*HP dv8 Owners Lounge*

Congrats on your new laptop! Those of us here tend to believe it's one of the best ones available at this time and are generally very enthusiastic about it... if not fanatical!

Be sure to make a set of Recovery DVDs as soon as you get it up and running. It is potentially very handy if anything screws up and you should later wish to start from "delivery day" again.

Hope you will be very happy with it!

Regards,
- - Phil

 

So, should I boot it up and immediately make a recovery set? Or- go ahead, uninstall all the garbage software, THEN make the recovery set?

 

Maybe you guys will know- I currently have a docking station/stand for my HP Laptops. It's got that quick connect cable on it- so I set my laptop on it, plug it in, and BOOM- all my USB connections are connected- has built in speakers, etc etc. Will this work on the DV8? Does the DV8 have the same sort of connector, or will I need a new one?
Thanks!

 

My advice was to make the recovery set immediately after booting it up. You can uninstall the bloatware, etc., after that. If anything goes wrong along the way, you've got something to restore from.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

I doubt it will work with the Dv8 since the Dv8 has no proprietary expansion port for it to connect to. Also, AFAICT, HP doesn't offer a docking station as an accessory for the Dv8 (probably since it has nothing to connect a docking station to).

Of course, the Dv8 has lots of USB2 ports as well as Firewire, eSata, and ExpressCard ports to plug stuff into.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

The DV8 has an expansion port "type 3" for connection to an external docking device. So if your current device works with that type of expansion port, then you can use it with the DV8. You will have to check the specs for your particular expansion device to see if works with type 3 expansion ports.

 

I forgot that one on the side, Peter

I was thinking of the IBM type that direct connects from underneath that's proprietary to the IBM.

Since his uses a cable between them, he may have a shot at success.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Heat issues have indeed been discussed many times.. but most recently in post 4377..... there are no issues unless something is wrong in the software.

 

Well the two main things I must recommend other than the normal tweaks and fine tuning is to make sure you order a SSD drive for your primary drive where Windows resides "as a must" if you really want blazing speed..... second.. get rid of all the trash bloatware and clean the registry afterwards.... those two things alone will do wonders.

There are other settings tweaks that will bring more power around the corners but no matter what you do, no matter what tweaks you do, you will never overcome the bottleneck of a HDD drive compared to what a SSD drive can give.

 

REALLY. I've been wondering that. I was curious as to how much faster an SSD is compaged to a standard 7200RPM drive. Is it THAT BIG of a difference? My concern is that the reports I read state that they're not expected to last more than 3 years before they die out.

How do you 'clean the registry'?

Also- hypothetically- once I receive the computer, can I yank out the 7200rpm HD that comes with it, and install my own SSD in it's place, or will that void the warranty? How would I reinstall Windows 7 doing that? I hear the recovery discs are EXTREMELY picky, and will only install on the same size/type/speed HD as was in the machine when the discs were first created. Is that true?

Man, this is good stuff. I am SOO EXCITED to get it! CostCo hasn't even shown it as shipped yet- been 2 days. Grrr....

 

I think you know better than anyone else here.

 

This is definitely making for fun spectator sport, for us DV8-nerds .

Perhaps I'm too fixated on symmetry, or consistency, or....., but the DV8 sticks out like a sore thumb in the HP Pavilion Notebook line. The entire line has been refreshed with metal casings (except the DV5, which has the same lines, but is made in plastic, "for those who prefer this material" was a line from an intro video I saw, yuk, yuk ) and the (poor) imitation MBP track pad. The dv8 is made of the old, 2009, "liquid plastic" exterior with the chrome track pad. There is something so, uh, discontinued-looking about its appearance. Why would this be? You are right that the components are quite current, and the design seems amenable to cpu, network card and HD upgrades with virtually no engineering required. Ponder me this: why has HP added the (easy to engineer, with i7 quads already provisioned) Core i5 cpu to the lone un-redesigned (my word: rent=$.01/use ) notebook in the line, yet they left the dinosauric (sorry, mine too!), orphan, much unloved nVidia GT 230 gpu to echo on the inside what the outside bellows ("I'm so late 2009!"). Methinks they themselves are of several minds about this beast. Personally, I love it and therefore I hope they discontinue it, because then it will be sold at a bargain basement price and, for this wonderful screen alone (provided the power company supplies us enough juice, lol) I would like to keep 1-10 of them in a closet for: me, friends/family, eBay .

