HP ZBook 14 G2 review

The HP ZBook 14 G2 is the belle of the mobile workstation ball. It's got the looks. It's got the small form factor. And it comes with a powerful chipset. However, if optimal graphics and processing performance are your main concern, this beauty might not be right for you.

We liked

How can you not like the way this baby looks? It perfectly blends magnesium, aluminum and rubber to create a black-on-black kit that will immediately improve your desk space. It performs better than most consumer-grade laptops, though it won't blow any mobile workstations out of the water, and it features a pretty FHD screen.

Power users will love being able to swap out a drained battery for a fully-charged one, which should push total use-time with two batteries to around 14 hours. And if you need to replace broken parts, HP has made it easy for professionals to go in and tinker around.

We disliked

Unfortunately, you won't get to the pinnacle of workstation performance with this laptop. It's just good enough to beat out most of the laptops at your local Best Buy, but it won't surpass other devices in its class.

Additionally, it doesn't come with much storage capacity, and the lack of a touchscreen makes Windows 10 seem like a tease. And finally, the hefty price tag means you're sacrificing performance for style, which is a hard sell for your company's CFO.

Final verdict

If you're a Windows power user who requires as much portability and style as you require performance, the HP ZBook 14 G2 is an ideal device for you. It's got tons of ports and connections, it's got an easily-replaceable battery and it just looks so darn good.

But if you need enough boost to get you through rigorous tasks, and a few extra pounds or inches won't really upset your experience, the benchmarks say there are less expensive devices to consider.