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[Godslay]

In that price range, the HP DV6 Quad Core was recommended to me (and others). Ordering it Tuesday!

http://www.shopping.hp.com/series/category/notebooks/dv6tqe_series/3/computer_store?jumpid=in_r329_personalization/browse1/SDP_SDP?&aoid=35252

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Did you order yet? I put in a coupon and this is what came out:

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Quad Core(TM) i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
FREE Upgrade to 750GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
No Additional Office Software
FREE Upgrade to Norton Internet Security(TM) 2011 - 15 Month Subscription (activation required)
6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.5 hours of battery life +++
15.6" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366x768)
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN with Wireless Display Support
Standard Keyboard
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Price: $1,174.99
Coupon: –$387.75
Price after savings: $787.24

 

[K.Jack]

The 335M inside the Alienware mx11 was able to run Mass Effect 2 at 45-50 FPS @ 720p although it is way below recommended specs. The 540M is more powerful than it and The Witcher 2 may not be much more ressource-demanding as Mass Effect 2. I guess, he may give it a chance, you never know. Best thing : waiting for benchmarks.

The performance of the GT 335M in a Mass Effect 2 console port has zero bearing on this matter. It was actually comfortably above the ME2 min requirements, despite being well below the recommended.

That is not the case here. The recommended system for ME2 is the minimum for The Witcher 2, and the 8800 GT destroys the 540M. I'm not saying it won't run at all, but never bet on a card that is 50% below minimum specifications.

 

[K.Jack]

dp...

 

[Drinky Crow]

"destroys" is a bit extreme when off the paper. the 540m is paired with a much better cpu, and pulls down around 8000 to 9000ish in 3dMark 2006. the 8800 gt gets from 9000 to 10000.

that said (and as you said), he shouldn't expect to run the witcher 2 at the same levels he runs me2 at. me2 is not a terribly taxing game -- it has really low geometry (expertly hid behind great art direction and vaseline-grade use of post-processing) -- but the witcher 2 is pretty beastly. on a 540m, you'll be lucky to pull down 30 fps at 1366x768 @ medium. (which is still very pretty and playable.)

 

[gdt]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Did you order yet? I put in a coupon and this is what came out:

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Quad Core(TM) i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
FREE Upgrade to 750GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
No Additional Office Software
FREE Upgrade to Norton Internet Security(TM) 2011 - 15 Month Subscription (activation required)
6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.5 hours of battery life +++
15.6" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366x768)
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN with Wireless Display Support
Standard Keyboard
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Price: $1,174.99
Coupon: –$387.75
Price after savings: $787.24

Same thing I'm getting, with the upgraded GPU. Haven't ordered yet, I'll be able to on Tuesday.

I'm pretty sure I'm using the same coupon as you too. Someone posted it here earlier.

 

[K.Jack]

For as long as that coupon is active, there's no point in recommending anything else, unless it's for someone whose budget is $1k or above.

There's no touching it right now.

 

[Owzers]

HP allegedly has the worst reliability rating out of the top manufacturers, are you guys comfortable buying them?

also for anyone who owns the dv6, does the bottom get warm/hot when on your lap?

 

[BoobPhysics101]

"destroys" is a bit extreme when off the paper. the 540m is paired with a much better cpu, and pulls down around 8000 to 9000ish in 3dMark 2006. the 8800 gt gets from 9000 to 10000.

that said (and as you said), he shouldn't expect to run the witcher 2 at the same levels he runs me2 at. me2 is not a terribly taxing game -- it has really low geometry (expertly hid behind great art direction and vaseline-grade use of post-processing) -- but the witcher 2 is pretty beastly. on a 540m, you'll be lucky to pull down 30 fps at 1366x768 @ medium. (which is still very pretty and playable.)

The 540m only scores 8k-9k in 3dmark06, even with its much better processor? That's sad... that means that if the 540m had the same CPU as the 8800 GT was tested with, it'd score MUCH worse.

