*HP EliteBook 8740w Owners Lounge - PART 1*

Awesome. Thanks for the information!

 

You're welcome

PS: I'm "Chema" at the HP Fansite and I know you are "Jeff"

 

@SecretAsianMan & Aikimox:
Please, re-read my last 3 posts if you have not done yet. I have made some clarifications and corrections.

PS: Excuse me for my english, is not my native language.

 

HiddenUser, thank you again. Very good explanation!
I still hope that M7820 is 10-bit...


P.S.> what's your native language?

 

Hi I have the chance to test the 8740 during at least 4 month now. I install ubuntu on it and have mostly everything working some problem with the sound control and the luminosity control. The config I have it's the :
8740 with i920 8gb of mem and 500gb of hard drive,the video card it's 1GB GDDR3 FX 3800M Nvidia Quadro but a regular display the DC2 wasn't ready
and a DVD RW optical drive. Overall this laptop it's great I will wait to see the DC2 version to see if I make the jump.
cheers

 

Yup, you caught me! And your English is fine -- better than many native speakers.

 

Wow lucky you! How is the 920 extreme, i have never had the liberty to experience a extreme processor before myself. How is the cooling for the machine? Have you tried out the ATI firepro also? Hidden user great explanation Rep point for you!

 

Do you have a dual boot with W7 or just Ubuntu?
Anyway, if you could run some stress tests and monitor your idle and max CPU/GPU temps, would be great.
In Ubuntu you could run Phoronix suite tests (eg. Lightsmark) and use lm-sensors applet to monitor the temps. But it would be perfect if you could switch to W7 and run some 3Dmark06 and Vantage and see your scores and temps.
How's the build quality?

 

As I was configuring an 8740w on the HP site just now, I noticed that the backlit keyboard is showing as a $65 option. This is one feature I was waiting for but from what i've read, it wasn't expected until May. Choosing it did not change the estimated ship date of 9 Apr (no DC screen selected), so perhaps it's actually available.

My Envy 15 is going back next week, so I will actually try ordering this puppy over the phone tomorrow to see what kind of discount they offer. Hope they make an offer I can't refuse since the bottom line sure does add up quickly.

 

Wow, you're right, the option is there already.

 

Wow, AFAIK the 920XM CPU is not available yet through the HP configurator. Are you in a large bussiness? Perhaps your company has priority and other special offers before they are released to the public.

Spanish, I come from Spain

AFAIK, 2 days ago that option was NOT available on the HP USA Website. It seems competition is even harder (Dell, Lenovo, ...), and it forces HP to hurry up to launch all the extras that customers are (impatiently) waiting, except the famous DreamColor 2 screen... LOL

 

I'll have to call and see if I can get the backlit keyboard added to my order, since my machine is nowhere near build yet.

 

What, I thought the DC they are referring to in the configurator (the +570$ option) is the DC2? Is it not?

 

@Aikimox: Nobody really knows for sure until one arrives. I can see a couple possibilities:
1. It's a DC1, because the DC2 is not sold yet.
2. It's a DC1 for the ATI, and a DC2 for nVidia.
3. It's a DC2, and the "no DC2 for ATI" rumor is false.

My money (literally) is on #1.

 

After checking out more options on HP's 8740w configuration page in preparation for placing an order, I now suspect that the info on this page isn't accurate (imagine that!). For example, you can choose the DC display with the ATI card, which we have been told is a no-no. Also, no matter what config I select (including with the DC display) the estimated build date shows one week from today. Unlikely.

I'll post again after calling to place an order later today.

 

I am new to this forum and new to HP as well. Have been using the Dell Inspiron E1505. I have been hunting for a nice pro level anti-glare (Must) laptop for my photographic work. I was looking into the Dell M6500 and the Lenovo W701 and though the specs look good their sheer weight and size outweighs the HP 8740W (even a few mm and grams matters for me). I don't really need the extra HDD bays that Dell and Lenovo offer as i am comfortable with a External esta/USB HDD.

I did finally place the order over phone with SMB sales and got a sweet 28% discount. My config is
Intel quad i7-820QM
320 GB7200rpm HDD
4GB RAM (planning to add additional RAM later)
ATI M7820 Graphic Card
17" WUXGA+WVA antiglare Dream Color Display
DVD Drive
I did see the comments about the Dream Color Display and the ATI Card. Fingers cross for me as well on the DC2,etc.. Hoping HP wont have a different display based on the graphic cards.

