HP EliteBook 8730w

101 reviews

May, 2013

Positive
Value for money (16)
Build quality (9)
Keyboard (6)
Design (4)
Portability (2)

Negative
Touchpad (2)
Resolution (1)

General overview
Price comparison
Product Specifications

alaTest has collected and analyzed 101 reviews from magazines and websites. Comments about the screen and design are on the whole positive. The keyboard and build quality also get good views. Many are negative about the resolution and touchpad. The energy efficiency and performance get mixed reviews.

value for money, build quality, keyboard, design, screen

touchpad, resolution

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Laptops the HP EliteBook 8730w is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 83/100 = Very good quality.

See all Hewlett-Packard Laptops

Review analysis

(Based on 101 reviews)

Expert Reviews

User Reviews

Review Ratings

(44% of reviews)
Show all 5 star reviews (40% of reviews)
Show all 4 star reviews (9% of reviews)
Show all 3 star reviews (2% of reviews)
Show all 2 star reviews (5% of reviews)
Show all 1 star reviews

Features

Value for money
Show positive (70%)Show negative (14%)(Show all)

Build quality
Show positive (55%)Show negative (27%)(Show all)

Keyboard
Show positive (63%)Show negative (13%)(Show all)

Design
Show positive (71%)Show negative (5%)(Show all)

Screen
Show positive (34%)Show negative (15%)(Show all)

More features

Showing 83 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews

Showing 1 - 10 of 83 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (20)

Expert review by: Dana Wollman and Michael A. Prospero (laptopmag.com)

HP EliteBook 8730w

This 17-inch notebook's 15-million color display puts other workstations to shame and delivers serious graphics muscle.

At re looking for a system with impressive graphic rendering and some serious eye candy, add the 8730w to your short list.,242, the HP Elitebook 8730w is a very capable mobile workstation that falls between the 17-inch MacBook Pro (’,799) and the...

May, 2009

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Expert review by: Jerry Jackson (NotebookReview.com)

HP EliteBook 8730w Review

The HP EliteBook 8730w is the largest workstation in HP's current lineup of business notebooks. Featuring the latest Intel processors and Nvidia Quadro graphics and available with HP's exclusive 17-inch "DreamColor" display, the EliteBook 8730w might...

Extreme processor and graphics performance ; DreamColor display is bright with vivid colors ; Reasonably thin and light for a 17-inch workstation ; Attractive and sleek design

DreamColor display is pricey, but still reasonable ; Third touchpad button sometimes gets in the way ; Less than ideal location for speakers ; Fan can run loud and push out a lot of hot air

Bottom line, if you're looking for a 17-inch mobile workstation notebook the HP EliteBook 8730w probably belongs at the top of your list

May, 2009

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Expert review by: Jerry Jackson (NotebookReview.com)

HP EliteBook 8530w Review

The 8530w starts out at $1,499 but more powerful configurations top out at $3,549

One of the most full-featured and rugged 15.4" workstation notebooks ; Extreme graphics power, top notch overall horsepower ; High-resolution screen with good viewing angles and excellent brightness ; Available BluRay drive ; Extended battery life...

Pricey because of the workstation GPU and rugged build quality ; Heavy ... very heavy with the power adapter ; Rubber touchpad buttons don't always register a click when you press them ; Less than ideal location for speakers ; Fan can run loud and...

Bottom line, there are many reasons why professionals need to buy the HP EliteBook 8530w and very few reasons not to

Oct, 2008

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Expert review by: Lance Olinger (videomaker.com)

Laptop Workstation Review: HP EliteBook 8730w Mobile Workstation

Originally, the word laptop and video editing would never go together. Laptop graphics were usually onboard, used shared memory, and had limited capabilities. Recently though, NVIDIA and ATI have made high-end video editing cards that fit into a...

Durable Design ; Desktop performance in small form factor ; Enhanced Dreamcolor LCD ; Many types of removable media devices supported, USB/eSATA/Card Reader/Blu-Ray ; Available with Windows XP

Expensive ; Slow Memory

A top of the line performer, no setup required, and plenty of media devices for a video editor.

Jun, 2009

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Expert review by: John Virata (digitalproducer.digitalmedianet.com)

HP EliteBook 8730W

Hewlett Packard has been known for years for its solid workstations. The company has been an innovator when it comes to content creation machines, even supplying its own designed graphics adapters in the late 1990s to power its visual systems. When the...