For reference, I hit 11.8k 3dmark06 with my 360M GTS/Core i5, both overclocked. I think I was hitting like 10k~ without overclocking. That means with overclocking the 540m could almost squeak up to my stock speeds... could be better.

That HP with the 6770m is a great deal. I would've bought that if I hadn't scored such a good deal on my G60JX.

 

[Sew]

Status of my Clevo Horize P150HMA: "Build in progress."

hurry

 

[CrunchyFrog]

HP allegedly has the worst reliability rating out of the top manufacturers, are you guys comfortable buying them?

also for anyone who owns the dv6, does the bottom get warm/hot when on your lap?

I'd like to hear this out too. Thinking about getting the same config as the above. Should I spring the extra $99 for a 2 year warranty?

Also, when's that updated thread supposed to come out?

 

[K.Jack]

Status of my Clevo Horize P150HMA: "Build in progress."

hurry

What specs did you choose?

I'm dying to get my P170HM. Hopefully it gets shipped this week.

 

[poppabk]

HP allegedly has the worst reliability rating out of the top manufacturers, are you guys comfortable buying them?

also for anyone who owns the dv6, does the bottom get warm/hot when on your lap?

My 'premium' series HP HDX-16 has some build quality issues, and some major over heating issues. That said it is still going strong after 1.5 years, which has included some heavy gaming. The dv6 I saw at best buy looked a lot better in terms of build quality, however that is the off the shelf version, versus a custom build.

 

[Quixzlizx]

I basically want a laptop with that HP's specs, only with a 1080p screen instead. It sucks that there's no upgrade option.

 

[K.Jack]

I basically want a laptop with that HP's specs, only with a 1080p screen instead. It sucks that there's no upgrade option.

Unfortunately, under $1k, there's no gaming rigs with 1080p.

 

[poppabk]

I basically want a laptop with that HP's specs, only with a 1080p screen instead. It sucks that there's no upgrade option.

Yeah the options for laptops 15" and below with 1080p screens is pretty limited.

 

[Kenka]

I basically want a laptop with that HP's specs, only with a 1080p screen instead. It sucks that there's no upgrade option.

Go with anything that has a 1080p screen and a Mobility 5870 inside. It's the best bang for buck right now. It should hover around 1.1 k $. And : don't pay much attention to wherever or not the laptop has a Sandy Bridge processor or not. SB CPUs bottleneck most GPUs around, including the 540M.

 

[mrklaw]

how much better is the ATI 6550 compared to the 5470? There are a bunch of HP laptops with 5470s for around £500 (although some have i3s, I'd try for the i5), and another for £700 with i5 480M/4GB and a 6550 (with 1GB dedicated memory).

so eg
£529 = core i3 370M, 4GB, ATI 5470 w/512MB
£599 = core i5 460M, 4GB, ATI 5470 w/512MB
£699 = core i5 480M, 4GB, ATI 6550 w/1GB

Its just for a family/kids computer but I want it to be able to run minecraft and trackmania really well, and have a good chance at running trackmania 2 and maybe lego star wars well. something that'll play reasonable family games at decent quality for a good few years basically.

 

[Kenka]

how much better is the ATI 6550 compared to the 5470? There are a bunch of HP laptops with 5470s for around £500 (although some have i3s, I'd try for the i5), and another for £700 with i5 480M/4GB and a 6550 (with 1GB dedicated memory).

so eg
£529 = core i3 370M, 4GB, ATI 5470 w/512MB
£599 = core i5 460M, 4GB, ATI 5470 w/512MB
£699 = core i5 480M, 4GB, ATI 6550 w/1GB

Its just for a family/kids computer but I want it to be able to run minecraft and trackmania really well, and have a good chance at running trackmania 2 and maybe lego star wars well.

It's noticeably better. I would suggest you to stay in the 5650/6650/540M range. I would disapprove the purchase of anything below. I may be wrong but I think that these laptops were somewhat less expensive one or two months ago.

