U can installed radeon 3200 driver from HP. It includes HD 3450 drivers inside. Sometimes u must do manual install. Go to c:\swsetup\sp3xxxx
Install the driver manually.

This laptop is optimised for DDR2 800. Not sure why HP didnt include DDR2 800 RAM inside.

What tak tak sound? I never experienced that before. Btw, the battery life is already miserable so why not enable power saving.

Didnt notice that but will try. I installed only AMD Power Monitor. RM-70 switches from 500,1000 to 2000mhz. Is the any AMD processor update for Vista?

Congratz.

Weird, I didnt install Cyberlink Youcam but webcam drivers are automatically installed using Microsoft drivers and recognized as HP Webcam 101.

Btw, after some findings, 125AX shares the same board as dv5z which comes with 780G IGP and HD 3450. That means HD 3200 is onboard but disabled by HP! A lot of dv5z users are bugging HP for enabling the onboard HD 3200 so Hybrid Crossfire can be used. I suggest 125AX users to bug HP so they will release a new BIOS version so we can use Hybrid Crossfire. Pls use chat or send HP tons of emails.

Btw here is the link for dv5z discussion board.

Notebook review dv5z discussion board.

This post has been edited by shady: Sep 30 2008, 11:09 AM

How did u check chipset temp? I can only check Core and GPU temp.

I using Everest and Hardware Monitor.

1. 4GB. 2 sticks of 2GB DDR2 800 or 667.

2. DDR2 running at 500mhz(DDR2 1000).

Vista 32 bit. Using HP's Bluetooth Manager(Broadcomm).

HP Bluetooth Manager

To install latest Catalyst drivers, follow the instructions from the link below.

Mobility Modder

Not sure because its my first laptop. Last time i used ASUS EEE PC 901 but cant compare cos different platform. Compared to my desktop, of course not fair also cos quad core and RAID. For the price range, I would say this the the best laptop, only thing that battery life is a little short. If you are tight on budget, you might wana consider this but if you have extra cash to spend, get Intel notebook around RM3k price range. I recommend CQ40 or 45 with 9200M GS. The only thing that makes this notebook attractive is the discrete HD 3450 and I think the GPU is the cause of terrible battery life.

I dont think a cooler is needed. Last time I tested a cheap RM8 cooler, no difference in temp. The bottom part of CQ40 is completely covered and no air holes so I think a cooler will be useless. Maybe you can use something to elevate your lappie.

XP might be smoother but I recommend Vista, ATI drivers have matured and the performance difference between XP is Vista is almost non-existance. In fact Vista might run faster because of better DX10 optimisation. If you have 2GB and above, I recommend Vista.

I was the one who stated that. Actually someone opened up the laptop and confirmed its the 780G inside. CPU-Z and Everest in my laptop also stated 780G. Hopefully HP will do something because hybrid graphics for budged model would be awesome.

Why not send some emails to HP and bug them to release a BIOS. I need at least Hybrid power function working so that the notebook will switch to intergrated HD 3200 when on battery power and switched back to HD 3450 when gaming. When on AC Power, unleash Hybrid Crossfire.

All the drivers are in 100CTO page. Too bad some are outdated. To install the latest Catalyst, use Mobility Modder from Drive Heaven.

Everest 4.6 and Hardware Monitor from CPU ID can support temp monitoring. I suggest u try not to block the fan vent at the back of the laptop.

Welcome to the club

Your score is same like mine. 4.0 is the lowest. Im suprised gaming can get 4.1. Desktop only 4.0

Battery should easily last 1hr for normal usage(wifi, bt on). Only 2 hrs is a bit hard to reach. Did you tweak your vista power setitngs?

Heat can be really bad for this model. the HD 3450 and Turion is burning the laptop. I think the bottom is poorly designed because no ventilation. Even cooler doesnt work. Try to elevate the laptop a bit.

Yeah the score doesnt matter much. U can go to Change advanced power settings and manually configure the power settings. Im sure that would help to squezze a few mins of battery time. For the battery life, I'm very sure it can last more than an hour. Maybe can reach 2 hr or more. Havent try before though. Most of the time I use AC Power cos the laptop light enough.

For cooler, Ive tried RM8 one before and no difference. I dont feel like spending up to RM100 for a good cooler since this is a cheap laptop. For long term investment I think it might be good. I just use some small but thick books/mag and elevate is on both side or font back. Make sure you dont cover the air vent on the left part of the back so that hot air can come out. At the bottom, there is virtually no air vents so I think getting a cooler wont help much. Just make sure the hot air can come out.

I got exactly the same score like yours but Im using 2GB DDR2 677. Maybe switching to DDR2 800 can get memory score to 5.7 or 5.8. Normally Vista Aero score will be higher than 3D graphics score but this model is opposite. I suspect Powerplay is the culprit because on normal desktop, my HD 3450 downclocks to 110mhz and switches gradually to 500mhz according to load.

not sure about that cos i rarely used headphone on this model.

last time i tried i think no problem. Maybe settings. try to reinstall the driver again and set the default audio playback device to speakers and headphones.

Thanks for testing. Too bad cant reach 2 hrs. Did u tweak the powers options? AMD should enable the IGP so Hybrid power can be utilized.

If you have enough cash, always go for Intel. The reason I got this model is because of value. RM2k for a notebook with discrete graphics is exceptional value

Quite nice because free RAM upgrade. That should be good price.

Not BIOS but Control Panel under Power Options. Go to change advanced power settings and there are quite a lot of settings to tweak. Btw in BIOS there is an option for System FAN always ON. I disabled it but enabling it wont make any difference cos I dont think temp will go as low as 30 or 20C.

Did you format or make partition before installing? I can install Vista Ultimate in less than 45 mins.

I think that should be ok. 65C maybe your are using Java or playing Youtube. Normally I would get around 55-60C when surfing. If totally idle around 45C. Load up to 80C. 90C is a bit high and dangerous. Make sure nothing is blocking the air vent behind the notebook. You can elevate the back are of the notebook too so that the air vent can move out the hot air faster.

Actually AMD is hot but the poor ventilation design for this model makes it worst. The discrete HD 3450 may be the culprit. Make sure you install the video card's driver and software correctly and enable Powerplay. It's a budget notebook so cant expect much from HP.

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Added on October 7, 2008, 9:52 amSorry cant help u with that cos I dun use headphones. Anyone else can help? Or you can try to call HP or use Live Chat although their technicians cant help much

Btw, how many devices you can find under Playback Device in Control Panel.

This post has been edited by shady: Oct 7 2008, 09:52 AM

Make sure you get this model. Best value model

Btw, I've updated the first post and drivers link for Vista 32 bit is added. 64bit will be added later, very busy. Can some help me?

Why not test some games and report back here?

Btw, I have tested AMD Fusion Gaming Utility. It works well with AMD Overdrive.

You guys might wana try them. Download links in the first post.