An enjoyable specatator "sport" for a small, yet passionate group of owners (4, at last check ) my favorite smiley today; must be my mood.

 

anyone else have the SSD? I'm curious as to their impressions of it, if it's worth the expense, etc.

 

many run SSD's here, and yes they really are that much faster..... and you can clean them too to make them as new so they don't "wear out".... "I use FreeSpaceCleaner v0.5", some of the newer ones clean themselves.... as far as the registry, a program has to do it.. like "ccleaner".

I don't really see it as an option... its like buying a camaro with all the goodies and putting a hot engine in it and a crappy transmission......

If your gonna buy a nice computer, may as well remove the bottleneck.

Once you delete everything you want to toss, you can clean the registry because its rare that those programs you toss truly remove all traces of themselves when they uninstall.

 

The speed difference is dramatic with the 256gb HP SSD made by Samsung. That's where I got mine and I found it to be at least twice as fast and often 3 times as fast using CrystalDiskMark (free utility from CrystalDew.com) to compare it to a 7200rpm 500gb Seagate that HP originally provided.

I don't believe that ( I believe you have read it somewhere, tho'). The math of reads and writes life expectancy show that current SSDs (with TRIM) will last every bit as long as HDDs like the 7200rpm 500gb Seagate HP supplied with my Dv8. I expect 8-10 year life with the use I give it. CrystalDiskInfo (free utility from CrystalDew.com) is another neat utility to read statistics and features on an SSD or HDD. FWIW, I installed mine 6 months ago, upgraded its F/W for Trim 2 months ago, and have seen no sign of degradation in its performance.

I did basically the same thing. The first thing I would advise is don't perform a "clean install" of Windows 7. Create the Recovery disks as I previously said.

Second then, remove from the HDD the bloatware, teaseware, and unwanted HP-ware using RevoUninstall (freeware). Run Chkdsk/F to clean up any fragments on the HDD. When you have it just about the way you want, then use Partition Wizard (freeware) to resize the C: partition so it will fit the free space available on the SSD. (covering only the basics here - PM me for details of how to make the calculation after you have your 256gb SSD if you wish).

Then clone the HDD to the SSD - simple! I recommend the free Hiren's BootCD and using the Ghost 11.5 on it to perform the cloning of the HHD to the SSD. Then install the SSD into the primary bay of the DV8 and reboot. Keep the HDD as your initial backup of the SSD then start performing a regimen of periodic backup clones.

Sorry if this sounds convoluted - it really isn't - just take it step by step as described and it will work and give you a blazingly faster system with the SSD than you started with.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

I guess you're probably right about that ...

 

All very true, Alan. To clarify the part about "some of the newer ones clean themselves", this refers to the fact that most new SSDs have firmware that supports the TRIM functionality in Windows 7. This is a feature that should be sought by anyone planning to buy a new SSD.

I bought a Samsung 256gb SSD that lacked that feature but Samsung had released a firmware update package for it back before I bought it. I followed Samsung's instructions and applied the firmware update and now my Samsung SSD supports TRIM under Windows 7 now.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

You've covered a lot of stuff in your post, Jeff, and I'll try to respond to some of them as well as I can.

I agree all of this is true but I don't care that much how it compares to its predecessors. I find it attractive and functional (for those in Yorba Linda, that means it works okay) and once I bought it I forgot all those things since it has worked so well (for those in Yorba Linda, that means it's very fast) and has been so reliable and trouble-free.

To me they are unrelated issues. Offering the I-5 cpu option allows a lower price and allows higher volumes of all the other components of the Dv8 (making more $$ for HP) Upgrading the GPU from the nVidia GT230M would raise the "bar" for the entire Dv8 line and would be very desirable. I won't speculate on why they haven't done it but I suspect that they will someday! And when they do, there will be a big jump in price and a new model (Dv9 is my guess?) with lots of other upgrades like an I7 Extreme Edition cpu or the like.

