In a move to make their AMD-infused Pavilion dm3z models more attractive, HP has recently (and quietly) outfitted their ultra-thin line of 13 inch Pavilion dm3z notebook PCs with AMD’s latest Athlon II Neo processors (which also come in single and dual core flavors) that were made official barely two weeks ago. Compared to the first generation mobile Athlon Neo MV-40 of last year, these new 2010 chipsets from AMD feature two to four times the amount of L2 cache (1 or 2 MB L2 cache in the new processors versus 512 kb) and more processing power (ranging from 1.7 GHz single core to 1.3-1.5 GHz dual core choices, compared to the 1st Neo that was 1.6 GHz single core). They also are made based on 45 nm tech (versus their predecessors’ 65 nm). All while featuring the same TDP of 15 W (and an even lower 12 W for the single core Athlon II Neo “Geneva” K125).
If you spring for the more affordable single core 1.7 GHz K125 processor, you’ll get 512 MB’s worth of slightly dated ATI Mobility Radeon 4225 graphics. Going for the slightly pricier dual core 1.3 GHz K325 processor will allow you to choose between the mentioned Mobility Radeon 4225 card or a 512 MB ATI Mobility Radeon 5430 graphics option (which is ATI’s latest). The most powerful processor of the bunch (which comes at a $150 premium over the base single core option on HP’s website) will come standard with ATI Mobility 5430 graphics.
In other news, the HP Pavilion dm3z’s Intel counterparts (the Pavilion dm3t series) have not been updated and instead, have strangely disappeared from HP’s website… new Intel ULV Core i3 and Core i5 equipped Pavilion dm3t’s for summer, anyone?!
New 2010 HP Pavilion dv3
HP Fansite super exclusive review of the 2010 HP Pavilion dv3: If there’s one fantastic thing the world didn’t see coming this year, it would be the brand new 2010 HP Pavilion dv3. Redesigned from the ground up (along with its larger siblings dv5, dv6 and dv7) and looking nothing like pre-2010 Pavilion models, the 2010 Pavilion dm4 is designed for those who want a compact notebook with plenty of power. At the moment, the HP Pavilion dm4 will sell alongside existing dv4, but with the total makeovers HP has done to the dv5, dv6 and dv7 models this month, who knows what they’ll do to the old, glossy dv4?
Update: Whoops, epic fail on my behalf. This is not the Pavilion dm4 – I was too busy gushing over the greatness of the notebook for several days that I didn’t even notice that this is in fact… the 2010 Pavilion dv3. Apologies for the mistake, and thank you to the many readers who pointed out the confusion to me (-embarrassed look on face-). I would also like to extend further thanks to those who sent in links to HP’s product pages (Those are exactly what I’ve been looking for!)
Here’s a sneak peak of what the new Pavilion dv3 has to offer: it has a quad core Intel Core i7 processor (yes, quad core!) and new DirectX 11 kicking Mobility Radeon 5400 series graphics (Updated; new 2010 dv3 has lower end graphics than similar dm4) from ATI! Hit the link for HP Fansite’s complete, super in-depth, super exclusive review of the notebook!
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This picture is for illustration only =) but you get the point
Totally excited about the upcoming 17 inch HP Elitebook 8740w? Then there’s even more exciting news! It’s obvious now that, not only does the Core i7 Quad, 4 DIMM RAM slot sporting Elitebook 8740w want your attention before you drop several grand on a MacBook Pro 17 “for graphics design”… it also wants to be an Asus G73 (a gaming notebook, the only one in the market at the moment with ATI Mobility Radeon 5870 graphics) fighter as well. A reliable source who only wishes to be known as “HP Fan” has posted findings on their recent hands-on with the ATI FirePro M7820 equipped Elitebook 8740w, that the FirePro M7820 is based off the consumer top-of-the-line (for mobile graphics) ATI Mobility Radeon 5870! Like its consumer counterpart, the workstation-class FirePro M7820 supports DirectX 11, has a huge 1 GB of memory and sips a humble 50W at max (compared to 100W of the top Nvidia Quadro FX3800M card).
