*HP EliteBook 8440p/w Owners Lounge*

Does anyone have both an nc6400/6910p/6930p/other 14.1" HP business notebook and an 8440? I'd like to see them side by side to get a handle on just how much vertical screen space is lost by going to 16:9 (physical space, I know the vertical resolution is the same as WXGA+). I'm going to be coming from a 4:3 screen so I'm very hesitant to give up any more screen space than I have to...if it's a big loss by going 16:9 I'm going to have to go with either a 6930 or a Dell E6410.

 

I don't have either machine, but TV Calculator is a simple and useful site for side-by-side comparisons of screens of different sizes and layouts.

 

Go to a computer store and bring your laptop to compare it to a 16:9 screen. If you can't deal with it then your options for current notebooks are the Dell E6410 and Lenovo T410/s. If you really want HP, the Elitebook 6930p is still a great option.

 

I don't the other HP models but I'm coming from an ASUS M6ne with a 15" screen (1400x1050) and like you, i was a bit scared of the transition to a 16:9 factor.
Well after 2 days of general use and setup, i have no regret (yet) having moved to that form.
I work mostly on fireworks, photoshop and flash, and when not really idea for vertical document, the extra horizontal space allows me to use my toolbars and workspace more conveniently.

For reference I put a pic (not so great quality) of my asus m6ne side by side with my 8440w


On other news, after two days of use, i really have little complaint about this machine.
I didn't really follow my initial plan to run it as is for a week before upgrading to an SSD, I did it on the 2nd day.
This was a breeze and very straight forward. I moved the OHD to the caddy (bought on newmodeus) and run the intel SSD as OS and the other as Data disk (the HD has the original hp partitions hidden and reduced to a minimum so I can return to factory setting by swapping HD very quickly).



I haven't done any real benchmark, cause I believe a bit more in day to day experience, and so far so good.

I also have a video of shutdown+boot here (less than a minute and i had to type my password with one hand )

I installed CS4 master collection (which i couldn't on my asus) and the whole process took less than 5 min (roughly 8Go of data to be installed).

I'mm really impressed by the build. This is some really solid and quality work. The drawback one might say, is that this isn't especially light. It doesn't bother me that much since I use it on my desk most time, but it's not a light baby (for its size).

Thanks to Theologian, I have a screen that looks very good (in comparison to my asus) even though viewing angles are not so impressive. Again, nothing new for a laptop I would say with a normal screen.
I will try to borrow the spyder calibrator of a friend to see what I can do to maybe improve it a bit more.

That's all for now, I need to go do some more html+css coding today.

 

On my 8440w, while rebooting from win 7 pro 64 bits or win XP, it stays stucked on the HP logo for a while (lets say around one minute) before booting in windows.

Does anyone have the same "issue"?

Antsiou,

Did you change any parameter in the BIOS to avoid this ? Or is this because you are using a SSD?

 

Hei Terminator,

I don't know if the SSD help, but before i installed it, I was running XP (stock OS) and then updated to Windows7 32bit on the OHD, and i had no hang up.
I haven't tried w7 64bit with the OHD, only the SSD.

I also updated the bios, not that it needed or helped, but I like to be as up to date as possible.

By the way, it was so definitely worth the wait.

 

Hello Antsiou,

I see you have both the 80GB Intel X25-M G2 SSD and a 320GB HDD on your EliteBook. Did you have to bypass the DVD drive in order to fit both of them? Also, I was wondering if you can tell me how the screen quality looks? I'm considering buying one and the only thing that's holding me back is the screen quality and viewing angle. The up and down viewing angle is a huge concern. Do you lose any contrast or color quality when you look at it from different angles. Also, how's the brightness. I don't want to buy something that reminds me of the old IBM Thinkpad screens.

For anyone else,
There is an screen option for WVA when customizing my order, but I don't know what that means. Does anyone know?
Thanks for your input!

 

Hi krazyd,

I tried to install the final release of kubuntu 10.04 or to use it as a live CD. In both cases, I have a black screen after the menu where you choose either to go on with installation or live CD.

Did you encounter any issues when installing?

 

Hi 8Millenium,

Yes I had to buy a caddy from new modeus 2nd Hard Drive Caddy for HP Upgrade Bay - SATA (compare AK868AA) [HP-2BAY-8730] - $42.00 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks and i put the original HD (320Go WD scorpio black) in it.
I did a lot of reading before hand but the actual swap was very straight forward.
I can swap with the dvd drive but only on cold swap (i think).

