*HP dm3 (1XXX series) Owners Lounge*

The SU4100 is never the bottleneck in my multi tasking (couple of browsers, utorrent, msn, office, skype at the same time).

My Hitachi 7K500 is often (starting up, launching apps) a bottleneck, even though it's the fastest HDD. I would benefit from a fast SSD, but they're too expensive imo.

 

Interesting info about the 7k500 being the bottleneck. I was gonna get that drive for my dm3t but instead I'm saving up for an Intel X-25M G2 160gb. I thought about going for the 80, but I say buy once, cry once. May as well make it waterfalls.


I'm interested in the lower processors now. Where would any users with the sp9300/g105 see a difference, besides our wallets and battery life, between the sp9300 and say the su7300?

 

You'd only notice difference during CPU intensive operations. For example during unzipping, encoding, large calculations or running a Photoshop filter.

I'm not certain if (and what) games would benefit.

 

I don't really game, but I do photoshop a lot, but 98% of the time with files smaller then 30mb. Barely ever filters.

So I guess the su4100 and su7300 are quite capable processors. Definitely good info to have on hand.

 

You could watch your CPU utilization in Taskmanager while you're doing some of your heavier Photoshopping. That will give you a good idea of how much CPU power you really need.

The difference between SU4100 and SU7300 is negligible. Accept for the VT that only SU7300 supports.

 

If you right click on the speaker in the task bar, click on sounds, in the window that pops up, click on the properties button, then go to levels and then balance. You can adjust the levels so it actually sounds like it should. I just raised the right channel up a little bit and it sounds a lot better.

I hope this helps.

 

I can't speak for others, but I opted for the L625 with 4330 just so I could do some basic gaming. I travel a lot and wanted a capable little media machine to be entertained on the road. It handles Call of Duty MW2 online quite well (granted on lower settings) and RTS like Dawn of War 2 run really good. Having even 100mhz more might mean a few more FPS on some games, which made it worth while for me. So although it's not meant for hardcore gaming, it can hang with the Alienware M11x when configured at the high end. (two of my coworkers just got those, and we game together on them)

 

Recently purchased the DM3-1130us at Staples. Did some research, knew I wanted this platform, tried the comparable Toshiba and found the HP to be a much better computer. I'm ok with trading higher battery life for access to the HD 3200 graphics (heck, I was using a circa 2002 Toshiba which had about 45 seconds of battery life, so 4:30 is great to me!), but I'm a little frustrated right now, as the 3200 is almost useless to me since I can't update the drivers to such that Flash 10.1 is able to utilize the 3200. No matter which upgrades I try, the driver remains, in GPU-z:

"atiumdag 8.14.10.0678/Win7 64"

Catalyst 10.2 for IGP installs fine, but evidently does not "take" to the 3200. Is this something in the HP bios? The drivers on the HP website offer no upgrade from the factory driver listed above.

Anyone else figured this out? How can I install updated Catalyst drivers on the dm3?

ALSO: Yesterday, BatteryBar gave me estimated 4:28 in total battery life on the powersaver plan. Today, with nothing changed, I am getting a 3:58 reading. "Battery Wear" is steady at 1.3. Is this fluctuation normal, or something I should be concerned about?

 

Not sure about battery life, but did you try uninstalling the old video card drivers first?

 

Uninstalled old drivers. Used driver sweeper to get rid of any artifacts left my bad attempts at installing 10.2 and found a 9.11 install (the first to help with Flash). Its the first ATI driver I've installed that worked. I guess 10.2 doesn't officially support the M3200? Does anyone know the last driver that did?

EDIT: Did some research; evidently 10 series drivers will not support mobile chipsets until 10.3 In addition, 10.3 will be the first version to extend Flash 10.1 hardware acceleration to the HD3200!

 

Glad you found out some more info on it.

I just got confirmation that my re-order shipped.
It was supposed to be finished being built the 17th. Hopefully I'll get it before the the week ends.

 

Just picked up a DM3-1130US from office depot for $499 AR, got CB though. Lucky me though, I open it and see a neon green stuck pixel in the middle of the screen. I tried everything to get it to go away, but nothing worked. Fortunately, I called up OD and they're delivering a new computer tomorrow as a replacement.

 

It's good they're exchanging it for you. FWIW there was a green stuck pixel on one of the inspiron 15's in my house and I just rubbed it a bit and it went away and hasn't been back since. That was about 7 or 8 months ago.

*crosses fingers for no stuck pixels*
The return and exchange process for a custom built takes a lot longer...

 

Hopefully everything's good tomorrow. BTW, did you purchase the 6300 wifi card for your dm3?

 

I did, but I'm a bit weary about it now.
I'm not sure if the dm3t's shipping now have 2 or 3 antenna wires. Not a big deal right now, but when I upgrade my home network to N speeds it will. At that point I'll have to add a third wire myself. Again, not a big deal. More of an annoyance.

