HP Pavilion dv5t Review Discussion

Dear Chaz,

I hv just bought a DV5-1015tx preconfig* P7350 (2.0 GHz), 3GB DDR 2, 9600m GT DDR2 as compared to your P 8400(2.26 GHZ). Will this recession in my Processor affect much in gaming performance like Crysis where hardly it will produce 22 - 28 FPS avg from your config ?...
I have deposited half the amount for the Lappy. !!!.. is it worth going for the Preconfigured version ??.. P.S : Budget is a constraint..

Please help in these regards... Thanks in advance.. i m confident of your expert Views on the above mentioned and definitely would be the sole base for my purchase of the laptop.. !!!

 

That's a nice configuration. The P7350 will perform nearly the same as the P8400 in games - 260MHz does not make much of a difference. The video card is going to be your bottleneck, as well as mine, in almost all games.

Keep the notebook.

 

Thankss.. mate...

Just in second thoughts.. i went through most possible threads given by you and it came up that 9600m GT DDR3 will produce 15 - 20 % faster results....

Now, given the pros of DV -1015 TX , i found out Acer 5930 Series also.. with 9600m GT DDR3 and Centrino 2 platform with 2.2 gigs.

Also.. some of ma mates explained and insisted its possible for a Graphic card update in Acer, whereas not possible in HP.

Can u help please ??? .. i have held up all of my mates for your comment.. !! Thankss in advanceee....

Also ... can u suggest me... some lappy's wid 9600m GT ddr 3.. in Toshiba , HP, acer ? Thankss again...

 

Thank you for the review. I was interested in the Dell XPS 1530 but this HP seems to be a better acquisition. I have some questions:

- I'll wait 'til the Holiday season starts 'cause I'm hoping to get better deals (perhaps some nice coupons). Let me know if you think this isn't a good idea.
- Does one of the headphones or microphone jacks also work as SPDIF? Or the only option for digital sound is the HDMI output? I could not find this information anywhere in the HP website and neither the HP support persons could tell that. I need SPDIF to connect to my receiver... I have a USB sound card with SPDIF but I don't think it works on Vista 64 bits.
- Is it better for games than the XPS 1530? I read the whole discussion on this thread and one says the 9600GT is better and other says the 8600GT is better because of the faster memory... Who's right?

 

Hi, thanks for the compliment.
-If you get a $300 off coupon or something around 30% off, then I'd take the deal. HP offers a price difference guarantee - if their price of the product drops within 21 days of ordering, they'll refund the difference:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/terms.do?jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/split/termsofsale
-They do not, they are only microphone/headphone jack(s). However, there i HDMI out which is full surround sound audio. The USB sound card should work fine, they are plug and play, but tell me what kind of card it is so I can verify (link would be great). Note you can get the notebook with 32-bit Vista, which I recommend since it's almost guaranteed compatibility.
-The 9600M-GT 512MB is about on par with the 8600M-GT in the XPS M1530. The reason is, while the XPS' 8600M-GT has nicer GDDR3 memory vs. the DDR2 memory of the HP, the HP's 9600M-GT has faster clocks. In effect they have the same performance. You can see full benchmarks for my machine in my signature.

I also considered the XPS when I was buying - believe or or not, I do notebook shopping like everyone else. So I looked at the XPS in person at Best Buy. It's no doubt a nice machine - good keyboard, screen, decent build quality. However the next week I saw the HP dv5 in person, and it is a nicer machine - just as solid in build or moreso, much sleeker design, better-feeling keyboard (the XPS' does not offer the same level of tactile feedback in comparison), better speakers, better port variety. The Dell's touchpad was better, and the machine might be a bit more durable, but that's about it. It has been nearly four months since I got my HP and there isn't a scratch on it. I use this bag combo:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4571
Hope that helps.

Thanks!

