SM Review: HP Pavilion dv8000t

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Comments

  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Well Hard Drives and Ram are very easy to upgrade... The CPU will be about impossible :) unless you feel you have the skill to break the laptop down by removing just about every part. Like I did :)
  • edited September 2006
    i for sure don't have that ability. i think i have to settle with the 2ghz. that should be enough, i hope.
    another question, how much of ram would the laptop support?
  • WingaWinga Mr South Africa Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    i for sure don't have that ability. i think i have to settle with the 2ghz. that should be enough, i hope.
    another question, how much of ram would the laptop support?
    See post #39
  • edited October 2006
    hey...
    the dv8000t is a lil outta the price range but...... hows this sound
    dv6000t
    15.4 screen
    dual core 2 dou 2.0
    7400 vide card
    512 ram (for now)
    finish mic n web built in
    2 year warranty
    and 80 hd until i get external

    the only thing im confused about but 10 dollar differnce is what exactly the internet with bluetooth builtin
    other than that i think this would be a great system for everyday stuff n maybe even a lil gaming

    .....i hope theres still that 250 dollar coupon
  • edited October 2006
    oohhh yeah.... i forgot to mention that the dv8000 came out in what spring... not up for sale anymore thats why im choosing the dv6000t
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    HP has retired the dv8000 series along with the dv5000 series and the dv1000 series from their online website. You can still buy these laptops at Staples and Costco and a few other online etailers while supplies last :)

    The products have been replaced with the dv9000, dv6000, & the dv2000 which sport the Intel Core 2 Duo and the AMD Turion X2. options are pretty much the same across the board :)

    2 big upgrades are in the higher Core 2 Duo's which support DDR2 800 MHz along with the newer core over the Core Duo CPU's which have really only shown a 2-5% increase in performance. ATI and Nvidia GPU are still offered in the laptops above but HP has yet to release a card better than the 7600 Go series.

    If you have any questions regarding any of these products please feel free to post them and we will be glad to help you out :)
  • edited October 2006
    Has anyone had any luck with getting HP to send the bracket required to add another hard drive?

    I sent an email and they sent me to a link for a 100g hard drive they're selling for like 300 - 500 dollars.

    ..which is like outrageous.

    I can easily go to New Egg and buy one for less then 100 bucks, but I'm told I need a bracket to put it into my laptop.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    You need to call their tech support; it isn't going to be easy as the part is not a catalogue part.
  • howardhoward Banda Aceh, Indonesia
    edited October 2006
    For what it's worth, this came in the mail yesterday. They've lowered the price (via rebate) on the 160 GB hard drive kit for the xb2000 Expansion Base:

    http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/product_detail.do?storeName=storefronts&landing=outlet_store&category=refurb_closeouts&subcat1=notebook_accessories&catLevel=4&product_code=PD891A%23ABA

    I think I'm going to order one.

    howard
  • edited October 2006
    I got this email from HP about the hard drive bracket...
    Dear Tom,

    Thank you for replying back to us.

    Tom, inorder to install the other hard drive, you would need to purchase
    a hard drive mounting bracket or a hard drive mounting kit. You may
    order it from HP Shopping or from the parts ordering number provided in
    the previous mail.

    You may also purchase any third party hard drive mounting kit.

    If you have further questions, please reply to this message and we will
    be happy to help you.

    You may receive an e-mail survey regarding your e-mail support
    experience. We would appreciate your feedback.

    HP Total Care is a J.D. Power and Associates Certified Technology
    Service and Support Center, recognized for consistently providing "An
    Outstanding Customer Service Experience". For information on keeping
    your HP and Compaq products up and running, please visit our Web site
    at:

    http://www.hp.com/go/totalcare


    Sincerely,

    Ashley
    HP Total Care

    So does anyone know of such a third party mounting kit?
  • edited October 2006
    up up, weeks later
  • edited October 2006
    Shame this thread died out.
  • edited October 2006
    I find this forum helpful, so I signed up just to contribute a couple of things on this thread:
    #1 the elusive HD BRACKET: I NEED A SATA 2.5 HARD DRIVE MOUNTING BRACKET TO INSTALL ANOTHER HD ON THE EMPTY DUAL DRIVE BAY OF MY LAPTOP. Kerry(hp TECH) said: Part Number for the hard drive bracket: 403816-001 called Display panel mounting brackets, price $36
    Later this was clarified by Rebecca: This kit includes Display hinge support bracket; Optical drive bracket; Hard drive bracket; Expansion port 2 bracket & TouchPad bracket. See link for parts manual:
    http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00554540.pdf
    Rebecca: Please refer page #63.
    Actually on Page 96 is a great picture and instructions to install a HD: Remove the four Phillips PM3.0×4.0 hard drive frame
    screws 1 that secure the hard drive frame to the hard drive.
    8. Lift the hard drive straight up 2 to remove if from the hard
    drive frame.

    #2: My laptop is HP Pavilion dv8000 (DV8300CTO) and it had major issues after about 60 days. I had to send it in and HP returned it in 2 days with replaced HD, replaced memory and reset all the software. Then about 4 weeks later it refused to boot up. It just blinked out and I COULD NOT get it to load anything. HP tech had me remove the HD and Memory, and Batt. Then everything back in and still no go. Just a brief fan sound and HD light blinked twice and nothing. All the airport lights (those bright blue lights) were ON. HP decided I should sent it back for service again.
    Well, I took out my upgrade memory sticks (1GB kingston from Circuit City) and installed a single generic 256 stick. Guess what, it did fire up normally! So I decided to try each of my memsticks separately (after I backed everything up). One stick was causing the problem, the other was OK and worked. So I took the bad memeory to CC and they replaced it on the spot (I had it for 30 days only). It has been working fine since (cross my fingers).

