HP EliteBook 8440w Review

Why ruined?
1600 x 900 16:9 screen vs. 1440 x 900 16:10 screen. You're not losing any screen estate.

I'm not a fan of the 16:9 form factor, as it looks too wide to me, but the increased resolution would be helpful for most workstation users, especially when it comes to large sheets of information.

 

Regarding some of the comments on the 16:9 screen choice - I think itis a bit extreme to dismiss an entire laptop that has so much going for it because of that. I agree with this:

Like it or not, it's true.

Additionally, it is hard to blame HP for choosing 16:9; the entire consumer display market (TVs, notebooks, netbooks, similar devices) are moving to that standard. I have several high-up contacts at Alienware and they explained this to me - and there's nothing they (Dell) can do about it.
I don't like 16:9 in general either but the changeover is inevitable. I'm living with it right now; my current laptop is a 13.3" screen with 16:9 and 1366x768.

 

Regarding Dell, it is even more interesting to note that Dell chose to stay with 16:10 for the M6500.

 

Looks very nice...as mentioned by other users I don't like the 16:9 move in general but I must admit the res is good...

Also I agree the touchpad looks quite small and could use the third mouse button at least for the trackpoint. Also maybe multitouch would be overkill/too consumer-ish but it would be nice.

 

OF COURSE... I finally get my 6930P in the mail yesterday and today, I find out the new replacement is out. Oh well, at least I only paid about 1/3 the price of the 8440w. Hopefully the pricing on the 8440 will drop to the prices of 6930P in about a year or so.

Few things I think the 8440w is missing:
- HDMI (yeah, I know it's a business notebook... but still)
- backlit keyboard (it's 2010 and it's not like it's a sub $1000 notebook, get rid of the night light)
- 3rd point stick button (otherwise, I find the point stick useless)

Few things I wish my 6930P had:
- e-SATA
- LED backlit screen (although this thing is brighter than any other CCFL screen I've seen)

I wonder if that 9 cell battery will fit my 6930P?

 

Puzzling that HDMI thing, someone that works in Video or in other Graphics market and have to show things to costumers would be better with a consumer notebook. I thing we are seeing the business part of HP getting aged.

 

i suppose hdmi is nice to have as a back up digital output, not many displays have display port input.
backlit keyboards are so overrated, if you code you should be touch typing. if you have used a computer for more than 3 years you should be touch typing too.

 

It does have Displayport, though, and there are many Displayport-HDMI converters out there, so it's not really a big issue, I'd think.

 

HP's 8740w will also be 16:10. Hardly surprising because they use similar displays.

Either way, I believe HP's Elitebook should now be the benchmark for corporate grade notebooks as anyone who has used them recently should be able to discern the better build and materials used than those found on recent Thinkpads. Pretty nice to know that HP has improved upon one of the Elitebook's weakest features, i.e. the poor pointing stick implementation.

 

Chaz, can you exlain this further ? Why cant Dell ask for 16:10 displays ? Is it against the reglion of the panel manufacturers to supply 16:10 panels ?

Clearly there is demand for 16:10. Why wont it be satisfied ?

 

IMHO the panel manufacturers are doing what the likes of dell and HP ask them to produce, which is cheaper screens.I simply refuse to believe "they made us do it"
Next they will be trying to tell us most of their componentry is manufactured in China because they have the tightest production tolerances in the world

 

I'm just saying... if they're going to include a night light feature, I don't see why they can't just switch over to backlit keyboards. Sure, it's not a feature I personally need... but for a top of the line laptop, the night light feature seems a bit cheesy.

Oh yeah, one other thing. I noticed the touch button lights made their way to the 8440W, are they annoyingly bright too or did HP take it down a notch?

Someone should go into the screen making business. Make 16:10 screen only for business line notebooks

 

100% agreed. Backlit keyboards are a "touchy feely" feature, mostly for looks. They also waste battery life.

More screens can be cut out of a piece of glass using a 16:9 format than 16:10; all display manufacturers are switching over because of this and doing away with their 16:10 production. Dell/HP could ask for 16:10 displays but it would be prohibitively expensive, and having 16:10 screens won't translate into them being able to charge higher prices. Typical consumers, even many IT folks don't care about screen res or shape. The 16:9 transition doesn't boil down to anything but cost savings for the LCD manufacturer and Dell/HP. The 4:3 -> 16:10 transition worked well for consumers, but we are getting the short end of the stick with the 16:9 transition due to the reduced resolution.

