*HP EliteBook 2560p Owners Lounge*

am about to purchase a used one, I was wondering what key do I press on start up to access the bios? I want to make sure there is no bios password protection on. please some one let me know I have 2 hours to find out, I tried googling this to

+rep to the first one with the right answer!

somone has to have the answer to this, you use your laptop on a daily basis !

edit: got the answer

esc key upon bootup then F10 to enter bios!

 

Made some test on Mass Effect 2; these were the results (comparable to vnwhite), considering that i used my eGPU and i think vnwhite the HD3000.

Look at the max temps reached obviously



I'll repeat the tests once i receive at home a better thermal grease.

 

just aqirued this little beast, I ended up trading a ipad 2 16gb wifi for this 2560p this thing is in beauitful shape ( no sign of use ) very happy with it.

i5 2520m
320GB 7.2k
N6300
1x4GB stick ( getting another )
6cell with no wear level

now my question is I opened the underneath I see the cpu is not soldered ( jump for joy ) can I upgrade the cpu to a quadcore i7?

 

heat seems pretty killer on SimoxTa results, maybe its not really a good idea for long term use? I would be using hand brake alot so am I better off upgrading do the dual core i7?

 

Thanks for the tips.

Got the caddy and picked up 16GB of 1600 RAM for $260 from Crucial.

SSD is next, decided to get one larger drive for now and wait for the next generation of controllers to come out.

I've decided to take the plunge and get a 480GB Intel 520 SSD.

Looks like Newegg is the place to get it from but they have 2 models with a $30 price difference:
Intel 520 Series Cherryville SSDSC2CW480A3K5 2.5" 480GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) @ $1,049.99 or
Intel 520 Series Cherryville SSDSC2CW480A310 2.5" 480GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) @ $1,079.99 + shipping

Does anyone know what the difference is?

Also if you know of anywhere to get it cheaper, please post a reply.

Thanks.

 

SimoxTa has indicated he'll be doing tests with other thermal compounds.

I'd still be pursueing a i7-quad like a i7-2720QM or better for best performance. The temps can be lowered by either (1) adding more copper to the heatpipe like the 3830TG folks have done here using pennies and dimes as shown below:



or (2) set the maximum CPU % in the control panel power settings to be 80% or 90% (or use Throttlestop to do the same). That will limit the highest VID (voltage) and lower temps at max load.

According to an Intel document, the two part numbers have the same SSD. It's just the box and the additional accessories that differ. The cheaper one will be fine for your purposes. See snippet below.



There are Intel 520 480GB SSDs available for just under ~$1k on shopping.google.com.

 

that a good idea!, it seems the acer has dual heat pipes but it also has to cool off a dedicated gfx card to. Is there a possible way of under undervolting a sandybridge quad?

am even more tempted to take the quad core plunge

 

You might want to consider a $800 512GB Samsung 830 too. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147139. Not far behind the Intel 520 in performance. See http://www.anandtech.com/show/5508/...cherryville-brings-reliability-to-sandforce/5

Samsung 830 256GB SATA 3 SSD Review - Make Way For Incredible Performance & Lower Prices - The SSD Review

Only way to undervolt is as I described in my last post - limit the highest multiplier. Intel have serialialised the VID pins so can't do any hardware mods either. They've also put the PLL in the CPU so PLL-based overclocking is out too.

I got a PM from SimoxTA indicating he reduced max temp by 7 degrees. I'm sure he'll fill in the details of how that was achieved (better thermal paste or copper coins or both). That would make his i7-2630QM operate under Tjmax (100/105 degrees), making it a feasible and safe upgrade.

 

Artic Cooling MX-4:

Definitely Better:



If the delta remains constant with the previous scenario, in games it should reach at most 83°C ^^

 

One naive question for the quad core modders... What kind of tasks you do in your 2560p? I've always heard a fast dual core is better for gaming (egpu) but I am hoping it does shows a decent leap in performance with the mod. Maybe a 2640m is better for us, its a shame intel no longer offers extreme dual core cpus or K-model dual core mobile cpus? Those would rock here imho (also for undercloking when not in full use)

Note: Non-native english speaker, be generous.

