*HP EliteBook 8540w Owners Lounge!*

laying on information from here (for those who are able to read german: first posting on this page): http://www.notebookforum.at/hp-test...ook-8540p-8540w-erfahrungen-8.html#post349574

F.07 - 8540p/w (i don't know why everyone is writing about f1.07) does not fix the fan problem after S3 (Suspend to ram).

also f.07 is now available for 8440p/w (which i own) and i flashed the new version. the problem with the fan running on highest speed after waking from S3 still exists

 

OK then we have 3 games to test.
Here some results for the i7-720 + QFX 1800m

Call of Duty 6:
Everything maxed out
1280x720

Min 35 (driving through lots of smoke/dust) average 50 max. 90 fps. (driving through small streets)

Battlefield Bad Company 2
Everything on high
1280x720

min 22 average 25 max. 38 fps

GTA IV
textures on high, everything else on mid
1280x720

Walking/running 30+fps
Driving 24+fps

GTA IV and Call of Duty runs even with 1920x1200 smooth, Bad Company 2 is more resolution sensitive but I can play in 1920x1200 with mid-settings.

Resident Evil 5:
Benchmark 1 (direct X 9) = 60,4 fps
Benchmark 2 (direct x 9 / 10) = 47,9 /46,3 fps average

 

Hello

@ Intoxicate

Your HDD bay did you buy it with a HDD or without and whats the HP part number? Because I saw that HP sells it only with a HDD and very expensive.
The HDD bay from the HP8540w has an oder color as for the HP 8530w?


Thanks in advance


LOLO_90

 

Did you run Vantage with Physx ON or OFF?

 

Thanks and respect to that.
can you tell me what frames you get on 1400x1050 and 1680x1050 (which is ideally my fav res, on the plus side aa is not needed either)
can some one test these games with the m5800 also with standard resolution and requested resolution.
Thanks. Rep on the way to all those that do thanks.

 

Has anyone successfully been able to get HDMI audio out working through the 5800M card? I am getting video over HDMI just fine (had to really hunt for the place to disable underscan, though) but in the sound control panel I see ATI HDMI Output as Not Plugged In. I'm using a MonoPrice DisplayPort to HDMI adapter.

 

I'd be very interested in that answer. Anyone?

 

He has a 8440p and f.07 doesn't fix the fan issue of the 8440x, understood. What does this mean for us 8540w users? Ok, it's the same Bios number, but that's all.

I bough only a caddy from newmodeus.com because I didn't need the included HDD. I bought a SSD for the caddy and use the internal HDD for storage and VMs.

HP part numbers are: AU097AA or AK868AA
This is the adapter I bought: Klick

There's a 2nd caddy for 2$ less but you can only use 9,5mm hdds. In the other für 44$ you can even use 12,5mm hdds (eg the new 750GB or 1TB from Western Digital).

Physix was on, I did a 2nd test after I switched Physix of, CPU results went down a bit:

3dMark Score P3455
GPU Score 2839
CPU Score 9916

 

Call of Duty 6:
1920x1200 everything maxed out: alwas over 30fps up to 60-70fps indoors.

Battlefield Bad Company
1680x1050 is playable (37-32fps) with high textures, rest on mid settings

GTA IV
Is running even on 1920x1200 when I reduce setting to mid. The game seems to be slowed down by the CPU when you add details...

 

Thanks im quite impressed with the results although im suprised you got similar frames with lower resolution. but with the resolution high im pleased with that.
Do you think the m5800 will perform slightly better on these games at same res and details?a

 

Hard to guess, but I think it will perform probably better 'cause all gaming benchmarks tends that the ATI is a better card for gaming, and it's a lot cheaper. If I'd bought my 8540w for gaming, I'd chosen the FirePro.

 

I don't seem to have any power out of the eSata port. The port works fine; I just have to power my external drive from a USB port instead of it running directly off the eSata. My Envy 15 had power but the 8540w doesn't seem to. I've searched around the bios but don't see anything that looks like it would enable it. Anyone else notice this?

