*HP EliteBook 8740w Owners Lounge - PART 1*

I haven't tried either of the two solutions I've posted, but I was curious about them as I would seriously consider them if I were to get a new notebook. The second paragraph was more to True Sultan, not you. He is going to university and won't be moving around but his reason for wanting a notebook is fine. I lived in the dorms in downtown Toronto for undergrad and I never worried about theft, but if he feels the need to bring his notebook with him everywhere, that's perfectly reasonable.

 

............................

 

After realizing that he needs gaming more than anything else (hard to blame ) - no.
Just as I said to Sultan today - a 15" gaming system with a 5870 and i7-720QM - ~1500$ would have enough power to run most games @high/max for 2-3 years (till consoles get updated). In addition, there's a good chance that the next iteration of ATI and Nvidia GPU's will still fit the MXM3.0b form-factor+TDP and will make the system even more future proof. I really doubt that with a 940XM+MR6870/480M+Intel's G3 SSD (slowly upgraded to this level during the next year) the system will desperately need to be replaced in 2 years from now.
But in the gaming sector there are only 2 real choices up to date : Clevo/AW.


@ RampageII,

W510 was a present to my wife to replace the aging and unreliable Sony Vaio.

Dell Mini 10 - is a contest award and is free.

TP R40 is officially retired after 7 years of loyal service.

8740w is a purchase to find the best system for my needs.
it will either be sold shortly after receiving (if I don't find it suitable), or replace the only current system - M17X

 

I haven't had any crashes today. I only got 2 during startups shortly after reinstalling the OS. This morning I had a failed (but not crashed) startup, Widows tried to fix it to no avail. But it has been fine ever since. Still have the Sleep Mode issue , which is very annoying...have to shut down and reboot my computer way too many time in a day.

 

Regarding the sleep mode, I'd wait till the next BIOS update. Do you really have to let it enter the Sleep? I almost never use this mode and keep the system on for months.

I'm more worried about the crashes. What was the error message? Did it just shutdown/reboot/BSOD?

 

It's me :laugh:

It's all about the cascade! :yes: :rolleyes2:

With my final words I curse Zoidberg!
Professor Farnsworth


<<<<< 30 pages of Off Topic Flooding... someone will surely get banned today.

 

Wait, so what's up with the crashes and sleep mode problems?
Is that because of the 4 RAMS slots being full, as was mentioned 30 pages back? :laugh:
Or is it a new problem?

I may just sell mine also and cash in my profits.

 

Yeah, but if you got a one time free laptop from your parents, wouldn't you shoot for the best.

I know plenty of parents who've bought computers for their kids. I've seen this exact scenario play out more than once: The parents are willing to buy any one laptop for the kid and are, for some reason, reluctant to buy an $800 computer every couple years. So the kid has two choices: get the $2000 computer for 4 years or get the $800 for 4 year.

Sure the $800 is lighter, has better battery life and is all around more practical, but which do you think they'll choose?

lol, now that would be some fancy water cooling. My buddy just sent me this, BOXX | goBOXX Series...a true mobile desktop using non-mobile hardware. Hexacore Xeon 5600 as well, all in that "tiny" package. It also doubles over as a waffle maker--just add batter and close the lid.

 

Oh I forgot, the glowing alien head also provides a nice boost.

 

That's the sad part.
The parents are going to waste a bunch of money on something that they think will give the kid an "edge" in school and all he's going to use it for is mainly checking email, chatting online and playing "Crysis!" :laugh:

 

So besides the 4 ram stick issue that was fixed with the bios update, are there any problems with the 8740ws?

 

Looks like there's another problem not related to RAM.

That is a Clevo D900F Research.

 

Well, when I leave my computer for more than a few minutes it goes to Sleep. I'm sure I could change it to be always on, but that seems like a giant waste of electricity. Also, I was hoping it would be fixed in the BIOS, but I had to make sure HP knew they had this issue. Their support techs were completely clueless that this issue was previously solved on the 8540w. After making me jump through a bunch of useless hoops, they then passed my case along the chain of command which I guess is on-site service. Whatever, they can spend as much money as they like figuring out that they already know how to fix the issue.

