*HP EliteBook 8530p/w Owners Lounge *

When will it officially come out?
When will it start shipping?
What is going to be the starting price?

Thanks.

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no one knows yet

 

I talked to an HP rep last week who said the week of the first it should be online for ordering.

 

MacMall has some prices up already.

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q=8530w&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf

Perhaps I should cancel my T400 order for this...

 

Why so expensive? The configurations are minimal on most of the models and nearly all of the prices are $1500+!?

 

The Blu-Ray drives hike the cost up

 

No blu-ray players on some of the models. Price is still very expensive!

 

From what I can see, the prices are in line with most other business notebooks. A similarly spec'd Dell M4400 goes for around the same (if not higher) price

However, can someone show me difference between these two configs? They look the same to me...

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop...gn=email,MWBgooglebase&wt.mc_id=MWBgooglebase

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop...rade+to+Vista-Notebook+Computers&dpno=7546120

 

One is a "Smart Buy" and the other one is a Not-so-smart Buy? I don't know.

Keep in mind that many HP mobile workstations come with 3 year on-site warranty.

I don't know why all these models still come with 2GB RAM. 4GB should be standard for a 15.4" highish-end laptop.

 

They are available now!!

This link just came up:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF25a/321957-321957-64295-3740645-3329741-3781677.html

I just ordered mine through pcmall.com. It shows as pre-order but they called me this morning to verify payment information. They will ship it out tomorrow.

Though, I believe it fully when i see the tracking number...

 

Sweet.... but now how long until it's available CTO (customized-to-order)? None of the preconfigured models offer what I want -- ATI + WUXGA (1920x1200) -- and none of them specify whether they have Intel AMT ("Centrino Pro").

Incidentally, I'm also curious how bright the screens are; I'd rather have a bright 1680x1050 than a dim 1920x1200.
I wonder when quad-core will be available... and what they'll cost.

 

I got my hands on one of these yesterday and was very impressed. No side by side comparison for brightness, but it was very bright, not too heavy, but some of the best build quality I have seen from HP ever. I wasnt a huge fan of the "p" version as it uses the same ol' magalloyouter skin and plastic on the inside, but the "w" with the aircraft grade aluminum on the outer lid and palm rest looked and felt nice. In my hands, light for a 15.4. The keyboard was also probobly one of the best I have ever used on a laptop. Looking forward to getting one in my hands that I can actually own

 

Wait, the P and W editions have different exteriors? That doesn't seem right to me. Where'd you see these things, anyway?

 

was thst an old p or new ? i thought the build was the same just vid card and warranty differences .

 

my bad... I was looking at the AMD version of the 8530 that had the plastic palm rest and painted exterior. The "w" and "p" version both have the aluminum skins. I saw them at a friends house who works for HP. Had a few demo units. One was the AMD version and the other was the intel "w" version

 

Dang, I'll bet the CTO release date is still under NDA...
School resumes on the 22nd, so I'd really like to have the thing in my hands by then... but chances seem slim, considering that even the 6930p still isn't CTO.

 

They make an AMD version of the 8530 series??

 

fattire, considering that you've been able to handle both the 8530w and the new Latitude E's, I have a few questions... In your opinion, how do the two compare? Are the screens comparable? Which has the better keyboard? Which feels sturdier?

Thanks in advance.

Edit:

It's too bad the only config available with the T9400 is w/ the WUXGA screen and is at 2250..

 

there is no AMD 8530 ,, you must have been looking at a pavillion line laptop . all 8530 p+w have the same shell .

 

it wasnt a pavillion system. It was a business line system as all he sells is the business sytems. Its the 6735b, but it looked identical to the elitebook 8530w except for the aluminum finish. Of course the insides are different as well. I think the B class is below the P series and is not called an elitebook either. I dont see it on the web yet, so no idea on the specs other than its AMD. I got confused when he explained it to me as the AMD version of the elitebook I was holding, but it is more than just the chip obviously.

