HP Elitebook 8540W Review

[Spykar]

Introduction:

Designed specifically for 3D professionals, but also attractive to the casual gamer, this notebook is quite versatile but still very professional. All the details in the following test.

The Elitebook from HP represents the elite of the HP business opportunities with different probook. A quad core, a screen FullHD, USB 3.0 + eSATA, with 4 slots for RAM and a 3 year warranty for the HP 8540w. The starting price is 2,156.65 USD, and with the screen FullHD 2,410.37 USD. And with most in UMTS is 2,918.99 USD. With Core i7-720QM and an Nvidia Quadro FX1800M to 126.861 USD less. In addition, the Intel Core i7-160GB/256GB 820QM and DSS are listed but not yet available. Our prototype (WH130AW) to 2,855.53 USD with the Intel Core i7-620M, the Nvidia Quadro FX880M a combo BluRay and a FullHD screen with the disc 500GB hard drive.


Architecture:

On the surface, the HP Elitebook 8540w is close ProBook with matte black metallic appearance. But compared to the materials are of higher quality. Compared with Probook, there has been progress. The back of panel is anodized aluminum and is strong. The solid hinges open to 180 degrees. It is possible to open with one hand. The EliteBook 8540w weighs almost 3 kg and therefore belongs to the category of trucks of 15.6 ". This is not huge compared to the competition.

The keyboard is identical to that of ProBook 6540B, but also has a track point with buttons. The structure is very solid. The wrist rest is brushed aluminum. The underside is plastic quality. The EliteBook can stand without the battery.

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Configuration and Accessories:

The standard ports for the included HP Elitebook are remarkable. Everything is available beyond the dreams of many users. With three USB ports and two USB 3.0 you have enough USB ports to connect all your devices, such as printers, the USB drive, digital cameras, etc., but you can also quickly connect external hard drives. Including food. We have identified a max. 29.4 Mb / s for USB 2.0 max. 109 Mb / s for USB 3.0. TheeSATA offers an additional opportunity for fast connections (102.6 MB / s) and Firewire particularly pleased fans of video and those who come from Mac (FW400 4-pin / 34.5 MB / s). If this is not enough, you have an option to upgrade with ExpressCard54, which can be equipped with many additional functions.

Gigabit LAN, WLAN 802.11 abgn, Bluetooth, Card Reader 6-in-1 (SD 1.7 MB / s, SD-HC 1.5 MB / s, XD 1.7 MB / s), SmardCard reader, fingerprint reader emprentes A Trusted Platform Module and a keyboard light does webcam complete the picture. By cons performance card readers were ridiculous.

For external displays ago displayport and the VGA port to continue using your old screens. For all the cons are wearing on right and left sides because the front is not well designed and the rear is occupied by the battery. The ports are so many it takes to try several times to fall on the right port. Right-handers have an advantage in terms of available ports. The majority of the ports is on the left. By cons USB ports may be too close to each other for some USB.

Communication:

Firstly, there is a modem with HSPA GPS, but it is optional. But it has antennas. The SIM slot under the battery.

Extensibility

There is a port dock "HP Docking Station (VB043AA) and HP Advanced Docking Station (NZ223AA). The dock allows users to use more sedentary ports. The Advanced Docking has a SATA port, 2 ports and 2 display DVIS. The optical drive is removable, it can be replaced with a 500GB hard drive (7200 rpm). Price 200.00 euro. By cons you can find yourself at $ 55.00. Accessories / Support. Note that the numbering of HP accessories is not transparent it is difficult to find the right product on the HP site. Generally we really struggled to contact the technical service of HP, we had to call the service 4 times before landing on a human.

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Input Devices:

Keyboard:

The keyboard is the same as the HP ProBook 6540b. It has 102 keys, with a numeric keypad. The firm is exceptional. This keyboard are well designed for those who type often text, typing is very good. The traditional with touches of 19mm width helps a lot. There is a light that illuminates only handy keyboard in the dark.

Touchpad:

The small touchpad is good, it glides well and is accurate. HP does not offer multi-touch, but you can install yourself in the Synaptics driver for it. The touchpad buttons are slightly rubberized and are very pleasant to use. The middle button can be configured to launch applications.

Pointstick:

The third option (Synaptics Touchstyk) is not as precise as the ThinkPad trackpoint or HP 2710p, it should still be a fan of the trackpoint to enjoy.

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Screen:

The Elitebook 8540w is available in two variants screen. While the two are dull, with LED lighting and 16:9. The HD + WVA display at 1600x900 with a density of 118 dpi and version FullHD or 1920x1080 pixels with a density of 141 dpi. While both have a light sensor to adjust screen brightness accordingly. It should be noted however, that it must have good eyes to read the text sometimes, because the default font size is rather small.

We measure a brightness of 188 cd / m2 to 225 cd / m2, with an average of 210 cd / m2. The distribution of brightness is therefore 83.5%, there are gradients in solid colors sometimes. Good brightness and matte screen in Domestic companies can use. It is even possible to have direct sunlight on the screen and able to work. The contrast is 666:1 with saturated blacks. The color space covers 89% of sRGB. Viewing angles are more stable than most screens. By cons vertical is always the same problem, the colors are inverted to blind spots.


Autonomy :


HP offers an 8-cell battery to 73 Wh (KU533AA, approx. 80.00 euro), which is included by default on some configurations, an 8-cell battery 52 Wh (AJ359ET, to 120.00 euros, 455g) and one with 12 cells and 95 Wh (AT486AA, ca. 130.00 euro, 800g) with battery 8-cell lithium ion 68 Wh. Two batteries may be connected underneath the laptop by a cable. The computer consumes 12.9 watts vacuum up to 84.9 watts at full power.

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Conclusion:

• The Elitebook 8540w is impressive. Its design and finish are excellent, the CPU and the GPU are very powerful, it has a superb screen does not emit too much noise or too much heat.
  
• We must accept the significant weight and reduced autonomy because it is a workstation should not be forgotten. It is possible to increase the autonomy, but increase the weight of the blow.
  
• There's really nothing to complain. The price may be high but it is not more than competition for the same product from Lenovo (Thinkpad W510) and Dell (Precision M4500).
  
• As against this reproach HP to be blurred in the specifications of its computers because we do not know what they're buying. But the 3-year warranty will seduce you.

Problem:

The optical drive is not very practical, we preferred a Airai eats disk. At finish a few minor flaws assembly very light. In terms of strength it is at the MacBook Pro. But Apple is much more refined. The Elitebook almost seems beside steampunk, but without laughing, the notebook is a certified military MIL-STD 810G, which includes tests based violent vibration, dust, humidity and temperature.