A beautifully crafted consumer notebook, the new HP Pavilion dv6500t has backlit media controls and a stylish case that's made for showing off.
HP HP Pavilion dv6500t
- Spec Navigator
- Processor
- Memory
- Display
- Storage
- Battery
- Dimensions
- Other Features
- Networking
- Multimedia
- Software
- Interface Connections
- Included Devices
Storage
| Total HD Size | 120 GB |
| Optical Drive Type | DVD+R DL/DVD±RW |
| Optical Drive Speed | 2.4 |
| Removable Optical Drive | No |
| Slots |
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| Number of Media Slots | 3 |
Networking
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Included network card | Ethernet (10/100 Mbps) |
| Modem Type | V.92 |
| Wireless LAN Type | 802.11n |
Software
| Included Software | Microsoft Works 8.5 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit) |
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Laptops »
Pros
Designer case
Good performance
Cons
Reflective screen
Springy keyboard
Bottom Line
Compact, affordable multimedia notebook has a head-turning designer case that incorporates a subtle swirl pattern.
HP Pavilion dv6500t
HP Pavilion dv6500t Review, by Carla Thornton May 9, 2007
Capable of serious work as well, it's a strong performer, yet fairly light (6.2 pounds) and easily totable. The keyboard is a tad bouncier than that of its predecessor, the dv6000t. And though bright and readable, the 15.4-inch screen tends to reflect overhead lights. Also, HP downgraded the dv6000t's 1.3-megapixel (1280-by-1024-pixel) Webcam to 0.3 megapixels (640 by 480 resolution) on the dv6500t. These are minor nits, however.
While the dv6500t adds a few more circles to the subtle motif on its designer lid, cosmetically the system is largely the same gorgeous laptop as its predecessor, with the same durable, high-gloss casing and piano-black hinges. New are support for draft-n Wi-Fi (in addition to 802.11a/b/g), a fingerprint reader for security, an HDMI output for connecting to a television, and the option for an HD DVD-ROM drive (though our test unit came with a multiformat, dual-layer DVD writer). The dv6500t has three USB ports and a seven-in-one shared card slot, and the configuration we tested included a 120GB hard drive.
Our $1309 (as of 5/9/07) review model also came equipped with 2GB of RAM and the new 2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 chip, which together helped it earn a WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 75--just 10 percent behind the fastest laptops we've tested. As a result, the dv6500t can handle any type of application, from mainstream to multimedia, except 3D shooter games. The dv6500t's integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 can use up to 358MB of main system memory; but for real gaming muscle, you'd want to upgrade to the optional 256MB nVidia GeForce Go 7400 graphics chip.
Battery life was excellent: The notebook lasted just 3 minutes shy of 4 hours in our tests.
Multimedia junkies still have the HP QuickPlay feature that was found on the dv6000t. This entertainment menu launches with one tap or a swipe of the touch-sensitive strip at the top of the keyboard, letting you enjoy DVD movies, music, personal videos, and photo slide shows without booting Windows. Meanwhile, fantastic stereo speakers pump out the sound. An ExpressCard TV tuner is remains a $130 option. The Pavilion dv6500t's dazzling look may not be for everyone, but lurking beneath the glossy surface is a serious laptop. If high fashion fits your portable lifestyle, work never looked so good.
Carla Thornton
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- Rating Breakdown
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81
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80
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81
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Laptops
81
71
70
52
Performance
| Adobe Photoshop CS2 | 573 |
| Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 DirectX | 550 |
| Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 Rendering | 801 |
| Battery Life (Video Playback in hh:mm) | 3:57:27 AM |
| Doom 3, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit | 7.4 |
| Far Cry, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit | 15.6 |
| Firefox 2 | 336 |
| Microsoft Office 2003 with SP-1 | 410 |
| Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0 | 276 |
| Multitasking | 437 |
| Nero 7 Ultra Edition | 809 |
| Number of Included Batteries | 1 |
| Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator 1.5 | 244 |
| Winzip Computing WinZip 10.0 | 372 |
| WorldBench 6 Score | 75 |
| WorldBench 6 Word Score | Very Good |
Average User Reviews for HP HP Pavilion dv6500t
- Latest User Reviews 4 reviews
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Reviewed by: therealfrenchlicker
Duration of ownership: 4 Months
Strengths: power'' looks. can use in real world , day too day for home or ''bus''
Weaknesses: software, hi speed cable hook up & configment. support ify? 5400 rpm h.d is slow.
