HP Zbook Create G7 review: Specification and Price
For those of us whose work and play requires a powerful laptop, it’s important to get a device built to do what you need. But it can be difficult to find a laptop that’s able to run smoothly while running creative programs (HP Zbook Create G7 review: Specification and Price)
HP's ZBook Create G7 is a high-end notebook PC that was designed to compete with the giants of the creative and gaming spaces. Claiming deeper blacks, brighter whites, immersive sound, long-lasting battery, and efficient cooling, HP promises the ZBook Create G7 can do it all.
But does this HP laptop really offer all that?
To verify the accuracy of the advertising claims, we tested this laptop among creators and gamers who used the machine for work and play to see how it performed.
Upon delivery, we found that the HP Zbook Create G7 was well-protected thanks to premium packaging, including a sturdy box that closes magnetically. Thankfully, the product wasn't shipped with a lot of printed instructions, which most people probably wouldn't read anyway. The only papers that were included with the shipping were a warranty pamphlet for the battery and a sheet with a diagram of all the inputs.
We thought the laptop was very sleek. The outside is clean and smooth, which provides a more elegant design than the old-style gaming laptop, making it look very professional. It feels well-built, and the letters on the keyboard are clear and easy to read -- more like a desktop keyboard than a laptop. The charging cord wasn't a traditional black plastic cord; it was a thicker grey cable, making it feel more durable.
The setup process was straightforward and intuitive. We followed onscreen menus as they walked us through a series of simple steps, which took about five minutes to complete. If you prefer to log in with facial recognition and fingerprints, you can set that up at this time.
Part of the setup includes registering for a number of optional HP applications. For those we set up, we found they just required providing personal information but weren't complex.
Colors
The HP Zbook Create G7 features colors that are saturated and sharp. Overall, we found that the display leaned toward a warmer yellow tone that was easier on the eyes, but it still offered a deep, rich black. The contrast was high as well. When doing tasks such as video and photo editing, we noticed that the brightness level didn't quite match the brightness of some competitors, though this didn't create any issues. When watching movies and videos, the picture was theater quality.
Sound
The HP Zbook Create G7 has integrated Bang and Olufsen speakers that produce impressive sound. When listening to music, we could hear all the details and we noticed that high-pitched sounds, which normally sound buzzy on laptop speakers (even on MacBooks), sounded clear. It truly feels like this notebook PC produces an authentic surround-sound effect.
When playing games without wearing headphones, the unit produces a soundscape that allows the player to become fully immersed in the moment. The sound effects are sharp and pack some punch, while the speakers seem fully capable of handling a wide range of frequencies. We appreciated that we didn't feel the need to wear a headset while gaming on this laptop, as this made the activity more comfortable for longer periods of time without sacrificing sound quality.
Cooling
When two editing programs are running simultaneously, the laptop does get a little hot, but it's still cooler than other laptops. The speed at which the unit cooled down after it finished the tasks was impressive. Likewise, when playing competitive games, the ZBook Create G7 heats up quickly and stays hot for a little while, but when finished, it cools down quickly.
Power save mode
When this ZBook slips into power save mode due to inactivity, you can quickly wake the machine up using your bio settings. Upon waking, the notebook either jumps directly to the last program you were using or it opens to the desktop. This feature is useful and efficient because it eliminates the need to wake the machine up and enter a password -- it simply wakes up and is ready to use immediately.
The HP Zbook Create G7 is a powerful tool for creating. Typically, when we have two editing programs open and running at the same time, there's a slight lag in performance -- but this model showed no signs of diminished processing speeds when having multiple programs open at once. We were impressed with this laptop's performance, and when compared side-by-side with a MacBook Pro, this Zbook came out ahead thanks to its processing power and low rendering time.
We found that one of the areas where this otherwise impressive laptop is lacking slightly is as a gaming laptop -- though we appreciate its multifunctionality and still enjoyed using it for gaming when we weren't working on it. (With that said, it beats out most competitors, which generally have the capacity to run games but aren't specifically built for the task.)
While the graphics card, CPU, and memory are able to handle games at fairly high settings, the display is only able to handle 60hz. (This simply means the HP Zbook Create G7's screen refreshes 60 times every second.) There are a lot of high-end gaming laptops on the market that are equipped with 144hz and higher. However, the benefit of the HP Zbook Create G7 is that it can serve as both a work and play computer so there's no need for multiple expensive devices, saving money overall.
When playing "Overwatch," we didn't notice the game slowing down when switching between ultra settings and low graphics settings.
As far as performance, we connected the laptop to the HP OMEN monitor, opened Adobe Photoshop, downloaded games, and played them on the laptop, all without any issues. This notebook PC offers a much greater degree of customization than a MacBook, which allows you to personalize your user experience. We found this to be appealing to creative minds who want their technology to cater to their exact needs, instead of having to adjust their usage around their laptop's limitations.
HP's ZBook Create G7 Notebook PC is adept at running multiple creative programs at a time for those who like to multitask, and it combines a work and gaming laptop in one portable machine. The speakers are impressive, as is the color. It has a handy link-to-your-phone feature that allows you to easily pair with your Android or iPhone for even more multitasking options.
We were able to set up the machine and get it running quickly. When charging, the unit lets you know how long it will take to get to full battery so you can plan accordingly.
While this notebook is easily portable, the 15.6-inch diagonal monitor is sizeable -- but could use some help for some of the major projects this computer makes possible. For instance, if you need to do a lot of editing or you play a lot of games, you'll likely want to hook this laptop up to a larger external monitor (which is easy to do).
If you're looking for a powerful laptop that's suitable for working, creating, and gaming, HP's ZBook Create G7 Notebook PC should definitely be on the shortlist of your top options. With a remarkable built-in sound system, this customizable, multitasking, portable device raises the bar for what's possible on a laptop. Plus, if your work involves a great deal of travel, the ZBook Create allows you to bring an impressive gaming system with you wherever you may go.
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