*HP EliteBook 8740w Owners Lounge - PART 1*

You're not in a 8730w thread, and yes I've seen your links and meant the RGB LED LCD. If I understand correctly from the provided info, that panel is a TN, not IPS .
HP's naming scheme is confusing - S-PS doesn't mean it's an IPS screen, lol.
In this thread we are talking about a DC2 IPS 10-bit per color screens and I repeat, if it's gonna be available for 100$ on Ebay (even in a year from now) I'll make a lot of money on it, hehe.

On a side note, if someone is claiming he got a nice screen from Ebay for 100$, doesn't mean it's impossible, but most likely is fishy and even if 100 forum members will claim it's a real deal, it doesn't make me run for it. I've seen enough BS here and on Ebay to not get too excited.
In fact, when the time is right, one can get that screen from HP directly for free
But,..why don't you buy it from that reseller and then make a comparative review ?

 

I've always heard a lot about how a pro GPU does not perform well in gaming. However, the benchmark scores I obtain with either the Quadro FX 2500M or the FirePro M7820 match their gaming counterparts (7900 GTX and HD5870).

 

Do you have a link to your scores or do you mind telling us what your FirePro managed?

 

I already said in another thread that new IPS panels have a very good response time (about 6-5ms. grey-to-grey) and an average input lag: about 25ms. or less (If I'm not wrong, the DELL U2410 IPS desktop monitor has 14ms input lag in gaming mode).

Unless you're a hardcore gamer you'll don't notice the lag in fast games (i.e. FPS). The image quality you'll get will compensate you the lag with colourful scenes and rich details not found in any TN panel in the market. Period. By the way, my NEC 2490WUXi desktop monitor with a H-IPS panel (8-bit) does a good work with gaming and it has 38ms average input lag and 8ms response time (with optional overdrive). I'm not a hardcore gamer and I prefer the NEC over my old BenQ FP937s+ with TN panel (and "super-fast" response).

 

I hope you're right about M7820 as my FX880M doesn't work smooth in games, the FPS is stable but there is a constant minor lag and some glitches here and there.

That's good to hear!
I'm wondering if it's possible to put that DC2 panel into my M17X. The connectors look identical and physical dimensions are the same. Or will it only work on HP notebooks?

 

If you install the consumer drivers, they will perform identically since they're from the same hardware. However, that kinda negates the purpose of buying a workstation GPU, which you've paid much more for...

 

Is it much easier to install the normal Radeon Drivers for an ATi FirePro card rather than the normal GeForce drivers for a nVidia Quadro FX one? I've heard it's not easy to force installation of GeForce drivers for a Quadro FX... Is this true?

 

The only reason I would get the 8740w is for the build quality and style, which I am in love with. I guess it wouldn't really be for workstation WORK, but its good to know that they will perform identically.

 

I agree that Quadro's cost more but can't say the same about the ATI 5xxx FirePro.
I need a workstation's reliability and build quality, but not gonna use any pro apps, so screw the Quadro's, hehe.

 

Actually I just went to Xotic PC to spec out my 8740w config on the Sager NP8760 with HD5870. After adding on the 3yr parts/labor warranty, my 8740w is cheaper.

 

including the 25% rep discount?

 

Without my rep discount, the 8740w would be far more expensive than the Sager.

 

k, just making sure

 

Yes, without the discount HP wouldn't be an option for me.
For 3.5k you can get a fully buffed AW or Clevo.

 

only when you have hp laps. You can install only drivers they provide. I've posted their latests (not published) drivers somewhere in this forum (should be linked on the first page).

3800m is a good card. Good enough to do HD edits in Premiere pro. There is a hack which enables the Mercury playback so you dont have to render your footages.

P.S. I wouldnt call 8740w reliable I have more issues with it than with my any other laptops.

 

@xsrx: Thank you.

@All: Backlit keyboard is again already available in the CTO page (HP USA website). HP have kept his promise (may 24th was the day for the backlit kb re-launch). However, no DreamColor screen option is available yet. I think it will be available on june, 24th, since it seems this calendar day is used by HP for releases.

 

My order is supposed to ship today. Most likely not gonna happen, hehe.

 

Nice to know I can fall back to my original 8740w config in case I don't like the Envy 17 I ordered with 25% BCB in the meantime.

 

My line item config for the DC2 now shows a big red "X". All other line items are "H". Good luck with the ship date. Mine was now a month ago today.

 

I wish HP would offer the Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive as an option for the secondary drive bay in the 8740w...

AnandTech.com - Seagate's Momentus XT Reviewed, Finally a Good Hybrid HDD

 

Word travels fast! Earlier today, I had that Momentus XT in my Newegg shopping cart, then went browsing for wireless mice. Few minutes later, Newegg had removed the drive from my cart. Out of stock until 5/27. Would have had it this weekend if not for the mouse.

 

I wonder what is the number of write cycles on the XT 4GB flash memory...


<<< NVM, those are SAS not SATA drives and won't work in a laptop.

 

It's SLC memory, so probably 1mil writes

 

Since it's only a few gigs and is gonna be constantly utilized, I doubt the XT drive will be even close to SSDs in terms of life span.

