United3dArtists Archive

Got a chance to get a HP NW9440 workstation for the measly sum of £200. This is dual core T7600, 2gb ram and Nvidia Quadro FX1500M. It has a 17" screen with 1920 x 1200 resolution. Works fine but battery is on its way out. This thing was £2500 new.
Question is, would i see any real benefit in truespace and similar programs...bit of photoshop too?
I already have a HP DV6 dual core with Radeon 4350 and it is starting to chug a bit. I am just wary of buying a machine around 4 years old. Its the screen and gpu that attract me.
Any suggestions?

What OS is it running?

I am not sure how it would enhance TS.
I can tell you if you are using any of the following animation software that they have all had their render engines optimized to take full advantage of a 64 bit OS and the dual processors.
Poser
Maya
VUE

You want to check and see what OpenGL version the video card supports.
You want at the very least version 1.5 to run most animation software.
I looked on HP's website and the OS they show it running is Vista 64 although there are other OS's that it can run.
Here is a link to their site to download any drivers you may need.
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/Te ... g=en&cc=us
Also some of the HP models had recalls on the battery and the GPU.
If you go to their site and enter in your exact product number you can see if their is a recall for anything.
I have a HP DV6000 and DV9000 the DV6000 had a GPU recall and they replaced it for free and reinstalled windows vista 64 back to its original condition.
The DV9000 had a battery recall and they sent me a new battery for free.
According to the specs on HP's website it looks to be a good system for the price I would jump on it before someone else does.
Here is a link to customer reviews and problems I always look here first to see what potential problems I might have to deal with.
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/Te ... Id=1839859

You my friend are a star. Seller is just about to pull the listing. He has admitted the battery is only holding 20mins charge but I expect to run this off mains anyway. Should I be concerned about age, or is it like buying an older Mercedes compared to a new Nissan Micra?
It is running XP Pro but I have Windows 7 to put on it which will apparently run fine. Someone posted a windows score of 5.4 with the CPU being the lowest score. My DV-6 gets 4.6 overall based on CPU being the lowest. It is almost twice as fast in benchmarks for GPU than my machine and CPU is 50% faster so I am getting an improved machine....just that damn age I cant get my head around.

Splinters,
You may not be able to run Windows 7, my DV6000 will not run it because there is not a updated drive for the GPU to run windows 7.
I would get the serial number from the seller and any other specs and then look it up on HP's site to see what problems have been reported.
One more bit of information and I have made this mistake many times in the past.
With a desktop and a added on graphics card you can go to the manufacturers website to get the latest drivers and updates.
With a laptop you have to go to the manufacturer of the laptop to get the latest drivers.
Reason why is because the drivers for the GPU on the laptop are specifically designed just for the laptop and the drivers for a separate video card that would run in a desktop will not work in most cases on a laptop.
My honest opinion is that if it was me and my laptop was going downhill and was in need of a new one would be to go ahead and buy it. I would ask the seller if there is a return policy if not already stated. You dont need to get a machine that upon arrival does not work and I would also ask the seller to please add insurance on the item in this event.
I hope this helps, I also looked on several sites here in the US and found the price to be jut about the same as what you would be paying.
Let me know if you get it.
Wish you luck.

The courier would be insured against damage but no other gurantee. My laptop is just getting old...not in need of replacing but I will give it to my wife and simply use the HP as a workstation for trueSpace, Bryce, Photoshop etc. basically just a work machine.
He has posted an online video of it running Bioshock. It is a bit chuggy but everything is on full at high res etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUoub-rm ... r_embedded"

Plenty of photos supplied and it is AVforums with 'trusted' members. Now you mention it the price isn't amazing but includes Saturday delivery at no extra cost.
Nvidia offer latest Quadro drivers for 1600M and 1700M (not 1500M?) but there is this as well:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/Te ... nvOID=4054"

You wouldnt be concerned about the age then?

I dont think the system is running chuggy I think its the video that he posted.
It looks to be a good system and with the updated video driver you will be able to run Win7.
You mentioned you have a HP DV6, is it a HP Pavillion DV6000 with wide screen?
If so what OS are you running on it?

