*HP HDX DRAGON Owners Lounge, Part 1*

Don't think so, but this version gets the job done.

Depends. There's a way to set the whole thing up so it doesn't drain any life.

The real deal is, when you start a flash movie or something A/V, espcially in full screeen, the GPU will jump to max clocks on Core/Mem/Shader then drop back to minimum after a few seconds. Not an issue, yet. But the problem is, there is lag when for whatever reason, the GPU needs to increase the clock during playback. It doesn't switch it fast enough. And that lag causes stutter and dropout.

The fix for it is to prevent the GPU from dynamically switching clock speed. I've done it(though don't maintain it anymore), along with RickiBerlin and CompuTrekie. You need to disable powermizer and create profiles that set the clocks at certain fixed speeds. A profile for regular use and one for gaming/intensive 3D work. I wrote up a tutorial in this thread last year or the year before that shows you how to do it. I'll look for it when I get a chance and post the link to it.

Thanks. I'm a comic book editor.

Kidding. Wannabe novelist is more like it.

 

Thanks for the review. I also have never used a CD either. I may just get it, I dunno yet. Neweggs price went back up for the DIR 855:/ It was super cheap before. Hmm.. What to do.. what to do..

 

hey i think those guys make a lot of money...saw some job at a few years ago and it seems to pay really well.

 

Speaking of the QuickTouch buttons -- I'm still running Vista (x64) Home Premium. All my QT buttons work perfectly. However, I only use the THEATER and MUTE buttons. I never use any of the others. Is there any way to disable all of the QT buttons -- EXCEPT the Theater and Mute buttons?

Thanks!

 

No, most of them are ACPI buttons. They can wake the unit up from sleep. Even without quickplay installed, some of them still wake the computer up from sleep. DVD and TV button will. Bass and Treble are driver dependent. Quickplay and Eject are Quickplay software dependent. Wifi button is hardware dependent. Volume is OS dependent.

No matter what, they will all remain lit.

 

@ 2.0, this question was addressed to you.

@ dv7t and other interested parties.

After further testing on my second HDX (motherboard 9300), I must correct myself. In this work, the HDX switch from Powermizer on the NVIDIA Control Panel. ( see this article).
Possible that were on my main machine (motherboard 9200) the "NVIDIA System Tools with ESA Support 6:03" cause for the misconduct.
And this, although I had previously deleted all the startup profiles, etc., the registry entry PrfLevelSrc distant respectively and restarts.
I will check this at the next GPU driver update again. Today, this should actually appear in any case in the next few days.

Lovely, too, that now more people are interested in this topic. Only then NVIDIA will be forced to act.
Interesting thread on this topic:

1. http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=157614
2. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=455125
3. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=434691&highlight=M17x+DPC+Latency

EDIT:A change in the clocking is now after further tests in 9200 to observe.
Powermizer is not turned off, but the switching behavior is completely different.
For example, takes place during the music playback via Media Player, including visualization, not downclocking.
Also an open Windows Live Messenger (favorites list open) is forcing the pace at 500/799/1250. (no downclocking)
However, in IE, even with HD video, the clock falls back on 200/100/400.

This behavior is unacceptable to me.
For dv7t it would be worth a try. (The behavior in Battery Mode is also changed)
A restart for this change in the NVIDIA Control Panel is not necessary.

 

Thanks for the reply and info, 2.0. I should have clarified what I was really asking...

I don't mind them being lit (as I said, I use the 'theater' button to turn it all off when needed/wanted). But the only two buttons I ever use are, 'theater' and 'mute'. I was just wondering if there was any way to actually disable all of the others (where they really are nothing but lights).

However, you did pretty much answer my question.

All the best!
--Alex

 

Only some can be disabled. Specifically, the software dependent ones. The ACPI ones can't.

 

Nice find. Very nice addition to the collection.

 

I have an HDX9320ea with original specs 2x250GB drives and Vista Home Premium. If i upgrade to a SSD hard drive, will a SATAII fit in it or do i need to find a SATA one and will that give me a boost for OS Boot time etc.

