HP NC8430 review

What do you think of my just ordered portable laptop desk, it will be where my NC 8430 resides. I already have a big desktop desk so this will be cool for sitting on the couch watching TV.

http://www.ergoindemand.com/laptop_computer_stand_2.htm

 

I'm partial to the lapinator: http://www.lapinator.com/

Corny name, but good product.

As for that specific desk, I'd be concerned that the legs won't fit under the couch, or whether you can rotate the surface 180 degrees so the legs point in the other direction.

 

The wheels are only 2 inches high and my couch has about 5 inches of clearance, so I should be good. I'm using a table mate now and it's to flimsy when I lean on the front of it.

 

My HP NC8430 is now in St. Paul, MN as of 5:15 p.m. tonight (9/21)!!! It should arrive on schedule(in Duluth, MN) tomorrow! If it does, I have to say my Page Computer experience went just fine! :hp:

EDIT: The computer is now at the local FedEx facility and is on the FedEx vehicle for delivery!!! Should be getting it this afternoon!

 

i've got fingerprints all over the back of the lcd screen, does anyone know how to best clean this?

 

moist cloth is usually the safest bet followed by a dry cloth. Dripping water is not your friend here.

 

OK - received my HP nc8430 today!!! She's a BEAUTY! In the process of setting it up right now. I'm wondering what is the essential software I should install on the computer and what software I can leave off or uninstall. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!!!

I just have to say, the good words posted in this forum about the nc8430 really influenced my decision to get this computer. I think it will really work well for me. Thanks everyone for helping me make my decision with your well thought out reviews and information. :hp:

 

Enjoy ..........

 

Has any except ludo managed to sort out the warranty problem with the laptopsdirect nc8430 bundle.

For those who don't know some nc8430's ordered from laptopsdirect.co.uk came with the wrong 3 year warranty (for a Printer not a Laptop).

People have said they are posting the old warranty packs back to laptopsdirect, has anyone actually recieved the correct one back. I'm wary of letting the old warranty leave my side until I have assurance the new ones are arriving.

 

Does anyone have an exe for the latest touchpad driver? http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/hpcpqnk/us/download/23374.html

Stupid HP site doesn't work for me on both IE and firefox.

If so quick PM and we'll swap emails

 

Sent them back the warranty and got the correct one in 2-3 days !! Finally it worked

Note : you have to follow their return procedure obviously !

 

just got mine today, is your pack U4395A? i just wanna make sure because invoice says U4395E

 

Yes, U got the write one. Try registering.
Everything has worked fine for me. I got the right pack with my laptop.
And I am loving my nc8430

 

Just wanted to make a quick post that I am loving my new HP nc8430! This is my first laptop, so I don't have a lot else to go on, but this machine is really nice.

Got the T2500, 2 ghz, 1GB RAM, 80 GBHDD model, WSXGA+ monitor. The laptop is absolutely blazing fast! Programs load up quickly and all my processes are very fast.

When I'm running the machine using the internet or normal computer use, it doesn't get too hot at all on my lap. Playing a game (Madden 07 runs just flawlessly with everything on high - beautiful!), it does get a little hot on the lap, but never unbearably so. The heat is primarily relegated to the upper left of the machine near the fan exhaust.

The keyboard is VERY nice and I like the feel of the touchpad and buttons a lot. Still getting used to the pointer though. I did use a Dell 810 laptop for a couple of weeks, and did like the fact that you could select things by tapping the pointer - can't do that with the HP - have to use a button. Not too big a deal, but I like the idea of just tapping the pointer to select.

The monitor is bright, looks VERY sharp and I don't notice a lot of leakage - though I am very much a laptop newbie. I do notice that in the native resolution the text is a little small for me, but not a big problem.

The machine overall just feels VERY solid. The magnesium frame is very solid and feels as if it will withstand a few knocks. I'm surprised by how thin and light this 15.4" laptop is. MUCH lighter and thinner than the Dell D810 I used for a couple of weeks. While it looks thin and perhaps a bit fragile because of how thin it is - this machine feels exactly the opposite! It feels solid and has a nice heft despite how light it is.

Battery life is not what I had expected, though I've only had the computer a couple of days and may not have the battery fully charged yet. I am getting decidely less that 4 hours right now under normal to heavy loads.

I find the fan to be virtually soundless. I don't notice it at all. Though I have not used it in a very quiet location (library, etc.) yet. The DVD player/recorder makes some noise, but nothing out of the ordinary in my opinion. It shows that my DVD recorder is a lightscribe.

The only possible flaw that I have noticed so far, is that there is a bit of a creak down by the fingerprint reader. Anybody else notice this?

Overall I'm very happy with my purchase!!! This is one great machine and comes highly recommended from this newbie!

If anyone has any specific questions, maybe I could help you out.

:hp:

 

Aw, sounds nice. I can't wait for the C2D models to come to the stores in a couple of weeks in here, so I can get mine.

