HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8 review – smaller doesn’t mean better

In the past couple of years, HP has really done well to revamp its business notebook portfolio. In addition to the security features it always offered, the new devices look stunning.

Yesterday, we reviewed the EliteBook x360 1040 G8, and today, we have its 13-inch sibling – the EliteBook x360 1030 G8. Essentially, it is a shrunk-down version of the former and keeps pretty much all of its features.

In addition to that, you also get the Tiger Lake treatment, as you get the same hardware choices. Spoiler alert – the motherboard and the cooling are identical as well.

Nevertheless, there is a reason for having a laptop lineup in different sizes. And the main reason behind this is to appeal to a bigger audience, as people are subjective creatures. This is why the manufacturer has chosen to make the two devices nearly identical. After all, this type of manufacturing optimization is seen all over the world, and especially in the carmaker industry.

Of course, the EliteBook x360 1030 G8 can be found with the Sure View system. Speaking of displays, there are two options – a 1080p IPS one, and a 4K OLED panel, which will support supreme levels of contrast and deep blacks.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-elitebook-x360-1030-g8/

Contents


Specs Sheet

HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8 - Technische Daten

  • IVO X133NVFF R0 (IVO8596)
  • Farbgenauigkeit  4.9  1.9
  • HDD/SSD
  • bis zu 2000GB SSD
  • RAM
  • up to 32GB
  • OS
  • Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Pro, Windows 10 Home
  • Batterie
  • 54Wh, 4-cell
  • Gehäuse Material
  • Aluminum
  • Abmessungen
  • 303.8 x 194 x 16.1 mm (11.96" x 7.64" x 0.63")
  • Gewicht
  • 1.21 kg (2.7 lbs)
  • Ports und Konnektivität
  • 2x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Thunderbolt 4, Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
  • 2x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Power Delivery (PD)
  • HDMI
  • 2.0
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.0
  • Audio-Buchse
  • 3.5mm Combo Jack
  • Nano SIM Slot
  • Merkmale
  • Fingerabdruckleser
  • optional
  • Web-Kamera
  • HD
  • Beleuchtete Tastatur
  • Mikrofon
  • 4x Multi-Array Microphones
  • Lautsprecher
  • 4x Speakers, Bang & Olufsen
  • Optisches Laufwerk
  • Sicherheitsschlitz

What’s in the box?

Inside the box, we found a 65W USB Type-C power brick, some paper manuals, a USB Type-A to Type-C cable, and a rechargeable HP Active Pen.


Design and construction

One thing can be said for sure, and it is that this notebook is very well built. Even though it weighs only 1.21 kilos, and has a profile of 16.1mm, the structural integrity is on point. The main reason for that is the all-metal chassis, made from CNC Aluminum. For now, the only available color is silver with a matte finish, which does a good job of keeping fingerprints away.

Obviously, the hinge helps the lid open at 360°. The conventional procedure of opening the notebook, however, can’t be executed with a single hand. Thankfully, the bezels around the glass-protected, anti-glare display are thin enough. Still, HP has managed to put a couple of pretty useful sensors inside the top one. In addition to the HD camera, there is an IR face recognition sensor, a proximity sensor (which detects your presence), and an ambient light one.

Moving to the base, you will see the backlit keyboard. It has also spill protection, for the coffee drinkers, although, don’t count on it to completely save your notebook. What you can’t count on, though, is the comfortability and reliability of the keyboard, as it has clicky feedback, and rather long feedback, for a laptop of this size. Also, HP has provided it with a dedicated key for the fingerprint reader. If you look closely, you will see that there are a couple of speakers surrounding the keyboard.

Further down below, you can see the glass-covered touchpad, which offers super-smooth gliding, and accurate tracking. On its left, you will see the sticker with quick instructions. They show you how to use the magnets on the side to attach your Active Pen.

If you turn the notebook upside down, you will find the other two speaker cutouts, as well as the ventilation grill. Hot air, respectively, is pushed out of the device through two vents on the back.

