 "HP DV6 with Windows 7" | 2009-11-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1ZWO8HWWCVDV4 |
I purchased model DV6-1354US with 500gb hard drive and 6 cell battery. I use this laptop for editing photos with Adobe Photoshop CS4, as well as editing audio with Adobe Audition 2.0.
I have a five year old HP laptop running XP and it is still going strong. Despite outsourced Indian phone support, I was able to communicate support issues effectively. I am confident in future hardware performance and support from HP.
Transition from XP to Windows 7 was intuitive. The new taskbar is my favorite improvement. Followed by much better graphic interface and widgets. Some of my XP software causes Windows 7 to turn off Aero mode. I feel that windows has caught up with Apple in terms of graphics and workflow.
As far as laptop is concerned, Dave from Portland has a great review comparing the different models available on Amazon. The DV6-1354US is sufficient for me to use Adobe Photoshop and Audition, as well as multitask.
I will never go to a laptop again without a numeric keypad, this was an unexpected plus. I do miss the old HP media controls above the keyboard. They are replaced now by a volume and wireless control. I like that they are no longer buttons but touch sensitive surfaces above the keyboard.
The DV6 is quieter and cooler than my old HP. The power cord is beefier, which was always a problem with my old HP. Although I would prefer a magnetic power cord like Apple offers. Compared to other manufacturers, I would have to say that HP has the best price for great, reliable hardware.
Everything is a wonderful improvement except for the sound. Frequently, friends would ask where the music was coming from when I used my old DV1000. I felt that the sound was very rich for such a small system. I find the DV6 to have a much shallower, smaller sound that finds trouble filling a bedroom. For this reason, I drop the DV6 to four stars.
Also, the DV6 doesn't come with recovery disks. You need 3 DVD+R or -R (not RW) disks to create your own.
Overall, I really enjoy this computer, and probably will continue to enjoy it for another 5 to 7 years until RAM is in petabytes and laptops cook dinners. If I had to do it again I would still choose it over an Acer, Asus, Dell, Mac, or Sony. |
| |
| "Very good so far" | 2009-11-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: ATHT7RRT6Y7E |
I got the DV6-1360US because I wanted a decent graphic gard to play game. We have been using it for a few days. Overall I am very satisfied. I did not give it a 5 star because I am concerned that it got quit hot when playing games.
The setup was straight forward. The only problem I had was with setting up the wireless connection. I initially set it up with a lined connection. Setting up the wireless connection was easy, but it won't allow me to access the internet ("unidentified network, no access to internet"). I fixed it by rebooting.
Pros:
1. Amazon price is fantastic! I have been searching for a good laptop for weeks. This is the best one!
2. A decent video card. My son played WIC with it. He was overjoyed to see the frame rate jumps to 30, 40, 50 and more!
3. It has more functions that I expected, given the price. I wasn't expecting a card reader and web cam. After I got the laptop, I got a little greedy: would be nice to have a TV tuner, too, for the same price!
4. Abundant capacity.
Cons:
1. The video card can get VERY hot when playing WIC game. This is expected since it is a graphics intensive game. But I am a little worried, especially long term. I am thinking about getting a cooling pad. The temperature problem happens only when playing intense games. The temperature went back to normal for normal use. I have been trying to find info on how the graphics card is configured without much luck. So all I can do now it to have faith in HP that they did this correctly and it fires up the video card only when needed. |
| |
 "Good deal" | 2009-11-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: ANBN1AK9FYSEK |
I thought this laptop was a good deal for the price I purchased it at, [...] including rebate. Although there seems to be some price changes lately which would make things different.
The laptop is good. It's got everything I need. Windows 7 seems to work well.
My only complaint would be the design of the battery. Personally I would have preferred if the extended battery stuck out of the back of the laptop, instead of the bottom. This would have made it easier to carry around and place in my briefcase.
