HP Pavilion HDX Review (Penryn and Nvidia Update)

by Jerry Jackson

Last year's release of the HP Pavilion HDX (code named "The Dragon&quot marked the arrival of the most massive notebook we've ever seen. The update to the HDX is a 20.1" widescreen entertainment notebook hat uses the Intel Penryn processors and dedicated Nvidia 8800M GTS graphics. Add in a Blu-ray optical drive, integrated HDTV tuner, dual hard drives and integrated web-camera and this massive beast redefines the term "notebook." Let's take a closer look at what the update to the HP Pavilion HDX has to offer.

Below are the specs for our HP Pavilion HDX as configured:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T9500 (2.6GHz "Penryn" processor)
• Nvidia 8800M GTS (512MB dedicated DDR3 RAM, 1791MB shared system RAM)
• Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit)
• 20.1" WUXGA (1920 x 1200 pixels) HP Ultra Brightview display
• Integrated HP HDTV Tuner w/4 Altec Lansing speakers + 1 subwoofer
• PowerPack Software - Roxio, Muvee and Serif
• Dual 250GB 5400RPM Hard Drives (500GB total)
• Blu-ray DVD-ROM w/ Super Multi DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer
• 4GB DDR2 system memory
• Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
• Intel Pro/Wireless 4945a/g/n network with Bluetooth
• HP Imprint "Dragon" finish + Fingerprint reader + webcam
• High capacity 9-cell battery (10.8V, 83WH)
• Dimensions: 18.7" (L) x 13.4" (W) x 2.3" (H)
• Weight: 15 lbs. 12.6 oz.
• Price as configured: $3,899.99 ($3,699.99 after $200 instant rebate)

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Build and Design

The HDX shares several design elements with the rest of the HP Pavilion line, but more than size and weight separate the HDX from its siblings. First, HP has improved their glossy black and silver "Imprint" finish with a new high-impact version called "Dragon." While we didn't test the high-impact finish by dropping it repeatedly in our office, I can say the finish looks quite durable ... though fingerprints show up quickly on the glossy finish.

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The real stand out design feature on the HDX is the dual-hinge display. Rather than opening with a single large hinge at the back of the notebook, the 20.1" display swings open with a center-mounted rear hinge and is further adjustable with a second hinge at the back of the display allowing you to position the screen for the perfect viewing angle.

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Although the HDX's weight of 15.5 pounds might sound excessive, keep in mind that other 20" notebook configurations such as the Dell XPS M2010 are closer to 20 pounds. That said, the HDX would have been more portable if HP had included a built-in carrying handle.

While the HDX is better suited as a desktop replacement than as a laptop, the notebook is quite well balanced when using it on your lap. Just be aware that after using the HDX on your lap for about an hour and a half you might start to lose some feeling in your legs. This machine is really more like a 20-inch HDTV with a built-in computer.

Of course, it isn't fair to compare the HDX to an ultramobile subnotebook ... but here's a photo comparing the size for the HDX to the Everex Cloudbook. Let's just say you don't want to try using the HDX on an airplane.

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Screen and Webcam

The 20.1" high definition display on the HDX is quite impressive to say the least. Both horizontal and vertical viewing angles are excellent with just some minor color inversion at lower angles. Backlighting is even across the entire surface, there is virtually zero light leakage aroung the edges, and 1080p Blu-ray movies simply look stunning on this display. The glossy surface may create some strong reflections from time to time, but thanks to the dual hinge you shouldn't have any problems positioning the display to avoid reflections.

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The built-in webcam is not the typical high-resolution 1.3-megapixel webcam commonly seen on other notebooks. HP listened to customer feedback and realized that people need integrated webcams to do two things: take good video in low light, and have fast enough frame rates for quality video conferencing. HP engineers discovered they could improve the webcam's low-light performance and boost frame rates at the same time by using a physically larger image sensor that produced a lower-resolution image.

Bottom line, although you won't want to print a wall-sized photo from the HDX's webcam, the camera produces excellent video quality ... among the best we've seen in an integrated webcam to date.

Speakers

When I first started up the HDX in our office and the familiar Windows Vista chimes rang through the built-in speakes one of my coworkers said, "I didn't know the Windows startup sound had bass." Indeed, the four Altec Lansing speakers and subwoofer built into the body of the HDX put out some serious sound.

I can honestly say that I am rarely 100 percent satisfied with the performance of the built-in speakers on any notebook, but the HDX delivers. The only reason you would need to connect external speakers to this system is if you want a true surround sound experience. If that is the case then the HDX will keep you happy thanks to a wide selection of audio out ports.

