*HP HDX DRAGON Owners Lounge, Part 1*

OK... will try it then, although I don't want to use QuickPlay at all. Can Blu-Ray be played with PowerDVD or something else in Windows 7.

Also, do you have ALL the quicklaunch buttons working (TV, QLaunch, Eject, etc.)?

 

Oh, and about the Intel Matrix Storage drivers that you posted before. Do they really improve the performance or something? Because my school of thought with Windows 7 is (I'm forcing it to be) to install ONLY the drivers for the unknown devices, instead to install for every one of them. Because if I had to do so, then I'll have to go and search every update for them and it'll be the same mess as with a clean Vista installation! By staying with Windows 7 native drivers, I also get the certification (they are Microsoft Certified, right?) of the drivers, thus staying close to 0% BSOD caused by faulty, legacy drivers.

Hope what I'm doing is cool and would work in the long run. So now that I see this Intel Matrix Driver, I have that question. Should I update them? Should I update other drivers too to improve performance? Which? All of them or only some (audio, video, what?).

EDIT: About Driver Detective... I showed 22 outdated drivers after finishing W7 installation + drivers. Do you think I should buy it just to see if it gets all the drivers "updated"?

 

The new Intel Matrix Storage drivers ( v8.8.0.1009 released 3/13/2009 by Intel: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/fil...ndows+Vista*+64&lang=eng&strOSs=150&submit=Go!) are a must with Windows 7 on the Dragon. They enable Disk Caching and fix WEI score for the hard drive.

The other driver worth ensuring you have (if not automatically installed by Windows 7--it's on Windows Update anyway) is the NVIDIA v181.71 WDDM 1.1 drivers for the 8800M GTS. (WDDM 1.1 = Windows 7-native; WDDM 1.0 is Vista's).

I don't use Driver Detective.

 

Yes, I have them all working (QP, media buttons, WiFi, mute, Vol, Bass/Treb, Eject), including on-screen display for QuickTouch. The latter is very usable now under Windows 7.

My QP executables fix does indeed call PowerDVD to play Blu-Ray. You can still use QuickPlay for TV or create a dummy executable to call Windows Media Center for TV, if you wish (for when you press the blue TV button). You can also launch Windows Media Center by pressing the green Windows button on your remote control.

(The QuickPlay problem is in QP DVD/Blu-Ray module, but PowerDVD works perfectly as a replacement for Blu-Ray playback.)

 

Nice tip then... I'd have to install it! I have the ATI card, so do you think I should update it too? Something else besides these?

Can you let me know which spxxxxx.exe you installed to make every QuickLaunch button work? And also, if you might, the sp for the audio (to have bass) and the sp for the QuickTouch.

You say that every button works OK... even the TV one? Because that was the only one I couldn't make to work (not even the "click" sound would play when touched).

And at last, in order for the eject button to work, did you have to instal QuickPlay? I don't like it but I think the button doesn't work without it.

Thanks man

EDIT: can you also post the link to your post about the QP fix? I found a message where you were talking about it, but I don't think that's the one you meant, because there were no attachments in it.

 

I simply upgrade HP's factory-installed Vista Ultimate x64 image to the latest Windows 7 Build x64. This way it always takes and correctly registers all the foundation HP settings and drivers. All I then add/update are:
1. Intel Matrix Storage driver - Mar 2009 release to enable low-level Windows 7 disk caching
2. NVIDIA 181.71 WDDM 1.1 (not applicable in your case -- search if ATI has a WDDM 1.1 driver for your Dragon)
3. Optional: Upgrade IDT audio from 5607 to 5929 (on top of 5607, before Windows 7 upgrade). 5929 retains full bass/strong sub-woofer sounds on my machine exactly as 5607, but adds an insispensable native 'Playback Capture' Recording device, which I need in my work. 5607 doesn't have 'Playback Capture' enabled.
4. CyberLink PowerDVD for Blu-Ray playback
5. Uninstall Norton (before Win7 upgrade) and use Avast instead of it

Attachment QPDVD.zip (37.8 KB): http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=32438&d=1238520499
Description of above: I have created the attached exes to replace the ones with same name in QuickPlay folder so that the blue DVD button now launches PowerDVD instead (from C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\PowerDVD - make sure PowerDVD is installed in exactly this path), as I hate having a useless non-functional QuickLaunch DVD button.
N.B.: As of Windows 7 Build 7068 (RC 0.91), HP Quick Launch is flagged as incompatible (due to incompatible QuickPlay, so it would be useless to load Quick Lauch in memory). Workaround: When prompted on Windows startup, choose 'Run' after ticking 'Don't show me this message again' and use the QP replacement executables I posted several pages ago.