But certainly not a deal breaker. |
| |
| "A good machine; would buy again" | 2009-10-31 |
| - Reviewed By gcooka |
Purchased at local Office Depot. For the price, seems to have a lot of good features (bright LED backlight, 8-hour battery, memory (also expandable), remote control (useful for pictures / presentations), high speed hard drive (most machines in this price range have 5400-rpm drive; this one is a faster 7200).
One thing (which was pointed out by other reviews) is that the battery _is_ large and sticks out the bottom by almost an inch. I like Dell's method better of having the battery extend horizontally in front of the keyboard, but on the other hand it does raise the rear of the keyboard a bit which can make typing easier. I thought it might be troublesome to use it while in my lap but fortunately there is just enough space on the right side (which the batt is closer to) to rest the main unit on your legs. An odd thing about it is that they made the extension go even further to the right than to the left, which would have otherwise centered it more.
Another item which may be an issue for some is that the back of the screen has a very bright HP logo when the computer is on. It is not software configurable, but an internet search revealed that there is a cable inside which can be disconnected to cut the light. I may do this or cover it with black tape.
On the power, charge, and HD indicators, when any one LED is lit they kind of bleed over to the others, making it difficult to determine if they are truly lit or not. I do however like the lit indicators for volume & wireless; my old laptop used standard press-buttons and they would frequently get stuck from dust or food crumbs or whatever.
The fan runs relatively quietly, and can also be configured in the BIOS.
As mentioned earlier the screen has good levels of brightness, but reflections can easily be seen. Unfortunately almost all laptops made today did away with the nice, anti-glare screens of the past in favor of these. I also noticed when first using it that the colors appeared very washed out; the brightness or gamma settings seemed way too high. I tried using the Intel GMA software to change the gamma but it was already at its lowest setting, and the brightness and contrast settings did little to improve. Windows 7 though has a color calibration tool that lets you set these independently, I turned it all the way to Min which makes it look normal compared with other computers I've seen. I then had to use msconfig to disable the Intel GMA software from starting up and changing my settings each time the system was rebooted, so now the setting is remembered (if you go into the Intel settings again though, it takes over and you have to run the calibration program again).
I usually try and remove all the pre-installed software from store-bought machines, but HP seems to have improved their lineup with some useful tools so I decided to keep most of them.
All in all, a good machine, and would buy again. |
| |
| "A great notebook line" | 2009-10-30 |
| - Reviewed By dave451 |
My wife and I purchased a slightly different version of this laptop for her mother and I have been very impressed with the features and build quality (there are several DV6 models but they are all built on the same chassis). It is well constructed with a metallic toned black exterior (HP also offers versions in white). Take a good look at the shell art since it is something that may not appeal to everyone. My mother-in-law definitely appreciated having something a little more individual than the usual dull grey exterior. Despite the glossy exterior we haven't noticed much in the way of finger prints or any scratches despite the helping hands of our kids who love to "help" grandma with her computer. (There are some DV6 models without art work such as the HP Pavilion DV6-1050US 16.0-Inch Laptop and the HP Pavilion DV6-1030US 16.0-Inch Laptop.)
The specs for this model are set well above what the average home owner needs today which (in my mind) future proofs it nicely. If you are on a tight budget you can get what you need for less (look at the HP Pavilion G60 line). If you have a little bit more to spend and you want some headroom to handle your computing needs for the next few years this is a great choice.
CPU - The four models Amazon is showing all share variations of the Intel Core2 Duo. This is a great notebook processor and the best choice for consumers today. It can handle two software "threads" which means you can have the virus scanner running while you surf the web with no noticeable slowdown. The difference between the four CPUs offered is not that great and outside of gaming, CPUs are not the performance bottleneck in notebooks. I would suggest most users should spend their budget on things that will get them more tangible enjoyment (like a nice display and good graphics). Only the DV6-1361SB stands out performance wise vs. the other models offered here. The other three models have CPUs with very similar performance (in fact the 1350US and 1354US share the same CPU model).
