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  • ExodusC - Friday, August 13, 2010 - link

    Has AnandTech been able to get their hands on an Envy 14 to review it? I'm typing from mine now, and I absolutely love it. I'd like to see what AnandTech thinks about it, compared to the plethora of other laptops you guys get to review...
  • JarredWalton - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Not yet, but hopefully real soon (finally!)
  • CurseTheSky - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    I'll second the Envy 14 review recommendation. In a world where the Macbook Pro seems like the only option if you want a good, solid, "consumer-level" notebook, the Envy 14 is a breath of fresh air.

    Essentially it comes down to a trade-off between the two. OSX vs. Windows 7, and better battery life (MBP 13) vs. better processor / graphics card / screen (Envy 14).
  • zoxo - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link

    I have 2 problems with the envy14. Although it supposedly has a great screen, it does not (yet) come in matte. The second problem is, that it's only really available in the us. Europe is out of luck there. (as usual with notebooks I might add)
  • ExodusC - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link

    I agree the glossy screen can be annoying, but if it gets to where the reflections annoy me, I just crank up the brightness-- and HP didn't lie, this thing gets really bright. I have considered a matte screen protector that would help alleviate it, but as of now I'm okay with the glossy panel.

    I agree that the availability in Europe seems poor-- I've read around and it seems hard to find there, aside from maybe Germany.
  • djjazzyjeff1965 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link

    Envy 14 would be a lot more attractive if it had a matte screen, a non-underclocked GPU and ditched the gratuitous branding ("Beats" audio, the name "Envy") designed to appeal to 13 year-olds with small penises.
  • djjazzyjeff1965 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link

    Oh, and if they didn't hand off the design to somebody's daughter who thought that flowers would be pretty.

    Envy 14 - so close, yet so far.
  • jasperjones - Friday, August 13, 2010 - link

    I was hoping for this review :) aorn, the one other business-class notebook I'd like to see reviewed is the E6410.

    Two minor things:

    "The other sweet touch is the retractable light above the screen that shines onto the keyboard, basically the same thing as the ThinkLight. I prefer backlit keyboards, but the keyboard light works just as well."

    I don't understand why people consider backlit keyboard/retractable light a useful feature. If you're serious about keyboard quality, you're probably touch typing anyway, right?

    "I don't really understand is why business notebooks have started using DisplayPort instead of the more common HDMI standard."

    So that you can attach a 2560x1600 resolution external display? I know that HDMI 1.3a and higher specifies (optional, afaik) support for resolutions greater than 1920x1200, but I've yet to see that higher-resolution support in a notebook.
  • mino - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    "I don't understand why people consider backlit keyboard/retractable light a useful feature. If you're serious about keyboard quality, you're probably touch typing anyway, right?"

    Wrong.

    ThinkLight (and copies) is VERY useful thing for 2 reasons:
    - it allows for built- in ability to operate without ANY external light, anywhere, anytime
    - notebook keyboard are very much "non-standard", so typing by memory is hard and special/custom key operation downright impossible without seeing the keyboard.
  • jconan - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link

    typing by memory is typically for hunt and seek typist. For people who have been typing without even looking at the keys, this not useful unless using non-standardized keys. I rarely look at the keys unless there are nuances like the mac keyboards because of the command key inclusion and missing keys ie prntscrn, scrnlock, pause and inclusion of more function keys,
  • AstroGuardian - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    This native resolution IMO is totally ridiculous unless you work CAD and rendering 100% of the time.... don't you think?
  • teohhanhui - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Many would prefer it over 1366x768 (the current par) on a 14" screen.
  • mino - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Any reasonable OS would allow for DPI customization.

    Not to mention that you can go for lower resolution on high-res diplay but it's kinda hard to get an WXGA screen display at WSXGA resolutions ...
  • mindless1 - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Only if you don't mind it looking like someone smeared butter all over the screen from how blurry it is.
  • strikeback03 - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Yeah it is still a bit low, but what are you going to do...
  • synaesthetic - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link

    1600x900 should be the standard for 13.3-14.0" displays.

