HP EliteBook 8740w: IPS on the Go
by Dustin Sklavos on December 8, 2010 3:10 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- IT Computing
- Intel
- HP
- EliteBook
- Mobile Workstation
- Quadro
- NVIDIA
Futuremark and Gaming
Since NVIDIA's Quadro 5000M is the fastest mobile workstation GPU they offer, we figured it would be only fair to put it through its paces in our "High" and "Ultra" presets. Again it's going to face off against some of the desktop systems we've tested to give you some idea of the performance difference, but it's also important to remember that this chip is tuned for OpenGL and workstation-class workloads, not gaming.
We'll start with Futuremark, just to get it out of the way.
Futuremark performance isn't too impressive, with the GTX 480M posting a comfortable lead over its OpenGL-optimized sibling. Let's see what happens when we move to gaming in our "High" preset, though.
At this point it's worth mentioning that though the EliteBook's screen runs at a (very attractive) 1920x1200 native resolution, we've stuck with our 16:9 benchmark resolutions. The performance difference between 1080p and 1920x1200 is slight, and doing so helps us keep results consistent with the other notebooks we test.
First, the great news: even at our "High" preset the 5000M in the EliteBook is able to post consistently playable numbers at 1080p with more than enough room to breathe. It trades blows with both the GeForce GTX 480M and ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 5870—not too shabby. But let's see what happens when we really max things out.
Unfortunately it's at these ultra settings that the 5000M really starts to struggle, and it's here we see the massive gulf in performance between desktop and mobile graphics. While the 5000M is still going to be able to game like a champ (when you're not working, naturally), we still can't help but wonder why NVIDIA's engineers aren't using the far more efficient GF104 chip the GeForce GTX 460 is based on for their mobile high end. AMD isn't doing itself any favors either; the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 was an incremental upgrade on last generation's mobile top end, and they now have the more efficient Barts GPU to build a halfway decent mobile graphics part out of.
The 5000M is fast, but just as we said about its consumer counterpart, the GTX 480M, it just doesn't actually make any sense to cram a horribly truncated GF100 into a laptop. Bring on GF104 or GF110 already.
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blyndy - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
My question is could HP/Dell put this level of build quality into a premium consumer without breaking $3500 (without hamstringing it with )?prerequisites for any notebook:
- no glossy plastic
- no glossy screen
- no crappy keyboard
- no downright ugliness
And then the premium part:
- core i5
- 4gb ram
- nv 460m / ati 5870m
- IPS display
- RGB backlight option
- solid chassis
- solid hinges
The closest thing would be an alienware m15x or m17x, unfortunately, for all of the things that can be configured with alienware, removing the glossy plastic screen cover and IPS are not options.
JarredWalton - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
Considering you can get the 8540w with DreamColor 2 1080 for around $2150, and that includes a Quadro 880M GPU and an i5-520M, I'd say it would be trivial to make such a system with a 460M consumer GPU instead. Problem is, apparently they don't see a market for it. Heck, with the current sale you can get an i7-620M and DC2 plus a few other extras and still be around $2500.Zebo - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
Jarred, could you link this deal?Also - is this the cheapest you can configure a Dream color? I don't need quad or anything else fancy. I'll stick a intel SSD in once i get it that's about it.
DanNeely - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
You can just go strait to HPs website and get it. The discount code CTO8540w is 24%, 18% for the 17" model.You're limited on your GPU with a 15" one though. 72nvidia or 400 ati SP's max.
sheltem - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
If you are smart with the choices, you can get this laptop for a decent price. I paid $1862 after tax with a 28% discount back in June. Aside from upgrading the screen to 1920x1200 /w camera, adding backlit keyboard and getting quad core (for the 4 dimm slots), I kept everything at it's bare minimum. I upgraded the memory, hd and added a SSD myself.HP's business support is fantastic. I purchased an open box docking station from ebay which broke after 2 weeks. HP sent a brand new one to me with overnight delivery. I didn't even have to send the old one back. Any complaints about HP's customer service, is most likely directed towards their consumer products.
Belard - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
First, for a "business" class notebook, 17" are TOO big. And with todays extra-wide-made-for-movies screens, 15.6" displays are just wide versions of 14" monitors.. might as well save a point and space for a quality 14" notebook nowadays.Price as Configured is $5400~6500 (depending on coupon)... for that much money, might as well get a ThinkPad W701DS! Yeah, its a bit older - until Lenovo upgrades the touchpad and keyboard... where is our W710?
Here is a ThinkPad W701DS I priced out to almost the MAX at $5565!
- Core i7-920XM (2.0Ghz) - save $550 to go with the same Q820.
- Quadro FX 3800M (maybe on par with the FX5000)
- 4x4GB RAM DDR3 (8GB total)
- Camera, bluetooth, fingerprint reader, Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250
- 160GB SSD boot drive
- 500GB 7200 RPM HD
- USB 3.0 / eSATA, DVD drive (of course)
- Pantone Color Sensor + WACOM Digitizer w/ Stylus
- Anti-spill channels for keyboard.
Don't know if theres a 56k modem (people use those?)
And this ThinkPad has dual screens. A 17" at 1920x1200 and the 2nd 10" screen does 768x1280.
Oh, and the keyboard is real... not the cheezy and easier to break island keyboards... but the trackpad is out-dated compared to the newer ThinkPads. They have the a light that makes it easier to see the keyboard at night... but it would be nice to have back-lit keys while keeping the great feel of a ThinkPad.
At 17 inches - these are work station, not office type computers... they are heavy and expensive.
The W510 (15" screen with 1920x1200 rez) with similar stats above like the HP is about $2200 is better suited for business.
SandmanWN - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
yes, we know they are workstations. They are listed on the HP website as mobile workstations. It has workstation graphics and other parts. What are you going on about????? Get off the soap box.Belard - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
For an "enterprise" $6000+ product, it comes with a cheezy keyboard found on their $500 toss-in-the-garbage models. Other than that, its a bit of a sexy notebook... which looks almost like an older 17" IdeaPad, down to the cheezy keyboard.Many of the aspects of this HP design are obviously that they are from ThinkPad. The heavy-duty hinges, Trackpoint in the center of the keyboard, 3-button "mouse" buttons below and above the trackpad. So yes, this is aimed at serious people who tend to get a ThinkPad.
So, I'll stick to my phrase "Why bother", when you can get a ThinkPad with better specs in most areas for about $1000 less.
I'll get off my Soap box, but I'm taking it with me!
:)
JarredWalton - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
One major reason: ThinkPad doesn't have an IPS LCD. They use the same RGB LED backlit panel as the Dell M6500 (pretty sure anyway). Also, style preferences are just that: preferences. I'm sure plenty of people will prefer the look and keyboard on the 8740w. Having used an 8440w in person, I can say that I have no complaints with that keyboard, and a larger chassis with 10-key shouldn't change the feel much.If you want a ThinkPad, sure, get a ThinkPad. If you want a Dell Precision, there's that option as well. If you want an IPS LCD, though, you're going to have to get an EliteBook.
Belard - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
Nods about the get what you want (Dell, ThinkPad, HP)Considering what Lenovo charges for their 1920x1200 screens, I would think it would be a different type of screen.
I guess these new flat-keyboards are made for anyone under 30, eh? I'm in the camp that likes curved keys and a nice feeling keyboard - something that Lenovo hasn't messed with since they bought the ThinkPad line. And they redesigned the keyboard slight and its for the better.
Personally, I think its odd for Lenovo to still sell the older-style chassis with their W7xx series.