 

This might be considered off-topic,in which case i do apologise, but is there a way to get a slave like yours (slave II) within the UK?. Cause i ve failed up to today to find one with the exact same specs.(only from ebay)

oh yeah didn't mean to be rude; great guide/review!!!!

 

Good question. I searched a few UK sites like laptopsdirect.co.uk and was only able to find the AMD-equipped versions with the low-res 1280x800 screens. I was able to get my configuration by getting it custom built, and unfortunately HP does not offer that kind of service outside the US.

If it helps, my next choice was the Dell XPS M1530. That you can custom-configure in the UK. Alternatively, you could look at the MSI 1651 and the Compal JHL90.

 

You can get customised notebooks from Zepto and Rizeon in the UK.

 

Dude, 1 post and already 100 rep points?

Nice review, love the gloss and bling on notebooks.

 

I think you're mistaken. I have 0 rep points.

 

You have 2 bars of rep. That equates to 100 rep points.

The number beside your bars is your rep power.

 

I give around that much.

 

Oh.

*sucks up to Chaz to try and get some rep*
jokes.

So, are you planning to swap in 4Gb of RAM? or maybe a better CPU in the future?

 

Actually my notebook is still stock - 2GB RAM, 160GB 5400RPM hard drive. Half the drive is still free, and it's relatively fast, so I won't be replacing that anytime soon. As for the RAM - all the latest games I play including CoD4, UT3, and recently Left 4 Dead, don't even use what I have. Until some games start using more than 2GB, then I won't upgrade.

 

I didn't realize there was a review section when I whipped up a bit of a video review and posted under the manufacturer section. My dv5 also has the p8400 and 9600m gt.

Anyway, basically just a brief look at the style and features followed by a boot into vista with a look at features in action and what's any review of a laptop with a 9600m gt without a bit of gaming? So I've got some Call of Duty 4 multiplayer action in there also.

If you've got fast internet you can watch in high quality.

Part 1: http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=IkuvAVj694k

Part 2: http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa95Y_Nmk74

 

Thanks a lot for the responses, man!!

I'm afraid I can't tell you the manufacturer of the sound card I have because it's a generic one I got from China. There's really no website or anything like that. But the driver that comes with it says "cmedia" and I asked to the guy that sold it to me and he said it should work on Vista 64. I want the 64 version of Windows Vista to make full use of 4GB of RAM.

Hey, one more question: what's the main memory speed? 1066MHz to match your processor's bus clock?

I agree with you - the HP looks much nicer. But... I have no coupon for now. Just a US$30 one... There's this 4GB of memory deal that ends today. I found a very nice deal on the XPS at bestbuy which includes bluray rw drive. The only problem on it (apart from me preferring the HP dv5t laptop) is that I need international warranty. I contacted Dell and they can't extend the garranty if I buy the laptop at Bestbuy.

 

The HP dv5t uses DDR2-800, which is good since DDR3 is expensive. I picked up 4GB of RAM yesterday for less than $50.

If you buy a Dell at Best Buy, your warranty will be through Best Buy, not Dell. Another thing about the XPS at Best Buy and just about all of their 14/15.4/16" laptops have degrading 1280x800 pixel screens.

HP business notebooks have international warranties I believe, one of them may be your best bet.

 

I was aiming toward a 1280x800 screen anyway. So that doesn't botter me. I want games running smoothly so wouldn't use big resolutions and for movies I'd use my 32" LCD. Is that a bad idea?

There are many bad comments on XPS at BestBuy about problems... Customers had to return their laptops... So, I'll avoid it and go (back) for the HP dv5t instead. International warranty is a must for me.

 

There's nothing that says you can't use a lower screen resolution for games. As long as you keep the aspect ratio, there shouldn't be too much blurriness. You won't notice the difference in gaming. 1280x800 really is a low resolution, you will end up doing a lot of scrolling and it will be nearly impossible to use two applications side-by-side. 1680x1050 is a great resolution for a 15.4-inch screen.