 

Hi all,

My HP EliteBook 2560P cannot be started when I pressed and released the power button. On the left corner side panel, the "flash" light keep blinking with Amber light. This continues despite I took out battery with AC adapter. Without AC adapter and only the battery, this light stilll keeps blinking. Is my notebook toasted? I'm so disappointed as I did not backup my data. Could anyone advise me? Thanks.

Teck

 

try removing memory modules and hard drive and just try to turn it one with 1 stick of ram, also remove the batter and ac adapter and hold the power button for a minute or so, that should reset bios setting if am not mistaken.



I just upgraded my 1x4gb ram to 2x4gb and graphics performance nearly doubled ( due to the dual channel beneficial to IGP), also repasted using MX4 and dropped my temps 10c on full load with benchmarks , so now my hunt for 2630 starts and thanks SimoxTa for all your testing its really helping me decide to upgrade to a quadcore, is there any chance you can run some handbrake encoding with temps?

 

Yes, for now a dual core CPU is more than enough and often it's better if you have higher clocks, btw some games like BF3 and tasks like video encoding take advantage from the extra two core. Like Nando said, the best choice would be to have a good quad core performer. In my case i was out of budget, so with the 2630QM, my eGPU performances were on par with the dual 2520M and with the newer thermal grease, the heat isn't a problem anymore ^^

Simone

@Superman3486: for sure, i have videos to be converted for the eGPU thread, i'll check the temps during the process

 

I've just installed 16 GB Corsair and waiting for my plastic kit or what to arrive (to make my generic caddy look decent). I love this beast.

 

Good work

Passmark comparison of i5/i7 dual-core versus i7-quad

Pretty big difference b/w a dual and quad in passmark results. You can see the i7-2860QM is two times faster than a i7-2620M. A quad is definitely the way to go to reduce video transcoding time.

CPU/Speed/cpumark

i5-2520M 2.5 3612
i5-2540M 2.6 3871
i7-2620M 2.7 3992
i7-2640M 2.8 4029
i7-2630QM 2.0 6360
i7-2670QM 2.2 6870
i7-2720QM 2.2 7002
i7-2760QM 2.4 7547
i7-2820QM 2.3 7589
i7-2860QM 2.5 7853​

Another option that may or may not give even faster transcoding. Consider a NVidia GTX460/GTX560Ti DIY eGPU via the expresscard slot using Badaboom software to do CUDA GPU-accelerated video transcoding.

REF: http://www.whitneyland.com/2010/09/intel-cpu-vs-nvidia-gpu-video-transcoding.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/329013-33-nvidia-video-transcoding-compared-intel-3000

SimoxTa has the i7-quad and a GTX560Ti eGPU so maybe he can make a comparison b/w CPU and GPU based encoding times? Means you could also encode a video using the CPU and the eGPU at the same time.

Optical drive weight saver photos added here.

 

I'll be out of games for a couple of days due my complete ignorance
I heated the keyboard with the hairdryer while removing the intel sticker and i'm waiting for a replacement from HP :SLEEP:

Meanwhile i can confirm that during ALL benchmarks now the highest temperature reached was 82°C. While i wait to receive the keyboard, i'll make the bench of video converter stress test to see what is the highest temp reached.

Simone

 

RAID-0 is no go in F.22 2560P bios

FYI: I hinted that RAID-0 was possible in an earlier post. Well today I lined up two 160GB HDDs to test the theory. I set RAID in the BIOS, got the CTRL-I prompt and only got an option to do RAID-1 (mirroring). Mirroring was also the only option when using the Intel RST driver as shown in the screencaps below:



So no.. unfortunately while the QM67 chipset is RAID-0 capable, HP have decided to not allow the capability in the 2560P for now. Anyone wanting RAID-0 will need to ask HP for a bios update with this feature enabled. While asking for that, perhaps ask also for the Upgrade bay harddisk boot option to be visible as well (so don't need to use biosconfigutility like needed in the workaround). Having more WWAN cards than the two in the current whitelist would be good too.

