*HP HDX18 Owners Lounge*

is the 3 year acccidental breakage plan worth it? they really tried to push it on me .. telling me how awesome it was

^^any help with this is much appreciated .. thanks guys .. u rock

 

Excellent.

Is there a difference in cost between the Vista Ultimate Recovery CD and the Vista Premium Recovery CD?

Either way it is a steal to get Ultimate for just 16 dollars...

 

That depends on how clumsy you are or if you have kids. I have never bought extended warranties or extra insurance for anything I've bought....

 

I haven't ordered the CD yet so I'm not sure? But anyone would be a fool to order and PAY for a recovery CD when all they have to do is burn the backup that comes with your laptop, all notebooks come with this now because they don't want to ship an extra CD which costs money....

The only purpose for ordering this CD is the fact that we will get Ultimate for $16...

 

thanks man .. might seem like a stupid question .. but this is my 1st labtop .. little late but better late then never .. so im like a lost here

 

Yeah theres like only 3 differences between Home Premium and Ultimate and only 1 of them sorta looks interesting/important (protecting data) and I really don't think I will need it so I think I'll just create my own recovery disks and use those in the new hard drive.

 

Lancorp, what do you think, 8GB for $300 or 80GB SSD for twice that?

 

I wouldn't give them anymore money than they need IMO.

HP stocks are doing very well in this economy. Extended warranties and extra protection are 100% profits to them....

 

When you get your machine, burn yourself a backup. Swap out the HDD, put in your new Seagate, pop in the newly burned CD and let it rebuild!!

Go help the economy and watch a movie and come back 2 hours later and it will be all done.

 

For anyone that cares, he's the different Vista editions...

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/default.aspx

 

a couple of comments:

1) if you use the link posted (I think by lancorp) to order the vista ultimate recovery disc set, any serial number will work. I used one for another one of my hp systems and it worked for the order.

2) hard drives: I have have purchased dozens of hard drives over the years. (My first pc used cassette tape for storage, an apple I got in the summer of 1980) Only two failed within the first two years, a maxtor and a seagate. My preference is hatachi. I have had many hatachi drives and none have failed. If I include friends luck with hard drives, there is not a maker that I don't know of having zero failed drives.

 

I would say the SSD for sure. Everything is just so responsive. And going to pagefile etc isn't a problem because the access time to the drive is almost instantaneous. I did a test on my HDX18 where I just kept opening as many apps as I could on my 3gb of RAM. I had multiple instances of IE, all of the Office 07 Suite, 4 diff poker clients with multiple tables and tourn lobbies open as well as media player. Up until the point the system finally gave in and popped the "Out of system resources message. Close some windows", there was no noticeable drop in speed.

I just can't wait till I'm not constantly travelling so I can get a desktop with two of these things RAIDed!

 

I have heard of some servers or maybe in theory about servers using SSD's with RAID. Is this just a theory or are businesses actually starting to do this now?

I'm just really amazed at where we are now with technology.

I still remember my poor Commodore 64....and my old Gateway 486sx that at the time was state of the art!!!

 

Hey guys, I think our HDX is going to get delayed. It's been stuck in Indiana since 2AM today. Doesn't seem to have gone anywhere...

Unless it checks in at Newark airport in the next few hours, I highly doubt I will be getting my HDX by 10AM tomorrow!

 

Vista,
when did you order yours? I was told mine had a Nov 21 build date.
Just curious, Marc

 

I ordered mine last monday.(Nov 10) It had a Nov 19th build/ship date.

It was 2 days early in that it shipped just last Monday when it was suppose to ship today so even with the delay, they are ahead of schedule.

After doing some research on the "clearance delay" that some people have gotten, it seems to take a couple days to clear!

Since it shipped Monday, it says I should get it tomorrow morning at 10AM. But I'm having my doubts...

 

Yeah I'm kinda dissappointed by that...

But it is a blessing really since my Tuesdays and Thursdays are hectic as hell.

 

I think I read this here before but I haven't been able to sift through all the numerous posts to find the answer. Any help would be much appreciated.

If I use the LIVE.com %25 off, does it take the place of the instant $200 HP discount? Or is the 25% taken off after you deduct the $200 from the subtotal?

