The HP ProBook 5310m Owners' Club

I bought a 5310m yesterday. Great notebook!!!
The only think that is strange, is the sound balance. I'm not sure, if the speaker in my notebook work correctly. How many speakers are there in the 5310m?

I can hear music from the front left and the front middle. Is there a speaker front right?

 

Good question. There are two speakers in the 5310m, however they are not located on either side of the notebook. Instead, if you look under the palmrest you'll see a speaker vent on the very left, and then one under where the touchpad is. So, that is why the sound appears unbalanced.

 

How would I do benchmarks for the drive speed? I've never done any benchmarks and would like to learn how. What program would I use? How do I run the tests? I wont be receiving it until December so its going to be a little while.

 

For those of you who have found the spacebar unresponsive I too immediately found this a problem and have come up with a pretty good improvement/fix for it.

At first I thought I had a faulty laptop but it seems to be a surprisingly poor (for HP) design issue. You can press on the far left or right of the spacebar pressing it down repeatedly and get no response. I also found even if pressing carefully/lightly on the spacebar repeatedly up to a third along I could get no response - So even when forcing my hand around a bit to press your thumb a third in I'd miss a few spaces and have to delete lots or wait for a page to come back as I'd already pressed enter (I type pretty fast/lightly and am used to typing correctly). This was unnacceptable to me however the laptop except for this small and very irritating problem is fantastic. Superb build quality, unbelievably light/portable and good performance.

I've come up with a fix that has greatly improved the spacebar and the good thing is it's totally removable and easy to do - now I never have the problem.

I urge everyone doing this to take great care and take your time if you want to try it!

Firstly remove the spacebar using a credit card (DO NOT use anything metal... you'll damage your shiny new laptop). You can ease the credit card under the spacebar and gently/carefully pull it up both sides and ease it off. At this point I'd advise you look carefully (maybe even take a pic with your phone) at the bits of plastic that hook onto the spacebar so you know how they were connected together and onto the spacebar. If you're careful this won't matter as there is no need to remove or touch them but better to be safe and take your time and understand in your mind how it all fits together just in case.

Now you'll notice the white floppy nipple in the middle of where the spacebar was - if you're laptop is on, go into notepad and you can press this nipple and see that it creates a space. On the underside of the spacebar right in the very middle where the plastic would make contact with the nipple we need to raise the gap a tiny bit. Get some electrical tape (this is perfect thickness and very easy to remove after/not too sticky at all) and cut two very small squares of tape sticking them onto the underside of the spacebar raising the service so it presses fractionally more onto the nipple when the spacebar is back in place.

Hook the two metal wire things at the sides of the spacebar in the eyes on the laptop and press the Spacebar back on.

Hey presto - it now responds a lot better and your problem has gone away! You can always carefully remove the spacebar in the future and remove the squares of electrical tape if you wish.

This was very simple for me and would be for any computer hardware savvy person out there. However if you're totally new to playing with keyboards/PC's/Hardware etc although this is pretty simple I'd ask someone you know that has more experience.. or not attempt it unless you're confident and aware if you mess up you may harm your chances of a fix under warranty! You have been warned...

I hope this helps someone

Jimbob

 

Thank you for this information!

The manual says, that the speakers are on position 2:

But thats definitly wrong.

 

Use HDTune to run a hard drive benchmark:
http://www.hdtune.com/
Go to the Downloads section and get the 2.55 version. Install + "Start Benchmark"

You can use PCMark05 to benchmark your system overall:
http://majorgeeks.com/PCMark05_d4656.html
You also need to install Windows Media Encoder 9 to get it working:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...02-e496-465a-bba9-b2f1182cdf24&displaylang=en

Let us know if you need more info.

Yes, it is wrong . . . ears don't lie.

Wow, I think I might have to try this . . . thanks for the info.

