The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    8730w and fx3700m

    Discussion in 'HP Business Class Notebooks' started by UnknownCode, Jul 17, 2011.

  1. UnknownCode

    UnknownCode Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    72
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    16
    I'm seeing a few, lets call it affordable 8730w's on ebay but they only come with the fire gl 5725, how easy is it to pop in a fx 3700m later down the road?
     
    UnknownCode, Jul 17, 2011
    #1
  2. Sotton

    Sotton Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    33
    Messages:
    591
    Likes Received:
    8
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I don't know but at least you need the special heat sink, HP part number 518096-001. However, maybe you can only upgrade from FX2700 but hopefully anybody knows for sure.

    In the meantime you can read the "Maintenance and Service Guide.pdf" for the 8730w which you find on the HP site (same location as driver downloads). There are illustrations and like that.
     
    Sotton, Jul 17, 2011
    #2
  3. stumo

    stumo Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    77
    Messages:
    278
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I know I just got one, mine is fx2700m and being a later model (T9800, dreamcolor), I believe it has already come with the better GPU heatsink since it has 2 heat pipes on it? There are no normal part number markings on it though so can't be sure. An I have another 2700m GPU heatsink from an early model 8730w that only has one heat pipe - but has the grove cast for the missing second pipe.

    But the fx3700m card is very expensive to buy on its own, you're looking at $300+ on eBay just for that card. So factor that in, and you will see you should try for one that already has the 3700m if thats a must for you. Otherwise the fx2700m is still pretty good if you can get decent specs for the rest of the machine.

    I'm trying to get a core2quad working 100% in mine now, almost there (3.4GHz FTW!) but I need some help on the last little bit (can't do a clean shutdown)...
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...book-8730w-owners-lounge-116.html#post7702991
     
    stumo, Jul 18, 2011
    #3
  4. UnknownCode

    UnknownCode Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    72
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Wow nice, but compared to the cost of mobile gfx cards separately online, i find the $300 price to be acceptable, granted i would not get it immediately, but at some point later down the road. Thanks for all the replies though, i could've sworn i read somewhere that someone popped in a 3700m and their machine would not boot =/ .

    Just wondering what my options for a bit of future proofing were as at this point a 8740w is wayyy out of my price range, the only thing i could probably get is a 8730w or a m6400. Good that its able to take a quad though, to me its not much of a performance loss, a previous generation quad compared to a i7...well, not to me anyway....
     
    UnknownCode, Jul 18, 2011
    #4
  5. stumo

    stumo Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    77
    Messages:
    278
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Well the whole laptop only cost me $575, so $300 is relatively a lot to spend for slightly better GPU performance. FYI: 8730w Dreamcolor WUXGA, T9800, f2700m, 4GB RAM (2x2GB), 320GB 7200rpm. And its in perfect condition. This was a couple of weeks ago. You can't really go wrong for that price.

    Oh and it doesn't take the quad perfectly. I have to run HWiNFO and it can't shutdown properly. The dual core 8530w can run the quad (undervolted) just fine though, but at lower clocks. At the moment I prefer the bigger screen and the higher clocks on 8730w, and will just put up with the shutdown issue until I can get a proper quadcore board for it.
     
    stumo, Jul 18, 2011
    #5
    ncgi89 likes this.
  6. UnknownCode

    UnknownCode Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    72
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Might i ask where you found one for that cheap online? I'm doing most of my searching on ebay and they really arent that cheap.
     
    UnknownCode, Jul 18, 2011
    #6
  7. stumo

    stumo Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    77
    Messages:
    278
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    There were 2 for sale in that listing, it was up for a couple of days while I was considering it, then when one sold I thought I may as well...
    FM875UT#ABA HP 8730w T9800/4GB/DVDRW/WUXGA | eBay
    That was one of their more expensive 8730w's.

    Keep an eye on that seller, they have been listing heaps of 8730w's past couple of months. You can see them in their completed listings. Shipping to Australia was 60 bux.
     
    stumo, Jul 18, 2011
    #7
  8. UnknownCode

    UnknownCode Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    72
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    16
    hmmm ill keep an eye out thanks, real nice prices were i looking for a 15"
     
    UnknownCode, Jul 18, 2011
    #8