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    Choosing a laptop for college: 8570w or 8770w?

    Discussion in 'HP Business Class Notebooks' started by TokyoUD, Jul 17, 2012.

  1. TokyoUD

    TokyoUD Newbie

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    Hello everyone. My college has just released the computer requirements that I will need for my major. I will be using the computer for graphic heavy programs such as GIS and the Adobe Suite as well as gaming. Here are the two options I am considering:

    1) 15.6" EliteBook 8570w
    - Quad-Core Intel i7 2.3 Ghz
    - 8 GB DDR3 RAM
    - 750 GB Hybrid Drive
    - NVIDIA Quadro K1000M 2GB

    2) 17.3" EliteBook 8770w
    - Quad-Core Intel i7 2.3 Ghz
    - 8 GB RAM
    - 500 GB Hard Drive
    - AMD FirePro M4000 1GB
     
    TokyoUD, Jul 17, 2012
    #1
  2. Dysprositos

    Dysprositos Notebook Guru

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    I've used (separately) the 8560w and 8760w in a backpack daily for months. Assuming the new models are of similar weights (should be, same chassis), I'd go with the 8770w. the 8560w is pretty heavy for a 15 inch notebook and moving up to the 17 inch, you will hardly notice any difference at all, this is assuming that the physical size is not an issue. Not sure how the two units configure in terms of price.

    The chargers for both are similarly sized if I recall correctly, the 8770w one is slightly larger.

    M4000 > K1000M in the things you'll be doing and the loss in hard drive space is no biggy since you'll most likely be swapping it out for a SSD.

    Also, maybe it's just me but the 17" seems to be better built. I mean, it looks the same but there's just a lot less issues that I've had with it.
     
    Dysprositos, Jul 17, 2012
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  3. Dirtnap

    Dirtnap Notebook Consultant

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    The 8770w. Why.........

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
     
    Dirtnap, Jul 17, 2012
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  4. knight427

    knight427 theenemysgateisdown

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    ^^^^Agree. Adobe dropped CUDA for OpenGL which means the M4000 is a much better choice than the K1000M. BUT, you might want to wait and see what the Dell M6700 offers. That M4000 is actually the 15" class Firepro card (in fact, you can configure an 8570w to have the same card). Dell might offer a stronger Firepro option.
     
    knight427, Jul 18, 2012
    #4
  5. Dirtnap

    Dirtnap Notebook Consultant

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    I agree with this as well.
     
    Dirtnap, Jul 18, 2012
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  6. Aikimox

    Aikimox Weihenstephaner!

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    Good points. Now I'm seriously thinking about the 17" option myself, lol. Just realized, it's not that much bigger than the 15"-er. Also, if not using an external mouse, the trackpad and pointstick precision will be higher on the 17" model (same resolution but bigger screen -> bigger targets to click). Hmm.....
     
    Aikimox, Jul 18, 2012
    #6