*HP HDX18 Owners Lounge*

Oh yeah! LED backlit is the way to go. I wonder how long it will take HP to jump on the bandwagon?

The Sony AW is really nice, but it will run you $3,000+!!! They are basically the Apple of PC's...

Speaking of Apple, if you look at the Sony AW keyboard it looks almost identical to the Macbooks...

I'm just not a fan of the spacing between the letters, seems too much space, I like to type fast and like my letters to be right next to each other...

 

I don't know why you think it uses the same display as the HP... they are almost definitely different.

About the PCMCIA X-Fi, I have it also and used it for DJ gigs for a while- I tried out the express card version (the newer one) and it sucks. It sticks out, the sound quality is bad, and it costs an extra $30 for the same (surround sound) cord you get included with the PCMCIA version!

I'm just going to stick with my MOTU box for quality sound from now on.

By the way none of the new HPs have PCMCIA either.

 

ops, I accidentally deleted my post, but you've quoted it so it's there. Yes, I think you're right, it's not the same display, Sony has aRBG and non infinity type display.

As for X Fi, there are 3 versions now. The PCMCIA, the Express Card, and now they have another one with the Express Card 32 measurement. The first two should be the same. I hear the 3rd newest one sucks as it is more expensive and with reduced functionality. Yes, I realize non of the newer laptops have PCMCIA,and they have eSata, HDMI etc..

So... I'm waiting for the QUads to be listed so I can make my order!

 

We all are. I really hate HP's customer support. i tried emailing their sales support and I got some indian who's grammar was so bad I could hardly make out what they were saying besides "Buy something else". You'd think at least with SALES they would hire english speaking personnel.

 

If any other company (besides sony) had this laptop or something very similiar that looked just as great and at a reasonable price I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

The problem is that the market is dominated by 3 to 4 main companies. Sony, Apple, Dell, and HP. Well I don't buy sony cuz it's overpriced piece of sh*t. I don't buy Dell cuz it's usually cheap quality stuff. So that leaves Apple. Again overpriced and then I've always like Windows over OSX. So that leaves HP.

Well HP products are good but dealing with HP as a company has become hell on Earth. Their processes for returning, canceling, modifying orders is just completely stupid. And the reps are completely stupid and useless.

 

Thier AW is nice if your a professional that needs color matching. Thier AW comes with Adobe software to do that sort of thing.

 

OCZ Force Extreme 840

Link is back up for those that care...

 

I have to say, I for one had enough of HP and it's 'no quad core in the quad core laptop' and got tired of the whole '5 excuses' thing. Instead, I went down the Arima 'build your own laptop' route via KillerNotebooks.

Qx9300, dual 320Gb 7.2k drives, dual 8370's - no windows (huzzah, linux thank you all for around $3.4k including shipping and taxes.

it's about 1k more than the hdx18 .. however, I will have a quad core laptop before xmas and it's way more upgradeable -plus- I actually get customer support and sales that doesn't tell me to 'downgrade' and that I won't really "appreciate" a qx9300 (cause, you know, who needs that in a laptop *rolls eyes*).

I say, for all those affected/upset/whatever, vote with your feet and dollars. This will hurt doubly-so during the recession/depression/whatever.

 

the thing of it is ... as much a pain in the A## HP has been over this, they sold a lot of us the QX9300 for under 2K in most cases.. so it is hard to fork over another 1,500 just to teach them a lesson.
I am sure I am in for a battle though as my package arrived and it was NOT the QX9300... so come Monday, Ryan, or whoever in CS is going to have to explain how they can tell me NO WAY the 9300 comes in and I have to re-order and then TWO days later say they are now shipping????

 

Do you have a link to the website where you built your laptop?

ANd in other circumstances I'd agree but like you said in this economy every dollar matters. Even with my tendencies to overspend I honestly can't justify spending that much on a laptop.