Want proof? HP Fan has discovered that CPU-Z lists the Elitebook 8740w’s FirePro M7820 to have GPU and memory clock listings of 700 Mhz and 1000 Mhz respectively (which is in-line with the listings detected by CPU-Z in various reviews of the Asus G73 + ATI Mobility Radeon 5870, and also specifications on AMD’s official website). Even better yet, the ATI FirePro M7820 in the Elitebook 8740w has apparently the more powerful GDDR5 memory (because weaker GDDR3 and DDR3 variations of the Mobility Radeon 5870 exist) and it scores 12,249 points in 3D Mark 06 (even when unfortunately paired with a comparatively, lowly Core i5 520M dual core processor); ORB even lists the card as “ATI Mobility Radeon 5870″ (!!!).
The sad part to all this good news? If you’re looking to go for the color-precise DreamColor display option HP offers, you can only pick a Nvidia card to go with it. However, if you’re not some photographer, hardcore graphics designer, or work at DreamWorks… just someone who wants a computer for “regular” CAD and design work, which can also double as a very nice gaming notebook, then the HP Elitebook 8740w with ATI graphics is probably for you. Pair it up with a Core i7 (Quad) processor and the Elitebook 8740w + ATI FirePro M7820 can effectively become a nice alternative that’s lighter and more compact than the Asus G73 gaming notebook (and also the Alienware M17x gaming notebook). Nice!
So to get DreamColor (and forced with Nvidia graphics, at the moment) or butt-kicking ATI graphics? That is the question… but just remember that the ATI FirePro M7820 supports DirectX 11 (Quadro FX3800M) doesn’t, performs better (in gaming, at least) while consuming half the power of the FX3800M and is a whopping $895 cheaper than the FX3800M (strange, isn’t it) using HP’s CTO notebook configurator. It’s also noteworthy that “HP Fan” says there will definitely be a new graphics card option towards later this year for the Elitebook 8740w, and it’s probably Nvidia “Fermi Quadro for Mobile” (say that three times as fast).
They’ve done it! They’ve finally done it! Earlier today, the 17 inch Elitebook 8740w appeared in its full unofficial glory on HP USA but the good news keeps on coming – seems that in the midst of all the 8740w madness, HP has also quietly added the new 1 GB ATI FirePro M5800 workstation graphics card (the one discovered 2 months ago in a service manual) as an option for the existing 15 inch Elitebook 8540w. They’ve also added a little note on the same specifications page (here) stating that DreamColor display options for the Elitebook 8540w will be available in May.
The listed “DDR3″ ATI FirePro M5800 suggests that it could be based off an ATI Mobility Radeon 54×0 or 56×0 card, instead of the Mobility Radeon 5800 series rumored earlier, which means that it won’t be a whole lot more powerful than its Nvidia Quadro FX counterparts, but will still offer two main advantages – DirectX 11 support and power-sipping efficiency.
Okay, I bet most of us are happy that an ATI Mobility Radeon 5000-series based FirePro M5800 is coming to the Elitebook 8540w, an even better FirePro M7820 is on its way to the upcoming Elitebook 8740w and that the Elitebook 8740w jigsaw has been (mostly) pieced together… But are you sitting down?! Rumors of the new DreamColor 2 display (first discovered about a month ago in an Elitebook 8540w service manual and leaked by HP themselves) have recently surfaced. Wow, with so many rumors and things pouring out recently, we can speculate that something must be brewing… HP? ATI?
The DreamColor display by HP, launched in 2008 with DreamWorks (yes, must be the people who made Shrek and Over The Hedge), has been renowned for showing off ‘true colors’ without breaking the bank (much). This latest iteration (DC2) is rumored to have higher native color bit (10 bits versus 8 bits of DreamColor 1), IPS technology (just like the current 24 inch DreamColor monitor) and ‘improved’ backlighting, among other things…and, based on past news, will be making its way into -at least- the 8540w and 8740w.
For those asleep because they thought DreamColor 2 was going to just feature ‘more colors’, wake up! Because rumors seem to be pointing to something more impressive than just an ‘evolution’ of DreamColor 1.