    1366x768 shouldn't be on anything bigger than 12.1".

    15.6" should have 1920x1080.

    17" should have 1920x1200.

    18"+ should have 2560x1600. :D

    Death to low resolution crappy LCDs! Windows 7 doesn't have XP's horrible DPI scaling problems. There's no reason why you should ever want less pixels. Unless you like lots of scrolling and jaggy fonts.
  • japhmo - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    A general comment--I'd be curious is seeing where MacBook pros running windows7 compare to this other windows systems. Could you please add that test too?
  • Daeros - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Seconded. I have been waiting for a high-quality of Win7 on the new macbooks sinthey came out.
  • dvinnen - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Like it a lot. Good 15+ inch widescreen work station. No idea on price or whatever but it handles at the code I throw at it. Keyboard feels cramp though with the full number pad and the battery life is pretty bad. Runs dry in about 3 hours just browsing on the internet.
  • zdw - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    HDMI is a consumer standard. Displyport is a computer display standard, and can:

    1. Run larger displays, such as a 30" 2560x1600 display
    2. Convert to VGA/HDMI/DVI, with embedded audio (driver and adapter allowing)
    3. Eventually, daisy chain monitors off one port (in the spec, but often not supported)

    As this is a pro product, it makes sense if only for item #1.

    This isn't a HTPC. It doesn't need HDMI.
  • sheltem - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Displayport also enables the usage of more than 2 monitors driven by a single card because a native it's digital signal does not require a ramdac.
  • mrphones - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    I have been using the Elitebook line of laptops at my company now for 2 years. The 6930P and now the 8440P. The only thing I was disappointed with HP about was they changed the docking station. All my previous models, NC6400, 6910P and 6930P models could use the same docking stations. Why HP did this, I don't know, but I have 12 of these 8440P models and they are nice.
  • KorruptioN - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link

    Apparently this is because the current docking station connection cannot accommodate the DisplayPort traffic. I'm not too happy about it either, but oh well...
  • DanaG - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link

    The reason they changed it is for the DisplayPort availability, after all. If you get the 15" or 17" EliteBook with ATI, you can use up to 5 of the following ports at once, thanks to Eyefinity:

    On the laptop: LVDS (internal panel), VGA, DisplayPort.
    On the fanciest dock: 2 DVI, 2 DisplayPort.

    Regarding high-DPI, that's one reason I can't use desktops: all desktop displays have utter crap DPI. I wish I could buy even a laptop display (DreamColor 2* would be best) in a desktop enclosure!

    * 15" or 17", 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 (respectively), IPS, 30-bit color.
  • kasakka - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Seems like it still has that crappy touchstrip for volume controls and whatnot. It just works poorly in my experience.

    Also it's strange that they went with the full size Displayport instead of the Mini-Displayport. I guess they figured that since they're keeping that bulky VGA might have the full size DP too.

    To be honest I don't find the Elitebook line-up particularly impessive at all. A bit too bulky, mediocre keyboard and trackpad.
  • dlineate - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    I propose adding the Sony Vaio Z to the list.

    13.1" 1600x900, i5-540M/i6-620M, 1-2 64-256GB SSDs,
    BlueRay R, etc.. etc.
    All in ~3lbs! (starting @ ~$1900)
    Best of all, 1920x1080 display avail for only an extra $100.
    I know that's a crazy resolution, but bump your font size and you can still get more in your text editor because it'll be so crisp.

    Anyways, for portable workstations, I rate them proportional to $screen_res/$weight, with a constraint on weight to ~5lbs. This thing is by far the best by that metric imho.
    I mostly code, not compile or game, so I don't care about the CPU or GPU.

    Of course, the cost does approach infinity as weight approaches 0. =)

    Apparently in Europe you can get a kit that swaps the optical drive for standard hard drive, which I'd use to compliment a 64G SSD (which are not standard sizes).

    Other reviews say it's pretty sturdy. I'd love to see Anand review this.
    Or better, give one away.

    My only gripe is that it's a Sony, so getting *nix/bsd support likely a pita. I used to use a Picturebook, but they implement hardware in so many non-standard ways (glued together w/ windows "drivers") that I swore never again. Will probably change my mind though if no one else ever manufactures a small high res display ever again.

