Coping with the Compaq CQ56-115DX - Life After the NVIDIA Settlement

The NVIDIA Class Action settlement is now just another ugly chapter in the life of many hp owners. If you filed a claim for one of the affected models and you are receiving (or have already received) a CQ56-115DX as an NVIDIA class member, you are undoubtedly finding yourself in the sad predicament of having to make the best of this situation. This is especially true if you owned one of the nicer Pavilion dv-series "Entertainment Notebook" systems.

The CQ56-115DX is at or near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to notebooks. This device sells for about $299 and that's about what it's worth in terms of build quality, features and performance as shipped from the factory. Its wimpy AMD V140 single-core CPU, inadequate 2GB of shared memory, horrible touchpad and keyboard are everything you should expect from the cheapest notebook on the block. Some of us haven't gotten past its shortcomings yet. Some of us may never.

However, if you're ready to squeeze this lemon into some fresh lemonade, you may find your glass half-full at the end of the day. With its capable chipset and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 IGP, tolerable performance is within easy reach for anyone willing to spend less than two hours and approximately $100 on a better CPU and a 4 to 8GB memory upgrade. Even casual gaming is possible with this homely little critter. If you received it for free as a class member, you'll be hard pressed to find something that performs better for the measly $100 to $150 you'll need to spend on upgrades.

This thread is devoted to all of those lemon-squeezers out there. If you have found a way to tolerate its miserable shortcomings, please share what you're doing to transform your CQ56-115DX into a usable machine. Tell us about your upgrades, share some photos and post your benchmarks.

With lots of participation, we can make this thread valuable to all Compaq CQ-series notebook owners that want to extract more performance from their budget systems than what HP ever intended.

Please remember the forum rules, and happy posting!

Edit: If you own an Asus T101MT, there is a thread specifically for you. Go here: ASUS EEE T101MT-EU37/Disgruntled Former HP tx1XXX Owners

 

I can't vote on the poll, because the yes answer is still a no answer the way you worded it lols XD How bout a poll where the outcome/answers aren't influenced by the bias caused by the wording, just a simple yes or no poll. I have my reasons for my answer to the poll, I don't need one shoved down my throat.

I wouldn't exactly call it a $100 upgrade. The N660 processor cost me $85 and the 8GB of ram cost me $54.11 for a grand total of $139.11 and that's only because I got lucky with finding an ok priced N660. Try finding a processor now, and you'll probably be paying 100+ for the processor alone. Here are some pictures of the upgrade as well as some temps and stuff without the ram upgrade. My idle temps are around 46-47C with the temp of the house being 72F or 22.222222C

​

 

Let me relocate my contents here:

Upgraded to N640 from P340. Overall performance increased by 25%-30% or so. That is reflected in synthetic benchmarks and even GPU benchmarks like Resident Evil 5.

RE5 benchmark, DirectX 9, 800x600 low, Average FPS:
CQ56(P340): 32.7
E6400(P8700+NVS160M):42.4
CQ56(N640): 39.8

Dynasty Warriors 6 Benchmark, 800x600, Average FPS:
CQ56(P340): 40
CQ56(N640): 47

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.K Benchmark:
800x600
CQ56(N640): Average 53 FPS Max FPS: 72
1280x720
CQ56(N640): Average 35 FPS Max FPS: 62


Clearly the ATI 4250 performs better with faster CPUs.

Passmark reported 17% improvement on memory performance at 1333MHz.

Geekbench results: V140
Hewlett-Packard Presario CQ56 Notebook PC : Geekbench Result Browser

Geekbench results: P340
Hewlett-Packard Presario CQ56 Notebook PC : Geekbench Result Browser

Geekbench results: N640
Hewlett-Packard Presario CQ56 Notebook PC : Geekbench Result Browser

Normal temperature with IC Diamond is comparable or lower to P340 with Arctic Silver Ceramique(Ceramique is slightly inferior to AS5).
Peak temperature is 70-72 during stress test. P340 had 64. So 35w processors do really generate a lot more heat under stress.
However during noremal opeations the temperature is actually lower.
Idle average is between 41-45 when powered up.
Temperature tends to stay around 46 after cooling down from stress tests.
(With balanced power mode in Windows 7)
I have the CQ56 on a USB cooling pad without turning on the cooling pad fan during the test in order to give better airflow(so that air does not hit a surface and reflect back). The temperature never goes higher than 72 at all times and typically stays at 68 in benchmark tests and demos like Mass Effect 2. Yes. Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2 are playable in 800x600 Low (Mass Effect) or Medium(Dragon Age 2) Settings.

