*HP EliteBook 8730w Owners Lounge*

It is not worth the money to upgrade later .As you say the difference is very little .If someone can configure before buying in this case it would be good because if you have the x9100 you can go easily to 3.4 ghx oc with no problems via bios .

And last you must consider the much more power consumption ( 45w) and the heat . And if you overclock to 3.4 i dont know if you can leave le laptop running for much time before it get tosted .

Regards
chris

 

Well I've just ordered a 8730w

Same specs as you Fritz...

T9600
4GB ram
320GB HD
Nvida FX3700
Dreamcolor screen

They say it should be with me within 14 days!!!! Can't wait
Big thanks to all the people I questioned / asked advice of, etc. You've been a big help!

Regards,
Simon

 

Hello Simon , i am very happy for you .
Finally you decided between the HP and the Dell M 6400. Me too had this kind of decision to make and we took the same one . Hope we did the right choice .
Only 14 days . That is very quick . I am still waiting after one month .
They told me that i will receive it in a few days .We will see.
My only concern is the dreamcolor display after all that problems .
Hope yours will be OK .
I think this is the best configuration for reasonable money .
Other specs with quad and extreme are obviously better but the price is too high for now .
Best regards Simon again for your purchase .

Chris

 

Yeah the main reason I ended up with the Hp was the price after all that! I had a bit of a bidding war going on between Dell and Hp and in the end the Hp was about $1200 cheaper for the same specs here in Sydney.

I would have loved to have gone with the 3.06Ghz cpu but they don't do it here, plus I'm not sure in the real world you'd notice the difference anyhow.

I'll maybe upgrade to Quad in after a while- depending how much the motherboard is.

Regards,
Simon

 

Idem as you Simon .
The same thoughts i had and have .
Again congratulations .
Wenn i will receive the laptop i will post immediately about the screen first and if everything is ok about the whole machine .

Regards
Chris

 

Good to hear! Fingers crossed for your screen! I hope you get a good one!

Regards,
Simon

 

hi to all
i subscribed very recently to this forum just in order to post here.
I got one 8730w 3 weeks ago. A T9600 Quadro FX 2700M 17”WUXGA 1920x1200.
First thing to notice: the metallic outer screen cover had bumps on it. 2nd: the battery was moving. Not happy. But the real problem was with the screen: a very visible white light bleeding was noticeable on the lower area.
I phoned HP service and after some "talking", they agreed to change it. The store where I bought it accepted it and now I’m waiting for a new one.

The question I have is: how can one determine if my screen is/not a Dreamcolor display? In the specifications, from the HP.BE (Belgium) site, it’s not clearly stated which model has it. It only says that only nVidia cards accept this type of display.
Another tip maybe is the price tag, 2400€.

I’m also in graphics and one reason I choose this model was the hope for a decent screen. Can you help me with this one please? In order to refuse the new one and get, if I must, another with Dreamcolor. The reference of the model I had replaced is 8730w FU470EA#UUG.

Thanks a lot,
Cristian

 

Hello Cristian

Go to HP Performance Tuning Framework under Configuration / Display
It must say RGB COLOR . If not it is not a Dreamcolor Display .
From what i know this reference ( FU470) is not a Dreamcolor configuration .
Talk with HP and ask them to give you a code with Dreamcolor Screen .

Regards
Chris

 

The FU470 is not a DreamColor config. I have the FU471, which has identical specs but DreamColor.
The DreamColor configs have a DreamColor logo on a sticker in the top-right of the screen, that's the easiest way to check it. (see here)

Dragos

 

thank you Dragos
well this bothers me... now I have to try to replace & upgrade it
will it cost me a lot extra?...

 

I think they are listed at around $400.

Regards,
Simon

 

I have posted some unpacking photos of my 8730w if someone is interested.

The DreamColor logo can be seen on this photo.

/M

 

Nice pics . Congratulations.

Best regards
Chris

 

ouch...

funny thing I cannot find any NEAT and CLEAR specification on the hp.be site which model has this Dreamcolor display. Will have to deal it by phone me thinks.

And another somehow disappointment was the absence of the night light. That was one feature/gadget I was interested in... giving the absence of the backlit kbd. Why isn't it included? If I recall it well, this model was advertised with it.

 

No you are wrong . It was not advertised with night light . All other Elitebook models are but not the 8730w.
My only logical explanation about this could be that the night light don't cover all the area of the 17'keyboard and so HP did not included it . Maybe the upgrademodel of the current 8730w with have backlight keyboard .
Call directly Hp and dont look at the website because codes may differ .
Best regards
Chris

 

I wonder how easy it would be to "Mod" a backlight for the keyboard?

