HP ZBook Studio G9 review

The ZBook Studio G9 is something very different from what HP usually does. Some may say that it looks like a MacBook Pro, others that it bares a resemblance to the Dell XPS 15. The facts, however, are that HP has gone out of its shell, and produced a laptop that may become the best of its niche.

In our opinion, the reason for that is the hardware. It can be paired with such a wide variety of options, that there might not be two of the same, considering the rather narrow target group of people. It is good to say what this hardware is going to be – the processors come from Intel’s 12th Gen H-series family, with the most powerful option being the Core i9-12900HK. Graphics-wise, you can pick anything from the RTX A1000 to the RTX A5500 (or the RTX 3080 Ti). For those of you, who don’t know, the RTX Axxxx series of graphics cards are essentially the successors to the professional Quadro cards.

Usually, we don’t fall for manufacturers’ marketing wraps, but in this case, we agree with HP that the ZBook Studio G9 is perfectly sized – at 16-inches of screen diagonal. The basic unit has a 1920x1200p resolution and has an alleged 100% sRGB color coverage. There is also an option with the Sure View Reflective feature. However, the heavy artillery of this model is the 4K 120Hz OLED panel with touchscreen support and Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It also should cover 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-zbook-studio-g9/

Contents


Specs Sheet

HP ZBook Studio G9 - Specs

  • AUOAB9B
  • Color accuracy  3.2  1.4
  • HDD/SSD
  • up to 4000GB SSD
  • RAM
  • up to 64GB
  • OS
  • Windows 11 Pro, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Home
  • Battery
  • 86Wh, 6-cell
  • Body material
  • Aluminum
  • Dimensions
  • 356.1 x 242.31 x 18.28 - 19.3 mm (14.02" x 9.54" x 0.72")
  • Weight
  • 1.72 kg (3.8 lbs)
  • Ports and connectivity
  • 1x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Sleep and Charge
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
  • 2x USB Type-C
  • 4.0, Thunderbolt 4, Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort, Sleep and Charge
  • Card reader
  • MicroSD
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.3
  • Audio jack
  • 3.5mm Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Fingerprint reader
  • optional
  • Web camera
  • HD IR
  • Backlit keyboard
  • Microphone
  • Dual Array Digital Microphones
  • Speakers
  • 2x Tweeters + 2x Quad Woofers, audio by Bang & Olufsen
  • Optical drive

All HP ZBook Studio G9 configurations

#CommissionsEarned

What’s in the box?

Inside this laptop’s packaging, there is a 200W power adapter, as well as some paperwork.


Design and construction

Although we couldn’t find any information about that, we are pretty sure that the lid is made out of aluminum. The base, on the other hand, feels soft to the touch, which might be due to some sort of a coating, or because the material is a weird abomination of carbon fiber, glass fiber, or plastic.

Nevertheless, both the lid and the base provide good confidence when you try twisting them. Also, the laptop is pretty light at 1.78 kg, while the profile varies depending on the display – touch-enabled models have a profile of 18mm, while the non-touch version is 19mm. However, the difference rather relies on the use of an OLED panel in the touchscreen device, than the actual support of touch sensitivity.

Now, we have to say that the hinges of this model are really smooth and satisfying. However, it is impossible to grip the laptop with one hand. You see because the edges of the lid and the base are curved, your fingers have literally no grip. And this is with our hands just washed. Imagine when you accumulate some oils and dirt.

Anyways, once you are able to open the lid, you will see that the display has really thin bezels all around it. HP has to be praised for that. By the way, it has still managed to fit a 720p Web camera with an IR face recognition scanner inside the top bezel.

Moving to the base, we see that there are two huge speaker grills flanking the keyboard. In reality, the speakers themselves, are much smaller, but nonetheless, it looks cool. What else is cool though, is the fact that you can purchase this laptop with a per-key RGB keyboard for some wicked reason. Oh, also, do you remember the remark we made about the similarity between this laptop, and a MacBook Pro 16? Well, HP actually offers a variety called the “Z Command Keyboard”, which aims to replicate the Mac layout, so Apple fans can have a seamless transition. What? How absurdly, peculiarly, wickedly cool is that?!

If you think that HP has exhausted its reputation points there, you are wrong! The ZBook Studio G9 also has an enormous touchpad, with a glass surface, and super fast and accurate tracking. Can you imagine how it will work with the 120Hz OLED panel? We almost forgot HP has thrown in a fingerprint reader to the right of the touchpad for good measure.

