HP also launched a couple of new consumer-level Pavilion models today. Looks like they’re heading towards a new direction with a full rehash of their 14 to 17 inch Pavilion dv models. These new models no longer have those overly glossy lids and keyboard decks (you know, those that people were complaining about being fingerprint magnets) and, with the exception of the glossy display, have lost all things “shiny” (those touch sensitive, lit keys included). Instead these new Pavilion models now have a much more subtle, more aesthetically pleasing I must also comment, design – with aluminum cases with fairly low profile (Except the Pavilion dm4) imprints, full-size and color-contrasting chiclet style keyboards (the Pavilion dv6 even “borrows” the Envy 15’s whole keyboard design, trashy quick launch buttons included! But thankfully the rest have regular keyboards… for, you know, typists who don’t want to hit the wrong keys) and of course, big and buttonless multi-touch trackpads – it’s pretty evident that the Envy series had a pretty big influence on the guys who designed the new Pavilion dm4, Pavilion dv5, Pavilion dv6 and Pavilion dv7 notebooks we see today. Oh, these new notebooks also have more airvents and more LOGICALLY placed airvents (ie the vent for outward airflow isn’t placed facing the bottom anymore) than their predecessors. Note that the latter three models (dv5, dv6, dv7) share the model designations as their predecessors, but have completely different designs – so watch out before you buy!
HP Pavilion dm4
HP Pavilion dv5
HP Pavilion dv7
Specs to come…
Well, they’re finally official now and I can quit receiving these kazillion emails about the upcoming Envy 14/17 models… wait, at least until the Envy 11 and Envy 18 emails start flooding in a couple months’ time 
. Right now, the information being provided by HP is scarce. But after some “digging around”, I’ve managed to compile a much more comprehensive list of specifications for the Envy 14 and Envy 17, more than you’ll find on other sites out there. All the info I’ve listed below are accurate/confirmed except where noted otherwise.
For both the Envy 14 and Envy 17, the following things will come as standard/available features:
- Choice of Intel Core i5 dual core, Intel Core i7 dual core and Intel Core i7 Quad core processors (yes, the Envy 14 can be configured as a quad-core machine!)
- Fully backlit, chiclet style keyboard; NO annoying ‘quick media/quick launch’ buttons to hinder typing
- Metal/aluminum chassis with metal etching design (same patterns on the lid/palmrest as Envy 15)
- HP True Vision “HD” webcam (I think they can record/webconference in 720p; haven’t confirmed, I’m not really a big webcam user)
- Built-in slot-loading optical drives (contrary to earlier documents and HP info; somehow someone managed to squeeze in those optical drives)
- 7200 rpm hard disks will come standard; solid state drives (SSD) will also come as an option
- Dual built-in microphones
- Extra large button-less trackpads with brand new trackpad firmware/software for improved operation (really)
- Much improved cooling/airflow and heat dissipation
- LAN port for you network cable users
- Dedicated audio in and audio out ports for microphone and headphones respectively (unlike the single combo port on the Envy 15)
And looking at them individually now, first we have the HP Envy 14:
- 2 dedicated USB ports + 1 combo eSATA/USB port
- Standard full-size keyboard without numeric pad (doh!)
- 14 inch 16:9 aspect ratio “HD” (at least 1366 x 768; higher resolution panel options unconfirmed) LED backlit display; this one’s an “extra-bright” HP Radiance display (similar to how the Envy 13 had a 13 inch Radiance display)
- Two speaker Beats-branded (or logo stamped) speakers
- Single hard disk bay
- 2 or 4 DDR3 RAM slots
- 1 GB (confirmed) of ATI Mobility Radeon 56xx or 57xx graphics(unconfirmed; dm4 has ATI 5400 series graphics so the Envy 14 should have something higher)
- Optional (or probably standard in some countries) slim battery slice (styled ala Envy 13/Envy 15 battery slices) brings battery life to “up to 13.75 hours”
- Mini Display Port and HDMI port (No VGA out)
- Thin design, around an inch thick
The HP Envy 17
Next up is the much-discussed Envy 17:
- 3 dedicated USB ports + 1 combo eSATA/USB port
- Standard full-size keyboard WITH numeric pad
- 17 inch 16:9 aspect ratio full HD (1920 x 1080) display; appears to be a non-Radiance display
- Two speaker Beats-branded speakers plus “Triple Bass Reflex” (fancy name!) miniature subwoofer
- Dual hard disk bays (HP says you can have up to 2 TB of storage, not sure if they made a typo there because 2 TB in a notebook sounds… wrong)
- 2 or 4 DDR3 RAM slots
- 1 GB ATI Mobility Radeon 5850 graphics with Eyefinity “enabled”
- Optional extended primary battery juts out the bottom of the notebook
- Whopping THREE display output ports: Mini Display Port, HDMI and VGA out
- ATI Eyefinity support allows you to hook up three displays to the said three display output ports without any adapter needed
- Thin design, around an inch thick
And finally, we have a bunch of question marks floating around which I’ll post answers to when I get more information:
- Do the HP Envy 14 and Envy 17 support USB 3.0? If yes, how many of the ports are USB 3.0 and how many are USB 2.0?
- Is dual monitor “Eyefinity” enabled/do-able using the Envy 14?
- Seeing the Envy 17 has a “stick out style” optional primary battery, will there be any (if at all) sort of slim battery slice for it?
I’m sure one of these days, either the Envy 14 or Envy 17 or both is gonna show up at my door, so meanwhile let’s discuss. You can start shooting me your questions so I can find answers to them the minute I get the chance to test out the new HP Envy’s.
ATI FirePro M5800 listed in a HP Elitebook 8540w document
Big, big, BIG new folks! In the specifications/overview section of a PDF document (PDF reader required! ATI FirePro M5800 is listed on Page 9) posted on the HP Elitebook 8540w support page. Initially said to use “exclusively Nvidia Quadro” cards (though I did beg to differ), looks like HP had a change of heart over choice of graphics on the new Elitebooks (after reading my widely-spread bright idea?) and will be giving those that lust for high-end performance (example: me) a dose of ATI graphics! Workstation-class graphics too!
For now, all we have is a name in the document: ATI FirePro M5800, yet I can draw several things from this piece of info alone. First off, this card will be part of ATI’s new workstation-class graphics line for notebooks, and will be equivalent to or better than Nvidia’s Quadro FX1800M/GeForce GT335M graphics cards. Several of my trusted sources have confirmed the news of ATI making a comeback to HP’s Elitebook mobile workstation notebooks. The ATI FirePro M5800 workstation card is expected to be derived from its ATI Mobility Radeon 5830 or 5850 consumer-counterpart and have 1 GB of DDR3/GDDR5 graphics memory. Given my cool experience (no pun intended) with HP’s new Elitebook 8440p/w and 8540w notebooks, I’d say the airflow/cooling of the 8540w will be more than enough to handle this new, fast and furious graphics from ATI!
Oh, there are also numerous other references to the ATI FirePro M5800 throughout the rest of the document as well (such as the fan/heatsink section). For those interested, go ahead and download it; it’s a pretty interesting read on the guts and components of the Elitebook 8540.
