*HP dv5z (1XXX series) Owners Lounge* **PUMA Goodness**

Raul_7: odds are your Inspiron has a NVIDIA GPU that is failing, which has been an extremely common problem with HP notebooks too but HP is better than most at fixing the problems. The dv5z uses ATI which hasn't had such problems. The current NVIDIA chips are supposed to be OK, but...

Heat seems to vary from notebook to notebook and dv5t's aren't immune. My dv4z runs cool. I do recommend configuring the 12 cell battery which props up the back of the notebook for better cooling.

 

I'm hoping to get this laptop before it is discontinued like the dv5t, mainly as a 'Legacy AGP 4X 8X' gaming laptop. Can anyone confirm that it runs Direct-X 8 and Direct X 9 titles a medium resolution (800X600 at least) with high to max settings well?

All of those with the default HD 3200 IGP and the lowest processor installed I might add.

 

Nanobyte, What was your old video card and cpu? that you play your current games on.

You know there was nothing wrong with AGP 4x, as video cards never really did saturate the bus, but the xfire and SLI was not possible. I thought about getting an AGP HD3850, but at this point I think my old regular DDR RAM is the real bottleneck on games even.

 

My desktop has a Semperon 2600 with 512 Megs of DDR2 ram with a 120GB 7200 RPM Western Digital drive. The video card is an ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 9600 (The non-pro version) with 128 Megs of ram. It runs Unreal Tournament 2004 very well and even manages to load up and run Doom 3 and FEAR (Albeit at a jittery frame-rates).

I'm hoping to finish playing a few older titles with this and move to a more current/powerful true gaming laptop next year.

 

Then the HD3200 IGP should play those games, but not much better than your 9600. You'll have to run Fear and Domm3 at lower resolution like 800x600 and medium settings, but get good enough frame rates of 30+. Now put the HD3650 in there and those games can be maxed out on quality at 1280x800.

 

Yup, about what I expected for some of the later Direct-X 9 games, but I'm still wondering about the performance I'll be able to get with the more full-featured Direct-X 8 games and the lower requirements Direct-X 9 ones like Thief 3: Deadly Shadows or Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Grand Theft Auto Sandreas, etc.

At this point it probably doesn't matter as I think I'm settled on getting a dv5z crappy mouse pad pointer and all. )

**update**

Found a bit more info. It seems the AIW 9600 has a fillrate of 1.3 GTexels/s while the HD 3200 IGP has an effective fillrate of 2.0 GTexels/s. Well, I suppose that means it'll suffice for what I have in mind with a bit more for kicks.

 

I'm trying an exchange

 

A new BIOS(f.23) has been released for the dv5z
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp42001-42500/sp42436.exe

Reduces the system startup (boot) time.

Resolves an intermittent issue where the bootable device is lost when powering up or restarting the system.

 

hi i'm from singapore and this is my first post. i've narrowed down my choices to the DV5-1034TX and 1036TX.

differences i can spot:
1034TX:
- S$1,699
- 2.0Ghz
- 2GB ram
- 250GB hdd

1036TX:
- S$2,599
- 2.54Ghz
- 3GB ram
- 320GB hdd
- Blue ray dvd

the biggest difference is obviously the cost, which amounts to S$900, and thats a lot for just a small difference in processor speed right? *small to me*. i don't use blue ray so its okay. the ram doesn't matter as a shop told me that they can upgrade 1034TX to 4GB ram for free. the hdd size is only 70GB more in the 1036TX. i'm wondering why 1036TX is like $900 more. is it because of the processor speed and the blue ray drive?

 

Franklhy welcome to the forums.

The 2 models you are asking about dv5-1034TX and dv5-1036TX are Intel based models (dv5t) and not dv5z (AMD) which this thread concerns. You will get better help if you post in the dv5t lounge instead.

 

Hi.

I have an DV5z on order with an HD 3650 512mb , I have read every post in this thread , it took over 4 hours, very interesting.

Does anybody know if it come with GDDR2 or GDDR3 memory and what mhz is it set to.

Thanks

John.

 

Hi.

Does the webcam have a built in white led light to the left of the camera.

John.

 

Yes the webcam does have a white light to the left of the camera (don't know if it is LED or not) which comes on once the camera is on.

 

Can anybody answer my question below.

 

So after about 8 months after introduction, who is still happy with their dv5z?

The Good:
- HDMI out. Great, love it... looks great on my LCD. I use my dv5z to output HD videos.
- eSATA is nice to have with my external.

