*HP dv8 Owners Lounge*

Hey just joined the forums coz am thinking of gettin the HP dv8, could you lot tell me about it please, is it worth gettin? Also is there a way to customise your laptop for UK coz ive only seen it on the American website. Thanks

 

Mine finally moved today also and is in Alaska. With the 2 day shipping FedEx is estimating that it will be delivered tomorrow. That seems fast, but I do live just outside a major metro area (Philadelphia), so I guess it is possible. We will see.

I looked up HP's price protection policy under their EPP at http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/terms.do?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN . It says they will match 21 days from delivery. I know I can get it for about $150 less right now, but might just wait a little bit and see if it goes down anymore. I wonder if they only match the current selling price? They don't really advertise that policy, so I bet a lot of people miss it.

I also looked into the Acer when my Dell XPS1645 order fell through. Looked good but I did want a bluray burner and that wasn't an option at that time.

 

I just got off the phone with HP. They gave me another $50 off for second delay and $150 price adjutment. Total credited $250 from hp and another $53 back from mr rebates. Total price for dv8 with tv tuner before tax $771. Pretty good price!

 

Fishfinder, can you please give more details on how you got that incredible price? What number did you call? What did you say? Did you get pissed or friendly with them? Did you threatan to cancel?

I ordered the same machine on Nov 10. I've received a $50 hp coupon and that's all. I called CS and they said there is no lower price than the $500 coupon code I used to get mine ($1158 after tax). And they think it should ship this week, but he didnt seem very sure..

 

anyone have an update for the iphone syncing problem?

 

I called HP's Resolutions Team at 1-888-227-8451. I was not pissed,but i was very firm with my tone of voice with the shipping delays. I told HP I’m in need of a computer ASAP and I’ve been waiting patiently through the first delay. The fact that it’s delayed for a second time is unacceptable and I’m very unsatisfied with the hp experience so far. Is hp offering any coupons or credits for the second delay?

I hope that helps and I hope you guys used mrrebates when you ordered. saved me $53. Also they told me it would be shipped on Dec 5 with expedited shipping.

 

I have a question about the bios on my DV8T. I just recieved it yesterday and was doing all the initial optimizing. I checked the bios on HP's site and it lists version F.05 E I believe for download and CPU-Z is showing mine as running F.06. Unless they work backwards I would think F.06 is a newer bios that maybe is not available as a download yet? Would you suggest keeping what I have?

Also as far a graphics drivers do you suggest using the ones from Nvidia or some modified version?

thanks!

 

I am in almost the same situation as you--ordered on the 10th, est shipping date was the 18th, then pushed back to 28th and/or 30th, and I added just TV Tuner & Bluetooth--only I took it to the next step today...

Guys, I regret to inform this great community that I have canceled my order for the dv8 today.

I couldn't take waiting like this and being treated by customer service that way. I called after the first delay and both cs and sales had no idea why it was delayed (for the record, LateralusRok, earlier in this thread we unofficially came to the conclusion that people with the Bluetooth addon were more commonly being delayed like us). It was unclear whether they were promising shipment on the 28th or the 30th. They were also no help when I called a second time to see if I could get the free 500Gb Hdd that they were promoting; I even asked for clarity's sake and the rep told me that the 11/30 date was a conservative estimate, and that it would definitely ship on or possibly before the 30th. When I asked if I would receive another delay notice on the 30th, they said no, not to be worried.

Well here I am, it's almost December 2nd, and I was charged >$1100 about a month ago, and I still don't have a computer. It's ridiculous. I'd wait (I'm normally more patient, plus I was excited for this computer) for a company willing to help me when I help them, but all I got out of HP this time was lots of sorry's and thank you's by phone operators of all nationalities, and a $50 non-stackable coupon in exchange for my $1100 loan. Besides that, it seemed like all of the reps wanted from me was to shut up and leave them alone, and they'd tell me anything I wanted to hear if they thought I'd do so.

I purchased this originally because my laptop was stolen, and I'm a college student taking 3 computer courses; a pc is a necessity for me. Now, the semester is practically over, and I'm tired of waiting for the day my laptop will come in and make my life easier. I'm going to take my money, buy a Nokia N900 as a phone/pc replacement, and save the rest for when the right deal arrives again. Hopefully, next time the perfect deal does show up, I won't have as much of a nightmare as I did this time.

Good luck community. Sorry I won't be here any longer to contribute, but I enjoyed everything I learned regardless.


