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Technical white paper  |  HP ZBook 15 G2 Mobile Workstation

Power supply units

Save size and weight 

The HP ZBook 15 G2 Mobile Workstation takes the reliability and performance advantages of a workstation on the 
go. With the latest in Intel® processor technology, NVIDIA® mobile graphics cards, and Thunderbolt™ 2

2

 connectivity, 

professionals can take their work with them wherever they travel. Such a capable system paired with a power supply to 
provide all of the support it needs often makes the system a hefty load to carry, but the flexibility in configuring an HP 
Mobile Workstation allows the user to select a smaller, lighter power brick. Though demanding workloads may require a 
high wattage power supply, HP recommends the solution that best works for the needs of the user. 

Function of the Power Supply

The function of the external power supply is to convert the 120V or 240V AC power, depending on the country, from a 
wall outlet, into DC current that the computer is able to use. The workstation only pulls as much power from the landline 
as it needs at the time to run all of the components and applications. Power supply units have an efficiency rating, stated 
as a percentage of power the machine uses out of total power pulled from the source. 

Traditionally, the HP ZBook 15 G2 is promoted to ship with the two options of power supply that best meet the demands 
of a fully loaded machine running an intense workload, but that is not always the case. Many users do not fully utilize the 
CPU and GPU while on maximum screen brightness simultaneously. Instead, they are using their mobile workstations for 
more normal work flows with fewer power demands. They really do not make use of the full-fledged power supply and 
end up carrying around extra dead weight. With a lower watt power supply, mobile workstation users are able to save 
themselves the size and weight while taking their mobile workstation wherever their passion leads them.

What happens if the power supply is too low in wattage? 

The HP ZBook 15 G2 Mobile Workstation can be configured in the settings to run at full use, balanced, or power saving 
modes that can be selected by the user. When the mobile workstation is connected to a land line, it will pull all of the 
current it needs from the wall, up to the rating of the power supply. If the computer demands even more power, the 
management system within the BIOS will automatically draw the additional power needed from the battery. In this 
use case, it is possible to have the mobile workstation plugged in and still drain the battery. Frequent use like this can 
degrade the overall life of the battery. If this happens often, the user should consider upgrading to a power option that 
supports frequent, high-demand workflows. Another drawback of a low-watt power supply is the amount of heat created 
as a by product seen when the power supply unit is reaching its maximum capacity. Though this can cause discomfort, 
these units are designed so that heat is not a safety concern, nor does it effect the quality of the user experience. 

The HP ZBook 15 G2 is compatible with several options of AC power adaptors that are offered as an after market option.

45 W

65 W

90 W

120 W

150 W

180 W

200 W

230 W

ZBook 15

•*

•*

* Indicates Configure to Order option

Configure to Order options

Adaptor

External HP 65 W Smart 
AC adapter

External HP 150 W Slim 
Smart AC adapter

External HP 200 W Slim 
Smart AC adapter

External HP 230 W Slim 
Smart AC adapter

Size

106.0 x 47.0 x 28.0 mm

167.0 x 82.0 x 25.4 mm

172 x 96 x 25.4 mm

200 x 100 x 25.4 mm

Weight

280 g

565 g

748 g

840 g

 Total cord length

12 feet (3.66 meters)

12 feet (3.66 meters)

12 feet (3.66 meters)

12 feet (3.66 meters)

Summary of Contents for ZBook 15 G2 Mobile Workstation

Page 1: ... simple scalability and blazing fast connectivity to perform and collaborate at the speed of creativity Table of contents OS PXE Boot 2 Power supply 5 Display options 6 Multiple display support 11 SATA to PCIe Technology transition for SSDs 14 Technical white paper HP ZBook 15 G2 Mobile Workstation Perform on the go ...

Page 2: ... OS loader e g Win8 OS start Firmware enforces policy and only starts signed OS loaders it trusts OS loader enforces signature verification of later OS components The UEFI BIOS checks the signature of the OS loader before loading If the signature is not valid the UEFI BIOS will stop the platform boot BIOS and UEFI background As computer technology has advanced the BIOS has expanded to handle new c...

Page 3: ...upported transition from Windows 7 to Windows 8 1 1 Steps to a solution for Mobile Workstations Customers who have ordered a mobile workstation that is pre loaded with Windows 8 may be able to load a Windows 7 image by turning off the Secure Boot option in the BIOS To do that Step 1 Power on the unit and press the Escape key or F10 to enter the BIOS Menu Step 2 Select the Advanced tab Boot Options...

Page 4: ...e boot mode has changed 10 If this message does appear type the four digit code shown in the message then press Enter to confirm the change NOTE No text field displays for the code This is expected behavior When you type the numbers the code is logged without a text field Recommendations For large scale deployment the best answer is to order systems with Windows 7 including Windows 7 with Windows ...

