*HP EliteBook 8740w Owners Lounge - PART 1*

You're thinking too far ahead. No one, and I mean, no one can tell what they will release other than the 'leaked' roadmap. And no, there's no i7-760QM or 860QM in the roadmap.

My 2006-released Dell Latitude D620 can run Win 7, so I don't see any problem with an HP 8740w running Win 8 when it comes out. KDE? Might run it even better than Win 8.

 

^^ Second that.

Also, I'd order from the US to save 2k Otherwise, I'd never go for this machine, as I don't see how it worth 5k, even if it is perfect (and it's NOT).

 

Here's some info on the new Intel G3 SSDs and Sandy Bridge.
G3 SSD and Sandy Bridge

 

adshakil, were you able to check if it can take 12.5mm drives?

 

OK, I went back to BIOS F.03
My laptop froze three times over a four day period with F.05 BIOS update.

I've had my system running like clockwork for almost 2.5 months. It had never done that before until the BIOS update.

I've had all four RAM slots full for about a month now and it has never been an issue.

Looks like I was one of the few early adopters who escaped the early problems. :yes:


Has anyone heard any updates about when they can expect to get their motherboard replaced?

 

I don't think it can fit 12.5mm drives. It would require a little bit of engineering to fit one. I don't have a 12.5mm drive otherwise I would have tried it though.

 

The solution is currently being tested by an engineering team. I've been given no info regarding how much longer this might take.

 

Oh wow, I'm glad I wasn't the only one whose Newmodeus caddy wasn't fitting properly. I could eventually ease mine in, but the front bezel would be crooked. The strange thing is that it fits perfectly within my docking station. I'm definitely going to order that OEM caddy. Thanks for the link

 

Well, It's too much money, I know, so I have to think to buy or not to buy it again.

There is one question still unresolved. What's the input lag of the DreamColor display? According to Koshinn measurements it's about 85ms, toooo waaaay off and very very disappointing. Even my NEC 2490WUXi H-IPS monitor has 38ms lag average. I didn't expect this.

 

Oh yeah, forgot to retest it. I installed SF4 so I'll test it again, maybe tonight, and post results with video.

 

600GB - Sounds interesting. If they charge 2$ per 1GB - count me out

 

From Intel's trends in SSD prices, I'd expect their G3 SSDs to be priced around or slightly under $2/GB.

 

How long did it take for your "Config Status" page to start showing actual work being done to your laptops? Mine hasn't changes since I placed the order 12 days ago.

I'm at "Wave (Picking Process)" with an "in" date/time of 08/09/2010 12:18:33 AM , but no "out" date.time.

 

Mine didn't change at all. It is useless.

 

Just call them for more details.

 

Awesome! That means it may be closer to shipping than I thought!

I'll give them a call. Thanks guys.

 

Uh oh......ordered my 8740w last week from HP SMB division. They just called to say the Dreamcolor panel has been "put on hold" and they have no ETA on build or delivery of my $5,000 laptop.

Ugh. Anyone else waiting for their DC2 8740w will probably hear from HP soon. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

Ha! I was going to order this week. I wonder if I will ever get a new notebook...

 

@awboy,
Ordered mine on 8/13, but haven't received a call yet. When did you order?

Is your "Line Item Detail" showing the DC2 on Backorder? Mine doesn't.

What's the Item and MFG Part #'s for your DC2 Panel? Mine's 1232570/VG322AV.

Not sure if it makes a difference but did you order yours with the Webcam option?

Sorry for all the questions, just wondering if we're in the same boat.

 

I just called to get the status of mine, and they said my ship date is the 19th. No mention of it being on hold.

I ordered mine on the 4th.

Line item: 1232570/VG322AV

 

Order status is "admin". Ordered on 8/13 as well.

Item and MFG are the same with camera. I think we're probably in the same boat.

 

Dejavu I have been in that Limbo-mode for almost 3 months, heh.


@Everyone ,
Any attempts to calibrate the DC2 using the kit from HP?
I'm thinking of ordering one, but not sure if it's worth the money (350$)

 

I am working on getting a loaner from HP before buying one. Its a waste unless you are in color critical world.

