HP EliteBook
Encyclopedia
HP EliteBook is a brand of premium business-class notebooks and mobile workstations made by Hewlett-Packard
. The EliteBook series, which slots above the lower-end ProBook
series, was introduced in August 2008.
and dual pointing devices (touchpad
and pointing stick
). Earlier EliteBook models featured the HP Night Light keyboard light (similar to the ThinkLight
found on many ThinkPads
), while in subsequent generations HP has added a backlit keyboard option to some 15" and 17" workstation models. Select models have SSD storage options.
The xx60 series features second-generation Intel Core i series processors, a choice of Sandy Bridge
integrated or AMD Radeon HD 6470M discrete graphics and chiclet
-style keyboards. The notebooks were also completely redesigned, with a more boxy shape and less plastic used on the surfaces, as well as a larger glass touchpad. The multiple access panels on the bottom of the notebooks were also replaced with a single panel enabling access to all of the internal components.
The 8460p model is claimed to have battery life in excess of 32 hours using an external ultra-capacity battery.
The xx40 series brought with itself several changes and new features, including upgrading to the new Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors and DDR3 SDRAM
, new semi-chiclet keyboard
and for the 14" and 15" models the switch from 16:10 to 16:9 displays. With this series, HP also added DisplayPort
and USB 3.0 ports to the EliteBook line. Appearance-wise, the workstation models were changed to a darker "gunmetal" finish while the non-workstation models retain the brighter "silver" finish.
Models with quad-core CPUs support up to 32 GB of RAM. Workstation models can be configured with ISV-certified professional graphics cards such as the ATI
FirePro M7820 or the nVidia
Quadro FX 5000M (as of December 2010 the most powerful workstation-class graphics card on the market, and exclusive to the EliteBook 8740w).
The 6930p model was notable for being claimed by HP to be the first notebook to break the 24 hour battery life barrier.
T400. The 2730p Tablet PC was well-received by GottaBeMobile, but noted shortcomings in its speakers, buttons, and latches. Notebook Review called the 8530w mobile workstations "one of the most impressive workstation-class 15.4" notebooks", and Desktop Engineering found that, "In terms of price, performance, and portability, the HP EliteBook 8530w is a winner."
Geek.com commented: "In summary, you can’t go wrong with the EliteBook 8540p (or the 8xx0 series for that matter). With this flagship business line HP has combined good looks, ruggedness, high performance, and tons of features into one extremely attractive package." IT Reviews said that the 8540p's "relatively high screen resolution is a real draw, and we found the keyboard to be well made and easy to use at full touch-typing speed". However, the site also noted that "it is big and heavy and so not designed for portability, though. And it is expensive too."
The EliteBook 8440p received praise from V3.co.uk for its "attractive and robust design" as well as a "powerful processor" and "good range of features", but the review also noted that the overall appeal of the laptop was diminished by "poor battery life" and HP's choice of 32-bit
Windows.
A review by AnandTech gave high scores to the HP EliteBook 8740w with the DreamColor 2 LCD, but noted a somewhat high price tag on built-to-order machines.
p — professional
w — mobile workstation
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
. The EliteBook series, which slots above the lower-end ProBook
HP ProBook
The HP ProBook is a brand of affordable business notebooks made by Hewlett-Packard. The ProBook series are aimed at mainstream business users and are cheaper than the higher-end EliteBook series.-S-Series:...
series, was introduced in August 2008.
Features
The HP EliteBook line is engineered to meet military MIL-STD-810 standards for reliability and performance under extreme conditions, namely for temperature, altitude, humidity, dust, shock and vibration. The notebooks feature a magnesium alloy chassis, anodized aluminum lid and palm rests, spill-resistant keyboards, active hard drive protectionActive hard drive protection
In computer hardware, active hard-drive protection refers to technology that attempts to avoid or reduce mechanical damage to hard disk drives by preparing the disk prior to impact...
and dual pointing devices (touchpad
Touchpad
A touchpad is a pointing device featuring a tactile sensor, a specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on screen. Touch pads are a common feature of laptop computers, and they are also used as a substitute for a mouse where desk...
and pointing stick
Pointing stick
The pointing stick is an isometric joystick used as a pointing device . It was invented by research scientist Ted Selker...
). Earlier EliteBook models featured the HP Night Light keyboard light (similar to the ThinkLight
ThinkLight
ThinkLight is a keyboard light present in most ThinkPad families of notebook computers.The series was originally designed by IBM, and then produced by Lenovo after 2005.-Description:...
found on many ThinkPads
ThinkPad
ThinkPad is line of laptop computers originally sold by IBM but now produced by Lenovo. They are known for their boxy black design, which was modeled after a traditional Japanese lunchbox...
), while in subsequent generations HP has added a backlit keyboard option to some 15" and 17" workstation models. Select models have SSD storage options.
Current models
The current generation is the xx60 series, announced on February 23, 2011 and currently comprising the following models:- 2560p: 12.5" ultraportable
- 2760p: 12.1" Tablet PCTablet computerA tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
- 8460p: 14.0" mainstream
- 8460w: 14.0" mobile workstation
- 8560p: 15.6" mainstream
- 8560w: 15.6" mobile workstation
- 8760w: 17.3" mobile workstation
The xx60 series features second-generation Intel Core i series processors, a choice of Sandy Bridge
Sandy Bridge
Sandy Bridge is the codename for a microarchitecture developed by Intel beginning in 2005 for central processing units in computers to replace the Nehalem microarchitecture...
integrated or AMD Radeon HD 6470M discrete graphics and chiclet
Chiclet keyboard
A chiclet keyboard or island-style keyboard is a computer keyboard built with an array of small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like erasers or "Chiclets", a brand of chewing gum manufactured in the shape of small squares with rounded corners...