 

[mrklaw]

ok thanks. Be nice if there was something in that spec range for a little closer to £500.. Will keep looking and create a baseline at 5650/6650/540M as you recommend.

edit: dell have an inspiron 15R with i5-2410M and Nvidia 1GB 525M for £678 - is the increased CPU worth the slightly lower performing GPU? Alternatively for £598 they have an XPS15 with i5 480M and 1GB GT420M

 

[CrunchyFrog]

Go with anything that has a 1080p screen and a Mobility 5870 inside. It's the best bang for buck right now. It should hover around 1.1 k $. And : don't pay much attention to wherever or not the laptop has a Sandy Bridge processor or not. SB CPUs bottleneck most GPUs around, including the 540M.

What's the bottlenecking like for a 6770M @ 1GB GDDR5, i7-2630qm, and 6GB DDR3?

 

[BoobPhysics101]

ok thanks. Be nice if there was something in that spec range for a little closer to £500.. Will keep looking and create a baseline at 5650/6650/540M as you recommend.

edit: dell have an inspiron 15R with i5-2410M and Nvidia 1GB 525M for £678 - is the increased CPU worth the slightly lower performing GPU? Alternatively for £598 they have an XPS15 with i5 480M and 1GB GT420M

A worse GPU should never be traded for a better CPU. CPU's can be overclocked (which essentially makes them as good as the higher part numbers) but a GPU is going to have differences in hardware (shaders, ROPs) etc.

Always go for the better GPU + worse CPU.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Go with anything that has a 1080p screen and a Mobility 5870 inside. It's the best bang for buck right now. It should hover around 1.1 k $. And : don't pay much attention to wherever or not the laptop has a Sandy Bridge processor or not. SB CPUs bottleneck most GPUs around, including the 540M.

Um, I think you have that a little backwards. CPU's in laptops far outpace their GPU's. A Sandy Bridge CPU isn't the bottleneck, even in a 6970m-equipped system, quite the opposite: the GPU is the bottleneck. If that were the case, a Sandy Bridge processor would be bottlenecking GTX 590's and Radeon 6990's.

Even when I overclock my CPU by 1 Ghz the GPU is still the limiting factor in my performance.

 

[Kenka]

What's the bottlenecking like for a 6770M @ 1GB GDDR5, i7-2630qm, and 6GB DDR3?

Well, you're eyeing an HP Dv6t ? The config is good, I've not seen any benchmark of it but the graphics card is on par with a 5850. Not bad at all, but not a card for enthusiastic. It is not that much better than a 540M to be honest. And yes, it would be bottlenecked by its SB CPU.

You guys have to realize that SB builds are far less balanced than what we used to have before they were introduced as far as gaming is concerned. It's great for emulation of course but you may still buy a first-gen i5 and a better GPU and still have more bang for your buck.

 

[mrklaw]

I think thats what he means

 

[mrklaw]

Well, you're eyeing an HP Dv6t ? The config is good, I've not seen any benchmark of it but the graphics card is on par with a 5850. Not bad at all, but not a card for enthusiastic. It is not that much better than a 540M to be honest. And yes, it would be bottlenecked by its SB CPU.

You guys have to realize that SB builds are far less balanced than what we used to have before they were introduced as far as gaming is concerned. It's great for emulation of course but you may still buy a first-gen i5 and a better GPU and still have more bang for your buck.

sure, but as there isn't anything out now that'll stretch a SB, why not just accept the GPU will be the limiting factor?

so if you want a laptop purely for gaming, then you might not need a SB processor. But for general computing it might be something you want anyway - accepting that you won't get a noticable bump in games.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Well, you're eyeing an HP Dv6t ? The config is good, I've not seen any benchmark of it but the graphics card is on par with a 5850. Not bad at all, but not a card for enthusiastic. It is not that much better than a 540M to be honest. And yes, it would be bottlenecked by its SB CPU.

You guys have to realize that SB builds are far less balanced than what we used to have before they were introduced as far as gaming is concerned. It's great for emulation of course but you may still buy a first-gen i5 and a better GPU and still have more bang for your buck.

Ok, I don't think you know what bottlenecking means.

