*HP EliteBook 8540w Owners Lounge!*

Well, Ive been following everyone's experiences here and decided to order an 8540w today. Selected the 620m and the new Firepro m5800. I'm not sure of the performance of the m5800... HP couldn't tell me although they did say an ATI rep was in the other day and he said it would outperform both the Nvidia options. I guess we have to take that with a grain of salt since he is the rep for the product I'll find out when I receive my machine.

I just returned an Envy 15 that I had for a couple of weeks with an I7 720qm and 8 gigs of ram. It was very fast and had a beautiful screen (full HD) but there were just too many things I didn't like so sent it back. I am looking forward to the 8540w. No shipping date yet... configurator tool said next week and rep said two weeks so we'll see.

Joe

 

The middle click bug has been corrected now even in 64 bit with the version 15.0.10 of synaptics drivers!

 

Its looking more and more like the 8540w for me. Just need the DC2 display and backlit keyboard and i'm set Oh yeah, anyone know what the quad core config really weighs? The specs page just gives a starting weight. Thanks

 

Actually I thought i was lucky in being able to avoid the higher TDP of the quads and still getting a 16G system, guess that was just wishful thinking .

The WD932EA configuration would indeed be preferable - actually a configuration with 820M would be nicer, but now i'll have to wait until an education shop gets it (600€ discount on the same configuration compared to geizhals are hard to ignore ).

 

I have orderer an 8540w with 820qm, FHD, 16GB System in February in Germany. Yesterday I have been told that it will be delivered in the 21th week .

 

We all know in the last few months, ATI has been shipping out some pretty powerful video cards at an affordable price (Cheaper than Nvidia) So all we can do is wait and see. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the M5800 could out perform the 1800m. You have to remember HP is charging us the price that the vendors afford them to charge. Nvidia might be selling these chips to HP at a pretty high price and ATI at an affordable one.
A good example of this is the SSD option in the Envy 15's. People building a CTO model have the option of upgrading to dual 160 gb intel ssd's for 550 dollars. Though pricey, this is way cheaper than anything you can find online right now. Each 160 gb ssd will fetch anywhere from 350-450 dollars. To get two of them for 550, that is a steal. You really have to wonder how much HP is getting these SSD's for, obviously wayy cheaper than retail. The same circumstances could be possible for the ATI chips as well.

 

These positions on notebookcheck are just guesses since they didn't test the 1800M and M5800. So far we know that their guess on the 1800M is wrong. It scored ~2820 in 3DMark Vantage on a test I did which means it outperforms the HD 5650 at position 41 and is equal to notebookchecks guess on the M5800.

 

Yah --- in the case of the 8740w, HP is selling the ATI M7820 for $895 less than the roughly comparible nvidia FX3800, and though there aren't any detailed comparisons yet that I know of, it seems like the ATI card may if anything be stronger graphically (and unlike the nvidia card it has GDDR5 memory plus DX11 compatibility). Unless you need CUDA or something specific to nvidia cards, the HP ATI cards seem like a complete steal right now.

 

Don't let the price difference confuse you, the 5800 is much cheaper simply because AMD managed to make strong cards through a lot cheaper manufacturing process (40nm). In addition Nvidia had no serious competition in the PRO segment for the past 1-2 years, as a result we have a FX3800M ~2.5k $ per card from HP Parts Store and equally performing FirePro M7820 (aka 5870) for just 380$. Do you think the Nvidia is 6.5X better? lol. Considering that the FX is based on 55nm process and runs hot as hell (TDP 100W! compared to a mere 50W for the FirePro), I'd say it's time for the new tech to take the crown.

They are about 80% accurate, so there could be mistakes.
Your FX1800M is based on the GT335M - here you can see that your score is totally within the range, exactly where it should be.

Even if the 5800 turns out to be slightly weaker (I seriously doubt it) you will most likely not be able to see any difference, to justify the difference in price. Also, the FirePro is more future proof, and should have a lower TDP as well as run less hot (most likely).

