Welcome to the 2510P Owner's Lounge! A place to liase with other owners and share useful tips/tricks/mods to get the most satisfying user experience. A running summary is below:
Release Date: 27 June 2007 (pre-GFC build quality) | | | |
Alert about HP's newer and faster replacement ZIF HDDs
If your factory-delivered slow 60GB/80GB/120GB 2-platter Toshiba ZIF HDD has bad sectors then HP replace it under warranty with a higher-density thinner (5mm versus 8mm) single-platter drive. Eg: HP replaced my 80GB MK8009GAL with a MK8025GAL. It's still 4200rpm but my Win7 WEI disk increase from 3.9 to 4.4. It's faster and consumes slightly less power. The reason for this 'upgrade?' Toshiba no longer make those dual-platter models.
Examples of modified 12" HP 2510P systems ordered by approx additional expense spent
| Storage | Other Mods |
| | External |
| akwxc87 | hdd: 80GB-5400rpm | DVD | - | L7700@2.3 |
| rangeroverhse8 | hdd: stock | DVD | - | modded_bios, L7700@2.0 |
| chris32303 | hdd: 120GB MK1214GAH | DVD | - | modded_bios, U7600@1.6 >>2540P |
| mike60 | hdd: 100GB Toshiba | DVD | - | modded_bios, 6200AGN.wifi, F3507G.wwan
webcam |
| losdrivare | none | pata-hdd: 160GB HM160HC/ebay | usb_DVD | U7600@1.5, quiet_fan, >>2530P |
| sfsilicon | none | sata-ssd: 60GB OCZ Vertex/ebay | - | U7600@1.4, quiet_fan, +others |
| hammadurb | none | sata-ssd: 96GB Kingston V+100/ebay | - | 6250AGN.wifi +2USB |
| Crx7 | ssd: 60GB SuperTalent ZT2 | DVD | - | modded_bios, 5200AGN.wifi, 4GB RAM
webcam |
| m.fessler | none | sata-ssd: 128GB Crucial M4/ebay | - | |
| Khalaris | none | pata-ssd: 128GB Transcend/newm | | |
| zerGus | ssd: 64GB ProIV | DVD | - | hw_undervolt |
| e&i | ssd: 60GB MX-Nano | sata-hdd: some HDD/newmodeus | usb_DVD+f.. | modded_bios |
| Jay2k1 | ssd: 32GB Mtron^2 | DVD | e-sata | U7600@1.5 |
| tudorlaptop | ssd: 64GB ProIV | pata-hdd: 160GB HM160HC/newm | usb_DVD | quiet_fan, >>x201 |
| w0lla | hdd: 80GB Toshiba | sata-ssd: 80GB Intel X25MG2/newm | - | ?? |
| Ayori | ssd: 64GB K3VLAR | DVD | ZIFhdd_USB | modded_bios, 4GB_RAM |
| Borh | ssd: 64GB ProIV | DVD | - | 93Whr_9cell |
| pocket_geek | ssd: 64GB Samsung | pata-hdd: 320GB WD3200BEVE/newm | - | HS2300.wwan, >>2530P |
| withanee67 | ssd: 120GB MX-Nano | DVD | - | modded_bios, 4GB_RAM |
| rr3636 | hdd: 120GB Toshiba | sata-ssd: 80GB Intel X25M.G2/ebay+newm | - | 4GB_RAM |
| nando4 & | ssd: 60GB K3VLAR-E | sata-hdd: 500GB MJA2500BH/newm^3 | ZIFhdd_USB | modded_bios, U7600@1.6, quiet_fan,
GTX470 eGPU, pc2-6400, MC8780.wwan |
RED - highest performance setup | GREEN - lowest power consumption drive setup (2.5" SSD see here).
^1 - can sell HP supplied ZIF PATA HDD to recoup storage upgrade costs | ^2 - only available as 32GB or smaller
^3 - hotswap on demand as otherwise adds 0.8W power consumption overhead
US$180 12" HP 2510P 60GB SSD_____ : US$150 2510P + US$90 60GB 2.5" SF1222 + US$20 ODDcaddy - US$80 ZIF HDD+DVD sold@ebay
US$225 12" HP 2510P 60GB SSD+DVD : US$150 2510P + US$125 60GB 1.8" Supertalent ZT2 ZIF SSD - US$50 ZIF HDD sold@ebay.
Ensure has minimal cosmetic issues, remaining balance of 3yr onsite warranty and a decent battery. I recommend a 2530P over a 2510P due to it's stronger build, SATA storage subsystem, longer battery life and superior performance.
OS, drivers and disassembly
Drivers,
Manuals,
Maintenance And Service Guide,
Media Services Library with disassembly videos.
