HP EliteBook 8440w: On-the-Go Workstation
by Vivek Gowri on August 13, 2010 10:10 PM ESTHP EliteBook 8440w—Application Performance and Futuremark
The 8440w is quick. There is no other way to describe it. The dual-core Core i7-620M is definitely a killer processor for simple processing tasks. While it doesn't have the amount of raw computing power as the quad-core i7 line, the 620M is faster in single and dual-threaded applications, even besting the 920XM in some cases.
Cinebench, Peacekeeper, x264 HD encoding—you name it, computing performance-wise the 8440w is better than just about everything with a dual-core processor, and competitive with the lower-end quads. This is especially true in Peacekeeper and the single-threaded Cinebench, where the i7-620M tops the charts. Like the old Core 2 Duo/Quad argument on the desktop side, it becomes the difference between four cores versus two faster cores. If you're not doing heavily multithreaded work, the dual-core i7 is the better way to go.
Now, Futuremark is a different story—the 8440w has a lower-end Quadro FX 380M that is based on the same core as the G 310M, which is based on the G 210M. As such, the FX 380M ends up somewhere between the two performance-wise. What this means is that the 8440w ends up pretty weak in non-workstation centric video benchmarks. So in both 3DMark and PCMark, the 8440w fares pretty poorly compared to some of the lower priced mainstream and gaming centric notebooks on the market.
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AstroGuardian - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
This native resolution IMO is totally ridiculous unless you work CAD and rendering 100% of the time.... don't you think?teohhanhui - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
Many would prefer it over 1366x768 (the current par) on a 14" screen.mino - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
Any reasonable OS would allow for DPI customization.Not to mention that you can go for lower resolution on high-res diplay but it's kinda hard to get an WXGA screen display at WSXGA resolutions ...
mindless1 - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
Only if you don't mind it looking like someone smeared butter all over the screen from how blurry it is.strikeback03 - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
Yeah it is still a bit low, but what are you going to do...synaesthetic - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link
1600x900 should be the standard for 13.3-14.0" displays.1366x768 shouldn't be on anything bigger than 12.1".
15.6" should have 1920x1080.
17" should have 1920x1200.
18"+ should have 2560x1600. :D
Death to low resolution crappy LCDs! Windows 7 doesn't have XP's horrible DPI scaling problems. There's no reason why you should ever want less pixels. Unless you like lots of scrolling and jaggy fonts.
japhmo - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
A general comment--I'd be curious is seeing where MacBook pros running windows7 compare to this other windows systems. Could you please add that test too?Daeros - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
Seconded. I have been waiting for a high-quality of Win7 on the new macbooks sinthey came out.dvinnen - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
Like it a lot. Good 15+ inch widescreen work station. No idea on price or whatever but it handles at the code I throw at it. Keyboard feels cramp though with the full number pad and the battery life is pretty bad. Runs dry in about 3 hours just browsing on the internet.zdw - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
HDMI is a consumer standard. Displyport is a computer display standard, and can:1. Run larger displays, such as a 30" 2560x1600 display
2. Convert to VGA/HDMI/DVI, with embedded audio (driver and adapter allowing)
3. Eventually, daisy chain monitors off one port (in the spec, but often not supported)
As this is a pro product, it makes sense if only for item #1.
This isn't a HTPC. It doesn't need HDMI.