I share your sentiments regarding what I might do if HP announces they are dropping the Dv8. I don't "hope they will do so" though, as I like it being available and harbor hopes that they may offer upgraded versions of it in the future with some of the things to address your criticisms even. that will be hard for them to do after they discontinue it, yes?

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Many of us do! I wonder why you didn't ask this before you placed your order....

Short answer: If I were you, I'd cancel your order and re-order specifying the 256gb SSD if it's available!! It's the biggest thing you could specify for best performance from a Dv8!

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Yeah, I'm SERIOUSLY considering that option!

Questions-
1) Are there aftermarket SSDs I can install that you guys recommend? If so, how much are they, or where's the best place to buy them?

2) By doing #1 above, will that void my warranty?

3) My last concern with an SSD is running out of space. I assume I would install all my programs on the SSD drive, and keep data on the HDD. I tend to build up a lot of programs, and worry that 256GB drive wouldn't be enough. My last drive was 360GB, and after cleaning it out of old 'stuff' I didn't use anymore- and moving most my data to a Media Drive- I still ended up using 320GB if I recall. So with that being the case- I would run Win7 on the SSD, as well as some of the programs I normally use (say Photoshop, etc)- but then others would be installed on the HDD to conserve space? Doesn't that make for a very messy configuration and potentially problematic?

I REALLY appreciate all the input on this! I'm considering canceling my CostCo order and re-ordering via hp.com. I was hoping for a BIG SALE/Discount Coupon to arrive so I can save enough to buy the SSD- but use the CostCo DV8 until that happened (if ever). I'm just trying to way the pros/cons and my options.

 

When I bought mine in February and wanted a large inexpensive SSD ($300 for the 256gb Samsung SSD from HP). I can't recommend anything else since it's worked so well for me that I've looked no further. From what I've read on forums dedicated to SSDs, most recommend Corsair or Crucial but they're quite expensive and most buyers get one in the 160gb size which is too small for my needs (read more on why, below).

No. Also, FWIW, HP offers a "cradle" or adapter so its 2.5 inch SSDs can be mounted in its HDD bays and isolated from excessive vibrations.

There's no question that you're likely to have to address the issue of space with what you have in mind. I, too, run large programs like Office 2010, PhotoShop CS4, AutoCad, and MathCad. It's presented no problems for me when I keep the OS and Office on the SSD along with all security updates and most driver files. I install everything to my HDD and keep all my data on my HDD. Using that approach, my SSD is nearly half empty (it's also recommended that you don't fill it up too full) and everything works just great.

Yes, you can do that and make clones backups (my method) of everything so it will be easy to swap into the replacement later. by doing so, you'll develop a great deal of familiarity with the Dv8 in the process. Good strategy!

Regards,
- - Phil

 

FWIW, the Acronis True Image Home software is on its Summer "Back to School" sale at $20 off for $29.99. ATIH is a program often recommended here for cloning hard drives and scheduling backup tasks. It's also available on a 30-day satisfaction guarantee or money back. There's also a free downloadable 30-day trial version.

While it is not my first choice (Ghost on Hiren's free BootCD is my favorite) or second choice (Seagate DiskWizard by Acronis and free for users with Seagate or Maxtor drives in their systems) for my cloning needs, it is still a very good program at the current $30 price for those for whom my first or second choices don't suit.

So, if you've been waiting for a deal on ATIH, here's your chance!

Regards,
- - Phil

 

I just received my DV8T from HP. I ended buying the Core i5 M450 because with the coupons I was able to keep it under 1K, but now I'm wondering should I have gone with the i7, is it really a huge difference?

I also replaced the primary HDD with a OCZ SSD 96GB which after coupons/rebates I got for $159 on sale...it is model OCZ OCZSSD2-1VTX96G Vertex Solid State Drive. I've been reading about the need to clean these SSD drives, or ensure they support TRIM. I am a complete newbie to SSD, I hope this drive supports this TRIM feature...how would I be able to tell?

