nx8220

Hi guys,

I've been reading alot of your reviews lately and i think i'll be purchusing the nx8220 in the next couple of days. Please if anyone who has this laptop or hear any bad review let me know. Thank you for your time.

 

I have the nx8220 for 2 weeks now. It is a really great notebook. First I doubt wether the screen resolution was to high (1680x1050) but now I never want back again.

Performance is great, I am running 3D Studio Max 7 and performance is good compared to other pemtium m benchmarks. Audio speakers could be better. Design is great, slim and feels steady.

Here is a picture I made:
nx8220

If you want to know more or more pictures let me know.

gr,

Rick


releasereview

 

It’s a fantastic laptop and the best and most solid I’ve ever bought.

Here are some pros and cons....

Pros:

1# Cheap
2# Great wireless LAN reception, far better than any laptop I’ve used
3# Sturdy / thin design without sacrificing looks
4# Very good performance
5# The HP credentials manager software is pretty cool and doesn’t use obscene amounts of system resources
6# Nice big touchpad
7# Rubber touchpad buttons, I’m brutal with these touchpad buttons but now if feels I can smack them all day long and not damage them
8# Great keyboard
9# I can play UT2004 in the laptops native res with max detail with little to no slow down

Cons:

1# Very exposed dock connector on the bottom of the laptop
2# Poor backlight


Here are some pics I posted in another thread...

 

hey guys thanks alot........feel much better going into buy it. Its Sunday where i'm at, so tommorw i'll be ordering mine....let u guys know how it goes. Thanks agian for allthe information.

 

hi guys,

just order my system today direct for HP Canada:
1.73-GHz
512-MB Ram
60-GB 5400 rpm
Graphics ATI MOBILITY RADEON X600 - 128 MB
DVD+-RW

I was just wondering if you guy would be able to tell me what file system the hard drive came in and if it was already partioned. If not, did you guy do it your self when you got your laptop. Any information would be great. Thanks so much.

 

NTFS, 1 partition of 60GB. I made more partitions with Partition Magic. There is also the complete windows xp pro setup on your hard disk.

releasereview

 

probably a stupid question...so you dont need to reformat the hard drive to make the partion...cause thats the only way i know how to do it.....thanks again

 

http://www.symantec.com/partitionmagic/
and you can make them on the fly.

Anybody know if you can modify the ambient light sensor settings?

gr,
Rick


releasereview

 

hey guys,

got my laptop today...order it on monday came on wednesday....they sales guy told me ten days...anyways....been playing with it ever since....loving it so far.......i went out and got a copy of partion magic.....was a little skeptical beccause of the price....but man was it ever worth it......it took like ten minutes to split it up.....thanks agian for all the good info....danial

 

switcher_001 - that was fast! A lot of those who ordered in the US for the nc8230 have been waiting for awhile (and I am waiting for their reviews!)

Since the casing is similar, can you share with us your initial impressions of your laptop? Keyboard - screen - heat if any? Thanks and enjoy....

 

heres my intial impression...please keep in mind that this is my first laptop...i had x486 toshiba laptop when i was 12...that was like 11 years ago...so i've been a desktop user my entire life.....anyways heres what i think after one day of mobility.....

specs are the following:
Intel Pentium M processor 740* (1.73-GHz, 533-MHz FSB, 2-MB L2 cache)
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
512-MB 400-MHz DDR II SDRAM
60-GB 5400 rpm
15.4-inch colour TFT WSXGA
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X600 - 128 MB
ADI AC '97 CODEC, Line out/headphone and microphone jacks
Optical Drive 9.5-mm DVD+-RW
Communications 56K Fax/Modem,
Integrated NetXtreme Gigabit PCI Express Ethernet Controller (10/100/1000 NIC)
Integrated Wireless Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG 802.11b/g WLAN
Bluetooth
Integrated Smart Card Reader
Pointing Device Touchpad

Basiclly over all impresion of this laptop was good....i don't have much to compare it to..but i can tell i didn't have the i can't believe i just spent $2500 dollars on this. So far its seems to be worth every penny. The notebook has a real solid build, didn't feel wonky or loose as i carried it around my house....you can tell theres no cheap plastic any where on it. Without the batter in it was was light as a feather....once i put the battery in.....i would say its roughly 5.8 to 6.0lbs.....i didn't weigh it...just an estimate. The screen was crystal clear..no complaints..havent yet taken it outside yet...but so far so good....played a dvd and the movie looked great. As soon as i got my machine....i let it charge completely before i booted it up. It was around 7 in the evening when it charge to capacity. I took it of the adaptar and it shutdown on me around 11. I wasn't really running an intensive programs...was just setting up the machine and partitioning the drive and installing some software.

