Who knows about HP Elitebooks?

[Whitieiii]

I just picked up an HP Elitebook 8460p to try out the Elitebooks but really I bought it for the Radeon HD 6470M since the video editor I use, Sony movie studio platinum 13 works best with an Amd 6000 series graphics card for rendering videos but I don't know what motherboard has the Radeon Discrete graphics... I'll be lucky if I get it from the get go but I believe it came in 512MB and 1GB variants and If that's the case I'd love to get the 1GB variant of the Radeon HD 6470M.... I'll need to replace the motherboard and CPU anyways because some of the ports are broken and I have an i5-2520M in it but that's besides that I know the fastest cpu that HP installed was an i7-2860QM but if I got a CPU that is faster than that with the same TDP as the i7-2860QM would it work or would my money be wasted? I'd love to have a 3rd gen i7 quad core but I absolutely need the AMD Radeon 6000 series graphics and not the Radeon 7000 series in the 8470p... i'm always away from home so that is why both my "gaming" Lenovo T440p and video editing HP 8460p are laptops because if I go somewhere I can choose if I want to game and/or work and bring one or both of my machines

Overall how are they compared to Thinkpad T series? I'm looking forward to getting mine and finally editing some videos again but should I really install windows 7 pro from the get go or should I just suck it up and install windows 10 pro? I like them both but hate the windows 10 spying (it all can be disabled if you know how)

[dr_st]

Overall how are they compared to Thinkpad T series?

You have one now, and looks like you have some Thinkpad T series as well; so pretty soon you will be able to share your impressions with us.

should I really install windows 7 pro from the get go or should I just suck it up and install windows 10 pro?

Both will do, as long as AMD has good drivers for Windows 10 (Intel iGPUs from that generation do not).

[Whitieiii]

Overall how are they compared to Thinkpad T series?

You have one now, and looks like you have some Thinkpad T series as well; so pretty soon you will be able to share your impressions with us.

should I really install windows 7 pro from the get go or should I just suck it up and install windows 10 pro?

Both will do, as long as AMD has good drivers for Windows 10 (Intel iGPUs from that generation do not).

I will do a comparison of the two when I get everything working... I have windows 10 on my T440s and like it but I also have windows 7 on my T440p and like it also... I might install a tiny partition with Windows 10 along side window 7 on the T440p but that's besides the fact.... I believe the 8460p uses the dGPU 100% of the time unlike my T440p where it switches between Intel and Nvidia because one video on YouTube shows that Intel HD graphics don't show up at all in device manager... I'll ask my friend what he is running and what he recommends as he also uses Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13

[thinkpadcollection]

Elite line of HP computers are nice. I'm considering getting Elite 8300 some day to play games and other things. I have pieces to update 8300 that were used to get Z220 going at first.

There is ivy bridge version with true usb 3 and HD7570m of Elitebook 8570p, I prefer 15.6" for heavy use. Yours has usb3 but driven by add on usb chipset on sandy bridge computer. Secondly, ivy bridge comes with faster memory 1600 with support of DDR3L, reasonable price still on used markets also I think this one also can do quad i-core, confirmed! 9 cell battery is a plus yet choice of using 6cell without sticking out is nice.

Main reason: true GPU HD series not Quadro [censored] and poor LCD quality. that I have been experiencing with thinkpads for awhile.

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

[Whitieiii]

Elite line of HP computers are nice. I'm considering getting Elite 8300 some day to play games and other things. I have pieces to update 8300 that were used to get Z220 going at first.

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

ya i'm getting the Elitebook 8460p Laptop... they do look nicer than the Thinkpads but I just like the build quality of Thinkpads plus I know more about Thinkpads than I do with Elitebook Laptops but I'm learning! the reason I went with the 8460p laptop was mostly for it's AMD Radeon HD 6000 series graphics card and it's ability to render videos the fastest with my video editor... I don't have room for desktops plus I absolutely need the portability of a laptop so it's a win

[Cigarguy]

I had a 8460p for a couple of years but have recently gave it away. Good laptop, nice battery life, well built and easy to service. I like Elitebooks and have a few others. Didn't care that much for the screen and screen format. Unfortunately this screen format is here to say and the crappy quality of screen are common for this era laptops.

