The HP ZBook Firefly 15 G8 (2021) is a thin and light Windows mobile workstation that replaces the HP ZBook Firefly 15 G7 from 2020. The Firefly is the thinnest and most affordable model in HP's ZBook lineup, which includes the ZBook Studio, ZBook Fury, and ZBook Power. The Firefly G8's outer design is identical to its predecessor as it's largely an internal spec upgrade. It has Intel 11th Gen processors, Intel Xe Graphics and NVIDIA Quadro T500 GPU options, faster 3200Mhz memory, and Thunderbolt 4 support. At the time of this review, there's already a newer ZBook Firefly G9 with Intel 12th Gen CPUs and NVIDIA T550 discrete graphics.
Our HP ZBook Firefly has a 1080p 250 nit display, an Intel Core i7-1185G7 CPU, an NVIDIA Quadro T500 discrete GPU, 32GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. There are 1080p and 4k display options, including a 1000 cd/m² FHD panel with an integrated privacy screen. Other CPU options include the Intel Core i5-1135G7, i5-1145G7, and i7-1165G7. The NVIDIA Quadro T500 is the only discrete GPU option; otherwise, you can configure the laptop with integrated graphics only. You can get up to 64GB of memory and 2TB of storage.
Our Verdict
The HP ZBook Firefly G8 is good for school use. It's very portable thanks to its thin and light design, and its battery lasts over nine hours of light use, enough to get through a typical school day. The display provides plenty of room for multitasking, the keyboard is comfortable to type on, and the touchpad is responsive. Its Intel 11th Gen CPU and optional NVIDIA discrete GPU can handle tasks like web browsing, video playback, text formatting, and even some light photo editing and video editing, but they struggle in very demanding workloads with complex or high-resolution materials.
- Easy to carry around due to thin and light design.
- Battery lasts long enough for a typical 8-hour day of light use.
- Quiet fans.
- Comfortable keyboard and responsive touchpad.
- Wide port selection includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports.
- CPU and GPU struggle in very demanding workloads.
- CPU and GPU throttle significantly under load.
- Keyboard gets hot under load.
The HP ZBook Firefly is mediocre for gaming. Even with an NVIDIA Quadro T500 discrete GPU, it struggles to reach playable frame rates in graphically demanding games. Also, the CPU and GPU throttle significantly under load, and there are only 60Hz display options with no VRR support. On the upside, it has a lot of ports for your peripherals, and its fast PCIe NVMe SSD makes games load quickly.
- Wide port selection includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports.
- Fast PCIe NVMe SSD.
- User-replaceable memory and storage.
- CPU and GPU struggle in very demanding workloads.
- CPU and GPU throttle significantly under load.
- Keyboard gets hot under load.
The HP ZBook Firefly G8 is decent for media consumption. Its thin and light design makes it easy to carry around, and its battery lasts around six hours of video playback, enough time for a couple of movies. The base 1080p display looks a little dim and washed out, but you can configure the laptop with a better one, up to a 4k panel with 100% sRGB coverage. All the displays are IPS panels, though, so blacks look gray in dim settings. The speakers get very loud and sound full and natural; however, they don't have much bass and can be slightly sibilant in some content.
- Easy to carry around due to thin and light design.
- Battery lasts around 6 hours of video playback.
- 1080p and 4k display options with full sRGB coverage.
- Loud and full-sounding speakers.
- Base 1080p display looks slightly washed out.
- No touch input.
- Blacks look gray in dim settings.
- Speakers lack bass.
The HP ZBook Firefly is decent for use as a workstation. Its Intel 11th Gen CPU and NVIDIA discrete GPU can handle light to moderately intensive workloads like photo and video editing. However, they struggle with extremely demanding tasks that involve complex materials and throttle under load, resulting in stutters and long rendering times. The keyboard is comfortable to type on for extended periods, and there are plenty of ports for peripherals and external displays, including an HDMI and two Thunderbolt 4 ports. Its memory and storage drive are user-replaceable, so you can upgrade the device yourself later on.
- Wide port selection includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports.
- Fast PCIe NVMe SSD.
- User-replaceable memory and storage.
- CPU and GPU struggle in very demanding workloads.
- CPU and GPU throttle significantly under load.
- Keyboard gets hot under load.