I like both of these. You didn't order directly from HP, I recall? I'd like to get a lightscribe drive as well. However, apparently in Finland there will be two nearly identical models for me to choose from. RN031AW#AK8 with a CDR/DVD-combo drive, and RH474EA#AK8 with a DVDRW drive. This would be normally a no-brainer, but according to all info I have, the model with a DVD burner has only a one year warranty, while combo drive model has three years... DVD burner model is cheaper too. Are they using it to lure people to get a machine with a lot shorter warranty, or could there be any real reasons for this?

 

I can tap the touchpad to select things on my nc8430. Are you sure you have it (touchpad) configured correctly.

 

He was talking about the blue rubber pointer. IMO I think it is easier to navigate with the touchpad, but I still use an external mouse.

 

Actually I've gotten used to the pointing stick and now prefer it in this order: mouse > stick > touchpad

Now

 

is it possible to upgrade the cpu on the nx8420/nc8430 ?

 

yes, it is not soldered onto the motherboard. however, if you are going from CD to C2D it isn't exactly worth it. you won't need 64 bit until Vista is stable (aka SP1 or SP2) and a lot of software comes out that is 64 bit.

 

Right, I can select things by tapping the touchpad. As was already pointed out, I was referring to the blue pointer. Does anyone know if it might be possible to configure the pointer to enable it to select things by tapping it? I haven't messed with any of the settings for the pointer, so maybe it is possible???

 

Hey.

Iam going to buy a NC8430 T7200, but iam sceptic about screen resolution. Some people said to me that the 1680x1050 is too small.

What do you think?

How it is in games where the resolution is about 1024x* ? Is it nice to see it? Or the picture is foggy or not sharp?

 

some owners already posted in this thread that the picture is very crispt
and very sharp in both games and windows stuff at its native resolution
you can always increase the dpi to get larger icons and text if its too small
best thing to do is to go to your local computer shop and check out some laptops
aks the sales guy to show you a laptop with the same or higher resolution
try it out and you'll know first hand what its like

 

I also think the picture is very crisp and sharp at this resolution. The games I've tried look beautiful. Web surfing is also very nice.

I do find the text just a bit small in some cases. Perhaps it's because I'm 2 years away from the big 4-0 and I might be needing reading glasses...

But, other than the text being a little small (it is still very clear and readable) everything else, especially photos and graphics, looks just beautiful!

 

Hopefuly Iam getting on Friday my NC8430 RH471. I bought it for 1900$

Spec:
- Processor: Intel Core Duo T7200, 2.0GHz, 667MHZ FSB L2-4MB
- RAM memmory: 1024MB DDR2, 667 MHz SDRAM (do 4GB) (1 slot free)
- HDD: 100 GB SATA,SATA 5400 rpm
- Optical drive: DVD+/-RW SM DL FX
- GPU: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 256MB
- Display: TFT 15.4-inch WSXGA+, max resolution 1680x1050 +WVA Brite Screen
- Modem 56k V.92, network card 10/100/1000 NIC
- Sound card with JBL Pro speakers
- Battery: 8-cell Lithium-Ion
- Bluetooth Modul, Integrated 802.11a/b/g wireless Lan
- OS: WIN XP Pro English
- Connectors: 3x USB2.0, 1x IEEE1394, 2x Audio, 1x VGA, 1x TV OUT (S-video), RJ-11, RJ-45
- PCMCIA 1x Tip I/II, SD/MMC card reader, COM port, SMART card reader, fingerprints reader
- Dimensitions: 28 x 358 x 259 mm
- Weight: 2.7 kg

 

When did you order your laptop, unkn0wn? Did HP say this friday, or is it just wishful thinkin on your part?

 

Just so that you know, there are resellers that have that same configuration for $1700 or less.

 

Iam buying in my country in Slovenia....and iam getting it 1900$ -15% =)

 

I was able to configure my pointing stick to select with a tap on the stick! Pretty cool! Very easy to do, and it works much better than the stick I used on the Dell D810. This stick is much more responsive and comfortable to use! Very nice! :hp:

 

Double click on Synaptics pointing device in the taskbar (or use control panel, printers and other hardware then mouse).

Click on device settings, then choose the touchstyk and hit settings.

Highlight "Press to select" in the popup window then tick the box.

Edit: See you've already worked all this out.

Well if anyone else is interested this is how to activate the press to select on the little blue touchstick in the center of the keyboard.

 

Thanx for the info
cool

 

Just received this today, well impressed.

I'm just wondering though, can you change the screen brightness when it's not plugged in? It doesn't seem as bright to me...

 

Yes. You might also consider toggling the Ambient Light Sensor.