 

No to first question and yes to second question.

 

Still Clearance Delay...**** it.

 

I just received my shipping notification email. Right on schedule. I tried to order the Vista Ultimate Recovery disk, but, the HP link seems to be broken.

Al ..

 

WOW finally have a tracking number for mine!!!! No delivery date as it was after fedex cut off. Ordered it on Nov 10 and shipped the 20th...supposed to ship by the 19th. Hmmm wonder what the hold up was. I wonder should i call and ask? Or just let this go? I have already had problems with them.

 

Why did it take you so long to get the tracking#? I got mine on Tuesday....

There's a bunch of HDX's stuck in Indiana....at least for me "clearance delay". So this totally sucks....

 

The link still works for me. Check out post 1725 on page 173 here. That link works fine.

 

The weather there is dry, so it's not weather related.

With the economy in the trash, I can't imagine they are overwhelmed with imports!!

 

Maybe there's only 1 worker checking each import!!!!

 

Looks like I will be getting my Newegg items today. Would have been perfect timing to get the HDX as well...but oh well...

 

Buy both...LOL

Seriously though if your concern is bang for the buck I would buy the 8GB of memory for $300. If you're not as concerned for the cash then buy the SSD as the HD can be the bottle neck in most cases.

Considerations.

If your considering eventually upgradeing to 8GB of RAM...

There is a concerted effort to move by the computer industry to move to DDR3 on thier newly released platforms. In fact the HDX 18t is thee only platfom that has offered the QX9300 processor with DDR2. All others offer this option DDR3. DDR2 is dirt cheap right now and we're going to get to a point where DDR2 ram will start disappearing from the market. I dont think we can rely on manufactures to produce allot more 8GB (or single 4GB stick) DDR2 packages to bring down prices much lower. I think we will see a liquidation and then it will be gone and prices for the sticks you can find will be out the roof.

In this case, I think $300 for 8GB DDR2 notbook memory is the best bang for the buck right now and if you can afford I would buy this before

Prices for SSDs on the other hand are out the roof right now and there are defective JMicron controller issues happening right now. The only SSDs I would touch right now are Intel and the other model that Toms talks about in his article that escapes me at the moment.

SSDs have a long way to go to become competatively priced.

 

Because it just shipped on the 20th.....They are a day late. I tried to order the Vista recovery disk and when I tried it told me my serial number was invalid. Maybe not in the system yet?

Oh does targus make a bag that will fit this beast?

 

Well put. I would add, though, that in my opinion, DDR2 isn't going to disappear anytime soon, BUT, development of higher density modules (like 4GB modules) may go to the wayside to make room for DDR3 technologies.

There are too many computers out there using DDR2 for it to just disappear. And, while DDR3 is out, it is not very common right now, so I think DDR2 still has some life left in it!

But, the intel SSD is wicked expensive.

 

I am in the memory business. While you are correct in what you are saying on the transition from DDR2 to DDR3 we still have a way to go before that happens. Atleast year is what the road maps are showing before the industry really gets seriouse.

 

My stuff from Newegg is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I wish there was a time frame.

vistabad is there a usual time that they deliver things or should I just stay at home all day waiting?

 

Lancorp,

Thanks for the link. For some reason, my iBook, with Safari, will not pick up that link. I move over to my PC and the link works fine. Disc ordered.

Al ..

 

Well if you trust your home and area, I wouldn't wait all day for it, I happened to be home today because I was hoping the HDX would show up...

I now have to keep track of Fedex to see when I "think" it will show up and stay home that day because I don't want to miss the HDX...

 

"I'm a PC, and I can actually browse the web using internet explorer without unexplained screwups". Where's that commercial?

 

lancorp - im surprised you have the time and focus to come back to the forums and post after your quadcore hdx18 just arrived...

with a machine sporting those specs, i'd be somewhere trying to take over the world. or fix the recession. ;-D LOLOL

hope you're enjoying it!

 

I am certainly doing my part to fix the recession...2 HDX Dragons, 2 HDX16t's, 3 HDX18t's...what more do I need to do!!??

 

I noticed my "expected shipment date" has now been removed.

