*HP EliteBook 8530p/w Owners Lounge *

I would look around first, including eBay.

I scored a brand new 8530w with 3/3/3 warranty last week for about $650 after cashback & coupon. Listed at $798, which was a good deal already.

 

How easy is it to replace the thermal pads on the cpu and gpu with thermal paste? Would I have to remove the display, switch panel and top cover or can I just remove the keyboard?

Getting annoyed at the fan turning on anytime there cpu load and hoping better thermal transfer will help stop this.

 

Just keyboard then fan then heatsink.

 

Thanks. Looked at the service manual and they have a whole list of things to remove but in the pics it looks like you could just remove the keyboard. I wonder why they made it so complicated.

 

Yeah, just tilt and slide it out. be careful not to mash the fins when you slide it in/out. Don't worry I'm just making the point, it is really easy to get it out without mashing. they probably say to take the top cover off in the service manual because many of their service techs are idiots and would probably mash it.

 

Dust is usually a bigger problem than the stock thermal pads, I opened my nx9420 after 16 months, I couldn't see through the fins!

Replaced the thermal pads with AS5 at the same time, and it got quieter after that again, of course. Can't really say it got better than when it was new tho.

 

Quick question for you elitebook owners. I really enjoy the elitebook line now that I have spent time researching it and am curious if there were any software or bios issues when you guys first got your laptop?

I was originally going to get the HP Envy 15 but it really just appears to be a bargain bin marketing ploy. The BIOS seems severely crippled, it gets way too hot, battery life isn't impressive, not that important to me 2hr is fine, but it even seems the i7 cores can barely pull that off, ram is sometimes 1066 sometimes 1333 (when it should be 1333) chipset is subpar for what people seem to want out of the laptop etc etc...

So any issues like this with the elitebook? I want power and reliability, so I'm seriously considering the 8540w with the FX 1800M GPU which I think is fine for my goals (a little gaming, CAD/CAM, Dreamweaver). Any thoughts are welcomed Thanks!

PS I know its a business class notebook which main purpose is to be reliable and stable thats why I ask because the Envy was supposed to be a premium class notebook and I just want to make sure HP is getting something right

 

none at all,
just remember to turn the ambient light sensor OFF other wise your screen will be very dim (hardly usable).
it's easy to turn off in the BIOS.

I love this computer it's the best I've every owned PERIOD and I've owned the T500, Apple macbooks, Ferrari 5000... This is the clear winner, (my T500 was faster than this one and I would never buy one again after buy my elitebook).

 

oh good I want that to be my experience too Just a plug and go scenario. Well built no hassles, and they come to me when it breaks, that would be so wonderful

 

that's why i bought it I've had it a month and I wouldn't trade it for anything out currently.

 

Got around to opening up my 8530p to replace the thermal pads with thermal grease. You need a T-9 torx besides a Philips. The pads themselves seem a bit better than others I've seen in the past, more like a gel pad. Left them on for the northbridge and gpu memory. For the cpu, don't know what they used as it looked different than the others but it didn't work as I think it was the main problem.

Result is a much more quiet lappy. Played a game for an hour or so to load the cpu and gpu and never heard the fan hit its max rate. Don't think I ever will now. Also doesn't come on with any little cpu load anymore, like opening a new firefox tab page.

 

I installed Windows 7 on my 8530p and the resolution choices are poor.
I want 1440x900 or 1280x800 but these are not available in the Windows Screen Resolution screen. I am running the latest AMD drivers (8.632.1.1-090804A-086180C, Oct. 19, 2009).

When I first got the laptop and it had XP, I thought these were options. Any idea how to get more resolution options in Windows 7?

The list I have is:
1680x1050
1400x1050
1280x1024
1280x768
1280x720

Thanks.

 

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/207607.html

If you look there, the same DALNonstandardModesBCD key applies even in Win7.
Note that the path will be somewhere under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Video\{some_long_class_id_in_curly_brackets}

 

Awesome, thanks for the help. I googled something like '8530p resolutions' but that wasn't finding me anything. It was easy and now I don't have to sit as close to the screen.

 

Hi,

I bought a new 8530p. Some of fn keys are not working.

