HP Spectre x360

What sound are you referring to?

 

For the right click if you download the latest Synaptics driver from Windows Update there will be an option to adjust the right click area on the trackpad...

 

The sound coming from the speakers, would get distorted and scratchy. Noticed this was happening while watching youtube videos from hyper youtube app. But also seeing this every now and then randomly while watching videos on sites like Vudu but I rewind the video it wouldn't happen again.

 

Initially I had this weird pop that would come from my speakers (13-4003dx) and it would happen mostly with Dragon voice assistant at a volume level between 10 and 20. So I went to the HP site, downloaded and installed the audio driver from the site and installed it. I don't know if it was the audio driver update or the reboot that fixed my sounds, but the popping stopped after that. Perhaps you could try that and let me know if it fixes it for you?

(My opinion) What it could be:
Some mobile phones (like Samsung) tend to remove power from the speaker in order not to drain the battery in their phones. However, when the speaker needs to activate there is a distorted noise that comes from the speaker as power is reapplied, but all the follow up sounds are normal. HP could have been trying to save power by doing the same with the speakers on the Spectre, but someone who knows more than me would have to confirm that.

 

Thanks so much for the mouse tip. I'm trying that out now.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try it out and see if I notice any improvements.

 

I had the same problem. DTS studio sound system is improving the sound significantly, but i think also causing distortion in some cases, if you don't fine tune the settings. So i played little bit with the settings under Listening Experience/Audio Enhancements and the distortion problem resolved. More specifically i reduced the "center" setting on music settings, which was causing the distortion when it was 40+.

 

i had the same issue with the speakers. they were "crackling" and all i was watching was a bloodborne playthrough from ENB and it was basically him talking that was causing it. this was at less than half volume. the dts settings are very finicky.

 

Just got my 360 today as an upgrade from my Dell Venue 11 Pro. (2014 model)

The dell active stylus from November (silver and black) I bought works great. Glad to save $60 on a stylus as it works perfectly.

Can't wait to get photoshop fired up on this bad boy.

 

please let me know how this machine handles photoshop. i'm looking to get into a bit of graphic design on the side and will probably purchase this machine around june time unless something amazing comes out between now and then. the active stylus compatibility is the icing on the cake

 

Photoshop CC 2014 is a dream. You will need to use the 200% scale setting in Photoshop but once you do using this with the stylus is great for straightforward drawing and design, editing, etc. I used to use this on the DV11P and it's way better, faster, bigger screen, etc. It's only an i5 broadwell but I can do everything I want on PS and Lightroom, etc. It's a bit big on the screen with 200% DPI and I wish there was a 150% DPI setting, but you'll get by.

Still testing out the stylus stuff, will report back soon on how that works in PS.

 

That bit me a while ago with my current laptop - it didn't matter about sleep/ resume; if I let it go idle for a few minutes it would shut down the wifi and not turn it back on (nevermind that then I was signed out of everything). Infuriating "feature".

Went to BB looking to get the $999 configuration, but it's order-only, then pick up in store. Bah!

 

Any recommendations for a matte screen cover?

 

I hope this Specter doesn't suffer the same fate as the Specter 13t-3000. It was a spectacular ultrabook that simply disappeared after less than a year on the market.

Regards, Jim

 

I may have to buy the QHD model, after all. Do we have any feedback about its battery?

 

From the various reviews expect ~1.5 to 2 hour reduction in battery life... Also be aware of some scaling issues.
Good luck,
Steve

 

Well, I ordered up the i5/8/256/1080 config. Now just the waiting.

 

If that means 8 hours, it seems pretty nice to me..

From BestBuy? This is the version i would like to get, too. Give as a feedback when you have it if you wish!

 

Yep, from them! I could get it a bit cheaper from HP directly with my company discount, but it's not much, and I'd rather have easier returns if it comes to that. I'll certainly leave my thoughts on it after it arrives. Count me on the list of those surprised at how little attention this has gotten from reviewers - nothing but spec "reviews" until Engadget, and as far as I'm aware still no Anandtech/ UltrabookReview/ anyone else.

I may be the only person in the world who likes HP laptops, but the 8440p I'm typing on now has done yeoman's work for four years, but is finally physically almost falling apart (I am not gentle with laptops).

 

Dupe (internet connection is acting up), can't find a Delete button.

 

I had asked Mike of Ultrabookreview if he would do a review and he answered that it would be dificult because HP laptops are hard to find where he lives. Here in Greece i am still finding a way to buy the laptop from abroad.

