Multimedia
Blogs
Forum
Affordable HD
Whitepapers
Newsletters
Events
Advertisers
DCP Directory
MillimeterTest Drive: HP Compaq 8710p, Part 1
Nov 12, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jan Ozer
Basics
Perusing the HP website, I saw two basic versions of the 8710p, each available in both Windows XP and Vista. The lower-cost model ($1,499) sported a 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 processor with an 800MHz front-side bus and 2MB L2 cache, 2GB of SDRAM, and a DVD +/- RW drive with LightScribe, with 802.11 a/b/g wireless capabilities, but no Bluetooth. The screen is a 17in. WXGA+ screen with a maximum resolution of 1440x900.
The review unit that HP provided was the high-end model, which costs $2,549 and includes a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor with an 800HMz front-side bus and 4MB of L2 cache, along with a 17in. WSXGA screen capable of displaying 1920x1200 pixels. Like the low-end model, the notebook shipped with 2GB of SDRAM, probably the minimum for Vista, which was installed on the test unit.
All units on the HP site spot a 5400rpm 160GB SATA drive, but the review unit shipped with a 120GB 7200rpm SATA Seagate drive. Those needing extra storage can choose between a 250GB 5400rpm, or 160GB 7200rpm drive, both SATA. According to the HP specs, even the 5400-speed drives could transfer 100MBps, which is more than sufficient for most HDV and DV editing tasks—even multiple camera projects.
The review unit also included a Matsushita BD-MLT UJ-210S Blu-ray writer (less than 12 months ago, you couldn’t produce a high-def disk; now you can on the road). It’s a rated 1X drive, but remember that 1X speed for Blu-ray is 36Mbps—about 3.3 times faster than 1X DVD—and that the fastest Blu-ray burner today is only 2X.
Graphics came courtesy of the Nvidia Quadro FX 1600M chip, with 512MB of dedicated graphics memory, and access to up to 759MB of system memory. The 512MB should be plenty for working with HDV, with the shared memory a nice safety zone.