 

Try: killernotebooks.com/nagamaki/nagamaki_order_page.html

 

This is my dream notebook. I'm sure HP will make me wait forever before all these options are up there though...

Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1 (64-Bit)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9300 (2.53 GHz)
Display: 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display
(1920x1080p)
Memory: 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Graphics Card: 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
Hard Drive: 640GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (320GB x 2) with HP
ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection edit
Personalization: HP Imprint Finish (Fluid) + Microphone + Webcam +
Fingerprint Reader
Keyboard: HP Color Matching Keyboard
Networking: Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-Card with Bluetooth
Primary DVD/CD Drive: Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
TV & Entertainment: No TV Tuner w/Remote Control
Primary Battery: 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

One can only hope though that someday...

 

Had you received the email saying it was shipping with the QX9300? Just curious if they sent you the email and then downgraded you or what? I wonder if others who got the email are going to have the same issue.

 

Just some thoughts to the discussion of a dream system while I have my Sunday morning coffee.

I see the Intel X25M 80GB SSD is now available (Amazon and others are now listing in stock availability).

If I was ordering a laptop now, I would give serious consideration to adding this SSD in lieu of the cost to uppgrade to a faster processor.

Though I am not an HDX18 buyer, I hope to have my HDX16t delivered on Monday, tomorrow. For me, the intel fast 80GB SSD would not only be enough storage for my laptop, but would make a bigger improvement in overall system performance than a faster processor would. I am not so much worried about large file storage as some of you seem to be, but could always relagate things like music and movie storage to a network drive. For the most common laptop uses, and even many less common ones, the SSD will open things up quite a bit more than a faster CPU would.

The X25M seems to have addressed all the issues the first MLC SSD drives had and far surpasses any laptop HDD in performance. I think it should be at the top of any wishlist.

Just something to look into.

 

Not that its brought up, I wonder how the X-Fi card compares soundwise to a Headroom Total BitHead amp?

 

Mine says the same thing.

The part I find funny is: "Package received after FedEx cutoff"

 

Basically what it's saying is that the package was received too late in the day to start the delivery process, aka 'Delivery Exception'...so the actual delivery will start their next business day, which I think for FedEx is Tuesday. (I think they only deliver Tuesday-Saturday)

 

You may be right. Mine is listed as being at my local sort facility on Friday with a delivery date of the following Teusday.

 

80GB is not that big. I think my personal install base for vista with all the programs I use hits 80GB. You could always connect another drive with the HDX16 via the eSATA port.

I've been thinking about this really hard as well. I'm going to guess the next challenge is finding the hardware to mount a second drive for those of us that purchased the HDX18 with one drive. Kind of regretting not getting the 2nd drive even though it would have wasted money.

I said it earlier. I think their modus operandi was to cancel as many orders with the quad as they could to save the company a dime. The CS reps didn't know anything beyond the script they were reading. I sympathize with your frustration.

Since were dreaming here...
CPU QX9300
Ram 8GB of DDR3
18.4" 1080P LED screen
ATI HD 3870 Crossfire w/1GB DDR3 RAM
blu-ray writer
2 hard drives; 128 GB SSD and a 500GB 7200RPM (drive is only currently available in 5200RPM but you know it's around the corner)
Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard....I personnaly think their notebook keyboards are the best in the business.

 

There's nothing too outrageous with that config. I am sure HP will have that very very soon...

I think you may want to rethink the screen though. HP as LED screens for their 14" screens now just like Apple and Sony. Except they didn't make a big fuss about it...

I'm sure the LED screens will make their way to the 18.4" soon..

I'd also have the TV Tuner just for the heck of it. At least it's integrated compared to Sony's which is an external attachment who wants that?

 

Congrats on your order! I hope the notebook is everything it is suppose to be $3.4K is mighty a lot. I do beleive if more people got together, HP would make even BETTER laptops, but since there's so many vendors, it's just too easy to go to someone else.

