HP Pavilion dm4x review and slight performance test

[calinutzzzzzzzu]

What are the differences between this and the older model?

[er10b]

I am seriously thinking of buying one, and I do have a few questions:

1. What is the overall reliability like with these laptops? Have you ever had to send this one in to HP under warranty for parts replacement at all?

2. Is the touchpad easy to use or does it send the cursor sliding every which way?

[dpwhitty11]

@er10b

1) mine has been 100% reliable. I know HP has had issues with people in the past, but my household has 3 HP laptops that are all going strong.

2)i think the touchpad is wonderful.

[CeciliaNamie]

does the keyboard has a backlight?

[212NATH]

Can you do a minecraft demo on it

[dpwhitty11]

@212NATH i could, but i dont see much of a point. with the GPU off, it runs pretty "meh", but with the GPU on, it runs great (and gets really hot).

[DrBarber37]

I'm looking for a great laptop to mostly surf the internet and watch videos. Would you recommend this laptop for long term use or is there something much better? If this one is good, what add ons could I put on it??

[bulletmunchr]

Ewww poop CPU with poop graphics :P Good laptop though, if they offer the 6770m, I might get that.

[spunky080802]

Just about to buy one of these, getting my student discount from HP + Black Friday discount. Thanks for the review, it really helped me make my decision!

[lucifer6222179]

does the battery actually last for like 8 hours?



[dpwhitty11]

@lucifer6222179 it depends on the load, but if i dont do much, yes

[mtkg99]

Does your computer ever shut down for no reason? I've had mine since August and it dies every day, both plugged in and battery power.

[dpwhitty11]

@mtkg99 you should get that checked out. sounds like a hardware problem

[DatHarlemNigga4U]

Where u got ya laptop from.. n how much u paid

[dpwhitty11]

@DatHarlemNigga4U direct from hp.com, and it ran me ~$1,070.

[lucifer6222179]

@dpwhitty11 ohh, but i heard its like $800, did they deliver it at your house? can i purchase it from bestbuy usa or canada?

[dpwhitty11]

@lucifer6222179 it starts out at around $800, but i chose to have the best parts in mine. and yes, i had it shipped to my house. and i am not sure if best buy carries this model, i've only seen them carry the older dm4.

[lucifer6222179]

@dpwhitty11 kk thanks a lot!!

[hgsupertramp]

What is the number of the windows experience index for this laptop ? thanks!

[dpwhitty11]

@hgsupertramp I don't remember, but I posted it already. Look through the comments. I'm not running windows on it anymore so I can't check.

[ArcaneBane]

I noticed you posted in a comment that you installed Linux on this. Have you been having any issues running Linux?

[dpwhitty11]

@ArcaneBane Only issues is that I can't get two-finger scrolling to work or make use of the graphics card, but that's fine with me. I had an extra windows CD laying around so I'm dual-booting Linux Mint with vanilla Windows 7.

[ArcaneBane]

@dpwhitty11 Thanks for the quick reply. I've been looking into this laptop but I haven't been able to find much information on how it runs with Linux.

[xllsiren]

how long does the battery last for?

[dpwhitty11]

@xllsiren i replaced windows with linux, and i get 6-7 hours of standard use now. windows would give me around 5 hours use

[abdur50]

your camera focusing was very poor

[DatHarlemNigga4U]

Is there a light around ur touch pad like Da dv6

[dpwhitty11]

@DatHarlemNigga4U nope, theres not

[pavy415]

what is that annoying sound is predator there with you?

[dpwhitty11]

@pavy415 he's been stalking me for weeks, i cant shake him! D:

[soroushsam]

I have a question , what is the difference between dm4t-2000 and dm4x !? Is this the same?

[USAhackers]

On "toptenreviews(dot)com" this was the #1 laptop!

[loading1024]

Hi, is the temperature high after a short while of running?