 

man, this makes me laugh.
im an owner of the dv5 and its really solid and stuff. my only gripes is the poor graphics benchmarks and heat.
thankfully the 3Dmark06 did not reflect the graphics performance of this laptop accurately.
chaz, could you address the graphics benchmarking issue? any idea why its doing so badly?

 

Why? What's your 3dmark06 score? approx 4400 for 1280x800 and 3900-4000 for 1280x1024 screens is what to expect.

 

The 3DMark06 scores are on par for this machine. The 9600M-GT is very similar to the 8600M-GT; it has the same number of shader units (32). The 9600s advantage is the smaller manufacturing process (65nm), which allows it to have higher clockspeeds. Therefore, an overclocked 8600M-GT (DDR2) could theoretically match the 9600M-GT (also DDR2).

If you private message me, I'll give you more in-depth info on the 9600M-GT (there are reasons I can't post it on the public forum).

 

I've never heard anyone claim a ddr2 8600 could achieve 9600 ddr2 performance. The heat would destroy it surely? I've heard of dd3 8600 getting similar performance though.

 

Well, note I said theoretically. My point was the cards aren't that much different.

An 8600M-GT GDDR3 is on par with a 9600M-GT DDR2.

 

yeap just the smaller nm for the 9600 as you said. It's quite interesting.

 

Hey Chaz. I've ordered my dv5t! Will put my hands on it only on December 30th... Can't wait! Thanks again for answering my questions and helping me choose. I just picked the 1280x800 screen because I didn't want to spend the extra US$75, but still your comments helped me a lot. Thanks!

 

You're quite welcome. Remember to stop back and post your impressions in the Official dv5 t Owner's Lounge.

 

Hey man - I just want to say a big thank you for such a detailed review! Great job making it detailed enough without getting too "techie" for most people. Mad kudos!

 

You're also quite welcome. I did my best to keep it focused on what the market for this ntoebook was looking for.

BTW - I have been using the dv5t for four months now and it's working great. I recently upgraded to 4GB of RAM ($45) and games are running smoother.

 

guys i am about to buy the hp dv5-1135
i have one question
can i install xp on it ??
and make everything work (wireless and everything) ???
cz some of my friends got their laptops and when they installed xp , some of them didn't find the drivers for their grafic cards , others couldn't make their wireless work :s

 

I think everything will work ok in xp, but sometimes there are problems with standby thing i think.

 

Getting xp to work is a real headache on the dv5. I've been there and dual booted xp and vista. There is a thread here about installing xp on the dv5. The main issues are audio, which never worked properly for me, finger print reader driver and use of the media center remote.

 

and how is it working with both vista and xp ????
same performance ????

 

the actual process of dual booting both OS worked well, having the option to toggle between vista and xp on boot. Performance was as good as it was supposed to be under each operating system but the horrible audio problems I had under xp lead to me removing it and simply using vista with a clean install - (see the sticky 'clean install' thread). Installing vista without all the hp bloat made the OS far more acceptable.

 

wow! I'd totolly go for one of those!

 

honestly i hate vista
i have some old games that aren't playable on vista i guess
+ xp is smoother and compatible with everything , old and new
that's a big problem for me :s , and we are also working at uni with assembly language and a certain version of visual c++ wich are not working on vista

toshiba satelite pro come with a win xp recovery dvd , they come with the same specs but with the HD 3650 (less powerful than 9600m gt) , with shorter battery life , and even more expensive (about 160$ more than dv5) , but this xp thing is vital for me ....i might buy that toshiba after all

 

I know what you mean about vista. I worked on getting xp going for hours, jumped through some crazy tech hoops and combed the internet for fixes for hour upon hour to try and be free of vista. In the end I had tried so hard and got so far but the audio killed it for me. I was nearly relieved to go back to vista knowing everything would work properly. One thing I've found, hp bloat really ruins vista. Vista without the bloat is far more palatable. After using vista for over a month now and having turned off all the nanny rubbish like uac I find it's ok.

