How is an HP EliteBook Mobile Workstation Going to Feel for a ThinkPad Owner?

I really like the new EliteBook 8450w and 8470w and I think it is time to replace my Thinkpad W500. Can anyone clue me in on how my experience might be different? I know plenty of people with consumer HP laptops but I don't expect it should be anything like that.

How is the noise (my Thinkpad is very quiet)?
How is the "feel"? The plastic body on my Thinkpad makes it feel cheep for what it is.
How are the hinges?
How is the keyboard? I absolutely love that they fit a num pad in the 15"
How is the trackpoint?

Thanks!

 

Bump. I have another question as well. I see that the ATI card is much cheaper and apparently has equivalent or better 3dmark06 performance. My current ATI card doesn't have very good OpenGL performance. There has only been 1 driver release for it too! I suspect this is because it has switchable graphics which complicates things, but I was hoping someone would chime in on the OpenGL performance of this ATI card.

 

I've had many thinkpads (560x, 600x, T42, T400s, etc) and I also have an Elitebook 8730w. I really like the Elitebook 8730w -- with the aluminum case it definitely feels more solid than the recent thinkpads I've had, and I love the screen (much much better than my T400s screen, although I haven't compared it to a W700) . Alas, I still strongly prefer the Thinkpad keyboard & trackpoint -- the Elitebook keyboard feels solid and responsive, but it just doesn't feel like a Thinkpad keyboard. The trackpoint is good, but there's something about how it's calibrated -- it feels and reacts quite different than a Thinkpad trackpoint -- and I don't like it as much. Don't get me wrong -- it's perfectly functional, it's just that my fingers would be happier on a Thinkpad. Otherwise, I like the build quality of the Elitebook better than my recent Thinkpads.

The hinges feel very solid, and the computer is pretty quiet -- although I have the 3700M graphics card, so when I'm doing something graphic intensive the fan runs pretty much full blast.

 

Awesome, thanks for the information!

 

I've also used both --- I don't think you'll have any significant issues in moving from a thinkpad to an elitebook (they're both good notebook lines).

The elitebooks are quiet; very well built and IMO more stylish than the thinkpads with metal chassis; hinges are metal and just as sturdy as on the thinkpads; I like the elitebook keyboards just as well as the ones on the thinkpads; trackpoint on the thinkpads does seem more responsive somehow than on the elitebooks, but it's not a big deal.

 

I used to be a die hard ThinkPad lover, until the T400. I was disappointed with the performance, and the machine wobbled on a flat surface when I put weight on the wrist wrests (no joke).

I picked up an HP 8530w on ebay and I love it. It's extremely well built. It's so solid I almost never worry about accidentally hitting something else with it. The other object invariably loses. I don't think I've managed to scratch it at all in the year or so that I've owned this monster. Its performance is impressive, and the size isn't that bad. I used to be big on the 14" models, but 15" for the bump in performance feels great. The machine is a little heavy, but I expect as much from a 15" workstation.

Spoiler alert / heads up: the power brick is huge on the 8530w, but it is compatible with smaller 65W adapters. I just get a warning that for full performance I should plug into a more powerful adapter.

I hope that helps you out!

 

Thanks for the info guys! Now I just have to decide between the 8540w and the 8740w. It comes down to 16:10 or 16:9. I prefer the 16:10 and my external monitor is 16:10, but I often do presentations on tv's that are 16:9.

 

different. or the same. it's a laptop. with windows.

 

If the 8540w came in 16:10, I would have bought it already but now I'm having to consider larger displays (17" 16:10@1920x1200 & 16:9@1920x1080) to make up for the loss of vertical screen I'm used to..16:9 appears inevitable so how long did it take you all to get accustomed to 16:9 or do any of you still miss 16:10?

16:9 doesn't seem to bother me as much in highly portable devices such as netbooks but when used mostly on a desk it seems more of an issue..15.6" notebooks also seem quite wide & short for portable primary use, I'd appreciate some feedback on this..

I still have some 4:3 displays & I'm not talking about an iPad..

