*HP ZBook 14 Owners Lounge*

The LG panel is 60% NTSC, while the AUO panel is 72% NTSC. Unfortunately there is no way to specify which one you want when ordering.

 

I have the AUO panel (Europe):

Are the LG panels also used for the FHD version?

 

Right now I have a Thinkpad x220 and am thinking if I upgrade to a new machine this might be it. Just wondering does this laptop have an mSATA slot for SSD. I do not mean an M.2 slot but I know it does have one of these. I know the bigger zbooks have an mSATA but what about this one and thanks much for this thread.

Gary

 

The zBook 14 have a 2.5" SATA slot + a M.2 slot. No mSATA. But the weight of a 2.5" SSD is around 50 gr, so the gain is not sensational compared to the total weight of this laptop.

 

These are both full HD NON-touch screens? And there is no way to make a distinction by, for instance, product code (so I can check with the vendor?
I read that 72% NTSC is about 100% sRGB so that is the one for me. Any clues where I might expect an LG screen? darkc apparently has an AUO, in Europe, where I would buy the Zbook, so if Europe would get only AUOs, I would be good...

 

Mine has the LGD040A. I haven't been able to find any spec sheets for that model, so I'm not sure where the 60% figure quoted earlier is coming from.

 

Do you have a colorimeter to check the color accuracy?

 

I tried turning on the fn key swap in the bios, but find it unusable because it also swaps the esc key as well ! Wish HP would have it only swap the fn keys and not one of the most useful keys as well

 

No, sorry. The only one I have is specific for use with my NEC desktop monitors.

 

FWIW I have the AUO123D panel on my Zbook 14 in the US, so I doubt you can tell anything from where you buy it.

 

Sunfox, how is the LG panel subjectively? Would you consider it as awesome as I read in most reviews and on this forum?

 

I have looked up that battery and it costs 55$ but no mention of weight. Smaller size doesn't always mean weights less and can't find a number for it : /, As far as crashing goes. It got a little better but still recently got a crash, I updated my firmware and maybe that will help.

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Now that I have used it for almost a month there are a few things I noticed as well.

1) The matte screen is not fully matte. It is not glossy but when you have blacks I can still see my reflection much more vivid then my z830 which has a full matte screen.

2) The brightness is also a bit weak. I have no way of measuring it but it is weaker then my z830.

3) The finger print reader is quite annoying as every time you go over it, it reacts. (though I am sure there is a way to disable it)

4) Caps Lock key light is not a good choice, blends in with the back lighting and is tiny. Don't even notice sometimes it is on when I miss click it.

5) They really should have included a 2nd fan for the GPU. The current fan even set to 100% has a hard time dealing with the GPU(Not saying it overheats, just not comfortable to put on the lap). The problem is location, the heat takes too long to get to the fan to provide cooling in the center area.


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Guys how do you know the LG panel is 90% sRGB? Is it based on the different reviews for the 840 g1?

HP EliteBook 840 - uniwersalny biznesowy notebook mobilny - lab.kuzniewski.pl


HP Elitebook 840 G1 review | Expert Reviews

 

My zbook 14 has not crashed once. I see the matte screen as matte as they come, and the screen has beautiful color. I do agree it's not as bright as it should be, but plenty matte for me. The caps lock key light is fine with regards to size, though I wish it was on the left side and not the right side of the key. Yes the fingerprint reader is easy to get rid of, just uninstall its software, that's what I did. No problems with my fan or GPU.

 

Just out of curiosity. Do you have an AUO screen or an LG screen? Though to clarify, the screen is matte, but not as matte as my z830. If I turn off the screen or have black, I can vaguely make out my face. On my z830 at best I just see a complete blob. It is way better than gloss by by FAR, just being picky. And yes the color is good.

As far as caps lock key, do you use your keyboard with back lighting on or off? The issue I have is it is a tiny dot among much bigger glow of the keyboard's back lighting. And would have preferred it be larger or a different color.

In terms of crashing, I am trying to debug the issue. IT might be because I use the hard drive encryption or other software conflicts who knows. Though I do remember some review unit crashing as well. I am debugging it.

And I am not saying there is a problem with GPU or fan, just the heatsink is too long. So when the gpu is used it gets fairly hot at the bottom center.

 

I find it quite good for a laptop - subjectively the color is quite nice even compared to my pro NEC IPS screens - but there ARE a few caveats:

1) There is backlight bleed, as you'll get on pretty much every laptop IPS screen. Mine is mostly in the bottom left and it annoyed me at first, but now I don't notice it even when I notice it... if you get my drift. Basically it's become a non-issue.