 

Which are the ITE CIR drivers again? I could be wrong but I think it won't show the bass treble unless it has the proper latest High Def drivers..so I think that should let you know if the settings come up.

Thanks. You just go to the TV option I think then configure. It should then allow you to configure each TV Tuners..and under them should show S-Video, Coaxial I think..if Firewire is there it may say Firewire or IEEE or something like that I believe.

Thanks man. I hope its there too because if it did it would be close to the perfect medium to record stuff through. Firewire looks a lot better than S-Video.

 

Well, I got home so I'm updating you with some tests:

- The IDT 5929 gives an error an exits when installing; even with the Vista compatibility mode enabled for it

- The HP QuickLaunch Buttons you pointed me kindheart (6.40 B - December 2007) also gives an error an exits

- Went and checked: without the Intel drivers installed, I got a 5.1 score in the disk item

- The audio device had a tab with an icon called "Tone Controls" that showed two bars; one for treble and the other for bass, but the tone control from the HDX panel didn't move them

So my questions now are:

- Should I install the Intel drivers anyway? Are you sure, sure that they are actually needed if I got a 5.1 score without them?

- Although changing the bass / treble from the screen sliders changed the sound, I'm not sure if the "Tone Controls" tab is like an "equalizer" for the main speakers sound, or if it actually manages the subwoofer. Can you please confirm me that you have the same tab and that I shouldn't worry, that my woofer is working?

PD: @Dominick; I'm going to try the firewire thing in WMC now and will let you know

 

My recipe is only for an Upgrade of HP's factory Vista image to Windows 7 (see my notes above about the things that need to be done before the upgrade).

Probably on a clean install like yours Windows 7 would install the the latest version of Intel Matrix Storage driver, so you don't need to update it. On an upgrade install it retains HP's old driver and you have to manually install the new driver version. My hard disk WEI is 5.2.

(On an upgrade install of Windows 7 on top of HP factory image: IAANTMON and IAANotif can be safely unticked in Autoruns; you can also untick HpqSRMon, HP Software Update, remove the Bluetooth icon in your Startup folder (Windows 7 has its own BT stack) and uninstall (or untick in Autoruns) HP Health Check. You can also uninstall Vongo/Vongo Tray if you don't use it.)

 

Great info kindheart; really appreciated!

I'm running the score gathering now with drivers installed and if I find that I get a BIG higher score for disk I'll install the Intel drivers in the final W7 deployment.

Also installed the IDT 5607 and going to restart to check if it improves something over the original W7 IDT drivers.

What I'm going to do too is run 3D Mark, then install latest ATI drivers and then run it again. If it improves a lot, I'll install the ATI drivers too in the final version.

As you see, my goal is to install as little as possible in order to achieve the greatest compatibility possible.

So about the Intel drivers, is there any way to check if caching is enabled or something in the original W7 drivers?

 

Check this under Policies tab of corresponding drive properties in Device Manager. With the original driver, Windows 7 would say Disk Caching cannot be enabled when you tick it; with the new driver it is already ticked and enabled. WEI increased here from 2.9 to 5.2 after installing the new driver.

 

Hi! I wanted to ask about processor upgrade, I have now new 2,8 processor not installed yet. They told that I must do latest Bios upgrade before processor upgrade. I have win vista home prem. 64 bit with BIOS 38 at the moment, there is newer 40 BIOS. I know that 2.0 gave warning to not upgrade BIOS. Is there any news about that and If somebody has done it what model HDX you have? How to do BIOS upgrade safe way? Thanks

 

Wow I've never used the driver and haven't heard about the problem you mentioned so you may want to ask 2.0 or someone able to handle this kind of obstacle.

 

Another nice & lovely piece of info I found out... even when the bass & treble seems to work ok (using IDT 5607), the volume bar for them on the hardware panel only works when:
1) QuickTouch is installed
2) OSD is activated (startup QBKAPP_something.exe is running).

If you close the OSD (kill process or remove from startup), the bass & treble bar in the panel doesn't modify their volume! Anyway... I don't care much really, I'll just set them from the device properties, because having the OSD enable messes with pretty much every application developed for Windows!

What I'm testing now... is the ATI performance. Run a couple of games and 3D mark and everything is so laggy; I don't know if it's a drivers problem, and even when trying to override the Windows 7 native drivers (by installing one from ATI), the installation stalls.... pretty weird. Will continue to test it as that, I think, is the last piece of the puzzle to migrate to W7 for me.

