*HP HDX16 Owners Lounge*

Quad core will be faster if the program is designed for it, and most are these days. But also consider the sheer size of the HDX18 (which I'm assuming has the quad). The 16 isn't too big to travel with..

 

You've asked this a couple of times in two different threads, and received the same answer from different people (including myself). It depends on the video editing software. If the software is set up to use multiple cores (Pinnacle Studio is...I have that) then yes...but it will still take a while. It won't be instantaneous, that's for sure.

Paul

 

Hi Radish,

yah I gotta stop asking that same question, and I should have taken the clue... Pinnacle STudio renders video Got ya.

I'm going to go for the quad, and just skip the dual-core, and be done with it. The quad is looking more and more appealing.

Only thing I hate is that the drive is a 5400 rpm, which isn't great, but I guess it's OK.

 

You can replace the drive pretty easily with a 7200. I did that with my HDX 16. The actual drive swap was quick - burning the restore DVDs and reinstalling on the new drive took the longest.

You can also get an external drive and leverage that eSata port. That's plenty fast to do video...I've got a ton of video I work with off of an external drive (using my desktop machine) and haven't had any trouble.

Paul

 

Hi Radish5, ( love that name haha )

do you think in a few years, that I could also remove the included hard drive and put in one of these solid state drives ? ... I wonder if laptops have the compartment built so they take either a regular hard drive or one of these new solid state drives ( like are they physically the same size ) ( and have the same connectors ) ?

esata ? - I've heard of this - very fast, even faster than firewire800 I believe... what do you mean by "leverage" ? didn't quite get you on that one.

thanks for your info mate, good to have you aboard !

 

Well I never posted the idle differences with and without the Zalman NC2000. I just happened to be on the pc a while without it, here are the numbers. About 10C for the gpu and cpu, 5C for the HDD. At load it stretches to about 15C.

 

If the SSD is the same size (2.5") as the HD, no reason you couldn't replace it.

Sorry about "leverage"...too much time in the office I just meant you can take advantage of the eSata port...data transfers as fast as it does for an internal drive through it. I took out the 5400 RPM drive and put it in this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817193053 so now I've got a 7200 RPM drive in the laptop and a nice little portable HD.

Paul

 

Hi all,
As you may have read in my previous posts i had a problem with the crackling sound from my HP HDX16. I tried everything including reinstalling the IDT driver, installing the Realtek driver and reinstalling windows but none worked.
Well i returned this laptop for exchange and HP sent me another one which works just fine, NO CRACKLING at last. They even honored the coupon i used with the first time. Took SEVEREAL phone calls, but still good job done by HP!!!

 

Regarding the SSDs; has anyone installed one of those in their HDX16t. I know they can be installed, but I was wondering if the I/O controller, etc. would hamper the performance of the faster SSDs (such as the X25-E that I was thinking of purchasing). If anyone has had this experience of installing a SSD in the laptop, please post!

 

never got an alert you had replied, so only doing so now Radish5.

Thanks for the information.

Man, I tell ya, - only 4 years ago, these enclosures were a good $80, I had bought one maybe 6 years ago, and it was over $100. Crazy stuff.

Amazing they can sell this now for under $20. Amazing really when you think about it.

Well, right now I won't replacing any drive, but the SSD is very interesting.

If I hold off for 2 years, can you imagine how much these will drop in price ?

I know at Dell, for a 256 SSD drive they wanted an extra $300.... imagine in 2 years what you'll be able to get, and at what price....

I'm willing to bet that a 256 Gig SSD (hard drive for those wondering what an SSD is ) ( it's a solid state drive - it's a flash drive ) .. well I'm willing to be these things will be down to $89 for a 256 gig. SSD, and 1 gig SSDs will be available ( in 3 years from now )

In 5 years from now, I see SSD drives making it into many desktop systems too.

Now, if only Microsoft could make an OS that could take advantage of an SSD ( flash ) drive.

Imagine somehow making an OS that could boot up in 5 seconds.

