Type Laptop | ||
 | ||
Developer Hewlett-Packard Company Release date August 11, 2008 (2008-08-11) | ||
HP EliteBook is a brand of premium business-class notebooks and mobile workstations made by Hewlett-Packard. The EliteBook series, which fits above the lower-end ProBook series, was introduced in August 2008. The Elitebook brand included mobile workstations until September 2013, when they were rebranded as HP ZBook. The EliteBook mainly competes against computers such as Acer's TravelMate, Dell's Latitude, Lenovo's ThinkPad and Toshiba's Portégé and Tecra.
Contents
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 protection 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.
Current models
The current generation of EliteBooks was announced on December 2, 2014, with refreshes to the 800 series models as well as a new 700 series. Additional AMD-based models were announced on September 29, 2015.
The current generation comprises the following models:
The Intel-based models were refreshed with fifth generation Core i series (Broadwell) processors, while the AMD-based models use Carrizo processors based on the Excavator microarchitecture.
Previous models
The first generation of EliteBooks was the xx30 series. Before that, HP's p- and w-class (professional and workstation, respectively) notebooks were not branded as EliteBooks, nor did they have the EliteBooks' distinctive anodized aluminum styling.
First generation
The xx30 generation comprised the following notebooks:
All models used Intel Core 2 CPUs and 16:10 aspect ratio displays. The 6930p model was notable for being claimed by HP to be the first notebook to break the 24-hour battery life barrier.
Second generation
The xx40 series comprised the following models:
The xx40 series brought 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 14.0" and 15.6" models the switch from 16:10 to 16:9 displays. HP also added DisplayPort and USB 3.0 ports. Appearance-wise, the workstation models were changed to a darker "gunmetal" finish while the non-workstation models retained the brighter "silver" finish.
Models with quad-core CPUs supported up to 32 GB of RAM. Workstation models could be configured with ISV-certified professional graphics cards such as the ATI FirePro M7820 or the Nvidia Quadro FX 5000M (at the time of release the most powerful workstation-class graphics card on the market and exclusive to the EliteBook 8740w).
Third generation
The xx60 series, announced on February 23, 2011, comprised the following models:
The xx60 series featured second-generation Intel Core i series processors, a choice of Sandy Bridge integrated or AMD Radeon HD 6470M discrete graphics and chiclet-style keyboards. All models except the 2760p used 16:9 displays. Mobile workstation models featured Nvidia Quadro or AMD FirePro graphics. 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 replaced with a single panel enabling access to all of the internal components.
The 8460p model was claimed to have battery life in excess of 32 hours using an external ultra-capacity battery.
Fourth generation
The fourth generation, announced on May 9, 2012, comprised the following models:
The xx70 series was largely an incremental update to the previous xx60 series, updated with Intel Ivy Bridge processors and new integrated and discrete graphics processors. New additions to the EliteBook family included the 11.6" 2170p and the 14.0" Folio 9470m ultrabook.
Fifth generation
The fifth generation of EliteBooks was announced on October 1, 2013. Additional AMD-based models were announced on June 4, 2014, and the Intel Core M-based Folio 1020 on December 2, 2014.
The fifth generation comprised the following models:
This series brought a change to nomenclature, with most model names consisting of only three digits. Further, the workstation models were split into a separate brand, HP ZBook.
Internally, the laptops were refreshed with Intel's fourth generation Core i series (Haswell) CPUs (for the 8xx, Folio and Revolve models), and new integrated and discrete graphics processors. The external design was also refreshed, resulting in a less boxy shape and overall thinner chassis. Several models had touchscreen options.
For the first time, HP added AMD-based models to the EliteBook line-up, using AMD Kaveri APUs. Previously only the lower-end ProBook line had featured AMD processors.
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 Thinkpad 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.