Now, turn the laptop upside down, and take a look at the two slits, acting like speaker cutouts. And this huge grill is meant for air intake, while the heat exhaust is happening through two vents in between the base and the lid.

Ports

On the left side, there is a power plug, as well as two Thunderbolt 4 connectors, and an Audio jack. Then, on the right, there is a security lock slot, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) port with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4 output, plus a MicroSD card slot.


Disassembly, upgrade options, and maintenance

Interestingly, you need to pop the middle part of the back foot with a plastic tool to reveal one Torx-head screw. The other four are visible, and after you undo them, you need to pry the bottom panel with the same tool you used for the foot.

Once you’re inside, you’ll need to unplug the battery connector from the motherboard and remove the SSD from the single M.2 PCIe x4 slot, which fits Gen 4 drives. This device comes with an 86Wh battery pack. It lasts for 15 hours of Web browsing, or 13 hours and 30 minutes of video playback. To take out the battery, you need to undo a total of 7 Phillips-head screws.

Thanks to the two SODIMM slots, the device supports up to 64GB of DDR5 memory, working at 4800MHz.

As you can see, the cooling comprises a vapor chamber, which is connected to two heat spreaders. Two fans are then blowing the heat away from the chassis.


Display quality

HP ZBook Studio G9 is equipped with a WUXGA IPS panel, model number AUOAB9B. It comes with a 60Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 16.0″ (40.6 cm), and the resolution – 1920 x 1200p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:10, the pixel density – 141 ppi, and their pitch – 0.18 x 0.18 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 61 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels).

Viewing angles are good. We offer images from different angles to evaluate the quality.

Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

The maximum measured brightness is 438 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 412 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 11%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6850K (average) – slightly colder than the 6500K optimum for sRGB.
In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 55% Brightness (White level = 142 cd/m2, Black level = 0.11 cd/m2).
Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1330:1.

To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

The yellow dotted line shows HP ZBook Studio G9’s color gamut coverage.

Its display covers 99% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976.

Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results in factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of the HP ZBook Studio G9 with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right).

The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, 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 = 22 ms.

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 / Blue Light

PWM (Screen flickering)

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

HP ZBook Studio G9’s display doesn’t flicker at any brightness level. This makes the screen comfortable for long periods of use.

Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with 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.

Gloss level measurement

Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 71.5 GU).


Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for HP ZBook Studio G9 configurations with 16.0″ AUOAB9B (WUXGA, 1920 x 1200) IPS.

*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.

In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

Office Work

Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

Design and Gaming

This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

Health-Guard

Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


Sound

HP ZBook Studio G9’s speakers produce a loud and clear sound. Moreover, the low, mid, and high tones are all clear of deviations.


Drivers

All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-zbook-studio-16-inch-g9-mobile-workstation-pc/2101045692

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This device’s 86Wh battery pack lasts for 15 hours and 14 minutes of Web browsing, or 13 hours and 29 minutes of video playback.


CPU options

You can find this laptop with the Core i7-12700H, Core i7-12800H, Core i9-12900H, or Core i9-12900HK.


GPU options

If you think this is a big choice, wait ’till you see the graphics card roster. You can pick from the RTX 3060, RTX 3070 Ti, RTX 3080 Ti, RTX A1000, RTX A2000, RTX A3000, RTX A4500, and RTX A5500.


Gaming tests

Metro ExodusFull HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Extreme (Check settings)
Average FPS129 fps65 fps31 fps

Borderlands 3Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Badass (Check settings)
Average fps117 fps84 fps66 fps

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon WildlandsFull HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Very High (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
Average97 fps85 fps57 fps

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Highest (Check settings)
Average112 fps85 fps71 fps

[eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your HP ZBook Studio G9

Your HP ZBook Studio G9 can be Faster. LaptopMedia has tested thousands of models in the last 15 years, and we’re yet to see a notebook that couldn’t be made more powerful through modifications. And have you seen the most popular search on Google related to “how to make my …”? No? OK, here it is:

As you see, having a faster laptop is more important than having more hair.

Well, the main issue here is that there are thousands of advices on the Web. Some work, some don’t. Some are easy, some are complicated. Some are safe, and some are risky. If only there could be an Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step, and Laboratory-Tested guide by a proven organization, right?