Lastly, I have two very annoying issues I'm experiencing -

1) Anytime there's a sound, such as an email notification, an error popup, etc the instant before the sound the speakers make a "popping" sound. This sound only occurs once at the beginning of any sound...almost as if the speakers are turning themselves on...if 2-3 seconds go by without sound, it will then re-occur the next time any sound is played.

2) The bass/treble bars on my screen move up/down wildly out of control every now and then...I have to restart or play around with the settings in order to get them to behave as they should.

Any help is appreciated..

 

Phil, I think you misunderstood my viewpoint on the current DV8; other than the gpu, which is not a problem for me, as I don't game and the card is fine for all the video apps I use. I wasn't criticizing it for it's "backwardness," merely suggesting that it suggests a lack of motivation on HP's part to keep this computer - or an updated version of an 18.5" multimedia oriented DTR. Corporations often do unpredictable things, and with the status of the DV8 and it's prospective (more like speculative) successor, HP has certainly kept me guessing, though were it not for the recent introduction of Core i5 cpus, everything else about it (put succinctly, the complete absence of any modernization to it), is consistent only with it's ultimate discontinuation in light of HPs comprehensive overhaul of every other model in the Pavillion line, launched simultaneously a month or two ago, with a new DV8 (regardless of model designation, but note also that all the other models kept their model designations from their C2D forbearers) very conspicuously absent. To me, the puzzles are: 1) the Core i5 variant 2) the continued sales of the DV8 in spite of the model changes having been launched months ago with very few of their predecessors having flooded the market upon the release of the updates. HP is not only continue to sell the DV8 through HP.com and Costco.com, it is apparently continuing to make more of them. I do agree with you that an updated model would be very exciting, and that would potentially allow us all to have our cake and eat it too: a new model for us to upgrade-to and those bargain prices I keep promising, lol, for the old model once it is phased out for the new.

 

1. I always tend to buy more than I can really afford.. otherwise I have buyers remorse..... I got the next to be fastest I7 processor and now I wish I had gotten the fastest..
Why.. because I need it?.. Of course not!...
The same reason I tweak a computer to make it faster "when it doesn't really need to be faster!"

But if your budget is truly limited.. I believe the advantage of the I5 is the power consumption.

2. To see if your running Trim you need to install a little program called "CrystalDiskInfo 3.5.6b - Disk Information Tool --5-14-2010"
There may be a later version now, I don't know.

3. As far as the popping sound.. I do remember reading about that... it has something to do with whats checked and not checked in the software and make sure you have the latest installed... that one should be easy to find.

 

I doubt that I misunderstood since you conclude about what I said you were saying. I agree that it could benefit from updating but don't draw any conclusions about HP from that. I said I didn't care about what it looks like since that isn't an issue for me. Being a new model that's only 7 months old, it doesn't say anything to me about corporate motivation, etc.

The speculation is interesting but the absence of a new Dv8 - HP's newest Dv model - after only 7 months proves little to me except, perhaps, that you're too impatient.

I don't see a puzzle there, Jeff. I think the recent I5 option just shows the rumor by a sales-motivated telsell person is just a rumor.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

I think so. The I7 820 has a larger internal cache and is quite a bit faster (probably 20% faster).

Download CrystalDiskInfo from the Crystal Dew website. Current version is 3.64 (July'10) - it's a small freeware utility and shows lots of spec info on drives in the PC.

I'd download and install the latest software for the audio and Quicklaunch controls.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...en-2-dv7-gen-3-dv8-hdx16-hdx18-intel-145.html

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Imo, you will not notice much difference between the i7 and i5 based CPUs for most operations. You are likely to see a difference when working with software that really works the CPU (like e.g., video encoding) and that was written to be able to take advantage of hyperthreading. While the i5 series has hyperthreading, it is limited to 4 hyperthreaded cores vs the 8 hyperthreaded cores of the i7. On the other hand, for doing stuff with an application like MS Office 2010, you won't see much, if any difference, except the i5 CPU will run at noticeably cooler temps and the battery will last a bit longer when operating on battery power.

 

So in that case, if you're budget concious- it may serve you to knock it down to an i5, but then amp up your Ram and possibly to an SSD to maximize performance for roughly the same cost?

