dont worry plastic can withstand more than 200C. the best way for cooler operation is dont block that exhaust part.

Virtualization is for using the pc with more than 1 person at the same time. Normal user wont use this feature so disable it.

clock per clock, X2 is slower than Core 2 duo. battery life, core 2 wins by quite a large margin.

Even though some 65nm Intel parts are 35W. That is the max power or TDP. TDP doesnt mean anything in real life usage. Power savings wise, Intel Core series is ahead of Turion. That is why most users have problem getting 2 hrs. Intel laptops have no problems getting more than 2hrs. At the same clock speed, Core 2 is faster than Turion and consumes less power. TDP doesnt mean anything, just arough guideline on the max power.

As, I have said before, TDP is only a reference. Its doesnt matter in real life. For example desktop Core 2 Duo and Athlon X2. Even though most of the parts have TDP of 65W, the power consumption differs according to clockspeed, process tech and etc. As for battery, if Im not mistaken, all CQ40 have the same case so the battery should be the same which is 6cell 47Whr. HP Pavillion notebooks comes with 6cell 53 Whr though(compatible with CQ40). Of course, it is not fair to compare different platform. Puma is better only in the intergrated graphics department. In CPU, it doesnt stand a chance again Core 2. U can check lots of review sites on CPU comparison. Well, I'm not comparing different system becuase that person asked about Core 2 T5800 vs Turion X2. Anyway for this price range, IMHO, this model is the best buy. I dont think its possible to find an Intel system with dedicated GPU for RM2k.

As for drivers, I suggest you guys to check out the first post and go to CQ40-100CTO drivers page. All the drivers are there, just the matter of getting the correct one.

did u install broadcom wlan driver?

If you installed HP Wireless Manager, you can see a small message near Taskbar stating Wifi status.

Display brighness, volume control and etc doesnt work in XP because no compatible HP Quick Launch for XP.

Did you go power settings and adjust?

For brightness control using keyboard I dont think it will work with XP. Anyway I wonder why you guys still using XP. Vista SP1 is good and stable enough. Furthermore this model is designed for Vista. Game performance is quite the same too in Vista/XP.

For dual channel, CPU-Z cant display. If I'm not mistaken Everest can display. AMD Overdrive will display one channel. I really dont know whether it will work in singel or dual channel but my own testing shows that there is performance increase in Everest benchmark with 2 sticks. U guys can check the first post for DDR2 667 vs 800 performance comparison.

For cooling, the exhaust is located at the back of the casing. There is no holes at the bottom. Most coolers which blows air at the bottom wont work with this model. The best cooling is try not to block the exhaust part and if possible elevate the back part so the the exhaust can blow out more efficiently.

For games, dont expect to get wonderful framerates for latest games. Of course you can try to tweak settings to get playable settings.

For users with 4GB but dont want to use 64bit Windows, I suggest you to use the unusable 1GB for RAM disk. You can use the RAMdisk for swap file or super fast storage. There are freeware and shareware availble. Pls google.

Maybe F23 is not a big update. I suggest u wait for the next official update.

If u hate the slow bootup i suggest u use sleep mode for notebook. Becareful though because battery will drain up so make sure its fully charge all the time.

This model no infrared.

Btw, anyone tried Ubuntu on this laptop?

Pls google RAMDisk

Hmm.. i pretty sure there is no infrared. Which model u are using?

The specs and hardware manual doesnt state any infrared device. I checked my device manager and there is no CIR device also. Maybe its in some boards but disabled.

aiks, thread now back to original section.

CPU-Z will not show dual channel mode.

As long as you have the RAM stick with same capacity and running at same speed u will get dual channel.

The easiest way to test is by using Everest.

You guys can refer to first post. I have RAM testing results there.

You modified the drivers wrongly. I have no problems using ATI Catalyst from AMD modded with Mobility Modder. I suggest u try to mod the drivers again. During installation, choose custom and see whether there are control center and display driver before installing.

First time I heard BIOS can block OS installation. What error msg he got?

Hello guys,

Now I'm on vacation so cant get online and check this thread often. I see some of the owners would want to install XP on CQ40. I wonder why since this laptop is designed for Vista and more than capable of running it. Furthermore Vista is quite stable now and SP2 will make it even better in future.

You sounded like a newbie to me. It is clearly stated on the specs that the notebook comes with Free DOS. Installing Windows is not hard. In fact many guides are available on the net. Only Windows Vista is officially supported by these models and I wonder why you guys take all the trouble to install XP. I dont think XP is much faster than Vista. With 2GB of RAM, this laptop should be able to handle Vista. Installing Vista is a piece of cake and all drivers are available on HP support site.

Regarding made in china stuff, can you tell me what products now days are not made in China? Even high end laptops are made in the mainland. What a childish statement made by you. No matter where the product is made in, the quality control is the one matters.

That problem was serious when Vista was released but, ATI and nVidia drivers have improved a lot. Game performance wise, Vista is on par on XP now. Furthermore, Vista supports DX10 and some newer games runs faster on DX10. Games designed for XP should be compatible with Vista. If not a patch should fix it. I dont think by choosing XP your game will run faster.

the ram sticks will run at ddr2 667. Honestly there is no harm putting faster RAM, you can use in next laptop if it supports ddr2 800.

Sorry bout that, will add it. Too bz nowdays and I have limited internet connection

Is it because of your internet slow or HP website. I can upload the full package but around 700MB. Earliest maybe tomorrow. If you want PM me. Btw, y not got to HP Service Center and get the CD?

Most probably that is Card readear and 56K modem drivers. I suggest u download all the drivers in the link provided in the first post, CQ40-100 CTO one.