*HP HDX DRAGON Owners Lounge, Part 1*

Tried the 6017 driver and i dont seem to be getting popping anymore...good! although i'm not sure my sub is working still, idt64mp1.exe opens the equalizer but i dont have any controls at the bottom, just the fancy lights, what gives???
I'm getting pretty much zip all out of the sub tests....how do i enable the sub assuming this proves it isnt enabled?

 

What about in the IDT control panel under Speakers...(where it shows all 7.1 speakers)...can you enable or disable it there?

 

I'm having the same issues. I've tried all those drivers listed and no sub at all with any of them. I also don't have that fancy control panel anywhere.

I'm starting to think rumba's HDX has a different variant of the sound codec than us. Looks like I have to go back to the 5511's.

 

I'm pretty sure my sub is working...when I play music, I can feel the base of the HDX vibrating with the bass...can't really feel/hear it otherwise...obviously, that teeny tiny subwoofer isn't going to move that much air to really feel it.

 

I don't know, with the 5511's, I can definately hear the sub working, especially for movies. The easy test is to play some hip hop and put your hand right over the sub underneath the laptop.

PS Did you find that magical panel yet?

 

Cant see anything.....in levels - balance i have all the speakers there but thats it?
when you click Configure for the speakers and headphones what should i have setup? do i just pick 7.1 and allow all the speakers, pretty much default options?

 

I thought the 55.11's didnt work with SP1, i d/l and tried them and they didnt work?

 

I've had them installed a couple times now. They're the only ones that give me bass.

 

Do you have a link to them, i'll re-d/l them and try?

 

I can manually run the IDT panel by clicking the CPL file, but it isn't coming up on it's own.

Also, now, the touch-button for mute is always orange, regardless of whether audio is muted or not. Could that be a side effect of the new driver?

 

Um, no link handy. I'm not on my comp right now, they're the ones listed on the HP site.

ㅗ샫고ㅀㄹ호

 

hmm sure they were the ones i tried and when installed they said no audio.

 

Very weird.

Edit: Yep, just reinstalled 5511 from the HP page, installed fine. Everything works now, except for SupCom. :|

 

this one?:-
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&os=2100&product=3763147

 

That's the one.

 

Thx....re-d/l them, installed ok this time and tried a few tunes and wow what a difference, i can definately tell the bass is now on!
So i also cannot get the bass working on the IDT drivers it seems.

 

When is this out? hopefully IDT will have sorted their bug ridden drivers out by then.

 

Sounds familiar to me...my Dell XPS M2010 never had any driver updates yet every other XPS and Inspiron was constantly being updated.

But then again, that's what we're all here for!!

 

Hey, what are you guys using for 8800m GTS video drivers (my stock drivers are 167.53)?

Looking for something tried and true and newer for x64.

Thanks.

ps. I saw a post earlier in this thread but didn't see that anyone answered.

 

I'm new in this forum. I'm another one who doesn't have Idt in control panel. How to solve that. And one more this I saw scroll lock appear on screen lower right. It show scroll lock on.off.on.off.on. Non stop by without touching keyboard. I don't know what's make it happen. So anoying. I need help

 

Ok for those of you having audio driver installation or configuration problems, here's the official HDX audio driver.

Version 5607. It's from my swsetup folder. It's archived in a zip file of 15MB that expands to approx 40MB.

You won't have any trouble with it as far as SP1 or SP2 as it is fully compatible and certified by MS to work with windows update. There's no control panel applet because official HDX versions do not contain it. Bass, treble, all good. HDMI AC3 and DTS passthru all good also.

I uploaded it to MegaUpload. Here's the URL:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PSDXJNRT

 

If you haven't updated your sound driver, you won't have it. It's not necessary but is a component included with the DV7's audio driver which works, hit or miss, with some HDX's.

As for your scroll lock issue, sounds like you have an accessibility option enabled. Go to control panel/ease of access/make keyboard easier to use and make sure that toggle keys are off. Also filter keys is unchecked.

If that's not it, what mouse are you using? You might want to reinstall its driver.

 

It is now confirmed that HP HDX 20" is Gone For Good.

 

It's a sad day. One of the best notebooks ever made.

 

Looks like I'm getting one of the last ones.


All of this talk about audio drivers is making my head spin a bit. Is there any reason I shouldn't stick with whatever's installed on there when I receive it?

 

Nope. The one you have will work fine. Things potentially go awry when you try other drivers. Even the video driver it comes with works fine. But you can get a bump in performance and increased game compatibility if you update the video driver. But it's not necessary.