Coming to the question part, i was looking at the press release notes of the 8740W.. It says

"Users selecting the ATI FirePro configuration benefit from Direct X 11 and
multidisplay support. Through a single GPU, the mobile workstation can
simultaneously support up to four independent display outputs, plus the native
notebook panel, for a total of five displays."

1. I am curious to know how many displays does the nVidia Quadro support?

2. Can i get a Panasonic UJ-235A blu-ray drive (compatible?) and put in place of the configured DVD drive?

3. Any recommended and compatible Notebook Memory Card other than the one provided by HP?

4. I did see the assembly code and ini files of the M7820 driver (hoping to find something about the DC2 relation) and came across the HDMI audio and video support. I am curious to know if the display port will support the HD audio output?

Thanks in advance
SB

 

Nearly all notebook makers charge exorbitant prices for memory, and you never know what you're going to get as far as CAS level, timings, etc. If you're comfortable with those topics, third-party memory is going to be a much better buy. Most DDR3 1333MHz (or higher) SO-DIMMs should work, though there's always a small risk of some incompatibility.

 

Unfortunately, as I noted back in post 77, the HP is actually larger than the Dell, albeit lighter (well, the Dell is slightly thicker, after you take into account the slant from forward and back, but the HP has a larger footprint).

Displayport does have provision for audio output, and I can't see why HP wouldn't enable that, but stranger things have been known to happen.

 

It is very possible that the 8740w won't output audio over DisplayPort.

Audio is an optional feature of DisplayPort. Recall also that many GPUs won't pass audio over HDMI; some will, but with gotchas; yet others work fine. The precedent is there. If you absolutely need audio over DisplayPort, you probably should wait until someone can confirm it in the 8740w.

 

Is 10 bit per component support something that could be added at a later time with a driver update on the ati card or is it a hardware limitation?

 

but the Dell looks so much bigger (uglier ) than the HP because of the thickness (box design) with no slant...

 

Oh, I agree that the 8740w looks better than the M6500 (and they both look much, much better than an M17x, but I digress), but the post I was responding to was a bit insistent that size really mattered, so I felt I should point out that the HP is actually a bit larger. Which does make you wonder why the M6500 fits in 2 hard drive bays while the 8740w won't...

Oh, and the M6500 is slanted a bit from front to back (wedge shaped). The 8740w just has the rounded lower casing.

 

M17x is in a different realm. If you're into serous gaming - it's the only choice other than Clevo.
But looks are slightly irrelevant here, as 8740w has no competitors yet and even though to me it looks ugly (not to mention that this is an HP) - still saving funds for this beast

 

Regarding the DreamColor 2 Panel and ATI M7820 Card - i don't think the rumors about incompatibility is true. When the rumors claim that it's supported only with nVidia, i think either they are basing this on the HP 8730W or just wild guessing.

When you try to do a CTO for 8730W, it says Nvidia card must be selected for the dreamcolor Display...But the same doesn't apply/no such error messages when one does a 8740W CTO. I don't believe HP will have 2 different DreamColor technologies based on the graphic card. Either DC or no DC at-all.

If HP were to comeback and say about incompatibility after weeks of ordering (CTO with DC and ATI M7820), it's mis-information to consumer before ordering . For me, it's a serious one.

My money is on DC/DC2 (only one for the 8740W model) and 10-bit processing and ATI M7820 supports it. And, the CTO with DC system will ship only in May/end of April, even though the current shipping estimate dates are in April (Mine says Apr 11 in Order Detail and Apr 29 in the Print Preview page ).

SB.

 

Just got off the phone with HP attempting to place an order. My rep says that 17% discount is the max they can go on the 8740w. Can one of you who got a higher discount send me the name of your rep? TIA.

 

FWIW, the rep said that the DC display now shipping is definitely the current one--not a new DC2 model--and that it will work with the ATI card. He also said he was told that the SSD is not Samsung but no one could tell him who the manufacturer is.

 

I am not sure if the Sales Rep's know more tech details on the Panel. My rep told me DC2 and IPS before ordering and the same rep says that he doesn't know of DC2 and its DC only a few days later.

