HP 17 G5 Owner lounge

Did a search and didn't find a thread for the 17 G5 so figured I would start one. I may not be the best as my use is not 3D modeling etc but HDR Panoramic Photography and mild gaming.
I purchased model# 4RB09UT#ABA which has the Intel 8850H processor, 16gb ram, Nvidia P3200, 4k dream color screen.

I just received it today so limited experience. I haven't performed a screen calibration yet but comparing it to my calibrated MSI GS60 it is looking great out of the box though.

I ran some test's before I pull the trigger to add another 32gb ram. Ram was a huge bottleneck for my focus stack panoramic imagery as I pegged 16gb and used a lot of scratch disc space so this should do well as an upgrade. I did add a Intel P660 2TB NVMe drive which is working as expected so far.

I first ran cinebench R15 which it scored 12?? cb out of the box. I installed Intel XTU and noticed while running R15 it thermal throttles so performed a -.1 volt offset to both core and catch. Ran R15 again hit 92c with CPU test but no thermal throttle or power limit throttle detected.
CPU 1220-1225 cb with -.1 volt offset
OpenGL 147.94 fps

The easy access is very nice, the installed ram and memory are under the keyboard leaving two open M2 slots a 2.5" bay with caddy and two ram slots.

Things are looking good so installing software etc now.

 

Feeling lonely? Welcome to the club! One other 17 G5 owner here: I've had my machine since August 2018.

Changing the thermal paste and the thermal pads will make the laptop run much cooler. I used Cooler Master Gel Maker Nano (worked better than Gelid Extreme for me) and I used Fujipoly 1mm thermal pads throughout. I also flipped the motherboard (easier than it seems) and replaced the stock SSD with a Samsung 970 Pro for better performance. Oh, I also added a Blu-ray drive for medical photo archives.

I hope you really enjoy your new laptop.

 

Thank you, good to hear you saw temp drops changing paste and pads. I was semi thinking one could access the installed ssd and ram by removing the keyboard, that is not the case and flip/removal of motherboard is required. So if anyone else is thinking the same here is a image with keyboard removed.

 

A few months ago, I really looked into getting this model, but finally opted for a Thinkpad P72 because it was far less expensive.
Still drooling over this unit though and will always wonder how it would have been !

 

How is the build quality? I'm wondering how it stacks up to the Dell Precision 7730.
For those of you who got it, why did you choose it over the less expensive 7730?

 

When I purchased the HP it was less expensive when equipped with P3200 and 4k than I could find for the same equipped Dell 7730. Not through the HP website, I ordered through B&H.

I am unable to compare build quality of the 17 G5 to the 7730. From what I could tell in reviews they are both great. My 17 G5 has 0 flex. The screen creaks when adjusting but is stiff and stays put, no worries of it breaking. This laptop is built like a tank, sure the 7730 is as well.

Running cinebench or Intel XTU benchmarks the laptop bottom and top stay cool. Running my programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom my clock speeds and temps are good staying below 90c, no power or thermal throttling observed. I will likely do as Eclipse2016 did with a re-paste and thermal pad replacement. Not sure which has a better cooling solution between the HP and Dell work stations.

 

Hi Kyle,
I have the HP and I get to ogle the Precision at work. Build quality is the same but the aluminum on the HP will pick up dents and scratches faster than the Dell: I already have a tiny scratch on the lid (courtesy my cat). I have since applied a skin. The keyboard key arrangement is better on the Dell, but the keyboard feel and rigidity are better on the HP: the Dell keys feel a little spongy imo. The Dell IGZO 4k screen and the HP Dreamcolor screen look the same to me, which is, really good. I prefer the port arrangements on the Dell: HP placing all the USB ports on the left of the machine drives me crazy. I do prefer that the exhaust vents on the HP are along the hinge and not on the sides.

I bought the HP because of the available storage space and the easy accessibility to the internals. The HDD mounting bracket comes in the box, unlike with Lenovo where I had to purchase it separately (with its flimsy whimsy ribbon cable). The GPU is socketed and, in theory, upgradable. Of all the workstations I investigated it had the least complaints on its user forum. I also liked how it looked. It represents the last of the classic mobile workstations.

 

Started a return for exchange as I think it is defective. The air exiting the exhaust is always cool even when cpu is in the 90's C. I am getting random power limit throttling while at idle and under 50C temps. My Cinebench scores have gone from 1250 to 1000 and at times 700cb. My cpu performance using lightroom has tanked as well. Not sure why the sudden performance drops so going to try an exchange as I really do enjoy the laptop.

 

Oh dear, very sorry to hear that. I hope you get a properly functioning laptop. So much for the QC. Did you undervolt the CPU? I have mine at -0.150. My Cinebench score is 1987cb. The hottest the CPU gets to is 56 degrees C. It idles at 38-40 degrees C. I do not get power-limit throttling unless I am using the battery. I have the E2176M CPU with the P4200.

I hope things work out.

 

Thank you Eclipse2016 you are getting a great score in cinebench. I would be happy with repetitive scores of 1200cb.
I set XTU to default and uninstalled, then installed ThrottleStop. Things were looking good for a bit and back to randomly power limit throttling, PL1 EDP Other. I am curious if the power supply is the issue as it gets pretty hot, not burn my hand hot but hot.
I have under-volted I get the random PL with and without under-volt, temps are better with under-volt obviously. The always blowing cool air is suspicious as well, would think it would be at least warm when under load.
When this is running correctly it is great, so will try exchanging it.

 

Yes, my PSU gets very hot as well. I think HP should have supplied a 230W PSU instead of 200W. I tried one of the older (huge) HP 230W PSUs with an adapter to see if it would work but the laptop did not detect the power supply.

If the exhaust air is cool that sounds like the heatsink isn't conducting heat away from the cpu. I wonder if the heatsink was seated properly? Or it could be that bad HP paste. When I first got the laptop the cpu would thermal throttle at 99 deg C. After a repaste and thermal pad change I can't get it beyond 88 deg C no matter what I do. No more thermal throttling. On my machine the vented air is definitely hot.

I dunno. All of the manufactures seem to have had problems with their pro machines. The picture isn't too pretty on the Dell, Lenovo and Apple side either. There are MSI, Boxx, Clevo etc. to think about, but we won't get pro support from them.

 

Just an update. I was noticing that my machine had a pretty ordinary Cinebench score of 1987. I then noticed the CPU was only using 35W at the time. I went into Throttlestop and set Speedstep to '0' and locked turbo boost to a power draw of 61W on my CPU. Well, good grief, that turned things around. The Cinebench score shot up by almost 1000 points to 2740. Wow. The only sad part is that it took me ten months to finally realize what this machine can really do.

 

edit

 

Have had the replacement for awhile now, things are running well and stable. Feeling air temp changes on this one when benching now. Running Cinebench R15.038 my package power is staying at rough 70w instead of dropping in the 20-30w ranges. Scores are steady 1300-1330 cpu which compared to other 8850 cpu scores is meeting my expectations.
Keeping this one as it is delivering the performance I was after for photo editing and light gaming. Love the dream color screen and ability to work in sRGB and aRGB color spaces for web and printing.

Added ram and storage spec as using- 8850H cpu, P3200 gpu, 48gb ram, OS on 500gb nvme, 2tb Intel 660p nvme and a 2tb hdd.

 

Thanks for the update and congrats on getting a properly working machine. I just ordered a couple parts from HP Parts Surfer which, surprisingly, was a smooth experience. At least now we can be sure of getting replacement parts as needed.

 

@Eclipse2016

Hi!

Could it be possible for you to post a screenshot showing P4200 specs from your Zbook 17 G5 using gpu-z ( https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-gpu-z/ - use standard version) like the following ?



Hope in your help !

 

My Zbook 17 G5 was running great till June 2020. When I used windows power shut down like I always do it powered down and shortly after power down it started back up like a restart. It will not power down and stay powered down using the windows power shut down command.

It will power down and stay down if I hold the power button down till all lights go out. Then using the power button it usually powers back on but at times I have to hold it for 30 seconds and it then will power on.

Other issue noticed at this same time is the wired LAN connection will function if connected while booting. If OS is running and I plug the LAN in it never recognizes it and requires a restart.

Computer seems to function normally other than that. I chatted with HP and they state to ship it in. That is not possible till I am back in the USA some time in October.

Any one else experience this? I am thinking of reinstalling the latest firmware and possibly a fresh windows install to see if that remedies the issues.

Edit 09/09/2020 Updated firmware to Q70 01.12.00 Rev.A released Aug 26. It got stuck on the restart with black screen fans on full and two orange lights on keyboard for over an hour. Powered down holding power button. Managed to restart computer after removing battery then holding power button down for 30 seconds. It then showed installing something, tried restarting but getting stuck this time just a 30 second power button hold worked, same for the next round. System back running but original issues still present not staying powered down windows power off and LAN not recognized if LAN plugged in when OS already running, requires restart.

Edit 09/10/2020 Yesterday the 9th after updating the firmware and restarted 3 times to Windows up and running, I noticed a windows update on restart message. Since that restart, it is now powering down using windows shut down command and has 3 times so far powered back up using the power button, so knock on wood maybe that issue is fixed.
The plugging in a LAN cord after system is fully booted still not recognized and requires a restart. But I am leaning toward this not being a hardware issue and either bios or Windows.

Edit 09/11/2020 This morning it powered up normally with power button and shut down with windows power off command. When arrived at work it did not power up pressing the power button, required a 20 second power button hold down which flashed a light on the caps lock. After that light went out pressed power button and powered up normally.

Edit 11/16/2020 For the longest time it has powered down by windows command. Start up some times required battery removal holding power button down 30 seconds. Last week I performed a firmware update and the laptop now locks on HP sure start screen. Unable to boot to bios. Had a chat with HP support back in July, sent an updated to e-mail to agent as I am now in the US and able to send in.

 

Hi dear friend, sorry to bother you, but I'm doing an experiment if the P4200 MXM GPU can working on older laptops with the appropriate MXM socket, would you mind sharing your HP G5 Laptop's V-Bios P4200 so that we can use it in our experiment? Please, we will be very grateful for the kindness

 

we were able to use this P4200 graphics card on an Alienware 17 R1 but the DELL V-Bios that we find available here on this forum requires a lot of power above what my laptop is capable of, however the V-Bios P4200 on your laptop HP G5 requires less power to operate the graphics card which would be the definitive solution to my power limitation problem, i would be very grateful if you Eclipse2016 can help me solve this problem, you are the only user i found with this HP G5 and GPU P4200