But I've had ample chance to notice its many failings:
The Bad:
- Pathetic battery life with the "High-Capacity" 6-cell
- Runs too hot... I can hardly sit it in my lap. Although other times--like right now--it is fine. I don't get it. Very inconsistent.
- Glossy touchpad is fine occasionally, dumb most of the rest of the time.
- Touch buttons. I really wish I had a tactile volume control button independent from Windows volume. The current setup is kinda buggy.
- In Vista Ultimate, it won't show me how much time is left on the battery. Percent remaining only.

To answer my own question, I'd say I'm disappointed in my dv5z. I didn't care that much about Hybrid Crossfire; it would have been nice, but now it looks like it's never going to happen. I also think that 15.4" is too big for my purposes, but that's not really a problem with the laptop itself.

But I've begun to notice several problems. Sometimes my battery won't charge while the computer is in use on AC power. Just a few minutes ago, the battery indicator was stuck at 100 percent even though I had been using it for over a half hour on battery. Earlier today, the thing shut off on me with no warning whatsoever (must have been the same thing as above). I tried to reboot it to fix this but it hung on the Vista shutdown screen--which will happen occasionally, but rarely enough for it to be annoying. Recently it has started making a loud groaning sound for a couple seconds on startup; I'll have to make a video of it next time.

If this is how it's going to act after only six months, I'm worried. What can I expect from HP if I create a support ticket? I only have the standard 1-year warranty.

 

HDMI, eSATA - I have yet to actually use either of these ports.

Battery life - yeah, I have the high-capacity 6 cell, it's pathetic. It's even worse than you think though - these are "smart batteries" but the firmware in mine was bogus - it reported itself as using NiMH technology, with a bizarre 12000mAh capacity or somesuch, so even when it was fully charged it always reported itself as 46% full. This is either a flaky BIOS or a flaky chip in the battery pack, dunno which.

Inconsistent temps - yeah. I think the heatpipe assembly can flex away from the actual chips. It's only screwed down around the CPU socket, but it has to stretch several inches to cover the IGP (and GPU chip if you have it). There are no screws to hold it in place over those two chips, so only the heatpipe's rigidity is keeping it in contact with those chips. It's a crappy design. Obviously heat not only makes metal expand, it also changes its rigidity, and the motherboard itself expands and flexes at a different rate since it's not made of the same material.

Glossy touchpad - doesn't bother me, the touchpad on my Asus M6Ne was originally textured but I've worn it smooth from so much use. If it's going to end up smooth anyway, might as well get used to it. What really annoys me though are the mouse buttons, they feel awful and they're very noisy. The M6Ne mouse buttons are silent and have a much softer initial press, while still having a definite click at the activation point. The HP mouse buttons just feel terribly cheap. Likewise, the keyboard is noisier and also feels cheap, although it's not as terrible feeling as the mouse buttons.

Touch buttons - annoying, and I never use them. I tried to use the volume at first, but whenever I touched them they would keep on stuttering on their own, for minutes after I stopped touching them. Stupid things that never worked right. They're pretty annoying to look at too, the lights should have been switchable, e.g. illuminate whenever you get close to an activation area.

To HP's credit, when I contacted support about the system hanging/overheating, the turnaround was pretty quick. One day to fedex a shipping box to me with label, one day to send it back to them for service, one day to repair, and one day to send it back to me, in working order, updated to the latest BIOS. But of course, if they had designed this thing better in the first place, I should never have needed to send it back to them for such heating issues.

I would still like my next laptop to be AMD based, because I don't wish to help Intel grow even bigger. But I'll hold out for one with a backlit keyboard, no stupid touch keys, LED backlit display, and no stupid glowing logo on the lid.

 

I agree with you on the volume. I don't even use it anymore... I just pull up the Windows Mobility Center (Windows+X) and change it in there.

I use a Logitech VX Nano because the touchpad is so bad most of the time. Coincidentally, that's defective too. At least Logitech has excellent customer support so I think they will send me a new one.

Is there a 12-cell battery available for the dv5z? I don't have the patience to read through this now-massive thread to check. I didn't see one on the HP site. The extra space it takes up would promote better airflow.

I pretty much copy/pasted my post into an E-mail ticket just now. Good to hear the turnaround was quick, since I kinda need my computer to write essays and stuff over the next couple months. I secretly wish they would give me a comparable dv4z/t. I was having a lot of trouble deciding between the dv5z and a dv4t at the time of purchase. Couldn't justify the price premium on the smaller Intel. I was super annoyed when I saw that an AMD dv4 came out soon after I bought mine, but not soon enough to return mine.

