*HP dv8 Owners Lounge*

i'm too lazy to charge my camera

 

I'm surprised I still haven't seen any official reviews from big outlets yet. Anyone have a 3dmark score?

 

I was wondering... did this Notebook replace the HDX 18t? Anyone know the speed of the Memory used in this notebook?

 

Thank you ragman. I purchased hp dv8T and will receive it Monday. It has been stuck in alaska for a week. I called the customs depatment directly and spoke with a very nice woman who told me that HP did not send the required paper work. This held up 600 units for a week. No one at HP was even aware of this. The woiman at the customs said she would call HP. She called me back within an hour and said she spoek with HP and they were sending the paper work over to her rigfht then. That afternoon the 600 units were released.

Frustrating but I am excited about getting this computer.

 

I was so excited to buy the 18HDX 18T. I bought it on the 18th. The next day I saw the new HP dv8t on the hp shopper site. I was able to get everything I could not get on the HDX 18T for teh same price and a much bigger processor. I cancelled my order on the HDX18T and purchased the HP dv8t. The HDX 18t just sounded so nice. I hope the DV8t is as nice as the other one.

Has anyone actually received their dv8t yet? Mine comes on Monday!!!!!!

 

Thank you ragman. I purchased hp dv8T and will receive it Monday. It has been stuck in alaska for a week. I called the customs depatment directly and spoke with a very nice woman who told me that HP did not send the required paper work. This held up 600 units for a week. No one at HP was even aware of this. The woiman at the customs said she would call HP. She called me back within an hour and said she spoek with HP and they were sending the paper work over to her rigfht then. That afternoon the 600 units were released.

Frustrating but I am excited about getting this computer.

 

Thank you ragman. I purchased hp dv8T and will receive it Monday. It has been stuck in alaska for a week. I called the customs depatment directly and spoke with a very nice woman who told me that HP did not send the required paper work. This held up 600 units for a week. No one at HP was even aware of this. The woiman at the customs said she would call HP. She called me back within an hour and said she spoek with HP and they were sending the paper work over to her rigfht then. That afternoon the 600 units were released.Frustrating but I am excited about getting this computer.

 

Owners of the dv8 are here and it is fantastic!

 

Can you take some pics?

 

Did you wipe out the Recovery partition with the fresh install?

 

I DEFEINITLY wiped the whole drive, as you no longer need the partition if you make the disks. It is just wasting space.

As regards to reinstalling the partition, I didn't and wont. There is SO much crapware, it slows down an otherwise amazing machine.

You wont be able to reinstall the restore on a hdd that is not the factory one.

If you want to fresh install like me, legally, you can download the installlation disk from www.thepiratebay.org and use utorrent to download it. If you download the version of windows 7 that came with your computer, you can use the LEGAL key that is on the bottom of the laptop.

I did not do this, I purchased a TechNet subscription a while back and they give you ten keys to every windows product ever made, and provide links to download those products. Worth every penny of the 250 I spent.

I don't know why my processor is .5 lower, weird.

I am running out of space on the ssd, I really need hp to send me this bracket. My guess is they will call me on monday with their decision, or I'll have to call again.

Speed of memory is ddr3 1333, SUPER fast

Ocean, have you read any of the posts? Yes, we have our DV8's since friday.

Ben

 

Short of a TechNet subscription or a Torrent, something that I do not want to do, is there another way to get a legal copy without all the crapware? Can a restore disk without the crapware be purchased from HP? One option is to buy it from Microsoft when it becomes available I guess. See the crapware thread for more info.

 

nope, and nope. Just download it from a torrent, there are plenty of real legit disks you cab dl, just check the hash on them.

 

Here is the safest way to avoid a torrent download:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=428068

I have downloaded and it works perfectly.

 

Great info guys!

I'd like to add that I've been able to transfer the orginal info on the original 320GB disk to my X25 SSD. Some info on that....

HP sends the disk with four partitions.

-200MB call SYSTEM is ACTIVE and the BOOT partition (i guess a new thing with win7)
-main partition with all the files on it (60GB worth of files) which is ALSO active
-the Recovery image 15GB
-the HP Utils Partition

I used Hiren boot disk on a USB drive (don't use the cd version the dv8 drivers for the cd rom ain't there) and I used the the Acronis util under Backups and the different Util to turn the the second partion to ACTIVE.

So what I have now is the same system the sent me but on an SSD. Yes it's noticably faster.

