Lenovo is phasing out the ThinkPad X120e now that the X130e 11.6 inch laptop is available. The Lenovo ThinkPad X120e is no longer available for purchase from the Lenovo website.
The X130e has a semi-rugged case and a choice of more powerful AMD or Intel chips. It is thicker and heavier than the X120e. The X120e measured 11.1″ x 7.4″ x 1.2″ and weighed about 3.3 pounds with a 3 cell battery, while the X130e measures 11.6″ x 8.5″ x 1.3″ and weighs 3.9 pounds with a 6 cell battery. For comparison the dm1z is 11.49" x 8.46" x 0.83-1.26" and weighs 3.5 lbs with a 6 cell battery.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
What wireless adapter added to DM1z whitelist for BIOS F.13?
The dm1z BIOS version F.13 update, "HP Notebook System BIOS Update (AMD Processors)", states it "Provides support for a new Wireless LAN card" but I still cannot determine this card.
I went to the HP online store to view the dm1z laptop to customize a dm1z to see if I can select a wireless card to deduce what the new wireless card version or brand.
I chose the "Recommended configuration", went to "Customize & Buy" and then in Components went to Networking. There are no customization options available, just the single default option. But what is that card? Is it the same Ralink RT5390 1x1 2.4GHz only wireless card I have? Or is it a different one now, perhaps the one that has been added to the whitelist as implied by the BIOS F.13 update? If I can find out what new card the dm1z supports, and if it supports 5GHz 'n', then I'm updating my BIOS and buying that card somehow.
I clicked the 'Help me decide' link from the "Components > Select: Networking" page to see if there was some more info on the wireless card. Here's a screenshot of the page:
The popup has the following text:
See that it says nothing about 5GHz or 2x2 support or anything about the card manufacturer. It's probably still the Ralink RT5390 1x1 card. Still looking for which adapter has been added to the whitelist....
I went to the HP online store to view the dm1z laptop to customize a dm1z to see if I can select a wireless card to deduce what the new wireless card version or brand.
I chose the "Recommended configuration", went to "Customize & Buy" and then in Components went to Networking. There are no customization options available, just the single default option. But what is that card? Is it the same Ralink RT5390 1x1 2.4GHz only wireless card I have? Or is it a different one now, perhaps the one that has been added to the whitelist as implied by the BIOS F.13 update? If I can find out what new card the dm1z supports, and if it supports 5GHz 'n', then I'm updating my BIOS and buying that card somehow.
I clicked the 'Help me decide' link from the "Components > Select: Networking" page to see if there was some more info on the wireless card. Here's a screenshot of the page:
 |
| WiFi wireless card details from the dm1z from the shopping.hp.com site. Only one option available and no specifics on the card are provided. |
Networking
PC includes a network port for broadband Internet connectivity. Internet access sold separately.
You can choose one of the options below:
802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R)
802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R) can provide speed improvements up to 20% in the 2.4GHz band relative to 802.11g. Bluetooth is a network interface that uses short-range radio waves to provide wireless links between compatible PCs, printers, cell phones, PDAs, and other portable handheld devices. Bluetooth lets you do and enjoy more: transfer photos from your Bluetooth-equipped digital camera to your notebook PC for editing or printing. DISCLAIMERS: Based on WiFi Certification testing of 802.11 a/b/g/n data rates, Mbps. See http://www.wi-fi.org/knowledge_center_overview.php?docid=4590 for more details. Wireless access point and Internet service sold separately. Wireless Internet use requires separately purchased Internet service contract. End user actual speeds may vary depending on network and environmental factors.
See that it says nothing about 5GHz or 2x2 support or anything about the card manufacturer. It's probably still the Ralink RT5390 1x1 card. Still looking for which adapter has been added to the whitelist....
Sunday, January 29, 2012
HP Pavilion dm1z Refresh, Now with AMD Dual-Core Processor E-450+
HP refreshed the dm1z a couple months ago. The biggest changes are new processor options, namely the AMD Dual-Core Processor E-450+ and a Intel ULV Core i3 option. The initial dm1z used AMD's first Fusion APUs, the E-350 (1.6GHz) while the latest uses the E-450 (1.65GHz).
