The HP ProBook 5310m Owners' Club

@Charles

Have you tried using an SD card with readyboost? If so, did it really help?
I'm just wondering if it really makes an difference.

 

I haven't; the basic idea behind ReadyBoost is to use flash media to store often-used files; reading off flash media is generally faster than reading off a hard drive (page file) since flash media has no access time. So, if you come close to using all available RAM, ReadyBoost will help to smooth things about a bit.

If you want to do it, look for one of the faster SD cards (150x or so). A fast USB thumb drive will also work. I personally suggest an SD card because it won't stick out of the laptop like a thumb drive.

 

I know it can make it faster BUT the speed also depends on the speed of the internal cardreader. Sometimes Readyboost doesn't make much of a difference because of those factors. Thats why the money spend on the SD cards , eventhough they are not that expensive, could be a waste.

 

hey guys, anyone got bluetooth working after installing windows7? I went to the website to get the driver but it but it will not install, saying that no bluetooth device is detected. Any ideas? I cannot find it in device manager either.

edit- solved-needed to install the wireless manager.

 

Any 3rd party apps that will increase fan speed? I tried speedfan but didn't work.

 

Any application capable of controlling the 5310m's fans would have to be custom-written for it.

 

Yay!

It is here!

Opened it up and am running it through the steps to get it ready.

Looks very nice indeed!

 

Congrats Mycanid. Please tell us what you think of it.

For all those that are or were considering the dm3 and the 5310m, check out Engadget's dm3t review:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/hp-dm3t-review/

Regarding the screen:

Ouch!

The 5310m's screen isn't all that great, but it isn't dim compared to most notebooks I used. Also, the 5310m's trackpad is glossy but everything else about it is spectacular. Based on Engadget's review, the dm3t has some serious shortcomings.
If you ask me, the dm3's biggest downfall is the keyboard layout; I dismissed it instantly after finding it has no dedicated home/end/pgup/pgdn keys. Functional keyboard design people!

 

I don't think the 5310m's touchpad is bad; in fact, I'd agree with you in saying it is spectacular in everything except the glossiness. I think it makes up for being glossy, because it does work without a hitch. I have been considering putting on a matte iPod Touch screen protector cut out to be the right shape; I've got an extra lying around. Maybe over Thanksgiving break I can get to it.

The screen doesn't seem as bad as the dm3t's either, though I have had to adjust for vertical viewing angles.

One thing I did notice is that I actually don't like the keyboard. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, and I'm even used to the spacebar now. But, coming from a Thinkpad, it's just not that. I know I'd have this complaint going to any laptop other than a Thinkpad, so I'm not faulting the 5310m, but this weekend I used my roommate's T400s for a little bit of coding, and MAN does it feel solid. So for those coming from a Thinkpad, be prepared! I also do miss media controls, but those aren't that important to me.

 

Is the 5310m pad anything like the older DV3's touchpad in size, shape and tactility? I have used a few of those and they aren't bad, though sound to be equally as glossy as most are describing.

 

Don't forget T400s costs about a double of the 5310m price.

 

Haha, right. I can't really complain for saving nearly $1000 dollars for a slightly worse keyboard and no nub-mouse. Granted, those aren't the only differences, but they are the only ones that matter to me on a daily basis.

Still, I love my ProBook!

 

It seems that I can get the T400s for +- 400 euro more :O Thats about the half of the 5310m. I can also get HP 6930p for 100 more ...
Makes it a lot harder to buy the 5310m this week or just wait and get the T400s

 

I don't know if the T400s is cheaper in Europe, but I really doubt it. In the US, the cheapest T400s is $700 more than the 5310m, or almost twice the price.

 

Has anyone got a invisible shield for this laptop? If so do you recommend it?

 

I have the opposite experience coming from an "inferior" keyboard haha. I've heard so many good things about the Thinkpad's keyboard that I just have to try it out someday, but I love my Probook keyboard so it'll suit me fine for now [though I'm still in the transition state coming from a smaller, cramped keyboard and I keep mistyping a couple keys b/c I forget to spread out my fingers].

