Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1100392
www.postmagazine.com 47 POST MAR/APR 2019 REVIEW app will be very satisfying, and this is where the x360 G5 shines. And yes, while this notebook is thicker and heavi- er than a traditional tablet like a Surface Pro or an iPad, it is also a laptop and has much more to offer as an overall system. Overall application performance, par- ticularly with the Adobe suite, is buoyed by superfast storage speeds from a 512Gb Toshiba m.2 SSD, giving great file transfer and cache speeds, also making apps load and Windows boot super-fast. It is easy to add more storage to the laptop through two USB 3.1 ports, as well as two Thunderbolt 3 ports. An HDMI 2.0 port allows for 4K output to an external screen (in addition to using displays with Thunderbolt 3), as well as a headset port for audio in and out. Your options grow if you couple the x360 G5 with a Thunderbolt 3 docking bay, which HP also sent me, complete with a Bang and Olufsen collabora- tion-minded speaker system. This dock plugs into a Thunderbolt 3 and the power port, adding an external USB audio device that gives improved audio over the already impressive Bang and Olufsen internal speakers. Running sound tests reveal that the internal speakers sound good, getting loud with no distortion. The external dock- ing bay speaker gets even louder, deeper and richer, showing no sign of distortion at 100 percent volume from 70Hz on up. The x360 G5's light gray metal chas- sis is pretty, sporting a newer look over previous generations; solid and well thought-out. It seems durable and easily accessible for service needs. Ventilation holes are well-placed around the case to provide for ample cooling, which creates some reasonable fan noise, though seemingly a little too often, which I've been told is fixable with a firmware up- date. Of course, I'd rather fans run loud as opposed to the machine throttle itself slow to stay cooler. The chassis converts easily to tablet mode, and though the hinges seem sturdy, there was a little give to them: when I push to open the screen a little more, the screen settles back anoth- er few degrees. I recall more precise hinges on the Studio Gen3, which to be fair, was not a convertible laptop with a Gorilla Glass touchscreen like this is. IN CONCLUSION In all, I find this to be a good profession- al-minded machine, if perhaps slightly aimed more for 2D artists, but still quite capable of real-world 3D work. I espe- cially appreciate the pen input and tablet abilities for 2D artists, while offering a solid, fully-capable machine on top of a solid tablet. I think HP has a real understanding of the professional market, and the ZBook Studio x360 G5 is a great fit for a wide range of digital artists and students in the field. VITAL STATS MANUFACTURER: HP PRODUCT: ZBook Studio x360 G5 convertible mobile workstation PRICE: Starts at $1,999 MSRP (various configurations available) WEBSITE: www8.hp.com • Nvidia Quadro P1000M graphics card with 4Gb of memory • Included professional-grade Wacom AES pen • DreamColor display available