*HP HDX DRAGON Owners Lounge, Part 1*

This won't work with any 19x.xx driver. These drivers will only accept 120Hz LCD notebook models that have been whitelisted by NVIDIA, even though Discover doesn't really require a 120Hz screen to be enabled. Our HDX hasn't been whitelisted (and will never be). Please refer to my older posts regarding the trick to get this working on the Dragon with the 186.91 mobile drivers and matching S3D from a Quadro package (3DVision_186.30.exe).

 

Dear felloow members!
Again, I'd like to bring your attention to the fact that today is the last day of http://www.hpdrivers.mercs.us/

I believe it'd be only fair to send our big fat thanks to Stevie, a nice guy who'd run this page for those of us in bitter and frequent want of elsewhere missing drivers: [email protected]


Thanks, Stevie!!!!

 

Definitely deserves a big thanks.

 

Windows 3.1 on the Dragon; runs super fast without any driver issues ;-) :
http://www.michaelv.org/

 

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the active suggestions on this thread. I've found it all invaluable. I have a few comments and questions:

1) MEMORY UPGRADE: I finally broke down and ordered 2 X 4 GB G.Skill chips from NewEgg. My Dragon seems snappier now. I should have done that a long time ago.

2) BURNER: My Blue-Ray/DVD burner has been acting quirky, so based on what I read here, I bought a Sony Optiarc AD-7590A-01 to replace it. It just arrived today. Is there someway to swap the front panel/bevel from the original drive and install it on the new drive or am I stuck with an unstreamlined look?

3) SDD DRIVES: I think my next investment will be an SSD drive and an upgrade to Windows 7. Which one of the following drives would you recommend:

A) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227470&cm_re=vertex-_-20-227-470-_-Product
or
B) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227395&cm_re=vertex-_-20-227-395-_-Product
or
C) Any other 120GB drives in that price range?​

4) PROCESSOR/GRAPHICS CARD/OTHER UPGRADES: My Dragon has a T8100 processor and a NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS video card. What upgrades would make a difference to performance? I don't do any gaming but I'm a heavy multi-tasker (photography, software development, virtual machines, etc. running).

Thanks in advance.

[L]

 

1. Cool, that's my next purchase

2. It snaps off, but be careful as you don't want to damage the snaps

3. either of them are great, as i am using an OCZ Agility Series 60GB. By far the most you will see in performance boost will be from the SSD.

4. CPU can be upgraded, your graphics card however cannot. HP had that card custom built for the Dragon (I think), so there is no upgrading that bad boy. As for the CPU, search this forum for a full list of CPUs that you can upgrade to. Be warned, takes about an hour to dismantle the Dragon and get to the CPU to exchange it. There is a manual on it, but it's not for the faint of heart. You can also upgrade the Wifi. Again, search this forum, a few of us have done it successfully. I hole this helps.

 

2. I'll give it a try.

3. Thanks for the feedback.

4. I'm ignorant about CPU specs. I'm hoping that someone can suggest what CPU upgrade would provide the most value and give some idea of what sort of performance increase I might see. If we're talking about a 2% increase, I probably won't bother. If we're talking 20%, then I'm interested. As for the Wifi upgrade, I usually use my dragon hooked up to a docking station both at home and at work, so I'm not too focused on upgrading that.

Thanks!

[L]

 

Nice find!

 

Often asked question. You have some good options coming from a T8100.

You have as best options: (with % increase in performance from T8100)
T9300 *2.5ghz ~25%
T9500 *2.6ghz ~28-29%
X9000 *2.8ghz ~35%

You can find T9300 and T9500 for about $200 and $250 respectively on ebay.

X9000 will run you $600-$1000. X9000 can't be overclocked in the HDX. It ability to be overclocked in most other notebooks accounts for the price premium.

 

The engineering samples (Q174) run around $300-$400 on Ebay. Even some new X9000 SLA kinds run around the same price as well, though others around $700-$800.