Also Resident Evil 5 Benchmark gets a slight boost (2-3FPS) if you replace the stock HP ATI 4250 driver with the latest 11.5 or 11.6 Catalyst driver from AMD. That's without any tuning. If triple buffering is turned on, you will get higher max FPS but the average FPS seems to be the same or close to the same. I also tested "Max Performance" and "Balanced" power modes and the power mode has no impact to FPS numbers from both Resident Evil 5 and H.A.W.K benchmarks.

The title is misleading. Not everyone is "coping" with the CQ56. Some are really enjoying it. While the CQ56 has some usability design flows, it is much mucj better than the Compaq V6000 it replaced.

A fair review by an engineering student here:

Compaq - Presario Laptop / AMD V-Series Processor / 15.6" Display / 2GB Memory / 250GB Hard Drive - Basic Black - CQ56-115DX
Posted by tesla2011 on 6/29/2011

Temperature and screenshot after one round of Prime 95 testing is attached:

My suggestion to people who want to upgrade:

For best price/performance, it is probably better to get a P320(<$25), P340(<$40), or N830($30).
With those 25w processors you would experience overall improved performance without having to worry about heat during high CPU utilization. They are cheaper too due to more supply.
You could get n620($68), N640($75), N660($77-85) but the performance gain probably won't help you that much in regular
normal activities and you still won't be able to play latest games in high settings.
For gamers as usual you always get the best bang of the bucks by playing on a desktop.
Of course, if you are performance/benchmark nuts like us, you are free to spend double/triple the amount to get the extra 20%-30% improvement..

 

Good morning, nambinhvu. The poll question and answers are specific to HP shirking its responsibility to customers in relation to the NVIDIA defect. Had HP stepped up to the plate for their customers and stood behind the product it sold, the class action against NVIDIA would have been unnecessary. Had there been a cause for legal action against NVIDIA, it should have been HP suing them, not end users. It is not the intent of the poll to provide a open-ended platform for respondents to showcase the spectrum of reasons they will or will not purchase another HP computer.

Thank you for posting about your CQ56 upgrades. I'm sure that information will be useful to other class members that are looking for ways to breathe life into their own CQ56.

+1 Rep! Have a great day.

Good morning, dchen2k. Great information. Thanks for posting. +1 Rep.

 

Would an AMD N830 work on it cq56?

 

Hi aw614. I believe so. Look near the bottom of this morning's post from dchen2k (first line of last paragraph) and you will see that particular CPU listed.

 

aw614

Physically the chip will fit, but if the motherboard supports it is another question...

Here is a link for all the CPU's that will fit...

Socket S1 (S1g4)

click on the CPU family name and it will give you more options that will fit...

Bert

 

This was on another thread, but it's more excellent and relevant information from dchen2k. If you want to give a rep point for a link to the manual, please rep dchen2k.

 

Here is a summary of my upgrade to an N660 + 4GB of 1333mhz RAM from the previous thread. I am very satisfied with the upgrade price/performance ratio that I achieved, spending ~$109.

ICDiamond TIM seems like a very worthwhile "upgrade" as well, if applied properly. My AS5 temps are ~9C higher than dchen2k's, but my chip has a lower Core VID and wattage. It appears ICD is really all it is cracked up to be. Every degree counts on a laptop!

As it stands now, any S1g4 socket, DA-C3 stepping, max 35 TDP chip should work in this system because the N660 works! However, no one has yet tried a triple, quad, or 45 TDP chip. If you do, please post results!

 

It most likely would work. But other than officially supported processors.
The following have been proven to work:
P520, N620, N640, N660. The rest have not been tested.

