*HP EliteBook 8440p/w Owners Lounge*

[JamesFosterUK]

There doesn't seem to be an owners thread so I thought I should start one. Also the 8440p is now readily available across the World so this thread is timely IMHO.

[antsiou]

Well done JamesFosterUK

Can't wait to get mine to share thoughts and all.

(by the way, be ready to keep the thread tidy )

[iamthingy]

Glad to see 8440 owner's lounge. Thanks James

I have been using 8440w(093ut) for about two weeks.
There seems to be some cons and pros so far. (this is personal opinion)

pros:
1. good building quality
2. keyboard
3. performance is good enough (I have compared with my desktop of E8400, it turns out i7 620m is slightly faster than E8400 when doing numerical calculation, such as multiplying a number one billion times)
4. come with 3 year warranty and you can get additional 3year warranty ADP, only with $99

cons:
1. the worst thing of 8440w is vertical angle. I never got consistent brightness between top area and bottom area (It seems to be impossible)
When I go darker, top is too dark, and brighter, bottom is too bright (become grey)
2. 16:9 display (also, there are some rooms for 16:10 with 1650x1080 instead of 16:9 with 1600x900. I think 16:9 is only good for watching movie.)
3. looks charm but not much
4. touch pad is really small although it works good.

BTW, I am still trying to figure out how to enable biometric device(validity sensor) without hp application.

[me7]

EDIT: Sorry, wrong thread.

[dap_pad]

Was wondering why it wasn't created yet

I do have to agree with your cons. Even in my 2510p, I had the same problem. Vertical viewing angles are just not very good in HP business models it seems. It's acceptable... but definitely annoying. 6:

I don't mind so much the 16:9 resolution, especially with 1600x900 resolution it's just more than I need and makes the 14" screen seem much larger than it actually is.

For the charm parts, yeah... I guess, it's definitely not a stunner like the MBP line but I don't find it ugly or anything. I actually like the look, the gunmetal grey is pretty unique and good looking IMO.

For the touchpad, I agree completely. It works REALLY well. I've basically stopped using the touchpoint now since I'm now addicted to the gestures (two finger scrolling FTW) but the size is constricting sometimes.

I agree with all your pros though LOVE MY 8440w!

[JamesFosterUK]

Greetings,
I received my 8440p yesterday afternoon. I carefully removed the packaging, installed the battery and plugged in the power supply. I let the battery get fully charged. It took maybe 2 hours.
I then turned on the machine and set it up. This was mainly painless but HP do install far too much crapware. I uninstalled things like "Business card reader" and "nvidia desktop manager". I was pleased to see recovery discs for:
1. Windows XP Professional SP3.
2. Windows 7 Professional 32bit
3. Windows 7 Professional 64bit
There was also a disc for software drivers and a disc for optional applications/utilities.

I have good impressions so far. The pros IMHO
1.This core i7 2.66Mhz machine is blistering fast (especially when installing software)
2. 802.11n has a much bigger range than a/b/g perfect for sitting in the garden. I already had an N router but had a/b/g on my old laptop.
3. The build quality is superb, there is no flex in the chassis. If you pick it up from the corner it feels like a block of metal. The Elitebooks all pass a range of US military hardware tests.
4. The thermals are very good. It stays cool and the fan is almost inaudible. But this is when doing basic computing. If I was a Photoshop/Autocad/Crysis man then I'm sure it would get warm.
5. Little touches like the touch buttons (like the old PS3s) on the grill, the keyboard light, the 2 keyboard drains.
6. Standard 3 year warranty is good. I can upgrade to 3 year next business day repairs and accidental damage for about £100. This service is called HP Carepack.
7. The keyboard is excellent and has a durakey finish. Plus it has a waterproof membrane underneath and the 2 drainage channels.

The cons IMHO are:
1. I've got mixed feelings about the 1600x900 screen. There is no question that 16:9 is perfect for video. But I think 16:10 is better for Laptops. I would have preferred 14.1" 1680x1050.
2. It is expensive.

Another good thing. These machines are assembled by Foxconn. My Elitebook was made in the Czech Republic. The American ones will probably be made in Mexico. I'm guessing that because these Elitebooks are made for HPs most demanding Corporate and Government customers then QA is very important. Having the assembly line an one hour away from HP Cupertino or Compaq Houston or HP Europe Paris makes it easy for HP to keep an eye on quality control. Also because of "China price" these fussy customers may feel a bit cheated if they buy a very expensive product and find it was made in the cheapest location possible. BTW the Chinese can make awesome hardware. But when they are asked to assemble something on a lowest cost basis then you can't expect champagne on beer money.

Anyway these are my initial impressions. Feel free to ask me any questions or comment on message. And I will upload a couple of photos later on today.

[dap_pad]

Your 8440p came with a 64-bit Windows 7? Lucky... I had to call in to receive mine. I hope future shipments with more than 4GB come with them, seems like common sense really.

[busterx]

Hi
Can someone tell if there is a RAID support in 8440p ?
I would like to be able to put second HDD in place of DVD/BL and make RAID 0 or 1 ..

regards
buster

[dap_pad]

According to the official HP website (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/my/en...4097189.html):

"Upgrade Bay for easy optical drive upgrade or optional second hard drive for RAID 1 Mirroring or RAID 0 Striping, the optical drive can be replaced with an optional 500 GB 7200 rpm hard drive"

So, yes it does support RAID.

[phat-ant]

Hi JamesFosterUk, Thanks for the info I take it you have the UK model, I was very interested in this one but the windows 7 32bit was really putting me off. Very glad to hear that they shipped it with the 64bit also.
Any chance you could take some snaps please

Also were you able to use the HP 10% cash rebate with this one?