 

With all this talk about audio drivers, can we put together a one-stop shopping list of the most stable and/or best performing drivers and software HDX owners are using? I'm awaiting my HDX, so such a list would definitely be handy to refer to when it finally makes it through my door. If I may, I'll start by creating a short list and will update it according to posts here.

Vista 64
Audio:
Video - Nvidia:
Video - ATI:
Blu-Ray(?):
TV Tuner:

Vista 32
Audio:
Video - Nvidia:
Video - ATI:
Blu-Ray(?):
TV Tuner:

Other highly recommended software?

 

To CZ:

Hope you find this of some help and good luck.

The most recent 20” HDX Specs:

Operating system Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Extreme Processor X9000 (2.8GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Display 20.1" WUXGA High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen Display(1920x1200) - "True HD" 1080p Resolution
Memory 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Graphics Card 512MB NVIDIA 8800 GTX
Hard Drive 400GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (200GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard drive Protection
Networking Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
Personalization HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
Primary CD/DVD Drive HD DVD-R with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer (HD-R DVD Discontinued Format)
Primary CD/DVD Blu-Ray HD with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
TV & Entertainment Experience Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner with Remote
Sound 4 Altec Lansing speakers +the HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer
Primary Battery 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Replacement Battery 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Recovery DVD for Vista Ultimate 64-bit with SP1
Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works 9.0, HDX Premium Software Bundle Power Pack software with Muvee, AutoProducer Premium, Cyberlink DVD Suite Premium, and Serif Web Plus
Norton Internet Security and Norton System Works 2008 (3-Years)
Financing & Accounting Software Quicken Home & Business 2009
Accessories Mobile Stereo Headphones

 

2.0
This HP online link still lists HDX for sale:
http://h41306.www4.hp.com/section?SID=7e445d30e6925c0578c4f84c8404d5b151a:1223&secid=80074

If you did not yet and still could get a top of the line 20” HDX, given the latest developments and the facts as you know them (that HP will soon be releasing the 18.4" Notebook), would you still get a 20" HDX now or wait until the end of the month for its replacement. Also, what do you know about the inclusions that the 18.4” replacement will have?

 

Can someone provide me with the information how to properly reinstall/downgrade audio driver step by step? I had 59xx driver and now 5607is unable to work (error code 39)

 

Oops..I messed up...continue on...

 

While the basic audio driver works fine, it's still basic. It just doesn't have the fine tune adjustments that many people like (and that the IDT panel gives, to some extent).

Being in my late-40's, like others, I'm sure my hearing isn't perfect, and I certainly do find that being able to adjust the sound output with an equalizer makes the music I listen to (mostly Jazz), sound better than leaving it flat.

Also, the HDX has a great sounding audio system. Much better than the 9-speaker Dell M2010 has (not that the M2010 is bad, but it certainly doesn't live up to what 9 speakers should put out). I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a "Multimedia Powerhouse" like the HDX to give us every conceivable audio control we need to make it sound just the way we want it.

It's unfortunate that, for whatever reason, not all the HDX's work the same and that there is all this uncertainty about what it takes to make drivers work with it (there should be better drivers for the HDX in the first place).

Anyways, for those interested, I was finally able to get the IDT control panel in my Control Panel by simply copying the CPL file for it to C:\windows\system32. Now, it's in my Control Panel and in my system tray!

Now, if only I could get the speaker tests to work!

 

Ok, I've managed to solved it. I can confirm now that with 5607 I have better bass and overall quality then 59xx. But as usual it is subjective

 

Just curious, but how did you confirm it? I upgraded mine to 5929 and with the adjustments to the EQ and bass, it sounds awesome.

I'd almost need two HDX's, side-by-side to do an A-B comparison in order to really confirm one was better than the other.

 

Thanks in advance I don't have HDX with me but I'll try. I used stock touch pad but update from microsoft it might cause that. If not work I'll roll back driver of synaptic. For the control panel IDT I haven't see after I recover whole harddrive due to clean install ultimate64 and mess up display go blank and not respond any key. By download all driver from HP site not enough I have to recover from recovery disc. I'm sure it doesnt have IDT or Sigmatel in control panel. I don't know how your guy bring it up. For me just EQ and blank preset button. Oh! I install new IDT codec it show on volume when you point as laptop with sound both speaker not speaker and volume level. I don't know I explain right.

 

That's in the UK. You can get the HDX fully loaded in the states from amazon, I believe. Ebay also. Otherwise, there's the newegg deal.

