*HP dv8 Owners Lounge*

Thanks. I will try that. Because setting the contrast higher had a negative effect on editing my pictures... :-(

Gamma... Did not think of it, but now that you mention it, yes, gamma seems blasted a bit.

 

GREAT NEWS!

the 320GB UPGRADE is a SINGLE Drive NOT two drives like in earlier post.

Got mine an hour ago. Booted it up, shut it down and took of the hard drive cover to check and there is only one drive.

QUESTION: To put in a second drive requires a bracket/carrier and special cable...Where can I get them?

 

Hmm. That was a big reason why I picked the 500gb upgrade. Hopefully that is a single drive as well. I guess I'll know soon enough (package out for delivery!).

 

Congrats. Now I feel kinda screwed. I intentionally selected the 250GB drive since it does refer to it as 160x2 for the 320. Happy for you.

 

A very good reason to contact them and say "HEY! Look what YOU made me DO!" and badger them until they send you a 320gb drive

 

So, does it have keyboard backlight and do you love it? Mine got delivered at 10am, can't wait to get home from work!

 

I need hat Bracket and HD caddy as well! Let's share where we get it from. I'm so glad the 320 is a single drive! However. I think we can complain and as for the caddy for free cuz the website stated we'd get two drives!! I'll call later tonight. If someone else calls. Share with me / us what happens! Right now I'm creating restore CDs. After that I'll plug up my ssd and do a fresh win 7 ultimate I stall. What a great day! Now if o ly for that bracket and connector!

 

How do you create the restore cd's?

edit:
Nix that! Start>All Programs>Recovery Manager>Recovery Disc Creation

 

We ( I ) Want pictures

 

WOOT! The 500gb hard drive is also one disc instead of two 250's!!! I am VERY happy about that.

 

Awesome!

Now, let's find the caddy!

 

Glad to hear the 500gb is one drive. That's what I was hoping. My dv8 just shipped today finally! I order it last week on Thursday(22nd).

 

Dunno if it's the same drive caddy as the HDX18...

http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=213

 

That looks exactly like it. If I can't get it for free tonight. I'll order that one!

 

Does the SSD need the special caddy & connector? I read somewhere in the hdx18 forum that you don't need it with the SSD.

Also, can you please do some bench marks before and after you swap out your ssd?

 

are there bass/treble buttons on the top next to the volume?

pics would be great!

 

Ok... now i am a little annoyed. I loved my dv8000 that i had for over 4 years and I am sure i will love this computer too but...

I am amazed at where HP decides to cheap out. I cant connect the second drive because they dont supply the connectors if you only have one drive ordered. This happened with my dv8000 and I called to order one and they sent me a drive cage for a desktop. Also... you have to create recovery discs now? Since when did it become too expensive to have a recovery disc with your computer.

Anyway... I will get over this as well.

 

Yep. Treble and Bass next to volume

 

In case things go awry, consider running an image backup BEFORE configuring the laptop.

My favorite is Acronis Trueimage (I have an older version to what is currently selling):

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/

Its something like $49, you may be able to find a coupon somewhere.

You can boot the laptop from CD and make a copy before "messing anything up". Connect the laptop to a network with another PC with a share (Linux Samba shares are also ok). Should finish in a bit over an hour. Would be a 28 GB file.

Not that we ever mess anything up..

Ran Kubuntu from CD without issue. Showed up as having 8 CPU's.

 

I've called hp. They set up a case. Gotta wait 24-48 hrs to see if thell send me the pieces

 

which number did you call? What was your story?

 

CAn anybody confirm if the DV8 can use the i7's hyperthreading?

 

The DV8 DOES use hyperthreading.

I called the regular hp home sales number.

I said that what I paid for was for 2 harddrive caddys and connetors. I have another harddrive with all of my data and needed to plug it in and cannot. I refered to the 160x2 in the 'help me decide'. The guys said I'd ether have to swap laptops completely or they will decide to send me the parts. I told him it is a HUGE inconvience to swap laptops, as I've already been inconvienced 4 days because of the delay in AK (which was their fault) He said hed make a note. We'll see....