This truly is an all-in-one HD home entertainment center.

Keyboard, Touchpad, Media Buttons and Remote

HP included a full-size keyboard and dedicated number pad on the HDX thanks to the generous amount of space available on a system supporting a 20.1" display. There is no noticeable keyboard flex (even above the optical drive) and there are plenty of dedicated keys ... including touch-sensative media buttons located above the keyboard. No one should need an external keyboard with this machine.

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The palm rests are solid and feel nice thanks to the Imprint finish, but we did notice the left palm rest started to heat up after prolonged use. We wouldn't call the palmrest temperature "hot" but it might not be comfortable for hours of typing for people who are sensative to heat.

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To the left of the keyboard is the media center remote included with the HDX. Like any media center remote it controls all the basic functions in Windows Media Center, but the HDX's remote is particularly nice because you can still use it even while it's docked in the cradle next to the keyboard. The cradle contains a second IR port so you can change channels, fast forward, rewind, etc. without removing the remote from the notebook. It would be nice if HP made this remote a Bluetooth device so that it can control the HDX without needing line-of-sight with an IR port ... maybe next year.

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The touchpad is responsive and the scroll funtion works quite well. Both touchpad buttons have solid feedback without noisy clicks and, like other HP and Compaq notebooks, the touchpad can be disabled via a small button located directly above the touchpad in case you prefer to use an external mouse.

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Ports and Features

As expected with a notebook of this size, the HDX comes with an impressive selction of ports. Since this system is being marketed by HP as an "entertainment notebook" it only makes sense that HP included every port you can imagine that would be needed for a home entertainment center. Whether you're looking for an all-in-one solution for your apartment/condo or the system that will make you the most popular person in your college dorm, the HDX has all the input and output ports you'll need.

The list of ports includes:

• 4 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0
• 2 Headphone out
• 1 microphone-in
• 1 HDMI
• 1 VGA (15-pin)
• 1 eSATA
• 1 TV-Out (S-video)
• 1 RJ-45 (LAN)
• 1 Firewire (4-pin)
• 1 IR (Remote Receiver)
• SPDIF, Rear, Center/Sub, Front
• Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner: NTSC/ATSC (with F-Jack adaptor) input, S-Video Input, Blaster (IR emitter), Stereo Audio Input
• 1 ExpressCard/54 Slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)
• 5-in-1 Digital Media Reader (SD, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD)

Front view: Dual headphone out, microphone in, and IR ports. (view large image)

Left side view: Two USB, Ethernet, Expansion Port 3, VGA, HDMI, eSATA, Firewire, 5-in-1 card reader, and ExpressCard slot. (view large image)

Right side view: Two USB, optical drive, and security lock slot. (view large image)

Rear view: Blaster IR emitter, S-video out, NTSC/ATSC input, SPDIF, Rear, Center/Sub, and Front audio ports. (view large image)

Performance

The HP Pavilion HDX comes in multiple build-to-order configurations with a base price starting at $1,999. The base configuration offers a slightly lower resolution display, slower processor, a single hard drive and an ATI dedicated graphics card which offers only about half the gaming horsepower of the Nvidia configuration. Still, even the base configuration of the HDX makes a worthy entertainment notebook.

In terms of overall performance, our review unit managed to produce solid benchmark scores thanks to the new T9500 Pentryn processor. In fact, the 2.6GHz processor in the HDX outperformed the faster 2.8GHz X7900 Intel Core 2 Duo processor. PCMark05 scores where a little below what we expected, but this is due in part to the fact that our review unit was configured with two hard drives without running in RAID 0.

For example, the Gateway P-171XL FX scored better than the HDX in the PCMark05 benchmark, but the Gateway uses RAID 0. Although a RAID 0 array does offer faster performance, you sacrifice redundancy and risk losing data if one of your hard drives fail. In short, HP made a good choice for average consumers by using dual drives as two volumes.

Below are the various benchmarks we used during the review.

WPrime 32M comparison results

WPrime is a benchmark similar to Super Pi in that it forces the processor to do intense mathematical calculations, but the difference is this application is multi-threaded and represents dual core processors better. Lower numbers indicate better performance.

