HP EliteBook 8740w review

HP EliteBook 8740w — a 2010 17-inch mobile workstation, museum-grade

The EliteBook 8740w is a 2010 flagship mobile workstation: a first-generation Core i5 540M, an NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M 1GB professional GPU, and 16GB of RAM in a 3.57 kg 17-inch chassis. At $194 it sits 35% below the business-class median of $297. The measured profile is stark: reliability 0, CPU score 0.04 (a data-floor reading), with the 17-inch screen as the one surviving strength.

What this machine was

In 2010 the 8740w was a DreamColor-era statement: a 17-inch desktop replacement for CAD and color-critical work, priced near the top of HP's business line. The professional GPU and the display were the point — buyers paid for ISV certification and color accuracy that consumer machines lacked. That era is gone: the Quadro FX 2800M predates every modern professional workload, and the CPU reads at the data floor.

The honest reading of the numbers

A CPU score of 0.04 and reliability of 0 are categorical statements — fifteen years of service life consumed, compute capability at the measurement floor. The 17-inch workspace remains real and is the machine's only present-day claim. The weight (3.57 kg, desktop-replacement tier) confines it to the desk. This is a machine to buy for the big screen at minimum cost, with expectations set at terminal-office duty.

Price trajectory

From an original $1,300 to $194 today at 5.44% per year, with a further projection to $174 (a 10.59% drop) over two years. Depreciation has flattened; what remains is residual value tied to the working display.

Where it sits against peers

Pricier neighbors are the ThinkPad T550 ($214) and Latitude E7470 ($211) — both several generations newer; cheaper options are the ProBook 455 G2 ($174) and EliteBook 745 G4 ($172). Nothing in the band matches the 17-inch screen; everything in the band out-computes this machine, which is the trade in plain terms.

Bottom line

A 2010 workstation flagship surviving on its 17-inch display alone. The reliability floor and data-floor CPU scores are the honest picture. Worth it only for buyers who need the big workspace at minimum cost for undemanding duty — every other buyer in this band gets several times the machine for $20-40 more.