 

[quote/] Passmark comparison of i5/i7 dual-core versus i7-quad

Pretty big difference b/w a dual and quad in passmark results. You can see the i7-2860QM is two times faster than a i7-2620M. A quad is definitely the way to go to reduce video transcoding time.

CPU/Speed/cpumark

i5-2520M 2.5 3612
i5-2540M 2.6 3871
i7-2620M 2.7 3992
i7-2640M 2.8 4029
i7-2630QM 2.0 6360
i7-2670QM 2.2 6870
i7-2720QM 2.2 7002
i7-2760QM 2.4 7547
i7-2820QM 2.3 7589
i7-2860QM 2.5 7853​

Another option that may or may not give even faster transcoding. Consider a NVidia GTX460/GTX560Ti DIY eGPU via the expresscard slot using Badaboom software to do CUDA GPU-accelerated video transcoding.

REF: Lee Whitney's Blog: Intel CPU vs. NVidia GPU: Video transcoding
NVidia GTX 560 Ti video transcoding (compared to Intel HD 3000) - Nvidia - Graphic-Displays

SimoxTa has the i7-quad and a GTX560Ti eGPU so maybe he can make a comparison b/w CPU and GPU based encoding times? Means you could also encode a video using the CPU and the eGPU at the same time.

Optical drive weight saver photos added here.[/QUOTE]


awesome, I just hope I can find reasonable priced 2630qm? am guessing ES chip would work?

also am looking on ebay for the 9.5mm drive replacement, could somebody point me to which one would work?

perhaps would this work?
http://tinyurl.com/ebay-HDD-caddy

 

has anyone tried to install the IPS screen from X220 into 2560p?
for Dell E6220, I saw someone successfully finished this modification and the improvement is promising

 

Yeah, saw the relatively simple E6220 IPS mod at http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...e6220-ips-screen-replacement.html#post8288083 but do note the IPS panel is taller the the previous panel.

vnwhite looked at modding a X220 IPS panel into a 2560P here writing:

I have a different AUO206C panel in mine, as identified in AIDA64, and find it's vivid, clear and brighter than previous 2530p panels I used. I have no complaints. The 2560P LCD cable part number is listed below in case you want to check for pin compatibility.

Please keep us informed if you do try the mod. Other than the lower weight, it's the IPS panel is one of the big advantages of a X220 over a 2560P. If that panel was available to us then I personally would have no further interest in a X220 as the 2560P's i7-quad upgradability (and fingers crossed Ivy Bridge) and better looks more than makes up for the heavier weight

Now if only we can get HP to enable RAID-0 capability and add more WWAN cards in the bios . . .

 

i think it is true that this ips panel is thicker that you have to break something to make it fit. I really wish we can have some nice TN panels, since this IPS is very far away from its 15.6 and 17.3 siblings in terms of performance.
The only confirmed information on gamut for all 12.5 panels is B125XW01 V.0 has only 45% and I think that should be what 2560p has got.
I will buy one TN panel from LG to see if it can perform better.

 

Hi all,

I've had my 2560p for a while now and have regularly visited this thread as an interested reader - but I've just started tinkering with it!

So far it has:

• 240GB Corsair Force 3 SSD
• 16GB RAM

I have on order:

• Atheros / Bigfoot Killer WIFI N1103 (Info obtained from this thread)
• HP QC431AA HS2340 HSPA+ WWAN card (Info obtained from this thread)
• HP Folio 13" Backlit keyboard (Idea obtained from this thread)

and I'm watching on eBay (haven't decided which yet)

• i7 2820QM
• i7 2720QM

Finally I'm keeping my eye on the IPS Panel conversation; I'd love one of those in this thing.

Thanks to you all for assembling all this information in one place. I'll let you know how the keyboard swap goes (if at all!) once it arrives as I haven't seen that anyone's actually attempted it yet (or have I missed a post?).

Overall though I'm really happy with this machine and can't wait until it's completed.

Cheers,
Melon.