P.S.: BTW...you know that survey they ask you if you want to take when you call cs or sales? Well I don't think it really exists . When I called the first time to complain they wouldn't give me any $$ off for delays, but then when she was trying to let me go I said "I'd like to do that survey now, please", she paused and said she'd speak to her supervisor about getting $$ back.
Then today when I was ready to leave a good ol' complaint on their survey when I called, and she couldn't forward me to it! She was foreign and spoke broken english, and she asked me in the beginning if I wanted to do the survey at the end and I said "Yes". Then when I cancelled and the phone call was over, I waited on the line for the survey, and could still hear her breathing (creepy). After about a minute of silence she came back and asked why I was still on the line, and then she kept apologizing that she forgot while she pressed random buttons and tried to explain that it wasn't working. I just hung up and sighed.

 

I'm in a bit of a similar boat to some of you folks - I ordered my dv8 on Nov 16th & got the "Order delayed" email yesterday with the $50 credit, telling me it should ship no later than 7 days after the initial estimated ship date of Nov 27th.

I talked to CS today and asked for expedited shipping and was told that they can't guarantee that it will be any specific x-day shipping but that it would be faster than the standard 5-7 day shipping that was part of the original order.

Hopefully it doesn't get delayed another time! For the records, I ordered mine with the TV tuner and Bluetooth options, so maybe this is part of the delay?

 

so I ask again, what is the opinion on the Acer vs the DV8. I have 8 days to decide. The more I think about it, the Acer just seems like the better option. HP recently came in dead last in reliability and guess who was number 1.....

 

I ordered on the 16th also and my laptop is in route from Alaska and scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. I ordered the bluetooth and TV tuner also. I also upgraded to the blueray burner, 500GB HD, and 4GB RAM if that helps to pin you delay down. It sucks to be sitting waiting, but HP does seems to be doing a little bit better than some others with delays. I had a Dell on order for a 1.5 months before they cancelled my order because of a issue they were having with their bluetooth module. When they called me to redo my order and told me it would be another 4 weeks I told them no thanks. Lots of folks were having the same problems with Dell. Good luck. Hopefully your order moves soon.

 

Yep, he's right, I ordered a Dell Studio XPS on Oct 19 and it got delayed with an EDD of like tomorrow. I canceled., The DV8t looks quite promising.

 

Just found the following on the Bing site....wonder why it wasn't more pronounced when I clicked on the HP link....I just happened to be reading over the FAQ when I came across this.....and why is HP called out specifically? It's still a good deal on the laptop, so I'll be keeping my order anyway

 

+ Acer's got a much nicer gpu (and upgradeable, you say)
+ Acer's got LED backlit screen
+ Acer's got backlit keyboard
+ No HDD caddy needed
+ Multi-gesture touchpad (a huge plus for me)
+ Acer's design looks nice imho
+ 5.1 channel surround sound
+ Higher customer satisfaction

= Same 18" screen size
= Full size keyboard
= Blu-ray
= Webcam

- Pricier
- 5400rpm HDD (wat!?)
- 1066 DDR3 RAM
- No fingerprint reader

I think the Acer would operate (theoretically) slower than the dv8, since they both have the same processor but the Acer has 5400rpm HDD and 1033 RAM (although it's debatable which dv8 has too for RAM).

With that said, the Acer should perform better in graphics intensive environments, like gaming and heavy editing/manipulation. But this is at the cost of battery life, which the 250M sucks more of.

It's a tough comparison, there are things to love/hate about both. But the Acer's probably the way to go, since you could always replace the slower RAM and HDD for a faster one. If you take those out of the equation, then the extra $200 you'd spend on the acer goes towards the graphics card, and the ability to swap it in the future. That's worth $200 to me.

 

just returned my dv7t quad and got a dv8t quad with these specs:
HP Pavilion dv8t Quad Edition customizable Notebook PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
• 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
• 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
• Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
• Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Espresso Black)
• Intel Wireless-N Mini-card
• No TV Tuner w/remote control
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
I exchanged my dv6t quad for a dv7t quad and now a dv8t quad...lol... what a crazy week

 

Would there be any weird imbalance when you lift this monster up if it only has 1 HDD installed on it?

 

Yeah I had the DV7t too, Awesome laptop but I wanted the 1080p and bluray, missed out on the the bluray from my dv7t.

Is the DV8t much bigger than the Dv7t or similar?

Mine Ordered with the $450 off coupon
dv8t quad edition
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
• 50% OFF! 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
• 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
• Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
• Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Espresso Black)
• Intel Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
• HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

 

I checked out the Acer last weekend and even though it is LED backlight, the screen is very dim. I played with the display settings for 15 minutes and I couldn't get it to improve much. In addition, the view angles were pretty bad. If I moved slightly vertically off straight on the screen, I would see distortions. I was pretty disappointed because I really liked the design and configuration. I have yet to see the dv8t screen, so I decided to take the gamble and bought on cyber Monday. I hope the screen is better than the Acer or it'll be going back.