 

Hello to all

I've been following this thread for a few weeks now, because the 8540w has proved to be the only laptop that suits my needs (1920x1080 screen, Arrandale CPU, 15" screen, and a keypad)

I've been "forced" to order a custom 8540w configuration, because I live in france, where HP currently doesn't offer any 8540w reference with the FHD screen.
As far as video is concerned, i've had the choice only between FX880 or FX1800. So i choosed the FX880.

I must precise that i won't do any games at all, with my future 8540w.
The most demanding applications i will use are Photoshop, Premiere, and some software development related apps.

Reading the last posts about the M5800, which is stated to be far cheaper than FX's, i'm beginning to think that the FX880 is really "oversized", when compared to my graphics needs ...

=> my question is :
do you think i will however take any advantage of this "powerful" FX880 ?
or should i rather start to persuade myself, that i've made an error ordering this FX880 ... ?

thanks

anthony (sorry for my english)

 

Hi All
I ordered the HP 8540w model on 4/13.
i7 720QM
4 gig memory
FHD 1900x1080 w/camera
FX1800m
320g hard drive

cost= $2525.48
now that same config is $2251.00

before i call back, I just wanted to know is, it possible for someone to get back $ after there is a price drop on product (which i didn't receive yet). Also my credit card has not been charged yet.

Any advice?

 

@Anthony,

FX880M is probably the weakest card of the three. Still, it's powerful enough for your current needs and can even run most current games at medium settings and above.
Still, I'd change it to ATI, but that's my personal opinion.

 

thanks for the reply
what bugs me is that : i never play games on my PC, the M5800 was not available for order, and now i'm going to have a laptop with an oversized graphic card, which will eat my battery faster than a M5800 !!!
that's life :-(

anthony

 

It sounds like you are mixing up total system scores and GPU scores (like I did a few pages back). The 335M has a total score of 2944 but a 2622 GPU-only score. The 1800M (which is a 335M with GDDR5) reaches ~2820 for the GPU alone.

The M5800 will likely be a renamed 56xx or 57xx. In the former case you should expect a sub-1800M performance, in the latter better performance then the 1800M.

BTW: Their accuracy comes from the well known fact the the 1800M is based on the 335M. Placing it next to the 335M on the list isn't exactly rocket science. But for the M5800 no details are known yet, not even which card it's based on. I don't want to start a flame war and I know that ATI cards are more efficient then nVidia cards at the moment. I just want to remind you not to give other people buying advice without any solid facts.

 

@me7,
Had to read through all the pages to catch up.
First, since the 1800 is confirmed to have GDDR5 - it should perform better of course. But to make the 2901pts a solid fact, you have to consider the CPU used in the same test. Not only it affects the total score (as you mentioned), it also influences the GPU alone score (not very significantly though). In your tests an i7-quad was used (Notebookcheck used a [email protected](2697pts total) and a 620M(3191pts total).
So the FX1800M (GDDR5) should perform better than the 335M(GDDR3).
But even if the 5800 has GDDR3 memory, it should perform no lower than HD 5650 which still shows equal or better total scores in Vantage (720QM) - 3450 total score
Another solid fact (but from 8740w): One of the owners did a 3DMark06 run with a FirePro 7820 and a 720QM - 12k+, which is better than FX2800 and on par with the FX3800M if the same CPU is used, of course.

I allowed myself to enter the discussion here just because too many people are talking about some consensus on better performance of the FX1800 over the FirePro based on a couple Vantage runs, while there is no info on the ATI GPU. I'm not saying the 5800 is better 100%, just want you to use your common sense and not to rush to conclusions.
My confidence comes from a close examination of the ATI 5xxx series, it's tech/features/performance/etc. If I need a 15" workstation notebook now, will definitely go for the ATI cards, hands down.
That's my advice.

 

I thought it was stated somewhere that the M5800 used GDDR5. Now if only ATI's workstation drivers were updated more often...

 

According to HP the M5800 has DDR3. The paper also says that 1800M and M5800 notebooks ship with bigger power adapters then the 880M version. Apparently the M5800's power consumption is higher then the 880M and close to the 1800M. Given that ATI's cards a more efficient this could indicate that the M5800 is indeed more powerful then the 1800M.

