Please answer my hard HP 2530p questions before I blow two grand.

I'm kicking around the idea of selling off my MacBook Pro, saving up some extra cash, and ordering an HP EliteBook 2530p. Obviously the price of this laptop is stratospherically high, so as you might imagine, I want the machine to be as perfect as it possibly can be.

I have a few questions that need clearing up.

1. Since optical drives are completely worthless (lol) and I seriously dream about an SSD + hard disk configuration, I want to leave the optical drive off. I'm a little confused from looking at the website -- is it possble to get the machine with an 1.8" drive slot and a 2.5" drive slot for an easy double-disk setup?
   
   
2. I'm hearing that the touchpad is Synaptics. Can any 2530p owners verify for me whether or not TwoFingerScroll for Synaptics trackpads works on the laptop? I have this installed on my $300 netbook and it is flat-out amazing. It would be a real downer to miss out on this on a super-money machine.
   
   
3. How are the touchpad's phyiscal buttons? My laptop-snob friend is curious about this. We're hearing that they're rubber -- sounds fine to me, but he's concerned.
   
   
4. Is the processor soldered to the motherboard, or could I conceivably replace it down the line? This isn't a huge problem, but it would be a bit of a relief to know that I'm not committed to a 1.86 GHz C2D for the next few years.
   
   
5. Is there any possible way to score discounts on this laptop? Lenovo offers piles of great ThinkPad coupons and I've got a buddy at Dell who can knock a couple hundred off of most of the high-end Latitudes, but even my pal who works for HP doesn't know of a way to save money on the EliteBooks. Is there a student discount kicking around somewhere, am I missing something really obvious, or does HP flat-out refuse to give you a dime off of EliteBooks?
   
   
6. Last and certainly most complicated but probably most important to me, the screen. I desperately want a 1440x900 screen on my 12" laptop, and if the Lenovo X200s had a touchpad on it I wouldn't even be making this post right now -- but I've tried extensively, and I still can't deal on pointstick-only.
   
   This is completely esoteric, ridiculous, and out there, but I've gotta know.
   Does anyone know if you could buy an X200s's 1440x900 12" screen, disassemble the 2530p, and someway/somehow connect the X200s screen to the HP EliteBook? I'm not even expecting anyone to have done this, but I'm wondering from someone with better knowledge of these machines -- could it conceivably be done? An EliteBook 2530p with the X200s's 1440x900 panel on it would absolutely be my perfect machine, and I'm willing to void warranties and brashly disassemble $2,000 computers to make it happen.

Thanks so much in advance for the help.

 

I would also like to know the answer to any or all of these questions.

 

Question 1 is of interest to me also

 

I believe the machine has 2 bays, the main bay being the 1.8" HDD bay and the second being an expansion one that can hold DVD-roms, HDDs, or even a battery.

As for the finger scroll, I'll try it tomorrow and get back to you.

The physical buttons are alright, but they don't really click like those on an Asus notebook and yes they are rubber.

You will not be able to configure this notebook with a 1440x900 panel, its simply not available from HP.

EDIT: That finger program does not work on Windows Vista and with v1.0.5 of the TFS software. It reports "Synaptics kernel drivers registry missing, please reinstall drivers"

 

I actually had both the 2530p and x200s side by side and thought that both LCDs were horrible. The 2530p was grainy and the contrast on the x200s was terrible. If I had to pick one of the screens, I would have choosen the x200s, but I was so diappointed in both screens thatI didn't keep either laptop. I preffered the x200s overall, but the screen was a deal breaker.

As always, YMMV ... good luck on your hunt for a laptop!

 

Alright, so I went ahead and got one. I ordered the single spindle (2.5") model, I'm typing this on it as we speak . I will endevour to answer your questions as best I can.

1. As far as I can tell there was no way to configure this. But the motherboard certainly has ports for the 1.8" drive. However, I haven't been able to find a place to get the adaptor and frame needed to fit one in.

2. Didn't work for me either. Same error as zyber sniper.

3. The touchpad buttons don't really "click" particularly. I don't mind them, and they're nice and quiet, but if you're picky you may have an issue.

4. I haven't been game enough to open mine up (I like my warranty), but the service manual on HP's site says that the system board + processor is one part. Which would suggest that it's soldered.

5. Discounts? Depends where you are. I got mine through my uni's official supplier for about AUD1400 less than the going price online. I don't know about the US or anywhere else.

6. You sir, are insane, and I salute you. I'm completely unqualified, but I would imagine that the connectors for the screen on the IBM and the HP are different. Kudos if you manage to do it though.

Overall, I really like this laptop so far, and I would certainly recommend it. I'm still not quite used to the shallow stroke of the keyboard, but I'm getting used to it. Everything else is butter, and I love it.

 

Actually this may be possible. You just need to check what type of connector the HP panel uses. Use PC wizard to check the LCD panel model and find one compatible with the one on the HP. I've swapped LCDs between glossy to a non-gloss one before.

 

Awesomeness, I was thinking right along the lines of the question one. I'll continue my research and post here if I find that anyone out there has succesfully put together a double-disk setup.

 

The 2530P Service & Maintenance Guide can help here: http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01599628/c01599628.pdf as can the videos at the HP Media Services Library at http://h20464.www2.hp.com/index.html

Yes. A 2.5" drive can go in using the following HP parts:
* 492574-001 Secondary hard drive cage assembly, includes additional USB port (required for installation of secondary hard drive
* 495027-001 Secondary hard drive connector board (required for installation of secondary hard drive)

A 1.8" drive can go in with parts highlighted in the guide above as well.

These machines have the BGA CPUs. You can upgrade them if you have the equipment to remove the CPU and solder a replacement on (IR blow gun). Not generally a user operation.. but is possible. You will note that HP have different part numbers for systemboards with different CPU speeds.

This is possible, but note that the HP uses a energy efficient LED backlit LCD, so there may be a small dropoff in battery life. All that is required is a match to the pinout of the existing LCD (the inverter should be OK with other LCD). The LCDs tend to use a 20 or 30 pin connector. I'd be ringing HP parts to read the back of a replacement LCD to tell you what the manufacturer and the LCD model number is. If the pinouts are different, then it MAY happen that the systemboard connector could be replaced as well (I've used an apple HD connector in a compaq, to use a different LCD). It's a shame that this info is not readily available.. in a sense you'd need to see an image of connectors in question to get an idea of if you're on the right track.

 

With relation to swapping out the LCD, perhaps the following will give an idea of what are the possibilities. It relates to 2510p, but assuming it is the same part: http://www.pchub.com/uph/laptop/223-33725-8128/HP-Compaq-2510p-Series-LCD-Cable-12-.html

HP Compaq 2510p Series LCD Cable (12")

For use in: Toshiba LTD121EW7V LCD Panel , CHI MEI N121I6-L01 LCD Panel , Samsung LTN121W3-L01 LCD Panel

So perhaps see if there are hi-res version in the same series of Toshiba, CHI MEI or Samsung 12.1"?