HP Spectre x360

You can use the recovery tools built into Windows 8. Control Panel > Recovery > Create a recovery drive. Have a >= 16GB USB flash drive ready.

 

quick Q on i7 or i5: how is the temperature on the two, does the far run more on one vs the other?

i can use the extra processing power but fan usage and noise as the machine gets older is as important. Most of the time the machine would be used for home use browsing, office, movies but on occasion i work from home

 

Entirely reasonable. Everyone's circumstances are different.

 

Anyone have a Swedish or Nordic version of the Spectre X360, and can share an image of the keyboard layout, please?

 

Just an FYI, I replaced the stock 256GB SSD in my Spectre x360 and replaced it with a Samsung SM951, the average results are:

 

I'm sorry, but for North American dudes, regardless of age or marital status, the idea of an already sleek, lanky computer coming out in "Swedish or Nordic version" sounds like the punch line of a bad computer nerd joke I do hope you Scandinavians do get in on this great machine, and please pardon the manners of the "bad me" for making such a comment!

Now that's just showing off in a really big way. Seriously, those are some scary fast numbers - congrats!

 

Kind of reminds me of the Dell XPS15. Bear in mind, this device, like most others launched on a high pedestal, has had a series of take downs over various issues with the earlier production runs. I haven't owned one but flirted with doing so and spend a fair bit of time lurking on the XPS15 thread and came to believe it's a pretty fine machine, which meets or exceeds all of your criteria, but like any ultra high end device will have its naysayers. Probably worth purchasing with a 30 day return privilege.

 

I thought the x360 had a msata connection so would be limited to sata speeds regardless? the sm951 is pcie, how is it working?

where is the SSD btw? looking at this picture

http://core0.staticworld.net/images/article/2015/02/hp_spectre_x360_guts-100570548-orig.jpg

is it the little square top left? I thought all msata ssds had two holes for screws but that seems to have one in the middle, or is the msata ssd somewhere else?

 

It's at the top of that photo, to the right of the wifi card. The slot is empty in the photo.

 

Do you have any heating issues?? I remember PCI-E m2 drives get really hot

 

Hey,

How much the battery lasts under gaming? Is it overheat or very noisy?

 

ahh, gotcha, wonder why no pics I've seen of the x360 internals have a drive in, it's always empty... still not sure how the sm941 is working as all the reviews I've heard say the x360 is msata while the sm941 is an m.2 pcie

 

So, to clarify, mSATA is not available on the x360. The x360 uses a M.2 slot. The rest is dependent on the M.2 drive installed. All sizes of the stock drive, are M.2 SATA drives. Meaning they are limited by the 6Gbps bandwidth of SATA III. In the case of the Samsung SM951, it is a M.2 form factor drive, but of the PCIe variety. Hence, no 6Gbps limit. Also, the drive is rated at around 2.2GB/s reads and 1.5GB/s writes, but as you can tell, I am not quite there. More than likely a motherboard limitation, and not a M.2 limitation in my opinion.

 

Heat is not an issue. I've ran benchmark after benchmark with this SM951, and it is as cool, if not cooler, than the stock M.2 SATA 256GB SSD.

 

I am definitely confused by the whole msata / pcie / m.2 thing, I thought that m.2 is the form factor, and within the m.2 form factor you can have either msata OR pcie and the two are not interoperable, you either get an msata drive OR you get a pcie drive, and from reviews I thought the x360 had an msata controller, precluding the use of pcie drives: or did I completely misunderstand and you have an m.2 port and what is available in terms of msata/pcie depends from the drive? if the x360 was pcie capable (which your transfer rates seem to suggest) why isn't it advertised or sold as a BTO option?

 

You're on the right track. mSATA and M.2 are form factors. mSATA being the physically larger drive of the two. SATA and PCIe are the connection to the motherboard. M.2 form factor can have either SATA or a PCIe connection to the board. Completely depends on the hard drive you choose, but M.2 can handle both. Now, there are probably at least two reasons HP didn't decide to make this available.
1. Cost - the justification for an additional $200-$300 probably wouldn't make sense for the target audience
2. Engineering hours - even more money dumped into the development of an already great ultrabook

Also, I'm out on a limb here, I can guarantee if I called in stating something was wrong with my notebook, and if they ran a diagnostic and found that the stock hard drive wasn't in there, either A. No support would be given until the stock one is reinserted, or B. My warranty could be voided.

Either way, with the performance I'm getting, I wouldn't go back.

 

I think I understood the M.2 form factor can handle both, but I thought that within the form factor you also had to have a match with the motherboard (i.e. say SATA hd <-> SATA controller on the motherboard, and same for pcie <-> pcie) not that, say, hp could ship a sata m.2 drive and you can put in a pcie one and it works...

(edit) I did some more reading and I guess the possible issues are M keyed connector vs B keyed (the SM951 is M keyed, which is pcie x 4) and being able to boot from it due to the BIOS, glad that it seems the x360 is fine for both (meaning it has an M-keyed slot and can boot from it)

Hmmmm, given this you are making me rethink getting it from the windows store, since it's quite a bit cheaper at BB with a 128GB drive (which I wouldn't use, but would be kept if warranty service was needed), this said how easy was it to open the x360? any 'this will void your warranty' stickers?

 

Excellent, excellent analysis. Also, your last line can't be emphasized enough. Virtually no one would notice the difference in SSD speeds.

 

Here's a new and pretty positive dutch review of the QHD model. Interestingly, they measure the QHD display brightness at fairly healthy 295 nits. I'm beginning to wonder if there is quite a bit of display brightness variation between individual QHD models.

 

I'm still waiting for my x360 and I hope that the display would be like that Dutch one! Let's hope that German and French test models weren't as bad as we thought.

 

How much does the i5, 256 SSD, FHD costs around the european countries?

Can't wait for the spectre x360 come to Israel...

 

Strangely I haven't seen that edition yet in any European country. So far the best price by far is the German i7 8/256 QHD at 1250 -1299 euros.

 

Good price, no doubt - But I prefer the FHD model.
In my country, the Spectre x360 didn't arrive yet. Hope the price will be fair.

 

whatever brightness the qhd display is.it is very noticeable darker than the fhd model and drains a lot more battery. your choice

 

I could easily understand your concerns. I also had the same thoughts before pulling the trigger for the QHD. The main reason for my decision, since I haven't seen any of the models in front of me, was the fact that the only FHD version available in Europe was with 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD. So it's a tough one choice!

 

Yes it is.
I hope that they will have the brain to import i5 8\256 ssd models ASAP.

 

AFAIK that version is a US "Best Buy" exclusive so it doesn't exist in Europe. The next best thing is the Dutch FHD version with 8/128. I hope that the Israeli market could be closer to the American than the European specs!

 

Just configure it on their website?

 

In Europe we don't have that option either. Each "local" HP e-shop has preconfigured models. Usually only two, a basic FHD and a QHD one.

 

Actually, we do, but only if you are a company.

I'm pretty much decided on a i7/8/512/qhd version, but I am still trying to get info on the swedish/nordic keyboard layout before I make my final decision.

 

I didn't know about that option for the companies, I think that Dell does the same thing too. I believe that HP doesn't really change the layout according the language. The German QWERTZ keyboard for example keeps the 1line Enter key of the Int/US version.

 

That's what I am afraid of, but I really hope they do change the layout, or else I'll have to look for something else.

I especially prefer a different version of the enter key, but most important is the key next to the left shift, that us layout doesn't have. Between shift and Z.

 

It is not a Best Buy exclusive. It is the $999.99 version on the HP site, Model 4002dx. It is the one I bought.

Regards, Jim

 

Windows Update popped up a driver update for the 7265 WIFI card. When I ran the Intel Driver Update utility, nothing showed up....and I do NOT install Windows Update-provided drivers. Your thoughts?

 

I have found the drivers from HP to be the most consistent and thus the best. I have let Windows Update install drivers and tried to keep current with what became available from intel, yet I always go back to the latest from HP. I suggest just running "Check for HP updates" and maybe relying on intel for HD 5500 drivers if one games at all.

 

Yeah, I generally agree, but upgrading from F.04 to F.11a and F.12a crippled my Battery Bar Pro app. And HP tech support told me that a BIOS change could not cripple a program. Anyway I was able to go back to F.04 and everything is back to normal. At least HP has the option to go back.

Regards, Jim

 

Where are all the QHD owners?
Let me know about brightness and battery please.

I switched my x360 for the XPS13 QHD version. I cannot live without QHD anyore But I also want it to be convertible ...

 

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/hp/spectre-x360-convertible-laptop/573547/

new review from Australia that claims the QHD to be bright!!!

 

Hello people, ive been following the thread for thread some time now. I have the FHD screen version and I noticed the other day some backlight bleeding only in black background and dark ambience at max brightness on the right and bottom edges. Is this normal on IPS screens ? Should I return it for a new one ? Thanks

http://i62.tinypic.com/15q6glv.jpg

 

What is the battery time in normal use and full brightness.

 

This review mentions issues with the touchpad, like it not turning off in other modes, like tablet mode, but I think I read about new drivers in this thread, so perhaps this is solved?

Also, is it possible to change how the F keys work? Perhaps in the bios? I really prefer them to work as F keys without having to press anything else, not some silly meda buttons or simillar.

 

Yes, there's a BIOS option to toggle this.

 

Thanks! Just the touchpad issue left then, if it is an issue...

 

Very common with IPS, really luck of the draw on how much bleeding or clouding on the edges. If you only see it when you create an extreme situation I would ignore it but if you see it and it bugs you during normal use you may want to swap it in hopes the replacement will be better. This is when buying through a brick and mortar can be advantageous.

 

return it. i had the fhd version and it is not normal. had zero bleeding!!!

 

Can someone owning a Spectre X360 please just do a quick test if the touchpad gets disabled in tablet mode? (And keyboard as well in the different modes?)

 

yes it is disabled in all the modes. there was zero problem with that

 

Awesome, thanks for the info. I'm decided now and will do my shopping this weekend hopefully. Going for the top of the line model probably.

 

please let me know about the qhd brightness and battery performance
thank you

 

Full brightness battery time on FHD?