HP Spectre x360 14 Convertible Review: An Instant Favorite

[John Smith]

Here's some much more in-depth info about the cycling behavior with the power limits I posted on another website. It should be similar to the Spectre x360 14, but this is the 13. Note that there is a BIOS update for the 13 which causes the clocks not to fluctuate while gaming.

I have the Spectre x360 13 tiger lake i7, and I also do note this cycling behavior, but it is at higher power limits and temperatures. In performance mode, the PL1 when temperatures are low is 29.5W, which is a bit higher than the XPS. When initiating a stress test, the temperatures skyrocket to 100, and sit there, while the CPU continues to draw 35-40W. Then, the turbo time limit is up, and it drops to 29.5W in 15 seconds after sitting at 100 degrees. At 29.5W, the temperatures are at around 85-90 degrees, and it sits there for a little bit, and then starts dropping, .5W every second, until it reaches 20W. At 20W, temperatures are around 70 degrees, and then after around 10 seconds or so at 20W, it starts increasing, once again at .5W per second, until reaching 29.5W. Then, the temperatures are a little lower, but still over the 80 degree mark.  It sits at 19.5 W for 15 seconds and then drops back down to 20W. During this time, the fans are running at max speed and do not fluctuate. In balanced mode, the PL1 is 18W and drops to 14W, with temperatures in the 60 degree range.
NOTE: When gaming, for my Spectre, the power limits do NOT cycle. It sits at 29.5W constantly (temperatures around 80) and does not decrease to 20W. The GPU clock is at max frequency all the time (1300 MHz) and CPU is at 4 GHz. The frame rates do not cycle, and stay consistent.
Honestly, I see HP's approach to dynamic tuning as much better than Dell's. Not only did they use a triple heat pipe design (two leading to fans and one for passive cooling), compared to one for the XPS, but they also kept power limits higher and when gaming, the power limits do NOT cycle, which is good for gamers.

[lazerdriver]

Just got this a week ago. Like it mostly except for a few quirks.

Ran the CrystalDiskMark and my numbers for Seq both R and W are about 1/2 what they got in the article. And my read for Seq Q32T1 is lower by 1000 mb/s (2400 mb/s instead of 3500mb/s) and my write is 1600 mb/s compared to the article's 3000mb/s. Using all the same parameters as in the review.

This is the version with the Intel SSD w/32gb Octane (got at Best Buy on sale). I confimed I am in High Peformance mode. Is the difference due to the reviewers having  NVMe?

[Hale]

Again, a yellowish article.
- The main problem with Spectre is that in many regions it is not offered without SureView screen filter, which destroys colors, limits gamut and brightness even in OFF-state.
Nothing is told about that problem. Seems like the author was offered a custom-made laptop without that freaking filter, and a brick of dollars.
- The problem with OLEDs is crazy flickering at very visible 60 Hz. Again, nothing is told about that.

That is not a testing/review, but merely an advertising paper!

[S.Yu]

Again, a yellowish article.
- The main problem with Spectre is that in many regions it is not offered without SureView screen filter, which destroys colors, limits gamut and brightness even in OFF-state.
Nothing is told about that problem. Seems like the author was offered a custom-made laptop without that freaking filter, and a brick of dollars.
- The problem with OLEDs is crazy flickering at very visible 60 Hz. Again, nothing is told about that.

That is not a testing/review, but merely an advertising paper!

That's very interesting, I've had the OLED model for a few days and while I'm quite sensitive to PWM I haven't noticed it yet.

[Jaime Irizarry]

Got mine (Model  1H9M0UA#ABA  with 16GB Ram 1TB SSD) 2 months ago in April 2021 at BestBuy.
I am VERY happy with my Oled Display with zero PWM issues and displaying amazing colors.
My unit's hinges are super sturdy and lid will not close by itself even at 45 degrees opened, so maybe HP fixed the issue described by reviewer.
Blessings :)