This is a tough question. I don't know precisely when the new HDX line will come out or in what stages. HP is not just going to "pop" them out on their webpage. It'll be done with some fanfare to bring brand awareness. Knowing that, you're probably looking at CES 2009 show in January. They probably learned their lesson with the intro of the Dragon being less than stellar with commensurate lack luster launch sales. I do however have some speculations as to what will be included. One of which is the video card. It will not likely be as powerful as the 8800M GTS. One of the biggest gripes about the initial HDX which stuck in the minds of the press was that it was "a beast." A heavy, expensive, unjustifiably short battery life unit fit only for conspicuous consumption. Though they originally designed it to house an 8800M to attract gamers, it didn't happen until 6 months or so later. Something which would have justified their price premium at launch. HP's M.O. is to sell feature pack machines at reasonable prices. In order to do that, they'll have to define the new model's mission more narrowly. It'll have to be geared more for entertainment, casual gaming and things that people do everyday. They'll leave gaming to VoodooPC. Just like Dell has left gaming to alienware.

That said, I expect the new models to be "TouchSmart." Mid-Level GPU from either ATI or Nvidia. Most likely ATI since they have better price to performance ratios and better entertainment features. Similiar high grade sound set up. Likely a Blu-ray burner as an option. But it'll be a slow one. Fast Bluray burners will be only found on desktops. Likely USB 3.0 with eSATA. Lasty, a mobile Quad core option. The Q9x00 non-extreme 2.1GHz model.

The price premium can't exceed the 17" DV7 model by all that much. It has to be just right in order for one looking at something the size of the DV7 to go and splurge on the 18.4" model.

But in all honesty, I'd rather have the 20.1 inch discontinued model. It was and is the absolute best notebook HP has ever made. The WSXGA+ has the exact DPI of a desktop 20" monitor but with superior visuals. The sound is awesome for a notebook. The GPU, geez, I mean, geez. I have so much fun everyday playing games on it. Dual hard drives. All the other little niceties that make the HDX, the HDX. And, not for nothing, it's well built.

Up to you, but as you know, I jumped on it because of the price and the price made me realize that a new HDX (assuming at the time an update to the 20.1") and it's upped specs wouldn't be worth it. The price to performance ratio wouldn't justify the $1000 more of a new model. The new model would have been only say 10% faster than the current with the only advantage is that is less obsolete. But when you buy notebooks at this level of power, obsolescence is slower than when you buy a low spec'd 15" model. In 2 years, there will be more graphic content on the web. While peeps with low spec'd notebooks will have a little struggle with D/L the pages, the HDX will breeze through them. Games in the future? No probs with the HDX. You'll just have to adjust a few features back.

Again, I'd buy an HDX today. It more than suits my needs and it sure suits my desires. I'd even buy it off Newegg knowing that I could upgrade the CPU whenever I wanted to. But the 2.1ghz in that set up is no slouch. Thanks to some posters here, you can even add a 2nd HD thanks to their bracket finds. Plus consider that the HDX runs cool and quiet. Unlike the Sager NP5790 I was looking at last year. It runs cool, but not so quiet.

That's my personal advice. But you have to do what's best for you. You may find that a more portable notebook suits your portability needs and that a desktop better suits your computing mission. I was on the fence about getting a desktop. I just couldn't justify the watts consumed. Burning 500+ watts in an SLI setup just to play games and idling at 175+ watts just didn't seem environmentally responsible to me. Not when during the day, I wouldn't need all that power for work.

Best wishes and good luck in satisfying your computing needs.

 

That's exactly what I did. I own 2 HDX's and compared the two drivers and found the 5607 to be overall better.

However, your point about being able to fine tune through the other driver's control panel is well stated. So, I think I'm going to find a way to add that perk to the 5607. should have some time this weekend with Hanna on the way keeping me indoors.

 

Dude, ANY new computer you get is already outdated when you order it!

 

I had cleaned the registry out of all IDT, STACSV, and STWRT before starting hoping to avoid the situations that others had with the driver. I was hoping to be able to report not only what to do to get it working out of the box, but to also experience the better bass as advertized. Well I did find the bass to better in a few instances but overall not better than the 5607. and since it didn't work out of the box, I had no choice but to force the configuration of the speakers in order to gain subwoofer activation.

Anyway, I'm going to work on the problem one more time. 3rd time's the charm, as they say.

 

So, to summarize, are you saying 5607 is the best overall driver to use? When you say "It didn't work out of the box", what is "It", 5929?

I just trying to get a grip on whether I should back-rev to 5607 or stay with 5929.

Thanks!

 

Believe it or not, I will usually be using headphones. Any major sound issues there?

 

You're right, I should have been more clear. The 5929 didn't work out of the box.