Edit: I just did and it works wonderfully! :smile:

Some tips for those that want to try it:
-I found that by putting a credit card under the far side of the space bar and gently pressing upward works best. You'll have to experiment and just feel your way around, don't use a lot of pressure. It will come loose.
-Just to be clear, the electrical tape goes right over where the white nipple presses against the spacebar.

 

Thanks! I also just did this "mod" to my 5310m; the spacebar now works flawlessly!!!

 

Okay - thus far I have only developed the XP installation to where I wanted it before saving the entire "image" to an external hard drive. I am installing Win 7 Pro from an external dvd burner as I type this.

With Win XP the machine functioned very nicely indeed, and I have nothing to really complain about. Below are my initial impressions only:

****

Good:

1. Keyboard. What a lovely thing to type on! Possibly the nicest thing I have typed on since my IBM T42p.

2. Pleasing external aesthetic build. HP did a good job on this one imo....

3. Battery life. Come on - a 4 cell battery giving me 6 1/2 hours of word processing time? Great! Lets see what an 8, or even a 12 cell could do!

4. Speed and functionality. For the simple to medium level tasks I do this machine is completely adequate.

5. Trackpad and Mouse buttons. Also very serviceable indeed. For some reason I really like the Mouse Buttons. Not sure why....

6. Bluetooth and Wireless N. Always nice to have a machine with both.

7. Win XP Pro and Win 7 Pro. This is the ideal combination of OS offerings on a laptop for my situation.

8. Bang for the buck. I purchased the machine for about $970 after tax and shipping. I have been quite satisfied with it thus far.

9. Single screen hinge design. A personal favorite design wise for me.



Middle of the Road things. (More nitpicky things.)

1. Hard drive noise. As others have noted every once in a while the hard drive sounds exceptionally loud - almost as if in fits and starts - and you can feel the machine vibrating every so slightly.

2. No optical drive. This should not be too much of an issue for business users who sometimes can simply hook up to a deployment server, but it still is nice to have as an option. It would not be too difficult to ship an external drive with the laptop proper imo, and would be helpful.

3. Low profile machine/heat issues. Personally I would have liked it if the HP somehow stood higher up for heat and air distribution. I have not had noticeable heat problems thus far - but it is a sort of general principle I prefer.

4. Single slot for Ram. Hmph ... two would have been preferable. Still - it functions quite nicely in Win XP Pro with 2gb....

****

Anyway initial impressions only and under XP OS.... Will update more later.

 

some how my screen has cracked and now there is a big green spoltch in the center of the display. I have no clue how it happened since there is no damage to the computer at all. Does anyone now how to go about getting it fixed.

 

If it is physical damage (i.e. someone dropped it, etc) then I don't know what you can do . . . however if it is a product defect then HP will replace it under warranty. You should call them to see what your options are.

 

Has anyone checked to see how video-out works, over DVI and HDMI, whether audio is sent over the cable with HDMI, and what resolutions are supported?

 

Yes to both. Using displayport-hdmi adapter and hdmi calbe works on hdtv at 1080p and sound is sent over the cable. I have also outputted to 2 different lcd's 1920x1200 and 1920x1080.

 

Thanks purell! I am still deciding about the 5310m, and I was concerned about the displayport working with my HDTV and monitor.

 

What kind of DisplayPort-HDMI adapter are you using? I tried my roommate's and was unsuccessful; his laptop failed to connect as well, yet the TV we were trying to connect to can detect my desktop via HDMI, which makes me think that it's perhaps the adapter's problem. Weird thing is, the adapter works fine with his monitor. If you can suggest an adapter, I think I'll try to pick one up and see if that fixes my problem.

 

This kind

http://www.startech.com/item/DP2HDMIADAP-DisplayPort-to-HDMI-Adapter-Converter.aspx

I had to restart my computer the 1st time I connected to my hdtv to get that 1080p res.

 

Okay - am running the 5310m with Windows 7 Pro (32 bit, it seems) and it works like a charm. In many ways it feels like it works better in Windows 7 than in Windows XP Pro, which is nice to see.

