HP ZBook Power 16 G11 review – All-Metal Workstation with Quiet Fans and Capable Cooling

The ZBook Power 16 G11 offers new CPU options and an updated design compared to the G10 model. The latest version is powered by 28W Intel Meteor Lake-H CPUs which are more efficient than the Raptor Lake-H chips that can be found inside the previous-gen sibling. The dGPUs are expectedly pro-grade NVIDIA RTX Ada Generation chips with modest power limits for lower noise during heavy loads.

This device is meant for continuous workloads like AI tasks, 3D rendering, CAD, etc. That’s why HP has fitted a pretty sizable thermal system with quiet fans but more on that later. Display-wise, you get tons of choices including four 1200p screens (one of them has touch capabilities) and the most expensive model is a 120Hz 1600p unit. There is also a panel that offers the HP Sure View Reflect integrated privacy screen technology.

Since that’s a heavy-duty notebook, the upgradability and the port selection correspond to the high expectations. The machine is packed with useful features, many of which are optional, such as fingerprint reader and facial recognition.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-zbook-power-g11/

Contents

Specs, Drivers, What’s in the box

Drivers

All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://support.hp.com/si-en/drivers/hp-zbook-power-16-inch-g11-mobile-workstation-pc/2102162619

What’s in the box?

We found some manuals and a 150W barrel plug adapter inside the package.

Design and construction

The design of the ZBook Power 16 G11 is slightly refreshed compared to the G10 version. The sides are more rounded, there is a lip on the main body for easier opening, the speakers are on the bottom, and the touchpad is placed a bit more on the right (and isn’t surrounded by a silver stripe). The all-aluminum chassis is sturdy, with a smooth finish resistant to smudges. While the lid could flex slightly, it’s not a major issue.

You can open this machine with one hand. The device isn’t a behemoth like the ZBook Fury 16 G10 but since it has a big cooling under the bonnet, it’s not among the thinnest workstations. The starting weight is 2.122 kg and the profile is 22.9 mm.

The bezels are thin, even the bottom one that houses the HP logo.

On the top, there is a normally-positioned 1080p Web camera with a privacy shutter and AI Noise Suppression tech. If you need facial recognition, you can opt for a 5MP IR unit.

When you open the laptop beyond a certain angle, the back of the lid lifts the rear of the chassis. This enhances the cooling capabilities of the notebook and the ergonomics during typing.

Here, the keyboard is a well-known spill-resistant unit with a Copilot shortcut that can be seen in many other devices from the same brand. It’s a comfortable board since the key travel and the feedback are on point. However, the small Arrows and the placement of the Page Up / Down keys on top of them are less than ideal for work. The optional fingerprint reader is positioned below the NumberPad. We still think that the keyboard of the EliteBook 860 G11 is an even better choice for long hours of typing.

The touchpad isn’t among the smoothest we’ve tested but its accuracy is great.

The bottom panel looks standard for such a laptop with its decently sized large ventilation grill, two long rubber feet, and a pair of cutouts for the speakers. The hot air is pushed through two vents on the back. Some amount of heat reaches the lower panel of the screen when the internals are heavily stressed.

Ports

On the left, there is a power connector, a pair of 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 ports with USB Power Delivery and DisplayPort 2.1 functionality, an HDMI 2.1 for up to 4K@60Hz externals displays, a 5 Gbps USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port that supports charging, an Audio combo jack, and a SmartCard reader (option). On the right, you get a Nano Security Lock Slot, LAN, one more 5 Gbps USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, an optional Nano SIM card slot, and an SD card reader 4.0 (option).

Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 3

Display and Sound Quality, Get our Profiles

Viewing Angles

Viewing angles are good. We take photos from different angles to evaluate the quality.

Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

Color Coverage

The whole “sail-shaped” map below (Fig. 1) consists of all the colors we can see, while the black crooked line shows all the colors from real-world scenes and nature around us.

Then, we’ve drawn some of the most important and interesting color spaces, compared to the colors the panel of HP ZBook Power 16 G11 can show:

Standard/For Web: sRGB – widely used color space for most consumer devices, ideal for Web design and development
For Print: AdobeRGB – used in professional photo editing, graphic design, and print
For Photographers/Video Editors: DCI-P3 – used in high-end film production, post-production, and digital cinema
Premium HDR: Rec.2020 – the widest consumer ITU color standard, covering a massive 75.8% of the visible spectrum, a benchmark for premium HDR content

HP ZBook Power 16 G11: the yellow dashed triangle (– – – – – –) represents the range of colors this monitor can display.

In our tests, we calculated the total color coverage of the monitor at 98% of the sRGB color gamut and 81% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

(Fig.1) HP ZBook Power 16 G11 covers 98% of the sRGB gamut

Brightness and Contrast

The maximum brightness in SDR mode is 486 cd/m² in the center of the screen and 448 cd/m² averaged across the surface with a maximum deviation of 11%.

The Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) on a white screen at maximum brightness is 5940K.

The contrast ratio is 1670:1.

Uniformity: Luminance, Contrast, and Color Deviation

The figure below shows the results from our uniformity test across different sections of the screen. It’s measured at 186 nits (Windows slider = 65%) — a brightness level we consider typical for standard working conditions.

DeltaE values below 4.0 are acceptable for regular users. For those working with colors, screens with DeltaE values no higher than 2.0 are recommended.

Color Accuracy

Let’s check the difference between real colors and those you’ll see on the HP ZBook Power 16 G11. We measure that distance in DeltaE – the higher the number, the more different they look.

Values below 4.0 are acceptable for regular users, while values below 2.0 are suitable for color-sensitive work. A value below 1.0 means the difference is indistinguishable to the naked eye.

For the next graph, we’ve selected 24 common colors, including dark/light skin, blue sky, green grass, etc.

Before our calibration of the HP ZBook Power 16 G11, the Average color accuracy was 2.4 dE (Fig. 2), and with our Design and Gaming profile, it lowered to 0.9 dE (Fig. 3).

Comparison in the sRGB color space (primaries and D65 white point specified in ITU-R BT.709, sRGB encoding curve).

Here’s an illustration of what the Design and Gaming profile aims to deliver:

Left: No Profile | Drag the slider to see the difference | Right: Design & Gaming Profile

Visibility in dark scenes

Have you ever watched a movie with dark scenes where you could barely see anything? This often happens because many display panels struggle to differentiate the darkest nuances, making them appear the same.

The next figure illustrates how well the display reproduces these dark nuances. The left side of the image shows the display with stock settings, and the right side shows it with our Design and Gaming profile activated.

On the horizontal axis are the grayscale levels, and on the vertical axis – the corresponding display brightness.

You can also check how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 32.7 ms. Short pixel response time is a prerequisite for a smooth picture in dynamic scenes.

After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.

Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering)

Some use PWM to regulate their brightness, which means that instead of reducing the light intensity, they pulse or flicker. Our brain merges the image, so it appears darker, but this strains both it and our vision, especially when the frequency of the pulses is low. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

In the graph below, you see the intensity of light at different brightness levels—on the vertical axis is the brightness of the emitted light, and on the horizontal axis—time.

The light from the backlight of the HP ZBook Power 16 G11 display is not pulse-width modulated, providing visual comfort in the discussed aspect.

Health Impact: Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates harmful PWM when the laptop uses it to control brightness but also reduces harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate.

If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Health Impact: Screen Reflectance

Glossy-coated displays can cause eye fatigue in high ambient light conditions due to reflections. We measure the level of screen reflection with the display turned off, at a 60° angle.

The reflectance of the HP ZBook Power 16 G11’s screen is 56.8 GU.

High Gloss: >70 GU
Medium Gloss: 30 – 70 GU
Low Gloss: <30 GU

Get our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for HP ZBook Power 16 G11 configurations with CMN1636, 1920 х 1200, IPS panel.

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

Sound

When we subjectively listen to a sound file through the built-in speakers, the sound quality offered by HP ZBook Power 16 G11 is good. There is, however, a noticeable rise in the high frequencies in the frequency response chart.

Performance: CPU, GPU, Storage

All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the “High Performance” profile activated in the MyHP app. The “Best performance” preset is applied in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu and the “Fan always on while on AC Power” function is enabled in the BIOS.

CPU options

The notebook can be found with the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, Core Ultra 5 135H, Core Ultra 7 155H, Core Ultra 7 165H, or Core Ultra 9 185H.

Our device has a 155H chip.

GPU options

Four dGPU options are available – NVIDIA RTX 500 Ada Generation, RTX 1000 Ada Generation, RTX 2000 Ada Generation, and RTX 3000 Ada Generation.

The device that we bought has a 50W RTX 2000 Ada Generation.

Gaming tests

Metro Exodus	Full HD, Low (Check settings)	Full HD, High (Check settings)	Full HD, Extreme (Check settings)
Average FPS	171 fps	69 fps	23 fps

Borderlands 3	Full HD, V.Low (Check settings)	Full HD, Medium (Check settings)	Full HD, High (Check settings)	Full HD, Badass (Check settings)
Average FPS	149 fps	117 fps	82 fps	66 fps

Far Cry 6	Full HD, Low (Check settings)	Full HD, High (Check settings)	Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average FPS	104 fps	85 fps	74 fps

Gears 5	Full HD, Low (Check settings)	Full HD, Medium (Check settings)	Full HD, High (Check settings)	Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average FPS	187 fps	129 fps	111 fps	91 fps

Storage performance

Our notebook a 1TB SAMSUNG MZVL21T0HCLR-00BH1. It’s a fast and well-cooled NVMe drive.

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