The HP ZBook Firefly G8 is good for business use. It's a very portable device with enough battery life to get you through a typical eight-hour day of light productivity. It has a comfortable keyboard, a responsive touchpad, and a display that provides plenty of space for multitasking. You get a wide port selection for multiple peripherals and external monitors, including an HDMI and two Thunderbolt 4 ports. Its Intel 11th Gen can handle tasks like text formatting, spreadsheets, and presentations, and you can get the laptop with an NVIDIA discrete GPU to handle some light photo and video editing. The webcam's video quality isn't very good as the image is soft and underexposed, and the microphone sounds quiet and muffled. If you need additional security, you can configure the laptop with Intel vPro enabled or a smart card reader.
- Easy to carry around due to thin and light design.
- Battery lasts long enough for a typical 8-hour day of light use.
- Quiet fans.
- Comfortable keyboard and responsive touchpad.
- Wide port selection includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports.
- CPU and GPU struggle in very demanding workloads.
- Keyboard gets hot under load.
Changelog
- Updated Dec 12, 2023: Added mention of the MSI Summit E16 Flip Evo (2023) as an alternative with better performance over time in the Performance Over Time section.
- Updated Aug 29, 2023: Added mention of the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 (2023) as an alternative with better CPU and GPU performance in the Geekbench 5 section.
- Updated Sep 16, 2022: Added mention of the Dell Precision 5570 (2022) as an alternative with more powerful GPU options.
- Updated Sep 07, 2022: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the HP ZBook Firefly 15 G8 with a 1080p display, an Intel Core i7-1185G7 CPU, and NVIDIA Quadro T500 discrete GPU, 32GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. The screen, CPU, GPU, memory, and storage are configurable; you can see the available options in the table below.
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Our display and performance results are only valid for the configuration we tested. If you come across a different configuration option not listed above, or you have a similar HP ZBook Firefly 15 G8 mobile workstation that doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update it. Some tests, like black uniformity and color accuracy, may vary between individual units.
You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The HP ZBook Firefly 15 G8 is among the thinnest and most portable mobile workstations on the market. However, its portability comes at the cost of performance as it uses low-power U-series CPUs designed for ultraportables with only an entry-level discrete GPU option. You can easily find laptops with better performance at a similar price point or even cheaper, like an Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021).
For other options, see our recommendations for the best laptops, the best business laptops, and the best Windows laptops.
The HP ZBook Firefly 15 G8 (2021) and the Dell Precision 3571 (2022) are both mobile workstations; however, they're very different. The HP prioritizes portability and general user experience over sheer performance, while the Dell laptop prioritizes performance over user experience. If performance isn't the most important aspect and you just want a portable laptop with a comfortable keyboard or better-sounding speakers, go with the HP. However, if performance is the most important aspect, go with the Dell, as its Intel 12th Gen processors and NVIDIA discrete graphics are significantly more powerful.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M1, 2021) is much better than the HP ZBook Firefly 15 G8 (2021). The MacBook Pro is a more premium-feeling device with a sturdier build, and it provides a better user experience overall, with a larger and more responsive haptic touchpad, a better webcam, and longer battery life. The MacBook Pro's Mini LED display has better contrast and full DCI-P3 coverage, making it more suitable for color work, while the HP laptop only has full sRGB coverage. If performance is the most important aspect, the MacBook Pro also comes out ahead as its M1 Pro and Max SoCs are significantly faster than the HP model's Intel 11th Gen CPU and NVIDIA Quadro T500 GPU.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M1, 2021) is much better than the HP ZBook Firefly 15 G8 (2021). The MacBook Pro provides a better user experience, with a larger and more responsive touchpad, a better webcam and microphone array, more ports, and longer battery life. The MacBook Pro's display has a Mini LED backlight to provide better contrast and a 120Hz refresh rate to make the system feel more responsive. It also has full DCI P3 coverage for viewing and producing HDR content, while the HP model only has full coverage of the sRGB color space. Performance-wise, the MacBook Pro comes out ahead as its M1 Pro and Max SoCs are significantly faster and can handle more demanding tasks.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 4 (2021) is much better than the HP ZBook Firefly 15 G8 (2021) as a mobile workstation. The Lenovo is available with more powerful Intel 11th Gen H-series processors and NVIDIA discrete GPUs while being only marginally larger than the HP. The Lenovo's base display configuration is sharper and brighter than the HP's, and its higher-end displays have a wider color gamut for professional color work. The Lenovo doesn't throttle as much under load, but it gets hotter.
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