Joe

 

Do you guys think the weight of this notebook is too much if I will be consistently carrying it around with me?

 

yes...on my 8530w. i dont know why but i do have a external esata drive and it wouldnt run but i have usb part on it aswell so im not at lost.
lol also i looked on bios etc and cant figure it out.

 

Core i7-620, 4GB RAM, FirePro M5800, 500 GB 7200 RPM HD, FHD display

3DMark Vantage Score P3760
CPU Score 8648
Graphics Score 3164


i7-720, Quadro FX 1800m, 8GB DDR3, HD+ AUO, Intel X25m 80GB, Seagate 7200.4 500GB, Win 7

3dMark Vantage Score P3455
GPU Score 2839
CPU Score 9916

Yeah in synthetic tests the FirePro has a slight advantage over the FX1800M (even with GDDR5).

That's not a surprise to tell the truth, our M7820 (aka 5870) beats the dust out of the FX3800M in every test except for some pro apps. Most of the buyers of workstation class notebooks are into CAD/DCC/etc however...
That, along with the more expensive manufacturing process of the Greens, certifications, etc, explains the price difference.

So unless you absolutely need the pro apps - ATI seems to have a better performance/TDP/price ratio, IMHO

 

For what?
I carried a Dell Precision M6400 consistently with me..

If you just need a portable pc, I'd go for a Lenovo X201!
If you need grafic-power, the 8540x is a great deal, it's not light (3kg, 6lb) but it has plenty of power!

 

@Person_Pitch: I carry an 8lb laptop with me all the time. I'm looking forward to the substantial weight reduction provided by the 8540w or M4500. I recently got a nice backpack to replace my shoulder bag, which has made a huge difference.

 

Question to other 8540W owners:

Does the LED panel (with Wifi, power, charging, and Hdd lights) appear to stick out (although very slightly) from the chasis, or is it completely level with the rest of the bezel?

Mine seems to stick out just a tad so just trying to validate this is normal.
---

 

Greetings all, and a big thank-you for all of the info here!

I ordered an 8540W, i7-820QM, FHD, FX-1800 w GDDR5, 8GB ram & 256 GB SSD way back on April 3rd. HP still won't say when I might expect to see it, and won't say anything more than "Delayed due to a material shortage." For the folks that have recieved their custom-configured units, when did you place your orders?

Also, is anyone here running Solidworks on their machine? I'd appreciate any feedback on performance with that software.

Thanks!

Jon

 

A wise decision! Using a good quality orthopedic backpack will make your lappy feather-lite. I carry M17X (6.5 kilo with the PSU) in a backpack 6-7 days a week to and from work (it's a 30min walking in each direction) and so far, no regrets. I do however think a 4-4.5kg notebook would be better for frequent travel by plane.

 

jaxx1, the black plastic strip with the lights appears flush with the surrounding gray metal frame. If I run my finger over it I can feel a slight ridge, but you really don't see it.

SWX-Jon, I ordered 4/30, received 5/14.

 

Definately sounds like your order is awkwardly delayed....
If it's a configure-to-order you should be able to check on the More-Info buttons and see which part(s) are holding it up.

Regarding Solidworks, I've not yet tried on my 8540w, but it runs perfectly fine on the HP Elitebook 8530w. Given the specs you list are only improved over the 8530w, you should be fine. The only complaint I had was the performance implications of the regular 7200rpm HDD, but with SSD you should be -very- satisfied running SolidWorks on your 8540w .

 

Thanks for the quick reply. It would appear to be the same here. My concern was when sliding my system into the case (at a slight angle) it might snag on the LED panel there (has sometimes done this with the center button). Perhaps I'm too pickey.

Thanks for the sanity check sir.
---

 

Vantage Score Information as requested.

HP 8540w with:

• 
  Intel Core i7 820QM (quad-core)

• 4GB DDR3

• Ati FirePro M5800 (1GB dedicated DDR3)

• HP Optimized Power Profile

• Windows 7 x64 Professional

• 3dMark Vantage v1.02_1901 Trial Version

• Running on AC Power

Scores:
1) 3dMarks P3836
2) CPU Score: 10526
3) Graphics Score: 3165

Attached screenshots for validation. (Note the GPU Shows up as Radeon Mobility 5730 but it's the FirePro M5800, I promise).

