*HP HDX DRAGON Owners Lounge, Part 1*

What driver version are you using?

If you're not at the latest, you might want to try 10.4 or 10.5

You can find them here: Global Provider of Innovative Graphics, Processors and Media Solutions | AMD upper right side of the page.

 

Has anyone had trouble with the little touch pad connector?

I've taken my unit apart 5 times now, and I've had real trouble getting that thing in correctly. I'm not even sure which way it goes anymore.

The first time I took it apart, no problems. The second and third times it's worked off and on. The forth was fine, but after the last upgrade, the touchpad hasn't worked at all.

 

Good to hear.....I'm going to re-install 10.04 again sometime soon....

 

Might want to give Mint 9 a try. Runs better than 10.04 but is based on 10.04 with compiz desktop. Really polished package.

http://www.linuxmint.com/

 

Did you check both ends of the ribbon cable? Especially the end that connects to the touchpad?

 

I haven't checked your hyperlink, yet, but I will.

 

I'm not sure my symptoms fit the driver compatibility issue that you are describing, but I'll give it a shot.

Still seems like a heat issue. Do other people have trouble with heat on their dragons?

Also, is the graphics card seperate from the motherboard... just so I can replace graphics card if needbe.

 

The AMD drivers won't be an issue. The reason it says AMD is because AMD bought ATI. So AMD drivers are ATI drivers.

 

Ya, realized that as soon as I clicked his hyperlink. I still seriously doubt drivers are causing the dispaly shutoff issue, especially considering the comp worked fine at a lower power setting (aka battery).

 

When you play games, the max clocks are engaged on the video board because it is engaging the 3D processing of the card. When you run on battery, they are not.

This likely would be indicative of a driver issue. High temps would also be a problem but you didn't indicate high temperature.

Give the driver a shot first.

The card is replaceable and since you have a 9200, you can upgrade to Nvidia 8800M GTS.

 

Interesting, I did not know that... perhaps the card is the issue. Next thought: wouldn't the 3d portion of the card require that the game has a amount of 3d requirements to replicate my symptom? And in the case of heavy 3d gaming the comp would just shutoff immediately, correct? I only bring this up because I don't play "real" 3d games (FPS)... only games like Total War: Roman Empire or CIV4 and they usually play for about 30mins, initially.

So assuming I update the drivers and I have the same issue what would the next recourse be? Replace videocard?

I didn't run an internal monitoring system and I couldn't figure out how to get to BIOS to check temps so I don't know the exact heat of the laptop. However, externally the difference between ac and battery was super high heat with fans running continuously vs. medium-low heat and minimal fans, respectively

Thank you though...its a starting point.

 

What became of this ?

 

To check temps, D/L an run HW Monitor: CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

Also GPU-Z which will log to file the temps: GPU-Z Video card GPU Information Utility

Play a game with GPU-Z running in the background making certain to check log to file box. This way if computer shuts down we can see the temps in the log file.

Probably need a fan cleaning if it's getting too hot.

BTW, doesn't matter if it's a "heavy" 3D game as all games engage the 3D engine of the GPU. Just some more than others. Meaning they will max the GPU clocks out more often.

 

LOL.

April fools joke crafted by the illustrious DV7T.

 

Thanks or the link! I've thought of installing various iterations of Linux and Mint 9 does seem quite nice and having the "mint4win" back in this distro will probably sway me to install this distro of Linux.

Thanks again!

 

Pretty misgiven being that I called it an April Fools joke right out at the time and they denied it several times.

 

Goodluck to everyone with any future stuff. My BD-Rom died yesterday, so I bought a w870cu. I'm off the ship.

 

The D700? That's the other notebook I wanted, looks like a pure workhorse, and from what I understand, it's the Panther series via Eurocom that were used to make Avatar.

EDIT: I meant the D900 Panther. Either way the D700 looks very nice.

 

Best wishes with the W870Cu. That's one sweet unit.

Thanks for all your contributions. You'll be missed.

 

I second that. Maybe you can stop in and let us know a comparison observation between the two beasts at some point. What specs you going to have on it?

