8710p-July 5. 8510p-July 20?

To drive a couple of large screens you need video bandwidth and video RAM more than a power GPU. The fact is they put gaming friendly chip in the nc8430 and in the 8x10p systems and I'm sure they expected someone to use them as such.

Perhaps they figured there was a market for the work hard/play hard sort. Or they knew it'd be popular with enthusiasts. Or perhaps they figured some people wanted a system that could render descently but didn't cost as much as the ISV certified models. Wouldn't the X1600 be considered a mainstream gaming GPU? Same with the HD 2600 and the Nvidia 8600 series. So the logic still holds.

But my guess is they wouldn't go for the GT model not because they don't think it'd sell but because it'd undercut the their 'w' models. Now the 8600 GS though seems like it'd be the equal of the HD 2600, so it'd be a more likely option.

 

Some thoughts on when 8710P/W will actually ship:

I ordered an HP 8710W from the HP-SMB web site on July 18. I ordered one of the preconifgured models, actually they are the only ones currently available. At the time I placed my order the web site informed me that the unit would ship on July 24.

When I checked my order status on the HP-SMB web site it showed the order as confirmed, credit approved. Reviewing the line item detail for the order showed that the unit was currently back ordered. There was no projected delivery date available. After two phone calls I was connected to a very helpful gentleman in the SMB order fulfillment department who asked me to wait a moment while he made some inquiries. He came back on the line and informed me that the actual projected ship date for my unit was August 8.

I fully believe him. The ship dates that the HP order verification web site shows you are the dates generated under the assumption that the unit you ordered is actually available. The 8510 and 8710 notebooks are new products and I seriously doubt that there is really any significant inventory of them anywhere. I don't think it has to do with any single component but rather it is just a matter of ramping up production for new models. These are my opinions based on my conversation with the SMB department and many many years with DIGITAL/Compaq/HP - I no longer work for HP though.

I'll wait until the week of July 30 and start checking the order status web site again. If I don't see a projected ship date for my order by the end of the week, then I'll start making phone calls again. When being among the first to order a new product all one can do is be patient and be nice to the people you call to ask questions of.

Regards,
Paul

 

Called the local hp sales people and one of them said 3 aug. Not sure how true is it. This is for the 8510w though.

 

I had a talk with distributor and 8510w could be here (Central Europe) tomorrow (25.7.). If only it would be true...

 

Talked with someone and they said early August for the 8510p

 

Mid August should be about right since the 8510/8710 just entered the catalogues here today.
Can anyone confirm if the Nvidia Quadro FX 570 will run fine on the Linux proprietary drivers with full 3D acceleration?

 

hope they're right!

 

I have in my hands right now an 8510w so they are definitely getting ready to ramp up production. I've got one of the prototypes...presumably the final batch before production actually started.

 

care to post up some photos to whet our appetites?

 

I'll have photos of an 8510W production unit posted tonight.

There have been about 50 8510W's shipped as "production units" from HP in the various stock configurations. They are waiting on more stock to ship out further orders.

I'll also be posting benchmarks of the unit I have (probably closer to prototype than production), later today hopefully as well.

-Jeeves

EDIT:
I'll take/post photos as soon as I find my bloody digicam...it's MIA for now...
-Jeeves

 

So, I finally got my 8510w, model GC114EA. It is AWESOME!

You can see a comparison of 2 8510w and 2 nc8430 models here.

 

Our review of the 8510w should be up on Monday or Tuesday next week, pending any natural or supernatural disasters

 

Nice...I cannot wait to see the results. If the performance/build is like the T61P...(as it should be) then this will be a great laptop. I am already liking it more due to the lower resolution and HDMI port. The resolution on th T61P is just ridiculous. Now if only the price can be toned down a few hundred bucks..

 

Wow nice pic there ceco. Will be eagerly waiting for greg's review too.

 

Still not configurable

 

Hey Greg, are you reviewing the 2.2ghz, or the 2.0 ghz w/ wsvga+? I am eagerly awaiting your review and was hoping you could give us some kind of information/pics to tie us over till next week? Also, do you know of any site that offers this machine at a cheaper price? I just do not understand how HPs prices are so expensive. I configured a T61P for several hundred dollars less, with added free shipping.

 

General specs for the prototype 8510w that we have: T7500, nVidia Quadro FX 570, W UXGA screen, and BluRay. Basically it is the $3k model.

The price is more expensive because of the workstation card; correct me if I'm wrong but does the T61P have a workstation card (not the Quadro NVS, but the FX) certified for industrial application compatibility?

Anyway: 3dMark05 scores are through the roof (7500+) and so are 3dMark06 at 3700+ so I'm spending a lot of time trying to stress the GPU out and see where it breaks down with respect to FPS. I may have to go purchase a more powerful gaming program tomorrow for this review. Lost Planet is running at 720p at medium-high ish graphics which is better than other laptops I've seen so far.

'Nuff said...you'll just have to wait now

 

Yeah...the T61p is equiped with the same quadro 570 fx card yet costs several hundred dollars less for an equally configed system...not sure why...I guess HP is just more expensive. I am still however leaning towards this one due to the option of having a WSVGA+ screen which is somewhat better on the eyes. Those numbers are just amazing...beating out even G1S? This laptop seriously rocks..cannot wait for the full review...hope to hear more good things.

Thanks again.

 

I did benchmarking too (T7700, 1x2GB) and for 1024x768, 3DM06 shows 4624 and 3DM05 7657... 3DM06 uses natively 1280x1024 so my results for it are "a bit" higher...

sunchaser:
HP uses promo pricing (SmartBuy in USA) to attract customers; if you are looking at normal models and/or those with Blu-ray, you will see "terrible" prices, which can however be adjusted if you call them.

You also have to look at other things - base warranty for 8510w is 3 years compared to 1y for T61p; T61p has about 4 weeks delays and if you configure it to same config as 8510w (don't forget to use 2GB in 1 DIMM as HP uses only one 2GB module for 8510w), you will get +- same price.

 

In the Asia-Pacific markets, the Lenovo T61p is still priced higher than the 8510w for a similar configuration.

 

Well, this 8510w comes with a BR drive...which I do not think the T61p comes with.