Formerly under the Sony umbrella, Vaio’s Z-series notebooks are known for combining high performance with a light weight and sleek look. From time to time, Vaio redesigns these machines to offer something that its rivals do not, and this week it introduced its all-new Vaio Z-series notebooks in the U.S. These machines pack in a rather serious hardware into a unique 3D molded carbon fiber chassis for a hefty starting price of $3,579.
Various PC makers have used carbon fiber to build parts of their laptop enclosures since the mid-2000s. Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon and Vaio’s Z-series have extensively used carbon fiber for about a decade. But so far, no PC has ever used a chassis made of 3D-molded carbon fiber or a carbon fiber unibody. The new Vaio Z lineup will compete with the best ultrabooks and premium laptops with just that. Essentially, all body parts of the new Vaio Z, except hinges, are made using a process that stacks the fiber sheets in three dimensions to maximize rigidity of the chassis without increasing weight.
(Image credit: Vaio)
The impressive, and to a large degree unique, Vaio Z machines are available for pre-orders from US.vaio.com. Starting from March, the notebooks will also be available in retail. Pricing of the new laptops starts at $3,579, which is unprecedentedly high. A lot of that high MSRP is because Vaio’s molded carbon fiber process technology is still very expensive.
“Vaio has developed a unique process of working with carbon fiber to achieve beautifully contoured lines and the flexible molding of carbon fiber, that was previously difficult to mass produce,” Kaoru Hayashi, Director, Vice President and Head of PC Business at Vaio Corp., said in a statement. “The achievement of harnessing carbon fiber’s full potential of lightness and durability is both revolutionary and evolutionary as we continue looking ahead.”
The good news is that the company implied that it will leverage carbon fiber going forward, which could eventually reduce costs, due to volume of scale.
“With this evolution, the new Vaio Z offers exceptional performance, lightness, endurance, now with true ruggedness and without compromise, all converging into one elegant design,” Hayashi said. “With Vaio Z as our flagship model, we hope it is the start of Vaio’s future array of laptop PC developments.”
Vaio Z Specs
(Image credit: Vaio)
The new Vaio Z is equipped with a 14-inch 4K resolution display that Vaio claims reproduce 99.8% of the DCI-P3 color space. The system measures approximately 12.60 x 0.48 – 0.67 x 8.69 inches and weighs up to 2.32 pounds, which is rather light for a 14-inch, high-end machine. For comparison, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 8) is 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches and 2.4 pounds.
(Image credit: Vaio)
Inside the Vaio Z is pretty powerful hardware. The notebooks take from Intel’s H35-series of CPUs targeting thin-and-light gaming laptops, specifically the Core i7-11375H. The processor has four CPU cores clocked at 3.30-5.0 GHz, as well as the Iris Xe Graphics with 96 EUs. The CPU has a TDP rating of up to 35W.
In the case of the Vaio Z, the CPU is further enhanced with Vaio’s TruePerformance technology, a combination of increased CPU power limits, a cooling system that can handle increased heat and a BIOS setting. According to Vaio, TruePerformance allows the CPU to work at its maximum Turbo Boost 2.0-defined frequency for up to 40 seconds, which is longer than on most notebooks.
The CPU inside the new Vaio Z is paired with 16GB or 32GB of LPDDR4-4266 RAM, as well as a 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSD with a PCIe interface.
(Image credit: Vaio)
In the connectivity department, Vaio’s new Z-series laptops include a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.1 adapter, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI display output and a 3.5mm connector for headsets.
(Image credit: Vaio)
As for media capabilities, the system is equipped with Dolby Audio-badged speakers, a stereo microphone and a 2MP webcam with a privacy shutter.
Vaio said that its new Z-series notebooks can work for up to 10 hours on one charge, but did not disclose capacity of its Li-poly battery or how it tested the battery life.
Vaio is known for making laptops that pack a surprising amount of power into unbelievably thin form factors. The Vaio Z may be the company’s most ambitious product yet. It contains up to Intel’s four-core Core i7-11357H — and at a starting weight of 2.11 pounds, it’ll be the lightest laptop ever to house an Intel H-series processor. (Though models you can buy in the US are 2.32 pounds.)
Part of the reason the Vaio Z is so light is that it’s the first laptop ever to be made of “contoured carbon fiber.” You’ll find carbon fiber in some of the nicest lightweight laptops on the market, including the Dell XPS line — it’s a sturdy and lightweight material. But those laptops utilize sheets of carbon fiber that are held together with metal or plastic parts. Vaio has actually contoured the material around the edges of the Z’s chassis, so it’s carbon fiber all around.
Vaio says the device has passed 26 “surface drop” tests, and will deliver up to 13 and a half hours of battery life. In terms of other specs, you can get up to 2TB of storage, 32GB of memory, Iris Xe integrated graphics, and either an FHD or a 4K 14-inch display. There’s a backlit keyboard, a webcam with a physical shutter, a full-size HDMI port, and two USB-C ports as well. The chassis is a clamshell, though you can fold the screen down to 180 degrees.
Of course, this all doesn’t come cheap. The Vaio Z starts at — I’m not joking — $3,579. So it won’t be a practical purchase for most people, but it’s still an impressive achievement and an interesting proof-of-concept. Keep an eye out for our full review in a few days, where we’ll dive into the performance you can expect for that price. You can preorder units now on Vaio’s website.
(Pocket-lint) – The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 has been around long enough to be considered an evergreen laptop series. It’s an XPS 13 with a full fold-out hinge. You can prop it up in a “tent” position, set it up as an in-bed mini TV, or use it like a laptop.
Big real-world upgrades for 2021 are all about the progress Intel has made. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 has one of Intel’s Xe graphics chipsets. It lets you play games that just weren’t in the conversation for integrated graphics a while back, like The Witcher 3.
There are a couple of problems though: the latest XPS 13 2-in-1 costs a small fortune. And it has an extremely shallow keyboard that we don’t find all that comfortable for typing. You’ll have to decide how much these points matter to you, because the XPS 13 2-in-1 is otherwise hard to criticise in other respects.
Design
Dimensions: 297 x 207 x 14.35mm
Weight: 1.32 kg (1.29kg measured)
CNC machined aluminium casing
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is like a regular XPS 13 subjected to several dozen yoga retreats. It has the familiar carbon fibre keyboard rest, an ultra-stiff aluminium lid, and a metal underside. But the hinge folds all the way around until the back of the lid meets the bottom.
These hybrid laptops were more popular years ago. Real hot stuff, y’know. But it’s a good idea to have a think about whether you’ll actually appreciate the flexibility on offer for the added price premium.
Pocket-lint
That hinge obviously doesn’t come for free. But it is decent, avoiding much of the wobble often seen in less well-designed hybrid laptops. There’s also no glaring sign this 2-in-1 is actually a hybrid. The hinge isn’t big or built-up, there’s just a little more clearance around its main bits.
Real talk: we think the standard XPS 13’s minimalist keyboard plate is more attractive, but there’s not much in it.
Best laptop 2021: Top general and premium notebooks for working from home and more
By Dan Grabham
·
You buy an XPS 13 series laptop for its distinctive carbon fibre style and excellent build, not for show-off weight and thickness stats. However, Dell has done its best to minimise the 2-in-1’s footprint. Screen borders on all sides are slim, if not class-leading, and the display has a 16:10 aspect ratio rather than the usual 16:9 – making a laptop that’s less wide per inch of display diagonal.
Screen
13.4-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS LCD screen
500-nit brightens (550 nits measured)
Flexi-hinge touchscreen
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 has a 13.4-inch IPS LCD touchscreen, which is available in two resolutions: more affordable versions have a Full HD+ (1920 x 1200 pixel) display; pricier ones have a UHD+ (3840 x 2400) one.
Ours has the lower resolution display. Your Windows 10 home screen icons and document fonts won’t look as sharp as they would on the 4K version, but the choice here isn’t simple as price versus quality.
Pocket-lint
The high-res XPS 13 2-in-1 will last significantly less long between charges. And, resolution aside, the low-res display is a top performer anyway. It is searingly bright – 10 per cent brighter than Dell’s own claim, we found – and about 50 per cent brighter than the average laptop at this price point.
This is great news if you want to work outdoors. And while the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 has a glossy screen, it is much less affected by reflection than most as Dell uses a very good anti-reflective layer. This dulls the white block reflections so they are not so distracting.
Colour is excellent, fit for imaging work. Contrast is great – and once again around 10 per cent better than Dell’s own claim of 1500:1.
The XPS 13 2-in-1 may be Dell’s lower-end option with this FHD+ resolution, but this is no low-end screen. It’s a high-end one without the extra pixel density. This is a good excuse for the Dell’s high price.
There are just a couple of caveats to note. This is a 60Hz screen, not the high refresh-rate kind you see in gaming laptops. And despite Dell’s claim of HDR 400 support, Windows 10 recognises it as a standard dynamic range screen. HDR in laptops is only really worthwhile with OLED screens anyway.