 

well it appears a new Acer is right around the corner, the 8942 and the specs seem INSANE.

18,4" Full HD Acer CineCrystal High-Brightness mit LED Backlight , max. Aufl. 1920 x 1080
- Intel Core i7 Prozessor 720QM (6MB L2 Cache, 1.6GHz)
- 8192 MB DDR3-RAM Arbeitsspeicher
- 1280 GB (2x640GB) SATA 5400rpm
- 1024MB DDR3 ATI Mobility Radeon HD5850
- Blu-ray Disc Writer mit DVD SuperMulti (Double Layer)
- Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
- Integriertes Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100 (802.11a/b/g/Draft-N)
- ExpressCard Slot
- Elegantes und Robustes Gehäuse
- 105-Tasten mit Nummernblock
- 5-in-1 Card-Reader (MMC, SD, MS, MS Pro, xD)
- Web/Videokamera integr. 1,0 MegP
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
- 2 Jahre Garantie (Bring-In) inkl. 1 Jahr International Travellers Warranty
from German site

might make the choice even harder....

 

you looked at the 8940? where did you see it????

 

Fry's Electronics

 

EHHHH, make me more likely to go for the hp (Nvidia>ati)

 

The Acer's GPU is far better than the 230m in the HP dwjp90. It is purely preference on Nvidia or ATI. I like them both. My desktop has a crossfire and my M15x has the nvidia 260m.

The 250 GTS inside the Acer will handle games and graphic applications far better than the 230m can. Look up the specs and compare them. You should see the shader differences. I can't check right now but i'm pretty sure that the 230m has 96 shaders where the 250 probably runs 148 or so. The 250 GTS has also shown to handle intense gaming very well. Youtube the GPU and watch some nice vids on a laptop of it running.

Personally, I don't think ACER is a good company to buy a laptop from. They make them cheap in 2 ways. Their customer support has been horrendous. Just google their customer support and you will find nothing but complaints. That is bad in my books.

I will say that I am happy with Dell and HP. I ordered a fully customized M15x from Alienware/Dell on Nov. 21st and they had it out to me on Dec. 1st. HP in the past was very good to my mother when she ordered her desktop. Fast, quick, reliable service.

Customer support makes or breaks deals for me when the purchase $1000>$200.

p.s. - the HP has better HDD's than the Acer. 7200rpm vs. 5400pm.

 

Just wanted to let everyone know we have the DV User Group up and running and it's a great place for tons of info. Thanks to everybody who has been helping others over there as well.

Link and short description:

 

As you lot didnt see my last post, i will ask again. Ive noticed that you can customise your HP laptop on the American HP site. But i havnt been able to find a customise option on the UK site, is there one on there?

 

Do you have a link? The last I had seen from someone in the UK is that they just bought theirs off the shelf, no customizing.

You may get a better answer here http://forum.notebookreview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16 just check the flag of your location and make a post. I'm sure you will get a better answer there.

Good luck.

 

dv8t quad edition
• Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-820QM Processor (1.73GHz, 8MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
• 50% OFF! 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
• 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
• Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
• Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Espresso Black)
• Intel Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
• No TV Tuner w/remote control
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• HP Long Life Notebook Battery
• System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows 7 Home Professional 64-bit
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• FREE Upgrade to Computrace LoJack for Laptops, Four Years from LoJack for Laptops, One Year
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

-------------------------------------------------------

Shipped yesterday, but still hasnt moved from Shanghai.....

 

Any active 500$ coupons remaining you guys think? Might buy a second one.

 

Yes the $500 off with a purchase of a mini.

http://www.logicbuy.com/deals/hp-pavilion-dv8-18-inch-laptop-hp-mini-netbook-bundle/17130.aspx

The $450 coupon for only the dv8t has expired.

I wanted to ask if someone can make an official review for this notebook.

 

The new lower price, the instant rebate, and the bing.com cashback of 20% will give you a pretty sweet deal. Depending on your configuration, this set up could be better than $500 or 30% off.

If you're getting an extended warranty, you also get a 25% off instant rebate that goes away if you use a coupon code.

Or you can wait for another good coupon. They always come back.

 

Does anybody know what laptop cooler would be a good fit for the dv8? Most are only good up to 17 inches.

I was thinkking about this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834991042

 

Check these out.

The popular choice is the Zalman.

 

To my surprise my laptop left China yesterday and found its way to my door this morning. Haven't had too much time with it yet, but so far I am impressed. The screen is much nicer than I expected. I do seem to be having some problems creating the recovery disks. The bluray burner doesn't seem to recognize the sony dvd+r's that I have.

 

u gotta be kiddin me.....

mine is still stuck in China.......

 

Which bluray did you get -- the Lightscribe one or the other one?

