*HP ZBook 15 Owners Lounge*

Thank you! I have found a few shops which are selling it. Though it is confusing that there is also a model UJ272 which is sold for less.

 

Never got display problems with wake-from-sleep - using a few weeks the "deep sleep" option - no problems too...

Zbook 15 without dreamcolor dispay

 

Hello, long time no write in this forum...

I recently purchased a ZBook 15 and found that it had the fingerprint sensor badly mounted (estetic defect, component fully functional). So i asked for a replacement and after some days i got it replaced. The new machine now has one of the touchpad buttons slightly bended, i can feel it when swiping it with the finger.
It's not clearly visible at the eye at a first glance (in fact i discovered it after a couple of weeks after the replacement, mainly because i use the ZB on a docking station with external peripherals) but if you place a straight ruler on it you can clearly see light passing over the middle of the button, and it's not perfectly aligned with the case, as all other keys are.
I repeat, absolutely slight defect and difficult to see at a first glance but i wonder if estetic defects are so common on HP laptopts or i am particularly unlucky with technology

Thanks! Umberto

 

That sounds like something I might not even notice myself.

This may also qualify as an aesthetic issue, although I'm inclined to say it's maybe a bit more serious. I've noticed that one of my ZBook's front rubber feet doesn't make contact with my desk - if I push on that corner (think it's the right side), it moves slightly until it hits the desk. I've tested this on several flat surfaces, so it seems the bottom of my laptop is definitely not quite level, but not so much off that I notice it wobbling when I type or anything, so I'm not bothered by it.

The interesting thing is that I had the very same problem with my first ZBook 15, which was returned. I mentioned this defect twice to the CS guy at B&H, but he still didn't even make note of it in my return request. My display issue was obviously sufficient to justify the return, but I did wonder why he chose not to include that. Anyway, pretty mind boggling how HP lets so many things fly on a premium business product. My first DC display was pretty ugly with backlight leakage and corner tinting, and my new one still has some corner tinting.

 

Would it be possible to take a photo of this corner tinting on the DreamColor? I am thinking about getting one and would like to see how bad it is.

 

This looks exaggerated, but gives you an idea of the worst case scenario - light, solid colors is where it shows, which can be irritating. On video or images, it's generally imperceptible.

 

Thanks for that. I have 2 monitors side by side (both the same model - TN panels). On one monitor I have this page loaded, and on the other I have your image loaded. Is it just me or does your entire screen seem to have a bit of a pink/purple hue (perhaps strongest near the bottom)?

 

It could be something real that my camera was able to pick up (and magnify, since this isn't how it really looks to my eye), or it could just be a screwy white balance on its part. Anyway, like I said, what you see there is exaggerated. I've run the HP/X-Rite DC calibration solution on it and the grayscale looks neutral (d65) enough to me, but I've never checked it with a real calibration tool, like HCFR (which I've used many times to calibrate my plasma TV) coupled with a profiled (recalibrated) colorimeter (which I don't currently own). Best I could do, and plan to at some point, is use my old i1D2 to see what it reads, and compare it with the DC colorimeter. It could pick up subtle red imbalances such as these.

Anyway, there is always some non-uniformity across the screen, and, since getting into calibration, I've had to train myself to stop obsessing and just settle for "good enough". However, there are always those who will be driven mad by such things. Personally, I see it as a tradeoff for a near-deep color monitor (see my post #140 in this thread, p.14) with hardware-based calibration (which I find useful because it usually corrects for software that isn't properly color-managed). Just keep in mind this has been a common defect for years (and probably the reason there is no DC option for the new G2 ZBook 15s), so odds are you will get some tint, and if you're not doing mostly video or image editing, then you will likely see it quite often.

 

Here is a picture of an 8570w engineering sample that I had:



You can tell that it had a little bit of pink and green in the corners, and I think it was one of the better samples of the lcd. The 17 inch dreamcolor panel is better but I have seen a few that have an entire half of the screen slightly cooler than the other half. The 17 inch model also has nowhere near as much anti-glare coating as the 15 inch model. So, it reflects a little more, but the picture, especially on solid colors, is much more clean.