Ben

 

how would i confirm that?

 

So we all need a HD kit for the additional HD. Are you guys certain that the HDX HD kit will fit? Apparently there are 2 different kits for the HDX. Which one did you get?

Ben, you might get a free kit.

 

1. 320GB upgrade. 1 drive not two drives no second caddy cable
2. Specified two drives on "Help me decide" page under "Customize our dv8t..."
3. Called customer service.
4. Walked them through ordering process.
5. They confirmed it was a "mistake"
6. Sent me a to another person.
7. Explained the whole process again.
8. Told them i NEED a second caddy and cable.
9. Offered me a $50 dollar credit.
10. Told them at "laptopking" it costs $90 for HDX18T caddy/cable
11. Got $90 credit to Paypal (yes it's already there)
12. Ordered new caddy on line (see previous post for site )
13. use coupon code FB072808 for an extra 5% off caddy order.
14. will arrive 2-3 business days
15. 1 hr 5min 36 sec total phone time
* sdd drive will be in 2-3 business days + 5 min

"MISSION COMPLETION"

 

This One --> hd18 caddy

 

Sweet thanks, i played around with some of the i7 laptops at frys and i could find any setting for ht

 

There won't be any settings for it. It is a technology built in to the processor itself and is independent of the manufacturer or the laptop, motherboard, memory, goose poop, etc. Just look in the task manager and you'll see 8 processors instead of what one might assume would be there with a quad core.

 

i'm lovin' the dv8t. just wish it had the backlit keyboard from the 18t

 

Is the keyboard one large, solid unit or is the numpad a separate piece? i.e., can you replace the keyboard without replacing the numpad?

 

A little more on the drive mount.

the service manual for the dv8 (see earlier post for link) lists THIS part as the hard drive mounting kit. Which, if you click on the part number on that page, is the same part number is the same as the HDX18T.

So you can get the one from the link I posted for $42-ish (don't forget the 5% coupon)

 

Halon, I got my laptop. Yes there is no backlit keyboard... Thanks anyway

 

My money is on the HDX18 Keyboard available on eBay for $30.d

I will bet that the HDX18 backlit keyboard will fit the new DV8.

Go ahead universe, prove me wrong!!! ahahahaha

 

Yes but with the p4 it was a setting that why i was wonderng

 

I knew that, mentioned it 2 or 3 times already.

 

I'll have to try that one of these days. I think I saw a link on a post somewhere on how to do that? If someone has it available please post it.

 

meh i dont like the color of the hdx backlight keybard, i want a matchign black one, come on hp...

 

Has anyone tried to run the Windows Assessment Tool to get a system rating? When I run it it starts running several tests ok, but then fails when running 'Tuning Windows Media Decoding', saying the Display driver stopped responding.

I would appreciate knowing if anyone got thru the rating program ok - if no one has run it yet, I would appreciate if someone would try it. In the start menu click on 'Computer' in the right hand side, then in the window that opens click on 'System Properties' in the top bar. The 'System' windows opens, and listed under sytem you'll see the rating info. Click on that, and then on the 'Rate this Computer' button.

Thanks.

 

How is the cooling system? Concern about I7 heat - 45W same as Q9000. Hope laptop size will provide better cooling!!!

 

Thanks. I absolutely will need this. Don't know about calling HP for a free part. I am not good about this. I did order the free upgrade to the 320GB. My Gateway 7805 came with the extra HD bracket already in the slot. Little peeved about shelling out another $42 for a kit that I thought should already be built in.

 

Very simple. My fan is always on. As soon as there is any computing done, it speeds up. I guess it's the price to pay!

 

I did already and it ran through fine. I got a score of 5.9. Sub-scores are:

- Processor - 6.9
- Memory (4GB) - 7.3
- Graphics - 6.4
- Gaming Graphics - 6.4
- Primary hard disk (500GB) - 5.9

 

Ok, Here is my initial, not very detailed review:

First off, Here are my specs:
dv8t quad edition
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
• FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 3GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• FREE Upgrade to 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)
• Blu-Ray +/-R/RW with SuperMulti
• Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Espresso Black)
• Intel Wireless-N Mini-card
• HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

First off, Know that the 320gb is now my secondary, backup drive (or atleast will be when I get the caddy and sata connector). I have replaced the drive with an 80gb NEW Kingston SSDNow M Series Drive (Intel X25-M SATA...that I bought on Ebay for 250 brand new.