DV-6 1210sa entertainment PC. Athlon X2 QL-65, 250GB HD, Radeon 4350. I run Win7 64 bit fine on that..it is probably 3 years old now.

There is no warranty but he is uploading a longer vid of it working and reduced it to £190 delivered on Saturday. Either he is being reasonable as he cannot be sure it will work for much longer or trying to get rid of a turkey?

I was wonder about your DV6 because I have a Pavilion DV6000 Wide Screen with the AMD Turion Dual Core 64 with Nvidia GeForce G0 6150, 2 gig ram, 120 gig HD and have been looking for an updated video driver that will support windows 7.
I thought that you may have the same laptop as me and would know where to get the updated driver.
I dont think he is just trying to off it, remember Christmas is close and people need money to shop with.
Take advantage of the price and good deal and buy yourself a early Christmas present.

I have mate. £100 paid and £90 on delivery after i checked it over and put it through its paces. Cant say fairer than that.

Can't be bad at all for that price. He even put another video on youtube. Aside from some scratches on the lid, it looks great.

How do you find the DV6000? Sainsburys here are selling a DV7 with turion processor, 4gb ram and radeon 5470 for £385 delivered. That was my second choice...

You may not be able to find the DV6000 any longer as it was replaced by the DV9000.
The only difference between the two is the following.

DV6000 DV9000
HD=120gig HD=180 gig
Ram 2gig Ram 4 gig
Screen 17" widescreen Screen 19" widescreen
OS Vista 64 OS Win7 64

Great to hear you made the purchase you will be happy with your decision.

I think that at the pricepoint you wont go wrong....
But buying into newer technology and investing into 64 bit software and about 16 Gig of ram(thats the limit that makes sense today)
isnt a bad decision either..
I spent 1000 $ this year on a new configuration and run Vue on it and that thing rocks.....
But I´ll have it for many years to come.... I always have older computers and a new one side by side.. If you have space... !
Truespace 7 is better kept on an old OS though.. while Ts 6.6 works great on new systems...
Peter

Win 7 64 bit should run fine but it can only take 4gb ram. It will earn its keep at least for a few months...

splinters wrote:Win 7 64 bit should run fine but it can only take 4gb ram. It will earn its keep at least for a few months...

For modeling you dont need that much memory but on a system with 64 bit software and windows 7 64 bit can use all the memory you can install.....
thats pretty nice if you have a lot of instances in a render..
but yes that setup will do for sometime..
I bought mine mainly because I have Mediumformat digital camera files and the need as much memory as they can get.......30x40 Inch pictures can become a pain to work with in Photoshop...
Peter

Would you suggest I stick with Win XP Pro 32bit with this machine...or install Win 7 64 bit. I want best speed/reliability but doesnt some software no longer support XP?

I would first run the compatibility check that is on the windows 7 CD to make sure your system will support it.
If the system does and will support it then go with 7 so that you utilize the full features of the processor.
If it will not run Windows 7 then I would go with Vista 64 as it does show through HP's site that the machine and drivers for the hardware are designed for it.
Windows Vista 64 is not too bad, it has a few quirks in doing the networking if you run a network at home.
If you do not have vista 64 or do not want it then I would go to Windows XP Pro 32.
Windows XP Pro 64 there was very limited drivers written for so the likely hood of finding drivers for each hardware device is slim.
If the software you are running supports a 64 bit OS then try to use a 64 bit OS to get the full amount of of it.
I hope this helps.

Thanks for that. It can indeed run Vista and a model did come with it installed so I expect it would run Win 7...many users have. I only have XP or Win 7 64bit licenses so have to choose one. I just wonder if Win 7 will be able to get the most out of its workstation optimized features...a lot of the parts would rely on the Vista drivers but it does have a Win 7 graphics driver....and I love a challenge.

Ok, I bottled it...put 4gb ram in and installed Win 7. So far....it flies.