 

Haven't seen any ES running that low. Maybe on a bid, if one is lucky. Or digs deep and finds a sale that has been misspelled or misplaced in wrong category.

 

I thought I read them, and am probably missing something, but don't remember seeing any trick to get them to work. I've had a friend read them too and try them but couldn't seem to get it to work.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=169232&page=769

Would you be so kind as to explain what trick mean? If you mean the cab file, how exactly do you install it, is it just like an exe? I'm used to cab files for Pocket PC which are self extracting but don't remember using them for PC.

 

If anyone wants to view what's on their HDX screen to another screen or possibly their Slingbox HD via component cables this MAY BE a way to do it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/HDMI-to-Compone...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ef9f7abba


Or search for item# 270481730490 in advanced search.


They're usually $274 but once in a while he'll drop them down in price significantly to around $79. Today is the lowest at $72. I haven't confirmed if they work, but if they do this would be the time to get them I figure since they're listed at a much lower price.

I've tried several Quickdocks from HP that were sold as an accessory for the HDX Dragon when it was still on their website, but only one worked and only video (no audio) for one week before it stopped working.

I don't know this person, I've just been trying to find a stable and successful way to output video to from my HDX to my Slingbox because it seems to be a good way to stream video and audio from my HDX without having to deal with stupid flash files size limits conversion or anything else of the sort remotely or in network.

EDIT: Since there's a supposed 7 day warranty I bit the bullet and bought one, so I can let anyone interested to know if it does indeed work. I wonder how many people want to be able to do that besides myself. I like to watch movies sometimes with my friends who either don't live in my area or can't come over, which is another reason I like Slingbox. While I HOPE it will work, I'm thinking it MIGHT because HDMI to Component or VGA would seem to make sense..but I'm assuming it won't. I'm also kinda saying that just so I won't get let down like I've been with the stupid poc QuickDocks

 

Got it switched over just fine. Thanks!

[L]

 

Thanks for that info. It sounds like a T9500 would be the best value.

Has anyone posted a step-by-step guide to replacing a processor?

[L]

 

Do you consider the additional horsepower worth the extra money compared to a T9500?

[L]

 

Yes, HP has.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01279508.pdf

It will take you about 4 hours start to finish to replace the CPU. You'll also need thermal compound.

There are also videos available. I believe poster Computrekkie has them archived as they are no longer available from HP.

In your opinion, is .2 mhz (or 3-6% over a T9500, an imperceptible gain) worth more than $50?

For some people, time actually is money. For them, it would be worth it. Say, if you could encode 2 more videos per day/session, then for them, it would be worth it. But if economics is no issue, you have to ask yourself why you need it considering that in normal use, it won't make a bit of difference.

Intel chips operate in steps. T9300, T9500, X9000 all have the same processing power at all steps except the last one. Meaning, they only reach their maximum capability at 100% CPU utilization. So if you are running say, at 25% CPU utilization (something you can monitor using Task manager), all the aforementioned CPU's have the same exact processing power. Normal computing very rarely requires 100%. Not even while multitasking. You have to be running a process that literally commands most of the CPU's resources. There are a fair number of programs that do that. Encoding is one major one. Conversion is another. Some games. Some of Adobe's products when they are doing intensive graphic work. That sort of thing.

But at the end of the day, the difference comes down to seconds. X9000 will take a few seconds less to encode/convert etc than a lesser chip. If that's meaningful and worthwhile for your activities you will benefit from it.

I would get an SSD with the money saved by going with a T9300/T9500. You won't regret it as it makes the most dramatic increase in overall system performance.

5 out of 5 SSD owners agree.

