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I am purchasing a mid-range laptop to mainly use as a desktop replacement and am looking at the HP dv6t/7t series (dv6t is 15.6" and dv7t is 17.3"). I have configured a system for each size with basically identical hardware with a price difference of 2 USD. My main question is if there would be any appreciable differences in performance or heat discharge as a result of having a larger laptop case, perhaps a difference in airflow? Some of the reviews of these laptops have mentioned a tendency towards running hot, so that would be my major concern while gaming. Might the larger laptop have an upgraded fan?
Both laptops have the same selectable chipsets, leading me to believe they'll be using the same mobo, and I'll be using the same processor in both.
Specs are as follows:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2410M Processor (2.3 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
Radeon(TM) HD 6770M w/ 1GB GDDR5 1600MHz
6GB DDR3 1333MHz
7200RPM HDD (500GB on the 17.3" and 640GB on the 15.6")
I am expecting to need a laptop for occasional classes and will every now and again bring it to the library to get work done, so the extra portability and battery life offsets the larger screen size and better resolution for the times I won't have it connected to my monitor. My most demanding application should be SC2.
Thanks.
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I would get the smaller one, as when you're using it on your desk, ambient temp will be controllable, and putting a good cooling pad under it will be easy. Portability, on the other hand, can't be installed and removed.
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Well for me personally I would get the larger laptop because portability is not the biggest issue for me. When I say this i mean I don't mind lugging around a medium/large backpack for only my computer. I'm not sure if there would be any difference in airflow, but I would presume the larger one would stay slightly cooler since things aren't packed so tightly
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bringing a 17" vs bringing a 15" to class is a huge difference (coming from a college student). I highly suggest 15" if you are moving your laptop around at all. 17" should really be regarded as a more-mobile-less-powerful desktop. a 15" is what a real laptop is for (actual mobility). also, most 17" do not fit in my north face backpack but my 15.4" fits perfectly.
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be careful with hp laptop, they tend to overheat extremely easily.
I had one myself, my sister's one and my fd's one all started overheating after about a year of use.
(my sister doesn't even play games often)
17 inch is definitely the safer bet.
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Speaking of laptops, i thinking of getting a Sager laptop, they are one of the few customizable laptops out there. I was thinking the 5165, has anyone here had the 5160 or 5165 what is your advice?
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Thanks for the input. Something else of interest to note, a 3 year warranty on the 15.6 is almost 60% more than the same warranty on the 17.3... seems like they expect a lot fewer repairs on the larger model - portability at work?
On August 09 2011 11:11 ETisME wrote:
be careful with hp laptop, they tend to overheat extremely easily.
I had one myself, my sister's one and my fd's one all started overheating after about a year of use.
(my sister doesn't even play games often)
17 inch is definitely the safer bet.
Did you guys get them direct from HP or through another seller? I have already been warned to buy direct to try to avoid getting lower quality parts in the build. Also did you have a warranty on yours and if so were your issues covered?
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I have a hp laptop and it doesn't overheat. Just keep it in a cool environment and use a cooling pad
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I like 17.3" inch laptops in general, but my experience with HP computers has not been conducive to repeat business, to put it gently. Get an ASUS gaming laptop! Some of them have absolutely RIDICULOUS deals.
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Gaming is much nicer on the bigger laptop, but it's a lot more hassle for class. That said, my roommate and I have identical laptops for SC2 in specs cept his is a 17'' and mine is 15.6''. I prefer mine, he prefers his. Definitely nicer to play on his though.
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When I use to game with my laptop, I always hooked up a second monitor and external keyboard/mouse as the evil mousepad always somehow gets touched by my wrists. If this is the situation size of monitor probably won't matter.
As for the heating issue, 17 would have more surface area and would likely disperse heat more effectively than 15. The actual display size shouldn't matter unless the graphics card produces a higher resolution the 15.
Only other factor I would think would be battery life, but I wager there isn't much difference here either.
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^ you know you can disable? On my computer it is F7
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Yeah most laptops let you disable the touchpad with a hotkey.
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On August 09 2011 11:01 JiYan wrote:
bringing a 17" vs bringing a 15" to class is a huge difference (coming from a college student). I highly suggest 15" if you are moving your laptop around at all. 17" should really be regarded as a more-mobile-less-powerful desktop. a 15" is what a real laptop is for (actual mobility). also, most 17" do not fit in my north face backpack but my 15.4" fits perfectly.
I disagree (coming from a college student)
Everyone will tell you "a 17inch is impossible to bring to class. I think it's mostly people mimicking a general opinion due to a lack of personal experience. I do just fine with my 17 inch
I'd recommend ASUS for your needs (it looks as though you will be gaming). They having cooling systems with air intakes located on the back (rather than under)
It keeps the systems cooler, allows them to run better graphics cards as a result, and takes away the need for a cooling mat
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This. Cooling mats are what keeps me from being 100% portable. can't fit them anywhere like other computer stuff. you have to be super careful and stuff. To me, something like that defines portability a while lot more than size
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Larger laptops often have better cooling so that's a possibility. 17 inch is definately better to play at. Mobility is a factor but unless you actually need it to run on battery time (no access to power) in class and such then I'd probably go for the larger one.
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5930 Posts
Even if its dirt cheap, I wouldn't bother with it because holy shit HP consumer laptops are terrible. Yes you may have good experiences with them, good for you, but they're renowned for their terrible cooling, build quality, and reliability.
You cannot go into buying laptops like you can with desktops - desktops you can get away with only caring about raw specs but portable devices are no where near as versatile or robust as the desktop variants. Desktops are extremely robust and you can solve many of their issues by moving the device away from you or buying $100 aftermarket cooling but if you get a shit laptop, its hard to mitigate any problems (noisy fan, burning palm rest, keyboard with flex, etc) you may encounter.
I disagree (coming from a college student)
Everyone will tell you "a 17inch is impossible to bring to class. I think it's mostly people mimicking a general opinion due to a lack of personal experience. I do just fine with my 17 inch
A 17" laptop isn't a laptop, its a desktop replacement that can't even fit properly on the swing out lecture tables used in lecture theaters. Do you really want to be that kid with that really hot, noisy, ugly, huge beast that is on the verge of tipping the whole chair over?
If it wasn't for the resolution improvement, there wouldn't be any competition between the 15" or 17" (get the 15").
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Yea, the resolution increase is really the only reason I was still considering the 17".
As for HP, I would be more than happy to avoid them as I know a lot of people have bad experiences (a lot also have good experiences, so I figured at least I'd be getting an extended warranty if I was going to be playing tech roulette). Things I like about the HP laptops: customization, styling, price, numpad.
I checked every brand that I could find and in most cases in the same price range, the graphics card absolutely blew and had no upgrade options. In the cases that I could get a decent graphics card, the price was well more than what I am willing to pay. I had not seen Sager before, and that seems to be a very interesting option.
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So I was able to pick up a 15.6" Sager NP5160 with nearly the same stats and price tag (slightly lower end vid card but screen resolution up to 1920x1080) from xoticpc.com. Both xotic and Sager seem to stand behind their products and the customer service has been very helpful thus far.
Thanks for your help!
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