 

Wow! I'll be keeping tabs on your upgrade progress to see how the i7-quad, IPS and Folio 13 keyboard trial fit goes. The Folio 13 keyboard retrofit was just throwing an idea out there. Glad you caught it and may perhaps pioneer the way to backlit keys on a 2560P

Worth noting also that a Dell E6220 users managed to fit a X220 IPS panel with some minor mods at http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...92-latitude-e6220-ips-screen-replacement.html . Means there is a good chance it can be made to fit a 2560P as well.

Now if we can convince HP to give us a RAID-0 capable bios then consider: i7-quad + RAID-0 SATA-III SSDs = max performance in smallest package. Add IPS to complete the package.

 

Having the feedback on the backlit keyboard would be awesome (even if i've already spent the cash for my keyboard replacement )

 

Took my 2560P keyboard to a store and measured it up against a Folio 13. The width and length are exactlyt he same. The only discrepancy is the Folio 13 has a narrow angle on the corners. Means then there it wouldn't have clean corners when fitted in a 2560P. Though I'm sure that wouldn't be difficult to correct with some black rubber or even cardboard blacked out to match the keyboard.

HP should really consider making the 2560P keyboard backlit and fitting that to the Folio 13. It really made it look quite a bit better, plus would mean they'd be like the only non-Lenovo ultrabooks with a touchstick.

So yeah, looking forward to seeing melonstrings Folio 13 backlit keyboard retrofit to a 2560P. I wonder if the keyboard layers could be separated so a hybrid keyboard created with a 2560P base/chassis + Folio 13 backlit keys could be created? Would have a big hole where the touchstick is though . . .

 

Am I the only one here who is disappointed with the audio quality of this otherwise beautiful little beast? I use high-end headphones (Denon AH-D5000) and I find it way worse than the sound of my 6 year old Lifebook. Getting used to it, but it's not to my liking... Much more "metallic". The Lifebook sounds "warmer".

Is there such a thing as an external SoundBlaster sound card or something? I spent half a day with Googleing but haven't found much. I'm looking for something preferably ExpressCard. I mean I'm looking for a sound card replacement, basically. I found this but I'm afraid it's not what I'm looking for. It still uses the HP's built-in sound card then transforms it into something (they say, into something better) for which purpose I'd rather use a headphone amp -- but if the input signal is of low quality there is not much that can be done...

Thanks


PS. I'm an audiophile.

Update. I found my solution. I think. It's promounced: Pico Portable USB DAC/Amp

 

Thanks!

I just wanted to have something compact/portable (both in size and with the minimal amount of cables) and thought I could use that slot. I think I will go for the Pico DAC/Amp. I needed a good headphone amp anyway.

I asked it here because I'm just so disappointed with the audio and I have this particular model myself.. Before getting this laptop I remember I tried to find reviews about sound (card) quality but ofc I found nothing. Then it came and it was almost like a shock after the Lifebook. But yeah I'll look around in the subforums as you suggested because the Pico is not exactly cheap either.

 

So you edited it! I didn't understand how I could have replied, ignoring your alternatives. I normally read more carefully than that.

 

Did you install the 2560P's IDT audio driver with SRS premium tray control panel? Has a heap of adjustments that are possible.

 

Latest Specs:

HP2650 | i7 2620M 2.7 GHz | Intel 520 480GB SSD | Intel 320 160GB SSD in Newmodus Optical Enclosure | Samsung PM800 128GB SSD via Newmodus eSata cable | 16GB Crucial DDR3-1600 RAM | Centrino 6205 WiFi | HP un2430 EV-DO/HSPA GPS and WWAN | 9 Cell Battery | Fingerprint Rdr

Next on the list:
1. Get a cable from Newmodus that will allow me to connect my bezel-less optical drive via USB.
2. Find a software that is WIN7 x64 compatible to power down the second SSD to save power.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Can't install it! Installer freezes on me. No error message or anything, it just doesn't go any further after a certain point; have to kill it from task manager.

 

I received yesterday the Fenvi HDD caddy and today the frontplate from HP. After about 2h of work and i finished to cut the plastic and now i can say i have the 2nd hdd caddy with a proper frontplate. I had some problems with the cutter and my hands (and that's comic after i made all the DIY eGPU enclosure without getting hurt) and i cut with a small piece of plastic , but to handle the camera i need both hands, so i'll post tomorrow the photos of the finished product (meanwhile the glue will do its work).

