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HP EliteBook 8 G1i (16-inch)
ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- The HP EliteBook 8 G1i is disposable now, starting astir $1,500.
- It's versatile capable for pro and mundane users alike, with beardown show and a fantastic battery.
- Its show is average, and its carnal physique is uninspiring.
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HP's EliteBook 8 G1a is the latest iteration of what utilized to beryllium its EliteBook 800 series, disposable successful a wide scope of hardware configurations with either an AMD oregon Intel processor, and a absorption connected powerfulness efficiency, moving cool, and performance.
I tested the 16-inch, loaded with 32GB of DDR5-5600 RAM, 512GB of section storage, and an AMD Ryzen Pro 350 CPU, moving astatine 5 GHz, a coagulated configuration for a pro device, with plentifulness of bandwidth for multitasking, moving industry-standard productivity apps, section AI tasks, and a bully enactment of I/O.
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The laptop's flexible signifier begins with the enactment of I/O ports. You've got 2 Thunderbolt 4 USB4 ports (both of which enactment powerfulness transportation and DisplayPort 2.1) with a 40Gbps signaling rate, an HDMI port, a nano fastener slot, USB-A, a 3rd USB-C larboard astatine 10Gbps, a nano SIM paper reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
I admit erstwhile laptop designers differentiate larboard speeds based connected their positioning, and this is simply a thoughtful example. The 2 USB-C ports connected the near enactment DisplayPort 2.1, allowing maine to link my outer monitors determination portion keeping my rodent oregon headset dongle connected the close side. All 3 enactment powerfulness delivery.
The laptop's carnal plan is arsenic neutral arsenic you tin get, featuring rounded edges and a spacious, full-sized keyboard. My reappraisal portion had immoderate carnal de-seaming of the sheet beneath the trackpad, which didn't heighten my archetypal impression. Luckily, I was capable to drawback it backmost into place, which permanently solved the issue.
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The 16-inch IPS show is capable for a enactment laptop, astatine 400 nits of brightness and a WUXGA (1920 x 1200) resolution. The matte surface refracts virtually nary glare astatine all, truthful support that successful caput if you can't basal mirror-like glossy displays, but different than that is simply a functional show without overmuch pomp.
For the terms (my configuration goes for $1,249 connected HP's site), I would person liked to spot a somewhat much premium ocular option, but this is simply a business-minded instrumentality for the office, aft all.
Similarly, the speakers are of mean quality. The laptop features audio by HP's Poly Studio, which includes dual stereo speakers with discrete amplifiers and a brace of integrated dual array microphones. They get plentifulness loud, but dependable astir mean for laptop speakers. On video calls, the dependable is fine, with capable measurement to compensate for callers with poorer dependable hardware.
The 5MP IR webcam follows this trend. It's functional and reliable successful my testing, and looks champion aft mounting the telephone prime to a 720p resolution. Anything little results successful grainy imaging unless you're nether a spotlight oregon extracurricular successful wide daylight.
As a laptop to commute with, it's rather portable for a 16-inch. At 3.7 pounds, it's not the implicit lightest 16-inch I've tested each year, but it's airy capable to spell unnoticed, particularly with the rounded edges and bladed wide physique (0.6 inches astatine the thickest constituent erstwhile folded) allowing it to gaffe into a bag.
HP stressed this laptop arsenic a chill and battery-efficient device, and that is surely the case. In fact, it's 1 of the coolest-running laptops I've tested each year, generating hardly palpable heat, adjacent nether a dense workload. The fans aren't precisely susurration quiet, I'd accidental they dependable 1 oregon 2 clicks beneath average, but this is simply a laptop you could decidedly support connected your thigh each day.
Along those lines, this laptop has a precise businesslike battery. HP advertises up to 17 hours connected this laptop, and I tin attest to its longevity implicit the workday, extending past a afloat time of usage and into the next, depending connected however hard you're pushing it. A mean time of enactment with a fewer videocalls resulted successful walking retired of the bureau with astir 30% battery. While asleep, artillery drain drops to a trickle.
Similarly, the EliteBook 8 G1i is snappy and high-performing, punching a small supra its people successful presumption of processing performance. I got immoderate amazingly bully benchmarking scores, outpacing different comparable EliteBooks HP released this year.
In presumption of applicable use, this is simply a laptop that's fantastic astatine multitasking crossed industry-standard productivity apps, aggregate browsers and dozens of tabs, without worrying astir artillery drop-off. The display, for example, isn't peculiarly brilliant, but that's portion of the crushed the artillery is truthful good.
In presumption of different usage cases, this laptop has almighty capable hardware to grip tasks similar contented instauration conscionable fine, but superior creators volition apt consciousness hamstrung by the display.
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For gaming, sure, you tin tally casual oregon older titles connected this laptop (I was capable to tally World of Warcraft: Classic conscionable fine), but demanding games aren't going to consciousness arsenic optimized.
ZDNET's buying advice
The HP EliteBook G1a (16-inch) excels successful its designated usage case. It's a cool, efficient, long-lasting 16-inch laptop for the office, home, oregon both, that punches a small supra its value successful performance. If you similar moving connected a 16-inch laptop arsenic I do, and privation a no-frills instrumentality with a comfy keyboard and tons of ports, this laptop fits the bill.
The $1,500+ terms constituent for this laptop is progressively competitive; however, respective different laptops person been released this twelvemonth with akin specs and further offerings. A MacBook Pro M5, for illustration -- Apple's latest MacBook with 16GB of RAM -- is presently connected merchantability for $1,549. The Dell 16 Premium, different 16-inch laptop with akin hardware and a drastically much intentional plan aesthetic, runs for somewhat more.
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