The main reason I'm a bit weary is because I've been reading about HP blacklisting cards they don't approve. The intel 5100 is listed in the service manual so I'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully it'll work. I'm also hoping dm3t's shipping now have 3 wires because of the dual band wi-fi they offer. I'm hoping they just add all 3 wires during the mass pre-assembly for machines to be finalized later on. But who knows.

For what the cards were going for ($36 shipped) if it ends up not working I can shave a few bucks off and resell it or just throw it in my dell unless they blacklist cards too.

I'm even more excited than before about getting my dm3t because it's a replacement (I returned and reordered for a better system for less $$) so I already had one on hand. I loved it; it really is a solid feeling machine.

My very first upgrade will be putting an intel X-25M g2 160GB SSD in there. In a couple of days I'll be putting a few things up for sale so the cost of the ssd doesn't hurt as much.

I'm excited!

 

has anyone with the bad battery life had any luck getting a replacement from HP? i haven't been checking for the past 2 weeks (it's usually been plugged in) but today when i turned on the computer, it went from 100% to 93% in about 8 minutes. that's really bad battery life for me. it's frustrating because i can't figure out what it is. this laptop is lasting as long as a regular C2D laptop for me.

 

mrrunon, what model and processor do you have?

 

The first 10% don't seem to be reliable with mine either. To get an accurate idea of the battery life I think you'll need to run down the complete battery. And don't forget to set the critical battery level as low as possible.

 

Has anyone else recently installed the new bios (F.14 E). I did it today and I no longer have a HP boot screen. It goes from a black screen(with what would be the normal bios splash screen time) to windows. All the functions work so far [ ESC / F9 / F10 etc. ] but I'm kind of leery of the blank bios splash screen.

 

Mine(1044nr) goes down to 94% in about 8 minutes, and averaged around 4 hours of real life use ( Itune music and surf web with power saver setting and screen dimmed to 30~40%). I've regularly let my battery run down completely and still doesn't effect the end result. Only if I can squeez few more hours of juice, this would be a almost perfect notebook for me.

Is it me or just takes forever for the dm3 to charge the battery to 100%?, also does anyone know if the dm3 has spdif out? I know it's not mentioned/indicated, but sometimes manufacturer does that.

 

Is there a setting to keep the screen from auto-dimming? I'm not talking about the power save setting where it autodims in 5 minutes, mine auto-dims when the screen is dark and then if it's a lighter color it brightens it back up, it's annoying when you are watching a movie, it continually changes brightness.

**edit**fixed it by turning off intel power saving feature.

 

I knew it was in there somewhere...
Was just trying to find it real quick.

 

Ok, so another problem, when i hibernate it and bring it back up, the screen has some distortions on it, it goes away if i restart, i thought i remembered that mentioned but can't find it, is there a fix for this?

 

My dm3z only lasts about 2 hours 30 - 3 hours tops with normal usage (browsing half brightness). It's a disgrace but I don't think HP will listen to me.

 

Same here.

 

hey guys, i jst got a dm3 1044nr sent to me today

i have a few problems that i have experienced so far

firstly, the button above the touch pad which is supposedly meant to disable the touch pad is not working. Is there an option in control panels or somewhere in the settings which allows for me to make it work or is this some sort of problem?
also i looked up in the manual to:
"disable two-finger scrolling, select Control
panel > Hardware and Sound > Mouse > Multitouch Gestures. Then, clear the check box next to
the function you want to disable."
yet i cant find the MULTITOUCH GESTURES option/tab. I cant seem to get the gestures of pinching and 2 finger scrolling to work.


secondly this has been irritating me the whole day.
When i play music through the external speakers located at the bottom, the sound seems to be only coming out form the left side and a bit to the centre. I dont seem to be recieving any noise from the right side. is this how its meanto to function or is this some sort of hardware problem?


are these problems hardware of driver related ?

thanks

 

I can't speak for the touchpad issue. That could very well be a mobo/driver issue.

But as far as the sound, that is how the laptop was designed.

The left speaker is where it should be (on the left side), whereas the right speaker - by design - is in the center of the laptop. Kinda defeats the purpose of having a speaker grille now doesn't it...

 

DM3 does not support gestures, are you sure you're not looking at a manual meant for an Envy or TM2 laptop? My DM3 did not come with that but my TM2 did and I know exactly what you are talking about.

 

Just an FYI for anyone looking for a nice case for your DM3. The HP 12.1" messenger bag fits like a glove. Its nice and small and not too bulky but has plenty of room for an extra battery, external drive and a mouse.

 

The dm3 does support multitouch gestures.
I dunno what to tell you about the button not working hpdm3user.

 

The button above my touchpad came non-working as well. The solution was to go to the HP website and download a new touchpad driver. Now it works great.

 

I'm thinking of returning mine, mainly because of high cpu temps. Also, there's the coupon that would get me a better system for less price. There aren't any right now, but I read HP throws them out once a month or so and I can wait a month.