Battery life is still kinda wonky, performance wise, but I am waiting for the recharge and drain process to take place a couple times and for everything to "get used" to each other.

Other than that I have no real complaints with the laptop. It is primarily one that sits here at the desk alongside my desktop and for that it seems to work quite nicely.

In the future I will be investing in a larger cell battery, hopefully one that will raise the machine up some and allow more heat dispersion and ventilation on the bottom. The larger battery would likely make it seem more of a "mobile" machine to me.

Still - overall I am quite satisfied with it.

 

Hey guys, for those of you with laptop bags/sleeves, will the 5310m fit those regular 13.3" bags, or will I have to go to the 14" ones? With Black Friday around the corner, I've started looking at deals, and the 5310m's widescreen dimensions don't seem to lend itself to fitting any bag quite right, going by dimensions alone anyway. Anyone have any bag/sleeve suggestions?

 

Personally I got a 14" one, but that is because I have the nib of a wireless receiver sticking out of one of the usb ports 24/7. I didn't get anything special myself - simply a 14" Targus sleeve. It has done fine.

 

Wow, that's a great deal. I am considering making a purchase as well. Which online retailer did you buy it from? When will the coupon code be expired?

 

I got a Case Logic 13.3" case (it's the reversible one with no zippers if you were wondering), and it's a bit wide for the ProBook, but it fits OK and it works. If you really want something that fits well, Charles suggested a Waterfield case; they are a bit more expensive, but they have custom fits and, like my friend put it, spending 40 bucks on a case for a 900 dollar laptop isn't too insane.

Here and here are my case and the case that Charles suggested (links to post #64 and #65 in this thread).

 

Hi folks,

I am thinking of getting this laptop but have few concerns.

I wanna be able to watch high res videos (720/1080p) and also wanna be able play games from time to time. so my question, can the intel video card handle this?

and how would you guys describe the screen quality, I read from Charles review and he says the screen is not the best out there, is this caused by the matte coating?
I am hoping to get something with vivid and vibrant screen quality.
I was thinking of getting the dm3t but the reviews just butchered the screen quality...

I have read all the dm3 and 5310 owner's lounge and yet to make any decision...
so yeah if you guys can help me out that'd be great.

 

The 5310m can play 720p/1080p video no problem, however gaming is going to be very limited; the integrated Intel graphics card is poor. What specific games are you interested in playing?

You've read my review so you know what I think of the screen . . . it is bright enough but the contrast is lacking and the viewing angles are very poor. The matte coating is nice since it doesn't reflect and is easy to clean. I don't know if it's better or worse than the dm3. If you're looking for a vivid and vibrant screen, the 5310m will disappoint you.

 

I have very limited knowledge about newer pc games, since my current laptop dont allow me to play anything new... but I wanna be able to play maybe fm, nfs, any online games, DOTA, warcraft, some shooting games.

I am really looking forward in getting 5310m cause its looks awesome and excellent build quality. what other thin laptops offers excellent screen?

 

Is this confirmed?! if so that's great news! I was told by hp before i bought the laptop that the displayport only has video out. This is great news as i am getting an adapter through ebay asap. I want my 5.1 audio out

 

The 5310m is not ideal for gaming since it has integrated Intel graphics. I need to know names of specific games to tell you whether the 5310m can play them or not. As a general rule, anything newer (2006-now) is not going to be playable.
I'd really like to recommend the 5310m to you but I just can't, given your requirements.

You're best off completing the FAQ in our What Should I Buy forum so we can help you find a suitable laptop.

 

Ok I just ordered my 5310m from the UK HP store with the 10% voucher and hopefully 8% topcashback and £100 rebate for a trade-in ancient fujitsu laptop. I have a few questions for any helpful and patient 5310m owners

1. Can the HP un2450 EV-DO/HSPA Mobile Broadband Module be ordered separately and installed easily? I have a vodafone PAYG mobile broadband dongle which is great, but I'd love to be able to take the SIM from it and put it inside the 5310m.

