Customer Reviews

HP Pavilion DV6-1230US 15.6-Inch Entertainment Laptop

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Recently I purchased a different version of this HP DV6 laptop for my mother-in-law and I looked at this model during that process (all HP DV6 laptop models share a common chassis and only vary on a few components). The first thing about the DV6 line that impressed me was the build quality. It is well constructed with a metallic toned black plastic exterior. Take a good look at the shell art since it is something that may not appeal to everyone but 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.

The specs for this model are aimed at someone focused on web browsing and office type applications who wants superb battery life:

CPU - The Core 2 duo is the best performing notebook CPU on the market and the T6500 included with this computer is a mid-range Core2 Duo (2.1 GHZ w/2MB cache). It can handle two threads which means you can have the virus scanner running while you surf the web with no noticeable slowdown. It's not the highest performing CPU out there today but it's far above what you need for non-gaming tasks and it has a enough performance head-room to keep your computer from becoming outdated anytime soon.

RAM - The 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.

HDD - 320GB plenty is far more space than you need now but again, I like the future proofing. Some people may not like that it is 5400 RPM vs. 7200 RPM but the performance difference for home users is nearly zero and the reliability of 5400 RPM drives makes me prefer them in notebooks which are hard on hard disks (because they move around while in use notebook HDDs suffer far more failures than desktop drives)

Graphics - While I am a fan of Intel CPUs their graphics performance has lagged the competition. The good news is that the integrated Intel 4500MHD graphics controller in this model is a step up from previous Intel offerings and all most home users will need. I still wouldn't recommend you try and run graphics hungry 3-D games on it but it's fine for playing videos, surfing the web, doing light gaming, and running office applications.

Display - I like this 15.6" display though I got my mother-in-law the 16" version of the DV6. While a little smaller than what I settled on it is far superior to the 14-15" screens you usually see in this price range.

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 - For years the retail notebook market has been plagued with cheap six cell and even four cell batteries that could barely deliver 90 minutes of real computing use. To see HP bundle a 12 cell Li-Ion battery in with this notebook is hopefully a sign the industry is recognizing that notebook users want good battery life. 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. You will be hard pressed to find another laptop in this price range with a batter this good. Most will have a 6 cell.

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.

To wrap it all up: a good computer for home users who don't plan on running high-end games and who looking for something with above average build quality and really good battery life.

Note: I was going to buy this laptop from Amazon but I saw the same model at Office Depot for $650.

CPU - The T6500 is great for General usage. It's okay for gaming and HD playback too.

RAM - 4GB makes multitasking a breeze

Hard Drive - The main partition is 285GB with a 12.5GB recovery partition. 285GBs is a nice size to work with too it'll take long, long time to fill that up.

Graphics - The 4500MHD is okay for light gaming like Counter-Strike. It also does HD playback fine.

Sound - This laptop has great speakers. They don't get too loud but that's fine. The quality of the sound is great.

Battery - Will last a good long while and is better than most laptops. Most laptops have 6 cell batteries, this one has a 12 cell. Also the battery sticks out from the bottom. Some people may not like it but it is also a good thing because heat won't get stuck under the laptop.

Heat - This laptop will get warm from extended use. It gets slightly uncomfortable to type on because of it. It's not really that bad though.

Keyboard - This laptop is easy to type on. I can type really fast on it. It is a full keyboard with a numpad so most of your keys are there.
The Home, End, Pgup, PGdown, keys are above the trackpad and delete is above the backspace.

Trackpad - The trackpad may seem a little hard to move on at first but after a while it becomes smooth. You can also turn it on and off with a button conveniently placed above it if you want to use a mouse. It also has a scroll bar.

Other Thoughts - This laptop has 2 head phone hacks. Both are in the front. I'd prefer one in the front then one in the side or back for speakers.

HP Logo on the cover lights up when the laptop is on. This annoys me when I leave my laptop on overnight and I have to put something over the light to cover it because it's kinda bright.

