HP/Compaq :: HP Pavilion Dv7t Refreshed. Now With 16:9 Screen And ATI GPUs
Feb 25, 2009
This is weird, only just noticed it. The dv7t is not really a dv7t anymore. Its screen ratio has changed. And is now available with ATI HD45xx and 46xx GPUs. Oh and, Quad Core Intel CPUs.
HP just updated several notebook models with some new features and options on their US website. I've posted a brief summary of the changes below, with those in bold as considered major. Feel free to leave comments about these new changes or let me know if I forgot something in the list below.
dv3z:Full-size back-lit keyboard ($25 upgrade from standard keyboard)80 GB Solid State Disk drive option ($350 from 160 GB base option)Slot Load Super Multi 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support........................
I've been looking for a laptop, and I'm pretty sure I'm going with the HP Pavilion dv7t.
However, I do need help configuring all of the optional things:
I plan on using this laptop for playing newer games like Call of Duty and L4D2. Which video card is better, 512MB Mobility Radeon HD 4530, or 1GB Mobility Radeon HD 4650? Why?
Do I need to upgrade to a wireless-N wifi card to use an N router?
Is a core 2 duo 2.13GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB better than a core 2 duo 2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB? Why?
If I opt not to get a TV tuner, is it possible to add one in later? How?
Do the fingerprint readers come as standard on the Pavilion DV7T? Is it just software that can be downloaded or is it hardware? I'm really confused as im thinking about buying a DV7T off ebay
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its advertised as the newest HP 17.3'' Model but it not on the dell website?
Is the Pavilion DV7T the same as the Pavilion DV7-2100 series?
I am trying to decide what I should get between two laptops that I will get as a graduation present. To be honest, I am pretty much a total noob when it comes to laptops, so any advice would be welcome. My choices are between the Asus G50Vt-X5 or one of the HP Pavilion dv7t series laptops. My budget is around $1000.
I was at Best Buy the other day when I was shown the Asus for the first time and I really like how it looked and felt, much more than the overly glossiness of the HP laptops. However, I know HP has a pretty good reputation, as the rest of my family has HP's and they seem to run just fine.
Here are the specs for both: [url]
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Note: I used Cnet for the Asus laptop because Asus's own website kinda sucks for providing specs.
Truth be told, I like to game a little and would really like to be able to run Star Craft 2 (if that has any signifigance to you guys) when it finally comes out.......
I am considering the DV7T. quality of the keyboard/trackpad and screen?
For some reference, I have gone to the local electronics stores several times of the last few weeks, and I really don't like the feel of any of the NEC, Toshiba, Panasonic, or Fujitsu models (in Japan and these are the only brands the locals carry). I did however, really like the keyboard and trackpad on the new Sony F series, and I like the trackpad on the previous F even better.
Just by going by specs, the DV7T has 2 big advantages over the new F series, the ability to have 2 hard drives and price. However, just looking at the keyboard from pics and videos, it doesn't look so good, and it seems the biggest complaint is about the screen.
What is the probability that the next refreshed MBP will have a high res screen as an option. At least 1680x1050. I really want to buy a MBP before end of the year, but I would definitely wait if the new models have high res screens. But, who knows when the new models will be released.
I have a Pavilion dv7t laptop running Vista. One of the main reasons I bought this was to do audio work in Sony Acid Music and Sony Sound Forge. Well, lo and behold, I can't hear my mic input. I can record audio in using the mic input, but I can't monitor the input as I am using it to know whether it is too loud, too quiet, I am too close to the mic, too far away, etc.
I have done a lot of research on this via google searches and have found that most people solved this (on other laptops or other computers running Vista) by changing the input monitor setting (to enable it) within the windows registry. I dug all through various locations in my reg files and can't find anything on an HP Pavilion dv7t running Vista that corresponds with an input monitor setting.
This is a huge source of frustration. If anyone can let me know how to enable this, I would appreciate it. It's not a matter of right clicking on the speaker in the windows tray and changing anything on playback devices or recording devices. I have tried every possible combination of that and it doesn't work. This is something that needs to be fixed at a root level.
Why HP or Microsoft has this set as a default setting so you can't even monitor your input volume is beyond me.
The SSD in my laptop (HP Pavilion dv7t-6c00 CTO Quad Edition) recently died, so I got a new 120GB SSD and installed a non-OEM version of Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (this is because my SSD apparently isn't large enough for the Recovery Disks HP sent me -- long story). The past few days I've been installing all the necessary drivers, and just about everything is working like it did weeks ago. However, there is one problem: my TouchPad can no longer be turned off by double-tapping in the top-left corner.
