HP Announces Redesigned ZBook, EliteBook 800 Notebooks And New Thunderbolt Dock

Status
Not open for further replies.
Feb 8, 2018
1
0
510
Will the new Thunderbolt docks not be a complete disaster like the previous ones were? I had to order 100 of the G1s for a project last year and they simply did not work with the current Bios revision of the ZBook out of the box.
 

Giroro

Splendid
I have no choice but to work with a last-gen Zbook, and it is bad. Like, very bad. It has massive problems with broken drivers, and HP's answer to our corporate IT was essentially a shrug and a middle finger.

Every time I boot I have to remove and re-plug this horrible "dock" (more like an overblown USB hub) multiple times until eventually all the attached devices initialize. Usually the first time I get monitor but no mouse and keyboard, then I get monitor and mouse but no ethernet, and on the third attempt I get mouse and ethernet but I need to screw around with windows projector settings to get the monitor back.
Also, none of the non-keyboard buttons (wifi, volume, brightness, etc) or middle click for the touchpad work. My Zbook can't even detect when headphones are plugged in. IT isn't willing to touch the drivers to try and fix it because reinstalling that "dock" means a full re-image of the computer.

And don't even get me started about how badly designed the dock itself is. The thunderbolt input is on the left of the dock, but the output on the laptop is on the right, forcing a long loop of cable that mixes with all the other cables that stick out of the dock at all angles, not just the back. You can't set the laptop on the dock. It doesn't look like the dock was supposed to go behind the laptop because it has a power button and headphone port on the front(?). There dosn't seem to be any way to attach it to a wall or something. I really have no idea where they intended people to put this stupid hub thing.

But if HP is doubling down on the thunderbolt hub that everyone hates, then I imagine they will continue to lose a LOT of enterprise customers. Certainly "thinner, lighter, and somehow less connectivity" is not going to win back companies that are looking for engineering/design workhorses.
 

sellputcall

Prominent
Nov 27, 2017
4
0
510
I am researching a new laptop with a 15.6" screen and 8th gen intel 7 cpu and 2 drives.
I like the specs of new 15u model and if it has a dock designed for it, even better.

Seeing Giroro's comment above makes me hesitate about their new HP zbook.
I guess I'll have to wait for reviews on this.
Could not find it on hp's website. I guess it hasnt been released yet.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.