The ones not working are;

- fn+f8 (a battery figure)
- Fn+f9 (lower brightness figure)
- fn+f10 (raise brightness figure)


Does anybody know why or how can I activate these?

Thanks.

 

Fn+F8 should load power options in Control Panel.

Fn+F9/F10 might not work if the auto-brightness is enabled. (Mine do, but I have the latest drivers installed from the HP website and that might make a difference.) See the little grey dot to the left of the HP logo below the screen? Press your finger over it, does the screen brightness dim automatically? If so, press Fn+F11 to disable that, and then F9 and F10 might work as expected. Or maybe not.

Certainly you should get the latest drivers and BIOS updates as they do fix a number of issues even if yours isn't one of them.

 

i use to use nvidia tools breifly for overclocking testing. i used the same drivers 186.81 to do it. now i want to do it again usig same drivers but only it wont let me set the settings saying "the changes made where invalid and will not be applied" what do i need to do again?

 

Thanks for the help. I reinstalled hp drivers, keys started working.

 

Hi,

Does anyone know if replacing the heatkink using the quad core model (501116-001) on a dual core CPU (T9400) will work? And if so, will my laptop be eventually quiet?

I removed the thermal pads on CPU, GPU and chipset and replaced it several times with AS5 but the fan is still running loud. I am really disappointed on that point.

 

How is the spacebar on your Elitebook? Mine makes a weird noise when you press it down, and if you press it towards the ends there is more resistance.

Just wondering if this is the way they are or if mine is "special"

 

my spacebar seems ok, so your is not normal, I guess

 

I am looking for an elitebook. but I cannot decide to go for 8540w or 8530w. Because the price differs a lot(8530w is not bargain, you can buy it with about $1000 with fx770 and t9600 or p8700)

Does it still worth to buy 8530w instead of 8540w ?

Also, I am using dell inspiron 1501 which is pretty thick and big, how is 8530w ?

thank you in advance for your comment.

 

im sure then the metal tabs tha keeps the key in locked in place has bent causing this. i took mine apart to see why and it was bent. beware its hard to get back together. you can fix it briefly back to normal but it will only just do it again. u got warranty so just order a new keyboard replcement.
thats what i did

 

You either have the fan running in the bios set to always on.......or you have updated to a recent bios. Try going back to like the feb 09 one. ( i did this and mines less noticeable) and/or your notebook needs to be cleaned out where the fan is (this is most likely. and it has to be if you have done and checked the 1st to things i suggested)

i done all 3 on the saem day so no problems now.

 

I removed all of the pads and put Arctic Silver on locations and I think my fan is running more often and at higher speed now. I should have checked CPU/GPU temperatures before my fiddling but I didn't. Currently I'll see my laptop run around 47-50°C using CoreTemp, but sometimes it will be at 53C when just idling. If anyone else has temp monitors (w/ a stock 8530p) let us know what temps you are seeing.

The increased fan usage is probably because the pads are thicker than a thin layer of thermal grease so the chips are not in contact w/ the heatsink anymore. I am thinking of adding a bigger dollop of grease to the middle of the chips to increase the thickness of the grease, but I don't want any grease to start oozing out and making a mess either. The other option is to put on new pads on the chips and use grease for the CPU only.

 

Hey all, I'm looking at picking up a refurbished 8530w (T9600) and I'm wondering how it handles HD video editing (Adobe Premiere) Anyone have experience with it?

Edit: Nevermind, I was able to get a hold of one to play with through work. It looks like it handles it pretty well if you keep the live views small.... not perfect, but good enough for anything I'm doing.

 

Hi,

I have a 8530w and I would like to know, what your temps are (GPU and CPU)?

My temps are: (measured by Realtemp 3.40)(I have just cleaned the fan)
GPU: Idle: 50-52 Celsius, Heavy Gaming: 90-95 Celsius
CPU: Idle: 39-42 Celsius, Heavy Gaming: 65-70 Celsius

Are these temps ok? My fan almost never hits maximum speed!

I would like to change the thermal paste too, I think I would buy an arctic cooling mx-3 thermal paste. I have read, that this is the best. Would it make much difference? How much should I put on the cpu/gpu after cleaning? How should I clean the old paste?

