*HP HDX DRAGON Owners Lounge, Part 1*

Here's a provocative email. A new poster on the forum (Maarten} from Belgium had an interesting exchange with an HP tech representative from Holland regarding the possibility of an MXM upgrade. I followed up, and after a few exchanges with him I g0t this response.


"...Thank you for your email.

As I understand from your email you don't think both gfx cards will fit in the HDX's video socket.

Personally I think both graphics cards will work in the laptop as both graphics cards have a standard board layout. The pictures I've showed you have the exact same socket and describe any 8800M and 9800M boards. Besides both model ranges do have their own bios so the board aren't controlled by the HDX laptop's bios.

I'm very sorry, but I can't give you more details. I will try to forward our converstation to our technical support. It might be possible that they reject this request.

With kind regards,

(name of rep)

HP E-mail Team"

What I thought was interesting was his mention that the cards have their own bios. As I said, provocative.

 

As for the e-mail to mxm-upgrade.com, I haven't received a reply yet.
Greetz

Btw, with CPU-Z I see that the multiplier of my cpu (T8300) sometimes goes to 13 instead of 12. Then I have a speed of 2.59Ghz. Does anyone know if I can keep
the multiplier at 13?

 

The problem with upgrading the video card, is that the card's BIOS is located in the HDX's BIOS. It's not going to be possible because of this.

This is why we can't flash our cards either.

 

What would be more provocative is an alleged source for a 9800M card.

Can't use Sager/Clevo's. They're proprietary. Just like the HP's. Hence what JohnnyFlash is talking about concerning the BIOS.

Besides, who is going to guinea pig their HDX with this sort of experiment? You could lose both the HDX and the video card in one power up session. And that would be a huge loss since you likely can't get another HDX.

 

Latest HP drivers out. Covers 8800m GTS.

http://laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22207

 

Have you tried them yet? I think I'll try them in a couple of hours
I hope GTA 4 runs smoother with it hehe.
Greetz

 

Nope, I'm at work and just browsing. The driver date is 9-12-2008, so older issue than the supposedly latest GTA 4 optimized drivers, which can be found here if you want to try them:

Standard LV2GO version: http://laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22209

Dox's Optimized version (Vista x86 only): http://laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22137

 

I'm going to try the 179.04 drivers when I come home from school.
It's sure that they are HP official drivers and they will work on the HDX?
Greetz

 

So I am new here, and trying to play around with a spare hard drive I have laying around. I am working on installing Mac OS X. I have looked around and found a lot of help for this, but still have not been able to find the original post by ETO1976 talking about his install, though parts of it are quoted by serveral people. I would like to find that orginal post, as well as see if anyone has fixed the sound issue? Thanks for the help.

 

I've installed the drivers and they work like a charm
Got a performance boost of about 5-10fps (compared to 176.22) in GTA 4. To me it looks like the game runs a lot smoother now, I'll post some specs later on

 

are there any diffrences between 9200 and 9400 (I dont think about specyfication).
for example 9250 and 9430.
9430 has only 1gb ddr more and vista 64. Do you think 9400 is better version or something like this??

 

I have the top specs with the 2.5GHZ processor, ie Blueray, Vista Ultimate 64 bit, included and 7200rpm 100GB x2 drives. I downloaded the HP signed version and enjoy that I can use everything including QuickPlay, but I'm wondering if any of the newest drivers allow the same stability and yet more options as far as settings or what not.

 

Hows video and overall picture look? Also do you still have function of everything else...like QuickPlay buttons?

 

Difference would be subtle and really denote when the model was made and for what market. Also what configuration.

As for as one being better than the other... intrinsically, no. But the latter would be the latest iteration/revision of the HDX.

 

If you don't mind potentially sacrificing blu-ray playback, the latest versions of drivers offer more options (like PhysX) and resolution modes. Plus they've been rock solid.

I'm currently running Dox's 180.43 with PhysX. Been running that since it came out. Going to upgrade that sometime this weekend to Dox's latest 64bit driver.