2) The viewing angles aren't quite as good as I would've hoped. Now don't get me wrong - it DOES have the wide viewing angles you'd expect from an IPS screen, and it does NOT invert or have weak contrast from extreme off-angles... but I find there's a fairly limited area of maximum brightness, maybe twice the size of a standard TN screen, and then it reduces and kind of stays at the reduced brightness for the rest of the arc.

3) The default driver setup does result in a small amount of black crush and white blooming on videos, however I posted settings in another thread a while back for my calibrations to make it look more similar to my NEC screens.

According to the specs I have, the small battery should weigh approximately 0.26 lbs less than the big one. Note that that weight also includes whatever the difference is between "UMA" and "UIMA" graphics.

Also, as others have mentioned... I've never had a crash. I forget, are you running Windows 8?

1) It's quite matte to me, but even matte screens will have SOME kind of vague reflections (reducing the matte slightly helps give the impression of deeper blacks and brighter colors - so it's a kind of balancing game). If you check the video linked in my signature and fast-forward to 5:33, you can see what the reflection of me holding the camera looks like in the screen. Note that I was basically over the keyboard with the camera when filming that, way closer than your head would be.

2) It *could* be brighter, especially if you plan on using it outdoors. Indoors, I think I keep it one or two notches from the top.

3) Yeah, it's a bit too sensitive. Typically I have to actually touch it for it to trigger, but I find simply using the arrow keys does this. It should be made less sensitive, or there should be a way to disable the audio cue when the time it was active couldn't possibly be someone trying to scan their fingerprint.

4) Yes, it takes a bit to get used to that, and would be better positioned above the keyboard (or maybe if it were a different color, like the microphone mute key). However I certainly notice the HP on-screen pop-up notifying me that caps in on!

5) Haven't done much GPU stressing myself, so can't comment here.

No idea... have to ask the guy who quoted the figure. I can't find any specs for the LG screen anywhere, and any numbers generic to HP you can't tell if they meant the AUO screen which seems a bit more common.

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I think one of the most interesting things I've discovered using the Zbook, is that I'm REALLY getting used to the keyboard. I still don't think the feel is all that great and I would like more travel and a firmer touch, but my fingers are disagreeing with that assessment - it seems like they can FLY across it. Accurately, too. It's the weirdest thing!

 

The backlight bleed on my monitor is actually pretty decent it is almost unnoticeable.

My z830 had no angles lol so yeah. And yes I get what you mean.

Noticed that too when I did the lagom test.

Well when I weighted it, 3.8lb without the battery. And battery is 0.66lbs. So if there is 0.26lb difference that is half the weight. So does that mean graphics is 0.14lb?

I am not that sadistic.

Yeah my z830 was more matte, but had worse blacks.

I use my laptop a little differently then most others putting it on my chest as I lie down. (hence why I am very picky about heat)

I have direct LED lighting over me so I need to use it at the top brightness. Though obviously it is ideal to keep the monitor at ~180.

Yeah, I notice the popup but it has like 1-2 sec delay. So I kind of notice it before the popup anyways

Well we have specs for the AUO based on the 840 g1 review here which says 97% sRGB and 770:1 contrast:

HP EliteBook 840 - uniwersalny biznesowy notebook mobilny - lab.kuzniewski.pl

Now there is another review of the 840 g1 which uses an unknown 1080p screen that records 89.4% sRGB and 1253:1 contrast

HP Elitebook 840 G1 review | Expert Reviews

Are there LG screens on the 840 g1? or non-AUO screens?

Sometimes it is a matter of getting used to it. My z830 had even a worse keyboard and when I come back to it, it feels nostalgic.

 

I've only heard of LG and AUO screens being used, and I don't think I've seen any 840 G1 user report having an LG screen - but I may have missed it, and since the ZB can have both I don't think there's any reason why the 840 couldn't either.

With the Intel drivers, it is possible to completely correct all crushing/blooming issues with videos.

Nut sure about the weight difference, but according to the example configuration specs, that's the difference. Since the small battery is 3 cells instead of the 6 in the bigger one, it makes sense that it would weigh a little less than half the big one.

About the keyboard - the difference isn't just getting used to it... I've used a bunch of laptop keyboards over the years, and for some inexplicable reason I really feel like I'm able to type faster and more accurately on this one - and it barely makes any noise doing it, too.

 

Funny, on the ZB I keep the brightness one or two notches from the... bottom. And I think the max brightness being pretty high (unconfortable if you are not outside).

For the GPU, it reaches a max temp of 60°C while playing L4D 2 (FHD resolution, and "high" everywhere)

The only real difference between the 840 G1 and the ZB is the GPU? (FirePro vs non-Pro GPU)

 

Hi to all!

