*HP HDX18 Owners Lounge*

Ain't that the truth! I thought the same thing when I looked at them. Especially that OGIO brand. Plaid??? Yuk.

 

Yeah. I was thinking about calling Wenger and telling them that they can make some good $$ if they make a bag for the HDX18, especially since 18.4" is the new 17"... lol.

And yeah, all those other bags are crap. The Alienware bag looks ridiculous too.

 

I don't really like the alien head logo, but the bag itself is rather OK looking.

Plus, it fits my 20" HDX Dragon, and TRUST ME, there are NO backpacks that fit that, except for the Alienware. So, it's just fine.

 

One important feature of Ultimate over Home Premium on a portable, to me, is having the ability to ENCRYPT files and folders. Should your notebook get lost or stolen, anyone can get in and see your files. If you keep anything with any personal information on them, you'll want to encrypt them. Then, someone cannot take your hard drive out and read your files. Very important on a portable...not so much on a desktop. That feature is built-in to the Ultimate OS.

Lastly, HP only charges what Microsoft charges. Look around. Vista Ultimate is expensive. You might want to mail that amputated arm to Microsoft, not HP.

 

I thought encryption is still available in Home Premium, just like it is in XP? I didn't check when I had it, but I thought I saw the option in the advanced file attributes. Hrm.

And yeah, I might have to suck it up and go with the Alienware bag. Are the straps nice and padded?

 

Nope, I double-checked. No file encryption in any Vista but Business and Ultimate. XP had it, but supposedly a more lame version than what Vista has.

On the bag, I only have the mALX bag (the big one). The straps are very padded. The Orion bag, I do not own, so I couldn't say.

The folks that man the Alienware ebay store are very nice and very responsive. You might ask them about the Orion if you are interested. I didn't see anymore mALX backpacks there today.

 

***!? The HDX 16t now has 8G of memory availble...


But you pay $750 more!

 

$800 more in the Academic side of hpshopping

LoL

 

Yeah I'm starting to really wonder if 18.4 inches will be to big for me. I mean I'm a college student and I plan on taking this laptop all around. Not everyday mind you. But I will be using it quite extensively since at my school if you don't have a laptop you're basically screwed.

Anyways I'm concerned that it just might look way TOO BIG and even worse may be a bit heavy...

I'm gonna compare the weight to the Sony AR 770 see if it's truly too heavy.

But I just don't want it to look massive and out of place when I bring out in the middle of the library.

If HP offered the same options on the 16t I'd definitely buy it but they don't so I'm just really stuck...

There's no 4G option for hard drive. No Quad processor.

 

These are the specs for my previous notebook...

Weight: 8.4 lbs. (with standard battery)
Measurements: 16.4"(W) x 1.32"(H) x 11.8"(D)

Now I had the Belkin sleeve and it fit comfortably...do you think it will be able to fit the HDX 18t. And do you think the weight is significantly larger that it would be a problem for me?

 

Unless you have a lot of give width-wise, I'd say probably not. That's nearly an inch difference between the two notebooks.

 

The HDX18 isn't much more heavy than the dv7 (8.94 vs 7.64 lbs, so 1.3 more), but I agree the HDX16 would be better if they could fit more features in it. Personally, I really want the 640GB of storage... I might even go for two 500G drives from elsewhere because it looks like there's not too much of a performance difference between the newer 5400 and 7200 RPM drives, relative to their density... I'd call it an acceptable tradeoff for the HUGE amount of space

I'm also thinking the 16" screen with such a high res might be too awkward for me, even with the font DPI cranked up.

What would REALLY make me happy is the dv7 with a decent screen and extra backlight lamp.

 

I 2nd that! I'd be waiting on my build right now.

 

The 18t is a whole lot better than the dv7t in my opinion...

 

Wow - I think an 18.4" laptop is quite big for a student who needs to be able to haul it around all over campus. Most college students tend to prefer smaller laptops like 14.1" or even 13.3" for portability. So I would say yes - it WILL look somewhat awkward and out of place if you whip out a huge 18.4" laptop in the library or in a classroom.

 

I agree that 15 is a the average size of a laptop. But then again you don't know what university I go to. People carry laptops of various sizes. Not to mention we have an extensive bus system so it's not like I'll be walking 4 miles with this beast on my back...

Plus it's not like I'm some weakingly who can't carry the weight...

If the HDX 16t gets a 4G option then I'll probably get both of them and compare them side by side to see which works better for me in terms of size and weight...

Has anyone ORDERED their HDX 18t and if so when is it coming? I would really like to see comparisons in size between this and the dv7t...

 

Built by date is 10/14.

 

Wait till the just announced HDX35 shows up.

 

Cool be sure to let us know what you think of it.

I'd really love to order this notebook but there's no coupon for it and I'm still doubtful about the size..

If only HP had offered an HDX 17t as well. Or just had a a 17' and 18.4' model combo...

 

hello everyone! I'll be getting the hdx18t 2 weeks from today. I was just wondering, is it smarter/cheaper to get the 2 gig of RAM option then upgrading to 4 gigs from a website like newegg or tigerdirect?

 

Absolutely. OEMs almost always charge way more for RAM than places like Newegg or the like. If you've the know-how to swap out your RAM, I would suggest doing just that.

 

ok, thanks! i figured it was cheaper, but I just wanted to verify. Installing RAM on a lap top is very easy. I'll wait for the crucial website or somewhere else to let me know what type of RAM the lap top requires.