2. I have an HP monitor with a DVI input, a TV with an HDMI input plus I often need to connect to VGA projectors. Is there an all-in-one displayport adapter solution out there for me?

3. Has anyone put an SSD in their 5310m? What model? Was it easy? How much of a performance boost do you feel it gave? Seems like SSD prices have gone up of late, any good deals around right now? Ditto 4gb ram - or should I wait for prices to drop?

4. Is it correct that the 5310m comes with XP installed, and discs to allow installation of Win 7? Is the Win 7 32-bit? Is it an upgrade that keeps all the bloatware, or a clean install? If I wanted 64-bit is there an upgrade path?

5. Any links to the 5310m extended battery and docking station yet?

Many thanks!
Z

 

Alright I finally went ahead and purchased the laptop!!! Estimated ship date is 12/14 with 2 day shipping I should be getting it by the 16 or 17th if there are no delays. I ordered it with the 128GB SSD. I can't wait to get it!

 

Congrats on the machine - I think you are the first UK 5310m club member.

I don't know the answers to all of your questions but here's what I know:
2) There are no all-in-one adapters, but you can get DisplayPort > HDMI, DVI, or VGA quite easily. Unfortunately I think you will have to buy all three . . . the VGA adapters are quite expensive.

3) Check our our big SSD benchmarks thread here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=429972
Currently the Intel X25-M drives are producing the best performance results.
I would wait for prices to fall before upgrading to 4GB of RAM. Here in the US, 4GB DDR3 So-DIMMs go for ~$200, whereas a 2x2GB DDR3 So-DIMM kit goes for ~$85.
I rarely go over 1GB memory usage with Firefox, iTunes, and one or two othe small applications open.

4) Depends; if you custom-configured yours with 7 that should be pre-installed. If it does come with XP then you can install 7 no problem; Windows XP was installed via the downgrade rights in 7 after all. The OS discs are 32-bit; I don't know if HP has 64-bit support for the 5310m.
To install a new OS you will either need to hook up an external CD drive or make a bootable flash drive with the OS files.

5) The 5310m will not have a dedicated docking station since it doesn't have a dedicated docking station port. HP sells USB docking stations however, as do many other companies.

Congrats! I am looking forward to the SSD benchmarks.

 

Thanks! If they are not posted by the time I get my laptop then I will post the benchmarks.

 

Hey guys I have been debating for a couple weeks now between the upcoming Asus UL30VT and the 5310m. I don't really need the Nvidia video card as I don't play games. Battery life is important to me and now that it looks like the UL30VT will have a smaller battery then originally thought it looks like the battery life part won't be as different as I thought. I would guess maybe 4 hours for the 5310m vs 6 hours on the UL30VT.

I wonder if anyone can comment on the touch pad. I played with the DM3's touch pad at Best Buy and hated it, by far the worst I have ever used. Is the one on the 5310m the same glossy, mirror type? I had an Asus UL80VT for a week so I know I can deal with the one on the Asus just wondering if I would be able to tolerate the one on the HP too.

 

I've said before I really don't like the glossiness of the touchpad on the 5310m, but it really is quite good. It's glossy, but I feel like it's not quite as obnoxious as the ones on the dv6000 series (I haven't personally used a dm3, but I presume they're similar). A friend of mine who works for HP uses one of their EliteBooks, and when he used my ProBook, the first thing he said was that the touchpad was quite responsive and worked very well (he seemed surprised...). Overall, I can't really complain about the touchpad; just takes a little to get used to, especially if you're coming from a rough-ish touchpad.

 

Agreed with chaosrl. I own a Pavilion dv5t consumer HP notebook with one of the mirror touchpads; while the 5310m's touchpad surface is glossy, it does not have the same feel. The 5310m feels soft and is much easier to track on by comparison. If you were able to deal with the UL80Vt's trackpad (one of the worst I have used), the 5310m is worlds better.

