Finally Got my Elitebook 6930p

Most of the plastic parts are covered with brushed aluminum so if you mean cheap plastic as in creaks there are none in this model. But the sound of the CPU is probably enough to drive you nuts, especially if you like to use your notebook on the bed, its probably gonna drive the one sleeping next to you nuts. I've confirmed that the CPU whine does seem to be due to the CPU "working" and not because of the idle state. In that case, I'm gonna check out other Core 2 Duo P8600 to see if they have the same issue.

The noise is similar to a printer printing out a receipt... like zee... zeee.. zeee with intermittent pauses in between. There are also bursts of louder whines and then some softer ones. The battery's remaining capacity also seem to influence the noise. When the battery is under 20% charge, the noise begins to get louder. However, removing the battery only softens the noise, it doesn't seem to eliminate it so I'm sure its not coming from the battery. I'm gonna wait a while before going for a repair as I believe since all three replacements exhibit this behaviour, not to mention that BBGus is also experiencing the same half way around the world (I'm based in Hong Kong), the problem is probably due to this batch of parts, and not just a few odd cases. Hopefully they will have this solved when more users complain. But at the moment, the only praises seem to come from dedicated reviewers and none from users so its hard to question whether this issue is very widespread.

 

I beg to differ with mine. First, while the back of the LCD panel is the brushed aluminum that is very sturdy and stiff, upon further tinkering with the front part of the LCD that you actually view, I have found that just by simply pinching the edges gives off snaps and creaks that scare me a bit. While the LCD itself is sturdy in the fact that it does not have any torsion at all due to the aluminum plate and that the hindges are very well done, the fact that just by pinching the side can cause the snaps and creaks which visually show small opening on the side means the plastic part in mine either weren't glued well enough or are not fully screwed in. For a notebook that is suppose to be the most durable HP, I am sad to say that this is very dissapointing among other things.

Also, my "CPU Whine" sounds closer to a scanner sound. The best way to descibe it would be to think of when you were a kid and you would talk into a fan and your voice would sound airy and blurry. Now, apply that thought with the sound of a scanner from a basic all in one printer to that image and you have an idea to what mine sounds like. As to the conditions when the sound is present, they are similar to what zyber sniper has posted.

BBGus

 

Instead of a CPU whine, I think this is actually a display card GPU whine. The only thing I could correlate the fluctuation seems to be the GPU.

Are you using a 6930p with the Radeon HD3450 by any chance?

 

Hello There..

I have the same notebook and again, the same whining noise.

I as far as i saw, its not a HP issue.. Dell and Apple customers are complaining about the same thing.

Its an Intel CPU problem, in this case, Core 2 Duo CPU's.

Core 2 Duos have the ability to go from high power mode (plugged in) to low power mode (battery). In addition, when you use your laptop in non-processor intensive situations, your CPU is smart enough to realize that it needs to throttle down since you don't really need it flexing all its muscles in tanned, sunblock-soacked perfection.*

For whatever reason, this is what causes the high pitch squeel. But fear not! HP has a solution that it posted (cannot post links yet) on its support page. But only for F16 Bios models. Obviously the solution is simple: disable the feature.

In the 6930p case, the current Bios version is F.0B and does not support (yet) the "CPU C4 Function Disable"

These are great news, hoping that the next bios version brings these feature.

 

The situation here is a bit different. The whine comes when there is moderate to high CPU activity. Instead of using the updated Bios to disable C4, you can also use a software called Rightmark CPU to do the same. I've tried it, it only makes the whine constantly on and at a lower frequency but the sound is still there for the 6930p. I sent a complaint over to HP and they said they will send in a note to the R&D department to see if anything could be done. They also offered a full refund or a nominal charge to upgrade to the 8530p. They are also sending me another replacement that is from a newer batch of 6930p to see if the issue is only present on the "launch" models.

 

I was hopefull with the bios/c4 solution.

