HP dv6516TX Review
Yes I have been busy for the last week deciding on which lappy to buy…Finally I zeroed down on HP dv6516TX as this laptop is best value for the money for the configuration it has…The configuration in brief is as follows:
- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5250
1.50 GHz , Level 2 cache 2 MB, 667 MHz Bus speed - 2048 MB DDR2 RAM
- 160 GB SATA HDD
- Lightscribe Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support
- 15.4†WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen (1280×800)
- NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS
Rest everything is pretty standard for a laptop but this one does have a HDMI port and a fingerprint reader…
Here is a short review of the HP dv6516TX laptop…
Its been a week since I have been using this and to say the least I am totally satisfied with it..It comes preloaded with Vista Home Premium which works like a charm and boots up in 50 seconds flat.I downloaded the latest drivers from the HP drivers site and my windows experience index shot up from 3.1 to 3.4 which is the lowest subscore for the graphics card.
Though its the lowest Core 2 Duo processor on the laptop but it performs pretty well and handles most of the CPU intensive tasks smoothly.The RAM is enough to run any application available today. I tried a few games like Cell Factor Revolution and other which are graphics intensive and I was able to run them smoothly at decent settings though not at top notch settings which says a lot about the graphics card.The graphics card is DX10 compatible so it makes it future proof for the next couple of years atleast.
The clarity of the speakers is awesome thanks to Altec Lansing but the volume isn’t very high,its medium,so dont even think of relying on them to disturb your neighbors when they are fast asleep!! The integrated webcam that has been provided is VGA which is its drawback but it more than compensates for it by giving very good picture quality which is pretty much comparable to 1.3MP ones…
The fingerprint reader is what I like the most as it takes away the hassle to remember passwords for various sites that you logon and instead makes your finger the most important tool while you are on the net.The touchpad is decent thought not a replacement for a mouse.It has scroll feature and many others features which can be customized through the software but still I will need to buy a mouse.The quickplay buttons are touch buttons which handle your multimedia operations.The remote control is pretty handy while watching movies,giving presentations and even for simple tasks such as turning off the laptop.
Now one of the most important criterions for selecting a laptop is its battery backup.This one manages 3 hours on normal usage and around 2.5 hours on internet usage which will further reduce when gaming.This one is not for those who need to stay long hours away from the AC mains but then they can buy the HP 12 cell battery which I am sure will give a battery backup of 5-6 hours atleast..
I haven’t burnt a CD/DVD yet in the drive but the read speeds are very good and I am sure write speed will also be fast.Seems like this short review of mine has turned into a lengthy one but I think I have covered all aspects of this laptop.
It cost me 55,400 rupees to be exact and if you are on a same budget then look no further and grab this one as I certainly recommend it to everyone looking to buy a laptop.The icing on the cake being the free iPod,notebook skin and free 1 year insurance that makes it unbeatable at this price.The only area is loses out on is its lower processor and the 6 cell battery which gives only 3 hours as maximum backup time.
I would rate it 8/10.
Popularity: 1% [?]
I too bought this laptop, albeit for 57.5K. I guess prices in Bangalore are a lot higher than Delhi, as this was the best price I could get after enquiring in many different outlets and bargaining like hell. I got some smalltime freebies like headset, mouse, pen drive etc along with it.
I wanted to check about whether you got any freebies from hp? It seems that there was a free ipod offer for students and earlier there was a reliance datacard/tv tuner offer, but I couldn’t see any on the hp india site. Did you have any luck with this?
Jagan
11 Sep 07 at 2:34 am
No I didn’t get any freebies with the laptop except the carry bag….
The free iPod offer and external USB internet card offer still exists…
i think the TV tuner offer has been withdrawn coz I couldn’t find it on the promotions page…
Here is the link for the free iPod if you haven’t found it yet..
Ankur Gupta
12 Sep 07 at 10:01 am
Congrats on your new Lappy Buddy.
NSpeaks
12 Sep 07 at 12:54 pm
BTw howcome you are using 2.0.0.7 ankur? It is not even released. Are you using 2.0.0.7 RC1?
NSpeaks
12 Sep 07 at 12:59 pm
@Nspeaks
Thanx man…
yeah its 2.0.07 RC1….hehe
Firefox RCs have come a long way…
Ankur Gupta
12 Sep 07 at 1:01 pm
Hi Ankur,
I too had been looking at this model (dv6516TX) for a long long time, but the slow processor speed of 1.5 Ghz has really put me off. Although, my first preference was HP, but the above factor forced me to have a “dekho” at Sony Vaio also, but no satisfaction. I am now thinking about waiting some more till HP introduces a newer model. I am really surprised that HP does not give choices of models in Core2duo 15.4 displays. What is really bugging me is that HP is charging the full price but giving a 1.5 GHz processor (and this is something, which we can’t upgrade). Any comments?