 

I am actually waiting for nw8440, which is a workstation model of nc8430. To make a long story short, this is a replacement unit for nc8230 which nc8430 replaced. I was not allow to configure it at all. I had to just pick one from their website. I decided to go with the unit that came with 7200rpm hard drive and this was it. Mine come with only one stick of 1gb 667mhz memory. I want to add another one to make it 2gb. HP website sells it for almost $600!!!!! Then they refered me to a local HP authorized dealer. They told me that they were not able to get it because it was not a HP ram. They said that it was manufactured by Kingston. Then I went to Kingston's website. However, they didn't list "nwXXXX" there at all. Dose anyone know which ram I can use?????????? By the way I am in the U.S. Thank you.

 

Maybe somebody can help me, I have my NC 8430 for about a month now. When surfing the web and going from page to page there is a noise that comes out my speakers.Even if I mute the volume this faint noise comes out of the speaker. I'm guessing it some kind of screen noise, anybody?

 

I have the same problem, but only when a USB mouse is connected to the nc8430. Additionally, it depends on what USB port I use: the left port means periodical beeping with pauses, while connecting to any right USB ports means continuous beep. My noise comes only from the left speaker.

 

Yep the noise only comes out the left speaker, my USB mouse is plugged into the docking station and it still does it. Now when I take it off the docking station and don't use the mouse it makes the noise but you would have to press your ear against the speaker to hear it. I really hope there is a fix for this as it's unacceptable on a $1600 laptop.

 

What did you guys remove from the programs list when you first got it ? I've got a lot of sonic software stuff on it and was wondering if I should delete it or not.

And I'm still having problems with the brightness of the screen when it's just using the battery - what should I do exactly ?

 

The Sonic stuff is just sponsored DVD software. It's all bloatware except for the HP security stuff; credential manager etc. Basically you can uninstall everything except for the HP security and backup software

Change ATI CCC for ATI Tool (build 14) and adobe acrobat for foxit pdf reader

As for teh screen brightness, as stated above, that's the ambient light sensor. It's to save batt life. To turn it off just hold the fn key and press F11

 

Cheers.

By the way, I get an error on startup like this :

BTTray.exe

What will I do with that?

 

sounds like you need to re-install the bluetooth drivers.

 

Funny the noise stopped and the only thing I did was remove it from the docking station and then put it back on the docking station.

 

I'm happy to report I just joined the 8430 Core Duo group.

I was able to choose a new laptop for my work and was deciding between the Asus W3J and the 8430 and finally went for the HP.

Sadly enough I wasn't allowed to go for the Core 2 Duo (pricing issue), but
I'm still VERY HAPPY I also got the build-in fingerscanner while I live in Europe (nice!).

I just finished reinstalling the whole laptop from scratch
(well, actually did a sysprep from my old laptop but ran into some difficulties along the way since the 8430 has a Native SATA drive and the processor is installed as a Multi Processor. My old Acer 8004 had an ATA drive and single processor)
and am loving the very nice screen and performance in WoW, but there's one thing that bothers me and thats the fan noise while working in Windows.
I just read that the Core 2 Duo version has the same problem and I hope there will be a fix in the near future.

 

I just found this very promising looking piece of software:

Its called Notebook Hardware Control (NHC)
http://www.pbus-167.com/

In the forums of NHC you can also find a file for the NC8430:
http://www.p35-forum.de/board/thread.php?threadid=4922

It allows you to change the speed settings of the fan, but I really want to change the On/Off settings, so...

I've posted a new thread here:
http://www.p35-forum.de/board/thread.php?threadid=4992
which also contains that HP8430 file and asked if it's possible to create a better file which allows more control of the fan.

 

Looks promising, but what highest continuous temperatures would you recommend? I believe HP designed the nc8430 to keep some working temperature. With lowering the fan speed (without removing some heat, like slowing down the X1600), the temperature will be higher.

 

I'm not even going to change those settings, because I dont know exactly what the results will be.

BUT

For some notebooks they've created a better additional "ACPI file" which even allows to control when the Fan should turn ON/OFF, and thats what we need.

So I asked if its possible to create such a file for the NC8430 (in German and English) section of their forum.

No I'll just wait and see

BTW, the monitoring graphical part on the desktop looks really nice. Right now my desktop displays current CPU speed, CPU load, CPU voltage and CPU Temperature.

 

Thanks for your effort! I think many nc8430 users want to make their nc8430 silent.

Concerning the Notebook HW Control software, it would be even better, if we could underclock the X1600, together with setting the ON/OFF of the fan.

 

You can always use ATI Tray Tools to underclock/Overclock the ATI X1600.
You can even configure it to underclock it at windows startup and exit the program afterwards, so nothing stays in Memory

 

If you successfuly underclocked X1600 in nc8430, please let me know how.

I have tried this tool, together with many other people, and it doesn'r seem to work with the nc8430.

 

I've installed ATI Tray Tools 1.2.6.940 and I've changed the Core settings from 426.00/378.00 to 310.50/279.00 (Apple's MacBook Pro settings )

and when I check the ATI core/memory in NHC it's also changed to 310.50/279.00, so I assume it works?

Edit: Right now I'm running with 275/275 setting, let you now how that turns out