But that is not a true solution, since we were disabling some functions that should be working perfectly.

I'm paying attention to this topic in order to see how "zyber sniper" case is evolving.

zyber sniper, do you think that a future bios update (by HP, considering this issue) would, by any chance, solve the problem? regarding its nature.

Best Regards.

 

Given my limited knowledge in electronics; but my expertise as a computer technician, I would say its probably not possible. I've tried many different solutions, like disabling C4, disabling CPU stepping, disabling various hardware components, taking away one of the RAM modules, disabling one of the CPU cores, disabling the mic, disabling almost all of the power saving features including USB power saving, wifi power saving, display card power saving....

Yet nothing seems to work EXCEPT not giving the computer a heavy load. If I only use one application like office or firefox, it doesn't whine. But add a few more tabs to Firefox and it starts whining. I've even gone so far as to underclock the CPU by setting the power management of the CPU to only 50% under full load (locked at 1.2 GHz) yet the sound is still there.

However, under an office environment its usually not quiet enough to be audible. Using it on the bed with someone sleeping next to you? That is gonna drive that person nuts even though you might only hear a slight whine if you use a wall-mounted air-conditioner. Inside the meeting room of my office, other colleagues can actually hear the whine. They were kind of worried that the battery might blow up or something before they knew it was the CPU/motherboard that is making the sound.

To be technical, I do not think that the sound is from the CPU but the power controlling components like capacitors or resistors on the motherboard.

My case has been escalated to a senior sales manager at HP and they are reviewing the case to see if it happens elsewhere around the world. They say they have only sold around 1000 in my local market and I'm the first to raise this issue. If the next one doesn't work, I'll probably get the 8530p instead since the other notebookreviewers on the other 8530p thread haven't complained of this whining issue.

 

The whining, in my case, appears mainly when i use it in battery mode.

Just for curiosity, i´m from Portugal, which tells that the problem may be global.

Should a factory recall be considered in these case?

(My model is the FL494AW)

 

Yes, I forgot to mention that this usually only happens on battery mode. At first I thought that cycling the battery a few times would cure it, but the noise only gradually gets louder. HP is known to deny "whining problems" with excuses such as such noises are within "normal operational limits", so I doubt that a factory recall would be considered, unless the noise is from a short somewhere on the motherboard which could cause potential hazards to the user.


My notebook was sent direct from a factory in China according to my shipping label.
The model is: FW158PA#AB5

Full spec as follow:

Code:

   	Part No.  	FW158PA#AB5/FY098PA#AB2 (S. Chi)
  	Chipset 	Intel PM45
  	CPU 	Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz)
  	L2 Cache / FSB 	3MB / 1066MHz FSB
  	RAM 	4GB (2 x 2GB)*
  	HDD 	250GB (5400rpm)
  	Drive DL: Dual Layer 	Removable DVD +/- RW DL w/ LightScribe
  	LCD 	14.1" WXGA+ w/ HP 2MP webcam
  	Resolution 	1440 x 900
  	Graphic Controller 	ATI Radeon HD3450
  	Video Memory 	256MB dedicated
  	Communications 	Modem, 10/100/1000 LAN
  	Wireless Connectivity 	Intel WiFi Link 5300 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth
  	Ports/Slots 	SD/MMC Card Reader, Fingerprint Reader
        3 x USB 2.0
        1 x VGA-out / 1 x IEEE 1394 / 1 x Express Card Slot / 1 x Docking Port
  	 
  	 
  	Operating System 	MS Vista Business(T.Chi/Eng/S. Chi)
  	Dimension (H x W x D inch) 	1.23 x 13.04 x 9.57
  	Weight (kg) 	2.2/2.4
  	Pointing Device 	Touchpad, PointStick
  	Battery (Cell)/(Hours) 	6-cell / 4.5 hrs
  	International Warranty(Notebook) 	3 yrs (1-year battery)

 

I see.. Mine was shipped from a Chinese factory too..