None of the Best Buys near me have a dm3 on display; I am interested to check one of those out given all the comments about the touchpad and screen. I'll post my impressions here vs. the 5310m when I finally get my hands on one.

 

Anyone else can confirm that there is audio out from the displayport with a hdmi adapter?

 

Hey I am trying to decide on a sleeve for the the Probook and I am stuck between two of them and I am hoping mabe one of you guys have experience or have seen any of these in person to let me know which would be the best...

1. Incase 13" Neoprene Sleeve
2. Iskin Soho

I love the soho I think it would offer more protection but I think it may be to bulky for when I have to stick it in my backpack for school. Has anyone seen this item in person to let me know if it is?

 

I don't really know about either of those cases, but just something to note: the 5310m isn't quite the same shape as the 13" MacBook/MBP, due to the 16:9 aspect ratio as opposed to 16:10; it's a bit less deep, so these cases won't fit quite perfectly, not that it's a big problem.

I can confirm that when the DisplayPort to HDMI adapter is plugged in, an HD Audio out option does appear in my audio devices list. I haven't been able to get it to play audio with my roommate's monitor, and I couldn't get it to do even video with my TV; I think his adapter ($4.00) might be a bit screwy.

 

I am actually looking by the specs HP website gave on the Probook: 12.9 x 8.7 x 0.93 in (328.0 x 221 x 23.5 mm)

For the Soho the dimensions of the laptops it states it fits is Length: 13" Width: 9" Depth: 1" ... so its not so bad, but I just think it may be to bulky

 

Hi, I'm having a hard time deciding between the 5310m and ul30vt.

Ill be using this for school and wanted to find out whether the noise levels be it fan or hdd ever get really high?

While gaming is not important, would i be able to play classic games like Deus Ex and System Shock 2 with no lag?

The battery level while solid is the only thing stopping me from purchasing this model. Does anyone know when the 6 cell battery is going to be released? I cant seem to find any update on it. Battery is the only reason for considering the ul30vt.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

I see. I've never actually encountered a Soho case, so I can't help you there, but the Incase Neoprene one you had listed is exactly the same dimensions as what CaseLogic lists for the case I bought, and I can say it fits fine, albeit ever so slightly loose.

 

Thanks Charles, I hope so - the rather poor HP UK website has an order tracking system, but I'm not sure if it actually works...could be delivered tomorrow, or maybe in a few weeks!

Your thorough review and comments in this thread were a major factor in choosing the 5310m. I hankered after a Vaio Z for a long time but the price is just too high for the spec offered, definitely a Sony tax that I wasn't happy with. The Asus UL30 looked promising, but I wanted a bit more power. I would have loved a backlit keyboard but it appears manufacturers just haven't twigged this quite yet which is a real shame.

In the end the keen UK pricing (did I really just type that phrase? helps to know your cash back and voucher codes!) was the main factor. I'll happily use this unit until the next gen drops - maybe something like an i5-powered Envy 14 with all the heat bugs solved and a backlit kb...mmmm

I noticed that the ever-meticulous Notebookcheck guys reviewed the 5310m - http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-HP-ProBook-5310m-Notebook.22965.0.html. Great detailed review (if suffering a little from odd translated English) - love the fact they consider typing ease, screen angle, noise, heat and DPC latency. They also answered a few of my other questions and I was able to google the first one - http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/e...-1130363-1130359-3788189-3788190-3788196.html - looks available to buy but I wonder how hard it is to fit retrospectively?

Thanks I probably figured that would be the case I can understand no VGA on such a thin unit (*cough Vaio X cough*) but I wonder why HP went with DP not DVI or HDMI- is DP more of an emerging business standard? Or is it licensing costs and politics?

Phew that is already a hefty thread! I read a few pages to get an idea. We are awaiting restock of g2 X25-m 80gb in the UK, but I see a g3 is expected soon...what to do...

