HP Elitebook 8540w Review

After using different Thinkpads, Latitudes and Precisions in the past, I decided to go with a HP Elitebook this year because I got a great deal for a 8540w.

If you plan to do a clean install with your use the HP Support Assistent to install all the drivers, it's much more compfortable than using the SoftPaq INstaller or even install all by hand: Support Assistent Download

Case
The magnesium case of the Elitebook is realy great. Hard as a rock, nothing is flexing and the cool feeling of the brushed aluminium is very exclusive. A Thinkpad T510, which by itself feels pretty solid (despite some keyboard- and palmrest-flexing), feels like cheap plastic compared to the Elitebook.
The display is completly covered by a magnesium case covered with a brushed aluminium surface and has the same great touch as the palmrest. The hinges keep the display tight in place, no bouncing at all, but you can open it by using only one hand. The Thinkpad needs two hands, because the base unit gets lifted too if you don't push it down.



Connectivity
I have a 8540w equiped with a i7-720, 8GB DDR3 (4x 2GB) and a Quadro FX 1800m. For the system I use a aftermarket Intel X25 with 80GB. I moved the originial Seagate 500GB 7200rpm HDD to the ultrabay using a newmodeus adapter (with this code you get 5% off: FB072808 ) 8540w 2nd HDD Caddy

The DVD-burner went into an external USB chassis from Ebay, so I can use it from time to time without replacing the 2nd hdd.

One reason I choose business models for years is the possibility to use a dockingstation. It's simply great to come home and place the notebook into the dockingstation without a need to plug in all devices, connect the external monitor, get under the table to plug in the power adapter...
But even without a dockingstation you get any connection you'll need:

• 5 USB-ports (2x USB 3.0, 3x USB 2.0)
• Card-Reader (SD, MMC, MemoryStick), Smart-Card-Reader, ExpressCard54-Schacht
• DisplayPort (--> HDMI and DVI via adapter), VGA
• RJ-11 modem, gigabit LAN
• eSATA, FireWire (i-Link)
• Ultrabay with a DVD-DL-burner (which I moved to a external case, due I use a second HDD in the ultrabay)
• Battery port to attach a second longlife battery to the Elitebook

Input devices
The EliteBook's keys sit tight and have a very solid stroke. The quality itself is very high and the keys have a distinct pressure point and a quiet large stroke length. The clearly separated arrow keys make a good impression. HP has omitted a number pad in favor of key size. Due to the number pad the keyboard is not centered. This feels a bit odd in first use, but you can easily get used to it after a couple of hours. But I can understand Lenovo and Dells decision to not implement a numberpad. I always used a external bluetooth numbad so I had best of both.
Touchpad and Trackpoint
The mouse replacement is made of two parts; a conventional touchpad and a trackpoint. HP calls it Pointstick. All mouse keys are rubberized and have a very distinct stroke. The noiselessness and the long pressure point make its use very pleasant. The keys make a somewhat clattery impression but the operating speed is great. The Trackpoint itself work very good. It improves a lot more when you use a Thinkpad dome instead of the HP rubber knob. With a Thinkpad dome it works as smooth as a Thinkpad Trackpoint which is amazing! This is the first time I like a Trackpoint which isn't a Thinkpad Trackpoint! Unfortunately the three mousebuttons aren't as great as on Thinkpads, but scrolling via middle mouseclick works as well.



The touchpad is small (80mm diagonal), but it's sensitive to the edges and very smooth. The Synaptics V7.2 is actually a multi-touch pad. Practically, these functions are completely disabled (pinch zoom, multi-finger gestures) by the newest driver from HP (15.0.10.0). I deinstalled the driver and installed a newer one from laptopvideo2go.com (15.0.13.0) which enabled multitouch and momentum (this feature makes the touchpad work like a scrollball so the small area of the touchpad isn't a problem).