Mine was released from customs and is now on its way. So I guess I'll soon know if they upgraded me to expedited shipping or not. Sounds like yours got through customs then got a next-day treatment from FedEx.

Oh, and I think the dates on that Fedex are based on Shanghai time. So actually 12 hours advanced on the east coast of USA.

You can call tech support, give them your computer's serial number, and they'll make you a recovery disc, according to the salesperson I talked to yesterday.

Edited to say .. the FedEx screen says it is using local time, so according to FedEx, my computer was released from international shipment at around 9 pm Anchorage time, but left the FedEx facility in Anchorage at around 4 pm Anchorage time. Duh -- that means they shipped it on BEFORE it cleared.

Probably a typo should say 9 AM today that it cleared.

 

I got an email on Friday saying that it shipped. I wasn't actually picked up by Fed Ex until late Saturday and didn't go anywhere until yesterday for some reason. Once it started moving it came fast, but I did pay for two day shipping. You have different options when tracking your package with regards to the dates and times. I think the default it local time for the scan.

I think there was only one option for the bluray burner and I don't believe it has lightscribe. I did see that I could order the recovery disks and that is probably just what I'll do.

 

Add me to the DDR3 1333 club!

 

what makes that ddr3 1333? sorry for the noob question i don't see 1333 anywhere i take it that it goes by something else on there?



also it seems like everyone that was delayed is at least shipped if not arrived besides me. Has anyone ordered before the 10th and not been shipped still? I am still in production =/. Last i talked to cs they said they didnt even know when it would be built lol.

 

Any one know what was in the small bubble wrap pack in the laptop box?
I need to send mine back and I can't remember what came in there.

Thanks

 

Lol, IMHO HP > Acer and Nvidia > ati

Im not saying that its better as in performance but overall.

For instance ati drivers are . my buddies laptop display still crashes because of his ati card. Hp for me has been more reliable and more likely to be replaced under warranty than Acer. Even if the card in the acer is better i would still take the HP because of their past experiences with me.
**WARNING 4th person Rumor**

i heard in the HDX forum that an hp 18" laptop would get a 3d screen refresh. unlikley but damm that would be cool

 

DDR3 = Double data rate revision 3 so
667 (data freq) *2 = 1334

 

I believe that would be the battery in the bubble wrap pack.

 

1333 here also.

 

1333 here as well.

 

Ok, I have tried out a couple of games on the DV8t.
First game was Assassin's Creed. Surprisingly, I am able to play it with medium to high settings and at 1920x1080 resolution with no problems. I played for 2 hours yesterday with very smooth game play.

The only problem I had is this game starts in windowed mode and you have to alt+tab to get it out of windowed. I did not know this and every once in a while I would "click" and the game would freeze.
Well it wasn't freezing, I was actually left and right clicking on the desktop behind the game window. I am missing a couple of icons now (deleted them and didn't know )and there is no telling what windows settings I was changing while clicking away trying to get the game un paused.

Once I figured that out though, the game runs flawlessly at full 1080P and medium to high video settings.

The next game I tryed was last night. I bought "Borderlands" and installed it. I only got to play with it for about 30 minutes but so far it is not doing so good.
I have a Creative X-fi USB headset with built in X-fi sound card. I started the game with high and medium settings but the headset would crash and disable its self and I was stuck with onboard sound. It seamed to be able to handle the higher video settings but I wanted to get the sound issue solved first before I went any further.
I changed the vid settings to low and lowered the resolution and was able to use the headset without it crashing. I only played with it for a few minutes after that and I had to get some sleep.

I will tinker with it again tonight and see how high a setting I can play this game smoothly.

I also bought "Left for Dead 2" and will report back with how well it handles that one too.

Maybe some of you who play games can report your findings on what games you have played, what settings and how well your DV8t handled them.
That would be a great guide for those who are shopping around for games to play on this thing.

 

I must be missing something here. Looks like it's running 1066 from that picture.

Also, I notice that all of the 4 gig memory machines have what looks to be 1333. I see yours is 8 gigs and it looks like its running 1066.
I am wondering if all the 2 gig ( 2 gig per stick )memory modules are 1333 and the 4 gig ( 4 gig per stick )modules are 1066?

 

hmmm, on the hp store site it says that the 8gb memory is also 1333.

 

Has anyone received or had a machine shipped with the upgraded options of blue-tooth and the tv tuner yet? If so when did you order? and when was it shipped/received

It looks like everyone who had a delay has been shipped but mine but maybe its just my combo of options?

 

Im still not sure whether to get the HP dv8 or the dell studio 17.....

 

hp.....
from what i heard and experienced....dell orders are backordered a lottttttttt.....so unless u r fine with getting a laptop 3 months after you place the order...i would recommend a hp...