There was mention in the thread about an SSD install error message affecting HP pc's - to do with OEM OS installs having to match the drive? Anyone here had experience of this on the 5310m?

Thanks. I generally keep Outlook open, use Photoshop sparingly, occasional Dreamweaver, heavy on the Firefox tabs and occasionally switch off from work and use Reaper, Ableton Live and Sound Forge. Once 4gb sticks hit $100 I'll swap.

I couldn't see any custom options (or indeed SSD option) in the UK range. It says Win 7 installed on http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/e...57-64295-3955552-3955552-4021356-4074542.html but then that page also says in the footnotes that you may need to install the OS - hmm!

I wonder why they went with 32-bit. Comaptibility? 2gb ram supplied made 64-bit less logical?

Have you tried the latter? Was it easy?

Again this seems odd for a business laptop, but maybe this is the way forward - less and less ports and wires and electricity-burning...

Thanks for all your help and advice Charles, much appreciated.

Z

 

If you want something custom-fit and have a decent budget ($60 or so), then take a look at WaterField Designs SleeveCase:
http://sfbags.com/products/sleevecases/sleevecases.htm
The custom size for the 5310m is 26-17.

Check out our reviews for the SleeveCase:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2688
Here is another review:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3641&review=Waterfield+SleeveCase

That is an understandably difficult choice.
-The 5310m's noise levels are rather low in my opinion; at idle it is barely audible in a silent room. Under load the fan does spool up but it is not annoying. For specific noise measurements, see NotebookCheck's review:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-HP-ProBook-5310m-Notebook.22965.0.html

-Generally speaking, older games (pre-2006) should run fine on the GMA 4500MHD graphics card. The games you mentioned will run fine. The only issue you might have is the OS - you will need to check and see if they run under Windows XP/7.

-LaptopMag's 5310m review mentions that HP is planning to offer a six-cell battery:
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptop/hp-probook-5310m.aspx?page=4

There is no mention of when. I should mention that the standard four-cell battery is very thin and light; you could easily carry another with you.
-----
That said, the build quality, keyboard, and touchpad of the 5310m will be superior to the ASUS'. Also, the 5310m's available P9300 2.26GHz processor will be much faster (whether you notice that difference or not will depend on your uses). I recommend the HP if four hours is enough battery life for you.

You are quite welcome, I'm glad to hear my review helped you out.
I was also eying the Vaio Z at one point, but I was never able to justify the price tag. I was also not too impressed with the keyboard. Regardless of other factors, I think an 11" screen is a bit small for extended usage even though I like the resolution a lot (1600x900).

Thanks for the link - that is indeed an excellent review. Notebookcheck really does take things down to the smallest details. I generally agree with their analysis.
About that WWAN module - I honestly don't know about putting that in. I have not yet opened up any of the bottom panels on my 5310m. Also like I said before, I'm not sure if any antenna(s) need to be hooked up to it, and if that is the case, if those antennas are present.

DisplayPort is the new business standard. HDMI is really only for connecting devices to HDTVs, not monitors or anything like that. See Dell's explanation here:
http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2008/02/19/46464.aspx

Agreed - $100 is a decent price for a 4GB stick (at least compared to today's 4GB stick prices). Since the vast majority of new notebooks are using DDR3, the prices should continue falling (while DDR2 goes up).

I think it's a safe bet your system will come with an OS installed. It says the same thing on the US site:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/e...-3929941-3955552-4021356-4025570-4057485.html
. . . yet it came with the OS installed. I'm not sure why only 32-bit is offered, but I personally don't care much since nothing I use is 64-bit. I have 64-bit Windows 7 on my desktop and notice no difference. When I upgrade something in the 5310m (hard drive/RAM) I will be installing 64-bit.