 

lol grantman
i just remembered when i formatted my desktop for the first time and installed win 98 (long, long, long ,long time ago)
i couldn't install all the drivers , and i remember spending nights screwing the moment when i decided to format my pc
this vista thing really bring back old memories (memories i didn't enjoy at all )

 

http://www.digitgeek.com/hp-pavilion-dv5t-review/

Thieves!

 

I will have that forwarded to the legal department - it won't be up for long.

 

i didn't get the problem p1990 ........

 

yeah wewe, xp on a vista only machine can be a real headache. Here is my first post on these forums - I'm sure you can relate!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4056119&postcount=210

For starters the dv5 won't even boot properly from the xp cd giving a blue screen. You have to create your own slipstreamed xp disk using nlite and that sort of sets the tone for how things continue.

Btw, the problem p1990 pointed out is that some guy has taken the review from here and claimed he wrote it and is displaying it on his webpage.

 

thx grantman
honestly this sucks
despite that, i will get that dv5-1135 after all.....
i will install a clean vista version like u said and of course try to dual boot with xp (just out of curiosity), if that doesn't work , then i am stuck with vista
HP is cheaper than toshiba (with same specs) , and i noticed that u can get help on almost everyhting when u're using hp , there's just too many hp customers
in a couple of days i will hopefully get my new 1135
untill then ......thx

 

Looks like I have been informed correctly by one of the shops I do business here in Pattaya, Thailand on the crappy system boards of the dv series of H.P. Pavilion laptops. Here's what just happened to me.

Just over one year ago I bought a Hewlett Packard dv 2626 tx in Bangkok. I always felt it ran way too hot. Just prior to the one year warranty running out I took it into the shop I usually do business with as when I typed the letters would start appearing all over the place. So after doing a fresh install of Vista and putting all my data and programs back on the machine I soon developed another problem. The laptop refused to boot. The warranty expired on November 17. I took the machine in repair on December 4th, 17 days after the warranty period expired. The shop sent it to Bangkok and it took 12 days to get a reply from the repair center. The system board was trashed and it would cost me $400 to get the laptop repaired. The tech from the Pattaya IT center who handled this for me suggested that if I had it repaired in Bangkik there was an excellent chance the system board would fail again. I have a lot of confidence in this tech who echoed my own sentiments and none in the insides of the H.P. laptop which I regard as junk.

Another shop I had done business with before in the same Pattaya IT center told me a number of laptops that were the same model I had bought came back to it for repairs with the same symptom, failure to boot and that this model was a lemon. The tech suggested that even though my warranty had already expired by just a few days he felt there was a good chance Hewlett Packard would still make good on it considering the company knew it had created a lemon.

This time Hewlett Packard will not get my money again as I will be buying a new laptop from another company. while trashing the one year old H.P. except for saving some of its parts. The question is what model from what company will be its replacement. The Pattaya IT center is overrun with Acer's. For one thing there is a repair center not too far away. I'm looking at Lenovo as well. In still another shop in this same Pattaya It center is an R-61 t Lenovo Thinkpad with a 3 year international warranty. It's got a 120 gig hard drive and a processor that's running only at 1.66 ghz. It seems an oddball too as there is no built in mousepad, only that little red stick that the Thinkpads are well known for. There's a few Toshibas for sale in this IT center and of course the HPS and Compaqs which I will now avoid like the plague. I'm looking at reliability as my foremost consideration. I can also go to the largest IT center in Bangkok where there will be more selection, particularly when it comes to the Lenovo's but in spite of the possibility of a three year warranty I'm concerned about the service from this company.

 

I can't comment on the long-term reliability of my notebook since it's not even six months old, but so far it has had no issues. It runs a bit warm, but that is solely due to the Nvidia video card.
I had an HP in 2004-5 that as AMD-based; it was a great machine. I didn't keep it for more than a year before I upgraded to newer technology though.