The crashes always start with the fan suddenly jumping into high mode. The computer is still usable but you know it's coming. About 30s after the fan turns on, the screen goes blank and all the lights go off....hard crash. When you reboot, you get the Safe Mode option since it shut down unexpectedly. I searched the Event Logs and found 3 errors that happened at every startup. Tyraxus helped me get rid of those errors. The hard crashes seemed to happen less often, but that did not fix them. I then reinstalled the OS. I got a few crashes while I was setting up my computer during startups. I've tried gaming and browsing web media (the prime culprits correlated to hard crashes) but have not had the problem now for a few days. I don't know how the tech is going to help. I hope he doesn't decide to reinstall everything again.

 

Could you keep the temp monitor running all the time and whenever hearing the fan - check if you see a sudden temp rise?
I doubt the tech will solve the problem. More likely, he will reinstall the OS&drivers. I wouldn't let him touch the system.

 

I used to watch them constantly, but it became clear that there isn't a temp issue. Even while gaming, GPU temps don't go over 80, CPU temps go to 82-85.

When I come back from Sleep and the fan turns on, it stays on even when CPU temps get down to a range of 36-40.

EDIT: I just had another crash. I was on Facebook. Temps were high 40s for CPU and low 40s for GPU. There are no errors in my event log, only a warning about dynamic link libraries.

 

Hmm, that's strange. Do you have the latest BIOS and chipset drivers installed?

What was the order of the drivers installation?

 

Mine is grinding away software installations now. It just arrived today.

I bought this pre-configured model:
HP EliteBook Mobile Workstation 8740W - Core i7 620M 2.66 GHz - 17" TFT and other Notebook Computers at CDWG.com
I'm a network administrator in county government - got the 230W Advanced Docking Station too.

It had XP pre-installed, so I blew it away and installed the 64-bit Windows 7 Pro via the included DVD.
I am installing all the HP drivers and software now from another included DVD.

I'm reserving judgement until I finish up software installs & start using it - but right now the #1 thing I want to do is turn off the damn HP button bar lights.

My 8710p (what I'm on right now) has the same touch sensitive sort of bar above the keyboard, but the lights are NOT on all the time unless they are explicitly indicating a certain mode.

 

Hi Kris,
Welcome aboard!
Looks like all (or almost all) of the 8740w systems on these boards are affected with one big problem - crashes.
Could you run some tests, benches, games, pro apps, etc and see if you have that as well?

 

Thanks!
If it crashes in the course of my daily business activities, I'll be returning it to HP.

 

I see,
anyway, awaiting your (hopefully, positive) feedback!

 

@Aikimox: I've updated every driver HP's Support Assitant (program) can think of. I'm not sure if there was a chipset driver there though. The order of driver installation would have been determined by the HP recovery disk. The updated driver order determined by HP Support Assistant.

@Kris.J: The lights bothered me at first too, but now I like them. They look great with the backlit keyboard. But still, I'd hope there is a way to adjust them. I want to tweak the backlight timer settings on my keyboard, but haven't had time to look into that yet.

 

I take it the backlit keyboard is an option? I don't think I have it on this model.

I saw earlier in the thread someone saying that they have never seen a backlit keyboard that they really liked - no leaking, etc. - well I don't know jack about notebook keyboard lighting - but I know that I LOVE my DECK desktop backlit keyboard. Absolutely best backlit keyboard I've been able to find.

 

Yeah, the option is available on the website.
There are few photos several pages back, sek...

<<<< here

 

A few questions for you:

1) Do you have Linear or Tactile and have you used both?
2) I assume it is USB powered?
3) Any good places to buy one on sale?

I dunno though, I wanted wireless, but I'm now addicted to backlighting. Also, for the cost of that keyboard, I could get an Intel G2 SSD 80GB.

 

1. I have a Tactile Legend with Blue LEDs, I have not used Linear.
2. Yes, and it has 7 or 8 brightness levels adjustable via Fn+UpArrow/DnArrow. This is independent of the computer it is attached to, and it remembers if you unplug it and plug it in somewhere else.
3. Not that I know of - I bought mine direct from DECK.

Backlighting aside, this is the best desktop keyboard I've ever used, and I've been using keyboards since '83 or so.

 

The glowing head is so mesmerizing :laugh:

Yeah but one of my friends own the old alienware and he says its over hyped. He also said the built quality sucks. Any feed back mon Also what do you mean the drivers are crap?

I agree the w510 will be a steal, but I'm affraid I might kill it by overheating while playing my crysis Though the W510 will help in school work, labs, and research..but not multimedia or gaming..it might overheat. Also just like you said in your review, the temperature rises close to 90 degree's Celsius even with the CPU or GPU intensive work.