 

I ordered mine on 4/20. The sales rep says that because it's in "Production" he can't credit me the difference yet on the new lower price. But Once I receive it, I can call him up and get the credit.

 

Good point. Still a little bit surprised that the the FX1800M has GDDR5, it really kicks the card into a higher category, your gaming benchmarks support it further. Even if it falls behind the 5800, it will be by a very narrow margin, IMHO.

 

The FX 1800m is also built in 40nm

Well I only read 3DMark, Gaming etc. If I'd buy a notebook for gaming I'd probably buy a ATI based notebook but not a workstation! For better driver support, certification and when you use extensive calculations with CUDA or do CAD there's is no option, you need to pay the premium on a Nvidia card. But even if you choose the ATI, you pay a premium for the professional Fire Pro version, so when you're just into gaming why take a workstation instead of a Alienware, Sager etc system.

However, if you don't need a workstation with CUDA and don't want to go with a consumer notebook (glossy etc..) the Fire Pro will be a good choice.

Lets get back to one of the first issues with the 8540w: Multitouch!

After doing a clean install I first used the 14.0.x.0 drivers. Multitouch was working fine! Unfortunately I updated to 15.0.10.0 and there all multitouch features and Gestures were blocked. Even a uninstall and reinstall of the 14.0.10.0 and 14.0.3.0 didn't bring multitouch back

 

Yes, I've noticed, that explains the GDDR5. Thank You.

Well, I need a combo- a powerful system for work and gaming. Alienware/Sager have the power but lack good anti glare screens, less portable and not even close to be semi rugged.
Initially I thought that going for a gaming rig and using it at work is a good plan,...not a chance.
Trying the reverse approach now.

 

There is one issue that came up: crash when going to hibernation. So far my notebook crashed twice when I tried to put it into hibernation mode while encoding a video, both times after ~25 hours of encoding
I need to use hibernation each time I travel with my laptop or go to sleep instead of sleep-mode because of the fan-bug. Both times it tried to hibernate for several minutes and then seemed to shut down normally, but after turning it on Windows told me that it had crashed the last time and asks me whether I want to boot normal or in safe mode. The hibernation data is lost.

I was unable to find a real cause for the crash, the only suspicious thing is an entry in the Windows log that the address "teredo.ipv6.microsoft.com" could not be looked up via DNS.

 

I installed 15.0.10.0 from HP site and multitouch didn't work...
Then I uninstalled synaptics 15.0.10.0 and reboot my computer.
I download last synaptics driver available from synaptics site:
this one -> Drivers | Synaptics
I use 64-bit version.
I installed this 14.0.3 then restarted computer and I have multitouch features enabled in synaptics manager... and also multitouch works! yay.

 

Hey there,
I'm currently thinking about buying either a Thinkpad W510 or an EliteBook 8540w/p.
I'm particularly interested in how the display, the speakers and battery life are. Also let me know, please, if you've run Linux on it.

Looking forward to your replies.

 

I have a W510, you can read the review in my signature, but generally,... good quality, poor speakers, wonderful performance, decent screen (HD+). I'm sure you can run linux on it (some do in the W510 owners lounge) but it won't be flawless.

 

And here comes the answer from ATI about FirePro M5800 :

--------------------------------------------------
Dear ...,
Your service request : SR #{ticketno:[8200306117]} has been reviewed and updated.
Response and Service Request History:
It is based on Mobility Radeon 58xx Series.
In order to update this service request, please respond, leaving the service request reference intact.
Best regards,
AMD Global Customer Care
-----------------------------------

If this is true then it should be FASTER then FX 1800m and it's cheeper then 880m !