I don't have blu-ray so couldn't advise. But there hasn't been any non-HP driver that retains blu-ray functionality AFAIK. The reason surrend the fact that HP's uses 2 infs in their drivers. One of which likely is responsible for blu-ray playback. All non-HP drivers use only one inf.

 

One thing I noticed is video/dvd playback looks quite a bit better in Nero than in Quickplay or Windows Media Player..anyone know why this is?

 

Man..Id like to try it but I dont want to lose Blueray..:/ Can anyone verify that it disables BlueRay or is it a given? I take it Dox doesnt have Blueray. Could I go back to the other NVIDIA I have now if I wanted to use Blueray or would switching just cause problems?

 

You can go back at will and whim. But it requires uninstall/install/reboot cycle.

And it's a given that non-HP drivers don't work with blu-ray. So far everyone who has tried has had the issue.

 

Different decode engines.

 

I am trying to purchase the HP batteries before they dissapear like the HDX themselves. However I came out a little confused. There seems to be 2 totally different part numbers for the same item.

In the HP service manual, the part number is 448158-001, however googling around, it seems another HP part GJ114AA is an identical battery and not only that, the GJ114AA is more readily available and sometimes up to 50% cheaper.

Anyone ever bought spare batteries for the HDX?

 

Hmm cool so if I want to play games I just use the modded ones (as is or do I need to make some of adjustments or tweaks?) and then if I want to use BlueRay I just switch back by doing

1) Uninstall
2) Restart
3) Install new one
4) Restart


Correct order or no? I was also wondering how does one know the correct settings to apply? Like are there different settings for each and every game?

 

Is this the correct order and procedure if one wants to go from stock to the newest NVIDIA driver?

 

Yeah, that's the order mate. You'll be looking @ about 15mins or so in total.

As for settings, there are none unless you run into problems. But that would be game specific - info you can find on the gaming section of this forum or on others. Some older games benefit from setting tweaks and a game specific profile can be made in the Nvidia control panel.

 

It's the preferred method. Called a clean install.

 

I actually just downloaded and tested the HP driver I referred to a few posts back. 3DMark score (9576) was equal to Dox's latest 180.84 within a few points(9584) , and my temps are lower. The quality seems really good so far playing two different games. So if I had Blu-Ray (I don't) and didn't want to lose it, I would recommend the HP driver.

Given the date and version # of the driver, I would assume it supports PhysX as well, but I don't have it installed, so can't verify. It doesn't come with the driver package on this one.

 

Just make sure it's (*GJ114AA*) being sold as new with a 1 year warranty. Some of them are refurbs. Other than that, they are indentical.

 

Above is how I do it, especially with LV2GO modded .inf drivers.

 

Yeah, I'm going to hit that one this weekend. It'll support PhysX.

Still waiting on Far Cry 2 widescren patch...

 

Yeah, that's the SQWEAKY-CLEAN install method right there.

 

And now...duh-duh-DUH...the latest and greatest optimized drivers from DOX, 180.84, hot off the presses. He says he found some bugs and did some more tweaks. And he even provided Vista64 support this time...all in one easy to install-installer package. Haven't tested, just saw 'em.

http://laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22226

 

So after one uninstalls, you restart the computer in order to reinstall. I've been uncertain how much of a computer's desktop depends upon the gpu and driver. Apparently not at all since the desktop apparently starts up without a video driver.

 

I just uninstalled..it all turned black so I held down the power button now its asking to FINISH installing a more basic driver 7.15.11.6753. Should I allow that to complete and then install the new 1.8 something driver from DOX or not allow it to finish installing and instead use the time to install the newest DOX driver?

 

Ah I missed this post..:. How exactly does one do Driver Cleaner?

EDIT: I figured it out from reading some online directions. GUYS...not only do I still have a functioning BlueRay but I'm FINALLY now able to watch the Dark Knight on BlueRay!!!! HOLY MOLY THIS LOOKS AMAZING!!!!!!! I was starting to wondering why I got a WUXGA screen! My goodness! K gotta go to watch this now. I tried to post how I did this but accidentally lost the entuire post because it restarted after I did the steps to uninstall and reinstall the driver..ticked me off because the directions were very clear and step by step for those who are challenged when it comes to this stuff like myself. Anyways gotta run. Hope you guys have an awesome night/day. Thanks so much for all the help 2.0, hovercraft, lancorp etc! I'll try to post them later for anyone else if they need them.


