HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition Review

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HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition Review

Posted by The Best Review Sunday, October 16, 2011 0 komentar

The HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition (dv6t-SE for short) is the configurable alternative to the flock of similar looking Pavilion laptops we've reviewed in recent months. Its AMD discrete graphics chipset and Intel Core i5 processor is a powerful combination when it comes to media creation and playing mid-range 3D games. Its six-hour battery life will make it a good companion on road trips. Plus it includes premium features like WiDi 2.0 and Beats Audio, something you might not expect at this $859.99 price.

Design
The dv6t-SE has a brushed aluminum finish, with a rough grain running vertically down the lid and palm rest. Our review unit has a rich umber color, but steel gray is also available. The aluminum construction is sturdy; there's no sign of flexing in the chassis, as seen with designs that rely on plastic construction. The dv6t-SE isn't the lightest or thinnest 15-inch laptop on the market; it measures 1.4 by 14.9 by 9.7 inches (HWD) and weighs in at 5.6 pounds. The Dell XPS 15z (Microsoft) ($999 direct, 4 stars) weighs 5.5 pounds and measures only 1 inch thick. It's the dv6t-SE's raised lip along the back edge of the lid that adds to its thickness.

The 15.6-inch widescreen display provides enough space for multitasking with side-by-side windows. The screen has a standard 1,366 by 768 resolution, but for an extra $150 you can upgrade to a 1,920 by 1,080 display. The dv6t-SE also comes standard with Beats Audio, HP's sound enhancement package. Compared with the audio found on most laptops, the sound quality was more consistent at higher volumes, and the bass is as good as you can get without an integrated subwoofer.

The Pavilion features HP's reliable and comfortable chiclet keyboard, with black matte keys and a contoured palm rest. Adjacent to the keyboard is a numeric keypad, and the keys are well-spaced, allowing you to comfortably type for long periods of time. It's similar to the keyboard found on the Dell Inspiron i15RN5110-7126DBK ($729.99 list, 4 stars), but the keys on the Pavilion have more squared corners and a lower key height. Just below the keyboard is a multitouch trackpad, and while the mouse buttons aren't as soft and quiet as those found on the Dell XPS 15z (Microsoft), they aren't overly loud or stiff either.

Features
The dv6t-SE comes equipped with an assortment of features including, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a media card reader (SD, MMC, MS/Pro), a VGA connection for an external monitor or projector, Ethernet and 802.11n Wi-Fi. While these features are fairly standard, you'll also find that you get a few special features as well, like dual headphone jacks, and an HDMI output to connect to an external monitor or HDTV. There's also WiDi 2.0, an Intel wireless technology that streams 1080p content to an HDTV, through, a Netgear Push2TV adapter (a separate $99 purchase).
The dv6t-SE's 640GB 7,200rpm hard drive is larger than the 500GB drive found in either the Samsung SF511-A02US ($729.99 list, 3.5) or the Dell XPS 15z (Microsoft), and faster than the 5,400rpm drive on the Dell i15RN5110-7126DBK. Our review unit came with a dual-layer DVD +/- RW optical drive, similar to the drives seen in the Acer Aspire TimelineX 5830TG-6402 ($799.99 direct, 3.5 stars) and Samsung SF511.
On the hard drive, you'll find a few programs come pre-installed, but not as many as you'll find on store-bought systems. A starter version of Microsoft Office 2011 and a 30-day trial of Norton Internet Security come standard, but you can pick up full versions of both while adjusting the specs of your custom configuration. HP also includes a few sample games from WildTangent, but that's the extent of the pre-installed software. Hewlett-Packard offers a one-year warranty standard with every purchased unit, but HP also offers two- and three-year extended care plans with house call service and accidental damage coverage for $229.99 and $329.99 respectively.

Specification

Type General Purpose, Desktop Replacement

Processor Name Intel Core i5-2410M

Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium

Processor Speed 2.3 GHz

RAM 6 GB

Weight 5.61 lb

Screen Size 15.6 inches

Screen Size Type Widescreen

Native Resolution 1366 x 768

Graphics Card AMD Radeon HD 6490M

Graphics Memory 1024

2nd Graphics Card Intel HD Graphics 3000