I'm not an HP fanboy like Apple fanboys are, but I just don't like the designs of other company laptops. I'm use a Gateway laptop right now and I just HATE the keyboard.

I have an HP tablet PC that I use for miscellaneous things but I love the keyboard and design. But it's 12" screen is just too small for everyday use...

If everyone of us sent HP our receipts and showed we spent money on other vendors, that would definitely change things...

 

Not being specifically familiar with the resource requirements of Vista I've been wondering about this. I have a desktop at home that I've been using for a long time with a P3 and only a single 100GB HDD running XP. I have a full MS Office suite loaded, Helix 3d Cad and product drawings, several web site development files and associated graphics, company docs, many years accounting, product tech manuals, etc. Disk usage is only at 30+ GB - and I could archive a lot of that, and any new large media files, onto my network storage.

So I'll see once I get into it. Sure seems like an SSD is in my Laptops future though and right now may be the single most significant performance improvement that could be made.

You guys with dual drive capability are in even better shape capacity wise - but what are you doing that is eating up so much drive space?

 

the last email i received was thurs from RYAN stating once it is known if the QX9300 will be available we can work on the details of the order.. then it is shipped THAT night (was not estimated to ship until 10/30). so yeah, i got the upgrade to 2 day shipping but not the processor i originally ordered.

 

Make that over $2K more...I got my HDX18t w/QX9300 for $1623 - $364 in live.com cashback. Total = $1259. For that, I will have patience. And, I'll have it by Tuesday... well before Christmas!

 

80GB is doable with XP but the install is significantly larger with VISTA.
I have Vista Ultimate SP1 and all downloads; MS Office Enterprise; MS Visio; Adobe Acrobat 9/lightroom/photoshop; iTunes; PowerDVD8, Roxio 2009; Symantec Endpoint; QuickTime; Winrar; VLAN; some other work related programs for my work; proprietary forms and smartcard support software.
This easily busts 80 gigs and BTW I map my folders with all the working products (ie documents, music etc) onto other hard drives.

 

well, my wife has told me to tell HP we will be sending back my hdx18 and HER HDX16 if they don't rectify the qx9300 issue. if they do not fix my order, then their motive will be very transparent (bait and switch) so they don't lose so much money...

since this was my 40th Bday gift, i hope it works out...
have to wait until Monday to "chat" with them.

 

What's the difference between those 2 hard drives? Like what does SSD stand for and is it an improvement over the 500GB 7200RPM? I understand the diff between 5400 rpm and 7200 rpm but I don't fully understand the whole SSD hardrive stuff you guys are mentioning.

 

i tried to speak with a customer service rep, and it was worthless.
i want the phone # to ryan presley.
since he has ceased emailing me.

 

Hey guys,my friend just bought HDX18t for me in US and i ll get it on 1st Nov.p8400,all other staff,500gb hdd-for 1500-not bad?also,what sort of gaming performance can i expect from it?on games like far cry 2 and crysis?

 

SSD = Solid State Drive

Current SSD technology is far superior to HDD in access performance, but capacity is not up to HDD levels yet. SSD cost/GB is also much higher than HDD, though the potential for increased longevity/dependability may actually skew the long term cost in favor of SSD's.

In the words of Howard Hughes, SSD's are the wave of the future, the wave of the future, the wave of the future...

Try this link for more info on SDD's

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=208242

 

Thanks....

I like hearing about future technology. I'm guessing HP doesn't offer any of those types of drives in their notebooks right? But we can replace the HDD with SSDs?

 

Yes. Which is why I chose the least expensive HDD option when I ordered mine - planning to replace with SSD when the time is right, and with Intels new X25M now available that may be sooner rather than later (but it is currently limited to 80GB and about $8/GB).

 

If anyone's interested...found an ExpressCard to PCMCIA Card adapter...just in case you wanted to use that PCMCIA sound card...at newegg for $39.99...

newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16839200010

 

So I checked the status of my order again at HP's website and when I logged in to my account, saw they had processed my refund/credit...but only for $126.02!

