The HP ZBook 8 G1i Review: A Workstation in Name Only?
Reviewing the HP ZBook 8 G1i. Despite its 'workstation' branding, it features dated components, disappointing graphics, and a confusing $2,739 price tag.
It's got the workstation label, but its heart beats like a mid-range laptop. HP's new ZBook 8 G1i tries to bridge the gap between power and portability, but it often ends up in no man's land. While marketed for heavy-duty tasks, its actual performance suggests it's more of a glorified office machine than a professional powerhouse.
Dated Design and Odd Specs
Physically, the ZBook 8 G1i is a throwback. With a thickness of 27 mm and weighing in at 3.8 pounds, it feels chunky compared to modern rivals. The aesthetic is purely utilitarian—recycled aluminum and plastic in a muted gray. If you were handed this in 2014, you'd be impressed, but in 2025, those wide bezels are hard to ignore.
Under the hood, the choices are equally curious. It packs 64 GB of RAM, which is great, but the Intel Core Ultra 7 265H CPU sits squarely in the middle of the performance spectrum. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 500 Ada GPU is a niche, stripped-down chip that performs on par with the ancient mobile GTX 1000 series, making it a weak choice for a machine carrying the workstation tag.
Performance and Pricing Woes
Benchmarking paints a clear picture: this isn't a high-end workstation. In graphics tests, it scored between half and a third of what the Asus ProArt P16 achieved. Furthermore, it fails to meet the requirements for a Copilot+ PC, meaning it lacks the AI muscle expected of modern professional laptops.
| Feature | HP ZBook 8 G1i | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| type,span,text,CPU | type,span,text,Core Ultra 7 265H | type,span,text,Average |
| type,span,text,GPU | type,span,text,RTX 500 Ada | type,span,text,Underwhelming |
| type,span,text,Battery | type,span,text,9h 21m | type,span,text,Solid |
| type,span,text,Price | type,span,text,$2,739 | type,span,text,Overpriced |
Pricing is where things get truly messy. HP initially listed the machine at over $4,000 before applying deep 'discounts.' However, at a real-world price of $2,739, it still struggles to justify its cost when compared to more powerful alternatives like the MacBook Pro M4 Pro.
Authors
Related Articles
HP's Dynamic Security firmware updates block third-party ink cartridges—and now that practice may violate the EPEAT 2.0 environmental certification HP itself applied for.
Samsung Electronics' union branch revealed that 84% of survey respondents oppose the government's roughly $290 billion (₩400 trillion) semiconductor megaproject in Gwangju. Government, management, the union and shareholders are all reading the same national project in sharply different ways.
Nvidia shipped roughly a billion RISC-V cores in 2024, then announced it would run CUDA on the open standard. We break down how royalty-free instruction sets and open software stacks are trying to route around CUDA's lock-in. Part 2 of the Semiconductor Sovereignty series.
US AI-chip export controls split into three layers in the first half of 2026 — January easing, a May crackdown on circumvention, and a pending bill. Nvidia erased China from its guidance and still posted a record $81.6 billion quarter. A look at the export policy that both shields and cages it.
HP's Dynamic Security firmware updates block third-party ink cartridges—and now that practice may violate the EPEAT 2.0 environmental certification HP itself applied for.
Samsung Electronics' union branch revealed that 84% of survey respondents oppose the government's roughly $290 billion (₩400 trillion) semiconductor megaproject in Gwangju. Government, management, the union and shareholders are all reading the same national project in sharply different ways.
Nvidia shipped roughly a billion RISC-V cores in 2024, then announced it would run CUDA on the open standard. We break down how royalty-free instruction sets and open software stacks are trying to route around CUDA's lock-in. Part 2 of the Semiconductor Sovereignty series.
US AI-chip export controls split into three layers in the first half of 2026 — January easing, a May crackdown on circumvention, and a pending bill. Nvidia erased China from its guidance and still posted a record $81.6 billion quarter. A look at the export policy that both shields and cages it.
Thoughts
Share your thoughts on this article
Sign in to join the conversation