HP Adds New ZBooks & First Workstation Ultrabook Discussion

HP today announced the expansion of its Z portfolio of professional workstation and display products, including the world's first workstation Ultrabook - the HP ZBook 14 - and the industry's first line of workstations to offer Intel's Thunderbolt technology for high-speed data transfer.

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That ZBook 14 is a really interesting machine. AMD FirePro graphics, 1080p 14" display, and business-class build in a 3.5 lb package?

 

These sure sound interesting. In the article it said the 15 and 17 inch models were available but i checked HP's website and was unable to find them.

So ZBook stands for ZenBook?

 

There was also the Vaio Z, high performance in an ultraportable package. So multiple companies use Z to refer to high performance in a lightweight package, which at least the ZBook 14 looks ready to deliver.

 

Well, companies also like to use least-used letters, like Z and X, and it supposedly makes things sound more high-tech. Anyway, I like the Elitebook branding better; at least it doesn't sound as immature/"edgy" as ZBook. Just my two cents, though.

 

I like "Elitebook" a lot more than "Zbook" as well, particularly given that these are aimed at business and not consumers.

 

Yeah, pitty about the name. The 14" model seems very interesting, however.

 

HP is keeping their dream color, now only once choice huh. Dell probably make you buy their monitor, HP monitor line is pretty dead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D45DuPYoME

oh that is ugly indeed. Those buttons WHAT the...

 

Those buttons are one of the things that are making me think about buying this laptop. Invisible buttons might be fashionable but phisycal buttons are best to get the work done. Two buttons for Windows, three for *NIX (middle is paste).

Ugly or not (not, IMHO) this could beat a Mac Book in every way but the keyboard. The number pad should be forbidden by law on laptops. It wrecks the ergonomics of the keyboard/screen combination: the eyes align with the first third of the screen unless one keeps the hand shifted to the left all the time (and gets to see a doctor soon).

 

I mean the thinness of the button~~ I like physical button .

 

Yes. Yes. Yes. God damn-it... yes. So few choices with a centered keyboard on a 15" screen.

 

Yeah, agree.
Sounds like "Z" in a DragonBall-Z, or smth..

 

The obvious competitors here would be Thinkpads, in particular the T-series and the W-series. Unlike Precisions and Elitebooks (sorry, ZBooks), they lack a numpad and have centered keyboards.

 

IIRC, I saw that the W540 now has a numpad on it. Personally, I dont see it as a big issue since I heavily use number keys and love the numpad on my desktop (and not too happy with the lack thereof on the W520), but I just say let the market decide I suppose.

 

I always had a numpad on my desktops back in the '90s. But I could shift the keyboard and align the spacebar with the middle of the screen and place the mouse wherever I wanted. Laptops can't be rearranged so their designer should be careful.
Luckily it seems there is just enough space to rest the left wrist on the case without touching the touchpad with the thumb but I'll pay an extra for a centered keyboard without numpad. That numpad is the only obvious cons of this laptop.

 

Anyone interested in a workstation should care a lot about the GPU options. This generation is a lost generation for GPU and a big step back for entry level buyers.

HP has given up on Firepro in all but the 14" model which so far is the only decent upgrade from last generation. The 8470w offered M2000 (entry level Firepro) @1GB/GDDR5/64bit/25.6GB/s. Now the entry level Firepro is the M4100 which while it is a very modest bump on the M4000, it makes the entry level option a big step up @2GB/GDDR5/128bit/64GB/s. But beyond this shift in the entry level product, the bumps are modest and the top end Firepro this gen (M6100) might not even surpass the top Firepro from two generations ago ( M8900)

On the Quadro side, entry level buyers are getting suckered. Last gen, the bottom end Quadro was K1000M, replaced by the K1100M. But the dirty trick is that Nvidia set a new lower bar with the K610M. Not only is the K610 substantially weaker than entry-level Quadro from last generation, it is slightly weaker than entry level Quadro from the generation before that. So if you have an EliteBook 8560w with Quadro 1000M, your two year old entry level workstation has slightly more GPU power than the entry Z17. Yes, that's the second trick...the 17" entry level GPUs have traditionally been as good or better than the upgraded 15"....but not anymore!

But wait, there's more. You might argue: "Hey I don't really need much GPU, I just want the workstation for the ram and warranty and don't want to pay for the GPU." Which would be a great argument for the K610M. The problem with said argument is that you aren't saving any money. Pricing is not any better for entry level on these, in fact I'm pretty sure entry level pricing has gone up if anything.