Also, did you get any trouble on watching videos, slideshows, or Powerpoint presentations in fullscreen mode? Mine always appears with two black side bars, even when i set the Full Screen Mode on "Scaling Options" @ Catalyst Control Center. That's annoying..

The sad part is that i really enjoy this notebook.. despite the "problems"..

 

HP Biz range notebooks ROCK !! Of course the P models

 

Here is a video on Youtube of the whining problem almost exactly the same as the 6930p:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuTRp2F0zRI

I finally emailed a complaint to HP's complaint department. They escalated the case and is giving me an exchange from a different batch of Elitebooks. If this doesn't work, I'm going to switch over to the 8530p as I've heard better things about that one.

 

The noise seems to be quieter now, even on battery mode. It doesn't bother me much right now.

The other thing that mads me is the scaling option of the Catalyst Control Center. It simply doesnt work.. Only the images, or videos with a resolution equal or bigger than 1440x900 are displayed correctly in fullscreen. The others are displayed in their resolution with black bars, and not stretched, like they should.

Zyber, did your computer had the same issue by any chance?

 

I didn't try that yet, but I remember playing a game (Sam and Max) in 1024x768 and the fullscreen mode was stretched. I'll try it again with a video tomorrow when the replacement arrives.

Is your whining similar to the one in that video?
Unlike your Elitebook, my whining got worse over time. Trying to watch HDTV over the USB HDTV tuner made the whining totally unbearable.

 

The noise seems really quieter now.. it's similar to the one in the video, but much much lower.. i only can hear it louder if i put my hear next to the power button or fan exit.. The way it is right now it's tottaly berable.. And i tried it in complete silence, in battery mode.

 

No reviews yet?

 

I would write a review... if only they gave me one that works properly.

But I can answer most questions off the top of my head right now if you have any.

 

hmmm

There are some reviews out there for 6930p, but mostly very bland and not with benchmark reports...they are mostly flattering with almost no cons etc...

Yeah would be great if we can achieve an inhouse review with the high and better standards of nbr!

Also since people are getting their 8530p, would love to see a review of that unit too!

 

The reviews online seems to be targeted towards mass purchase buyers (businesses), who are less likely to complain about minor aesthetic issues or benchmark results. Also, their model were "review" models as the first batch of production models were rumored to have serious technical glitches, requiring the Elitebook series to be delayed a month or two for release. My main complaint so far is that the 6930p seems to be a hit or miss. Given the fact that their business models allow unlimited exchanges direct from HP on DOA defects (at least in my local market), I think they probably skipped QC so that the Elitebooks would not be delayed further. I was promised a monetary compensation in case they could not complete my order on time.

 

I was wondering what is the time limit on the unlimited exchanges? i mean DOA usually is not booting up or only 1 boot etc...

what if you use it for 1 week and then it bonks....can we still call it DOA? as i read in some posts in past that they can track the number of boots or uptime sortof.

 

I don't know if they behave the same way about the unlimited exchanges here. But i'm seriously considering applying for it.

Zyber sniper, did you got the sencond batch replacement already?

Please tell us when you receive it, to see if they dealed correctly with some of the problems.

 

I have gotten the replacement today. The power brick no longer make any noises while its charging the battery. They seem to have fixed the lid locking mechanism as its much easier to close and to open the lid. My returned units all had a problem where pressing the lid release button would only pop off one side of the locking pegs so it would require a harder push to completely pop the lid. The ambient light sensor seems to be much more sensitive and no longer requires me to manually set it brighter. The quick launch buttons all function properly with a very very light touch. The DVD drive no longer makes a loud roaring sound.

However, the CPU whining is still there. To see if it was caused by other hardware, I took apart the notebook. I removed the keyboard to expose the innards and proceeded to removing one hardware at a time to see if it would lower the noise. I took away the WLAN card, the RAM module, the TPM chip, the bluetooth module, and YET IT STILL WHINES!

