REVIEW: HP dm3z Laptop PART 1

[jeehoondevil]

the battery life of my laptop is 15 minutes :(

[sniper324]

watching this review on my dm3 :) i love it

[fanfanoftheworld101]

popular videos



[henriquediago]

well I have a mac book and a samsung. but i want to change both to the only one. I like dm3, my concerns are about performance, I would used it to internet, outlook, excel, word, and store just sore photos and videos of my home.

And dm3 would be my only laptop.

Could you be so kind to give me your opinion, I can not stand to have to lap tops anymore one for home and another for work.

regards

henrique

[henriquediago]

well I have a mac book and a samsung. but i want to change both to the only one. I like dm3, my concerns are about performance, I would used it to internet, outlook, excel, word, and store just sore photos and videos of my home.

And dm3 would be my only laptop.

Could you be so kind to give me your opinion, I can not stand to have to lap tops anymore one for home and another for work.

regards

henrique

[Multi350z]

nothing like apple batteries 

[SMON5150]

Do the keys light up?

[ThoughtsMedia]

@SMON5150 No, it's not back-lit.

- Jason

[SMON5150]

@ThoughtsMedia Ohh, Ok. Thank you :)

[NDogg15]

Are you planning on reviewing the new version of the dm3? (Or any of those new HP laptops for that matter? I like your reviews and seeing a good video review of the dm4t or dv6tse would be great!

[ThoughtsMedia]

@NDogg15 Yes, eventually.

- Jason

[StealthAssassin10462]

my current battery life only lasts for 20 min on the laptop im using now :/ im grateful for an hour of battery so this is EXCELLENT

[ThoughtsMedia]

@StealthAssassin10462 You should buy a new battery the. For many laptops, you can get a new battery for about $60 or so.

- Jason

[StealthAssassin10462]

@ThoughtsMedia yea, but the laptop i have now is a 15.6", is heavy (app. 6 lbs) and has a screwed up hinge

[loungis]

oh thanks Jason .... good review by the way

[loungis]

how did you get the separate optical drive?... I am looking to buy this laptop but I would like to get an optical drive too

[ThoughtsMedia]

@loungis That optical drive was from an hp dv2, but HP sells the external optical drive, and you can find them at pretty much every computer store...

- Jason

[Lavabug]

Need some thoughts: this exact laptop or should I spend an additional 100€ for an acer timeline (pentium dual core, radeon 4330).

[FLUFFINATORofCA]

i want to get a laptop and i want to know if u would recommend this or the g62

[Jheredia17]

Hey, what do you think I should put as of quality components on my DM3 on the HP website as I am entering a freshman at a university. What processor should I get and stuff like that so I don't overload on a laptop.

[samivanlim]

wow!! awesome review

[Lavabug]

Is the AMD processor in this really slow? Does the OS feel quick and responsive or is it sluggish with it? Does it choke when multitasking? (messenger, firefox, office, winamp?)

The battery life would probably improve dramatically with a 5400rpm drive or ssd.

[ThoughtsMedia]

@Lavabug It's not slow, but it's not exactly fast either - honestly, this review is six months old, so watching the video to see the system performance is better than asking me to dredge my memory from six months ago. ;-) Battery life would be virtually unchanged moving from an HD to an SSD, or a slower HD; the real power-suckers are the screen and the CPU+chipset. Modern hard drives are VERY power efficient. You move to SSDs for speed increases, not power savings.

- Jason

[Lavabug]

@ThoughtsMedia

Thanks for the info, looks like I might rule this one out of my list. I'm also looking into acer timeline 13.3 inchers (3810tzg and the new core i3 3820TG)

[UnrealGlider]

@ThoughtsMedia What? A 7200 RPM HDD would take more juice then the intel series of CPUs for this notebook...