Mobile workstation with power

Dec, 2008

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Consumer review by: danj1111 (cnet.com)

Great design & value, but display is mediocre at best.

Got the laptop in the mail and the box had a big dent in it.. so badly dented that you could see the computer through the dent/hole in the box... Not a good beginning. Decided to start it up anyway. The case has a great design.. and is of excellent...

Great price for a workstation level laptop ; Excellent case design ; Surprisingly lightweight for a 17inch laptop ; Trackpad thing is nice. Has a good feel ; Keyboard is very nice. (no backlite is kind of a disappointment though)

Screen below average. (wuxga w/out dreamcolor option) ; Shipped with big dent in box and small dent in computer itself- could explain bad display) ; WUXGA resolution is almost too much for a 17 inch. (Maybe it's my eyes though.) ; No keyboard backlight

Nov, 2008

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Consumer review by: (amazon.com)

Amazon review summary for the HP EliteBook 8730w

alaTest has collected and analyzed 5 user reviews of the HP EliteBook 8730w from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 4.0/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.0/5 for other products on Amazon.com.

value for money, design, portability, connectivity

80% of reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

May, 2013

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Consumer review by: J. Meyerhoffer (amazon.com)

Outstanding laptop!!!

I use an 8730w on a daily basis. It is an outstanding, if slightly overpriced laptop. HP Products are a LOT better than their Customer Support.....I'm no fan of their phone support (it IS ridiculous {Hello English Anyone?] but I've rarely had an HP...

Sep, 2010

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Consumer review by: J. Detwiler (amazon.com)

DONT BUY A LAPTOP FROM HP

Here is my experience with HP: May 2009 - Bought Laptop from HP website - List Price - $2400 Sept. 2009 - Screen went blank - sent it in for repairs and motherboard and RAM replaced Jan. 2010 - Computer began loosing power randomly - sent it in for...

Feb, 2010

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Consumer review by: Jay P. Harbath (amazon.com)

Magnificent Machine!

It was a sad day when my trusty traveling companion of four years, my HP ZD7000 finally had to be retired. Software required for work mandated that I have a system that ran XP Pro as the native OS, not from within a VMWare shell. That meant buying a...

Aug, 2009

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Product Specifications

The Electronic HP Care Pack Services (e-Care Pack) capability allows you to order, receive, update, and activate a wide range of valuable HP Care Pack Services over the Internet. Administered through the HP Services Network (CSN), it is a fast and simple process that enables immediate registration and service activation.Increase equipment availability and productivity with high-quality onsite and remote support for your HP hardware, as well as selected multivendor equipment. This flexible HP Care Pack packaged service covers desktops, workstations, servers, notebooks and laptops, network equipment, and printing.Choose Next Business Day Hardware Support when you need to: extend your hardware warranty coverage for key systems and devices; obtain easy-to-buy, easy-to-use onsite services; improve hardware performance and uptime; increase the return on your HP and multivendor hardware investments; enjoy consistent service coverage across geographically dispersed sites.

Audio Input

Type:Stereo microphone

Audio Output

Type:None/Sound card

Battery

Capacity:47Wh

Installed Qty:1

Run Time (Up To):4.25hour(s)

Technology:Lithium ion

Cabinet (Chassis)

Form Factor:Desktop slimline

Manufacturer Form Factor:Ultra-slim desktop

Supported Devices / Modules Qty:4

Cache Memory

Installed Size:12MB/2MB/3MB/6MB

Per Processor Size:2MB

Consumable

Cartridge Features:HP Vivera

Color:Cyan/Cyan / Magenta/Gray/Gray / Photo black/Magenta/Matte black/Matte black / Yellow/Photo black/Yellow

Consumable Type:Print cartridge/Printhead

Dimensions & Weight

Depth:11.1in/13.2in/16.9in/17.1in/19.1in/31.7in/8in

Height:0.8in/1.3in/10in/13.9in/17.1in/17.8in/3in

Weight:101.4lbs/12.3oz/13.2lbs/17.6lbs/33.1lbs/34.2lbs/7.5lbs

Width:12.4in/15.5in/15.9in/16.3in/16.5in/18.9in/2.1in

Display (Projector)

Diagonal Size:17in

Diagonal Size (metric):43.2cm

Dot Pitch / Pixel Pitch:0.27mm

Form Factor:Desktop

Interface:VGA (HD-15)

Max Resolution:1280 x 1024/1680 x 1050/1920 x 1200

Technology:CRT/TFT active matrix

Type:Display/None.