 

Hello all!

After a bad experience with a brand new HP Envy, I got lured by the amazing build and overall quality of the ZBook 15, and though I stomped my initial budget, I think I got what I desired.

However I am having an issue, hope you can help:

It's the second time that, eventually, and usually after a long inactivity period, the screen backlight is kind of flickering. In white backgrounds it is not too noticeable, neither in black ones, however my blue windows desktop wallpaper is flickering as if I had a 60Hz CRT in front of my eyes. Suspended and woke up, nothing. Hibernated and woke up, nothing. Shut down, removed battery, switched on, nothing. Entered in BIOS, the issue persists so can't blame Windows.

Any idea? It happens sometimes yes, sometimes not.

Thank you.

PD: Talking on a 4700MQ, 4+4Gb RAM, 750Gb HDD, Quadro K1100M, 15,6 non-dreamcolor screen.

 

However, after some work, it simply vanishes.

 

Any idea of what could be happening? Thank you

 

Is the bios updated? The recent bios update included an updated vBios version.

 

I just purchased a Zbook 15 G1. I had set up my bios so the num lock would be active at boot up. I get to the desktop, and I don't see the num lock light on. Hit the button and the screen gets a pop up that says Num Lock Off. Hit the button again, and the num lock light came on for just a moment and when out. Screen popup says Num Lock On. I get the same kind of action with the caps lock. Is this normal with the Zbooks? I have never seen num and caps indicators not stay on. I have spoken with Customer Service, they had me update my bios and then sent me a new keyboard. Obviously none of this worked since I wondering if this is normal behavior. That blue light is pretty bright, so I could see folks not wanting it on all the time. I just want to make sure nothing is wrong.
Thanks for the input.

ps
The light behavior is a little more complicated. So the indicator lights for num and caps flash when you turn them on. They do nothing when you turn them off. Unless you have caps on and you turn off the num. Then the caps indicator will flash. When I use an external keyboard, the lights on the external keyboard work as expected and stay on. The indicator lights on the internal keyboard still just flash when I use the external keyboard.

 

Apparently the problem got solved:

From the win desktop, get to the Intel HD Graphics Control Panel, and in the Energy Options disable all the energy-saving options and set to full performance.

I am aware that this will affect the computer uptime using the battery, but it's much better than the annoying flicker.

However, I'll look into the bios update.

Thank you.

 

Hi there.

I've just bought a new zBook 15, and it's lovely, but I'm not loving the screen! I got the SVA screen rather than the UWVA or Dreamcolour as the current SVA on my Elitebook 8540w was fine. This one isn't. There's lots of backlight bleeding and the contrast ratio is appalling. HP have been out already and replaced the screen but it's exactly the same. The engineer agreed that it wasn't good, so reported back to support. Now they want to replace the system board and graphics card - but I can't help thinking this is a design flaw with the SVA screens.

Are there any zBook 15 owners with the SVA screen who can comment? Attached is a photo from my phone showing it. I reckon it's a bit over done but the banding and inconsistent lighting is evident.



As a comparison here's my existing 8540w (with the same screen type) at the same point in boot up with similar lighting

 

That's terrible. Could you please post the name/type of the panel?

Later edit:

It seems the AUO11ED is indeed an IPS screen and the way it is identified by sw is AUO's mistake. At least according to this post here on nbr: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ide...ement-displays-compendium-39.html#post9738872

 

Hi! A couple of questions, please:

When I dock the Z15, the GPU automatically switches to nVidia. When I undock it, to the integrated GPU. Is this necessary? I know Dell Precisions do it too. Can it be avoided?

Has anyone measured battery life with the HD4600 vs any other nVidia card (i.e., Optimus off). What does Optimus get you in terms of battery life on the Z15?