[ThoughtsMedia]

@UnrealGlider I suggest you go to Western Digital's Web site and compare the spec sheet for their WD Scorpio Blue 5400 RPM drives to the WD Scorpio Black 7200 RPM drives. Both have *identical* power consumption: 2.5 watts for read/write, 0.85 watts for idle, etc. The facts are the facts. :-)

- Jason

[oapy1111]

i love how u use ur hands lol

[sevbanan24]

If i wanna buy this laptop lets say from office depot can i ask for a better processor speed

[ThoughtsMedia]

@sevbanan24 Probably not; you're limited to what Office Depot has on hand. You're better off using the buy link in my description and configuring your own custom unit...then you can pick what you want.

- Jason

[IBloodyloveMetallicA]

Will this handle Cubase well?

[ThoughtsMedia]

@IBloodyloveMetallicA Unknown. I don't use Cubase, so I have no idea. :-)

- Jason

[oapy1111]

all u do is about the dam battary!

[iLove50pounders]

is the AMD Athlon Neo X2 less powerful than the intel? or will there even be a noticeable difference? and whats this ive been hearing about discrete graphics on the AMD version

[ThoughtsMedia]

@iLove50pounders Yes, it's less powerful than the Intel CPUs available on the dm3 from HP.

- Jason

[1walkgirl]

WHen all goes well I get my laptop tomorrow :D

[tenacious1884]

Do you think this will handle gta 4 with an hd3200 ? or I should buy athlon x2 2.0 hd4200 ?? Is neo x2 better than athlon x2 in games? I know the neo x2 comes only in 1.5 and 1.6 ghz what u think? thanks

[SuperAfsari]

is that a canadian keyboard?

[ThoughtsMedia]

@SuperAfsari Yes, it's a French/English keyboard with the shrunken shift key. I really dislike keyboards like that.

- Jason

[hotboyfriend55]

tu parles le francais Jason? tu es de canada :D

[ThoughtsMedia]

@hotboyfriend55 My French is tres mal. ;-) I took French in school, but like most Canadians, never use it, so I've forgotten 99.999% of it.

- Jason

[PC4Free]

How did you get a company to send you a laptop to reveiw? I want to start reveiwing! How long do you get until you have to send it back? Please message back

Thanks

[ThoughtsMedia]

@PC4Free You contact their PR people and ask for one. They'll look at your Web site, body of work, degree of professionalism, etc. - and guess at what kind of traffic your Web site gets - and decide if they want to send you one or not. I typically get loaner laptops for 2-4 weeks.

- Jason

[PC4Free]

@ThoughtsMedia thankyou for the extremley fast reply :)

So i need to start by making my own website and getting some hits. Do i need to have my own domain or can i use a googlesite?

Cheers

[ThoughtsMedia]

@PC4Free Which do you think looks more professional - your own domain, or a free hosted account somewhere? :-)

- Jason

[PC4Free]

@ThoughtsMedia ok - cheers. I'll start emailing some companies :) Any particular ones who are easiest to get loans off?

I really appreciate your replies :D

[ThoughtsMedia]

@PC4Free I think you're getting ahead of yourself - I don't think you're going to get anything to review before you have a site to review them on. :-)

- Jason

[PC4Free]

@ThoughtsMedia good point, but for future reference any 'easy' companies?

[ThoughtsMedia]

@PC4Free It's easiest to start off with software companies since their cost is practically nil in terms of providing you the product.

- Jason

[antisp13]

are you ever going to review macs?

[ThoughtsMedia]

@antisp13 Probably not. I don't own any Macs, nor do I know much of anything about them. Plus, Apple doesn't send out products to reviewers very often, unless you're Engadget or Walt Mossberg. Apple products are way too expensive to buy just for review purposes...so you'll have to look elsewhere for Apple product video reviews.

- Jason

[lolitadoll646]

what are your needs with a computer/what do you need/ want it to do?

[MrJamDiaz]

HP SUCKS !!!

[TheMegaBetch]

Just got the DM3, and wow its amazing.