 

I tried calibrating my 8740w DC2 with the HP Dreamcolor Profiling Solution ( http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/e...9-215153-330359-3741514-3741564-3741565.html). After I upgraded the software to version 2.0, the display would black out and the calibration would crash. Replacement of the profiler did not help with this. HP is now replacing my entire laptop to try to resolve. Not sure if this will help. Anyone else had success with this calibration tool and the 8740w DC2?

 

Did your 8740W DC2 exhibit anything similar to this. Mine does both in 8-bit and 10-bit mode (more frequent on 10-bit).
I have not used calibration tools so far.

 

Will wait for your feedback then.
So far, I'm happy with the screen but keep the temp @7500 to minimize the white background tint effect.
If it's impossible to fix - I'll stay with 7.5k as am not doing anything color critical, other than gaming, hehe.

 

Well, I have a problem guys. I can't wait for HP to get their act together and need a new laptop for work ASAP. What else would you recommend for an absolute power user who really doesn't care about weight? I need a beautiful screen and raw speed. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

 

How would you feel about carrying around a 30" IPS monitor?

 

Not so good. Why?

 

Did your 8740W DC2 exhibit anything similar to this. Mine does both in 8-bit and 10-bit mode (more frequent on 10-bit).
I have not used calibration tools so far.


I've seen this screen pattern maybe once. But when it freezes during calibration, it just goes black. The only way to bring it back is by attaching an external monitor and doing a factory reset with the Mobile Display Assistant.

 

According to HP support forum, hardware fix is finally here!

8740w shuts off with four memory chips - Page 6 - HP Support Forum

 

(European) guys, do you remember this?

The situation has NOT changed (since 1 week). All w-series are still removed from those websites. I think HP has a serious issue with w models in Europe, I guess the main cause is material shortage, because w models still remain on the U.S. website (I don't think the cause may be quality issues nor website modification).

@Aikimox: Have you already reported the backlit keyboard issues? Thanks.

 

CORRECTION

Good news! HP called again today to say they screwed up. There is no problem with the DC2 panel supply. They just configured my machine wrong. The WWAN card is not compatible with the DC2 screen and their system didn't catch the error until they went to build it. All set now. Thanks guys and sorry for the scare!

 

Yes, 10 char....

 

I am sure it is website modification. Even in US, its not listed in the regular pages. Do a google search for 'HP 8740W' and go to the first link, it will take to Business notebooks page and not to the 8740W.
The new page is in this link .
There is option now to select p series and w series and videos as well. May be other countries are in the process.

W series Video with DC2

 

I can only repeat myself that this has nothing to mean (if you ask me). You still can search for and find specific models on their web pages and still all models are available in the online shops for order and in stock. Even the 8740w with Dreamcolor is available... I really think it is not that important that they are not on their overview page...

here a few links, I know, it is all via hp.com but nevertheless country specific:

UK Dreamcolor model HP EliteBook 8740w Mobile Workstation (WD943EA) specifications - HP Small & Medium Business products

Belgium version Station de travail mobile HP EliteBook 8740w (WD943EA) spécifications - produits Petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) HP

 

Let me know if your order actually ships. I was told DC2 was put back on hold until they fix an issue (presumably the issue NotebookGrail was having).

 

This is weird, since nobody else reported the same problem.
The only drawback of the DC2 that I see is a mild tinting which IMHO is not a serious issue.

 

Also had the same flashing RGB bands screen, but only once on the very first day, and on my 8540w dreamcolor screen. The 8740w only had the black screen at boot problem, about 7 or 8 times in the first week or so. Then the problem mysteriously disappeared. The 8540w had the black screen 3 times in the first day, then also disappeared. Probaly a type of burn-in problem only.

Note that the flashing RGB screen did not only happen on the dreamcolor screen. The first 8540w mistakenly sent to me with the FHD 8 bit screen also displayed the effect twice in the week I had it.

 

What do people do to get updated drivers for the FirePro M7820? Noticed the last update for the card from HP is version 8.683.x, Dell has released 8.723.x for their version and ATI themselves are passed 8.750.x.

 

I'm staying with 8.683. There's a golden rule :
If it's working fine - don't mess with it!

