8510P - Bug in latest Bios ( f.13) / Video Bios

Looks like i have found a bug in the latest videobios for the hd 2600 mobility in the 8510p. the bios that seems to be affected is the latest one - Version F.13 (A)

there seems to be a problem with the powerstates. i have checked my the powersettings for my graphics card yesterday and found this strange clocking behavior for powersaving state#3 :

ATI PowerPlay (BIOS)
State #1 Grafikprozessor (GPU): 500 MHz, Speicher: 600 MHz (Boot)
State #2 Grafikprozessor (GPU): 500 MHz, Speicher: 600 MHz
State #3 Grafikprozessor (GPU): 125 MHz, Speicher: 405 MHz
State #4 Grafikprozessor (GPU): 600 MHz, Speicher: 600 MHz (UVD)
State #5 Grafikprozessor (GPU): 500 MHz, Speicher: 600 MHz
State #6 Grafikprozessor (GPU): 300 MHz, Speicher: 405 MHz (Limited Power)

when i remember this correctly the clocks for powersaving were: GPU 125 MHZ and Ram 250 MHZ ( or was it even 200 ?)

looks like a copy paste error, since the setting of 405 mhz obviously belongs to the limited power setting.

i have sent an email to HP support, and they were asking if somebody else has noticed this. since i am the first one to report this problem, i guess they want to know if more people´s laptop are effected by this, before they start investigating.

JohnnyT did mention in another thread that his notebook shows the same wrong clocks with bios version f.13.

so how the other users here with a 8510p ?
what your bios version and how are the clocks for your hd 2600 ?

in case you do not know how to get the info about the powerstates of your graphics card, please download everest from http://www.lavalys.com/ and once you started it look for video adapter and display settings, there should be a tab for the gpu that lists all the low level settings for the hd 2600.

it would be great if a lot of people would report here, since HP will most likely read this and eventually tell ati to release another videobios without this bug.

 

Didn't realize there was a new BIOS for the 8510p. I'm not sure if I want to upgrade now though after reading about your problem....

 

well, i did want to upgrade too. sent it in for repair and the repair crew upgraded to latest bios. had f.0f installed before.

how about your bios ? could you tell us the correct settings for powersaving state #3 ?

i can remember vaguely that it must have been around 250 mhz, but i´m not 100% sure.

 

Sure.

By the way I can't believe it's 44.8%.....

Yeah, that's just filler for the 10 characters. Hmmm, I probably could have just written filler oh well. Though the percentage is from something....

I hope the home version is fine.

Edit: Dang home version doesn't work. Time to fill out that form.

Yeah, don't get Everest directly from them because they make you unnecessarily fill out a contact info forum and then link you to a regular download site. Download.com's version has a virus so get it from: http://www.majorgeeks.com/EVEREST_Ultimate_Edition_d4876.html

I really hate it when companies do that.

Looks like everything is fine.

 

hmmm... what bios version do you have ?

your powerstate #3 shows the same unnecessary high clocks of 405 mhz for the ram. looks like were in the same boat.

 

I have the past version, f.13. I would say that this is probably normal and something that we only just now found out about. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

well, the latest bios f.13 a and the bios f.13 both contain the same video bios from 11.06.2008

this clocking behavior is not normal. i hope jerry will give some feedback. he said yesterday that he still is on f.0f.
i bet my pants that he does not have these high clocks.

 

Can't we just flash back to an old BIOS?

 

well i guess flashing back is not an option.

this is from hp driver downloadpage :

Code:

NOTE: System BIOS versions F.0F and earlier
cannot be reinstalled after system BIOS
version F.13 has been installed.

so i guess we just can compare to the old bios what the actual setting should be. if there are more users giving feedback and they have the same issue with f.13 then the hp support will investigate.
at least thats what they have replied to me.

 

I don't know much about clock speeds, so could you explain how these clocks are bad?

 

well, the higher the core or ram of the GPU or CPU is clocked, the more power it uses.

the card is actually being downclocked to save power when running on battery. thats what the powersaving state#3 was meant to be for.

when you look at the setting for limited power, thats the high performance setting for the battery mode when using powerplay. and thats 300mhz / 405 mhz.

you can see that in powersaving mode the core is clocked down to save power, but the ram isn´t. looks like a plain and simple mistake, maybe a copy and paste error from the guy that entered the values in the settings table.

 

Oh okay. I get that now. I thought you were talking about damaging your computer kind of bad.

Edit: Apparently, HP says if you already have F.13, then there's no reason to get F.13A.

 

yep, i´ve read the fixes list, and basicly the version f.13 is nothing but a routine update, and the only changes are an updated bios flash tool. what i don´t get is why they have released it anyway.

for now it looks like both bios versions f.13 and f.13 a, that contain the ati videobios from 11.june.2008 are affected.

i hope there are more owners of a 8510p reporting back to show hp support that this is a "problem" with the bios. eventually they will release an updated bios then.

 

well, i guess i have found the answer to the original clocks. i just reviewed an old thread i started and voila i am right about the clocks.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=2851275&postcount=107

the original clocks are supposed to be 125mhz/252 mhz
here is an old screenshot of the proper power-states settings ( my 8510p with bios version f.0c)

 

well, looks like mailing to the hp support has made them review this problem, and it looks like they will implement a fix, as soon as a new bios is released.

feels good, when the support team listens to their customers

Code:

Thank you for contacting Hewlett-Packard.



This is in response to your e-mail regarding the HP Compaq 8510p Notebook PC.

Hello xxxxxxx,

Thank you for contacting Hewlett-Packard's Commercial Solutions Center.

This is in response to your e-mail regarding the HP 8510p notebook.

xxxxxx, thank you for your feedback.

I sincerely appreciate your time and patience for sharing your feedback with us.

I would forward this e-mail to the appropriate Support Team and they would
make sure that the issue is fixed in the next release.

I apologize for all the inconvenience occurred.

In case of any further issues or queries, please feel free to contact us and
we would be glad to assist you.   

Once again, I thank you for contacting Hewlett-Packard's Commercial
Solutions Center.

Regards,

xxxxxxx
Technical Support Engineer - PSG Portable

"Our aim is to deliver best in class customer service".
Do help share feedback with my Supervisor (mailto: [email protected])

 

Cool, but let's see if they deliver.