Notebook	Time
HP Pavilion HDX (2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9500, Windows Vista 64)	28.978s
Gateway P-171XL FX (2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo X7900, Windows Vista)	30.359s
Toshiba Qosmio G45 (2.50GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, Windows Vista)	31.108s
Toshiba Qosmio G45 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Windows Vista)	42.085s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T7400@ 2.16GHz, Windows XP)	41.40s
HP dv6000z (AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 @ 2.00GHz, Windows Vista)	38.913s
Sager 9260 (Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E6700@ 2.66GHz, Windows XP )	33.718s
Dell Precision M70 (Intel Pentium-M 780 @ 2.26GHz, Windows XP)	78.992s

PCMark05 comparison results:

PCMark05 represents the overall system performance of a notebook. Higher numbers indicate better performance.

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
HP Pavilion HDX (2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9500, Nvidia Go 8800M GTS 512MB)	6,921 PCMarks
Gateway P-171XL FX (2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo X7900, NVIDIA Go 8800M GTS)	7,749 PCMarks
Toshiba Qosmio G45 (2.50GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, NVIDIA Go 8600M GT)	5,865 PCMarks
Toshiba Qosmio G45 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA Go 8600M GT)	5,261 PCMarks
Dell Inspiron 1720 (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT)	5,377 PCMarks
Dell Inspiron 1420 (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS)	4,925 PCMarks
Sony VAIO FZ (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	3,377 PCMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS)	4,591 PCMarks
Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	4,153 PCMarks
Lenovo 3000 V200 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	3,987 PCMarks
Lenovo T60 Widescreen (2.0GHz Intel T7200, ATI X1400 128MB)	4,189 PCMarks
Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400)	3,487 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60, Nvidia Go 7800GTX)	5,597 PCMarks

3DMark06 comparison results:

3DMark06 represents the overall graphics performance of a notebook. Higher numbers indicate better performance.

Notebook	3DMark06 Score
HP Pavilion HDX (2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9500, Nvidia Go 8800M GTS 512MB)	8,791 3DMarks
HP Pavilion HDX (2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7700, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB)	4,205 3DMarks
Gateway P-171XL FX (2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo X7900, NVIDIA Go 8800M GTS)	8,801 3DMarks
Toshiba Qosmio G45 (2.50GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, NVIDIA Go 8600M GT)	3,775 3DMarks
Toshiba Qosmio G45 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA Go 8600M GT)	2,934 3DMarks
Dell Inspiron 1720 (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT)	2,930 3DMarks
Dell Inspiron 1420 (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS 128MB)	1,329 3DMarks
Sony VAIO FZ (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	532 3DMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS 128MB)	1,408 3DMarks
Asus F3sv-A1 (Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz, Nvidia 8600M GS 256MB)	2,344 3DMarks
Alienware Area 51 m5550 (2.33GHz Core 2 Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB	2,183 3DMarks
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi 1526 (1.66 Core Duo, nVidia 7600Go 256 MB)	2,144 3DMarks
Asus A6J (1.83GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 128MB)	1,819 3DMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	827 3DMarks
Sony VAIO SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	794 3DMarks

HDtune results:

Hard drive #1. ( view large image)

Hard drive #2. (view large image)

Windows Experience Index:

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Heat and Noise

The HDX runs extremely quiet and reasonably cool. The fan remained on most of the time when the notebook was plugged in and turned on frequently while the notebook was gaming on battery power. Although there was minimal warmth coming from the top of the hard drive (left palm rest) the most significant heat came from the hard drive area on the underside of the HDX. Despite this, heat levels never made the HDX uncomfortable on the lap after extended use ... although the weight makes the HDX better suited to being a desktop replacement.

Below are images with the temperature readings listed in degrees Fahrenheit:

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Battery

The HDX is available with only a standard 9-cell battery which rests flush against the bottom of the notebook. Although battery life wasn't as impressive as we typically expect from modern notebooks, the HDX is still capable of running on battery power for short trips. With the screen brightness set to about half, wireless on, and Vista power settings set to "Balanced," the HDX powered down after 2 hours and 7 minutes. Clearly the 9-cell battery will provide enough power for traveling between rooms in your home, but the HDX isn't designed to travel with you all day during work.

In any case, although we only managed to get a little more than 2 hours of battery life, the HDX does better with power management than most 17-inch gaming notebooks.

Conclusion

Overall the Penryn and Nvidia updates to the HP Pavilion HDX make this notebook an even better entertainment solution than it was last year. Given the impressive feature set and performance of this notebook it's amazing that the system is as thin and light as it is. Sure, you might develop a hernia while lifting this giant notebook onto your lap, but it's worth it. The "wow factor" of the 20.1" high-definition screen, Altec Lansing speakers and media center remote are enough to make the HDX the centerpiece of your entertainment system. Add the 64-bit version of Vista, a full 4GB of RAM and excellent Nvidia graphics and this system is a can't miss.

