HP HDX 16T Chipset and Acceptable Processors

[wkimbroughjr]

Yes, I do have an HDX 16t CTO Premium (NK133AV). I bought a customizeable one in Aug 09 with 4GB mem installed and just recently upgraded to 8GB in Jan 2010 from this place    http://www.memoryupgrade.pro/4gb-hp-compaq-hdx-16t-premium-series-cto-memory-1x-4gb-kt294aa-pc2-6400...  This should help you out some it;s the exact same place where I got mine from last month.

As for you second comment, I was wondering about the 25W vs 28W though, this 6-cell battery I have only lasts about an hour although I do have mine set for high preformance my computer seems to act up if I use the "HP Recommended" setting probably because of the slower P7450. I do plan to get that 12-cell one eventually but using your P9700 how long does your battery last and did you notice a difference in how hot your computer gets compared to before?

Yes i have disassembled a laptop before.  I actually have an old Gateway 400SD4 that I got back in 2003 I've took it apart several times and upgraded all the parts on it and it still works although it's old and outdated I keep it as a backup just in case.

Besides I have the Nov 2008 maintenance & service guide document which shows you how to completely disassemble the entire computer. I couldn't find this on HP's website but stumbled on it looking for the Blu-ray drive model for our computer

here's the link http://www.dectrader.com/498075-001-New-HP-Blue-ray-Disc-BD-R-RE-SATA-Super-Multi-optical-drive-With... Pretty expensive but if you look just below and to the left of the "add to cart" button you should see two blue tabs one says reference document click on that and you'll get the pdf file.

I am a guy.

[travisgarrison]

Hey thanks for that link.  I will contact the manufacturer of the ram I bought to get them to support it.  They originally had blamed it on my motherboard trying to downclock the RAM for compatibility but since I found someone who's RAM wasn't being downclocked with different RAM I can at least get them to support their product.

I have the 12 cell battery and I get about 4-5 hours of battery life.  Typically I don't leave it on high performance and I dim the display when on battery.  1 hour is a bit alarming though.  You should reasonably be able to get 2-2.5 hours on that.  I would contact HP support because that battery might be having issues.  Just for kicks, you might try just doing some word processing on battery with the display dimmed and the power setting on Battery Saver to see how it does.  There are some programs that can test your battery though.

I never answered your question on the image insert.  at the top of the reply box there is a row of buttons that allows you to do things like make text bold, etc.  One of them allows you to insert an image.  It's in the middle near the smily face insert icon.

[wkimbroughjr]

Yes I've seen the little green tree icon that says insert/edit image but it's not doing nothing for me.  Can you do me a favor and insert an image it could be any image so I can see how this works.

I apologize, I should've told you what I use my battery for primarily for watching DVD's. I got this computer because it was an "Entertainment" computer, I download & convert alot of music/Video files on to CD/DVD this is something my old Gateway could not handle. I also use it as a portable DVD/BD player (I'll upgrade to BD later) I like the 16" FHD screen and it's much better than those little portable DVD player on the market right now.  Using HP recommended my DVD movies sometimes seems to freeze up when I'm running on battery, but it works fine on high preformance with the battery. Do you know how long your 12-cell battery lasts watching DVD's?

Have you tried the memory test feature in your Bios screen? If not try it and see what it says.

[travisgarrison]

It looks like the logo will only accept URL's which means that the image has to already be on the internet.  I did try the memory test in the BIOS and it says that it passes.  I don't get memory errors, it's just that the memory is downclocked to slower than it should be.  On a 12-cell battery with my current processor and the screen at about 50% of it's brightest setting I get about 3.5 hours.

[wkimbroughjr]

Ok I finally think I got it but not sure if you can see it though (had to wait til I got home from work). As you can see it reads 399.0MHz, don't know why yours reads differently did you install the CPU & RAM at the same time?  Do you want me the see what it actually says on my memory modules? If I find something I'll let you know.

Thanks for all your help I will definitely get that 12-cell battery next.

My CPU should be here by next week (free standard shipping) when I get it and do the upgrade I'll give you an update

[travisgarrison]

good deal. Did you know that you can do screen captures really easy with the Windows Snip tool?  Just go to the run dialog box window on the start menu and type snip.  Play around with it.  It's very handy and fun.

[wkimbroughjr]

Hey thanks learn something new all the time. 

May I ask your assistant one more time? Here's the deal when I ordered my HDX 16t back last August and it came installed with Vista however I qualified for the free Windows 7 upgrade which I installed in December, but now whenever I start or restart the computer it take 30 seconds to detect the fingerprint reader which Vista always detected right away, and I have the latest updated driver. Have you had that problem too?

Was you able to get your memory problem squared away?

[travisgarrison]

I called the manufacturer but they don't do advanced replacements which means I either need to find someone with a stick of RAM I can borrow or I can't have them replace it because I use the laptop for work as well as at home and cant do without it.

There are power management settings for the fingerprint reader that could be causing problems.  Try going into the Digital Persona settings window by swiping your fingerprint when there is no password window up.

At the bottom left click Properties, then click the advanced tab.  Try filling in the "Full Power" bubble to see if that fixes the problem.  Also, click on the About tab and check your version number.  I'm running 4.11.3826 so make sure you're at least running that version.  If those don't work, try completely uninstalling and reinstalling the fingerprint reader driver and persona software with a reboot in between.

[wkimbroughjr]

I am currently up to date with the exact same version you have but THANKS for the tip you ROCK!   It was a success.

Still waiting for the new CPU (Should be here by Wed.) Can you tell me how long it took you from start to finish? Are there any pointers you would like to share? Anything I need to specifically be aware of any advice would greatly be appreciated.

Did you get your computer with 8GB installed or did you upgrade later if later can you remember what the frequency was for you old memory? I don't know if this will help but could you go to your control panel then NVIDIA Control Panel next at the bottom left of the screen click system information now in the display tab where it says (Memory Clock) what does it read?

Mine reads 400MHz (800MHz data rate) keep in mine I have the GeForce 9600M GT 512MB and since you have 1GB does yours read the same or is it faster or is your RAM causing that to run slower too? Considering that it's shared memory and all.

[travisgarrison]

So I went to the nVidia Control panel.  It's running at 500MHz (1GHz data rate).  The GT130M has 1GB but it's dedicated RAM.  It does share an additional 3GB with the installed RAM but that memory clock above is for the dedicated RAM.  So at least it's not downclocking that RAM.

I bought the laptop with 4GB installed and I upgraded to 8GB.  The installed RAM was Samsung DDR2-800 and I checked it with CPU-Z before replacing it.  It wasn't being downclocked so I know the laptop is capable of running it at the right speed.

When you take the laptop apart to install the CPU, would you mind writing down the model information on the memory chips.  Aside from making sure you take care of your screws, you'll need to pay specific attention to three or four screws in particular... or maybe it's just two.  They are located under the battery and I think they hold in the touch sensor.  You'll notice they are smaller than the smallest screws... just make sure you note where those go because if you put larger ones in their places then you will end up cracking the slider bar.  The same goes with the rest of the screws.

The second tip is this:  Get a small tube of Ceramique.  It's a thermal compound made by the same people who make Arctic Silver.  It is inexpensive and does a way better cooling job than the heat compound that is on their now.  I did two things here.  First, you'll want to make sure you clean the heatsink surfaces really well with rubbing alcohol and q-tips.  Put the thinnest layer possible on the processor.  Then on every other place where the heatsink comes in contact with the various "pads" you need to put enough of that compound on there to touch.  The result is that when I monitored the temp I couldn't get it above 150!  Take your time on this part and be meticulous.

It took me about an hour from start to finish.