HP EliteBook 8 G1i (16-inch)
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The HP EliteBook 8 G1i is on the market now, beginning round $1,500.
- It is versatile sufficient for professional and on a regular basis customers alike, with sturdy efficiency and a unbelievable battery.
- Its show is common, and its bodily construct is uninspiring.
extra shopping for decisions
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HP’s EliteBook 8 G1a is the newest iteration of what was its EliteBook 800 sequence, obtainable in a variety of {hardware} configurations with both an AMD or Intel processor, and a concentrate on energy effectivity, operating cool, and efficiency.
I examined the 16-inch, loaded with 32GB of DDR5-5600 RAM, 512GB of native storage, and an AMD Ryzen Professional 350 CPU, operating at 5 GHz, a strong configuration for a professional system, with loads of bandwidth for multitasking, operating industry-standard productiveness apps, native AI duties, and a pleasant number of I/O.
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It is a extremely customizable product line, with extra accessible loadouts going as little as $849, and scaling upwards of $2,400 and past, reflecting the versatile wants of enterprise shoppers or enterprise groups, however its bodily construct is totally nondescript and would not precisely exude premium, regardless of its comfy keyboard and trackpad.
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The laptop computer’s versatile type begins with the number of I/O ports. You have obtained two Thunderbolt 4 USB4 ports (each of which help energy supply and DisplayPort 2.1) with a 40Gbps signaling price, an HDMI port, a nano lock slot, USB-A, a 3rd USB-C port at 10Gbps, a nano SIM card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
I admire when laptop computer designers differentiate port speeds based mostly on their positioning, and it is a considerate instance. The 2 USB-C ports on the left help DisplayPort 2.1, permitting me to attach my exterior screens there whereas maintaining my mouse or headset dongle on the correct aspect. All three help energy supply.
The laptop computer’s bodily design is as impartial as you will get, that includes rounded edges and a spacious, full-sized keyboard. My evaluate unit had some bodily de-seaming of the plate beneath the trackpad, which did not improve my preliminary impression. Fortunately, I used to be in a position to snap it again into place, which completely solved the difficulty.
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The 16-inch IPS show is satisfactory for a piece laptop computer, at 400 nits of brightness and a WUXGA (1920 x 1200) decision. The matte display screen refracts nearly no glare in any respect, so preserve that in thoughts if you cannot stand mirror-like shiny shows, however aside from that may be a useful show with out a lot pomp.
For the value (my configuration goes for $1,249 on HP’s website), I’d have preferred to see a barely extra premium visible choice, however it is a business-minded machine for the workplace, in any case.
Equally, the audio system are of common high quality. The laptop computer options audio by HP’s Poly Studio, which incorporates twin stereo audio system with discrete amplifiers and a pair of built-in twin array microphones. They get a lot loud, however sound about common for laptop computer audio system. On video calls, the sound is ok, with enough quantity to compensate for callers with poorer sound {hardware}.
The 5MP IR webcam follows this development. It is useful and dependable in my testing, and appears greatest after setting the decision high quality to a 720p decision. Something much less ends in grainy imaging until you are below a highlight or exterior in broad daylight.
As a laptop computer to commute with, it is fairly transportable for a 16-inch. At 3.7 kilos, it isn’t absolutely the lightest 16-inch I’ve examined all yr, however it’s mild sufficient to go unnoticed, particularly with the rounded edges and skinny total construct (0.6 inches on the thickest level when folded) permitting it to slide right into a bag.
HP careworn this laptop computer as a cool and battery-efficient system, and that’s actually the case. Actually, it is one of many coolest-running laptops I’ve examined all yr, producing barely palpable warmth, even below a heavy workload. The followers aren’t precisely whisper quiet, I would say they sound one or two clicks beneath common, however it is a laptop computer you may positively preserve in your lap all day.
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Alongside these traces, this laptop computer has a really environment friendly battery. HP advertises as much as 17 hours on this laptop computer, and I can attest to its longevity over the workday, extending previous a full day of use and into the following, relying on how arduous you are pushing it. A standard day of labor with just a few videocalls resulted in strolling out of the workplace with about 30% battery. Whereas asleep, battery drain drops to a trickle.
Equally, the EliteBook 8 G1i is snappy and high-performing, punching a bit above its class when it comes to processing efficiency. I obtained some surprisingly good benchmarking scores, outpacing different comparable EliteBooks HP launched this yr.
When it comes to sensible use, it is a laptop computer that is unbelievable at multitasking throughout industry-standard productiveness apps, a number of browsers and dozens of tabs, with out worrying about battery drop-off. The show, for instance, is not significantly good, however that is a part of the rationale the battery is so good.
When it comes to different use circumstances, this laptop computer has highly effective sufficient {hardware} to deal with duties like content material creation simply advantageous, however critical creators will doubtless really feel hamstrung by the show.
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For gaming, certain, you’ll be able to run informal or older titles on this laptop computer (I used to be in a position to run World of Warcraft: Traditional simply advantageous), however demanding video games aren’t going to really feel as optimized.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The HP EliteBook G1a (16-inch) excels in its designated use case. It is a cool, environment friendly, long-lasting 16-inch laptop computer for the workplace, residence, or each, that punches a bit above its weight in efficiency. For those who desire engaged on a 16-inch laptop computer as I do, and need a no-frills system with a cushty keyboard and many ports, this laptop computer matches the invoice.
The $1,500+ worth level for this laptop computer is more and more aggressive; nonetheless, a number of different laptops have been launched this yr with related specs and extra choices. A MacBook Professional M5, for instance — Apple’s newest MacBook with 16GB of RAM — is at the moment on sale for $1,549. The Dell 16 Premium, one other 16-inch laptop computer with related {hardware} and a drastically extra intentional design aesthetic, runs for barely extra.