 

hey is there a good sleeve for this that would fit with the 6cell anyone can recommend?

 

Ok i took some Nando's photos of the plastic to highlight where to cut (i forgot to make photos before the cut, but i still have the scraps. The process is quite easy due the softness of the plastic.

You will need:

- A cutter
- A jigsaw
- A rasp
- Sandpaper
- Patience
- Hot glue
- Epoxy resin

First of all cut the spacer splitting the frontplate from the rest.

Then take the cutter and cut following this red line all the internal "plastic walls" keeping in mind that is ALWAYS preferred to have to cut a bit more on a second run than had cut too much. Be careful, the plastic is soft but sometimes you'll have to apply some force and your fingers will be there (mine was in fact i got injuried) Take your time and everything is going to be smooth.



Keep in mind that you'll have to remove part of these walls because otherwise the frontplate will not be aligned to the chassis.
You'll have to manage each wall alone doing a work similar to this \ L (red line)
Remember that the height of the cut is not always the same, the last forth of the caddy is thinner, so you'll have to cut according to the caddy height.

It's up to you to decide if the final walls will be cut or not, the caddy should fit anyway. Considering that the notebook chassis will cover 3 of the four side of the frontplate, to work easily i suggest to cut it, but it's your own decision.



Once you finish the gross cut, use the rasp and the sandpaper to finish it and check if the plastic is adherent to the caddy profile.
Put the caddy inside the PC and then take the hot glue and give 2 point to give it the right positioning.
Finally take the epoxy resin and glue and let it dry for about 10h (depending on your glue).

And here the photos of the caddy almost finished (the epoxy resin is still drying)

 

Hi all, just checking in to see whats been happening with this thread...

I've been using the 2560p for awhile now with the i7-2820QM QS for several months now and have had zero issues. Normally I run power-saver mode to minimize heat and conserve power. One of my goals was maximize battery life for long-haul flights and after heavy tweaking, I've got my idle battery discharge rate down to just under 5W per hour, with min screen brightness and wifi/bluetooth radios on. With the 54Whr battery I have, that's just about 11hrs idling/reading/surfing. In case anyone is wondering, here's what I did:

* Used a Crucial C300 256GB SSD, one of the lowest idle power SSDs around
* Used HWINFO to monitor realtime battery discharge rates
* Tweaked which services auto-start
* Used Process Monitor to identify/disable/uninstall processes causing excessive CPU wakeups
* Ran powercfg -energy to identify any issues
* Enabled ASPM on all PCIe devices with a Linux Grub bootloader
* Modified windows power schemes to enhance CPU core parking (and other parameters)
* Modified some CPU MSR registers on the fly with a batch script
* Use the ShoveAffinity program to force all process to a single core to allow the other 3 cores to completely power down

One of the main disappointments I had using the i7-2820QM is that I was never able to set the MSRs of the CPU to enable overclocking, as I believe the read-only bits are set in HPs BIOS. On the flip side, I did find that I could force MAX performance of the i7 by setting the multiplier to 34x, then disabling the C1E and EIST MSR bits. This basically locks all of the cores to 34x and holds it there, versus the normal EIST behavior of only allowing a single thread to run at 34x. You should be able to achieve something similar by using ThrottleStop.

I can elaborate more if anyone is interested.

Regards,
Vince

 

How compatible is it with linux? I've come back to my 2530p after using a thinkpad t61 4:3, toughbook 52 (awsome 1920x1200 screen), elitebook 8440p, elitebook 8460p, sony vaio Z590 (amazing screen too but very fragile). The linux compatibility is very good on the 2530p and I am considering the 2560p as I can get a really sweet price on it with ADP warranty included but I need to know about linux compatibility because thats my main OS at the time.

Note to native english speakers: Check my grammar please, trying to improve my english skills.

 

Hello, could you plese elaborate more on these points? I'm trying to maximize battery life on my notebooks, and your posts were kinda helpful, but I'm lost in details.