I think even X920(45w, 2.3GHz Quad-Core) could work and may not run too hot unless CoolN'Quiet is turned off or during a Prime95 testing.
N830, N930, P920, P820, N530 are on officially supported processor list for CQ62. I believe CQ62 and CQ56 have very similar BIOS.(If you look at their BIOS updates, the issues resolved are the same) Therefore I'm 95% certain that N830 could work.

 

Hmm, that's the 2nd time you've said +1 rep, but my rep is still at 1 lols I dunno how the rep works, but I don't think it's supposed to stay 1 is it?

 

The reputation number displayed when you post is not equal to the number of times you receive a rep point. It will stay at 1 for a while. For example, I have received a rep point 616 times as of today, but everyone else sees 11 when I post. What others see is your "Rep Power" score. It sort of complicated how it is calculated. You can read more about it here: Site Suggestions, Help and Announcements. Look at the 7th thread from the top.

If you click into your User Control Panel, you will see a list of your recent rep points, who gave them to you, any comments they made to you privately, and the total number of accumulated rep points you have. Sometimes you will get rep points from folks on the forum without even knowing because they do it quietly, so looking in your UserCP may be a pleasant surprise.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

 

nambinhvu,

If you guys see GPU running at 503MHz at all times then AMD PowerPlay is turned off. With AMD PowerPlay the GPU should run at 203MHz when no 3D apps are running and 503MHz while gaming.(Regardless of power mode--even with high performance power mode) I tested both and did not observe any difference in gaming performance. Therefore you may want to keep it on to reduce heat and save a couple cents on your electricity bills..

 

PowerPlay is not installed if they are running driver-only installations, as PowerPlay is part of the Catalyst or Fusion package. Using PowerPlay is a good idea to prolong component life due to reduced heat... great advice to use it. PowerPlay typically stops functioning during gaming to prevent throttling and that is why there is no change in performance.

djc89 - I think the person that said you can only install 1GB of DDR2 could be mistaken. According to the Asus web site, you should be able to use 2GB of DDR2 in your convertible. Here are the specs: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - T101MT. While you are on the Asus web site, you might want to click on the Downloads tab. It looks like there is a BIOS update released earlier this month. If your system does not have the latest version, you may want to grab it.

DDR2 and DDR3 are not interchangeable. The Atom N450 can be installed in a system configuration that utilizes DDR3, but for some reason Asus chose to build this unit on DDR2 technology.

Without knowing more information from the STOP error your BSOD is producing, we can only speculate about the cause. If you can boot into safe mode without a BSOD, it may be an indication there is a driver issue. There may also be a defect with the 2GB stick of DDR2 that you tried to use. You can try reseating the RAM and running some memory tests. Here's a link with some information on that. If the memory check out OK, please Google for information on the STOP code or post it here so we can try to help. (A STOP code will be in a format similar to 0x0000001E and may contain a message something like KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED.)

With only one memory bank and a maximum capacity of 2GB, you'll have significant limitations in performance. Our CQ56 notebooks come with 2GB of memory and they are ridiculously sluggish out of the box running Windows 7 Home Premium. It looks like your system had the option of running WindowsXP stock from Asus. (You'll notice Asus has made the drivers available for XP.) If your machine seems slow, downgrading to XP may give you acceptable performance with only 1GB of RAM, but you may lose some degree of functionality with the touch screen under WindowsXP.

 

Thanks for the replies. I overlooked the fact that the notch is probably in different spots between the 2 and 3, heh. So DDR3 is out.

So, I did a bit more reading, and it seems the general consensus is that 1GB DDR2 PC2-5300/667MHz and 1GB DDR2 PC2-6400/800MHz (clocked to 667MHz) work for the other n450 t101mt models. However, some have said that t101mt is finicky about the RAM, and some sticks that fall under this description refused to work.

I think I will go for this Newegg.com - CORSAIR 1GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Laptop Memory Model VS1GSDS800D2 G. It has been specifically indicated to work with the t101mt (at least the other models) several times:
YouTube - ‪ASUS Eee PC T101MT - OS and RAM Upgrade Tutorial‬&rlm;
Asus T101MT Triple Boot and Program Recomendations (Page 1) / General Discussion / EeeUser Forum
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum- Upgrade of memory?