Widescreen Display:

Yes

Environmental Standards

Blue Angel Compliant:

Yes

ENERGY STAR Qualified:

Yes

EPA Energy Star Compliant:

Yes

EPEAT Compliant:

Yes

EPEAT Level:EPEAT Gold/EPEAT Gold / EPEAT Silver/EPEAT Silver

Equipment

Class of Equipment:Complicated network devices/Desktops/Monitors/Network adapters/Notebooks/Other/Printers and multifunctional office machines/Scanners/Servers/Storage arrays/System cabinets/Tape drives/UPS and power devices

General

Consumable Subcategory:Cartridges/Maintenance supplies and parts

Media Subcategory:Large format paper/Photo paper/Special media

Printer Consumable Class:Consumables and kits/Media

Product Type:Notebook battery/Power supply - hot-plug / redundant/Power supply - redundant

Subcategory (AG):Batteries/Power supplies

Technology:Ink-jet

Header

Compatibility:Mac / PC/PC/PC / Unix/Unix

Country Kits:Africa / Asia Pacific / Europe / Middle East/Africa / Europe / Middle East/Australia / Belgium / Canada / Czech Republic / Denmark / Finland / France / Germany / Greece / Hong Kong / Indonesia / Ireland / Italy / Netherlands / Norway / Poland / Portugal / Russia / Singapore / South Africa / Spain / Sweden / Switzerland / United Kingdom / United States/Australia / Belgium / Canada / Czech Republic / Denmark / Finland / France / Germany / Hong Kong / Indonesia / Ireland / Italy / Netherlands / Norway / Poland / Portugal / Russia / Singapore / South Africa / Spain / Sweden / Switzerland / United Kingdom / United States/Canada / Latin America / United States/Canada / United States/Europe/Europe / South Africa / United Arab Emirates/France/Ireland / United Kingdom/N/a/Puerto Rico / United States/United Kingdom/United States/Worldwide

Localization:English/English / French / German / Italian/French/German/Italian/N/a

Manufacturer:Compaq/Compaq / Hewlett-Packard/Hewlett-Packard

Model:1000w/150 Credit/24-Hour Call-To-Repair Hardware Support/24x7 Software Technical Support/300 Credit/4-hour 13x5 Same Day Hardware Support/4-hour 13x5 Same Day Hardware Support Post Warranty/4-Hour 24x7 Same Day Hardware Support/4-Hour 24x7 Same Day Hardware Support Post Warranty/4-hour 24x7 Same Day Hardware Support with Defective Media Retention and Accidental Damage Protection/4-Hour Call-To-Repair Hardware Support Post Warranty/4-Hour Same Business Day Hardware Support/4-Hour Same Business Day Hardware Support / 4-Hour 24x7 Same Day Hardware Support/4-Hour Same Business Day Hardware Support Post Warranty/4-Hour Same Business Day Hardware Support with Defective Media Retention/6-Hour Call-To-Repair Hardware Support/6-Hour Call-To-Repair Hardware Support Post Warranty/6-Hour Call-To-Repair Hardware Support with Defective Media Retention/72/8-Hour 9x5 Onsite Hardware Support/8-Hour 9x5 Onsite Hardware Support Post Warranty/8730w/900 Credit/Advanced Maintenance Service Post Warranty/Dc7600/Global Next Busines

Packaged Quantity:1

Product Line:Compaq/Compaq / HP/Compaq CarePaq/Compaq CarePaq / HP Care Pack/Electronic HP Care Pack/HP/HP Care Pack/HP CarePaq/HP Compaq Business Desktop/HP e-Support Pack/HP e-SupportPack/HP eCarePaq/HP EliteBook Mobile Workstation/HP Hardware Support Onsite/HP LaserJet/HP Premium/HP Proactive Select/HP StorageWorks/HP SupportPack

Input Device

Type:Keyboard / Touchpad / Pointing stick/Keyboard / Pointing stick / Touchpad/None/Pointing stick / Touchpad / Keyboard