I've tried three different Synaptics TouchPad drivers. The one found on HP's website (v. 15.3.11.0), the one I get when I click "update driver software" in Device Manager (v. 15.3.29.0), and the one found on Synaptics' own website (v. 17.0.19). I've checked out "TouchPad Properties" for all of them, and they've not been of any support.
For my current driver, however, when I click on "settings" under "Tapping," there's an area called "TouchPad Disable Zone Settings," that has a checkbox that says: "Double Tap to Enable or Disable TouchPad". However, the entire area is grayed out, and I can't check or uncheck the box (though, for what it's worth, it is currently checked). I candisable it manually in the "TouchPad Settings" tab of "Mouse Properties," but I'd prefer to just get the shortcut functionality back.
I have a few questions that I need clarification on.
First, is 64-bit ok to get. I've read a lot of articles stating that not many things are 64-bit and that drivers are hard to find, and so on. I believe these articles are a little old but I would like to make sure program running and such is ok.
Second, there are so many processors to pick from. You have the: T4200 (2.0 GHz) T6400 (2.0GHz) T6600 (2.2GHz) P7450 (2.13GHz) P8600 (2.4 GHz) P8700 (2.53GHz)
Choices can be a good thing but it's too confusing here. Is the T6600 better than the P7450?
Third, there are two video cards to pick from: 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS
Which one is better here? I would think the 9600 but that's just a guess. Seems like the 9200M GS is just now available in 512MB instead of 256MB. So maybe that one is.
Just wondering if this is normal - I'm not exactly sure how many fan speeds there are, but for the sake of keeping this simple, let's say there are 5 (1=off, 2=low, 3=med, 4=high 5=max).
My computer is usually at 2, but I notice that sometimes just watching videos can make my fan go to 3. Is this ok? I know my computer is plenty powerful so it's not that it's struggling. I guess it's because I have powerful parts and they create some heat. But it can be a little annoying for the fan to go one notch higher on something like videos.
Does anyone know if the DV7T-2000 CTO has VT (virtual Technology) capability?
HP is replacing my DV9700z CTO with a DV7T-2000 CTO, but with the recent news that Windows 7 requires VT or AMD-V for XP Mode and not all of Intel's CPUs are VT capable, i've been trying to find out if HP wrote the capability in to the BIOS of the DV7T, The CPU HP is sending me is capable but i cant get a solid answer if the notebook itself has it.
My current notebook has AMD-V and i'm not willing to accept a replacement unit that has less capability than i currently have.
My laptop arrived yesterday. I noticed that the fan is also always ON but on a low rpm. Disabling 'fan always on' option at the bios didn't do anything. The fan is still on all the time, again low rpm. I called customer service and we did bios upgrade, bios reset, and acpi uninstall/reinstall.. Nothing changed.
I have done another test.. I haven't heard the fan go on high speed yet. I tried playing 6 quicktime videos simultaneously and did my matlab simulation at the same time. I ran this for probably 10-15 minutes. cpu is running 100% all the time during this test. But my fan didn't increase speed. It stayed the same. the cpu temperature monitor that I have is always stuck on a certain value after the bios upgrade. I have read forums and they said that same thing happened to them, cpu temp monitoring will stop working after the bios upgrade.
Looks like Apple's gone all-ATi now for discrete GPUs on the new iMacs. Could this be a sign that going forward, all MacBooks' discrete GPUs will be from ATi?
I have a HP DV7t. The Specs of the notebook are in my sig.
Do you think I should get a cooling fan?
My computer runs great with no problems but I notice that it can get somewhat hot at times when I'm gaming. I don't play games too often and I mostly browse the web, but I play games on occasion.
The pic above is using HWMonitor. The max temps were reached while I was playing StarCraft.
Do you think those temps are too high for playing StarCraft? I have my computer slightly elevated in the back but wanted to know if you think I should get a fan such as the Zalman? What fan is recommended for HP laptops?
I got my new DV7T on friday, it's dead by sunday . I was just rebooting and it froze at the hp logo. Turn off then on again; nada. Can't even get into the bios menu. Ugh, this really pisses me off. I only ordered the dv7 to replace my 9700t that had the video card crap out 2 weeks earlier. I'm rapidly losing any faith in any hp product . I've got my repair ticket #. How long has everyones repairs/replacements taken to get back to them?
I'm not really all that up to date on laptop hardware, especially so far as the screen and such is concerned, but I would like to put a WUXGA screen in my DV7t, is this possible? Will just any WUXGA panel work and plug in, or am I going to be stuck with an HP WSXGA+ panel? Either way, I have to upgrade this 1440 x 900 display,
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit * Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-540M Dual Core processor (2.53GHz, 3MB L2 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.06GHz * 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) * 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection * 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5830 Graphics - For i5 and i7-620M Processors * 15.6" diagonal Full High Definition LED HP Anti-glare Widescreen Display (1920x1080) * External Tray Super Multi 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support with 2 USB Ports * Webcam Only * Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth * HP QuickWeb, Corel VideoStudio Pro X2, Corel Paintshop Pro X2, Stardock My Colors * HP Color Matching Keyboard * 6 Cell Lithium Ion Polymer Battery * No Productivity Software * HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope........