    PS What happened to the more reasonably priced Thinkpad X201s w/ 12" 1400x900?
  • strikeback03 - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Obviously what you call a workstation depends on what work you do with it, but I imagine they require professional level GPUs to call something a workstation. And the ThinkPad T series are not included in their list, so there must be more options they are considering.

    This HP keyboard has the FN key in the wrong spot and still has the stupid strip of buttons to the right of Backspace/Enter/shift, so I still very much prefer the Thinkpad keyboard.
  • seanleeforever - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link

    complete agree with strikeback03

    i have a elitebook for over half a year now and i could not stop complaining the stupid volume stripe (Vivek, did you even try to play that volume control at all? it is utterly useless and the single most stupid thing anyone can put on a laptop, let alone a BUSINESS laptop), i challenge you to precisely control volume to 20% 50% and 75%, then go back to 20%.. guess what, you cannot do it without overshoot and undershoot.

    the keyboard is great... really? you got to use some better keyboards because you standard is really too low. HP keyboard is alright. their texture and curvature and feedback response is lacking (but i suppose this is personal preference, many like Sony and apple's no feedback keyboard and i just hate them absolutely).

    now.. like strikeback03 said. the FN key is in the wrong place (as well as all other non-thinkpad keyboards). case in point, measure the distance of the 'ctrl' and 'z' 'x' 'c' of your favorite desktop keyboard, and measure that on thinkpad/hp notebook keyboard, you will find the thinkpad keyboard provides better travel distance when you perform copy/paste/undo.
  • JarredWalton - Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - link

    On the keyboard layout, I couldn't disagree more! But then, it's totally a personal preference. Anand likes the Fn key in the bottom-left with the CTRL in what position. I can't stand that arrangement and invariably hit "Fn+C" and "Fn+V" (and various other combinations) when I want the CTRL key. You may be correct in saying that the CTRL key is closer to the CVXZ on ThinkPad, but then on virtually any destkop keyboard there's so much more space between the keys that I can't say I prefer the "close" arrangement.

    I also played with the 8440w and found it to be a decent system overall, but just too expensive. I could easily type without any major complaints, and the system feels very sturdy. Get a Quadro FX 880M in there (48 cores) and this would have been a much better mobile workstation.
  • Kishkumen - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link

    Great review! I've been pondering upon the merits of the elitebook line for some time. I especially appreciate all the attention to detail you gave the LCD (as well as mentioning other good Matte display options though limited they may be). I hate how much LCD quality is glossed over in reviews (pun intended). Your review was everything I needed. Looking forward to your future work.
  • fire400 - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link

    I don't like it though. It doesn't seem to compare to the older HP Compaq generation of notebooks. Business class LCD's should have the best displays of any laptops available, in my opinion. You're already paying a premium, you should get premium quality on one of the most important things you're looking at most of the time... the LCD?
  • saifikhan - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link

    It is sad to see that there is not even one AMD processor based Elitebook.
  • JarredWalton - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link

    Sad maybe, but hardly surprising. EliteBook is a mobile workstation product, and mobile workstations tend to focus more on performance. My testing of an AMD Phenom II P920 shows it to be about on par with an i3-330M in terms of performance in heavily threaded scenarios (i.e. video encoding and 3D rendering), and in less multi-core friendly tests it's not even close (like 50% advantage to the i3-330M). In other words, a 1.6GHz quad-core AMD chip using their latest mobile architecture matches Intel's slowest dual-core + Hyper-Threading mobile part.

    The fastest AMD mobile quad-core is the X920 BE clocked at 2.3GHz. Going by the same figures I see with the P920, it would probably win some tests against the dual-core i7-620M, but overall it would be at best a wash. And then you can throw in the quad-core Intel chips and it's not even close anymore.

