HP 8510W Comments

I finally got a chance to play with it. Here's my comments so far.

I re-installed XP and used Nlite to package the sata drivers into an XP installation. Since I don't have a floppy drive (who does?). I ran the laptop in both sata native mode and legacy mode. Sata is slightly better, worth installing sata drivers.

The keyboard is better than an Asus keyboard but dissapointing that it's not as good as the previous model. HP you almost had a 10! Better screen + same keyboard would have been great. I can't type as fast given that the keys don't have as much travel. This keyboard isn't a joy to type on, it's just a plain ol keyboard. If the keyboards had been the same size I would have swapped them with my other HP.

The touchpad is the same as the previous generation and is the best one I have used to date.

The nVidia card is great, and way better than it's ATI counterparts. I appreciate the fact that nVidia has better multi desktop software (diff backgrounds per screen, window management, etc). I like the nVidia software a lot more in general. I have used all ATI has to offer and nVidia is clearly better.

Get the latest drivers from laptopvideo2go.com with the modded inf. It fixed some startup flicker. Also has some enchancements for the 570M.

Screen is good and evenly lit, even colors also. Speakers are great for a laptop this size. I didn't install the HP quick launch buttons, therefore still have an "unknown device" in Device Manager. Reason being that when you are playing a game, if you use the touch strip buttons, it will kick you back to windows since the volume meeter is a program that does not display in the video card overlay.

There is good clearance between the keys and screen and hopefully in this model the rubber spacers won't leave dust on the screen. No big deal though, it's cleanable. The spacers will touch if you press on the back of screen while the laptop is closed.

Laptop is fast and changing the hard drive was a piece of cake. No hiccups at all so far, it's quiter than the nw8440 and MBP and does not get as hot.

Overall a great laptop. The person who made the decision to switch keyboards should be shot.

 

Thanks for the thoughts.

Quick question:

Is the fan really as lot as the review says?

Also, does the notebook get too hot to have on your lap under gaming or heavy CPU/GPU use?

Thanks!

 

So Far I haven't used it on my lap. I would guess it gets a tad hotter as you would obstruct the fan duct (intake). The old gen model does not have it.

I was playing WOW (windowed at 1680*1050, watching a movie, and installing a virtual machine and it didn't get hot at all. Stayed very quiet. This was on my notebook stand (ergotron neoflex). Laptop is handling everything I throw at it like a champ, no lag at all. multi-tasking great and this updated intel a/b/g card is better than the 3945.

 

I worked on it while on my lap and it stayed really cool. I started playing a game and only then did it slightly warm up. I am really impressed with how cool this laptop is. I even checked the CPU to make sure it was running at full power since it was suspiciously cool.

I didn't play on it too long. I would guess that it's going to warm up but nothing uncomfortable, burning, or that would make you want to have long shorts/jeans on.

 

to disable the overlay volume display ... uncheck "Display HP quick launch buttons desktop notification"

see the pic below..

 

I appreciate the info! Sounds like it runs pretty cool then. I am guessing the fan really only kicks on high under heavy load, such as gaming?

 

Thx for the info. I didn't want to have the extra process running on it for the quick launch keys. The keys work right out of the box without having to install the software.

Yea it does run cool. The fan has never ramped up to the highest rpm yet. It did ramp up more as I played my game but nothing annoying or as loud as other laptops. It's been about 70 F to give you an idea of the ambient temperature.

 

You don't have to make a new XP CD just to get SATA drivers, read more here on page 9.

 

Thanks for the link. I actually tried that first time around and it didn't work. Then went looking for an alternative and found nLite.

 

It worked for me, but the thing is that you need a floppy (or emulator) to extract the files, but not a floppy on the PC you're installing it. Very stupid...

 

Yea, I was able to get to the files. Btw my laptop came with 1x2gb stick. Thought it was 2x1gb.

 

I've considered pulling out the rubber spacers to keep my screen clean, but considering all you have to do is spend 2 seconds to check and maybe wipe them clean, I can't really justify it yet

 

I've considered cutting out/pulling out those rubber pads on my notebook as well...

 

Don't! They do no damage and protects the screen from being scratched by the keyboard when downward force is applied on the lid. This is by design. Thinkpads and Latitudes don't require these rubber stoppers because the screens are recessed.

 

Where in Canada were you able to get that laptop?

 

No where HP still hasn't released it I believe. Ridiculous delay IMO!
I purchased my 8510p from www.shopblt.com. They'll ship internationally (so they accept international CCs!) but to avoid brokerage fees I shipped it to a friend in Washington State then drove across the line to pick it up. I paid taxes at the border but that was it.

Total cost was something like $1395 US + $200 CAD in taxes.