The only complaints i have would be the the keyboard and touch pad. As i never really used a laptop...using the touch pad was a bit of annoyance. I think i will get used to it.....but i still think i'm gonna buy a external mouse for it. The keyboard was a bit small ithought....but agian i think thats something i'll get used to over time....as for heat....after about 2.5 to three hours of being continually on......i could feel some warmth over the dead area around the touch pad.....but nothing noticable if your not paying attention. Once i start using my laptop more throughly...i'll be able to give a better overall scope of the machine.....until then...hope this was a bit informing.

Battery 8-cell high capacity Lithium-Ion (69Wh)
Power External 90W adapter
Warranty 1/1/0

 

switcher_001 - thank you. The NC is most likely the laptop I will get in a week or two...

 

I'm not a gamer, and i didn't buy this laptop for gaming, but i wanted know if you think Command and Conquer: Generals woiuld run well on this machine. Thanks.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by switcher_001

 

thanks for the prompt reply.....

laptops working fine and i'm happy with it so far....but i called support yesterday just to verify what date my warrenty would end...i think i was on the phone for about an hour and was treansferd to probably 4 different people, to find out that business laptops don't have 24/hr support...the business support office closes at 8:30 and by the time they figured that out it was 8:45. I guess this could be a big negative....i haven't in the past had to deal with support as i was most often able to fix the problems of my desktop on my own...i guess i better start reading up more on my laptop system....cause i don't think i could handle that again....i was ready to snap yesterday...hahahaha

 

switcher - what came in with the package? Is the operating manual in a disc or a hard copy? What drivers/software do you have to install? That support experienced was not comforting at all! I hope I don't have to deal with them a lot.

 

FiloD- In the pacakge i got...oviously there was the laptop, Operating system cd w/ drivers, winDVD Creator 2 cd, application and driver recovery DVD, and a notebook documentation (manual for the notbook)cd, besides the cds, there were some pamphlets on accesories and something about getting started, i thinks is a condensed version of the notebook documntation. Hardware wise, there was a ac adapter, a telephone wire (don't think i'll ever use that) and i forgot to mention before, got a free printer. There was a a cohice between a camera, pda and printer, I picked the printer, cuase the rest of the stuff was looking really crappy, and i guess you can alway use a extra printer.

 

What about the quality of the display, brightness, contrast and other issues.

Thank you and sorry for my poor english

Alex

 

Could anyone tell me on how is WXGA screen on nx8220 compared to WSXGA+ interm of brightness and viewing angle. Here in Thailand WSXGA screen only avaliable with 2.0 Ghz CPU which's too expensive.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by caine

 

i can vouch for that aswell.....display is great...crip and clean......still don't know how it will fair outside....don't think i'll be talking out until i start school in september....i've played command and conquer last night on it and it looked sweet.....ran pretty smooth.....got a little war after a few hours but nothin to drastic or extrememly hot......looks like a good laptop to date....

 

You won't see the screen outdoors as the backlight is too weak. But at least I don’t get any backlight bleed so DVD's etc look sweet [ ]

 

Hi

Could anyone please give me some details on speed of the DVD RW. Is it true that the WLAN has a speed of 54 mbps?

Thanks

 

DVD-R = 2x speed
DVD+R = 2.5x speed (dunno why is quicker than DVD-R)
DVD+RW = 2.4x speed (again a bit odd)
CD = 24x speed (this could be the media ive been using)

This is all through Nero.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Ovek

 

I'll find out what the drive model number is tommorow.

 

I just ordered my unit yesterday and am waiting for confirmation on the order. Don't know if there's stock yet. One thing that should be purchased along with this unit is an extended warranty. It only costs an extra $167, but any repairs after the standard 1yr will more than payoff (especially if it's a motherboard or LCD). The warranty is not listed on the 8220 section, you have to goto the Warranty Extensions on the side (NX9000/NX5000 option). I was told by HP Shopping's rep that this would apply to the NX8220. I'd get (minimum) the 3yr pick & return warranty for $167CDN. If you want, you can even get the 3yr Accidental Damage protection for $375CDN (that's if you travel a lot and are expecting your units to get into some bumps).

-Vb-

 

My nx8220 DVD drive is a MAT****A UJ-822Da,
HardDisk: Fujitsu MHT2060AH PL

gr, Rick

edit: HAHAHA manufacturer name was commented out because of the
word S H I T. so now you know why there are **** stars above.