Regarding the screen, this is not the best screen ever, but fqr from the worst.
Viewing angles are limited verticaly especially. Horizontally it's ok. Keep in mind this a regular laptop screen, so by current standards, subpar to any desktop. If you're the only user, you'll notice little disagreement as its area is nice, but if you need to share the screen with more people for quick presentation over your desk or in a quick meeting, this won't be ideal.
Colorwise i find it very good (compared to my previous asus) and the brightness is also quite strong.
I haven't tried it outside yet, but the anti-glare is doing a good job in my white painted walls appartment and the color are still virant.
(You will have to tweak through the nvidia panel though, theologian has given some details a few pages before in this thread).

 

WVA = Wide Viewing Angle

It's probably a nicer screen than the one that ships with the pre-configured models.

 

On the 8440w I think the screen is pretty good once tweaked in the NVIDIA control panel. That said there is some room for improvement. The brightness could be a little better in really sunny environments at the highest battery setting, but is pretty good with the ambient light sensor on. As for the color, it looks decent once calibrated, but I wouldn't say excellent. Blue seems to pop too much and the contrast just doesn't seem quite right.

Compared to a matte screen 17 inch MBP from 2007, the colors on the 8440w look a bit off. They look good, just not as true. The viewing angles on the 8440w are also weak for me. I'm far from an expert with these things though, so take this opinion with a grain of salt. The 1600x900 resolution doesn't bother me at all.

Personally, I'm trying to decide between the much less expensive Vostro 3400and the 8440w. I haven't seen the Vostro yet, but I'm not blown away by the screen quality on this Elitebook, so I'm wondering if the Vostro is better value for me, even if I do downgrade to the 1366x768 resolution.

As for noise, I find the hard drive and fan noticeable when doing web browsing and watching video. The HD is somewhat noisy. It doesn't bother me though, and I've found the computer does an excellent job staying cool. Under a comparatively much lighter load the MBP gets pretty hot, the 8440w doesn't even feel warm on the bottom. Definitely great for those who use it as a "lap"top.

Also, the touchpad was a concern for me before getting a hands-on perspective. It is small, but it feels good. It tracks very smoothly and the multi touch gestures are actually very nice, once enabled. I don't use the trackpoint so can't comment on that.

 

Oohh! I'm jealous!

My caddy arrived today but the SSD is still in the system somewhere.. due later this week.

 

Hi!

I always avoid live-cd installs because I've found them to be less reliable than a good old text-mode install. The alternative disk was a little slow ( this issue), but installed fine.

Most stuff works great with a couple of irritating exceptions:
1. Suspend/Hibernate doesn't work. I'm still playing around with pm-utils and newer kernels and will post an update if I get anywhere. ( this bug)
2. Fingerprint reader, mobile broadband module, ambient light sensor don't work. But it seems there are people hacking support together already.

Also I'm very impressed with the integrated graphics my 8440p has. KDE desktop effects absolutely fly and I can play World of Goo and Nexuiz on medium at 1600x900 with ~25fps minimum (average about 35fps). I've never seen this kind of performance without discrete graphics (especially on linux! )

If you have the intel graphics you should install the latest drivers available from this PPA for best performance.

When my SSD arrives I'll install and do a proper review with Kubuntu.

 

Thank you Antsiou and IllcOmm for your replies. They were very helpful.

 

Hello newcompsearch1,

Thank you for your additional input on the screen. It was very helpful as well. I'm still split between 3 different laptops. I've ordered a Dell Latitude E6400, a Lenovo Thinkpad T410, and I'm considering buying an EliteBook 8440 as a 3rd computer for my business. The 2 biggest concerns at this point are the battery life and the screen quality. Whichever one of the 3 has the best battery life and screen quality will win my future business.

 

HP has a 3-year warranty on their long-life battery.. that's hard to beat.

 

My Compaq Evo is 4:3, which IMO is the way these things should have stayed, so I can't easily do a side-by-side. I can deal with 4:3 --> 16:10 (not happy about it, but it could be worse) but from the picture that was posted of 4:3 next to 16:9 the widescreen just looks unnecessarily squashed. Time to call up the HP refurbished department and order a 6930p. If only Compaq hadn't crippled the Evo N620c with the inferior ATI Radeon 7500...

