My full review of the HP Pro Tablet 608 G1 is now available on Notebookcheck. It scored 78% which is good, but, not that good. The docking station and USB-C port, screen and build quality are excellent but there’s one thing that’s not quite right.
Starting with the screen I must say it’s the best screen I’ve ever seen on a 7-8 inch Windows tablet. It’s bright, tight and the colors are excellent. It’s a Sharp IGZO panel and I’m pleased that I’ve finally had the chance to test one. It seems to be efficient too because in a video playback test at 150 nits I saw just 3.3W of system power usage. That’s good but unfortunately there’s only a 21 Wh battery inside which, for this weight of tablet, isn’t huge. The weight also gives me a hint that it’s tightly packed inside and when I looked at the sensor and comms, which includes 2 x 2 AC Wifi, LTE, GPS, NFC and more, it’s clear that a lot has been included…which brings us to the issue.
The HP Pro Tablet 608 G1 heats up quickly. A measured maximum of 51.7 degrees is too much and that hotspot is right under the left hand when holding the tablet in portrait mode. The warmth tells us something else too. Thermal headroom is small and it means Turbo Boost just doesn’t get a chance to run as it should. This Atom X5-based tablet (Z8500, the high-end Atom X5 version) will give you the same performance as previous generation tablets based on the Baytrail-T which is extremely disappointing. The GPU rarely gets up above 400 Mhz to its 600 Mhz peak which wastes all the goodness in the new GPU in my opinion.
HP Pro Tablet 608 G1 in hand
It’s possible I had a bad build here (maybe someone on the production line forgot to install a heat-spreader for example) so keep an eye out for other reviews to see if there are big performance and temperature differences.
I tested a Windows 8 version of the HP Pro Tablet 608 G1 and didn’t attempt to upgrade to Windows 10 based on some feedback I had about a problem. I haven’t looked into this so can’t tell you any more but HP are offering the tablet with Windows 10 so I assume all the drivers are available and it’s just an inline upgrade that’s the issue.
Check out the full review on Notebookcheck where I’ve included the lab test results for screen and heat along with the usual set of performance results, images and summary.
Other notes:
- USB-C port not good if you don’t have an adapter cable. (None supplied in-box.)
- eMMC 4K write speeds very disappointing.
- Windows 8 Pro installed
- Nice design and 4:3 format screen
- Intel AC WiFi support is fast when close to a hotspot
- Digitizer not tested
I’ve also produced an overview review video that you can watch below.
It seems all the atom x5 chips overheat, the Asus T100HA and Teclast x98 pro get to an internal temp of 86 C. Such a promising generation specs wise but they use too much power, meaning poor battery life, and then convert it all into heat!
The 4:3 ratio and Windows Pro (if one pays for such a model) are very nice but the tablet has these drawbacks: the display mirroring is not reduced (like by an iPad Mini 4) nor even matte so outdoor use must be difficult, HP cannot confirm to me the availability of any replacement battery or service (what is totally unacceptable for a “pro” device with a high price), the WLAN quality drops too fast, the eMMC is very bad, the tablet becomes too hot, it is still unclear whether the Windows 10 firmware and drivers are flawlessly working now, it is still unavailable in Germany.
What is the maximal reliable WLAN range? Notebookcheck does not give any hint on that.
Richard, why do you think that all x5 chips would overheat? The Notebookcheck test of the Asus T100HA says: the maximal temperature is 35.2 °C, the Surfing over WLAN v1.3 gives 9h:01′. The HP 608 has 51.7 °C and 4h:53′. IMO, this difference for the same CPU model and RAM size means: the HP 608 has a terrible cooling design, uses too power-consuming other chips (maybe the eMMC?) and needs a slightly bigger battery. I do not suspect the major cause to be the display resolution because iPads with the same have no problem with heat or battery duration.
We can only hope that HP gets generation G2 of the Tablet 608 right. The first generation is a failure, and this is too bad considering I have been waiting for a reliable 4:3 Windows Pro tablet for 6 years now. (I would prefer 10″.)
–robert jasiek
I added some info on WLAN to the review. At 10 meters the reception was very poor. This is a 2 X 2 AC solution that works well inside the same small-ish room as the WLAN router.
Many thanks for the additional info!
It is embarrassing that 2×2 AC from a supposedly reliable manufacturer can be weak at already 10m distance. This shows just how important it is to read tests before byuing devices.