Pocket-lint
The XPS 13 2-in-1 also supports a Dell active pen stylus – one with a graphics tablet-like 4096 pressure sensitivity levels – but you don’t get one in the box. Companies like HP and Lenovo tend to bundle their stylii.
Keyboard & Touchpad
MagLev keyboard
Textured glass touchpad
Integrated fingerprint scanner
The keyboard is the part of the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 we like the least. It is very shallow and clicky, lacking the mellow “clonk” key actuation of the best laptop keyboards.
Pocket-lint
There’s very little weight to the XPS 13 2-in-1’s keys, and we enjoy typing on almost all of the non-Dell alternatives more.
HP Envy and Spectre, Acer Swift, Lenovo Yoga and ThinkPad: all have meatier key setups. Apple started this trend for shallow, feather-light keyboards, even it has begun to step back by putting a chunkier mechanism in the MacBook Pro 16.
This isn’t a mistake, of course. Dell deliberately uses this keyboard. And just because it’s thin, high pitch and clicky, it doesn’t mean it’s low-quality hardware. We just don’t like its style much.
The XPS 13 2-in-1 does have a solid two-level key backlight, and a clever fingerprint scanner that’s built into the power button above the backspace key.
Pocket-lint
Dell’s touchpad has little in common with the keyboard. Which is a good thing. Its clicker has a darker character with a nice amount of resistance, and the surface uses exemplary textured glass. The pad is large too, just not MacBook large. So no major complaints here.
Performance
Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU, Intel Xe graphics
16GB 4267MHz LPDDR4x RAM
New Dell XPS models tend to arrive at a rhythm set by Intel’s processor releases. Most of these are not that easy to get excited about. A 12 per cent performance increase year-on-year when the predecessor already had enough power isn’t going to change lives.
For 2021 it’s a bit different, because of two little letters: Xe. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1’s Core i7i1167G7 has an Xe graphics chipset, which is Intel’s response to AMD having soundly beaten its integrated graphics performance for years.
Intel Xe is miles better than the UHD 620 and Iris Plus chipsets seen in older thin and light laptops. It genuinely changes how some might use this 2-in-1.
Pocket-lint
For example, you can comfortably play Euro Truck Simulator 2 at High graphics, with frame rates of around 30-40fps. Skyrim runs fine at Ultra settings. You can even play The Witcher 3, at 1200p, using the Low preset (or head down to 720p resolution for acceptable results at High graphics). Yes, The Witcher 3 hasn’t been a benchmark for gaming performance for some time now. But for a laptop with no dedicated graphics hardware, we think that’s pretty good.
There’s less change in the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1’s 11th Gen CPU side in real terms. It’s not because there is no performance boost compared to the last 10th Gen computers – there is, and quite a big one – but it is not the sort of jump that should make you want to upgrade if you already own a 10th, 9th or 8th Gen Intel-powered laptop. More exciting things are happening over at AMD’s and Apple’s processor labs right now.
Much of the pleasant smoothness of the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is down to its very fast SSD storage, which helps minimise app load times.
Pocket-lint
We’re also pleased by how little noise the laptop makes, even under strain. The XPS 13 2-in-1 has two fans, with a vapour chamber between. And while their tone is pretty high-pitch, which can be distracting, the noise never seems to get remotely loud in decibel terms.
Battery Life & Ports
51Wh battery capacity, 45W charger
2x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 has a 51Wh battery, a mid-size power source used to balance the size of the laptop with stamina. And it seems to have worked pretty well.
Setting the laptop to stream at YouTube video at 1080p resolution the XPS 13 2-in-1 lasts 12 hours 15 minutes. This is the longest you can reasonably expect it to last in any realistic use scenario, but means there’s plenty of headroom to stay above eight hours of all-day use.
Pocket-lint
However, we can’t ignore that we’ve seen much better results recently from some AMD CPU-powered laptops like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7. That lasted almost 17 hours in the same test, while Apple’s MacBook Air and MacBook Pro last substantially longer, particularly under strain.
Still, if we’re at the point we can half-complain about 12-hour battery life, that’s a good place to be.
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 uses a USB-C socket to charge, and the adapter is tiny. That’s a bonus for travel use.
A complete lack of traditional USB ports is not, though, so you may need to pack an adapter. A simple USB-C (the ‘small port) to USB-A (the ‘big’ port) comes in the box. Actual on-board connections are minimal: there’s get a headphone jack, a microSD slot, and two USB-C ports – one of which will be used during charging.
Pocket-lint
However, both of these USB ports are Thunderbolt 4, meaning they are very, very quick. Top specs aren’t too different from the older Thunderbolt 3, but you’re guaranteed to be able to plug in two 4K monitors. Handy for home use.
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 also has reasonably good speakers. Their tone is relatively even and they have a small serving of bass, essential for games and movies. We’re not at MacBook level, as the max volume isn’t that great and higher volumes can cause ugly-sounding vibrations inside the chassis, but they do their job well enough.
Verdict
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is a top-quality laptop that makes you ask the question “do you need this upgrade?” in a couple of ways.
First, do you need the high-res UHD+ version? Probably not. The FHD+ resolution – as tested here – has excellent colour, brightness and contrast, and most likely significantly better battery life.
Do you need the flexible hinge? Consider that carefully, because you do pay a bit for it here. If not, the ‘standard’ Dell XPS 13 will suit your needs wonderfully.
Our favourite upgrade for the 2021 Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is Intel’s Xe graphic chipset. It makes this laptop more ready for fun than any XPS convertible to date.
However, we do wish the XPS 13 2-in-1 had a deeper keyboard. This flat and clicky one is no friend to those who spend much of the day typing.
All in all, the XPS 2-in-1 is a well-rounded convertible with some serious plus points.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Dell XPS 13
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How about the downgrade to the non 360-degree hinge XPS 13? The main differences are that it’s a bit cheaper and the footprint is less deep – the latter thanks to its use of a standard hinge. It also has deeper key travel, one of the best reasons to choose the non-convertible if you do a lot of typing.
Read our review
Pocket-lint
HP Spectre x360 13
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HP’s latest convertible is the 13-inch Spectre x360 (ok, so there’s a newer 14-inch model too). Benefits include a larger battery capacity and a lower starting price. It also includes a smart stylus. However, it is a little thicker and doesn’t have the Dell’s supremo display brightness.
Read our review
Pocket-lint
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (Gen 5)
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Head to Lenovo’s answer to the XPS 13 2-in-1 if you want a convertible with a deeper-dish keyboard. It also comes with a stylus that slots into the laptop body. However, at the time of review you can only get the X1 Yoga Gen 5 with 10th generation processors. And that means worse gaming performance.
Whether you’re a student, a professional or just want to stay connected and productive, a laptop is one of the most important tools of the trade. But some are better than others, with wide differences in keyboards, battery life, displays and design. If you’re looking for a powerful laptop that easily fits in your bag and doesn’t break your back, you want an ultrabook.
The “ultrabook” moniker was originally coined by Intel in 2012 and used to refer to a set of premium, super-thin laptops that met the chipmaker’s predefined standards. However, just as many folks refer to tissues as Kleenexes or web searching as Googling, the term ultrabook commonly refers to any premium ultraportable laptop, whether it carries Intel’s seal of approval or not.
Of course, there’s always new tech coming down the pipe. Intel has announced its 11th Gen Core “Tiger Lake” processors with Iris Xe graphics and Thunderbolt 4, with laptops shipping in time for the holiday season. And its likely that an AMD Ryzen refresh won’t be far behind, bringing USB 4 to laptops. That’s in addition to the possibility of Apple’s first Arm-powered MacBook coming this fall.
Get a good keyboard: Whether you’re using an ultrabook to browse the web, send emails, code, write or do other productivity work, the keyboard is one of your primary ways of interacting. Get something with responsive keys that aren’t mushy. Low-travel is ok if the keys have the right feel to them, but the last thing you want to do is “bottom out” while typing.
Consider what you need in a screen: At a minimum, your laptop should have a 1920 x 1080 screen. Some laptops offer 4K options, though it’s sometimes harder to see the difference at 13-inches or below. While 4K may be more detailed, 1080p screens give you much longer battery life.
Some laptops can be upgraded: While CPUs and GPUs are almost always soldered down, some laptops let you replace the RAM and storage, so you can buy cheaper now and add more memory and a bigger hard drive or SSD down the road. But the thinnest laptops may not have that option.
Battery life is important: Aim for something that lasts for 8 hours or longer on a charge (gaming is an exception). For productivity, many laptops easily surpass this number. But be wary of manufacturer claims, which don’t always use strenuous tests. Some laptops are starting to add fast charging, which is a nice bonus.
The HP Spectre x360 14 is everything a modern ultrabook should be. This laptop has an attractive design, but isn’t about form over function. It has both Thunderbolt 4 over USB Type-C, as well as a microSD card reader, all in a thin chassis.