[dpwhitty11]

@loading1024 nope, it stays cool until playing demanding games

[loading1024]

@dpwhitty11 Great! I have bought one and am waiting for the shipment.

[abdur50]

@loading1024 try to clean your laptop fans

[ashishheart]

hi...my touch pad is not working..what should i do? model number is DM4-2015dx

[dpwhitty11]

@ashishheart did you double-tap the top-left of the touchpad? if an orange light is on in the top-left, double tap it. otherwise, i would go into device manager and force an update of the drivers.

[dpwhitty11]

@Thisisnoonesacount hmmm... the G6 is pretty fly. but this is better

[Thisisnoonesacount]

Shuld I buy this computer or the pavilion G6?

[Tu51ndBl4d3]

they REALLY should just copy the apple trackpad, i have a windows and mac, and i love em both but interms of trackpads, mac wins hands down.

[MahPopemobile]

Could you possibly run a benchmarking program like Geekbench and post the results? I'm really curious to see what kind of score it'll pull

[dpwhitty11]

@MahPopemobile Scored a 6054 in Geekbench 2.1

[MahPopemobile]

@dpwhitty11 Sweet, thanks man :)

[lilswingswing]

what's the difference between the dm4x and the dm4?

[dpwhitty11]

@lilswingswing the dm4 has a unified touchpad (left and right-click buttons are part of the touch surface and not their own button) while the dm4x has a 3 piece touchpad (touch surface and independent left/right click buttons). dm4x also has sand-bridge processors as opposed to first generation i5/i7 seen in the dm4. the dm4x also has an upgraded graphics card.

[RsYanzo]

you made this video in march i wanna know how its holding up. i read some reviews and they said that after a few months it starts to break down.

[dpwhitty11]

@RsYanzo actually, the end of may. but i digress. the laptop is is perfect condition still and shows absolutely no signs of wear or tear (and the last month ive been dragging it around my college classes with me).

[RsYanzo]

@dpwhitty11 alright thanks. i just got the laptop today and i love it. i couldent be more happy.

[marcosity428]

Where did you buy this?

[dpwhitty11]

@marcosity428 hp.com

[elfnamedbuddy]

is the keyboard backlit?

[dpwhitty11]

@elfnamedbuddy sadly, no. that is the only thing that i wish was different about this laptop.

[elfnamedbuddy]

@dpwhitty11 gahhh. i just ordered this laptop, and i forgot to check if it was backlit

[dpwhitty11]

@elfnamedbuddy don't cancel your order just for that, i guarantee you'll be just as happy without it.

[elfnamedbuddy]

@dpwhitty11 yeah, that would be the definition of overreacting. thanks for the quick info man.

[robocopvn]

I have a question, does dm4x have aluminum body ??

[dpwhitty11]

@robocopvn everything but the bottom is aluminum. the bottom is black plastic.

[SuperAntx]

Was hard to watch with the camera on auto-focus.

[M3FANBOY27]

Thanks, wanted to see how the performance was with the graphics card. Good to know that it does sc2 on medium smoothly and thats good enough since the huge jump in graphics is really only from low to med.

[onlineiseasy]

Just wondering, when Skyping, does the fan turn on at all? My last laptop's fan was too loud for the other end of my Skype call to understand me.

[dpwhitty11]

@onlineiseasy it goes a little bit faster if you start video chatting, but it doesn't get in the way of anything. at its loudest, it is still pretty quiet

[ashishheart]

How can we switch on and switch off the touchpad function?

[dpwhitty11]

@ashishheart you double-tap the top left part of the touchpad (on the little gray dot thing)

[ashishheart]

@dpwhitty11 Thanks a lot.

[unholydeath123]

Thanks for the review man this was extremely helpful. This question has been answered most likely but I'm too lazy to browse through the comments to find it so here goes, does your dm4 make excessive fan noise or any type of sounds after hours of use? How about when you're running multiple applications such as internet windows, extra tabs, minor and major games in unison?

