Hgl30

I'm about to purchase an HGL30, probably from xoticpc, but before I do, I was hoping you guys could let me know what you really don't like about the laptop. It seems like people are generally very positive, but I'd like some negative. I've read about the keyboard, the odd cosmetic choices and the lack of volume control, but I was just wondering if there were others. I know every laptop is a compromise. See, I was just about to buy a Dell e1505 and then went to a Dell kiosk and actually saw it and realized that it was really too big and heavy and I would've regretted it. I'm coming from an Averatec c3500, whose tablet functions I never used. Basically, I want to stop using my desktop. I'm getting kinda sick of moving between computers so I want a laptop that's both quite portable since I'll be biking about 2 miles with it every day and can also do gaming. The HGL30 seems to be this. It's about the same weight as my c3500 which I always thought was very light and only a little longer, which seems a good compromise for the larger screen. Anyways, since I can't really see the HGL30 before I buy it, I was hoping you guys could let me in on the really negative things about it you've noticed after using it for awhile. I'll probably get it with a T7200 if I do.

 

If it's anything like the HEL80 there is no Hardware switch for the wireless on or off and that sucks.... Now I need to find linux support for a FN-f3 implementation of this....


Otto.

Ps.: CRAP I HAVE ONE I M JUST BLIND

 

i love mine but here are some negatives:
1)the fan cycles on and off quite a bit (the tradeoff for keeping the lappy cool). quite an annoyance until you get used to it.
2)heavy keyboard flex. minor annoyance until you get used to it.

other than that i think it's a great laptop anymore questions?

 

that might be because you have the vbi version. the hgl30 does have a hardware wireless switch and volume control can be done with the fn key and respective keyboard buttons, so i don't know why people are complaing about that.

oh and i forgot
3)speakers are abysmal. get some nice earphones or a speaker system if you plan on using it for music/dvds/gaming

 

Speaking of which, anyone kows how those speakers are connected??? Do they have a standard form factor? Are they replaceable?


Otto.

 

The speakers are hard-wired in. No, there is no standard form factor. And definitely not replacable by anyone who wants to keep their warranty.

Get some headphones, or if you want better speakers, get some computer speakers that you can plug into the headphone port. At 14", you're lucky you even get speakers with a machine as fast as the HGL30

As an aside: I can hardly wait for mine! Donald said it should be shipping soon... wheee!!!

 

Personally, I've found the speakers just fine. By that, I mean "abysmal, except good compared to other laptop speakers I've heard."

The keyboard is helped much by some double-sided tape (search the hel80 owner's thread).

edit: we're talking about the HGL30... whoops...

 

I just got mine, and really I haven't had any negatives yet. I noticed the keyboard flex, but it doesn't bother me. The only reason I could see it being a problem is if I set something on my keyboard, which would be stupid anyway. And the lack of volume control is no big deal either. Really, I researched this thing for a while and those were the only two negatives I heard, except for the underclocked graphics card and I've played Oblivion on this thing at high settings with no problems.

If you get one, I hope you like it. I love mine, so far, and I've seen that a lot of other people agree. Whatever you decide to get, though, I hope you like it.

Oh yeah, the speaker thing: Pitabred's right, it's a 14" laptop that can play the most demanding games out there; it's amazing it doesn't sound like a Fisher Price learning laptop.

 

I built one. I like it but I'm trying to sell it because I got a good deal on a T60P. However, if it doesn't look like it will sell (and no bites so far on this forum), I'll be selling the T60P in a few weeks and it should go quickly. The keyboard flex is fixable. I did it on mine and I have no flex anymore and the keyboard is much nicer as a result. The latest bios fixed most of the fan cycling, but I wish there was a program to modify the fan behavior. Speedfan did not work for doing that for me. I notice that the T60P runs hotter in terms of the CPU (T60P has a T2700 vs the T2300 in the HGL whcih accounts for some of that). The T60P idles and runs about 10C higher. Both are undervolted, the T60P to 1.175V and the T2300 to 1.100V. I noticed the IBM fan does not really kick in to louder levels until you get in the 70's whereas the HGL does so at 50C.

My specs:
T2300
1 GB RAM
160 GB SATA HD 5400 RPM
Intel Wireless
DVDRW

 

Mattk, which BIOS fixes the fan cycling. I should be recieving mine next week and wanted to verify.

Thanks

 

How much are you selling it for?

 

109 seemed too work for me. Doesn't get rid of it entirely though. I htink the temperatures were being reported incorrectly and this BIOS fixes it. Instead of cycling every few seconds, it seems to cycle every few minutes or longer. I don't know if they changed the fan table in the BIOS. I wish they would. For better or worse, the T60P I'm trying out gets to a much higher temp before kicking on and seems to do it at a lower rpm when it does come on at the first level. The bottom of the HGL30 is always kept cool, but I would prefer just a little more heat. The issue tends to be when you are hovering around 45C, and that's where web browsing tends to be for me.

I'm asking for $1100. It's listed with my TX750P on the forsale section now.

 

how difficult is it to set up the double sided tape to fix the keyboard issues, I have been pretty set on getting the santa rosa W3J when it arrives, but an Nvidia powered santa rosa hgl-30 looks interesting too.

 

Well, it might be a given on any laptop, but when I pick it up with one hand
on the left side, the vent for the fan bends quite a bit under my fingers,
just a minor gripe though​

 

Santa Rosa won't be out until Feb-Mar. I think you are talking about Merom equipped notebooks.

 

Nope, I'm talking about Santa Rosa, yes I plan on waiting that long, craziness.

 

Well, you'll probably be waiting longer, as it takes some time to roll out a whole new platform to notebooks, and to get it into the notebook you want specifically, even longer. So keep that in mind.

 

I do believe the motherboards will be different once Santa Rosa ends up being rolled out. The entire chassis will probably need to be remodeled so it won't be a GL-30 or a W3J

 

It is pretty easy. The only thing that was a little worrisome was removing the plate above the keyboard with the buttons. It is held in by plastic clips so go slowly when prying it up. Follow the directions someone else put up on another thread (start from one side and move slolwly to the other side). I went pretty slow, but I would not make a habit of it.

Because of that, I installed a fair amount of tape. When I reassembled it, I did not tighten the screws all the way down. I was worried about bending the keyboard. Instead I made them tight, but did not keep screwing once the resistance became too tough. You could always tighten them later if the tape begins to loss its stiffness.

 

I am waiting for Santa Rosa with interest for an ultraportable. I have been trying to sell my Sony TX750P, but no one is that interested. I think I'll keep it until then, but I'll definitely upgrade once Santa Rosa comes out because the integrated graphics is supposed to be quite a leap.

 

Nothing but time, the only way my bottom-rung Dell Desktop will die is when I put a sledghammer through it, plus it means more time to save money

Whatever iteration may come, you get the gist of it though.

 

Back to the topic. If you need firewire, it doesn't gave one. Nor a on/off switch for the touch pad (minor).

 

Which laptops have on/off switches for the touchpad? I didn't know such a thing existed and that is pretty cool.

 

Asus does, that's all I can remember. But, its not really a switch rather a function (using the fn+key).

 

hp/compaqs newest models have a dedicated on/off switch to turn it off

 

That's nice, especailly for the bigger desktop replacements where you'd use an external mouse but still might use the laptop keyboard.

 

I believe some have on/off buttons but cannot recall which ones.

I leave mine on, but generally always use an external keyboard/mouse setup.

 

Most ASUS laptops (both Ensemble and Built on ASUS) have that feature as well.