Based on the HP Part# VG322AV -it refers to DC2 Panel with Camera. That part# is not listed in the HP CTO price list as of 5th Apr 2010. ( http://www.kernelsoftware.com/products/catalog_1/hewlett_packard_-_cto.html) My bet is on DC2 (even if its called just DC) as the HP Video on the 8740W talks about 30-bit LCD panel (see it in action->Benefits->DreamColor).

 

NotebookGrail, I hope you are correct.

I exchanged email with my rep. He said that to get the backlit keyboard, I would have to cancel and re-order. It's not that important to me. The rep also did not give any information on whether the DreamColor will be DC1 or DC2. I'm sure I will be quite satisfied either way, but it would always be nice to have the DC2. The delivery date is still listed as 4/19.

 

Your EDD is two weeks from now! Can't wait to see some pics.
Hopefully they ship it sooner though.

 

Some interesting speculation about DC2 not being IPS...

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=86215

 

The person talking about viewing angle didn't realize that he is talking about the non DC specs in the 8740W spec page. HP hasn't even updated the page with DC specs for 8740W. If you look at the 8730W specs page, there is a seperate info for the DC related screen. Viewing angle is more, contrast ratio is better, etc..I have no idea what a ideal IPS panel viewing angles are.. Anyway, the point is he is comparing Apples to Oranges.

 

I think the opposite. As far I know, the audio feature for DisplayPort is more dependent from the GPU than the port itself. Both the NVIDIA Quadro FX3800M and the ATI FireGL 7740 support output audio over DP in the Dell Precision M6500. If I'm not wrong, the 8730w supports output audio over its HDMI connection and ATI has been supporting the audio output in their cards long time ago.

 

Hopefully, you're right. Either way, we'll have to wait until we have someone actually review it to see what kind of panel it is.

 

Typical horizontal viewing angles are 172-178º, vertical viewing angles are about 87-89º.

There are several variants of IPS panels, like: S-IPS, AS-IPS (S-IPS with fast response time), H-IPS (Horizontal IPS), eH-IPS (Efficient and Horizontal IPS) and H2-IPS (the last it's used in the new HP ZR24w desktop monitor). The IPS acronym stands for "In-Plane Switching" and overall it's the best technology for LCD viewing, but it has some drawbacks too. Blacks are not deep as the modern S-PVA panels (but this is changing now) and they are a bit slower in response time and input lag than TN's (Twisted Nematic technology, the WORST and the cheapest technology in the market). On the other hand, PVA panels suffer the "gamma shift" issue: the viewer looses details in dark hues when he's sit in front of the monitor at a little distance or when he moves his head to another side. IPS panels don't suffer this problem.

The H-IPS family has a bit poorer horizontal angles than the others (about 172º), but this defect is compensated with the addition of an Advanced True-Wide Polarizer (about 178º, like my NEC 2490WUXi and the HP LP2480zx). Unfortunately, LG doesn't manufacture any more this polarizer. Reason for this is unknown. This means although the DreamColor 2 screen could be a H-IPS panel, it won't have the A-TW polarizer for sure in the opposite of its big brother, the LP2480zx. The worst variant is the eH-IPS. It's an 'energy-efficient' version of the original H-IPS technology (the H-IPS technology consumes a lot of energy due to the big pixel aperture) and it has been a disaster on monitors like the NEC 2490WUXi2 (believe it or not, but the WUXi2 is worse than my WUXi1, and the 2nd version does not have the A-TW polarizer). The A-TW polarizer also prevents the white glow on corners present on IPS panels when a dark scene is displayed from an extreme angle. Instead, the A-TW polarizer shows reddish and greenish tones on corners in dark hues and in pure black (well, it's better than the white glow for the majority of people, me included).

 

Any rumors of the new ATI card to be available in other systems? Even if the screen proves to be a "regular" RGB LED, I'd still be interested if the GPU is potent enough.

 

I haven't heard any rumors about the Envy 17 lately, so let's start one. I'm sure the gamers would love to see this card in that machine.

This actually brings up a question I have regarding the pointing devices on the 8740. I am sending my new Envy 15 back this week largely because I simply cannot use its touchpad for normal text editing. It has no separate click bar and is very slick. I've used a variety of pointing devices over the years and have managed to adapt to all of them, but not this one. After three weeks of seriously trying, the majority of my gestures still miss. Simple left clicking is a PITA and drag/drop is a fisaco. I could buy a mouse, but then what's the point (pardon the pun) of a laptop if I need a surface to use the mouse?

Does anyone have experience with the touchpad and pointing stick on the 8730 or 8540?