[dpwhitty11]

@unholydeath123 its always very quiet until you turn on the radeon gpu. at that point, the fan is audible not not that loud. after you open a game (whether it be a big or small game) the fan really kicks in.

[unholydeath123]

@dpwhitty11 Ok so casual browsing will not influence the computer to be noisy over time, right?

[xBiocide]

Hey, just wanted to comment that reading the comments and your responses has been very helpful. Thank you for the continued effort (meaning you didn't just post a video and leave it be).

[bobins253]

Nvm got it! Go to the BIOS I guess :p

[bobins253]

I mean is there a permanent way? Like the dell labtops?

[dpwhitty11]

@bobins253 oh. not that i know of, no

[bobins253]

Hey I just bought this computer how do you switch the function keys

[dpwhitty11]

@bobins253 i assume you mean the f1 f2 f3 etc. press the fn button on the very bottom left of the keyboard

[BRkingMEN]

Awesome vid! I wanted to know how to use the Turbo Boost on the regular dm4. I bought it recently and they said it can be maxed out at 3.0GHz and I was hoping u'd show me. Thanks!

[dpwhitty11]

@BRkingMEN i think it just kicks in automatically

[guitarherosjs]

Does only the silver one not attract finger prints? Is the Dark Umber glossy or brushed aluminum color?

[crassigyrinus]

1. What pushed you to this over the Envy 14?

2. Are the graphics smartly-switchable (like Nvidia Optimus), or do you have to manually switch?

3. What's your battery life when you're doing non-gaming tasks like word processing, web browsing, and listening to music?

[dpwhitty11]

@crassigyrinus

1) when i was ordering mine, the envy 14 had a tier lower graphics card and did not have the sandy bridge option.

2) you can set it up to manually switch when on or off AC power, but otherwise it is manual

3) about 7 hours, more if the brightness is lower

[redrevellinfusion]

That being said, I'm willing to give it another chance after seeing your review. I just hope they don't send me a defective mess this time or I'll be buying a Dell in the end.

[dpwhitty11]

@redrevellinfusion i think you just got a bad one. that kind of thing happens

[redrevellinfusion]

Thanks for the review.

I got the dm4x as well about a month ago and I must say I was appalled. The trackpad didn't work at all, the ports were fitted improperly (couldn't insert anything) and the keyboard wasn't even seated completely. I tried installing drivers (looked everywhere) I finally lifted up the keyboard (since it was coming off anyways) to see if there was a loose connection but found nothing. I returned it to HP (got refunded) but they could care less that the laptop was defective.

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

What does the voltage say on the plug?

Want to know as i'm buying in USA for UK - diff voltages...

[dpwhitty11]

@xxdreamycreamyxx 100-240v (1.5amp) input, 19v (4.74amp) output

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

@dpwhitty11 ok thanks, I guess I won't need a transformer then :)

[saitex29]

is this

HP - Pavilion Laptop / Intel® Core™ i5 Processor / 14" Display / 4GB Memory / 640GB Hard Drive - Aluminum

Model:dm4-1265dx?

[dpwhitty11]

@saitex29 not quite, mine has the i7, hd 6470, and 6gb ram.

[adamef93]

Does this have lightscribe capability?

[dpwhitty11]

@adamef93 i dont know. lol. sorry

[randomrazr]

@adamef93 lightscribe? who uses that anymore LOL

[uyenpham88]

I just bought this dm4x few days ago but the touchpad is not working well, it is absolutely not sensitive, the arrow moves very slowly and multi-touch does not work and i can't turn touchpad on and off too. I searched everywhere on the internet and i see there are many people have the same problem with dm4x's touchpad like me.

so i wanna ask u about ur lap's touchpad. does it work well?? can u use multi-touch on it? thanks 4 ur answer.