Thanks.

 

Hey guys,

Looking to upgrade from my Lenovo W520 to the Zbook 15 G2.

With lenovo, there are quite a few ways to get a good discount on the purchase of the laptop through special deals they have going. Any idea if similar deals exist for HP?

Theoretically what is the lowest I could get a basic 1080p quad core zbook 15 G2 for?

I need G2 for thunderbolt 2 so G1 won't do.

Thanks in advance.

 

HP doesn't usually have weekly specials for their Small and Medium Business store like Lenovo. However, if you purchase a Smart Buy model from a reseller you can usually save a few extra percent off of MSRP. The cheapest configuration with a quad core (F1M31UT) costs $1699 from HP, so you should be able to get it for around $1600 shipped from a reseller.

If you are the US you can also configure them online. The base price is high, but you can apply a 32% coupon, CTOZB15G2, to it to drop it down quite a bit. Do not worry about the coupon expiring, it is valid for the next six months or so. It isn't cheaper than the Smart Buy models but it does let you pick what components you want which may be cheaper in the long run.

 

My understanding was that many (if not all) G1 ZBooks are TB2 capable (support was added in BIOS version 1.07). Not sure how one can confirm this, however.

 

You can allways buy on ebay, new and cheap laptops. I bought mine there and i‘m very pleased. I got it absolutly new.

 

Questions for the group. I'm on my second round of trying a Zbook15 with a Dreamcolor display. Several months ago I received my first one. The display was unacceptable to me. A tech came out twice with different displays but they all had similar problems. A couple of guys and I discussed it in this thread. There were pink spots in the lower two corners, about the size of a quarter with some blue and pink ghosting along one side. I ended up sending it back.

I am giving it one more try before I give up and I have a few more days before I have to keep it or RMA it. I put one of my sunset pictures up on the display and it's beautiful. 100% sRGB and about 85% RGB according to my datavision Spyder 4 Pro and colors look great and WYSIWYG. On this particular display there is a pink area in the bottom right corner, about the size of dime. There is very little ghosting coming out of that corner. On the left bottom corner there is a very light pink area, half dollar sized, but there is blue ghosting starting in the corner about 3/4" wide and running up about 1/2 the screen where it is 2" wide but not as dense as it is in the corner. So when I'm typing a document in word, typing this post on notebook review or any other activity on a white or light background including Photoshop I see the ghosting. One poster said he expected these imperfections and got used to it. I'm having a hard time accepting it for the kind of money theZbook and the dreamcolor display cost. My use is about 1/2 photoshop and 1/2 non color critical stuff - word, browsing, excel, etc.

My questions? Has anyone received a Zbook 15 that DIDN'T have these imperfections? Is it considered to be inherent in this particular display made by LG? I don't want to keep banging my head against the wall if I'm not going to get what I want out of this display.

I'm almost tempted to return it and just get one with the regular non high gamut IPS display or try a Lenovo IPS w540. I haven't come across any complaints about those displays in any forums although they don't cover as much of the RGB gamut. I've read many reviews of the Zbook15 with the dreamcolor display and none mention these imperfections. Do the reviewers not look at any white backgrounds, do they not use photoshop?

Thanks.................

 

Virtually all notebook Dreamcolor / Premiercolor displays, both 15" and 17" models, have the same tinting problems - mostly pink and blue. It's practically unavoidable, comes with the RGB LED territory. The best you can do is annoy HP until you find a better DC, better, that is, relative to others. I have the same problems on my Elitebook 8770w DC and I have come to accept it as a good trade-off. (I also had minor tinting on two other high-gamut screens I owned - a B156HW01 v4 and its glossy counterpart, the v7).

As for choosing another IPS, my only direct experience has been with the IPS on my Zbook 15 and the QHD+ on Dell's M4800. Both have color imperfections due to rather substantial - but, once again, tolerable - backlight bleeding. From what I've read, it's a relatively common problem with the new generation of IPS screens. (Then again, the benefits of IPS technology are worth it in my view and, honestly, if near-perfect color accuracy is essential, the solution is an external monitor.)