Thanks in advance

 

Any SATA II SSD will work fine. OCZ, INtel, Kingston, etc.

Before you buy, let us know which one(s) you are looking at and those of us that have SSDs will give you a nod or a head shake.

 

Thinking of pruchasing one of the following Drives:-

1. Crucial 2.5" 64GB SATA II MLC SSD Hard Drive (£145.50)
2. OCZSSD2-1VTX60G 60 GB Vertex Series SATA II 2.5" SSD Drive (£159.99)
3. Corsair 64GB 2.5" SATA II Internal SSD Hard Drive (£142.99)

Drive would be used for BOOT/OS

 

You think maybe it works kinda crappy in the US because it was more so made for the European WIFI/networking structure? Or did it work like that overseas too? Thanks for the offer, but I guess that depends on whether you want me to take your jail sentence and or fines too Lol. Jk. I'm sure ISPs or Dlink are going to be knocking on your door within days. Actually Newegg honored the price they had for the DLink DIR 855 for $214 or so thank God, because it was that price in my cart then when they changed the price 2 days ago but it just abruptly disappeared with the change, when it should have stayed that price in the cart. I figure if it gives me any problems I'll just get a refund and get the Netgear within the first 30 days. I hate purchasing routers. If the range is a problem I'll also use that as a reason to get a refund.. Maybe I should have just gotten the Netgear.. bah..Guess we'll see what happens.

BTW if anyone wants to know how the DLink DIR 855 works I can post some feedback on it.

 

For anyone considering a purchase of an OCZ Vertex 60GB SSD here's a deal for $129.99:

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1898902

 

I would recommend the OCZ. Fastest of the bunch. Have been excellent. I owned 5 of them. No issues and great support. Their forum is full of the best info on and for SSDs.

 

Many thanks for the advice. I will get one this weekend.
Is it easy to copy over the recovery partition on the primary disc from the hidden partition? or will I need additional software for that?

 

If you ghost or use Acronis, you can image the drive. Just make sure that the used space on the HDD is less than the total free space on the SSD.

But my advice, do a clean install on the SSD. You won't need the recovery partition. Plus the drive will need to be formatted and properly aligned by the windows installer disc, which is automatic, when you install windows.

You will also need to turn off defragment and superfetch services once the OS is installed. You can use uncheck the drive indexing when you click the drive and select properties in explorer.

 

Also, would a 500Gb SATAII drive fit in as the second upgrade?

 

Yes. No problem there.

 

I didn't see any options for that but I'll look into it, thank you.

With what I do on my HDX I'm trying to imagine what "normal" use means.. lol. Right good point. Though a barely used HDX with top specs HDX can and will go for at least $2100-$2500 which was around the price of the discount when they were getting rid of them no? Nobody wants to freaking sell their top specs HDXs..:/

Maybe you're right I HOPE so. I say bah too much lol.

I format more than the average bear I think, but not by TOO much. Maybe several times per year. I usually keep all my games on the Hard Drive though. Hmm I see the point in doing the dual boot the way you do it now.. Hmm. Good idea. I noticed with Windows if you do a dual boot sometimes the second hard drive disappears, especially if I try to access it from within one OS on the other Hard Drive after sometime. Does it do that with the way you do your dual OS set up?

Lol ooooh ok. I sees what chur sayin now.

Yarr, tha I be me bucko, tha I be.

 

Don't know if it would be of benefit to you in the UK but I posted a deal for an OCZ Vertex 60GB SSD for $129.99.

 

How might I possibly or possibly not fix it? Should I post a picture of the male pin?

 

It's one of those things where a picture may not help. You just have to do some visual comparisons to the original adapter. Check the fit. Look at the jack in the HDX. See if there's a way to make it more snug. That sort of thing.

If wiggling the adapter when it's plugged in causes intermittent flashing of the power light, it's telling you that the fit isn't to spec. It could be that the outer contact is not properly touching the contacts in the HDX.

 

Ok as promised (had to search Comptrekkie's posts to find where this was discussed), here's how to make GPU frequency profiles with powermizer off that switch on the fly:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4823559&postcount=6187

You can search posts after this one to see how things evolved. There's pics!

