The good: High-quality, large screen; graphics; full-sized keyboard and separate number pad; Windows Vista or Windows XP available; fingerprint sensor and SmartCard reader.

The bad: Too large and heavy to be truly portable; almost impossible to use all six USB ports at once.

The bottom line: If a large desktop replacement laptop is what you're after, the HP Compaq 8710p has an excellent 17-inch display, a powerful discrete graphics module, plenty of connectivity and a spacious keyboard.

Read full review of the HP Compaq 8710p »

By Sandra Vogel
Dec 18, 2007

Hewlett-Packard divided its business laptops into three groups earlier this year. This 8710p laptop is from the Performance range. Prices for different configurations of the 8710p average around S$3,000 (US$2,131.29).

Editors' note : This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com.uk. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design

Weighing a hefty 3.4kg, you are unlikely to want to carry the 8710p very far, if at all. If you do, you'll need a capacious bag as this laptop has a footprint of 393 x 275 x 33mm, the thickness being the only average dimension on this system.

If it ever does find itself in transit, the 8710p is well-protected. Two clasps hold upper and lower sections together, and the lid section feels pretty tough.

The wide-format screen measures a massive 17 inches from corner to corner, and our review sample had a native resolution of 1,440 x 900 pixels. You can also get (more expensive) models with a 1,680 x 1,050-pixel display, with or without the high-gloss BrightView technology. The image quality is superb, and our review model's matte finish makes it ideal for viewing indoors. The viewing angle is also extremely wide.

There's room for a full-sized keyboard with a separate number pad. In fact, this is one of the very few cases where we've found a laptop keyboard to be a little too large for comfort: If you have small hands, touch-typing may not be all that comfortable.

Above the number row is a row of almost full-sized function keys, while an inverted-T arrangement of cursor keys to the bottom right caters for keyboard-based navigation. The touchpad incorporates what HP calls a "scroll zone", which you tap and hold to scroll vertically through content such as Web pages or documents.

There are three buttons beneath the touchpad. Between the standard left and right mouse buttons is one that, when pressed, lets you sweep any part of the touchpad for vertical scrolling. A short sweep will kick off continuous scrolling, and you can also control the scroll speed. We found this system highly effective. The three buttons are duplicated beneath the space bar, for use with a pointing stick that sits between the G, H and B keys.

HP has implemented a touch-sensitive strip above the keyboard in its latest range of laptops. This offers a range of functions, including turning the Wi-Fi on and off--there's no separate controller for Bluetooth, which must be activated from the Windows System Tray. Another button on this strip activates the Presentations settings, where you can preconfigure the laptop for making a presentation. A third button opens the Hewlett-Packard Info Centre containing various setup and system information utilities.

On the right of this touchpanel is a mute button and a slider for controlling system volume, as well as a button that calls up the Windows Calculator. Elsewhere, a fingerprint sensor sits on the bottom right-hand corner of the wristrest area.

Features

The CPU in our review sample of the 8710p was Intel's Core 2 Duo T7300 at 2.0GHz. Other models run the 2.2GHz T7500, 2.4GHz T7700 and the 2.6GHz T7800. Our review sample had 1GB of RAM, but can accommodate both 2GB and 4GB.

Our system was supplied with Windows XP Professional, although Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Home Basic are also available.

Wireless connectivity comes via Intel's WiFi Link 4965AGN module which caters for 802.11a/b/g and Draft-N connectivity. Bluetooth 2.0 is also integrated. Gigabit Ethernet networking is handled by an Intel adapter, and there is a 56Kbps modem for making dial-up connections over landline.

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