Bottlenecking means that performance is limited by your CPU, i.e. if you overclock your CPU, you will get a drastic increase in FPS. Another example would be turning on AA, etc and not having any FPS hit at all, and then overclocking your CPU getting big FPS boosts. This would be bottlenecking.

You just contradicted yourself by saying you could buy an i5 and better GPU and have more bang for your buck... uh, duh? Because the #1 limiting factor in performance is the GPU, not the CPU. That's why the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU.

Like I said before, CPU's aren't the limiting factor in laptop performance...

 

[CrunchyFrog]

Well, in any case, bottlenecking isn't a huge concern for me. I don't plan on any enthusiast gaming, I just want a laptop able to run current gen games at medium-ish settings and be somewhat future proof for at least 3-4 years.

Which brings me to my bigger concern: anybody else have any words about HP's reliability/built quality/customer service? Should I be springing the extra hundred for a 2 year warranty?

 

[mrklaw]

bottlenecking just means what it describes - a narrow opening preventing the full flow of something. So its not limited to CPU, you can be bottlenecked by lots of things on a computer - the CPU, GPU, HDD etc.

On a laptop, I would think the GPU (for gaming) is one clear bottleneck as the mobile variants are limited compared to the desktop ones. And slow HDDs can be too.

 

[Owzers]

Well, in any case, bottlenecking isn't a huge concern for me. I don't plan on any enthusiast gaming, I just want a laptop able to run current gen games at medium-ish settings and be somewhat future proof for at least 3-4 years.

Which brings me to my bigger concern: anybody else have any words about HP's reliability/built quality/customer service? Should I be springing the extra hundred for a 2 year warranty?

reading more about them both the dv6 and dv7 quad edition looks REALLY slick in video form but the reviews are all over the place. The dv7 quad edition for ~$900 comes with a 2 year warranty and a 1600x900 screen instead of the 15.6'' 1366x768/1year warranty. Hopefully the Cool Sense technology in the quad editions actually helps keep the system cooler. I don't know if i can spend that much on an HP laptop though, i feel like it's a trap. Asus is supposed to refresh their U30 13.3'' line with sandy bridge/better graphics cards soon, i may wait for that but i'm tired of waiting.

 

[K.Jack]

Well, you're eyeing an HP Dv6t ? The config is good, I've not seen any benchmark of it but the graphics card is on par with a 5850. Not bad at all, but not a card for enthusiastic. It is not that much better than a 540M to be honest. And yes, it would be bottlenecked by its SB CPU.

You guys have to realize that SB builds are far less balanced than what we used to have before they were introduced as far as gaming is concerned. It's great for emulation of course but you may still buy a first-gen i5 and a better GPU and still have more bang for your buck.

There's a 40% jump from the 540M to the 6770M, then another ~30% gap between the 6770M and 5850M.

 

[gdt]

I finally get to order that baby tomorrow. Any idea how long it'll take to get it in my hands?

 

[GuardianE]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Did you order yet? I put in a coupon and this is what came out:

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Quad Core(TM) i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
FREE Upgrade to 750GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
No Additional Office Software
FREE Upgrade to Norton Internet Security(TM) 2011 - 15 Month Subscription (activation required)
6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.5 hours of battery life +++
15.6" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366x768)
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN with Wireless Display Support
Standard Keyboard
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Price: $1,174.99
Coupon: –$387.75
Price after savings: $787.24

What coupon is this? The one on the previous page doesn't work anymore.

 

[Owzers]

What coupon is this? The one on the previous page doesn't work anymore.

NB8095 - 33% off customized dv6t quads. Note the option to upgrade to a 7200rpm drive for free and make sure to upgrade to the 6770 graphics card.

 

[GuardianE]

NB8095 - 33% off customized dv6t quads. Note the option to upgrade to a 7200rpm drive for free and make sure to upgrade to the 6770 graphics card.

Thanks! It's better to get the addition RPM versus getting additonal space? Pretty noobish here on hardware.

 

[Owzers]

Thanks! It's better to get the addition RPM versus getting additonal space? Pretty noobish here on hardware.