[dpwhitty11]

@uyenpham88 my touchpad works relatively fine. i would be lying if i said it worked perfectly, cuz it does have some flaws. you can change the settings to address most of your issues. after messing with those i got it to work well. it also takes some time to get used to.

[lmullen93]

@uyenpham88 I bought mine a few weeks ago and gradually noticed a decrease in touchpad performance until the other day when it stopped working completely. call HP.

[AmyCochran1]

Do you know if the weight increased with the larger battery?

[dpwhitty11]

@AmyCochran1 a little bit, but not much

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

Do you notice a difference in battery life with the bluetooth on?

[dpwhitty11]

@xxdreamycreamyxx bluetooth only uses power when active. also, bluetooth barely uses any power at all so any strain it puts on the battery would be negligible.

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

@dpwhitty11 Thanks, i'll get bluetooth as well then XD

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

Don't worry, just seen you said the same for the bluetooth XD

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

Can you turn the bluetooth off? I know you said that you can turn the wifi off...

[smallin45]

hi, are the speakers loud? 

[dpwhitty11]

@smallin45 they can easily fill a medium-sized room if thats what your asking. they dont compare at all to beats, however. my friend recently bought the dv7t and the sound on THAT was amazing.

[dpwhitty11]

@Danielnamd very portable.

[faresx25x]

Thanks a lot for the video, i'm planning on getting the same exact computer, same specs. 2 questions: does it get very hot with that processor and all those specs? my current xps m1330 get extremely hot. Also, how did you get it for that price? lowest i can find it total now is 1350 (3yr service though). any tips as to where i can buy it cheaper? or how?

[dpwhitty11]

@faresx25x just google "hp dm4x coupon" and you'll be able find something. and no, it doesnt get hot. it heats up a bit when i play a game like starcraft 2 or any other intensive game.

[JonoTehMuffinMan]

Anyone knows where to get the touchpad drivers?

[dpwhitty11]

@JonoTehMuffinMan no idea. the alps website is shit and hp doesn't have them up.

[JonoTehMuffinMan]

@dpwhitty11 For real. I posted some thread in their forums, no help. They have drivers for everything else, it baffles me why they would just hold the touchpad drivers back.

[MallicTech]

What are the gadgets (sidebar) that you are using on the right side of your desktop?

[dpwhitty11]

@MallicTech Rainmeter, and the plugins are all part of the illustro theme.

[igotaniphone3gs]

Is the graphics card on the laptop any good? Like for playing games like fallout or l4d2 in reasonable quality

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

@igotaniphone3gs The Intel one which is included in the price is not, its cr@p, however I think the upgraded 1gb Radeon one is good :) Itll handle the games for sure but I don't know about the level of quality it can handle sorry.

[dpwhitty11]

@igotaniphone3gs it should be able to run fallout 3 just fine. i have the game laying around somewhere and have yet to install it but im sure it will run.

[princemarth150]

which is better, the new dm4x series or the new dv 4t series

[dpwhitty11]

@princemarth150 the dm4x is far better because the dv4t only has integrated graphics.

[princemarth150]

@dpwhitty11 I'm not planning on getting dedicated graphics. Sorry I forgot to mention that

[dpwhitty11]

@princemarth150 oh. then in that case, get the dv4t because it is the cheaper option.

[greyst27]

How far does the 9 cell battery stick out from the bottom of the laptop? Does it add much weight and alter the angle of the computer to where typing is more difficult? And have you found that you move or bump the cursor or make inadvertent clicks with your palm when typing? Thanks for the review!

[dpwhitty11]

@greyst27 it sticks out maybe an inch at the most. it adds no significant amount of weight, and the angle makes it a bit easier to type on actually. I have noticed the cursor moving and registering a tap thus displacing my text when i type, but eventually you learn to keep your palms next to the trackpad and not over it.

