zBook 14 G2 Owners Lounge

I might be one of the very early adopters of the zBook 14 G2.

I am all maxed out in my setup.
i7 5500 cpu
16gb ram
256 turbo drive (Sandisk A110 PCIE)
2GB HD

With Docking station, external battery and more. running on 34" LG curved panel.

I will be happy to answer any questions anyone might have about this baby. So far I am on the fence on this setup - does not feel like an upgrade yet over my 5 year old Sony Z.....

My question - this Hybrid Switable Graphics Card.....

Continually throughout the day - my external screen will go black for 2-3 seconds and comes back on. I have no idea what is causing this - I thought maybe it was the switching between the Intel graphics and the AMD graphics - but I have no idea why. I am just using the normal suite of work products - Microsoft Office, chrome, etc. No graphic intense stuff like games or video rendering.

Anyone have experience with this? Is it possible to just run off the AMD when running on AC power and Intel when on battery? This black screen issue is driving me nuts!

 

How is the battery life for you and what about the fan noise?

(multi-tasking - a few browser windows with ~200 tabs) / PDFs and office, while streaming some music through soundcloud or so?)

And could you weigh your machine?

 

@jbeecher , I recommend you to rename this thread to
zBook 14 G2 Owners Lounge
so that we have more visitors.
About the screen issue. I recommend you to first check the cable has no problem. Try different cable or different port two. Also test the monitor or its port using another laptop to be sure which one has the fault.

 

Tell me how to change the title and I will be happy to do so. I can edit the original post but can't find where to rename the title.

So far the battery life has been a bit disappointing. Probably less than 4 hours with normal use. But I have not tried to maximize any settings to increase battery life. I have not tried to change the power plan or lower the brightness.

I will put it on a scale and get back to you guys.

 

My quick 2 cent review.

My initial reaction to the zBook 14 G2 is that I am not that impressed. It is very "business" like no frills design. The weight is definitely more than my Sony Z. It came with windows 7 installed on a standard 2.5" hdd. I never even bothered to boot up with that. I upgraded the memory to 16GB, installed the hard to find 256GB Sandisk A110 PCIe drive (found on Amazon - shipped from china - but it is gone now and can't be found anywhere), added a 2GB 2.5" HDD, docking station and sheet battery.

Installed the supplied windows 8.1 (which comes on DVD's and so you need to convert them to USB or use your own external DVD player to install), I installed all the drivers from the supplied HP drivers dvd. - All seems good.

It has been a little over a week.

I am starting to like this little monster. I opted for the 14" screen because I was going blind on my old 13.1 sony. I also opted for the 1080P IPS with Touch. Even though I run Windows 8.1 - i set it up like Windows 7 and starting to feel like the touch screen money was a waste.

But even with the harsh words - I like this machine. It is solid. It can do the job and I leave it turned on pretty much 24/7 on my dock.

The fan is a non issue - I barely notice it.
The build is super solid.
The weight is a bit more than I imagined - but it is acceptable. For what I do - the road warrior aspect should be a non issue. My backpack is already heavy and won't be any different with the zBook 14 as it was with my Sony Z.
Keyboard - very solid. I was worried about this when ordering - but it is rock solid. You can even adjust the back lighting from "high to medium to off"
Touchpad - seems a little small - similar to my old Sony even though that machine is much smaller. But it is very responsive and multi-finger gestures are a breeze. I don't know what to do with the added buttons at the top of the touchpad - I guess some people like them.

If you want to know anything else - just ask and I will try to help out.

 

My current issues.

1. Graphics - while using an external monitor attached - the screen continues to go black for 2-3 seconds and comes back on. I am running at 3440x1440 on a 34" screen. Don't know what is making this happen.

2. Windows Driver Foundation - user-mode Driver Framework Host Process keeps eating up all my CPU. No idea what causes this. If I unplug all my USB devices it goes away but then comes back. If I kill the process it just starts back up and continues.




Anyone have any ideas?

 

Official Weigh In.

4lb 7.1oz gets you... zBook 14 G2, i7 5500u, 256GB Turbo Drive (Sandisk A110), Seagate 2.5" 2TB drive ST2000LM003, 16GB ram Kingston DDR3L, 14" 1920x1080 Touchscreen. 3 Cell 50 WHr Battery.