The remote it comes with is kind of small and it can be difficult to push the buttons but it still is a nice addition so I don't have to get up and pause, skip, etc. on the keyboard.

NOTE: This laptop only has the touch volume controls and a touch wifi button. There is no Play, Pause, Stop, etc. touch buttons on this model. That was kind of a disappointment because I have to press Fn+F12 if I want to change songs.

Overall this a great laptop and I am pleased with my purchase

I purchased this for my college bound daughter. I had it up and running for her in under 20 minutes - that includes the time it took me to get the wireless internet. This laptop has a very artsy cover that will make any student look extra cool.

Great Things about this laptop for your student:

Size: It's light enough to carry around but still sturdy. I suggest a targus messanger bag. [...]

Battery: 12 cell battery will keep you going most of the day. It does stick out the back some, so your laptop is not as skinny as it would be with a smaller battery.

Power/Speed: This laptop is fast. I was impressed with how fast it would start up and run all the applications. There's lots of ram and the graphics are awesome.

Software: There is a 2 month trial version of Windows Office for students. If you want to keep it, all you have to do is enter your serial number (can be purchased online), there's no long install.

DVD : No need to have a TV too, watch your DVDs on this laptop! Even has a tiny remote control.

Huge Hard Drive: 320 gigs. You could use it for years without deleting anything.

User Input: The keyboard is great. It is a full keyboard and the keys only require a light touch. You can input a lot of information quickly. The trackpad is a little annoying, but I prefer a mouse. My daughter likes it.

Overall, this is a great buy. My daughter loves hers and it meets the requirements of all the colleges in this area.

Others have posted comprehensive reviews, so I just want to add a note about the battery that I don't think any of the reviews so far have mentioned.

There is a plug in the 12-cell battery which permits you to charge the battery separate from the laptop -- just plug it into the charger. The very first laptop I ever owned, a WinBook, had this feature and I have been amazed that it is not standard in every laptop. The battery even has it's own flashing light to indicate the charging status.

With a second battery, this makes life a lot easier. For example, when I'm at an all-day deposition, I don't need to bring and run an extension cord from a wall socket to the conference table out of concern that my battery will die. Rather, I can just use the laptop with the battery while I charge another battery at a wall socket across the room. Get a spare power brick ($11 on ebay), and you can just plug in the battery to charge at night like you charge your cell phone, without having to pull out your laptop and charger.

The short version. This laptop is great. The long version. This laptop meets all the basic functions and features expected of laptop today.

Pro's: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6500 2.10GHz, (ANY GHz AT 2.0 OR ABOVE IS EXCELLENT)

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD (GOOD FOR WATCHING HD VIDEOS AND CAN HANDLE MOST GAMES REQUIRING HD GRAPHICS)

4 GB DDR2 RAM (2 Dimm) (8 GB Maximum) (THE IMPORTANT NUMBER IF {4GB}. THIS MEANS YOU COMPUTER SHOULD HANDLE GAMES WITH LOTS OF ACTION AND
GRAPHICS)

320GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive (SATA) (YOU HAVE TO TRY REALLY HARD TO FILL THIS UP. If you have 1000 dvd's and put them on your machine you
will have space left to download songs and install games)***1gb mp3 player can hold about 500 songs,
do the math***
SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with LightScribe and Double Layer Support (burn cd's and make your own label)

Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition with Service Pack 1 (THE IMPORTANT NUMBER HERE IS 64-bit. This means you have a really fast
operating system. Put it this way. 32 bit is better than 64-bit.)

15.6 inch Diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Display (1366x768) (NICE BRIGHT SCREEN THAT IS VISIBLE IN LOW LIGHT OR BRIGHT LIGHT)

SD Card Reader

Tv tuner with remote

Cool touch volume interface (no actual buttons to turn volume up and down)

Webcam with microphone.

Larger battery provides longer battery life and helps keep vents free so the laptop stays relatively cool on your lap or whichever surface you put
it on.