-----

For a more detailed description of the RAM situation on the t101mt:

There are two memory slots. One bay is the normal RAM slot, easily accessible from the underside by removing the a single screw and the cover. This bay comes empty when you open the package. The other "slot" is located deep inside the machine on the board and can only be accessed by taking the netvertible apart. This one holds the 1GB DDR2 PC2-5300/667MHz that comes with the machine. The t101mt can only address 2GB of RAM total. So to max out the PC, stick a 1GB in the normal slot.

Further Reading:

Micro T101MT tear down (Page 1) / General Discussion / EeeUser Forum
Computer memory upgrades for ASUS Eee PC T101MT Netbook from Crucial.com
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum- Upgrade of memory?
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum- Memory

 

Too bad it doesn't accept 4GB chips then you could open it up and put 8GB total. Like the person above said, update the bios, it might accept a 2GB chip without the BSOD problem after that.

 

Kudos for your diligent research on your new netvertible. With as much as you have found out about it, you should consider creating a thread dedicated to improving the T101MT. I think it might be a first on this forum. If you do, please let me know and I will add a link to it on the opening post.

 

Lepy, dchen2k,

I don't have Resident Evil 5. But I've done several trials of STREAM and Linpack memory tests in both single-channel and dual-channel configurations (1x4GB stick, vs 2x4GB sticks) on this system, measuring an overall performance delta in favor of dual channel: 3.4 - 4% faster. Within margins of error. Statistically insignificant, in other words.

Here's some interesting (if somewhat dated) reading that might shed some light on this arcane subject: "Parallel Processing, Part 2: RAM and HDD":

RAM Parallelism: Single And Dual Channel : Parallel Processing, Part 2: RAM and HDD


- note the drop down menu and the < Next > navigation menu items towards the bottom of the page


...good ol' "Tom's Hardware" to the rescue, again!

 

Hi Trevayne - I don't have RE5 either, but there is a free benchmark that's quite good.

If you are interested, you can grab it from this link Resident Evil 5 PC Benchmark Utility download from Guru3D.com

Anyone interested in really taxing the CQ56 to see what it can handle can grab the Crysis Benchmark from this link Crysis Benchmark Tool 1.05 Final download from Guru3D.com

I have not noticed in any of the posts if you guys have installed the AMD CAP enhancements? If not, you can get them at Rage3D. The CAP enhancements are cumulative, so release notes only identify the changes in the latest version.

 

Checking out those utilities now. Coolness. Thanks for the links!

 

Absolutely! Can't wait to see the results. +1 Rep for jumping in.

For the Crysis benchmark, I recommend starting with low settings and DX9 selected. (See thumbnail attached.) It takes a bit to load this herculean benchmark and your screen may stay black for a bit, so be patient. As you move up toward high settings, it will stress the living crap out of your system. (Crysis can bring some high end gaming desktops to their knees if everything is set on high.) It may push your CPU and GPU temps up as well.

EDIT: You may have to go into the file properties compatibility tab and select Vista Service Pack 2 to get Crysis to launch under Win7. This varies by system, but if it won't launch for you, this should make it behave.

As a point of reference, below (in the spoiler) is everything set on the highest settings, 2X AA and DX9 on my R2 with both CPU and GPUs overclocked. I haven't tried it on my wife's CQ56 yet, so this should be very interesting. One last tip on Crysis, do at least 2 or 3 looped runs. The first run is usually poor and it takes a bit for your system to figure out it has no choice but to run wide open full throttle to keep up.

Spoiler

 

FYI - the AMD CAP profiles require no user action after installation. I've never tried them under a driver-only installation. I assume they will work without the full Catalyst package, but don't know that for sure.