[Whitieiii]

I had a 8460p for a couple of years but have recently gave it away. Good laptop, nice battery life, well built and easy to service. I like Elitebooks and have a few others. Didn't care that much for the screen and screen format. Unfortunately this screen format is here to say and the crappy quality of screen are common for this era laptops.

ya I would have picked up another Thinkpad like I do but the lack of AMD GPU made me look to a different brand... the GT 500 series uses cuda which has to be converted to Open CL by my video editing software so I'm sticking with AMD witch natively supports Open CL... I'm gonna outfit it with dual drives (maybe 3 drives if it will let me) as I don't need a CD drive or WWAN in this laptop... one for the OS and frequently used programs, one for a scratch drive for my video editor and one for storage but I'll skip the ssd for the OS if I only can support 2 drives... i'm gonna go with the 1600x900 display and 8gb ram as well

[SirionRazzer]

My main machine is 8560p, which 15.6" version of 8460p, 2760qm/8GB/HD+ and SSD. Radeon version has drawback that you can't use integrated GPU at all, since this is no wired.
Tips:
- using Sapphire TRIXX gpu can be overclocked, mine is stable at 940/1100, around 21pts in Cinebench 11.5 OpenGL test (equivalent of intel hd 4600 in games)
- fan can be controlled/turned off with NoteBook Fan Control
- trackpoint cap is compatible with Thinkpad style cap
- fastest WLAN is Intel Ultimate-N 6300 with 3 antennas and 5 GHz support
- with 60w adapter cpu won't run at a full speed
- don't use Synaptics touchpad drivers from official HP website, options are somewhat crippled there, best Radeon driver is currently v15.20 (HP website has an older version, don't use that)
- turn off Radeon Vari-Bright (cripples image quality on battery)
- my webcam doesn't work under W10
- you can mod keyboard light by removing diffusor

[Whitieiii]

My main machine is 8560p, which 15.6" version of 8460p, 2760qm/8GB/HD+ and SSD. Radeon version has drawback that you can't use integrated GPU at all, since this is no wired.
Tips:
- using Sapphire TRIXX gpu can be overclocked, mine is stable at 940/1100, around 21pts in Cinebench 11.5 OpenGL test (equivalent of intel hd 4600 in games)
- fan can be controlled/turned off with NoteBook Fan Control
- trackpoint cap is compatible with Thinkpad style cap
- fastest WLAN is Intel Ultimate-N 6300 with 3 antennas and 5 GHz support
- with 60w adapter cpu won't run at a full speed
- don't use Synaptics touchpad drivers from official HP website, options are somewhat crippled there, best Radeon driver is currently v15.20 (HP website has an older version, don't use that)
- turn off Radeon Vari-Bright (cripples image quality on battery)
- my webcam doesn't work under W10
- you can mod keyboard light by removing diffusor

that's nice! I'm looking to go with an i7-2860QM and 8GB ram... it mostly will be used under AC adapter so that won't be much of a problem but still will adjust settings... I'm really leaning towards w10 but what do you think? I think it may work out good in it's stock config... it's really only for video editing since my Thinkpad T440p is my "gaming" machine

[SirionRazzer]

Problems with my W10 installation are that camera, sometimes USB3.0 driver crashes after suspend and has to be disabled and enabled in Device Manager, brigntess control from the keyboard keys doesn't work and automatic brightness doesn't work. And there is also one unrecognized device in Device Manager. I also missed middle mouse button, so I mapped it on the trackpoint right button (X-Mouse Button Control)

I regularly use also older 8510w, which has far better ergonomics, better keyboard layout, arrow keys, palmrest, middle mouse buttons. But T9300/4GB is insufficient for my work

[TPFanatic]

I got a broken 8460p, contemporary to the T420. I haven't been able to use it, since it's broken, but it has a keyboard lamp and 2 button touchstick, so heavily gimped compared to a Thinkpad. LCD is the same decently vibrant AUO HD used in T430, except broken. Keyboard is flat apple style chiclet.

Whoever thought a stainless steel palmrest was a good idea was a lizard person. Touching it is like getting hit by a snowball.