I remember some months ago when i saw the previous spectre in a multistore and thought "wow, this looks great, why hasn't anyone talked about it?"

 

I had serious lust for the very first Spectre, but didn't need a laptop then (and I think it was very touchy about getting even a 16x9 screen at that point - I think it was occasionally available, but usually just 13x7, which isn't happening). Then when I did need a laptop, the Spectre wasn't nearly as nice, so I got the flagstone 8440p. Now that it's falling apart, I was searching high and low for a new laptop, and had almost resigned myself to the Yoga 3 14 (which is also oddly hard to find a review of) when I stumbled across this beauty! Now I finally get my Spectre, with a 19x10 screen even. Ship faster BBY!

 

Well, I just ordered the i5, 8GB, 256 GB, FHD from HP. I got $50 off of the $999.99 list price. Delivery is supposed to be 3 - 5 days. Really can't go wrong with the 30 day return policy.

Jim

 

About the always on backlight key: An owner commented in the engadget review that "he fixed this by popping the key off and putting a tiny piece of electrical tape over the LED"

Would you do something like that? Is it easy and safe?

 

Easy, yes (I lost the F3 key off this 8440p unintentionally). Safe? It's really hard to get laptop keys back on (hence why the key is still missing). I wouldn't, but I might be tempted to see if super thin electrical tape could just go over the key. It's unlikely to be an issue for me, though.

 

Well, I had a Spectre 13t-3000 which I thought was the best laptop on the market. I listed it on Amazon at a price about $400 more than I thought anyone would pay as a "place holder" for a possible future sale. You guessed it, someone bought it. And worse, that was at the time that it disappeared from sight. So, I have been without a Specter for the last several months. The x360 has much that is similar to the 13t-3000. I can only hope that it is as good.

Jim

 

Yeah, I was able to shave off about $70 for the i7 model using corporate discount. I registered through corporateperks.com and there was a 10x-15x points promotion for HP purchases. This gives me back another $100 in reward cash with the spectre purchase.

 

Status update. My x360 shipped the same day as my order, April 17th. It is in Olive Branch, MS which I believe is a suburb of Memphis, TN. Delivery is expected April 22nd. Not bad for standard shipping.

Jim

 

Ι had made a request to HP through a local store (Greece) for the 8GB, 256 SSD, i-5, FHD model. Price:1576 euros!

This is so ridiculous. It's $ 1700, 700 more than the same model in the US. Totally outrageous, i would feel a moron if i bought it from here.

Nothing to be done about it, i was just wanted to rant a bit, because this issue with the prices here in Europe is a recurring one.

 

Yeah, I notice the same thing with our friends from Australia.

Jim

 

Except for the fact that in Australia $ 1700 will be like 2 weeks of work or somethin, while in Greece (and many other European countries) 3-5. If you have a job.

 

Well, it arrived today! I definitely see the annoyance of the always-on F5 backlight... except it turns off when the machine is rotated into portrait orientation, so there's definitely the ability for them to turn it off. Hopefully they'll enable a software switch to kill it entirely.

Also notice the sharp edges now. I think I can live, but I'll see over the coming weeks if I wind up wanting to return it. Weird that it left the design studio like that.

On to the good - oh my the screen! Blows my old 8440p out of the water in that regard. Seriously in love with this screen. The keyboard is quite good, though not as nice as the 8440p - just a matter of space for travel, I assume.

Oh, and good lord is it annoying to set up a new computer. Forgot how much software and how many settings there are.

 

Another status. My Spectre x360 is on the FedEx truck for delivery today.

Jim

 

Brian,
Glad it finally arrived. I have owned two hP Spectre notebooks, both had the annoying brightly lit F5 key when you turned keyboard backlight off and, for some good news.....in both cases there was an easy way to toggle the F5 light off. I'm sory I don't remember how. EDIT: It was FN/A that turned off the F5 lit key showing where to turn the backlit keyboard back on. I hope that's still the case and does the job for you. I'm only jumping into this thread late, so pardon me if this has been beaten to death and if the x360 does not have an F5 light toggle like the Spectre 13t-3000 did and the Envy 14 Spectre before it. If this hasn't been discussed at length since the first machines are just rolling out, you can either search in the Spectre 13t-3000 thread or Google it and you will find the way - uniform I believe - HP had for turning that key light off. It's actually a good idea poorly executed - you might want easy access to turn the keyboard back on without turning room lights on - it just needs to be about 90% dimmer!