 

The negative reviews on the t410 screen scared me off. How do you find it?

Also, do you know if the e6410 and e6400 have the same design for the touchpad? By the way, it appears that the 1440x900 screen has changed slightly between the two models, or at least dell's specs have Find a Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Server, Printer, Software, Service, Monitor or TV at Dell. | Dell.

 

Dell does too.

 

I received a mail from HP support stating that a new Bios was released F.08

Here is the link : HP EliteBook 8440p Notebook PC and HP EliteBook 8440w Mobile Workstation System BIOS Update F.08

But the bios has not been uploaded yet in the driver section.

 

I was wondering the same thing. I'm thinking it was just a notification of a release in June. At the bottom of the link you'll see this:

The release notes don't mention anything about the fan problem. I'm still hopeful it'll fix things up

 

Does anybody know what is the manufacturer of 160GB SSD drive shipped with the configuration VQ668EA#AK8?
I suppose it's Intel, but which generation?

 

It is Intel, most likely G2.

 

there is a new bios version available for the 8440p/w:
F.07

HP EliteBook 8440p Notebook PC- HP Notebook System BIOS Update (ROM Family 68CCU) - HP Business Support Center

but the problem with the fan running like nuts still exists. i've just flashed the new version and nothing was spent on this

 

i've uploaded a video on youtube about the fan issue
YouTube - Elitebook 8440p very loud fan after standby (S3)

 

Cheers for pointing out the new bios. I flashed but haven't seen any changes yet.

I barely use the sleep mode though, but even in very passive mode (just a browser open), the fan is quite noticeable in a slient room.
Not that big a deal, but i'm hoping that i could review the fans speed and levels somehow

 

I just purchased a used Bluray drive from ebay, model CT10L with Lightscribe, the same drive used by HP DV7--$70 shipped (manufactured by Hitachi/LG). I switched the drive faceplate and installed it into my 8440w. Win7 recognized the drive without any problem. Then I installed Arcsoft tmt3 software player which I purchased from online. I tried 5 or 6 bluray discs from my collection. So far it plays everything perfectly, even has 7MC integration. The video and audio quality are great. Not bad for a relative cheap upgrade

 

I'm very interested in hearing from people who own an 8440w and are running linux (or some other non-Microsoft OS) on it.

Are there any components that aren't supported under linux?

Are there devices which are supported but with binary only "blobs"? (I ask because I'm actually wanting to run opensolaris when I get my 8440w so this may make a difference)

I have concerns that one of more of the following devices might be problematic:

Express Card/54
Smart Card Reader
secure digital/MultiMedia card
wifi
audio
webcam
nightlight keyboard
bluetooth
gobi mobile broadband
gps
fingerprint sensor
TPM

Also does anyone know what make and model the SSD options are? I'm guessing that the 160GB option is an intel X25 but what of the 256GB option?

 

Does anybody know where I can get the upgrade caddy bay in the uk? Also whats the power consumption like after having a SSD running alongside the normal hard drive?

 

for those who are interested:
i've received two BIOS versions (F.09 and F.0A) for the 8440p
both versions solved the problem with the loud fan after Suspend to RAM / "Sleep" mode

so it should not take too long until this versions are officially released

 

Current available version is F.07, so F.09 or F.0A might be some time off .
Where did you get yours?

Being able to use sleep mode would be nice .

 

I have a bios related issue that I wondered if anyone else had encountered.

I'm using Bios version F.07 and have TPM and drive encryption enabled. If I enable Virtualization Technology in bios, then the password prompt (pre TPM token selection at bootup) hangs for about 60 seconds after entering the password. I'm assuing that VT is looking for a file on the HDD, but can't access it (as it's encrypted at that moment) and eventually gives up.

However, it throws some more serious glitches than that for me. My fan then runs at 100% (or at least much much louder than usual) once in windows and my device drivers randomly fail. The system becomes unstable and eventually hangs unless I restart first.

The only fix for me has been unchecking VT in Bios, booting to Windows, Restarting in Diagnostic mode (dumps some bad registry entries), and then restarting in normal mode. The system is then stable, the fan returns to its much quieter state, and boot up is as quick as ever. Event Viewer shows no abnormal entries. I do however have to reinstall some device drivers, such as for the synaptics devices, Wireless, and 3rd party for Nokia sync etc... Also, I have to reset the notification icons in the taskbar.