Anyone older enough to remember tube TVs way back in the early 80s ? where you turned your TV on and it would take about 5 seconds for the tube to warm up ? ...

My father used to ask me, why it took so long for a computer to start up, and it reminded him of the old TVs, he wonders why they don't just turn "on" like a radio when you push the "on" button. ( instantaneous )

 

I believe it will be standard (SSD) in every PC.

 

Cellphones have used flash memory for years and they still take a long time to but up. I dont think flash memory will be affecting boot times of OS'es anytime soon.

 

As a fan of SSD's (see my sig), I'd like to add that SSD's do affect boot time, but not the extent of booting up in 5 seconds. We will probably never see that. If time stood still for the OS and SSD's continued to develop, we might see 5 second boot times, but unfortunately, time doesn't stand still for OS development, and they keep getting bigger and slower. Hence, faster SSD's are offset by bigger and slower OS's, so in effect, we see some gain in boot times (especially compared to mechanical hard drives), but doubt we'll ever see desktop OS boot in seconds. ("Ever" meaning in the near future).

 

Hey, I have read around and I see a lot of folks posting their temps of their laptops, but can someone direct me at a good temperature monitor? I have SpeedFan, but it's not the best thing in the world. Is there something better out there that someone could direct me towards? Thanks for any help.

 

Hi everyone, I just bought a HP HDX 16-1155 notebook from Futureshop a few days ago. Specs are:

Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 2.13GHz
4GB DDR2 RAM
320GB 5400rpm HDD
GeForce 9600M GT 512MB
etc...

I'm trying to tweak out the video card so games like Half-Life 2 and its mods (CS:S, TF 2, etc.) run nicer than what they are at the moment. With CS:S i'm really only maxing out at 40fps (without the action going on) and stutters to 18-25 fps in a gunfight.

FEAR 2 and Bioshock, on the other hand, run very well for my tastes.

Anyway, can anyone give me some advice on video card settings? I'm more concerned about performance (fps) than quality...

Thanks, much appreciated...

-N

 

Has anyone got GTA4 working and with what settings?

 

I recently ordered an HDX16 with the 1900x1080 display. I intend to connect the vga port to an old 19" CRT monitor that can go up to 1600x1200. Will I be able to have the "extended desktop" setup to use the laptop display at 1900x1080 and the CRT at 1600x1200? I'm hoping that's the case. Thanks.

 

I just received my HDX16t yesterday and I have a problem with it. Less than an hour after I started playing Left4Dead, my game froze and once it unfroze, it brought me to the desktop and said the graphics drivers weren't responding, but it had been repaired. I was able to play the game again for a little while.

Next, my screen was filled with colorful vertical lines, and then the screen went black. After restarting, it did the same thing only a few moments after loading my desktop. I was able to successfully load the BIOS and safe mode, however. Shortly after, I was able to access Vista normally again.

Right now my laptop was essentially sitting idle and it happened again, only this time it was a colorful checkerboard. I took a picture:



I already tried changing my video drivers and it still happened. Vista told me that there was a video hardware failure and "A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly."

I guess this is something I should contact HP about to get a replacement? This is the only issue I've had with my laptop. I love it so far, but only one day into my ownership, it has this terrible problem.

 

Sounds like a lemon. Give HP a call.

 

One thing I didn't mention (oops! ) above was that I had installed the latest nVidia drivers (179.48) before this problem occurred (note: I had not tried playing the game using HP's default drivers). I have since changed them to laptopvideo2go's 182.05 drivers and haven't had a problem at all today, even after playing Left4Dead for over an hour.

HP tech support decided that the drivers were causing the problem. For now, I will agree with them because I haven't had any issues today. I guess all I can do is wait and see if it happens again.

 

Keep an eye on it... did you monitor your GPU temps before changing the driver? You might of been running it to hot causing the GPU some problems.