Ports

This notebook’s I/O includes a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, an audio jack, a SIM card tray, and a security slot on the left. Then, on the right, you will see another USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, an HDMI 2.0 connector, and two Thunderbolt 4 connectors.


Disassembly, upgrade options and maintenance

To take this notebook apart, you need to undo all 5 Torx-head screws. After that, pry the bottom panel with a plastic tool.

Unsurprisingly, this notebook uses the exact same hardware as its 14-inch sibling. This includes the battery, which has a 54Wh capacity.

Memory-wise, all of the chips are soldered to the motherboard. Thankfully, you get to choose from configurations with 8, 16, or 32GB of LPDDR4 RAM, working at 4267 MHz in dual-channel mode. In terms of storage, you get one M.2 PCIe x4 slot.

Once again, the fans of this notebook’s cooling solution are super small, but on the bright side, you get two heat pipes, and two heat sinks for a faster, more efficient way of thermal management.


Display quality

HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8 is equipped with a Full HD IPS touchscreen panel, IVO X133NVFF R0 (IVO8596). Its diagonal is 13.3-inch (33.78 cm), and the resolution – 1920 х 1080p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:9, the pixel density – 166 ppi, their pitch – 0.15 х 0.15 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 50 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). One important feature of this device is its Sure View technology. Its purpose is to block unwanted viewers from seeing the content of your screen. A key role in that place the backlight and an additional light directing layer.

We apply these photos to evaluate the viewing angles. The 45-degree photos are taken with a longer exposure than the front-facing one.

The following set of images are taken with the same exposure (manual shooting mode) in a dark room.

The maximum measured brightness is excellent – 700 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 705 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 20% (812 nits (cd/m2) in the top left corner). The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 5770K – warmer than the standard 6500K temperature 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 23% Brightness (White level = 140 cd/m2, Black level = 0.07 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 very good – 1900:1.

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 EliteBook x360 1030 G8’s color gamut coverage.

Its display covers 90% 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 at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8 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 = 28 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 EliteBook x360 1030 G8’s backlight does not use PWM for brightness adjustment. This makes it comfortable and safe for use in this aspect.

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 the 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.

Conclusion

HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8’s IPS panel in the configuration we tested has a Full HD resolution, very high maximum brightness, great contrast ratio and covers 90% of the sRGB gamut. Its backlight doesn’t flicker, making it safe for long periods of use. Additionally, the Sure View technology works great (if you need it), although the additional layer impacts the viewing angles even when the feature is turned off. Unfortunately, we measured a very high deviation in the luminance across the surface of the screen. This, combined with the rather poor color accuracy (although our Gaming and Web design improves the situation by a mile), makes the laptop less desirable for designers, and artists in general.

Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8 configurations with 13.3″ IVO X133NVFF R0 (IVO8596) (FHD, 1920 × 1080) IPS panel.

*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.

Mit dem Kauf von LaptopMedia-Produkten erhalten Sie nicht nur effiziente und gesundheitsschonende Profile, sondern Sie unterstützen auch die Entwicklung unserer Labore, in denen wir Geräte testen, um möglichst objektive Testberichte zu erstellen.

Büroarbeit

Office Work sollte vor allem von Benutzern verwendet werden, die die meiste Zeit mit dem Betrachten von Textstücken, Tabellen oder einfach nur mit dem Surfen verbringen. Dieses Profil zielt darauf ab, durch Beibehaltung einer flachen Gammakurve (2,20), einer nativen Farbtemperatur und wahrnehmungsgerechten Farben eine bessere Deutlichkeit und Klarheit zu liefern.

Design und Spiele

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.

Gesundheitsschutz

Health-Guard eliminiert die schädliche Pulsweitenmodulation (PWM) und reduziert das negative blaue Licht, das unsere Augen und unseren Körper beeinflusst. Da er für jedes Panel maßgeschneidert ist, schafft er es, die Farben wahrnehmungsgetreu zu halten. Health-Guard simuliert Papier, so dass der Druck auf die Augen stark reduziert wird.