AM
20 Sep 07 at 6:31 am
Well you shouldn’t really care about the processor speed unless you really want to do CPU intensive tasks like Audio/Video encoding regularly…
Core 2 Duo T5250 and T7100 have a performance difference of about 25% only…
Also Sony Vaio laptops are just a show off…CR series which is in the same price range has a config which just cannot be compared to HP dv6516TX…
Yeah I agree that HP 15.4″ models don’t have a processor which higher clock speed but dunno when they will be released…
Processor can be upgraded on a laptop just like RAM…
Ankur Gupta
20 Sep 07 at 6:36 am
Thanks for your reply Ankur.
As I said, 1.5 Ghz is the only thing that bugs me. I want to use the laptop for web development programs. But I’m surprised when you say that the “processor can be upgraded on a laptop just like RAM.” Can you throw some more light on this, coz I’ve never heard of this. Also, the salesman at a shop told me that this model has a 1.3 MP webcam, but on the net I have seen owners talking about VGA webcam in this model. Can you confirm this? Thanks for your time.
AM
26 Sep 07 at 8:55 pm
Hello Ankur,
I am also likely to finalize this piece. You are right T5250 processor is sitting at bottom.
Well that’s the bargain for 15.4″ + 2GB + nVidia 8400M GS at same price, to make it attractive at least today, and hopefully as you said correctly for few years to come.
1. How is your experience with dv6516 + Linux, if you have tried it.
2. Did you change partitions or working as received. I mean it is OK like that but some prefer multiple partitions and so on…
3. With antivirus -sure you would have put some, did you observe some loss of response, btw which AV you have put. I am for avast.
4. what about Wi-Fi … if some info is available.
5. With Vista did you try screen adjustments (color, contrast, brightness), that is off- course if it is available in Home Premium, I presume it should be. I mean could it make some difference to on-screen experience.
Hope to see your reply right here or in my mail.
Thanks.
Anil Kumar Sharma
26 Nov 07 at 6:35 am
@AM
sorry for late reply.Yes processors can be upgraded in laptops but not all..I dunno about this.
This one has VGA webcam but picture quality comparable to 1.3 MP ones
@9 Anil Kumar Sharma
1.I have tried the 3 major flavours of linux on this laptop viz. Ubuntu Gutsy Ribbon,openSUSE 10.3,Fedora 8.
The only problem is that old linux kernel doesnot have driver support for these Intel Onboard HD Audio.But this problem is rectified in the latest kernel which Fedora 8 has.Also fingerprint reader doesnt work which I guessed so.Rest everything works like a charm.
2.No I have changed the partition tables according to my needs.And you also need to do so for installing linux.
3.I am currently using Avira AntiVir as it doesnot slow down the system and also has very good virus detection rate and to top it all it is free!
4.No I have not used WiFi feature yet.
5.Yes I did try to tweak those settings but that only degraded the on-screen experience.I prefer the default settings but a custom power plan.
I hope I have answered all your queries
Ankur Gupta
28 Nov 07 at 6:32 pm
Hi Ankur, I’ve almost decided on on buying HP DV6516tx lappy.
I just have a few doubts, do they provide a Windows Vista, recovery disc,drivers kit, etc with the system.
Thanks.
Sridhar
30 Nov 07 at 8:36 pm
@sridhar
Yes you are provided with a Vista recovery disk which has all drivers and softwares that come pre-installed.
Also you have a recovery partition which is basically an image of the disk so that you can recover without the need of the disk.
Ankur Gupta
2 Dec 07 at 9:33 pm
Hi Ankur,
I am planning for purchased of HP DV6516tx laptop.I wanted to know if I can install windows 2000 Operating system with out actually disturbing the present Windows Vista.
Thanks
VISHNU
3 Dec 07 at 10:07 pm
@Vishnu
It will be difficult to install Windows 2000 as you maybe not able able to find all the drivers for this laptop compatible with Windows 2000.
Also you will have to slipstream SATA drivers into the windows 2000 CD for installation to start.
Ankur Gupta
4 Dec 07 at 9:08 pm
Hi Ankur,
I’ve made up my mind to buy the same next week going through ur experience and information on the HP DV6516tx laptop.
Just wanted one feedback. How does it really look from outside ? I’m not able to find any pics in the net. Does it have “verve patterns ” ( don’t know what ) as promoted in the net on it’s skin , or simple blackish or greyish sort of looks ?
Prasenjit
Prasenjit
7 Dec 07 at 6:09 pm
[...] had been thinking about buying an external hard disk from a long time due to lack of space on my HP DV6516TX laptop as it has only 160GB Hard Disk and my 2 mbps MTNL Triband broadband is quick to download [...]