Either way, you have about 30 days to do an exchange/refund (I assume you ordered it from HP Shopping) so if it happens again I would suggest getting it exchanged or refunded early. Heck, HP just released the new nVidia 130m.

Keep in mind that the 130m is just a rebranded 9600m but they did perform a die shrink and increased the clocks so it will perform a little better than the 9600m.

 

Deep down, I was kind of hoping it was a hardware issue because I saw that the HDX16 had just been updated.

Before changing the driver, I did not monitor my gaming temperatures. My idle GPU temperature was 54/55C. After the latest change, my GPU temp was at about 80C while playing Left4Dead today, and idling it is still 54/55C.

The tech support guy suggested that I revert back to HP's drivers if it happens again, and if it still occurs, we can look into the hardware as being the issue. (yes, I did order from hp.com)

 

Looks like HP and the Costco configuration builds for the HDX16 now offer a "Backlit Keyboard" for an additional $50... a little steep, but I'd love to see how that looks... they do not offer a picture yet.

 

More lights huh? Not interested. I actually wish the mediasmart buttons can be shut off when watching a movie.

 

Quote from HP.com:

Full Size Backlit Keyboard

An illuminated keyboard to help you see what you type - day or night! Stylish design that can meet the needs of your personal and professional lifestyle.

I'd like to see this keyboard too. If anybody have it, please attach the pictures.

 

Has anyone ever had a backlit keyboard?

If so, is there usually an option to turn the lights on it off? I would think it could be very annoying if you couldn't!

 

My Macbook and Macbook Pro are backlit, and they can be set to always on or off and then you can also adjust the brightness.

The Studio 15 and Studio 17 have 2 brightness settings, and you either have it on or off... it doesn't sense darkness like the Macs do, and then turn on automatically.

The XPS16 is the same way as the Studios...

I have not seen the HP design yet...

 

Thanks Cmu93! I think that is would be a nice feature to have then.

 

If anyone has a 12-cell battery for their HDX-16, I would like to know how long it lasts if you just surf the net and other light stuff. I am considering to buy it, however I would like opinion from people who have it. Thanks in advance

 

I ran it dry once - don't remember how long but it was a few hours. The nice thing about the battery too is how it props up the computer in the back. It puts the keyboard at a more comfortable angle for typing.

Paul

 

I just can't see why the HDX16 can be more expensive than the HDX18.

I guess it's the portability of the 16?

Here are the 2 of them w/ very similar specs (except the 18 has the Quad Core Q2000).

For $1,791.79 you get this HDX18
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HP HDX18t Premium Series customizable Notebook PC
EPP_00_NK625AV

* – Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* – Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad Processor Q9000 (2.00Ghz)
* – 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) - For 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics
* – 500GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (250GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* – 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT - For DDR2 Memory
* – 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
* – Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
* – Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)
* – Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
* – HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
* – Full Size Backlit Keyboard
* – 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* – No Productivity Software
* – HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

For $1,892.99 you get this HDX16

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HP HDX16t Premium Series customizable Notebook PC
EPP_00_NK606AV

* – Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* – Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9550 (2.66 GHz)
* – 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* – 500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* – 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
* – 16.0" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
* – Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
* – Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)
* – Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
* – HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
* – Full Size Backlit Keyboard
* – 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* – No Productivity Software
* – HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

is the 16.0" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p) and blu ray really worth the extra $300 or would the
16.0" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1366x768) be enough for FSX, some RTS games and engineering programs such as autocad? what do you think?

 

Umm so when you say few hours.. about 3? And also, why is there no built in time remaining thing for the battery? (pls don't say its just me =( )

 

It was at least 3 hours. I have a battery time remaining icon in the system tray. Maybe this will help.

http://www.vistax64.com/vista-performance-maintenance/115573-battery-icon-disapears-system-tray.html

Paul

 

I'd give you a real answer if I had the 12 cell battery. On my 6 cell, surfing the internet, it lasted 2 hours 58 minutes.

