HP 6460b thoughts tweaks and more (Applicable to other Probook/EliteB models)

Hello again,

Now that my partner has the 5330m (teases me with the fact that she loves the keyboard backlight... on, off, on, off Grrr) a spanking brand new 6460b should arrive tomorrow morning. I've also ordered and have in front of me the following batteries:

Model- Prod No
BB09 - QK640AA - 100Wh 9 cell
ST09 - QK639AA - 73Wh 9 cell

I'm a bit worried as the ST09 blocked the underside cooling vent on the 8640p which is utter design madness on behalf of HP! What were they thinking?

My Envy 13 has now gone away so this 6460b (instead of the 5330m) will be its replacement; I cannot wait to see how long the battery lasts after major tweaking (Sad but heck, why not)

Out of the box details tomorrow shortly after it arrives. (Might also include pictures)

 

Please , it would be really nice of you if you can do short review. Introduction &specs., build quality, screen (is 1600x900 cramped or do you have 1366x768), battery life, TEMPS! Put photos, best are with some reference to object that size everybody know (CD case, phone). THNX.

 

I will do! Full review, temps, processes and everything else.

 

So far I'm liking the dimensions of the 6460b which is virtually identical to the 8640p that I had three weeks ago. The extra 1600x900 resolution is the obvious/only choice over the standard 1366x768. Go for the 1600x900 screen and pass on the lower resolution. The 6460b will also be the thickest laptop I've owned in more than 4 years :/

Build quality is, as far as I can tel, exactly the same as the 8640p with only the colour and no keyboard light being the obvious differences. Other than the three year Elitebook warranty I also see zero reason to buy that model over this model which might save some pennies. Once again the pictures around the web do not do the machine justice as it does have a quality look about the machine while being nothing special unlike the Envy (13) line.

Out of the box/Specification:
i5-2410m (2.3Ghz)
4Gb ram
320Gb Toshiba hard drive (The 5330m had a Western Digital black)

50 seconds from off to desktop then left idle for 5 minutes
106 running processes
1.50Gb ram used

101 running processes! Is HP having a laugh at our/your expense? Forget your battery life and having the full speed of the machine at your fingertips with 101 running processes AT idle! I also believe that Windows gets the blame (not HP) which is a damn shame and very unfair.



Software/Bloatware removed: (Some items are personal preference)
-ArcSoft Webcam sharing manager
-Bing bar
-Broadcom Bluetooth 2070 (I don't use Bluetooth)
-Cisco EAP-FAST module
-Cisco LEAP module
-Cisco PEAP module
-HP Protect Tools (All modules/options)
-Energy star digital logo
-HP 3D drive guard
-HP Client automation agent preload
-HP daystarter
-HP quickweb
-HP softpaq download manager
-HO software setup
-HP support assistant
-HP wallpaper
-HP power assistant
-Intel identity protection technology
-Lightscribe system software
-LSI HDA Modem (Disable in bios if not required)
-Microsoft office 2010 (You can buy an key card or activate this as a FREE version)
-Microsoft silverlight
-PDF Complete special ed
-Roxio MyDVD Business 2010
-Roxio secure rom
-VIP Access SDK
-Windows Live ID sign-in assistant

HP PLEASE make these things optional on a CD or in a desktop folder. The machine could do with a nice defrag at this point and you can also make Internet explorer much faster by disabling all add-ins other than Flash.

1 minute from off to desktop then left idle for 5 minutes (47 if I disable msconfig startups)
59 running processes
987Mb ram used
0% stable cpu use


Temps: Plugged in & charging
Room temp - 21c
Balanced profile - 37c
High performance - 37c
Prime 95 - 70c


Windows index score:
6.9 - CPU
5.9 - Ram
4.7 - Graphics
6.1 - Gaming
5.9 - HDisk


Out of the box conclusion:
Pathetic just like the 5330m. Instead of ensuring that their machines are ready to go Hp chooses to burden them with unnecessary software and processes. Sure, although you may need it, why doesn't Hp streamline protect tools and it's MANY segments? I won't bother stopping services as the only real way to get back all of the speed offered by the Elite/probook range is a clean install.

Next.. clean install, battery time and extended battery.