Widescreen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image))

 

I am actually using a W500 with a 15.4" 16:10 aspect ratio and 1680x1050 resolution. The laptop I had before that was a T60p with a 15" 4:3 aspect ration and a 1600x1200 resolution. I miss that display and the 4:30 aspect ratio. I do however prefer 16:10 is high resolution and large screens where you can actually put documents side by side. I use a Dell U2410 external monitor which is 16:10 and 1920x1200.

I really do not like the 16:9 aspect ratio in a laptop screen. It is okay at large resolutions and on big screens but I still prefer the 16:10.

The only reason I have for going to a 16:9 is that it would work nicely with the HDTV's I do a lot of presentations on that are 16:9.

 

Yeah we have a Dell 2408 (got a good deal) in the home office room for an E6500 notebook (mushy keyboard sucks so typically use the DiNovo Edge there) as well as an old 4:3 desktop; next time I may just use one of the new 32" Samsung TVs, the 46" Samsung will stay in the TV room (BTW all 1080p antiglare matte screens & loving them) although when it comes to notebooks I'm not quite sold on the 15.6" 16:9 form factor yet. Suddenly 14" 16:9 notebooks seem better sized when I used to prefer 15" before the 16:9 widescreen move or even considering 17" full HD for the next notebook if I'm gonna get something so wide.

Honestly, external monitors often seem like overkill for personal use & only have them for presentations.

The 8540w specs-price are a good value for the preconfigured models but when I see all these wide-short 15.6" notebooks in stores now they make me pause to reexamine..

I know they offer the most bang for the buck value but do people like their 15.6" notebook form factors out there (compared to 15.4" or 17" form factors)?

Appreciate the feedback,

 

I agree personally, and never use an external monitor. But I guess everyone has their own preferences, and obviously it might be necesary for some professional uses.

I think it's safe to say that almost no business users like the 15.6" form factor over the 15.4", but the consumer market and movies has essential driven the 15.4" panels out of production. I'm afraid the 16:10 17" panels will be next...

 

Anyone know how the ATI M7820 compared to the Nvidia cards in OpenGL? I currently have an ATI FireGL V5700 in my W500 and it is an okay graphics card but does not have good driver support and the drivers I have do not work on one of my company's CAD software. Interestingly enough it works well in CATIA v5 but not in KeyCreator 9.

I also heard that the M7820 has significantly lower power consumption than the Nvidia cards and is based on the Radeon 5000 series chip.

I think it is a mute point because the ATI card is so much cheaper.

 

I'd assume the newer MR5xxx are much better in terms of OpenGL, you can ask that question in the 8740w/8540w threads.
Personally, I'm going from ThinkPads to Elitebooks because of the overall build quality, better screens and newer ATI GPUs. I like the TP pointing devices but it's not enough to stick to a plastic notebook when sturdier option is available for roughly the same price.

 

How is the noise (my Thinkpad is very quiet)?
How is the "feel"? The plastic body on my Thinkpad makes it feel cheep for what it is.
How are the hinges?
How is the keyboard? I absolutely love that they fit a num pad in the 15"
How is the trackpoint?

1. 8730w: Quite loud. By default, fan is set always on when on AC, though can be disabled? Plus side? Stays relatively cool.
2. Feel? Like a brick. Unbelievably solid. I've banged mine into walls and desks, and every object imaginable. Chugging along just fine.
3. Hinges: Solid. Unbelievably solid. Won't give up on you at all.
4. Keyboard: Love it. Nice feel, good click, somewhat audible (depending on how you type). Durakeys have kept them looking new.
5. Trackpoint: Absolute garbage. Mine has popped out of my keyboard on multiple occassions. The movement doesn't feel natural, the concave design doesn't facillitate tracking at all (rather, it inhibits it). Sometimes, my cursor will start shaking on its own after using the trackpoint. Strongly prefer the touchpad here. And for the 3 button equipped touchpads/trackpoints, there's no distinction between the 3 buttons. They're all equally sized, equally shaped, equally textured. You'll need to develop muscle memory if you want to use them correctly without looking.

 

I'm with you but how is Apple still getting 16:10 15.4" panels for their MBPs, old stock-lower volume expectations as newer models from everyone else is 16:9 15.6" ?

I wonder how much longer 16:10 17" will even be around but it feels like a bigger effect on 15"ers (perhaps it's because it's what I use so often) but 15.6" seems less mobile-primary use friendly than 15.4"... ?