 

I suppose, although it isn't a decision I would make and I am budget conscious. My budget consciousness led me to choose the i7-720 instead of the i7-820 and to defer the acquisition of an SSD until (hopefully) prices on them get more reasonable. One can always easily upgrade the hard drive at any time, however, I don't think a motherboard designed for an i5 can accept an i7 CPU (I haven't checked that so it might not be correct, but I suspect that it is) and a motherboard is an expensive (not cost effective) thing to replace. But I do think upgrading the hard drive to an SSD will make a more noticeable difference in performance than having the i7 CPU vs the i5, (again, except for things that are very CPU intensive).

 

YMMV IMO. I agree with most of your assessment as far as it goes factually. However, the impression the I7-820 gives to the user is MUCH more dramatic than the soft-pedalled performance you suggest.

Almost 8 months ago, I bought my Dv8 almost solely for the QuadCore I7 processor that runs up to 3.06gHz. I've seen a significant difference and strongly advocate it over the dual core processor I had in my previous laptop.

When opening and closing programs (like Office 2010), running the 64-bit Win 7 OS, and any program that is multi-threaded (like the programs I listed in my original reply on this like Adobe PhotoShop CS), the comparative difference is immediately discernible and nearly 50% faster. My figure of 20% was an overall figure and doesn't capture the crispness and responsiveness the fast Quad-core processor delivers. Intel's Turbo Boost Monitor is almost constantly displaying the involvement of the 4 cores in enhancing performance in supporting the simultaneous operations of multiple programs in normal use of the Dv8.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

i5's are not like previous dual core. They have hyperthreading, albeit limited to 4 cores vs the 8 of the i7. I have used both i5's, Core 2 Duo and i7's. There is a big difference between Core 2 Duo's and i5's, imo. Is your opinion based on using an i5 or a Core 2 Duo "dual core?" The difference between i5 and i7 is much less noticeable in most operations than the difference between Core2 Duo and i7 and that opinion is based on having used all three extensively.

 

I think you've got the right idea. There's so much more speed gained from having the slowest item (HDD) in the PC tripled in speed. Compared to the 50% benefit from the I7-820, clearly the SSD is the better choice for performance.

If there were that choice for how to spend an extra few $100s within the same total price for the Dv8, I'd certainly jump at the SSD ASAP.

To explain a bit, I approached it somewhat differently. I bought the machine with the faster processor knowing the HDD is certainly acceptable and that I could get the SSD a couple of months later when I could bear the cost better (than I could around Christmastime and after all those bills were paid off). While I really appreciated the I7-820 during those 2 months, I had underestimated how dramatically the SSD would complement the fast processor when the 3x faster read rate from the SSD kicks in. Wow!

So, now that I've had both to compare in the Dv8, if I had to limit the total investment in the Dv8, I'd get the SSD and accept a lesser processor/cache combo like the I5 or I7-720. If I wanted to come back later, and increase my investment, to upgrade the HDD to an SSD at my financial "leisure", I'd get the I7-820 as I did and upgrade to the SSD later.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Since you didn't quote me, Peter, I'm only assuming/inferring that you are addressing the question to me.

I've had Core2Duo processors - they supported hyper-threading so I think you're mistaken on that.

My comparison is based on both I7, I5, and Core2Duo processors and I agree that the best Core2Duo processor is slower than the I5 and I7.Some Core i5 products have this feature, but some do not.

BTW, currently, the Core i5 750, for example, does not have hyper-threading, but it does have four physical cores. The dual-core Core i5 products, on the other hand, do have hyper-threading.



Regards,
- - Phil

 

Not the same type of hyper threading where the number of logical cores exceeds the number of physical cores. Sorry Phil, Core 2 Duo did not have 4 logical cores the way that i5's do. Accordingly, an opinion concerning the performance of i5's that is based on using a Core 2 Duo is not worth much weight, imo.

 

The I5 uses only an LGA1156 socket while the some I7's use an LGA1366 and other I7's use an LGA1156 socket. Hence, depending on which socket comes with Dv8, the I5 processor can be upgraded to an I7 later. I suspect the Dv8 uses the LGA1156 and can accept I5's and some I7's (probably can accept the I7's being offered by HP on our Dv8's).