-style keyboards. The notebooks were also completely redesigned, with a more boxy shape and less plastic used on the surfaces, as well as a larger glass touchpad. The multiple access panels on the bottom of the notebooks were also replaced with a single panel enabling access to all of the internal components.
The 8460p model is claimed to have battery life in excess of 32 hours using an external ultra-capacity battery.
Previous models
The first generation of EliteBooks was the xx30 series. Before that, HP's p- and w-class (professional and workstation, respectively) notebooks weren't branded as EliteBooks, nor did they have the EliteBooks' distinctive anodized aluminum styling.Second generation
The xx40 series comprises the following models:- 2540p: 12.1" ultraportable
- 2740p: 12.1" Tablet PCTablet computerA tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
- 8440p: 14.0" mainstream
- 8440w: 14.0" mobile workstation
- 8540p: 15.6" mainstream
- 8540w: 15.6" mobile workstation
- 8740w: 17.0" mobile workstation
The xx40 series brought with itself several changes and new features, including upgrading to the new Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors and DDR3 SDRAM
SDRAM
Synchronous dynamic random access memory is dynamic random access memory that is synchronized with the system bus. Classic DRAM has an asynchronous interface, which means that it responds as quickly as possible to changes in control inputs...
, new semi-chiclet keyboard
Chiclet keyboard
A chiclet keyboard or island-style keyboard is a computer keyboard built with an array of small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like erasers or "Chiclets", a brand of chewing gum manufactured in the shape of small squares with rounded corners...
and for the 14" and 15" models the switch from 16:10 to 16:9 displays. With this series, HP also added DisplayPort
DisplayPort
DisplayPort is a digital display interface standard produced by the Video Electronics Standards Association . The specification defines a royalty-free digital interconnect for audio and video. The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor...
and USB 3.0 ports to the EliteBook line. Appearance-wise, the workstation models were changed to a darker "gunmetal" finish while the non-workstation models retain the brighter "silver" finish.
Models with quad-core CPUs support up to 32 GB of RAM. Workstation models can be configured with ISV-certified professional graphics cards such as the ATI
Ati
As a word, Ati may refer to:* Ati, a town in Chad* Ati, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines* Ati-Atihan Festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines* Ati, a queen of the fabled Land of Punt in Africa...
FirePro M7820 or the nVidia
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
Quadro FX 5000M (as of December 2010 the most powerful workstation-class graphics card on the market, and exclusive to the EliteBook 8740w).
First generation
The xx30 generation comprised the following notebooks:- 2530p: 12.1" ultraportable
- 2730p: 12.1" Tablet PCTablet computerA tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
- 6930p: 14.1" mainstream
- 8530p: 15.4" mainstream
- 8530w: 15.4" mobile workstation
- 8730w: 17.0" mobile workstation
The 6930p model was notable for being claimed by HP to be the first notebook to break the 24 hour battery life barrier.
Reception
The HP Elitebook line has been positively received, with PC Mag giving the 6930p notebook a four out of five star review, noting its performance in all-around computing, but giving higher praise to the ThinkpadThinkPad
ThinkPad is line of laptop computers originally sold by IBM but now produced by Lenovo. They are known for their boxy black design, which was modeled after a traditional Japanese lunchbox...
T400. The 2730p Tablet PC was well-received by GottaBeMobile, but noted shortcomings in its speakers, buttons, and latches. Notebook Review called the 8530w mobile workstations "one of the most impressive workstation-class 15.4" notebooks", and Desktop Engineering found that, "In terms of price, performance, and portability, the HP EliteBook 8530w is a winner."
Geek.com commented: "In summary, you can’t go wrong with the EliteBook 8540p (or the 8xx0 series for that matter). With this flagship business line HP has combined good looks, ruggedness, high performance, and tons of features into one extremely attractive package." IT Reviews said that the 8540p's "relatively high screen resolution is a real draw, and we found the keyboard to be well made and easy to use at full touch-typing speed". However, the site also noted that "it is big and heavy and so not designed for portability, though. And it is expensive too."
The EliteBook 8440p received praise from V3.co.uk for its "attractive and robust design" as well as a "powerful processor" and "good range of features", but the review also noted that the overall appeal of the laptop was diminished by "poor battery life" and HP's choice of 32-bit
32-bit
The range of integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4,294,967,295. Hence, a processor with 32-bit memory addresses can directly access 4 GB of byte-addressable memory....
Windows.
A review by AnandTech gave high scores to the HP EliteBook 8740w with the DreamColor 2 LCD, but noted a somewhat high price tag on built-to-order machines.
History
Suffix legend:p — professional
w — mobile workstation
| Size > | 12" | 14" | 15" | 17" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type > | Ultraportable | Tablet | Mainstream | Mobile workstation | Mainstream | Mobile workstation | ||
| Series > | 25xx | 27xx | 6xxx | 84xx | 85xx | 87xx | ||
| 2008 | 2530p | 2730p | 6930p | 8530p | 8530w | 8730w | ||
| 18 August 2008 | 8 Sept. | 11 August 2008 | ||||||
| 2010 | 2540p | 2740p | 8440p | 8440w | 8540p | 8540w | 8740w | |
| 1 March 2010 | 6 January 2010 | 24 March | ||||||
| 14" and 15" models' displays' aspect ratio reduced from 16:10 to 16:9. | ||||||||
| 2011 | 2560p | 2760p | 8460p | 8460w | 8560p | 8560w | 8760w | |
| 9 May 2011 | 23 Feb. | 12 April 2011 | 23 Feb. | 12 April 2011 | ||||