You might take a look at the business line of HP notebooks. They have better quality; business notebooks are designed to be more reliable. They also have superior service.

 

Ok, I've read enough and took a look at a dv5t in person, plus quite a few other notebooks - and yes, I now also agree that the dv5t is a top pick. The only thing that I don't care for is the 'liquid metal' shiny silver surface. Still prefer the old fashioned all black notebooks.

Two questions - observations actually. First, it looks like HP does not offer the option to purchase an "all black" version similar to their great looking business notebooks. Some of which appear almost identical - other than the black case - to the dv5t. Second, looks like the better discounts available now don't apply to the dv5t. No luck getting $250 off a $900 dv5t.

 

Yeah the trend in the last year or so of notebooks and now more than ever is the "let's see how glossy we can get it" trend. You're basically stuck with it when choosing a consumer notebook.

The design of that notebook looks a lot like the dv5t, though that may only be the outside shell. I don't know if they change the internal frame. You might inquire in the HP forum as to exactly what the difference is between them.

 

Here's an update on my problems with the Pavilion dv 2626 after my last post.


You have the same problem I've had.

But first off, I now reside permanently in Pattaya, Thailand. I bought my Pavilion dv 2626 in Bangkok a little more than one year ago at a huge computer mall, Pantip. Normally I buy all computers and computer related items here in Pattaya at a smaller computer mall called Tuk.com which is roughly 2 hours from Bangkok. When I bought my 2626 in Bangkok it was the most beautiful, latest and greatest thing going, at that time the only laptop model offering a standard 250 gig hard drive with 2 gig of memory. Wanting the power, I paid substantially more than I would have from other companies---around 44000 baht which is aabout $1300 U.S.

One thing I had always noticed about this laptop is it seemed to run very hot. And then about three weeks ago when I rebooted my machine it exhibited the little mini screens on the display. There were horizontal lines in the display that had never been there before. In short order the machine would refuse to boot up as it would turn black and suddenly freeze. I tried everything. I even had a recent backup on an external drive on which I had backed up the entire system and data. That didn't work either.

So, I took the machine in to the shop I do the most business with at Tuk Com here in Pattaya and had this shop's number one technician look at it. He soon agreed with me that the problem was not software. It was hardware and although he was not sure he felt the system board had gone out. So we sent the notebook to the Hewlett Packard repair center in Bangkok. The deal was I would have to pay 1000 baht for an estimate and then it would be up to me to decide whether or not to have it repaired. Two weeks later, with no word from HP's repair center Manop (the top tech I deal with at this first Tuk Com shop called the Bangkok Repair Center. To get the machine repairs I'd have to pay 12437 baht which is about $375.00 U.S. And Manop was right. It was the system board.

In the meantime, having lost confidence in HP's laptops I started looking for a replacement laptop. So I went into a shop (Pattaya4U) I had bought a Toshiba notebook from two floors down from the large shop Manop worked for because there's a technician there who I have a lot of confidence in as well. This technican told me that a number of Pavilion 2626's and similar laptops had come into his shop for repair and they had exhibited the same display problems--failure to boot that mine had shown. This technician told me that H.P. had sold a lot of very problem prone laptops and that my model was a lemon. I bought an Acer from this shop for around half what I had paid for my Pavilion 2626 and it has similar specs. The technician at this shop told me that when I got my H.P. back from the Bangkok repair center that he'd like to take a look at it--that there was a good chance he could repair the system board.

Three weeks after sending my dv 2626 into the Bangkok repair center it came back to Manop's shop and I paid this shop 1000 baht after which I promptly went to the 2nd shop and gave it to the techician I was dealing with there. He told me he could repair my machine. I then went back to my condo and just two hours later the technician called me. My laptop was ready to be picked up. When I got back to this shop I asked the tech to show me exactly what had gone wrong with my dv 2626 and what he had done to it to repair it. Well, this must be the only full notebook repair shop in that entire Tukcom building. We went into the back area where the tech pointed out a repairman. The two men showed me a system board this repairman was working on. He was soldering a chip into that board and then they showed me the chip they had taken out of my system board. This was a graphics chip, part of the chipset that had been put on my system board.