 

Did you purchase it with Quadro or the 480m? At only 17" I'm sure you'll see a great performance boost over the hdx, even with the 285m.

Good luck to you

 

Just somewhat of a clarification: the videocard/GPU is seperate? As in, I do not have to replace the motherboard, correct? I'm having difficulty getting ATI catalyst to install correctly so I'm wondering about the replacement option vs. tinkering.

 

It is a separate MXM card. You can see it as well as how to get at it in the service manual: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01279508.pdf

Also, what issues are you having installing the driver?

And what BIOS version are you running?

 

Ok I see the parts breakdown, but the parts list indicates the seperate video card is only a N-vidia and that the motherboard is different with an ATI graphics card (or possibly different). Since mine is equipped with ATI, doesn't that mean it is incorporated on the motherboard as one unit?

I'll get back to you on the other driver and bios stuff in a bit.

 

There are two motherboards and two MXM cards. Both motherboards use MXM slot for the card. None are soldered on.

Since you said you have a HDX 9200, then that would mean you have the motherboard that is capable of accepting either the ATI 2600XT MXM card or the Nvidia 8800M GTS MXM card.

The motherboard part number will be found on the motherboard. Usually it's on a sticker under the keyboard. It should read "464591-001."

 

I got it with an 820QM and 5870m. The GTX480m is still unproven, and WAY too expensive.

I'll run some comparisons when it gets here next week.

 

Based on this

XtremeSystems Forums - View Single Post - GTX 480M(DX11 + PhyX) is 40% faster than ATI Mobility 5870 ? (no PhyX)

and this ( EDITED)

Notebookcheck: Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List

it will be a choice between relative high or low performance/consumption/heat. I've never questioned notebookcheck.com because they are thoroughly consistent and unbiased.


Anyone put a 100 watt light bulb on their lap before?

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The first link is mostly nvidia BS, and the other benches have no corroboration. It does look like it'll be decent, but if you look at the desktop 465 benchmarks, it doesn't really look all that impressive. Add to that, they want another $300 over the 5870m and it's just not worth it IMHO.

Wait until Anand or someone gets a hold of one, then we'll see what it can actually do.

 

apologies for the second link for it was incorrect ( Notebookcheck: Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List).

 

I want a GTX 280m in my HDX and a BIOS that will let me OC my extreme processor! :cry:

 

ditto

The upgrades would keep the hdx in the highest performance category except for dx11

 

Ditto on that. That guy Kris at the MXM site has many people at his reach to get this to be able to get this done and working properly, and has gotten other HPs thought to not be non upgradeable to work. I wonder if any of our European Dragon friends who live by him would send theirs to get it working, since RJ Tech doesn't seem to be committed to getting it to work, if not even having a facility to be able to do that for peoples notebooks. Kris on the other hand is committed to getting it to work, and was even willing to send a NVIDIA 280 GPU or whatever other GPU to a European or US Dragon owner. He'd try all of them and would have tools and resources many others may not have access to.

 

Hi all. This is my first time posting here and I'm asking for your help. I have a HDX-9320EA and I have lost the right hand button from the track pad. I have tried the usual routes, asking HP for a replacement but they only want to sell me the whole case and trackpad for just the button and I tried ebay and no one has a spare button.

If anyone out there can suggest a supplier or had an old HDX they are breaking please let me know.

Thanks.

 

Has anyone overheated their 8800m GPU using Powermizer?

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The 5870 is an awesome card - enjoy!

 

Is everyone benchmarking the 257.21 or something? (June 15th release) I'm going to try it on my HDX18 since gpu temps are always overkill.

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Running 197.45 downloaded from Microsoft. Best of the drivers to date. Best picture clarity, best vibrance, best frame rates.

 

It's not as good of a proposition as it may seem. The odds of getting it working and working well is very low. Then there's the physical modifications that need to be done. For sure it's not for mass consumption and really only for the do-it-yourself crew. Then there's the problem of acquiring a specific 280M GTX.