 

I have now added a Crucial 256Gb SSD drive, another 4Gb ram for an 8Gb total and turned off any devices that I don't need in the bios (Which has added a few seconds to the boot process or so it seems)


Clean install: (Win 7 Home Premium x61 with Service pack 1)
16 seconds from off to desktop then left idle for 5 minutes
27 running processes (Remember to click 'show processes from all users)
680Mb ram used



Drivers installed: (In order)
-Intel 82579LM and 82579V Gigabit Ethernet (To get on the net) from HP.co.uk
-Visited intel.co.uk to automatically update/install intel drivers. It crashed.
-Windows update, all updates.
-Visited intel.co.uk to automatically update...
- Intel HM65 Express Chipset family
- latest Intel graphics 3000
-HP Software framework (From HP.co.uk)
-JMicron Media card reader (HP)
-Hp Hotkey support (HP)
-IDT High definition HD audio (HP)
-Synaptics touchpad (From Synaptics.com) (Un-install Scrybe)

19 seconds from off to desktop then left idle for 5 minutes
48 running processes
1.07Gb ram used



Modifications:
-Virtual memory turned off
-Hibernation disabled
-System restore turned off
-Disabled Aero

19 seconds from off to desktop then left idle for 5 minutes
48 running processes
1.04Gb ram used.

windows is starting processes after a few minutes idle and you can see the CPU usage history fly up and down. A permanent way to stop this would be to sift through the Scheduled tasks but I'm not going to go into that.



Services Disabled/MSconfig: (Be selective if you use your machine on a domain)
-Adaptive Brightness (Set to manual but I've disabled)
-Andrea ST Filters Service (Microphone)
-Audio service (For the jack monitoring - Will turn off and see what happens)
-Desktop Windows Manager Session manager (Will disable Aero)
-Diagnostic System Host
-Diagnostic Service Host
-Distributed Link tracking Client
-Disk Defragmenter
-Fax
-Function Discovery Resource Publication
-HomeGroup Listener
-HomeGroup Provider
-HP Quick Synchronization service
-HP Service
-IKE and AuthIP Ipsec keying modules
-IP Helper
-Microsoft .net framework ... (All of them)
-Portable Device Enumerator Service
-Print Spooler (If you print, don't disable this one)
-Remote Registry
-Shell Hardware Detection
-SSDP Discovery
-Smart Cards
-Superfetch (Should grab back some memory from cached events)
-Themes (Probably better to leave this alone as things look horrible)
-Windows defender (Open WIn Defender first, Options, Don't use this)
-UPnP device host
-Windows Cardspace
-Windows Defender (Turn the program off first)
-Windows Font Cache Service
-Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)
-Windows Media Center Receiver Service
-Windows Media Center Scheduler Service
-Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service
-Windows Presentation Foundation Font Cache 3.0.0.0
-Windows Search
-WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Service

Removed all ticks from within the MSCONFIG startup tab apart from QLBController

19 seconds from off to desktop then left idle for 5 minutes
29 running processes
776Mb ram used
0% cpu usage.. Total flatline


Temps:
Room temp - 26c
Balanced profile - 39c
For the balanced I set everything to max battery and the max CPU is 10%
High performance - 39c
Prime 95 test - 70c (Not tested for an extended period)

The fan seems to be on most of the time but will probably update in a week.



Windows index score:
6.9 - CPU
7.4 - Ram
6.3 - Graphics
6.3 - Gaming
7.9 - HDisk



Clean install conclusion:
The machine runs like a fast thing on roller skates but I'm feeling seriously let down by HP with the fan always on thing compared to the i3 5330m. Sure, you might not mind, but I'm planning on writing a long book with this thing and will have the vent holes covered by the battery so the cooling must be up to the job or the machine running as cool as possible... With luck the next revision of Elite/ProBooks will provide virtually silent models. I'll update as I use the machine. Clean install recommended? Absolutely.



Next.. Battery time, extended battery and final conclusion

 

Standard Battery information:
Design capacity - 5100mAh
Full charge capacity - 5079mAh
Charge capacity - 99%

A fully working battery


Extended battery:
Design capacity - 8850mAh
Full charge capacity - 9000mAh (Huh?)
Charge capacity - 100% Woohoo!!

The extended BB09 covers ALL underside air vents which is a bit silly so ONLY buy if you're going to use a balanced profile and mild work that won't stress the cpu that much!

 

Pictures:

HP 6460b & HP 5330m (The flat top cover of the 5330m is considerably better than the 6460b)

The extra height makes all the difference

Then the camera battery ran out. The screen cannot be compared to the Envy 13 with the Envy 13 being amazingly clear and vibrant

Super extra mega-Whr battery BB09 (A lot of the case is thin air)

On the laptop covering the vents

Yay

More pictures once I get a 128Gb SSD into the 5330m

 

Great. Those photos bring some conclusion. For me thickness is not an issue, but knowing that extended battery covers vents doesn't look appealing.
Does 6460b have bigger touchpad than 5330m? Screen looks crisp but in photo is a bit over-bright - is it on 100%? and lastly ... are You really sure about build quality 8460p vs. 6460b?