But what really wows is the display. The
3:2 aspect ratio
is tall and shows more of your work or web pages, and is also more natural for tablet mode. The OLED model we reviewed also offered vivid colors, though you would likely get longer battery life with the non-OLED, lower resolution panel.
The other big plus is the Spectre x360’s keyboard, which is clicky and comfortable. Sure, it’s no desktop mechanical keyboard, but for a laptop, it’s very responsive and feels great to use.
The Dell XPS 13 has long been celebrated for both its form and function. The laptop is tiny, but packs a punch with Intel’s Tiger Lake processors and adds some extra screen real estate with a tall, 16:10 display (many laptops have a 16:9 screen).
We also like the XPS 13’s keyboard, with a snappy press and slightly larger keycaps than previous designs. The screen is bright, and we shouldn’t take its thin bezels for granted, as Dell continues to lead on that front.
Admittedly, the XPS 13 is short on ports, opting for a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports for booth charging and accessories. Its performance, portability and long battery life are likely to make up for that for those on the go.
Read: Dell XPS 13 (9310) review
Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1) (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
3. MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1)
The Best Mac
CPU: Apple M1 | GPU: 8-core GPU on SOC | Display: 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600, True Tone | Weight: 3.0 pounds / 1.4 kg
M1 is powerful and fast
Runs cool and quiet
Apps just work, even if emulated
Long-lasting battery life
Strong audio
Limited ports and RAM options
Touch Bar isn’t very useful
Poor webcam
While some people may still want the power, large display and port selection of the
16-inch MacBook Pro
, Apple has proved with the 13-inch version that its own home-grown M1 chip is capable of the needs of plenty of people. This is Apple’s first step in breaking away from Intel, and it is extremely impressive.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro runs cool and quiet, while the chip is faster than its competition in most cases. It’s also efficient and ran for more than 16 and a half hours on our battery test.
Many apps run natively on the Arm processor and those that don’t use Apple’s Rosetta 2 software for emulation. Even then, users will barely know that emulation is being used at all. Everything just works.
The big difference between the Pro and the Air, which also uses M1, is that the Pro has a fan. Those who aren’t doing intensive work may be able to save a bit and get a very similar machine by going with the Air, and they will get function keys instead of the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar.
Read: Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1) review
MSI GE66 Raider (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
4. MSI GE66 Raider
The Best Overall Gaming Laptop
CPU: Intel Core i9-10980HK | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q | Display: 15.6 inches, 1920 x 1080, 300 Hz | Weight: 5.3 pounds (2.4 kg)
Great gaming performance
300 Hz display
Well-executed RGB light bar
High-end build
Cramped keyboard
Tinny audio
The MSI GE66 Raider is a gaming laptop, and it’s saying it loud with a massive RGB light bar. It’s new look is aggressive, but it’s not just talk, with options going up to an Intel Core i9-10980HK and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q.
For those looking for esports-level performance in games like League of Legends or Overwatch, there’s an option for a 300 Hz display.
And while it’s not the slimmest laptop around (or even MSI’s thinnest), it does feel remarkably portable considering the power inside, and we can’t help but appreciate high-end build quality.
Lenovo’s ThinkPads have always been favorites, and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 8) continues that trend with a slim design, excellent keyboard and an excellent selection of ports to keep you connected to all of your peripherals.
If you get the 1080p option, you can count on all-day battery life (the 4K model we tested didn’t fare as well, but that’s often the tradeoff for higher resolution among ultrabooks).
Of course, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon also attracts one other audience: fans of the TrackPoint nub in the center of the keyboard.
Read:Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 8) review
Asus ZenBook Duo UX481 (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
6. Asus ZenBook Duo 14 UX482
Best Dual Screen Laptop
CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7 | GPU: Intel iris Xe | Display: 14-inch 1080p (1920 x 1080) touchscreen, 12.6 inch (1920 x 515) ScreenPad Plus | Weight: 3.5 pounds / 1.6 kg
$999 starting price with an i5
Very good battery life
Loud speakers
Improved hinge mechanism and keyboard layout
Keyboard/touchpad are awkward
8GB of RAM in lower configurations
Asus has begun to refine the dual screen laptop. Sure, there’s a more powerful version, but for a laptop with two screens, this one is fairly light, and ran for over 10 and a half hours on a charge.
Windows 10 doesn’t yet natively support dual screen software, Asus’s ScreenPad Plus launcher has improved since launch, with easy flicks and drags to move apps around the display. For Adobe apps, there’s custom dial-based software.
The keyboard and mouse placement are the big compromises, as there isn’t a wrist rest and they can feel cramped. But if you want two-screens, this is as good as it gets for now.
If you’re going for a big screen, the Dell XPS 17 shines. The display on the laptop is bright and colorful, especially on the 4K+ option that we tested, and with minimal bezels around it, your work (or play) is all that’s in focus.
With up to an Intel Core i7 and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, there’s plenty of power here. While it’s not on our list of best gaming laptops, you can definitely play video games on it, including intensive games that use ray tracing.
All of that comes in an attractive design similar to the XPS 13 and XPS 15, though the trackpad takes advantage of the extra space. It’s a luxurious amount of room to navigate and perform gestures.
Read: Dell XPS 17 (9700) review
CPU
GPU
RAM
Storage
Display
HP Spectre x360 14
Up to Intel Core i7-1165G7
Intel Iris Xe (integrated)
Up to 16GB LPDDR4-3733
Up to 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
13.5-inch touchscreen, up to 3000 x 2000 resolution, OLED
Dell XPS 13 (9310)
Up to Intel Core i7-1165G7
Intel Iris Xe (integrated)
Up to 16GB LPDDR4x-4276
Up to 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
13.4-inch touchscreen, 1920 x 1200 resolution
MacBook Pro (16-inch)
Up to Intel Core i9-9980HK
Up to AMD Radeon Pro 5500M
Up to 64GB DDR4
Up to 8TB SSD
16 inches, 3072 x 1920
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
Up to AMD Ryzen 4900HS
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 with ROG Boost
Up to 16GB DDR4-3200 (8GB on-board, 8GB SODIMM)
1TB PCIe 3.0 M.2 NVMe
14 inches, 1920 x 1080, 120 Hz
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 8)
Up to Intel Core i7-10610U
Intel UHD Graphics
Up to 16GB LPDDR3
Up to 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
14 inches, up to 4K with Dolby Vision and HDR400
Asus ZenBook Duo UX481
Up to Intel Core i7-10510U
Nvidia GeForce MX250
Up to 16GB DDR3
1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
14 inch 1080p (1920 x1080) touchscreen, 12.6 inch (1920 x 515) ScreenPad Plus
The HP Spectre x360 14 is a beautifully constructed 2-in-1 laptop with a vibrant 3:2 OLED touch screen to showcase your work. It has an excellent keyboard and a variety of ports for all of your accessories. Those who prioritize battery life may want to consider a non-OLED configuration, however.
For
Sleek, attractive design
Vivid 3:2 display shows more of your work
Clicky, responsive keyboard
Thunderbolt 4 and USB Type-A ports
Against
OLED model doesn’t last all day
Difficult to upgrade SSD
There’s no need to beat around the bush: the HP Spectre x360 14 ($1,219.99 to start; $1,699.99 as tested) is one of the best ultrabooks we’ve tested in the last several months. It’s exquisitely designed with a 13.5-inch, 3:2 display that showcases more of your work, whether it be words, numbers, or code.
You’ll pay a premium price for it, but it sure feels premium, with a sleek chassis, clicky keyboard and both USB Type-C and Type-A ports, as well as a microSD card reader.
The model we reviewed had an impressive
OLED
screen with a 3,000 x 2,000 resolution. It looks great, but if you want all-day battery life, you may consider alternative configurations.
Design of the HP Spectre x360 14
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HP makes a handsome laptop. The Spectre x360 doesn’t make a ton of changes to what has largely become a tried and true design. It’s an aluminum notebook with solid construction. Ours came in “nightfall black” with copper accents, which I think is a bit showy for my tastes these days, but you can also get in “Poseidon blue” or my likely choice, “natural silver.”
The back two edges near the 360-degree hinge are chopped off, one of which makes room for a Thunderbolt 4 port. It’s a divisive choice, but it’s grown on me. That placement lets you flip from a laptop into a tablet while it’s charging and barely move the cable at all.
When you unfold the laptop for the first time, you’ll notice the big difference with this Spectre: a 13.5-inch, 3:2 display that feels incredibly luxurious compared to the 16:9 screen on the smaller
Spectre x360 13
that we recently reviewed. There’s minimal bezel around it, putting the focus on your work. It also creates a slightly longer profile for the whole device.
Unlike many 2-in-1s, the power button is on the keyboard, rather than the side of the device. As a person using it primarily as a laptop, I prefer this choice, though tablet-heavy users might be annoyed. There’s also a fingerprint reader next to the arrow keys, this, combined with the IR camera, allows for security options beyond a password whether in tablet or laptop mode, which I appreciate. The speaker grilles above the function keys make for a nice accent.