My opinion on the hp versus the dell varies by system size. I REALLY liked the 12 and 13 inch dell system. Those were fantastic and much better than the 12 inch system I saw from HP.

Now the 8530 vs the e6500... I would pick the 8530 in a second. It felt much lighter and less bulky, yet very solid. Displays on both were very nice. Liked the keyboard much more on the HP system as well. The HP system actually matches pretty much spec for spec with the precision M4400 as far components go. I like the styling on the precision system, but think its going to be builky like its e series cousin. My vote would still go to the elitebook.

 

The pricing seems very unusual. Take a look at this:

Genuine Windows Vista® Business with downgrade to Windows® XP Professional custom installed
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40 GHz, 3 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB)
15.4-inch diagonal WSXGA+ anti-glare
HP 3D DriveGuard
2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
160 GB 7200 rpm SATA II
LightScribe DVD+/-RW SuperMulti with Double Layer
NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M
Intel 802.11a/b/g/draft-n (up to 450 mbps data rate)
Bluetooth 2.0
3/3/3
Price: $1799.99

Another model had the same configuration. The only difference is the processor,which is the T9400 (2.53 GHz, 6 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB). And the price is $2249.99.

A slightly better processor does not justify paying $450 more. The prices are too expensive. The specifications are not even that great. Is there any reason why HP is doing this?

 

I know they arent doing a huge service to themselves by putting up pricing like that, but here is how it works.. The lesser prices system is a "Smartbuy". These systems are already discounted and if you were to call up to their business number even if you bouht a fair amount through HP, the rep would not be able to discount further. The other system is not a "smartbuy" system and so could be discounted by a rep.

 

Anybody happen to know (or have a good guess, with some sort of reasoning behind it) when we can expect to see the customize-to-order option on these laptops?

 

It's dissapointing that all of the models of this notebook only have 2GB DDR2 RAM. Why not 4GB DDR2 or even DDR3?

HP is seriously overpricing their systems for what they offer.

 

If I'm not mistaken, that model also has the WUXGA screen as opposed to the WSXGA+ on the 1800 system.

 

Yep, blindpan is right - the $2249 system has a WUXGA+ display in addition to the T9400. I'm actually confused about HP having two models with the config that Elite Cataphract posted and one costs $1799 (KS049UT) while the other one costs $2099 (KS050UA). Am I overlooking something? (Apart from the Smart Buy thingy)

 

The first one I mentioned costs $1799. The second one comes with the better processor and costs $2249. Note that I didn't list all of the models. I compared these two particular models because their configurations were practically the same.

I listed the specifications of the first model that cost $1799. The second model that cost $2249 has the same exact specifications last time I checked. The only difference is the processor.

Something is definitely unusual about the prices. Paying $450 more does not justify the marginal improvement in performance based on the processor. 2.4Ghz to 2.53Ghz isn't really that big of a difference.

 

Assuming we're looking at the same page:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF25a/321957-321957-64295-3740645-3329741-3781677.html

The $2249 config has a WUXGA+ screen compared to the WSXGA+ on the $1799. I was pointing out that the $1799 and $2099 models have the exact same config but different prices.

 

The difference between the P8600 (2.4GHz) and T9400 (2.53GHz) is also 3MB and 6MB of L2 cache resp., which can make a difference depending on the type of software.
The P8600 will probably run a bit cooler on the other hand.

 

That's unusual. I checked their website on the first day these models came out. They probably made a mistake and changed it.

Regardless, the $1799 and $2099 notebooks are practically the same. Both have WSXGA+ screens and all of the configurations are the same. The only difference between them is the processor.

Paying $300 more still doesn't justify the marginal performance increase based on the processor. The T9400 (2.53Ghz.) is slightly faster than the P8600 (2.4Ghz.) and has twice the L2 cache. The P8600 processor consumes less power though. So I guess the $1799 model would be the smart buy.