[emapeddie]

I am still seaching and I have e-mailed HP UK and waiting for a reply,as soon as I have any info I will mge u. P.S. Thanx for ur reply,Eddie :)

[asianoutcast87]

Well...I just got the laptop, and its pretty decent. The only thing I did not like was the graphics card. Kinda bad but hey, its a laptop. The thing that really impressed me was the display. Bright and clear. Battery life was normal. Get the i5 processor if you are not planning to kill your battery fast with the i7. Oh yeah, keys did not impress me either. They felt flimsy. Overall though, its an excellent laptop for its price. Plus, I got a lot of free upgrades...and a free xbox. lol

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

@asianoutcast87 Cool! I thought the graphics card was good for a laptop, none of that Intel crap lol, no?

And what colour did you get? I'm interested in the Dark Umber...

If you upload a video, let me know please :)

[asianoutcast87]

@xxdreamycreamyxx

None of that Intel crap. =]

And get the dark umber one. It looks amazing. I don't like the silver one because in my opinion, it looks like tin foil. Just my opinion.

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

@asianoutcast87 gdgd! :)

Yeah, wat colour does it actually look like? Ive only seen photos of it on google so they do it no justice... I've heard its a fingerprint magnet tho!

[asianoutcast87]

@xxdreamycreamyxx

It is a finger print magnet...but still looks pretty good.

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

@asianoutcast87 Oh ok cool, yeah, I think im going to get that colour :)

Is it actually black or have a tinge of another colour like Sony's black is a bit purple...

[asianoutcast87]

@xxdreamycreamyxx

Its really dark brown.

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

@asianoutcast87 thanks! :D

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

How do you turn the Wifi on and off? Is there an actual physical button?

[dpwhitty11]

@xxdreamycreamyxx yea, theres an actual button. its also the same button for bluetooth, so if you want bluetooth on the wifi has to be on as well

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

@dpwhitty11 Oh ok thanks, my current laptop has no button, I have no idea how to turn wifi off so it eats through the battery like anything! :/ Big improvment then :D

Now I just have to go to America to get this laptop hahahaha XD :(

[kobe552266]

what is your opinion on the wrist area size. Is it too small?

[dpwhitty11]

@kobe552266 what do you mean wrist area?

[kobe552266]

@dpwhitty11 I meant the size of the wrist area when you type. does it feel cramped?

[dpwhitty11]

@kobe552266 ohhhh. i dont think so.

[MrMav65]

what is the windows experience index scores?

[dpwhitty11]

@MrMav65 i actually have no idea. i cant get it to run, no matter what i try. i'll have to contact microsoft to figure this out.

[MrMav65]

@dpwhitty11 lawl lame ok

[androider2011]

congratulations,,Nicy Loptop & Great Choose..

after I watched this video ..I Being thinking of buying DM4X ..

but ..I'm Pluzzled ..between DM4X & Envy 14 >!

which one is better ..?!! any help.. :)

thanks @dpwhitty11 for review ..

[dpwhitty11]

@androider2011 well, the envy14 has a backlit keyboard. the dm4x has a better graphics card. the envy line also has apparently had a few issues with them, such as poor battery life and overheating.

[deadeye1985]

can someone write his average battery life for the dm4x? please write if it's a 6 or 9 cell battery.

thanks !

[dpwhitty11]

@deadeye1985 my 9 cell gives me between 6 and 7 hours

[shadowfax1993]

I am planning on buying this laptop so I was just wondering if it gets hot pretty fast and if it makes a lot of fan noise.

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

I'm thinking of getting the i5 and the larger battery like this guy, anyone know roughly how long the battery life will last?

Also, im sure it will play the sims 3 but can someone confirm this?

Thanks for the upload, brillant :D

[dpwhitty11]

@xxdreamycreamyxx the battery will lasty you around 6 ours, and you'll no have trouble playing the sims

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

@dpwhitty11 Thankyou! And thanks for the quick answer too :)

Gd video :D

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

Anyone seen both the steel gray and the dark umber? I don't know which one to get... Does either one look cheaper than the other and also is the dark umber one a finger print magnet? I'm not going to pay extra if it is lol.