Bottom line, if you can justify the price and the size, the HDX is still the best desktop replacement and home entertainment notebook on the market today.

Pros

• This thing is HUGE
• Amazing display
• Excellent speakers
• Solid graphics performance
• Fast overall performance
• Excellent build quality
• Surprisingly adequate battery life

Cons

• This thing is HUGE
• Not easy to transport (integrated handle would be nice)
• A little expensive

 

It's about as portable as a really fat house cat.

It's amazingly cool to see all those ports. This would truly be the hub of an entertainment system.

 

Thanks for the nice review Jerry. The latest update truly makes it a very capable media desktop replacement. Very nice indeed.

 

Make sure you fix the errors in the laptop's description at the top. Is it WUXGA or WSXGA+? How much dedicated memory has the video card? These kind of errors.

 

Is it really RAID 1? Option for RAID 0 by and chance? Must be a new feature as the previous HDX's didn't have a RAID controller.

Can't wait to see the Montevina version. Likely they'll offer the Radeon Mobility 3870 due out before June.

 

Very nice review.

This machine is a beast! Looks neat, but damn .. it sure is expensive. o_o

 

Nice review, Jerry. I did not expect 2+ hrs of battery life from this beast.

 

For the tested configuration, yes ... this sucker is VERY expensive.

However, with just a couple of modest tweaks to the base-level configuration, you can get a machine that is MUCH more worthy as an entertainment center than a typical 17-inch notebook.

For example, the configuration below is only $2,234.99 after $200 instant rebate (and HP often has other coupons you can use for more savings ... check out the Laptop Deals link on this page)

Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
2.1GHz T8100 Intel Core 2 Duo
20.1" WUXGA
3GB of RAM
256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT (can't play Crysis well, but still powerful)
240GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (120GB x 2)
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection and Bluetooth
Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner and 4 Altec Lansing speakers +the HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer
9-cell battery

Compare this HDX configuration at $2,235 to a base level Gateway P-171XL FX Edition at $2,999:

Vista Home Premiun 32-bit
2.8GHz Intel X7900
3GB RAM
400GB 7200rpm hard drive (2-200GB)
8x Multi-format Dual Layer Tray Load DVD-RW w/ DVD-RAM, 1x HD DVD-ROM
NVIDIA GeForce Go 8800GTS with 512MB
17.0" WUXGA LCD
Intel 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N Wireless Networking

Even if you add the Nvidia 8800GTS card to the HDX it still costs less than the Gateway ... $2,484.99

Of course, if you jump to the 2.6GHz T9500 as well you'll come close to the Gateway's price: $2,934.99

 

That was a surprise for us as well. We have a 17-inch notebook from another manufacturer that gets less than one hour of battery life ... so we were blown away when the larger HDX gave us 2+ hours.

 

This machine is aimed directly at me.
The problem is that for some reason, you can't buy this spec in the UK & my previous experience of importing laptops has been awful.

 

Jerry,

Nice review.

I'm also curious, as forum member "2.0" have asked, any chance of RAID 0? Also, is RAID 1 a new feature compared to the previous version of HDX?

 

As far as I know HP doesn't offer a RAID 0 config direct from HP, but you "might" be able to configure that yourself in BIOS.

 

very nice review!

 

can we get some gaming bench with the updated cpu and gpu??

 

Just 'cause I feel nit-picky this morning
- 5126MB of dedicated graphics memory? That's quite a bit; however, the performance numbers are a little disappointing if that's how much dedicated memory there is.

Overall, a very nice review. How long did you use it to put it through its paces?

 

HUEG! Liek XBOX hueg!

But good stuff .

 

It is definitely a nice design and notebook.

but I just can't find any reason why I would invest in something like this rather than a desktop. a 17 inch notebook is already hard to carry around, I can't imagine anybody trying to stuff a 20 inch into their backpack and pulling it out to use at school or in the office.

tell me if i'm wrong, but can't you get something much, much, much better for the same price in a desktop?

its really nice, but...

 

Wow , 5126 MB of GDDR3 vram , Im impressed. Lol


Edit:
Shyster1 Beat me too it , Sorry!!

 

Thanks for the dedicated RAM catch. It's fixed now. We had this version of the HDX for about two weeks. As for gaming benchmarks, here are some fps for Portal and Crysis:

Portal, at 1920x1200 resolution, maximum detail settings and Anti-Aliasing set to 2x, the notebook stayed between 50 frames per second and 60 frames per second during most of the gameplay but did drop to as low as 28 frames per second transitioning through portals.

