HP EliteBook 8760w Mobile Workstation Review: Serious Power for the Road

Recently, we reviewed one of HP’s top workstations, the Z800, and reported on what made it such a compelling machine for post-production (you can read that review here). Now HP has made one for the road: the Elitebook 8760w Mobile Workstation. We give it high marks, especially for those interested in power and portability. As we’ll see, this machine packs a considerable punch. In HP’s own words: “the 2011 Mobile Workstations are the most robust business notebooks HP has ever created”.

Along with this article, I created this video about the Elitebook 8760w:

A Question of Size

The Elitebook is a mobile workstation, an appropriate term since this machine has much more power than your average notebook computer. And although the Z800 reigns supreme (when it comes to raw power), this laptop has what it takes to handle demanding post-production, animation and video editing jobs.

Whether you should get a mobile workstation or opt for a minitower (like the Z800) depends on your personal tastes and preferences, and also whether you spend the majority of your time on the go. Minitowers, of course, are more expandable than mobile computers. For instance, a machine like the Z800 can accept 192 GB of RAM, while the Elitebook’s maximum is 32 GB (though that will do quite nicely for many applications). Minitowers can also house more hard drives which in turn allow you to create larger RAIDs. There are PCIe slots in a workstation like the Z800 which allow the installation of important expansion cards from third-party manufacturers like the Decklink HD broadcast cards from Blackmagic Design or the most powerful Quadro cards from NVIDIA (like the Quadro 5000).

However, a mobile workstation has its benefits, obviously the main reason being that it is mobile. Have plans to take off to the Hamptons for the weekend but are in the middle of editing an HD picture? No problem, just slip the Elitebook 8760w into your bag and finish it off at your seaside retreat while sipping a tall glass of iced tea. With a mobile solution, it’s easy to work anywhere and at anytime.

Granted, there is something to be said about keeping your playtime for, well, playing. After all, the reason you go to the beach isn’t to do more work, but for some good old R&R. However, for those of you who work in production, you know that more often than not, it’s not so easy to slip away completely.

In the past, mobile computers left something to be desired when compared to desktop-style workstations. Maybe not for 3D modeling or Photoshop work, but doing serious HD editing projects and highly complex renders pushed most laptops to their limits. However, we think that the Elitebook 8760w Mobile Workstation does much to close the gap and bring some of the serious performance levels of a dedicated minitower to the mobile platform.

Good Looks, Yet Tough

In the EliteBook, HP has designed an attractive machine with a sleek industrial design. The surface of the machine has a brushed gunmetal finish on the cover which radiates concentrically from a back-lit jewel logo.

Sleek and attractive as it may be, however, the EliteBook was made to take a beating. Its chassis, otherwise known as the HP DuraCase, is made out of mix of magnesium and aluminum and built to withstand punishment. (It was designed to meet the stringent military standard MIL-STD 810G which clears the unit for drop worthiness, vibration, dust, temperature, shock, altitude and high temperature.)

For all that ruggedness, however, the 8760w is surprisingly light. With the mobile workstation moniker, I expected it to be much heavier. Not so. The machine only weighs 7.8 pounds, which is relatively light for a machine of this class (weight will vary slightly according to configuration). While this isn’t a netbook-class lightness, the EliteBook is a very comfortable machine to carry around.

The EliteBook’s touchpad is made out of chemically strengthened glass; the slick surface allows your fingers to glide effortlessly around. The touchpad is also sensitive for gesture recognition (a la iPad or iPhone), so software that supports it, like Photoshop, will allow you to zoom, rotate and pinch with ease.

On the top and bottom of the touchpad are three buttons corresponding to a mouse’s left, middle and right buttons. My last laptop only had two buttons left and right. While not all programs employ the middle button, it is used quite a bit in several 3D programs such as Maya, so it’s a welcome addition. Although I usually plug in a tablet or a mouse when working on a notebook computer, I do like the way the buttons feel, nice and springy with just the right amount of resistance.

What’s Inside

The CPUs available for the EliteBook 8760w are second generation Intel Core i7 and i5 dual and quad-core processors. The CPU that came on the test machine was an i7-2620M. This chip had 2 cores, 4 threads and runs at a clock speed of 2.7GHz.

HP keeps its emphasis on easy access and serviceability with the EliteBook line. Gaining access to all the internal components, such as the memory and hard drives, is fast and easy and does not require any tools or complicated steps. Just slide a simple latch to remove the cover.

The EliteBook supports up to four SODIMMS for a total of 32GB of DDR3 SDRAM. Very respectable for a portable computer, I’d say. However, you will need to get a quad-core processor to use that much memory. You see, dual core processors support only two memory slots while quad cores support four and memory SODIMMS come in 2, 4 and 8 GBs sizes. Thus if you get a dual-core CPU, the maximum amount you can have is 16 GB.

By comparison, the maximum amount of memory you can get on a 17 inch MacBook Pro is only 8 GB (even with a quad-core i7).

Quadro Acceleration

You’ve got a choice of graphics processors (or GPUs) on the Elitebook. For starters, you can get an AMD FirePro M3900 or M5950 (both 1 GB). Or you can upgrade your machine to NVIDIA Quadro with choices such as the 1000M (2GB), 2000M (2GB), 3000M (2GB), 4000M (2GB) or 5010M (4GB). By going with the Quadro, you have the crucial benefit of acceleration of the Adobe Mercury Playback Engine, an integral part of the latest version of Adobe Premiere Pro.