Palda

 

I've never had any issues with Arch/Debain/Ubuntu on the 2560p like I have had with previous laptops, the install went cleanly and worked straight out the box. Anything in particular that you interested in?

 

The latest Intel CPUs are incredibly energy efficient, assuming they are allowed to fully power down into the C6 deep-sleep states or shutdown individual cores completely (core parking). Since I have a power hungry quad-core, my target was to force the lowest CPU multiplier and run every process on only a single core. So, if your goal is to minimize power consumption, you have three main issues to look at:
1) Minimize hardware power consumption – enable devices to sleep where possible, low power SSDs, dim backlight, enable ASPM, etc.
2) Minimize processor intensive processes – any process that continually uses extra CPU processing with consume more power, so having real-time anti-virus or flash installed in your browser can consume extra power that you might not want being used
3) Minimize process that trigger CPU wakeups – any frequently re-occurring process will wake up a CPU from low power deep sleep and cause it to consume more power. Culprits here extra services, anti-virus programs, Win7 wifi scanner, bad IDC audio drivers from HP, etc. You can identify these with Process Monitor.

* Tweaked which services auto-start
See: Black Viper’s Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Service Configurations | Black Viper | www.blackviper.com

* Used Process Monitor to identify/disable/uninstall processes causing excessive CPU wakeups
Check out the system stack summary, sort by total number of events: Process Monitor

* Modified windows power schemes to enhance CPU core parking (and other parameters)
I mainly just forced the Win7 scheduler to attempt to park inactive CPU cores as often as possible
See: http://download.microsoft.com/downl...412A-A8B6-5E0A75D5B237/ProcPowerMgmtWin7.docx

* Ran powercfg -energy to identify any issues
This is part of Win7, this creates a file with what Win7 thinks is the status of the power savings state of the laptop, review it to find issues

* Enabled ASPM on all PCIe devices with a Linux Grub bootloader
See: http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...ning-windows-saving-2w-power-consumption.html
These are the settings I have for my 2560p, YMMV:
setpci -s 00:1b.0 0x80.B=0x03
setpci -s 00:1c.0 0x50.B=0x03
setpci -s 00:1c.1 0x50.B=0x03
setpci -s 00:1c.2 0x50.B=0x43
setpci -s 00:1c.3 0x50.B=0x43
setpci -s 23:00.0 0x90.B=0x43
setpci -s 23:00.2 0x90.B=0x43
setpci -s 24:00.0 0xf0.B=0x43

* Modified some CPU MSR registers on the fly with a batch script
See chapter 9 and B.7 for details on Intel MSRs: Intel® 64 and IA-32 Architectures Software Developer Manuals
I used this tool to write to the MSRs in a batch file, after investigating the effects of the MSRs with the Read-Write-Everything program: Read/Write Machine Specific Registers

This is part of my min power batch script, YMMV:
rem Min Power
powercfg -SETACTIVE a1841308-3541-4fab-bc81-f71556f20b4a
start /min ShoveAffinity 0 1

rem disable aero
net stop uxsms

rem set IA32_ENERGY_PERF_BIAS to max power savings
msr -w 0x1B0 0xF

rem set multiplier to 8x
msr -w 0x199 0x0800

rem disable C1/C3 sleep undemotion
msr -w 0xE2 0x06008405

* Use the ShoveAffinity program to force all process to a single core to allow the other 3 cores to completely power down
See: ShoveAffinity
I had to modify and recompile this program to have sufficient privileges to modify the affinity of system process, not just user processes, like how it comes stock

 

Does anyone have a definitive list of which batteries (with part numbers)are available for the 2560p?

The HP spec sheet says:
"9-cell (100 WHr) Lithium-Ion battery, 6-cell (62 WHr) Lithium-Ion battery, or HP Long Life 6-cell (55 WHr) battery;

The Quickspecs mentions 2 batteries:
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/14001_ca/14001_ca.HTML#Overview

I have seen a 3 cell mentioned in passing.