 

The HP DV3z has backlit keyboard, LED display standard and it even has 64mb dedicated VRAM for the HD3200.

Im eagerly awaiting AMD's Fusion platform, or at least an updated Turion Ultra at 45nm and lower power.

 

Scottydont the only thing I can really agree with you on is the heat (seems to be a problem plaguing the dv5 series). My dv5z can produce some serious heat while using it on my lap so I usually use windows power management to "lock" the processor's max performance to 50% (it will then fluctuate between 550mhz to 1100mhz). I only use balanced power management while the notebook is on my cooler.

However I personally have gotten accustomed to the glossy touchpad to the point that it doesn't bother me anymore. As for the volume slider (touch buttons) one of HP's recent Bios updates fixed the over sensitivity problem with those touch buttons and to be honest they work just fine now (for me atleast), the precision is perfect.

Yeah the battery life kinda sucks but most of the time I am only away from a charger for 1hr max and being that I have the bluetooth radio disabled and the processor locked at 50% (can really save some battery life), I can actually get more than 2hrs out of my 6cell high capacity (as I said nothing to shout about but for me it isn't the end of the world).

The glowing HP logo doesn't bother me either I think it is a nice touch however I really would have loved to see a backlit keyboard and LED display option on the dv5 series.

Anyway there is one thing I am curious about however; for those of you who have used the esata port is it powered or is it just a port that requires the device you plug in to have its own power?

 

So what kind of temps are you guys getting fro the cpu/gpu ?

still waiting for my dv5z.

 

Yes there is. I have the 12 cell. Have not used it yet, not even once.

The only ID on the battery I see is HSTNN-IB79.

Yes the dv5z runs hot. Battery life is less than optimal and less than the dv5t models.

Touchpad I have no issues with.

Volume control is better than the one on my previous dv6870US, I'd still prefer old school regular buttons for the volume.

I have a 4 year warranty w/ accidental damage so I'm not worried about the longevity of the hardware, if it fails or breaks HP is on the hook.

If there is anything that really torques me, it is Vista, HP should offer XP.

IT ordered a couple of Vostro 2510 at work and I was surprised how much I liked it. If I had a do over right now I'd take the Vostro even w/ it's old gpu.

 

One of the drawbacks of eSATA vs. USB is that the former does not provide any power to external devices.

Coincidentally, my dv5z decided it doesn't want to charge anymore. Tried 4 different outlets. Could be the adapter. It was working earlier today but I packed it away in my bag. I wouldn't be surprised if it is something internal, though. That power input jack has always looked flimsy to me.

 

Thanks for the info on the 12 cells Oberkanone! How much was yours?

 

I want to do a clean install when i get my dv5z to get rid of all the bloatware, but i cannot find the chipset drivers, I have searched the HP and AMD websites, and they only give Raid driver under the 7 series chipset.

John.

 

All you need to do is download the ATI graphics driver package from HP, it will contain the chipset driver as well as the graphics driver.

 

Thanks very much

 

So how do i install only the chipset drivers, as the included display driver is v8.5 when i would like to install v9.2 , would v9.2 install over v8.5 without having to be uninstalled.

 

Those drivers from HP(catalyst 8.5) are OEM drivers written specifically by HP to support their OEM ATI cards. ATI themselves do not support mobility radeon products directly (like they do for desktops cards) therefore you will have to either take what HP offers or mod the desktop driver using Driver heaven's Mobility mod tool. You can usually install later versions of ATI catalyst drivers over the previous ones.

 

Thanks for the Help +REP

 

Just ordered:
HP Pavilion dv5z Entertainment PC
- Onyx
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
- AMD Athlon(TM) X2 Dual-Core Processor for Notebook PCs QL-62 (2.0GHz)
- FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (1 Dimm)!!
- 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
- 512MB ATI Radeon(TM) HD 3650 Graphics
- 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- Webcam Only
- Wireless-G Card
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- HP Color Matching Keyboard
- 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- No Modem
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
- HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Any comments on how this laptop will run?

 

You should have gone with the Turion or Turion Ultra instead of the Athlon QL-62 , that is going to be the weak link in your system.

I have almost the same system on order

EDIT : I think i have the Turion RM-72 on my order if it comes with a QL-64 it`s going back!