As to setting up new machines, I have averaged about 6 in the past 5 years and boy do I know what you mean. It does become easier the more you do of a given OS.

Last point I want to make about this product, and this is to all of you who are considering purchasing it and all who have done so but are still able to return it if you choose to. Choose very carefully! HP has been making exceedingly high quality product in the Spectre line since its intro in 2012. The downside has been, not a single product has made it past the 1 yr mark without HP abandoning it. They just discontinue and don't replace with an upgraded/updated model with newer Intel hdwe and the typical improvements (or not!) that Thinkpads and the Dell XPS series does. They just put out a gem of a machine, price it very competitively (not so for the Envy 14 Spectre, but I bought mine barely touched for 25% of retail price on eBay 1 yr later and I will **never** part with that machine as long as it serves some purpose (for now, it is an Ivy Bridge i7 cpu so it's got a ways to go) because it is a stunning work of art posing as a computer! I did sell my Spectre 13t-3000, but that was for a special situation, but a month later they dropped that model two and have not replaced it until the x360 which, ironically, can be seen as a successor to the 13t-3000 - except that there was a year between them!

I've heard, read and seen nothing but very positive comments about the x360 and I have no reason to doubt them, and the price just wipes everything else off the street. I am still skeptical about the Synaptics stylus, but if you are looking for a great Ultrabook that you can use for note taking, if not artwork, this could be the category killer. If HP follows suit, consider waiting 6 months and buying a nearly new/open box offering of the $1,399 512GB SSD, QHD, i7 for around $695!

Caveat emptor!

This was not a troll - at all. I haven't but seen and touched one of these, but have every reason to believe they are as gorgeously built as they are well designed in conjunction with Microsoft. Just warning about HP's tendency to not know what it wants to be when it grows up.

 

Jim, here we are again? Just how many computers have you bought and sold/returned since the HP Spectre 13t-3000?!! I think you've broken my records - but I am a reformed computer addict! You've always had such bad luck with deliveries (I remember your notorious Yoga shipment!), I'm glad to see yours is arriving. Did you ever get the SP3, or is this instead-of? All the others gone to meet their maker or otherwise sold to the next generation? My sig is reasonably up to date except that I just bought and open box Thinkpad Yoga S1 for an obscenely low price (think, good deal on 1TB SSD!) and while it is still returnable, at the price I can't help but keep it. Just not sure whether to keep both it and the Sony Flip 13A I picked up 6 months ago, ironically, from the same source for the same price! I'm pretty much out of the game of buying new computers - at least when the model is so new we don't know what will become of it with time. Good luck with your newest acquisition and do report in!

 

Ι would love to see it this can be done for Spectre x360

 

Hi Jeff. Good to hear from you!!

I guess I have had seven computers since the HP 13t-3000. I currently have a UX303LA, a Surface Pro 3 and the Spectre x360. Either the Spectre x360 or the UX303LA will be gone within a few weeks.

My first impression of the x360 is very favorable. Build quality is excellent. The looks just scream quality! It is very similar in looks to the 13t-3000. I haven't had much time to check battery life or wifi performance. I was going to wait until October and get the x360 with Windows 10, but I couldn't resist the urge for a new toy.

Best regards, Jim

 

I're read about CPU throttling issues. How serious are they?


http://www.pcworld.com/article/2899...convertible-that-just-cant-take-the-heat.html

 

Nice to hrar from you Jim. What is your view of the Asus (pro/con vs x360) and the SP3? I'm really salivating for the latter but clearly havr6a tighter budget constraint. The've held their values well, but perhaps when the 4 is out my favorite closeout reseller will make a favorable pchse of MS inventory.

Can you advise the previous poster as to whether Fn/A still turns out that obnoxious 500 wat light on the F5 key when the backlight is off and F5 tirns it back on? I remember how irritating we all found it in the ptevious Spectre 13t.

You certainly have great taste in laptops! The x360 sounds like Rec. all, though, that punch in the gut we all felt when the Spectre 13t-3000 just diappeared from HPs catalog after barely a year. Then again, it seems your average retention is less than 6 mos anyway, so little risk yours will be discontinued before you sell it!

Keep in touch! Best, Jeff

 

Yeah, it is too early to tell if I will keep the x360 and sell the UX303LA or the other way. But, if the x360 battery life even comes close to HP claims, I will keep the x360. I just tested wifi. I get 50 Mbps down and 6 Mbps up from 15 feet away from my AP and from 30 feet away through four walls. That is the same as I get from my desktop Ethernet!

