*HP EliteBook 8760w Owners Lounge*

Hey guys...

I've got an 8760w on the way, and it has a 128 GB SSD, plus one open bay.

I'd like to get a 512ssd in there as well.

Any recommendations for this? I've seen the Crucial 2.5" SSDs running for around $600.

If there is a resource or recommendation it's greatly appreciated. If I can find something a bit cheaper too, great, but as far as I know all the 512's are in that range.

Also, I could be talked out of the SSD also based on one thing... If I have work files on a normal spinner, but the OS on the SSD as it is now, will the regular drive become a bottle neck?

Basically I'm wondering where in the process do you want the SSD, to see optimal speed?

 

I have my SSD configured as my OS drive. Since all my programs are stored on the SSD, when I'm working with files, they are stored in memory, not on the drive. So the only bottle neck I see is saving files to the spindle drive. They don't save as fast, but it really isn't that big of an issue for me. If you had SSD's in both slots, obviously that would be faster. But if the only speed you are gaining is in the short time you save a file you have manipulated, you have to weigh the speed advantages vs. cost.

If you are saving edited video or some other huge file- the ssd could very well be worth while. If not- I would say a spindle drive as a data drive would be fine.

You'll notice the difference- there will be a bottle neck, you just have to figure out what kind of a difference it will make for you. How often will you be reading or writing to the drive and how large are the files you'll be loading/saving from/to the drive? That will help you decide if it's worth it.

 

edit: figured it out thanks

 

Recently got my 8760w and it is ruly fantastic. The Dreamcolor display is very nice indeed. I have a general question regarding GPU upgrades. This woudl also apply both to my 8760w and my older 8730w. If I was to upgrade the GPU on my 8760w based on earlier posts the procedure is fairly straight forward. Coudl anyone please instruct as to what if any differences there may be in installing a FX3700M into 8730w however ? Would I apply Arctic Silver 5 also to the spots on the GPU card where the factory 'thermal pads' were (besides the obvious on top of the GPU). That is after I'd wipe off the residue of thermal pads from both the undersurface of the heat sink and the pad residue from the GPU card. Anyone have any first hand experience as I intend to upgrade both machines in one time. Any info is appreciated. I have the service manuals and know how to proceed. Just need some info as to the sites where to apply the Arctic Silver 5 onto. Finally getting a chance to install the 4 G GPU onto 8760w, and got an incredible deal to max the memory on 8760w earlier this month. Thank you again champions.

 

How did you remove the cover of the surface where the keyboard is?

 

Anyone know how I can disable the Numlock notification on my 8760w? It's driving me nuts when working VMware workstation!

 

If it is still this Quick Launch Application from HP which is responsible for that you should be able to deactivate Popup messages somewhere in the options menu.

 

Hi. Does every DC screen has red shift in the left corner? Should I try to have it replaced? It is not so awful and I can live with it. Besides, we usually can't count on good service here.

 

Hmm I don't have any options for that. I try and keep my installs as bloatware-free as possible so I might be missing a package. The quick launch keys work as they should (even the calc button top right) but I have nowhere to control them. Will investigave...

 

I have this and I will not bother changing it because there is a great chance you get a new display with the same problem and you risk even getting a worse display.

The red tint in the corner is a design error rather than a manufacturing error. The DC display is several years old now and it is strange that they haven't corrected this problem.

 

Hi all,

Anyone tried to upgrade an 8760w with a Dreamcolor panel? HP says this requires the display assemby 652518-001 (no webcam) or 652519-001 (with webcam), but that costs some 1400 euros. Would replacing just the panel do the trick just as well? In that case you'd need this panel by LG/Philips: LP173WF3. This panel comes as LP173WF3-SLB1, LP173WF3-SLB2 and LP173WF3-SLB3; what are the differences, which one to go for and where to buy? Finally the Nvidia Quadro 4000m vs Nvidia 675GTX, which one is better for photo and video editing using Photoshop and Premiere CS6? The 675GTX is slightly newer and much used for gaming laptops, gaming however is not my focus.

Thanks!