It's a shame it doesn't come with back lighting like the macbook pro or dell m6400. But it's not really a deal breaker either.

 

That's actually the one thing preventing me from pulling the trigger on an 8730 right now...

The LED lit hotkey bar just above the keyboard doesn't help a lot either for seeing in the dark.

[EDIT:]

Hmmm... I just thought of something... What about a USB powered ultraviolet LED, UV-reactive paint, and a stencil for painting letters on the keys?

Would have to put a hood on the UV LED of course. You don't want to be staring at one of those for hours on end.

 

I have to say that for 95% of times I use my laptop in the dark I don't miss a backlit keyboard. The light coming from the screen is more than enough for me to see the keys.

If it gets too dark I'll put a light on

Regards,
Simon

 

Ok guys . My dreamcolor arrived . I am a lucky man . Everything is perfect .
The screen is way to bright for my eyes .The colors are crisp sharp and very intense . I am really very happy about the beast . After 3 hours testing the screen under different aspects i have found no dead pixels and no shadows .
The OS is XP PRO . I asked for vista business when i ordered but no problem . After all i prefer xp pro . I got vista 64 bit media so i will change after a while .
I don't know you but i am flying with this keyboard it is perfect .
The beast is running about 10 hours and the only time the vent was on was when i made the 3DMARKS .
The score is 10.917
SM 2.0: 5.181
SM 3.0 score 4787
cpu 2566

cpu temp all day long 35 - 40 c max 45 C

Construction level is very high and for now everything is working good .
This are my first impressions . I will post more when i will have examinate better the laptop .
Best regards
Chris

 

Ok guys . My dreamcolor arrived . I am a lucky man . Everything is perfect .
The screen is way to bright for my eyes .The colors are crisp sharp and very intense . I am really very happy about the beast . After 3 hours testing the screen under different aspects i have found no dead pixels and no shadows .
The OS is XP PRO . I asked for vista business when i ordered but no problem . After all i prefer xp pro . I got vista 64 bit media so i will change after a while .
I don't know you but i am flying with this keyboard it is perfect .
The beast is running about 10 hours and the only time the vent was on was when i made the 3DMARKS .
The score is 10.917
SM 2.0: 5.181
SM 3.0 score 4787
cpu 2566

cpu temp all day long 35 - 40 c max 45 C

Construction level is very high and for now everything is working good .
This are my first impressions . I will post more when i will have examinate better the laptop .
Best regards
Chris

 

Great to hear that everything is working fine for you!!
Can you test the webcam if you have one also, I'd love to hear about the quality of that. Also is the audio clear with headphones?

Regards,
Simon

 

I have the webcam. It's actually quite good. Same goes for the headphone jack. In fact, I'm listening to some "Scouting For Girls" as I type this.

So far, I've been quite impressed by virtually every aspect of this notebook. It's thin, it's quiet, and it runs for a long time with the secondary 8-cell battery attached. The build quality is truly top notch. I love the aluminum shell. Very classy. And the keyboard is honestly the best I've ever seen on a notebook. It's truly a pleasure to type on. I also like the touchpad. It has just the right amount of friction. All in all, I'm extremely pleased with my purchase. It was expensive, but I guess you get what you pay for.

 

I can't wait to get mine now..

And as soon as I've saved up some more cash I'm going to stick one of these bad boys in there... That REALLY should make the whole system fly.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001F4YIYY...A256KD9C1BPC5J&tag=cnet-ce-mp-20&linkCode=asn

Regards,
Simon

 

Simon before doing that check out if you don't void the warranty .
I asked about the enclosure to do Raid 0 with another 320 gb hard disk and they said to me : Be careful not to void the warranty if it is not approved from HP . I don't know what this mean .

Also Simon the web cam is ok but the quality dipends from the room lightning .
Regards
Chris

 

Humm, that's a bit harsh, I've never known the replacement of a hard disk to void a warranty?

I'll speak with them of course to check but as long as you don't damage anything replacing the hard disk I'm not sure they'd have a leg to stand on. Memory and Hard disks are normally classed as user replaceable.

Regards,
Simon

 

Because we are all friends here it is my obligation to mention everything could be bad for us . So i was told and that i said . It is bette to check out then have bad results . It cost only a phone call .
My future planes too are to put in SSD but first i will asure with hp that i can meaning if i must put in some specific ones or not .
Thanks my friends

Chris

 

Those Intel SSD's are bad a**!!! I've read nothing but great things about them. I think I'll wait for the next generation, though. They'll be cheaper, larger and faster.