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There aren’t a ton of ports on the Spectre x360 14, but there’s enough for most people’s everyday use. Most of the action is on the right side, where you’ll find two Thunderbolt 4 ports (one on the right corner), a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a microSD card. On the right, there is one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port. The rest of that side of the notebook is magnetized to fit the included HP Tilt Pen.
At 2.95 pounds with an 11.75 x 8.67 x 0.67-inch footprint, the Spectre is fairly compact. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 is 2.9 pounds and 11.69 x 8.15 x 0.56 inches — a bit smaller — but also has a 13.4-inch screen in a 16:10 aspect ratio. The MacBook Pro is a 3 pound clamshell and measures 11.95 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches, and the Asus ZenBook Flip S UX371 is 2.7 pounds and 12 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches.
HP Spectre x360 14 Specifications
CPU
Intel Core i7-1165G7
Graphics
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Memory
16GB LPDDR4-3733
Storage
1TB PCIe NVMe SSD with 32GB Intel Optane
Display
13.5-inch, 3000 x 2000 OLED touchscreen
Networking
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5
Ports
2x Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, Headphone/microphone jack, microSD card reader
Camera
720p IR
Battery
66 WHr
Power Adapter
65 W
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Other
HP Rechargeable MPP2.0 Tilt Pen
Dimensions(WxDxH)
11.75 x 8.67 x 0.67 inches / 298.45 x 220.22 x 17.02 mm
Weight
2.95 pounds / 1.34 kg
Price (as configured)
$1,699.99
Productivity Performance on the HP Spectre x360 14
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Our HP Spectre x360 14 review unit came with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of LPDDR4 RAM and a 1TB PCIe
NVMe SSD
with 32GB of Intel Optane memory. In my use, it could handle plenty of browser tabs and streaming video without an issue.
On the Geekbench 5 overall performance benchmark, the Spectre earned a single-core score of 1,462 and a multi-core score of 4,904. The ZenBook Flip S was in a similar range. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 had a higher score in multi-core performance (5,639). The MacBook Pro, too, had a higher multi-core score when emulated through Rosetta 2 to run the same version of the test (5,925).
The Spectre transferred 25GB of files at a rate of 533.61 MBps, faster than the XPS 13 2-in-1, but slower than the ZenBook Flip S (979.37 MBps).
In our Handbrake test, which transcodes a 4K video to 1080p, the Spectre x360 14 finished the task in 18 minutes and 5 seconds. While this was four minutes faster than the ZenBook, the XPS 13 2-in-1 was speedier and the MacBook Pro led the whole pack, even while emulating x86 instructions.
To stress the Spectre, we ran it through 20 runs of Cinebench R23. It was fairly consistent in the low 4,000’s, though there were some peaks up to around 4,300. The CPU ran at an average of 2.61 GHz and an average temperature of 74.07 degrees Celsius (165.33 degrees Fahrenheit).
Display on the HP Spectre x360 14
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The 13.5-inch touchscreen on the Spectre x360 has a 3:2 aspect ratio, making it taller than it is wide. It’s an opulent amount of space, especially for doing work. You’ll see more text, code, spreadsheet cells or whatever else you’re working on because the screen is taller. It’s a big improvement over 16:9 displays, and makes for a more natural shape as a tablet, as it’s similar in shape to a piece of paper.
Our main review configuration was an OLED model with a 3,000 x 2,000 resolution. It looked incredible, with deep blacks and vibrant colors, as has been the case on most OLED monitors we’ve seen to date. Of course, most videos are still 16:9, so when I watched the trailer for Godzilla vs. Kong, it was letterboxed on the top and bottom. The beginning of the trailer features the titular ape on a barge during a sunset, and its blue and orange hues were beautiful as jets flew overhead.
The OLED screen covers 139.7% of the DCI-P3 color gamut (the non-OLED, 1920 x 1280 screen covered 74.6%). The next best was the ZenBook Flip S, also with an OLED display, at 113.1%. The MacBook Pro measured 78.3% and the XPS 13 2-in-1 covered 70%.
The Spectre’s display measured an average of 339 nits on our light meter. This never seemed like an issue in regular use, though the ZenBook, XPS 13 2-in-1 and MacBook Pro all got far brighter.
Keyboard, Touchpad and Stylus on the HP Spectre x360 14
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The keyboard on the Spectre takes up as much room as possible, moving from edge to edge of the
chassis
. This gave HP room to include a full keyboard, including an extra column for home, page up, page down and end keys. The tilde key is a little squeezed, but not enough for me to be inconvenienced.
The keys are clicky (they even have a bit of a clicky sound!), and I really enjoyed typing on them. On the 10fastfingers typing test, I reached 105 words per minute with my usual 2% error rate.
There’s a fingerprint reader built into the keyboard on the right side, next to the arrow keys. On the function row, there’s a key to kill the camera. The F1 key is sort of wasted, though, in that it is programmed exclusively to open the browser and search for “how to get help in
Windows 10
.”
HP has equipped the Spectre x360 with a 4.5 x 2.8-inch touchpad. It’s slightly smaller than the MacBook Pro (5.1 x 32 inches), but is still plenty spacious. With Windows 10 precision drivers, it responded immediately to every gesture.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
A rechargeable stylus is included with the laptop, the “HP Rechargeable MPP2.0 Tilt Pen.” (MPP is short for Microsoft Pen Protocol.) It’s round with one flat edge that connects to the left side of the laptop with magnets. That flat side also has two customizable buttons
The Spectre’s palm rejection worked pretty well, and the stylus worked well with both tilting and shading in supported applications. In Paint 3D, using the crayon tool required extra pressure for a deep hue, just like the real thing. I do wish, like some of Microsoft’s styluses, that HP would add an eraser to the end.
HP claims it lasts 30 hours on a charge. When you slide up the top of the stylus, a USB-C port is revealed, which is a neat addition. A ring light on the very top tells you its charging status.
Audio on the HP Spectre x360 14
HP’s collaboration with Bang & Olufsen has produced winning laptop audio for a while now, and the Spectre x360 14 is no exception.
These things get loud — too loud, even. As I listened to Spotify, I turned the volume down as Fall Out Boy’s “Bob Dylan” stormed through my apartment. The drums, vocals and guitars were clear. Bass was a bit quiet. I tried changing that manually in the Bang & Olufsen control center, but to a little effect. There are presets in that app, but I found most of them to be overkill.
Upgrading the HP Spectre x360 14
Unfortunately, HP has made upgrades and repairs to the Spectre x360 14 more difficult for the average person than they need to be.
There are two visible Torx screws on the underside of the laptop, but underneath the rear rubber foot, there are four more Phillips head screws. The feet are applied with adhesive and could rip when you remove them. HP makes extras available to authorized repair shops.
If you did get into the laptop, per
the maintenance manual
, you would find that while the RAM is soldered down, the SSD, WI-Fi module and battery are user replaceable.
Battery Life on the HP Spectre x360 14
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Like most laptops with OLED screens, the Spectre x360 14’s battery life isn’t exceptional. It will last you most of the day, but you’ll want to bring the braided USB Type-C charger with you.
On our test, which continuously has laptops browse the web, run OpenGL tests and stream video over Wi-Fi at 150 nits, the Spectre ran for 7 hours and 14 minutes. A non-OLED version with a 1920 x 1280 screen ran for 12:11, should you value battery life over image quality.
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 lasted 10:52, while the ZenBook Flip S (also with OLED) ran for 8:11. The MacBook Pro with Apple’s M1 processor lasted the longest at a whopping 16:32.
Heat on the HP Spectre x360 14
We took skin temperature measurements on the 14-inch Spectre x360 while running our Cinebench R23 stress test.
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The center of the keyboard measured 34.8 degrees Celsius (94.64 degrees Fahrenheit), while the touchpad was a cooler 29.4 degrees Celsius (84.92 degrees Fahrenheit).
The hottest point on the bottom was 47.1 degrees Celsius (116.78 degrees Fahrenheit).
Webcam on the HP Spectre x360 14
It’s a shame this beautiful, high-resolution screen wasn’t paired with a beautiful, high-resolution
webcam
. Like most laptop cameras, the Spectre x360’s is still stuck at
720p
.
An image I took at my well-lit desk was color accurate, catching my navy shirt, blue eyes and the mixed shades of brown in my hair and blue. But overall, the picture was grainy, and light coming in from some nearby windows was blown out.
On the bright side, it works with Windows Hello for facial login. While there’s also a fingerprint reader on the keyboard, this is better for logging in when it’s a tablet.
Software and Warranty on the HP Spectre x360 14
While the Spectre x360 is undoubtedly a premium device, it has the kind of bloat you would expect from some budget machines.
HP has a lot of its own software. I wish it would combine more of these disparate programs into the main app, HP Command Center, which lets you make performance adjustments based on temperature and sound and also lets you decide which software gets network priority.