 

Anyone here currently tracking their NEW HP!!??? Waiting for mine to be delivered, been obsessively updating the FedEx tracking page. Released for international clearance through customs today, wed afternoon. I live on the east coast, Philly, so...any idea if it'll get here before the weekend? or by the (depressing) estimated ship date of monday afternoon?

All day I wait...staring at my "recently deceased" CPU in the corner...then checking the FedEx site from my neighbor's computer... Thanks in advance.

 

Yes you can. I have my HDX16 set at 1366 x 768 (I had no need for the 1080 model) and I have a 26" Samsung LCD monitor set at 1680 x 1050.

Keep in mind if your resolution on your extedned monitor is greater than one than on your laptop then your wallpaper will shrink on the extended (you may have to play around to find a wall paper that is native to the resolution on the larger display or just live with the borders. This may be corrected in future versions of the video drivers.

I am dual booting with windows 7- and it does support the ability to resize wallpaper's to fit both screens- but it does use a little memory in doing so.

good luck!

 

hmmm I have checked it out, but I think our problems are different since he is just talking about his battery icon being grayed out, whereas I cannot see my time remaining. Some forums say that you must download a driver for this on the hp site, however when I go, there are no drivers for such thing. Do you have any other suggestions?

 

I have had mine now 5 months as well- and I took ALL the stickers off. I even put a little square of electical tape over the web cam light (just so I can be sneaky) can't notice it at ALL...

anyhow- NOW i'm looking to see if I can find out if they make bigger memory sitcks for this. I want to go higher because i'm about to upgrade to CS4 and it supports the 64 bit version and quad core. If I added some more memory- It could have some serious processing power for CS4 (mainly photoshop) which is my bread and butter. I have resisted the urge to go MAC...and the HDX16 was my savior!

 

Hello all,

New to the forum. Been following the HDX16 for months now. I plan on getting this notebook spec'd out and was just waiting for the coupons. I have a few questions:

1. I plan on getting the (1920x1080p) display. However, I don't want all the icons and stuff on my desktop or webpages to be microscopic to the point where I can't read anything. For those that have this display, is this an issue? Can the resolution be changed?

2. I plan on getting the new backlit keyboard but I don't know how it looks. Anyone have this?

3. The new 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M option is $100 more. I plan on playing some newest game on it. Is it worth the extra 100 bucks?

4. Is 8gb ram and 2 Duo Processor T9800 (2.93GHz) over kill even if money wasn't an issue? I prefer to max out this laptop since I plan on keeping it for 5+ years and it won't be obsolete in 2 years with this spec, hopefully.

5. What are your thoughts between the HDX16 vs. the Dell XPS16? The dell seems much more popular on this forum but its plagued with BSODs and heating issues.

For those who are considering to buy this, I found a coupon not listed on this site, its NB2388. 25% off with purchase of any laptop accessory. You can pickup the 9cell battery and then get 25% off total purchase, which is what I plan to do. Expires 3/22.

Thanks for your comments and replies.

 

I was concerned about the resolution when I ordered mine so here's what I did. I made a screen capture of my current laptop screen and used that to simulate the new resolution by adding a border to the screen capture then viewing it full screen. It didn't show my text and icons perfectly (because my old screen was lower res) but it gave me an idea how small things would be.

I went to this site ( http://www.raydreams.com/prog/dpi.aspx) and figured out the dpi of the HD screen. Then I plugged in the size of my old screen (I had a 17" previously) and found the resolution that would give me approximately the same DPI. I enlarged my screen capture to that resolution by adding a border (if you just enlarge the image then everything will be bigger) and viewed it full screen (you can set it to be your desktop wallpaper to do this easily).

I'm glad I got the HD screen - I think the text and icons are clear and crisp. Yes, they're a bit on the small side but I'm in my 40's and don't have any trouble reading the screen.