Yes i need portability and I don't like the idea of leaving my desktop in the dorm..plus It'll be my first time being exposed to the real world, so I wanna explore, i need to have a notebook for that purpose as well and yes plus gaming :laugh:

Wait aren't workstations good for CAD and 3D modelling?

Yes it is a legitimate reason. Also my dad won't let me take the desktop with me...thats another reason why I want/need a laptop

LMAO....gaming isn't the main reason bro, you guys just said to buy with gaming in mind as most of my research and work and school work and 3D modeling can be done with almost any new hardware. Yeah the m15x looks fine How is teh HP elitebook 8740w at gaming?

sshshss...no one needs to know :laugh:

but really i just want a powerful notebook that will let me do anything easily. I want a notebook that could take any challenge.

 

Any details on that claim? What model?

Lol, do you mant me to explain why drivers could be bad or why the specific drivers are crap?

Sultan,


Now, seriously - Move to the dorms, find some friends, girlfriends, have some fun. Forget about laptops. You'll get one when really need it.

 

LOL Best advice, I've read thus far.

 

This is the best "laptop for college" advice I've ever seen on NBR.

 

I believe it was the last gen model...and ouch man....ouch....

you guys are so mean


Btw this is my Alienware m15x config:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...FW1&s=dhs&leadtime=7/1/2010&showleadtime=True

 

I felt the need to reply specifically to this - I've never had crash. Not a single one. I've pushed this laptop as hard as possible on a couple of occasions (burn-in tests and benchmarks) and not managed to even get the machine to even THINK about crashing. Originally a number of people (2 I believe) were claiming that filling all four RAM slots caused the crashes - well, that's how I've been running since day 2. I've had it since the 3rd and it has been on almost the entire time so... I've also done some gaming on it as well and not had any hiccups.

Anyway, I don't think we've got enough of an installed user-base to start claiming serious issues with this laptop yet. The only realy problem that I've got that is easily reproducable is the fan comes on at full blast and doesn't stop after you wake the laptop from sleep.

 

What's the point of carrying around all that weight and paying for a serious cooling system if you are going to put i3 and 240M in it????

If you think the fan is on at "full blast" when waking from sleep, then either yours is worse off than mine, or you haven't hit high yet. There's no mistaking the 30 second fan warning before a crash, it's the loudest the fan gets. Coming back from sleep is Medium in comparison. At least that is the way it is for my system.

 

Thank you!
I agree, we don't have too many owners here to globalize yet.

 

opps...stupid link.

I opted for intel i7 720M, 1GB ATI RADEON HD 5850, 1333Mhz 6GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB HDD, Blue ray burner and a 1080p HD screen

 

No, it won't overheat. Mobile i5/i7s can do 90 deg C all day. Just look at the Mac Pros, they can boil water.

You realize that a $700 desktop is going to outperform any gaming laptop short of $2000, right? Gaming aside, do you really intend to render on a laptop? Sounds excruciating, but I have the answer-->BUY A DESKTOP.

You're concerns about a heavy desktop being easier to steal inside your dorm/apt as opposed to a laptop you carry around with you sounds like reverse logic to me. Plus, let's face it, you can't babysit your laptop all the time anyway...when you're eating in the dining commons, when you're out with friends, when you're passed out drunk in the hallway. It's going to be at higher risk of being stolen and a laptop lock isn't going to stop anyone. On top of all of this, you're not going to bring a mega-laptop to class because the battery won't last for more than one or two classes a day.

FYI, the college kids that get their laptops and stuff stolen, 99% it's because they were careless and left them sitting in a study lounge or left their door open/unlocked because they think "nobody's going to steal it". Then it's gone and "*wah*, someone stole my laptop/iphone/ipod! How could anyone do that to me?!"

When I was in the dorms and heard about a bunch of stuff being stolen from students, I was worried at first, until I realized that they're just idiots.

*sigh*

 

would that be a good buy or would the Asus G73 be? Tbh I would buy an Hp Elite book 8740w or 8570w but pricing is the problem. the maximum i can go is 2500, but i'd love to go less

 

Like, $1500 less?


Naw, I'm not wasting my breath. I figure at the least, I'm helping keep this thread plenty active until the DC2 arrives.

 

oh yeha true...I'll buy a desktop sooner or later, but i need a good laptop...obviously I'm not gonna limit myself on doing everything on a laptop...

wow...omg...Rampage is so right...Sorry....i just keep bringing the gaming thing up because some guy in this forum said that's the only thing u gotta worry about.