So far I have found:
1. HP MT06 Mini Battery A2Q96AA (6 cell)
(Will it make the battery flush with the laptop, making it easier to travel with?)
2. HP SX06XL Long Life Notebook Battery QK644AA (6 cell)
(The "long life" seems to refer to a 3 year lifetime, not battery power)
3. HP SX09 PN: 632423-001 (9 Cell)

 

Nop, just curious if something important was missing like audio or webcam? What about noise and power management under linux? My Z590 was a freaking jet engine while talking with Skype.

 

what kind of cases do you peeps use with this, as the 6 cell does stick out.

 

Hey there mates

Just bought my own Elitebook 2560p:

i5 2410m
4gb RAM
DVD
320gb 7200 HDD

Im totally pleased with it but I want to make some changes. Im buying SSD 120gb to use it instead de 7200rpm HDD(as I read in this post, it will work as SATA III). Ive bought 4gb more RAM too.
But I have some questions about software. Im reinstalling Windows (for a clean start), should I install all drivers from HP? Should I change BIOS version? How can I change it, if i should? Its too dangerous chaging the CPU to a quad core CPU(Im totally new with modding issues)?

Edit: Im looking for the correct SSD. I have seen OCZ vertex 3 and vertex 3 max iops. The difference is the power consumption and about 50$. I have seen Crucial m4 a bit cheaper than normal Vertex 3. What do you think? All 120gb-128gb

Thank you for your answers and all the information u put here.

Pd.: Sorry for my english, Im trying

 

Hi folks. Just checking in to say hi.

I just was issued a 2560p to replace a 2530p as my work laptop.

i5-2520M
4GB
320GB
DVD-RW
Win7Pro32 (some of our apps won't run under 64-bit O/S)

Very happy with it so far.

 

Hello there.
I personally download each driver package from HP, and then install them to see which ones I want to keep. Some of them are required, as Windows will not find the correct driver on it's own.
I also updated the BIOS to the newest version. Generally it is safer to update within the BIOS itself (rebooting the laptop and going in to the BIOS), rather than from within Windows.

Hello fellow Canuck.
I just bought a cheap neoprene sleeve type case for 12" laptops. Fits in fine.

 

I replaced the stock memory with 8GB Kingston HyperX 1866 Plug and Play memory. Doing that gives a tremendous boost to the integrated graphics. I've verified the memory does run at 933mHz.

The main reason I went the 2560p over other ultra-portables (like the Lenovo X220), is that the CPU isn't soldered. I replaced my stock CPU with an I7-2820QN QS quad-core CPU from eBay. After lapping the heatsink and using Shin-Etsu X23-7783D TIM, the idle temps are about 45 degC on Performance power setting and about 35 degC on PowerSaver mode. I've tweaked the CPU affinity and CPU parking power options to attempt to let 3 of the 4 cores power down to save power in PowerSaver mode.

Hey Vince - Thanks heap for the post. Have you, or do you intend to, or is it even possible to install the 32Gb that the 2820 will allow, or is this a physical contraint of the 2560p?

Thanks

Brenden

 

The 2560p only has 2 SODIM memory slots. If you actually wanted to spend the money, 16GB of memory would probably work with 2x 8GB sticks, but good luck finding any 16GB sticks.

-vince

 

Sorry for getting back on a rather old post but I received my corporate 2560p today and swapped the hdd for a Plextor M3 256GB ssd. CrystalDiskInfo says the transfer mode of the ssd is SATA/600 but the Intel Rapid Storage Technology system view says the SATA transfer rate is 3 Gb/s.

AS SSD benchmark is consistent with the conclusion that my 2560p runs at SATA II as the benchmark results for sequential reads/writes are both always around 260MB/s (max r/w according to optimistic Plextor specs is 550/340).

Is there anything I can do to somehow force the system (or Windows 7) to SATA III? Running HP's latest firmware btw, F.25 but got the same test values with F.22.

 

Hello! Does anyone know what's the probability that these will support daisy chaining monitors via DisplayPort?

Thanks!

 

Try on F.20 - other elitbooks xx60 owners claim that on this bios they have SATA 6Gb/s speeds.