Thanks!

 

I just use kitchen roll and a little (not too much!) brute force from my thumb to wipe the old paste off the h/s and chip surface, you could perhaps use a solvent to remove all residue, but that's overkill IMO.

MX3 is as good a paste as any out there. You need only apply a TINY amount of new paste as it will spread a VERY long way when heated and pressurised by the h/s clamp.

Changing the paste would only make a small difference, and only if you apply the paste more carefully than the HP techs who do this day in day out, and also assuming that it's not a high precision robot doing the system builds..... if your fan isn't kicking up to full speed then I would say you've got plenty of room to manouevre with the temps so I doubt you'd get much benefit. Keeping the vents free of debris build-up is much more important.

 

If anyone is interested in buying an OEM 2GB stick of RAM for their Elitebook, please email me at g35patrick {at} gmail. It is from my 8530p and was installed in the laptop for 2 months. I took it out because I put in a paired set of RAM.

The RAM came w/ the computer and is DDR2, 800 MHz.

 

I'm weighing my options between a new 8540w or refurb 8530w. The catch seems to be with the advanced docking station. You can get a free one with the 8540w but not with the 8530w refurb. That greatly reduces the cost differential making the 8530w way less of a deal than it should be. I looked on eBay for used docking stations but got confused by all of the models. What is the model number of the advanced docking station for the 8530w? And do you know the current street price for one?

 

Sorry for the double-post, but this thread needs a bump to be seen.

I am bidding on an 8530w and the seller just informed me that the screen is a bit dim (it has the 1680x1050 res screen) but claimed he/she read on the internet that some drivers should fix it. Does that seem possible? If not, would a dim panel be covered under the warranty?

 

Anyone else have a problem with the laptops turning on by themselves while in a case? Suspect the lid is hitting the power button when traveling.

 

yes the panel is actually quite dim by default... now, here is the secret, HP elitebooks has an ambient light sensor which it dims the display and it's poorly implemented. turning it off more than triples the screen brightness. all you do is turn it off in BIOS and turn up the screen brightness (Fn+ F10 or 11). you DO need to turn it off though as using the Fn keys one makes it a little brighter, the sensor won't let you go any higher.

after the sensor is disabled the screen brightness is about average to above average for a CCFL panel, some LED ones can go brighter but you won't have any trouble with the brightness. I have the 1680x1050 screen and it's the best mobile panel I've owned.

 

Bummer, I lost the auction and the rest of the 8530w's look like scams or are priced as if it's mid-2009.

 

don't worry another will show up eventually.

 

Can anyone tell me what the purpose of the Intel Management Engine Components are and if they are needed or recommended on an individual 8540p? Thanks

 

Sorry, wrong forum.

 

I just had this happen to me. I turned off my laptop at work and went home a few hours ago, I found out it was turned on when I noticed the laptop appearing in my network locations on my desktop.

When I opened my backpack I saw it was turned on and the backpack and laptop were hot to the touch, that was kind of scary

 

I'm in the same boat... debating between a 8530W and 8540W
Here's what I've come up with so far...

HP 8540W
pros
- better CPU (core i5 520 vs P8600)
- better GPU (FX 880M vs FX 770M)
- comes with Windows 7
- LED backlit display
- brand new and better warranty (3 yr vs 90 day refurbished)
- USB 3.0
- better battery life (~5 hr vs ~3 hr)
- better keyboard
- numeric keypad

cons
- 16:9 ratio (1600x900 vs 1680x1050)
- ~$450 more expensive
- no HDMI


Hmmm... after typing out the pros and cons, I think the choice is obvious. However, with the savings on the 8530W, I'll probably keep my HP TM2 (which I absolutely love). If I get the 8540W, I'll probably sell the HP TM2 and get a cheaper & portable secondary laptop. Decisions decisions!!

 

1) The 8530w can come with 3 yr warranty for only a bit more money (see last column in the HP outlet pricing spreadsheet).

2) Win7 on the 8540w (preconfig) is 32-bit. Some users have been able to upgrade to 64-bit, but you have to have access to a 64-bit install disk...HP won't give you one and claims there is no free path from 32 to 64.