Western Digital 250GB Passport Review
10 Dec 07 at 4:39 pm
Hi Ankur,
I got the dv6516tx today and dat too at an unbelievable price. I bougt it from the IT Fair at Kolkata. there was a huge discount offer. it was priced at 56k in the showroom and in the fair I got it at 49.5k inclusive of VAT. freebies include the usual leather carry bag, a 1GB pen drive and a medium size travel bag as special gift for purchasing at the fair. Presently I am too satisfied with it.
just a doubt…. can the remote control be carried in the Express Card slot? it seems to b of the same size. I hvn’t tried it in fear of breaking it.
Samik
18 Dec 07 at 2:15 am
arent u guys suffering game slowdown….all though the game graphics are crystal clear…the game tends to run when the laptop is on battery…and sum games like fifa 2008 tend to run slow even on AC power…plz help me guys..!!
mani
29 Dec 07 at 9:04 am
Hi Guys,
This is Sriram from bangalore. I bought hp dv6516Tx laptop for 53K in bangalore. Can you guys tell me how to do partition? I also dont know how to install XP since i have only windows vista recovery discs which includes all drivers. I dont have any specific driver CD. Plz help me…. Thanks…
Sriram M
2 Jan 08 at 4:27 pm
@Prasenjit
Yes it has verve patterns on top on black lid and even on silver portion.
@Samik
There is a separate place for the remote control on the right side.You can push the remote there.
@Mani
No such thing with my laptop.
@Sriram M
You can use Vista partition manager under Computer>Manage and shrink the C: drive to create free space and create a new partition out of that.
Ankur Gupta
3 Jan 08 at 3:13 pm
Ankur,
Like Sriram asked, How to go about partitioning.
I plan to do away with Recovery partition. Recovery Discs have full options. and anyways HP service is the final backup (if needed at all). I plan to use partition magic (or something similar) and shrink the main c: drive.
Anil Kumar Sharma
16 Jan 08 at 11:25 pm
@Anil Kumar Sharma
I used the inbuilt disk manager in WIndows Vista to shrink the drives and create a partition out of the free space.You can always use utilities like partition manager etc to go about your job.I would not recommend removing your recovery partition as HP may not give your software troubleshooting support if you do that.
Ankur Gupta
18 Jan 08 at 5:18 pm
Hi All,
Sorry i am very busy with my work so could not send msg… I am facing one problem with my laptop… when the laptop is powered off, if i touch the quickplay or dvd button (touch button), my laptop powers on. I dont know why… I found this when i cleaned my laptop i accidently touched that quickplay or dvd button. Then again i manually checked it by touching the dvd or quickplay button when laptop is OFF and my laptop powers on after touching any of those buttons…. Can any one tell what could be the problem? Should i go for service?
Sriram M
7 Feb 08 at 12:57 pm
Hi Sriram ,
ya thats the problem with quickplay buttons
i agree to it
Just use HP Update which will u find preinstall
and update all Drivers.. and get latest one
that will solve your problem ….
Anybody here knows hwo to use data card with the EXPRESS SLOT provided with this lappy??
rahul
24 Feb 08 at 2:40 pm
Hi,
I am having the below issues with this laptop.
1. After entered Password, I see a blank white screen comes for long time. It took around 130 sec for bootup.
2.I connected my usb pen drive, after i did usb safe remove, the pen drive’s light still glows. In dell laptop and PC, the pen drive’s light goes off when i did usb safe remove.
3. Copy from DVD is very very slow. Some times when playing moview, the Fast forward hangs the laptop for sometime.
Please help me to resolve these issues.
Is HP Pavilion dv2701TX (14.1 inch, 1.67 GHZ intel core 2 duo, 1GB RAM, NVIDIA 8400 graphics 128 MB dedicated) a good model to buy for Rs 49000.
Dell XPS 1330 is having best config for 59K.
Can you suggest your comments?
Sriram M
10 Apr 08 at 1:17 pm
The remote can be put in the expresscard slot if it’s like the dv6426 anyway. The HD audio does work in Fedora 7 as well as 8. As of yet I can’t figure out how to make the webcam or mic input work in fedora 8. otherwise it works fine.
name
23 Apr 08 at 1:19 am
i am having hp pavilion dv2701tx with 2GB ram. Ihave to install wuindows xp. when i try to install it gives a BSOD error that bios is not acpi comopliant.
What shoul i do??
Vijay Singh
11 May 08 at 10:52 pm
hey hi…
me also using this lappy its a full fleshed laptop…
till now m using windows vista. i hav no problem with dis windows bt it aquires a lot of memory..now i want to instal windows XP…does any one of u intalled XP…plz provide me with XP drivers…these r nt avialable on hp site..can any 1 help me….???
thnks in adv…
~Sachet
Sachet
3 Sep 08 at 11:27 am