Comfortable keyboard for it's size.

Great for a teen, college student or someone that wants a laptop that looks unique out the box.

Con's: 2 usb ports

attracts dust easily

Bigger battery makes the machine a little heavy.

Finish is a fingerprint magnet. Actually, a fingerprint and smudge black hole.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Many reviews do not tell you this but be sure to run an update within the first week of using the laptop. Be be sure to but some blank
dvd's and make your own recovery cd's. Amazon does not provide one with the computer so if your laptop crashes and you did not do it then
you have to fork OUT AT LEAST $50 to get the right recovery discs. BE SURE TO AT LEAST RUN THE UPDATE BECAUSE THE ARE MANY.

Bad:
--------
- The DV6-1230US does NOT, I repeat, DOES NOT have Firewire! I was mislead by all the photos and even the photos provided by HP that this sku has FireWire. Amazon Customer Service sent me a replacement and didnt really understand the issue so I received the exact same model with the exact same problem. Does it mention Firewire in their product specs? No but I can't trust their specs either since it says "2.1 hertz" instead of 2.1 Gigahertz.

- Fingerprints galore. I ignored this complaint and now I can see what people are saying.

- HP Bloatware. I was able to remedy this by uninstalling most of the unneeded software. Some of HPs Total Care and advisor software can be handy at times so I just disabled it from Windows Startup. Their HP Update software has issues with software update version conflicts. The More Info links dont work. A problem on HPs site and not related to the laptop.

- Why did HP stick with DDR2 instead of DDR3?

- the keys feel cheap and like they can fall off.

The Good:
---------
- Very slick looking design. After removing various bloatware, performance is decent considering its running Vista.
- HDMI on a 50" plasma looks incredible!
- Battery life is actually pretty good when there isnt much hard drive activity.
- Webcam quality is good. I have fun with their webcam software with avatar and effects.
- Enjoy having the Media remote.
- fairly portable for the screensize and 12 cell battery.
- dual headphone jacks make for easier movie watching for two people while traveling
- stays pretty cool except for the battery charger

I gave it four stars, so obviously I like it. Nice look and design, although the light up HP logo on the back may bother some since one cannot turn it off while the laptop is on (EDIT - after 4 months, I don't even notice it-so don't worry). As far as laptops go it's good, 4 USB ports ( actually 3, but another port can act as a USB anyways, for a total of 4), craploads of other random things like HDMI, SD, etc. Screen is pretty good, not as much glare.

It didn't come with as much preinstalled software as I expected, so there shouldn't be much of a problem uninstalling those if you want to. Norton and Microsoft Office are both trial versions, so too bad. (Get Microsoft Office 2010 beta for free!)

Only problems I really have with it is that the optical drive, or CD drive, tends to vibrate and get a bit noisy while reading discs at high speed, and the battery sticks out from the bottom. Normally this would help, given that it presents a sort of tilt for the laptop, making it easier to use the keyboard. But since the bottom of the laptop is not normalized, it can be awkward to place on certain surfaces

For one thing, I have no real idea about what laptop cooler to buy because of it... Coolers are designed to be close to the bottom right? And given that some coolers also give a slight tilt to the laptop, there may be something called TOO much tilt to the keyboard...

Anyways, the battery is 12 cells instead of 6 cells, so that it last for about 5 hours rather than 3, although this si why the battery sticks out from the bottom, it's pretty big. The remote control is a nice touch, even though it seems you can
only use it for the HP Real media player.

EDIT:

I have to mention that the graphics card on this computer is INTEGRATED (which in the gaming world means ****)

I somehow got Call of Duty Modern Warfare ONE to play on lowest settings with good FPS (zero lag), and Left 4 Dead 2 on this computer with slightly OK FPS (lags in certain scenes, unplayable after an hour or so) But I'm not even going to try to play something like COD MW2 or Dragon Age Origins on this computer...