 

Here are some photos in my office . The lights are very strong and the photos are not so good .
When my docking station arrive i will post new ones






The screen has 40-50% brightness .Ambient light off.

 

Wow, that's at 40-50%?! Still looks very bright even there! 100% must burn your eyes out!
How are the black levels?

Also is that the large 12cell battery you have there? How long does that give you on a full charge?

Regards,
Simon

 

Anyone know how big this laptop is relative to the new macbook pro 17"?

 

I checked out the sizes from apple.com and hp.com (they list all the sizes there).

The macbook is smaller, it's about 1/4 thinner from what I can remember. But the hp isn't that much bigger. A few mm here and there...

Regards,
Simon

 

When you are typing in low light condition ( for my eyes ) i have to set the brightness to minimum . It is too bright for me
Even outdoor 50% is enough to see perfectly .
Black is realy Black .
I am not satisfacted from the battery life .
With the primary i get with wireless on max 3 hours . I think thats ok but attaching the 12 cell i get only 6 hours . That is very little . I though i could get easily 7 hours .
And one other thing i charges and discarged the the 12 cell battery 2 times and i can not get 100% full charge . It stuck at 97%.
I keept charging all night but nothing only 97%.
What do i wrong ?

 

Hi

Can someone give us an idea how the speaker quality is in terms of loudness and range? I mean without headphones.

Thanks!
Rayt

 

Ιt is not a multimedia notebook and so don't expect something high level .
But for having 2 channel speakers , loudness and bass is more than enough and the sound is clear .
You don't need more from those speakers on THIS Laptop and i think you will be very pleased .

 

Yes, I'm still having some unsettled issues regarding my battery. I mentioned this in a prior post. I just received the 12cell ultra, so I don't have enough data on its performance yet, but early indications are that it too is not up to expectations as advertised. I am disappointed in the battery life and plan to contact HP. There may be nothing done, but I am at least going to let them know the battery life in practice comes no where near advertised. The battery life is probably my biggest disappointment. Most other features and attributes of the system are very good. I get less than 2 hrs on just the primary battery and only about 3.5 hrs with the additional ultra attached. This is unacceptable when compared to advertised specs. I am running the display at only 30% brightness, wireless on, bluetooth off. Nothing else extrodinary.

I still am trying to work out my problems with running VMWare Workstation. Have had some support from VMWare, with clues of what may be causing the problem. I believe the issue is incompatibility with HP's Hp ProtectTools. I am hesitant to disable / remove the ProtectTools, but I may go that route eventually if I cannot get any other workaround.

 

I found the HP ProtectTools software to be a pain in the a**, and I uninstalled it after a few days.

 

sorry for the long silence.
got the new HP after sending back the 1st one. It hasn't DreamColor display, they don't have it yet. The HP BELUX doesn't have an offer with DC...shame. They say they can't offer me a refund... so I have this brand new, box sealed, HP FU470EA I don't want/need... Anyone want it? It's actually 200€ cheaper than the current market price (in Belgium). Brand new!

 

I haven't performed any definitive tests yet, but I'm pretty sure I am seeing better battery life than you are reporting. I can only surmise that it's the DreamColor display that's eating up so much power.

 

You are seeing better battery because you have a lower graphic card .
The FX 2700 is consuming a lot less than our FX 3700 and some 10-20 min less time maybe we have from the dreamcolor display

Here are some photos



My Dreamcolor and beside Dell XPS M1210

 

Ah, good point. I hadn't factored the GPU into the equation.

 

I wonder if you can help me with something.

I've problems with my 8730w, actually twp of them. First I got that red shadow in the lower left corner. Then if you have the computer powered off, it consumes the battery power despite it is off. I have the AC adaptor in the computer but the AC adaptor is not connected to the power outlet in the wall. The battery charge is discharging with linear speed with about 15% in 24 hours.

I RMA my 8730w and got another one, with the same red shadow and battery discharging when it is supposed to be off.

Now, I wonder if you can do the test by checking the battery level when you have powered the computer off and then when you have turned it on again check again if the battery level is lower. The AC adaptor should be connected to computer but not the power outlet. Thanks if you check this.

The second 8730w also have an annoying electric grinding noise from the graphics card if you put it under load, for example in games and 3dmark06. The sound sounds those annoying electrical hissing sounds you could hear in early laptops from the speakers because of poor electrical shielding and motherboard design. The difference here is that the sound doesn't come from the speakers but more like a regulator on the graphics card.