Display
I choose the HD+ panel. HD offers small real estate and FHD is too small for me. (WUXGA on 17" or WSXGA+ on 15,4" was my limit --> 130DPI, FHD is even higher on 15,6" --> 141DPI, 120DPI with HD+ on 15,6" is perfekt, that's what the MacBook Pros come standard with). Yes you can adjust DPI in Win 7, but lots of programms still have problems with scaling and I always use an external monitor when I'm plugged and I don't want to change the scaling anytime I dock on or off.
I got a AUO panel built in which first was a bit washed out. My T510 has a HD+ panel by LG which is a bit brighter and has more colors uncalibrated. After tweaking both displays they are both great. The AUO loses the slightly washed out look and offers great colors. Both displays aren't the brightest, but brightness is sufficient.
My NVidia-Settings for the AUO are:
All colors: gamma 0,9
Red: Brightness 45%
Green: Brightness 40%
Blue: Brightness 30%

Performance
The main reason the buy the Elitebook was the power of a core i7 quad combinded with 2 harddrives. Opposite to the Precision M4500 you can get a Quadro FX 1800m with GDDR5 instead of GDDR3. First looks on the Precision showed that Dell improved the cooling system a lot. They can even offer the extrem Edition i7-920XM which HP doesn't. But the HP uses a MXM board for the graficcard, Dell solders the card to the mainboard.
Unfortunately I couldn't choose a i7-820m in my offer, but quadcore was a must have for me because of two reasons:
1) you can inexpensivly upgrade to 8GB ram due to the 4 so-dimm-slots, the dual-core-models only offers 2 slots.
2) I use virtual machines parallel so more cores are more important than higher clocks (i7-620).
For the gamers of us, here some 3DMark benchmarks:
3dMark06 @ 1280x1024
SM2: 3005
SM3: 2919
CPU: 2993
--> 7416
3dMark06 @ 1280x800
SM2: 3276
SM3: 3360
CPU: 2982
--> 8158



Cinebench R10 @ 32bit
Single: 2846
Multi: 7721 (Faktor 2,71)
Open GL: 4416

Emissions
During idling the fan is off or pretty silent (a 5400rpm 2,5" hdd is twice as loud). During extreme loads the fan is loud but not to penetrating.

Before Bios F.08 the fan was running almost maxed out after you resumed the Elitebook from standby, this issue has been fixed with Bios F.08. Be shure to upgrade the Bios via Softpaqinstaller, or you can download the update here (I uploaded the Softpaq-Version to rapidshare for those who don't use the Softpaq Installer): Bios F.08 Update
Temperature (idle/max. load)
CPU 49-52°C / 90°C
GPU 50°C / 86°C

Speakers
Sounds clear and loud, but bass is lacking, as always ins business notebooks. The Elitebook supports sound over the displayport, which is very handy when you connect it to your home cinema.

Battery
Webbrowsing with display on half brightness I get 3,5 hours. When watching a movie on full brightness you need to plug in after 75 minutes.

Verdict
Best business notebook I got so far. If you get a good deal I'd always choose the 8540w over the T/W510 or the M4500. On the other hand you can't go wrong with those two either. For me the 8540w is just a bit better because of the great case (full metal no plastics), better connections (5x USB, Audio in and out, dockingstation, ultrabay and 2nd battery plug) and performance (FX 1800m with GDDR5 and now even a ATI FirePro M5800).

Pics

(You see the FHD panel on the right and the HD+ panel on the left)

 

Thanks for the review. I think I'll pass on the M4500 since it has soldered on graphics and only GDDR3, yuck!

 

thanks for this review !
i've got a question concerning HDD caddys

can you tell us the difference between the one you ordered :
http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=252

and this one :
http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=216

thanks a lot

anthony

 

Thank you, nice review!
Repped!

 

Great review!

 

Yes, the one I bought is also for 12mm high hdds (like the new 1TB hdds), the other one is just for regular 9,5mm hdds. Anyway I installed a 9,5mm hdd but for 2$ more I have the flexibility to upgrade to a larger harddisk.