 

Hi everyone!

I just bought an HDX Dragon on ebay for a killer price but the specs are a bit limited.

Features:
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7700 @ 2.40GHz
Storage: 240GB (2)120 GB 5400 RPMHard Drives
Memory: 3072MB DDR2 @mhz (1X2048) (1x1024)
Display - 20.1" WSXGA Brightview Display w/Authentec Fingerprint Security
Optical Drive - Super Multi 8X DVD+/-R/RW DL
Video Card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT w/ Integrated WebCam and Microphone
Operating System - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
Software Installed - HP Photosmart Essentials - HP Wireless Assistant - HP Photo Smart Photobook Holiday Pack 1 - HP PhotoSmart Photobook Modern Pack 1 - HP PhotoSmart Photobook Playful Pack 1 - HP PhotoSmart Photobook Scrapbook Pack 1 - HP PhotoSmart Photobook WebPack 1


I was wondering... Can I upgrade the processor, video card, hard drives and switch out the dvd to blueray? and does this laptop support up to 8 gigs of ram?

I just bought it today and I can't wait to receive it! I have read this thread for months and finally decided to take the plunge and get a dragon! I hope its everything everyone raves about!

 

Congrats and welcome to the world of the Dragon! I can't remember which models you can switch the GPU, or if you can change out the processor (though I think any models can), or Blu Ray (dont remember that ever being a problem) but you can definitely switch out the Hard drives (I got 2 seagate 500GB 7200.4 Hard Drives cost $134 each, others like Lancorp is using SSD for the boot drive and I believe a 7200 for the other one for software and such) and you can get up to 8GBs of memory. I'm selling several 4GB modules on Ebay, if you want to check them out you can find the link a few pages back in this thread or do a search in Ebay for "GSkill 4GB laptop memory" and I think it should come up. Otherwise you can check Newegg for more expensive ones from different companies. Either way you need either a 64 bit OS or need to download service pack 1 to take advantage of the full 8GBs.

I'm currently looking for the best possible Blu Ray burner to switch out my Blu Ray ROM though I might just get a SATA one and enclosure.. Not sure yet. The one Im looking at to get in an enclosure is 4x, the one that I think may work inside the HDX is 2x.. If I go with them I'll likely get the latter..but I just need to make sure it will work though. I DID at least find its enclosure though just in case. The other questions are more for someone like 2.0 or Cyber or others more able to answer that. I have seen the answers for them in the forum but I know its pretty huge.

 

Computrekkie just installed a 2.8GHZ with pics and a tad of detail in his Dragon dont remember him having to update the BIOS, but there have been a few that tried that and totally fried their motherboard...You may want to ask him? There have been several warnings on the forum not to update the BIOS because unless you know exactly which one its for with the exact specs, which is apparently VERY difficult to find out, you will likely mess up your HDX for good and they will probably not replace it with another dragon..only with an HDX18 based on what was reported on the forum.

 

Any Suggestions for a Notebook Cooler?

Hey guys, summer will be here soon and I am planning to get a notebook cooler. Some people here got the ZALMAN NC 2000 -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834998686

But I don't think anyone has posted any photos or reviews regarding its specific performance with the HDX - (...photos welcome!)

Doing a bit of research I found also this piece of hardware:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834997340

It's the NZXT Cryo LX - another interesting option IMO.

Althought both the Zalman and the NZXT get pretty decent reviews, the Zalman seems to have the tendency to cool better THE FRONT of the notebooks, while the NZXT seems to be better to cool THE BACK - Also I have found that certain newegg reviewer don't seem to consider tha Zalman appropriate for a 20" lappie.

The HDX has its HDs in the front but its fan is in the back, also since it is so large I am not sure which one would be better -

Any opinions? Any alternatives? ...Any PICTURES TO SHARE?

 

I've heard it mentioned several times, by 2.0 as well, that the HDX runs so cool its not necessary

 

Hey guys.. I'm the owner of an HDX 9399sx

My specs are below:

Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit)

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme Processor X9000 (2.80GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
20.1” diagonal WUXGA High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen (1920x1200)-"True HD” 1080p res
4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS
HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Blu(TM)
500GB 5400RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (250GB x 2)
Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner and 4 Altec Lansing speakers +the HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer
9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery


There are a couple of questions i have.. First i want to know if i will have any problems installing Win 7 on this? I don't care about the fingerprint reader, quickplay.. things like that, i just want it to be able to work so i want to know if anyone has tried it, as i've heard win xp does not work with the system so i wasn't sure.

