8460w first impressions

My CTO 8460w was waiting for me in my office when I got back from my 17 day business trip today. Config is i7-2720QM 2.2ghz, 8gb ram, 1600x900 screen, Intel 320 300gb SSD (newegg), 6300 wifi, Gobi 3000 (Verizon).

Previous computer: 8440w, i7-640m 2.8ghz, 8gb ram, 1600x900 screen, Intel x25-m g2 160gb ssd (newegg), 6300 wifi, Gobi 2000 (Verizon), 500gb hdd in drive bay.

Before the 8440w, lots of thinkpad T series.

Overall Look and Feel:
Very nice. I like the dark colors and subtle indicator lights compared to the 8440w. There is no flex anywhere, nothing creaks or makes a noise it shouldn't. I had ordered the separate 4gb ram module via HP sales since it was $150 less than getting it installed by them. When I opened the bottom access panel (very easy by the way) I noticed the Bluetooth connector was detached from it's module and had to pop that back in.

The battery doesn't wiggle around at all although it does have a slight dent in one corner, not from shipping but from manufacture. I intend to ask HP for a replacement.

Keyboard:
Really like it! No flex at all, unless you press down very very hard which you would never do in real world typing. Keys are comfortable and firm but quieter (compared to the 8440w). I thought I'd be annoyed by the change in the up/down arrows from an inverted T to the new layout but those buttons are fairly large and it won't be a problem. Interestingly, they are much larger than the 8560 series I played with the other day.

Touchpad / Stick:
I won't comment on the touchstick as I don't use it. Except to say, it's orange.

The touchpad on the other hand: AWESOME! I hate hate hate the textured touchpads they added to the thinkpads. This one is very big and very smooth. It's the closest thing to a macbook pro touchpad I've felt on a PC. Two finger scrolling is excellent (for a PC) as nothing can match Apple's implementation of two finger scrolling.

The touchpad buttons are great! Nice soft texture and nice even click. Not the hinged nonsense on the 8440w.

Buttons:
I would have preferred hardware buttons for volume up and down (those have been relegated to FN keys). Mute is a hardware button though.

Ports:
Nice to finally have USB3 or is it? I don't have any USB3 devices. I hope this was a fluke but I plugged in a brand new drive toaster via esata and the computer became very unresponsive. Tried it in USB and other weird symptoms so I hope it's a bad toaster. SD card slot is in a weird spot on an angle. Glad to have a charging USB port back (from when I had a T410s). Very useful for charging that iPhone on the road.

Weight / Size:
Pretty close to 8440w by feel, I don't have a postal scale that goes over 5 lbs.

Performance:
This thing is ridiculously fast. The quad core sandy bridge plus the intel ssd is just insane. I'm not much of a bench marker but scores in WEI are 7.5, 7.6, 5.3!!! Doesn't intel 3000 do better? This is the Amd 3900?, 6.3, 7.7 (drive). Geek bench for the 8440w was 49xx and this baby is 82xx.

Graphics:
I'm not a gamer, this is a work computer. 5.3 seems a low for desktop aero however, i'm sure it will be plenty fine for what I do. Gaming is 6.3.

Battery Life:
Not tested yet sorry. In the 8440w with the 9 cell I got about 5 hours. I expect to get around the same with this 9 cell and the sandy bridge power mgt.

Expansion:
When not travelling, this laptop will be used in the 120w dock same as my 8440w. Now the drive bay. According the the documentation on the HP website, the 2nd HDD bay module is compatible with this machine. It's not! The module itself fits but not the bezel! The bezel cutout on the 8460 series is slightly angled in one corner. This same module that fits in the 8440 does fit in the 8560 but not in the 8460. I intend to call my HP sales guy on this one and see if their is an updated version of the module. I'll try and take a picture to explain this better. Glad I upgraded to the 300gb SSD!

Speakers:
What the hell were they thinking? They suck. Really. 8440w was way way way better. Music sounds like sh*t. Played around with the audio settings, it's no good. The speakers themselves are crap, you can see them when you open the bottom access panel. I'm not expecting a multimedia powerhouse but come on! Glad I have this thing docked in the office and will use headphones on trips.

Screen:
Now the moment some of you have been waiting for, I know I would have been... The Screen. If you've followed the forums about 14 inch matte laptop screens here and on the thinkpad forum you are probably already guessing where this is going. The screen isn't horrible but it's not great. It doesn't seem any better than the 8440w, maybe just a tiny bit better, maybe a tiny bit worse, I'm not really sure. It's an AUO223E. I wasn't expecting a miracle here and pretty much got what I was expecting. Also there is a slight screen door effect when looking at white from a certain angle.

Overall:
Overall I really like this laptop. It's basically the fastest 14 inch enterprise laptop you can get that is still very portable. No surprise on the screen. But those speakers! Yikes!