Not the end of the world I know, but tedious non the less, considering all I did was put a tick in the VT check box.

Anyone else?

 

Is it always waiting so long ?
I also have VT enabled and when I reboot from windows it stop on BIOS logo for a while but if I do cold boot then it's much faster. I think I remember reading somewhere that this is an issue and it will be fixed in new BIOS (slow restart with VT enabled)

regards
busterx

PS. I'm not using TPM just truecrypt for FDE..

 

Hi Busterx. No, it doesn't pause on a cold boot, just on restart like you mention. I've only just learned that virtual pc will work without needing to enable virtualization technology in Bios, so that's good.

 

Hi guys, can some of you 8440p owner help me out? I'm having trouble enabling computrace lojack on my 8440p.
I know how to install the software, no problem, but usually there is also in option in the BIOS to enable,disable or deactivate lojack computrace.

I have been looking for a while and can find no such option. I've looked everywhere under the security tab and system config tab.

Someone who has lojack configured on their system, please point me to the place where I can find it. Even if you do not have lojack enabled, just help me out by looking in your bios and see if the option is there.
I'm running f.07, so I'm wondering if updating the bios will allow me to activate it.
Thanks

 

A quick question here, if I were to install a Windows 7 Home Premium into this elitebook, where can I download the related drivers ?
I saw only Home basic, Professional and enterprise version of the drivers. I can just use the Profesional's driver to use in my Home Premium ?

Thk You!

 

Professional is just Home Premium with added features. The drivers should be the same. If I'm wrong then I don't know why they would be different. lol

 

LOL.. thanks, I was jst curious when I see why they would separate them in the website driver download link.......

 

The only thing you need to pay attention to is 32 vs 64 bit.

 

With regards my above post (permalink 82).

An additional memory module I puchased a week or more before the error I reported above physically failed yesterday. Details: 2GB Corsair DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10666 (1333) Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24

Memtest threw 30 failures per pass on that module. With it removed, the factory installed Samsung 2Gb module sailed through all tests without error.

I checkout out Intels website to see which modules they have validated for this chipset before visiting the shop for a replacement/swap today - DDR3 1333 Non-ECC SODIMM Validation Results 2DIMM/ch

No Corsair modules are on their list. Thankfully, the shop also supplied a Hynix 2Gb module that is on Intels validation list, so I exhanged my faulty Corsair module for that.

I've been playing for a few hours with the new module installed, and performance is light years better. I've also re-enabled Virtualization Technology in Bios, and what do you know, there are no problems whatsoever.

What I did observe were these results from Sisoft Sandra that may be useful for information in this thread.

The Samsung module shows it's running at 7-7-7-20. The product spec on Samsungs website show's it as 9-9-9-24. My guess is that Turbo mode on the i5 processor is overclocking the RAM. Would I be right in thinking that?

In which case, I guess the Corsair module just couldn't handle the overclock so failed. With the Corsair module installed, both modules (Samsung and Corsair) gave Cas readings in Sisoft of CL8.

With the Hynix module installed today, both modules read 7-7-7-20. A few stress tests, and all is good.

Happy days.

 

Just a heads-up. Bios revision F.0B is now available.

Edit: The high speed fan on wake from sleep issue is fixed for me.

 

Still having some minor Virtualization Technology issues. On bios revision F.07, the system became unstable and threw a lot of glitches with VT enabled (did anyone else experience problems?). It was really unusable despite becoming more stable once I got to the bottom of the Memory moduly problem I mentioned previously (I was still getting random driver failures).

On bios revision F.0B, the system is 100% stable and performance is great with VT enabled, but the fan speed is higher on idle than it is with VT disabled, and revs up very fast on the least intensive of tasks (opening my Favourites menu in IE8 for example). Not a big problem I know, but tedious in the environment I work in. With VT disabled, the fan is much quieter at all times (although more audible than many lesser laptops I've used) and only on intensive tasks does it rev up as you would expect. Requiring a new chipset driver perhaps? Something isn't sat right with VT. Is anyone else experiencing VT related issues on either bios revision?

 

Hi guys,

I am interested in buying the 8440p but I have a question before i click on that buy button!

