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ATI FirePro M5800 appears for Elitebook 8540w; DreamColor in May

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.

ATI FirePro M7820 graphics leaked; and more Elitebook 8740w news

Bye bye Nvidia workstation graphics exclusivity, first it was the FirePro M5800 leak last month and reported marriage with the HP Elitebook 8540w. Just recently, news from an anonymous party has just surfaced about a new ATI FirePro M7820 workstation class graphics card that will feature 1 GB of GDDR5 memory and DirectX 11, and based off the powerful Mobility Radeon 5870 ‘gaming class’ card. And this puppy will find its way first into the upcoming Elitebook 8740w Mobile Workstation AND… get ready your tissues to wipe off that drool… the ATI FirePro M7820 will supposedly sit a step or two higher than Nvidia’s flagship mobile workstation FX3800M graphics card! ATI’s seriously been making a big comeback for the last couple of months and it doesn’t look like they’re losing steam anytime soon. In other news, the 17 inch Elitebook 8740w is said to sport a fully backlit keyboard (partial chiclet keys with numeric pad, no less), a “first” for an HP Elitebook.

When, when, when? You ask frantically. Patience is a virtue, my friend – likely this month. Who else here has a feeling that the leaked ATI FirePro M5800 will also appear alongside its newfound big brother, the FirePro M7820 at the same time during launch?

HP Eliteboook 8740w specifications leak; plus leaks roundup

Picture by reader T.Y.: Is this the 8740w's lid?!

It looks like we now have enough information to construct a rumors + specifications roundup, with special thanks going out for a few anonymous tipsters, a person by the name ‘HP Fan‘ who has seen an Elitebook 8740w datasheet (!!) and plenty of internet searchers =). First off, a little update about announcement time: a reliable source is “pretty confident” that the Elitebook 8740w will be coming out this month along with other products targeting designers and people who do graphics work (ie DreamColor 2 and new external display panels) – I can see the adrenaline build-up in the crowd already!

HP Elitebook 8740w processor options (Thanks, Google Cache!)

And here’s what’s been confirmed about the HP Elitebook 8740w so far (I’ve included links to old/related posts in case you’ve missed them in the past):

• Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6 GHz quad core processor and 820QM 1.73 GHz quad core processor; ‘other’ Core i5 processors
• 4 DDR3 1333 MHz RAM slots for up to 16 GB of total RAM
• ONE hard disk bay with optical drive; removable optical drive doubles as expansion bay
• NEW ATI FirePro M7820 workstation graphics; with 1GB GDDR5 memory
• Choice of new ATI FirePro M7820 graphics above, Nvidia Quadro FX3800M or Nvidia Quadro FX2800M
• 17 inch display (up to full HD); optional full HD DreamColor 2 display (same tech, but obviously different size, as 8540w DC2)
• Full-size keyboard with number pad; partial-chiclet style!
• Selective number of USB 3.0 ports
• Single-touch trackpad with pointing set; 2 sets of 3 mouse buttons
• 7.86 lbs weight AKA 3.57 kg

Oh, the Elitebook 8740w will also be compatible with some sort of new “2010 Advanced WKS Docking Station”… whatever that means, along with other newly launched Elitebooks (except 2540p and 2740p).

Got something to share? Pictures? Info? Post a comment or email me! (Email at the top right of the site’s sidebar!)

Dell Precision M6500 + Nvidia Quadro FX3800M appears; HP Elitebook 8740w imminent?

Quadro FX3800M in Precision M6500, as seen on Dell's order website

Just as focus began changing last week from ‘product rumors’ to ’seasonal shopping’, Dell decided to bust out the first ever entrant into the ‘Mobile Workstation’ category for 2009/2010. Meet the Precision M6500 – specification and design wise, it sounds and looks a whole lot like its predecessor. The main changes are Core i7 under the hood (same 1.6 and 1.73 GHz variants we’ve been seeing in things such as the HP Envy 15) and, more interestingly, a new Nvidia Quadro FX3800M graphics card. I’m not sure if bringing up word of the FX3800M is a mistake or deliberate move on Dell’s behalf, as Nvidia has neither made an official announcement nor does their website show any ‘Quadro FX3800M’ card (not to be confused with the existing Quadro FX3800 for desktop) – the latest high-end mobile workstation graphics card shown on Nvidia’s website is the Quadro FX3700M.

