*HP EliteBook 8540w Owners Lounge!*

Sorry, typo, F.09 needs to be released end of june, because HP will offer Intels newest CPUs with K0 stepping, which need to be added to the bios. Did anyone find a offizial download source for F.07?

 

It'd be cool if you could show us the information about the card, such as # of shaders and clock speeds, etc.

 

Did anyone test the link provided for the F.07 bios update? (supposed to fix the fan issue)

 

Thanks for the reply, YAY. Yes, I checked the balance, and also switched off all those enhancements.


It really seems my right speaker is faulty, there is very little high end and the volume is much lower. sigh... seems I have to bring in the laptop, explain, wait, and return, which equals to 8 wasted hours overall at least...

 

Still surprised how cool my machine is. Here some values I had after playing Crysis for approx. 2 hrs:




I think HP put much effort in keeping the machine cool. I also didn't meet the max. TDP with the i7.

 

It maybe a long shot, but instead of messing with the settings in the idt controls, take a look at the windows sound playback devices. that is where I took a look and found my balance was off.

 

OK, yay, I really tried to find a balance settings in the windows settings, but all I can see are those windows: no balance slider for me.

where is your slider? thanks!

 

@audioworld: You can edit your balance settings here:

 

thanks, ARCHRE, found it, but it is on 50=equal. btw this is the same balance adjustment as in the IDT settings (moving it in the IDT panel also moves the Windows value and vice versa), IDT is just handling the Windows sound driver here it seems. thanks anyway.

 

Yes it is impressive, but you have to remember that the cooling is for much higher (+30%) TDP systems than yours (90W TDP/70W TDP = 1,28 ~ 30%). Compared to that the ° are "normal" (my system gets to 90°C CPU (/30% --> 69°C) and 80°C GPU (/30% --> 61°C).

Compared to the new MacBook Pros the cooling system is very effective. But Dell's system for the M4500 is even better.

 

It doesn't work, it's only the Bios Rom but no installer. Perhaps someone can include it into a Boot-CD or in the old Bios-Installer for F.06, that'S why I uploaded it

 

Interesting. Can you tell me how I can get this page in everest?

 

Yes, just download HWMonitor

--> klick

 

When do you guys think HP will start offering some pre-configured models with the M5800?

 

Anywhere from June to August. July would my best guess as there's a lot of new things coming (DC2 screens, NVidia 4xxM graphics, backlit keyboards, etc)

 

so what exactly is this whole k0 stepping...and will the i7 620m get it...or is it a hardware thing. I'm pretty confused.

 

just google it

 

I did google it, and Im still a bit confused on the matter. It looks like its a new stepping where the Turbo Boost will increase in clock speed, but what they have been saying is how 32nm processors get it. Due to the 620m being a 32nm processor, does that mean that it too will get the k0 stepping, or will it stay a c2 stepping processor due to it being a hardware thing....thnx

 

@Techanimal: I borrowed a kitchen scale, and the weight of the machine is exactly 3,0 kg with the battery pack. The 90W mains adaptor adds 0,28 kg, and the power cables (from mains and to laptop) add another 0,19kg.

I more or less gave up using the trackpad when I am at home, had to buy a USB mouse. The left-off-center placement put a real strain on my right hand joint, and something else which I found out later: the front of the laptop is much HIGHER than my old HP (i mean the Trackpad is higher up, creating a steep angle for the hand). This is the main reason that working on the trackpad is quite painful for me. However, I am still glad about the decision to buy the HP, don't get me wrong.
At the moment I run a battery test with 86% brightness and just web browsing/reading/wrtiting and I will post results later on.
So far it seems the CPU temperature is raising when running on battery, about 9 degrees celsius after just 20 minutes...

 

Thanks Audioworld, I can work with 3kg plus another 700g for the 150W powerpack and cables. I tend to use a mouse most of the time but for lap use, i'm currently typing this on an Inspiron 8200 (ancient i know ) with an offset touchpad and its not unbearable.

