HP ZBook 15u G5 5KG19UC (Testing + Comparison)

The fifth generation of HP’s well-known line of mobile workstations, the HP ZBook 15u G5 5KG19UC, has just been released. The 15u G5 was introduced in April of this year, and according to HP, it is an entry-level, performance-driven workstation perfect for professionals constantly on the road.

This description is consistent with other 15u models we have examined over the past several years (They are often reliable, portable rigs that provide high value for their lower price, according to our research). The new 15u stands out thanks to its optional 4K touch display, four Intel Core CPUs, and professional 3D graphics, all of which are housed inside a compact mobile workstation.

An 8th generation Intel Core CPU powers the 15u G5, with high-end versions (such as an i7 with 1.9 GHz and up to 4.2 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 8 MB cache, and four cores) and less expensive models (a 1.7 GHz base-frequency, up to 3.6 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology i5 with 4 MB cache and 6 MB of processing cores).

The HP Z Turbo Drive G2 SSD (256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities) is also compatible with prior HP workstations, giving the 5th generation ZBook significant performance advantages over regular SSDs, which are also an option depending on price and requirements.

But a little lacking. The additional AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 Graphics with 2GB of dedicated GDDR5 should be sufficient to meet its intended use cases in terms of graphics compared to higher-end mobile workstations;

You won’t find any video editing software or graphics design software on this machine. A Radeon Pro WX 3100, 32GB of DDR3 RAM, an Intel Core i7-8650U CPU clocked at 1.90GHz, and a Samsung SM961 M.2 512GB SSD make up our 15u G5 setup. The ZBook 15u G5 will be contrasted with the ZBook 15u G4, ZBook 15 G4, HP EliteBook 850 G5, and Lenovo ThinkPad P52s.

HP ZBook 15u G5 5KG19UC

Even though HP offers several Full HD matte panels, the selection of displays is complicated. The average maximum brightness of these 1920×1080 displays varies; the least expensive choice is listed at 220 cd/m2, while the most expensive ones are rated at 400 and 700 cd/m2, respectively. In our study of the EliteBook 830 G5, we evaluated HP SureView, a privacy screen, which is included with the brightest display.

HP also offers touchscreen models with a glossy finish, and a UHD display with a resolution of 3840×2160 further complicates matters. Every display choice is based on IPS. Germany has just two display options for the ZBook 15u G5. Both are available at 1080p, and the distinctions between them are hardly discernible to the untrained eye.

Our test device has the least expensive display, which HP claims will have a 220 cd/m2 brightness level. We were only able to duplicate that value at maximum brightness, with the typical full brightness only measuring at 212 cd/m2.

The ZBook 15u G5’s least expensive display is unquestionably an upgrade on the ZBook 15u G4’s, which featured a display with an average brightness of 310 cd/m2. Similar to the ZBook 15u G4, the Lenovo ThinkPad P52s averages 284 cd/m2, which, despite being darker, is still noticeably brighter than our test device. HP gave the ZBook 15u G5 a less impressive Full HD display than the less expensive EliteBook 850 G5.

Brightness uniformity was 88%, which is on par with comparable devices but 5% less than the ZBook 15u G4. Backlight leakage is hardly noticeable on our test device either. At 40% brightness and lower, our test device’s display employs PWM to control display brightness. We detected PWM at a frequency of 25,770 Hz, which ought to be too high to bother PWM-sensitive individuals.

Build And Design

One of the more portable premium mobile workstations is the ZBook 15u G5, which weighs only 3.89 pounds and is 18.6 mm thin. It sports a metallic finish and a slimmer appearance than the previous edition, which was 19.9 mm thick and weighed 4.18 pounds. The keypad and screen have the standard features found on most modern workstations, and the inbuilt microphone and webcam are conveniently situated directly above the display.

In addition, the TouchPad has a Near Field Communications (NFC) tapping area and antenna (if you select a particular option during build), which enables users to wirelessly communicate information when you tap it (placed at the top right region). Users can also use a fingerprint reader to sign in to Windows.

Most of the connectivity and the standard suspects are located on the sides of the 15u G5. The power port, a USB Type-C power connector, a Thunderbolt port with HP Sleep and Charge, a SIM card slot, an audio-out/audio-in combination jack, a USB 3. x SuperSpeed port, an HDMI port, an RJ-45 socket, a docking connection, and a USB Type-C SuperSpeed port are all located on the right.

On the left side, a security cable slot, a USB 3. x SuperSpeed port with HP Sleep and Charge, and a Smart card reader can also be found. Users can upgrade their ZBook with the entry-level workstation graphics card Radeon Pro WX 3100 for a small additional cost.

