*HP EliteBook 8560w Owners Lounge*

I plan to order the XU083UT#ABA from CostCentral.com when it comes into stock. It's pretty much exactly what I need (which is great since CTO with HP is awfully pricey). I'm not in super urgent need and free shipping, no tax, plus $200 off versus the HP online store makes a lot of sense to my financial manager/spouse.

QuickSpecs:
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13995_div/13995_div.HTML

Maintenance and Service Guide:
http://bizsupport2.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02844491/c02844491.pdf

 

Think i am going to jump on this one to, the design is starting to look really good for me. The more i look at it the more i love it, & then we have all the cool features =)

With Dreamcolor display id say it's the most awesome laptop out there, go HP =)

 

finally HP starts selling a preconfig with backlit kb, ATI card, quad core and dream color...$2199 at HP, don't know how much I'd save at cost central though...

 

I am also buying the XU083UT#ABA from CostCentral!

If I purchase one while it's out of stock, does that mean they'll just send me it when it is in stock? Or do I have to wait for it to be in stock?

I'm planning on buying a compatible hard drive caddy and an SSD. I'll use the SSD as my primary drive and the 500gb 7200rpm one it comes with in the caddy. fdbkjlnsldkjb

 

I plan on a 8560w with Dreamcolor too, I will order when it's available in June.

 

That storage set-up is what I'm aiming toward. DreamColor and the i7 2729QM, Quadro 1000 and 8 GB of RAM (some purchased 3rd party).
Got a quote from the HP Chat Line for $2600, with no SSD, 4 GB of RAM, but w the 2720, the Quadro 1000 and DreamColor. Didn't ask about delivery date, though. Would love to see a comparison between the latest DreamColor and the Precision's PremierColor IPS, though. If the Thinkpad W520's FHD can be included, all the better.

 

do you need Nvidia performance @Out of the Maelstrom? because you can save a couple hundred just by switching to a Firepro with better memory (GDDR5 vs DDR3...) and more power (see notebookcheck for details...)

 

I've been debating that question in my own head. I'd like to see some comparisons on these two video cards/GPUs. The Chat Guy said the nVidia was a "superior" card. I know it costs more. The ATI has only 1 GB of memory vs 2 GB for the nVid, though it is GDDR5. What do you mean by "more power", dsrini9000?

 

I meant in gaming situations the Firepro consistently scores better (unless its a TWIMTBP game...) than the Quadro 1000m, not so sure about the 2000M though...actually, it should be close in performance, maybe a little slower, to the M7820 of last generation...

 

According to notebookcheck.com, the ATI card ranks four spots higher than the 2000m, which sort of means they're quite close in terms of gaming. I believe that, in regards to actual workstation stuff (especially programs that use Nvidia tech specifically), the Nvidia cards are considered "superior".

That probably didn't help at all

 

What do you think about the non dream color screen 1080p? I am not sure if it is worth the additional cost...

Any informatio. For that screen available?

 

To me, the Dreamcolor screen is the primary reason to get the 8560w. I can get most, if not all, of everything else it offers me from a less expensive option, but as far as I can tell, the Dreamcolor is the best screen in laptops these days.

 

I don't know how it stands up to Premiercolor from Dell though...

 

I'm going to buy 8560w as soon as someone can confirm 2720QM or 2820QM QS/ES will work on the 8560w.

 

I agree with that statement, if you don't need Dreamcolor you might as well get the 8560p and save tons of money, and still get a nice machine.

 

Yes...the 2720 can come in a preconfig, and you can option in both the 2720 and 2820 in the CTO build...

 

totally agree... to me the only thing I wish my 8560p had was the dreamcolor display.. not sure if its worth an extra 500 bucks for a similar configured P series tho.

oh well..

 

I meant 2720QM/2820QM ES version. Engineering Sample. ES version has 8mb cache compared to OEM final version which have 6mb cache and they are cheaper. I read on another forum, someone gotten ES version for his HP laptop and it worked no problem, so I think ES should work on 8560w as well.

 

Aren't you aware that it's dangerous to put an ES part into a laptop? Eurocom got into some hot water with ES 6970Ms in their Racer notebooks...although you may want to hop on the bandwagon and try out an Intel ES chip, do you really want to run the risk of it frying on you almost instantly?

