HP Spectre x360

Hi, I was looking to buy an HP Spectre x360 (or a Dell XPS 13). Anyone can tell me how it feels typing in the keyboard? Is it comfortable enough? How much the travel distance in both models 13'' and 15''?

Can anyone measure the width/height of the keys (I mean the letter keys), and the full keyboard size? I just want to compare it to an old Dell XPS M1330, that had the best keyboard I used on a 13 laptop.

Besides, is the RAM really upgradeable on the 13''? I was told it was soldered. Besides, anyone knows if the model that has the i7-7560u with intel iris plus 640 use DDR3 or DDR4?

Thanks!

 

Those temperature are way too high for that CPU usage.
I suspect a bad contact with between the CPU and the heatsink, but the only way to know it is opening the bottom cover and disassembly the heatsink. Pretty simple to do, but this can invalidate the warranty.
I've did this operation to my Spectre x360 2015, replacing the original thermal paste, as I've worked in the past as IT technician. And of course I'm a PC enthusiast
The original paste is not the best as usual. I've replaced it with the Arctic MX-4, which is a better performer.

Vice versa, the problem could be at software/OS level. something is causing a lot of CPU cycles, but 89 degrees are way too much for just a process.
I've noticed you've connect an external monitor too. This cause more stress on the GPU too because it has to manage a lot of more pixel, and the heat generated because of this could be way more than using a single monitor.



Inviato da mTalk

 

The whole Spectre line has no upgradeable RAM in 13" models, they are all soldered to keep the unit very thin.
I've the 2015 model 13" and the keyboard is very pleasant to use, it takes all the keystrokes, very good travel, I like very much writing on this keyboard.

For the Iris Plus 640 question, If I'm not wrong, being an IGP it uses the system RAM and has no dedicated RAM, so if the unit mount DDR3 RAM it will use DDR3 (not GDDR, which is different).



Inviato da mTalk

 

Another question about the Spectre, if i need to connect to hdmi, any old usb to hdmi adapter will work, or i will need the new usb-c to hdmi adapter sold by HP?

 

1TB NVMe SSD upgrade on my Spectre

Recently I made some changes to my Spectre x360.
I successfully installed a brand new Intel SSD 600p, 1TB size. It's an entry level NVMe (PCI-Express) SSD.
The stock 256GB SSD started to be a bit too small for my needs.
If anyone is interested in some advices and tips about this operation feel free to ask, I've taken many pics of the operation.

Improving thermal cooling performance

Also, and this is more interesting, I've tried, with success I've seen, to enhance Thermal dissipation in the Spectre x360 (late 2015), Skylake.
This involved some tweaks to the main heatsink, installing various high W/mK thermal pads on the mainboard to help dissipating the heat produced by many vital components, such as the VRM for the CPU.
The bottom plate is aluminum too, so it works as a "giant" heatsink. This, in conjuction with a cooling pad, can lead to very nice low temperatures.
The mods are totally reversible and uninvasive.
I've made many pics of the operation, so if there's any users interested I will post them here with a detailed description!
Looking inside my Spectre x360 I've discovered a lot of things. For example, the stock cooling is terrible, and could lead to a premature failure on some crucial components.

 

A tutorial with the mod would be really great!

 

Sure, I'll do a tutorial with pictures attached

I'm a bit busy this week, I hope to do it very soon.

 

I just purchased the 2017 kaby lake spectre x360 from best buy. I am interested in getting a usb-c monitor and have spent a few hours looking at some of the different options out there. Would like to get a 4k 27" screen, but it seems like all of them require you to compromise a bit. Plus there is a lot of varying information. Some will charge through usb-c other won't. Some will run at 4k 60hz and others run at 4k 30hz even though the monitor can run at 60hz. Thought I'd get some info from spectre owners to see if there is one that I can confirm will work well with this machine. The specs i'm interested in are usb-c 4k, with built in speakers, that will charge the laptop, and have usb-a ports in the back for me to connect my keyboard and mouse to.

I am considering this monitor at 2k because of the price and it has fairly good review. https://www.amazon.com/Acer-H277HU-kmipuz-27-Inch-speakers/dp/B01B64O3M4

I have a $125 gift card to HP so I can get the 27" 4K envy for roughly the same cost as above. However, the review are awful for this monitor. So much so that amazon puts a warning that this monitor has a higher than normal percentage of returns.

I am also looking at an asus model that checks all the boxes on the specs, but the very limited reviews seem to show all sorts of compatibility problems. https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/MX27UC/overview/

 

I really, really wish I could get a Spectre x360 15 with a quad core CPU. It's a must for my needs (some video editing) and that really restricts my options for small, light, long batter life notebooks. The XPS 15 problems still scare me.

 

Then you get higher prices and battery doesn't last as long etc.. You almost have to just pick and choose on priorities. Can't wait until I get mine next week.

 

Yep, but I'd at least like to have the option. Quad core + long battery life + thin and light right now seems to only be the XPS 15 and the Aero 15.

 

My 2017 Spectre x360 15 just came in yesterday and so far everything is as good as it can get. Performance is top notch, the screen is absolutely beautiful, and the entire user experience is just a pleasure. It's my first time really getting to use a convertible and it's definitely nice to be able to switch between the different modes. Believe it or not, I don't find the 15" form factor too large to use even as a tablet

I'm just hoping to find somewhere that I can purchase a stylus that works well with this, because I bought mine refurbished from Amazon and it didn't come with the included stylus. If anyone finds something, please let me know!

- Squidycent

 

Does anyone have a good recommendation on where to get a full body decal for this device? dbrand skin said they are still on the fence about supporting it since they haven't gotten enough interest yet.

 

https://www.mightyskins.com/

 

Quoting an older post that never got a reply;

I have a similar issue; Logitech Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and I can't wake the x360 from sleep with either. I can only wake by momentarily opening the lid. I'm using the x360 with an external monitor and system settings are "do nothing when I close the lid" when plugged in.

I have checked and "allow this device to wake the computer" is selected for both the mouse and keyboard in device manager.

I have a Win10 desktop using the same Bluetooth mouse and it will wake that machine.

TIA.

Tipsy

 

Hey guys,

Friend of mine just returned his Spectre because of the screen being broken (parts not lid anymore)
He's thinking about buying the same unit again, but I see a lot of negative things about this laptop in this thread. Would you guys recommend buying the HP Spectre x360 13-ac017nb?

Thanks in advance for the feedback

 

Hi, guys)
Greetings from Ukraine!

I am considering buying an early 2016 Skylake i5 fhd version of Spectre x360(ref) - 15 ap018ca.
Is there anything that should stop me?

The other question is speakers quaility - from what i've read they sounds terrible - is there any solution to this?
Is Fhd display decent, or , in other words, would be QHD a big upgrade - I've read that FHD is even better in colour reproduction.
Would it be possible to upgrade RAM later (version with 8GB)?

Sorry for the bad English)

 

For anyone who performed a fresh install and is having problems with the webcam:

I resolved problems with a webcam error and Windows Hello not recognizing it after a fresh install of Windows 10 (1709) on my HP Spectre x360 (15-bl112dx) with TrueVision FHD RGB-IR by re-enabling some windows services that I had disabled when trying to reduce my footprint... I believe the culprit was Windows Camera Frame Server. I switched the startup type from Disabled to Manual (triggered) and the errors went away. Windows Hello also started recognizing the camera face recognition capabilities. This has nothing to do with the driver or missing software!