I did, actually - installing Win7 from a flash drive is very easy. You need an 8GB+ flash drive to do it:
http://kmwoley.com/blog/?p=345
Pretty simple - make sure you ask if you need help.

Agreed, the lack of a docking station port is odd, then again I wonder where they would have put such a port.

 

Thank you for the information, you've been very helpful.

Notebookchecks review claims the hdd can get loud. Did you find this to be the case? Would purchasing a ssd or a different hdd fix this problem?
Comforting knowing I can play pre2006 games without a problem, love the classics.
While 4 hours is solid, a bit more would get me through a day of school without the need to charge, the 6cell should fix that. Hopefully its not too big or expensive.
Its good to hear the build quality is solid, as I wouldn't want to deal with the flexing keyboards and creaky noises ul80vt users have encountered.

 

The hard drive is as NotebookCheck described - it has a constant whirr sound, however you need to be in a rather quiet atmosphere to notice it. And NBC is also correct that it is louder than the fan on its lowest levels. There is some faint clicking when reading/writing; I think NBC portrays it as louder than it actually is. Even on their SPL meter, reading/writing only adds 1.5db worth of sound (basically nothing).
You can easily change the hard drive so I view it as a non-issue. The Seagate 320GB 7200RPM drive is very, very fast (see my review for benchmarks). If you want to replace it, I recommend the Western Digital WD5000BEVT (500GB 5400RPM). I have one in my HP dv5t and it is essentially silent.

When you get the notebook, you'll see what I am talking about regarding the thinness/lightness of the battery.

As for the ASUS UL80Vt - I tested that, you can read my review here:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5346
I can vouch for the comments from owners about the keyboard/build. It is a good concept but a flawed execution by ASUS; the quality is clearly lacking. Recent ASUS notebooks have failed to match up to the quality standards they had set prior to 2005-2006. Today their lineup is a rather hodgepodge bunch of notebooks from 20 different R&D departments that don't communicate with one another. ASUS notebooks are not bad machines - they match up to the competition most of the time - but they have no product consistency or direction whatsoever. They are a far cry from the 'gold standard' they once were.

The 5310m hands-down beats the UL80Vt in build quality and especially in the keyboard and touchpad departments. The UL30Vt might be better since it uses a different chassis but I have no experience with it.

 

Hi,
Having read most of this thread and a few reviews, i'm close to ordering 20 of these for the office. but am still looking for answers to the following, perhaps from someone who's done it:

1) can i order and retro fit the HP un2420 EV-DO/HSPA mobile 3G module?
2) Will this laptop run 64bit OS such as Win7 64bit? is anyone out there actually running x64 OS? (want to use/access the max 4gb ram).
3) also ordering Intel X25-M 80GB SSD's, anyone retro fitted these and re-installed the OS on them yet? any known issues?
4) Will fitting intel X25-M SSD's void my warranty? bearing in mind i'm going with a 5 year HP carepack extra cover on these. Can't find anywhere that tells me these drives are compatible and 'allowed / authorised' by HP.

thanks in advance to anyone who can enlighten me.

 

minder - wow, 20 notebooks is a lot.

1) No one here has tried to install a WWAN card aftermarket. This is the module HP sells: http://tinyurl.com/czuk8ql
As you probably know the 5310m is available with a WWAN card built in so I would go that route, or buy USB WWAN cards. I don't know if the antennas are present in the non-WWAN units.

2) Yes, it will. HP provides 64-bit drivers for Vista and 7, and 32-bit only for XP. These are the Windows 7 64-bit drivers:
http://tinyurl.com/ycv9qnm
The rest can be accessed here:
http://tinyurl.com/ydoaog4

3) Any standard 2.5" drive with a SATA connection will work in the 5310m. No one here has installed an SSD to my knowledge.
Just a warning - if you are going to use XP, don't use SSDs . . . XP has a partition alignment problem that is magnified with SSDs. Some info can be found here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929491
The partition alignment issue does not exist under Vista/7 however. If you really want to use SSDs with XP, you will have to format the drive under Vista/7 and then create a volume using XP and install it on that.