With the processor, keep in mind that as you max it out you're also maxing out energy draw and heat. You can look up specs here http://processorfinder.intel.com/ The P series chips have a TDP of 25W while the T series chips have a TDP of 35W. I didn't know this when I ordered, otherwise I would have gone with a P series instead of a T series. I don't know if I'd notice a difference...my last laptop had a TDP of 90W...that put out some heat!

Go with a 7200 RPM hard drive too, or upgrade it yourself.

I used a similar coupon to the one you're going to use - I went with the car adapter. I figured I'd never swap out the battery...didn't want to carry the extra weight. It's much more convenient to be able to charge my laptop in the car.

Paul

 

I thought you weren't seeing an icon at all. The grayed out icon isn't in the tray but the notification area tab.

Here ( http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Fo.../thread/be2d442f-bd71-4326-9fd2-0c88992ff0f7/) some say taking the battery out and putting it back in well help.


Paul

 

Just saw that my HDX16 was delivered this morning. Waiting until tonight to get home and use it is killing me.

 

Optimus, for the Higher resolution screen.....I got the 1080, and have had no issues with it. Now out of the box, it is set on the highest resolution, and that can be a little small, but you can change the resolution to other options that are easier on the eyes.

As for the differences between the HDX16, or the Dell XPS16, I would DEFINITELY recommend the HDX16. I purchased the XPS16 first, and had it for 4 days. In those 4 days, it got really really hot during prolonged use, and I got 5 BSOD's. It also would periodically lock up in some graphic intense programs, and so I sent that back in a heartbeat. I got the HDX16, and have been pleased with it for over a month now.

As for the maxing out of specs, that I'm not a pro at knowing what kind of boost you would get out of it. I have 6 GB of RAM, and that is more than enough for me even with Vista being a memory hog. I have the 2.53GHz processor, and that keeps up with me just fine as well. But to each their own on that.

Hope this helps. But I would definitely stay away from the XPS16.

 

Would 4GB of ram be plenty? Also how does the nvidia GT 130M gpu do with the higher 1080 screen resolution during gameplay? Do you think it would be enough for the CAD program(i'm majoring in engineering)?

 

hey guys,

i'm interested in getting the hdx16t, but having trouble deciding on a processor. i am interested mainly in watching downloading HD and blu-ray movies and not being slowed down by having multiple programs (photoshop, moviemaker, web-browsing, video playback, etc) open. Also keeping in mind that i want to upgrade to windows 7 as soon as it becomes available, which processor do you think would be best?
T6600 (2.2GHz)
P7450 (2.13GHz)
P8700 (2.53GHz)

also is it worth getting DDR3 over DDR2 because i heard it's hard to upgrade? and does anyone have the HD tv tuner? is it worth getting?

 

I am so glad that most people are happy with their HDX laptops but I have had nothing but problems with mine. I have been on the phone with HP for hours and on the phone with Microsoft for hours and I am fed up. I don't know if it's vista, vista64, hp software or what. I have jumpy video, slow performance, buggy outloook program, the sound sucks and the settings automatically change on their own and most recently I can't print to ANY printer. I wish I could install XP on this thing so I could at least rule out Vista but it seems like I am stuck. Does anyone have any advice?

 

Have you tried a fresh install of Vista?

Paul

 

hi all

I am also a new owner of HDX16...

P7450, 4GB, 250GB 7400RPM, Blu-ray ROM , 512MB Nvidia, 1080p display...(for ~ 1270), 6-Cell

Was watching a blu-ray movie today with full sound...and the battery lasted for just 60 mins..(100% to 5%).....as i said its a 6-cell...

Is this the expected battery life...or is there some fault with my machine...


Also I have a problem with the Wireless network connection...the connection is being lost in between like after every few minutes....i have another office laptop that seems to be having no trouble....did anyone have had this problem...

let me know guys...thanx for the help

 

I think that battery life is normal from what I've been reading on here. This is why I bought a netbook that can last 9 hours for when I need portability. I'm also gonna pick up the 9 cell for this reason.

As for the wireless connection, I can't comment on that since I don't even have it yet. Maybe someone else here can.