Page 5: ...ing around extra dead weight With a lower watt power supply mobile workstation users are able to save themselves the size and weight while taking their mobile workstation wherever their passion leads them What happens if the power supply is too low in wattage The HP ZBook 15 G2 Mobile Workstation can be configured in the settings to run at full use balanced or power saving modes that can be select...

Page 6: ... ZBook 15 G2 can also be configured to support any requirements of the user Display options As a mobile workstation customer we know that viewing your work accurately is critical to your success You need the right display in order to accurately and efficiently get your work done When it comes to HP Mobile Workstations we know we have a lot to offer Our HP ZBook 15 G2 offers plenty of horsepower an...

Page 7: ...t environment such as an office or cubicle then a bright monitor can sometimes cause eye strain headaches and other negative health effects This should be scrutinized heavily as eye strain from a bright monitor can be detrimental Viewing angles When looking at a TN screen from an angle the images on the display often look dimmer or disappear completely This issue is caused by the contrast ratio dr...

Page 8: ... is 16 9 which is the aspect ratio used for High Definition television There are also many other aspect ratios including a 16 10 which is found in some notebook PC displays When considering what aspect ratio is right for you understand that a 16 9 will allow for more work to be spread horizontally and often allows for a more comfortable keyboard layout On the other hand a 16 10 ratio will allows f...

Page 9: ... the reflection of light Chemical anti glare allows for better display crispness and color reproduction but does not decrease screen reflection as well as a matte finish Touch screen The ability to interact with our devices using our fingertips is becoming more and more important Touch screen technology allows users to interact with their computer more intimately Touchscreens also allow users to t...

Page 10: ...isplay is a great way to save some money HP ZDisplays While our HP ZBook displays offer so much we know that you aren t always going to be using them Many of you will be using a docking station to connect to our HP ZDisplays at your desk or office HP ZDisplays offer great expandability to the HP ZBook With sizes ranging from 22 to 30 diagonal displays you can find the perfect size for your work HP...

Page 11: ... daisy chain capable display is being used and if Hybrid Graphics is enabled Due to more stringent color requirements Dreamcolor panels only use display outputs from the Discrete GPU and thus the maximum number of independent displays supported is reduced from six to four on SKUs with NVIDIA graphics and five on SKUs with AMD graphics HP ZBooks without Docking Station HP ZBook 15 G2 without the us...

Page 12: ...be driven by a single DisplayPort connector The HP 2013 ZBook models UltraSlim Docking Stations Docking Station and Advanced Docking Station support the DisplayPort v1 2 daisy chain feature With the use of a DisplayPort 1 2 Hub or a DisplayPort 1 2 Display that supports Multi Stream Transport or daisy chaining a user may connect multiple external displays to a single DP connector on either the ZBo...

Page 13: ...dustry limitation where only displays connected to the integrated GPU may be used during PreOS As such display s attached to the discrete GPU are not viewable during Pre OS For example if users boot with the panel closed and an external display attached to a DisplayPort connector driven by the discrete GPU that display cannot show any image during Pre OS session such as during POST when in BIOS se...

Page 14: ...ng on the HP ZBook G1 products to the M 2 SSD now named the HP Z Turbo Drive offering on the HP ZBook 15 G2 Why the transition from SATA to PCIe Today s SATA HDDs and SATA SSDs have reached a performance ceiling HDDs are limited by the mechanical nature of the devices while SATA SSDs are limited by the 6 Gb s 600 MB s ceiling of the SATA bus Furthermore the SATA I O working group made a strategic ...

Page 15: ... capacity within the footprint of mSATA SSD devices Four PCI Express lanes and one SATA 3 0 6 Gb s port accessed through same connector Compatibility to legacy storage interface SATA Same form factor and interface provides path to the PCIe storage devices of the future Reduces bottlenecks by connecting directly to the PCIe bus thus providing an excellent solution for those with large files and big...

Page 16: ... HP Z Desktop Workstation HP ZBook 15 G2 Connection 4 PCIe G2 lanes6 2 PCIe G2 lanes Performance 1000 MB s read 600 MB s read Sequential read 1080 MB s 675 MB s Sequential write 800 MB s 550 MB s The chart below shows a comparison of storage device performance measured in MB s Through direct connection to the PCIe Bus the HP Z Turbo Drive is able to considerably exceed previous performance capabil...

Page 17: ...M 2 module Resources contacts or additional links HP ZBook Mobile Workstations hp com go zbook More information on Secure Boot HP Consumer Support Secure Boot Windows 8 More information on Custom Integration Services HP Personal Systems Configuration Services Learn more at hp com go whitepapers pcmag com article2 0 2817 2362046 00 asp itdonut co uk blog 2013 02 what screen resolution and why does ...

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