 

man japan really screwed me on this one. they don't offer any custom-build models for the 8540 and the only system with the M5800 has a 1366x768 screen. due to price constraints and knowing i won't be satisfied with less than an HD+ screen, i went with the system with the fx880. i feel so shafted... when it comes to computers, i really hate this country. (i'm japanese so i'm authorized to talk smack about this place )

 

Haha. It varies by manufacturer. For example, I hear the Japanese Sony Viao's have much more/better configuration options than the US models and are cheaper

 

Thats awesome news if true. I headed over to notebook check right after reading your post and had a look at the 5870, 5850 and 5830. Given the use of GDDR3 memory, its likely to be the 5830 and that still appears to be more powerful than the Quadro 1800 (though both the 5850 and 5870 may appear with ddr3 as well).

On the other hand, looking at the TDP's the 5830 is listed as 24w which is much lower than the Quadro 1800 while the 5850 comes in around 40w (closer to the quadro 1800). Given that configuring the ATI card with an i7 requires the 150w power pack (same as the 1800) we may be getting that variant rather than the lower one.

Someone, anyone feel free to poke holes in my theories

Where are those DC2 screens and backlit keyboards! :laugh:

+Rep to vazmuten!

 

ehh i dunno, when i was looking at the vaio cw series at one point, the u.s. version had better specs and was still cheaper. japan only offers 330gt on the custom models and it ends up being around $1200 to get the $950 best buy spec. z series may have more customizable options here (i didn't check so i don't know), but i'm almost positive you'd get better price/better perf in the u.s. hence i still stand by my word regarding computers and japan haha.

 

Maybe someone could make a review of 8540w (with photos)? It would be the first review of 8540w.

 

The thread may be a bit long, but completely reading it might help.

 

just installed latest drivers (XP Pro 32) and the middle button works (great for running pro/e without a mouse).

However, I lost my multitouch capabilites . Is there any mod or registry setting I can set to get the multitouch capabilities working again (they did when I had 15.0.9 installed) while keeping my beloved middle click?

Thanks!!

 

I doubt that. I've skimmed a large part of this thread, now, and haven't found much useful information that helps me to decide (between the 8540w/p and the Thinkpad W510).

 

i call bull on the power of the m5800 been around thesame perfromance as ati 58xx variations. its more like the 56xx series or 57xx variants.
the 8470w with the m7xxx is on par with the ati 5800 series.......think about it.
only the 17 inche business laptops get the full power cards/top end cards.
and ive yet to see hp do a business line 15inch laptop with a top end gpu....they have always used mid range equiv on 15inch notebooks of that generation.
so the 8740w with the m7xxx noting that it starts with 7 is on par with ati 5800 variants and same performance as quadro fx 3700/3800.
so the 8540w with the m5800 noting the 5 is not in the same league as the 7 so it CANNOT be of same performance of the 5800s.

ati 5750m at best. and that wud be slightly better than 1800m and worst can only be the 5650m which is about the same or just under the 1800m.
i thought this for a while and i keep seeing that people are getting there hopes up about this.
c'mon ati to miss a mid range gpu for a generation in a business class notebook???? they had one every year and im positive this is it cos if not then which 1 is it in?

 

Nope, that's not exactly a bull, and here's why:
5800 includes the following: 5830, 5850 and 5870. Those are 3 totally different in performance. 5870 is the high-end gaming card (current best in its class). 8740w has the M7820 which is physically a 5870 and thus it's even stronger than the 100W 3800M (about 1.5-2k more in Vantage which is a huge difference ~20-25%).
8540w on the other hand probably is gonna have the 5830 variant, the lowest of the three (24W 128-bit and GDDR3??) but even if it's a GDDR3 card it should still hit 8K+ in 3DMark06 (with the 720QM) and about 5k in Vantage. I still doubt though if it's a true 58xx as they claim or something lower like 57xx or even 56xx. It would still be better than the FX880M and maybe even FX1800M, but if it's a 5830 then, lol. Same story as with 8740w.
The most powerful card is 800$ cheaper than the old and power hungry Nvidia.

 

I've recently purchased a custom 8540w configuration myself and I really can't wait

Is anyone able to tell me how long it took their custom config. to arrive at their home?

I've equipped a FX1800 videocard in it, is it a MXM module? If so, are you able to switch to a regular model, i.e. the 5870?