Onyx
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
- AMD Athlon(TM) X2 Dual-Core Processor for Notebook PCs QL-62 (2.0GHz) - Turion RM-72 2.1ghz
- FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (1 Dimm)!! - 4GB 2x2GB
- 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection - 250gb hdd
- 512MB ATI Radeon(TM) HD 3650 Graphics
- 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- Webcam Only
- Wireless-G Card , might be N
- bluetooth
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- HP Color Matching Keyboard
- 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- No Modem
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
- HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

 

My understanding is that the Turion X2's only benefits over the Athlon X2 is 1) power usage and 2) heat. Since Athlon X2 is basically a desktop card stuck in a laptop, I understood that a Turion Rm-72 (2.1 ghz) would perform the same as an Athlon X2 (2.0 ghz).

My main concern was the giant graphics card and that not even a Turion X2 64 would be enough, that and the 3Gb of memory. But geez, if that isnt enough, then I should just pack it up.

 

Have a look at the picture below, The Turion memory runs at 800mhz, Athlon at 667mhz , The Turion has better power management and improved memory handling.

 

Nice chart! Check out this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=213491

Or, this thread:
http://www.yougamers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67131

 

So what are you saying? are you agreeing with me or disagreeing.

 

Hi all,
I have a question regarding the overheat issue of my gf's DV5Z (2.0 GHZ AMD Athlon, 3gb ram, 250gb hd) That she purchase one month ago. Her laptop can become extremely hot (compare to my Intel Coreduo 2 HP) even though she is not runing any games or 3d program in her laptop. What can I do to fix this issue? Is there anyway that I can lower the speed of CPU, GPU to cure this problem? Thanks.

 

AMD processors do run hotter than INTEL ones, You need to check her CPU usage in task manager when the notebook is idle to see if and background processes are causing it to heat up, If so disable any unneeded ones, I think you need to check this out before you go any further.

EDIT : also make sure the cpu fan is running all the time, there is a setting in the bios if it is not on by default, I am waiting for my dv5z to arrive myself so i cannot check this out yet.

 

Supposedly the QL-62 is only 25 watts max though, so even though it has less power management it wont use as much power. The other Athlons are 35watts.

 

Yeah, 25 watts for the QL-62 , it worth a second look!

 

Make sure that she isn't using the notebook on a soft surface like on a bed or blanket etc. These soft surfaces severely restrict airflow to the cpu intake fan and can cause the notebook to heat up. If one is going to be using a notebook on a bed etc make sure that it is on a notebook cooler. Also make sure that in windows power management the setting is not set to always on (for XP) or high performance (for vista). Set the power options to portable/laptop (for XP) or balanced (for vista). The dv5 series seems to have been designed poorly when it comes to efficient heat dissipation so this is a problem that seems to plague most dv5s whether they be Intel or AMD.

 

Nice list below comparing most of the AMD processors

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

Have a look at the graph i got from wiki, the ql-60 is 35w , the ql-62 is 25w and the ql-64 is 35w, something strange!

 

I've been using the Catalyst drivers from amd.com on my dv4z for a while now. AMD/ATI added support for notebooks a while ago. NVIDIA recently followed suit. I'm not sure if it's worth upgrading to them or not but they do work. Haven't tried 9.2 yet, running 9.1 now.

 

I did not think AMD/ATI supported notebook drivers directly, and thought they had to be modded before use.

Now Nvidia directly supports notebook drives now without needing to be modified.

 

Interesting news can you link me to the notebook ATI driver for vista.

 

Just to be clear, I'm not really disagreeing with you. I was just making the argument that a $50 increase in price from the Athlon 64 X2 and the Turion 64 X2 is not that substantial except in the realm of power management. Turion X2 is a better "mobile" processor, with very minor performance differences from it's desktop based brother Athlon 64 X2. Though the Turion X2 Ultra clearly beats the mess out of both of them, as far as laptops go.

 

It`s just with a semi-powerful gpu like the 3650 you need all the push you can get, and it is cheaper to get less memory or other extras and concentrate on the cpu as a lot harder to upgrade, but each to he own.

 

http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html

There's no separate notebook driver package. Just pick your OS and GPU and go.

 

Those are drivers are for ATI desktop cards not mobility cards. Yeah the driver will install if you have an integrated graphics card but once you have a dedicated mobility radeon card those drivers will fail to install. This is why driver heaven's mobility mod tool exist along with other driver mods like omega drivers etc.
There is a mobility driver available for 32bit windows XP however that is an XP driver and will not work in vista (especially not in vista x64).

 

Is it just me, but i cannot find any Dv5z on hp.com have they been withdrawn

 

It was there up to last night! It may just be sold out but I doubt it seeing what happened to the dv5t line.

Oh well looks like HP maybe discontinuing their 15.4" line of notebooks altogether.