I'm not going to recommend either driver. They both work it's just that for some, the 5929 needs tweaking and configuring. For everyone, the 5607 works out of the box. Naturally as that is what most everyone's recently purchased HDX comes with. They both have bass (5929 when configured) but as I said, for what I use the HDX's audio for (gaming and music), the 5607 is better overall. It's a compromise of bass versus mid range fidelity of some sources.

 

Oh ok now, given the size and watts of the subwoofer and 4 speakers, the qualitative descriptions above are a bit overblown. Let's keep it real. The HDX is NOT a CLASS A audiophile system where such terms really come into play. Truth be told, it isn't even a CLASS C system. MY Sony XBR TV has significantly better sound than it. Same goes for my Class C home theater setup in my bedroom. But what the HDX is, is the best notebook audio hands down.

My only interest in this matter is two fold. I like to get some good sound out of the HDX so when I game I can feel it and be immersed. Also that people spend less time putzing around with drivers and enjoy their system. I realize that not everyone is a techy, so I like to offer them the best advice to suit their needs. Just like I don't push or recommend people to do a clean install of Vista even though I did and find it to be an optimal setup. They don't especially need to. But if they do, since I've done it, I'm there to help if something goes wrong.

I don't like to see peeps frustrated with reboots, re-installs, rollbacks, etc just to have the latest and greatest drivers. I want to see them happy and enjoying their systems.

It's not a knock on you as it is an observation, but it seems like you're more interested in seeing peeps adopt the driver you're using rather than getting them to a point of satisfaction. It worked for you out of the box and that's awesome, but others seem to be having trouble with it. That's no fun. It's been page after page of "I can't get bass or I can't get the control panel, or..."

That's why I did a test with both my HDX's in close proximity to ferret out the difference. I acknowledged where there was a difference. But for overall use, the 5607 original driver is fine.

I read that as the other way around or something in between...

 

But they had bass with the 5607 originally before they messed around with the driver as that is how the unit shipped. They lose bass when not completely clearing out the newer driver. So they have to go through a series of reinstalls to get working.

As for bug fixes to games, yes. Not many, but a very very small percentage of games. I'll be working on Supreme commander in a few weeks. I don't have it installed yet but suspect it needs dx9's SDK update for DX9's audio implementation in Vista.

 

Manual clean. I don't trust such programs as CCleaner or JV16 to do that sort of wetwork. It's one of those, "if you want it done right, do it yourself" situations.

 

Has anyone had trouble with their power brick?

Noticed a slight buzzing/clicking noise when i was running 3dmark06 earlier and its got quite a bit noisier when gaming just now. The brick is not especially hot to touch, just warm but its even buzzing occasionally in windows when just scrolling up and down!
Does it sound like its on its way out?

 

I spoke with several reps in different departments and the word is that while the HP Pavillion HDX is discontinued the series will remain and they will be releasing a new one that's even better. I REALLY hope so because the HDX is the ONLY Notebook I want! If they don't come out with it I think I may have to go with a an HDX from Amazon/Ebay or leave HP altogether by settling for an overpriced Sager..:/

I think this makes sense since everyone was not briefed officially on it being discontinued, I've seen them do this before with features and laptops with them coming back on the website with better specs, and well, the HDX is their best selling laptop.

Besides this what I have found as unique and uncanny with HP is they REALLY listen to their customer base. I'll be on the phone one day asking for something, then literally seeing it as an option on the site the very next day! This has happened many times.

So in light of the fact that this is one of their top selling notebooks I would think they would be supremely stupid to not keep the series but just improve the HDX by taking into account the customer feedback...normal non cramped keyboard with a normal right shift key, higher capacity battery, perhaps an even better processor/graphics card, improved ports, maybe lighter, a Blue Ray/HD Combo BURNER drive back on there but with a faster speed, etc but RETAINING the 20 inch 1080p screen! I want ALL the features they make available with this notebook! I really pray they keep the HDX because I also think it's the best notebook ever made.

 

Neither site offers the HDX with the ... x 1200 screen.

Here is Amazon's:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_p...url=search-alias=computers&field-keywords=HDX

Here is Newegg's:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147750

 

2.0
If portability was secondary, and still had your options, how likely is it that you would consider the iMac 24" with 3.06GHz and NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB over the HDX 20"?

 

The HDX uses the same "Class A" IDT CHIP family as the dv7. But that's not the same classification system used by audiophiles when referring to audio equipment. No laptop's sound system in the world can be considered Class A certified.

Class A Audiophile systems as a total solution using all Class A components, start out at around $65,000 and go well over $100,000. If you ever heard or own one and you really enjoy exceptional sound, you'll appreciate the price these ultra premium systems command.