Also, this is my first laptop so i'm not sure what the best method of cleaning them is.. like keyboard, inside the computer.. could i use a can of compressed air to blow in the exhaust or would that make it worse?

 

Hi bubba. If you check the last 3, 4 pages of this thread, I talked about installing W7. So far, it seems to be working quite great, but I have to try the 3D video (in some games) because for what I saw, was ULTRA SLOW and also crashed when running 3D Mark. Another thing that doesn't work in mine is the TV button in QuickLaunch, but neither worked in a clean vista installation; only when running HP original image.

 

Originally Posted by Black Knight View Post
Any Suggestions for a Notebook Cooler?

Hey guys, summer will be here soon and I am planning to get a notebook cooler. Some people here got the ZALMAN NC 2000 -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834998686

But I don't think anyone has posted any photos or reviews regarding its specific performance with the HDX - (...photos welcome!)

Doing a bit of research I found also this piece of hardware:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834997340

It's the NZXT Cryo LX - another interesting option IMO.

Althought both the Zalman and the NZXT get pretty decent reviews, the Zalman seems to have the tendency to cool better THE FRONT of the notebooks, while the NZXT seems to be better to cool THE BACK - Also I have found that certain newegg reviewer don't seem to consider tha Zalman appropriate for a 20" lappie.

The HDX has its HDs in the front but its fan is in the back, also since it is so large I am not sure which one would be better -

Any opinions? Any alternatives? ...Any PICTURES TO SHARE?

Yes it does run cool most of the times, but occasionally it goes a bit nuts in my experience, also I believe a cooler is an investment because if its good it will definitely last through several laptops in the future (maybe changing fans every few years) - besides a few years ago here it got so freaking hot that I had to put a 30" apartment fan INSIDE my old PC... Better to be on the safe side...

So should I go for the front cooling Zalman or the back cooling NZXT?

 

XP does work but not all that great. I did a dual boot Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit and XP Pro but it didn't use all 8GBs of ram, which sucks, theres no bass, it would get bluescreen and or freeze a few times on and off..Now I have a dual boot with Vista 64 bit and 32 bit so I can record from my DVR using firestb and DVHSCap which are only made for 32bit. They have some instructions on how to clean it but to do it thouroughly you have to open it up..I am not confident in myself to do it..or I'm too lazy. I'm more so scared I'd mess something up and don't want to screw with my warranty. But if you can somehow get access to the HP videos that we USED to have access to they give you step by step directions. If I may ask where/when did you get yours from?

 

Except for your RAM amount (you DO know you can increase it to 8gb, RIGHT??) you've got essentially the same system as mine, you shouldn't have as many problems. W7 has made it clear that 32 bit systems are going the way of the Dodo. Even new systems are now being offered with 8gb of DDR3.

HP recently released a PDF Procedure entitled "Installing Windows 7 Beta on HP Notebooks" Inside are the requirements, and the list of systems you can install it on. Naturally the HDX Dragon ISN'T on the list, but there you go. Regardless, it still has key information for anyone wanting to try W7B. It's dated March 19, 2009, so it's pretty new to say the least.

If you want to find some more good data on W7B, go to Start64.com. Pretty much everything 64 bit is there, and there's a lot of good W7 info. There's a link there that will take you to the latest Audio/Video Codecs release for W7, which was dated just about a week or two ago.

Microsoft TechNet is a good resource as well.

Just out of curiosity, what's your Product # on your label, and does your system SAY HDX 9399?

 

It fits just fine in the overhead bins, but unless you're a dwarf or midget, I wouldn't recommend putting it under the seat in front of you. I had to do that on my last leg home from O'Hare to Baltimore, and First Class was completely booked, and the plane was completely full. I got there at the last minute and had to stick it under the seat in front of me for takeoff. I'm 6', and those seats aren't getting any bigger. Fortunately they took it back to the rear of the plane, giving me some room.

Personally for just taking it around town here I use my Dicota bag. The Dragon is heavy to carry in a standard notebook bag, but I usually don't have to carry it that far so it's not a big deal. You can get quite a bit of stuff into the Dicota.

I noticed that HP is still selling the Rollercase for the HDX 18 on the Store configuration utility.