Quick question: is there anyway to turn off the trackpad? Like when I plug in my USB mouse, I'd like the trackpad to automatically turn off b/c I keep on accidentally grazing the trackpad and displacing the cursor and it gets annoying. I know the consumer HP's have a manual button to turn off the trackpad, but I don't know about the Probook.

 

Installed 4gb ram

Samsung DDR3 1333 2GB (5.5 win index) - original ram

G.SKILL 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (5.9 win index)

 

Hey folks,

Just joined the forums. I picked up an HP 5310M last week for my girlfriend. I also previously bought (and returned) the HP dm3T and the Acer 4810TZ.

So far, I really love the laptop, and she likes it a lot too. Her usage most resembles that of a student (Office + lots of browser windows), but she kept her last laptop for 5 years, so I wanted to get her something relatively future proof and sexy.

In regards to the questions about the dm3t trackpad-- it really is terrible. It is a deal breaker on that laptop. It's nice that you can configure the dm3 with 4GB of RAM, but not worth it for that trackpad.. it really is atrocious. I use a Lenovo T60 for my daily work, and I found the dm3 unusable.

I now have a few questions, and hoping other folks here can help me out:

1) Can you buy the 5310M from a reseller (e.g. PCSuperSTore) but still buy a warranty for it from HP?

• I bought it from HP directly, but I'm thinking of returning it and buying fro PCSuperStore.. Seems like I'll save around $150 on tax + discounted price.. that's almost the price of the 3 year warranty.

2) Has anyone tried connecting to a TV using DisplayPort --> HDMI ?

• I just placed an order on monoprice for all 3 converters/cables: DisplayPort --> VGA, DisplayPort --> HDMI, etc.

3) Has anyone else bought the 3 year warranty for this laptop? What made you decide to do so?

• My gf kept her last laptop for 5 years, and in my experience with laptops, if something is going to go wrong-- it will go wrong within 3 years. Anecdotally I have heard bad things about HP's reliability, so I think it's a good buy.

Thanks in advance.

 

Nice, how much did it cost you and from where?

Also, what is the point of buying 1333 ram on a laptop who's max bus speed is 1066?

 

I don't really think it needs an invisible shield. The invisible shield would make the bottom really weird (it's soft touch rubber right now, so I don't know if invisible shield stuff even clings to it), and the top is a brushed aluminum. If you keep this thing in a case when you transport it, I wouldn't worry too much about scratching it.

Yeah, the Thinkpad keyboards so far are the best of the best I've used, so it is a little unfair to the ProBook, especially since the Thinkpad has years of keyboard quality behind it.

As far as turning the trackpad off, maybe Synaptic Client has an option? But that'd be a total pain to do. As far as I know, there's no quick-and-easy way to do that (like on their consumer models).

 

I meant the price of 5310m is +- 800 euro and I can get the T400s for 1199. I think thats a pretty good deal.

 

Really? Here in the states, I paid exactly $899 for my 5310m and the cheapest model T400s is $1599. Maybe the T400s IS cheaper over there...

 

The cheapest price of the 5310m here is 795 euros incl shipping and the T400s about 1900 euros. But since I'm a student I can get a 700 euro discount :O Too bad I don't have 1200 at the moment

 

OH DANG! I don't get that much of a student discount here in the states!

For all those who were wondering: I have just tried my 5310m with an external monitor, and in Windows 7, it appears to detect the built-in audio for the monitor. Unfortunately, I don't know how the monitor works, and couldn't figure out how to get the speakers to actually play sound. However, in the playback devices, the monitor was showing up, and the 5310m was indicating that sound was being output to it.

I then tried on my TV, also to no avail. Again, the audio showed up, but this time, my TV wouldn't detect the computer at all. The 5310m automatically detected that it was connected to something, but the TV just showed no signal. The 5310m was also outputting sound to a High Definition Audio Device, just like with the monitor.

So, it appears that theoretically, this computer can output audio via the DisplayPort; however, in practice, I still have to figure out what's going on.