 

So the key from HP will work on this?
Thanks

 

said the same myself. Come on people show us the goods !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

A question to make you CRINGE...

I tried to install XP PRO (32bit) on here (not over Win7 but on a separate drive) but every time I tried it crashes with a BLUE screen on me.

Does anyone know if I could install XP PRO 32bit on my dv8 ? Does XP32 install on the i7-720QM ? If so, what's the trick.

Just in case you're wondering... I have a lot of stuff that I need to keep working on on my old xp machine I can't afford to stop working on it until I get all the migration kinks worked out.

 

It looks EXACTLY like the pics on the HP site. No kidding. Mine has been apart for most the time I've had it. I've been trying to figure out how to copy the partitions.

One thing though, the finish on the tracking pad and the wrist rests are high-gloss. So fingerprints show REALLY easily. So now you have another excuse to keep that box of tissues next your computer.

 

I received mine on Saturday. Very pleased with it so far. I worked with W7 Home for the day and then put in another drive and installed Windows 2008 server on it with all the W7 drivers. Plan to buy another drive and install W7 Ultimate. Haven't had a chance to benchmark it yet as I have been doing a large conversion for work and fiddle with it whenever I get a chance too.

I looks exactly like the HDX. Very fast and very quiet. Not as big as I thought it would be. I have been using a 17" Asus for last 4 years and I think it was slightly bigger overall than the DV8.

 

You might be better off just installing Windows 7 and then virtualizing XP to run the programs that won't run properly on Windows 7.

 

found this generic youtube video on the dv8 from an hp tradeshow from about a month ago. it doesn't really tell us anything we don't already know, but this might hold over people's thirst for new photos...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PIpq2oRawY

 

Hi Ben (Wolfskinbjc),

Yes, I just now got to read the posts for today. I appreciate your post on how to delete the junk ware and reinstall the OS. I did need some help with that. I am happy to hear that everyone likes their dv8t. I am excited about watching bluerays on it.

Thanks a lot.
Ocean (Larry)

 

32 BIT ?????

I don't believe that is possible. The dv8t is a 64 bit OS only. There are no other options. I may be wrong, but I think that dv8t is designed for 64 bit to suppoort the memory of 8 GB and the DDR3.
Larry (Ocean)

 

Hello Ben (Wolfskinbjc),

Thanks for the very detailed evaluation of the dv8t. I do understand now when you asked if I had read all of the posts. I missed this page. That is a very thorough review. Thanks. I really like what you said about the likeness and similarity of the HDX 18. I really liked that computer and was reluctant to get the dv8t. now, I am glad I did. I am very happy to hear that it is so good in your review. I get mine tomorrow by 2pm and I am hardly able to wait.

Larry (ocean)

 

The DV8 is NOT a 64 bit computer only!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is wrong. No computer is. ALLLLL 64 bit PROCESSORS can run windows x86.

That said, the coolest thing of win 7 is the xp mode
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

This will EMULATE windows xp pro 32 bit. No matter what you choose from the list (I use this to flash xbox's). (32 bit will only read up to 3gb of memory regardless of how much you have installed.

No prob larry, I'm glad it helped.

 

Hi Flav,

I am confused about the HD kit. I have the 500 HD not the double (2x250) HD. Do I need a HD KIT?

Thanks,

Larry (Ocean)

 

COUPONS

Google HP coupons or laptop coupons and you will see several different coupon companies that offer the codes that have been issued by the various computer companies doing promotions.

Larry (Ocean)

 

Werewolf,

By the time you need more ram, if ever, the price will be down to affordability, if not simply cheap within 6 months to 1 year. I wen through the same second thoughts Shopuld I have upgraded to the 6 GB memory. Right now 4 GB is really plenty of ram. I decided to just keep my dv8t and up graded later.

Larry (Ocean)

 

Larry, you only need the HD kit, if and when you want to add another HD into the available slot.

 

Does anybody have an idea why a VPN would fail to connect in XP mode? I have the exact same settings that I ran on a native XP computer and that one connects, but XP mode is giving me "Failed to establish a secure connection to the security gateway."

 

Ben Wolfskinbjc,

Thanks for the review on the DV8. I was concerned about the i7 being hot, the the dv8 being noisy with the cooling fans. The i7 mobile is manufactured on a 45nm technology line. In some way it's just a desktop i5 in mobile packaging.

I was debating if I should have waited for the 32nm i7 mobile to be released early next year.