I'll use the Rollercase if I'm going out of town and need to pack a few clothes, as that's what it was designed for. The system slides into the pocket, and everything else goes below it. Pretty neat setup actually. The only problem I know of was that HP logo on it. If it wasn't there, I could've gotten away without taking it out of the case at airport security, but some TSA weenie saw it and asked if it had a notebook. Get this - one of those dummies actually asked me to take my Dragon's silver hinge off, like it was a holder or something. Imagine how red she turned when I told her it was part of the system, not something to carry it. I think only HP and other companies like them hire people even more stupid than the rejects TSA hired. What total bozos - and they're a line of defense?

 

As one of the newest members of the 8gb HDX Dragon Club, I'd like to also thank Dominick for his vast help in finding the modules and going through the logistics of getting them for all of us that got them. The difference is absolutely amazing. My available RAM monitor on Memory Boost hasn't dipped below 100% since I restarted after installing the modules. At this point of the day, it would be in the red.

With my X9000, it always ran pretty fast, but now it just cruises. CT, I'm sure you're enjoying new territory also.

For those of you who opted NOT to get in on it - BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Thanks again Dom - "Well Done" as Hover and I would say. Or used to say....

 

Windows 7 step-by-step for a fully working installation that runs as fast as a clean installation, but without any missing HDX Dragon features:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4716724&postcount=5706
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4717083&postcount=5710

 

Hey man thanks for the plug No problemo. Glad to hear its working that well. Wow! Man I need me a 2.8GHZ HDX like you and Computrekkie!:I saw how well, how much quicker 2.8 was over 2.5 and, frankly, I've been dying to hear how it performed on a 2.8! I see a huge difference with my 8GB on 2.5 but would love to get 2.8. For those of you who bought a 2.8GHZ X9000 processor and installed it.. may I ask where you guys got it from, for how much, and how many hours did it take for you to install it? Was it retail or an engineering sample? I guess this question is for Computrekkie and anyone else who did it. Thanks again CV and for anyone who can answer these questions.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I already bought one since they are on sale, $20 off and free shipping. I forgot to check with everyone on the forum before buying it. It does appear to be very functional as you noted. Not only will I be able to use this case, but my wife will get some use out of it as well since she travels on business occasionally. Her work notebook is a 15" Dell, so it should work just fine.

Since I'm 6"1' putting the case under the seat in front of me would be a real pain for me as well, but I would find a way if the flight attendant threatened to put it in baggage with the gorillas.

Which Dicota bag are you using and where did you get it? I would like to look into it further.

 

Just a quick note to everyone to let you know that the HP SERVICES MEDIA LIBRARY is up and running again after being migrated to another server last week.
The new URL for the HP SML is:

HP SERVICES MEDIA LIBRARY

Also, if you've not already found it, HP has initiated a Support Videos site as well, with some quick how-to's, tutorials on basic issues like HDMI audio out (starring 2 cheeseballs to boot), and product videos.

If you haven't seen it, HP's FlexPaper is cool as hell - there is no question that it's going to change the world we live in the way computers did 20 years ago (or was it 30??). If any of you saw Babylon A.D. with Vin Diesel, he used a map in the movie that used Flex technology. The map was tied to GPS, and he used his finger to scroll the map content across the flex display.

Anyway, the videos are at these links:

HDMI Audio Video

HP FlexPaper - Flexible Displays Video Demonstration - too cool

HP Support Videos Main URL

HP VIDEOS - RSS FEED LINKS/SUBSCRIPTIONS

 

The Dicota Multigiant - it's the only traditional notebook case made for a 20" notebook. Where HP sold the Targus Rollercase as their preferred option for use with the HDX Dragon, Dell opted for the Dicota MG case for its 20" notebook, which was also discontinued as well. At one point the MG case was hard to get - it was on backorder for 2 months before I finally got mine. For the price, it's a nice case and will fit everything that comes with the HDX. It's just heavy to carry as you might imagine - once you add the AC adapter and the batteries, you're talking over 20lbs to sling over your shoulder or carry in your hand. That's why HP opted for a case you could roll, carry by hand or use as a backpack.

Dicota isn't a US company, it's German, but Dell is one of the main suppliers of the MG bag. It's still available on their store site, but the price has gone up a bit - about $20. I paid $49 for mine, it's $69 now. Still a good deal though. Dicota doesn't sell direct, so you have to buy from a supplier. You can always Google Dicota Multigiant and check prices around also. I can only tell you I got good results as usual from the Dell store.

To see the Dicota MG bag on the Dicota site:

Dicota Multigiant 20" Notebook Case

If you click on the small icons to the right, it'll show you the various angles. The 3D cube brings up a 3D Flash presentation that you can view it from all angles opened or closed.