Secondly, I never used the computer with that stock operating system. I only made the recovery DVD's (it takes 3 dvd's), then I replaced the HDD with the SSD and installed a fresh copy of windows 7 ultimate x64. I then installed almost every stock driver from the hp driver website.

I have installed most of the programs that I use so far.

Here are my specs from windows experience: (NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MY SSD NUMBER AND THE HDD FROM DAWTIPS)

Component Details Subscore Base score
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz 6.9 6.4
Determined by lowest subscore

Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB 7.3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M 6.4
Gaming graphics 2811 MB Total available graphics memory 6.4
Primary hard disk 13GB Free (74GB Total) 7.7
Windows 7 Ultimate

System
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
Model HP Pavilion dv8 Notebook PC
Total amount of system memory 4.00 GB RAM
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 4

Storage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total size of hard disk(s) 74 GB
Disk partition (C 13 GB Free (74 GB Total)
Media drive (D CD/DVD

Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter type NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M
Total available graphics memory 2811 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 1024 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 1787 MB
Display adapter driver version 8.15.11.8644
Primary monitor resolution 1920x1080
DirectX version DirectX 10

Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Adapter Realtek RTL8168D/8111D Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.20)
Network Adapter Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 AGN



Here are my inital, unsientific impressions:
This is FAST. Period. It boots up in less than a 30sec. It shuts down in less than 2 seconds. Fastest thing I've ever used or seen.
It DOES NOT get hot. My wife has an AMD dv4. That thing is blazing and the fan is SUPER loud. This is SUPER quite, I don't even know if it is on sometimes, and very cool. Granted, I haven't gamed on it yet, I have placed it on my bed's comferter and it still wasn't hot.

Touch buttons. Eject button does not work. The trebel/bass button works but the visual thing is messed up. All other buttons work flawlessly.

Keyboard. I can't tell you if the hdx 18 will fit, I'll leave that for someone else. The keypad side moves up and down when you use them. The keyboard side is rock solid.

What I can tell you is that the HDX 18 caddy and Connector is THE EXACT SAME. My friend has a HDX 18 and I used his sata connector to plug in my backup hdd in the second bay and get files off to my main ssd in the main bay. IT WILL WORK! When I had them both upside down, there is NO visual difference between the two. My guess is you can use ALOT of parts from the HDX 18 on the DV8.

The screen is amazing. 1080p is awesome. My previous laptop was a 20 HDX Dragon. Even though this screen is smaller, its still bigger resolution that the dragon. It's edge to edge glass, which is really nice.

Overall the build quality is very good. and matches the HDX 18.

I hope that answers some of your questions. If you have more, ask, I'll try to answer.

Ben

 

http://www.hphdx.net/Forum/tabid/55/forumid/60/threadid/2000/scope/posts/Default.aspx

http://www.hphdx.net/Forum/tabid/55/forumid/12/threadid/1091/scope/posts/Default.aspx

 

Wolfskinbjc...

How did you get the recovery discs to work with the new drive? I created the recovery disc and put in the SSD and tried to recover but cant get past an error that says the drive installed is smaller than the drive the computer shipped with. HELP.

Thanks

 

Wolfskinbjc, that is an incredible hard drive score. But I wonder why you're processor score is .5 points lower than me. I have a 720QM as well.

 

From Wolfskinbjc:

Notice that he started with a different version of the OS, so the recovery disks were not used. This was a full reinstall from scratch, nice job so quick especially with all the specialty drivers.

I was looking to see if there was a copy of the Windows 7 OS somewhere on the hard drive, but only a snapshot of the original image.

Transferring the original configuration to another HD with different size requires some other tools, e.g. Acronis (see my previous post) or some other utility.

 

The i7 is built different, it has the lowest idle temps because of its new architecture and such.

 

Surprised I haven't seen any personal pics yet!!