There are separate pieces of software for choosing among different display modes, switching between headphone and speakers, changing HP telemetry settings and adjusting the buttons on the stylus. There’s also HP Quick Drop to move files between your phone and the laptop.
On top of all that, there is MyHP, which gives you your serial number and is otherwise filled in with some fairly vapid tips for using your PC. HP has also added LastPass, ExpressVPN, Netflix, trials of Adobe software and a promotion with Dropbox for new users to get 25GB of free space. There’s also a suite of McAfee software, including McAfee LiveSafe, Personal Security and File Lock.
Amazon Alexa is also preinstalled, which may be divisive. It sure is more useful than Cortana. Either way, it’s not actively listening. Instead, you have to sign in to your Amazon account.
Of course, there’s also some bloatware that’s included in most Windows 10 installs, like Hulu, Roblox and Hidden City: Hidden Object Adventure.
HP sells the Spectre x360 14 with a 1-year warranty.
HP Spectre x360 14 Configurations
We tested the Spectre x360 14 with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD with 32GB of Intel Optane memory, a 3000 x 2000 OLED display. It comes in black and costs $1,699.99 at Best Buy as of this writing.
HP sells other configurations on its own website, starting at $1,219.99 with an Intel Core i5-1135G7, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD with16GB of Intel Optane memory and a 1920 x 1280 touchscreen. Changing to black or blue adds $10 to the price, and for more money, you can go up to 2TB of storage (up to an extra $320).
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The HP Spectre x360 14 is the best 2-in-1 laptop you can get right now. The 3:2 display highlights your work in laptop mode and is more natural than 16:9 or 16:10 screens in tablet mode. It offers solid performance, has a variety of ports, includes a stylus and has an excellent keyboard.
If battery life is your priority, the OLED screen won’t do you any favors, but the 1920 x 1280 model might be more your speed. The
MacBook Pro with M1
, a clamshell alternative, is top of the class in endurance. If you prefer a smaller footprint, the
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310
is still very good, though it has fewer ports and a 16:10 screen rather than 3:2.
But the Spectre x360 14 largely has it all, making this one easy to recommend if you’re willing to pay a premium price.
A new member of the Rocket Lake family has been spotted on Geekbench, this time an ultra-low powered variant called the Core i9-11900T. With 8 cores and a 35W TDP, this chip is the most power-efficient Rocket Lake SKU to date. But with performance that might surprise you. As these are unverified results, best to take the data with a pinch of salt.
From what we can tell on Geekbench’s spec sheet, the Core i9-11900T features a very low 1.51 GHz base frequency but maintains a surprisingly high 4.9 GHz maximum boost frequency. While 35W may not sound like a lot of power, it seems that Rocket Lake’s cores are power efficient enough to run 1 or maybe 2 cores at a boost frequency typically found on higher wattage SKUs.
Looking at the results, the 11900T managed a score of 1717 points in the single-threaded test and 8349 points in the multi-threaded score. The single-threaded score, in particular, is impressive. For comparison, the 11900T stomps on the — soon to be — previous gen, Core i9-10900K (with a 1402 score) by a whopping 20%.
Switching over to Intel’s main competitor, AMD, the Ryzen 7 5800X managed to get very close to the 11900T, with the AMD chip being just 2.5% slower and a score of 1674 points.
(Image credit: Geekbench)
However, in multi-threaded tests, the 11900T’s 35W TDP really hampers performance. Comparing Intel’s Core i7-10700K from last-gen (not to mention the 10900K); the 10700K managed to be 7% faster than the 11900T. Then compared to the Ryzen 7 5800X, the lead stretches to a 22% difference in performance.
Overall, the Core i9-11900T is an impressive chip, even constrained to just 35W, it can outpace the best Comet Lake-S chips in the single-threaded department and get close to Comet Lake-S’ best 8 core CPU, the 10700K in multi-threaded performance.
This will really help expand the chip’s capabilities for users that require low powered CPUs. Typically with lower wattage chips like this, you expect major performance penalties. But if these performance numbers are true, then the i9-11900T could legitimately make a nice gaming CPU for ultra-compact/portable gaming systems with its excellent single-threaded numbers.
Hopefully, this kind of performance will be the same once the chip goes live and then we can benchmark the chip for ourselves. We still don’t know when the 11900T will be released, usually, Intel delays the launch of its ultra low powered SKUs until well after the launch of its vanilla and overclockable CPUs.
Intel’s 11th Generation Rocket Lake-S processors aren’t in stores yet, but engineering and qualification samples of the chips are evidently going around the black market. Romanian news outlet Lab501 and a Chinese YouTuber have released early reviews of the Core i7-11700K and Core i9-11900K, respectively. Since these are not retail samples, we recommend caution when approaching the results.
By now, Rocket Lake-S shouldn’t require any introductions. The forthcoming chips are still on Intel’s 14nm process node but wield the new Cypress Cove cores, which Intel claims will bring IPC uplifts up to 19%. AMD’s Ryzen 5000 (codename Vermeer) chips have dethroned Intel as the best gaming processor on the market, and the Blue Team is keen to recover its title. On the graphics end, Rocket Lake-S comes equipped with Intel’s 12th Generation Xe LP graphics with a maximum configuration of up to 32 Execution Units (EUs).
The Core i7-11700K and Core i9-11900K are reportedly eight-core, 16-thread processors with a 125W TDP. Intel usually differentiats its Core i7 and i9 lineups by adding more cores (or threading) to the i9 series, but given a hard cap of eight cores for Rocket Lake, it appears that clock rates are the only difference between the two families.
The Core i7-11700K has been rumored to feature a 3.6 GHz base clock, 5 GHz boost clock, and a 4.6 GHz all-core boost clock. Being the flagship part, the Core i9-11900K appears to have a 3.5 GHz base clock, 5.3 GHz boost clock, and a 4.8 GHz all-core boost clock.
Intel Core i7-11700K Benchmarks
Processor
3Ds Studio Max 2020*
Blender*
DaVinci Resolve 15*
HandBrake 1.2.2*
WinRAR 5.91
7-Zip 19
Cinebench R20
POV-Ray 3.7
PCMark 10
Power Consumption*
Ryzen 7 5800X
859
575
133
47
32,588
94,765
6.035
5.422
8,325
224
Core i7-11700K
917
631
154
48
28,072
76,816
5,615
4,505
7,927
286
*Lower is better.
AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X simply dominated the Core i7-11700K across the board in terms of application performance. In some benchmarks, the margins were less than 10%, while in others, like WinRAR or 7-Zip, the Ryzen 7 5800X delivered up to 16.1% and 23.3% higher performance.
The Core i7-11700K’s power consumption also stood out, and not in a good way. With a Prime95-induced load, the Core i7-11700K drew up to 286W. Unfortunately, Lab501 didn’t include the Core i7-10700K to get an idea of the generation-over-generation power consumption. However, the Core i7-11700K pulled up to 27.7% more power than the Ryzen 7 5800X. Therefore, the Core i7-11700K wasn’t just slower than the Ryzen 7 5800X, but it was more power hungry as well.
Processor
Average
4K
WQHD
FHD
Ryzen 7 5800X
132.76
89.20
136.80
163.15
Core i7-11700K
131.27
89.80
133.90
161.15
According to Lab501’s results, the Ryzen 7 5800X was, on average, up to 1.1% faster than the Core i7-11700K. If we look at it individually, the Ryzen 7 5800X was marginally better than the Core i7-11700K in WQHD and FHD with differences of 2.2% and 1.2%, respectively.
Obviously, gaming is important for Intel, but the Core i7-11700K failed to help the chipmaker recover the lost ground. However, with such slim performance deltas, pricing could define the winner – we just don’t know pricing for Rocket Lake yet.
Intel Core i9-11900K Benchmarks
Processor
PCMark 10
Blender
X264 FHD Benchmark
V-Ray
Cinebench R15
CPU-Z Single Thread
CPU-Z Multi Thread
Core i9-11900K
14,536
142.06
72.8
17,181
2,526
719.6
7035.5
Ryzen 7 5800X
14,062
164.49
64.2
16,317
2,354
657.0
6366.0
The Core i9-11900K, on the other hand, had no problems outperforming the Ryzen 7 5800X in application workloads. Intel’s chip pumped out between 3% to 13% more performance than the Ryzen 7 5800X.
Processor
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Total War: Three Kingdoms
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Cyberpunk 2077
Hitman 3
League of Legends
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Ryzen 7 5800X
366
117
215
113
156
473
123
Core i9-11900K
353
117
215
110
158
361
122
It would seem that even the Core i9-11900K had trouble beating the Ryzen 7 5800X in gaming. Out of the seven titles, the Ryzen 7 5800X outpaced the Core i9-11900K in four of them. Both chips tied in two games, and the Core i9-11900K only managed to defeat the Ryzen 7 5800X in Hitman 3.