The SP3 is a definite keeper. It gives me the power of the UX303 or x360 in a small, light form factor. I use it when I just want to kick back on the sofa. I bought the Type Cover, but I rarely use it. I find the tablet mode is so good that I don't want or need the keyboard. I will watch for the SP4 this fall and if it looks like a big improvement over the SP3, I may give it a try. Early speculation has it with no fan and the M cpu. If true, I will keep the SP3.

Fn A does not turn off the F5 light. I don't remember that from the 13t-3000. And it doesn't bother me in normal daylight.

I am hoping that HP doesn't pull the same stunt they did with the 13t-3000. That really bummed me out. You may recall that I "accidentally" sold my 13t for a high price just at the time that it disappeared from the HP world. I didn't replace it because of the disappearance.

Regards, Jim

 

LOL, what a nice atmosphere we have here

 

FYI for any owners out there, there have been recent updates for several things in this laptop:

Intel AC-7265 wifi driver 17.16.0.4
Intel HD 5500 graphics driver 15.36.19.64.4170
Synaptics touchpad driver 18.1.30.7
Realtek HD audio driver 6.3.9600.119
HP BIOS update to version F.11

The Intel stuff I get directly from downloadcenter.intel.com and the others I get from the HP support page at here.

I have installed all of these things and the laptop hasn't blown up, so I'm calling it a success.

 

Thanks for the update - even if it cost me a grand, because your comments did in any resistance I had left for the SP3!! I'll probably wait for the 4 to come out and pick up a 3 for 1/2 price - in my dreams!

Really a drag that Fn/A doesnt turn off the F5 keuboard light (as it did in both the 13t-3000 and Envy 14 Spectre. Hopefully they just altered the key sequence.

 

Look at this.. HP should do have done that, lol

http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/24/8488453/james-bond-sony-product-placement-xperia-z4-spectre

Anyway I hope the movie will be good for the laptop

 

Hey everybody, new to the forum here and just took delivery of my new x360! My first course of action I usually take when buying a new PC is to immediately do a clean install of Windows. However, HP does not supply any Windows media with the laptop. The only option I see is to purchase the DVD from HP for $40. Are there any other options I'm not aware of?

On a side note, has anyone been running Windows 10 on the x360? Any major issues?

 

Here is the last major piece of the puzzle. I just completed a battery run time test. I used a test called PeaceKeeper. It runs a series of stress tests over and over until the battery level causes system shut down. PeaceKeeper ran for 5 hrs, 50 min while the battery level decreased from 100% to 7% (System Hibernate). I get about 1.6 to 1.7 times the PeaceKeeper results for my use profile run time based on results from several other PCs. That means my normal run time should between 9 hrs 20 min and 9 hrs, 55 min! The Spectre x360 is a definite keeper. Check Amazon for a listing of my UX303LA.

Best regards, Jim

 

I just received my x360 and I absolutely love it so far. One thing I have noticed is that the left click is allocated to a very small bottom left portion of the trackpad. Is it possible to expand the clickable area that the left click is recognized? I have searched the Synaptics section in the control panel, and see the 'clicking' and 'button' sections, but do not see any option to expand the clickable area. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

I am having an issue with my X360.... The keyboard and trackpad don't always function. What I mean is that from booting up or waking up from sleep, sometimes the keyboard and trackpad (and the stupid F5 light) don't come on and I'm forced to use the touch screen keyboard. Same situation occurs if I slip to tablet and then back to laptop mode. HP is sending a replacement but its really souring my experience.

Anyone come across this issue?

 

x360 QHD brightness and battery

1) I will order the x360 this week, however I am still unsure to go for the QHD or not, since there are (almost, found one) absolutely no reviews of that version I wonder why. The German site notebookinfo.de claim that the brightness of the QHD version is very (too) low, averaging at 221 cd/m2. Can anyone confirm there numbers? What is your experience? May it be possible that the screen supplier differs from country to country? I'm living in Switzerland.

2) based on feedbacks in this forum, it seems that the battery using the QHD looses 1.5 -2 h. Is this confirmed, even after the software / processor optimizations discussed here?

 

If you have the latest Synaptics driver version 18.1.30.16, there is a setting to change "right button zone". Go to "Properties for Synaptics Clickpad", under "Clicking" there is "Right Button Zone" setting. You can expand the clickable area there.