 

There's a pre-config 8560w with DreamColor, 500 GB HDD, ATI FirePro M5950, 8 GB of RAM, and an i7 QM for $2200 ... before haggling: HP's Small & Medium Business Online Store (as has already been stated earlier, several times -- reflashed memory here )


What did you pay for your 8560p?

 

1500
All comparable specs except worse video card but better i7 processor.
So 700 more for better graphics card and dream color screen. Worth it? Up to the individual to decide

 

and you can't haggle on a Smart Buy afaik...but cost central will probably have a lower price...

 

Sounds about right to me. I agree. You got a fair price for the hardware, I would say. I got a quote from the first rep I saw and he gave me 2600 for the 2720, DreamColor, and the nvidia 1000. (Haven't pulled the trigger yet.)

 

Sounds about right to me...that would probably be the price for a Precision with the same features...so it's fair...unless you can go a little lower...

 

Haven't talked with a Dell rep yet, maybe I'll chat with one later today.

But I'd sure like to see these machines face to face, or get more detailed photos and reports/reviews on each -- the 8560w w/DreamColor and the m4600 with its IPS.

I'm also curious about both Dell's and HP's overseas service. I had terrific IBM/Lenovo service when I was in eastern Europe for some years. Now I'm in Seoul, Korea, so I'm wondering how well the service is here. Anybody have experience with overseas service from Dell and/or HP?

 

Ordered my 8560w custom config (2720QM, 1920x1080 (non-DC), ATI video, 4GB (which I will toss and replace with 4x4GB(16GB), 500GB (which I will toss and replace with 2x240GB SSD in RAID 0). Put it in last week and shows a 6/11 build completion estimate. We'll see...

Note, completed the order online, saved the cart, called in and got 30% off and free and upgraded shipping.

Edit: Originally stated I was going to do 4x8GB(32GB) but then I saw that Samsung made the only chips and they are about $800 each ($3200 total) so I went with 16GB at a significantly more reasonable $160 total. At least I'll know that when the 8GB SODIMMs come down in price, I will have the option to pop up to 32GB. But, I'm not even 100% sure on that since the intel specs ( http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=50067) say that the 2720QM only supports 16GB. I wonder if they mean per bank or per module since HP clearly states they support 32GB. Hmm....

 

Has anyone received their 8560W yet?

I'm waiting for mine.

 

I just got an email update stating a new estimated build complete of 26-Jun-2011 and arrival of 29-Jun-2011.

I've been waiting for this machine since... geez... sometime last year! A couple more weeks won't kill me. In the mean time, I'll just stare at the 16GB of memory, the dual (2) Corsair Force 3 240GB SSD's I'll setup in a RAID 0, the hard drive mount for the optical bay, the 230W advanced docking station, and the HP 30" display and imagine how they will all meet their destiny soon... AAARRRGGH! It's Christmas Eve as a kid all over again!

 

This article in Anandtech AnandTech - HP EliteBook 8740w: IPS on the Go has full spec comparison of the two using Dell Precision as the proxy for Premiercolor. In short, the specs of the Dell are a bit better in most categories, but they are very close. Ironically, there are quite a few consumer laptops - especially from Dell (XPS15, not shown in this comparison) and Apple (all MBP) - which are as good or better than DC2 or Dell Premiercolor, even in areas like color accuracy and gamut - such that it is hard to justify the price premium on the DC2 screen, especially when it is notorious for arriving flawed and requiring 2-4 replacements until it is satisfactory (see history on this thread and 8540w).

HP's enterprise class (Elitebook) workstations look much better on paper than they perform in reality and this will go doubly for a totally new model, like the 8760w/8560w. Being an early adopter will not be rewarded. And don't say you weren't warned; if there are a raft of complaints about the quality of the new HP Workstation notebooks, some wise guy will probably resurrect this post though certainly not me

 

Err, no. Those are both older models, at resolutions not even avilable anymore (1920x1200) and different technologies (the 8740w has IPS, the Dell is a TN panel in the review).

Now that both the Dell M4600 and HP 8560W are 1920x1080 and IPS, a better comparison can be made (hell, maybe they use the same exact base LG monitors now?)

 

And not only that, they did not mention anything about the Mobile Display Assistant (MDA), which calibrates the screen color (sRGB vs. Adobe 1998 RGB) so that the colors don't appear "radioactive". Owners on NBR took issue with the in house review because of this...