 

Lepy, Mr. Fox, using Guru3D's Resident Evil 5 benchmarking tool (581 MB!), I got the following results:

Resident Evil 5 Guru3, DX9, low settings, 800x600, 2x4GB

No Drivers - 34.0
11.6 + CCC - 35.7
11.6 + CCC + DX10 - 19.0

Here are the results with 1x4GB:

No Drivers - 33.7
11.6 + CCC - 34.3
11.6 + CCC + DX10 - 18.2

I started to run the Crysis 1.05 benchmark tool, and maybe 1/4 of the way into the test, the system cooling fan started wailing, I noted SIW temps hitting 88°, and I was getting some video artifacting. I shut it all down, and let the system cool off. The keyboard got quite toasty. I think I'll cool it with benchmarking for a while.

 

The RE5 results are better than I thought they would be. Not bad... impressive even. Thanks for posting!

Did you have Crysis on all the lowest possible settings? I'm surprised that it heated things up so quickly into the test, but it is does take tons of power to run it smoothly.

I am still very puzzled about the fact that CCC causes such a terrible decline in performance on your system. I have been an AMD/ATI graphics fan for many years and this is the first time I have ever seen that. It may be something that is unique to the CQ56.

Now I am very curious and will have to try a driver-only installation on other systems to see if there are any changes in benchmarks without CCC installed.

 

You did warn us that the Guru3D Crysis test would stress the hell out of our laptops. I had everything set to 800x600, lowest settings, 2x aniso, moved the settings into the box as per the .jpg you posted.

These CPUs can supposedly go up to 95 - 100°C, but I'd rather not go there. Literally.

I'm starting to get the feeling that notebooks, in general, really aren't cut out for any kind of serious, bleeding-edge gaming. Unless we're talking AlienWare...those things are BEASTS.

 

Strange...I keep getting 39.5-39.8 with CCC (set everything to maximum performance and minimum quality, Power Play On, CoolN'Quiet on)

My settings are identical to this except I don't have the AA, AAA, AF ...etc tabs.
Also, the dual-core optimizer is not applicable to Windows 7. The functionality is built-in in Win7 and Vista SP2+.
Integrated ATI/AMD Optimization Thread

I have 2x4GB, too... I understand N640 is 100Mhz faster but maybe the G.Skill ram modules are good, too..

I don't remember my DX10 numbers but it was so slow that I don't even care to remember... FYI while Mass Effect 2 is playable it's not very slick. FPS ranges from 15-25 so I would call it "barely playable". Dragon Age 2 is truely playable therefore DAO should also run fine. Older games like EVE online or even H.A.W.X seem to run really great.

 

dchen,

It could be your G.Skill ram...mine's pretty tame, both sticks are 4GB Crucial PC3-10600 DDR3-1333 @ 9-9-9-24 timings. CL7 10600 is virtually impossible to find, and the cheapest CL7 4GB stick I saw was around $150 bucks!

I'm not sweating it, though ...as I mentioned a couple days ago, at low-medium settings, at 1366x768x32, Shogun II, StarCraft2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Crysis II, CoD IV: Modern Warfare (runs great, even at high settings), and Eve Online Incarna all give me anywhere between 40 - 72 fps. Perfectly playable. As a rule, anything over 24 fps (NTSC standard) is fine and flicker-free. Generally I'm more comfortable with around 32 fps, but that's just me.

 

ROFL you guys talk about how the extra heat is gonna kill our systems sooner, but I think all this benchmarking and pushing it to the limits is even worse than the few degrees higher from my too much icd application lols XD

In case anyone is still looking to get 8GB ram Newegg.com - G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBSQ
$15 off w/ promo code EMCKCKJ28, ends 7/4

Better taxwise than the
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBSQ
$20 off w/ promo code EMCKDHB24, ends 7/4

Newegg was kind enough to give me the 50 cents tax difference Is there really a difference between 10600 and 10666 and 10700, and whatever weird numbers they come up with? I looked it up online and people said it's the mhz x 8, and some companies just decide to round the numbers differently. I think my corsair showed CL 7, compared to this, which is CL 9. Maybe I shoulda stuck with the Corsair, though I guess the difference wasn't noticeable enough to justify the $10+ and having to wait for the rebate.

 

dchen,

Not sure if you saw this. I find it somewhat amazing.