Overall: this is my first labtop'' or copy of vista'' i have had p.c's for over 20 years.this unit is ok'' but has to be tuned for use. wants to be wireless at all times? it has the power, T 7500 4 g's ram. but because of 5400 rpm, h.d , unit is not as fast as it shod'' be? i use it for markiting and run a motorcycle shop with it. i payed a 1000.00 for it in 11-20-07. one thing i wish i had ordered it with is the 8400'' for 60$ more., the 3100'' stock V'' will work, it needs help. i will report later this year,then i can report how it is holding up. if i ordered today, i'd get the 9000'' ser'' with 17.1 inch' and max it out .
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Reviewed by: TimWJ11
Duration of ownership: 3 Days
Strengths: Performance is great!
Weaknesses: Must buy microsoft key for Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. You only get a 60 day trial.
Overall: Best computer I have seen yet!
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Reviewed by: Gunnyb
Duration of ownership: 2 Months
Strengths: Looks and feels nice - lightweight.
Weaknesses: Support is almost non-existent.
Overall: Machine is appealing and what I have tested works and feels excellent, but I have not fully tested unit - purchased one two months ago and tested the recovery from DVD and it failed. Have not been able to get a working machine from HP since. Machine in nice, but there is no viable support from HP. HP executive customer support even stated they have problems.
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Reviewed by: bspitz
Duration of ownership: 2 Weeks
Strengths: Nice design, flashy media controls; no performance flaws
Weaknesses: Fan runs almost continuously at low or high level, making it unbearable to work in a quiet location; pulsing electronic buzzing noise that is also noticeable in quiet work environments; springy touchpad keys; touchpad is sticky if any sweat on your finger
Overall: I would be fine with the computer if I wasn't a student who has to spend a lot of time with it in libraries and classrooms. Unfortunately I am sensitive to the types of incessant noises that come from this machine, so I am returning the computer in favor of a quieter brand.
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
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Reviewed by: kotakramesh
Strengths: Slim, beautiful finish, HDMI output
Weaknesses: screen resolution no more than WXGA, No Latch
Overall: Beautiful design. I overall like the product especially if you can get it with 25-30% off (Mine came around $800 with tax with T7250 and other usual config including discrete video card 8400GS which I would recommend to anyone interested in buying this laptop. This is solid laptop. The only drawback in 15.4" series (DV6500 now DV6700 series) is that the screen resolution is 1280x 800 (WXGA) instead of 1680x 1050 (WSXGA) that most competitors are offering.
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Reviewed by: kidol77
Strengths: Nice glossy design, HDMI output, 30% HP discount maked this laptop resonable price with competitive performance
Weaknesses: Fan noise
Overall: DescriptionIntel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.20 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz FSB)2GB DDR2 Memory120GB 5400RPM SATA HDD128MB NVIDIA GeForcce 8400M GSIntel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network ConnectionSuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Dual Layer Drive6 Cell Lithium Ion BatteryI bought my first laptop and this is for my wife.Before purchasing, I took a look several different brands notebooks at Circuit City. HP pavilion series attracted my attention with its glossy look. Designwise, I chose this laptop in my mind.Finally, I found a 30% discount HP code and realized that was good deal and triggered.This has a HDMI output, 3 USB, 5-in-1 digital media card reader, an ExpressCard slot, etc.My wife and I would use this computer at home most time, so the battery was not a concern and chose 6 cell battery. I read some complain reviews about keyboard. However it's not that bad to me.Only thing I concerned is the fan noise. I've never used a laptop before, so I wonder if the noise level of other notebooks is similar. But it's not big issue.Overall so far I'm pretty satisfied the performance and nice looking screen.