Its pretty obvious the sound is coming from the Intel P8600 CPU as the whine is the loudest in the lower left part of the motherboard. The annoying thing is that the whine seems to echo through the entire motherboard. For those who don't want to brave taking apart the notebook, you can try putting your ear down next to the Window key area and you could probably hear a faint teet teet teet sound.

My diagnostic is the same. The CPU makes more sounds when its working, so its not the C4 state whining problem in previous notebooks. It whines more loudly when on battery. An interesting thing to note is that another Dell user advised that turning on the Bluetooth would make the sound softer, and this is the case for the 6930p.

Overall, the built quality is a hit or miss. My stickers (the windows, Intel and Energy star) are not stuck on straight. Of course, this doesn't really affect anything, but it leads me to believe that HP simply doesn't care about the QC on these notebooks.

Another point to note is they even forgot to seal the plastic bag the notebook came in with the "tamper evident" label, despite having the box sealed with HP tape that the manager claims only the production factory has access to.

I'd say if you plan to use this notebook in a quiet environment, look elsewhere. If you don't mind going through a few lemons to find one that works, by all means, this isn't that bad a notebook when it works properly and to expectation.

 

The time limit is 7 days from the day its delivered to my door. A HP technical support engineer has to "verify" the problem and give a thumbs up (or RMA) in order for the exchange to happen. It is a 1 to 1 exchange for a brand new one.

 

The QC issues sadden me The Elitebook had such potential!

 

zyber_sniper,

Where was your 6930p made? Not all production facilities will use the tamper seal proof. For example, if your notebook was assembled in Singapore, HP's plant there doesn't use the tamper-proof stickers like those in their Chinese ODM plants. The plants in China are mainly ODM-operated like Compal or Inventec (the 2 biggest production ODM for HP business notebooks) and they use tamper proof seals (different types depending on the plant). Is it an RCTO/CTO build or a standardized build?

Afaik, currently 6930p's are being assembled in China (US and global markets), Singapore (Asia-Pacific), Czech (Europe).

 

All of the units I received were assembled in the same factory in China. My previous units all came in bags that were sealed with the tamper evident label. However, one of them did come with the label stuck on the plastic bag and not sealed across the opening of the bag. HP claimed that unit was a returned unit that somehow found its way into the retail stock.

It's a standardized built that includes every option available.

I left the notebook running HDTV overnight and when I unplugged the notebook today, the whining got louder. I can hear it whining as I am typing this message.


EDIT: It seems that the motherboard is made by Foxconn, and with further inspection, notebooks with parts made by Foxconn, i.e. Lenovo, Dell, and HP all seem to have models exhibiting this whining behaviour.

 

I'm sendig mine to repair the locking mechanism as it doesn't close one of the pins. And the other is constantly poping off, just by lifting the notebook from the rear.
About the whining problem, i have a P9400 and it whines too.. I notice that if you change the Power State or Plan, the whine gets quieter in some plans.. (All except HP Optimized) And, on battery, with RMClock and the "Run HLT Command", the whine almoust disappears. I only use this method for quieter environments, and when on battery.
I'm seriously considering getting use to the whine and try from time to time to forget it. Its easyer now than the first times.

 

I have found that what you have said about the whine is mostly correct. But when I run "Total Media", a program that is used to watch HDTV and requires the CPU to decode the HDTV signal stream, the whining will begin. It doesn't matter what power mode I use, whether I am running CPUmark, it still whines.

I'm seriously considering switching to the 8530p as the noise is really annoying me. I just hope that it doesn't whine like this one.

 

A new Bios Version (F.0C) has just come out.

In the Release Notes, they say something about:

"- Adds support for AC/DC/AC-Lite switching of ATI Graphics performance and
speeds. This support provides optimum performance and speed of graphics when
running on AC power, and enables a graphics mode that requires less power when running on battery (DC) power."

Could it be related with the whine question? I Haven't tested yet.