I'm noobish too outside of lots of research but everywhere this question gets asked the answer is typically " get the 7200rpm , faster = better than more storage space" The only downside i think there is to faster drives is that they generate more heat? But still, you'll probably want the 7200rpm

 

[Sew]

New Clevo Horize is on the road I should have it by this time tomorrow.

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

Anybody want to buy my m11x r1 ?
500 gb hdd, 4gb ram, core2duo, bluetooth, WWAN card.

PM me with any offers! Still has a month or 2 warranty.

 

[mrklaw]

NB8095 - 33% off customized dv6t quads. Note the option to upgrade to a 7200rpm drive for free and make sure to upgrade to the 6770 graphics card.

That's crazy. In the uk I can even find quads on HP's site, and dual core laptops with lesser GPUs are around twice that price..

Any good UK-based recommendations for a mid-tier gaming laptop?

 

[gdt]

I'm noobish too outside of lots of research but everywhere this question gets asked the answer is typically " get the 7200rpm , faster = better than more storage space" The only downside i think there is to faster drives is that they generate more heat? But still, you'll probably want the 7200rpm

So, take the 640/7200 rpm rather than the one with more space?

 

[gdt]

Ordered the Dv6! Final price: $834.48 (after taxes).

Estimated build date: May 11. . They're just over estimating there, right :/?

 

[torontoml]

Posted on the Off topic side because I'm not looking for a gaming laptop, but this seems to be fairly active.

I figure the most taxing programs I will use would be autocad and similar structural programs, other than that there won't really be anything that will need a lot of power. I usually watch stuff on my PS3/TV, but I will still watch things on my laptop when I don't have access to my tv, so half decent speakers would be nice. I'm in Canada so keep that in mind please with your site suggestions.

Looking for 15" screen, find its a good size for mobility while still giving a decent screen size. I want to say $800 or less but that still seems a little high for me.

I was actually looking at these two leaning more toward the Asus;

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00451A15Y/
http://www.dell.com/ca/p/xps-l502x/pd?oc=nxps152_ft_1e&model_id=xps-l502x

 

[gdt]

Posted on the Off topic side because I'm not looking for a gaming laptop, but this seems to be fairly active.

I figure the most taxing programs I will use would be autocad and similar structural programs, other than that there won't really be anything that will need a lot of power. I usually watch stuff on my PS3/TV, but I will still watch things on my laptop when I don't have access to my tv, so half decent speakers would be nice. I'm in Canada so keep that in mind please with your site suggestions.

Looking for 15" screen, find its a good size for mobility while still giving a decent screen size. I want to say $800 or less but that still seems a little high for me.

I was actually looking at these two leaning more toward the Asus;

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00451A15Y/
http://www.dell.com/ca/p/xps-l502x/pd?oc=nxps152_ft_1e&model_id=xps-l502x

Don't wanna hammer it in, but at the price range everyone seems to be recommending the HP quad core dv6t. I just ordered that. I'm not that knowledgeable, but apparently that's a pretty capable laptop, you could probably lower your budget if you're not looking for a gaming laptop.

 

[Sew]

Clevo Horize P150HMA impressions.

• Screen is nice. Very crisp with great viewing angles.
• Keyboard is spacious. It has a nice, almost mechanical feel.
• These trackpads have a bit of a reputation for being ordinary, and it is justified. It's not a fast or particularly nice surface. If you put a high value on that smooth glass feel (ala Macbook), don't buy this. Personally I hate all trackpads, so it's a non issue.
• I've heard these things are bad for fan noise. At idle I can't hear it over my supposedly quiet desktop. Haven't wound it up yet.
• Rubberised finish on lid and palm rest is interesting. Finger print proof, and I suppose it provides some shock resistance.
• The case construction could be more solid. At the bottom right of the palm rest, it kind of flexes and creaks when you push it hard. I only discovered this by pushing hard though, it's not noticeable in normal use.
• Visually the design is nice. Size-wise it's a bit of a slab, but it's well hidden in the angles.
• Power brick is bringing BRICK back.
• Comes with actual Win7 OEM disc, which is good. Other stuff as you'd expect; driver disc, user manual, easter eggs. Free carry bag is pretty basic, but will see me through until I drop proper coin on a backpack.