 

I'll be testing the machine tomorrow with the extended battery and monitoring the heat at the same time and I'm pretty sure that it'll be ok.

I'll take a picture of both trackpads next to each other tomorrow.

The screen is on 100% but I'd ignore it until I take a few more pictures tomorrow or should I say... better pictures.


Seriously they have basically the exact same shell and nearly the same internals. The Elitebook featured a flap type thing over the hard drive and other than that it's more or less identical inside (They are both solid machines)

If you put a Probook and Elitebook next to each other (same colour) you would really have trouble telling the difference. Missing the keyboard light though. (The silver does look better)

 

That is the docking station compatible battery, I have one of those that fits both my laptops. Mine's roughly 50% of that bigger battery, 4400mAh. I have docking station at work and home, so I didn't even consider the biggest option.

I'm not sure but I would think similar is available to these newer laptops. Less capacity but it wouldn't probably block the vents so bad. After your stress tests we'll know what kind of issue the vent blocking is.

 

Standard battery results:
My small Acer W500 tablet lastest 4h20m playing 'The Abyss' but I used an avi this time. Lowest possible brightness, wi-fi off, audio via headphones.

Started at 18:35 with a 91% charge and finished at 22:40 reading 7%. More than 4 hours and ish minutes. Not the best in the world.

More pictures:

5330m vs 6460b trackpad

Another screen shot

Angled picture that doesn't show much

ST09 battery. If you don't use a docking station forget this battery and go for the BB09 or CC09. Once again the battery covers the vent holes. I'm thinking that the design department didn't really communicate on this one.

BB09 & ST09

If you buy the BB09 along with the CC09 (Won't fit in a docking station with both batteries) you'll have the best and longest battery combination.

CC09 - 100Wh 9 Cell
BB09 - 100wh 9 cell
ST09 - 73Wh
Standard - 55wh 6 cell

 

Temperature test:

At idle doing nothing - Max 37c
Running the Windows index score test (Room temp 21c) while charging on the High Performance power profile
With ST09 battery - 59c
Without battery - 63c (?)
Tilted up/forward for better airflow - 60c

Computers baffle me at times.

Prime 95 for 1 minute
Without the batt - 67c
With the battery - 69c

Changed to the balanced tweaked power profile - not charging
With the battery - 43c

Conclussion:
It seems that the extended batteries don't cause any negative effects on the machines ability to cool the cpu which is fantastic news. Additionally the modified power 'everything set to max battery' and '10% max cpu' really does keep the temps down under full load.



More battery times later as I plan to see how long the BB09 battery lasts

 

It seems that HP managed to design effective cooling for their ProBook/Elitebook product line. Nice to know that. I wonder - if You have a scale and could you weigh it? Sometimes real wieght is different than posted in specs. (also power supply weight).

 

It's most certainly heavier than the ENvy 13 with slice but I'll grab the scales on Monday.

Further battery Details:
Standard: 100% charge
Extended: 97% charge (BB09)

Started full screen media (.avi) playback at 12:00 using the tweaked 'balanced' power profile, lowest brightness, wi-fi off and auido via headphones. Extended battery at 0% and main at 15% the 5% warning message appeared at 23:40

Nearly 12 hours of constant media playback

 

To wrap things up I'm going to have to state that the entire elitebook range is not for everyone and will probably be side stepped by most which is a damn shame. They're thick, lightly kitted with hardware, mediocre screens, in a reasonably attractive case. Would I buy again? Maybe. What would I buy? A HP 5330m with the 6460b keyboard and Elitebook keyboard light and extended battery slice like the Envy range. I'd buy a refreshed ENvy 13 with radiance screen in a heartbeat

Thank you for reading and it's a shame that only one person said thanks out oft he 300+ views. Shame.

Positive:
Outstanding extended battery options and battery life
Tough and durable build
i5 model fan does and will stay off/virtually silent with SSD
Amazing speed performance once paired with SSD

Cons:
Very thick chassis
Weighty
Less than fantastic screen (especially compared to the Envy Radiance)

 

hm - so where did you have a Elitebook in your hands?
5330 and 6460b are Probooks...