From what we’ve seen so far, the Core i7-11700K is no match for the Ryzen 7 5800X in either application or gaming workloads. Intel redeemed itself with the Core i9-11900K as it offers better application performance over the Ryzen 7 5800X.
Gaming, which Intel is big on, still seems to be on the Ryzen 7 5800X’s side though. Of course, we can’t pass judgment until proper reviews come out.
Although it’s hard to find any Zen 3 chips nowadays, the Ryzen 7 5800X retails for $449 when in stock. We can’t be certain of Rocket Lake’s pricing until the processors officialy come out. However, if preliminary retailer listings are even remotely accurate, the Core i7-11700K and Core i9-11900K may well end up with official price tags in the $450 and $600 range, respectively.
Intel just spilled the beans on an Intel Core i9-10900KS CPU that could be coming soon. An Intel Software Advantage Program qualifying list shows the SKU, leaving us wondering what it may offer over the standard Intel Core i9-10900K.
The document also states that buying the Core i9-10900KS or one of the (many) other qualifying CPUs will net you a free copy of Crysis Remastered. However, the 10900KS isn’t out yet. In fact, this is the first time we’ve heard of the CPU.
This is not Intel’s first rodeo with special edition SKUs. Processors such as the Core i7-8086K and Core i9-9900KS were both limited/special edition products that offered the highest binned Intel silicon you could buy, as well as the highest stock core frequencies possible at the time.
For instance, the Core i9-9900KS features a beefy all-core turbo of 5 GHz flat on all 8 CPU cores, even under AVX workloads. The vanilla i9-9900K could boost to 5 GHz but only on a few cores. As you loaded up more cores, the boost frequency would gradually drop, until you hit the CPUs all-core turbo of 4.7 GHz, (unless you enabled multi-core enhancement which would auto-overclock all cores to 5 GHz flat).
The 10900KS could end up being a similar offering, though it seems difficult to fathom a 5.0 or 5.1GHz all-core-turbo frequency on 10 14nm cores without encountering serious power and heat issues.
Also possible is a higher all-core turbo clock, with Intel still using a turbo core hierarchy, where some cores boost higher than others.
Again though, this is purely speculation. This is the first we’ve heard of the 10900KS so we have no idea when it will come out or what it will offer. But with Intel’s past two generations of Core microarchitectures featuring a “Special Edition” SKU, it seems reasonable that Intel would continue the tradition with Comet Lake-S.
While Intel’s NUCs come pre-built and ready to work out-of-box, some of the higher-end NUCs can get an aftermarket treatment from fanless chassis makers. Due to higher TDPs, that will apparently not be the case with the latest NUC 11 systems (codenamed Phantom Canyon). The new NUCs come powered by Intel’s quad-core 11th-Gen Core ‘Tiger Lake’ processor as well as Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2060, but the powerful combination pushes TDPs up to 150W, making passive cooling impractical.
As it turns out, Intel’s NUC 11 for enthusiasts has a combined TDP of 150W, as noticed by FanlessTech in a Twitter post. Such a high TDP makes it impossible to build a small passively-cooled chassis for the unit. By default, the system (which measures 221 × 142 × 42 mm) has a rather sophisticated cooling system featuring five heat pipes and a fan. A third-party fanless cooling solution would be too bulky, and therefore impractical for a small form-factor PC.
In fairness, Intel’s NUC 11 Enthusiast is a rather capable system. The PC packs the quad-core Intel Core i7-1165G7 (up to 4.70GHz, 12 MB cache, 28W TDP-up) processor that is accompanied by 16 GB of DDR4-3200 memory (upgradeable to 64 GB), Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2060 discrete GPU with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory, and Intel’s Optane Memory H10 (32 GB + 512 GB) or H20 SSD.
(Image credit: FanlessTech)
The CPU can be configured for a 15W or a 28W TDP, but the mobile GeForce RTX 2060 GPU can consume 80W or more (a desktop card consumes 160W). Considering that there are other components too, a 150W combined TDP seems fair for a Phantom Canyon system (especially considering various burst modes modern CPUs and GPUs have).
Without a doubt, it is disappointing for enthusiasts of ultra-quiet computing and passive cooling that it will be impossible to build a fanless PC using components of Intel’s NUC 11 Enthusiast. Meanwhile, for those who want to have a very small PC that can run modern games, this system still makes a lot of sense.
Back at the start of last month, the first traces of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G showed up through entries in the USB-IF, and just a couple of days later, its specifications surfaced. But what we didn’t know yet was what performance is set to be like — but that changes today with yet another new leak. The chip is now up for sale for $499 on eBay.
Shared on Twitter by Harakuze, a Ryzen 7 5700G Engineering Sample has been listed on eBay with, hidden in further images, results for a Cinebench R23 run. As with most leaked info, we aren’t able to confirm these performance figures. However, after some digging, we found entries for the 8-core 5700G APU and the 6-core model, the Ryzen 5 5600G APU. That being said, these latter figures come from CPU-Monkey, so we should still take them with a significant grain of salt and as little more than confirmation of the posted scores — though they are all in-line with our expectations.
(Image credit: eBay Seller hugohk)
In the test shown by the eBay seller, the 5700G ES jots down a single-core score of 1514 pts, with the multi-core score at an impressive 15456 points. For comparison, Intel’s 11th-Gen Core i7-1165G7 has a single-core score of 1532 points — but that’s a mobile chip and not a desktop APU.
That being said, we haven’t gotten around to testing with Cinebench R23 yet, but peeking around jots the Zen-2 based Ryzen 3700X (the most comparable Zen-2 chip) at a score of roughly single-core 1250 points. The 8-core Zen-1 based 1700X is shown in Cinebench to score 959 points. The generational gains are evident.
Comparing to the 5800X — a chip with the same Zen 3 CPU architecture and core count, the 5700G takes a small step back in performance. This reddit thread shows user’s scores, with the Ryzen 7 5800X having single-core scores in the low-1600’s and multi-core scores approaching 16,000 pts. Of course, this difference comes down to the higher TDP and boost clock of the 5800X, which boosts up to 4.7 GHz according to its spec sheet but will often boost higher than that, too. But, if you look carefully, you’ll spot that the alleged engineering sample 5700G is clocked at the same 4.7 GHz for the test, indicating that it might be slightly overclocked.
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G Specifications
The Ryzen 7 5700G is rumored to feature 8 cores, 16 threads, a boost clock of 4.4 GHz, and operate at a 65 W TDP. But of course, the real start of the show in these APUs is the onboard GPU. Alas, details about the GPU aren’t shared in the eBay listing, nor do we have any available elsewhere.
Processor
Cores / Threads
Base / Boost Clocks
L3 Cache
TDP
Ryzen 7 5700G
8 / 16
? / 4.4 GHz
16 MB
65 W
Ryzen 7 4700G
8 / 16
3.6 / 4.4 GHz
8 MB
65 W
Ryzen 7 5800X
8 / 16
3.8 / 4.7 GHz
32 MB
105 W
Ryzen 7 3700X
8 / 16
3.6 / 4.4 GHz
32 MB
65 W
All that being said, we would still take all the information with a pinch of salt. The seller claims that the engineering sample is a 5700G, and the lettering on the CPU (100-000000263-30) appears to suggest it’s the same chip as we saw earlier in January, but as with any pre-release hardware, you never know what you’re really going to get. We would be very hesitant in offering the seller the $500 he wants for the chip — even with all the chip shortages.
Let’s just hope these chips don’t become OEM-only like the 4000-series APUs did.
Intel kicked off 2021 with a fresh lineup of mobile processors with a unique twist. The 11th Gen Tiger Lake H35-series processors aren’t just for any ol’ laptop. They target what Intel calls “ultraportable gaming laptops.” And at 3 p.m. ET today on The Tom’s Hardware Show, we’re sitting down with the chipmaker to learn more about what that means.
The Tom’s Hardware Show livestream is every Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. Today, Intel’s general manager of premium and gaming notebook segments, Fredrik Hamberger, will join Tom’s Hardware editors to give us an inside look at Intel’s H35 chips.
You can watch today’s Tom’s Hardware show below at 3 p.m. ET:
You can also catch the show on Facebook and the Tom’s Hardware Twitch channel. Every episode is also available to download as a podcast.
And like with any episode of The Tom’s Hardware Show, we’ll be taking questions from the audience. Join the livestream at 3 p.m. ET to submit your questions via chat YouTube or Facebook, and we may discuss them on air.
Announced during CES 2021 in January, Intel’s H35 CPUs go up to four CPU cores, eight threads and a 35W TDP. The flagship Core i7-11375H Special Edition can hit a 5.0 single-core turbo frequency and has a standard base clock speed of 3.3 GHz at 35W (it drops to 3.0 GHz at 28W).
Intel is positioning the H35 series as an option for the growing number of machines looking to compete with the best gaming laptops by including a discrete graphics cards while remaining portable. Our Asus TUF Dash F15 review showed what the quad-core Core i7-1130H can do alongside a mobile RTX 3070 graphics card in a 0.78-inch thick clamshell.