5lb 12.9oz when you add the slice battery.

I know the numbers seem heavy. But does not seem heavy for a 14" laptop with a much horse power as this.

 

For your display issue, are you connecting the display directly to the notebook or to the dock? If its the dock, verify that it is running the latest displayport MST firmware with this update here:

http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/swd/...28311&swItemId=ob_140528_1&swEnvOid=4158#tab1

If it is directly connected to the notebook, verify you are using the current HP drivers for the Intel/AMD card. Sometimes Windows Update likes to push a newer driver to your system in the background that can break the hybrid graphics system inadvertently. Another thing you might try is adjusting the monitor to work in DP1.1 mode. If it is somehow related to the audio passthrough capabilities of DP1.2 then that should eliminate it as a possibility.

As far as the high CPU usage issue goes, does it still happen with all USB devices disconnected? I would try removing them one by one to find which one makes a difference. You could also try disabling or updating the bluetooth driver, as it is a USB device as well.

 

I have run into this twice, but after I installed a software to trace the problem when it occurs, I haven't have any problems.

My zbook came with only the M.2 ssd, but the package didn't include the bracket for the 2.5" hdd. Anybody got the bracket with theirs (models without the 2.5" hdd)? Zbook 15 G2 came with the hdd bracket, so I'm not sure if my package was just missing it or not. Got one afterwards tho.

So far I have been quite happy with the zbook. Lid could open a bit more, but I can live with it.

 

What is the software that helped resolve this? This thing is so random - beginning to think it is not related to my USB ports or devices.

 

@jbeecher, how is the ssd performance? Did you do any testing for the system at least WEI? I would love to see the test results.

 

http://forum.sysinternals.com/is-there-a-way-to-see-what-wudfhostexe-is-hosting_topic30710.html

 

At least my WUDFHost.exe issue was caused by the "NXP NearFieldProximity Provider". Drivers should be up to date, so I just disabled the device.

 

I guess this is solved. I have disabled this device from Device Manager and my issues with WUDFHost.exe are gone. I have not seen them and it has been a good 8 hours!

Now on to "Microsoft Windows Search Filter Host" which has been eating away at least 30-40% of my cpu!

 

The PCIe 240GB drive is fast! Not sure what the standard testing software is - but I downloaded a copy of ChrystalDiskMark 3.0.2

Here are some numbers:
Sandisk S100 PCIe drive - 617.4 MB/s Seq Read 510.7 MB/s Seq Write

I pulled the 2TB Samsung and replaced it with a 1TB Samsung EVO. Don't know how to really test that one because the Samsung Magician software causes crazy results.
Showing 5228 MB/s Read and 3801 MB/s write - no way that is possible.

Let me disable rapid mode and try again.

 

The Samsung EVO drives giving me 483.0 MB/s read and 461.9 MB/s write.

I need to do another weigh in - because this 1TB EVO drive is a feather compared to the Samsung 2TB HDD

 

Ten days ago I received a new zbook 14 G2 (L3Z52UT), I-7 5500U and installed Windows 7 Pro (64 bit).

Two issues I've noticed out of the box. 1) Light bleed on black screens (as previously reported by others in the Zbook 14 owner's lounge); 2) Erratic pointer/cursor behavior with random windows opening. I can live with the light bleed, but not with random cursor/pointer behavior.

The erratic pointer behavior occurs after starting the computer and random windows begin opening and erratic pointer/cursor behavior last for 3-5 minutes then it stops. I cannot control the pointer during this time.

My immediate impression was that this was very virus like behavior, surely a new computer with updated drivers would not act this way. I've updated all drivers and ran 3 different virus/malware scans (Avira, Malwarebytes, Microsoft live scanner) in the very unlikely event that somehow a virus was responsible. I've searched on various forums with many indications pointing to the Synaptic drivers and/or HP touchpad issues.

Again, the computer is < 2 weeks old, and this behavior began after installing the OS, browser, anti-virus and updating the drivers. This erratic behavior seems to occur randomly within 30 min. of starting, and happens once every 2-3 days. The cursor will begin opening windows at random, and there is almost zero control via the touchpad until the behavior stops (within a few minutes).