BTW while the video is almost as good if not as good as the HP one, it is a tad unstable..video controls are a bit wacked at some points..will jump from trailers to the ending credits..wont rewind..wont go to the menu to be able to select different scenes, will lag if you try to do a couple of things at once etc. Other than that, if those kinds of bugs are worked on, this driver rules..and its supposed to be great with games too huh?


PS: What happens if you accidentally reinstall the same NVIDIA drivers...? Hope the HDX doesnt explode..

 

Everything still works. Video and overall picture look good
Greetz

 

Somebody's happy...

Hope you didn't stay up all night watching movies!

So, I take it you're happy with the WUXGA panel, then? I'm not sure the video drivers would affect the controls of the DVD playback software...not positive, but just doesn't sound logical.

Enjoy.

 

@Dominick7

Sounds like you overwrote the driver.

Do this:

1. right click anywhere on your desktop. Choose Nvidia control panel.
2. lower left of that panel, click system information.
3. click components tab.

Are your xxxxx S.dlls the same versions as your xxxxx. SR.dlls?

 

1) Uninstall
2) Restart to safe-mode
3) Run Driver Cleaner

So restarting in safe mode and running Driver Cleaner is a necessary or advisable step? What does the screen look like after restarting without a video driver?

 

Simply advisable...some of it eliminates what 2.0 alludes to in the previous post. "Overlapping"/concurrent registry entries also tend to cause problems, especially with the optimized drivers, if not eliminated.

My safe mode boot comes up with my normal desptop, only black and minus whatever wall paper I am using. I think this is pretty standard.

And to another question, if you uninstall the driver, the machine just reverts to the default VGA driver that is on the motherboard until new driver is installed. So you have graphic function, just severely hampered.

 

That makes sense about the default driver.

My one computer nightmare which provoked me into always creating a clone drive/backup was when I installed a Direct X 9 beta on my old, revered IBM A21P. It made my computer unusable, but I was able to start up and run in VGA mode as I did troubleshooting for months. Working in VGA mode was like running an Amiga.

Cheers

 

Always update your drivers.

 

I hope I am not repeating a questions asked before - I am located in Australia and my HDX comes with the USA/Canada (NTSC) version TV Tuner which allows me to watch TV in Quickplay but not in Windows Media Centre.

This is due to the region check in Windows Media Centre which is beyond annoying. We know both the Europe (PAL) and US/Canada (NTSC) TV Tuners available for the HDX is not really HDTV capable, i.e. search for local HD signals and view them.

Are there any aftermarket HDTV tuners out there that can be installed inside the HDX that allows capture of proper HDTV signals without the aid of a set top box?

My TV Tuner Card is the AV321 model.

 

I'm looking for some advice. I've read through a lot of the threads and got the gist of it. But 'cause of the money involved, I want to be sure. What I'm looking for is just any general comments and guidelines for choosing between the following processors. One concern I have is heat. So will the X9000, for example, cause an HDX to run significantly hotter than a T5850, T9300, etc. (and thus reduce the life of the GPU or system overall).

And is the X9000 that much faster to be worth a premium? The processors I am comparing are:

T5850
T8300
T9300
X9000

I appreciate any advice anyone can share. Thanks!

P.S. I'm thinking the T9300 is the best all around choice, any disagreement?

 

T9300, 2.5ghz, give best bang for the buck. X9000 is only about 10% faster. Which at that level of performance increase would go unnoticed. The premium for the X9000 is mostly for it's unlocked multiplier which allows overclocking to about 3.4ghz. But in the HDX, it's a complete waste since it cannot be overclocked. Heat difference is not a concern with any of the Penryn processors.

The other thing about X9000's is that many of those sold on eBay are engineering samples and not RTM (released to manufacturer) versions. That's why they cost around $350-$450. Where as an RTM would be >$600. Enineering samples have different stepping than RTM and may not be as stable. It's hit or miss.