But anyhow, this is surely a sign of things to come. Upon seeing this (Dell Precision M6500 specs), I think almost any person with some computer know-how and ability to make predictions will say that Core i7 and Nvidia Quadro FX3800M are almost definitely appearing in the upcoming HP Elitebook 8740w (future competitor to today’s freshly announced Dell). The Elitebook 8740w will probably also have the rumored standard features for HP’s next-gen Elitebooks. Since we’re discussing hardware here, I mind as well throw in my guess for the Elitebook 8740w’s display – I bet it will most likely re-use the same matte, 16:10, 1920×1200 17 inch panels from the 2008 Elitebook 8730w because 1) people wanting a ‘workstation’ would also want the most screen resolution they can get (a 16:9, 1920×1080 display would probably be glossy, and are geared towards movie watchers who don’t want black bars above/below their video) and 2) it’ll probably be expensive and a hassle for HP to re-develop another DreamColor display if they were to cut down to 16:9 ratio, and 3) the Dell Precision M6500 has a 16:10, 1920×1200 screen (and who wants to lose out to the competition?

In other Elitebook rumor news, another reader by the name of Juggs says the HP Elitebook 8440w/8440p (14 inch) and HP Elitebook 8540w/8540p (15 inch) notebooks will be announced on January 25 and January 26 next year respectively. Hmm, I’m not sure why HP would split them up into two separate announcements seeing they’re both similar products. Even more strange, no mention of the announcement of the Elitebook 8740w? Juggs also goes on to confirm that Core i5/i7, DDR3 RAM and LED backlit displays will make their appearances on the next gen of Elitebooks

Spotted: Next-gen HP Elitebook 8440w/8540w in real life and online

Photo sent by reader Michael K; next-gen Elitebook using HP's 'round' logo

One of our readers, Michael K, recently sent in two pictures of what seems to be one of HP’s next generation Elitebook models. Clad in a dark gray, and what seems to be metal/magnesium alloy, casing – this mysterious machine seems to be either the 14 inch Elitebook 8440w model or 15 inch Elitebook 8540w (judging by the amount of real estate on the palm rest area, it’s unlikely that this is the 17 inch Elitebook 8740w). UPDATE: Fellow Tweeter and owner of 8510w/8530w notebooks, Nicholas C, notes that the picture below is indeed the 14 inch Elitebook 8440w because of its mouse buttons – the larger 15 inch Elitebook 8540w would have an additional ‘center’ mouse button like its predecessors. Thanks Nicholas! =)

This ties in with the yet-to-be-announced ‘Elitebook 8440w, 8540w and 8740w’ models, which are strangely listed on HP’s own website. There’s also some blurry-looking text inscribed on the left palmrest area but knowing several people who own Elitebook 8530w and 8730w notebooks, I’m pretty sure it says “Mobile Workstation”.

Photo sent by reader Michael K; next-gen Elitebook (pretty sure that text on the left says 'Mobile Workstation')

This Elitebook is HP’s latest – because any HP fan (such as myself) would know that HP has been using their ’round’ logo on Winter 2008-onwards models (HP started replacing their ’square’ logo with the ’round’ one with the Mini 1000, if I’m not mistaken). All of HP’s current 2008 Elitebook models feature silver bodies and their ’square’ logo.

HP's OLD 'square' logo on a friend's 2008 Elitebook 2530p

He also goes on to mention a few juicy details on what “standard features” to expect from HP’s next-gen, 2009 Elitebooks:

• Core i7 “will be available for all models”
• “New” Nvidia Quadro FX Mobile workstation graphics for “w”-variants
• HP DuraCase, DuraKeys, 3D Drive Guard
• 7200 RPM hard disks standard
• Single HP Night Light (no backlit keyboard)
• VGA and Display Port output ports; no HDMI
• HP Power Assistant power management software
• Same batteries from current generation Elitebook models; 2nd extended battery available

Michael also points out that the new Elitebooks will feature yet-to-be-announced Nvidia workstation-class graphics cards for notebooks.

Core i7 will be available as an option for “all models”, I wonder if that includes the 8440p/w 14 inch model? Will this year’s generation of Elitebooks feature incremental upgrades or will they be ‘category crushers’ that blow away the competition?

Screenshot of HP's official website showing Elitebook 8440w (click for larger)

In other news, another one of our readers, Dana, has just pointed out that driver and support pages along with profile pictures (!!!) for the HP Elitebook 8440w and Elitebook 8540w Mobile Workstation models are already online on HP’s OFFICIAL website! Check them out here for the Elitebook 8440w and here for the Elitebook 8540w. No news on announcement date but seeing those pages are already up on HP’s website, I would imagine that it won’t take long before they become official. I would also infer from the tip about Nvidia’s new graphics cards that HP’s announcement of their 2nd generation Elitebook models will come after or at the same time Nvidia makes their announcements, I guess?

Elitebook 8440p, 8440w, 8540p, 8540w and 8740w models listed on HP's official site (Click for larger)

Either way, I can’t wait for official news (and an official announcement date?). Do YOU know something that we all don’t? Post tips in the comments section.