HP DV6T-7000

[touchtoplay]

Hello everyone,
So I'm planning on picking up the DV6T-7000 pretty soon for when I head back to campus. This will be for both my academic and entertainment needs. I'm pretty sure about picking this up because of my previous experiences with HP and the discount I can get on this gives me the best bang for my buck. I know a lot of people would recommend something like the Lenovo Y580 but I'm pretty certain on my choice; there are a couple of things I would like to know before making my purchase though.

1) When I said entertainment needs, I meant I will use it to play games. Now, when I play games I prefer performance over visuals so I don't mind toning down the resolution for better frames. With this in mind, I'm going to go for the upgrade to get the better GPU (The Nvidia 650M), but I'm not sure if I need the quad edition of this laptop. I don't want to be cheap when buying this laptop because I plan on using it for a long time but saving money will be nice. I also don't want to have unnecessary power/upgrades for fear of diminishing the life expectancy by either heat or whatever.

So should I just go for another DV6-7000 that isn't the quad and just settle for another processor or what? I don't know how much the i7 will help "future proof" my laptop in terms of games in comparison to the i5. Again, I don't mind lowering the graphical quality. I also don't know how much more significant the heat is when using a quad or i7. Either way, I have the budget for both but I don't want to spend what I don't need or what will harm me in the end.

2) I'm concerned about heat if you couldn't tell. I'm not too sure about how well this laptop handles heat but I can tell you one thing: I will get a notebook cooler, no doubt.

I want to know how loud the fans are on this, with the fact I will be using it to game in mind. When I tested out the Envy 14 2160SE, I liked the HP Auto CoolSense program that adjusted the fans quite well in my opinion but I can't remember how loud they got. This is information I would like to know because I would prefer not to disturb my roommate with a whirring fan noise.

I would also like to know how hot it gets from just regular usage of daily tasks such as browsing the internet, doing work in office, etc. I'm not planning on changing the thermal paste or anything because it sounds too risky for me in the event that something may go wrong and I don't have the warranty.

Finally, on the topic of the notebook cooler, could someone give me some recommendations? I know different coolers work better on some laptops. If possible, I also don't want it to be too loud which might turn me away because I want to be courteous of my roommate.

3) I'm planning on having this laptop last about 4 years; does this sound possible based on my criteria (If you would like to know something else, let me know). Please keep in mind when I said I would game, it is not an excessive amount. If I could give you an estimation, it would be only Fridays and Saturdays and DEFINITELY no other days of the week as I just don't have the time. The longest duration I will spend playing the laptop in one sitting is 3 hours.

4) Any general knowledge or advice that I may not have touched would be appreciated.

I'd like to thank anyone who takes the time to read this and answer as I know it is a lot; this will greatly help me in the purchase of this laptop and I can't thank you enough.

 

[gregck]

The DV6's are great laptops, you should be able to get something fairly decent for your price point. Dv6s can be upgraded to have the 650m, which i recommend getting if you plan on using it for 4 years. If resolution is not a factor to you, you can keep the 1300x768 screen and save $150 (1080p upgrade is $150). If you do not plan on upgrading the hard drive yourself, i highly recommend adding the caching SSD option (32GB MSSD) that HP charges $50 extra for, you will want it for quicker boots times.

I wouldn't worry too much about heat as long as you:

*Have a laptop cooler when gaming.
*Keep the laptop on a smooth surface.
*Occasionally open the laptop and clean off the fans/heatsinks of dust.
*Keep the vents clear.

Heat won't be too bad with regular use, as the Dv6 should switch to the HD4000 integrated GPU in the CPU when the 650M is not needed. "Optimus" is what Nvidia calls it, works quite well from what i've heard.

I wouldn't bother upgrading the CPU at all as the 3610QM is quite good on it's own. Unless you do any video/music encoding or use adobe programs, keep the 3610QM. (Plus the CPU upgrades are crazy expensive)

Make sure you use coupons with HP, you can save quite a bit of money. Also, order over the phone so the rep can add your free student xbox to your order.