 

Probably directed to 2.0... I am sitting here with a new Intel X-25 80GB waiting to go into my Dragon. Did the 8GB memory last week. Been following the list and have learned,...clean Win7 install, no defrag, and to get your swap files on C: drive, but what else? Could you give us a general instruction guide for SSDs, seems we are all doing it nowadays and all your tips and tricks sure would be appreciated. Any advice would be appreciated from the 'Masters", but don't wait long as the drive is sitting in front of me and I'm getting itchy....ha-ha... David

 

Also, do I (we) need to upgrade the firmware before installation to O2HD and are there any BIOS setting changes to be made? TNX again David

 

You can actually leave the swapfile on the SSD. Won't harm it considering how the swapfile is actually used. Matter of fact, you really don't need one with 8GB RAM. Just note that some software requires a swapfile. A few games too. So you can reduce it's size to about 1GB.

You can also turn off superfetch and uncheck drive indexing in explorer. You will find that by right clicking the drive in explorer, choose properties, then uncheck drive indexing. It takes about 5 mins to complete.

Probably better to do it before you install Win7. Win7 is SSD aware and will send TRIM commands to the drive. I only say update before in case the Intel drive doesn't tell the OS that it's a new device after install so that the OS knows that it's TRIM capable.

Though, drives with Indilinks (OCZ, et al) controllers will report a new device to the OS with a firmware update so they can be done anytime. So likely the Intel drive would follow the same method.

Enjoy your upgraded Dragon!

 

Thanks 2.0...More questions (sorry)...What is the best (fastest performance) way to set up my programs? MS Office on C: and Documents on 2nd drive or keep on SSD also? Photoshop on C: and pictures on D:? Any other splits I should know? Thank you,...David

 

No, everything you listed can go on the SSD. Large files that will be written often and erased should go on the HDD. Games should also go on the HDD. But your programs, documents, pics, music, etc can go on the SSD.

The idea is to keep GB writes to a minimum on the SSD if those GB will be temporary.

 

For information only

196.86 Beta for Dell and Alienware will be published.
First Driver with latency problem removing attempt.

Experiences of an Clevo owner
or here on Notebookreview

Download and version info from DELL

Also published on LV2GO.

I have not yet installed this driver. Wait for an open version of NVIDIA.

 

Warning: If you want to try this driver (196.86), read only forums and Driver notes! For example: This
No support for 60 Hz! After installation is below 60 Hz may be a black screen.
PhysX not included in the installation package!
And, and, and. ..

 

It takes a trick to get it installed correctly, but it works and I can confirm 60 hz is fine. Don't use the modified .inf's. Open the original .inf and replace the stated subsys_******** numbers with what is in your driver details section, where mine is PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0609&SUBSYS_ 30D4103C. Works like a charm. Not sure it is a super-duper-great driver worth the trouble, but it works well. No 3d vision and no Optimus (whatever that is ). Temps are fine and performance is decent.
.

 

"Optimus" is the name of the NVIDIA switching between on board and dedicated graphics.
Irrelevant for us.

 

For anyone wondering, the DLink DIR-855 seems to be working VERY well. It came with the latest revision A2 and the latest firmware from Newegg, thankfully, because their stock ran out and they had to order more, making sure whatever shipped would be the most recent version.

It's operating at 1gbps via 5GHZ, and ethernet, and if it's possible, it seems like WIFI runs faster than ethernet..? Youtube videos even at 1080i or p run smoothly, or at least MUCH smoother EVEN in Firefox (before it would stutter every few moments), and that WITH 157 tabs opened, which I found very impressive! I've also been using the latest Flash 10.1 beta 3 before and after upgrading the router. I can also see a difference between running things with CAT5 vs CAT6. Data transfers are SIGNIFICANTLY faster.. say 1.5GBs of data transferring from the HDX to the Mediasmart server would have taken 3-4 hours+ or so with the DIR 615 non gigabit router and CAT5 cables.. now with the new router and 5GHZ band via WIFI it takes like 14-25 minutes or sooner. 2.4GHZ is blazing fast as well, shockingly so. They're both blazing fast really. So far the only thing working on the 5GHZ band is my HDX and it's really nice!