 

Since I've received several upgraded notebooks from HP over the years, several were identical except for the CPU speeds (one example was with the DV7)..based on that I PERSONALLY HAVE noticed a difference (if I remember correctly they were between 2.0 to 2.1 to 2.5 etc) not night and day but you do notice a slight difference with regards to performance. I push my HDX to the hilt, usually have 100-140 tabs opened in Firefox, watching TV via my Hauppauge HD PVR connected to my Comcast DVR, recording from there, watching Slingbox, ripping and burning movies and videos, video editing, and now streaming from my Mediasmart Ex495 server as well as doing data transfers to it.. so I personally have been looking for a configured to order HDX with top specs, specifically with the X9000 (don't care as much about the DVD drive or memory since those are easily upgradable) because I want to be able to get the warranty and wouldn't want to have the hassle of opening it up myself. If I got a third cheaper HDX I'd probably go all out with upgrading the components. But yea while the 2.5 is pretty good, o-k, I really want and need just a little more muscle and wished I had gotten an HDX with an X9000 from the start.. but unfortunately HP discontinued them right before I saved up the $, I couldn't seem to win an auction with one, something was wacked with the seller, or they sold for way more than I was planning on buying it for. One on Ebay several months ago sold a top specs HDX barely used for $2500+.. They usually go for $1800 used.. but no one seems to want to sell them. I THOUGHT I was going to get one a week or two ago but the guy changed his mind.. So in short, for $300-$400 for what I use it for, I personally think it's worth it especially if you will do it yourself and know what you're doing, so you don't have to pay for labor or some have to wonder how some Geeksquad guy is going to screw up your HDX. As 2.0 and others say though an SSD would yield a big difference in performance.

 

If I may ask, which docking station do you use and with what kind of port usage?

 

I am an SSD owner, and I approve this Message

 

Of course, 2.0 and myself DO NOT recommend trying this at home (or anywhere else other than a server farm in Silicon Valley or with a Cray Supercomputer.)

 

Installed Optiarc myself..little tricky swapping plates but easily done. Disassemble old blue ray first to see how faceplate attached. Push down on rubber next to hold in screw to remove. Snaps into both sides but I had to remove cover on old one. Works slick, attache the hold in screw plate at the back also (sorta obvious) and then remove snap clips on each side . After you have pulled the old one apart (who cares, no game, no work, no foul) you will see how to remount it

#2 Installed Intel 80GB SSD, plenty big for all operating systems and programs unless you a real hog. Dump data onto second 320GB.

 

Lol of course. I'm wearing a Gambit tshirt, and I don't approve this message

 

LMAO

Ok, seriously, where did you get the shirt?? lol

 

Hot Topic, but don't tell anyone that though. Actually my sister bought a bunch of tshirts on sale ($9) from there for me this past week. I got Wolverine vs Deadpool, the Punisher Skull, Gambit, Transformers and other 80s cartoon and comic goodies If you hurry, you may be able to pick up a Gambit shirt yourself from there, cheap, if they have any left.

Was going to post links to the a few of the ones I got but they're gone..

 

Yep, right here:

http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q86/comptrekkie/HDX Vidoes

 

Hello I have a 9450es hdx hp and want to know if you know where to find all the drivers foot Win 7 64 bits. There are some components that can not identify it ... thanks

 

Hello I have a problem with the nvidia video driver Kermel .... I get black screen and returns to the desktop .... you know ... thanks solucioón I Win 7 64-bit and 8800 GTS graphics ... the driver is updated ... thanks

 

Is there a way we can download it from you? Or a way we can get them so we can have them offline? I was thinking if I was to do this, I could make a DVD of them and play them in that while opening the HDX up.

 

I downloaded each one and stored it on my hard drive...too valuable to lose

 

I'm mulling the idea of petitioning HP to release a BIOS that assists in the overclocking of the X9000 CPU like Dell and Clevo have. I'm trying to figure out a way to incentivize or induce HP to do this.

Let's face it, the people who installed or opted for this chip have been swindled considering that price of the chip is a function of its overclockability. Yet it can't be overclocked in the HDX considering its BIOS.

One of the things that will need to be conveyed to HP is their indemnification (read: warranty void) should you damage your HDX after installing and overclocking your system. In addition, a BIOS recovery method should be packaged along with the new overclock BIOS should the BIOS update fail and brick the HDX.


