (mouse) is on the same level / is part of the wrist rest, and if you're one who rests your wrists on the computer's wrist rest while you type, you will find your right hand frequently and inadvertently moving the mouse to another spot on the page - where your typing continues where you didn't intend... " (Customer Avatar Donnachaidh1, at shopping.hp.com)

 

Track pad is in direct center. For me, my palms are right to left of it. Ive even tried putting more pressure down and for me, this does not happen. For a machine with this form factor, Yes, the pad will be close to the keys. I'm guessing its just the way I type? But if you are a touch typist, and have your indexes fingers on the home keys, I can't see how this would be a big problem. I have dv6500 and an HDX 18 and for me, this pad is nicer then both of those.

The quote that you are using is reviewing the older dm1 neo version. The last couple of reviews are for the newer fusion model. HP has not taken out some of the older reviews yet. And for someone who actually owns the new fusion model and is a fast touch typist this is a non issue. This model has a completely new keyboard/touch pad and I have not read anyone complain about this issue. However, on the last generation, it was an issue for some.

One thing I notice is I can drag my palms across the pad with a generous amount of pressure and the cursor does not move. But if I drag a finger, it does. Don't ask me how HP did that, but it appears the pad can notice the difference between a palm and a finger.. Can anyone else verify this? This is impressive.

 

This is a feature on most Synaptics touchpads. Basically, the touchpad detects how large of a surface area you're touching and determines from there whether you're using your palm or finger. You'll probably notice that if you brush the pad with just a small part of your palm (or any other part of your skin), the cursor will move. You can adjust the size of this area in the Palm Check settings in the touchpad configuration.

 

Hmm ... interesting.

Am curious to see what will come of this.

 

has anyone tried run starcraft 2 yet on the dm1z?

 

Just as a reference, here is another review and this one includes video review.

HP Pavilion dm1z Review - Notebook Reviews by MobileTechReview

 

Thanks for the link ... it's a pretty good review imo.

 

I did a fair bit of reading before ordering my DM1z, so before I clear out my bookmarks folder:
Cnet
Engaget
PCMag
LaptopMag
PCWorld
NotebookReview
MobileTechReview
WindowsforDevices

A youtube search is always good too.
Most of these are probably stated here, but incase we missed one. Plus its easier

And its competition Lenovo x120e on engaget.

 

Hey folks,

I thought this laptop had all 3 ports that recharged USB devices even when turned off but plugged in. Is this not so?

 

No, they are not "always on" USB ports. The laptop needs to be turned on in order to charge devices over USB.

 

will hp provide more color options? i like the overall look, but i think that the chain link design on the lid is a bit tacky. will there be a chance this will be offered with a plain color/design lid?

 

You can always add a sticker cover over it. I agree the cover is not that great, but its not bad. We put a sticker cover on it though because it seemed to collect oily prints.

 

Can someone tell me how this handles outputting 1080p over the HDMI?

Like for example I wanted to play Netflix out to a TV or a Movie off the hard drive how would it handle choppy?

How about Youtube?

 

hard drive and netflix has perfect 1080p streaming out of hdmi.

There is a flaw in flash that makes the 1080p ever so slightly choppy but adobe says they are working on a fix so youtube 1080p may be a tiny choppy till the problem with flash player is worked out (it might be already)

 

Can someone please run WoW on this. Thanks

 

This was done by LapTopMag already: HP Pavilion dm1z - Benchmark Test Results

 

All gaming results may also be better on latest drivers came out yesterday

 

Those are some pretty decent stats! Especially impressed with the cooling temps....

 

Bumping this thread a little bit...I'm thinking about switching from my 1215N to this machine, but I have a few questions for the owners out there:

1) Realistically with web browsing, word processing, and watching some Youtube videos, what can I expect from the battery?

2) Is the fan really that loud? Remember, I'm dealing with a comparison between this and the 1215N.

3) Honestly, is the touchpad and the touchpad buttons too annoying? Are the buttons giving off nice clicks? Does the touchpad feel alright? Does it get in the way of you typing?