Why this model HP EliteBook 8440p Notebook PC (VQ663EA) specifications - HP Small & Medium Business products is much more expensive that this one HP EliteBook 8440p Notebook PC (VQ664ET) specifications - HP Small & Medium Business products ?

Is this purely for the SATA optical drive? because it seems that in a few other specs the more expensive model has slightly lower specs (i.e. RAM, Screen resolution etc.)

Many thanks in advance.

 

Hi guys,


I'm a recent owner of a 8440p, and a very proud one...

And as most of you, I have that fan question, when plugged, the fan does not stop... so as I read, I should update the BIOS.

The thing is, I never did that by myself, and I'm kind of afraid of doing it.


Can someone give me a step-by-step of how to do it?


Thanks in advance

 

Hi sandro_f

To install the new bios, download the latest release from HP's website for your laptop model. Double click on the downloaded file and follow the onscreen instructions to update your bios directly from within your operating system.

The problem you mention of the fan always being on when the laptop is plugged in... There is an option within bios that is enabled as standard (from the factory) that you'll need to turn off if you don't want the fan to run at all times when plugged in. When the laptop boots up and the HP logo appears, press F10 to enter bios. Click on the System Configuration tab, then click on the Device Configurations option. In there, you will see "Fan always on while on AC Power" and a tick in a checkbox next to it. Click on the checkbox to clear/remove the tick. Click on Exit, and when asked if you want to save changes, select "Yes". The laptop will restart and the fan will no longer always run when plugged in.

Hope that helps

 

Hi MattScho,

Thanks a lot for the help. It worked perfectly.

 

Hey all. I received my 8440w today and also have the fan always on issue, even though I'm on the latest bios, and selected the option to not always have the fan on when on a/c power.

I do have VT enabled...I'll turn it off and see if it helps. Eventually I'm going to want to use it.

My fan sounds a little gritty, like it's dirty or something, at some point I will open it up. How does it sound for you other owners?

On another note. VS my soon to be sold 8530W.

8440w(i820cpu)
-More of a fingerprint magnet.
-screen res. I don't mind it too much since my laptop spends most of it's life docked.
+handles alot of tasks at the same time. Even when using a display link adapter for a 3rd LCD (takes cpu to run the usb->lcd adapter).

Dock hasn't arrived yet so I have one LCD hooked up to vga, one to the displaylink via dvi, and one via usb. Working great! I mention this because a lot of owners don't realize you can run dual display without the dock. I run hard drives in raid 0 and the upgrade bay from my 8530w took a little massaging to get in...it's supposed to be the same upgrade bay for both models.

I stuck both hard drives in, enabled raid in the bios and booted straight to windows 7. Installed some drivers and that was it. No need to re-install everything from scratch. So far so good.

 

My experience on both desktop workstations and laptop workstations with HP is that memory from Crucial ( RAM Memory Upgrade: Dell, Mac, Apple, HP, Compaq. USB drives, flash cards, SSD at Crucial.com) has always been the most stable and reliable. I don't know if it's the fastest (haven't bought corsair and done comparisons), but the fact that I never have any issues works for me.

For custom built PCs I will buy corsair/other brand.

 

Well, I got my 8440w (part # FN093UT#ABA) just under a week ago. So far I really like it. First thing I did with it was install Windows 7 64-bit with a retail disk that I had and the product key off the bottom of the computer. Install was fine and so was installing all of the drivers, although I had to download them on another computer and transfer them by USB since the wireless and ethernet was not working without any drivers.

Biggest pro about this notebook in my mind is the keyboard, it is really solid and is great to type on. Biggest con is probably the touchpad, but only because, as noted by others, it is on the small side. It is responsive though and works well, it's just sometimes I may run out of space (especially when I am scrolling with two fingers).

One thing I notice though is that the computer seems to hang for about 10-15 seconds when booting up. This occurs after the "Please Wait" message disappears but before the user accounts actually show up. Does anybody else experience this?

 

I've gotten this too and actually, whenever this happens my Aero theme turns off and my custom skin disappears. It's quite bizarre and happens randomly. I usually just restart the laptop since it starts up so quick when startup works normally (under a minute at most). This always fixes the problem and it returns back to normal (both the startup speed and Aero theme). It's not a big issue since normal restart happens so quickly but it's just slightly annoying to have to restart every time it happens (I would say, once every two to three weeks?).

Does anyone know how to fix this problem?