All was going so well....I just installed tS 76B8 and Vray 154B8 but when I try and render it says Vray package not loaded....any idea what I did wrong? I think I may have used tS7.6 before but I would like the latest Vray running.

I am sorry but I cant be of much help there as I don't use Vray.

splinters wrote:All was going so well....I just installed tS 76B8 and Vray 154B8 but when I try and render it says Vray package not loaded....any idea what I did wrong? I think I may have used tS7.6 before but I would like the latest Vray running.

r u running in win 7 native or xp compatibility mode????

Native I think...will check...

EDIT: just checked and it is native...but I tried XP compatibility too. I cannot load Vray into the workspace plug in manager either now...very strange.

EDIT 2: Reinstalled Vray, loaded it in workspace side and now it seems fine. Will restart and see if it is still there.

There is also a fix for VRay needed for the latest VRay to run with the latest trueSpace which Tiles had put together.
Try this if you haven't already.
vi ... les#p26079"

Steinie wrote:There is also a fix for VRay needed for the latest VRay to run with the latest trueSpace which Tiles had put together.
Try this if you haven't already.
vi ... les#p26079"

I thought this was for Vray1.53?

i'm on the same situation Paul, my pc is a p4 3.0ghz ht 2 gigs dual channel.. and still working like a charm.. but.. in the last project i tried a i5 4g ram win7 64bit and to be honest was a shame looking how fast it works..

So i decided to jump to new technology for the next project.. i'm thinking on a i7 4 gigs at first stage on 64bit system..

If you can... do it..

Prodigy wrote:i'm on the same situation Paul, my pc is a p4 3.0ghz ht 2 gigs dual channel.. and still working like a charm.. but.. in the last project i tried a i5 4g ram win7 64bit and to be honest was a shame looking how fast it works..

So i decided to jump to new technology for the next project.. i'm thinking on a i7 4 gigs at first stage on 64bit system..

If you can... do it..

Try to get the 4Gig so that you can upgrade to 16Gig....
With 64 bit software every gig counts a lot.. on my Vue with 64 bit I can make scenes I could never have made before at lightning speed..
its the amount of Gigs that matters !
Peter

I am still setting up my monster with vue etc and will comment when I have it up and running..

I7
Win7 64 bit
8 GB
1TB HD
Blueray DVD CD burner
GTX 560 TI

Lots to learn about windows 7.....

oh.. .helpful hint... buy the fastest HD you can afford. This is a big deal for performance as well.

Dont buy HD's right now as they are almost 3 times their price due to flooding and other natural disasters where they are made.

well I needed one...

Sorry for my absence guys. Workstation is really nice and a HD 17" monitor is a pleasure to work on. I am making plenty of progress on my latest book using it. Nice non relfective screen too. A well specced i7 with dedicated graphics and this type of screen is quite a lot of money!

WOW!, you are still alive...
Hope you are doing great.
Good to hear the computer deal worked out good for you.
You gotta love the non reflective screens, I have one and it is sooooooo nice...

Indeed....I wont be going back to glossy any time soon.
The workstation is great but I am aware of its age and nothing lasts forever...I am already getting some weird screen mess ups but I found this is a common problem due to the LCD cable that runs through the hinge. A quick wobble fixes it though.
Trying to find a modern version of this laptop sub £2000 is quite a task so I will make the most of it for as long as it works.

If the laptop is serving you well and you like it then why not just buy another ribbon cable for the LCD.
They dont cost much and with a little patients you can install it and have a worry free laptop.
I have replaced many of them and mostly the gateway laptops are the worst.
You can find a service manual for your laptop on the internet that will show you the process and order for taking it apart to replace the cable.
For the small amount you paid for it to put a ribbon cable on it would not break the bank and will add to the years of use you will get.

I hear you mate.
It isn't even that bad really. Will fix it when I get a minute.

Fixed. Wasnt the cable...exactly.
Connection at the back of the LCD screen had worked loose. 30 mins work and as good as new.

I knew you could do it...
Great to hear that it was only the connection..

Well, I finished Doris' first book with the workstation and I am getting a bit bored today so I am thinking of going back to Win 7 64bit for a while.