HP EliteBook 8460p

Pros 
The HP EliteBook 8460p provides a long battery life and has a durable design.

Cons 

This business laptop does not offer an HDMI port.

The Verdict: 9.45/10

This HP laptop delivers quality performance with a sleek design and rugged durability.

Specifications:-

Operating system

• Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 32
• Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Basic 32
• FreeDOS

Processor

• Intel® Core™ i7-2820QM (2.30 GHz, 8 MB L3 cache)
• Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM (2.20 GHz, 6 MB L3 cache)
• Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM (2.00 GHz, 6 MB L3 cache)
• Intel® Core™ i7-2620M (2.70 GHz, 4 MB L3 cache)
• Intel® Core™ i5-2540M (2.60 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache)
• Intel® Core™ i5-2520M (2.50 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache)
• Intel® Core™ i5-2410M (2.30 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache)

Processor technology

• Intel® Core™ i5 with vPro technology (select models); Intel® Core™ i7 with vPro technology (select models)

Chipset

• Mobile Intel® QM67 Express

Environmental

• BFR/PVC-free

Dimensions and weight:

• Weight Starting at 4.56 lb (2.07 kg)
• Dimensions (w x d x h) 13.31 x 9.11 x 1.25 in (33.8 x 23.13 x 3.18 cm)

Memory

• Memory, maximum 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• Memory slots 2 SODIMM

Storage

• Internal drive SATA II (7200 rpm)

                      From: 250 GB
                      Up to: 750 GB

• SED SATA II (7200 rpm)

                      Up to: 320 GB

• Solid State Drive

                      From: 128 GB
                      Up to: 160 GB

• Optical drive Blu-ray R/RE DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL; Blu-ray ROM DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL; DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL; DVD-ROM

(With the Upgrade Bay with Dual Hard Drive support, the optical drive can be replaced with an optional 500 GB 7200 rpm hard drive.)

Graphics

• Display 14.0" diagonal LED-backlit HD anti-glare (1366 x 768); 14.0" diagonal LED-backlit HD+ anti-glare (1600 x 900)
• Integrated: Intel® HD Graphics 3000
• Discrete: AMD Radeon HD 6470M with 1 GB dedicated DDR3 video memory

Expansion features

• Ports 2 USB 3.0
• 1 eSATA/USB 2.0 Combo
• 1 USB 2.0 charging
• 1 external VGA monitor
• 1 DisplayPort
• 1 1394a
• 1 stereo microphone in
• 1 stereo headphone/line-out
• 1 AC power
• 1 RJ-11
• 1 RJ-45
• 1 docking connector
• 1 secondary battery connector

Slots

• 1 Express Card/54
• 1 Smart Card Reader
• 1 SD/MMC

Audio

• SRS Premium Sound, Integrated stereo speakers, Stereo headphone/line out, Stereo microphone in, Integrated microphone (dual-microphone array with optional webcam)

Integrated camera

• HD webcam (select models)

Keyboard

• Spill-resistant keyboard and drain

Input devices

• Touchpad with on/off button, two-way scroll, gestures, two pick buttons
• Pointstick with two additional pointstick buttons

Communications

• Network interface Integrated Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection (10/100/1000 NIC)

Wireless

• HP un2430 EV-DO/HSPA Mobile Broadband
• Intel Centrino 802.11a/b/g/n
• Atheros 802.11a/b/g/n
• Broadcom 802.11a/b/g/n
• Broadcom 802.11b/g/n
• HP Integrated Module with Bluetooth 2.1+EDR Wireless Technology

Service provider

• AT&T, Sprint or Verizon Wireless

Power and operating requirements

• Energy efficiency ENERGY STAR® qualified configurations available

Power supply

• 90W Smart AC adapter (discrete or quad-core); 65W HP Smart AC adapter (integrated or without quad-core); HP Fast Charge

Battery type

• 9-cell (100 WHr) Li-Ion battery, 6-cell (62 WHr) Li-Ion battery, 6-cell (55 WHr) Li-Ion battery

Battery Life

• 9-cell: Up to 13 hours and 45 minutes
• 6-cell: Up to 8 hours and 15 minutes
• 3-cell: Up to 4 hours

Operating temperature range

• 41 to 95°F (5 to 35°C)

Security management

• Security management Standard: HP ProtectTools, Central Management capable, TPM Embedded Security Chip 1.2, Enhanced Pre-Boot Security, HP Spare Key (requires initial user setup), HP Disk Sanitizer, Drive Encryption for HP ProtectTools, Credential Manager for HP ProtectTools, File Sanitizer for HP ProtectTools, Smart Card Reader, security lock slot Optional: Computrace Pro for HP ProtectTools, HP Fingerprint Sensor..

