A couple of weeks ago, a rather unique business notebook arrived in our office. The HP ProBook 6545b has a lot of the features you’d want in a sub-$800 small business system: a 15.6-inch screen, security software (even TPM), and a spill-resistant keyboard. It also has some interesting legacy ports that support devices from an earlier era.

Still dialing up to connect to the Internet like most people did in the 90s? The ProBook 6545b has a 56K modem. В Still using a miniDV camera? The 6545b has a FireWire port you can use to transfer video from your camera’s tapes. Have an oldВ bar codeВ scanner or a mouse from the early 90s? The 6545b also has a serial port, though we find it hard to believe many SMB customers have any old-school peripherals laying around that can connect it.

Aside from its ports and its really good keyboard, the $799 ProBook 6545b has a solid AMD dual-core processor and discrete ATI graphics. Unfortunately, you get just under 3 hours of battery life, which is about a half hour less than the category average. The 6545b is a pretty good choice but overall we recommend other HP small business systems which are lighter, more attractive, and a better value. The ProBook 4510s starts at under $600, has a sleeker design, lasts longer on a charge and weighs .2 pounds less. And, if you’re ok with a 13-inch rather than a 15-inch system, the ProBook 5310m is one of the best business notebooks we’ve ever reviewed.

Check our our full review of the ProBook 6545b for all the details.