*HP EliteBook 8740w Owners Lounge - PART 1*

Besides the site that was already posted earlier, where are some reputable place (besides from HP directly) to get addons to the Elitebooks?

 

Any shipped beasts yet?

@Lethial,
What's wrong with buying from HP directly?

 

Probably the cost.

If I were to buy one of these right now, I would probably leave the RAM and HD in base configuration.

For example, if you want the secondary HD (leaving the primary HD in base config), the only option is the 500GB HD and adaptor for $200. So about $218 after tax.
I can get a 500GB 7200RPM HD for $75 and the adaptor for $42 from that other website. The adaptor from HP is probably more like $100, if you buy it separately.
So my total is about $117.

That's over $100 in savings.

Upgrade the primary HD to 500GB, let's say you wanted to do RAID, and it'll cost you another $163 from HP.

So two 500GB HDs and adaptor from HP is an extra $330.
If you buy the parts separately elsewhere, about $192.

See how much you can potentially save?

If you do the same with the RAM, let's say 8GB (4x2GB). You could potentially save another $150-$200.
Probably better quality also, if you buy it from any of the reputable manufacturers.

 

I meant the HP specific stuff only. Of course you can save money on CPU/GPU/HDD/RAM. The question is whether or not you really need to look for 10$ difference on the HDD drive bay buying it from some unknown/known HP reseller. I'm not even sure if you get any savings there.

 

Well, I don't know about the CPU/GPU. I don't imagine anyone would be able to score a good deal on a mobile core i7 CPU or an nvidia FX3800m (or firepro 7820) at this point in time. :laugh:
That's why I only used the HD and RAM as examples.
But yeah, for older models (8710w, 8730w), I agree.

$10 difference? You're talking specifically about the HD adaptor?
So the HD upgrade adaptor is $52 from HP? I thought it would be significantly more than that.
Sure, if the difference for the upgrade bay is only $10, I wouldn't sweat it either.

I don't bother with the small differences either. But a few hundred in savings? Definitely.

 

If you want to buy the same HP Memory with HP warranty,etc from a reseller, its cheaper here
http://www.costcentral.com/proddetail/HP_Memory/AT912UTABA/10944051/

I haven't come across a much better priced memory for a 2GB and compatible with 8740W.

 

TBH, this is just a habit that I developed from having owned Dell machines. I just assumed that every PC vendors will just over charge you, a lot, for everything "certified."
edit: oh and HP Branded Ink is expensive too.

Also, being a DIY kinda guy, I am used to hunt around the net for deals

@folks that ordered the notebook: did you guys get charged for it yet? How many notification of order emails did you get?

 

Not for the Noteook itself...But, for the accessories(those that ship seperately), yes. I got 2 initially - One is the HP Receipt. Another is the Order Confirmation email.
Now recently another email about the order delay.

 

I think your rep is lying a bit... The i7-920XM is available since december 2009 in the Dell Precision M6500, or do you think Dell doesn't test "new CPUs" aswell? I think the real reason for this delay is HP is testing if the fan/heatsink system is powerful enough to cool the 920XM (under heavy load)... Anyway, did he/she say when the 920XM will be available?

 

Thanks. I was beginning to worry that my order was lost into the Ether somewhere... Which would be extremely odd since I completed the order over the phone with a sales rep...

Which accessories did you get? I only got the extended battery. But I am wondering if I should've gotten more. (like that battery with 3 yr warranty or adapters.)

 

Yeah I am sure he embellished here and there during our talk. Though even if they are testing the HSF, that is still testing. Which is good too. (In his defense, the Elitebook does use a newer QM57 chipset as opposed to HM55/PM55 of the Dell Precision)

From the sound of it, they have already been testing the CPU for weeks now. I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up as an option in couple of weeks.

 

I got the extended warranty - 3YR Travel NextBusinessDay with ADP. - according to the rep that means they come next business day to the place where i am at that time (not just the home address) +accidental damage protection - that was just $79 - only time will tell if that is indeed true.

Anyone have experience with HP's ADP and NBD service?

