HP ProBook 4710s Review

The HP ProBook 4710s is a low-priced 17-inch business notebook designed to provide businesses with a good desktop replacement notebook without breaking the bank. If your company wants the HP Elitebook 8730w but has a tight budget, the ProBook 4710s might be a good alternative at a starting price of just $899. Is this budget-priced notebook as good as it sounds? Keep reading to find out.


Our pre-production review unit of the ProBook 4710s is configured as follows:

* Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 2.53GHz Processor (3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB)
* Microsoft Genuine Windows Vista Business (32-bit)
* 17.3-inch LED-backlit anti-glare HD+ display (1600 x 900)
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 512MB
* 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM
* 320GB 5400RPM HDD
* LightScribe DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
* Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/draft-n), Ethernet, Modem, Bluetooth 2.0
* 8-Cell 63WHr Battery
* Limited 1-year standard parts and labor warranty
* Dimensions: 1.26" x 16.17" x 10.63"
* Weight: 6.8lbs
* Price as configured: $1,099
Build and Design
The HP ProBook 4710s, like the rest of the new HP ProBook family, is a low-cost business notebook designed specifically for small and medium businesses. Translation: this desktop replacement notebook needs to have a good balance of performance, security, reliability and extras all at an affordable price. Most notebooks designed for small and medium business tend to sacrifice build quality in order to help lower the cost of production and lower the cost to customers. On that note, the ProBook 4710s looks very similar to a HP EliteBook 8730w with all plastic construction, a new keyboard and all black finish.

The HP EliteBook line uses strong magnesium alloy chassis designs and premium internal components. In order to lower the cost and weight of the 17-inch ProBook 4710s, HP constructed this notebook mostly of plastic. The base of the laptop flexes heavily under pressure, the palmrests likewise bow when pressed firmly, and the back of the screen lid is similarly prone to flex. The plastics used in the 4710s will surely survive the typical use and abuse seen by most office desktop replacements, but the chassis might not survive multiple drops off a desk or the kind of abuse we expect the EliteBook series to handle with ease. The key point to remember in this section is that the ProBook 4710s looks pretty nice, but isn't designed to be a rugged mobile workhorse. Thankfully, HP still offers some good internal components to help make the ProBook 4710s a solid value.

[via notebookreview]

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