This being said, next to the DC, the 98% sRGB panel on the Zbook seems pale and lifeless - though it runs circles around, e.g., the otherwise good 900p 87% sRGB display on the HP 6570p.

Good luck with whatever you choose next.

 

lanesome - Am I right in thinking that you are saying that you are comparing a dreamcolor display from one of your other laptops and that you have the UWVA on your Zbook and that the UWVA also has these imperfections?

I realize that an external monitor (such as my NEC 2090uxi) is the better solution, but I prefer a IPS laptop display, not only for portability but also because I typically stand when working due to a sciatic nerve problem. I suppose I could buy an anthro cart and use my NEC along with a slim factor PC or a Zbook with a cheaper display but my setup is in our living room on a nice, but lightweight and good looking stand that mostly blends in with our furniture and allows me to watch TV if I want. I build my own PCs and I have a monster, but I wouldn't want it in our living room and it's a shame that I'm not able to use it much.

The only thing I have to compare the DC with is a Lenovo w520, my wife's old Sony laptop, a Lenovo u300s and my Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro. The Y2P has some minor backlight bleeding but has an excellent IPS dispay - comparable to a Macbook Pro in my opinion. I haven't had the chance to calibrate it yet. If I could have that IPS display and add an 80-85% RGB gamut to it I would be one happy fellow. I guess current technology doesn't allow that. Regardless, this dreamcolor screen on the Zbook is much better than the w520, the u300s and my wife's Sony.

I will most likely try to get the display switched out at least once. Seeing 3 different DC displays the last go round and the current one pretty much convinced me that what you said is correct -"comes with the RGB LED territory" At least with the DC display.

Thanks for your reply lanesome!

 

No doubt, this problem is the norm. All you have to do is search the forums - there are tons of posts about this, going back years. I've had two different ZB15s with DC displays, and both had corner tinting. The first one had a couple spots of backlight bleed as well, which is why I returned it. Second one is uniform in brightness and corner tinting is reduced.

 

Glad you found one that was acceptable for you avidhiker. I remember our discussion about the ghosting a few months ago. I'm going to give the tech one shot at a different display and see how it goes. Love everything else about it and it's pretty much what I'm looking for. Hard typing email or a word document and trying to overlook it. Two small pink corners would be okay. Not happy about the blue ghosting up the side though. There is a bit of backlight bleed on this one as well. Working in photoshop and seeing my sister in laws hair look blue instead of white is not a good thing though.

Thanks for the comment.

 

Hello. Yes, I am comparing my DC2 (Elitebook 8770w) with the 97-98% sRGB (after calibration) UWVA / IPS on the Zbook 15 (also mine). Backlight bleed is pretty evident - but not really terrible - and it does affect the color accuracy in the lower left and upper right corners (a pretty wide area in the former place, in fact). The color distortion is more evident than with the DC, despite the latter's visible blue tint in the lower right corner.

All in all, I find the DC much better color-wise - as well as heavier, an energy hog, and a killer of hybrid graphics. So it's all a matter of priorities, I am afraid, and the requisite trade-offs.

(The other IPS I have on hand is an LG 768p on my Lenovo x220. Vibrant colors but overall weak gamut - around 65% sRGB -, pretty bad backlight bleed around the margins.)

 

Thanks, Aztec. This blue ghosting you mention is not something I've noticed on either ZBook; currently my only issue is pink tinting in the lower corners. Generally it doesn't seem to affect the accuracy of images on the screen to a noticeable extent, although a beach picture I've taken does show a tint in the sand when displayed full screen. My version of Photoshop (CS6) has a dark grey interface, which is nice since it doesn't call attention to the tinting. This website is a good example of where it can be annoying, but thankfully I'm able to ignore it.