 

I did come across HP serving the 920XM with 8740W in other countries.. (that part# is available in HP for the 8740W)

 

Previously, I was torn between waiting for the new MacBookPro refresh and getting the 8740w. I was still in doubt even after placing my order for the 8740w.

This morning I got to looking at the new MacBookPro17” refreshed specs. Aside from the (same-old) nice UniBody, lighter than the 8740w by 0.5kg, 8-9hrs battery life and MacOSX; the new MacBookPro17” feels…. disappointing.

I am glad I decided on the 8740w – all doubts gone, mind at peace.

Pros for the HP Elitebook 8740w (IMHO):
+ Better CPU option (i820m 4c8t vs. i620m 2c4t)
+ Higher RAM capacity (16GB vs. 8GB)
+ Higher RAM clock-speed (1333Mhz vs. 1066Mhz)
+ 2x HDD (1 via upgrade bay, I don’t use optical-drive since 3years back)
+ Better GPU (ATI FirePro M7820 vs. nVidia 330m)
+ Ability to drive 2x external LCD (3x with a docking station)
+ 2x USB 3.0 ports
+ eSATA port
+ Fingerprint reader (built-in)
+ Smart-card reader (built-in)
+ Dedicated NUM-pad

--
nsiboro

 

Most Clevo resellers have decent deals on i7s. FX3800M costs about 600-700$ but you really don't need it, AFAIK you can buy a 280M and 5870 and flash them with a proper BIOS to turn into FX3800 and M7820 respectively

 

I've heard those clevo laptops are definitely more flexible when it comes to upgrades, compared to the HPs or Dells.
I thought we were talking about upgrades for the 8740w.
$600-$700 for a graphics card is a good deal?
In any case, you'd be better off getting it directly from HP since it's only $470 for the upgrade and it wont void your warranty.

But still, good info.

 

Bad math,my friend. Buy a 280M for under 500$. Flash it to FX3800M. Sell your 7820 (I wouldn't as to me the new ATI is the winner) for 400$. How much do you save on this?

We are talking about 8740w, BTW

 

There's more than one way to skin a cat, that's for sure. :laugh:
But since the 7820 is the better candidate to begin with, there's no point in even considering that option.

Plus, voiding the warranty on a brand new laptop is not a good idea.

Hence, the reason why I didn't mention anything about CPU/GPU upgrades to begin with.

 

Yeah, warranty is a tricky part indeed. That's why some prefer keeping the stock components (in a box ) just for possible warranty related operations. Ideally, I'd like to be allowed messing with my system (without voiding the warranty) as in 99.9% cases I can increase the performance and also the life-span of the notebook. I think HP and others should follow alienware/dell (upgrading your CPU/GPU doesn't void the warranty) and allow FRU replacements by owners. We can apply the best aftermarket thermal material using the best methods and greatly reduce the temps on the crucial components (CPU/GPU).
If stress tests and benches reveal some critical temp readings on 8740w - I might give HP a call regarding the warranty issues.

As for the 7820 vs FX3800M: I'm afraid the better performance comes with a price: 5870 runs very hot by default. Even in my M17X that has the best cooling up to date, it will hit 80C+ when gaming. The elitebook is slimmer and physically doesn't have room for huge heatsinks and fans. If my fears are true, we might need the best thermal pads/paste to keep the GPU cool enough for heavy stuff like gaming.

 

But, why would you game on a 8740W in the first place..Its a not a gaming laptop . And since the M7820 (8740W on the whole as well) is destined for a different reason, i would assume HP would have taken care/thought about the cooling for the same reason.

 

Some people go home after work. You should try it sometime.

(all in good fun)

 

Really though, if the laptop really has all metal chasis (which seems to be true, if the ecent review of the 8440p (doh! can't post the link to the review! ) was to be used as a reference), it could help dissipate heat much better than plastic.

I really wish HP update on order process more frequently.