 

Thanks for the review

 

Great review intoxicate, really surprised at the very low openGL score in cinebench though, different drivers?, can you try specviewperf if you have some free time.
Sounds great, this notebook is 1k cheaper than dell in my part of the world, only problem is being able to get one with a spec I want as they are all preconfigured with i7's and 1080 combined with the FX1800m

 

omg can anyone find me an elitebook DEAL? i cant find any anywhere... and i really want one with an i7 620m and a ok class 2 gpu

 

This is for M4500 with FX1800m and I think 920xm as posted in the M4500 owners lounge.

Total: 7613
SM Score 2: 3065
SM Score 3: 2901
CPU Score: 3455

What are the frequencies on the GDDR5 memory in the 8540w?, from what we're seeing so far the GDDR5 isn't making much in the way of difference, which is extremely surprising given what ATI's 128bit GDDR5 GPU's manage.

I find the temps being posted by some people a concern with the 8540w, have you reapplied TIM? and also don't know if I can live with an offset keyboard being largely a lap user....I do agree with your comments elsewhere about junk collecting speaker grills though

 

Prices on Hp.com seem to have dropped 400usd overnight on my i7 config. That plus the 24% discount makes for a sweet deal.

 

Great review, thank you very much for posting it.

I'm about to buy an elitebook. I can buy either the 8530p model for 1150 bucks or the 8540w for 1500. I know they're a year apart and am aware of the differences in graphics, DDR2 vs DDR3, dual core vs i7, etc. but since I will use it mainly for programming (I'm not a gamer; will begin PhD studies next fall) my question is, do you think the $350 difference are worth?

Plese let me know if I should've created a new thread to ask this.

I'd really appreciate your feedback. Thanks in advance!

 

I think Cinebench R10 Open GL test is faulty. I got very strange results even with my Precision M6400 which should score a lot higher (FX 3700).

1) I was very astonished too when I read those 3DMarks, GDDR3/GDDR5 doesn't seem to make any differences
At least the FX 1800m is definately better than the FX 880m (remember those FX 770 /FX 1700).

3) I got used to it pretty quick. For a lap user this notebook isn't good, because tthe cooling system pulls the air from the bottom.

I'd go with the 8530w if you don't need the latest hardware. It's not only the notebook, you can buy a dockingstation and other things for the 8530p very cheap on ebay. The 8540w accessoires are very expensive right now. And for programming the 16:10 (1680x1050) screen will be a better fit than a 16:9 (didn't find the resolution, probably 1600x900) screen.

 

The hdd bay is the best built hdd caddy I ever owned (had some Thinkpads and Latitudes). If the bay hadn't the HDD logo you couldn't see a difference to the original DVD-drive:

 

Wow I thought macbook pro's were expensive... lol

too rich for my blood

 

macbook pros aren't professional workstations.

 

The HP Elitebook is also better specification wise in pretty much every possible way too.

 

Well I got a real good deal on mine. I actually pay all together with the intel x25m and the hdd caddy + 8GB memory only 1700€ (2150$US). That's less than Apple whould charge me for the smallest MacBook Pro (1749).

i7-720QM vs i5-520M
72 Shaders vs 48 Shaders
8GB vs 4GB
80GB SSD + 500GB 7.200rpm vs. 320GB 5.400rpm
1600x900 matte vs 1440x900 glossy

I'd be a complete sponge if I didn't bought the Elitebook (I actually sold my mid 09 MacBook Pro 15 for it). Btw. the Elitebooks feels more sturdy and durable as the MBP. The MacBook Aluminium is scratch sensible. Even steel wool can't scratch the Elitebook shell

 

Hello

@ Intoxicate

Your HDD bay did you buy it with a HDD or without and whats the HP part number? Because I saw that HP sells it only with a HDD and very expensive.
The HDD bay from the HP8540w has an oder color as for the HP 8530w?


Thanks in advance


LOLO_90

 

Very nice review! Thanks

 

1) HP doesn't sell the ultrabay caddy without a HDD.

2)The 8530w and the 8540w caddy is exactly the same!