You can order it here:

Dicota Multigiant - Dell Store Online

 

=

Computrekki went from a T8100 (2.1, 3MB L2) to an X9000. Not a T9300. That is certainly a worthwhile upgrade. And would certainly be noticeable in terms of overall system improvement. But going from an T9300 (2.5, 6MB L2) to an X9000 (2.8, 6MB L2)? Only two things would let you know there was an improvement: placebo effect and a benchmark program that reports ~10% avg increase in raw cpu power. Intel and AMD have run a good marketing game for years - getting people to think that incrementally higher Mhz translates into noticeable performance increases.

Anyway, if you get the chance, look up Wprime scores as a basic indication of raw CPU power of all three CPUs.

And on the issue of RAM, the truth is, if you not a power user you won't benefit much if at all from the increase in RAM. Of all the posters in this particular thread, Cybervision would benefit the most from it considering how he uses his computer.

I just see some info being bandied about that's not exactly fully fleshed out. A lot of which might make some posters who don't understand how all this works feel as if they are missing out on something. They may not get that some like to max their systems out for max out sake and not because they need it to be maxed out.

 

Well... now what's stepping besides me towards installing Windows 7 as final OS is that games get their aspect ratio not streched; that is, if I use a game as 1024*768 while my native resolution is 1680*1050, I get two huge black bars at the sides. This thing didn't happen with previos Vista, so I'm going insane in trying to fix it.

I just downloaded the Windows 7 ATI drivers too to see if there was an option to strech the image; even if the resolution isn't the native one, but couldn't find this option. I know this SHOULD be doable!

Can you help me in fixing this? Where is the option to stretch the image?

Here is a photo of my HDX running Titan Quest in 1024*768, so you can see what I mean:



Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

UPDATE: It doesn't happen only with games! If I go and set the screen resolution in Windows to 1024*768 I get the same picture in the OS! How can I force a strech, as with previous OSes? I find it hard to believe that no much people talked about this (searched Google without much interesting results)...

 

I don't know about ATI (NVIDIA here), but the latest April 4 Build 7077 x64 (64-bit) of Windows 7 works flawlessly on the Dragon using my above mentioned 'installation recipe'.

 

So if you set the screen to 1024*768, it fills the whole display instead of adding 2 black bars?

 

Well... I've found out at the releases notes for ATI drivers for windows 7 (Released yesterday!) that a known issue is "Catalyst Control Center: Image Scaling settings might not be applied". Is that talking about the option in CCC to resize the screen? Because I've found it in mine... but that's exactly what happens: when I try to make it strecth, it would do nothing and if I go again to that screen, the marked option is the one that says "do not stretch..." as if my selection wouldn't apply.

Anyone noticed this too?

 

So now I have upgraded Monster Dragon

Genuine Windows Vista Home Prem (64-bit)
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme Processor X9000 (2.80GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
20.1” diagonal WUXGA High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen (1920x1200)-"True HD” 1080p res
8GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS
HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Blu(TM)
256 SSD and 256 HDD
No Ultimate or WIN 7 yet to use all 8GB memory, dont know I will go for ultimate or vait for official win 7
Looks like upgrade went vell, but still some problems too, vhen I'm starting my system, I'll get

massage "CLCapSvc Module stoped working and was closed"

Does anyone know what it means, did I something wrong when I rebuild my Dragon?
All seems to work ok Bluray, quic play, putons, so on, just this. Maybe I ned some new drivers for x9000 or something?

Thanks

 

So nobody has a picture of the HDX on the Zalman cooler he would like to share? (Or any other cooler)

You guys think it would be better to cool the back or the front of this thing?
(Zalman better for the front the Cryos better for the back)

...Pushing air toward or from the dragon?

Com'on summer's coming...

 

Since the HDX'S 2 air lntakes are on the bottom, you don't want to "pull" air from the bottom. Perhaps push air up into them. The video card's intake is towards the back, while the CPU's is towards the front.

ln any event, don't know why you think you need a cooler. Unless you are operating in 100 DegF ambient room temp 24/7, the "uncomfortable" temp zone will never be reached. And a cooler will look funny under the HDX considering none of them are made for an 18"+ wide notebook. I guess one would learn to live with the odd look if one is paranoid about temps. Cooler operation won't extend the life or improve performance of a notebook that stays out of the temp danger zone.

 

Not a hardware problem. That's Cyberlink's background capture program service. You could try reinstalling Quickplay software which uses it. Was this a clean install or a recovery image of the OS?

BTW, nice upgrade.