Erhalten Sie alle 3 Profile mit 33% Rabatt


Sound

HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8 has a quad-speaker setup from Bang & Olufsen, which produces a sound of very good quality. Moreover, its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations.


Drivers

All of the drivers and utilities for this notebook can be downloaded from here: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-elitebook-x360-1030-g8-notebook-pc/38228592

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with 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 notebook’s 54Wh battery pack lasts for 11 hours and 40 minutes of Web browsing, and 9 hours and 54 minutes of video playback.


CPU options

The processors you can choose from are the Core i5-1135G7, Core i5-1145G7, Core i7-1165G7, and Core i7-1185G7.

HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8 CPU-Varianten

Hier sehen Sie einen ungefähren Vergleich zwischen den CPUs, die in den HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8-Modellen auf dem Markt zu finden sind. Auf diese Weise können Sie selbst entscheiden, welches Modell der [Serie] das beste Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis bietet.

Hinweis: Die Tabelle zeigt die günstigsten verschiedenen CPU-Konfigurationen, so dass Sie überprüfen sollten, was die anderen Spezifikationen dieser Laptops sind, indem Sie auf den Namen des Laptops / CPU.

Die Ergebnisse stammen aus dem Cinebench R23 CPU-Test (je höher die Punktzahl, desto besser)

Die Ergebnisse stammen aus unserem Photoshop-Benchmark-Test (je niedriger die Punktzahl, desto besser)


GPU options

Ultimately, there are no dedicated graphics options, so you get the Iris Xe Graphics G7 with either 80 or 96 EUs.

HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8 GPU-Varianten

Hier sehen Sie einen ungefähren Vergleich zwischen den GPUs, die in den HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8-Modellen auf dem Markt zu finden sind. Auf diese Weise können Sie selbst entscheiden, welches Modell der [Serie] das beste Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis bietet.

Hinweis: Die Tabelle zeigt die günstigsten unterschiedlichen GPU-Konfigurationen, daher sollten Sie die anderen Spezifikationen dieser Laptops überprüfen, indem Sie auf den Namen des Laptops /GPU klicken.

Die Ergebnisse stammen aus dem 3DMark: Time Spy (Graphics) Benchmark (je höher die Punktzahl, desto besser)

Die Ergebnisse stammen aus dem 3DMark: Fire Strike (Grafik) Benchmark (je höher die Punktzahl, desto besser)

Die Ergebnisse stammen aus dem 3DMark: Wild Life (Grafik) Benchmark (je höher die Punktzahl, desto besser)

Die Ergebnisse stammen aus dem Unigine Superposition Benchmark (je höher die Punktzahl, desto besser)


Gaming tests

DOTA 2HD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings)HD 1080p, High (Check settings)
Average FPS117 fps69 fps43 fps

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 core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp.

Intel Core i7-1165G7 (15W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
HP EliteBook x360 1030 G83.08 GHz (B+10%) @ 98°C @ 31W2.77 GHz @ 98°C @ 26W2.35 GHz @ 85°C @ 19W
HP EliteBook x360 1040 G83.43 GHz (B+23%) @ 98°C @ 40W2.84 GHz (B+1%) @ 88°C @ 27W2.43 GHz @ 69°C @ 17W
HP Elite Dragonfly G23.17 GHz (B+13%) @ 98°C @ 34W2.34 GHz @ 76°C @ 18W2.14 GHz @ 73°C @ 16W
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro (14)3.90 GHz (B+39%) @ 85°C @ 61W2.57 GHz @ 69°C @ 26W2.37 GHz @ 57°C @ 20W
HP Pavilion 14 (14-dv0000)3.08 GHz (B+10%) @ 91°C @ 40W2.79 GHz @ 89°C @ 29W2.13 GHz @ 71°C @ 18W
Acer TravelMate P4 (TMP414-51)2.99 GHz (B+7%) @ 94°C @ 33W2.66 GHz @ 93°C @ 27W1.86 GHz @ 68°C @ 16W
Dell Inspiron 13 7306 2-in-13.12 GHz (B+11%) @ 99°C @ 33W2.68 GHz @ 99°C @ 25W2.04 GHz @ 83°C @ 16W
ASUS ZenBook Flip S UX3713.48 GHz (B+24%) @ 90°C @ 43W2.79 GHz @ 90°C @ 27W1.95 GHz @ 69°C @ 14W
Acer Swift 3X (SF314-510G)3.74 GHz (B+34%) @ 95°C @ 45W3.45 GHz (B+23%) @ 95°C @ 37W3.09 GHz (B+10%) @ 85°C @ 28W
Acer Swift 3 (SF313-53)3.55 GHz (B+27%) @ 95°C @ 44W3.17 GHz (B+13%) @ 95°C @ 34W2.32 GHz @ 64°C @ 17W