Also keep in mind, you can probably get a better deal elsewhere. Bestbuy.com has the Lenovo Ideapad 15.6 with:

I7-3610QM (Same CPU)
Nvidia 660M (better GPU)
750GB HDD (Speed/ssd cashing unknown)
6GB ram

For only $899, with a free xbox (student only) and $20 gift card.

(NOTE: this says 1080p screen which would make this a KILLER deal, however this is only 1360x768 - Lenovo gave best buy the wrong specs)

Here is the deal:

http/www.bestbuy.com/site/Lenovo---15.6%26%2334%3B-IdeaPad-Laptop---6GB-Memory---750GB-Hard-Drive/5855651.p?skuId=5855651&productCategoryId=pcmcat247400050000&id=1218697201173


discussion thread on this deal:

http/slickdeals.net/f/4839618-Lenovo-Y580-Core-i7-3610QM-6GB-DDR3-15-6-1920-x-1080-GTX-660M-750-GB-HDD-899?&page=5

So in short, if i were you, i would go with the Lenovo. Since you don't care about resolution that much and prefer performance, the Lenovo blows the DV6 away because of the 660M. (For similar price-point too)

Happy hunting!

Edit: Re-read and i understand heat is a concern for you, you could technically get away with an i5, but i'm not sure if HP offers the quad edition or the 650m/660m versions of the DV6 with i5's. You might have to downgrade the GPU in order to get a dv6 w/ an i5.

 

[touchtoplay]

Thanks for all the info! I'm extremely excited to be picking up one of these laptops. I'm getting the 650M upgrade without a doubt and the 1920x1080 resolution. Not so sure about the SSD though, probably will wait until later because I bet I can pick it up for cheaper and install it myself.

I'm glad you say heat won't be that much of an issue considering I will definitely taking up all of your precautions. I think I've heard about Optimus once and I do believe it was also a positive comment so that's re-assuring.

If the extra heat doesn't sound like an issue, I'm definitely keeping the i7 with the quad core. I also have a friend who is an employee who will give me a discount on my purchase.

Unfortunately, as I said I'm pretty adamant about my purchase. The discount I will be getting will give me the dv6 fully loaded for the same price as the Lenovo with the 1366x768 resolution. Also, the 660M isn't that big of a difference from benchmark tests from the 650M compared to the increase in performance from the 630M to the 650M.

 

[gregck]

yeah, sounds great! thats a pretty baller price for a fully loaded dv6, wish i knew your friend but i just purchased a samsung series 7. good luck!

 

[touchtoplay]

Well with there's a 33% discount coupon right now for the dv6t quads! I know you just bought a Samsung Series 7 but I just wanted you to know. I heard the series 7 are pretty awesome though. And thanks!

 

[gregck]

Yeah but you can't get an xbox w/ a coupon, kinda sucks you cant do both. DV6's MSRP is wayyy too high though. HP usually relys on coupons/epp discounts and student discounts to make the sale. And yeah, my series 7 gets here wednesday, it's under an inch thick so thats what attracted to me to it.

 

[edit1754]

keep 1366x768 screen and save $150

15.6" 1366x768 displays should be avoided when it is reasonable to do so, in favor of higher-resolution 15.6" displays, if the larger text is not required for eyesight-related reasons. 1366x768 resolution in a 15.6" display makes things onscreen large, and 15.6" displays that have 1366x768 resolution tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast. Same thing apples to 17.3" 1600x900 displays versus 17.3" 1920x1080 displays.

The HP DV6 and Y580 generally should not be bought in any configuration that includes the 1366x768 display instead of the 1920x1080 display.

 

[umaddbro]

In order to reduce heat, go to your system preferences and change the power management of the CPU so that it only runs at 99%. It helps a lot.