    How come the HP tech did not think of that? Is that a common problem?
    I hope this is helpful to someone else. Thanks, EAC
  • edited November 2006
    Hi i don't know Gf 7600 on dv8000t is 128 / 64 bit
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited November 2006
    I am pretty sure it is 128 bit :)

    As for the ram issues, may times memory can go bad, why and how? who knows... As for the Tech support provided by HP they are trained to read out of a book and really are not the sharpest problem solvers. If you would have posted your issue here it would have been one of the first things I would have you try.

    I have yet to have any issues with the OCZ ram I am running :)
  • edited November 2006
    thx Sledgehammer70
    my laptop 7400 256M with Tc (vram128+128) and 7600 on dv8000T (..?..)
    AquaMark3 Go 7400 38000 and go 7600 ????
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited November 2006
    7600 on dv8000T (256MB)
  • edited November 2006
    Vram 256 ?
    no share on Tc ?
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited November 2006
    Not shared :) it is 256MB onboard memory
  • edited November 2006
    hi ^ ^ i want upvga on dv8000T my laptop is 7400 in just up to 7600
    (dv8000t i don"t support MXN card ) How to up ~><~
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited November 2006
    You have to buy a dv8000 7600 based motherboard. That is the only way to do it. These boards don't have removable cards.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    I am wanting to test out the new ASUS XG Station on my DV8000t to see if I get better performance all around....
  • howardhoward Banda Aceh, Indonesia
    edited January 2007
    Any information available on the pricing for this unit?
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    howard wrote:
    Any information available on the pricing for this unit?

    It will ship with a 7900GS to start, I heard at $400 - $500 but I am sure Dx10 builds with 8800GTS's will roll out sooner than later.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited June 2007
    It has been well over a year since I purchased and reviewed this laptop, and to this day I can say my review stands its ground.

    I am now running Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit and the machine runs like a champ. the Graphics are still very much playable with today’s game, as I play CnC 3 almost daily along with Lineage 2, Company of Heroes and of course my beloved Battle For Middle Earth Series.

    I stopped using my creative card as over time it just got annoying to take out and put back in, and 5.1 surround for my everyday portable laptop became something I just didn't need. I come home and hook up my laptop on my desk and flip on my 360 and run media center and stream music over my ET center. So in all it was a win win situation.

    So if your looking for a good 17" notebook with great performance, ebay a DV8000t with a Intel Core Duo and have your way with it...

    Maybe another break down at IC LAN 07 is in order for a full cleaning :)
  • howardhoward Banda Aceh, Indonesia
    edited June 2007
    Sledge,

    I bought the 8000dt in August after reading a PC Magazine article, but it was your review that clinched it. I had some minor keyboard problems like many users did, but I was (a) too chicken to take the machine apart and re-set the connections like you showed us, and (b) I used the docking station and wireless keyboard anyway when at home.

    Well, I'm in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, now, working for the next 2+ years as one of the team leaders in a World Bank-coordinated infrastructure reconstruction project. The docking station was too heavy to bring along (I stuck a 120GB HDD in it), but I of course brought the dv8000dt with me. It does service all day at the office (using the wireless keyboard and mouse that I DID bring with me), and I use it sans keyboard in my guest house room before and after work. I installed the HP BIOS upgrade before I came, and I haven't had any keyboard problems since.

    I was just thinking about your installing the Creative Card. I was thinking that on my next R&R trip to Singapore, I would buy the Creative ExpressCard slot audio card. However, I would just be using a pair of portable speakers for my room, not a 5.1 or 7.-something system. Should I just get a PC slot Audigy? Is that ExpressCard unit overkill? I'd like to get your opinion on this.

    Thanks, Sledge!

    Howard
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited June 2007
    The Audigy is worth it outside of just 5.1 as if offers all sorts of perks for gaming and movies... the sound on the laptop stock is sub-par with todays standards, and just about any descent external audio source outside of the $39.99 speaker sets will show just how well the card makes things sound.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited June 2007
    Welcome to icrontic, Howard :)
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited June 2007
    I think Howard was drawn in by this review last year :) correct me if I am wrong? glad to see he is also sporting the dv8000t to this day.. also showing how these laptops rock.
  • howardhoward Banda Aceh, Indonesia
    edited June 2007
    Thanks for the welcome, Prime! As Sledge says, I joined Shortmedia last summer (June 2006?) when I found Sledge's review of the dv8000t during my search for more info on the dv8000t. But yes, I believe this is my first post since the forum became Icrontic.

    Subsequent posts and articles by Sledge and others have been very helpful in keeping my 8000t going. It is a great laptop. I even lugged it in my backpack (with my DSLR camera and two lenses) from the guest-house to the office for 6 km last Sunday --- it was do-able! Movies play really well on the screen...

    Thank you for you opinion on the Audigy. I may opt for that instead of the ExpressCard unit, and get a halfway decent pair of speakers.

    OK, folks, take care, and keep up the good work!

    Howard
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