 

Despite insignificant changes in the displays all I can say to anyone who buys the HP 8XX0w models is: caveat emptor.

 

Hi,

Are CTO models equiped with backlit keyboard because the only thing that is mentioned in the specs is : "Full-sized spill-resistant keyboard with separate numeric keypad and drains"

 

Whenever I've gone to the configuration site it lists the backlit as an extra-cost option. So, no, it is not standard issue, afaik.

 

Although some prebuilts have a backlit KB...but yes it's a $65 option on top of a CTO build...

 

Although you technically didn't buy/use yours...but any "customer service" can be horrible if you don't deal with it the right way...

Not to dismiss the severity of your case...but the owners forums for the 8540w/8740w have a lot of positive comments about the notebooks, and the issues with the motherboard were just issues of the first generation...since the SB chipset recall I'd highly doubt (especially since they were last to the market with theirs) that HP's 8560w would have major problems that needed immediate and costly fixes

 

Nothing wrong with your comments, but please note the following:

1) I have been doing volume business with HP for more than 3 years, and I know exactly how to deal with them professionally and effectively. It was HP who went "off the rails" dealing with me, and likewise with quite a few others who were posting here at the same time; check back to "knight" and "saber" posts for further examples. As it turned out, the person I sold my unit to, after waiting 4 months to get it, had a defective screen and motheboard! He is now on his 2nd month without a functioning machine!

2) On average, 50% of 8540/8740 DC2 buyers had to replace their screens on average 3 times, and still they were not satisfied, just worn out (Poll in HP forum). The motherboard problems just compounded the matter

3) HP is notorious for shipping new models (eg, 8560, 8760) before they have passed final test and they use their early customers as "beta testers" for the new models. According to JP Powers, the only brand with lower initial quality for new models is.....eMachines!

HP designs some great machines - business class and consumer class - but their new product quality control is abysmal and down the line their inventory control can be so poor that models into their 9th month can be delayed by 4 months due to lack of components.

I would welcome others to make comments, but I personally believe that HP's Elitebooks are extremely temperamental products and that owning them requires great patience and long warranties. We developed a policy of always buying at least two Elitebooks if we bought any, so that we had a better chance of having at least one good one to use. Finally, HP Tech Support has gone from very good to marginal in the past year. Without our own IT department, this can be a deal killer.

 

As one of the several affected EliteBook owners, I'm obligued to do some comments about this, so read the following if you want to know further about my experience:

I purchased my 8740w (with DreamColor screen) on november last year. My first unit had the screen bezel distorted and the eject tab of the upgrade bay didn't work as expected (I could not eject the drive from the upgrade bay). Therefore, HP sent me a full new replacement (after waiting 1 month without the machine).

The new replacement still had the screen bezel somewhat distorted, but to a lesser extent. Also my unit had some little scratches on the aluminum finish, the first button of the point stick was slightly depressed and the keyboard was bad assembled with several bumps (visible to the naked eye). The worst part was that my (DreamColor) screen died after 1 week of use (random colors or full black screen when using the system normally). At first, HP thought that those issues (specially the screen death) were my fault, so if I wanted my unit repaired, I had to pay the entire repair (you read right), including a new DreamColor screen. Thanks godness my technician helped me a lot and he proved they were wrong, so HP did the repair for free (well, using my warranty). But problems didn't end. The "new" screen had the aluminum cover unstuck from the lid and it was lacking of the original DreamColor sticker (I thought this screen was a refund from another client). So the technician went to my home the next week with a new screen. The new screen had the right hinge bad assembled (proved with photos to the service center) and the worst part was it had the infamous pink and blue tints on the sides, visible with normal use, not only when designing (bad calibration).

Because of those all inconveniences and faults I decided to send my case to a consumer organization in my country, because they (HP) didn't want to replace nor repair my current unit. That did the trick, so after waiting 2 additional months (although keeping my old unit meanwhile) I got my new replacement (the 2nd!). The new replacement was better assembled than the old one, but the right hinge was worse. Even I felt the right side of the lid somewhat crooked towards up. And the worst part for this last replacement was that my splendid DreamColor screen was not calibrated at the factory, so it was unusable for my work (I'm a web designer and a software engineer).