Brief specs: dv7t P6800 nVidia 9600M GT 4gb OCZ RAM (I installed this) 2x 7200RPM HD's Integrated TV Tuner
And the thing gets hot when I watch over-the-air HD.
CPUID Hardware Monitor data: ACPI THRM 35*C Min / 90*C Max CPU Core0 20*C Min / 20*C Max (shows 70/70 now...) Core2 21*C Min / 21*C Max (shows 70/70 now...) GeForce 9600M GT GPU 52*C Min / 106*C Max HD's HD1 35*C Min / 49*C Max HD2 37*C Min / 54*C Max
It doesn't get this hot normally, just when I watch TV. I know that media center automatically records whatever you're watching, so I'm assuming that is heating up the proc and HD, but holy crap 106*C? It seems a little excessive. Where is the video card on these things so I can try and make sure that is always in open air.
Looking at a DV7T or DV7 and am wondering about the supposed problem with heat on these. Some appear to have problems and some don't. Does it depend on the build, such as having a quad instead of core 2 duo or faster video card? Are the fan or fans located in the same spot on all builds? Is the venting path more clogged with certain builds? I'm looking at a simple core 2 duo T6600 and standard ATI 4530 on the DVT7 or P7550 and ATI 4650 on the DV7. Should I plan on having any heat issues with this conservative build especially if I don't plan on doing any serious gaming? Or is each one a crapshoot that is built with some doing well and others not so with heat? Obviously heat is a serious factor in the life of the laptop and don't want this to be an issue if I can help it.
Also looking at the Toshiba P505 with 18.4" screen which from what I've read doesn't have many heating issues. But all in all I like the HP better for looks, features and components.
I bought a Dv7t and it came with a small remote and the basic question i have is:
Where does it go (if there is a slot in the laptop that can hold it)?
I noticed on top of the SD card slot thingy there is a rectangular cover with a symbol on it that is also on the remote (a rectangle with lines coming off of it to the left). Is that supposed to be taken off and the remote slides in there, or is that where you point the remote when you press buttons?
Have seen the DV7 for around $820 and the DV7T on the HP website for around the same price. They look very similar in looks and specs as they are listed. What exactly would be the difference in the two models and is there an advantage to one over the other?
I am awaiting the arrival of my new DV7T (configuration to follow) and would like to know if anyone has successfully installed XP on theirs and if so, what problems, if any, did you encounter?
Configuration is as follows: --HP Pavilion dv7t Entertainment PC - Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) - Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9550 (2.66 GHz) - 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) - 500GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (250GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection - 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4650 - 17.3" diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP BrightView Infinity Widescreen Display (1600 x 900) - Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer - [For BrightView Infinity Display] Webcam + Fingerprint Reader - Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
I always put 8 degree offset on my 2500M/7900GTX. I never questioned it before. But couple of days ago a guy wrote this on this forum (read bellow), so can someone comment or clarify this for me?
"I hit 87C in Crysis, so you're doing damn good there. DON'T use an 8 degree offset in FanGUI. ATITool reports wrong temps. To prove this, put your system to sleep long enough for all components to reach room temperature. Resume the system and immediately bring up FanGUI. You'll see with an offset that the GPU is for some reason about 8 degrees higher, when everything should be at room temperature. If you have no offset and then resume, you'll see that your temps are nearly identical, which they should be from a cold start up."
Intel and nvidia are currently in legal battles. nvidia wants to make chipsets for Intel Core i3,5,7 and think they have the legal right to, but Intel denies that saying their previous rights end with the Core 2 Duos...
until this is settled, nvidia cannot make chipsets for anything newer than Core 2 Duos.
Apple wanted to refresh the Macbook Pros... just refresh, not a major change. This means, keeping the same design and adding in new parts. There is not enough space in there to fit as well as cool a discrete GPU, they must use an integrated. A future remodel job might be in the next update, but the current shape and size casing stands.
So Apple had to decide between two choices.
Upgrade to a Core i3,5,7 and use Intel HD graphics... which would be a much better processor with MUCH worse graphics.. even worse than the still selling standard Macbook...
or
Keep Core 2 Duos and upgrade the chipset to a better chipset from nvidia and be able to still use nvidia integrated graphics, and get graphics that are leagues better than the Intel HD.................