With the new processors come a boost in performance though the reviews state the gains are small. The look and feel (literally) has been refreshed as the outside has been rubberized and has more a black look over the original's silver. The click pad has been replaced with separate mouse buttons and Beats Audio is included. HP also eliminated programs from the startup menu to speed up boot times.
Incredibly the updated dm1z does not come with wireless N that supports a 5Ghz channel. It's still only compatible up to a 2.4Ghz channel. WTF HP?
The price for a comparable model to what I purchased is more but by less than 10% and the free RAM upgrade is now to 4GB (was 3GB). The 320GB 7200 RPM option does not seem to be available anymore so the cheapest 7200 rpm option is the 500GB drive. There is a 320GB 5400 rpm drive option that you can choose and save $45. The Intel CPU option seems to not be available on the shopping.hp.com HP site but I've read that the Intel option adds $100 or more to the price.
The unit I priced out was $469.99. I went with the "Recommended configuration" from the shopping.hp.com site but I chose the 450 processor (the HP recommended configuration had the 300 for some reason). I applied coupon code SAVE25HP to save $25 and got the price to $444.99. With NY tax that would be $484.48. Free standard shipping is still included. I paid $458 for my dm1z-3000 unit almost a year ago. For less than $30 additional you get largely the same unit but with 1GB more RAM, more disk, and a CPU performance boost (albeit fairly negligible) among a couple other enhancements, not too bad.
Some reviews of the dm1z refresh:
YouTube dm1z refresh video "Hands-On: New HP Pavilion dm1 with AMD E-450 APU":
With the new processors come a boost in performance though the reviews state the gains are small. The look and feel (literally) has been refreshed as the outside has been rubberized and has more a black look over the original's silver. The click pad has been replaced with separate mouse buttons and Beats Audio is included. HP also eliminated programs from the startup menu to speed up boot times.
Incredibly the updated dm1z does not come with wireless N that supports a 5Ghz channel. It's still only compatible up to a 2.4Ghz channel. WTF HP?
The price for a comparable model to what I purchased is more but by less than 10% and the free RAM upgrade is now to 4GB (was 3GB). The 320GB 7200 RPM option does not seem to be available anymore so the cheapest 7200 rpm option is the 500GB drive. There is a 320GB 5400 rpm drive option that you can choose and save $45. The Intel CPU option seems to not be available on the shopping.hp.com HP site but I've read that the Intel option adds $100 or more to the price.
The unit I priced out was $469.99. I went with the "Recommended configuration" from the shopping.hp.com site but I chose the 450 processor (the HP recommended configuration had the 300 for some reason). I applied coupon code SAVE25HP to save $25 and got the price to $444.99. With NY tax that would be $484.48. Free standard shipping is still included. I paid $458 for my dm1z-3000 unit almost a year ago. For less than $30 additional you get largely the same unit but with 1GB more RAM, more disk, and a CPU performance boost (albeit fairly negligible) among a couple other enhancements, not too bad.
Some reviews of the dm1z refresh:
- Hands On: HP Pavilion dm1z (E-450) [PCMag.com]
- HP refreshes the Pavilion dm1 with a new design, optional Intel ULV Core i3 CPU (video) [engadget.com]
- HP Pavilion dm1z (fall 2011) [CNET.com]
- HP Pavilion dm1 hands-on (late 2011) (picture gallery) [engadget.com]
YouTube dm1z refresh video "Hands-On: New HP Pavilion dm1 with AMD E-450 APU":
BIOS Update F.13 (sp54026.exe) for HP Pavilion dm1z, support now for 5GHz WiFi? Any beneficial mpact on my current Ralink RT5390 wireless card?
I checked the HP.com site for any updates for my HP Pavilion dm1z-3000 CTO Entertainment Notebook PC (the official name) and there is a BIOS update (version F.13) available for the dm1z (sp54026.exe), released on 2011-07-31. The Fix/Enhancement on the HP.com page is described as:
A user posted a comment on a prior post on this blog stating: "This update was to add the Intel 6230 2.4 and 5GHz dual channel N plus bluetooth to the whitelist of adapters". I don't know if this is accurate or not. Is this the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 (see below)?