[Whitieiii]

using the 8460p for awhile I'm gonna say it's nicer in looks compared to T420 which I won't ever have (I don't like non-island keyboards) and offers more battery life with it's usage of two external batteries... I don't know much about the T420 so don't hate me..... I'm looking more and more to getting rid of the T440s in favor of going with a top of the line 8470w but I'll think about it... My 8460p needs a main board replacement as the GPU is dead and 2 ports are broken but I'm still coming out with a fully working computer for under $100 after the replacement.... I'm looking at upgrading it to a maybe a top of the line quad core i7 the fastest one that will work with dedicated graphics and 90w power supply (any suggestions on a cpu would be nice)

[TPFanatic]

I agree my opinion is that the 8460p is purdy, while the T420 is one of the worst looking Thinkpads. Its successor T430 is a much better laptop, faster, prettier, and lighter.

[Whitieiii]

I agree my opinion is that the 8460p is purdy, while the T420 is one of the worst looking Thinkpads. Its successor T430 is a much better laptop, faster, prettier, and lighter.

Agree the T430 my most favorite Thinkpad and mine has every option except for dedicated graphics and only has a dual core cpu although I don't use mine as my main machine it's my dad's new computer.... My main machines are a combo of a 2015 13" MacBook pro and T440p with GT 730m graphics

[dr_st]

I agree my opinion is that the 8460p is purdy, while the T420 is one of the worst looking Thinkpads. Its successor T430 is a much better laptop, faster, prettier, and lighter.

I have seen your lovely picture show of T420 vs T430, and although I understand the subtle differences in the way the chassis and bezel looks, and I see why you would prefer the T430, I would not call the difference in looks 'big' or even 'significant'. Although, I have not actually used a T420 for a meaningful period of time to pass my own judgment; I am only going off the differences in your pictures. Faster it may or may not be - depending how the systems are configured; there is a large performance overlap across the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge lineups. How much lighter would a T430 be compared to a T420 with roughly equivalent hardware?

The 8460p is a completely different design, and I do like its looks. Not better or worse than a good Thinkpad, just different in a good way.

The keyboard, though, is complete garbage (even compared to a 6-row island Thinkpad keyboard), the trackpoint is mediocre and no trackpoint middle button for scrolling is crippling. No matter its looks, performance or battery life, I simply would not be able to use a 8460p or any similar laptop daily without suffering.

[wujstefan]

Well as for Elitebooks, I personally feel that 14 and 15 inchers are outclassed by thinkpads.
... 17 inch Thinkpads cry in shame when compared to 17" Elitebooks, however (and I know some of you will throw rocks at me).

I have owned 8530w, 8540w, 8560w and still own 8510w. For 17-inchers, 8710w, 8730w (recently sold), 8740w (brothers' unit), 8760w (this is the thing I use in my job).
I've also owned all available thinkpads starting from T60 and finishing at W520 (T60/61/60p/61p R60/61/61e, T400/410/420 and so on), including W700/W701; never owned a ds unit though.

8710w had no counterpart actually, offering HUGE raw power, great build quality and exceptional AUO display. Out of them all, I loved this one most.
8730w had a counterpart in W700. It ran cooler, was slimmer and lighter and offered a Dreamcolor 1 RGB-Led display (let's not compare with W700 displays, for the sake of our love tot hinkpads). It had worse keyboard and did not offer such options with ultrabay. Was cheaper when new, and is MUCH cheaper used, even dreamcolor units.
8740w had a counterpart in W701. I do not own W701, but given the fact that 8740w sported Dreamcolor 2 IPS WUXGA screen, 4 RAM slots to 32Gb MAX and up to k5000m GPU... well, I've never seen W701 RGB screen live, so let's say I won't compare
8760w is what I use now. Not that good, I'd say I like both 8710, 8730 and 8740 better (anyway: why there were no 8x20 units?) but the power it packs is what I need.

Still, if you ask me what 17-incher I'd reccomend, I would say: Elitebook. And most likely 8740w, even "economic", non-dreamcolor i5 unit.
As for the smaller ones: T-series feel sturdier, has better keyboard, and have a working trackpoint, and I'd recommend them over Elitebooks.