 

I don't know man, I had them side by side and timed stuff and while it may not sound like much even just a 3-5 or 5 or more seconds difference in opening programs, the difference in browsing, just feels so much zippier. This was done with a 4GB 2.8GHZ HDX in comparison to my 2.5GHZ HDX with 8GBs of RAM. I compared it to another 15 inch notebook, and can't imagine how I could use that thing in comparison to having 8GB in my 2.5GHZ HDX as another comparison point. It was torturous to use that thing. You dont think even that noticeable difference is real? I understand you are looking out for people and dont want them wasting money but any increase even just a few seconds is great for my purposes. The 8GB for me makes a huge difference as well. For one thing when I research something, or want to buy something I like to keep all the tabs for them opened at the same time, could be 20 tabs for just that one thing and the 8GBs allows me to do that for one thing. I'm very glad I got them.

 

For your situation, there likely was something up. I'm not denying your observation. Plus it shows that the difference in perf of an X9000 and T9300 is negligible which is factually the case. But there were other factors that made the 8GB T9300 seem faster than the 4GB X9000 that weren't taken into account.

Going from 4GB to 8GB will not help browsing in the least. Last thing you want to do is give that impression. Post that idea on a forum about improving Vista performance and see the responses. It won't increase the speed of program load times unless you already are using up lots of RAM with programs already open that would otherwise need to be swapped to a page file.

What would make a difference is having faster RAM. But not by much.

The best way to determine if you need more RAM past 4GB is to monitor current RAM and pagefile usage. But there are lots of tweaks that can be done before investing in RAM past 4GB.

Bottom line, if you have lots of RAM hungry programs open (Adobe suite comes to mind seeing as they are not the most efficient programs) you would certainly benefit from going from 4GB to 8GB. If you run VMs (virtual machines) you would benefit greatly. If you do a lot of video editing work, yep. Audio work, maybe. Depends on the material and modules.

Otherwise, for the majority of the time, under normal uses, you will have 5GB doing absolutely nothing even if you disable the page file.

But no one should take my word for it. They can research how RAM works with Vista and then determine for themselves if they need or can materially benefit from going to 8GB. In the grand majority of cases, the answer is no.

 

Not quite the case (no pun intented), though, as I had the Dell XPS M2010 20" "portable" and it did NOT even come close to fitting in the Dicota case (which I also had/have). I had to literally CUT OUT the whole handle area of the Dicota for the XPS M2010 handle to stick through.

At the time the XPS M2010 was being sold, Amazon was the only place to get the case, and you are right...they were scarce.

But, I don't believe Dell ever sanctioned the Dicota MG as a case for their XPS M2010, since it would not fit without destroying the case.

 

Thanks 2.0 I did HDD copy with Acronis True Image Home 2009. But this massage game up when I started my system without SSD with old unchanged HDD. ONLY processor upgrade was made at that point. Now with SSD i'm geting same massage still. Thats whay I thougt something with processor. Is it possible that windows or some programs or drivers needs to be reinstalled because processor upgrade. Is it true that if you change processor you need new windows registration?I did Quicplay upgrade from Quicplay options...still same massage.

 

Toomy, I thought someone responded to you but I didn't see any posts.

IF you install the F.40 BIOS update, you will go from 2.8ghz to 0.0ghz. All HDX Dragons that we know of who have installed that BIOS have wound up with a complete and totally unusable system. If anyone knows something different, feel free to chime in. But speaking as a 2.8ghz CPU owner, the F.39 version works just fine.

To date we have not seen HP remove the F.40 BIOS version from the HDX support pages, even though it has already permanently disabled quite a few HDX Dragons. So if you want to avoid losing your system, don't install it.

The latest BIOS update is always recommended for any upgrade, but recommended doesn't mean REQUIRED. Use common sense like those of us who are good techs do.

Unless you really don't like your HDX.....

 

2.0 is correct about the RAM issue. The 8 GB of RAM would be of no use to the average user. You would almost never get to the 4 GB mark. It is more for people that run many different programs at once. In my case it is 2-3 VMware boxes, several IE tab, several Firefox tabs, and various Office programs simultaneously. I have on several occasion used close to 7 GB of system memory doing this. I now no longer need a page file which greatly increases performance. (Eliminate the Page file at your own discretion and risk). The biggest real world difference I notice it moving large files like ISO images that are 4 GB or larger.