 

Why? Because I can?
Seriously though, using this system for CAD,DCC,etc might stress the components the same/similar way. You'll probably have no issues if buying the beast for web-browsing and regular office work. I can't promise myself that will never attempt to run Crysis on it
In general, every high end system has to have some reserves, especially in cooling. Otherwise, the whole experience can be ruined.
Not trying to be negative here, just speculating about the extremes, that's all. And no happy owners yet, with pics and benches

 

The 8740w should have excellent cooling and stability at whatever level and for whatever purpose its M7820 is being used --- maybe a gaming laptop with maximal graphics capability can get away with running very hot all the time, but a high-end professional workstation can't, and proper heat management is essential. I'm guessing the 8740w is designed with that in mind, but I suppose we'll find out for sure once people have some actual units in their hands...

 

Yeah, HP seem to be pretty quiet about this line of notebook. Then again, the target audience for this notebook is probably the kind that already know exactly what they want and who to buy things from.

FWIW, I did get re-assured repeatedly about the laptop being able to keep on running for long hours. (I made a point to harp on heat and noise with every one of my phone calls to HP )

 

What your rep said conflicts with what my rep said.

Mine said the "travel" warranty was for international travelers only, that the "non-travel" warranty was on-site for any site in my home country (USA). Based on that info, I purchased the non-travel warranty. If my rep was wrong, then I need to change my warranty: I travel all the time, just not internationally.

 

All this talk about warranty makes me wonder if I should've gotten a better than standard one

 

Here is the Description about the warranty. It specifically says mobile (travel) users.
http://h20219.www2.hp.com/services/...ware-support-next-business-day-travelers.html

 

That's what I'm hoping for as well, as the beast is very tempting.

 

Compare with same for the "non-travel" warranty:
http://h20219.www2.hp.com/services/us/en/warranty/carepack-hardware-support-next-business-day.html

Looks to me that the travel warranty is just for international travel.

 

Just contacted Carepack team and they said its applicable both inside and outside country of purchase..For participating countries refer to the PDF
http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA1-4160ENW.pdf

 

This may be totally true, because my old rep for the 8730w order said the same:

This is one of the reasons I want an EliteBook and not a "consumer-grade" laptop computer (for example, a Pavilion), among another regards, like screen quality, build quality, "non-glossy" design, and so on. Currently I'm using my desktop computer numerous hours, even 10-12 hours per day, and I plan to use the 8740w as a replacement for my desktop computer.

 

Sigh, I just wish that they would take my order already Seems that they cancelled my last order because they got one digit of my phone # incorrect, so their credit department couldn't call and make sure that I am who I am...

So I replaced the order easily with sales rep's help. But I decided to forget my cell phone today. :cry: I need to get a EPIC FAIL poster for myself...

 

@SecretAsianMan,
Your EDD is 19th, do you have the tracking number already?

 

Ah, thanks for reminding me to look.

As we sort-of expected, the EDD has been delayed to 4/26.

 

I should call in and check on mine...and check on my refund from Lenovo.


My storage bay adapter arrived a couple days ago, my advanced dock came today. Now I just have to wait for the 8740W to arrive.


Incidentally, my estimated ship day was the 16th as well. There is no new estimated date according to whomever I spoke to when I called in.

 

Did you guys check your order status online?

I finally got my order successfully placed. Checking the order status online I noticed:
LCD 17.0 WUXGA+WVA DC2 f/CAM 8740w

Any idea what the +WVA f means?

 

Pretty sure WVA is for Wide Viewing Angle (kind of redundant since the DC2 is IPS but guess they like their acronyms). No idea what the f is for.

 

oh hai guys.

just wondering if anyone in here had any idea what battery life will be like?

 

Yup -- this is what the tech spec say for WVA also

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13543_div/13543_div.HTML#Overview

 

Anyone wondering what the 8740w CPU/GPU Heatsinks look like?
This shows in great detail the internal components of the laptop.
Lots of good info and pics.

8740w Disassembly Instructions.

CPU and GPU HS can be seen on page pg 22-26.

 

Hmm. I'm less than ecstatic about the CPU and GPU both being on the same fan, even if it seems to be a larger fan than most. Seems like we might have to worry about overheating if we're going to push it...

 

OK, I know I'm asking this question in about the least impartial place I can...

I've been looking for a bit now. Dell XPS 16 and M17x w/RGB-LED were/are candidates. But is this 8740w about the best notebook [ok, mobile workstation ] someone can get to do Digital Photography post processing work today? ...it's quite the 'sad' state of affairs in regards to notebook displays these days, and this machine with the DreamColor display appears to be the cream of the crop.