 

Agree. I see you have the 8510w. How's your notebook?

 

I have the 8510w with the UXGA screen. I bought it a year ago and its been very reliable to me. Battery life is also great and so is the built quality. My only complain is the noise of the fan when the CPU is under heavy work load.

I had a couple of laptops in the last 5 years (T40, T42, T60, Macbook) and I have been the most satisfied with this laptop. I'm looking forward to get the 8530w since it will have a faster cpu, gpu and an updated case.

 

The $1799 and $2099 configs are identical, unless I am overlooking something other than the Smart Buy on the $1799 one.

 

The configurations of both notebooks are identical. The only difference is the price and the processor.

Upgrading from the P8600 (2.4Ghz.) to the T9400 (2.53Ghz.) should not cost $300 more for marginal performance increase.

 

The $1799 and $2099 configs are identical in every way - including the processor (P8600). That's what I have been trying to say!

 

They definitely made a mistake! Who's going to pay more for the exact same thing? :laugh:

 

They're making it clear that the $1799 version is the Smart Buy while the $2099 one isn't.

 

I know. That was funny though. :twitcy:

 

Now let's get back on topic. Any word on when they will start letting people customize these notebooks?

 

Like I said before, I know it looks crazy an they arent doing themselves any favors, but this is mainly for their corporate customers. I use to work for HP in sales, so I understand how this works. Their customers would call up after seeing the smartbuy price. They would ask for a discount off that config, maybe seeing a comparable config from Dell. The rp is not allowed to do thatso they pull the list price SKU and thats the one they are able to discount usually beyond the level of the smartbuy. For the web shoppers, this doesnt make any ses, but for the people that call in, thats how they do it. Make a good enough case with the phone rep and you will get the list price system for less than the smart buy.

 

ARGH!
How long until it'll be customizable? Does nobody know?

 

^^^Wondering the same thing...

I'm also anxious to see at least a first look review pop up some where...

I may just get it...

 

I ended up canceling my order at pcmall.com. As expected it won't get shipped in the next two weeks. In addition, they charge taxes so I ended up placing my order at Bottom Line Communication (ShopBLT.com).

These guys gave me an ETA of 3 - 15 days.

I paid $2,384.99 which really isn't that bad for what you get. This is the configuration:

SMART BUY 8530W P9400 2.5G 2GB 250GB BLURAY 15.4-WUXGA WVB/XPP

Once I get the laptop I will write up a comparison between my old 8510W.

 

I have 1 6930p (Ingram Micro) and 2 8530w (HP Source) units on order and neither show a ship date earlier than 9/23. Why would they not ramp up production and have a few on hand before putting them out for purchase? CTO would be great, but just getting one in my hands to tinker with would be awesome.

 

Why wasn't the 8530p/w introduced with the Dream Color display? That would have been great...

 

Do you game with your 8510W?

 

I agree, that was an area that the previous 8510 and 8400 series models needed some serious improvements on.

*sigh* now my nw8440 is TWO generations behind....

On a funnier note, the freshmen at my school all got brand-new 8510w notebooks, even though the 8530w model is out now. I think the 8530w was released too late for the freshman to receive them, which would explain why they went with the 8510w.

 

the 8530p models are seriously overpriced. Makes it out of budget for many students who would like a robost laptop.

I know they tend to target more for corporates...oh well...

 

They are very overpriced. Take a look at the cheapest model. It costs $1525!
For what? 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM and 250 GB 5400 rpm SATA II?

For this price, you can get 4GB DDR2 RAM and a 320GB 7200RPM hard drive in a notebook, if not more.

They should offer more discounts. However, this is very unlikely. Most of the discounts and coupons available are only targeted at their consumer-line of notebooks.

 

true true...

but there are several partners (EPP sort off) with HP and they really get a sweat deal almost $200 off....unfortunately i am not in that list