 

Many thanks, 2.0! It was reading your posts that helped me conclude the T9300 was the best choice, but I was still a bit confused over the heat issue. Glad to hear it's not a concern.

Appreciate the quick reply and thanks for all the good info from you here - it's a goldmine and good reading on late nights.

 

That card can pick up OTA HDTV.

Avermedia is the main producer of Mini-PCI-e TV tuner cards for notebooks. You'll be hard pressed to find another. There was another manufacturer back in 2006. Don't recall the name and not sure they are in business anymore or made HDTV ready cards.

Problem is, the avermedia cards have weak reception when it comes ro OTA HDTV. You need a UHF bow-tie antenna to pick up signals that are up to 25-30 miles away from the transmission tower. An amplified antenna for 25-35. >35 you would need a roof/chimney mounted antenna.

 

Did some tinkering with a few drivers in the last couple of days.

3dMark06 scores:

Dox's original release180.84 performance version: 9584
HP 179.04: 9576
Dox's latest 180.84 performance: 9647 (yea! 1st time over 9600!)
Dox's latest 180.84 balanced: 9553

All tests run with clock settings at 650/900/1650. Not much notable difference in any except latest performance driver. This driver's colors seem significantly washed out compared to the other ones.

Running games (all on stock clocks, only OC for 3dMark) are all comparable and the best cluster of drivers I have ever used.

I think the 179.04 is comparable simply because they are optimized for HP rigs. I can't even find a generic release with that number, so they probably wouldn't fare as well on other (non-HP) machines, but I could be wrong.

That being said I can't really recommend one over the other. People playing more demanding games than I do presently are saying the latest Dox performance driver is giving considerably better performance and smoother in-game graphics. For us Dragon owners, especially the ones with Blu-Ray, I would probably stick with the HP driver, unless you play GTA4 and the other driver makes a difference.

Take it all with a grain of salt, as it's only one opinion...

 

Yes to both counts Lol. Then again I usually stay up all night anyways. It may have been the update to the Quickplay that caused problems, the was another update it required for Blueray that I didn't get till later. Seems to be ok for now, but with Quickplay the other players were acting weird.

 

Yea I accidentally overrwrote the driver twice...I brought up the installer again for the directions sake and I accidentally made it install instead of unpacking it tto a folder which it apparently didn't let me do this time that I saw anywhere at least.

I THINK I see the S dlls, but where are the SR dlls supposed to be?

All the drivers are 7.15.8084 except for the NVIDIA control panel container ones which are 2.2.310.00. Does that sound correct?

EDIT: I tried to uninstall the NVIDIA drivers and it let me do it once, but it retained the ones from underneath the overwrite and now it won't let me uninstall those..any suggestions? Can I just use DriverCleaner to uninstall/delete it all properly?

EDIT: Ok I used DriverCleaner to get rid of the previous driver, but now for some reason when I take the Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider out of test mode it fails to be able to use the Dox driver..though before it used to work..what am I doing wrong? BTW I could be wrong but I think Doxs driver actually allows me to play the newest Bluerays out because it wouldnt work before.

 

Youre right the colors are a bit washed out..WAY too bright. I had to adjust the settings and it seems..ok..so far..Cant seem to get it to look right. The latest Dox seem to retain Blueray functionality, as I believe one other person here reported the same.

 

Many thanks for your prompt reply 2.0! Yes, we need to get a new antenna in the house. The house is now 20yrs old since we bought it new

I found some really cheap WWAN cards on Ebay which I want to try on the HDX. Its a HP HS2300 which is practically a Sierra Wireless MC8775 WWAN mini PCI-E card.

I suppose compatibility should not be an issue and its only $100 so if it doesn't work - I'll pop it in my Fujitsu P1610 .

A small technical question to the technically/electronically inclined - there would be a need for an antenna as the WWAN card is positioned right underneath everything on the HDX. I tried to dissasemble the screen and that seemed to be quite difficult so would it be possible to connect the antenna cable and solder it onto the antenna cable of the WIFI/WLAN card?

After all, all that the WWAN card needs is a vertical oriented wire when the monitor is opened up. I suspect sharing the antenna with the WLAN should not be an issue?