 

@ Audioworld:
From my personal experience your battery life will be at max 5h 30min to at worst 1-2 (playing video games like battlefield bad company 2).....with average being around 3h 30min.

The 5h 30min was done with a i7 620m w/ 880m graphics and the 8cell (i think....) With the hp mobile power save mode and no wifi.

With constant wifi browsing I got about 3-4 hours (with mobile power-save mode from hp

Your time on battery life might differ from mine due to, different hardware, or different use. (for instance I added an SSD by taking out the DVD drive).

 

Is the processor and video card upgradeable on this computer?

 

Yes, both, but the replacement parts needs to be supported by the bios.

 

So if I wanted to upgrade down the line, I would only be able to upgrade to parts that were available for the computer (like going from the i5 to the i7)?

 

... and from the NVidia to ATI.
I don't know if you can upgrade a dualcore i5/i7 to a quadcore i7, because they use different cooling systems.

 

Not just the cooling, on some chipsets you can't switch from duals to quads and v.v. They use different mobos. 1 (with 2 RAM slots) for dual-cores and another one (with 4 RAM slots) for quads. So there's a chance that switching won't work at all. But, yeah you could still upgrade to the best CPU in each category and also the GPU (including the HeatSink when going from ATI to NV and v.v.)

 

Any idea if there will be a possibility to turn off nVidia dedicated graphics in the future and keep running on integrated one? Let's say after BIOS update?

I don't need any graphic power at all, maybe just for decoding HD movies. But on the other hand I need powerfull CPU and lot's of memory, so that's why 8540w is my current number one candidate for upgrade from HP 6710b (btw. great machine for it's price at that time).

And another question.
Is there going to be optional backlit keyboard available for 8540w in the future, or is it just planned for 8740p/w?

 

Then buy 8540p, it has svitchable graphic.

 

Hmm your tests give really optimistic values compared to what I can expect from my poor battery (10% wear level). Have you really tested using the laptop in power saving with light load?
In fact even if it says I can get 5~6h during the first 30 minutes it then gets less and less optimistic.
My stats are more like:
* 3h30 maximum
* 3h average
* 1h45 minimum
Under very light load like now (writing in this forum with wifi on and listening to music at a low volume) I get around 3h20 usually. When watching DivX's it goes down to 2h45. Does it seem normal for you?
(I have a i7 620M w/ Quadro FX880M)
In fact can you tell me what power consumption values you get in HP power assistant? 5h30 would only be achievable if it consumed around 12~13W, mine indicates something between 18 and 24W.

 

No it hasn't, nor has the 8540w with arandale cpus. For switchable grafics (say optimus) you need a hardware switch on the mainboard. HP (Dell and Lenovo) didn't implement it yet. That's why a Bios-update won't bring this feature.

That seems more realistic.
I get similar results idling and less when grafics and cpu is working (i7-720QM w/ Quadro FX1800M). During webbrowsing and forum posting I get around 3 hours. Watching DivX Movies I only get around 2 hours. On the other hand I have 4 So-Dimms installed and use a 2nd HDD for data (which is running, when I'm watching a DivX). The MacBook Pros come under 10W so you should be able to get your system at least under 15W (which gave you over 4 hours).

 

Thanks. Hmm when you say I should be able to get my system under 15W I don't understand. In fact we don't know what is actually drawing so much power, maybe it's the USB3 controller, the NIC, the screen, etc. chances that it's something we can replace are weak, right? (except maybe for the hard drive)
But yeah I'm really wondering how they could get it under 10W...

 

I can get the computer to be around 12~13W, I got this without wifi and barely doing anything....aka that is why it is max 5h 30min. I am basically only editing a word document, but more-so reading it. If you want I can take a screen shot. But yeah, like i said 3h 30min is pretty much average.

 

i've noticed that with an RF receiver plugged into any usb port, there is a high-pitched electrical noise being emitted. it doesn't happen on my fujitsu. it almost sounds like a cpu whine. anyone else notice/experience this?

edit: ok i guess it's not receiver related because it's happened without it being plugged in as well. i hope it's not another case of cpu whine...