 

Okay! I took the plunge! (will upgrade the HD and RAM later)
HP Pavilion HDX18t Entertainment Noteboo
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad Processor QX9300 (2.53Hz)
- 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra Brightview Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
- 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
- 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
- [For BrightView Infinity Display] Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
- HP Color Matching Keyboard
- Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
- Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
- HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
- 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
- HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope


Now, my question is in regard to the HP Docking Station. There is a port on this model for a docking station, but is it only for the one sold by HP or are there better ones?
This is my first HP (Have had Qosmios for the past 2 laptops).
THANKS for all the chatter and info in here (i have been trolling absorbing knowledge!)

 

Nice! I can't wait to get mine! We will basically have the same set up minus the RAM and HDTV tuner. I'll be going with 2 gigs of RAM and upgrading to 4 gigs as soon as I get it in the mail. I'm not a fan of the HDTV tuner because I don't see myself watching tv on my lap top. Just for blue ray movies and pc games. Also, let me know what type of RAM you will be using because I don't know the exact specs on that yet.

 

I used NB3089 which gave me 5% off.

 

Question:
I read on one review that the HDX18 is capable of up to 8GB DDR2.
Is that accurate? I thought 4 was max.
Thanks!

 

4 max configured, but you can go buy 2x4GB sticks, although they're still pretty expensive from what I hear.

 

Wow! they sure were pretty expensive.. looks like i will be upgrading to 2GBx2 until those prices come down. unless someone here knows of a site selling the 4GB cheaper?

 

Muskin memory worked well for me when I upgraded my dv9700. You can get 4GB of pc6400 Mushkin for about $80. When I get the HDX18 I will replace the memory with mushkin again. (Be sure to hang on to the removed memory until the warranty expires. ) Also, a note about hard drives. If the HDX18 is like the DV9700, adding a hard drive will require a caddy. Unless you get the system with two hard drives, the second bay will not have a caddy.

 

Above by 4GB I mean 2x2GB.

 

it appears the 2GBx2 for memory is very reasonable.
But the 4GBx2 seems very pricey.

 

I can't even find any PC2-6400 sodimm memory at 4gb per stick. All I have found is PC2-5300.

 

Hmmm...
maybe the 4GB Ram I have seen online isn't even compatible with the HDX18

 

http://alrightdeals.com/Item.htm?Id=S1_Memory_DDR2.Registered.___71197

 

That link is for desktop dimms

 

so, does anyone know the exact specs on the RAM for the HDX18?

 

I'd like to know too, I am pricing out 3rd party memory but I have no idea so far what to look for. It's been a while since I've bought RAM

EDIT: How hard would it be to get an extra hard drive bracket? Has anyone else done it with an HP notebook that didn't have too much trouble?

I'm looking to get a 500GB 5400RPM drive and a 320GB 7200RPM drive

 

The wait continues....

 

I'm in need for a HDD bracket for my HDX (Dragon) as well.

 

What's the wireless card on it a 5100 or a 5300?
I'm considering a Vaio Z,HP HDX18 or maybe the 17" gateway (I know pretty weird that I'm considering something with such a big difference)

The drawback from the hp is that it doesn't have DDR 3 a 320gb 7200rpm hd or a 500gb 5400rpm so I could put them in raid and it's video card is really weak for it's size

 

Not really. Newegg has 4GB SODIMM memory (4GB on one stick) by G.SKILL (used many times before, good quality) for $169 each. That is more than half the price of anyone else, including HP.

I just scored the same G.SKILL 4GB RAM sticks on ebay for $105 each! They were selling for $150 each, but with the current MS Live Cashback of 30%, that dropped the price of each to $105!!! That's now 8GB RAM for $210 plus $16 shipping! What a deal!

BTW, I have this G.SKILL 4GB x 1 in my HDX Dragon for 8GB and it works perfectly. Although this RAM is PC-5300 instead of PC-6400, the CAS latency is lower than the stock HP stuff, so performance should be about the same.

 

I'll be getting the G. Skill 4GB (2GB x 2) memory from NewEgg. 4 gigs will be more than enough for me. The only games i'll be playing on my lap top are Red Alert 3 and Warhammer online.

 

nice! thanks! i will check it out.
How exactly does the MS live cashback thing work?

 

also, is it possible to use a flash drive (say a 4GB) as additional memory in a Vista PC?

 

No, it's not fast enough to use as memory on any system, however, you can use ReadyBoost to cache disk data which is supposed to reduce seek time. Everything I've read says it doesn't really help much, but I'm sure it depends greatly on what you're doing and how fast your flash drive is.

I think using it for your swap file might be an interesting test... lol.

 

For those who are looking to figure out the HDX18's RAM, I came across HP's PartSurfer - although it doesn't appear they sell much of it (like the **** brackets!) you can at least see what the RAM modules are in order to get more.

I'm going to call HP about the bracket and also see if I can find it somewhere else, now that I have the part number.

Update:

The same parts on the HP Parts Store - it's a little less confusing. I'm trying to sign up as a "parts supplier" so that I can get the hard drive bracket... lol.

 

When do you guys think HP will put up a 7200RPM hard drive option? If I remember correctly the review had a 7200RPM unit in it right? However they said that they would available in the future...

 

I consulted with an expert, and they said:

 

^^^^^^^^^^^unnecessarily rude

 

Rude??????????????? What the heck is rude about it?