It got hella hot with L4D2, and that was with a laptop cooler
Although I know that most gamers will avoid a computer like this, if it's light gaming the computer will do fine.

Older games, with a release date around 2006 or before will play fine, even on higher settings

After 1 month of constant use I am very satisfied. Although this is not a gaming computer, it still handles well. I was able to run Superbike '09 smoothly on high graphic settings. The system may not come with bluetooth, but it can be added on through a USB port for less than USD$10. Functions well as an entertainment system, connected logitech X530 surround sound speakers, however, an external sound card is needed to get true surround sound. Only drawback is the glossy finish. It may be beautiful to look at but it picks up fingerprints easily. Lots of hard drive space & the ability to increase memory. Nice touch in including a remote, it comes in handy for DVD playback. Wireless works very well, speakers are very clear & loud for a laptop. The 12 cell battery is a nice addition, it handles extended use well & although may seem bulky (it protrudes about 3/4") this seems to be an advantage since the hot air dissipates through the underside rather than being trapped as with a laptop that sits flat. A very good buy for the price. I have already recommended this to a co worker who bought one and is also pleased with the product. Another family member would be purchasing one shortly. Delivery of the item was very fast, would recommend this product to everyone.

I purchased this laptop over a year ago from staples after being talked out of a Sony Vaio. Well lets just say the day i got it the motherboard was defective. So i send it in to hp and they fix it for free because they have been having this issue with this specific model. So I get it back a few weeks later and it is working fine. Well after using it for a bit i notice some problems. When using the web cam that is built in the web cam can become disconnected. i dont know why but the same thing can also happen with the built in speakers. Also sometimes if you have the internet or volume shut off and you close the lid (putting it in sleep mode) when you re-open the lid sometimes you cannot get the internet or sound to come on. You have to restart. Finally The biggest problem i have noticed is that this laptop has a very hard time running programs like Google Chrome, Windows Media Player, and Itunes when it is not plugged in. Sometimes windows itself stops responding. this laptop is almost useless when it isnt plugged in... You may think this is the end but no after 4 months of use the motherboard again has an issue. so i send it away and get it back in a few weeks. a couple months go by and im still having all the "normal issues" until again the mother board dies... I find out that Hp does not upgrade your defective motherboard they just replace it with the same defective motherboard model. Now i am arguing with HP monthly about getting my warranty extended because i am having motherboard issues as well as issues with the fan. I warn you against purchasing this laptop. Hp has a very bad reputation when it comes to things like this and i am an example of that.

I bought this laptop close to four months ago. While I am not disappointed with this laptop, I would not call it a good deal either. The images are completely misleading.

1. The extra laptop battery [12 CELL] adds to the weight and also adds a incline while you type( some people like this, but I dont) . I used a 14 inch laptop earlier and the battery makes this laptop a lot heavier. This is not shown in the image either.

2. There is no FIREWIRE.

3. The heat - I have run windows vista for 2 months and have used windows 7 (early edition) for 2 months with this laptop. I also dual boot with ubuntu. The laptop heats up a lot when running windows (its better with windows 7). You cannot have it on your lap for even 10 minutes. The cooling system literally does not even exist.

4. The noise - When running multiple processes and heavy applications, it screams out. It is kind of annoying when you open photoshop and you will see a dozen eyes looking your way, thanks to the sound.

5. CD Drive - pathetic and slow. And it screams a lot too.

6. Graphics memory - i really do not see any difference with and without this, when I play games. The processor is no where near good.

7. The webcam could have been a lot better.

8. Its 4 months, and the keys are already feeling aged. Durability is not good.

9. I called the customer support for the keyboard. I do not even want to talk about it. Horrible service.

I jumped back to my 14" HP laptop 2.2 GHz processor - [ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ONCDKG?ie=UTF8&tag=mama0f-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002ONCDKG ], it runs a better processor and does not have most of the defects listed above.

On the other hand, I am satisfied with RAM, harddisk and trackpad. Value for money? NO!