Now let's see what upgrading to last generation's entry level replacement costs. HP has their workstations available for configuration now. Here are the GPU pricing options on the Z17:
K610M: $0 (included in base)
K3100M: $675
K4100M: $1,325
K5100M: $2,150

So if you want a reasonable GPU, you're on the hook for a big upgrade price (you should actually get a 20-25% discount on configurations, so the K3100M is more like $500). Otherwise you are stuck with a GPU that was unimpressive two generations ago.

 

Imo, it is meaningless to discuss hp pricing unless you have solid info on the real price. Anyone really take hp web/list price seriously?

With "20-25%" discount, those price are still substantially higher than dell.

 

The preconfigured pricing in non negotiable. The configuration prices can be easily negotiated down 20%....25% should still be possible (back when I bought mine, most of us here on NBR were getting 28% but that seemed to dry up the next year). So yeah, those prices are real until Dell and Lenovo release theirs, then I expect a price adjustment.

 

The 14 will start at EUR 1299 (before tax) in Europe.

There will be a new dock with "dual digital outputs" in October.

Supposed to be on sale October 28.

 

I'm interested in the 14". Just might be a laptop worthy of replacing my Lenovo X220. The lenovo X240 is a joke and an embarrassment to the entire thinkpad/X-series line (limited to 8gb non replacable, ULV processor, 3 cell batt etc...)

 

User MiB posted the following in the Lenovo T440s thread:

"HP just released their new corporate Elitebook 800 series ultrabooks today.

The Elitebook 840 is a direct competitor to the T440s.

HP seems to have left the trackpoint and trackpad buttons intact.

16GB ram in 2 full SODIMM DUAL CHANNEL Memory slots (nothing soldered like the T440s)
3-cell (50 WHr) HP Long Life Battery 12hrs
6-cell (60 WHr) additional Slice Battery for up to 33hrs
14" diagonal LED-backlit FHD anti-glare UWVA slim (1920 x 1080)
AMD Radeon HD 8750M (1 GB GDDR5 dedicated)
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 802.11ac (2x2) WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 Combo
Core i7, i5, i3 CPUs with Intel vPro
3 USB 3.0
1 USB 3.0 charging
1 DisplayPort
1 VGA
1 combo stereo headphone/mic jack
1 AC power
1 RJ-45
1 docking connector
1 secondary battery connector
3.48lbs
13.34 x 9.33 x 0.83 in
Magnesium Alloy Graphite Black Chasis

Full specs here

Elitebook 840 infosheet here

Lineup is already up for sale on HP's site

pics courtesy of Hardware.Info

More pics here"

There's also a 15.6" model at 1.88 kg / 4.15 lbs.

 

"ZBook": The entire HP workstation line, deskside towers included, starts with "Z". I might guess that "Z" associates it with the design of the well-known HP "Z1" workstation, which features an all-in-one stand design that folds down somewhat like a Z when you open it up for service.

(Sports-car enthusiasts might associate "Z" with Nissan's top sports cars, which have had Z in their name since the 1960's. Movie enthusiasts might associate "Z" with the suave swordfighter Zorro, who left a slashed signature 'Z'. Engineers might find "Z" reminds them to use Occam's razor [find the simplest explanation or solution, cut away unnecessary complexity or cost].)

"Price": The main expensive different component compared to the Dells other than the case appears to be the Thunderbolt port. How much does Intel charge for Thunderbolt? Maybe HP decided the current cost was worth the performance for their customers, and Dell decided the current cost was too much for their customers. (Thanks for the video link, which says Thunderbolt 2 is coming in January, doubling the potential bandwidth.)

"Centered keyboard", "Elitebook": People who want the centered keyboard or the "Elitebook" name may be happy to hear that the previous years' Elitebook 'p' line appears to be continuing under the "Elitebook" name. The new Elitebook 800 series have centered keyboards with no numberpad. They appear to be aimed at business users, as it looks like only dual-core 'U' CPUs are available. Many models rely solely on the Intel integrated GPU. Currently the only discrete GPU option is the AMD Radeon 8750m on the Elitebook 850 or 840. (Unfortunately, the US site currently hides the fact that the standard 850 models all appear to have 768p 15.6-inch displays, while the standard 840 models have 900p 14-inch displays. Configure the 850 model to a 1080p display [currently $80 minus coupon discount] to get decent vertical resolution for full-page text work.)