Get Two Thunderbolt 3 and All Your Wired Connectivity Needs Covered with the HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation

The HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation is one of the few current Windows notebook PC's which doesn't restrict interface ports to achieve an extremely thin form factor. In fact this PC offers the essential interfaces to expand your digital connectivity options with individual standard connectors which also includes Thunderbolt 3. The HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation has two Thunderbolt 3's USB Type-C ports like the HP Spectre x360 (2nd Generation 2017) and HP EliteBook Folio G1 supporting Thunderbolt 3 (10 Gb/s), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gb/s), DisplayPort to connect with 4K@60hz displays, and uses USB Power Delivery 2.0 to deliver 15 watts charging to USB Type-C devices. Note the HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation supports the Titan Ridge Thunderbolt 3 chipset to enable DisplayPort 1.3 for video output instead of the previous Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt 3 chipset that only supports DisplayPort 1.2.

In addition to supporting Thunderbolt, the HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation also has three USB Type-A based USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gb/s), one HDMI 2.0, one Gigabit Ethernet, one SD card slot, as well as 3.5 mm audio ports. With all these interfaces, the PC looks more similar to the Lenovo ThinkPad P70 Series Mobile Workstation although still exudes the premium elegance of that seen on a lightweight HP PC like the HP Spectre.

Unlike the tough exterior of the Lenovo ThinkPad P70 Series Mobile Workstation, the HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation has a more stylish look which actually hides the bulk beneath the PC. The PC can support Windows 10 Pro 64 OS, Intel Xeon processor with Intel UHD Graphics P630, 128 GB DDR4 SDRAM memory, 2 TB 5400 rpm SATA hard drive, Intel 802.11 ac (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.0 Combo wireless.

Like the Spectre x360 (2nd Generation 2017), the HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation also features the premium Danish based Bang & Olufsen brand of speakers right above the keyboard.

Interestingly unlike more recent PC's, the HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation still uses the pointing stick to help with mouse navigation on its back lit keyboard. The touchpad also includes a on/off button and additional buttons for the pointing stick. Coincidentally the Lenovo ThinkPad P50 Mobile Workstation also portrays these legacy features on its keyboard and touchpad themselves.

The HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation includes a 150 watts Smart AC adapter and power cord among its shipped accessories. To charge the PC, just plug in the adapter to the DC input port on the right side of the PC after attaching the power cord and connected to AC power.

The Smart AC adapter claims on its casing to support 19.5 volts @ 7.7 amps power profile for 150 watts based charging.

There's also a Smart Card reader slot on the right side of the PC just in case you want to use a smart card to secure the PC. 

The HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation is a classy way to get dual Thunderbolt 3 as well as just about all the digital interfaces a professional user would need to support any sort of workflow.

Using the USB Power Delivery Compliance C2 Tester from Granite River Labs to run just a subset of the full USB Power Delivery compliance test suite, we can see that the HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation supports 15 watts for charging using various PDO's- 5 volts @ 3 amps, 9 volts @ 1.66 amps, 10 volts @ 1.5 amps, 12 volts @ 1.25 amps, 15 volts @ 1 amps, and 20 volts @ 0.75 amps.

DUT Information

Manufacturer	HP
Model Number	Zbook 15 G5
Serial Number	Comm

Test Information

Date and Time:

20181017_233215

Controller and Instrument Information

Parameter	Value
GRL USB-PD_C2 Serial No.	117.181.117.091.159.
GRL USB-PD Software Version	1.3.7.0
GRL USB-PD Firmware Version	1.3.7.0.0
GRL USB-PD Eload Firmware Version	9.4/9.4
Board Calibration	Calibration Success.
App Mode	COMMUNICATION_ENGINE_TESTS
Tx Mask	true
Rx Mask	false
RX mask Power selection	Neutral Power
Device Type	DRP
Cable IR drop Imp(R)	0
Cable Type.	GRL-Spl-Cable
COMMUNICATION_ENGINE_TESTS CTS Version	1.09
Noise Pattern Generation:	Two-Tone Noise
VIF info	*Since VIF was not loaded below test results are information Only.
Test cases Execution Time:	0h:15m:52s