Your 2.9 GHz N640 vs. my 2.8 GHz N620, GeekBench for Windows 7:

http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac189/Trevayne10/CQ62_225NR/N640vsN620.jpg

Your system is faster than mine by 4%, right down the line. Even down to the clock speed - 2900 MHz / 2800 MHz = 1.0357, which rounds up to 1.04, or 4%. Uncanny.

This tells me a few things:

1.) Our notebooks accepted these upgrades perfectly, and are functioning perfectly with them.

2.) Our notebooks were almost designed to be upgraded this way.

3.) The CQ56 and CQ62 system boards and chipsets are for all intents and purposes identical.

Enjoy the speed!

 

I realize you are directing the comments to dchen2k, but I also think that is pretty interesting. There's an amazing degree of consistency in those numbers.

You're probably right about the motherboards, too. The fewer variations that need to be manufactured, the more profitable it is for the OEM.

Both are astute observations. It would be neat to have them side by side to disassemble them and see how many components of the two systems are fully interchangeable.

 

Mr. Fox, if you're so inclined, here's the actual link to the GeekBench side-by-side (dchen2k's N640 vs. my N620):

Compare Hewlett-Packard Presario CQ62 Notebook PC with Hewlett-Packard Presario CQ56 Notebook PC : Geekbench Result Browser


Don't know why I didn't just post this link up here the first time around.


...almost as interesting as this:

http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/compare/430325/405758

Same systems being compared, but this time I was running with the 64-bit GeekBench client, vs. dchen2k's 32-bit. (Yes, you have to *buy* the damn thing. And I did...about a year ago.)

I realize that it's not a fair comparison - his system would probably still beat mine by 4% or more if he went up against me with the 64-bit version - but that isn't the point. It just demonstrates how much better 64-bit software can perform on 64-bit hardware.

By the way, the floating point unit on the N-class Phenom II CPU is 128-bit ("SSE-128"). I'll bet even money that this benchmark is not coded to take advantage of it.

,";^,

 

Thanks for the link. I checked it out and it was very consistent between the two when they were running the same 32bit. The 64bit did perform better on your system compared to the 32bit bench. Nice demonstration.

 

Now let's see you blow us all in the weeds with that core i7-2720QM beast of yours. I'm sure it'll score northwards of 8,700 on GeekBench Win7 32 bit, and 10,900+ on the 64 bit client.

 

Actually, my M17x R2 has the first generation i7-720QM and the performance of that CPU is lackluster, even when overclocked. Geekbench is primarily a CPU performance measuring tool, so it is not getting scores as high as you are thinking. Compared to other systems equipped with the 720QM, it does performs significantly better, just not to my complete satisfaction. I am getting just over 6000 versus the norm of 4729 for the i7-720QM. My Geekbench score is only 57% higher than the 3863 score you are getting with the N620 Phenom II.

If you want to see the full Geekbench breakdown, here is the link: Alienware M17x : Geekbench Result Browser

Now, the M18x that I have on order is a different story, and may well hit the scores you have in mind. It is equipped with the second-generation i7-2720QM that runs up to 3.3GHz without being overclocked. It is also coming with dual 2GB HD6970 CrossFireX, will have 16GB of DDR3 (4x4GB), and 1TB RAID0 Momentus XT Hybrid SSD drives. I can hardly wait for it to get here. (It also has a number of other nice features, such as Intel HD3000 switchable graphics, HDMI output and input, Displayport, eSATA port, USB 3.0, internal subwoofer, Klipsch speakers, 5.1 output, 330W AC adapter, etc. The only thing the R2 beats it on is the 1200p RGB LED display... M18x is only 1080p.)

My M17x R2 gets it mojo primarily from the dual 1GB HD5870 CrossFireX. For hardcore gaming, the CPU is not nearly as important as the GPU system, and the R2 shreds most games even on the highest settings. In the spoiler below are random samples of benchmark screenshots from my R2 for anyone interested.

Spoiler

(Note the CPU and HDD bottleneck in WEI score)




To view in browser: Result




Again note comparatively low i7-720QM CPU Vantage score... a real bottleneck.



GPU-Z Validation

CPU-Z Validation

Click here for Desktop Screenshot​

Well, that's already too much chatter about the Alienware stuff. This thread is all about the CQ56. Thanks for asking, though.