Edit: Just to clarify, I was using a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. I'm not terribly familiar with these things, so I don't know if the adapter doesn't support audio, or if the monitor's audio was not configured correctly. I'm still not sure about the TV; I have a desktop hooked up via HDMI to the TV, with working video/audio, so I don't know why it's not detecting the laptop. If anyone has ideas, let me know!

Edit 2: I tried again in Ubuntu; seems like they really improved on connecting secondary displays in Karmic. Anyways, same issues. Ubuntu is detecting that I have a digital audio output for the monitor, and displaying on the monitor, but it's failing to play any sound. The TV is the same; the laptop thinks its sending a signal to a Philips 29" TV (it's actually 32", not sure why it shows up s a 29") but the TV shows "No Signal."

I think it may be potentially an adapter problem; the adapter again belongs to my roommate, so I'm not sure exactly what he bought.

 

Welcome to the club.

1) Yes, PCSuperStore offers the extended HP Care packs. They called me after I ordered and told me that.

3) Not sure if anyone here has bought an extended warranty; I didn't. If your girlfriend is planning to use the notebook for four-five years then it's a worthwhile investment; you'll have a guaranteed three years of operation.

 

Everything I am hearing about Arrandale is making me really think about waiting until January. Since it contains both a memory controller and graphics, the 35W chips should have similar power usage to the 25W Core 2 Duo in the 5310m, but with much better performance. What do you all think?

As far as PCSuperstore, how is that so much cheaper than HP? Is that with a Bing Cashback deal or something?

 

Another thing I just noticed today: When I'm using wireless and then put my 5310m to Sleep, when I "Wake" it, I'm unable to turn off the wireless using the dedicated button on the keyboard. It just stays glowing blue and I can't turn off my wireless. I have to Restart my entire laptop before it works again. Anyone have this experience too or know a solution?

 

As far as the "waiting game" goes, I asked the same question, and decided against it. I could use this for a couple months more, and get approximately equal performance, or I could wait a couple months, pay more, and have "cutting edge" technology for maybe 2 months before it goes old again.

Another thing to note: I don't really know how these things work, we don't know that the Arrandale processors will find their way into the 5310m (assuming you still want one), and if they do, when they will. I'm gonna go ahead and assume that they will eventually end up in these machines, as these were just introduced, but it'll be a little while before they actually ship with the Arrandale, meaning even more wait. Personally, using it starting October 29th and getting the extra time was worth it.

Finally, I know the allure is HUGE on paper: the Arrandale has 32nm tech, it's cutting edge, it'll be faster, etc. etc. However, when I was deciding, I concluded that as a user, I wouldn't be able to notice the difference on a day-to-day basis.

So, that's my long 2 cents. Hope it helps!

 

I'm not sure how noticeable the performance increase will be in daily usage, but make no mistake, the performance increase will be huge. This is pretty much the biggest update to the Centrino platform since the original Core Duo came out several years ago. As far as it being cutting edge for only 2 months, I really doubt it. While more processors will come out later in 2010, most will be either higher wattage or lower wattage. Those initial January chips will probably be near the top of the line at that level of power usage until at least the end of the year. Intel has been getting slower and slower at releasing updates with the lack of competition from AMD.

As far as the 5310m being upgraded with these chips, I hope HP does it as soon as possible. But I'm not wedded to this particular notebook if I have to go elsewhere.

 

I'm not doubting the performance increase; it will no doubt be faster, but only if you use it up to capability. For me, I don't push my computer to full capacity, and if I were to push it to that sort of performance, I would have opted for something with a dedicated graphics card, cause I'd probably bottleneck there, and with more RAM. As far as being on cutting edge, perhaps 2 months was a bit short, though my point there was that if you're always waiting for the next generation, and that's your only reason for waiting, the wait will never end.

 

I take really good care of my laptop but my mac right now has so many scratches for the few times that I left it on my desk my cat has an issue with leaving my stuff alone so she is constantly scratching it... so I would only need it on the top if it scratches easily

 

I had been waiting for the 5310m since September as a potential upgrade to my nw8240. I got it last week. Unfortunately, the build quality of the 5310m disappoints me.