 

Chances are the moving parts will die well before the SLC NAND flash memory. I'm not worried.

If you were going to buy a platter anyway, why not buy a platter with 4GB SLC read cache. It costs just a little more, and gets you halfway between consumer platter and SSD performance for many workloads. Sounds like a win to me.

 

Actually, I'd consider it but am intrigued by the upcoming G3 from Intel.

 

If you have the money, SSD will always be the better choice, but for the rest - the hybrid looks like a solid concept.

 

I have two brand new 500GB 7200RPM HDDs in RAID0.
Max transfer rate is about 165MB/s.
I paid less than $130.

These hybrids are not worth it.

If I want higher transfer rates I'll go straight to SSD.

 

My plan is for a SSD boot/apps/fast drive, and hybrid for everything else.

Personally, I already was going to buy a >=500GB platter to go with my SSD. (2X SSDs isn't a great fit for my needs.) This thing comes along and makes all kinds of sense for me. But yeah, if you have the bucks and don't need more space, 2X SSDs would be faster.

 

4,000,000 GB of writes? Geez. The chances of the flash cells dying before you decide to replace your HD in 3ish years is almost nil compared to the chance of the platters dying.

 

Looks like the world is changing faster than I unlock myself from preconceptions, lol.
Thanks for shattering my illusion!

 

If it was MLC, you'd be closer to the mark, but it's SLC.

 

Higher transfer rates are useless in real life situations. Besides, you'd never see 165MB/s in any real transfer with a HDD.

You might as well save your money and just get a regular HDD (up to 750GB I believe under a 9.5mm height) if you already have a SSD for OS and programs and want the HDD for storage only.

 

Hello all,

I ordered an 8740w just yesterday. Here's my config:
i7-820QM
WUXGA+ display w/ camera
FirePro M7820
4GB 1333 RAM (2D)
250 GB Hard Drive
DVD Burner
Backlit Keyboard
Bluetooth
Intel Ultimate-N 6300 Wireless Card

So now I'm hearing that my planned addition of 2 more 2 GB RAM chips might cause failures. I found this HP forum post on the subject as well:

8740w shuts off with four memory chips - HP Support Forum

Has there been any update on this? Has anyone successfully used all four memory bays? Any official word from HP?

 

ORLY?

That's strange, when I was installing my programs and transferring all my data onto my 1TB RAID0 HDD setup, I noticed it took less time, when compared to one single 500GB HDD.
Bootup and program initialization is also noticeable.
I guess it was all in my head. :laugh:

The 165MB was the max. transfer rate. Obviously, it's not sustained rate. Nevertheless, when compared to a single 500GB HDD (about 87MB), the difference is significant.

 

Ok, so the DC2 is still unavailable and my order is temporary in limbo. Will give it a few days and make a tough decision...

 

I ordered DC also.
Let's see who gets it first.

 

If you can live with non-IPS, I'd suggest pushing for a bigger discount to downgrade to the screen. Note however that our rep changed jobs at HP...not sure if that will make getting a bigger discount easier or harder (he might be motivated to get your sale made and then pass you off...I ordered mine today with him, then the order confirmation came from a new new rep).

 

Who's that? Eric Wade?

 

backlit keyboard is available now.

 

Nah, I might cancel it sooner now. If it wasn't for the screen, I'd be far away from HP. Eventually, that might be the case anyway...

 

If this thread needed more fail... well, I found some.

You know that Dell M6500 I bought on eBay, to use until DreamColor 2 is available? Yeah... USPS has lost it.

*sad trombone*

 

The 8740w is your destiny!

 

If that were the case, they would all have the laptops by now. :laugh:

 

Yes.

10char

 

Nope, Eric Wade is still there.

Update!

I got a response on the DC2 case:

The Dream Color 2 panel will be available from 21st of June!

I decided to wait for now and no to cancel the order.

 

Eric took my order and passed it on. Here is what my new rep told me after my order was passed over to him.

Eric Wade has taken another position within Hp. I will be happy to be your new account rep. I placed your order for you, gave you free two day shipping and fixed your address. All of my contact information is below. Please let me know if you need help purchasing anything else from Hp. Thank you for your time.

I don't know anymore than that. I'm guessing Eric still gets his commission on open accounts, so he will be your rep until your order goes through. Or maybe I just asked too many questions and Eric wanted to dump me on someone else.

 

hello, that is a great news. I will wait also until there. Can you ask more questions about the specifications and I also hear that a new graphic board will be released at the same time : 596064-001 SP-BD GRAPHICS nVIDIA QUADRO 5000M. I also see at this site : HP EliteBook 8740w Mobile Workstation - Spare Parts - c02068677 - HP Business Support Center .
I guess it will be the professional fermi gtx 480m. Is it somebody can confirm that?

 

Ever heard of the 'Peter Principle'? It seems to me that Eric got moved upwards in the organization because he was TOO GOOD at what did and will continue to move up until he reaches the position where he STOPS being good at what he does Happened to me a few times... The tech wizard gets moved up into a managerial position where he's very well paid but doesn't do anything useful anymore...

 

Could you, please, pm me your new rep info?