HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 VS Dell NEW Inspiron 14z Ultrabook

[saaketh]

Purpose: College. Battery life above 5 hours is good enough. Mostly browse the internet, code a lot. Occasional gaming, but a lot of video watching. Shouldn't heat up too much and shouldn't lag. The Dell is cheaper, so consider that too. And please tell me why you chose whichever one you choose. If you think there is another better option please, please mention! Thanks a lot!

Configuration of the HP and Price

Components
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3820QM Processor (2.7 GHz, 8MB L3 Cache)
• NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 630M Graphics with 1GB GDDR3 memory [HDMI, VGA]
• 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
• 640GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• NO mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
• No additional security software
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
• 15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366x768)
• FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam
• 802.11b/g/n WLAN
• Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad

FOR $1249

Configuration of Dell and Price

NEW Inspiron 14z Ultrabook™




Date 7/9/2012 1:40:13 PM Central Standard Time

Catalog Number 29 Retail 19


Catalog Number / Description Product Code Qty SKU Id



NEW Inspiron 14z:
NEW Inspiron 14z Ultrabook BM14BTX 1 [225-2951] 1


Processor:
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3517U processor (4M Cache, up to 3.0 GHz) 73517AN 1 [317-9995] 2


Operating System:
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-Bit, English W7HP64E 1 [421-7070] 11


Productivity Software:
Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook ISTART 1 [410-0487] 22


Memory:
8GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory 8GB2D16 1 [317-9771] 3


Hard Drive:
500GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD and 32GB mSATA SSD 50054MS 1 [342-4380] 8


Video Card:
AMD Radeon HD7570M 1GB AMD7570 1 [463-2282] 6


CD/DVD Drive:
8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) 8XDVDRW 1 [318-2014] 16


Hardware Support Services:
90 days Premium Phone Support + 1 Year In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis T1O90P 1 [420-8878][950-3337][950-9797][960-2780][991-5814][991-5824][991-6213] 29


Security Software:
McAfee® SecurityCenter, 15-Months FMCE15M 1 [410-0579] 25


System Color:
Moon Silver SVRNWW 1 [318-2010] 10


LCD:
14 inch High Definition LED Display (1366 x 768) with Truelife WLED14 1 [320-3279] 5


Battery:
6-cell 44 WHr Lithium Ion Battery 6BAT 1 [312-1335] 27


Wireless:
Dell Wireless 1703 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0 DW1703 1 [430-4707] 19


Sound:
Skullcandy audio with WaveMaxx 4.0 IS 1 [318-1676] 17


Network Card:
Integrated 10/100 Network Card INTNIC 1 [430-3605] 13


Keyboard:
Chiclet Keyboard with Gesture TouchPad, ENGLISH

FOR $999

--- Saaketh

 

[edit1754]

First, you should not buy the HP DV6t Quad Edition in any configuration that includes the default 1366x768 display and not the upgraded 1920x1080 display, unless you require larger text for eyesight-related reasons. 1366x768 resolution in a 15.6" display makes things onscreen large, and 15.6" displays that have 1366x768 resolution tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast like many low-end laptop displays do. The 1920x1080 display is excellent in terms of contrast, viewing angles (it is supposedly IPS), glare reduction (it's matte), and multitasking workspace. But it is more than missing out on a great display if you don't upgrade, it's also an issue of how bad the default 1366x768 display is.

Second, if you plan on playing any recent GPU-intensive games, then you should probably upgrade the GPU to the GT 650M, because it will yield considerably higher framerates than the GT 630M would. Select the cheaper 1GB version of the GT 650M, because the extra memory provided by the 2GB version will not make a difference on a GPU of this level.

Third, you shouldn't upgrade the processor to the 3820QM, and you generally shouldn't upgrade to the 3720QM. Stick with the base 3610QM. The upgraded processors only have minimal performance advantages that do not justify their respective upgrade costs, and are primarily for users who will specifically take advantage of the extra instruction sets (VT-d, etc.) provided by the higher CPU options.

------------------

Here is a better configuration of the HP DV6t Quad Edition:

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]
8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
640GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
NO mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
No additional security software
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
15.6-inch diagonal Full HD Anti-glare LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)
FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam
802.11b/g/n WLAN
Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Follow this link: http/www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/load_configuration.do?destination=review&config_id=7319186 and apply coupon code HP4PCMAG to make it $974

Consider upgrading to a 7200RPM hard drive, and consider the backlit keyboard upgrade. Don't downgrade the display to 1366x768 for reasons unrelated to eyesight. Don't downgrade to the GT 630M if you plan on playing relatively recent games. Don't upgrade to the 2GB GT 650M from the 1GB GT 650M because the extra memory will not make a cost effective performance difference. Don't upgrade the processor.

------------------

 

[saaketh]

First, you should not buy the HP DV6t Quad Edition in any configuration that includes the default 1366x768 display and not the upgraded 1920x1080 display, unless you require larger text for eyesight-related reasons. 1366x768 resolution in a 15.6" display makes things onscreen large, and 15.6" displays that have 1366x768 resolution tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast like many low-end laptop displays do. The 1920x1080 display is excellent in terms of contrast, viewing angles (it is supposedly IPS), glare reduction (it's matte), and multitasking workspace. But it is more than missing out on a great display if you don't upgrade, it's also an issue of how bad the default 1366x768 display is.

Second, if you plan on playing any recent GPU-intensive games, then you should probably upgrade the GPU to the GT 650M, because it will yield considerably higher framerates than the GT 630M would. Select the cheaper 1GB version of the GT 650M, because the extra memory provided by the 2GB version will not make a difference on a GPU of this level.

Third, you shouldn't upgrade the processor to the 3820QM, and you generally shouldn't upgrade to the 3720QM. Stick with the base 3610QM. The upgraded processors only have minimal performance advantages that do not justify their respective upgrade costs, and are primarily for users who will specifically take advantage of the extra instruction sets (VT-d, etc.) provided by the higher CPU options.

------------------

Here is a better configuration of the HP DV6t Quad Edition:

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]
8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
640GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
NO mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
No additional security software
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 6.0 hours of battery life +++
15.6-inch diagonal Full HD Anti-glare LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)
FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam
802.11b/g/n WLAN
Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Follow this link: http/www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/load_configuration.do?destination=review&config_id=7319186 and apply coupon code HP4PCMAG to make it $974

Consider upgrading to a 7200RPM hard drive, and consider the backlit keyboard upgrade. Don't downgrade the display to 1366x768 for reasons unrelated to eyesight. Don't downgrade to the GT 630M if you plan on playing relatively recent games. Don't upgrade to the 2GB GT 650M from the 1GB GT 650M because the extra memory will not make a cost effective performance difference. Don't upgrade the processor.

------------------

Thanks a lot for all the information! I really liked the HP one but was just looking for some confirmation. For some reason I can't select you as a best answer? Whenever I click the button it just goes to the top of the pagE!