HP EliteBook 8740w Pro Reviews

At the end of the day the HP EliteBook 8740w is a powerful 17-inch mobile workstation that genuinely bridges the gap between desktop workstations and mobile workstations. The ATI Eyefinity technology comes in handy when you want to use multiple displays and the combination of quad-core processor and high-performance graphics really deliver the goods. I was more than a little disappointed by the flex in the keyboard and the limited battery life, but neither of these issues are "guaranteed" deal breakers if you plan to use this notebook as a true "desktop replacement" that says plugged in to a power outlet and you use an external keyboard. In short, the HP EliteBook 8740w delivers serious power but it needs some work before it can reach "perfection."

Let it be said that the HP EliteBook 8740w really is a fantastic piece of hardware. It's fast, extremely flexible and capable, and boasts a healthy amount of expansion and potential upgrades. You can configure it with the fastest mobile workstation graphics on the market, the fastest quad core processor, and an obscene 32GB of DDR3. The 8740w is by any measure a lot of notebook. HP has even gone to lengths to get the notebook ISV certified with Autodesk and Adobe and done a healthy amount of reliability testing.

It is accomplished. HP's top model of the business range has successfully completed our tests. The result: Remarkable. The HP Elitebook 8740w clearly illustrates the limit between a "very good" and a just "only" good device.

If you're looking for a business-rugged laptop that has all the power of a desktop and all the sexiness of a Mac, this is the notebook for you.

If you're into power and prettiness, the HP EliteBook 8740w laptop is for you. With prebuilt models starting at £1,598, the EliteBook 8740w is a decently priced desktop replacement, and it's sexy to boot. The brushed-metal chassis definitely makes the EliteBook 8740w look, well, elite - unlike a lot of boring, clunky business-rugged laptops. And if you want power, you can have it: custom configurations of the EliteBook 8740w surpass £4,500.