 

Yes it is, you can change the graficcard, but you'd void your guarentee.

 

I am still waiting for my custom config since End of March (announced delivery date in Germany). Last week the estimated delivery week was the 21th week.

And yes - I also can't wait...

 

It's not a 5870, but probably a 5830 variant at best.
Also, you might need a different heatsink for ATI cards. Luckily, those heatsinks are inexpensive.
You can upgrade and it won't void the warranty, as long as you keep the old parts, just for warranty services

 

Thanks for the feedback

I'm in no means to switch video cards directly, but, maybe in 1,5 year or so once then 1800 is a little more outdated.
Therefor its good to hear that this laptop is using MXM modules
However, I think HP might have modded the BIOS or some other software lock to prevent the usage of "non compliant" pieces... I recall I heard something about that on the older elitebooks (8530's).

Holmi, ouch. Waiting over a month and still taking 3? That has to hurt, on the US page it says (today) an estimated delivery on the 8th of May.

I'm not sure, I reside in the Netherlands and well... You have no option to customise the EliteBook (or any HP machine) on the Dutch page. You have to do it at your retailers webpage, and it didn't show any date there :-(

Which configuration did you order?

 

well im kinda hoping that it will equal 5830 if wheover claims it to be. but i also remember reading what other people read on external sources saying that it COULD be based on the 5800 series having the same numbers but like i said if that was the case then why is the m7820 based on the 5870 which is better than the gtx 285/3800m in most senses.
and then a m5800 be even close to the 5800s....should be something like m7810 or something cos that to me makes more sense to be on par with 5830 then the m5800.
Still i think it will be better than the 880m and im unsure of the 1800m but i hope it is better. but i think it wont be better than say a 5750m.
but yeah the m5800 is $400 cheaper then the 1800m lol.

 

Even if its only as powerful as the 800 its still a cheaper and less power hungry option. If it comes between the 800 and 1800, its a home run. If its on par with or better than the 1800, thats just icing on the white forest cake

 

I have ordered an i7 820qm with FHD, FX880m and 16GB. Maybe the display is the main point they are waiting for!?

 

I have a question for those of you who own the 8540w and have owned other HP notebooks in the past: is it worth the upgrade? I got an 8530w in November, and was disappointed to find out that the 8540w would release in January. Is it worth selling my 8530w (Side Note: If anyone might be interested in purchasing it, send me a PM).
Here are my current 8530w specs:
T9600
320GB/7200RPM
4GB RAM
Quadro FX 770m
1680x1050

I would most likely buy the i7 620m 8540w. I plan on using it for 3D modelling/animation.
Thanks for your input.

 

@alexc: I own a 8530p as a company pc, and have ordered a 8540w. so could compare side-to-side in the next 2 weeks (hopfully). If the 8530 can do what you need (if the 3D stuff you are working on renders fast enough) I would stick with it. on the other hand, NOW is the time where you still have SOME 2nd-hand value for your 8530... 2011 it will be worth next to nothing, I am afraid. 8GB of RAM could help you, the new i7 CPUs will be faster only if your applications can make use of the 2/4 cores. not sure if this helps...

 

Is the 8530w really worth the premium they charge over the 8530p?

 

I doubt an upgrade so soon would be worth the money, but if you do, I might be interested in your 8530w (I couldn't send a PM, you are too new here).

 

Hey guys, if I call the number for "promotional pricing" on a custom configuration, what do you think is the best discount I can get?

 

Don't worry about that. The FX880M is pretty weak. It's just enough to run Aero correctly on a 1920x1200 resolution (flip 3D can go down to 30 fps if you have a lot of fullscreen windows open).
It doesn't draw power excessively (but it still has a TDP of 35W), and while I don't know about ATI it's now clear that current generation nVidia cards are pure [uh I was censored?]. But it's not like we didn't know that.
I'm wondering what would the ATI card be anyway Even if you are doing desktop work, you can't ignore the fact that the GPU is very important. And you need one with a good fillrate, and it lets you with only two options: Intel cards, or middle-high-end nVidia/ATI cards.