To compare again, the best graphics option you can get on the MacBook Pro is a 1 GB AMD Radeon 6750M graphics processor. If you are planning to edit with Premiere Pro, you should know that only NVIDIA graphics processors accelerate the Mercury Playback Engine. AMD’s don’t. This fact, plus the greater memory on the Quadros will be an important factor when deciding upon which machine to buy if you are planning to edit with Premiere and use Adobe Dynamic Linking (see the article on the Z800 for more on Adobe Dynamic Linking).

Get the Picture

There is an option to get an HP DreamColor display on the EliteBook. DreamColor is an advanced display technology that was developed to address the critical need for consistent color accuracy in the worlds of animation, film/video post and the graphic arts. For applications where critical color really matters (like color grading or compositing), this is important. The review unit did not come with a DreamColor display, but the 17.3-inch display looked remarkably good anyway, and featured full 1920 X 1080 resolution. For many of us, unless you require the utmost color fidelity, the standard display will be fine.

To help protect the display, HP has implemented a design called the DisplaySafe frame, a full double-shot rubber frame which acts as a shock-absorbing barrier that helps protect the display panel from damage caused by shock and vibrations.

If one display isn’t enough for you, (and when is one ever enough?) there is a feature available on the 8760w called AMD Eyefinity Technology. When used in conjunction with the HP 230W Advanced Docking Station, you can connect up to five (that’s right, I said five) independent displays for an ultimate computing experience.

This is something that I would certainly be interested in implementing since I happen to be someone who craves screen space. With five displays, you can edit on one screen, composite on the second, animate on the third, surf the web on the fourth and… oh well, you get the idea. Although five monitors may seem flamboyant, the cost is really quite reasonable. The docking station only costs $219 and have you noticed how cheap 1920 X 1080 HD flat screens are getting?

A Question of Storage

You can order the EliteBook 8760w with two drives which support RAID 0, 1, and 5. They can either be two 750 GB 7200 rpm hard drives or two 256 GB Solid State Drives. If you require more online storage, you can put one in the upgrade bay which normally comes with an optical drive (ours came with a SuperMulti 8X DVD+-R/RW drive with double layer support). Thus, without the optical drive the machine can support three hard drives.

Sounds Good

The EliteBook features High Definition Audio (SRS Premier Sound). This high-end audio system can be controlled through an advanced user interface that allows you to control surround sound and has a multi-band graphic equalizer built right in. If you work with sound or music a lot, you will appreciate the audio capabilities of this machine. There is also an integrated pair of stereo speakers.

On the Software Side

Along with the machine, HP includes some bundled software tools. There’s the HP Performance Advisor, a useful tool that helps you monitor the performance of your machine and tune your system accordingly. We spoke about the Performance Advisor at length in our article about the Z800, so you can check it out there, if you haven’t done so already.

The HP Connection Manager gives you full control over your wireless connections including mobile broadband, WiFi, Ethernet and Bluetooth. There’s also HP QuickWeb which contains several easy to access built-in applets for social media, news and other utilities.

The HP Power Assistant allows you to control how your computer uses energy. Through it, you can set different energy profiles based upon how you use your machine. This can help you extend your battery life and conserve power.

HP ProtectTools is a portfolio of security technologies that protects your computer from unauthorized use and keeps your sensitive data safe and secure. It also has an interesting function that “shreds” the files that you trash by writing them over with random bits so that they are impossible to retrieve.

Battery Issues

On the EliteBook 8760w, you’ve got a choice between the standard 8-cell Lithium-ion battery or a Long Life 8-cell battery. On average, batteries last up to 6 hours and 30 minutes and, according to HP, if you get the standard battery you should purchase a new one every 12 to 18 months in order to maintain an acceptable battery life. The HP Long Life battery, on the other hand, has a three year life span — up to twice as long as most Li-ion notebook batteries.

Ports and Slots

The 8760w comes with two high speed USB 3.0 ports which are very useful for connecting external drives for use in video editing, since they’re ten times faster than USB 2.0. It also comes with two USB 2.0 ports so you can plug in all your older devices. It also has one eSATA port which also doubles as another USB 2.0 port (it’s a combo port), a VGA port and a DisplayPort for hooking up an external monitor (if you decide not to get the docking station).

Benchmarks

To measure the performance of the EliteBook 8760w, we used Maxon’s Cinebench and FutureMark’s PCMark 7. Here’s what we found. Keep in mind, our review unit was a dual-core i7. Scores will be significantly better on a machine with a quad-core CPU. If you have an 8760w with a quad-core i7, please post the results below. Note: Comparative Cinebench and PCMark 7 scores can be found on the web.

Conclusion

I think the HP EliteBook 8760w Mobile Workstation is a superb machine. Many factors, such as HP’s close collaboration with Adobe in the design of their products and the Quadro accelerated Mercury Playback engine are central to why this machine rocks (I’ve discussed those issues at length in my article on the Z800). The EliteBook 8760w is an excellent platform for video editors, 3D animators, audio production and graphic designers. Although it won’t hurt to look at what else is out there before purchasing, we think you will be hard-pressed to find anything better. As far as Apple’s 17 inch MacBook Pro is concerned, we feel that the 8760w outshines it in some important ways such as its ability to support more memory and install additional hard drives.

Pricing will vary on configuration. For ordering information, visit this page on HP’s website.

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