[quote name='Antic']That's really tempting. Could make one for $1,094 before tax. Do you know how long that coupon will work? My main reason for the blu-ray is so I can watch movies while I'm gone from home/on the road until November. I have a ton of Criterions to blow through.
EDIT: Do you think I should pay extra for the "17.3-inch diagonal Full HD Anti-glare LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)"
It would be...
- 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 2GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]
- FREE UPGRADE to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 1TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
- 32GB mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
- Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
- No additional security software
- 30% off 9 cell Lithium Ion Battery
- 17.3-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1600 x 900)
- FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
- HP TrueVision HD Webcam
- 802.11b/g/n WLAN
- Backlit Keyboard
- Included 2 Year Warranty
[/QUOTE]I would spring for the 1920 x 1080 screen without question.
There's also a 15.6" version of the same system, the dv6, though it only has a 1-year warranty and no second HDD bay.
That coupon shows up periodically and it was a $400 coupon a week or so ago. With the Sandy Bridge / previous generation version of the dv7/dv6 models, when they were trying to flush them out, they had 30% off and 35% off system coupons, which knocked more than the $350 off the current coupon.
Thread with more info about the dv6/dv7-7000 than you can possibly stand:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...v7t-7xxx-series-ivy-bridge-owners-lounge.html
Speaking of that:
33% off coupon on this unit (dv6qte/dv7qte custom units)
Coupon: NBP8784
Expires: 5/23 or earlier
[quote name='Mr Dude65']That's a nice laptop for the price, but definitely not a gaming machine. It's a really nice multimedia one, but you're cutting out a lot of performance with that GPU. And the RAM could be more. You'll also want a 7200 RPM HDD, or a SSD.
And, if I remember, HP's run hot, so consider that. Not a bad choice at all, just a little different than what you originally had been looking for.[/QUOTE]First off, what game really needs more than 8GB system RAM?
Also, 7200RPM is an option, as it a SSD, though you can probably get a better SSD for the money HP would charge for the pre-installed SSD. The dv7 has a bay for a second HDD, so you could add the SSD as the primary drive and leave the 1TB 5400RPM drive as the secondary data drive.
GT650M is the best GPU they have to offer, and unless you're going eye-candy crazy, it'll do the job.
HP overheating issues are a thing of the past, as the 6000 series have been issue-free with that problem. 7000 series aren't any different, from what I've seen.