Regards,
- - Phil

 

I NEVER SAID THAT IT HAD FOUR CORES (of any kind)!

I used hyper-threading to mean the ability of a single processor to process multiple threads of software at the same time. Core2Duo processors, as the name suggests, use 2 cores to accomplish this. I would agree that I7-820 has 8 logical cores while the I5 has 4.

I guess it depends on whether the opinion is correct.
To be perfectly clear since you are in parsing mode, I never offered a direct comparison of Core2Duo to I5 so why are you so focused on it? The OP asked for opinions of I7 versus I5 and we each offered ours.

I consider the I7-820 to be 50% more capable than his I5. I said I compared all three and meant exactly that so I have a wide range of experience with various processors.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Ok, you made a statement about "dual core processors" and I interpreted that to mean Core 2 Duo because it seemed likely to me, that based on your expressed opinion, that you were basing it on experiences with Core 2 Duo's and not actual experience with i5's. Because, once again, imo, there is a huge difference between i5's and the previous generation of dual cores, and frankly, I don't see that much difference between i5's and i7's for normal (non CPU intensive) operations.

But I've now completely lost interest in the discussion and am respectfully withdrawing from it.

 

I should have said dual core I5's since I had compared my I7-820 to one of those. Sorry you assumed it referred to a C2D.

Since you didn't quote anything that sounds like that, Peter, and I have no recollection of making ANY direct comparison between C2D and I5, it seems pointless for you to continue asserting that. My reasons for referencing C2D was to show a range of processors with multiple cores that I have compared (though I was focused comparing I5 to my I7-820 here until we started a side discussion of dual-core processors).

I never disputed the inferiority of the C2D (I even said that the best C2D was inferior to the lowest I5), I have an I7-820 and it is 50% faster than the I5 on almost everything(particularly multiple processing tasks due to its large 8Mb internal cache).

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Desktop sockets are different from mobile ones, so this doesn't apply. All of the mobile Core iX CPUs currently available use the same socket and, therefore, only requires that the chipset supports the CPUs. The one in the dv8 is more than likely compatible with the full range.

Edit: And the best C2D is far from inferior to the worst Core i5.

 

A fair point. I guess I share your belief that the current buyer of a DV8 with an I5 could later swap it out for an I7-820.

I guess I don't share your view that a mainstream high end C2D is better than a low end I5.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Well, there could still be a lock in the BIOS.

 

Hey guys,
On idle, what are your CPU temperatures?
Mine are 65-70ish on CPU, 46 on GPU...

If I do prime test,
it does up to 93, and stays there.

SHould i send it for repair by warranty?

please respond.

 

I have seen on Ebay where some I7 variants (Extreme Edition) above the 820 and 840 have been installed without BIOS issues interfering.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Mine run in the 55C range on idle and rise to mid-60's with heavy loads. Also 45 C on GPU. Have you tried raising hinge end up off table to facilitate cooling air flow? Mine would be where yours are, otherwise.

Others have used cooling pads for extra cooling but I haven't found that necessary. If you're in a very hot climate (90F+), they may be a very good precautionary measure.

Regards,
- - Phil

 

Great minds can disagree. I'm no expert (see my sig line ), but I have a good bit of career experience in high tech corporate marketing, and this reeks of product management fighting with new product introduction. I would bet that, somewhere in a (relatively small) conference room at HP there have been rather heated discussion in for/against discontinuing/replacing the DV8,, and the person who has the ultimate decision is can't make up his/her mind. The only outcome I think highly unlikely, 1-3 months from now, is leaving the current product in place. I won't repeat the reasons why I am so convinced of this, as I have posited them in the previous 3-4 posts. But I add this observation based Phil's comment, about the DV8 being only 7 months old (actually, I received mine exactly 9 months ago, but it doesn't change the issue): the (just discontinued) DV6 and DV7, the latter nearly identical to the DV8, were launched at the same time as the DV8. HP saw fit to replace them, upgrade their gpus and modernize their appearance; the DV8 was left unchanged, with only a very tepid (and cheap) "modernization" of a cpu choice. What we have here in the present DV8's status is, IMO, not a decision by HP to leave the product as-is, but a failure to decide one way or the other, resulting in, well, a failure to do anything!