Discuss...

 

I'd vote a BIG yes to that! If we could get two polls/and or petitions in here, one to show the demand to be able to overclock the X9000 via a BIOS update, and the other to get a goal of 10,000 interested in buying another HDX Dragon update, I and I think many others would be enthusiastic to add our vote/e signature to it. Even if HP didn't officially say it I think if they were shown the interest is there, they would be stupid not to do both. If any of you want this this I think is the best time to speak up.

 

How did you do it if I may ask?

 

A GPU upgrade path/option (with 128 stream processors or better, i.e., double the current 8800M GTS figure of 64 sp) is what would really make the Dragon rock for at least three more years...

 

Thank you!

Not a quickie job then. Good to know.

I'm one of those time-is-money people. I'm self-employed and live and die by billable hours and flat-rate contracts. Time saved will add up over the course of a day, weeks, months, and years. Thanks for taking the time to describe how chips work. Much of it was news to me.

Noted. I think that will be my next upgrade.

Ha!

[L]

 

Yeah, that would be the most worthwhile upgrade since an overclocked X9000 doesn't really all that do much. 10-15% increase over stock 2.8. Plus not all X9000's can overclock stable to 3.2 or even 3.4ghz.

Biggest gain would be someone going from a T8100 2.1ghz to an overclocked X9000 @ 3.2ghz. They would see >40% increase. T9300/T9500 owners would see a 20-30% increase.

Thing about the GPU upgrade is that it would cost HP real money because now they would have to design a card that fits their non-standard form factor to mate with the non-standard heatsink. And they would have to create a modified BIOS.

The odds of HP doing this is pretty close to zero.

Where as, if HP made a modified BIOS for overclocking the X-series CPU's, they could make money from those who would send it in for the combined CPU and BIOS upgrade.

So if anything, it would be the best thing to approach them with in terms of what is most doable with least expense on HP's part.

 

Noticeable is what I'm after.

You must be fearless!

Thanks for the input.

[L]

 

I have two HP Notebook QuickDocks (one at home and one at my office) which I use together with a couple of power supplies. It's very convenient to run dual monitors (actually, three monitors at my office with a USB video card) and the rest of my peripherals without taking doing the plug/unplug dance. The only thing I wish is that the QuickDocks supported eSATA, but plugging in two cables isn't that much of a burden.

See http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/e...4748-12134748-12134756-12134756-79658634.html and http://www.evga.com/uvplus/.

[L]

 

Lol.

[L]

 

Everything is always to the MAX with you.

Let's start small, pick our battles, and move the ball forward a few yards at a time.

10,000 interested in a new HDX is vastly insignificant to a company that is used to selling millions of notebooks per quarter. Of that alleged 10,000 perhaps only 2,500 would actually be purchasers. They canceled the HDX even after selling 10s of thousands of them.

Anyway, I'm taking suggestions for how to form the letter to HP asking for a BIOS update for overclocking X-series, extreme Intel processors. They sold the HDX with X7800, X7900, and X9000. What's more, how to impress upon them the revenue they can receive from HDX owners looking to send it in for an X7800/7900/X9000 upgrade. HP can sell the the CPU and cost to swap, upgrade BIOS and test.

 

It wasn't much trouble at all. I just pushed down on the top of each plate and they both came undone without much fuss.

I currently have two Seagate 7200 RPM drives in my Dragon, a 160 GB for my OS drive and a 320 GB drive for my data. The OS drive has little else on it and is still using 121 GB.

I'm thinking that when I buy an SSD and upgrade to Windows 7 I'll have a 120 GB SSD for the OS, and a 500 GB Seagate for data.

[L]

 

Thank you!

[L]

 

I'd definitely be interested.

[L]

 

Just a note:

Going from a 2.1ghz 3MB cache CPU to 2.5ghz 6MB cache CPU and up will be noticeable. Very noticeable.

