HP EliteBook 8460p: Everything But The Screen
by Dustin Sklavos on May 10, 2011 5:50 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- IT Computing
- Intel
- HP
- EliteBook
- Sandy Bridge
Introducing the HP EliteBook 8460p
Ever since getting to visit with HP back in February, we've been anxious to get one of their refreshed enterprise-class notebooks in house. The aluminum styling is such a smart blend of professionalism and straight up good looks, it's almost a shame we aren't going to see it on consumer-oriented notebooks. Now we have one of their new 14-inch models on hand, the EliteBook 8460p, featuring a dual-core Sandy Bridge processor and new AMD Radeon HD 6470M graphics. Is it everything we hoped for?
About the only thing I don't like about HP's new lineup is how convoluted it is. HP is offering two different ProBook lines and two different EliteBook lines. The ProBooks are split into budget and...not budget?...and then the EliteBooks have one line geared specifically for mobile workstations. It's all broken down here (minus the new workstations, which are still en route), and it's a little clumsy. The overarching themes between all the lines are sound, though: gorgeous aluminum shells, reinforced hinges, and matte screens. Our EliteBook is the 8460p, a 14-inch build from the not-workstation line.
| HP EliteBook 8460p Specifications | |
| Processor |
Intel Core i5-2520M (2x2.5GHz + HTT, 3.2GHz Turbo, 32nm, 3MB L3, 35W, vPro Enabled) |
| Chipset | Intel QM67 |
| Memory | 1x4GB DDR3-1333 (Max 2x8GB) |
| Graphics |
AMD Radeon HD 6470M 1GB GDDR3 (160 Stream Processors, 750MHz/1.8GHz Core/Memory clocks, 64-bit memory bus) |
| Display |
14-inch LED Matte 16:9 1366x768 (AU Optronics AUO313C Panel) |
| Hard Drive(s) | Hitachi Travelstar 7K500 320GB 7200-RPM SATA 3Gbps Hard Disk |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW Combo Drive w/ LightScribe |
| Networking |
Intel 82579LM Gigabit Ethernet Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 802.11a/b/g/n Bluetooth 2.1+EDR Agere Si3054 Modem |
| Audio |
IDT 92HD81B1X HD audio Stereo speakers Headphone and microphone jacks |
| Battery | 6-Cell, 62Wh battery |
| Front Side | Indicator lights |
| Left Side |
AC adapter port 4-pin FireWire 2x USB 3.0 SD/MMC reader ExpressCard/54 Optical drive |
| Right Side |
Headphone jack Microphone jack eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port USB 2.0 (charging) DisplayPort Exhaust vent Kensington lock |
| Back Side |
Modem jack VGA Ethernet jack |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1 |
| Dimensions | 13.31" x 9.11" x 1.25" (WxDxH) |
| Weight | 4.95 lbs |
| Extras |
720p Webcam Flash reader (MMC, SD/Mini SD, MS/Duo/Pro/Pro Duo) USB 3.0 Bluetooth Fingerprint reader Modem |
| Warranty | 3-year standard parts and labor warranty |
| Pricing |
Starts at $999 As configured $1,199 |
Starting from the top, we have Intel's Core i5-2520M. Sporting a 2.5GHz nominal clock speed and capable of turbo-ing up to 3GHz on both cores and 3.2GHz on a single core, this chip is actually a step up from the Core i5-2410M in that it supports AES-NI and hardware virtualization where the lesser model does not. It also starts at a higher clock speed and has substantially higher turbo bins.
HP makes the interesting decision to employ a single 4GB DIMM instead of a pair of 2GB DIMMs; on the one hand this may produce a minor hiccup in performance, but on the other this is the standard memory configuration across the 8460p lineup and ensures the end user can easily upgrade the RAM later. With 4GB sticks going for $40 apiece right now, that doesn't sound like a bad idea either.