That’s what we’ve done. We have hundreds of laptops scattered in our office, and we’ve spent a whole year testing different optimizations. We’ve chosen the ones that really make a difference, that are easy to implement without expert skills, and that are safe for your laptop in the long term.

🚀 What’s the performance boost I could expect?

There’s no general answer but we’ve reached more than 30% GPU Performance boost on some models, while typically it’s between 10% and 20%. You could always go beyond but we want to be sure that our advice will keep your laptop on the safe side in the long term. But you want to get the absolute maximum? We’ll show you how, and then it’s up to you.

We even set several World Records on 3DMark, one being our first Max Out for a specific laptop model – MSI Katana B13V.

We’d be happy to compete with YOU on the 3DMark rank lists, and see what YOUR laptop can do using our guide!

📦 What’s included?

📖 Our eBook includes All the tools you need, along with an Easy-to-follow guide for hassle-free:

GPU Performance boost by vBIOS replacement, Overclocking, and Undervolting
⚙️ Checking the hardware components and finding if you could get a significant boost by upgrading some of them
💾 Installing a clean Windows OS, with all the base settings you need
📋 Software optimization steps that really give a performance boost
Building a RAID Storage configuration for doubling sequential read/write speeds or protecting your data
🎯 Display Profiles bundle for a panel of your choice, enhancing the display for accurate colors, better experience, and protection of your eyes

🎁 To receive the Display Profiles bundle as a gift, simply email us your panel model through our “Contact Us” form.

💵 What is the price?

R&D on laptops isn’t easy nor cheap, especially when you’re not using cherry-picked review samples but real units instead. Our idea is to reinvest the profits from the sales back in our laboratory. However, we also want to make it a killer deal for everyone who is planning or has already spent on a gaming laptop, as this product would significantly boost the performance per dollar they get.

[eBook Guide] How to MAX OUT your Laptop

🛠️ GPU Modifications: vBIOS, Overclocking, Undervolting
⚙️ Building Fast/Reliable RAID configuration
💻 Hardware upgrade tips for best results
🖼 Display enhancing
💾 OS Optimization for best performance

✖ But if these optimizations are easy, why don’t manufacturers do them?

There are a lot of reasons for the manufacturers to put boundaries on your machine, locking part of its performance:

📊 Market Segmentation: To create different product tiers, manufacturers often limit performance. This allows them to target various market segments and price points, encouraging consumers to pay more for higher-performing models.
❓Unknown Potential: Each unit’s performance varies. Checking each one individually isn’t feasible.
🏢 Regulatory Compliance: Certain regions have regulations regarding energy consumption, and manufacturers often place some boundaries to fit all standards.
🏭 Supply Chain Constraints: Limitations are imposed due to the current availability of components.
🫰 Cost-effective solutions: Often, less popular but important details are overlooked. For example, better RAM types can boost performance by up to 30%, but many users ignore this, and many online stores don’t even provide that info.
🔒 Security concerns: Many protections impact performance while being negligible for regular users. However, manufacturers don’t know if their laptops will be purchased by individuals or large corporations, so they can’t disable these features by default.

 

Not a bad performance bump in terms of Storage Speeds:


What are the default apps that impact performance the most?

What to do when RAID drives don’t show up?
How to optimize Windows further for maximum FPS gain in games?

Temperatures and comfort

Max CPU load

In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

Average P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power

Intel Core i7-12800H (45W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
HP ZBook Studio G93.15 GHz @ 2.72 GHz @ 83°C @ 88W2.93 GHz @ 2.59 GHz @ 85°C @ 76W2.69 GHz @ 2.42 GHz @ 78°C @ 62W

The laptop is not too loud, and we are happy with the clock speeds its processor runs at, considering the form factor of the chassis.

Real-life gaming

NVIDIA RTX A3000GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min)GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min)GPU frequency/ Core temp (Max Fan)
HP ZBook Studio G91405 MHz @ 63°C @ 80W1404 MHz @ 64°C @ 80W
ASUS ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED (W7600)1578 MHz @ 78°C @ 103W1589 MHz @ 79°C @ 105W

Power target? Hit! Clock speed? On point! Temperature? Well, the temperature this GPU comfortably runs on is 64°C. This cooling setup can take a lot more.