 

NotebookGrail & Sotton: Ok guys, I'm sorry for the false alarm. I think I will have to wait even more (I hope to get the 8740w before Christmas, LOL)

I've noticed the 8740w screen swivels up to more than 170 degrees vertical, like a Tablet PC (full 180 degrees). This is great, because you can use your laptop only as an input device (keyboard, touchpad, point stick) and connect it to your HDTV and play games

Can anyone make a photograph for the 8740w seen from the side (not in perspective, but with you straight ahead the laptop) with the screen swiveled at max angle? Thank you in advance

 

I thought following photo taken by and shared by NotebookGrail's shows it pretty well already. (note that the keyboard thus body of the computer is angled up, so tilt your head or rotate your screen to the left a little to make the keyboard level if you're not looking at it on a desktop ):
http://s988.photobucket.com/albums/af6/Aikimox/17.jpg

You know, as a HDTV is usually 6 - 10 feet away, the 8740w's 17" screen at arms length away is usually the same size if not a larger FOV [field of view] than the HDTV. You can test by lifting the notebook's screen at the distance you would use it in-front of the view of your HDTV. If it completely blocks all the corners of the HDTV there's no reason to output to the HDTV.

 

I'd like to know as well. Newer drivers are important if you game like I do!

 

I do game a lot and haven't noticed any issues with the older drivers. Only the FFXIV benchmark fails to run.
Do you have some problems in games? If yes, could you specify, please?

 

It's not good enough 'just to run' - are all the graphics options working properly, rendering done properly, is performance as good as it could be, etc. FYI 8.683.x is a major fail of a driver because desktop/2D hardware acceleration is broken, plus there's been other tremendous changes that improve performance and speed considerably since then. There's also been some new features like Flash GPU acceleration added etc.

All I want to know is if an option exists for newer drivers *AT ALL* with the HP Elitebook. I might forfeit the idea of the DC2 display and go with Dell or another company if there isn't one. Keeping my hardware in operating condition is more important, and poor driver support at this stage is telling me I could be waiting awhile for problems to get fixed, or for say support for newer operating systems and programs that come out.

 

Seems a bit rash. So let's say you go with Dell now for the reason cited above. Then in 2 weeks or 2 months the driver is update... so that's why I say that seems a bit rash at this point where HP's still trying to get all the kinks out of the deliverable that it seems they announced too soon and were forced to release a few months before everything was fully cooked.

 

It might be but honestly I don't know what to expect from HP and their driver updates, other than what I've noted but I'm trying to find out more. How well will HP support the Elitebook with continuous software updates in general? For a piece of hardware like the workstation class FirePro Mobility cards, HP is going to probably be the only source for updates and I don't want to bite and get left out in the cold... FYI Dell just switched to the same M7820 graphics card and like I said they at least have 8.723.x out, and it's not uncommon to find a stray update here and there thrown up on their FTP.

 

Will the standard WHQL ATI drivers not work on the Elitebook? Why do we need to get them directly from HP?

 

ATI has a history of only supporting the desktop hardware, Mobility cards historically have been the vendors responsibility. ATI recently changed this policy starting with CATALYST 10.4 or so, but only for select RADEON cards and some manufactures like Sony and Toshiba still won't allow ATI to release drivers for their laptops. ATI so far doesn't release any generic drivers that support the mobile FirePro cards. The problem we run into is also that Dell and HP and each vendor use their own custom hardware identification strings, so while the hardware might be identical, and the drivers are the exact same in terms of supporting the hardware, it still won't work because of the way Windows identifies and installs drivers based off these unique hardcoded hardware and vendor IDs, which are basically just a code that says "0xAAA0" rather than "0xAAA1" etc. There is a trick that allows you to change the BIOS of the graphics card to report a different string, or to modify the driver installation files itself which are basically plain text files with the card name and vendor/hardware ID, but Windows has gotten picky in that it checks for 'WHQL' certification and whether or not the driver has been digitally signed, and even simple modifications made to the installation set up files invalidates this certification. Hardware protections might also make it difficult to make any changes to the BIOS. There's also the fact that vendors do make specification software customizations and features to the drivers and using something not provided directly from HP might not have all the same features or customizations for it's hardware, for example I bet DC2 screen and 10-bit color mode is a special feature that HP drivers are custom designed to properly support/as well as any other unique features of the completely custom and unique screen technology.