As for the CPU, There is definitely a big difference in the T8100 vs. the x9000. The cost for upgrade in my case was only $350. It was $470 for the CPU minus $40 cash back from LIVE and $80 for selling my T8100 on EBay. It was very much worth it. The performance boost is amazing. Many games now play smooth and accept all my inputs. Verses under heavy load everything would get choppy and the Keyboard, mouse, and Game Pad inputs would be ignored. In my case this was due to CPU not GPU. It is important to know the difference. I could set all graphic on minimum and the results were the same. The CPU would hit 100%. But keep in mind not only was there a clock increase but I went from 3M to 6MB of Cache.

Now the 2.5 vs. the 2.8 is debatable. Ultimately there will be an increase. But only in the multiplier. The Bus, L2 Cache, and Instruction set will be the same. Just depends on what you are doing. The increase in Games very little, Multimedia encoding a little bit more noticeable, Benchmarks are really the biggest place you will see a difference. It all matters what you want to do. I also look at it as a way to future proof my HDX for as long as possible. Get the most useful longevity out of it. One big factor is cost vs. performance. It just matters how good a deal you find. I my case I had been looking for quite some time before I found the right cost vs. performance ratio for me. It is all up to the user and his needs and wants and financial situation.

Hope this first had info helps.

 

Try the new W7 A/V Codec Release:


Windows 7 Codecs and Win7x64 Components

 

You thinking of the speed of the memory between the ones that came with the HDX vs the GSkills perhaps I guess as one of those factors? If so I guess the most even test would be to add the 8GB GSkills to a 2.8GHZ HDX and keep the 8GBs GSkills in the 2.5GHZ to see the difference then? Personally I think 3-5 seconds or even more so 5-10 seconds is a big deal in real time. Also when it comes to doing recording WHILE doing other things ANYTHING to keep the cpu and memory usage down or anything to keep it from peaking soon is good because if anything peaks at all like during recording via DVR the recording is screwed. I have to make sure whatever I work on has to be up BEFORE I start recording from my DVR otherwise it ruins the recording. When I had Firefox up and running while trying this it would lag from just having Firefox with 20 tabs and a few addons, with 8GBs it wasn't a problem even when the addons, Antivirus, or anything would decide it wanted to update itself.

I noticed in an obvious way from seeing what I could push my system to do that the 8GBs helped a lot though maybe it is the speed of the memory in comparison to how fast the ones that came with it like you said. What I do know is with browsing, while the speed wasn't any different in terms of having pages loading, I could get around 20-30 tabs at most and I would have great problems with lag, the memory would get bloated within hours, and then it would eventually crash I guess because the memory wouldnt re claim itself. I would find I had to restart every 4-5 hours to refresh it which I found very annoying because when I bring back Firefox for example I have a lot of youtube videos up sometimes and I will have to go through each video and pause or stop them all each time I'd bring up the browser window with my saved tabs. With 8GBs of memory I can have between 30-80 or more tabs opened, not only not have to restart every 5 hours (not even the whole day if at all) but I won't experience lag. Before I could only put on so many addons in Firefox before it would lag with 4GBs, now with 8GBs I can addon whatever I want practically. I see a lot of benefits for how I use my HDX, which I can't see as being merely placebo. And I saw this before I started selling them. I wouldn't have gone out of my way to find and sell them unless I saw some noticeable difference that could have benefited other people.

You talking about like a memory booster or reg type tweaks? I use Yahoo Site Builder which is a bloated program and the 8GBs of memory seems to help with that too. Either way though I figure because the RAM doesn't reclaim the amount previously used the more RAM you get the less of a time you'd have before you'd either need to use a memory reclaim program or restarting. Would that be something fair to say? Either way though I do see your point about 8GBs being of no use to regular users who just use like a word processor and browse a bit.

I use some RAM hungry softwares but like the ability to not have to reclaim memory or restart as much if at all when doing stuff, closing them out, or adding more softwares to be opened and used at the same time. I usually have my DVR recording in the background, have 70 tabs opened in Firefox, and several other windows so I can access my Hard Drives, DVR Recordings, and maybe have a few other softwares like Nero or Yahoo Site Builder up. I'm no expert but I can compare things notice differences where I observe them, and don't at least think I'm retarded

 

Hey man! Thanks for all these great posts! I'm SO glad they let us view the HP videos, and I was under the impression they stopped Windows 7 Betas so I
m going to check out the newest ones. Quick question.. does the Windows 7 installer come with a partitioning thingy so you can partition one of the hard drives or do I need to do that with like my Windows Anytime Upgrade DVD then use the Windows 7 installer? I wonder how these codecs compare to say the Klites. Thanks.