I got the 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, with 8 gigs of ram, 500Gb 7200rpm hard drive and Nvidia GeForce G 105M. Really recommend it.

[kanecobond]

@TheMegaBetch What's the model, you really have piqued my interest.

[Defensa24]

Do you know if all models have the gestures ability on the trackpad? Like pinch to zoom etc...

Because I cant seem to find any specific answers.

[ThoughtsMedia]

I'm quite certain all dm3 models would have the same trackpad abilities.

- Jason

[crazyidiot5309]

@ThoughtsMedia Oddly enough, the dm3z doesn't have as updated drivers from the HP support page as the dm3t.

[bojanglesme]

what can you say about the quality and durability, can it match the Lenovo and Toshiba?

do you think it will last for about 5 years up (ofcourse without bump or drop) ?

[ThoughtsMedia]

I can't say much of anything. I haven't reviewed a Toshiba or Lenovo laptop, ever. Most computers can't last five years, though it's certainly possible if you get lucky and nothing breaks on it. :-)

- Jason

[Snowintosh]

My brother has an iMac that my dad buy for us in 2005 and is faster than my sister's 3 month old HP with Windows 7.

[busharp2611]

i want to buy this machine but hesitant regarding the touch pad...is it something i can live with?

[ThoughtsMedia]

My advice? Buy it from someplace with a good return policy. I can't tell you what you can live with; I can only tell you my opinion, which I've done in this video. If I had bought the dm3, I'd have returned it for a refund.

- Jason

[sinceritybeyondsense]

i can get more than 6 hours on Power Saver, lowest brightness, intermittent switching of wi-fi on and off depending on when i need it, no bluetooth, with typing on word and some pdf viewing.

[jpm1316]

what does the "z" stand for?

[deroowebas]

is the touchpad for this laptop soo bad??

because i want buy this laptop but hesitating and afraid

plz answer me

thaanxs

[ThoughtsMedia]

You saw my review - what more of an opinion can I offer?

- Jason

[3r1c8y]

It's definitely bad when you first use it. However, after a week or so, you get used to it and it's quite usuable.

[vallibrig]

Thank for from Australia ! Brilliant review - really helped me make a decision. I am looking at a white Macbook vs this HP DM3... Pls keep up the good work

[s0Ez3]

Great review!

[tjpark1111]

can you indicate if you had wifi on during the battery test?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Which battery test? I mentioned several. WiFi was off during the LOTR video test, and obviously on during the YouTube video and Web browsing tests. ;-)

- Jason

[becca2495]

i have a question ??? ARE THERE ANY LAPTOPS WHERE YOU DONT HAVE TO PAY EVERY MONTH IF SO, WHAT ARE THEY ????

[ThoughtsMedia]

The only laptop you'd have to pay monthly for would be one purchased from a mobile phone carrier - like a netbook with a monthly data plan - or a laptop that you're financing over 36 months or something.

Also, there's no need to YELL AT ME BY TYPING IN ALL CAPS. :-)

- Jason

[becca2495]

thankx helped alot n by the way i wasn't yelling at u lol :)

[manutube8080]

can you do a review for hp mini 311?

[ThoughtsMedia]

Yes, I'll be reviewing the Mini 311, but probably not until late Janaury or so.

- Jason

[nikpogi]

can i play cod:MW2 with this?

[beautyfreak167]

hi, i was just wondering, which 1 do u recomend more this computer or the dell inspiron 14''? which one do u prefer?

[ThoughtsMedia]

I think the Dell Studio 14z is a really nice computer. :-)

- Jason

[Courage95red]

I figured you would say that, but I guess it was wothh a try....

[ThoughtsMedia]

Well, you have to understand that I have no magical ability to know the specs of a laptop carried by Wal-Mart or Best Buy in a different country. :-)

- Jason

[Courage95red]

What was this DM3s model number? They sell the DM3-1035dx at best buy for 549.99 and the DM3- 1039wm which is at walmart for 528.00. I was just wondering how similar the three different models are. I would imagine that yours is a CA version, but i was just wondering what the specs and price are compared to the models sold at best buy and walmart.