 

The maintenance manual will provide the information you need on what parts to buy and then I suppose a quick look on ebay might get the parts cheap. I'm not sure if you can fit a 675gtx

 

The Dreamcolor panel also requires some proprietary cables which have a separate part number.

The panel I have is LP173WF3-SLB2. I'm not sure about SLB1 and SLB3 although I think that is stated on the web somewhere.

Taiwan Screen sometimes sells these panels on eBay. I remember back in Jan they were selling the 8740W DC2 panel for just £75.. unbelievable bargain. If you already had a display assembly to install it into, with the cables and everything it wouldn't cost more than £100....

Quick eBay search shows the LP173WF3-SL B1 panel is on eBay at the mo for the same price from Taiwan Screen. They've stated it's FHD RGB-LED IPS so it's probably the one.

 

Will the 8760w (product number A2F68EC) accept SATA III / 6Gbps drives and if so will they operate at full speed? Anyone tested this yet?

Thanks

 

Thanks, that's very useful information. I've seen the LP173WF3-SLB2 eBay panel myself too. But since on this forum I saw pictures showing SLB2, I was unsure about the SLB1 on offer. I guess best is to contact LG about the differences, found no details on the Internet. I wonder if it's possible with some patience to replace the panel myself. And then the question about whether SATA III 6Gbps drives will work and if so at full speed... Thing is I don´t have a 8760w yet, am thinking about buying an almost new one (exact product number is A2F68EC).

 

I have crucial M4 as system drive and intel manager shows that it works at 6GB/s. The second drive is WD 1TB works at 3GB/s on the second channel.

 

@dreamcolor I have also looked at this upgrade, I currently own a 8760w with a 900p panel. So I will upgrade it either to the DC or the normal 1080p TN panel (LP173WF1-TLB3). I also had a look at the datasheet of the LP156WF3-SLB1 which is the 15.6 DC panel used by HP ( it also says so in the datasheet ). There you can see that the panel has two connectors, one 50 pin for the module and one 20 pin cable for the back light. The downside is that part. nr: 652519-001 and 652518-001 contains the DC specific display cable. So now I am on the look out to find this display cable, if it's not possible to buy it perhaps somebody knows how to manufacture it. Or use the display connector of the Dell m6600 for instance ( since it uses the same panels).

Also I know Wanshih electronic manufactures the cables, perhaps they could supply us with the cables.

PS I too have an A2F68EC, soo like you I would like to get rid of the 900p display, atm the easiest option is the 1080p screen. And still the cheapest, since just the cables and decoder chip needed for the dreamcolor are about 90 dollars (when you can find the parts that is ).

 

@Pjtr34 Good to know. Let's see if we can get this working. The HP EliteBook 8760w Mobile Workstation Maintenance and Service Guide has a step by step description on how to replace the panel. It also says the display cable has part number 652525-001. You can order it over the Internet for $25. Hope that helps. As I mentioned in my previous post, I still need to make sure whether we need the LP173WF3-SLB1, SLB2 or SLB3. I'll double check anyway with LG.

About your last paragraph, can you explain again: what cables, what decoder chip (pls specificy part numbers).

Last question. Since you already own the exact same A2F68EC can you confirm which connection on your 8760w support SATA III (6Gbps) and which support no faster that SATA II (3Gbps). Maybe do the same test that Valerik did. I would not be suprised if SATA III is supported on all connections on the A2F68EC, even if it holds 'only' a SATA II drive.

 

I thought I read it was all SATAII unfortunately, besides I have some pictures of a chinese website. Added with the information I read here somewere, which shows how hard it is to install a dreamcolor display. You need a decoder like this one:
HP EliteBook 8540w Series Sub & Various Board
and two other cables which you can see when looking at 'compatible items' at the link.

The downside is that these are 8540w parts, I know that the 8560w and 8760w all seem to use the same decoder board. but I don't know if there is something being altered on there before shipping it off. That's probably why you can only buy a dreamcolor replacement set 652519-001(containing panel, cable decoder etc all in one).

Unfortunately part nr: 652525-001 is the TN panel display cable, we already have those.