 

So does the cpu/AC-whine occurs on all 6930p:s, no exceptions? A design flaw?

 

I just received my 6930p yesterday. It's the T9400 version with ATI graphics.
Now after all the problems people have been reporting (especially the cpu whine) I was expecting to get the same. But I've been (pleasantly!) surprised that my laptop doesn't exhibit any sorts of noises at all - no CPU whine, no plugpack whine, nothing. Even putting my ear right next to it, all I can hear is the whisper of the fan, which is what you would expect.

Since I've only been using it for a day some issues might yet develop over the next few days - I'll report back if that happens. I'd like to also try playing some HD video (I need to get hold of some content first) but normal video certainly plays fine.
The only quality issue that I can see so far is that the lid is a bit stiff to close - I need to use both hands to do it - but that doesn't bother me.

One point of difference seems to be that my unit is made in Singapore, not China as others have reported so maybe the quality issues are mostly happening at the chinese factory?

 

I believe some people are more sensitive to these whining noises, while some are not so. This is a very subjective matter, but if you don't find any issues with your unit then enjoy it and ignore much of what has been reported here. The same problem occurs with other brands too, where some users say their keyboard flexes while some don't even know what a keyboard flex is, etc.

Asia-Pacific models are mostly assembled in HP's own plant in Singapore, but there should be no difference where it is made as the same parts are used across all production sites.

 

Does your notebook say "Product of Singapore" on the bottom of the notebook next to the service tag?

 

No, in fact there is no indication of where it is made anywhere on the exterior of the laptop. But on removing the battery, there is a whole lot of writing inside the battery bay including "Product of Singapore".

 

Well I'd put myself on the sensitive end of the scale when it comes to noises. I have no trouble hearing the whine in that youtube video that zyber sniper posted earlier in this thread for example.

The design is of course the same but one factory could have received a poor quality batch of some component (eg. some shoddy capacitors that then got used in the power circuitry). If everyone who gets the cpu-whine consistently has a chinese-made laptop then a factory-specific problem is at least a possibility.

 

I will soon have a 6930p for review, so I will be making observations on the whine issue, but mine will be an AP unit too.

 

Ah! Mine says Product of China there, both in English and Chinese.

HP's R&D is going to call me back tomorrow on the results of my returned units. They seem eager to find out what exactly is causing the whine. I'll see if they are willing to import a Singapore made 6930p for replacement.

What's an AP unit? I'm eager to see if this whining issue can be isolated to one production line in China.

 

I just got a 6930 - the same sku KS084UT. How do I get the webcam to work?

 

Well its good to hear they're sounding helpful. I hope it gets sorted out for you one way or the other.

AP would be "Asia Pacific". For this area chrixx says HP are mostly supplying the Singapore model so he should receive one of those too.

 

I'm in the AP region too, but I received one made in China. HP's sales manager contacted me and explained that their technical advisors explained that the whining problem is a normal phenomenon on modern day CPU. She explained that no further exchange could possibly "fix" this problem and that she understands some people are more sensitive to high frequency noises.

She believes she has a FUBAR case so the only option left would be a full refund, while continuously apologizing for wasting my time. It should be noted that where I am currently residing, refunds are very rarely offered and not a standard in the retail world. When she was about to setup the unit to be returned, she noticed that my office is located right next to their local head office so she offered to allow me to replicate the issue for their senior technician to investigate. This time, he lead me to a conference room and I replicated the issue for him to listen to the sound. He agreed that although he has heard similar cases from older notebooks, this was a first for the 6930p and that the sound level of the whining was beyond acceptable. He then offered to further escalate the case and give his report to the sales manager to follow up.

The sales manager contacted me today to let me know that the refund option is open and asked me if I would like that to be arranged since the investigation in the whining issue will take about 3 weeks to be completed. I then asked if I can take a look at the 8530p and she offered to send a demo machine to my home address. She also offered me a gift for my patience.

