HP Spectre X360 13... good deal and laptop worth buying?

Richdog

Richdog

Richdog

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In my local store (non-UK) there is what seems like a great deal on a HP Spectre X360 13. The machine will be for home and travel and also as part of my studio photography gear for Lightroom processing and shooting tethered etc. Gaming isn't planned. The spec is:

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  • hp Spectre x360 2-in-1 convertible late 2017 model
  • Intel Core i7-8550U (4GHz boost) 4 cores, 8 threads.
  • 13.3" / 33.8 cm IPS 1080p touchscreen with digitizer
  • 16 GB LPDDR3-2133 SDRAM
  • 512 GB SSD
  • 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) touchescreen
  • HP Active Pen
  • 2x USB-C (Thunderbolt 3 and support charging)
  • 1x USB 3.0
  • Micro SD reader.
Price: £1190

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I had a play with it and the screen is ok, decent colour gamut coverage and the touch seems accurate, but also reflective and not so bright (300 nits or so). The keyboard is extremely nice to type on and the Active Stylus Pen seems to work very well when writing/drawing. The B&O Speakers do the job too and are pretty loud an clear. Connectivity seems good with 2x USB-C and 1x USB3.0.

Reviews also seem generally very positive https://www.google.ch/search?safe=s......0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.0.0....0.KusXTmEcl1A

So, any thoughts on this machine, especially from any current or previous owners? Does it seem like a oood purchase for the money that should easily last a couple of years or are there any better alternatives out there for the money? :)
 
I quite like the look and feel of the Spectre x360's and that seems a reasonable price to me. I'm not an expert on this exact machine but it seems OK to me.
 
That's a nice spec for the money for sure. Personally I didn't like the finish quality on the HP, so went for a Surface Laptop.

The specs on the HP, TB3 and USB-C are nice, if I needed em I would probably have gone for it and put up with the tacky build.
 
mid_gen said:
That's a nice spec for the money for sure. Personally I didn't like the finish quality on the HP, so went for a Surface Laptop.

The specs on the HP, TB3 and USB-C are nice, if I needed em I would probably have gone for it and put up with the tacky build.
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I also looked at this option but the Surface book 2 is almost double the price for the same spec... that is just insane. :eek:

Also I don't think "tacky" is the word I would use for the design... imo it is very sleek and business looking! Tacky is how I would describe Acer gaming laptops. :p

1524012132_hp-spectre-x360-13-late-2017-review-990x518.jpg
 
I don't like all the silver plastic personally. At least that one doesn't have the awful rose gold stripe above the keyboard one I looked at had :)

I preferred the minimalist and solid metal style of the Surface myself....but the HP was the last remaining candidate before I decided on it.
 
mid_gen said:
I don't like all the silver plastic personally. At least that one doesn't have the awful rose gold stripe above the keyboard one I looked at had :)

I preferred the minimalist and solid metal style of the Surface myself....but the HP was the last remaining candidate before I decided on it.
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As far as I am aware and according to reviews t he Spectre X360 13 case is purely CNC aluminium: https://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-Spectre-x360-13t-i7-8550U-FHD-SSD-Laptop-Review.289232.0.html

Where the Ultrabook had carbon fibre touches the Convertible’s case is made entirely out of CNC-routed aluminum and thus much more rigid and robust than the Ultrabook’s. Even moderate force wasn’t enough to twist and warp the case, and the sandblasted surface is practically immune to fingerprints.
Click to expand...

Are we talking about the same laptop or do you mean a different model? :)
 
Richdog said:
As far as I am aware and according to reviews t he Spectre X360 13 case is purely CNC aluminium: https://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-Spectre-x360-13t-i7-8550U-FHD-SSD-Laptop-Review.289232.0.html



Are we talking about the same laptop or do you mean a different model? :)
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I meant the silver plastic keys. Although the model I looked at was rose gold or something and had some extra trim on it.

As I said, I was in the market for a 13" laptop a while ago and looked at a lot of different options and tried them out. Narrowed down to the Surface Laptop and HP x360. If I needed the extra spec I would have gone HP, but the build of the Surface is just immaculate.
 
mid_gen said:
I meant the silver plastic keys. Although the model I looked at was rose gold or something and had some extra trim on it.

As I said, I was in the market for a 13" laptop a while ago and looked at a lot of different options and tried them out. Narrowed down to the Surface Laptop and HP x360. If I needed the extra spec I would have gone HP, but the build of the Surface is just immaculate.
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Fair enough, enjoy! Maybe I will consider the Surface Book in a couple of years when its connectivity is refreshed. :)
 
I have one of the first gen Spectres bought almost as soon as they became available in the UK. It really is a lovely bit of kit and so far has survived 23 weeks in India and a couple of weeks in America, plus multiple jaunts around the UK.

The only slight gripe that I have is that despite having a power brick the size of a small matchbox the cables are surprisingly bulky, and annoyingly the connection for the mains power lead into the brick is different between it and my company laptop so I have to carry two cables.
 
Richdog said:
I also looked at this option but the Surface book 2 is almost double the price for the same spec... that is just insane. :eek:

Also I don't think "tacky" is the word I would use for the design... imo it is very sleek and business looking! Tacky is how I would describe Acer gaming laptops. :p

1524012132_hp-spectre-x360-13-late-2017-review-990x518.jpg
Click to expand...

Personally I think that looks lovely and the silver keys stand it apart from the general laptop population. I like the fact it has separate navigation keys (page up/down/etc). The only thing I don't like about the keyboard layout is the US style enter key (long rather than tall). Is the backlighting OK in the dark against silver keys? I've tried a couple of Spectre keyboards in shops and the keyboard feel is OK too (not as goods as a Thinpad or the older pre-butterfly Macbooks, but still acceptable).

Is it this model?

 
Hades said:
Personally I think that looks lovely and the silver keys stand it apart from the general laptop population. I like the fact it has separate navigation keys (page up/down/etc). The only thing I don't like about the keyboard layout is the US style enter key (long rather than tall). Is the backlighting OK in the dark against silver keys? I've tried a couple of Spectre keyboards in shops and the keyboard feel is OK too (not as goods as a Thinpad or the older pre-butterfly Macbooks, but still acceptable).

Is it this model?

Click to expand...
Yes it is that one, and she really did a great review. I also think it look s great and have you seen that HP SureView technology? Has a built in privacy screen that can be activated at the press of a button, crazy! beneluxgcmm

Anyway mine is now ready for collection so I will pick it up after work and have a good play with it tomorrow. Looking forward to it! :)

PS: I will do a mini review here too. :)
 
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