 

I had to return the 15 inch model twice because of quality issues - the first time was related to the speakers - they sounded like they were blown and most likely I imagine they just weren't insulated snugly so they were very fuzzy and anything but the lowest volume. The second time was because of the video card. I tested it with Dragons Age inquisition and it would overheat and fail after merely seconds. I initially thought it was a driver issue but it was a quality issue. I returned it one more time and alas... no issues and same exact setup and steps configuring it as the second one. The model number of the one I settled on is 15-bl112dx. The only complaint I may have about it so far is that the fan runs a lot. I am making some tweaks to my fresh windows install to reduce that but I also read that one can just reduce the performance setting in the bios from "performance" to "balanced" if it becomes too annoying.

 

Hi,

Just wanting to see if I'm alone here - I bought a Kaby Lake R 15" 8550u X360 (15-bl151na) from PCWorld in the UK, there was no SKU listed, and the SKU on the box is shown as "Dixons 216952", anyhow - the installed RAM is clocked at 2667mhz, and the CPU has been TPD Up'd to 1.99ghz...

Does anyone else have an uprated version, or could this be hinted at being a Dixons / PCW "exclusive"?

Thanks for thoughts.

 

I have a few questions. Im not in the states at the moment, I really wanted this model https://www.amazon.com/HP-Spectre-i7-8550U-3840x2160-Convertible/dp/B076QQRWZF

But here they only have the ugly silver and its FHD and 12GB ram, otherwise its the same.

Is the FHD screen just the same for drawing on? And is it the wacom pen that gives the 4096 pressure pts?

 

Ryzen 7 2700U (15w) Review (Acer Swift 3) vs Ryzen 5 2500U (25w) (HP Envy x360) vs i7-8550U (Acer Aspire E15)

AMD Ryzen 7 2700U Vega 10 "Adrenalin" vs. Nvidia GeForce MX150 (Intel i7-8550U) in 7 Games

 

Integrated GPU Vega packs quite a punch, if only they could ramp up gpu core clocks and memory clocks, it will close the gap between MX150 and Vega 10

 

I'm wondering if a little tuning with AMD tools can help, usually the guys reviewing don't go through the process of tuning for best performance.

Hopefully someone here on NBR can tune for best performance and we can see what they can do.

As noted in his recent video the Acer 2700u power limit is set for 15w, even though it was designed for 25w - perhaps too loud when cooling at full power? - so we need to find a 2700u 25w "full power" implementation to use for testing.

The HP x360 2500u has full power 25w, hopefully HP will release a full power 25w 2700u model soon.

 

Interested in hearing any feedback on the Sure View / Privacy feature on the Spectre x360 (or other models for that matter). Does it work as advertised? Are there any impacts on brightness / sharpness when switched OFF? thanks.

 

i saw it at best buy, works flawless, I could not see anything otherwise, and when turned on, it was like there was "ice" in front of the screen when seen from the site. Its fun to turn on and off....

 

Has anyone looked up the SSD manufacturer and model for the 360GB SSD option for the X360 Spectre 13.3 (13t-ae000) | (product 1ZX32AV_1). User benchmark have a few SSD test but only with the 256mb and 512 mb versions. Here.

I'm just curious if the SSD is crap because HP picked up a few intel ssd'd for a bargain...

 

I recently purchased the HP Spectre x360 2-1 Convertible 15.6" (2017) laptop (model - 15-ch011dx) - I am having a hard time finding a hard shell case for this laptop, has anyone had luck? It's so nice I don't want it to get scratched/ruined

Thank you!

 

I have a early 2018 x360 with 4k screen and i7 8th gen intel. Drivers my drivers are up to date.
Today I noticed that 1/3 down from the top of the screen there is a thin line that runs across the whole screen horizontally. On a white, or light color screen its vert noticeable tried uninstalling an reinstalling HPs latest vid driver and the same with Intels. The only way I am able to get rid of it is by lowering the refresh rated from 60p hz to 30p hz. Any thoughts on how to resolve? Thanks in advanced.

 

Did you use DDU to wipe out older drivers before installing new driver?

 

I didn't but can give it a try. Not sure if its driver related at this point since when I boot to bios the line is there. I'll give DUU a try and see if it revolves it. Open to any other suggestions.