 

On an HDX18? I was using the 186 but it seems the 257.21 (not 257.15) works at a somewhat lower temp though I don't have an analysis for you in case moot. Since the 18" would normally be my traveler (ironic ), temp control trumps.

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I know the stats look bad for the Dragon super-upgrades, but I will look into mods as soon as I can take it apart in clean and equipped facility, BIOS hacks/replacements and moderating current draw are the crux issues, so anyone have a 464591-001 motherboard schematic?

OLEDs are going mainstream, so in the meantime I'll be designing my own 'Dragon'. No april fools, but it won't be hp

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where? i did windows updates and it did not show up.

 

also, did you try the 257.21 drivers (just to reiterate the question asked by another)?

 

What's the highest Directx we can use with Windows 7 and our card? Directx 10?


EDIT: Nevermind I see Windows 7 comes with DirectX 11.

 

It may be correct to say the odds of getting it working are low, but doesn't only saying what can't be done or what may not work make sure no one tries? If no one tried, the gentleman who just tried to get the 280 card to work in the HDX would not have gotten past the point where you did, in only getting a fuzzy screen. If a 280 card COULD get fully stabilized I highly doubt a physical mod would keep any HDX Dragon owner from getting it installed especially since if they are still in warranty and wanted it installed that alone I think would void the warranty.. if HP knew about it that is I guess. I don't know if cutting into a part of the board or modifying it in any way would automatically void the warranty, though I'd assume it would. I know I'm no do it myself guy when it comes to hardware mods, but man, if I HAD to and it was verified to work, I'd very likely try. Did anyone find out which Clevo the GPU came from with what particular BIOS it had?

 

DX10 is the limit. You can't do DX11 with the 8800M.

 

It's doesn't show up on windows update. You have to get it from the update catalog.

No, but hovercraft driver did and reported back. So far nothing beats the 197.45. It's really that good. So good, I spent a whole week getting the brightness issue fixed. The driver was worth the effort.

 

How come when I to the dxdiag it says Directx 11? Does that mean games won't work well or as well because it comes with Directx 11? I guess I'm asking is what do we with the 8800m GTS in the HDX with Windows 7 do exactly then?



Also is this the one you're talking about?

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_winvista_64bit_197.45_whql.html

What's weird is I formatted to Windows 7 again after it asked me to activate and didn't want to, and now the screen shuts off via the Power Profile correctly after 137 minutes like I originally wanted it to for some reason. So that's apparently fixed on it's own without having to shut off Homegroup. Weird stuff has occurred with Windows 7, but I think I'm liking it better now than Vista. Also that green zebra strip thing is gone. I think the codecs you posted that may have been for Vista were causing it. Klite works great thus far.

About the NVIDIA driver though, how did you get the brightness thing fixed? The 186 drivers you referenced before look wonderful, the brightness is perfect, my eyes have no strain, with no Flash acceleration unfortunately, but the 190s make the screen too bright and or make pics looks more so washed out a bit.

 

Because that's the version of DX that is in Win7.

They will work but will be using mostly DX10.

Here's a chart of DX 11 on DX 10 cards.

See above.

 

No not that one. The one from Microsoft's update catalog. You can find it here: Microsoft Update Catalog

I posted the win7 codec pack a while ago. They work better than the vista ones did on vista.

But do you have windows activated now?

Exactly, the 19x.xx drivers were the worst that's why I reluctant to try them out. But Hovercraftdriver recommended it and has never steered wrong. He was 100% correct about the 197.45 from Microsoft. Before that I was using a 18x.xx from Microsoft and it was way better than the official from Nvidia. Turns out MS has another winner with 197.45.

I'll hunt down the post where I explained the fix. I'm not on the HDX now so I don't have those notes. It's sort of simple but can take a bit to get it just right.

 

Updated myself on current bios implementation---which is more business friendly now than previously owner friendly---and asked formidable experts, but the hdx upgrade fate lies in rewriting bios as was stated before. This was also mirrored in 2.0's consumer install where bios didn't register the 280m.

Another fix may still be out there thanks to the results from our Polish friend, but I've run out of ideas except to learn current microcoding.

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