[ntab Configuration]
The HP Zbook Studio G5 is highly configurable on HP’s official website. The base configuration starts at around $2000 and can go all the way up to $5000 depending on selected options.
The setup in this review costs about $2500 on HP’s website.
Configuration specifications:
| Display | 15.3 inch 4K – 3840 x 2160 @ 60Hz |
| Processor | Intel Core i7 8750H |
| Memory | 8GB DDR4 (2 x 4GB) |
| Video card | NVIDIA Quadro P1000 4GB GDDR5 |
| Storage | 256 GB M.2 PCIe SSD |
| Battery | 97 Whr (94 Whr usable) |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Pro |
| Full specifications here | |
The laptop was provided to us for review courtesy of HP.com.
We used the machine as HP delivers it. We did not do any enhancements or changes to it.
[ntab Build quality]
Excellent build quality and serviceability.
The laptop is built entirely out of aluminium. The feel and finish give an impression of an expensive device. There are no defects anywhere that we could notice; everything fits in perfectly. Chassis flexing is minimal, and overall it looks like a sturdy laptop that can take some abuse. The screws are metal threaded into the chassis for extra strength. The aluminium finish is not as smooth as on Dell Precision or Apple laptops, but it is still high quality.
For those who fear they might be spied on, the laptop comes with a webcam cover.
Using a TORX T8 screwdriver, it is possible to open the back panel and gain access to most components. The laptop seems reasonably easy to service and take apart. For those who want to, later on, upgrade the storage or memory capacity, this is possible. Also, in case someone wants to improve temperatures by replacing the thermal paste on the processor and video card, this is again entirely possible without much hassle.
Overall, we can only praise HP for making a device which is not only excellently built, but also easily serviceable.
The keyboard overall was ok, and the layout is designed well. The keys are somewhat softer than on other laptops, but that did not affect the typing experience. The keys also have a sort of rough finish. The trackpad is large and has a glass finish and did not present us with any significant issues.
One complaint that we might have is the lack of a dedicated numeric keypad. While other premium consumer laptops might get away without one, this is a business laptop, and we know that those working in accounting, finance or management might benefit from one. Of course, there is always the option of buying a separate, USB numeric keypad.
[ntab Display]
One of the best displays on the market.
The 4K / UHD display on the Zbook Studio G5 is undoubtedly one of the best on the market. HP often trademarks these top of the line displays as DreamColor. The model we had in our unit is the AUO B156ZAN03.3 which according to official specifications has 500 nits (cd/m2), 1200:1 contrast ratio, 60Hz refresh rate and uses IPS-type technology. These are our measurements:
| Maximum brightness | 560 – 620 nits |
| sRGB coverage | 98.5% |
| sRGB volume | 145% |
| AdobeRGB coverage | 98.2% |
| DCI P3 coverage | 84% |
| Delta E | 0.97 |
According to our measurements, this is the first laptop display with almost 100% AdobeRGB, making it one of the best laptop displays on the market and superior to those used on Dell XPS, Dell Precision and the Apple MacBook Pro laptops.
Its only downside is the somewhat smaller viewing angles, but since most people use their laptop by looking at it straight on, it should have a minimal impact on usability.
For content creation, this display is the absolute best you can currently get in a laptop.
The display doesn’t use any PWM to control brightness.
PWM is a method of controlling screen brightness by rapidly switching the screen light on and off. The switching is done at a very high speed to make it unnoticeable to the human eye. However, when switching rates are lower than 500 Hz (500 times per second), some people may experience headaches and dizziness after using the laptop for a long time.
Note that older versions of the Zbook Studio G5 may use older versions of this display, like the AUO B156ZAN03.0, which does not have 100% AdobeRGB. To best way to get the latest display revision is to custom order the laptop directly from HP. There is also a newer version of this display, the AUO B156ZAN03.4 .
[ntab Performance]
The laptop overall performs rather well, but there is room for improvement.
The primary storage device is an M.2 PCIe SSD. The exact model is the Samsung PM961, which is currently one of the best M.2 SSDs on the market. The laptop was overall snappy, and everything opened fast and without issues.
Under casual operation like browsing, typing documents, watching videos, the laptop will run at its full boost speed of 4.1 GHz. Under load, the cooling solution and power delivery system is more than capable of keeping the processor at a constant speed of 2.9-3.0 GHz, consistent with a 45W TDP, which is fine for a light device like this one.
