HP EliteBook 8570w Notebook Review: The Other Side of the Coin
by Dustin Sklavos on December 18, 2012 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Systems
- AMD
- HP
- Mobile Workstation
- Ivy Bridge
- GCN
- FirePro
Application and Futuremark Performance
While our review unit has a reasonable fast processor, the GPU is a relative unknown on the mobile side, and the PCMarks are going to drop like rocks due to the lack of an SSD or even SSD caching. The lack of switchable graphics in the HP EliteBook 8570w also means users won't get the benefit of Quick Sync, but the AMD GPU makes it a poor choice for doing video editing anyhow due to the lack of AMD support in the current version of Adobe's Mercury Playback Engine.
The lack of an SSD or any kind of caching absolutely kills the test results in the PCMarks. Remember that you can order the 8570w with either an SSD cache or a system SSD, although you can't order it with a system SSD in the mSATA slot (something Dell does allow you to do).
It turns out that the AMD FirePro 4000M is also a mite slower than the other graphics options, and roughly on par with the GeForce GT 650M in the Samsung Series 7, at least where graphical horsepower is concerned.
When we start pushing just the CPU, though, the EliteBook 8570w starts to come into its own, offering performance comparable to ther i7-3720QM-based systems. Though I've mentioned my concerns with heat (more on that in a bit), it doesn't seem to be seriously affecting overall system performance as the 8570w is lining up just fine.
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Oskars Apša - Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - link
It matters a lot, none of these menchmarks represent use of 32 megapixel textures for instance?And i'll repeat my suggestion, Anandtech has to use real world 3D interior and architectural scenes, with high res. textures.
lx686x - Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - link
And I'll also repeat again, it needs to be a benchmark where you can reproduce the exact same environment for all the platforms.And you still haven't provided any suggestion of which benchmark/software to use.
And you bashed SPEC in your first post for not having textures (textures are only part of the story), it's geared towards 3D, and it does a good job of providing valid numbers for comparison.
Oskars Apša - Wednesday, December 19, 2012 - link
The use of real life interiors and objects is my suggestion. Why is it so hard to fathom? :PYou are right in that sence. Those benchmarks may be good for industiral oil rig piping models, bet the problem is - no High res. textures are tested, they should.
If there is no such convinient test then Anand can try and make one if they see fit. Anandtech is a review site, not a hobby site that tries only standart tests.
So they have the obligation to upp the ante if they will continue to write workstation previews but calling them reviews. Really sad considering the work that is put in some gaming gear.
P.S.
I'm a reader, and so are you - ask for more, this is not comunism ;)
Grennum - Wednesday, December 19, 2012 - link
Making a benchmark like this is no simple task. SPEC is not perfect but it is a standard which is important because you can compare your own personal results to those of Anand's.When I read a workstation review I am interested it's workstation 3D design and analysis/simulation capabilities, I could care less about textures.
To write a proper benchmark would require a very high competence with whatever software you are trying to benchmark. For example with Solidworks when you access the software via the API(which you would need for benchmarking) you get very different results than through the standard UI. You would need to account for that. Now in particular Solidworks has a built in benchmark which could be used. However a license of Solidworks is pretty expensive for a review site, and it would need to be kept up to date to be viable.
As for your comment about Siemens, Siemens owns the parasolid core, which is used by a huge number of 3D modelling programs. So its benchmark is very valid.
Oskars Apša - Wednesday, December 19, 2012 - link
If you don't care about textures - good for you, I care. ;)Review sites usually dwell on companies wanting them to review their gear, but why not arrange a sponsoreship from soft companies? I'm almost certain the reason is not that AnandTech couldn't arrange free softs but the inconsistant number of reviews of proffesional gear to justify such an agreement for the other side of the table.
Thanks for the info on Siemens, but the only somewhat popular program that uses its instructions is Solidworks, so... irrelivant for me.
dwatterworth - Wednesday, December 19, 2012 - link
A note on your request for high definition textures...I am an architect and do quite a bit of 3d modelling and rendering in a Autodesk Revit and 3DSmax. I am fortunate enough to work for an office that lets me build and maintain my own workstations along with others for power users in the office.I have no idea why you would really need high res textures FPS figures. Conventional programs limit the texture previews in the viewports and only make use of the full image at time of render.
The 3d benchmarks provided DO give a very good idea of how the performance would scale. Maybe benchmarks don't give you the exact FPS of each program but it will provide solid comparisons between the hardware.
If you are concerned about how the hardware can handle such high textures at time of render it would really bring up the question why would you being rendering such scenes on a laptop? It would seem more effective to get a mid-level laptop for mobile/modeling and make use of a dedicated render node(s).
Oskars Apša - Wednesday, December 19, 2012 - link
A continuous pattern for multiple wooden panels is an example where i would use a high res texture (2x6m). Wery convinient in such and other cases.Of course one can use continuous mirroring function, compress the textures into smaller ones, but that is not the remedy for me all the time.
Why a laptop? I employ myself and i spend weekennds on the country side, and often i have to render a few additonal frames at that time. For stable electricity feed i'd rather have a laptop with its own battery, and not a second stationary machine with a huge ups.
Gunbuster - Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - link
Where is the value here? I have a M4700 on the way for $2025.03 (W/Shipping & Tax)32% lower cost on the Dell and the only thing missing is the upgraded LCD but the HP will probably get the corner tint issue and you'll have to return it anyway.
Lets look at the config:
3rd Gen Intel Core i7-3740QM (2.7GHz, 6M cache, Upgradable to Intel vPro technology), Dell Mobile Precision MX700 ***BETTER***
16.0GB, DDR3-1600MHz SDRAM, 2 DIMM, Dell Mobile Precision ***BETTER***
Internal English Dual Point Backlit Keyboard, Latitude E
NVIDIA Quadro K2000M with 2GB GDDR3, Dell Mobile Precision M4700 ***BETTER***
750GB 2.5" 7200rpm Hard Drive, Dell Mobile Precision M4700/M6700
No USH, No Fingerprint Reader and No Contactless Smartcard Reader Mobile Precision M4700
15.6" UltraSharp FHD (1920x1080) Wide View Anti-Glare, Premium Panel Guarantee, Mobile Precision M4700
Windows 8 Pro, 64-bit, Latitude, OptiPlex, Precison, English
Dell Wireless 380 Bluetooth 4.0 LE Module, Dell Latitude E4/Mobile Precision
180W 3P, A/C Adapter, Mobile Precision M4700
6-Foot, 3-Pin Power Cord,Mobile Precision M4700, US
Slot Load DVD+/-RW Drive, Dell Mobile Precision
Integrated HD video webcam and noise reducing array microphones , Dell Mobile Precision M4700 ***You don't mention it at all even though it appears to be in your photos***
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 802.11n 3x3 Half Mini-card, Dell Mobile Precision ***BETTER***
6-cell (65Wh) Primary Lithium Ion Battery, (2.8Ah) ExpressCharge Capable, Dell Mobile Precision M4700
blue_falcon - Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - link
You forgot to point out one more item that is ***BETTER***. The M4700 can use the same docking station that every E-Family Latitude can (for the past 4 generations). That way if you have to, you can use someone else's dock when visiting another building, or site.blue_falcon - Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - link
Also, you can drive 5 monitors (if you choose to) when docked. I think the Elitebook can only do four (or that is all that is supported).