 

Thanks Jaxx1. Looking good It may not be a 58oo series but looks like its still better than the 1800FX at non CUDA applications. I wonder if its detected that way due to the drivers. Does this mean its not using the optimised ones but the regular radeon drivers? Would be interesting to see how the scores would change using the different types (if its at all possible). Any luck with audio output via displayport/hdmi?

 

Futuremark 3dmark 2006 Information as requested.

HP 8540w with:
•Intel Core i7 820QM (quad-core)
•4GB DDR3
•Ati FirePro M5800 (1GB dedicated DDR3)
•HP Optimized Power Profile
•Windows 7 x64 Professional
•3dMark 2006 v1.2.0 Basic Version
•Running on AC Power

Scores:
1) SM2.0: 2621
2) SM3.0: 3114
3) CPU Score: 3277
4) 3D Mark: 7306


Attached screenshot for validation. (Note the GPU Shows up as Radeon Mobility 5730 but it's the FirePro M5800, I promise).

 

I'm not too impressed with Catia on the M5800. Seems a bit slower and a bit flakey compared to FX770M and FX570M (8530w and 8510w hp systems). Not entirely surprised as again Pro-workstation apps just seem to run better with the Nvidia driver capabilities. Gaming may very well be better on the M5800, but I'm not quite sure yet...

As far as the 5730, I'm using the HP OEM Drivers (for M5800), but Futuremark is likely comparing the PCI-ID of the GPU which likely is in their database as M-Radeon 5730. In fact, 3dmark shows it as an M5800 until it uploads to ORB then it changes. I recall some Quadro GPUs doing this as well, but recently they seem to use different PCI-IDs for them.
Either way, this is all with HP OEM FirePro drivers (the ones that shipped with the system). Using RADEON drivers and modifying the INI would likely increase these numbers, but i doubt it would be a huge different. Benchmark apps by Futuremark tend to be enhanced for both Pro and Consumer series drivers.
---

 

Ordered 4/20. Shipped 5/11, Received 5/14. 8540w, i7 820QM, FX1800M

 

Who wants to sell 2Gb Samsung dimm from 8540w? I need one.

 

Ordered 4/28 and received 5/14. I7-620m, M5800.

 

Thanks for the updates on order / receipt dates: sounds like I'm 'special' in the wrong way...

I'll follow up with what the mystery order-delaying parts are.

Also appreciate the thumbs up on SWX performance: good to hear there's nota fatal quirks there.

Cheers,

Jon

 

Regarding the 3DMark benchmarks, the Firepro is around 5% (SM3.0 2006) to 9% (Vantage) better or 14% (SM2.0 2006) worse.
10% better is around 2 or 3 frames per second, which is almost nothing.

For me the cards seem to be pretty on par, it's all about what you want/need.

If you want direct X11 you need to get the ATI.
If you want CUDA you need to get the NVidia. The difference between the FX880 and the FX 1800 is around 10-12% (for 3dMark06), for CUDA Apps you get 24 additional Shaders (+50%).

Taking price/performance into account you should go for the ATI if your most grafic-intesive app is gaming , the FirePro will be also great to do some entry level CAD (student a.o.).
If you want to do some CUDA/CAD stuff and game a bit the FX880 will suite you finde. If you do CUDA/CAD stuff most of your time the FX1800 is the way to go.

ATI
+ more than 2 monitors
+ faster for gaming (2-3fps regarding 3dMarks)
+ Direct X11
+ powerefficiency

NVidia
+ better Pro-App-Performance
+ CUDA

3dMarks --> FirePro 5800 ~ 110% FX 1800m ~ 120% FX 880m
Money --> FX 1800m ~ FX 880m + 200$ ~ FirePro 5800 + 400$

 

Thanks for the summary. I do heavy photo editing using CS4/5, Nikon Capture NX2 and Photomatix mostly. For my applications, CUDA doesn't seem to be useful. Photoshop is multi-core aware and reports say that NX2 is as well. Given that I'd also like to game a bit, I'm going for the Ati card and spending the difference on the DC2 display (when available). I also plan to set the system up with 12GB ram and an X-25m G2 SSD. Anything I'm missing out?