However, if the video card is active, instead of keeping a constant speed under load, the processor speed keeps fluctuating between 1.7 GHz and 3.1 GHz, sometimes hitting as low as 1.4 GHz. There is no apparent reason for this behaviour as the processor never overheats, and its load is constant. The video card may also be idling during this time, but even so, as long as the video card is active the processor speed keeps fluctuating. Restarting the laptop and not opening any graphics application will prevent this behaviour. We can only assume that this is a firmware issue that was overlooked by HP and hopefully will be addressed with a future BIOS update.
The video card performed very well with no throttling or overheating. It also runs surprisingly cool and quiet under load. The graphics performance is more than enough for some light-medium CAD work and moderate gaming like Overwatch, Dota 2, LoL and other online multiplayer games.
[ntab Benchmarks]
We ran several benchmarks with good results.
We did not notice any stuttering or performance drops during our testing.
3DMark TimeSpy
| Graphics Score | 1190 |
| CPU Score | 5489 |
| Combined Score | 1348 |
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|
3DMark FireStrike
| Graphics Score | 4490 |
| Physics Score | 14587 |
| Combined Score | 4255 |
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3DMark CloudGate
| Graphics Score | 26379 |
| Physics Score | 9972 |
| Combined Score | 19316 |
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|
PCMark 2010
| Score | 4556 |
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Unigine Superposition
| Score | 3155 |
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[ntab Temperatures]
During our testing, the laptop remained cool with no signs of overheating.
The video card cooling is in our opinion over-engineered. The video card usually idles at around 35C (95F). After 30 minutes of continuous heavy 3D load, the video card did not pass 65C (150F), which is an excellent temperature. The video card is one of the main points of failure in laptops and keeping the idle-max temperature difference to a minimum has a significant impact on laptop reliability and longevity. We have rarely seen laptops which have such a well-cooled video card.
The processor cooling solution is not as strong as for the video card, but it is adequate for the device. Under normal usage, like browsing, typing documents, watching a video, the processor never went above 65C. During our heavy load testing, the processor temperatures spiked to over 95C+ for a brief second and then settled down to around 85C (185F), which is a proper temperature for a processor under load. From our testing, the processor cooling solution is designed to cool about 45W of power, the 8750H generally needs 55-60W to run in all its glory, but given that this is a light and portable device, 45W should be acceptable.
[ntab Noise]
A quiet device
On casual activities like browsing, typing documents or watching videos the laptop is barely audible.
Under heavy load, the fans will ramp up, and we measured a noise level of around 50dB close to its fans, which is an acceptable noise level. For someone working on it, it would be comparable to a quiet conversation.
[ntab Sound quality]
Decent sound quality
The laptop comes with Bang and Olufsen speakers which are placed between the hinges and the keyboard, on the top side of the laptop. Overall the speakers have a nice, crisp sound and we are rather pleased with them. They lack the low end and sheer upper volume of some other high-end laptops, but overall are reasonably well balanced.
[ntab Battery life]
Great battery life
With the 94Whr battery, we estimated that for casual usage and without compromising on brightness, the laptops should last at least 8 hours. Increasing the brightness and doing more intensive tasks, especially those which put load on the video card, will drastically reduce the laptop’s battery life.
[ntab Software]
No bloatware
HP did not install any software packages that would slow down the device. They have five main software running after boot. One for calibrating the display and managing its colour profiles called DreamColor Assistant, one for controlling the HP keyboard and hotkeys and several for HP support and diagnostics. We checked their memory and processor usage, and none had any measurable impact on performance.
[ntab Conclusions]
Pros:
– Outstanding display with 98% AdobeRGB
– Excellent build quality
– Decent graphics performance
– Great battery life
– Quiet fans
Cons:
– Processor speed fluctuates under load
– Lack of numeric keypad
The HP Zbook Studio G5 we reviewed here is undoubtedly a great machine with excellent build quality, a stunning display and decent graphics performance. For those who do not run processor intensive applications and need portability, this machine will serve them very well. It is the kind of device that fits well with company managers, photoshop experts and light CAD/3D modelling experts who need to be on the move. For photo editing, it is probably one of the best laptops on the market.
For better performance and if portability is not an issue, some may be considered the Studio’s bigger brother, the Zbook G5.
[ntab Buy]
The HP Zbook Studio G5 can be customised and purchased from HP.com. Prices vary depending on configuration. HP also often runs promotions on their official store.
Alternatively, the HP Zbook can also be bought in pre-customised configurations from B&H Photo and Electronics.
[ntab More pictures]
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