I have another colleague who ordered a Fujitsu with the Intel Core 2 duo Ultra Low Voltage CPU @1.2gHz and it seems that his notebook whines with exactly the same noise, only slightly softer.

So now I'm waiting for the demo 8530p to be sent to my home. I'd say HP's products are a bit shoddy but the customer service I received so far has been pleasant. I do agree that the staff at the walk-in counters in their local customer service centers are far from friendly or well informed about their own products. But the staff higher up are pretty helpful.

 

There is a built-in HP Webcam program in the program menu of Windows Vista. If not, you can press the HP Info button (the i button) on the touch sensitive stripe at the top of the keyboard and install the program under that menu.

 

So is this Elitebook really elite or not? HP, what is up with your QC?

I was thinking of getting one for my father too.

 

I'd say "not". Although I don't have the cpu whine issues or any other QC problems as far as I can see, I still feel it falls short in two areas:

- the screen lacks in contrast and viewing angle. Blacks actually look greyish and at angles greater than about 30 degrees the screen looks washed out. This doesn't make the laptop unusable but it isn't what I would expect in an "elite" system.

- the wifi seems to have relatively poor range. I sometimes have trouble establishing and keeping wifi connections in some spots even though my old Dell inspiron laptop has absolutely no problem from those same spots.

On the other hand I do love the performance of this laptop. It probably deserves an "elite" ranking for that at least.

 

seems like a good laptop. thanks for the info.

 

My wifi range is actually pretty good. Its better than any of the other USB Wifi devices, the NDS, PSP, HTC Tytn II, Axim X51v, or the Asus EEE 900 that I've tried at my home network. If you have a notebook larger than 14.1 inch then it may simply be because of the longer antenna that contributes to the better range of your Dell notebook.

Another quirk of this notebook is the non-symmetrical stereo speakers, with both left and right placed on the right side of the notebook. The sound quality is excellent and very loud for a notebook of this size.

The LCD is pretty poor. Its just as bad as the older NX6120 series and worse than any other Asus notebook I've seen. This LCD is a cheap TN panel unlike the PVA panels used in most entertainment notebooks. The non-glossy layer is a big plus though.

 

My old notebook is just 12.1" so its not that. There is one spot in particular about 30 metres from the wifi router (and two brick walls in between) where the Hp has real trouble but my Dell 700m handles it fine. If you're seeing good range on yours then maybe it's a QC issue with my unit.

Yep, hard to understand why Hp did that considering the generally high end specs elsewhere on the machine. I certainly wouldn't have minded paying a bit extra to have a PVA panel on there, but it will do.

 

Are you using a G or N network? I've seen a few complaints on reviews regarding the wifi preformance on different Elitebooks (6930p and 8530w) which uses the wifilink 5300 but it seems to work pretty well in my case.

I've compared my panel to a PVA panel. It seems that the TN panel does black levels a bit better but at the expense of viewing angles. It also seems to exhibit less "ghosting effects" in games. I guess it all comes down to what you use the notebook for. The limited viewing angles add a bit of privacy, which is always nice in a business environment.

 

could any 1 post a picture here to see these non-symetrical speakers?

 

They don't LOOK asymmetric on the outside, but they are on the inside. If I play around with the left/right speaker balance, its very clear that both channels reside on the right hand side of the notebook. You can check out how they look inside here (under page 88):

http://bizsupport.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01530942/c01530942.pdf

The 15.4 inch Elitebook has symmetrical speakers and you can look at what it looks like under its support manual.

 

Prospective 6930p buyer. Is the sound truly asymmetric? As in you can only hear music coming from the right side? Also worried as some users reported creaky metal parts on palmrest and base as well as screen sides? CPU whine?

Completely crushed my old laptop under the turret of a leopard tank. Forgot I had put it there (I'm a weapons designer/engineer) and swivelled the turret. Need one for work but quite worried about these issues.

Anyone out there without any of these problems?