 

I know.

8640p two/three weeks ago with a fan stuck constantly on... Shame. It was sent back for a refund hence I'm aware of the similarities of the Probook/Elitebook range. You can almost see that the 5330m model may or may not have been originally destined to be in the Elitebook range.


The article is applicable to the Elitebook as they do share some of the same hardware (Different chipsets), processors, Intel 3000 and of course the main source of what I've writen - Windows 7.

 

regarding the screen: most people in this forum reported, that the 8560p "normal" screen and the 8560w/8760w normal screens were above average and pretty good, not even mentioning the DreamColor screens.

So your "Cons" are a bit too generalizing.

at least the 5330m is a totally different "market" as the 8x60x series...

if, you could compare the 6x60b series and the 8x60x series.
but still with these two: different markets.
Probook for normal business customers (travelling salesmen, travelling staff)
Elitebook for power users, consultants or aiming at specialist software and certifications

at least in Germany the Probooks are sold with 1year warranty, the Elitebooks with 3years warranty.

I enjoyed reading your reviews and thoughts though - my post may read a bit too harsh - I blame it on being a non-native speaker

 

I also bought me a 6460b a few weeks ago and I must say it's a pleasure to work with. Mine has the 2520M 2.5GHz CPU, 8GB of RAM and a speedy SSD and I'm amazed by the speed of the thing. I need to rely on some of the HP protect tools so I usually have ~80 processes running including anti virus and such. But it still leaves me with 6.5GB free for use and boots in no time (prolly thanks to the SSD and lots of RAM).

The nice thing is, that mine stays nicely cool (~40-45 during normal work) and the fan shuts off when on battery. The max temp I saw during some gaming (Company Of Heroes maxed out) was ~70.

I must also say that I'm amazed by the screen. I have the matte 1600x900 screen and it strikes the perfect balance for me. Viewing angles are good and colors and brightness are too. I've seen better screens but keeping in mind the price I'm more than happy.

The thing is a bit on the thick side but I'm more than grateful that it's not cheap glossy plastic but a very solid construction. Overall it a pleasure to work on it and one of the best laptops I've used - and given the fact that it only cost ~1200$ is a nice bonus too. Elitesbooks are far more expensive.

 

Remember... my screen impressions are based on this machine REPLACING the ENvy 13 which had one of the best screens you can buy. The screen on this machine might be above average and clear but that ENvy 13 screen was amazing.

I don't have any problems with the screen in all honesty as it does what it does and I'm glad that I haven't got the lower res version. Either way there aren't a great deal of options out there so this is my machine for one year at least.


LOVING the battery life

 

More notes:
I've been using the machine full time for two days now and once the machine warms up the fan starts and then it does not turn off at all... It's been on for over 6 hours now and left alone at 0% cpu time for 30 minutes - Nope, fan still on. It's not bad but not as good as the i3 5330m

The screen brightness fluctuates (changing windows etc) and I don't normally notice but I do/have on this machine. Again, nothing bad but not great.

 

Last update:

I've been using the machine for four days straight typing and I can firmly state that I love the keyboard on this thing but have completely given up on the machine and ebay will have a new auction tomorrow. Although it's blisteringly fast with the SSD and the scren resolution is fantastic... it's just the damn cpu fan! Aggghh. As soon as it comes on it simply will not turn off.

After typing in a quiet room for 6 hours it really starts to get on your ***s especially seeing as the Envy 13 its replaced was so very quiet. I tried.

I await the new releases next year but for now I'll fall back to an Acer W500 with stand and keyboard for typing


(Why did I get the 6460b if all I do is type? I also work with VMachines and look after the company domain so this was to be a perfect all round machine)

 

I read through this thread wondering about fan noise, then I got to the last message, and my fears were confirmed. Fan noise is a deal breaker. The reason I am looking at an older machine like this is Newegg has a refurb for under $300. Which seems like a great deal for an i5. The screen is smaller than the 15.6" I'd prefer, but that's a compromise I'd make for an i5 lappy without a num pad, and with a keyboard layout I like, with the delete key at the top of the right-most column of nav keys. I purchased an Elitebook Workstation 8530w on eBay about a year ago, and it's solid and works well, but the fan is on all the time and it's a killer. I don't at all mind using something that's a few years older than current (I'm also a writer, and manage my Homegroup/LAN) and this is almost perfect. Alas. What were the designers thinking? It shouldn't be this hard to buy a computer. Thank you for your very thorough review.