I believe, further, there are likely proponents and opponents (within HP product management) of the 18.5" notebook product in today's market. Toshiba and Acer are still "in;" everyone else is out. FWIW, I do think the DV8 is the most underrated machine out there in large part because it was the most invisible, under-marketed product in the Pavillion line. Magazine reviews are not driven mainly by publishers' view of what products are important enough to review; they're heavily driven by corporate marketing/PR departments pushing the folks they buy commercial ads from to provide some unpaid, "unbiased" coverage for their products. Why HP was satisfied for this excellent product to fly below radar for its entire life cycle (thus far), with not one single mass distribution PC publication ever reviewing it, has never made sense to me and still doesn't. I am prepared to call it a bad decision, one likely tied to a director/VP of consumer notebook product management who believed the 18.5" was, ultimately, a bad idea. Going on a limb here, I'm wondering if it was due in part to blowback from the public ribbing HP took for having the worlds first/last/only 20-inch "laptop."

Of course, we're just speculating (and clearly with too much time on our hands or this subject would have long lost our interest - I think it's down to just me and you, pal ), but in doing so I think an airing of the facts of the recent Pavillion line modernization, coupled with the fact of the DV8 curiously sitting out there virtually unchanged, stands, in the context of corporate product management doctrine, as "unequivocal evidence of their internal equivocation!" There, I wasn't gonna say it that way but the ball was teed up and I had my massive Big Bertha in my hands ready to whack it.

(Phil, all: this is definitely my last comment on the subject, so feel free to post additional disagreement and you will be guaranteed the last word!

 

Jeff, there was a 10-year period of time in my background where the head of corporate marketing reported to me so I won't hold THAT 'experience' against you....

I wish you had mentioned that HP had actually discontinued the Dv6 and Dv7 in one of the 4 previous posts you referred to. I was totally unaware of that relevant development!!!! THAT is a piece of information that would have affected this discussion (and my viewpoint) on this situation. Its the first thing you've mentioned that tends to support the previously unfounded assertions by that HP telsell.

As you wished, you have had the last word on this. It's been fun discussing it!

Now we can wait a month or two to see what happens to the Dv8!

Regards,
- - Phil

P.S. Ooops, Jeff... Seems the demise of Dv7 may be premature, too. Here's a link to where HP is still taking orders for them:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s.../hhoslp/psg/notebooks/Over_16.9/dv7tse_series

 

I could be wrong, but seems it all about marketing..... I see little attention to the DV8T.....
Its a beautiful machine with lots of power rivaling most desktops.

But HP is always trying to build a better mousetrap to catch more mice...... The ones "advertised" the most could be the ones hardest to move and/or have the highest profit margin, hence the motivation to spend big bucks advertising.

The DV8T is an overlooked jem.

Ever notice the best cars have little advertising?

Marketing sets the stage for the illusion to begin.
We must ignore marketing and do our own homework.

Sometimes a company puts out a product that makes the others look bad and so sales drop in that slice of the market.....

Who knows.. Of course I"m speculating.

 

The main problem with the DV8 is finding a nice backpack that it will fit in.

 

I chose the one that was offered at the end of my build from hpshopping...... its here.

It holds everything great and you even have room for clothes for a short trip without having to carry another bag.... will fit in the overhead on a plane "but not under your feet", and will also act as a pull behind for long treks where a backpack would be a pain.

I"ve gone on trips before with backpacks and regular laptop bags and they do get heavy after a bit.. whether on your back or holding in your hand.... nice thats this one can act as a pull behind.

Yes its a bit big and cumbersome for day to day bouncing back and forth from work to home.... but its ok for that too.

Anything smaller would not hold all your accessories and goodies.
Its got secret little pockets for mouses, eyeglasses or other as well and a place to put papers and folders.

I didn't think I would like it at first but after doing a cruise and several trips its quite nice and built well where it doesn't feel like its going to tear apart when its loaded down.

But your right, otherwise the selection for this size of a computer are slim.