Benchmarks: CPU
The quad-core, octo-thread Core i7-8650U is one of the best mobile CPUs going, and a peak turbo frequency of 4.2GHz allows the EliteBook to top the single-threaded PiFast benchmark. It's a quick chip, there's no doubt about that, but we're continuing to see a fair amount of performance variance between laptops outfitted with similar CPUs.
When faced with demanding all-core load, the EliteBook is clearly throttling to keep temperatures in check. Our logs reveal the CPU running at 2.2GHz for long periods in the HandBrake video-encoding test, resulting in a benchmark score that's almost 20 per cent behind a Dell XPS 13 outfitted with a slightly slower chip.
Performance consistency is one area in which future laptops really need to improve; a turbo frequency of 4.2GHz sounds fine on paper, but in practise we don't see it often enough for our liking.