Assuming that it is the Synaptic issue (but I have no idea that it is), I unchecked the "enable gestures" in the Synaptic device control. The issue still came back a few days later, and is also occurs when using a mouse.

In an effort to isolate the issue, I was thinking of uninstalling the Synaptics driver...

Any ideas??

 

So far I have no issues with the trackpad. I did however install the latest drivers from the HP site instead of what came with the system. For me the device info reads as:
SGS Version - SGS 12.0
Synaptics LuxPad V1.5 on SMB Port
Driver Version 18.1.37.3
Firmware Version 1.5
Interface SMB

Works great - even multi-finger touch - for two finger scroll and pinch zoom.

 

Thank you very much for the info. The result is very poor for PCIe SSD. It should have been at least 1000 MB/s.

This helped me finally focus on Asus Zenbook UX501. It supports, PCIe x4 SSD of 512GB with upto 1400MB/s speed (I am sure it will at least reach 1000MB/s), Quad Core processor, and nVidia GTX Geforce gtx 960m with upto 4 GB Vram! http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ZenBook_Pro_UX501/

 

I have a Zbook 14, the 5500u with 16GB and 256GB PCIe drive. I haven't noticed any cursor problems; the disc feels very fast (I haven't benchmarked it but compared to my recent MacBooks the HP feels quick.)

I have no feel for battery life yet, but I have heard that some HP software really eats the battery and it may be possible to adjust that.

UPDATE: with minor power adaptation (disabling ATI graphics for my word processor) under conditions of full brightness, WiFi on, surfing, watching a couple videos and installing some large updates, I get a little more than 5.5 hours on a charge. (In fact, the final rundown was just about 5.5 hours).

A few minutes with ATTO convinces me that the PCIe drive is often in the 600MB/s write and 750MB/s read area which is a little short of a PCIe 3.0 lane. The benchmark is one thing; the machine in actual use feels very quick.

 

I previously owned a Zbook 14. And because there was a problem that HP failed to fix after multiple services, they decided to replace the unit with a Zbook 14 G2. However, the specifications of the offered Zbook 14 G2 looks worse than the current Zbook 14 I own. Below is the comparison of the specifications:
Zbook 14.....................................................................Zbook 14 G2

CPU i7 4500U.................................................................... i7 5500U

GPU HD 4400 + AMD Firepro M4100 FireGL V....... HD 5500

Storage 500 GB HDD + 120 GB SSD.........................................1TB HDD.

Basically, the proposed Zbook 14 G2 does not have a dedicated GPU while the improvement in CPU and integrated GPU is marginal. I sent my doubt to the HP staff and again he confirmed that the model they offered is much better than my current Zbook 14.

I'd like to hear some opinions from you guys. Should I just accept the replacement they offered or the replacement they offered is indeed worse than the current model I own?

 

^ Well, I think all of the Zbook 14 (including G2) models comes with the Firepro, correct me if I'm wrong. I have noticed that Firepro is missing from some of the specs in the HP website, for some odd reason. Maybe they don't want to sell too many of these.

 

Actually this is also one of my suspections. All the G2 models on HP US says AMD Firepro but most of the models on EU HP sites just write HD 5500. It would be weird to sell it as a workstation notebook with an integrated GPU.

BTW, I know that the touch display uses glass as surface and therefore is glossy. Is the non-touch display also a glossy one?

 

At least my non-touch 1080p is non-glossy. HP datasheet says all of the displays are anti-glare, including the touch display.
http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=4AA5-3655ENUC

 

Well, before I hear you information, I assume that the non-touch 1080p panel on G2 is also glossy as touch panel. Since the panel on G1 is a TN one and if you check the datasheet of G1, you will find that that its says 'LCD mode: TN. ' Also, there was no mentioning of IPS on the 1080p panel of G1. In the datasheet of G2, the touch and non-touch panels have all parameters the same except the touch function. If the non-touch panel is TN, it does not explain the same parameters as IPS and brightness and contrast ratio, .etc.

However, I am not sure but I remember that I read somewhere that the non-touch version is lighter than the touch version, which is probably because the touch display uses glass and the non-touch display uses plastic. In this regard, it rationalizes that the touch panel is glossy while the non-touch panel is non-glossy.