Ralink is now headquartered in Taiwan since it was bought by the Taiwanese company MediaTek on May 5, 2011. The Ralink RT5390 wireless card page lists the product as:
The RT5390 is a cost-effective, highly integrated PCIE Wi-Fi single chip containing an 802.11n MAC and baseband, a 2.4 GHz RF, PA, LNA and T/R switch on a single die. It supports a 150 Mbps PHY data rate and fully complies with 802.11b/g/n specifications.
They say the Ralink RT5390 supports a 150 Mbps data rate over 802.11n. I thought the Ralink RT5390 wireless module was a single channel 1x1 supporting only up to 72Mbps? If I upgrade my BIOS to F.13 would my dm1z theoretically be able to get to 150 Mbps? Over WiFi with my cable internet connection I never gets more 30 Mbps (so says speedtest.net) so ultimately this may be a moot point but I want my dm1z to be as optimized as it possibly can be.
Here's the Intel Wireless Products web page and see the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 listed there as a current product, the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230: Product Brief, and the technical support page for the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230. I'm assuming that the user who posted on this blog is referring to this item. If so, could I update the BIOS to F.13 and then just buy the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 from CDW and insert it into my dm1z?
- Provides support for a new Wireless LAN card. - Enables the "Fan always on" option in the BIOS setup.
A user posted a comment on a prior post on this blog stating: "This update was to add the Intel 6230 2.4 and 5GHz dual channel N plus bluetooth to the whitelist of adapters". I don't know if this is accurate or not. Is this the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 (see below)?
Ralink is now headquartered in Taiwan since it was bought by the Taiwanese company MediaTek on May 5, 2011. The Ralink RT5390 wireless card page lists the product as:
The RT5390 is a cost-effective, highly integrated PCIE Wi-Fi single chip containing an 802.11n MAC and baseband, a 2.4 GHz RF, PA, LNA and T/R switch on a single die. It supports a 150 Mbps PHY data rate and fully complies with 802.11b/g/n specifications.
They say the Ralink RT5390 supports a 150 Mbps data rate over 802.11n. I thought the Ralink RT5390 wireless module was a single channel 1x1 supporting only up to 72Mbps? If I upgrade my BIOS to F.13 would my dm1z theoretically be able to get to 150 Mbps? Over WiFi with my cable internet connection I never gets more 30 Mbps (so says speedtest.net) so ultimately this may be a moot point but I want my dm1z to be as optimized as it possibly can be.
Here's the Intel Wireless Products web page and see the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 listed there as a current product, the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230: Product Brief, and the technical support page for the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230. I'm assuming that the user who posted on this blog is referring to this item. If so, could I update the BIOS to F.13 and then just buy the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 from CDW and insert it into my dm1z?
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
HP Pavilion DM1Z Review with good technical detail
The blog 'Ignorance has become Trendy' has a good HP Pavilion DM1Z Review, lots of tech details.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The dm1z is cool, literally
The dm1z always stays cool. It's an ice cube compared to other laptops I've used. The bottom of the unit never gets overly warm and the keyboard deck stays cool. I have the default settings for the Performance Optimized Mode in the HP CoolSense fan control program. This bases fan speed on CPU/GPU demand and it "will increase fan speed less often when temperature rises".
HP CoolSense has separate settings for "stationary mode" (for use on a table or desk) and "mobile mode" (use on a sofa, chair or lap). Via an accelerometer the dm1z knows when you're using it on a table or on your lap.
The various sites that have reviewed the dm1z provide specific temperatures and Mobile Tech Review says the CPU and GPU ran at 43 to 50C.
Marketing video from HP on dm1z CoolSense:
HP CoolSense has separate settings for "stationary mode" (for use on a table or desk) and "mobile mode" (use on a sofa, chair or lap). Via an accelerometer the dm1z knows when you're using it on a table or on your lap.
The various sites that have reviewed the dm1z provide specific temperatures and Mobile Tech Review says the CPU and GPU ran at 43 to 50C.
Marketing video from HP on dm1z CoolSense:
Monday, April 11, 2011
dm1z Altec Lansing speakers rock
The HP Pavilion dm1z comes with Dolby advanced audio and built-in Altec Lansing speakers. They sound pretty great. Bass is good and voices sound great. They sound better than what you'd expect from a system of this size and price.
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