I plan to buy ZBook 14 (F0V02EA) in version with i7, 750 Gb HDD and 32 cache.
I read that someone here has same versions (with HDD and cache).

So, my question is: cache in M.2 slot? Can it be removed and replaced with other M.2 SSD?
I have this question because on the HP product page there is written that user don't have access to this cache and cache cannot be replaced. Also there is written that cache is mSata, but i can't find any mSata in repair manual for zbook 14.

Thanks!

 

I don't where it could be placed, but maybe this is a hybrid HDD, so the cache would be inside the disk. Else, it might be soldered somewhere on the motherboard I guess.

 

well, according to page 7 of this HP document it's clearly "module", so it cannon be part of hybrid HDD (which is actually not used in this model at all).

 

The document states about the M.2 SSD optional 120 GB SSD that it "cannot be combined with the M.2 Flash Cash Module". So I guess the cache interface is a mSATA one, with a bridge to the PCIe interface of the M.2 slot.

The same way that the Sony Vaio Pro was able to ship SATA and PCIe SSDs using the same M.2 slot.

Then I see no reason it could not be removable...

 

Just a few things, had another crash that seems to be related to the ACPI, still investigating.

Also notebookreview published a review. Though so far in german so we gotta wait for US translation

Test HP ZBook 14 Workstation - Notebookcheck.com Tests

Though using google translate there is a few things to note:

1) It confirms what I mentioned about the center heat, so it isn't just me

2) Out of box the sRGB of LG one is 80%. Though it says something about calibration making a significant improvement though translation kind of fails on that part to make out the full detail.

 

Сan anyone tell about their typical usage of ZBook 14?

Will it be enough with i7-4600U for comfortable programming (Eclipse, Visual Studio)?

 

Define "comfortable"? (As that varies from person to person)

I do heavy programming on mine and it works fine. I use Komodo IDE though.

If you live in the US and are on the ropes, you can get a "premier" trial from newegg (which you cancel) and then you can return it within 30 days with no restocking fee.

 

Well, my work pc is "big" i7 3770, and I find it comfortable in all my tasks. I've also macbook air mid 13 and it's completely can't be used for anything but web surfing)

And I leave outside the US, so it's impossible to buy it just to try

 

The only thing I can say is that right now I have enough stuff open to consume 85% of that 16gb ram and the pc is running smooth. (Which is quite interesting because I was running low on memory on my previous ultrabook which only had 6gb ram and prior to buying this I thought 8GB would be what I am looking for but 16gb is overkill and here I am consuming 85% of 16gb lol)


The only issues I had have been a BSOD once in a while though others are not getting it so it might just be me or some software I have installed. Though the dump file says it is related to the ACPI. (haven't had too much time to debug it unfortunately)

 

We finally got a proper review from notebookcheck.net here :

Review HP ZBook 14 Workstation - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

 

I noticed aswell. what gives with the low 3d marks and game performances?

 

Cheers for posting that. Been dithering over purchasing one of these for a few weeks.... this review (along w/ all the helpful posts in this thread!!) seals the deal.

I'll be ordering a CTO Zbook 14 tomorrow...
Win7 pro, i7, 1080p, 16gb RAM, 750GB 7200RPM w/ 32GB flash cache module...no webcam, no fingerprint reader, no Vpro...

 

Anyone tried putting in/upgrading to one of the NGFF 2242 m2 SSD drives? I just put my order in for one of these zbooks, lower spec but does have a nice screen and the AC wireless. I'm wanting a 256gb ngff 2242 drive for the os, paging, files, demanding apps, maybe a small vm. but not sure if I want to wait...mydigitalssd has a 128GB which is very affordable and it's not immediately clear if a 240 or 256gb offering is in the works in the 42mm size in the near future

have a 7200rpm terabyte mechanical drive for main I plan to use in the 2.5 bay

 

That ssd should work fine. It is probably going to be the largest you can get for 42mm this year. The PCB doesn't have enough space for Samsung controller chip + TLC NAND like what the EVO uses. It doesn't really have space for the Marvell controller chip either hence why crucial doesn't make the M500 in a 42mm variety either. You can always replace the 7200rpm drive with a 1TB SSD. Prices are certainly cheap enough, and it will run quieter as well.

 

Owners, can you tell something about throttling on load while zbook 14 on battery?

 

That might be a good plan, I think I'm going to hold off on the ngff until some higher performance 128 or 256gb solutions arrive (I've heard rumblings about a plextor 256gb in the 42mm form factor). I'm also curious about the potential of putting a drive in the bay intended for WWAN, even if it can't be booted to - going to order some cas9 2x8gb low volt DIMMS and declare victory for at least a few weeks, maybe into summer then look at my SSD options

 

Is there are problems with ghosting(retention) on screen?

