The other benefit of using a low-voltage processor is superb HP EliteBook 2540p battery life. Managing just over seven hours in our light-use test, the laptop should be able to last a full day's work on a single charge.
Like the EliteBook 8440p we looked at back in April, the 2540p adopts a look somewhere between boardroom and livingroom – a working man’s laptop that’s not afraid to show some class. All the functional parts including the keyboard, base and bezel get a rubbery matte black dressing that makes them disappear, but brushed aluminum plates on the palm rest and lid supply a literal dose of cool (as in, chilly wrists in the winter cool).
It’s worth noting that because Ultra-Low Voltage systems like this one have a 1.8-inch hard drive (standard-voltage systems have a 2.5-inch drive), this version of the 2540p has room for three USB ports in addition to an optical drive. The standard-voltage version of this notebook does not have room for an optical drive, and has just two USB ports.
Graphically this isn't the case, however, and the integrated graphics card only allows light photo editing or entry-level gaming. If you need power for high definition (HD) video editing, for example, the MacBook Air or Sony VAIO is the better option.
Despite its size, the 2540p is jam-packed with features. It's one of the last remaining 12-inch systems that come with an internal DVD burner, though this feature is only available with a low-voltage processor. Standard voltage processors require bigger cooling methods, and thus, there isn't enough room for one. It has three USB ports, VGA-Out, an Ethernet port, ExpressCard, and SD slot. Unlike the Lenovo X201, the 2540p managed to squeeze in a DisplayPort and a Firewire port.
With all this rugged durability built into the design, you have to expect a trade-off, which in this case is weight. Some 12-inch business class notebooks tip the scale at 3 pounds or less. The EliteBook 2540p has a starting weight of 3.38 pounds with a 6-cell HP HSTNN-DB22 battery, but the added durability more than makes up for a minor weight increase.
The big win for travelers is the EliteBook’s aircraft-inspired construction. The aforementioned magnesium/aluminum alloy exterior means this things is tough. Extremely tough. It’s purpose built with resistance to general wear, spills, vibration, temperature, dust, drops, and scratching. While we didn’t actually throw our review sample in the microwave or take it scuba diving, HP backs up its claims with a pretty strong warranty should any of these become an issue.
This laptop is comfortable to carry around during a busy day, with all your information within reach. Though there are lighter notebooks available and the extra weight in your bag will be noticeable, it will yet not be exhausting, even when you pack the charger. The weight of this laptop will not be a problem for most users, even those not used to carry around heavy weights.
Closer inspection shows that the HP 2540p is made by Foxcomm (the same company that makes the Apple iPhone and iPad), and Foxcomm is known for their quality hardware but also for their high suicide rates and low worker equality.
Such is the case of HP’s EliteBook 2540p, a 12-inch rugged-but-portable notebook with a low-voltage Intel Core i7 processor, six-cell battery, Windows 7 Professional, and a weight of four pounds. Other features include a 250GB hard drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n), Bluetooth, webcam, fingerprint reader, DVD burner, and a three year warranty.
The EliteBook has a 2.3GHx Intel Core i7-640LM and 4GB RAM to give it the speed it needs to feel powerful enough to handle Web browsing, Office apps and pretty much any software on the planet at the time with zippy speeds. Without a dedicated graphics processor however, it scores poorly in any benchmark test for gaming and 3D software. This HP EliteBook 2540p AC adapter is designed for business users though, and most will not find this a downfall as they may never touch the gaming aspect of this notebook in their entire time owning it.
In our Blender 3D rendering and iTunes MP3 encoding tests, the HP EliteBook 2540p's CPU proved that, despite being an ultra-low-voltage model, it can still be used for relatively taxing tasks. It completed the Blender and iTunes tests in 61sec and 62sec respectively, and this represents an improvement of approximately 30sec over the 2530p's Intel Core 2 Duo SL9400 CPU. In the 3DMark06 tests, the 2540p scored 1515, which means its graphics HP EliteBook 2540p adapter is over twice as fast as the 2530p's. It took 1hr 10min to encode a DVD to an Xvid file, and this is on par with what the much bigger Dell Inspiron 15R N5010 achieved in the same test with its 2.4GHz Core i5-520M CPU.
A nice thing about the EliteBook 2540p (and, indeed, most of HP's computers) is the customization options -- you can add a DVD writer in the upgrade bay, add a fingerprint sensor for extra security, use a docking station or add a second hard drive, preinstall a mobile broadband module, and more.
The $1629 Smart Buy (tested) will bump the system up to 4GB of RAM and Intel’s Core i7 640LM, a 2.13GHz low-voltage processor. This system gets better HP EliteBook 2540p battery life than the standard voltage one and has the optical drive. It has the 2540p’s standard a/b/g/n WiFi and then also Bluetooth 2.1. One thing to keep in mind is that the system uses a 1.8-inch hard drive in some builds and a 2.5-inch one in others, which means some users might want to keep storage options in mind. An 80GB SSD is available for $100 over the 160GB 5400RPM disk and a 7200RPM is available as well, though hard drives selection is dependent up on the processor you choose. The standard voltage models get the 2.5-inch equipment and the low-voltage (with optical drive) get the 1.8-inch gear.
The 2540p is fitted with a 62 Wh HP HSTNN-DB22 battery (5,225 mAh). This keeps the notebook on its feet for four and a half hours (275 minutes) while surfing the web. When you consider the increased processor performance compared to the Core 2 Duo SP9400, for example, the battery life seems appropriate. The Dell Latitude E4300 with SP9400 achieved a marginally longer battery life (290 minutes).
HP has done an impressive job with the EliteBook 2540p, delivering just about everything a business user could want while keeping the weight down. If you’ve stayed away from an ultraportable because you hate the thought of an external optical drive, it’s time to take another look.
Pros:
Zippy processor can handle any office task
Small but still fits full keys and big features
Cons:
Screen colors and contrast look muted
Weak gaming and 3D software performance
Bottom Line:
Small enough to travel anywhere, the EliteBook 2540p breezes through business tasks.
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