Since the royal unveiling of HP's
six new Elitebooks and ProBooks last week, the Elitebook 8440w (w standing for workstation) has been making the review rounds, and receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from the chaps at
Notebook Review,
LAPTOP and
Computer Shopper. All were impressed by the Core i7-620M and NVIDIA Quadro FX 380M power that's been crammed into the 14-inch chassis, but unsurprisingly that causes some warm underside temperatures. Other than that, the 8440w received high praise for its durable gunmetal-build and "exceedingly" comfortable keyboard, but the touchpad was noted as being too small. Actually, the guys over at Notebook Review even go as far to say that the laptop would be "absolutely perfect" if that pad and its buttons weren't so squished. Now that's quite a bold statement. All in all, the 8440w seems like a solid and very mobile workstation, but hit up the sources if you're dying to know more about the $1,650 rig.
posted January 16th 2010 1:47AM
This looks like a Dell Inspiron. $1650 is way too much for a PC. Well...... a Mac on the other hand
Trying to pull off some similar sexiness are we?
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/asuss-ul30vt-announced-somehow-finds-room-for-discrete-graphic/
@Peytral Saw the Asus at Best buy yesterday. Looks great and well priced. GPU was listed as a nvidia 310m, I believe.
@Peytral If you mean the design, no HP Elitebook has been around since mid 2008. If you mean the graphics card.. well, whats not to enjoy about that? ;)
@Peytral
We are talking about workstations here, not ULV slimtops. This thing needs horsepower.
@Peytral Not the same thing at all. Pay attention.
@DBx The notebook that seems to be receiving the most positive feedback is the HP EliteBook 8440w. Consumers seem to be impressed by the notebook because it has a comfortable keyboard, a fast processor and is very durable. More details: http://bit.ly/hp-elitebook-8440w
@decalfx The notebook that seems to be receiving the most positive feedback is the HP EliteBook 8440w. Consumers seem to be impressed by the notebook because it has a comfortable keyboard, a fast processor and is very durable. ..More details of this allure: http://bit.ly/hp-elitebook-8440w
Well, you forgot the review and in-depth tour done by the guys at HP Fansite. Also unlike the reviewers above who have the dual core model, HP Fansite got the Elitebook 8440w with the Core i7 Quad core config and some mention of gaming/CAD performance
http://hpfansite.com/hp-elitebook/hp-elitebook-8440w-review/
@Reznov This is officially the fist laptop that I want to have since getting the unibody MacBook Pro 17.
Good battery life. Quad Core performance smokes everything else out there. The only concern is the small screen, I'd get the 15" model. Matte screen too. Yum. What's not to love. Now the design might look a bit like ass as you'd expect but features and functionality more than make up for that here.
So OK, it's very heavy - the 14" is heavier than a 15" MacBook Pro, and almost as heavy as a 17". But something's got to give.
Now if they'd only run OS X... ;)
@nikster
Agreed. The HP Elitebooks are one of the few PC laptops I can stand for build quality. I had one at my last consulting job and it was excellent. Installed Linux on it as well. Surprising HP offer such good business products and support while their consumer offerings and support are crap. My current gig has me with a Thinkpad T400 which is not nearly as well made as the two IBM made Thinkpads I have sitting around the house. Still prefer a MacBook Pro in any and all circumstances though.
what crap is this?
@Paul C Chapel
It's called a real computer.
But, of course, you wouldn't know that.
@Paul C Chapel
Say, one of those Paul _ Chapel guys is using the Engadget Podcast logo. Can we ban him for that?
@Gad Get COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT!
@glenskey VOTE PIRATE PARTY!
@Gad Get
Exactly I'm fed up with that dickheads legend living on.
@(Unverified) Everyone, calm down, there is enough Paul C Chapel for everyone. Sign up for my free newsletter by sending an email to: fans_of_PaulCChapel@paulCChapel.com
I publish my newsletter every two weeks with all the amusing and hilarious silly things these MS Fanboys (and their kind) say in defense of their Great Leader Ballmer and his company. So send those emails for a good laugh!
@Paul C Chapel
If I had a dollar for every stupid thing an Apple fanboy said, I would be a billionaire.
....that looks better than a thinkpad...crap. How's the batterylife though? and does it have trackpoint like the other elitebooks?