I then asked this tech about my laptop running hot. He pointed to a small shop right across from his, so I just left my laptop with him and checked out a little plastic device that one puts a laptop on. It has a small fan that runs off the USB of a laptop. I yelled across to the tech I had been dealing with and he said to me that this device would help a little. Meaning not much. The woman at this little shop also had the large H.P. replacement battery that is known to give the 2626 more than half the battery life for around $150 U.S. This battery also props up the rear part of the notebook thus allowing more air to circulate underneath. I nearly bought the battery, but when I went back to ask the tech about it, he told me that his shop's replacement of the graphics chip that had gone bad would probably be good for several months and then he shrugged his shoulders and said to me, "Who knows after that. If you have the Bangkok repair center replace your motherboard, there's a very good chance it would go bad after a few months. He advised me not to invest $150 in a larger battery for a notebook that has a proven History of being very unreliable.

The last 24 hours I've been restoring my programs and data on the H.P. Pavilion 2626. It seems to be working just fine now. It is a beautiful machine and seems much more substantial than the Acer I have recently bought. But there you have it. Two, not just one. But two technicians at two different computer shops have told me they have little confidence in the reliability of this particular series of H.P. notebooks. I have a high regard for the ability and integrity of both of these technicians. I love the look, the feel and the attention to detail to the exterior appearance of my H.P. Pavilion 2626. Unfortunately I have little confidence in its reliability or in H.P's support of its customers. Mine lasted just 1 year and 10 days, just in time for the warranty to expire. I believe H.P. knew it had created an entire series of lemons (with pretty faces) and apparently feels that a pretty face and a rotten heart is good enough for HP.

The latest is this blog http://dv2000rippedoff.blogspot.com/ I especially like the 2nd video. Believe me, the graphics chip set problem described in this blog and that is displayed in this video is exactly what I have experienced.







http://dv2000rippedoff.blogspot.com/

 

Very interesting Jack, thanks. With the sheer amount of intensive call of duty 4 gaming I've done over the last 2 months I reckon I've done enough heat cycles and intensive heat stints for about 6-8++ months of average use. If my laptop fails I will certainly post back here.

What were the specs of your dv 2626?

*edit, the dv2000 isn't the same as the dv5 in style and spec lists. They are different laptops and hopefully the differences are significant enough so that the failures of one don't extend to the other.

 

Here's the specs. The model is HP Pavilion Notebook dv2626 TX. Its processor runs at 2.2 ghz, it has 2 gig of ram and it has a 250 gig hard drive.

And it's running quite warm. Right now I am running the Acer right next to it as I am about to finish lining out the HP. As I mentioned this is simply a stunning laptop that seemingly exhibits much finer fit and finish than most. Hopefully you will have good luck with your model. As I mentioned the two techs I have discussed this with here in Pattaya, particularly the 2nd who replaced the graphics chip that had gone bad felt it was only certain models that were still born. I have two H.P. desktop machines here in this condo and both are reliable. But I have about zero confidence in this H.P. 2626 laptop. This thing is now as ready as it will ever be as I have all my programs back on it and I've defragmented its hard drive for maximum performance. Since the repair it's been very slow on boot up and I just ran a test between it and the new Acer with the Acer booting up twice as fast. Of course it's running XP while the H.P. is running Vista. Also twice now I've not been able to get my Mozilla browser to come up. Rebooting solved the problem. Even before my warranty ran out there have been problems with the machine such as typing all over the place a problem that was software related and did require a complete reinstall of Vista plus all my programs. This happened just two weeks before my graphics chip got roasted. So now I have put the H.P. away in the safe. I will only be using it for a spare. Which is a real shame.