In the torture test, you can see that this notebook was once again outperformed by its bigger brother.

Comfort during full load

Here, we monitored a hot spot on the keyboard of about 41°C. Also, the noise from the fans was a bit high.


Verdict

During this review, we compared the EliteBook x360 1030 G8 with its bigger brother (the x360 1040 G8). And this was not only out of curiosity. Despite being different in size, the actual footprint of the notebooks does not contrast that much. And given their similar price range, we see them as competitors.

Quite frankly, today’s notebook was just not on the level of its sibling. Yes, it has decent performance, but it is a bit behind. Also, it has almost the same set of features, but again – lacks an NFC. How about the battery? Well, it uses literally the same unit, and the smaller display would suggest a better screen on time? Well, this is not what happens in practice, apparently, as the 11 hours and 40 minutes of Web browsing, and almost 10 hours of video playback, are edged away by about an hour more on the 14-inch notebook.

HP EliteBook x360 1030 G8’s IPS panel (IVO X133NVFF R0 (IVO8596)) in the configuration we tested has a Full HD resolution, very high maximum brightness, great contrast ratio and covers 90% of the sRGB gamut. Its backlight doesn’t flicker, making it safe for long periods of use. Additionally, the Sure View technology works great (if you need it), although the additional layer impacts the viewing angles even when the feature is turned off. Unfortunately, we measured a very high deviation in the luminance across the surface of the screen. This, combined with the rather poor color accuracy (although our Gaming and Web design improves the situation by a mile), makes the laptop less desirable for designers, and artists in general.

And this is the nail in EliteBook x360 1030 G8’s coffin. Nothing else can save it. Not the great keyboard/touchpad combo, nor the dual Thunderbolt 4 connectors. The bad thing is that it doesn’t have anything better. This means it shares the same downsides, of lacking an SD card reader, and memory upgradability. And the only way we see this notebook as a viable option is if there’s no availability of the EliteBook x360 1040 G8 in your region.

Our final note will be that on the outside, it seems like today’s device is the same as the 14-inch version. The same… but worse.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-elitebook-x360-1030-g8/

Pros

  • Slim design with strong chassis.
  • Covers 89% of sRGB colors (IVO X140NVFC R0 (IVO8C78))
  • Very good battery life
  • Two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an LTE card slot
  • Supports PCIe x4 M.2 SSDs
  • Doesn’t use PWM for brightness adjustment (IVO X133NVFF R0)
  • IR face recognition + fingerprint reader + a proximity sensor that detects your presence
  • Optional Sure View system for the privacy of your work (IVO X133NVFF R0)
  • HP Rechargeable Active Pen inside the box


Cons

  • Memory is soldered to the motherboard
  • Lacks an SD card slot
  • Nonuniform luminance across the area of the display (IVO X133NVFF R0)
  • Color accuracy is off (IVO X133NVFF R0)

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Ben
Ben
2 Jahre vor

It seems like the panel used for this laptop and the Dragonfly G2 are the same. Would you know why the Dragonfly G2’s display performed just fine compared to how horrible this laptop did?

David
David
1 Jahr vor

Compare 1030G8 HD Camera quality as many will make use of this model for remote work, Teams or WebX, etc meetings, video calls, etc

Last edited 1 Jahr vor by David