One of the parts we're really interested in checking out is AMD's new Radeon HD 6470M. Now that Sandy Bridge's integrated graphics effectively makes the unimpressive Mobility Radeon HD 5470 obsolete (outside of still having better driver support), AMD has to step up their game. This chip doubles the number of shaders of its predecessor at 160 (finally eclipsing the now ancient Radeon HD 2600), but the memory bus remains a poor 64 bits wide and is strapped to GDDR3 instead of the faster GDDR5 that could mitigate the narrow bus. Still, core clocks are mighty high at 750MHz. We don't expect performance to double, but it should at least be a substantial improvement. One disappointment is the lack of a switchable graphics solution; there are notebooks sporting 6000M series Radeons in the market that can switch between the discrete and integrated GPUs, but that's not possible on the 8460p.
As for the rest of the configuration, HP ships the 8460p with 7200RPM hard drives, Bluetooth, and wireless-a/b/g/n support standard. One of the nicer things about checking out business-class notebooks is that they tend to be much more fully-featured than their consumer cousins, and the 8460p is evidence of that, offering all modern and even some older connectivity--some people still value FireWire, thankfully. Unfortunately, while HP does offer WWAN connectivity with the 8460p, the internal Mini-PCIe port doesn't support mSATA.
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lefenzy - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 - link
Looks like HP went with form instead of function with the chiclet keyboard, lack of useful function keys like volume adjustment, equally spaced apart F keys, and no middle button for the trackpoint. The notebook also looks pretty thick. Add to that list of flaws the exhaust on the right side. I'll stick with thinkpads.This laptop review needs more assessment of laptop build quality: fit and finish, flex, and so on. Benchmark performance merely reflects the intel processor on the inside.
sinansakic - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 - link
I own 6930p notebook and all changes hp made seem to go for worse.- I would always trade chickelt for regular notebok keyboard. I hate small up/down arrows and could not care less for trends Apple is pushing. Pray we do not get one button touchpad in next generation.
- I am not crazy about touch buttons row above keyboard on my elitebook but it is better than no dedicated volume up/down,
- Exaust on the righ hand side???
- Mate display is one of the weak point of my notebook. It seems hp used even worse display on new one.
- Notebook obviously performs better but it is not because of hp.
darwinosx - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 - link
These are about the only laptops other than MacBook Pros i can stand. Most of the rest are cheap and junky. Plus I have zero desire to run Windows. I have a W series laptop from work that I run Linux on as well as MBP. Still not the build quality of a MBP but close. Plus HP provides great business service and support. Their consumer support sucks tho.beginner99 - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 - link
Well this one is off the table. non switchable graphics with something that's hardly better than intel igp? Makes no sense. BTW what's with the starcraft 2 Benchmark? Doesn't make any sense too HD 6470 being suddenly the fastes card by big margin...I recently saw a cheap HP notebook and the screen was really, really awful. Even problematic in a well lit room to use. And with well lit I do not mean direct sunlight...it's is really really bad. i would immediately return anything with such a screen.
DanaG - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 - link
There are at least two cool things you lose by not having switchable graphics:vPro hardware VNC server (with discrete, you'll be mousing and keyboarding blind), and Intel Wireless Display
Penti - Thursday, May 12, 2011 - link
This looks like a great laptop, if bought with the 1600x900 screen, but is there any elitebook that has switchable graphics? I think vPro is a big feature in business laptops to begin with. I would love to see a decent 14" business notebook, Dell, Lenovo and Fujitsu seems to have a few decent too. But I would love to see notebooks with switchable graphics in 14" too that has the complete feature set of vPro/iAMT. I know there is 15" models that does that though. But shouldn't Dell and Lenovo handle that in their 14inch notebooks too? But is a NVS 4200M worth anything? Probably not.Pneumothorax - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 - link
WTF is wrong with PC manufacturers and their inability to put a decent screen? A decent screen should be STANDARD, not drek that belongs on a 14" $100 TV's at Walmart!VJ - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 - link
I guess I'll never find a worthy upgrade for my 700 euro (incl. sales tax) 6715b with its 1680x1050 screen which I bought back in 2008. I'd gladly go with an elitebook in order to keep on using my docking stations and 12-cell batteries.Not too long ago you could still get elitebooks with 1920x 1080 or 1200 screens, but now, there's not a single model which goes over 1600x900 (unless somebody can show me otherwise) and the Concorde has been retired as well.
damianrobertjones - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 - link
Please mention the extended and super extended battery options that are available.damianrobertjones - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 - link
P.s. Would love a review of the 13.3" model