 

Who' is DC2. And yes i'd love to go 1500 less

 

DC2 is a huge and for some of us the only reason to be here and wait.
It's a very good laptop screen for those into professional photo/color/design/etc.

 

So I'm back in the thread because the Envy17 is annoying me. While I like the 2 HDDs and Blu-ray drive for cheap, the crappy build quality and poor heating system make me want to return it.

The thing is, I don't even know if I'd want a Dc2 screen since it most likely has 2+ frames of lag (33ms or so).

 

Not directed at Sultan or anyone else in particular, this seriously *is* the best college laptop advice ever given.

Re: the W510 and gaming - it will be fine, I have a workstation card in a relatively slim form factor in my T42p and it did just fine in gaming at full blast, well into its old age. The Wxxx line is the new top-of-line, it is built with high-intensity, constant-work applications in mind. Thinkpads used to have the best build quality short of military ruggedized stuff, and it's still very good - I'd expect better than Alienware (and their service is definitely better).

Alienware is a fashion-premium brand; they're selling to a relatively price-insensitive market that recognizes their name, and you'll have to bear the markup the market is bearing.

once again, keptin is completely right on theft -- *nobody* steals desktops anymore, it's just not worth it ( textbooks have a better value-to-weight ratio and are far more portable). If you're actually concerned about theft, getting an alienware laptop is just about the worst call you can make -- that is instantly recognizable as an expensive laptop, and exactly the sort of thing that a prospective thief will be looking for. [And yeah, those laptop locks are a joke, as is the various lojack for laptop etc. stuff - any thief will know to pull the drive, search it for financial data, then wipe it with a different machine. Or just fence it whole and untouched.]
(I'm not making this up either - I read weekly university police reports, and I see plenty of laptop theft [from rooms, from bags left unattended, in muggings when walking home at night, and from classrooms when the victim is in the bathroom, etc.], and NO desktop theft. Desktops are heavy and you look suspicious carting one; laptops are light and carrying them around is what you DO.)


Finally, didn't look at the price on that model, but laptop Blue Ray burners are overpriced at the moment - I'd wait for them to drop and buy the drive later (any decent laptop can change what's in the optical drive bay, usually with a simple switch on the case). I'd stick with DVD+R for data archiving purposes, and really, blue-ray movies are for watching on a big TV with friends, not a dinky 17" screen. [And you can get rips for the computer anyway, without the drive.]


Also note that these high-power machines will have awful battery life - if you're actually interested in using the thing mobile or to take notes, you want 6+ hours battery life. Frankly, the best solution might be a desktop for the gaming power (more power for less cash), and a netbook for carrying around - very light, easy to fit on a desk and look over when taking notes, low power and excellent battery life, and obtainable for a few hundred. I got an Eee 1000 when it looked like the best netbook on the market for my needs, price no object - and it was only $300.

 

That was me, and I stand by it in the sense that the only thing (or at the very least the primary thing) you're realistically going to do on a personal machine that will stress your hardware will be the gaming. So I think you should focus on meeting those needs, and getting the best deal that meets those needs.

Any of the high-end laptops mentioned here will have no problems running the latest games at decent settings; if you really want power, buy a desktop better than those and with the money you save, buy an inexpensive laptop with good battery life to take to class. Neither will be stolen, and you'll be happy.

(Seriously, the Alienware will be *terrible* for any intended portable use: notebookcheck measured the battery life in use: "Under full load the battery was drained after only 55 minutes, and only 94 minutes were eked out under full power-saving options." - on max power save, you get two short lectures if you're lucky. Forget working in a cafe or coffee shop unless you cart the cord with you and find a seat next to an outlet where no-one is going to trip on it and rip your $2.5k laptop to the floor.)

