HP’s Unveils Trio of EliteBook 700 Notebooks With AMD Ryzen CPUs

HP is the world’s most popular PC maker and one of the top choices for companies buying new office computers. It’s targeting the corporate world once again with a new line of notebooks in its EliteBook 700 Series. The machines, which run Windows 10 Pro and are equipped with AMD’s Ryzen CPUs to deliver the power corporate customers require. They also have AMD Radeon Vega graphics processors and with help from HP’s own Fast Charging technology, business travelers should be able to maintain battery life throughout the day. The HP EliteBook 700 Series combines power and security with a lightweight design that should appeal to business professionals whether they are on the road or tied to the office.

HP’s EliteBook series is designed for the traveling professional that wants a rugged but portable notebook. The HP EliteBook 735 weighs just 2.9 pounds and is 0.7 inches thick. The EliteBook 745, which has a slightly larger screen, weighs 3.4 pounds, but is only 0.7 inches, thick. HP’s largest EliteBook, the EliteBook 755, measures 0.72 inches thick and weighs 4.1 pounds.

The EliteBook 735 has a 13.3-inch screen while the EliteBook 745 comes with a 14-inch display. The top of the line EliteBook 755 features a 15.6-inch screen. According to HP, all of the options have a “narrow border” and deliver “ultra-bright” visuals so the screens can be used in nearly any light.

AMD’s components are all over the EliteBook 700 series. All of the models ship with the AMD Ryzen Pro processor and come with the AMD Radeon Vega graphics units. According to HP, the AMD components will deliver the processing power expected by corporate users. The graphics performance, specifically, will facilitate video conferencing and “graphics-intensive workloads,” according to HP.

HP doesn’t specifically say in its product specifications how much battery life these EliteBook models will deliver on a single charge. HP did, however, confirm that the machines will have HP Fast Charging support that will boost their battery life to 50 percent after just 30 minutes of charging.

HP’s EliteBook series machines ship with collaboration features that allow users to quickly get on conference calls. Above the backspace key, the EliteBook has an option to start or stop a call. There’s also a monitor button for engaging in a video conference call. To deliver better-sounding audio, HP has called on Bang & Olufsen for better call performance.

HP has bundled a variety of security features in the EliteBooks. The device has HP Sure Start Gen4 that recovers the BIOS and other firmware in the event of a problem. HP Sure Run will ensure “critical OS processes” keep running even when malware tries to shut them down. A feature called HP Sure Click Gen2 uses hardware-enforced security in the Web browser to sidestep malware and other threats.

HP is bundling its Manageability Integration Kit that is designed to help IT support technicians create software installation images as well as manage hardware settings and security policies. It’s all done through Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager.

To highlight their identity as business notebooks, HP is shipping these EliteBooks with Windows 10 Pro instead of Windows 10 Home in its line of new EliteBooks. HP didn’t provide a detailed list of all the applications that it will bundle with these notebooks. But you can assume there will be the usual range of add-on applications whether you want them or not.

The HP EliteBook 700 series comes with WiFi connectivity, of course, but as part of its commitment to mobile workers, HP has said that the computers will support LTE connectivity as an optional feature. So buyers who only need WiFi will be able to save a few dollars on their purchases.

HP will begin shipping its new EliteBook 700 series in May. The company said that the computers will start at $999 for the cheapest model and rise according to the model and options selected. Pricing will be dependent upon the Ryzen chip users pick, how much memory (up to 32GB) they desire, and how much storage (up to 512GB) they’re after.