HP probook 430 g4 conxerns

I want to purchase hp probook 430 g4. Is there anything K should be concerned about?
Like
- backlit lifetime ( the keyboard backlit's qualit at least on the review pictures seems to fall behind its competitors, do you think it can affect backlit lifetime? )
- in the notebookcheck review core i7 ( in which the reviewed variant is equipped ) throttle under load and its clock drops to 1.5 - 1.7 Ghz and gpu from 1 Ghz to 800 - 900 Mhz ). Do you think the variants with core i3 6100U will also suffer from simillar issue. AFAIK the TT is caused by the laptops inability of providing the cpu with more power than standerd 15 W for a longer period odf time
- n standard wifi connection. Is there anything I should know about speed, quality and stability of wifi connections created by this laptop?
I realize the laptop is sold with dofferent displays and keyboards...
Pls let me know if you've encoutered any issues / inconvieniemces while using the notebook.
Cheers,
https://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-ProBook-430-G4-Core-i7-Full-HD-Notebook-Review.189515.0.html

 

Sorry for my English, I'm not a native speaker and write on my phone.

 

if the throttling is power-related, then any ULV (ending in U) Intel CPU will suffer from it, be it core i7 or Pentium. The reason is that the CPU and iGPU both share a 15W limit but each of those components actually needs about 10-15W to push their maximum clockspeed. So yes, if that is why the throttling occurs, the i3 will also be affected.

 

Do you think it could be changed e.g. via flashing bios? Would it be safe?

 

No, you cannot change it in most cases. Only certain laptops have it set to 25W (which reduces the throttling). In any case, you shouldn't be buying a low-power CPU for heavy workloads.

 

Ok so I've checked and the temperature is a limiting factor ( other model - with same power settings - hp probook 440 g4 - 25 watt for the first 28s and them 15 watt ) maintains 3 ghz on both i7 7500 cores and 1 ghz on gpu.
Will I be able to change the temp when thermal throttling starts or evemtually the fan rpm curve?

 

It's not Thermal Throttling. The ULV CPUs are mostly limited to 15W whereas in order to not have throttling you need 30W of power. In any case, you can't change it.

 

Wait but the reviewed hp probook 440 g4 is also equipped with nvidia 940 mx does it change anything?

 

I mean does this 30 watt requirement also contain dedicated gpu power usage or only cpu and igpu?

 

Yes, the iGPU does not work under the stress test if it has a dGPU

 

Both the CPU and GPU combo require 30W total. They have a power budget of 15W.

 

So if a laptop has dedicated gpu, cpu is not restricted withlack of power?

 

No, if it has a dedicated GPU, any intensive load goes to the dGPU, not the iGPU. It's still 15W

 

So is the cpu restricted then Or not?

 

All ULV CPUs are.

 

I mean if a laptop has dedicated gpu then this 15 watt ulv tdp is used solely by cpu, gpu uses other source of energy?
Therefore way smaller throttling?

 

The dGPU has its own power management and power limit.

 

Ok but besides throttling, is there anything else I should be worried about?

 

I mean e.g. it's wifi performance according to notebookcheck reviews is way behind other laptops with the same wireless card ( intel dual band 7165 ). Why is that? Faulty testing or simply faulty notebook design?

 

With all my limited and inaccurate knowledge about the subject.....
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There is no physical 15W limit for ulv CPUs, there is no such cap. My 4200u is pulling 18W quite often; I check with Intel XTU. They are expected to peak at 22W-23W when they turbo boost under heavy load.

I also remember a guy claiming that his 15-Watt TDP ulv cpu was pulling 55 watts!!! It's either extremely extreme case or it's just a ******** claim.

That being said; 15 TDP means the cooling system is designed to be able to easily get rid of the amount of heat that would be generated from a 15 Watts power using cpu. It doesn't mean that there is 15 watts cap. CPU goes above the 15W but it doesn't stay there for too long due to thermal throttling.

And I don't know about two different throttling one being thermal and another being power related. As far as I know, there is only one throttling and that's thermal throttling and of course it is power related as well.

Anyway, CPU goes using above 15W, it gets too hot because the system is not designed to cool down too hot (15 TDP), then it reaches a certain point. I guess it's 90 degrees set by Intel in the CPU. Then Thermal throttling occurs. CPU speed goes back to base clock speed (maybe even lower?) until the system cools down.

Laptop manufacturers can override this 90 degrees limit on the motherboard and/or bios or somehow.

I read a review from a Dell laptop owner, a recent model he purchased not long ago. He was complaining that Dell set this heat limit to 70 degrees. Thermal throttling was occuring way too early, before his cpu can hit the upper limits of turbo boost and not being able to use his cpu with full efficiency.

It like having a i7-8550U cpu, base clock at 1.80 GHz and max turbo at 4.00 GHz but the laptop doesn't go above 3.00 Ghz because thermal throttling kicks in way too early. It's a very sad situation to pay for some high clock speed cpu and then only get the low clock speed cpu performance due to a stupid design decision.

This guy spends days talking with Dell technicians, like 4-5 of them until someone understands what the problem is. This tech confirms that it's an issue that thermal throttling kicks in way too early. He confirms that this can be fixed with a bios update. Though, the probability of this happening is slim to none.

Anyway, this is what I know about the issue.

.....with all my limited and inaccurate knowledge about the subject.
​

 

Thermal throttling has nothing to do with these CPUS - ULV CPU models have a hard-locked BIOS limitation and also the on-board power delivery is not really built with the intention of sustaining higher wattage. The BIOS allows them to pull anywhere from 7.5W (cTDP down) to 25W (cTDP up) but the baseline is 15W. If the limit is set at 25 by the OEM - higher turbo blocks are possible. IF it's set lower - the base clock is not even held meaning the 8550U would likely end up running at 1.4-1.5GHz. Adding iGPU load also reduces CPU clocks because the CPU and iGPU share the same total power limitation.

Also you have to keep in mind - Intel TDPs are measured at base clocks and as stated in their semi-obvious disclaimer - Turbo clocks are not guaranteed by no means. Basically, when buying an i7 8550U, you expect 1.8GHz but are not guaranteed to go above that under sustained load.

 

Why do you say Thermal Throttling has nothing to do with these ulv CPUs? I just told you a case where it has everything to do with it.

And again, you keep saying "adding the iGPU" as if it's an after thought addition. Actually, when these CPUs are designed and TDPs are set the iGPU is accounted for; they are NOT an aftermath.

Will having a dedicated GPU help the situation? Yes, it certainly will.

However, simply saying your CPU will require around 15W and your iGPU will require another 10 to 15W and since these CPUs are 15W you will have power shortage or power throttling or with your own words " having 15W power budget where 30W is needed" is very unhealthy (in short of a better word. I didn't wanna say wrong).

Anyway, what do I know. Just bits and pieces, here and there and then I make my own conclusions. But the way you state the situation feels like a little misleading to me.