 

Few Qs:
How did you get a great deal?
How long did the 2nd HDD install-swap take, easy-straightforward?
16:9 15.6" form factor vs. 16:10, not too short-wide when no external monitor?
Still satisfied with the multi-touch trackpad, screen resolution, speakers, i7-720, SSD-external DVD, dockingstation setup, battery life performance, portability?
How's the webcam?

Thanks for the pics & detailed review ,

 

I'd expect no less from an Elitebook Solid notebook right there. Congrats on your new "toy"

 

1) Got the Elitebook through a special academical offer for around 1700$ (just the Elitebook, SSD, HDD caddy, docking were bought aftermarket)
2) 5min to install the SSD in the Upgrade Bay caddy. 30sek. to swap the dvd against the HDD caddy, it's very simple.
3) I used 15,4" WXGA+ on a MBP 15" and a Dell Precision M4400 before, so I have the same vertical pixels + 160 additional horizontal pixels. I moved the taskbar to the left so I have that vertical space too. With the additional width 2 windows side by side are easier to view. So I like it more. In advance I now have a numpad on the keyboard.
4) I rather use the trackpoint than the trackpad, multi-touch is nice to zoom in pics or while websurfing. Both work fine. Love the HD+ screen, it's crisp not to small not to large. Speaker sounds good, not to great but also not to bad. The webcam is finde, but I'd like it to show a bit lower, I need to move the screen a bit when I use the cam. Battery performance is weak (due to the 4 memory slots, 2 hdds, quadcore, Quadro FX 1800m) I get around 2 hours when I do normal work, surfing around 3 hours. It's a good compromise between screen estate, performance and portability. The baseunit is as high as a MacBook Pro so it's not the smallest lightest 15" book, but one of the ruggest!

 

May be you can find a deal on ebay if you are lucky.
I got my 8510w + an external battery from a local seller on ebay 2 years ago for $750. It is a solid machine and still has 0.5 year warranty.
My previous NC8430 and NC8230 are from ebay as well.
My next one will also be HP business laptop. Probably 8540w..when I see a deal again on ebay.

 

Aikimox - I'm interested in the fact that you own a W510 and either a 8540 or 8740 (?). I'm trying to decide between the W510 or the 8540. I've had thinkpads for years, and if the two are comparable, perhaps I'll prefer the W510 because of hte keyboard and touchpad. I want the speed and power to handle several programs at once, but I don't game or do CAD programs. Price is not an issue, though. I want the best.

Thanks for your advice!

 

I have a few things against W510 even though I'm a long term ThinkPad user (9 years) : it has a poor screen, inferior graphics (no M5800 or FX1800M options) and feels cheaper if you know what I mean. The plastic case with time (just a few months of non-aggressive use) starts producing annoying cracking sounds. Even the keyboard is not 100% better than the one offered by HP.
If price is not an issue - go for 8540w with DC2 screen, i7-840QM and ATI M5800. That's what I'd do. I went for 8740w 'cause I needed a bigger screen and am very happy with the system so far.

 

excellent review and info

thanks !!

 

I received my ELitebook 8540w friday.

My 3d mark 06 score @1280x800 with 642mhz core and 2636mhz ram

is 9466 pints

 

Challenge accepted sir! I`ll post what I can squeeze out of my M5800. If it can do 750c 1100r my guess is that it will beat yours.

 

What cpu do you have? So, for $1,000 it's a great machine. How about for $1,800 with a dual core i7 and a DC2 screen?

 

thanks for the review. Just got my 8540 about 3 weeks ago.

Great built and performance as usual for the HP business models

 

It take some time, but you find them here
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming-software-graphics-cards/610674-specview-test-results.html
HP 8540w i7-640 2.8Ghz nVidia FX880
15,3 10,22 28,7 25,83 6,63 24,17 11,07 12,33
Catia-03 Ensight-04 Lightwave-01 Maya-03 Proe-05 SW-02 Tcvis-02 Snx-0

 

Has anyone successfully been able to put a sim card in and browse the internet? I think there is something else that needs to be installed to use the slot... am i correct?