 

Not a bad idea.
If budget and needs permit I'd go for an intel machine.

 

is there any update if the bios helps with the battery wear issues. also has anyone tried to undervolt the 2.26 processor to increase battery life?

 

It can be done.

 

i guess that's just the way it is. i think i'm getting a lot of bleeding (after it's turned off) too. gonna check again, but i think it was 10% in 1 day, which is unacceptable for me.

 

hey thanks for the help guys, but just to make sure its not some sort of hardware problem before i start installing software, are the speakers on the dm3 definately left and centre based (ie no speakers on the right side)?

i am using the dm3 1044nr. are the touchpad gestures present? I got the sticker on the touchpad showing me the different ways for rotating, stretching etc. Is that relevant for my notebook?

oh and one more thing, as stated before, my button to disable the touchpad wasnt working and i was kindly told that i could fix this by installing teh new drivers. anotehr problem is teh scroll on the touchpad doesnt seem to be working, will that also be fixed with the driver update?
(to clarify, i havent installed and drivers of software as of yet because i am having some slight issues with the notebook and dont want to be restricted from returning the laptop if need be)

Thanks for the quick responses

 

IIRC, the touchpad issues were fixed with driver updates.

The left speaker is on the left, the right is near the center; that's normal.

 

I'm having the same battery bleed issues too. Mine jumps from 100% to 94% within a matter of 10 minutes (or less) after a full charge. My battery life seems to be shorter at around just under 4 hours with wifi on, browsing the web, and watching hulu. Even when I hibernate the laptop, I still get a few percentage loss of battery life. Even worse if I put it to sleep. Other than that, the laptop is great. I just wish I could get at least 5 hours and I wouldn't complain.

I'm beginning to wonder if I should've just waited for a UL30 after all... Although I did get a pretty killer price on this laptop, so I guess the cost difference still makes the dm3t worth it.

 

Decided to go with Lenovo U450P from Microsoft Store...Although I really like the looks of the DM3s, but it was an awesome deal...check it out if anyone is interested...

 

Alright, so just got my dm3-1040 from J&R. First impressions 1. very slim unlike i thought, and very beautiful too 2. a little on the heavy side for a 13.3 especially at the back 3. battery seems to wobble a little (will fix that with some rubber). 4. Great keypad, mouse is not that bad (you just have to make your finger glide over it insteading of firmly pressing).
Havent tested out the battery and stuff but will comment later. Planning to do a complete win7 install. Just some quick questions: are the drivers on the hp page all that will be required? cos I dont see any drivers for the touchpad and other stuff.
Overall, great buy, am impressed

 

i shut my computer down at 22% 14 hours again, and now i just turned it on to check.. it's at 7% and wouldn't even turn on. that's 15% in 14 hours...

btw, for whatever reason, the dm3 charges faster if you have windows operating (probably another issue unknown to HP). i've actually charged about 40% of the battery in about 25 minutes.

 

You seem to be having some real issues with your battery life and operation of the DM3, it is an out of the ordinary situation and you should probably get it looked at through HP (I know it's not a pleasant process). Personally I am at the other end of the spectrum, I have successfully undervolted my P9300 based DM3 and am getting just under 5 hours of realistic battery life from it. I have no battery bleed while it is hibernating or off, and even in standby the battery drain is minimal.

The dedicated graphics mode consumes significant battery life, it was very surprising to me to see such a drain but I guess it is to be expected, and processor intensive work also has a very large impact on overall battery life. I have been able to reduce my battery bar estimated time on occasion to alarmingly low levels by stressing my DM3 and asking it to behave like a tech PC while running on battery.

The technology is not magic, I opted for the 25W processor over the 10W ULV model because I was willing to forgive some battery life for potential performance, but in the high performance mode if I chose to use it on battery I have no expectations of getting anything but minimal battery life. While "Hyper-battery-life'ing" my usage I do realize a significant longevity and appreciate the wonderful computing experience of a well made laptop the whole time.

 

I can't believe this: after all this time and the updates, my trackpad just went crazy coming out of sleep if I have mutli-touch gestures turned on.

I am so dissappointed with HP for this Dm3-1030US, the trackpad has issues, the computer freezes temporarily coming out of sleep sometimes...i think i too may have that battery drain when it is turned off. How could HP do this to us?

End of rant.

 

You need to update the BIOS to version F.14 and get the latest driver for the trackpad at http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html

 

Where did you get it?

 

Has anyone managed to get the 10.3 Catalyst Mobility Preview Drivers working on their HD 3200s? I've clean installed them and GPU-z still reads Catalyst 9.11...

 

Yes the Microsoft version is missing some drivers so you have to get them from the HP site. That fixed the issue and a few others on my NR version.

 

HP DM3z still going strong, no problems with it so far...

 

Is there anyway to run a really stripped down OS for saving battery life. I'm thinking when I'm travelling I might just use it as a video player so would like to boot straight into that.