HP Spectre 13 x2 becomes first passively cooled Windows 8 hybrid
HP ditches active cooling for its Spectre 13 X2 hybrid laptop, which uses a passively cooled Intel Haswell processor for the first time
HP has unveiled the Spectre 13 X2, the company’s first hybrid laptop to use a passively cooled Intel 4th Generation Core processor.
Built entirely from aluminium for a premium appearance, the Spectre 13 X2 will comes with a 13.3in, Full HD 1080p touchscreen, up to 128GB of solid state storage and a choice of fanless Intel Core i3 or i5 processors. HP is calling it a world’s first, although it remains to be seen how a fanless processor will hold up to standard Haswell chips when it comes to performance.
It retains the same detachable keyboard as the Envy X2, which contains an additional battery to double the length of time spend between charges. It’s currently unclear whether the keyboard dock will hold a secondary mechanical hard disk like the Envy Split X2.
Running the full version of Windows 8, you’ll be able to run desktop apps even when you detach the tablet from the keyboard dock.
If hybrid laptops aren’t really your thing, HP has also announced a standard Spectre 13 Ultrabook. Weighing just 1.4kg, it’s a compact aluminium notebook with a 13.3in, Full HD touchscreen display, Intel 4th generation Core i5 processor (this time with an active heat sink fan) and up to nine hours of battery life.
The Spectre 13 X2 is expected to go on sale in the UK from November onwards, with prices starting from £999. The Spectre 13 Ultrabook, meanwhile, should cost £1,099 when it arrives in the same month.