Product Capabilities

Parameter	GetCapabilities
VENDOR_NAME	HP Inc.
TID	0
STRUCTURED_VDM_VERSION	Version 1.0
PORT_BATTERY_POWERED	NO
SOP_CAPABLE	NO
SOP_P_CAPABLE	NO
SOP_PP_CAPABLE	NO
SOP_P_DEBUG_CAPABLE	NO
SOP_PP_DEBUG_CAPABLE	NO
SECURITY_MSGS_SUPPORTED	NO
MANUFACTURER_INFO_SUPPORTED	YES
MANUFACTURER_INFO_VID	0x3F0
MANUFACTURER_INFO_PID	0x0
NUM_FIXED_BATTERIES	0
NUM_SWAPPABLE_BATTERY_SLOTS	0
USB_COMMS_CAPABLE	YES
DR_SWAP_TO_DFP_SUPPORTED	YES
UNCONSTRAINED_POWER	YES
UNCHUNKED_EXTENDED_MESSAGES_SUPPORTED	NO
MODAL_OPERATION_SUPPORTED	YES
USB_VID	0x3F0
PID	0x0
BCDDEVICE	0x0
XID	0
DATA_CAPABLE_AS_USB_HOST	YES
DATA_CAPABLE_AS_USB_DEVICE	NO
ACCEPTS_PR_SWAP_AS_SNK	YES
SVID1SOP	8087
SVID1Modes Min	1
SVID1Modes Max	1
SVID1Modes Fixed	NONE
SVID1Mode1 Enter Mode	NO

Power Capabilities

Parameter	GetCapabilities
PD_POWER_AS_SOURCE	15000
USB_SUSPEND_MAY_BE_CLEARED	YES
SENDS_PINGS	NO
Supply Type #1	Fixed
Peak Current #1	0x0(A)
Voltage #1	0x64(5V)
Max Current #1	0x12C(3A)
PD_POWER_AS_SINK
NO_USB_SUSPEND_MAY_BE_SET	NO
GIVEBACK_MAY_BE_SET	NO
HIGHER_CAPABILITY_SET	NO
FR_SWAP_REQD_TYPE_C_CURRENT	0
Supply Type #1	Fixed
Voltage #1	0x64(5V)
OP Current #1	0x12C(3A)
Supply Type #2	Fixed
Voltage #2	0xB4(9V)
OP Current #2	0xA6(1.66A)
Supply Type #3	Fixed
Voltage #3	0xC8(10V)
OP Current #3	0x96(1.5A)
Supply Type #4	Fixed
Voltage #4	0xF0(12V)
OP Current #4	0x7D(1.25A)
Supply Type #5	Fixed
Voltage #5	0x12C(15V)
OP Current #5	0x64(1A)
Supply Type #6	Fixed
Voltage #6	0x190(20V)
OP Current #6	0x4B(.75A)

USB-IF High Level Mapping Summary

Sl No	Test Category	Test Group Description	Test Result
1	PHY_PRIMARY_TX	BMC Physical Layer Transmitter	PASS
2	PHY_PRIMARY_RX	BMC Physical Layer Receiver	PASS
3	PHY_PRIMARY_MISC	BMC Phyiscal Layer Miscellaneous	PASS
4	PROT_PRIMARY	Protocol Specific Primary	PASS

Result Summary

Sl No	Test ID	Test Name	Test Result
1	TDA.2.1.1.1	TDA.2.1.1.1 BMC PHY TX EYE	PASS
2	TDA.2.1.1.2	TDA.2.1.1.2 BMC PHY TX BIT	PASS
3	TDA.2.1.2.2	TDA.2.1.2.2 BMC PHY RX INT REJ	PASS
4	TDA.2.1.2.1	TDA.2.1.2.1 BMC PHY RX BUSIDL	PASS
5	TDA.2.1.3.1	TDA.2.1.3.1 BMC PHY TERM	PASS
7	TDA.2.2.1	TDA.2.2.1 BMC PROT SEQ GETCAPS	PASS
12	TDA.2.2.7	TDA.2.2.7 BMC PROT BIST NOT 5V SRC	PASS
14	TDA.2.2.9	TDA.2.2.9 BMC PROT GSC REC	PASS
15	TDA.2.2.10	TDA.2.2.10 BMC PROT IGN PPS	PASS
16	TDA.2.3.1.1	TDA.2.3.1.1 POW SRC LOAD P PC	PASS
17	TDA.2.3.1.2	TDA.2.3.1.2 POW SRC LOAD CP ACC	PASS
20	TDA.2.3.3.1	TDA.2.3.3.1 POW SNK TRANS C CP	PASS
21	TDA.2.3.3.2	TDA.2.3.3.2 POW SNK TRANS PC	PASS

BMC Eye Diagram