The Crysis demo, at 1280x800 with detail settings on low hovered around 25 frames per second (20-28 during most gameplay). However, when there are lots of explosions on the screen the frames per second dropped to as low as 8 frames per second. Of course, we're talking about the Crysis demo here, so don't expect amazing performance.

All tests on the HDX were done with the stock drivers and many consumers have reported improved gaming performance on laptops using the 8800M GTS cards with updated drivers.

 

Indeed. The only case that will fit the HDX is a suitcase. It's not really meant to be a laptop ... although I was tempted to try and take it on a plane and see if I could fit it on the seatback tray table in coach.

Yes, you can get a better performing desktop for much less money, but it's going to be a bulky desktop. If you're living in a small apartment or like the clean looks of an all-in-one desktop then the HDX makes a lot of sense ... particularly since it can pull double duty as an HDTV and can be configured with a Blu-ray player.

 

For 3600$ the buyer gets something that isn't much better then a SFF desktop and costs twice as much . I don't see anyone hauling it outside so battery life isn't even an issue .

Not sure what the DX stands for but the H is for Hernia .

 

HDX = Herniated Disk Extreem! But Dang! It sure is a beauty to look at and is reasonable in price point for the features given.

 

You'd think they would put at least a 8800m GTX in a 20.1" notebook...anyways great review as always.

 

Very nice review!

Looks like HP finally has a real contender in the gaming notebook market now that they threw in an 8800M GTS in their HDX.... Plus, this model also has ports for surround speakers and an optional blu-ray drive, which gives it an edge over its 17" counterparts.

I think the main reason they didn't throw in the 8800m GTX might have been due to heat issues. I could be wrong, but the HDX does look quite thin for its size, which might have been a problem for an 8800 GTX heat-wise.

Now, if I could just get back into gaming and get some more money, I'd take this in a heartbeat. Despite the price difference, I'd rather have this than a PS3. (Don't get me wrong, PS3s and XBOX 360s are nice, but I'd rather be into PC gaming right now than gaming on modern consoles. Vintage consoles and the Wii are different stories altogether....)

 

Great review Jerry!

This thing is a very interesting concept. IMO it makes more sense than the G series Qosmio. For a lot of folks, the HDX would be everything they need in CE - TV, Stereo, game console, PVR, media library, etc.

 

Very nice indeed. It is a shame it does not have SLi or even a 8800M GTX like the DELL.

I wouldn't say it is expensive. But they could have built a more balanced set of features for the same price tag. Why 20" for instance blews me.

Trance

 

About the raid. I installed a fresh copy of vista on mine and I did have to install a Raid driver. I haven't checked the BIOS to set it up. I'll get back when I find more.

But as far as the overall use of it, I love this laptop. I'm a gamer and I get great framerates on all the games I have tried as of yet. Haven't tried Crysis yet, but Oblivion plays great.

 

Are you serious? For 4 grand I would've expected SLi 8800GTX in there... 8800GTS is unacceptable for that price.

 

Penryn, Vista Ultimate 64, 4GB of RAM from the factory, HD 20-inch display, Blu-ray drive, built-in TV tuner with tons of multimedia ports ... that is why you're paying so much for this configuration even without 8800GTX.

Granted, I'd personally rather buy a desktop than this (and I did) but some people would rather have a giant all-in-one like this. And I can't think of another all-in-one desktop or laptop with these same specs that sells for less than $4000 as of this writing.

 

Yes, please do.

 

I actually considered the HDX and the M2010 before buying my desktop, and here is why:

Occasional portability.

Some of us, especially those in the working force, may have to move around a LOT. Not all the long ago I had to move every 4 months on average.

I always have a 20" LCD (or bigger) available for me to use on any laptop or desktop I use, just because I actually work better on a screen of that size.

These "notebooks" are great for those who rarely need a notebook, but move their "home" or "office" around too much for it to be smart to get a desktop. And the battery just serves as a good UPS, and to get a UPS that runs a desktop for even 30 minutes gets pretty expensive as well.

So yeah, my thoughts. Once I'm out of college, I'll probably get one of these monsters if I ever get into the frequent moving situation again.

 

Nice review. I always love seeing dream machine notebooks run through their paces, even if I'll never be able to afford one

 

Hi every one,

i'm also curious about the RAID possibility.
Could someone check with intel chiputil if there is realy a chipset raid capable into this new HDX version.