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Reviewed by: leolite1
Strengths: Looks sleek,speedy,price was okay
Weaknesses: Certain areas seem flimsy
Overall: 15.4 / 2.2 GHz /2GB / 120GB disk /DVD RW / 6 high-capacity battery This was my first official laptop. I had been looking for a laptop which would I could use for work as well. The final push was when my wife said she wanted a portable DVD player; well laptop is a portable DVD player. Since it was customized so the item came from China but probably all of them are not manufactured there. The outer and inner looks are very sleek and curved. Screen is ok (I don't intend to play games). I was originally looking for WinXP notebook but all of them are now offered with Vista. The MS website differentiated remote desktop as of them missing features in between Vista Home premium but home premium does have RDP otherwise I was planning to upgrade to Ultimate. Like all notebook/desktops this does come with many offer softwares so the first thing I did was to uninstall all that junk. Then I created a different power profile for my taste, reduced the icon sizes, etc. etc. So far so good,the only problem I had was with a couple of flimsy areas. The area around the CD drive is hollow (well it has to be hollow) and so the plastic bends inwards if you hold the laptop on the right side there. But I have trained myself to hold the right-bottom side instead. If the laptop is closed then you would most probably hold it at the LCD/body hinge edge and the area between the 2 hinges is weak and the part of the LCD between hinges bends inwards easily. The area underneath the scroll pad gets hot if the processors have been running at full power. There is a fan exhaust towards top-left which sucks air from underneath it but if have the laptop on your lap then make sure that vent might get blocked. Have not tested the writer. Overall this has a good value for money; but I kind of wish that I maybe I should have picked 14.1 inch notebook which would have been more travel friendly. Update (3 months later): I recently had an oppurtunity to use the Firewire port to connect to the Camcorder and the notebook failed to recognize the camcorder. The camcorder works with a different system and so it is not at fault. I tried to get the notebook repaired under warranty. it has been a month now and the notebook has gone twice to the repair center. On the fist visit they even took the luxury of replacing the wireless antenna even though there was nothing wrong with it but the firewire port was not even touched. I am quite disappointed at the quality of their repair center or maybe I was just an isolated case.
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Reviewed by: dealpapa
Strengths: Great performance, T7500 is fast, nice screen, hdmi, touch control, nice speaker, free skin, not so hot as somebody said
Weaknesses: a little noise when cpu 100%, need some time to get use the keyboard and touchpad
Overall: - HP Pavilion dv6500t - Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7500 (2.20 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)- 15.4" WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)- 2GB DDR2 System Memory - 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS- HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Microphone- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection- 200GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive + 120GB external HD- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support- 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery and AC AdaptorI got this dv6500t with 30% coupon. I really like this laptop. I upgrade the hd to 7200rmp(huge improve). Install the windows xp with some help from google. Excellent value in my view.
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Reviewed by: medstudent23
Strengths: santa rosa chipsetstyle/designmultimedia featuresloud speakersvalue
Weaknesses: graphics optionscheaply constructedheatbloatware
Overall: This is a great laptop if you are looking for a value. I am a firm believer in buying cheap laptops and trading them up every 2-3 years. Technology changes so fast, and you cannot upgrade laptops. Why blow tons of money on a super laptop now that will be mediocre at best in a year?Its got almost all the multimedia features you could want: remote control, HDMI, firewire, quickplay buttons, great, loud speakers, 2 headphone jacks.It looks stylish, but it feels cheap. It's very bendable and made of thin plastic. It gets warm in your lap, like almost all laptops. When are they going to fix this?The graphics options are not intended for serious gaming. The intel option is utterly hopeless for gaming. Avoid that if you are going to play any 3D games at all. The 8400M GS is exponentially better, however its still not great. Don't expect to be able to play new games at anything more than middle/low settings, if at all. The laptop comes with a ton of bloatware and needless software. You may want to reformat and fresh install out of the box. I recommend going to www.blackviper.com and checking out the services they recommed to shut down on Vista to help performance also.Overall, I recommed this laptop, but only up to a certain pricepoint. I would not configure it with every option, or buy it without a promotion. At that price you may as well spend your money on a thinkpad or macbook, if you got the dough to spend.
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