So if you really really want a dreamcolor display contact HP and try to get some information about how the display is assembled, I have seen pictures of it on the chinese forum hpfocus.com and it didn't look quite that easy to replicate.

If I was certain that the 8540w cables could work for the 8760w, or could get the correct cables from Wanshih + the decoder doesn't need to be loaded with special 8760w software (that is a mystery). Then I would give it a try. But as for now, I rather try to keep to retain some of my warrenties by simply replacing the display panel with a 1080p tn panel, and keeping everything in place. Since like you say there is a nice step by step guide for it.
For the 900p to 1080p you need a LP173WF1-TLB3 (or similar).

 

In considering upgrading my graphics to the 5010m, I see HP wants over $4,000 for the card.

Anybody know of a source where the card doesn't cost more than the laptop?

Also, any idea of whether the K5000 card will fit the 8760w? I notice the 8770w is the same chassis, is the main board the same as well- or at least the graphics slot? I haven't found any specs at HP yet that can help me in this search.

 

Do you really need the extra performance? Because like you said the cards are very expensive. Other options like a K5000 or slower versions might be better upgrades. Considering they fit that is, also I might be mistaken but shouldn't the card you purchase also be made by HP that makes it extra hard to get a nice low price on it.

I wonder if the 5010m ever will be cheap on ebay, before it practically becomes too hard to buy them at all. Your best bet is to invest the money in a new machine/nice ips monitor etc. but that's just my two cents.

On the 8770w motherboard fitting within the 8760w chassis, it would be wonderfull yes and it's a testament to the current chassis that they kept it the same. It might be something like the Lenovo thinkpad t61 was to the t60 (when you could upgrade the t60 with a t61 motherboard). Or it might not..

But well sooner or later somebody is going to take apart a 8770w and then you'll have your answer. It would be a nice upgrade in a couple of years if you can get the parts for cheap.

 

Well... I'm back again

Just won an 8760w with Dreamcolor display and 4000m gpu! WOoooOO!

Once all the bits arrive I'll be fitting a 256Gb M4 SSD and 32Gb Corsair Vengeance ram. Currently searching for a hard drive cage (642774-001) over here in the UK.

 

Won? Congrats! Even if you are probably talking about eBay .

I got that HDD cage for a fiver off the PartSurfer a long while back.

 

Doh! Didn't even consider a HP Parts store Ordered. Thank you!

Couldn't afford new so... ebay (Don't tell anyone)

 

£1100 isn't a bad price at all .

I think anybody buying these things directly from HP or indeed any other retailer (unless it's under company expenses) is generally a bit crazy anyway .

 

Anybody have their 8760w just randomly reset on them, in the middle of doing something or nothing? It happens to me several times a week and is very irritating. The laptop just suddenly shuts off, and then turns back on a few seconds later and starts up Windows 7 like nothing happens. No message displayed at boot, and nothing after logging in. The only indication is an entry in the event log saying "the previous system shutdown as unexpected".

There is a thread over at HP but no real solution - HP Elitebook 8760w restarts itself - HP Support Forum

My company gave me a different 8760w with the same issue. I removed the SSD and additional non-HP memory that I installed, and it still occurred. A clean install of Windows 7 without the HP software junk still results in the reset. I didn't seem to experience it when booted in to Ubuntu, but I was not in it long enough to really say.

Any ideas? I'm tearing my hair out.

 

More detail, cross posted from VMware forum post: VMware Communities: Windows 7 host PC/laptop resets - Intel...

Anbody have this issue? HP EliteBook 8760w, BIOS F.25, 16GB (4x4GB) ram, Intel Core i7-2820QM with Intel VT-x enabled, Win7 Enterprise 64-bit, VMware Workstation 8.0.4.

Laptop resets on me randomly throughout the day, even if i'm using VMs in Workstation 8 or not. Wondering if it's related to having Intel VT-x enabled, and/or having Workstation 8 installed. The laptop just all of a sudden powers off - no lights, and then a few seconds later, turns back on and boots up Windows 7 as usual, like nothing happened. The only sign is an entry in the event log saying "the system shutdown at date/time was unexpected". No BSoD or crash dump or anything. I have set it to not restart automatically when it encounters a crash.