    Now, AMD does provide better power figures if you compare their quad-core to Intel's mobile quad-core, but that's hardly the primary consideration in a mobile workstation. In fact, our biggest complaint with the 8440w is precisely that it doesn't offer more power, specifically in the graphics department where the 16 core FX 380M lets it down. There are some interesting AMD-based laptops coming out now, particularly with Nile and Danube platforms, but for mobile workstations the current stuff can't make a good case.

    We've got a couple reviews coming soon--yes, I know I've said that before. The P920 Toshiba system review got delayed for two faulty laptops, but it was pre-production hardware. I should have a final production sample next week so I can post the full write-up. The other is perhaps the best AMD-based laptop I've ever used, a Toshiba T235D. Packing a 1.5GHz Turion II K625 and a 61Wh battery, I've actually managed to get into the 6+ battery life range. Performance is respectable as well, and the HD 4200 is still better than any current Intel IGP. It's 13.3" and costs $600, but it's the first AMD "ultraportable" (thin and light) that I can really recommend. It's a viable alternative to the old CULV, and even holds its own against Arrandale ULV.
  • sapiens74 - Sunday, August 15, 2010 - link

    Its sturdy and made for work.

    Not nearly as quick as my MAC, takes almost 3 times to boot Windows 7 Ultimate, but for a Windows machine it does the job
  • seanleeforever - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link

    so.. your definition of 'quick' is booting OS.
    you can vastly improve that by using ssd. booting speed has almost nothing to do with CPU/GPU. my T7400 with SSD can boot up windows 7 ult in less than 20 seconds.
  • jaydee - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link

    whether you're a developer compiling OS builds, a CAD junkie like me, or into engineering simulation. So while I can say, having run SolidWorks and done some CAD on the 8440w, that it's adequate for such things, at the same time it's difficult to say great things about the performance when some similarly priced workstations are specced so much better.


    AT has a CAD junkie on staff?!?! Can we please get a CAD workstation videocard roundup? Pretty please?
  • jea508 - Monday, August 16, 2010 - link

    Anandtech is amazing
  • oshogg - Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - link

    I have been using business class notebooks for over 10 years - first 7 years, I was using IBM Thinkpad lines of notebooks and the last 3 "HP Compaq" and EliteBook. Both lines are fairly comparable and each one has its unique advantages over the other. One key disadvantage of HP that I find is lack of bay battery. With IBM thinkpads, the bay battery was a god-send. I could easily go over 5 hours with real heavy workload with 2 batteries. With the 3-year newer technology of HP's business notebooks, 2.5 to 3 hours is a max.

    I wonder why more business-class notebooks do not come with a bay battery option. I hardly ever need a CD/DVD Rom drive in my work. In fact, I can count on one hand how many times I have used the CD/DVD drive in last 2 years.

    Osho
  • kenyee - Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - link

    HP has ridiculous sized ones compared to thinkpads. I also don't think the keyboards are as good as the older T series thinkpads.
    And I'm looking forward to your Envy 14/15 comparison. This seems like it's a business version of the Envy. Too bad the screen is crap :-P
    I just want a relatively light 14-15" laptop I can stick 8GB or more into to run VMs :-P
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  • darwinosx - Monday, August 23, 2010 - link

    I have the 15-inch version at work and it makes an excellent Linux laptop.

    Anyone comparing an HP Envy to a Mac Book Pro is delusional. The Envy's are a ripoff copy but made much more cheaply and with horrible battery life.
  • sthomas - Monday, November 15, 2010 - link

    That's true Think light is really useful. every one should take it's advantage.
    http://www.laptops4review.com/
  • andreas295427 - Monday, November 15, 2010 - link

    While I really enjoyed reading this article, I somewhat disagree with the statement that there are only three major players when it comes to workstations. i do believe, that one should not forget Fujtsu and its Celsius Mobile line of workstations.

    And to mention Macbook Pro as a kind of workstation isn't really helpful. While the Macbook Pro is indeed quite powerful, it still isn't workstation/ enterprise class. It simply lacks a few core elements, like certified gpu drivers, a docking port/ docking station, or the possibility to have 24h-onsite-service.
    So, white anandtech obviously really likes the Macbook Pro, one should not forget what it is: a consumer product, or better an excellent premium consumer product - but not a workstation.
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