 

I recommend you all read my last post again. I've added some explanations about IPS technology. I hope this is interesting for you

 

Another website that goes over all of the current screen technology:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/specs.htm

 

Folks, here is some good news about the 8740W panel. Here is the mail i got from the editorial contact for HP (from the press release). I will still believe only after i physically see the notebook. Until then, happy.

I am following up with him on the ATI marriage with 30-bit DC panel

Update: ATI M7820 supports 30-bit. Confirmed from the same source.

===========
Response from HP
From: Hidden
To: Hidden
Date: Tue, April 6, 2010 10:30:56 AM
Subject: RE: Clarification on 8740W press release
Yes. 8740w has 30-bit LCD and is IPS.
The DreamColor option will be available at the end of this month.

My Question to HP
From: Hidden
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 4:18 PM
To: Hidden
Subject: Clarification on 8740W press release
Hi,
I was looking at the HP elitebooks and came across the 8740W model. I saw the press release and it says the following about the display:
"The DreamColor display option enables professionals to work with deep, accurate colors for precise results every time. Able to display more than 1 billion active colors – 64 times the capabilities of a traditional display –
the 8740w utilizes a 30-bit notebook LCD panel to provide a level of color control previously found only on the deskbound HP DreamColor LP2480 Professional Display."

Can you please clarify if the 8740W model indeed has the 30-bit LCD and is the LCD panel type IPS (in-plane
switching) or TN.
I did contact HP SMB Sales and no one had enough information on the same.

So i am contacting the primary source for clarification.

==================

 

@NotebookGrail

If I read your post correctly, your HP Deep Throat is saying that at the end of Apr, the 30-bit IPS DC2 display will be available with the ATI card?

 

I didn't specifically ask about the card when i asked the 30-Bit display. But since people had concerns and speculation (including myself) about the ATI M7820 being incompatible with DC, i asked specifically about ATI later. I guess both nVidia and ATI supports the panel and will be available end of Apr (DC). The only difference he noted is the # of external display that can be connected (ATI supports 4) as stated in the press release.

 

Hah. Maybe I'll be the only fool around here with a DC1 on his 8740w.

 

I don't think so. I you were to think based on the delivery estimate you currently have, then that makes 2 fools , because mine is Apr 11. I am almost confident that our delivery dates will get pushed to the end of month and we all have the same new display (new DC). Based on the part# VG322AV for the DC2 8740W display (according to the line item detail on the order page), it is a new part # and it is not yet available. (Refer to my earlier post # 129)

 

Right, I noticed that on my line item detail as well, with "DC2" being part of the item description. Hope you're right!

 

Very good news. I'm happy to see that this anonymous person claimed wrong/false information on the HP Fansite about the M7820 incompatibility Please note that THIS person is NOT the same as the HP Fansite mantainer. The mantainer never said this. But in the other hand, I was guessing it: the FirePro M7820 should support 10-bit color per component since all FirePro models support this. The M7820 will be the 1st model in the Mobility class of the FirePro family, hence it's the origin of our doubts Of course, my configuration will include the M7820 with the DC screen (version? only time will tell )

@sgogeta4: Did you realize that the IPS panel prediction was true? I already said that information supplied by the HP Fansite is very reliable, not speculations

@SecretAsianMan & NotebookGrail: If your screen is the DC2, you'll have done a very good investment, and the price for this superior screen will be affordable

 

Guess my wishes will come true.!! . Just received mail from HP SMB automated mail that my shipping date has been pushed to 26th Apr and a delivery date of 29th Apr. All these points to one thing - they are waiting for the DC2 screen to be available to build the order.
At this point delay is good.

 

I'm glad it's true. Sometimes it's difficult to determine which rumors are reliable and which are not. I'm still a little hesitant until I see reviews, but only time will tell.

 

Yep, still have some doubts here as well, but mostly regarding the quality of the crucial components. Wonder how fast do the DC2 screens dim?

 

I have a quote in on an 8740W. Called in 25 minutes ago, and he said that the current laptops supposedly still come with DreamColor 1.

I think I'll hold off until there's some confirmation on 1 or 2.

 

These sales rep have no clue on what we ask and what they tell. To be honest, there is nothing called DC2 marketing wise so-far (that's a name that appears on the HP parts list once you order). Its only DC, but the # of bits and colors and Panel are different from the previous generation (8730W).