HDMI is a consumer technology for connecting devices to HDTVs. It is not designed for monitor or projector connections (even though such devices may have HDMI input). I would argue that HDMI has no place on a business notebook; DisplayPort is the new standard. DisplayPort has many advantages over HDMI:
http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2008/02/19/46464.aspx

 

So thats what it boils down to. Demand. if enough consumers prefer 16:10, then LCDs will be supplied.

I would think that there IS enough demand, esp in the IT sector. And if ONE big manufacturer makes a stand, then others will have to follow.

 

I agree there is demand, but we need a OEM to stand up and have some guts. I personally would pay a pretty high premium to get a 1680x1050 16:10 screen, I love that rez and that size of the screen.

with this notebook it has been pointed out that there is a GAIN is rez. but there is a lose in AREA. the further you deviate from a square the smaller the area.

just so you know the reason we complain isn't to bash people who like them or don't care. we are just hoping that someone somewhere will hear and continue to make 16:10.

at the end of the day, if I must buy 16:9 so be it. but that's going to be a long time (hoping my 8530p last a long time!)

 

the dell E6500 shows that we don't have to "eat" the 16:9 screens

if they want to be really technically sound they should make

2:35:1 ratio screens...try telling that to your local Electronics store employee

LOL

great review by the way...

how much is the total travel weight w/ the external batt spare and the pwr adapter

is it below 6 lbs?

 

that's great news, but will the new version of it still be 16:10?

 

OEMs will stand up only if there is demand.

And the time to make a stand is now.

If people overwhelmingly prefer 16:10 now when both options are available then it would be silly of OEMs to switch over to 16:9 for fear of loss of market share.
If there is no such preference, then 16:10 is a lost cause. Its a gone case in the consumer segment where price seems to be paramount. I can only hope that business users are more discerning.

That is why I hope the 8440w is a massive failure.

 

with any luck businesses will buy thousands of them and return all of them so 16:9 fails. other than that I still think this Elitebook is very nice.

 

I can't find any info on the NVS 5100m for the 8540p. I would like to know what kind of performance I can hit with this, or from what other gpu it's derived from.

I am disapointed with the lack of ATI options here... I was really looking forward the new ATI 5xxx line on the new Elitebooks.

However, besides the 16:9 nonsense, it looks nice, but not enough to sell my 8530p yet.

 

Why are all these benchmarks always comparing notebooks which aren't even remotely similar? The Dell laptops mentioned are from a different generation and architecture, so is the T400...pitting comparable laptops against eacht would at least mean if they have an edge or anything.
I still think they should give a backlit keyboard option, night-light is a cheap solution. Backlit looks WAY better and is friendlier for the person sleeping next to you on the plane.
And yeah....wish 16:10 would stick around. At least for 15"and up i hope.

 

Know any other i5 machines that NBR has benchmarked?

It's still a valid comparison, seeing as to how these older machines are still available for other. While it might not show how the 8440w will compare with the current or incoming lineup at Dell/Lenovo, it certainly shows the performance increase over the previous generation.

Hopefully, when the NBR review for the new Dell/Lenovo lineup shows up, they'll include benchmark results for a selection of older models and the HP8440w.

 

I wish I could count on NBR reviewing the Dell M4500, HP 8540w and Lenovo W510. But since they didn't review any of their predecessors, I'm not sure why I'm holding out hope they will review my wish list. But at the very least maybe we'll get some early adopters to post their own reviews.

 

They reviewed the 8530w. The T500 was reviewed, and the primary difference between that machine and the W500 was the GPU. For me at least, I prioritize the chassis/build/design sections of the review more, as the hardware for these business workstations tend to be similar, with some individual unique points for each line.

 

@dtwn

you've got a point but indeed, like knight said, they've missed out on some of the older models already. Ofcourse they depend on which models they get but maybe they should take users up on doing reviews for them, there's quite a lot of people who can do very detailed one who have been offering to do so.

 

Don't forget NBR reviews machines that they are sent. I would imagine they could also request for machines, but that decision is not made by them.

 

I know ......

 

Ah, yes. Missed that.

They do take up user reviews, but I believe that number has dropped off sharply in recent times.

 

Odd...
Laptopmag gave the 6930P a 4.5 and the 8440W a 3.5, yet it destroys it's predecessor in every category.

 

wow, really? I'm sure the 6930p was a nice machine but i think the 8440 is definately better, I guess we need to stick with NBR's reviews. (do I get something now? )

but seriously that's messed up, it's like rating an inspron > Thinkpad for quality.

 

Well, about Thinkpad vs Insprion thing, there's the issue of expectation. The quality of Thinkpad is going downward spiral lately (yes, I agree that I very much prefer Elitebook, a shame that Elitebook has limited configuration options), whereas, well, no one expect anything above decent from Insprion.

