GTrusted
Hi all,
I've had the Spectre (AU spec 13-v004TU) equipped with i7 -6500U, 8GB RAM and 512 SSD for almost a month now.
For context, I came from a mid 2014 13" Macbook Pro Retina with i7 (4th Gen) and 16GB RAM, 512 SSD, and wanted something lighter, more portable, with comparable performance.
Let's start there, performance. I am a relative power user, and place some high demands on the overall performance of a system. Daily use would be for office based work, with large spreadsheets and powerpoint work, with lots of multimedia thrown in. For personal interest, I use photoshop, adobe premier, and lightroom quite often. I have yet to be disappointed with the Spectre in doing all of the above tasks though the past month. It often has enough overhead to still multitask speedily and I never feel that it is slow or struggling. I often use this laptop with its native panel, but also dual screen with my Dell ultrasharp, running a second screen at 1440p doesn't seem to affect the overall performance. Whilst I initially thought that going down to a machine with 8GB Ram would be a factor in the performance stakes, it really has not needed any more than the 8GB RAM. The system rarely requires any more than 50% of the RAM.
Screen - This display has excellent viewing angles (though it doesn't tilt back very far), is bright, and has great colour reproduction. While it has less pixels than my 13" MBPr, at normal usage distance, I cannot tell the difference in resolution. This panel is absolutely fine. It is a glossy finish, and can be glary for outdoor use.
Battery - HP CLaims 9 hours. I've been getting 5-6 hours on moderate screen brightness and assorted usage. Less if you are powering other devices via USB-C.
Noise - now, as per some reviews out there, the HP spectre DOES spin up its fan more aggressively than other laptops. at its loudest, my phone registers in the low 30dbs range, and at it quietest, less than 20db. whilst the fan noise is there, its not usually terribly intrusive.
Keyboard is much better that a lot of ultrathin laptops. I have had no issues with the keyboard since switching from the macbookPro.
USB-C / TB3 ports - the laptop has 3 USB-Cs, with 2 of them being TB3. Compatibility so far has been fairly mixed.
1. Apple's USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter (A1621) - The HDMI and USB-A ports work, but the USB-C does not allow power pass through to the Spectre.
2. Dell's DA200 - this adapter has Ethernet, USB-A (3.0) HDMI AND VGA built into one USB-C dongle - everything on this works
3. Laser USB-C Multiport OTG hub - purchased from http://www.gadgets4geeks.com.au/epages/shop.sf/en_AU/?ObjectID=7463339&ViewAction=ViewProduct - This works well, and offers 1 x SD, 1x micro SD, 2 x USB-A (3.0) and 1 USB-C port. All work well, including power pass through.
4. Google's USB-C to Displayport Cable - works. My example seems to be a little bit fiddly, and does sometimes disconnect accidentally due to a shake or bump, but it does work 100%.