Seen some threads from a year or two ago about folks wondering if Intel VT-x was the culprit for their host system reboots.

VMware Communities: VM Workstation causes my laptop to... - mentions changing networking to host-only or none - not an option for me, need connectivity, using NAT for the VMs to access the network.
VMware Communities: VMware Workstation reboot host when...
HP Elitebook 8760w restarts itself - HP Support Forum - mentions changing the power profile to "HP Optimized". This did not make any difference for me.

I have swapped laptops for a same model but different unit, reinstalled Windows without HP bloat, replaced/reduced memory, hard drives, SSD, everything I can think of. Even booted in to Ubuntu 12.04 for a few days and ran with that plus Workstation 8. It was fine, but had to be ditched due to lack of support for the HP Advanced Dock that I was using, and wasn't used long enough to see if it reset while running Ubuntu.

I've upgraded BIOS and will do so again now that I see F.27 is available, but I do not have high hopes.

Anybody else ever seen anything like this?

 

I'll be installing VMWare 8 tomorrow so I'll let you know if anything goes BooOOm.

 

Update:

VMWare 8.0.0 build-471780 seems to be ok. Just created a VM of Server 2012 and all is well.

Just finished tweaking the machine to an inch of its life. VMWare services set to manual and re-enabled via a bat file

Upon startup it's only got 25 running processes so it's pretty much at 0% idle when left alone. Woooo. Boot from off to the login screen 16 seconds. Boot from off to desktop in 26 seconds (I have mapped drives)

All I'm missing is a backlit keyboard

 

Me too - and impossible to get in the EMEA region, maybe we have luck when 8770w is released

 

Well.. couple of things.

- I'd read about it but didn't have it on my last 8760w... the black spacer just next to the secondary Sata port that STOPPED me adding a second hard drive. Luckily I removed the M4's spacer! I cheated 128Gb+256Gb Crucial SSDs all ready to go.
- The fans kick in hard when playing a game which is to be expected so I might have a look at re-applying the thermal compound.

This is still a really nice machine and I hope that HP drops the spacer from the 8770w

 

What problem causes the black spacer? I bought a 8760w with the 256 primary hard drice and can be easily inserted also in the secondary hard drive without touching the black spacer. A 2.5'' hard drive can easily be inserted in this bay why should someone cut the black spacer?

 

Does anybody knows if our wifi in our 8760w works at both 5GH and 2,4 GHz

 

Works fine on both 5 and 2.4 GHz.

 

I've had two 8760w machines and the first did not have a big black block of plastic just underneath the secondary sata port, while the second 8760w does. I've read about it on another post before so it would require a strip down to remove the block. The good thing is that I removed the M4's plastic spacer and cover which enabled me to fit the drive.

The black block wouldn't let me push the drive into the connector and I wasn't willing to push any harder.

 

Hey guys...this might have been answered before, in that case my apologies.

The upgrade bay....is that SATAII or SATAIII? I recently put an OCZ Agility III in the upgrade bay using a drive caddy and it runs at SATAII speeds. When I put it in one of the regular drive slots, it runs fine at SATAIII speeds. So I was wondering if anyone knew what SATA speed is the upgrade bay supposed to run at? If it is SATAIII then is my caddy the problem?

Thanks!

 

There are instructions with pictures way back in this thread that show & tell you how to cut the black block with an exacto knife. You have to go very slowly and be very careful because there are wires inside that block.

I used this method to cut down the block and fit in my Crucial M4 SSD without modifying the SSD.

I actually used a Dremel on mine

 

Something really weird has happened. I saw a stripe that was slightly lighter on the top the top of the screen. Usually not visible but when you have a light blue background like in the Windows 7 wallpaper you can see it. Now I compared this against Firefox and I could clearly see that it is the Firefox address bar. The stripe is located at the exact same height and size. I even see the Google search bar with the icon to the left. It has happened quite a lot that I've left the computer on with Firefox open. The LCD back light usually powers down in few minutes though.