4) The 1215N was great with 720P video but kinda iffy on 1080p, do you believe with the better CPU on the dm1z, that 1080p videos will stream better?

5) Any experience with the webcam? Is it decent enough for Skype? (I will be going to Japan later this year).

6) So I would be switching a 12.1 inch screen with a 11.6 inch screen, would it be to big of a visual difference?

Thank you in advance!
-Raven

 

1) My girlfriend travels around with the thing sleeping in her purse all day using it now and then at school and work and then gets home and still doesnt plug it in and uses it for hours and then puts it to sleep and maybe plugs it in the next day. It really surprises me, because even when sleeping my Intel laptop drains battery, much larger battery, less battery life. Continuous use probably 6 hours, and apparantly with an SSD HD that could be more like 8 hours. Maybe its going into hiberantion after awhile. It still impresses me.

2) no the fan is not that loud, even on high its not annoying, the TV or radio or wind will overpower it too. Its definately audible in a quiet room, but on low setting its barely noticeable.

3) I dont mind the touchpad or buttons.

4) 1080P works fine with the right browser with hardware acceleration enabled, google chrome seems best. We have an older HP single USB port external Blu-Ray player that plays great over HDMI to 46" 1080P LCD. I purchased the BD WinDVD version for $35, otherwise HP provided a BD software player on our older DM3z, but not the DM1z. It didnt work as well as WinDVD though. Obviously cyberlink also has one but more money.

5) no experience

6) It wont be noticeable if your 1215N was 1366x768 resolution. Some people think the screen is not great, but I think it works and looks awesome, its not glassy and glarey, but its not matte.

 

nice review, but this is medium spec

 

Hi guys, sorry for bumping this up.

I got no time for research so I though I could ask you some questions. I'm considering this for my wife but I'm the one doing the support so it need to be comfortable for both if you know what I mean.
The notebook has enough juice for what she's going to use it(IM, browsing, writing, watching sitcoms in SD quality) and 6 hours battery life is more than enough. Few concerns though:

-How does the keyboard feel under heavy usage? I mean, my wife is somewhat of writer so she does need a nice keyboard. From the review I got the impression it's comfy but I'd like a second opinion
-Does HP fixed the touchpad's buttons issue?
-Is it easy to disassemble for cleaning purposes? Can you easily reach the heatsink/fan? I don't want a notebook that you have to disassemble completely to clean it up like the Dell 1555 for example(curse you Dell for that design!)

Thanks!

 

I think the review does a good job of describing the keyboard. The fact that the keys are island style improves the travel and there is very little sideways motion when pressed. For a $400 laptop, the keyboard does a good job. If a local store in your area has one then its best to try it out since keyboard feel can be quite subjective.

Personally, I have not experienced any of the problems reviewers complain about the touchpad. There has been a driver update since the original driver release but I havent had any issues with the touchpad.

Its one of the easiest. No need for screws and the back plate comes of easily revealing everything underneath!

 

I just picked this up at Best Buy last night since they currently have an awesome price on it now: HP - Pavilion Laptop / AMD E-Series Processor / 11.6" Display / 3GB Memory / 250GB Hard Drive - Black - dm1-3025dx

will $380 be the new price for the DM1z? the best buy model only has 250GB instead of the 320GB currently on HP's website, but everything else is identical.


i was wondering if anyone has found decent skins/cases for this laptop, most importantly a keyboard protector? i found this one on ebay and it's the only one i could find: TPU US Keyboard Skin Cover Protective HP Pavilion DM1Z - eBay (item 150425973711 end time May-15-11 12:30:40 PDT)

any other options out there?

 

Trackpad button issue is not resolved (at least not on mine). My unit has repaired twice (in 20 days) and is sending in for the 3rd time. The left button clicks by itself, sometimes highlighted a block of text and deleted it. I have to disable the trackpad when typing.

On the positive note, HP case manager literally told me that the only resolution I have is to keep sending it back to them until my warranty is expired.

 

How many mini-PCIe slots does the DM1Z have?