The HP ZBook collection of laptops are essentially the most highly effective high-end cellular workstations that HP has to supply. With nice energy comes nice weight and value, however what if you need one thing that is actually highly effective but additionally extra light-weight and transportable? That is the place the HP ZBook Firefly matches in. It is not as quick or succesful because the ZBook Energy, Studio, or Fury, however it’s considerably simpler to hold round and that is an enormous benefit in the event you can reside with the marginally decrease finish specs.
The ZBook Firefly takes quite a lot of the high-performance and reliability elements of the ZBook and Z by HP collection, however packs it right into a smaller and lighter form-factor for higher portability.
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In comparison with the ZBook Energy
The specs above are for our overview unit, however the HP ZBook Firefly G10 is offered in a variety of configurations and worth factors. Initially, you may select between a 14″ display configuration or a bigger 16″ measurement. The 14″ mannequin can also be accessible with both Intel processors or AMD processors. Then you may select from Intel Core i5 to Core i7 U & P collection processors. You may select so as to add an NVIDIA discreet graphics processing unit or stick to Intel’s built-in graphics. You may select an auto-tracking infrared webcam for video conferencing and you’ll add a fingerprint scanner. There are 10 show panel choices to select from! You may select totally different display resolutions, coloration gamut ranges, privateness display polarizing choices, and so on. You may select between 8 – 64Gb of RAM, 256Gb to 2Tb of SSD storage, totally different keyboards, broadband radio, NFC, smartcard reader, and prolonged assist choices.
For heaps extra details about the configuration choices on the ZBook Firefly G10, see HP’s spec sheet web page.
Pricing configurations vary between slightly below $2000 to a maxed-out $5150 for the Intel 14″ mannequin.
What’s within the Field
The plain brown cardboard field contains solely the ZBook Firefly laptop computer, charging brick, and energy wire. The USB-C charger’s wire is roofed in woven cloth for a very nice premium appear and feel.
{Hardware}
One of many issues I like most about this configuration of the HP ZBook Firefly G10 is the HP DreamColor show panel. It has an anti-glare coating and a 100% DCI-P3 coloration gamut. Some older DreamColor show panels used to have the 100% Adobe RGB coloration gamut, which is what I would favor since it is a wider coloration gamut and the colour gamut most utilized by photographers. DCI-P3 is extra well-liked with video modifying, in order that’s okay too.
The anti-glare coating for the display is nice too. That is so a lot better than the shiny screens that you’re going to see on most Apple Macbooks and lots of different laptops. I am unable to stand brilliant reflections on the display interfering with the visibility of the content material I am engaged on, and the DreamColor panel with anti-glare coating handles this superbly. It is a lot better for working with and approving coloration correct designs.
A big change from the opposite ZBook laptops for the ZBook Firefly G10 right here is the USB-C primarily based charger. There is not any spherical barrel formed charger for this and that is unlucky for quite a few causes. Firstly, a spherical port would not require any rotational orientation in any respect; you simply level and push. You can even rotate the cable with out unplugging it. Moreover, particularly with this mannequin, it is generally exhausting to inform if the USB-C cable is totally engaged. A number of occasions I’ve thought the USB-C charging cable was plugged in, however it actually wasn’t in all the best way and due to this fact did not cost. Positive, it is nice to have requirements that work on a big number of units, however USB Kind-C isn’t adequate.
On the left edge we have a full-sized HDMI port, a full USB-A port, and two USB-C ports. There’s a little bit LED gentle to the appropriate of the 2nd USB-C port which is able to activate to point a profitable charging connection and can change colours when charging is full. I’ve discovered to regulate that when plugging within the USB-C charger, in an effort to make certain it is linked correctly. On the appropriate, we have additionally bought a sensible card reader for safe {hardware} logins.
On the appropriate edge, there is a 3.5mm headset jack, USB-A port, safety locking mechanism, and a SIM tray for wi-fi broadband in the event you order a mannequin with that functionality.
The underside is good and clear with a giant air flow grill, two rubber ft strips to maintain the laptop computer elevated a bit to permit airflow, and some regular Philips head screws in case you could change some elements.
We have additionally bought nice Bang & Olufsen audio system together with the good branding on the keyboard. You will additionally discover the ability button appears to be like like a standard keyboard key proper there subsequent to the “delete” key. A number of HP laptops do this nowadays, and I am undecided I prefer it. I would a lot slightly an influence button that has a totally totally different tactile really feel in order that I can more-easily inform when my finger is on the ability button. The ability buttons some corporations make with built-in fingerprint scanners are a lot nicer as effectively.