Replacing a damaged LCD: one-gen older nc2400 shown with identical process.
Popular HP Notebook Software Collection : one-stop location for the latest versions of popular HP notebook sw.
Win7 OEM sources : the additional HP installation contents added to a Win7 CD.
HP/Compaq Desktop Wallpapers : A compilation of stock wallpapers from the HP and Compaq notebook range
Touchpad/quicklaunch
Two-finger scrolling touchpad driver
Win7 Quicklaunch buttons support
Video
Win7/32: Modded X3100 video driver. Increases desktop WEI by 10%.
XP: downgraded X3100 video driver to correct high CPU utilisation at idle after a few mins of usage
BIOS/DMI modifications
modded_bios: Win7/SLIC 2.1, no whitelist, dual-IDA overclock, quiet_fan, pcie-ASPMs.
HP Flash BIOS Emergency Recovery: in case have a bios flash go wrong.
HP DMIFIT 2C10 Utility: change DMI details, eg: model number, serial,
password.
Disabling AMT and TPM (serial/IDE in Device Manager) permanently
BIOS whitelisting mods. To add non-HP WWAN/wifi or external pci-e cards. Obsoleted by no-whitelist
modded_bios.
Resetting a forgotten admin bios password - requires a systemboard swap, or boot-to-bios with a non-protected flash eeprom (near the 1.8" HDD bay), hotswap the protected eeprom and change the password OR flash a new eeprom with an unprotected password using a 4MB bios image.
Flashing bios in Linux using flashrom: partial read success only
Overclocking
2510P Performance Toolkit 1.0c to provide overclocked AC and undervolted DC profile switching.
setfsb/Throttlestop. Includes Win7 WEI+wprime benchmarking, PLL pinmod, ram timings.
200Mhz_bclk: run a U7500/U7600/u7700 as 200x6 instead of 133x8/x9/x10 for faster X3100 and RAM.
Using Linux's grub2 bootloader. Useful too for non-Windows operating systems.
Improving battery life
Extending Battery Life. Includes power consumption measurement tools.
hw_undervolt: undervolt by up to 0.135V (-16%) via VID3, VID2, VID0 pins.
93Whr_9cell: Install the 2540P 93Whr 9-cell battery for 12%/69% longer battery life than the 2510P's 9/6cell.
Software tweaks
quiet_fan: Almost silent fan using a custom ACPI dsdt table.
Enabling third-button mouse click scrolling with touchstyk
Increasing touchstyk speed under Linux/Ubuntu
Storage related
Undo the slave PATA 30MB/s sequential write speed capping
Manually setting ZIF/IDE transfer mode and standby timeout
Solution to 30 second bios hang when using a caddy
Disabling power saving to increase SSD write performance
SSD tweaks for Win7
Storage mods
1.8" ZIF compartment noting a 240GB ZIF HDD is not compatible with the 2510P as
explained.
1.8" ZIF PATA SSDs available
ZIFhdd_USB: Convert supplied 1.8" ZIF HDD to a tiny USB drive using a
US$7-delivered enclosure
Jumpering the 1.8" Toshiba ZIF HDD as slave and
here. eg: run ebay caddy with a 2.5" sata SSD as master.
Installing the ZIF cable and purchasing a replacement 2510P-specific ZIF cable
schematic snippet of the 2510P's 1.8" ZIF and optical drive schematics.
Optical bay compartment
2.5" SATA or PATA SSD or HDD using an optical bay caddy
Forcing master/slave on optical drive or caddy if there are no jumpers.
usb_DVD: Convert supplied 9.5mm internal DVD drive to an external USB unit using a
US$15-delivered enclosure
usb_DVD+faceplate: Same as usb_DVD but swap ODD faceplate to have perfect appearance.
Others
PCMCIA e-sata and
here
Add a mPCIe USB 3.0 port: to run faster internal/external storage
Add a mPCIe sata port - could thread internally to drive a non-bootable sata SSD/HDD in a caddy.
e-sata/usb cable or enclosure, useful for external e-sata storage
Enabling and connecting to the ICH8M native sata port. Anyone who can pull this off gets a prize
Other hardware mods/upgrades
4GB_RAM: 4GB memory upgrade + using extra 'inaccessible' RAM in a 32-bit OS as a ramdisk.
+2USB: add 2 extra USB ports via a US$10-delivered PCMCIA card
pc2-6400_RAM: Upgrade your stock 2GB 667MHz RAM to 800MHz for free.
wifi-in-WWAN slot : using a USB mPCIe wifi card in WWAN slot
MC8780/MC8781 WWAN: add US$30 internal 3G card using 2510P's WWAN and SIM card slots and antennas.