Finally, does anyone know when this is available in the UK? :)

[rajinirulez]

the ones in singapore r not dual core..its jus intel i7!

[dpwhitty11]

@rajinirulez Intel doesn't make single-core i7s. It's a dual core for sure.

[FullEffect256]

i reformatted my dm4x on my own, only to find out that hp didn't post all of the drivers properly on their website. are you able to adjust your trackpad settings (sensitivity, palm check, etc)? my synaptics settings only has adjustments for the buttons right now.

[dpwhitty11]

@FullEffect256 i recommend finding the exact name of the touchpad and finding the drivers the the website of whoever makes it. im surprised HP doesn't have an option to include a reinstallation disc with the laptop.

[FullEffect256]

@dpwhitty11 so are you able to adjust all your sensitivity and palm check settings in the synaptics properties? do you by any chance have the drivers still on your computer?

[dpwhitty11]

@FullEffect256 yes, i can. this is the information i have about the driver

Provider: Alps

Date: 2/18/2011

Version: 7.206.1717.117

[FullEffect256]

@dpwhitty11 dude ur a life saver...thanks!!

[FullEffect256]

i reformatted my dm4x on my own, only to find out that hp didn't post all of the drivers properly on their website. are you able to adjust your trackpad settings (sensitivity, palm check, etc)? my synaptics settings only has adjustments for the buttons right now.

[dpwhitty11]

@amaturefilms97 a 720p microsoft hd webcam

[emapeddie]

One of the best "personal" reviews of the DM4! Thanx for the review dpwhitty11, I am now sure I am going to buy one (if I can find a seller in the UK) ;)

[xxdreamycreamyxx]

@emapeddie If you find a seller in the UK, can you tell me please, i'm in love with this laptop but cannot find it anywhere in the UK :/

Please reply, whatever the response, thanks :)

[MrMrSuperCool]

Just thought of something. How is the WiFi Range on this guy and how is the battery life. Thanks again

[dpwhitty11]

@MrMrSuperCool With just web browsing, i get over 6 hours of battery. With game playing, i get closer to 3 (with max brightness and wifi on). i cannot comment on wifi range, as that will mostly depend on the wireless router and what your surrounds are made of. though i CAN say that i get a 'fair' rating on my signal, though my router is 50 feet and 3 walls away.

[deadeye1985]

where did u buy this? in hp website i costs more than 1012$ b4 tax and shipping

[dpwhitty11]

@deadeye1985 I bought it off the HP website. are you sure you are on the right model? With my specifications, it cost me $1012. Keep in mind that I also used a $50 coupon. To find those, simply google "hp dm4x coupons".

[Floortile83]

Hey, Good video. I got my dm4x the same day as you. Mine has the i5 2410m, 6gb RAM, 640gb 7200 rpm drive, radeon 6470m, dark umber. Fallout: New Vegas actually said I could use the highest settings while I was using the integrated graphics, instead of the Radeon. Didn't lag either. Anyway, does your screen look faded and washed out? Adjusting the color settings helped a lot but, it's still not that vibrant. Could be the glossy screen and my viewing angle. Thanks

[dpwhitty11]

@Floortile83 thanks! and from what i can see, i dont see any faded colors or anything like that. in fact, going from my laptop to my desktop, the screen i have on my desktop is just bleh. haha. the screen on my dm4x is amazing. though i do notice colors washing out at certain extreme angles.

[Floortile]

@dpwhitty11 Mine is okay at 90 degrees. I can notice a difference when I move it forward or back 10 degrees. I'm unsure if I have a bad screen or not. There's a big difference in color when I plug into my TV or desktop monitor... Have you run Passmark on it? I get about 1400 overall and 3600 cpu scores. I'm interested in what it get's with the i7 2620m.