The screen lid is weak. I carried the notebook, encased in an excellent notebook sleeve, in my backpack for the past two days and the screen bezel developed permanent scratch marks. The marks coincide with the palm rests and the strip of aluminum with the power button. The backpack only contained the notebook and a single 1" binder.

The glossy black surfaces scratch and smudge easily. The aluminum also smudges easily. When I run my finger on the glossy black keyboard tray, it develops micro scratches that are visible under a bright light. I have to clean the notebook every single day. I have to be careful not to wipe the keyboard tray; otherwise, it may develop more scratches. What a waste of time.

Finally, the bottom front half is springy. This is the plastic memory and drive cover. I always feel like I may lose grip when I hold the notebook at the front.

Technologically, it's a great machine. It’s light. The microphone is very clear. (The noisy keyboard detracts from the recordings though.) The battery life is excellent. But think about how the notebook will like in a year, or even in a month. My four-year-old nw8240 still looks like new. I'm seriously thinking of returning the 5310m.

 

The NW8240 cost over $3000. The 5310m that most of us are getting costs $900 or less. Keep that in mind.

Regardless, could other 5310m owners chime in on the durability problems that arsenic is noticing?

 

An EliteBook, similar to the nw8240, starts at 1050 and a MacBook is 200 more, with a student discount. My classmates' MacBooks seem much more solid and can withstand being in a backpack. At 900, not including sales tax, the 5310m just doesn't seem like a good value.

Another complaint about the 5310m is that text is blurry with ClearType on.

 

The new plastic macbook chips and scratches incredibly easily, from what I've read. And I can't even imagine using those incredibly glossy screens on a daily basis. The machine is also a pound heavier and thicker.

As far as Elitebooks, most of them really don't compare to the nw8240, unless you custom configure the highest end model. My mom has one, and they're fine, but they're bulky and thick as well. The 12 inch model is also kind of underpowered, and I doubt it is much more durable than the 5310m.

As far as Cleartype, your personal dislike of the technology doesn't have anything to do with the 5310m, as it would be implemented the same on any laptop. I assume you are running it at the native resolution?

 

I meant the aluminum MacBook Pro 13". The only advantage of the 5310m is that it's .8 pounds lighter. I wanted the 5310m to be a killer product, but instead, I got this.

The glossy bezel and keyboard tray are annoying in the lecture hall. I have to tilt the screen forward so that the bezel doesn't reflect into my eye.

I run ClearType on a wide variety of LCDs, and never had blurring issues. Yes, the 5310m is at the correct resolution, and with ClearType on, the text is blurry. It almost looks like the panel is analog instead of digital. Text is fine without ClearType.

Interesting insight on the EliteBooks. I would have never imagined that HP made a step backwards.

 

And you don't think that the ultra-glossy screen on all the Macs wouldn't drive you positively insane! Don't forget the 50% smaller, slower hard drive.

As far as Cleartype, maybe your LCD is defective. Anybody else notice this problem?

 

I carry this notebook in a backpack all day long, every day, in a Case Logic case I picked up for 15 bucks. Aside from fingerprint smudges and two marks from the rubber feet, I don't have any scratches on my bezel. And my backpack definitely has more than just the notebook and a binder.

I do have to say I have noticed one thing. When the notebook is closed, the lid isn't *that* secure. Putting it upright with the hinge down and shaking it will cause the screen to "give" and wobble around for maybe a half centimeter. I'm a little concerned about this in the long run. Is this happening to anyone else?

Yeah, I'll give you this one. This thing, even the aluminum parts, smudges like crazy. I haven't really noticed the "micro scratches," but then again, I'm not the kind of person to care that much about it.

I'm not sure what you're talking about. If you're referring to the very bottom of the notebook (soft touch area), I've been prodding it for a couple minutes now and I think it's fairly solid. In fact, I think it's more solid than my other roommate's 13.3" MacBook Pro bottom, which does have some give when you push the bottom.

Ten days from now, I'll have had my ProBook for exactly one month. Unless something crazy drastic happens, mine'll still look new, minus some fingerprints and dust on the hinge (I don't clean it often, but I'm not a terribly nasty person either).