Mainboard

Chipset Type:Intel 945G Express

Data Bus Speed:1066MHz/800MHz

Media

Included Qty:40sheet(s)/50sheet(s)/60sheet(s)

Media Type:Glossy photo paper/High-gloss photo paper/Paper

Smaller Dimension (For Sorting):101.6mm/1524mm/216mm/90mm/914mm

Miscellaneous

Category of Accessory:Printing consumables/Printing media

Color:Carbonite / Silver/White

Compliant Standards:CE / CISPR 22 Class B / DDC-1 / DDC-2B / EN55022 / EN55024 / EPA Energy Star / FCC Class B certified / ISO 9241 / MPR II / Plug and Play / SEMKO / TCO '99 / VCCI Class B ITE / TCO 99/CE / CSA / DHHS / EN50082 / EN55022 / EPA Energy Star / FCC Class B certified / MPR II / NEMKO / Plug and Play / SEMKO / TCO '95 / TUV GS / UL / TCO 95/CISPR 22 Class B / DDC-1 / DDC-2B / DEMKO / EN 60950 / EN 61000-3-2 / EN55022 / EPA Energy Star / FCC Class B certified / ICES-003 / IEC950 / ISO 9241 / MPR II / NEMKO / Plug and Play / SEMKO / VCCI Class B ITE / VESA DPMS

Manufacturer Selling Program:HP Smart Buy

Refurbished:Remarketed

Modem

Max Transfer Rate:56Kbps

Protocols & Specifications:Bell 103J / Bell 212A / ITU T.30 / ITU T.4 / ITU V.17 / ITU V.21 / ITU V.22 / ITU V.22bis / ITU V.23 / ITU V.250 / ITU V.251 / ITU V.27ter / ITU V.29 / ITU V.32 / ITU V.32bis / ITU V.34 / ITU V.80 / ITU V.8bis / ITU V.92/ITU V.21 / Bell 212A / ITU V.22 / ITU V.22bis / ITU V.29 / ITU V.32 / ITU V.32bis / ITU V.34 / ITU V.17 / ITU V.23 / ITU V.27ter / ITU V.8bis / Bell 103J / ITU V.92 / ITU T.30 / ITU T.4 / ITU V.250 / ITU V.251 / ITU V.80/ITU V.80 / ITU V.251 / ITU V.250 / ITU T.4 / ITU T.30 / ITU V.92 / Bell 103J / ITU V.8bis / ITU V.27ter / ITU V.23 / ITU V.17 / ITU V.34 / ITU V.32bis / ITU V.29 / ITU V.22bis / Bell 212A / ITU V.21

Type:Fax / modem/None

Networking

Data Link Protocol:Bluetooth 2.0 EDR / IEEE 802.11n (draft) / IEEE 802.11g / IEEE 802.11a / IEEE 802.11b / Gigabit Ethernet / Fast Ethernet/Bluetooth 2.0 EDR / Ethernet / Fast Ethernet / Gigabit Ethernet / IEEE 802.11a / IEEE 802.11b / IEEE 802.11g / IEEE 802.11n (draft)/Ethernet / Fast Ethernet / Gigabit Ethernet / IEEE 802.11b / IEEE 802.11a / IEEE 802.11g / IEEE 802.11n (draft) / Bluetooth 2.0 EDR/Ethernet / Fast Ethernet / Gigabit Ethernet / IEEE 802.11a / IEEE 802.11b / IEEE 802.11g / IEEE 802.11n (draft)/Gigabit Ethernet / Fast Ethernet/IEEE 802.11g / IEEE 802.11a / IEEE 802.11b / Gigabit Ethernet / Fast Ethernet / Bluetooth 2.0 EDR / IEEE 802.11n

Type:Network adapter/None

Wireless LAN Supported:

Yes

Wireless Protocol:802.11 a/b/g/n (draft)/802.11 a/b/g/n (draft) / Bluetooth 2.0 EDR/Bluetooth 2.0 EDR / 802.11 a/b/g/n/Bluetooth 2.0 EDR / 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft)