Design
Compared to the basic black of, say, Lenovo ThinkPads, the EliteBook 8460p $1,169.99 at CircuitCity.com is a stylish platinum-silver slab measuring 1.3 by 13.3 by 9.1 inches (HWD) and weighing 5.4 pounds, with an aluminum lid, palm rest, and encircling strip that contains the ports on a black magnesium alloy base. A DisplaySafe rubber frame protects the screen, which has a tiny LED next to the webcam to illuminate the non-backlit keyboard (well, part of the keyboard) in shadowy situations.

The matte-finish 14.0-inch display offers 1,366 by 768 resolution. Though not the brightest or highest in contrast that we've seen, it delivered good detail and color. Audio from the HP's twin speakers—both mounted left of center, one on the front edge and one on the bottom—was loud enough to fill a conference room, but sounded flat.

The slightly concave, island-style keys of the 8460p's keyboard provide a nicely firm typing feel. Except for HP's bizarre keyboard trademark—small up and down arrows sandwiched between full-sized left and right arrows—the layout is fine, with dedicated Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn keys and three buttons at top right that toggle Wi-Fi, audio mute, and browser launch. The last, when the computer is switched off, opens HP QuickWeb, which satisfies impatient surfers and e-mail checkers by bringing up a Web browser plus widgets such as weather and news headlines without booting Windows.

The glass-topped touchpad is first-rate, with smooth cursor motion, tapping, and gesture control and not-too-stiff, not-too-noisy mouse buttons below—and above, with the latter pair of buttons belonging to the pointing stick located at the intersection of the G, H, and B keys. The concave pointing stick isn't quite as successful as the touchpad (or Lenovo's TrackPoints), but should please users who want a choice of pointing devices.

Features
An old-school 56Kbps modem, along with VGA and Ethernet ports, decorates the EliteBook's back edge. On the right side of the chassis are microphone and headphone jacks, two USB 2.0 ports—one an eSATA/USB combo port, the other able to charge handheld devices—and a DisplayPort and Smart Card slot. On the left are two USB 3.0 ports, a FireWire port, SD/MMC and ExpressCard slots, and the DVD±RW drive.

A docking connector on the bottom completes the hardware connectivity roster, which lacks only HDMI. Similarly, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth check two of three boxes on the wireless shopping list, with Wireless Display, as mentioned, absent. With neither HDMI nor WiDi available, business travelers planning a big presentation with the 8460p had better rely on a VGA projector rather than an HDTV set.

IT managers will like the 8460p's Core i5 vPro processor and TPM security chip, but small and medium as well as large enterprises can benefit from the best part of the 320GB (7,200 rpm) hard drive's software preload: HP ProtectTools, a suite of utilities that steer you through security functions ranging from managing passwords to encrypting data and sanitizing (securely deleting) files. Other software found alongside Windows 7 Professional includes HP Power Assistant for managing power profiles, Microsoft Office 2010 Starter, and a 60-day Norton Internet Security trial. HP stands behind the EliteBook with a three-year limited parts and labor warranty.

Performance
The EliteBook 8460p features a 2.5GHz Core i5-2520M processor and 4GB of RAM. The combination won't set any speed records, but makes the HP a peppy performer for the productivity work for which it's designed.

ItsPCMark 7 score of 2,065 is 200 to 300 points shy of slugging it out with the likes of the Lenovo U400 and Gateway ID47H07u $549.99 at TigerDirect.com, but its Handbrakevideo encoding and Photoshop CS5 image editing times of 1 minute 46 seconds and 3:56, respectively, are extremely competitive with other Core i5-based, 14-inch laptops, though they trail the Core i7-equipped Dell XPS 14z (1:37 and 3:27, respectively).

And though we'd be the last to suggest that a busy business traveler waste her time playing games, we must note that the Radeon HD 6470M graphics powered the HP to playable frame rates at 1,024 by 768 resolution in Crysis (38.3 fps) and Lost Planet 2 (31.3 fps). Our biggest disappointment in benchmark testing was that the 8460p balked at our MobileMark 2007 battery rundown test, obliging us to fall back on our DVD simulation test of looping a two-hour MP4 video from the system's hard disk. The HP's removable 62Wh battery lasted 5 hours and 1 minute with screen brightness set at 50 percent.

Compared with the Editors' Choice pair of the Acer TravelMate 8481T-6440A and Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5) , the HP EliteBook 8460p is a little heavy and short on battery life. But even with the extra weight of its semi-rugged construction and the lack of those laptops' HDMI and WiDi, the EliteBook 8460p is a first-class business laptop. It's attractive, with a great typing and touchpadding experience, and built with security in mind.