Gaming comfort

When you are playing games, for instance, the fans definitely try to prove their worth. This results in slightly high noise levels, but on the bright side, the keyboard is right on the brink of passing 40°C.


Verdict

Vapor chamber, let’s go! We said it two years ago – this is the future. If manufacturers want to have better control over the thermals of their devices, a vapor chamber is the way to go. In this case, you get astonishing graphics card thermal management, where the GPU reaches only 64°C with its full 80W TGP limit. Plus, the processor runs not bad at all, considering the 19mm thickness, and the low weight of the machine.

This leaves a lot of headroom for the larger RTX A5500 if you need a proper workstation, worth of 3D modeling, data analysis, architecture, civil engineering, and everything in between. Unfortunately, there is a huge but… No, not the Nicky Minaj type – a less enjoyable one. As of the time of writing this review, the ZBook Studio G9 only comes with Windows 10. And for some reason, Windows won’t allow us to upgrade it naturally, and we need to use a bootable SSD and practically eradicate all of the advantages you get from buying a $3000 laptop with the built-in OS.

Some of you may don’t know, while others may do, but there is a feature in Windows 11 called “Thread Director”, which takes full advantage of the big.LITTLE architecture of Alder Lake.

This is seen in the performance tests, where the Core i7-12800H scored 2804 points in Cinebench R20, where the baseline score is about 6300 points, while a good score goes all the way up to 7000 points. On the other hand, Cinebench R23 posted a score of 16238, which is in check with what you should expect from this CPU, at the clock speeds it ran. This means that some software products may be able to utilize your crazy powerful processor, while others may perform like a 5-year-old Core i5.

HP ZBook Studio G9’s IPS panel has a WUXGA (1200p) resolution, comfortable viewing angles, a good contrast ratio, and a non-flickering backlight. It covers 99% of the sRGB gamut, which translates to a very attractive image to look at. Moreover, this bodes well with the great color accuracy, achieved with the help of our Gaming and Web design profile.

You see, it is mandatory for workstations to have long battery life. Sometimes, you need to stay working after dark. And the work you do is not just browsing the Web and answering countless e-mails all day long. No, you have to design the best bridge in the world or the fastest way to evacuate a village, if the wall of this dam collapses. Well, we haven’t tested the last two occasions, because we arguably lack the knowledge to even think of that. But we have tested it with our good old method of single-threaded browsing, and watching HD videos. Let us tell you, more than 15 hours of the first, or 13 hours and a half of video playback is a pretty decent result.

In addition to that, you have the option to put in up to 64GB of RAM, although ECC memory is not available. Probably the biggest bummer here is the fact that there is only one SSD slot. On the other hand, there are three USB Type-C connectors, two of which are Thunderbolt 4s, while the other still supports DisplayPort output. And there is a MicroSD card slot and a full-sized USB port. Take that Apple!

Add the ability to choose a keyboard layout – a regular backlit spill-resistant unit, a per-key RGB one, or one inspired by the MacBook layout. We honestly had one of these “feel good” moments when we learned about that. But the facts are that HP hasn’t been a good boy (or girl). In fact, it was a very bad boy (… or girl) to try to steal Apple’s die-hard fans. But this is the ruthlessness we want to see from manufacturers. And we felt that HP has been behind the others in this aspect. For once, this is the reason we would advise you for picking the ZBook Studio G9, despite the Windows shenanigans, and because of the fantastic vapor chamber.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-zbook-studio-g9/

Pros

  • Fantastic build quality
  • Great input devices
  • 2x SODIMM + 1x M.2 PCIe x4
  • No PWM (AUOAB9B)
  • 99% sRGB coverage and accurate color representation with our Gaming and Web design profile (AUOAB9B))
  • Choice of regular, Mac-inspired, and per-key RGB backlit keyboard
  • 2x Thunderbolt 4 + MicroSD card slot
  • IR face recognition + fingerprint reader
  • Loud and dynamic speakers
  • Very effective vapor chamber


Cons

  • No Windows 11 on release
  • Quite expensive
  • Only one SSD slot

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James Brown
James Brown
1 year ago

Completely missing the giant chrome – 2022 S W A S T I K A – in the back?
Imagine setting this up in front of Ukrainian colleagues that lost family members in Bucha.

Have HP and guys been living under a rock for the 8 months?

https://twitter.com/design_PRN/status/1581612769010274305