One the whole I'm very happy, I expected the minor niggles based on other reviews so there were no surprises. This thing is about performance, not cup holders. And it's time to take it for a spin.

 

[K.Jack]

Niiiice. In fact, I just got the tracking email stating that my P170HM will get to me on Monday.

 

[Kenka]

Ok, I don't think you know what bottlenecking means.

Bottlenecking means that performance is limited by your CPU, i.e. if you overclock your CPU, you will get a drastic increase in FPS. Another example would be turning on AA, etc and not having any FPS hit at all, and then overclocking your CPU getting big FPS boosts. This would be bottlenecking.

You just contradicted yourself by saying you could buy an i5 and better GPU and have more bang for your buck... uh, duh? Because the #1 limiting factor in performance is the GPU, not the CPU. That's why the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU.

Like I said before, CPU's aren't the limiting factor in laptop performance...

My bad ! It will teach me to use vocabular that I don't grasp. I'll use the expression "limiting factor" from now on. And yes, the limiting factor in most of these laptops is not the CPU. What I meant was that the GPUs performance is so low that you wouldn't see a general increase in quality while gaming if you beef the CPU up. The lowest Sandy Bridge CPU will give the exact same performance in game as a high-end one if you use a 540M as a GPU.

 

[SapientWolf]

Ordered the Dv6! Final price: $834.48 (after taxes).

Estimated build date: May 11. . They're just over estimating there, right :/?

Under, if anything. Mine was scheduled to ship on April 19th and now they're saying May 3rd.

 

[EXGN]

The HP being mentioned in this last page or so looks great, but are they reliable? Kinda in the market for a new laptop after seeing some recent Witcher screen, but I had an HP in college and it was the biggest piece of shit of the four-five laptops I've owned.

Ran well for like the first four months, then I had to send it in under warranty to get stuff replaced like every 3-4 months. Hard drives would die biannually, had some graphics card issues, battery problems, etc. Everything that could go wrong did. Even when I had it and it was "working" it would over heat regularly from basic YouTube and internet browsing. Finally died for good after like 2.5 years of owning it.

I've had 2 Toshibas and 1 Sony and they've lasted 3-4 years under extensive use, lots of gaming with almost no issues. So yeah, have HP shaped up since like 2008ish?

 

[Sew]

Niiiice. In fact, I just got the tracking email stating that my P170HM will get to me on Monday.

I have you to thank for putting me on this path. After a night of butter-smooth 1080p gaming I am one happy camper!

 

[Houston3000]

Under, if anything. Mine was scheduled to ship on April 19th and now they're saying May 3rd.

Mine was scheduled to ship on the April 14th and it got delayed until the April 27th

Guess they're having stock issues

 

[Owzers]

The HP being mentioned in this last page or so looks great, but are they reliable? Kinda in the market for a new laptop after seeing some recent Witcher screen, but I had an HP in college and it was the biggest piece of shit of the four-five laptops I've owned.

Ran well for like the first four months, then I had to send it in under warranty to get stuff replaced like every 3-4 months. Hard drives would die biannually, had some graphics card issues, battery problems, etc. Everything that could go wrong did. Even when I had it and it was "working" it would over heat regularly from basic YouTube and internet browsing. Finally died for good after like 2.5 years of owning it.

I've had 2 Toshibas and 1 Sony and they've lasted 3-4 years under extensive use, lots of gaming with almost no issues. So yeah, have HP shaped up since like 2008ish?

i also don't like how on the Warranty and Support tab it says the dv6t select and quad editions have 2 year warranties but the Overview page says 1 year. People have contacted customer service and eventually the reps said something along the lines of " i guess it has 2 years but our repair service hasn't updated the serial numbers" etc etc etc or some type of garbage. I really hate it when companies can't update their details properly as if i'm okay with guessing what HP really does.