 

Re: Display problems

Mine is perfect.My only complaint was the terrible out of the box color and useless calibration software that comes pre-installed. It sounds to me like its hit or miss so I'd send it back again. Its too expensive to have a a display with such a flaw. How many of the total have this problem is impossible to know because those with no problems are less likely to be on these forums.

 

Congrats! Don't think I've ever seen another claim of a perfectly uniform Dreamcolor screen, at least not a 15 inch, and definitely not on a ZBook 15. But, I certainly haven't read through everything.
While I understand the grudge effect well from many years on various forums, places like this also tend to attract the enthusiasts for other topics of discussion (not just complaining). I would think the Dreamcolor systems attract such enthusiasts (as evidenced, for instance, by the 8740w poll: *HP EliteBook 8740w Owners Lounge - PART 2* - View Poll Results), so there should be a fairly diverse group of folks with these screens on this forum. Not that one can draw a statistically sound conclusion from this population, but the preponderance of evidence here would suggest that these defects are indeed very common, and going the route of repeated exchanges is just an exercise in frustration. I've seen several reports from people who have been through 3 or more exchanges with no result.

 

I have the DreamColor 2 display on my 8740w and can confirm the magenta/blue tint out of the box. HP says each DreamColor monitor is calibrated at the factory but these displays really need a proper calibration to be fully effective. I used a Spyder 4 Express to calibrate mine, here are the results:

As far as the backlighting goes, mine looks extremely uniform with some minor bleed in the upper right side, about 1/4" from the edge ...but otherwise nothing perceptible.

P.S. we have an HP ZBook 15 G2 incoming for review, I should have that in a week or two.

 

Just to be clear - I assume the magenta/blue tint did not disappear after calibration. Because I also calibrated my DC2 and the tinting remains nor matter what (as I said, it's a flaw). But yes, calibration does help, even if the Dreamcolors come factory-calibrated.

 

Correct - the tint remains when looking at an all-white screen for example but is no longer dominant.

 

Of the Dreamcolor/Premiercolor displays that I have owned all of them had the magenta/blue tent. I had a Dell M6600 which had the corner tent but was otherwise perfect. I also had a M6700 Covet which had the corner tint which reached all the way across the left side of the screen, making the entire left side appear cooler than the right. I also had a 8570w which had a near perfect display. It may have been an exception though because it was a demo unit HP had used for trade shows... probably hand picked by engineers for the best quality. Sadly the 15 inch version had a very heavy anti-glare coating, so it made text not as clear compared to the TN panel option they were offering at the time.

Oh nice, is it QHD+ and does it have a PCIe SSD? I have been curious if they are using the awesome Samsung one in these models.

 

Not sure, it hasn't arrived yet. I do however get to go on the phone with their engineers as part of the review process. If you have any intriguing questions, I'd be interested in what you all would ask. FYI they usually can't say much about anything that's coming out in the future but anything about the current model is open game.

 

Yep, just like any other type of forum. The complainers and those interested in learning are here, the satisfied are doing something else with their time. I don’t think they are putting the mobile display assistant on the Zbooks are they? Mine didn’t have it, but I installed it. Pretty much sucked.

I’ve done a proper calibration with my Spyder 4 Pro, all it does is tell me that I have a cool high gamut display, lol, and that I’ve successfully calibrated it. Duh, I know that. It doesn’t say or do anything about the blue ghosting though. It did not reduce any of the ghosting problems. It was no where near the 100% RGB that the other guy mentioned on his 8570w. More like 85% I think. I had one of those a few years ago but I was using it for some audio editing and didn’t need the DC then like I do now.

Tech showed up quick – Friday. He said “hmmm, they sent two displays” I said “ well, sh.. lets try both of them and maybe I’ll keep the best one” He said “hmm, neither one is the correct display” I’ll see him next week. He seemed like the type that uses a $500 notebook unfortunately. The previous tech from a few months ago picked up the ghosting problem right away. This one not so much, but when I gave him a dark place to work before turning on a light he saw the backlight bleeding.