3) You can get an 8530w on eBay for significantly less than the HP outlet and it comes with the remainder of the original 3 year warranty (unless it is a refurb unit of course).

Still, the 8540w has plenty of benefits to justify its cost premium. Don't forget how cool the gun metal gray looks!

 

Ive been planning on getting one.... its an awsome piece of hardware.

 

I'm considering an 8530w with no OS and no drivers installed. I'd have 7 days to check it out, but I'm a little dumb about this stuff. Can I just install Win7 64-bit then download the drivers? Or won't most of the hardware work until I get the drivers installed? (chicken-egg problem). Can I get the drivers download on my current computer and put them on a USB drive or CD for installation? Or do I need to acquire actual driver software on disks from HP?

 

I just did a clean install of Win 7 Enterprise 64 bit to an 8530p with no problems. The windows installer picked up the majority of drivers. I think the only one it didn't was the fingerprint authentication stuff.

I did have one hiccup in that I let it do a windows update right away, this then put me into a nonboot loop when it restarted after the update. So I had to reinstall from scratch again. Before I did the windows update, I went through and refreshed all the drivers using the HP support downloads. Restarted and then let it go through the windows update routines with no issues.

 

Any opinions on w vs p? I like the black finish better on the w. Do you guys think that the price increase between the two is warranted?

 

Are you talking about the 85 40w/p? This is the 85 30w/p thread. To my knowledge, the 8530w/p models look exactly alike. The 8540p is platinum while the 8540w is gun-metal gray. Here are the major differences between the 8540w and p.

8540w upgrades from p:
GPU - NVS 5100 upgraded to to FX880M, FX1800M or M5800
WiFi - N6200 upgraded to N6300 (xtra antenna...note that this can be upgraded on the 8540p in CTO)
Screen - p only goes up to 1600x900...w goes up to 1920x1080
RAM - p only upgradeable to 8GB, w can go to 16GB if you get quad core CPU
Warranty - p is 3yr mail-in, w is 3yr on-site

Comparing the pre-config models, I honestly don't see why anyone wouldn't upgrade to the w with identical CPU...you get the Wifi, GPU, warranty and color upgrades for $70.

 

Hey yuio and all 8530p owners! I'm about to buy an elitebook and was wondering if you could help me decide, I'd really appreciate your help, like for all the eternity

I can buy either the 8530p model for 1150 bucks or the 8540w for 1500 (the 8540p model is $13 cheaper so I'd rather get the w model). I know they're a year apart and am aware of the differences in graphics, DDR2 vs DDR3, dual core vs i7, etc. but since I will use it mainly for programming (I'm not a gamer; will begin PhD studies next fall) my question is, do you think the $350 difference is worth?

Thinks I like on the 8530p

• WSXGA+
• no numeric pad

Thinks I like on the 8540w

• gun-metal
• i7
• DDR3

I'd really appreciate your feedback. Thanks a lot in advance!

 

FM818UT#ABA

I noticed this model of the 8530w popping up on eBay. I searched and found it being offered for $650-$800 in lots of places. However, I cannot find any mention of which screen and GPU is used. I'd assume it is WSXGA+ and ATI V5700, but it would be nice to confirm this. Also, I does this comes with the 3yr on-site warranty? Any help would be appreciated, I could not find the model on HP's website.

 

you can add USB3 to bonus of the 8540w.

what would I do? 8530p because of the screen but that being said I hold a large amount of value to the screen rez and size (I hate 16:9).

so I don't know what specific questions you have but, for 400$ diff I don't iknow... all the bonus of the 8540w are very attractive.

 

I have an 8530W with p8600,770m, and 4gigs of ram(32bit os though).

I have trouble playing 1080p video without stuttering. It will play fine if I'm just booting my computer up, but if I've been using it for a bit then no luck. My gpu temps after a while end up around 70ish, cpu 60's. Is it a memory thing? An overheating issue? I don't get any gpu throttling until 95ish in other programs.

 

Which format do you watch with which player? For *.mkv the CPU can be a bit weak! You could try
# CoreAVC
# Media Player Classic Home Cinema
which support the grafic card for decoding.