Hard rule of thumb is, if the performance increase is 20% and up, it will be noticeable. Anything below that is a placebo effect. (I.e. you think it is faster because you are told it is.) Intel and AMD have made millions on the marketing of marginally faster CPU options.

That's why going from a 2.5 or 2.6ghz to 2.8ghz yields no noticeable difference as the percent increase in processing power per clock cycle is too small to matter.

Consider that in your purchasing decision.

 

This extension for Firefox seems to work to download FLV files: http://www.downloadhelper.net/welcome.php?version=4.7.1

[L]

 

Should I take to mean that you're saying:

2.1 GHz to 2.5 GHz <-- good
2.1 GHz to 2.8 GHz <-- good, but perhaps not worth the extra cost?

[L]

 

To a point, yes. Your largest performance increase per dollar will be had with the T9300. T9500 if you can get it as close to the T9300's price which does occur from time to time.

So for $250 (for T9300 or T9500 on sale), you get a ~30% increase in performance over T8100. But, for another $250+ ($500+ total price for X9000) you only get an extra ~8-10% more over T9300. A third the increase in performance gain for twice to more than twice the price. Consider though that if you were able to use the X9000 as intended by Intel in the HDX - that is to say, overclock it to 3.2-3.4 - then the price to perfromance ratio would be linear. X9000 @ 3.2ghz overclock would yield about a 25-30% increase in perfromance over a T9300. Giving you a net gain of about 55% over a T8100 as compared to an X9000 overclocked to 3.2ghz.

But alas, you can't overclock extreme processors in the HDX.

 

I picked up a UJ-120 BD Drive for my HDX, and it seems to play blurays fine, but for some reason it refuses to read from a few music CDs and I have no clue why. Is there any sort of firmware update for these or some way to make it more reliable. I'm worried that I purchased a "lemon".

 

FIRST DRAFT of letter to HP concerning a BIOS update that allows overclocking of extreme processors:

To Whom it May Concern:

I represent a large community of proud owners of the now discontinued HP Pavillion HDX 9000 Dragon.

Our request is a simple one.

We would like for your company to release a BIOS update that allows for overclocking of the Intel Extreme processors such as the X7800, X7900, and X9000. All that is required is that the user be able to change the multiplier of the CPU up to its maximum via BIOS. Dell, Clevo/Sager, and others have done this for their customers either as standard or as a BIOS update.

We feel that those of us who have paid for the Extreme CPU option have been short changed since they cannot be overclocked in this legendary HP notebook computer. The price premium these extreme CPUs command is a function of their unlocked multiplier which allows for overclocking.

What is more, those who have systems configured with other than extreme processors expressed a very strong interest in being able to have HP upgrade their system to an X9000 at their own cost if a BIOS were released that allowed overclocking.

As a technical matter, the HDX Dragon notebook certainly has the thermal and electrical budget to handle an overclocked extreme processor.

Pragmatically, we understand that HP should not accept liability should any of us harm our systems with an overclocked extreme processor. Therefore we propose that as a condition to downloading and employing a BIOS update which allows overclocking of an Intel Extreme Processor, the end user must fully accept all responsibility for their system and will hold HP harmless for any damages that directly result from use of this BIOS update prior to downloading it from HP.

Also, we do ask in good faith that HP also supply a BIOS recovery method should the BIOS fail to update properly and render the system inoperable. This will allow the end user the ability to recover their system to an earlier BIOS of their choice.

Lastly, as a functional and safety concern, we ask that the BIOS only allow overclocking while on AC so that should the system become unstable, the user can run their system on battery and repeal the prior level of overclock to something more stable.

We, the HDX 9000 Dragon community, do hope that you will consider our simple request with earnest. Your response, should you choose to honor our request, will go a very long way towards customer goodwill and customer loyalty. In addition, news of this BIOS update will generate considerable press among the digital community journalists, technology blogs and forums. Something which will only help to underscore HP’s long-term commitment to their customers.



Sincerely and with much enthusiasm,

 

Beautiful!!!