 

Hi,

Thanks for this review! Any pics ?
Can you also take a screenshot of your desktop to check how the 1600x900 resolution looks like i.e. isn't it too small ?

Can you hear the fan when idle ?

I have also the 8440w but I'm hesitating between 8460w and 8560w for my next laptop

 

The bios is set to fan always on while plugged in so yes I can hear it very faintly but it's not high pitched or annoying in anyway. Under load, it's louder and hotter than the 8440w which makes sense because it's a quad core.

Attached is a screen shot (view out of our window from Club Med Columbus Isle Bahamas) and one pic.

The 8560p I saw last week had the same terrible speakers I mentioned.

 

I'm super jealous! Sounds awesome.. from what I've been reading I think I'll go ahead and have a SSD ready to put in my 8560w for when it arrives.

Thanks alot for the review! It's nice to know that at least someone has their new workstation.. if you feel like making a video review or taking more screens your time won't be wasted, as I'm sure many more people besides myself would like to see more!

 

Also, since I plan to get an 8560w I'd like to know.. what are the major differences? I know that the 8540w doesn't have a numpad, but besides that what are the biggest differences that you noticed?

Is there much weight difference in your hands? How much difference is the 'bay' space (area for hard drives, ram, etc.)? and of course any other differences that you'd be nice enough to note! Finding info on these machines seems to be harder than I anticipated so any info is great..

ALSO: Instead of doing a triple post I'll just edit this.. but would it be possible for you to make a video to show the process of changing the HDD to SSD? I'll probably take out the optical drive and put in an SSD but I'd like to see it done before I attempt it.. Thanks again!!

 

@Rhettm, yes noticed considerable difference in weight and "bulk" between 8460w and 8560p. I also noticed certain keys are actually smaller on the 8560 since they squeeze the number pad in there. I didn't like the number bad being there simply because I'm not used to it and kept hitting 4 instead of enter. Mind you, i didn't play with it for long.

The 8460w can go to 8gb or ram. I'm pretty sure the 8560w can go to 16 with a quad core maybe even 32 with the proper modules.

The hdd to ssd move is really easy. Release underside panel then follow instructions. There are instructions written on the drive caddy itself that show you how to remove it (3 screws).

 

Nice config. But why did you get the internal Verizon WWAN card? It's only 3G. Could order a 4G USB modem stick or the 4G mobile hotspot device from Verizon for faster speeds.

 

Simply one less thing to carry, lose, charge etc. Besides, the places I travel to for work will not have 4g for a long time. Hell, they've barely gotten 3g in the last year. These places are remote and have IT problems that involve chipmunks and other fun creatures.

 

Another good review here : 8460w review

 

@pshifrin I have Question !
It is well known that Dell's E6420 with QC Sandy Bridge have heat issues, could you run some test or (preffered) take a picture of cooling inside yours 8460w ? I'm really curious how HP solved this issue! cause it is 45Watt CPU in 14" case + GPU +little PCH (Platform Controller Hub)! (worst case is 45+ 35 (like NV4200) + 5 - that's 85 Watts plus room for recharging battery - that's need for 100Watt PSU).

Edit: I found picture ( http://www.thomasmaurer.ch/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG_1802.jpg) then test would be more appreciated ... Temps. under YouTube 1080p video, SuperPi, and how they change in different profiles (balanced, High Performance, Power Saver etc.). Thanks.

 

I'll take a pic tomorrow. I have to open it up anyway to replace the USB3 board that failed. HP sent an onsite tech with the part to my office today (without calling first) and I wasn't there. I told him just to leave it on my desk I can put it in, I don't want some idiot messing up my laptop.

In terms of heat, the air coming out of the exhaust is hotter in general than the 8440w was. However, I've run some hour long video transcodes (mkv to ipad) and while it got hot and the fan was going full, there were no ill effects or shutdowns. Of course, they finished in half the time! 640m vs 2720qm.

 

@pshifrin
Nice review, thank you! I am also very interested to see temperatures from your internal sensors after running superpi or prime for a good while.

@all
Anyone know if it is possible to stick an IPS panel into the 8460w?
Has anyone done it with the 8440w or p-series HPs?

Why HP doesn't offer the Dreamcolor option for their 14-inch powerhouses is beyond me...

 

Hi,

I just got mine yesterday model XU079UT. I previously owned the 8530w and 8440w and I must say this one have the design I like the most.

I have this fan "issue" spinning a bit loud according to me after one core has reached 45°C then the fan still keep the same speed even when the temp has dropped down. I have the BIOS release F.08, hope this will be fixed in the next release. Do you also notice this ?

I replaced the US keyboard by a french keyboard coming from 8460p model. I must say the quality is good but the enter key is too small, smaller than the one on the mac book pro. Same remarks for the up and down arrow key.

Here are my temps providing from HW Monitor.

 

Not possible for IPS in the 8460w. There are no manufacturers of IPS panels for 14" screens hence why HP and any other ODM/OEM cannot give you that option.