Join Tom’s Hardware this afternoon to learn more and ask Intel your H35 queries.
Commell has unveiled one of the industry’s first Pico-ITX motherboards featuring Intel’s Tiger Lake-UP3 processor with built-in Iris Xe graphics core. Not designed to compete with the best motherboards for PCs, The tiny LP-179 board is aimed primarily at embedded systems, yet it can enable everyone to build an ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) desktop featuring a decent quad-core CPU with an advanced GPU.
Commell’s LP-179 motherboard will initially be available with Intel’s Core i7-1185G7E (4C/8T, 1.80/4.40GHz, 12MB cache, 96 EU, 15W) or Celeron 6305E (2C/2T, 1.80GHz, 4MB cache, 48 EU, 15W) processor addressing premium and entry-level markets. The SoC may be accompanied by up to 32GB of DDR4-3200 memory using one SO-DIMM module, an M.2-2280 SSD featuring a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, and one SATA drive.
The tiny LP-179 — which measures 100×72 mm — has a rather decent connectivity department that includes an M.2-2230 slot for a Bluetooth + Wi-Fi adapter, two GbE ports (2.5 GbE Intel I225-LM, GbE I219-LM), two display outputs (one DisplayPort, one HDMI) and two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports. Being aimed at embedded systems, Commell’s internal headers for USB 2.0, RS232, audio (controlled by the Realtek ALC262 chip), SMBus, a battery, and an LVDS or VGA.
(Image credit: Commell)
Motherboards from companies like Commell are rarely available in retail, but it is still possible to get them from stores like Alibaba, usually together with Pico-ITX cases. In addition, LP-179 boards will likely find themselves inside various UCFF PCs from second and third tier makers.
Pricing of Commell’s LP179 motherboards has not been announced.
Parties that need a midrange 11th Generation Core SoC, can opt for Core i5-1145GRE/1145G7E and Core i3-1115GRE/1115G4E, yet these boards will be built-to-order.
The HP Spectre x360 has an attractive design and long battery life, though the 16:9 display feels dated. Its only performance downside is in bursty workloads, which we saw some issues with.
For
Sliim, attractive chassis
Solid speakers for a laptop
Long battery life
Still squeezes in a USB Type-A port
Against
16:9 display is dated, especially as a tablet
Not great with bursty performance
Difficult to upgrade
Sure, the
best ultrabooks and premium laptops
are tools, but you also want your computing device to look good. Design is important, after all.
The HP Spectre 360 13t ($949.99 to start, $1,249.99 as tested) continues to be one of the best-looking Windows devices out there, with a refined, thin design and clever port placement with both Thunderbolt 4 and USB Type-A.
But a tool also has to do the job well. With a 16:9 screen, the Spectre x360 can still, well, compute, but it doesn’t show as much as some others. And then there’s the question of whether or not this laptop can tame Intel’s latest Tiger Lake processors.
Design of the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
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HP’s Spectre lineup has had an aesthetic that would make a jeweler proud for the last few years. The Spectre x360 13t is no different there. The laptop, made from silver aluminum (it comes in black or blue for an extra cost), and has a reflective, modernized HP logo that I think the company should really start using on all of its products. But what makes it stand out are the cut-off corners near the back hinge, one of which has the power button while the other houses a Thunderbolt 4 port.
Those corners are always accessible, and easy enough to reach whether the laptop is being used as a notebook or a tablet.
The 13.3-inch display has very thin bezels, but looks short and squat with a 16:9 aspect ratio. As more notebooks move to taller 16:10 displays, like the
Dell XPS 13
and
MacBook Pro
or a 3:2 display like the
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
, it makes the whole design here, not just the screen, seem a little cramped and dated. (HP does have a 3:2 Spectre x360 with the 14-inch version of this laptop, which we hope to be able to test soon.)
HP has packed in a full-size keyboard, including a row for home, page up, page down and end keys, and the rest of the construction is aluminum. This thing is built solid.
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While thicker notebooks may have more ports, HP hasn’t given up on USB Type-A here, which I really appreciate. The left side of the notebook has a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A with a drop-jaw hinge to squeeze it into the chassis, as well as a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The right side has two Thunderbolt 4 ports (one in the top-right corner), a kill switch for the camera, and a microSD card reader.
The Spectre x360 13 measures 12.08 x 7.66 x 0.67 inches and weighs 2.8 pounds. That makes it ever so slightly lighter than the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310, which is 2.9 pounds and 11.6 x 8.15 x 0.56 inches. The Asus ZenBook Flip S UX371 is a slighter 2.7 pounds and 12 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches. Apple’s MacBook Pro, a clamshell, is 3 pounds and 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches.
HP Spectre x360 13-inch Specifications
CPU
Intel Core i7-1165G7
Graphics
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Memory
16GB LPDDR4X-4266
Storage
512GB PCIe NVMe SSD with 32GB Intel Optane
Display
13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS touchscreen
Networking
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5
Ports
2x Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, Headphone/microphone jack, microSD card reader
Camera
720p IR
Battery
60 WHr
Power Adapter
65 W
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Dimensions(WxDxH)
12.08 x 7.66 x 0.67 inches / 306.83 x 194.56 x 17.01 mm
Weight
2.8 pounds / 1.27 kg
Price (as configured)
$1,249.99
Productivity Performance HP Spectre x360 13-inch
The Spectre is the latest machine we’ve tested with Intel’s Core i7-1165G7 “Tiger Lake” mobile processors. Our configuration of the 2-in-1 has paired that with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB Intel SSD and 32GB of Intel Optane memory.
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On comparable versions of Geekbench 5, an overall performance benchmark, the Spectre had a single core-score of 1,574 and a multi-core score of 4,749. The ZenBook Flip S had a higher multi-core score (4,952) but a lower single-core score (1,512) with the same CPU. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, also with the same Core i7, has a far higher multi-core score (5,639) but a lower single-core score (1,532). On the same test, the MacBook Pro had a multi-core score of 5,925 and a single-core score of 1,316, and that was through Rosetta emulation that can decrease performance.
The Spectre transferred 25GB of files at a rate of 452.62 MBps, edging out the XPS 13 2-in-1. But the ZenBook Flip S out-performed here at 979.37
It took the Spectre x360 18 minutes and 39 seconds to complete our Handbrake test, which transcodes a 4K video to 1080p. That’s faster than the ZenBook, though the XPS 13 2-in-1 had it beat, while the MacBook Pro was more than five minutes faster than the Spectre, even through Rosetta 2 emulation.
We also ran the Spectre through our stress test, which runs Cinebench R23 twenty times on a loop. The results were largely in the high 3,000’s, occasionally peaking over 4,000. Towards the end, it was a bit erratic. The CPU ran at an average of 2.52 GHz and an average temperature of 64.88 degrees Celsius (148.78 degrees Fahrenheit). HWInfo’s monitoring software detected several instances of cores’ power limits being exceeded.
Display on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch Specifications
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Our review unit has a 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 touchscreen with a 16:9 aspect ratio. That seems a bit squat, even outdated, compared to some competitors, which have moved on to 16:10 or 3:2 displays that are taller and show more of your work at once. It’s also more natural for tablet mode.
Part of my testing included watching the trailer for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Some explosions early in the trailer showed some intense burst of orange, though some scenes on a football field had fireworks that didn’t pop against the night sky as much as I would have liked to see. It’s usable, but not the best I’ve seen.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Spectre’s IPS display covered 67.7% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, in the range of the XPS 13 2-in-1 (70%). We reviewed the ZenBook Flip S with an OLED display that hit 113.1% (you can get the Spectre with OLED; see configurations below). Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro reached 78.3%.
HP’s display measured an average of 391 nits of brightness, beating the ZenBook, but falling short of the MacBook Pro and the XPS 13 2-in-1.
Keyboard and Touchpad on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
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The keyboard on the Spectre x360 is comfortable, with a satisfying click (at least, as far as membranes go), that bounces up in a responsive fashion.
My bigger issue was the wristrest. The deck is a bit short, so my hands hung off it while I typed. I hit 88 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, which is a bit low for me; I’m generally in the high 90’s. It wasn’t because of the keyboard, but because I was floating my wrists in the air. A taller screen would require a longer deck, which could help solve this.
I would prefer that the 4.4 x 2.2 inch touchpad be a bit taller, but there’s also not any room for that on the device. Still, the vertical height was slightly limiting, and I often hit the edge of it. That said, the precision touchpad is sensitive enough that I was able to perform gestures, even with four fingers, without any issues.
Audio on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
For such a trim device, HP is offering up decent quality sound. The bottom-firing speakers, tuned by Bang & Olufsen, were clear with detailed sound. In Yellowcard’s “City of Devils,” the mix of violins, guitars, cymbals and drums were well leveled and textured, though, like many laptops, the bass wasn’t particularly perceptible.