Finally, HP picked up the 2nd replacement the last week (although they let me keep the old unit again) and I'm still waiting an official response from them. I demanded an entire new screen due to the hinge blemishes, not only a recalibration.

So, what can I say about the statements claimed by lovelaptops?, just they're TRUE:

Just read the first part of the 8740w Owner's lounge in order to see the problems the people had with their 8740w's: At first, the machine was pretty unstable, with random shutdowns on quad-core vPro models, with boot-to-black screens, keyboards bad assembled (specially the backlit version), fan speed at max when waking from the sleep state and so on... Now, it's a pretty stable machine but after 11 BIOS releases and not even today the 10-bit mode of the DC panels is fully ironed out. NVIDIA users can't use this mode properly (see ProdTog posts), so keep in mind that.

In short, I have had a sub par service for an exclusive product. I didn't spend $5300 not to have only issues.

So, please excuse me for interrupting the topic of the thread, I think this is a bit off-topic, but I also think it may be useful for future users.

 

Actually, the color, brightness and contrast values are pretty much the same regardless of the resolution - 1080p vs 1200p - or whether the panels are TN or IPS, which effects viewing angles more than anything else. Point is, the previous generation of these panels are all at the top of the field and the latest models will be as well. Once you get past 800:1 contrast, nearly 100% color gamut, 350 nit white brightness, etc, you are in the upper echelons and incremental improvements will not make much difference. This is particularly true of the 8740w vs the 8760w, where the only difference is in resolution, which is not even measured in the Anandtech tests. Given that the Dell SXPS 16 (3 years old) and Precision 1 year old) RGBLED screens have consistently tested similarly, I would expect the newest Dell screens to be comparable. Unless you are a graphic designer, requiring as close to 100% color accuracy as possible, the differences between these high end screens are negligible.

 

Sorry about your endeavors with HP but even though I no longer have my 8740w (sold after 8 months of use) and after replacing the DC2 3 times due to various issues (dead pixels, tint, bleed, etc) I have to say, that overall it was on of the best laptops I owned. Yes, the backlit KB is poor quality and yes, the screen may need to be replaced if defects are present, but this is the only laptop with the 1200p 30-bit IPS panel (and trust me it's the best laptop screen in the world up to date), very good quality non-backlit keyboard, solid build and good performance in a relatively slim form factor.
If I wasn't that much into dual GPU systems with the best possible cooling, I'd still be keeping the Elitebook.

Just 2cents here.

 

Hi Aiki,

Yes, I assure you I'm standing HP only because of the DreamColor screen. I'm tired of replacements, repairs and non-responsive people at the support team. It's absolutely a shame. If the 8740w had not that impressive screen, I would have demanded my money ASAP. If they cannot repair the new replacement and leave it on PERFECT condition, I will sue them, will demand my money and will go with the Dell Precision M6600 instead.

Thank you for your comment.

 

Does the ATI GPU have the 'Optimus' enabled?

 

Optimus is nvidia tech/feature. There is something similar for amd (ati) gpus, but none of the 8*60ws have gpu switching, that means that you are either stuck with amd fire pro or nvidia quadro (you cannot actually switch to integrated gpu, even though there is one in sandy bridge cpus).

 

Hey all. I'm really sorry but there's been so much bluster based in large part on my panning the Elitebook series of workstations based on a host of experiences I've had with them over the years, but some seem to think it was entirely because of just one infinitely delayed experience I had most recently and with my own increasingly aggressive attempts to push past the HP Corporate Case Management Archipelago. Alas, I have owned 5 Elitebook models in the past 3 years and more than a dozen other HPs, so I do know of what I speak. That said, I spoke way too long below, but I can't seem to edit much out without missing key points. So, if the subject interests you (why you should buy any brand but HP Elitebook when choosing a workstation or high end business laptop in the near future) read or skim on, but, if it doesn't interest you, or you are sick of hearing my views, just skip right on by. I am not expecting to respond any further, so if you do want my further comments, please PM me. Thanks and great luck to all! Jeff