 

yes, but I'm saying the 8440w is a lot nicer than the 6930p.

Oh and I'm picking on thinkpads because I own one and am NOT impressed with it. it flexes, it creaks I pick it up by a corner and it creaks and feels like its sagging. my elitebook, it's like holding a heavy piece of wood. no creaking no bending just solid. I really struggle to say thinkpads are business laptops any more, I've use my elitebook and the Dell E6400 and both of which are nicer than the thinkpad even some consumer machines feel more solid than my thinkpad (Ferrari 5000, SXPS16). anyway off topic.

your right Inspiron has lower expectations than elitebook, but you still wouldn't rate it higher on build quality.

I still would love 16:10, but if I had to buy pc now this would be in the running.

 

So when are these available to the public? Where?
Can anyone provide links?

Will the new Elitebook 8440 work the older HP Docking Stations? I've got a docking station with my nw8440 - love it. I do know my docking station works with the next generation of Elitebook (6930p).

Is there a 15.4" for these new Elitebooks?

What graphics cards are available for these new Elitebooks?

Would like to see some performance specs using OpenGL, rendering and some 3D CAD/CAM performance specs - not gaming specs.

I like the new look, keyboard is traditional. Do they really need the pointing stick? Do you guys really use that? I've had mine for three years, never touched it. Will miss the RS232 port. I welcome the webcam and nightlight.

How about a scroll wheel as the middle key, like a MS mouse. It could roll up/down, and click down, like a MS mouse. That would be cool, instead of just a middle button.

Anyways...can't wait. I think the price is right on, good compared to what I paid three years ago for.

 

i hear you, i guess night light is more tradition than practicality.
still, you can read a sticky note in the dark with a night light, can't do that with backlit keyboard.

 

Check out the HP forums here.

But I can answer a few of those questions off the top of my head, there's a 15.6" model with a 16:9 screen, the 8540w/p. No ATI cards this time, only Nvidia if I recall correctly.

I would expect the docking station port to be backwards compatible.

 

Check this out...
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/hp-elitebook-8440w.aspx?mode=benchmarks&cids=1168,pa

I think all of laptopmag's credibility went out the window. I skimmed through the article and don't recall anything that would justify a lower score than the 6930P.

 

They are already listed (with config) at HP.com but no price disclosure yet

 

Yeah, which is one of the reasons we don't do a numerical rating system here. It's too subjective and does not actually say much about the laptop. "Hey my laptop got a 4/5!" . . . okay.

 

This one looks sexy I must say, but the GPU is still lacking,
Excellent review.

 

Does the 9-cell stick out the back further than the 6-cell?

Does anyone know when HP will start excepting orders?

 

Give me Radeon Mobility HD 57xx graphics and I'm game - regardless of cost.

question: Why no switchable graphics? Isn't the feature natively supported by the chipset?

 

Dude i totally agree with you.

 

How do I clean/blow out the fan without voiding the three year warranty? Other than that fail design factor and the 3 year old graphics (nvidia's rename our old parts till someone catches on policy) looks like a sexy beast

 

Simply opening up your notebook usually doesn't void the warranty, so just open up the bottom plate and carefully blow it out.

 

Lol that's my point, look at the bottom panel doesn't offer fan access, it's a a common hp design flaw

 

One question: is the material between the main and outer keys shiny? If so, I once again wanna punch the designers in their faces. I wanna use my notebook, not clean it all the time.

Guess you'll need to remove the three keyboard screws at the bottom, remove the keyboard, tadaa!

 

I would like to know as well, wouldn't this save on battery life? Oh wait, they
used a 3 year old GPU to do that. Is it really 3 years old?

The previous gen 8530 had a feature where you could run a 2nd hard drive
in place of the optical drive. Can this one do that too? And can it be a
desktop hard drive, or only a laptop drive?

Kudos to HP for sticking to matte display. I couldn't care less about 16:9 vs
16:10 but glossy is a deal breaker for me on every display I set my eyes on.

Cheers,
Jack.

 

Wow, great review! Looking forward to the 8540w review. My current 8530w is the best laptop I ever had.

 

Was the 3d score scored in 1280x800 or 1280x1024?

 

I was thinking yea i like this laptop....i think ill get the 8540w aswell. but that means in the last 2-3 years i wud of have 5 brand new released laptops!!!
if they are coming out every year i may wait to see what intel come out with in terms of processor and graphics from either parties cos then it will be just toooo exspensive to update every year....