HP EliteBook 8740w touts IPS display, Core i7, USB 3.0

HP has spruced up its mobile workstation line with the introduction of its most powerful EliteBook to date, the 8740w. The 7.8-pound, magnesium-alloy machine boasts configuration options like a 17-inch LED-backlit DreamColor display, Intel's latest Core i5 and i7 processors (up to a 1.73GHz 820QM), Nvidia Quadro FX 2800M/3800M or ATI FirePro M7820 graphics, up to 16GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM, and a couple of USB 3.0 ports.


The DreamColor screen, in case you're wondering, is made with an IPS panel and provides 133% Adobe RGB coverage, 100% sRGB coverage, and has a resolution of 1920x1200 -- but it also adds $550+ to the order. Other noteworthy hardware choices consist of a 256GB SSD, a Blu-ray or secondary storage drive, a 2-megapixel webcam, Pro editions of Windows XP through 7 (or FreeDOS), and seemingly every connectivity option you could want, including mobile broadband.

The EliteBook 8740w is available through HP now, and the most basic setup will set you back around $2,000, with higher end configurations reaching $3,899 and beyond (I got it well over $6k).