2530P_keyb:. Fit the more contemporary, less busy 2530P keyboard.
webcam &: successfully add a webcam by tapping internal docking connector USB pins. See schematic
snippet.
Adding internal USB devices by tapping USB pins.
DIY eGPU. - desktop HD5750/GTX470-equipped 2510P for gaming/DVI/HDMI/S-Video accelerated graphics.
Systemboard swap: superLFM capable 800Mhz FSB L7700-1.8 CPU systemboard a direct swapout. A 2530P systemboard swap has been
attempted.
Schematic 2510P-Quanta-OT2-schematic.pdf courtesy of
laptopdesktopschematic. Block diagram in the spoiler:
Mini 2510P Review
The 12.1" HP 2510p ultraportable has an impressive 5-6 hour battery life from the 10W TDP ULV U7x00 CPU and 6-cell battery. It is rather inexpensive too which I assume is because it is now older tech and the reviews highlight the bottleneck 23MB/s 4200 RPM 1.8" PATA drive, dreadfully slow against 50-60MB/s 2.5" drives. The 2510p is a far better user experience than cost competitors such as a netbook and pricier newer CULV systems (see
comparative SU7300/SU9400 overclocked performance). It comes with 3yr global onsite warranty, a decent-sized keyboard with touchpad and touchstyk, 1280x800 LED backlit matte LCD, pcmcia slot, mini firewire port, DVD writer, internal modem, bluetooth, WWAN-ready with mPCIe slot+antenna+SIM slot, 2xUSB ports with the left one being powered. Weighs 1.46kg with the 6-cell battery, without the 180gram DVD and has optional accessories available:
docking station with s-video port, 9-cell battery. Links:
comparison to a netbook,
a good review.
4 - docking station ports | 5 - the slow ZIF PATA harddisk in the 1.8" drive bay
There are negatives as well: only 2 USB ports, a mono speaker, no webcam (unless
mod one in), no HDMI, 1 RAM slot means a pricier 4GB upgrade with x3100 graphics working
20-30% slower than a dual-channel setup,
the WWAN/wifi slots are whitelisted as are on all HP Business systems, and the bottleneck with 4200rpm 1.8" PATA harddisk.
2510P, 2530P, 2540P, 2560P differences
| Item/Owner's Lounge | 2510P | 2530P | 2540P | 2560P |
| unwhitelisted bios | yes | yes | no | no |
| PLL/overclocking | ICS9LPRS355/yes | ICS9LPRS397/yes | no | no |
| LED-backlit LCD | 12.1" 1280x800 | 12.1" 1280x800 | 12.1" 1280x800 | 12.5" 1366x768 |
| primary/optical bay | 1.8" ZIF/pata | 1.8" usata/sata | 1.8" usata/sata | 2.5" sata/sata |
| CPU/chipset | 65nm Merom/965GM | 45nm Penryn/GS45 | 32nm Arrandale/QM57 | 32nm Sandy Bridge/QM67 |
| FSB Mhz | U7x00/L7700 533/800 | U9x00/L9x00 800/1066 | 1066 | 1333 |
| Graphics | x3100 | 4500MHD | Intel HD | HD3000 |
| no of RAM slots | single channel (1) | dual channel (2) | dual channel (2) | dual channel (2) |
| RAM | DDR2-667 | DDR2-800 | DDR3-1333@1066 | DDR3-1333 |
| Wifi | 4965AGN | 5100AGN | 6200AGN | 6205AGN |
| expansion slot | PCMCIA+mPCIe | expresscard 1.0+mPCIe | expresscard 1.0+mPCIe | expresscard 2.0+mPCIe |
| WWAN-ready | yes | yes | yes | yes |
webcam and nightlight | no, consider mod | yes - on some models | yes | yes | | Displayport/HDMI | no | no, consider DIY eGPU | yes/no | yes/no |
| USB ports (+ODD caddy) | 2 | 2+1 | 3+1 | 3 |
| native e-sata | no | no | no | yes |
| keyboard | traditional | traditional | semi-chiclet | island |
| Bootable SD card? | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Weight with 6-cell+ODD | 1.63kgs/3.59lbs | 1.70kgs/3.75lbs | 1.81kgs/3.99lbs | 1.92/4.24lbs |
2510P/2530P/2540P HP Accessory List shows shareable accessories between 25xxP units.
COL=undersirable features of the series.
The sum total of the features, and mod possibilities, when combined with a
low buy-in price on ebay make the 2510P a bargain. So then how does one go about extending the functionality of the 2510P in a cost effective manner? Read on..
Acknowledgements: a cast of many 2510P and other NBR users contributing to this thread. Many thank yous.