Although the WX3100 is not a power-driven professional graphics card, we discovered that despite its low cost, it accelerated professional applications rather effectively when we tested it around a year ago. It will be good to see how it performs in a smaller form factor with more compact components since we tried it inside the HP Z640 desktop workstation.

However, the WX3100 is built on the 14nm Polaris GPU architecture and includes 4GB of GDDR5 memory with a 96GB/s bandwidth; eight compute units, and 512 stream processors. It also contains a DP and two micro DP 1.4 outputs that can drive both 4K and 5K TVs, along with 1.25 TFLOPS of single-precision computing.

Processor

A ULV quad-core processor, the Intel Core i7-8550U has four cores. The CPU’s thermal design power (TDP) is 15 W by default. Workstations often come with processors that are at least 45 W. The Core i7-8550U has a base clock speed of 1.8 GHz, which can boost to 4 GHz when necessary.

In short, our test device’s CPU performance is dismal. The CPU can Turbo Boost for up to 44 W, but only for 28 seconds. After that, the clock speed drops from 3.7 GHz to 2.3 and 2.4 GHz, and the TDP is reduced to 15 W.

This CPU behavior is consistent with our Cinebench R15 cycle. In the initial multi-core test, our test device scored 552. Scores then stabilized around 500 points for the remainder of the loop until declining when the TDP changed back to 15 W.

A Touchpad And Keyboard

A complete keyboard with a number pad and a sizable touchpad with physical buttons and a pointing stick make efficient use of the available space. There is plenty of essential travel for comfortable typing, letters and numbers appear carved into the keys to prevent them from wearing away, and three levels of backlighting make it simple to work into the night.

Along the F row, HP has incorporated collaboration keys that make it simple and quick to answer or end Skype calls. Unfortunately, these keys are only compatible with Skype for Business; they won’t function with any other program.

Even though you have the luxury of adjustable brightness, it’s strange that you don’t have the option to change it yourself easily. I also had trouble getting the display brightness keys to function. I suppose there must be a problem with the drivers.

Although the physical buttons that go with the pointing stick in the middle of the keyboard take up part of the space on the large touchpad, which I love, I had no problems with this one. It clicks firmly, and thanks to its Precision driver, it supports all Windows 10 gestures.

Performance Evaluation

We put the ZBook 15u G5 through several benchmarks to gauge how well it performs in particular scenarios and determine how well it handles resource-intensive applications. Additionally, these tests will demonstrate the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100’s capabilities inside the brand-new 15u G5 workstation.

The ZBook 15u and 15, a higher-end model from the previous series of mobile workstations, will be compared. The SPECviewperf 12 benchmark, the global standard for gauging graphics performance based on professional applications, was the first benchmark used to test the 15u G5.

SPECviewperf conducts nine “view sets” of models. Several categories are represented, including 3D Max, CATIA, Creo, Energy, Maya, Medical, Showcase, Siemens NX, and Solidworks, representing real applications’ visual content and behavior.

Editors Rating

5 Out Of 5 Stars

Product Comparison

The ZBook 15u G5’s cheapest display is upgraded from the ZBook 15u G4’s 310 cd/m2 production. Lenovo ThinkPad P52s average 284 cd/m2, dimmer than our test device but still brighter. HP’s ZBook 15u G5 has a less spectacular Full HD display than the EliteBook 850 G5.

The top-tier Precision 7730 retains the same 4K monitor and P5200 GPU but upgrades your processor, RAM, and storage to an Intel Core Xeon E-2186M, 128GB, and 8TB. Without any extras, this variant costs $10,928. The Precision 7730 can be designed in unlimited ways to suit your preferences.

Dell offers i5, i7, and Xeon processors, Radeon Pro, and Nvidia Quadro GPUs, four 32GB RAM slots, which can support up to 128GB, and up to four 2TB SSDs, which can support up to 8TB. Additionally, you can change the RAID configurations, upgrade to a keyboard with backlighting, increase the battery from 64Wh to 97Wh, and choose a fingerprint reader.

To Sum Up

The HP ZBook 15u G5 5KG19UC is an excellent entry-level mobile workstation that works well as a backup device for mobile CAD. Given the right conditions, it should perform well in standard 3D CAD and BIM workflows because it is thin, light, and well-built. The pricing of the ZBook 15u G5 is, however, its best feature.

Overall, the new HP Zbook 15u G5 appeared to have much to offer on paper, but it fell short in our application tests. It struggled to handle more demanding GPU-intensive workloads and lagged behind previous-generation devices in numerous ways.

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