HP EliteBook 8530w Laptop Reviews
HP EliteBook 8530w Laptop Reviews Pictures
The HP EliteBook 8530w Laptops is the latest 15.4" workstation featuring the latest Intel processors and Nvidia Quadro FX 770M wrapped inside an impressively durable shell. The HP EliteBook 8530w Laptops and 8530p (non-workstation version) replace the 8510w and 8510p, respectively. Is it time for an upgrade at your office? Take a look and see what we have to say about this powerful workhorse!
HP EliteBook 8530w Laptop Reviews Pictures
The HP EliteBook 8530w Laptops starts out at $1,499 but more powerful configurations top out at $3,549.
Our pre-production review unit as configured:
- Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 Processor (2.53GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB)
- Microsoft Genuine Windows Vista Business
- 15.4-inch WUXGA+ anti-glare (1920 x 1200)
- 512MB NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M Workstation GPU
- 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM (2 x 2GB Configuration)
- 160GB 7200RPM Toshiba 2.5" HDD
- Blu-Ray and DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
- WiFi, Ethernet, Modem, and Bluetooth Connectivity
- 8-Cell 73WHr Battery
- 3-Year on-site Warranty
- Dimensions: 1.1" x 14.0" x 10.4"
- Weight: 6.5lbs without power adapter, 8lbs with power adapter
The Laptop that was provided to us is a pre-production unit, and this specific configuration for our Laptop did not fit any of the preconfigured models available online, but a similar configuration with 2GB of 800MHz DDR2 RAM and a 250GB hard drive would cost $2,549 if ordered via the HP website.
The main body of the laptop is covered in the new "HP DuraCase" and "HP DuraFinish" which is essentially a hard plastic and strong magnesium alloy inner shell much like its predecessor strengthened by a brushed aluminum outer shell that is so scratch resistant you can’t even scratch it with steel wool. The base of the laptop feels very strong and would definitely survive many bumps and bruises that other laptops might not. There is no flex in the keyboard, except for a very minor amount of flex around the enter key directly above the optical drive. The underside of the notebook is also similarly rigid and strong with the exception of the area immediately underneath the notebook’s optical drive. Although we don’t recommend it, you can stand on this notebook and you’ll barely notice any flex beneath your feet.
The 8530w comes equipped with a 15.4" anti-glare widescreen with the highest resolution possible for a screen of this size. At 1920 x 1200 pixels, this high-definition display is capable of displaying the finest details in workstation applications like Maya, CAD, 3dsMax, and more. Or course, you can also enjoy this extra resolution for 1080p movies when you use the BluRay optical drive.
Our pre-production EliteBook 8530w came with the Intel T9400 processor, clocking in at 2.53GHz, and jammed packed with 6MB of cache. For graphics, HP included an Nvidia Quadro 770M series video card with 512MB of GDDR3 memory. A fast 160GB 7200 RPM hard drive was also included, which helped applications load without much lag. This workstation consistently exceeded our expectations, thanks in large part to the workstation-class GPU. Serious users will find this machine packs plenty of power for even the most demanding tasks, and "normal" users who are only concerned with working in Microsoft Office and encoding the occassional video for work will have more power than they know what to do with it.
During normal use (browsing the web or working on a text document) the EliteBook 8530w remained nice and quiet. However, after watching some streaming video online and after stressing the graphics the cooling fan inside the laptop gets quite loud. When doing tasks that stress the processor and graphics card, the laptop’s fan works hard to keep this laptop cool. This is something of a mixed blessing in that while noisy, it helps to lower the internal temperatures and helps extend the life of your notebook components.
The HP EliteBook 8530w is one of the most impressive workstation-class 15.4" notebooks we’ve seen. Whether you’re a small business owner looking for a durable notebook with plenty of performance or a large business looking to outfit a large staff of creative professionals with mobile workstations, the EliteBook 8530w makes a smart choice. However, there’s no such thing as a perfect notebook and our pre-production unit of the 8530w was not without its flaws.
While there are a few things we can criticize about the 8530w, it’s hard to be too critical of a pre-production unit because there is always a "possibility" that a minor issue (such as touchpad buttons or cooling fan volume) could be resolved with the final versions that ship to customers. Still, based on the review unit we have on hand we feel our relatively minor criticism is warranted.
[Source:notebookreview]
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Comment by Laptops — November 5, 2008 @ 5:18 am