Thanks.

 

Bummer news.

I just received word from HP that the factory-delivered HDX units that ship to customers only support dual drives as two volumes and will not support RAID at this time.

This is one of the down sides to review units that aren't identical to units that ship to consumers. I'm updating my review to reflect this information.

 

Thanks for keeping us up to date. No RAID, no harm.

 

Well, I'm not surprised there. Although RAID is definitely a nice option, keep in mind that this is an entertainment notebook. Although it does offer top-notch performance, gigantic amounts of storage for all your videos and music just seems to match the HDX better than having drives striping data for really speedy performance. Again, RAID option is nice and would be a good supplement to its already top-performance components but I don't see the HDX's small niche market looking for it. Just my $0.02.

 

is this better than the big dell xps?

 

Will HP immediately refresh the HDX with Montevina (Cantiga chipset) in June, or will it likely be a few more months after June? I can't decide whether to take the plunge now or wait.

What tangible benefits will we get with Montevina for the HDX? A little (?) faster performance from higher FSB and DDR3 clock?

The X4500 graphics is moot since the HDX uses discrete graphics. You mention Radeon Mobility 3870, do you think this will be a lot better than the Nvidia 8800M GTS (or even GTX)?

The Echo Peak Wi-Fi/WiMAX wireless could be useful if you want to use Sprint Xohm WiMAX on the go alot, but probably not if you keep the HDX stationed mostly at one place...

 

Yep, HP is usually Johnny on the spot with debuting new platforms when they are released. I suspect there will also be a modest redesign of the HDX. It's been reported that HP has bought illuminated keyboards from the same company Apple gets theirs from.

The 3870 will certainly beat the 8800M GTS and probably match the 8800M GTX. If you want to compare the desktop equivalent, you have to compare to the 8800 GTS 640 to the 3870 Radeon.

And now, ATI is slated to debut the Radeon Mobility 4870 in June according to several reports. Yep. ATI wants that notebook graphics crown again.

We may see a built in clear QAM tuner on the next iteration of the HDX. That's the kind that works with digital cable. Harddrive capacities will be upped given that Samsung has released a 500Mb 5400 RPM drive. Top config will be 1TB.

Always pays to wait when you're this close to a new platform release. It's only 3 months away and between now and then there should be juicy leaks.

 

Well, seems like the 8800 gts was short lived for this HDX.

I ordered one Friday and it was an option. Told a friend about it today at work. He was so excited he went to order one. Except there was no option for the 8800 on the website. Called HP to confirm, as I was slightly concerned, and they confirmed mine is still to ship as ordered, but there is indeed, no longer an option to configure with 8800 gts. I just pray mine comes as I ordered it, or I'll be one p.o.'d puppy.

Makes one wonder what is on the horizon...

 

The only graphic card option now is 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600XT.

 

hi,
i am french and i want buy a new laptop i have seen this one and i wanted know if this laptop is better than a dell xps 1730 which one would u choose between hp hdx and xps 1730
thanks a lot

 

Well, I checked the website again this morning and the 8800 is again configurable. Go figure. My buddy will be glad to here it.

Atlantis,

The 1730 is a great machine and more mobile than the HDX. I still use a 3 year old XPS Gen 2 with a 7800 GTX. But to get Dell's top graphics card, you end up paying more money, albeit, for better performance. I bought this one for a host of reasons, but the biggest one is the 1920 x 1200 20 inch lcd coupled with an 8800 and I very rarely move it around like a true notebook. My next option was the new top end Gateway machine, better bang for the buck than the Dell IMO. But you know the saying about opinions...

 

then better choice is hp now? for u or dell 1730 is still a best one thanks again

 

I got the HDX because it better suited my needs/wants. The Dell outperforms the HDX if you get the top-end (8800GTX 1 Gig, SLI, I think) graphics card, is more mobile, and is a great machine. Sager and Gateway have great performing 17 inchers, and since you are in Europe, you might want to take a look at the Rock Extreme(?) laptop. Gateway is the least expensive of the bunch and almost performs as well and is getting pretty decent reviews.

If you can wait, speculation on this site is that the HDX will get better graphics(ATI) and processor in a few short months, possibly out-performing the other brands. I didn't really want to wait, so I bought one now.

 

ok thanks for ur answer i don't know which one choose between the dell 1730 and the hp but it is true dell with sli is perhaps best even if no hdmi on
thanks

 

Thanks for the update 2.0