Let's see what the new date is....right now it is blank...

 

this just in to the channel 9 news room:

NBR user lancorp single-handedly solves US recession using laptops.

More on this developing story after Oprah.

 

Insider trading tip... buy HP stock!

 

You know, one of the worst things about waiting (impatiently!) for a new laptop are all the "what ifs" and "shoulda's" -- "Should I have added in the TV tuner?" "What if there are dead pixels?" "Should I have sprung for the second hard drive?" etc.

Well, I had a little time to kill before a lunch appointment today, so I poked my head into the Best Buy next door to see if they had an HDX I could actually touch. (So far, I've only seen the pics online and have place my order based on lots of reviews, online videos, etc.)

They had an HDX 16t on display -- it was sweet! But I ordered the 18t and was wondering how much larger that thing would be. So I found the next closest thing: an Acer 18" model.

WHOAH! It's HUUUUUUGE!

Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake and should have gone with the 16t. (There's that "woulda / shoulda" thing...) Personally, I really like the larger screen. And it really only leaves my office once or twice a week, so I don't mind the heavier model. But... sheesh! It's a MONSTER! Am I looking at a life of weird stares from people when I whip it out? Is it overkill?

I mean, I was thinking I'd want the larger screen for the video presentation software we use (which has three horizontal panels -- one for the master library of slides and the specific presentation schedule, one showing all the information that's "on deck" and ready to go, and one for what's currently "live" on the big screen). I also use a research program where screen real estate is always a plus.

Yet now I'm wondering if I've overdone it. ACK! Am I gonna regret this thing, or am I gonna have that sneaky smile of secret satisfaction when I look at the other laptops around me and think to myself, "Ha! Mine is bigger and better!"

ACK!

 

l0l

i think everyone has these thoughts and feelings. luckily for us, hp gives us 21 days to keep and try out the laptop. if there is anything wrong within this period, you can send it back with no hassle.

i ordered a dv7t in august with a t9400 processor and tv tuner. i was spending so much on the unit, i said why the hell didn't i go for the best of everything? if you're going to go absolutely crazy, you cant just go 95% crazy, you have to go 100%

also i had a problem with the tv tuner. the quality was definitely not what i had expected.

long story short, i sent back my 1st dv7t and ordered another - with the best proc (t9600), no tv tuner. i nearly died waiting for it the 2nd time around ;-D

anyway, when you get it, use it exhaustively for the first couple of weeks. then decide whether or not you want to return it.

i am a loyal hp customer for this big reason. it's also why i ordered a dv4t a week ago and it should be coming in shortly!

 

vistabad does Newegg or whoever is delivering the package require a signature or will they just drop it off and leave?

If they're going to drop it off then I don't mind since I won't have to waste time waiting.

 

They just dropped mine off. I ordered memory, hdd and router....

 

Mine was ordered on Nov 10th and shipped on the 20th as well. For those interested, the HP "Holiday policies" says that notebooks purchased after Nov. 1 will have an extended returns period until Jan. 15 2009. Its near the top of the page on the notebooks link or this link works:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/shopping/html/popup/hpol_10-08.html

 

I have a quick question for those of you that ordered the recovery disk for Vista Ultimate how long did it take for you to get the disk? I was finally able to order today 11/20 and it gave me est ship of 12/1. Is this normal?

 

I did the same thing you did before ordering. I went to CC and Best Buy and the 17" screens are HUGE....so just imagine the 18.4"....

I wanted the big screen because I didn't want any regrets, especially since I do a lot of programming and web design.

I'd rather deal with the large screen then to get the HDX16t and wish I had a tad more real estate...and always thinking, "should I have just gotten the 18t....."

 

They will most likely just drop it off....

The HDX though requires a signature I believe.....

 

When I got my DV9700 last Feb they required a signature. I left a note and had a neighbor sign and receive it.

 

Good to know!!!

Agreed on all counts.

My assessment was pure speculation and a semi-educated hunch. There is a decent population of DDR2 notebooks out there but how many of em are capable of 8GB? ..and of those how many people intend to upgrade em to 8GB? I dont see the memory makers making huge ammounts of 4GB sticks enough to bring the prices down significantly.