8770w Elitebook?

[Aikimox]

Honestly, not too sure at this point. Are you going for the 8770w?

[warpdrive]

I am also undecided and uncertain about my next purchase. Still dangling between 8770w/mx700 and also w5300. And especially when you are spending that much from your own pocket (getting one for image/photo editing, panorama stitching), it hurts a lot and that too from outside the USA. I am not sure if they have any special pricing available for non-corporate customers that are interested in their business machines.

But one thing I am sure of, if they had 10-bit color support on Radeon/Geforce cards, I would have easily gotten away with something great for my use well under $1800 cap. According to Nvidia, their Geforce cards support it in hardware but drivers are still not available to support this feature.

In a discussion on an Adobe forum, there's a discussion regarding the 10-bit color in Photoshop CS5/CS6. In practice, Photoshop only worked with the Firepro cards in 10-bit mode and not with the Quadro cards despite the fact that Quadros support 10-bit color. I am not very familiar with all the technicalities involved but it is perhaps the biggest factor for me in deciding about my purchase.

[Dysprositos]

I am also undecided and uncertain about my next purchase. Still dangling between 8770w/mx700 and also w5300. And especially when you are spending that much from your own pocket (getting one for image/photo editing, panorama stitching), it hurts a lot and that too from outside the USA. I am not sure if they have any special pricing available for non-corporate customers that are interested in their business machines.

But one thing I am sure of, if they had 10-bit color support on Radeon/Geforce cards, I would have easily gotten away with something great for my use well under $1800 cap. According to Nvidia, their Geforce cards support it in hardware but drivers are still not available to support this feature.

In a discussion on an Adobe forum, there's a discussion regarding the 10-bit color in Photoshop CS5/CS6. In practice, Photoshop only worked with the Firepro cards in 10-bit mode and not with the Quadro cards despite the fact that Quadros support 10-bit color. I am not very familiar with all the technicalities involved but it is perhaps the biggest factor for me in deciding about my purchase.

Pricing is always gonna be ridiculous even with discounts. If you're lucky, you should be able to grab some final-testing units off eBay. I believe a few 8770Ws even with the K5000M have already sold on eBay for ridiculous prices (<£500). Only issue with these is warranty.

[Dirtnap]

Honestly, not too sure at this point. Are you going for the 8770w?

Yes, unless the m6700 blows me away.

[Aikimox]

Yes, unless the m6700 blows me away.

I briefly owned a 8760w with DC2 and 5010M as well as a M6600. Personally, I liked the M6600 more due to a better cooling, but overall, both systems were pretty much on par.

[Dirtnap]

I briefly owned a 8760w with DC2 and 5010M as well as a M6600. Personally, I liked the M6600 more due to a better cooling, but overall, both systems were pretty much on par.

In your opinion, which one had the better trackpad & keyboard.

[Aikimox]

In your opinion, which one had the better trackpad & keyboard.

I loved the 8740w KB and absolutely hated when HP went chiclet style. IMHO, they should have stayed with the old KB - one of the very best found in laptops, ever. The new one is ok but it doesn't feel solid and lacks some tactile feedback. 80/100 is what I'd give it. The Dell has a better KB, - 85-90/100.

Can't comment on the trackpad, I only use trackpoints.

[Dirtnap]

I loved the 8740w KB and absolutely hated when HP went chiclet style. IMHO, they should have stayed with the old KB - one of the very best found in laptops, ever. The new one is ok but it doesn't feel solid and lacks some tactile feedback. 80/100 is what I'd give it. The Dell has a better KB, - 85-90/100.

Is the m6600 keyboard Spill-Resistant? Which laptop have the better speakers?

[Aikimox]

Is the m6600 keyboard Spill-Resistant? Which laptop have the better speakers?

I think they both have spill-resistant KB's but it's a gimmick anyway, can only protect against very minor spills. Sound quality is mediocre in both.

[Sotton]

There are also 2012 docking stations needed for the 8770w.

Or can you still use the 2010 docking stations (8740w and 8760w) but not all the features? (I think display port specification of the 8770w is now 1.2 e.g. which would not work with older docking stations)