HP ZBook 15 review: This mobile workstation packs the features—and the pounds

When mobile productivity means using CAD software or other computationally intense applications, you need more than a desktop replacement—you need a workstation. HP’s ZBook 15 is fast and it includes all the latest technology, including Thunderbolt connectivity for bandwidth-hungry applications such as digital video editing. But one thing this mobile workstation is not is light.

The ZBook 15 is a handsome and substantial machine, with a magnesium frame, brushed-aluminum surfaces, and a dark gray and black paint scheme. But it’s a stocky 1.2-inches thick and it weighs 6.2 pounds—that’s a good pound heavier than most of the 17-inch desktop replacements we’ve seen. It feels rock solid at rest, and there’s a docking port on its bottom if you’re desk-bound more often than not. But when you do toss it and its two-pound AC adapter in your bag, your shoulder will get a workout.

The HP ZBook 15 is made for work, not play. It’s equipped with a high-end CPU, 16GB of memory, and a discrete workstation-glass GPU.

Buying the configuration we reviewed—HP’s model D5H42AV—will give your wallet a bit of workout, too. It’s currently selling at HP’s website for $3233, but a 20-percent eCoupon brings that down to $2586 (less-expensive, less-powerful configurations are also available). That buys a lot of horsepower, including a fourth-generation Intel Core i7-4800MQ processor (with Intel’s vPro management technology), 16GB of DDR3/1600 memory, and a discrete Nvidia Quadro K610M graphics card—with its own 1GB GDDR5 frame buffer—to supplement the Intel HD Graphics 4600 integrated into its CPU.

HP offers powerful connectivity options with the ZBook 15. Our eval unit was equipped with an HP hs3110 HSPA+ mobile broadband card and an Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 wireless 802.11n-plus-Bluetooth adapter. (But if you order a ZBook 15, we’d strongly recommend upgrading to Intel’s Centrino Advanced-N 7260 adapter. It costs just $5 more, and it delivers 802.11ac speed as well as Bluetooth connectivity).

Toshiba’s Qosmio X75 desktop replacement laptop is a little faster than the HP’s ZBook 15, but that machine has a consumer-oriented CPU and GPU. 

Our eval unit came with a 500GB, 7200 rpm hard drive augmented by a 32GB mSATA SSD cache. Slide open a pair of friction locks and you can remove the ZBook 15’s bottom panel to access and upgrade it memory, storage, and wireless modules. The battery which is also removable, lasted 5 hours and 23 minutes in our run-down test. That’s a good long while considering all the silicon its powering.

Our test unit felt quick and responsive during our hands-on evaluation. High-resolution video looked smooth as silk on its 15.6-inch, 1920-by-1080 display, which has matte finish to eliminate reflections in bright environments. The Zbook 15’s speakers sound pretty good, too. There’s not a lot of bass, but they have a solid low-midrange that at least hints that a bass guitar and kick drum are in the mix.

The ZBook 15 turns the tables when it comes to battery life, keeping you productive twice as long while away from an electrical outlet.

Port-wise, the Zbook 15 has everything you could wish for: gigabit ethernet, VGA and full-sized DisplayPort (you’ll need an adapter for HDMI), three USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port, a headset jack, Thunderbolt, and a Kensington lock port. There’s also an impressive array of slots: ExpressCard, SmartCard, and the usual SDHC slot. A fingerprint reader, 720p Webcam, and a DVD burner round things out. The ZBook 15 covers all the bases, but HP gives you the option of deleting components you don’t need, saving you a little carry weight and cash.

The please-everyone philosophy is also in play with the input devices. Along with the aforementioned fingerprint reader comes a touchpad with two sets of buttons: one at the top and one at the bottom. It looks odd, but assures that one set is always within easy reach whether you’re typing or swiping. 

The ZBook 15 has a gorgeous 15.6-inch anti-glare display. 

The ZBook 15’s backlit island-style keyboard is nearly full sized, and there’s a keypad for number crunching. It types decently, although the flat keys make for insecure initial finger placement. If the trackpad doesn’t float your boat, there’s an eraser-head cursor controller amid the B, G and H keys. But I found its rigid plastic cover too slippery to be effective, despite its being concave and covered with bumps.

Our ZBook 15 shipped with the Windows 7 Professional operating system (you can order Windows 8 Pro as a no-cost option). Corporations are migrating to Windows 8 slower than they did to Vista, so this is an important option. A three-year warranty is standard with every ZBook 15, but there are four- and five-year next business-day, on-site plans available for $149 and $259 respectively. Accidental damage and post-warranty coverage is also available.

The ZBook 15 is a solid piece of hardware in every sense of the word.

From PC World. Electronics product reviews and advice for best reference

Help Me, LAPTOP! I Need a Laptop Under 4 Pounds, Less Than $800

If you’re a student, carrying around a heap of textbooks can be hard enough on your spine, and the extra 5 or 6 pounds a mainstream laptop can add to this burden may just be the figurative straw that broke the camel’s back. In the age of the Ultrabook, however, notebooks are becoming slimmer and lighter than ever before.

Unfortunately, sometimes less is more — literally. Super-thin ultraportable laptops can cost as much as $1,599 (we’re looking at you, MacBook Air) and rarely drop below $1,000, putting them out of reach for many students on a budget. But if a clunky mainstream laptop just won’t cut it — and you’re no fan of netbooks — we’re here to help you find a notebook that weighs 4 pounds or less for under $800. Read on to see what we found!

At 3.2 pounds and 0.8-inch thick, the HP Folio 13 is one of the heavier Ultrabooks on our list, but it’s still a fantastic choice. When we reviewed the Folio 13, we gave it 4 stars and praised its sturdy design, great sound, long battery life, comfortable backlit keyboard and fast boot time. Sure, it’s got a stiff clickpad and a relatively dim screen (only 139 lux, compared to as much as 360 lux on the ASUS Zenbook UX31), but its affordability more than makes up for these deficiencies. Although the HP Folio 13 debuted at $899, it’s currently available for just $798 at Walmart in a configuration that includes a 1.4-GHz Intel Core i3-2367M processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid state drive.

The 2.4-pound, 0.6-inch thick Toshiba Portege Z835, another 4-star Ultrabook, is lighter and thinner than the much-vaunted MacBook Air, but costs almost half as much. When we tested the Portege Z835, we loved the notebook’s long battery life, light weight, plethora of full-size ports and — perhaps most importantly for the notoriously clickpad-unfriendly Ultrabook category — its accurate touchpad. The keyboard is a bit stiff and its 1366 x 768 screen isn’t nearly as sharp or vivid as the display on the MacBook Air, but its $799 price on Amazon.com (1.4-GHz Intel Core i3-2367M CPU, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD) is hard to beat.

The 2011 edition of the 13-inch Samsung Series 9, which costs just $788 on Amazon.com, weighs just a bit more than the Portege Z835 at 2.88 pounds and is nearly as thin (0.68 inches). When we reviewed the 2011 Series 9, we gave it 3.5 stars for its slim and sturdy design, ultra-bright display and excellent touchpad and keyboard. Our review model ($1,063 MSRP) also featured a Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. The configuration on Amazon, unfortunately, only comes with a Core i3 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD — hence the reduced price. Still, if weight and affordability are your top concerns, this isn’t a bad deal.

From Laptopmagazine. Visit Amazon Computer and Notebook Center Here