 

Looking real forward for first DC2 impressions. That might be a option for me too. For your needs, anything else than the Firepro whould be a waste of money. Just be shure to get the smalles Quad-Core so you have the 4 memory slots.

 

Oh, aiming for the 820/840QM processors. The 720 seems bit underpowered from reports. Any idea if the DC2 panels can be purchased separately and installed by user when available? Ditto for the backlit keyboard.

 

I ordered my 8540w back in February, 'cause I didn't want to wait for the dreamcolor 2 panel. You can switch the panel easily by yourself. It's more difficult to get one. And I don't know if you can get an official exchange by HP.
Again the difference between the i7-720 and the i7-820 is not that much (6-7% --> notebookcheck.com) so you'll probably won't notice a difference. I use a lot of programs parallel (Photoshop, virtual machines, Archicad) and the i7-720 handles it pretty impressive. If the i7-840 was available for the same bucks as the 820 I'd chosen that, but 180$ for just 7%...
Did HP anouce a backlit keyboard at all? It's fun to look at, but the LED light makes more sense to me.

 

Got mine 8540w at Friday. Everything looks fine, except the keyboard. Some keys are uneven. t does not bother me when I type, but the laptop (everything else fine) looks a little sloppy.

Have any of the other owners encountered the same issue? Is this a warranty case or justification for the replacement?

Photo of uneven keyboard

 

Didn't notice it before but you're right, the keys are uneven:

 

Your reasoning is perfect, I will likely do the same when I replace my 8510w

 

That's weird. I'll contact HP support and will try to figure out, is it reason for replacement or not.

 

personally i think all the keys are going to be uneven with every model.
i think its the buttons under the keys that could be causing the imbalance of the keys.
companies like sony would have perfected the keyboard id imagine since they have used this style keys for a good while now.

 

thanks, jaxx1, for re-checking the right speaker issue. it is still a big issue for me on my machine, but so far I could not find the time to travel to an HP service center to check for a hardware problem. But I am "Happy" that it also occurs on your machine (not really, but just reassured...)

 

Does anyone know if the 8540w is compatible with the 8530w docking stations?

 

The keys on my 8540p are also a bit uneven. In addition, the plastic between the LED board and the top of the keyboard is a little bumpy.

 

The HP Documentation says it´s not.

 

I'm thinking of getting one of these and thhrowing it into the 8540w bay instead of shelling out 400usd to HP. Anyone see any problems with this?

Newegg.com - SONY Black 6X BD-R 2X BD-RE 8X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 6X BD-ROM 4.5 Mbyte Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner Model BD-5730S-01 - Blu-Ray Burners

Newegg.com - ASUS 6X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 24X CD-ROM USB External Slim External BD Combo Model SBC-06D1S-U

Is the BD drive that can be configured with the system a burner or reader?

 

OK, but has anyone tried?

 

I believe both readers -and- burners are available.

The model # for mine is: hp BD MLT UJ240
(blu-ray burner)

 

Hi,
I have no problem with uneven keys, they look ok to me, and for the right speaker, also i don't see (hear) any problem, speakers on that thing are crap anyway, they are little bigger than headphones . My model is WD928EA. Only problem so far is fan sleep issue, hope it will be resolved soon. USB 3.0. problem solved with firmware update.

 

The HP drive is a burner. you can swap the DVD-drive with those from newegg, but you will need to remove the bezel and the retainer metal thing from the original drive and change it with the bluray-drive.

The 8530w dockingstation has a larger connector and doesn't fit. You can't even put the 8540w on the 8530w dockingstation, because plastic parts avoid this.

I fear a new keyboard won't change anything. On the other hand, typing on the 8540w is very comfortable even with slightly uneven keys

At least the speakers are loud. When you want better sound you can use a headset or the NVidia HD audio out.