 

oh.....i still don't get it.... :laugh:

I gotta agree Sadly...my dad is an insurance broker and he is needing my current Quad core desktop....So taking the desktop there isn't a legit reason no more.Plus my desktop is 1 year old, I do not think my dad would by me another desktop. Also net books are awesome...really small and handy and pack a quite of punch with processing as well. Sadly your also correct to the fact that alien wares attract thieves too. Now im torn in between studying for exam's..finishing osap applications and such and making up my mind on a laptop...crap :confused2:

Now I was thinking of these laptops...but u know u guys are more experienced..me need feed backs

Alienware - M15X Laptop with Intel® Core™ i7 Processor - Cosmic Black - M15X-722CSB

Toshiba - Qosmio Laptop with Intel® Core™ i7 Processor - Omega Black - X505-Q880

Asus - Laptop with Intel® Core™ i7 Processor - Black - G73JH-RBBX09

HP - ENVY Laptop with Intel® Core™ i7 Processor - Brushed Aluminum - ENVY 15-1050NR


I really don't know

 

goddammit....then i guess cross out alienware...my friend was right...there over rated

 

If it has any relation to their external monitors - it should be around 6-9ms IIRC.

 

+1 vote for the W510. It's a great laptop and might even turn out to be my new option B after looking at it in more detail. Aikimox originally suggested it, so you've got 3 people saying that's the one to go for.

Yeah, his original post mentioned that he watches DVD and BR rips, so I'm not sure why he wants a BR-ROM for unless he intends to go legit all of the sudden.

100% agree. Without being connected to a power source, those heavy-duty gaming laptops are going to suck the battery dry in a few hours at best.

If I had to spend $2500...as in, ~was being forced~, I'd get an X201 or Macbook Pro 13" and spend the remaining $1200-1500 on a desktop. Both laptops have 9+ hours of max battery life and are perfectly suitable for a school environment. With the detachable base on, the X201 gets an anti-theft bonus by looking like it's from 1996.

I assume the DC2 is an H-IPS/E-IPS panel, which should be fine for gaming.

I really don't see what the rush is; the longer you wait, the better...especially since "back to school" deals will start toward the end of summer.

 

I suggest to those that are not in the know about monitor technology read this:

Monitor Specifications

While not as low as TN panels, the current crop of IPS panels have improved response time, so I wouldn't worry about gaming on them.

 

:laugh:

You could ask him, you know. If you honestly like the idea of a more powerful system and a portable companion, you could price it out and show him that buying you the pair will be more affordable AND it will suit your needs as a student much better.

In fact, the most effective way to do this would be to get a budget constraint. Within that, you can see how powerful a laptop you can get, then build out a desktop + netbook combo with the same price limit. See how much more you get in the latter case, and point this out to him. He shouldn't object, particularly if you get the desktop+netbook combo to cost less than the laptop, saving him money.


On battery, ALL of the models you listed have horrible battery life:
Alienware m15x: "I got the 10% battery left warning after two hours and thirty-five minutes." - this was stated as a positive thing, since that's really good by the standards of a high-power 15" laptop, and it was with a weaker processor. I've seen figures closer to 2:15 total with i7 chips, and that's when everything is downclocked in "stealth" mode.
Asus G73JH: "While surfing the Web with minimum screen brightness, we squeezed one hour and 48 minutes out of the G73’s 8-cell battery pack. This is respectable for a large gaming notebook."
"The Qosmio X505 ran for 1 hour and 53 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, using the included 12-cell battery. That may not sound like much, but from a massive desktop replacement, anything even close to 2 hours is usually good."
Envy 15 i7: "While writing this review in Google Docs with a few additional Firefox tabs open, the system lasted just under two hours on a charge."

The W510 that keeps getting mentioned has far better battery life - managed 4:30 in a version with a Core i7 Xtreme (more power hungry version) and Quadro FX 880M graphics card. Still not great, but if you keep insisting on an i7 laptop, you're going to be chewing up power.


Seriously, a little bit of googling gave me that in no time. And as we've already said and keep saying, battery life will suck on ANY large gaming laptop, which is all you're picking. Advertising aside, you *can* still game on other laptops, you just can't jack all the settings to the ceiling. But by far the best option is probably to buy a desktop and a netbook - you get more power for gaming and work, more battery life (and a lighter machine to carry!) for mobile tasks, and you can probably save money while you're at it.



(Also, I didn't bother to check prices, but Best Buy generally has *terrible* prices on electronics. The price advantages of buying online do not usually extend to buying from brick-and-mortar stores through their websites - buy from the computer maker direct, or from a real online seller like newegg.)

 

I think back-to-school sales are probably valid for the systems being considered here, but one interesting thing I've noticed is that the most-promoted low-end models sometimes get a price hike (often disguised as a new model release) shortly before back-to-school, and the new sale prices have nice %off, but are actually no better and sometimes worse than they were before. (I've only looked and seen this happen with the bottom-end budget systems though.)