I'm gonna agree on the glossy-ness; the bezel on this computer would be NOTHING compared to the MacBook's screen. For Cleartype, my fonts are rendering as clearly as can be, in both Windows and Linux. I'd say it's potentially your LCD as well.

 

I don't think the 5310m is very comparable to the MacBook, especially not the Pro. The 5310m is a business ultraportable and the MacBook is designed as a home multimedia machine. I considered a MacBook before buying the 5310m but wrote them off after using the keyboard - they felt fine, however the layout was an instant deal breaker; no dedicated home/end/pgup/pgdn keys and on top of that I have no idea how to use Mac OS.

Regarding ClearType - I noticed that too under Windows XP, however under 7 I have no issues at all.

The 5310m sure is difficult to keep clean . . . I am thinking about buying some Invisible Shield and putting it on the lid and palmrests so it will be easier to clean. The 5310m doesn't seem very scratch resistant; I got some on the glossy keyboard plastic but the aluminum seems more durable (none there yet).

 

If you find one that fits well on the laptop definately let me know I wanted to buy this along with the laptop next week so I can get them at the same time.

 

Sorry if this was discussed already...

was there always an option for SSD on this laptop??? I don't remember seeing this option before... If it was there before did anyone get this upgrade?

 

A 128GB SSD was made available as an option. In AUS the i think it was about $500 more with WWAN included than the base 320GB/2GB set up.

 

Could any kind owner please run the DPC Latency Checker ( http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml)

Many thanks!

 

The spike is from opening a sample WMV in My Music/Sample music.

 

thanks arsenic for such a rapid reply. looks acceptable, will be interesting to see if I can optimise mine when I get it for a solid green result with minimal latency.

 

Message for Charles P Jefferies:
Hi I am interested i the 5310m and am wondering how it compares to the HP mini 5101. I just received a 5101 and windows will not load on it. The thing is made just awesome though and I really like it. Anyway, I am trying to decide between the 5101 and the 5310m. It looks like HP is discontinuing the mini 5101 and I don't want to miss out if they dont end up reconfiguring it.
I am concerned about the unresponsive spacebar key, the vibrating fan, and any other issues that may not be as nice as the 5101. The 5101 is a solid netbook and I really like it other than I cannot get windows to start!! lol
Its being returned back to amazon anyway, but I just would like to know if the 5310m is built just as well and is just as nice or if not nicer. I would also like to know if the screen on the 5310m is as nice as the 5101 as far as viewing angles go. Its hard to find nonbiased reviews on these machines so I figured it would be best just to ask you directly since you own one.
Thanks!!!!!!!

 

okthanks - I don't have any experience with the 5101 but the 5310m is better built than the HP netbooks I have seen in Best Buy. The 5310m is not very comparable to a netbook in the first place.

The vibrating fan as I noted in my review is not an issue . . . and whether the spacebar is an issue depends on how you type. It is only unresponsive on the very right side; I personally tap towards the center so it is a non-issue. Even if you do tap the spacebar on the far right, if you shift over towards the center it's no longer an issue.

 

what about viewing angles?
also, i just placed an order for the 5310m with the 128 GB SSD option......any opinion? not sure what the brand is on the SSD

 

configuration is windows 7 home
2.26 GH processor
128 SSD drive
2 GB ram
anti glare screen
purchased from HP, with coupon code CTO5310m for 20% off configured model and also free shipping.......with my business tax exempt the totaly will be $1060

 

Nice config. You're paying about $160 for the SSD over the 320GB 7200RPM drive (versus the $899 model most of us have), which is an excellent price regardless of brand. We will definitely be interested to see what brand it is (and some benchmarks of course ).

As for the display's viewing angles - very poor, you need to be looking at this display head-on. I estimate there is only about a 15-20 degree acceptable range horizontally and vertically off center. This can be a pro or a con; if multiple people are looking at the screen then it is definitely a con, however in crowded places where you want a bit of privacy it helps (it should not be relied on however).