@questionexclamation
Yes it does, as shown in these photos:
http://www.engadget.com/photos/hp-probook-and-elitebook-press-shots/2583949#2583940
If we're going to use this one as a design workstation someone could at least comment on the screen's color gamut.
@YpoCaramel don't designers have external monitors for that?
@MisterSquared I don't know designer work habits, but wouldn't they want to work on the road or do client presentations on the road with the right gamut? Plus, some many laptops have gamuts that are less than full sRGB, which is kind of a hiderence.
@YpoCaramel
This is an over kill for a grahic designer unless you're doing Videos. This is for 3D artist.
Would be fine with me if they would put out a tablet pc with this much oomph.
Ps. HP your TM2 is nice and all but rather weak.
@JJ
I don't understand this trend either. Toshiba for example has a laptop with Multi-touch but that option is only available if you don't go with discrete graphics.
Hey HP. Show us the [i]underside[/i] of this thing. Sure the top is allsleek and shiny, but I'm sure the bottoms of your lappys are still a minefield of stickers, vents and screws. Are you able to design an entire case yet?
@Treefingers bah, square tags work on Ars. Let's see... slanty?
@Treefingers dammit.
@Treefingers There you go: http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/49006.jpg
To be honest I'm not that fussed that the underside of a notebook looks like. As long as the requisite hatches for access are present it can be plastered in stickers and I wouldn't mind. It is facing the desk most of the time isn't it?
@Treefingers
Because you look at the underside of a notebook how many times a day? If you find yourself looking at the underside of your notebook, you're doing something wrong.
@PBB
Twice, at least. Whenever I put it in or take it out of my bag.
@ZSX That's exactly what I'm talking about. I don't think that's this particular HP model, though. And yes, it's usually facing the desk, but I see the bottom quite often as I don't use a case unless the weather's bad. It's the only thing I bring to classes and I hate the extra bulk of a bag.
@PBB Often enough that I'm sick of ugly PC bottoms. And you don't just look at it, you feel it on your lap and whenever you lift or carry the laptop. If I ever buy an Apple product (haven't yet) it'll be because they don't half-ass their design work. Like it or not, your biology notices little things like that and it does affect your creativity, mood, and performance. You might think you're immune to the effects because you're all utilitarian and productivity-focused or something, but you're not. Try asking a woman sometime why she'll occasionally wear sexy underwear to work even though she *knows* she won't be showing it to anyone that day. It makes a difference.
(I don't suggest asking any women *at* work as that would be pretty illegal in most places)
I wish it didn't cost so much :( Sounds like exactly what I want.
why don't the envy models look like this? i mean, this shows that hp is capable of clean, attractive designs without all that laser etching/macbook-copying. spread the good design throughout your entire lineup hp!
@John Lee The Envy is not nearly as well made as this either. Creaky and cheap looking.
Want. Gotta love HP. They really know design.
That EliteBook looks really gets me! TM2 with those looks, I would be selling my current Thinkpad in a heartbeat!
That lid is a total rip-off of the Dell E6400/E6500.
http://www.notebookreview.com/picture.asp?f=37708
@andrewjking
What a total rip-off of any Thinkpad
http://www.notebookreview.com/picture.asp?f=42198
@m854
What a rip off of a box top!
If this is anything like my Elitebook 6930 (and it looks to be very similar), then I would agree about it being perfect save for the small touchpad and awkward buttons.
Nitesh approves of almost perfect gunmetal laptop workstations.
Work light? Why not backlit kyb instead?
@F C
Work light because it is more versatile than a backlit keyboard. I use a thinkpad and just because a person could be working on a computer, does not mean that they do not also have other pieces of information on regular paper or other media. Holding them under the thinklight will provide a sufficient amount of light to view them.
@questionexclamation
While I do agree the work light is very handy, I still prefer a backlit keyboard.
@Rumple I don't think much of the work light and prefer a back lit keyboard. If I want light i'll turn one on. They even have them on airplanes these days...
Can haz USB 3 pleez?
The touchpad is small, yes, but what was even worse on the 15" version were the buttons. They had a weird way of moving, in a sort of diagonal way. Very bad.
The keyboard was hard, very hard to get used to in the few times I used it. Apart from that, it was an okay notebook.