 

I'm still very happy with the Zbook 14 G2, but there is one issue. From time to time, the clipboard pastes nothing. My Zbook runs Windows 7. This problem is fixed by a system reboot, and I have the impression that this often happens when third party software is used which might clear the clipboard cache. Typically such software is "performance protective" software which cuts down on memory use. I didn't install anything that would do this, but I do not know if HP as anything like that - this is my first HP Windows machine. I noticed the HP Support Assistant does do "tune ups" but that looks like a much less intrusive behavior than would explain my problem.

Do other owners know if HP software can have this effect?

 

Update on touchpad /trackpad issue I was having with a brand new out-of-the-box Zbook 14 G2. As I reported here a few weeks ago, the cursor was randomly taking with it's own crazy behavior, randomly opening windows and not allowing me to control, typically this occurred after start-up and would last 5-15 minutes before stopping. It also happened while using a mouse.

In the end, I had an HP on-site tech come to replace the touchpad and that resolved the issue. However, the tech inadvertently did not properly attach or seat the new touchpad which ended causing a keyboard failure a few hours after he left, thereby delaying several more days of work until the tech could return and repair the unit. At this point so far, everything is OK...so far...

The tech told me that he had repaired a few Zbook 14 G1 units for various issues, but not many, and never a G2 as they were new and not enough out there yet. This touchpad issue was the first he had dealt with for an elitebook, envy or zbook. The tech and I both speculated that if it happened once, in my particular unit, there are likely a few other zbooks out there that may have the same problem.

 

Really hoping someone tries the Samsung SM951 with this notebook. For those that have PCIe ssd, is it 2280 size?

 

Hi,

I have the zBook 14 G2 since 4 weeks now and most probably I will return it. The problem is that it emits an high-pitched electronic whining noise which drives me mad
(specially in a quiet environment it´s very annoying).

I would like to find out if this is a general issue with that series or if I just got a bad device. I also have the zbook 14 G1 and it doesn´t make this kind of noise.

How about your´s ? Could you please post your experiences?

Thanks!

 

It´s the 2260 size. I´m using it with a Crucial MX200 SSD.

 

I have a ZBook 14 G2 for review - it should be up on the main page within the next two weeks.

Our review model seems to have all the options - i7-5600U processor, 16GB RAM, 256GB M.2 SSD, backlit KB, Intel 7265 wireless, Win 7 Pro.

One odd thing I've noticed is that the HDD activity light doesn't seem to work with the M.2 SSD. I supposed that's because it's using the PCI-e bus. Everything else about this computer seems solid.

 

Charles, I am looking forward to your review. Although more costly than t450s, I am leaning toward getting this machine because is much easier to upgrade.

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

 

The review is now posted.

The ZBook 14 G2 has the highest level of upgradeability I've seen in anUltrabook - truly excellent. It also accepts 16GB of RAM unlike most Ultrabooks which max out at 8GB or 12GB (the latter in the case of the ThinkPad T450s).

 

I'll add my feedback!

I've been with my G2 for a couple months now, and I really love it. I got the 256 SSD (then added my own 512SSD), 2.4Ghz i7, 16GB Ram, AMD FirePro M4150.

At my desk I use 3x 21.5" monitors in portrait that are hooked up to my docking station.

It's a great performer. I run and update VM's constantly, do a little video editing here and there, and have about 100 windows/tabs open at any given moment and it's just been a great machine.

I'm also building out and issuing these laptops to users at my employer. While some aren't fans of the low core count, many never notice the lack of processing.

 

[ISSUE]

What initially brought me here were a few problems I've been seeing with the machines. A couple times a day, my machine as well as a few others', will freeze for about 10-15 seconds - It won't crash any programs or do any real harm, but it is a nuisance.

Also, even though I have this thing set to to not sleep on lid close, when I close the lid to re-dock, it falls asleep. Again, not a huge pain, but, an issue anyway. I've already turned off hibernation with the powercfg command, too.

 

I'm having a few users with this issue as well. I'll work with HP to get it repaired. Thanks !

 

I have deployed 32 of these units for my company so far. We've been buying the model pre-configured with 16GB ram and the 256GB PCI-E SSD.