 

Thanks for posting. Very useful. Would rep you but given too much rep in the last 24hrs

Important!
From the manual posted here you can see that the heatsink for Quad core CPU's has an extra pipe. So if you intend to buy a cheaper i5 CPU and then upgrade to the 920XM/940XM there will be a problem. Go for the i7-720QM as the very minimum to get the double-piped heatsink.

 

my guess: +WVA = plus Wide Viewing Angle = including a "technique" that you can view the display from an angle (to some degree) without loss of quality

f = for? = for camera (but it should be more like w = with camera?)

 

Agreed on both count. Thanks RampageII, you got my rep. :yes:

To add to the analysis of the HSF of the 8740w:

*** SPECULATION ALERT!!!***

Firstly, look at here for review of Medio Akoya X7811 (which is the same as MSI GX740).
This notebook has similar CPU/GPU combo as that of the Elitebook. In addition, the chasis has a lot of similarities with that of the Elitebook 8740w as well:
- Relatively thin
- One fan for CPU and GPU (But there are some important differences, that I will touch on later)

Now from the review, we can see that the X7811 can get quite hot. So we have an idea of what the worst case scenario of heat would be like for 8740w.
However, I don't believe the 8740W will ever get as hot as the X7811.

- The GPU heatsink of the 8740w for ATI Firepro appears to cover the whole MXM board of the GPU. And it is noticeably thicker (instead of a thin copper plate used by the X7811.
- The CPU/GPU/Fan assembly of the 8740w is bigger (more area to distribute heat as well as a bigger fan) and has one more heat pipe for both the CPU and the GPU.

This is the most important difference in my experience.
- 8740w has a metallic mid layer chasis component that serves to both separate the top and bottom PCB components. But also acts as a great conduit for heat. (Notice how one of the heat pipes of both the CPU and the GPU is routed directly to this mid-layer)

I am rather pleased to see this mid-layer. Because from my last job, the military grade communication devices that we made used similar design to dissipate heat.
For portable devices, it really is best to make use as much of the chasis as possible as part of the "heatsink."

Now all this are based on my speculation. But from looking at the innards of the 8740w, and comparing it with that of the X7811, I (for one) feel better about the thermal condition of the 8740w. (If properly assembled, I think the 8740w will at least be 5 oC cooler than the X7811 under extreme load, which puts the temperature at mid to higher 80oC)

I really wish that the notebook would get here sooner, so I can start messing with it.

 

Also, it appears that the HS is the same for both ATI and nvidia.
At least on the surface. On page 18 the pics are marked "for nvidia" and "ATI".

The differences are probably underneath, based on the chip configuration of the GPU board.

 

Hi guys

On one hand i cant imagine that hp would let their most expensive notebook have heat troubles. On the other hand the radeon 5870 runs hot and the i7 isnt cool neither.
As Aikimox said, his 5870 in an alien reaches about 80 degrees and i the aliens have a hell of cooling system, 2 large fans and much more room than the 8740w.
the medion notebook is good example(one fan) and it runs very hot, too hot for my taste (up to 90 cpu and over 90 gpu at full load/notebookcheck source). And thats a new notebook, u have to take into consideration that after a few months of usage some dust will play against the cooling system (i mean u cant clean it everyday)
But as lethial said the 8740w fan looks a lot better that the medions so if his suggescions are right and if the 8740w can push the temperature abour 5°C down it ll make them quite acceptable.

BTW i ordered the precision m6500 a few weeks ago (still waiting) but i was considering the 8740w (as the ati looks so promising cant wait to see the benchmarks), the only think was that i worried about the heat.

 

It's even worse than I initially said. Right now a few AW M15X owners are desperately trying to improve their 5870's cooling to reduce the temps. As of right now, it runs at 90C+ during stress tests and gaming even with the aftermarket thermal pads and paste.
But on the other hand the GPU heatsink on 8740w is much bigger than those on the aliens (twice as big actually).
We need some reviews, anyway.

 

Looks like they've added a filter to the intake port.
At least it's an improvement over the previous models.