 

Naw, No sense in waiting. This thing is wisper quiet and only ever gets warm. You wont go wrong.

 

Great!!! So happy to have ordered it!!! I also have a 500GB HD waiting to be plugged in. No HD kit though!!!

Spent 1 hour talking to various CS at HP. No part, no credit, nothing, just a big waste of time.
Ordered the part from newmodeus.com 39.99 plus shipping.

 

I spent an hour with HP on the phone the other day repeatedly telling them that I was replacing my hard drive and couldnt do it because it was smaller than the drive it shipped with and that, yes, it was an upgrade. I am going to work on them again today and try to get the sata connector.

Ipacman... the advice you gave about the acronis software works but to do it you need the other drive in the system as well. I was fortunate enough to have somebody come by with an HDX-16 and used their sata connector to complete the job of migrating to the SSD. Thanks for the tip Ipacman.

After the SSD install the boot times dropped by almost a minute. Applications launch almost instantly. By far the best upgrade you can do to a system. For the users debating whether they should have spent more for 6GB of RAM... get an SSD.

My overall impressions of the computer so far are very positive. My overall impression of HP has plummeted. I will put together a more lengthy review of the dv8 this week.

 

Thank you Husky,

I appreciate you help on the HD kit qestion.

Larry (Ocean)

 

Being a new model, how soon does HP usually add new config/options to new models? This would be options for video card, keyboard or other options. Does anyone expect anything before black Friday?
Thanks

 

Hi.
I just canceled my XPS 16 order as Dell has pretty much hosed all the people who ordered it thus far.

I ordered the 1TB option. I am looking to setup a dual boot with linux, so some of the conversation regarding a new install is of interest to me. My understanding from the threads is that you can download an image of win 7 and use the key from HP?

Couple of questions:
1) is the dual drive option setup as raid 0?
2) is it hardware, or do you need a driver for windows. This is important since I want to run linux also. I guess I should have asked this first
3) is there anything else I should be concerned about?

Thanks!

 

I cannot believe HP would not give me the HD kit. But I bought it from newmodeus.com and it's already shipped.

 

Pulled a husky and just gave up on hp. Found this on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-DV7-HDX-18-D...C_Drives_Storage_Internal?hash=item3ca6e405cb

only 32 bucks from US.

It will work

 

HP DV8 200$ off coupon!!!!

http://dealzon.com/deals/hp-dv8t-18...am-laptop-with-windows-7-hdmi-out-and-blu-ray

 

Yup! It's back!

1099$ for the base unit is very nice for what we got!

 

No, the save session can be independent from the restore session. You just need someplace to put the backup .tib file (someplace with lots of storage, like 28GB for this PC). Set up another computer share with write permission for "everyone" on the network. Then select that machine as the network destination.

However, if you do manage to put both storage devices on the same PC at the same time, it is even easier. JUST avoid backing up in the wrong direction..

 

For those ordering the caddy at NewmodeUS, don't forget the 5% coupon... SAve 2 bucks! lolll -> FB072808

 

Too late. I am out of another $13. $45 (40+5 shipping) vs $32. Should have waited for you. Well, I've been taken for much worse.

 

Still awaiting mine to be delivered. Ordered on the 22nd and it said it shipped last Friday but it hasn't moved. It's supposed to be delivered on Wednesday by 10:30am. Below is the only tracking info I have as of right now, Monday at 9:59pm.

Oct 30, 2009 11:02 PM
Picked up
SHANGHAI CN Package received after FedEx cutoff

 

I just received my dv8t tonight. It is very nice. I love this screen. I am going to watch a blueray movie and enjoy. I hope all of you get your computers soon. This terrible having to wait.
I wonder if Ragman had to wait on his HDX 18. I really like these computers.

Larry(Ocean)

 

bit the bullet and ordered one with the latest coupon. also used www.mrrebates.com for 5% cash back. murphy's law, they'll offer the backlit keyboard as an option next week. time to put in a request for an RMA on my hdx 18.

 

whats your guys "wishlist" for future dv8 options
heres mine
Intel i7 920
Nvidia 260m gtx (has a mxm2 version so it can fit)
3rd ram slot (to use the full triple channel mem support in the i7)
Backlight keyboard
better keyboard design (no fn keys except special laptop functions, regular size arrow keys, regular shift key)
ability to turn all the leds off (for when i sleep)
middle button on the mouse pad
slot loading blu-dvd drive

 

Non-glossy screen, matte laptop.