Notebook Camera

Camera Type:Integrated

Notebook Camera

Camera Type:Integrated

Optical Storage

Read Speed:24x (CD) / 8x (DVD)/24x (CD) / 8x (DVD) / 1x (BD)/48x

Rewrite Speed:16x (CD) / 4x (DVD/8x (CD) / 4x (DVD

Type:CD-ROM/DVD

Write Speed:24x (CD) / 8x (DVD/8x (CD) / 8x (DVD

OS Provided

Type:Microsoft Windows 7 Professional / XP Professional downgrade/Microsoft Windows Vista Business/Microsoft Windows Vista Business / XP Professional downgrade/Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Power Device

Form Factor (AG):Plug-in module

Power Supply Compatibility:Network hardware/PC/Server/Storage hardware

Printer

Connectivity Technology:Wired

Interface:USB

Language Simulation:PCL 5E

Max H-Resolution B/W:1200dpi

Max Media Size (Standard):Legal (8.5 in x 14 in) / A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in)

Max Printing Speed (ppm):10ppm

Max V-Resolution B/W:1200dpi

Media Type:Recycled paper / Cards / Postal card paper / Plain paper / Labels / Envelopes

Monthly Duty Cycle Range (Printer Class):1,000 - 9,999 pages

Output Type:Monochrome

Technology:Laser

Total Media Capacity:250sheets

Type:Personal printer

Processor

64-bit Computing:

Yes

Clock Speed:2.26GHz/2.4GHz/2.53GHz/2.8GHz/2.93GHz/3.06GHz/3GHz

Installed Qty:1

Manufacturer:Intel

Max Supported Qty:1

Multi-Core Technology:Dual-Core/Quad-Core

Processor Number:630/P8400/P8600/P8700/QX9300/T9400/T9600/T9800/X9100

Type:Core 2 Duo/Core 2 Extreme/Core 2 Quad/Pentium 4

RAM

Data Integrity Check:Non-ECC

Form Factor:DIMM 240-pin

Installed Size:1MB/2GB/4GB/512MB

Max Supported Size:3GB/8GB

Memory Specification Compliance:PC3-10600

Memory Speed:1333MHz

Registered or Buffered:Unbuffered

Storage Capacity:1GB/256GB

Technology:DDR2 SDRAM/DDR3 SDRAM

Type:DRAM

Upgrade Type:System specific

Scanner

Type:

None

Service & Support

Full Contract Period:1incident/1year/1years/2days/2years/3year/3years/4year/4years/50incidents/5years

Location:Carry-in/On-site/Pick-up and return/Shipment

On-Site Warranty:On-site

Repair Time:24 hours/3 business days/3 days/4 hours/6 hours

Response Time:2 business days/2 days/3 days/4 hours/6 hours/8 hours/Next business day/Next day

Service Included:Consulting/Emergency phone consulting/Express exchange/Installation/Labor/Maintenance/Parts/Parts and labor/Phone consulting/Replacement

Type:1 year warranty /3 years warranty /90 days warranty/Extended service agreement/Extended service agreement (renewal)/Installation / configuration/Insurance/Limited lifetime warranty/New releases update/Technical support

Software

Microsoft Office Ready:Includes a preinstalled image of select 2007 Microsoft Office suites. Purchase a Medialess License Kit (MLK) to activate the software.

Software Title:HP Blade Workstation/HP Cluster Management Utility/HP Insight Control Environment for BladeSystem/HP Linux Workstations/HP Message Passing Interface library (HP-MPI)/HP OpenView Storage Mirroring Server/HP ProLiant Storage Server iSCSI Features Pack/HP Serviceguard/HP StorageWorks MSA2000 Volume Copy/HP StorageWorks Power Pack Software Bundle/HP StorageWorks Secure Path for Win/Lnx/HP-UX/NetWare WE/HP StorageWorks Secure Path for Windows Workgroup Edition/Linux/Microsoft / Novell Operating Environment/Microsoft OS/Novell Open Enterprise Server/Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS for the Itanium Processor/Red Hat Linux Advanced Server for IA32/Red Hat Linux Enterprise Server for IA32/SuSE Linux Enterprise Server/SuSE Linux for IA-32/VMware ESX Enterprise/VMware ESX Standard/VMware ESX Standard / PEVMS/VMware ESX Starter/VMware ESX Starter / PEVMS/VMware Infrastructure 3 Enterprise / HP Insight Control Environment/VMware Infrastructure Standard/VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Standard/VMware Virtual Infrastructur

Version:2.1/3.1/4.0c/8