[ThoughtsMedia]

It was a dm3-1020ca. The full specs are in the sidebar on all three of my videos about this product. As for comparing specs, that's the type of grunt work you'll have to do on your own. :-)

- Jason

[rockalbania24]

i wanna buy this notebook in the usa. And i need it for home work and on the go. and i want it to play music and games and viedos. should i buy this or can u tell me another notebook thats is really great. PLz help me thx

[angie1284]

Hi there! I was wondering how good are the graphics and performance when playing Blue-rays? Greetings from Peru!

[ThoughtsMedia]

I wasn't sent a Blu-ray drive to test it with, but given that the chipset is very similar to the dv2, it should be able to play Blu-ray discs without a problem.

- Jason

[angie1284]

Thanks!

[Mohamedhp]

The battery life tests were very reasonable user scenarios, I liked them very much

Thanks for the review...

[ThoughtsMedia]

Thanks, I'm glad you liked them - I think real-world tests are the only valid way of measuring battery life.

- Jason

[mysticabib]

do the LOTR test with the dell mini 9

[ThoughtsMedia]

Can't. I sent it back, and Dell Canada no longer sells the Mini 9...it wouldn't have passed the test anyway with the 3-cell battery.

- Jason

[1888junkteam]

excellent work!

[dude28901]

The intel version gets better battery life

[ThoughtsMedia]

Which version? HP offers the dm3t with *five* different Intel CPUs, and the least expensive is the Celeron SU2300, and it uses 10 watts of power. That's 8 watts less power than the dual-core AMD CPU, so the battery life should be better, but the Celeron is also single core. If you go for the most powerful Intel CPU, the SP9300, it's 25 watts, more than the AMD CPU.

- Jason

[dude28901]

well all the intel versions exept the last one are 10 watts. the 2.26 Ghz one isn't low voltage. The intel core 2 duo 7300 models are 10 watts and about as comperable as the amd processor you have

[ThoughtsMedia]

I'd be really interested in performing my tests on the Intel version with a 10 watt processor...it would be interesting to see how much battery life shaving 8 watts off the processor would gain you. The GPU is different though too I think, so that alters the equation...

- Jason

[shehanster]

i think what he meant was overall AMD processors use more power than Intel CPUs anyways another great video im gettting the AMD version soon its already on the way i cant wait and again great video man keep up the good work.

[Mouthmusician]

Ok one of your laptop reviews you had a dell adamo, and you said it came in a one standard battery (i believe that was the one) and you also said how bout having a extra battery life to put under the laptop since they didn't want to change the one they had in there. something like that, you got to go back to hear what you said and then look at what hp is for this one. It not the same battery that others have unless it's only for the envy.

[ThoughtsMedia]

I was talking about battery slice technology. The HP Envy is the only consumer laptop from HP that I'm aware of that has the battery slice technology. And a battery slice is only compatible with the one laptop it's purchased for. Does that answer your question? I don't really understand what you're trying to ask me.

- Jason

[Mouthmusician]

I've yet to see part 2 so I want ask before i forget how is the sound, compare to dell 14z studio does the good out beat dell, and last but not least did you think that their new battery had to do something you said in one of your laptop reviews?

[ThoughtsMedia]

I didn't test the sound beyond what I hear playing Call of Duty or my general video tests. It sounded OK through the built-in speakers, but it's a laptop, so it's not going to sound great.. Or are you talking about the onboard audio quality with headphones? I didn't test that.

As for the battery, I don't understand what you're asking me. Can you re-phrase your question?

- Jason

[budwsfrog]

Love this laptop. Friend got one for his wife and even as a Mac user, I was totally infatuated. HP is making better and better stuff on a daily basis.

[ThoughtsMedia]

It *looks* good, but that touchpad really sucks. :-(

- Jason