 

I have a real problem with the audio driver. Because of the fan noise bug after sleep mode, I usually use hibernation when I turn my 8540w off while some processes (like video encoding) aren't finished. After some days of usage I encountered strange crashes while doing so: the notebook suddenly needed several minutes to go to hibernate and while it did turn itself off, it didn't shut Windows down properly. After turning it on again Windows informed me that it crashed the last time it was used and asked me whether I want boot in safe mode. This didn't happen every time but painfully often.

After some more days of usage Windows needed longer to boot, switched Aero off by itself and always seemed to crash when I tried to shut it down (I don't know for sure because it was shutting down for several minutes and I always switched the notebook off via power button since I didn't have the patience to wait - maybe it would have shut down properly after some minutes).
I noticed a sound related problem in the Windows log so I reinstalled the audio driver and everything went back to normal - at least for some days. Then the same thing happened again.

This time I removed the audio driver and used the default Windows audio driver instead. No more problems since then.
Has anyone here experienced similar problems or is there someone who uses hibernation regularly and has no issues?

 

I use hibernation quite regularly, and I have had no issues at all. This is with the IDT audio driver (aka the one from hp). I am running windows 7 x64.

 

Yes that driver, running Win7 x64 as well.

 

Does anyone know a fast way to switch between the IDT audio output and the NVidia Output. When I plug my 8540w vie DP2HDMI to my TV I want the NVidia Card to send audio via the HDMI cable, works fine. But when I switch to the external Monitor (pull of the DP2HDMI adapter and plug in a DP cable) I want sound from the IDT audio device/Laptop. I know I can switch in the windows sound settings, but that's not very handy

 

Here are some measurements of battery life and temperatures:

Web Browsing over WIFI, some Flash video, screen at 86% brightness;
Usage time to shutdown: 2h58m
Power Meter: 19W min - 25W max
Temperatures max.:
CPU1=54C (129F)
CPU2=57C (136F)
GPU=56C (132F)

Watching DVD, screen 86%:
usage time=2h42m

 

Right click on the speaker symbol in the task bar and select playback devices is not handy enough?

 

I was more hoping I can preset some configurations, so it switches the device anytime I plug a specific device.

 

so the high-pitched noise issue i mentioned previously is very similar to what happened with the F series vaio that has been posted here: http://www.sonyinsider.com/2010/01/21/new-sony-vaio-f-series-encountering-buzzing-or-high-pitched-whine-issue/
that trick works on mine too, but is not a fix. i need to be able to use the mic and having to go back and forth between the settings would be just dumb. anyone else experiencing the same?

 

Hey there Joe,

Hope your laptop gets shipped on schedule (or earlier). Please keep our inquiring minds posted

 

it means you don't have the fan problem when waking up from hibernation ?
anthony

 

The fan problem is tied to sleep mode, not hibernation.

 

oh yes, sorry for this mistake
anthony

 

Hello there

Dear owners - i have one question. Has the 8540W two or four ram-slots?
The HP site says four, but in my shop they say two..
HP EliteBook Mobile Workstation 8530W Notebook (FY595AW) - ok1.de - Shop für Lehre und Forschung
(on cyberport.de the same)

Thank you!

 

i believe the quad-core has 4 slots whereas the dual-core has 2.

 

Okay, so if you i dont need the stronger graphics-card and no quadcore the 8540P would be the better choice? (cheaper and higher battery-runtime)

Do you know if it is possible to drive 2x 30 inch screens with the docking-station? (it has two DisplayPorts)

Thanks!

 

The "w" and "p" versions are the same notebook. The difference is that the "p" comes with a gamer GPU and the "w" with a workstation GPU (the GPUs are actually the same, but the gamer GPU has some features locked, if you need those features you need to buy the more expensive workstation version).

I would expect the 8540p and 8540w to have the exact same battery life with the same components. The 8540w is just more expensive because of the GPU.

 

The dual-core models have only 2 ram-slots!
Just take a look in the service manual --> Klick and read on page 102



The marketing guys made a mistake when they copy pasted the models on the HP-site, sad but true!