 

Did you mean like the Dell XPS screen door effect? If so, there is none on AUO panel.

For ghosting, I see no specific issue either.

 

Seems pretty good. Just as some random data points, running the same piece of MATLAB code took:

Power: 109 sec
Battery: 131 sec.

(Not sure if there's a power setting to maximize cpu performance on battery.)

Running the Unigine Heaven GPU benchmark with different GPU battery power settings gave FPS/Score of:

Power: 13/328
Battery (optimize life): 6.3/159
Battery (maximize performance): 13.1/329

Running same MATLAB code while looping Unigine benchmark:

Power: 144 sec
Battery: 168 sec

Running Unigine benchmark while looping MATLAB code

Power: 8/201
Battery (maximize performance): 8.1/203

 

There is no hardware limitation on battery. This is only software define. With cpudFREQd disabled under Linux, I have the same results:

On power:

Code:

OpenSSL 1.0.1f:
    pts/openssl-1.8.0
    Test 1 of 1
    Estimated Trial Run Count:    3
    Estimated Time To Completion: 2 Minutes
        Started Run 1 @ 11:47:16
        Started Run 2 @ 11:47:38
        Started Run 3 @ 11:48:00  [Std. Dev: 3.27%]

    Test Results:
        240.1
        238.3
        226

    Average: 234.80 Signs Per Second

On battery:

Code:

OpenSSL 1.0.1f:
    pts/openssl-1.8.0
    Test 1 of 1
    Estimated Trial Run Count:    3
    Estimated Time To Completion: 2 Minutes
        Started Run 1 @ 11:49:36
        Started Run 2 @ 11:49:58
        Started Run 3 @ 11:50:20  [Std. Dev: 1.90%]

    Test Results:
        243.5
        241.9
        234.9

    Average: 240.10 Signs Per Second

 

There is a poorly worded option in the bios that disables turbo boost on battery (DC) power. It is present in all of the new Zbook/Elitebook series and enabled by default as far as I know. If you disable that option then the processor will clock as high as it can on AC power.

 

Thanks for that! Have you test throttling with this settings disabled?

 

I'm a bit confused about the hard drive in the ZBook 14. If I buy the ZBook (specifically the F2R98UT configuration), can I take out the mechanical HD and replace it with a standard SSD?

 

Yes. That's exactly what I did and it's a whole lot better with the SDD than mechanical hard drive. speed, temperature, weight, etc.

 

I am now the proud owner of a ZBook.

Can I buy an M.2 SSD and install it in addition to the 750GB standard HD it came with?

 

Yes, you can.

 

I read somwhere (???) that you can boot from the M.2 SSD if it's 120 GB in size, independent if you have a SSD or a HDD. With smaller ones you can't.

Does anyone boot from the M.2 SSD?

 

I have no M.2 SSD on mine, so I cannot test sorry.

 

That's not a bad idea. I myself am looking at getting a zbook 14, I wish you could configure them more, but I'm going with a 97 model, with 8gb ram/750gb hd, and just replacing the HD with a samsung SSD and putting in my own 8gb ram module for 16gb. It would be nice to buy an i7 model w/touch and 500gb/4gb but that wouldn't make any buisness sense for HP in the long run.

Hopefully I like the laptop, it was between this and a t440s, but whatever I purchased had to have touch, and the standalone graphics is going to be useful in the long run for me.

 

With the 28" 4k displays from Dell now below 600€, Id like to ask has anyone had a chance to try the zBook 14 with a 4k display with both GPU?

c't a german magazine noted in the new issue, that while displayport 1.2 in principle supports 4k displays, some notebook with the intel GPU have problems.

PS: There is a new listing since March for an M.2 SSD from ZTC 128GB Armor 42mm m2 NGFF 6G SSD Solid State Disk-ZTC-SM201 - 128G http://www.amazon.de/128GB-ZTC-Armor-Solid-Disk-ZTC-SM201/dp/B00IZNYDBG still without price or availibity date.

 

You actually can do it. Not preconfigured. But you can also get 20% off at the checkout. Costing round about the same price as the 97 model.

HP's Small & Medium Business Online Store

 

Well, now you tell me I'm still getting Just over $2000.00 built this way. I did try the custom build option before, but didn't see the 20% off before. I did it with Webcam, widows 8.1, and fingerprint reader, and 320gb/4Gb memory. The core i5 4300u model, middle preconfigured w/touchscreen, ran $1400 from MacMall. I will have to decide if it's worth the 500 or so.

I need the Webcam for Skype. Finger print reader may be useful in future, I feel.

But, I may be just fine with the i5, hopefully.