 

I think the g2 has a SanDisk pcie ssd.

 

My Zbook15 (non G2) came with a Sandisk sata. Benchmarks are pretty good, better than I expected.

 

Hello,

Anyone experiencing freezes when connecting the ZBook 15 (G1) to an external display via DisplayPort such as a projector? My computer totally freezes (not even mouse cursor moving) for about 20 seconds when attaching the DisplayPort projector. If then flickers for a few secs and then goes back into what I gather is PC-only display mode. I can then press Win+P to start using the projector.

Kind regards,
Ulf, Sweden

 

Can anyone confirm what PCIe SSD M.2 form factor the G2 is compatible with?

Thanks!

 

Hi, just joined the club, recently took delivery of a ZBook 15 G2 - F1M35UT#ABA. I am based in the UK and imported from Canada via Ebay as at the time of ordering not much availability in the UK. Its an unusual spec as its i7 4810, 8GB Ram, K1100M but has the bottom of the range SVA TN screen which is awful. Terrible colours, contrast and back light bleed. I spent a few hours with an i1 Display Pro attempting to make it usable but its like trying to polish a xxxx.

The screen is so bad i cant bring mysefl to change to the new machine from an ageing but great HP 8510P, which has a great screen.

Would a Zbook15 owner with the UWVA IPS panel be kind enough to check the manufacturer code and post? I have tried to determine with the HP part number 735607-001 but it doesnt cross reference to a specific brand and screen model. Looks like the new laptop is going to need a screen transplant before i can use it, it disapointing to have to dismantle a new £1550 machine!!

Any info appreciated,

 

Should also report the machine is superb in every other area, very well built, looks good for a machine of this class, performance as expected and highly recommended other than the screen. I would recommend choosing the UWVA (IPS) panel over the SVA (TN) as the screen is the weak point. I look forward to fitting the UWVA!

 

The IPS is mistakenly identified as AUO11ED - actually a TN screen (more on the reasons for this here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ide...ement-displays-compendium-39.html#post9738872).

The actual model is AUO B156HAN01.1, and can be bought from various places, including ebay and aliexpress, and easily installed.

 

Thank you for the panel details landsome, very much appreciated. I look forward to fitting the screen this machine deserves.

 

Was just reading this forum.. amazing! I've got one of those ZBook 15's, but what an awful screen. Been working on this machine for 3 months (i have a Chi-Mei CMN15C2.. and it is very, very bad). Was also reading what the Lenovo guys were doing. What do you think, B156HAN01.1, or B156HAN01.2? They will both fit, right? Any help appreciated!

 

That is the same display that my Elitebook 850 came with. I upgraded it to the B156HAN01.2. Both displays were physically the same and electrically very close, with the Chimei panel being slightly lower wattage, IIRC. The Zbook should be able to handle either AUO panel just fine.

 

Yeah. It has very bad viewing angles. That's what bothers me. Did you notice any difference with the upgrade?

 

I dod not upgrade it, as mine came with the HAN1.1, but the screen is very good, with perfect viewing angles due to IPS/AHVA technology.

 

New Bios released:

01.30 A(15 Dez 2014)

- Fixes an intermittent issue where the Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) Serial Over LAN (SOL) port disappears from Device Manager after it is run.
- Corrects language translations in F10 (BIOS) Setup for the Japanese language.
- Corrects the UEFI version displayed to display 2.3.1.
- Fixes an issue where the BIOS auto-crisis recovery does not run again after recovery is completed.
- Fixes an issue where the Windows operating system cannot be installed by booting the system to a USB key when the system is in RAID SATA mode.
- Fixes an intermittent issue where the Wireless LAN switching feature stops functioning after the system resumes from standby.
- Fixes an intermittent issue on systems with hybrid graphics where the Hybrid Graphics menu is not displayed under the BIOS F10 setup.

Installed no probs so far.