I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm dissapointed that HP has so bad quality control and I want to cancel my purchase because I believe that I will only get another bad computer. This model seems to be rushed to the market without much time for quality control.

I have to RMA this computer again because I cannot accept 3 faults on the same computer. The battery discharging is also a very severe fault. A laptop must not discharge the battery while off despite AC adaptor is connected. It is a common use case and if it fails this one I consider it a brick. Many people use extension cords with a power switch that turns off and on their rig with a single switch.

 

Now you mentioned it yesterday night i full charged the 8730w with the 12 cell attached , The primary was at 100% and the secondary 12 cell was at 100%.
The laptop was standalone without any cord attached .It was full charged and left alone .
After 20 hours ( 4 hours ago ) i switched on the laptop and i saw a battery lost for the primary and even for the 12 cell .
I dont remember precisely the number but i think i had in the 12 cell 85% instead of 100 and 95% in the primary instead of 100.
Now you mention it i will check better .
In this moment i have full load in the primary and 12 cell and i will go further then you leaving it standalone without any attachments .
Will see tomorrow morning and tomorrow evening

 

Do you have the red shadow problem on your display?

 

No red shadow . The screen is perfect in all aspects
So if i really have this problem with discharging while the laptop is off what shall i do ? Returning the laptop and waiting for another one with the risk to get the red shadow or keeping the laptop ?

I FOUND THIS IN THE INTERNET right now :


Yes, I was able to fix that. You need to disable:

1. Wake on * in the bios LAN settings and network adapter properties

2. Wake on * in the modem driver properties

3. Wake on * in the one of the system devices (if I don't mistake system audio board, but I'm not 100% sure).



In fact, I would suggest to check every single device/driver in hardware manager and disable such setting if exists. In my case, 3rd was the deal breaker.

 

Good to hear that some displays are good at least.

It's a good question what to do if you have the same problem with the battery discharge as I do. Either you live with it or you contact HP support. On new machines you have the right to get on-site service which in this case problably means that they will change the motherboard. This would require that the take apart the entire machine. Also this might be a hardware design problem and it will not even help to change the motherboard.

Difficult really. I'm done playing HP roulette and will do what I can to cancel this machine. Too bad the market laws isn't in my favour, and that would mean that I have paid a lot of money for a crippled machine. What would make me even more angry is that HP would get away selling bad machines.

 

Those shouldn't be enabled by default. These BIOS settings are for network administrators to setup machines through the network and those people are usually computer professionals who knows how to enable these. All the people who doesn't know this will have this problem. Very bad by HP to enable these.

 

ok tomorrow i will inform you about the batteries
bye

 

My configuration:
-T9800
-DreamColor w/ WebCam
-FX2700
-250GB 7200
-4GB mem
-additional 12 cell ultra battery attached
-all the other standard stuff

Battery life on the 8730w is very peculiar. I also experience disappearing capacity overnight. Typically drops from 100% charge overnight to less than 85%. I know Li Ion batteries do self discharge, but I have never seen this kind of depletion before. I did turn off the Wake On LAN setting, but that was the only "Wake On..." setting I could find, and it hasn't seemed to make any difference yet. I do suspect the DreamColor as the main culprit. Maybe someone without the DreamColor could comment. Please note that I do not have the FX3700, only the FX2700.

Regarding the 12 cell ultra, it does not add much to the total battery life; only about 90 minutes; also very disappointing. My first impression of the primary battery and its discharge rate was that it must not be a brand new unit. Is there any way to determine how many cycles the battery has already had? However, it appears now that others are also experiencing similar problems..

 

I was able to get VMWare installed and have started using it. I had to disable ProtectTools. I hesitated to remove them, but may do so later. I just used msconfig to disable the application and the service - so far seems to work ok. Trying to determine if there is any value for keeping the tools installed. You are right, they have been a pain in the a--

Thanks...

K

 

Last night i charged my primary batterie and in the morning after start up i found 90%.
Maybe this 10% is necessary to fire up the laptop you understand what i mean .
power the dreamcolor for the first time , spinning the hard drive from zero ,
power up the fan from 0 rpm , and wakeing up the graphic card .
I think that all this stuff to power on for the first time from zero and to bring them to idle needs e lot of power . So maybe i am saying that this is the reason that after all this procedure when we look at the status of the batterie we see this kind of charge lost .