HP ZBook Ultra G1a review: a business-class workstation that’s got game

Business laptops are typically dull computers foisted on employees en masse. But higher-end enterprise workstation notebooks sometimes get an interesting enough blend of power and features to appeal to enthusiasts. HP’s ZBook Ultra G1a is a nice example. It’s easy to see it as another gray boring-book for spendy business types, until you notice a few key specs: an AMD Strix Halo APU, lots of RAM, an OLED display, and an adequate amount of speedy ports (Thunderbolt 4, even — a rarity on AMD laptops).

I know from my time with the Asus ROG Flow Z13 and Framework Desktop that anything using AMD’s high-end Ryzen AI Max chips should make for a compelling computer. But those two are a gaming tablet and a small form factor PC, respectively. Here, you get Strix Halo and its excellent integrated graphics in a straightforward, portable 14-inch laptop — so far, the only one of its kind. That should mean great performance with solid battery life, and the graphics chops to hang with midlevel gaming laptops — all in a computer that wouldn’t draw a second glance in a stuffy office. It’s a decent Windows (or Linux) alternative to a MacBook Pro, albeit for a very high price.

The HP ZBook Ultra G1a starts around $2,100 for a modest six-core AMD Ryzen AI Max Pro 380 processor, 16GB of shared memory, and basic IPS display. Our review unit is a much higher-spec configuration with a 16-core Ryzen AI Max Plus Pro 395, 2880 x 1800 resolution 120Hz OLED touchscreen, 2TB of storage, and a whopping 128GB of shared memory, costing nearly $4,700. I often see it discounted by $1,000 or more — still expensive, but more realistic for someone seeking a MacBook Pro alternative. Having this much shared memory is mostly useful for hefty local AI inference workloads and serious dataset crunching; most people don’t need it. But with the ongoing memory shortage I’d also understand wanting to futureproof.

Unlike cheaper HP laptops I’ve tested that made big sacrifices on everyday features like speaker quality, the ZBook Ultra G1a is very good across the board. The OLED is vibrant, with punchy contrast. The keyboard has nice tactility and deep key travel. The mechanical trackpad is smooth, with a good click feel. The 5-megapixel webcam looks solid in most lighting. And the speakers have a full sound that I’m happy to listen to music on all day. I have my gripes, but they’re minor: The 400-nit screen could be a little brighter, the four-speaker audio system doesn’t sound quite as rich as current MacBook Pros, and my accidental presses of the Page Up and Page Down keys above the arrows really get on my nerves. These quibbles aren’t deal-breakers, though for the ZBook’s price I wish HP solved some of them.

The big thing you’re paying for with the ZBook Ultra is that top-end Strix Halo APU, which is so far only found in $2,000+ computers and a sicko-level gaming handheld, though there will be cut-down versions coming to cheaper gaming laptops this year.

The flagship 395 chip in the ZBook offers speedy performance for mixed-use work and enough battery life to eke out an eight-hour workday filled with Chrome tabs and web apps (with power-saving measures). I burned through battery in Adobe Lightroom Classic, but even though Strix Halo is less powerful when disconnected from wall power, the ZBook didn’t get bogged down. I blazed through a hefty batch edit of 47-megapixel RAW images without any particularly long waits on things like AI denoise or automated masking adjustments.

The ZBook stays cool and silent during typical use; pushing it under heavy loads only yields a little warmth in its center and a bit of tolerable fan noise that’s easily drowned out by music, a video, or a game at normal volume.

This isn’t a gaming-focused laptop any more than a MacBook Pro is, as its huge pool of shared memory and graphics cores are meant for workstation duties. However, this thing can game. I spent an entire evening playing Battlefield 6 with friends, with Discord and Chrome open in the background, and the whole time it averaged 70 to 80fps in 1920 x 1200 resolution with Medium preset settings and FSR set to Balanced mode — with peaks above 100fps. Running it at the native 2880 x 1800 got a solid 50-ish fps that’s fine for single-player.

Intel’s new Panther Lake chips also have great integrated graphics for gaming, while being more power-efficient. But Strix Halo edges out Panther Lake in multi-core tasks and graphics, with the flagship 395 version proving as capable as a laptop RTX 4060 discrete GPU. AMD’s beefy mobile chips have also proven great for Linux if you’re looking to get away from Windows.

In addition to Windows 11’s upsells and nagging notifications, the ZBook also has HP’s Wolf Security, designed for deployment on an IT-managed fleet of company laptops. For someone not using this as a work-managed device, its extra layer of protections may be tolerable, but they’re annoying. They range from warning you about files from an “untrusted location” (fine) to pop-ups when plugging in a non-HP USB-C charger (infuriating). You can turn off and uninstall all of this, same as you can for the bloatware AI Companion and Support Assistant apps, but it’s part of what HP charges for on its Z workstation line.

You don’t need to spend this kind of money on a kitted-out ZBook Ultra G1a unless you do the kind of specialized computing (local AI models, mathematical simulations, 3D rendering, etc.) it’s designed for. There’s a more attainable configuration, frequently on sale for around $2,500, but its 12-core CPU, lower-specced GPU, and 64GB of shared memory are a dip in performance.

If you’re mostly interested in gaming, an Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 or even a Razer Blade 16 make a hell of a lot more sense. For about the price of our ZBook Ultra review unit, the Razer gets you an RTX 5090 GPU, with much more powerful gaming performance, while the more modest ROG Zephyrus G14 with an RTX 5060 gets you comparable gaming performance to the ZBook Ultra in a similar form factor for nearly $3,000 less. The biggest knock against those gaming laptops compared to the ZBook is that their fans get much louder under load.

And while it’s easy to think of a MacBook Pro as the lazy answer to all computing needs, it still should be said: If you don’t mind macOS, you can get a whole lot more (non-gaming) performance from an M4 Pro / M4 Max MacBook Pro. Even sticking with Windows and integrated graphics, the Asus Zenbook Duo with Panther Lake at $2,300 is a deal by comparison, once it launches.

At $4,700, this is a specific machine for specialized workloads. It’s a travel-friendly 14-inch that can do a bit of everything, but it’s a high price for a jack of all trades if you’re spending your own money. The ZBook piqued my interest because it’s one of the earliest examples of Strix Halo in a conventional laptop. After using it, I’m even more excited to see upcoming models at more down-to-earth prices.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge