HP ZBook 14 Review: Mobile Workstation Meets Ultrabook

Conclusion: An Actual Ultrabook Workstation

I admit to being a bit skeptical of the potential for the ZBook to function as a mobile workstation while fitting into an Ultrabook form factor. While there are certainly some compromises made to get there – the use of a dual-core ULV CPU being the biggest compromise – depending on your needs the ZBook 14 could be exactly what you're after. I know personally that having switched to carrying around an Ultrabook the past few years at trade shows and during other trips, I'm pretty much done with toting around anything more than four pounds. But then I'm not a workstation user; I'm a writer, and for me the core performance takes a backseat compared to things like the keyboard, touchpad, and display.

Thankfully, the ZBook 14 doesn't suffer in any of those areas. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a beauty pageant contestant, but the core design is reasonably attractive and outside of the odd cursor key arrangement I have no issues with the typing action. The touchpad is a bit smaller than I would like and doesn't work as a "clickpad", but that's mostly a personal preference. If you happen to really like TrackPoint solutions, and many enterprise users seem to fall into that category, HP has you covered. And finally, the display is great as far as I'm concerned; 1080p with a 14" panel is still usable for me, even at 100% scaling, so I don't have to deal with any high-DPI wonkiness. Unfortunately, I can't say how the other LCD panel options compare, but the upgrade price for the 1080p UWVA panel isn't too bad so I'm just going to recommend that anyone who cares at all about display quality should make sure they purchase that upgrade.

Considering the workstation trappings, it's really quite impressive just how much stuff HP manages to cram into the ZBook 14. Besides all of the typical accoutrements, HP includes both an M.2 SSD option along with a full-size 2.5" drive bay, a Smartcard reader, full-size Gigabit Ethernet port, fingerprint scanner, full-size DisplayPort, four USB 3.0 ports, and even a docking option on the right side. A slice battery is also an option if you need improved battery life. What's more, you get all of these features and it's still amazingly simple to pop off the bottom cover for any service or upgrade needs. As someone who worked in an IT department for close to a decade, I can definitely appreciate the serviceability aspect.

I'm actually fond of the idea of Ultrabooks (or at least thin and light laptops) that still pack a moderate GPU, and as someone that doesn't need an Enterprise grade laptop – or a professional GPU – I'd love to see HP trim the cost down a bit and provide a consumer-level GPU. The new Razer Blade 14 (Anand is working on that review) basically ends up being a sleeker, faster consumer alternative to the ZBook 14 if that's what you're after, and when you can actually pick up the Blade 14 with decent specs (e.g. at least a 256GB SSD) for about the same price as the ZBook 14 (with a similar 256GB SSD), you know you're looking at enterprise profit margins. Another alternative that's worth a mention is the Dell Precision M3800; it has a 15.6" display so it's a bit larger and heavier, but otherwise it's definitely a thin mobile workstation.

Ultimately, what it boils down to is a question of priorities. If you want the thinnest, lightest, and most aesthetically pleasing Ultrabook on the market, that's not going to be the ZBook 14. It just barely squeaks under the maximum thickness requirement for an Ultrabook (and some models actually fall short), and at 14" it's larger than a lot of other options. But try finding a 14" or smaller Ultrabook with a Quadro or FirePro GPU, not to mention the other extra features, and you're going to come up with only one option: HP's ZBook 14. If that's what you're after – and you're willing to pay for it – there's no other choice (other than to buy a larger, heavier, etc. non-Ultrabook). It certainly fills a market niche, and while not for everyone, for those that are looking for a thin and light mobile workstation the ZBook 14 is a great option to have.