With the HP Mediasmart EX495 server video streaming (using the software it came with "Twonky"), the recommended mid range quality for network streaming works great, and the PSP resolution works nicely for remote streaming. Before it would stutter all the time much like Youtube would, and was REALLY irritating to use. Not much if really any stuttering now. I think if I can replace all of the CAT5 cables with CAT6 it will be stutter free and that might even allow me to use a higher resolution for in network and remote video streaming.

It was on sale at Newegg for $117 I believe and I bought an extra 1 year warranty with it, so it came out to $266. I must say that so far, I'm VERY happy with my purchase! The only thing that sucks is that I'm going to have to buy like 7-8+ CAT6 ethernet cables for each device plugged into it and the D-Link DGS-2208 Ethernet Desktop Switch and these things are not as inexpensive as I would like. Definitely would recommend the latest DLink DIR-855 Wireless Gigabit N Router to anyone.

 

WARNING: Do not try this at home... EVER.

Just say, no to this.

 

At home, work, the library, a friend's house, in the car, etc...

 

i spit soda on my screen

 

Lol shyadap. Fine, but it just leaves more awesomeness for me

 

He can spit liquids on his HDX screen, but I can't use 157 tabs.. I see how it is

 

Hey guys, I'm looking into modding the BIOS in this thread. Does anyone know what BIOS type it runs? I can't find an answer.

 

Well, his won't make the average brain turn into mush lol. It will however give him a very good reason to replace his screen lol. But I will say thank you. After reading your post, my wife no longer looks at me like I'm insane when I have 30-40 tabs open lol

 

A few weeks back someone posted an easy slip in replacment for the DVD on the Dragon, a thin one that fits physically. Would you repost the name of it again? Many thanks all. Just installed an Intel SSD and all I can say is WOW, stupid fast. Acronis backup went from 34 minutes to 3, really unbelievable. Now I need a new DVD drive, original won't write anymore...David

 

This is it:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Optiarc-AD-7590A-01-Slim-Drive/dp/B001TOD5GM/ref=pd_cp_e_1

Here is my other post about it:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5818470&postcount=9282

 

Well, brothers-in-Dragon, here I am again with my problems...

Due to my idiocy I launched some downloaded BAT-file (reported to be curing non-visible memory cards and external HDDs in WinExplorer). The bloody thing managed to put my machine in a cycle "loading personal data-Logging off-saving personal data" that won't stop even in safe mode.

Even Setup in restore mode won't help, so I said my prayers and started clean setup of XP Pro 32.
Being a collectors' item computer moron, I've been doing this setup (along with various drivers instalation for HDX) for more than 36 hours - with a short sleep break.

Now, after everything tried, I am at a virtual impass with a couple of things:
1) I can't properly install IDT High Definition Audio Codec - it offers some driver from WinUpdate and upon completion says "his device cannot start. (Code 10)". As result. I do not have audio. In the unfolding menu of audio devices in the Audio tab there's only Bluetooth Audio and no IDT (which, as I remember, was the default device previously).
I seem to download everything slightly matching IDT and sound from HPdrivers.Merc.us (will be closed down on 17th of March!!!), but all to no avail.

Maybe, someone merciful giveth a step-by-step instruction to a mental cripple?

2) I am terribly missing my Quick Touch, namely - Volume On/Off button blue and orange lights (the Volume strip itself seems to function, though). Does someone possess the reliable XP driver?

 

TNX Hover...will do

 

Can anyone point me to a fix for the "Eject" button on DVD after going to Win7? Thanks Much Everybody....David

 

You would have to install quickplay software. It's the only thing that responds to the eject button.

 

OK, somehow the IDT thing got installed. There's even sound in the headphones, but I can't make HDX's speakers play music!

The IDT stuff appeared in the list of audio devices, but irrespective of whatever speakers I choose (and appl) after closing the dialogue window jumps back to "Desktop speakers" scheme.

Is there a way to deal with the problem? Dear 2.0, don't leave me alone with that...