Several of them experienced the random mouse movement/clicking issue. We initially worked around it by disabling the touchpad by double-clicking the top left corner, which turns on the orange light. However, HP recently released a firmware update for the touchpad, and this has resolved the issue completely for my users.
http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/swd/...id=6978808&swItemId=ob_148431_1&swEnvOid=4158

I've also had a couple of people experience the random freeze issue described above. That one I'm still trying to figure out. Unfortunately the people experiencing it are in remote offices, making it hard for me to troubleshoot.

 

Any updates on these random freezes? I am considering jumping on the 14 g2 or 15u in the next day or so to take advantage of the deals but I obviously don't want to purchase a problem computer.

Also, can anyone expound more on the quality of the touchpad too? Are there any random jumps or does this have good palm rejection? Also, how well does scrolling work? I'm guessing it has the new-fangled 2 finger multitouch scrolling. I have an ancient hp dv5000t and the touchpad is lightyears behind today's in features but it juts fricking works very well...scrolling is great (side only, no multitouch) and no random mouse movements or clicks. If it works as well as my hpdv5000t or even better (if its 2 finger scrolling was as good as a mac) that would be awesome. I borrowed a company dell latitude (don't recall the exact model) for the past couple weeks and its trackpad has been driving me insane so it's important that I get a laptop with a good trackpad.

 

I'm thinking of ordering a Zbook 14 G2 L3Z54UT#ABA with the 256GB PCIe SSD as the boot drive. Is there a way to add a 500GB or 1TB SSD (2.5" form factor) as a second/data drive? If yes, do I need to order a special bracket and screws, or just plug it in? Thanks.

 

Yes, the machine has a spot to put a 2.5" drive. Our units came with the bracket, but you'll need screws to attach the drive to the bracket.

 

Thanks for the info! I think I have some of those small metric screws handy. I have that ZBook 14 G2 laptop and also a slim 1TB Crucial MX200 SSD on order. They should arrive sometime this week and then I can set it up.

 

I was a bit bored, so upgraded to Windows 10. Got the first BSOD during install (INTERNAL_POWER_ERROR), but after the automatic reboot, rest of the install went just fine. Windows either hangs or throws the BSOD after the desktop is ready. Disabling the AMD from the bios helps, but doesn't seem to lower my blood pressure. Anyone else brave/stupid enough to upgrade the Windows?

Upgraded from Windows 8.1 and there was AMD driver update in the optional windows updates, but I did not install it before upgrading the windows.

Update: Rebooted to safe mode and installed new drivers ("Update Driver Software..." at Device manager) and all seem to be working for now.

 

If anyone is looking for the Z Turbo Drive - I just posted one for sale on eBay. Just search for Sandisk A110 M.2 2260 256GB HP PN# 759492-001

 

Hello everyone, im gonna purchase 1 M2 Sata SSD 128 or 256Gb. Could you please help me to verify the size to fix with SDD slot: 2242-2260 or 2280 (I order online so need your support). Thank you very much. Also is anyone replace the HDD with SSD but can keep window recovery?

 

rentokil: that drive will not work at all. The G2 uses a M.2 PCI-E Drive, and that's a Sata drive.

 

Thank you Elang, then it too expensive than M.2 Sata 2 times..... How about the size of HDD, can we replace by SSD Sata Express 2.5inches?

 

The zBook 14 G2 has two locations for hard drives. The M.2 PCI-E slot, and a 2.5" SATA bay. Which slot is pre-populated depends on the exact model you buy. But you can populate either or both slots.

 

Question for the owners; How does the laptop perform with multitasking? Basically do you feel the i7-5500u is enough combined with 16gb ram?

My use would be multiple Photoshop windows open, several browsers with 20+ tabs, divx videos playing, and web development going on with Visual Studio while connected to a 3440x1440 monitor. Would appreciate some feedback.

 

hey owners - i'm contemplating getting one of these - unique set of specs / portability. however, i don't fancy doing my photo/video work on the 14 inch, but on an external display. i know zbook got the plugs, but does the display open enough to not block my view to external screen?

e.g. what is the maximum opening angle of the lid?

 

Is the CPU upgradeable in this model or soldered onto the board?