--------------------------------------------------------
visit my homepage:
releasereview

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Venombite

 

Switcher,

Thanks for the info, I did order the PU314UA, it was the only model with a decent LCD (resolution wise). I hope the unit gets here soon. After reading all the reviews on the NX8220 & NC8230, I'm anxious to get my hands on it.

Regarding the backpack, I did a review on an HP/Targus backpack last year which you may want to look into. There were only a couple things I didn't like about it (protection pads for the notebook a bit short & might not fit a couple books). You make want to checkout my review at the below link.

http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6165

-Vb-

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by releasereview

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Chrispz
Last question: the dvd-rw is a double-layer rw or not?
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

not

 

I have recently purchaced HP Compaq nx8220 (PG804EA).
It is a really powerful notebook and the display gives an excelent feeling as regards both brightness and aspect ratio/resolution (1680x1050) combination. There were no problematic pixels and it is quite thin and light.
What is annoying though is that the fan never goes off. It stays on at low rotational speed all time. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? It seems to be a general problem of recent notebook models.

 

Savas, It's true the fan is rotating almost all the time, I experience when I have a window open and the general room temparture is lower it seems that the fan stops more often. Although it makes me sneezy B.T.W. The acer 4600 serie has the same problem, I think the 533mhz FSB centrino line gets hotter by intensive cpu power eating programs.


<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by savas
What is annoying though is that the fan never goes off. It stays on at low rotational speed all time. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? It seems to be a general problem of recent notebook models.
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

releasereview

 

Savas,

Is this with the unit running off of AC or battery? Mine turns off when running on battery, but seems to stay on a lot more when running on AC. You may want to check your BIOS to see if you have enabled the fan to always be on when running AC.

-Vb-

 

Because on battery mode the processor speed (mhz) will drop around 70%, so it won't get that hot.

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Venombite

 

I do experience the same behaviour. When running on battery the fan seems to cycle between on and off within two limit values of the processor temperature. The fan goes off when the temperature drops below 40oC. This can be achieved at some point when running on battery but it can barely be achieved on AC power. I tried setting the air conditioning at low temperature but the difference was not that obvious. The processor speed with no use on both tests (on battery or AC) was 800MHz.
Note: I have been using MobileMeter 0.3.1.0 for my measurements: http://www.geocities.co.jp/SiliconValley-Oakland/8259/

There is a utility (http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/) that can control the fan operation and it is very effective. Unfortunately works only on Dell Inspiron 8x00 as it uses some undocumented functions that only Dell notebooks support. It has been proven to be safe so far for a computer technician I know that owns an Inspiron 8200. I wish there was a similar application for HP Compaq notebooks as well.

 

I was wondering if it has a build-in microphone.
Can't find it in the specs...

Thanks in advance

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by bierdopje

 

i have the 1.73ghz/512mb/60gb (PG802EA) version. it runs at 1280x800. is it normal? they only sell 1680 screens with the 2ghz models?

 

yep, checked now. it only comes with 1.86 or 2ghz models. sigh.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by switcher_001

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Chrispz

 

Chrispz,

What country are you in? I believe the units available in Europe only have 64MB of video memory, but they have a faster CPU. As Switcher mentioned, the Canadain model (PU314UA) has 128MB of video memory.

You can easily check the video memory by running DXDIAG and goto the Display section. This will tell you exactly how much video memory you have.

-Vb-

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Venombite

 

Sorry - pushed the wrong button!!!!

I've started so I'll finish:

Tried enabling the extended desktop feature to share my desktop with both the laptop screen, and an external TFT monitor (via the VGA connector), but to no avail. I fear that the X600 does not have a dual controller onboard - can anybody please confirm this please - thanks!


PS. Yes, the Bluetooth fix does indeed work for the NX8220 high pitch noise problem.

I am also very annoyed as HP have not got back to me regarding the high pitch noise problem, after they apparently had escalated the problem to 2nd line support.

Regards,

Rob



Rob Jones
HP NX8220 (UK)

 

Hi Guys,

I've got the UK (European?) version of the NX8220 - PG802ET#ABU, and the gfx is an X600 with 64mb of RAM.

Out of interest, I've tried to enable extended desktop on the NX8220

Rob Jones
HP NX8220 (UK)

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by bonkersrob

 

Hi,

correct me if i'm wrong but is a IEEE 1394 Port not a firewire port. I was just reading some of the specs on the hp nx8220 and its say it has one. I've lookewd all over and can't seem to find it. Is this model supossed to have one., or am i just blind, Thanks.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by switcher_001