The included Bang & Olufsen Audio control app helped that a bit when I switched to the Bass equalizer preset, but I preferred the overall mix of the default settings, which better highlighted the violins and vocals.
Upgradeability of the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
There are only two visible screws (a pair of Torx) on the bottom of the Spectre x360. If only things were that easy.
There are four additional Phillips-head screws beneath one of the laptop’s two adhesive-backed rubber feet. Removing the foot could potentially rip or tear it, making it difficult to replace later, so the average person probably shouldn’t attempt to open the laptop up.
Per HP’s maintenance manual for this laptop, the battery, Wi-Fi card and SSD are all replaceable if you do get in there, though the RAM is soldered down.
For most people, we recommend ensuring you get the configuration with enough storage and RAM to future proof it for you. Enthusiasts who can risk that rubber foot will find some upgradeable and repairable parts inside.
Battery Life on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
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This 2-in-1 has some endurance. While it comes with a nice USB Type-C charger with a braided cable, you should be able to go quite a while without it. The Spectre ran for 12 hours and 32 minutes on our battery test, which continuously browses the web, runs OpenGL tests and streams video over Wi-Fi, all at 150 nits of brightness.
It outlased both the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, which ran for 10:52, and the Asus ZenBook Flip S, which lasted 8:11. But Apple’s MacBook Pro, powered by its incredibly-efficient M1 processor, lasted four hours longer at 16:32.
Heat on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
Beyond internal temperatures, we took skin temperatures while we ran our Cinebench R23 stress test.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The center of the keyboard, between the G andH keys, measured 36.2 degrees Celsius (97.16 degrees Fahrenheit), though the keyboard was a cooler 29 degrees Celsius.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The hottest point on the bottom of the laptop hit 41.7 degrees Celsius (107.06 degrees Fahrenheit).
Webcam on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
The 720p camera in the Spectre x360’s bezel produces blurry images and doesn’t capture color well. In a shot at my desk, My blue eyes looked dark, my orange shirt muted, and the whole image was covered in visual noise.
Is it usable? Sure. But you may also want to consider buying best webcams for improved image quality. There’s a kill switch on the right side of the laptop for extra privacy when you’re not using the webcam.
Software and Warranty on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
Most of the software preinstalled on the Spectre is from HP itself. The most important is HP Command Center, a one-stop-shop to choose between performance presets, network prioritization for applications and system information. The others include HP Support Assistant (which I think could be rolled into Command Center), HP Privacy Settings and a link to the user manual for the laptop. There’s also MyHP, which gives you easy access to your serial numbers and a bunch of short tutorials for Windows and Microsoft Office.
Of course, there’s still the bloat that comes with most Windows 10 installs, like Spotify, Hulu, Roblox and Hidden City: Hidden Object Adventure.
HP sells the 13-inch Spectre x360 with a 1-year warranty that can be extended at an additional cost.
HP Spectre x360 13-inch Configurations
We tested the Spectre x360 with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage with 32GB of Intel Optane memory and a 1920 x 1080 IPS touchscreen. All of that comes for $1,249.99.
The base model is $949.99, with an Intel Core i5-1135G7, 8GB of RAM, a 1080p screen and a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
Many of the components are configurable. You can go up to a
4K
UHD OLED touch screen (add $180), or opt for FHD
OLED
(add $30) or even WLED with Sure View Privacy (a $60 extra.) Storage goes up to a 2TB PCIe SSD. If you don’t want the silver color, you can pay $10 for black or $20 extra for blue.
The most expensive version, with a “Poseidon blue” chassis, Windows 10 Pro and the maximum specs runs $1,869.99.
Bottom Line
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In its latest iteration, the 13-inch HP Spectre x360 continues to be an attractive choice, quite literally. The Spectre remains one of the best-looking notebooks on the market, and it’s sleek and trim. Its battery life is impressive, and the Bang & Olufsen audio is pretty good for a 2-in-1 laptop.
While many ultrabook owners may not use their laptops for the most intense workloads, those who do may notice the issues we saw in our Cinebench gauntlet. That’s not a huge issue for day-to-day use, but enthusiasts or power users may seek other options.
If you’re looking for a convertible 2-in-1, the go-to continues to be the
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1
, which offers strong performance and a taller, 16:10 display that works better as a tablet. You will, however, give up the full-sized USB Type-A port. HP also offers a comfier keyboard, in this author’s opinion, though a short wrist rest mars the typing experience.
But if a mix of style and endurace strikes your fancy, the Spectre x360 should be under consideration, though I’m hoping we can check out the 14-inch, 3:2 version soon.
Someone on AliExpress is selling a rather unique processor you won’t find anywhere else: a Comet Lake mobile processor with a built-in interposer that allows support for LGA 1151 desktop motherboards. If you want to run an efficient 10th Gen mobile CPU on your desktop, now is your chance!
The processor itself is listed as QTJ2, and is a hyperthreaded Hexa-core chip with a base frequency of 2.4GHz and a boost clock of 4.3GHz. We aren’t sure exactly what it is, but it appears to be a production sample that never got produced. The QTJ2 mostly resembles an underclocked Core i7-10750H, for comparison.
The chip is no slouch when it comes to performance, mostly resembling gaming performance to that of a Core i7-8700K from a few years ago. One YouTuber tested the chip out and it had no problems handling a GTX 1080 in Shadow of The Tomb Raider.
Unfortunately, compatibility with this chip is not as straightforward as we would like it to be. Due to the QTJ2’s mobile nature, the chip isn’t compatible with LGA 1151 motherboards without a BIOS modification. Luckily, the seller of the chip will happily take in your motherboard’s BIOS and customize it for you, so the mobile Comet Lake chip can support your board.
There are other limitations worth mentioning. For cooling, you have to ensure the CPU cooler you use has a flat surface. This means coolers with heat pipes that directly contact the CPU are not an option (like the Hyper 212 EVO), because the QTJ2 CPU does not have an IHS. You need a cooler with a perfectly even surface to ensure the die is cooled properly.
Another issue is chipset limitations. For some reason, the Comet Lake chip can only be supported on select 100 series, 200 series, and 300 series boards (for example Z390 is not supported). So be sure your chipset can support the chip before you make your purchase.
Still, it’s cool to see a mobile Comet Lake chip working on a desktop computer. Ironically, this is the ONLY way to get a proper Intel 10nm based chip inside a desktop at this current time.
Desktop variants of Comet Lake and upcoming Rocket Lake chips are still running on Intel’s older 14nm process. So if you’re desperate to get 10nm working on desktops right now, this is your only option. Just beware this configuration is officially unsupported by Intel and is only supported by third parties, so make sure you know what you’re getting into.
The PC industry response to Apple’s new M1 chips has been rather quiet, until now. Intel is hitting back at Apple’s new M1 MacBooks with some benchmarks of its own, after early reviews showed impressive performance and battery life from Apple’s ARM-based chips.
In benchmarks published by Tom’s Hardware, Intel compares its 11th Gen Core i7 processor with the M1 CPU found in the latest MacBook Pro. Intel claims its latest chips beat Apple’s M1 performance by 30 percent in overall Chrome browsing tasks, and every one of its carefully selected Office 365 tasks.
Intel’s productivity benchmarks.Image: Intel
Intel’s benchmarks also include comparisons between HandBrake transcoding, Adobe Premiere Pro exports, and tasks in both Photoshop and Lightroom Classic. Intel’s 11th Gen chips beat Apple’s M1 in all of these tasks, too.
Intel also tested gaming across both chips, mainly to point out that most games aren’t available on macOS. Out of the games tested, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Hitman, and Borderlands 3 all run at higher average framerates on the M1, though.
This range of benchmarks are clearly cherry picked to favor Intel’s chips, especially as some make use of Intel’s hardware acceleration. Most of the tests aren’t industry standard benchmarks, and Intel even swapped out the MacBook Pro it was testing with a MacBook Air specifically for the battery life tests. Reviewers have regularly found the MacBook Pro battery life to be superior to the MacBook Air and similar Windows laptops, but Intel used the Air for its comparisons to show it only beat PCs by six minutes.
Intel also argues that PCs offer more choice, better peripheral compatibility, and multi-monitor support. These are particularly valid points, especially when you consider that the M1 MacBook Pro and Air only support a single external display.
What Intel’s hand-picked benchmarks don’t really cover is the experience of using an M1 device compared to existing Intel-based MacBooks. Apple’s latest laptops are silent during most operations, with no loud fans spinning up, impressive battery life, and solid software compatibility. Apple’s processor transition to its own silicon has been surprisingly smooth, and this is just the first generation of chips to make it to market.
Intel is clearly concerned by Apple’s first chips, and we’re now waiting for the company to respond with its own processors instead of benchmarks. The entire PC industry will need to respond to Apple, at a time when laptop sales are growing. Intel’s new CEO, Pat Gelsinger, looks set to battle Apple’s M1 chips in the years ahead, and he’s already made it clear that Intel has to beat Apple in the future.
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