HP Spectre X360 vs Dell XPS 13

[WaterlooDude]

Hello guys!

I ordered an xps 13 from dell a few days and it arrived today. The machine itself gave me a very strong first impression until I found out the core i7-8550u cannot 

reach its full performance. Even when I am running heavy load tasks, the cpu only utilizes 65% of its full performance. The only reason I waited for the 8th gen ultrabook i7s is the extra performance

on the go. Now I am kinda disappointed. 

I heard the HP spectre x360 is another solid ultrabook, and the 2 in 1 feature allows me to take notes during meetings and classes more conveniently. 

Does anyone have experience with the new HP spectre x360 with 8th gen i7? I would love to use some advice. 

Cheers!

 

[genexis_x]

13 minutes ago, WaterlooDude said:

I found out the core i7-8550u cannot reach its full performance

This is because it has 15W TDP limitation (unlike those HQ CPUs which has 45W TDP) which will throttle the CPU to 2.2-2.4GHz under heavy, all core load

Both XPS 13 and Spectre x360 are great options. Not much different except for looks and x360 has a 360 degree hinge

Edit: In ULV CPUs, i5 and i7 don't make much difference due to TDP limitation

[WaterlooDude]

Just now, ZM Fong said:

This is because it has 15W TDP limitation (unlike those HQ CPUs which has 45W TDP) which will throttle the CPU to 2.2-2.4GHz under heavy, all core load

Both XPS 13 and Spectre x360 are great options. Not much different except for looks and x360 has a 360 degree hinge

I think the ultrabook is not providing the 25w the cpu needs in order to boost to up to 4ghz.

The HP also has a 4k display, which is better than the QHD one on xps. But I doubt I will see a difference on a 13'' display. 

I might wanna return the xps now. 

[genexis_x]

9 minutes ago, WaterlooDude said:

I think the ultrabook is not providing the 25w the cpu needs in order to boost to up to 4ghz.

25W isn't enough for 4GHz all cores. Even the 45W TDP rated 7700HQ CPU sometimes uses more than 45W in order to have all cores 3.5GHz boost. (those HK mobile CPUs can reach 60W at 4GHz)

The 4GHz can only be achieved in single thread load. Also ultrabook don't have much room left to cool higher TDP CPU (more heat output)

[WaterlooDude]

1 minute ago, ZM Fong said:

25W isn't enough for 4GHz. Even the 45W TDP rated 7700HQ CPU sometimes uses more than 45W in order to have all core 3.5GHz boost. (those HK mobile CPUs can reach 60W at 4GHz)

The 4GHz can only be achieved in single thread load. Also ultrabook don't have much room left to cool higher TDP CPU (more heat output)

That makes a lot of sense. I think I am going to return the i7 8550u xps to get a more practical model with i5 because they basically performs to the same degree. The 360 degree hinge is a big selling point for me. 

[genexis_x]

2 minutes ago, WaterlooDude said:

That makes a lot of sense. I think I am going to return the i7 8550u xps to get a more practical model with i5 because they basically performs to the same degree. The 360 degree hinge is a big selling point for me. 

If you like 360 degree hinge, be sure to take a look at Lenovo Yoga 720 15 inch, well-built and powerful 2 in 1 ultrabook

[unknownmiscreant]

The 6th gen skylake spectre throttles to high heaven. Its also a total pain in the backside to take apart and service. My testing on skylake i5s and i7s in dell latitude machines reveals no difference between the two. They just sit on the TDP limit (thermals weren't an issue)

 

Fun fact, my 2012 ivy bridge 3rd gen i7 laptop can match or outperform the modern skylake machines.

[WaterlooDude]

I suppose the ivy bridge i7 has a standard tdp. Doesn't the spectre only features low tdp cpu? They will not match the performance with a 45w mobile i7. 

[unknownmiscreant]

40 minutes ago, WaterlooDude said:

I suppose the ivy bridge i7 has a standard tdp. Doesn't the spectre only features low tdp cpu? They will not match the performance with a 45w mobile i7. 

My i7 has 35w tdp and decent cooling. Only ever gets to 20w package tdp on CPU load. My brothers 2015 skylake spectre is a low TDP CPU with 15w. You're not going to get stella performance, but for web browsing and notetaking its fine.