This is an IPS-LCD screen and I thought that LCDs was immune against burn-ins. I don't understand this at all.

I have the 8760w with the Dreamcolor display, so have you experienced anything like this?

EDIT: I also checked if it is the same with the Windows task bar and yes, the "burn-in" is also visible there. Everybody might not use Firefox but almost everyone have the Windows task bar at the bottom so if you have about 1 year old 8760w with Dreamcolor, please check if you see the same burn-in.

 

yes, LCDs kind of burn in, too. Just google, e. g. Do LCD TVs Burn In?: TechLore

 

Obviously, but my computer usage hasn't changed much over the years and I've even used a CRT the way I use my laptop and I never saw any burn-in artifacts there. Also I've had previous laptops where I never saw this. Could you say that the Dreamcolor display is extra senstive to burn-ins?

 

I don't know but it seems not all LCDs are the same (of course). I have heard it a few years ago for the first time but never with Dreamcolor LCDs and not in the last time until now. But maybe not a lot of users notice it at all?

Maybe IPS LCDs are a little bit more problematic?

You could of course talk to HP and hear what they say, you still have warranty, I think.

 

Can anyone tell me if the upgrade bay is SATA2 or SATA3?

 

Never seen this, the unit has been on for 12h+ days for around 8 months. HP will replace the display if you ask them to (don't be surprised if some of the tech guys have no idea what you're talking about though, just keep escalating ).

 

It's not as bad as you need to change the panel. You see it if you look very closely and only when the background is dark grey or blue. In normal office work you don't see this at all only when the background is uniform and the you can see the shadow of the address bar. If I talk to HP support about this, they will probably think I'm some kind of a nutter, seeing things.

I've used other laptops like this, 12+ hours sometimes the browser just on when I go to lunch. I've never seen this problem until now.

 

I saw on the optional parts of the HP official site for our 8760w that one can buy memory with 1600 MHz clock. Can our PC see the 1600 ram memory or will run on 1333 MHz?

 

I think if you search this thread there was a somebody who installed 1600MHz RAM but they were clocked at 1333MHz when installed in the 8760w. I think the CPU supports 1600MHz, it's just that the BIOS decides to run them at 1333MHz.

 

Hi Sio.
You seem to know a bit about the blind flash process. I was wondering if you could help me. I have a 1 week old 8760w that won't startup after a BIOS flash. I've tried the Windows-B thing with a USB key containing bios file named 68SAD.BIN and SMC.BIN. I can see the access light on the USB key flashing, but it doesn't seem to find the file. In fact the access light flashes the same when the key doesn't have any files on it. Could you confirm what the file should be called and where it should be on the USB Key for blind flashing a 8760w with f.26 bios? I tried putting it in Hewlett-Packard/BIOS/Current dir. too, but it still didn't work. I'm now looking at handing the laptop over to HP's technical support here in Spain. I don't have much hope for a speedy resolution. On my first attempt at contacting HP's technical support via email. Thay seems to have confused me with someone call Kristin who has a loose back cover on her HP 500 Notebook. . that's got to do with me, I have no idea. I starting to wonder if I should have suck with Dell..

 

Flickering of the internal screen (DreamColor, Nvidia 5010M)

My screen started flickering after it displayed a bright screen (like a document with a white background). It was so bad that I could not really look at the screen without getting a headache. After displaying a dark screen (like a terminal window with black background) for a while, the flickering stopped and I could continue working on the laptop.

More or less by accident, I turned off "Dithering" in the Nvidia driver and the flickering stopped. Dithering is on by default in driver version 302.17. Apparently, this driver has a problem with Dithering. Since the DreamColor display is a 3*10bit display, and the 5010M is a 3*10bit graphics card, dithering is not needed anyway (because the display can show any color the graphic card is producing). Dithering could be useful if one has the 5010M with a 3*8bit display. In this case, the graphic card has to reduce the 3*10bit colorspace to 3*8bit, and dithering can improve the perceived display quality.

Just in case comebody else experiences flickering of the screen.....


cheers,
Werner

 

Can someone tell me if the upgrade bay (Where the CD drive goes) is SATA2 or SATA3?