Sorry to beat a dead horse here, but your main reason for praising the 8740w seems to be the aspect ratio of 1920X1200 which is no longer available from HP, on the 8760w or any other model. As fine as the Dreamcolor screen is, it is the case that we are finally blessed with a fairly decent availability of high quality screens, as long as you can deal with the 16x9 "move watching" aspect ratio. For IPS, I believe the HP Dreamcolor and Dell Premiere are the only options bu it is far from clear to me that IPS is required for the majority of professional applications that require otherwise premium screens, but I could be wrong. In any event, most professionals with such exacting standards would not use a laptop screen for their most important graphical/CAD work and IPS laptop screens at a $500 premium are pretty hard to justify. That said, it will always be the case that business class laptops will be more durable than consumer class. Regrettably, though, HP (and possibly Dell; I have less experience with it) have consistently had recurring quality problems with their business/workstation class laptops. This is fact, not opinion, and the pages of NBR are filled with chronicles of the problems. Thus, my personal experiences aside, it is hard to recommend the new HP Elitebook workstations when even the 8X40w's still being produced are arriving replete with problems, particularly with the Dreamcolor screens (which, ironically, are also in dreadfully short supply and people are waiting 2-4 months for them, only to have to replace them 1-4 times!) but also with mobos and various mechanical problems with latches, stuck keys, faulty backlit keyboards, etc.

So, unless the new HPs are a world apart from the previous two versions (all great designs on paper and in operation - but usually after many, many repairs and replacements), I would be hard pressed to recommend them to people who need to get work done, and don't have the time to spend with tech support for days, weeks or months. I have no experience with Dell Precision (or whatever they call their workstation models now) but if they are more reliable, they would be a better choice. Lenovos are certainly not perfect, but they seem like the best bet in terms of reliability and durability. They don't have IPS screens, yet, but again, I don't see why that would be a requirement in a laptop, even a workstation on which fine graphical work is done. The non-IPS FHD screens from Lenovo, Dell and HP (and the latter two now offer virtually identical screens on their consumer lines for a mere $100 or $150 surcharge) have all the premium attributes expected (matte finish, 250-350 nit uniform brightness, 600-800:1 contrast ratio, 90-100% adobe color gamut) and have excellent horizontal viewing angles, so all you get for your $500 is the ability to see the same image standing up as the person sitting down sees!

Well, I am getting a little punch drunk on all of this, and I shall not post about it again. Those who feel I had a singular unique experience with an HP Elitebook and/or that I didn't "handle it well," are free to their opinions, and I'll not try to talk them out of them. I do know that I have had my fill of HP business class machines (the consumer models are just as buggy, but they're incredibly cheap and the customer support is far friendlier and willing to throw money and replacements at you!) as much as I drool over their appearance and specs. Fortunately, I have all the business class machines I need at my offices and for now my two Sony Zs and an aging but magnificently performing, heavily upgraded 18.4" (PVA!) HP consumer DV-8t DTR (and 5 other machines I play with from time to time and replace annually) are taking good care of my needs at home.

Sayonara and best of luck!

 

Well, at my company we had many Elitebooks and no problems whatsoever with them, so I have no problem ordering a 8560w as soon as I can.

 

So anyway, I did some research on the M4600 and the 8560w IPS panels, found this:

HP
800:1 Contrast
210 nits
154% sRGB gamut
109% NTSC gamut
114% Adobe RGB gamut

DELL
550:1 Contrast
210 nits
72% sRGB gamut
100% NTSC gamut
100% Adobe RGB gamut

So on contrast ratio alone, it seems the 8560w has the better IPS panel of the two.

 

Interesting stats. Where'd you find that info?

 

http://h71016.www7.hp.com/dstore/ctoBases.asp?oi=E9CED&BEID=19701&SBLID=&ProductLineId=539&FamilyId=3427&LowBaseId=36070&LowPrice=$1,174.00&familyviewgroup=3103&viewtype=Matrix#

Click on the PDF for Printable Data Sheet it has the HP DC specs.

Dell - Help Me Choose: Displays

Click on compare side by side to look at the m4600 IPS specs.

Note the Dell sheet has some significant mistakes since it still partly refers to the RGB LED.

You will not get a great measure till a site like Anandtech or NBR measure specifics. The only thing you can really glean from this is that HP has taken sometime to point its specifics whereas Dell really has not.

 

Thanks very much. But, I don't see the exact specs you posted above.

Yes, I am anxiously awaiting for some official and thorough reviews of the M4600 and 8560w in IPS versions!!! Come on Anand and NBR!!

 

My problems have been successfully solved, read here if you want to know further details.