Talking of fingerprint scanners, we have one on the decrease proper a part of the ZBook Firefly’s keyboard palm wrest just under the arrow keys.
The keyboard is fairly nice simply as most ZBook keyboards are. I do nonetheless hope that sometime we’ll get extra ergonomic keys with concave and convex shapes that make the tactile really feel and positioning of fingers a lot simpler and more-comfortable than the flat keys many laptops have nowadays. The trackpad is implausible as effectively. It is a lot massive sufficient and tremendous clear with the same old push-to-click interface, although I actually do choose the ZBook Fury’s 6 tactile {hardware} buttons surrounding the trackpad.
The digital camera module on this mannequin contains the infrared biometric log-in “Home windows Whats up” functionality, which is superior. It acknowledges my face instantly fairly reliably and thus not often requires utilizing the fingerprint scanner or password entry. This model doesn’t embody a privateness lens shade although like another ZBook fashions have.
Software program
The HP ZBook Firefly ships with Home windows 11 Professional, however you may select Home windows 10 Professional, Home windows 11 Residence, or FreeDOS as effectively.
The quantity of bundled software program from HP isn’t overwhelming or annoying, however truly helpful. The HP Assist Assistant is an effective way to put in firmware, driver, and software program updates. It additionally provides you suggestions and troubleshooting instruments. The “My HP” app has settings for the video controls and programmable keyboard key.
The webcam software program has some wonderful customization options like auto-framing which is able to crop and observe the speaker’s face throughout a convention name. You have additionally bought lighting enhancements and background blur filters. That is all executed on a driver stage as effectively, so the settings you apply right here will take impact in nearly any video conferencing app. I examined it with the open supply WebRTC video conferencing system; Jitsi Meet. All that was wanted was to pick out the “HP Enhanced Digicam” from the digital camera choice menu, and the video digital camera settings had been utilized to my video convention. Superior!
Modifying my photographs in Photoshop appears to be like implausible on the DreamColor display. Minimal glare, attractive coloration… I like it.
Picture modifying and culling in Bridge and Adobe Digicam Uncooked is implausible as effectively, although it is true the GPU and CPU do make this course of a bit slower than one thing thicker with extra sources just like the HP ZBook Fury.
After all I can get in some net programming with Visible Studio Code on this factor and it really works flawlessly.
3D animation in Blender is fairly good too, however once more we’re restricted with the smaller more-portable GPU and CPU choices that may match into the ZBook Firefly’s kind issue. Sadly, we could not get the Blender Benchmark utility to finish on the ZBook Firefly, however this laptop computer actually is not meant for heavy responsibility 3D animation anyway.
In comparison with the ZBook Energy
The HP ZBook Firefly and the ZBook Energy are fairly shut in worth ranges at the very least on the decrease finish. One factor that is sadly lacking from the ZBook Energy configurations is the choice for a DreamColor show. In order that’s one space the place the ZBook Firefly wins instantly.
Alternatively, the ZBook Energy has choices for a lot better processor, GPU, and storage configurations. With nice energy comes nice thickness and heft although. The ZBook Firefly is way thinner and lighter than the ZBook Energy.
It would not seem like that a lot, however the measurement distinction between the ZBook Firefly and the ZBook Energy actually feels vital while you’re carrying it round in a bag and even between the desk and the sofa. Sure, the highly effective capabilities of the ZBook Energy are nice, however the lighter and smaller bundle the ZBook Firefly provides is fairly nice too.
Battery Life
After all battery life varies relying on what you are doing with the PC, however on common (and if I am not pushing it too exhausting), I can get about 6 hours of battery life. Processing 1000’s of RAW photographs from a photograph shoot or rendering an AfterEffects animation will trigger the bottom to warmth up fairly considerably and scale back battery life as effectively, so I are likely to convey the 65W quick charger alongside if I must let it sit and course of massive quantities of information generally. Quick charging ought to get the battery again to about 50% in solely half-hour.
Conclusion
I have been loving utilizing “Z by HP” collection workstations and cellular workstations for years now. They have a number of the strongest configuration choices accessible for high-end computing that is particularly essential within the visible arts fields in addition to the bogus intelligence improvement fields. The high-end HP ZBook cellular workstations are sometimes fairly thick and heavy in an effort to accommodate the entire high-end capabilities one might want in a cellular workstation. The HP ZBook Firefly properly brings a way more transportable kind issue and weight to the ZBook collection whereas nonetheless having fairly good efficiency.
Picture appearances: Dr. Melanie Silvestrini, Rachel Pizzolato, Brana Dane, Jayleen, Liga Freimane.
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