RAM - 4GB of RAM is combined with a 64bit OS to which should provided more than enough memory for pretty much any application you can think of outside of extremely high end gaming. All four models have the same amount. The RAM on the 1350US and 1354US run at 800MHZ while the RAM on the 1361SB and the 1360US runs at 1066MHZ. Faster is better for performance but not for battery life so the tradeoff depends on what matters most to you. The performance difference is not great and I think most people will be happier with the improved battery life.
HDD - Ranging from 320 to 500GB this is far more space than you need now but again, I like the future proofing. All but the 1354US have faster 7200RPM drives while it sports the slower (but slightly more reliable) 5400 RPM drive.
Graphics - The more expensive 1361SB and the 1360US both sport an integrated ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 which is vastly superior to the usual low-end graphics that plague notebooks. You can actually do a some 3D gaming on those notebooks which is a truly rare thing. The 1350US and 1354US use the Intel 4500MHD which isn't going to win any awards for performance will satisfy any non-gamer (it chokes on newer 3D games).
Display - HP has a reputation for high-end displays and this one delivers. Tuned slightly for indoor use the 15.6" HP Brightview display is good enough for outdoor use though not as much as a more matte display. Indoors it is brilliant with surprisingly strong blacks (too many notebook displays are all brightness with no depth). I like that the screen provides a decent amount of vertical space without overdoing it. The difference between this and a 14" is surprising. (Note: HP recently starting mixing 15.6" and 16.0" screens in the DV6 model line. You can usually buy a very similar model with either screen size though you may have to custom order).
Sound - Surprisingly good sound for a notebook. The speakers are well positioned and deliver a good range. I've heard better but it was on a $3K notebook.
Battery - Surprisingly only the least expensive model (1350US) has a long lasting 12 cell Li-Ion battery. I'm guessing that's because it's aimed more towards students on a budget who need better battery life than a home user. The rest port a 6 cell battery (pretty standard). With a 12 cell battery you can realistically plan to go all day without plugging in. This does add slightly to the weight but few users will notice (about 1/10 of a pound). It is larger and will stick out whereas the 6 cell will sit flush.
I don't have any serious "cons" for this computer. The "Touch Media Controls" for things like the volume (as opposed to buttons you push) are a little odd at first but we got used to them quickly and hey, they look cool when they light up.
If you're staring at these four models trying to decide which one to buy my advice is: For non-gamers just go for the 1350US. The performance for non-gaming software will be very close to the more expensive model and you get a better battery out of the deal. The hard drive is smaller but as mentioned before most home users won't get near to filling a 320GB drive. And these days external hard drives are cheap and can even sit on your wireless network. And if 320GB isn't enough for you then 500GB isn't going to be much better.
If you are a gamer just skip up to the 1361SB. Let's be clear: this isn't a gaming laptop. A real gaming laptop will easily run you another $500. But you can play newer 3D games at reduce settings and older 3D games will run at more aggressive settings.
If you are a power user who needs the fastest CPU and memory the 1361SB is also your best choice. You get a small speed bump going to the 1360US but the real jump is the 1361SB.
To wrap it all up: you can always buy more features for more money but if you are looking for a laptop with some higher-end features and upscale build quality this is an excellent choice. HP spent money in the right places and has created a high-end laptop at a mid-tier price. For most users there no reason to buy anything other than the 1350US which is one of the better values out there today. If you are a student you may want to check out HPs "Academy" program which offers student discounts (it can be hard to find on HP's web site so you may be better off searching for "HP Academy").
|
| |
| "One of the best entertainment laptop" | 2009-10-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3V6VVVSQHWMR6 |
| Bottom line, for $600 , This is one of the best you can get. Overall build quality is good except the slot for storing the remote control is not that smooth. It stuck in the slot and not coming out easily sometimes. Keyboard is great. Touch pad is easy to control but a external mouse defiantly will help. Quite. The gross surface looks good but it will easily show your finger print as well as the dust. Keep in mind, this is not a 3D game machine. |
| |