4) No, it won't. HP allows users to upgrade the memory and hard drive (probably WWAN too, but I haven't scanned their warranty for that yet). Make sure you keep the old parts handy.

 

Hey guys - I just bought this Startech DisplayPort > HDMI adapter from Amazon for $10 shipped: http://tinyurl.com/ylbblfc
I'll be testing it when it arrives to see if the audio works.

Also, check this out:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091201005916/en
Since the 5310m only has one headphone/microphone combo port, I wonder if this device will allow the use of a headset.

 

great! please do let us know how the audio works out! I had talked with HP support and they said that the displayport did not support audio out.

 

Wow that's almost the exact same list of questions I asked on page 28 I must be on the right lines

My 5310m arrived today (well yesterday but I was out - HP UK's notification system was a bit sluggish). So far I have only taken it out of the minimal eco friendly packaging and had a look, yet to power it up. I have to say it feels a bit thicker and heavier than I had imagined it would, maybe I was expecting too much! I'm used to a Vaioa117s which is a beast (but it stays on my desk) and a eeepc1000h which is thick and heavyish for the footprint but still pretty luggable.

The 5310m certainly looks the part - the gloss is regrettable as many have said, and fingerprints leave their mark on every visible surface, but I like the solid build and minimal design. Gotta charge the battery and spend some time with it later or tomorrow, after I do some actual work!

 

Have the 5310m a couple of days now. Just a quick impression, think it's pretty much the same what other users already mentioned in previous posts...

- Build quality, its been well constructed, although there is some movement in the battery (casing) possible.
- Love the brushed aluminium casing, keyboard feels pretty solid as well, the spacebar only seems to work when pressed in the centre.
- Despite the 2gb ram it feels responisive and quick.
- My biggest gripe with this notebook must be the viewing angles, just the slightest movement in horizontal or vertical direction directly results in shifting colours. My five year old Toshiba has at least 3 times better specs. Would love to see notebook manufacturers paying some more attention to this, what about a nice IPS panel ?
- I'm happy with the quality of the speakers, music sounds nice and clear, bass tones are lacking as expected.

btw: This thread has been very useful for me, thanks to all posters for sharing info

 

Hey guys, one question, does the battery indicator drop to around 97-95 after a day or two for you despite being plugged in constantly. It indicates (not charging). This is good as the battery is not be constantly charged, however, I am a little worried that my battery capacity drops in a few days from a 100%, which it never stays on for more than 5 mins. I have not had this issue with my other laptops. Any ideas? or do i just need to cycle the battery more?

 

That's normal; batteries lose their charge over time. It won't charge until it gets down to 93% or so.
The battery might be losing charge because as you note, it's not being constantly charged. That will extend battery lifespan.

Congrats! I'm glad that you found the forums to be a valuable resource.

For the spacebar issue - try this simple fix:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5544382&postcount=254
It has worked well for me and chaosrl.

I have also found the performance to be more than adequate with 2GB of RAM. I got my Windows 7 install down to only 446MB of memory usage at idle, with NOD32 Smart Security installed (firewall + antivirus). Windows 7 seems to be very gentle on system resources.

The screen is definitely a disappointment though calibrating it with a Spyder2Express device greatly improved the colors. I appreciate the matte surface very much. As someone that uses their notebook in a lot of public situations, I prefer the horrible viewing angles. I am still considering a 3M privacy shield though, just for the extra security.

Congrats to you as well, zendar. Please do post more impressions when you get it up and running. I agree that it can feel a little heavy given its size, but I think it's due to the very slim form factor.

It is a fingerprint magnet for sure - make sure you have a microfiber towel handy.

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Just for a bit of fun - HP posted this FaceBook quiz app today to help consumers find the right computer:
http://apps.facebook.com/hpfindyourmatch/
For some reason it always comes up with the 5310m.