 

Well, for pro audio, USB just plain sucks and I wouldn't trust it with live music. The X-Fi cards are ok, but they are awesome when compared to HP's built-in sound on the older systems.

USB wasn't made for streaming, so when you do it with your hard drive or a sound card you'd be disgusted to see how many low-level messages are flying around on that bus. Most often it incurs a performance hit, and in my case it would come in the form of unacceptable latency.

That would be nice, but the card would stick out really far, and that's just silly on a laptop. AND Creative's express card doesn't even insert fully. It's ok though, most of their sound quality claims are bogus anyway and I have better FireWire gear

 

Did you downgrade?

 

Just thought if you had the PCMCIA and didn't wanna spend $70+ for a whole new card and your old one go to waste then this would be an option to consider. What firefire gear do you have?

 

No, I'm gettin the quad...

 

Well, at least you got money back for your troubles... I haven't seen *any* credit on my order.

I have a MOTU (Mark Of The Unicorn) UltraLite. I use it for recording with my synth gear and as a mixer for my DJ setup. Highly recommended if you want accurate sound reproduction or reliable high-quality output & recording.

 

FEDEX update: Package in motion...fedex.com says delivery by noon wednesday!

 

Yeah, guess I can't complain too much...I am gettin a quad core for under 2k, right?

 

Good luck. I've been in constant contact with HP customer service and they refuse to give me any information on the quad core at all. I'm so irritated I've started looking at other manufacturers.

I ask for info on the quad core and they offer me a deal on printer ink. Freaking morons.

 

Both of mine, oddly, went from Shanghai, China to Subic Bay Freeport Zone in the Phillipines! Usually, it's from Shanghai to Alaska.

And, oddly, both of mine show Wed estimated delivery, even though one of them had 2nd day shipping.

Hurry, hurry!

 

Do you have a link to the SSD you're considering? Just want to read up on them.

Do you think Vista will recognize it when you replace it?

 

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/intel-x25m-ssd.html

You will have to go through the process of migrating to a new drive, but yes.

 

Hey Lancorp.. nice price my friend.. nice price.

Of course, if you -get- a qx9300 in there, I would be HIGHLY impressed/astonished. At this point, HP may as well start advertising a octo-core laptop 'any day now' ..

still, I do wish you all the luck in the world and hope I am wrong. seriously.

 

Newegg.

They just posted the PC2-6400 a couple of days ago....and OH yes you will pay for it.

Did someone mention another source for 2x4GB DDR2 SODIMMs 667 speed sticks for on the cheap? A little over $100 for each 4GB stick? I tried looking through previous posts but its lost in the sauce on me.

 

I've got these waiting for my HDX, good price and better than the RAM HP ships.

EDIT: The price has already gone down $5 since I bought them earlier this month

They always say to "allow an extra day for clearing customs." That's why I never bother with paying for the 2-day shipping with them.

 

Good memory (pun intended!). That was me. $105 from NCIX on ebay. NCIX is a Canadian outfit. Bought them with the 30% live.com cashback at $149.99 ($105 after cashback). At first, they "backordered" me, stating they didn't have them. (why were they selling something they didn't have in the first place?). I told them I would wait. A week later, they shipped and flew here via Expresspost. I have 4 of them in my hands (two waiting for my HDX18t).

They are the G.SKILL brand that I current have working flawlessly in my HDX20 (Dragon).

Looking at Newegg, they are a little cheaper now (on sale) for $299 a pair. Look here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231210

Personally, the tradeoff of a faster DDR2-800 is offset by increase in latency of 6 so I think my DDR2-667 CAS 5 should be just about equivalent. No need for that pricey DDR2-800.

 

Aye, Im getting ready to lay down my hard earned cash for em. That and a 320 Seagate Momentus drive for my boot drive. Going to hold off purchasing a 2nd drive till I can figure how Im going to mount it in the system.