Dynabook Portégé X40-K Review: This laptop shines like a sapphire

Price When Reviewed

$1,769.99

Best Prices Today: Dynabook Portégé X40-Ok1437

In the world of enterprise laptops, there are some manufacturers that hog all the eye. Lenovo, HP, and Dell are usually the manufacturers an enterprise will concern its staff. What about smaller companies, perhaps these with out full-time IT departments? That’s the place Dynabook is trying to get its foot within the door. The Dynabook Portégé X40 is a premium enterprise machine in a fetching blue steel end, with Intel’s hottest ultrabook chip, loads of ports, and a regular three 12 months on-site restore guarantee. That’s proper–no transport this machine elsewhere for service for a very long time.

If Dynabook doesn’t sound acquainted, it could be as a result of the model hasn’t existed lengthy. Previously, these computer systems have been marketed beneath the Toshiba identify, however in the previous couple of years Dynabook has develop into its personal factor beneath possession by Japanese tech big Sharp. This is a agency that’s been making computer systems in Japan and worldwide for a very long time, so that is removed from a no-name PC pocket book.

Dynabook Portégé X40-Ok Specifications

The Dynabook Portégé X40 we sampled got here with one in all Intel’s newest 12th-Gen i7 chips, which incorporates a whopping 12 cores.

• CPU: Intel Core i7-1260P (12 cores, 16 threads: 4 efficiency cores, 8 effectivity cores)
• Memory: 16 GB LPDDR4 (1 DIMM slot free, as much as 64 GB obtainable)
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• Display: 14-inch 1080p IPS LCD
• Storage: 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe stable state drive
• Webcam: 720p with magnetic privateness shutter
• Connectivity:  2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (1x always-on charging) 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x DC-in barrel plug, 1x microSD reader
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: Fingerprint reader
• Battery capability: 53Wh
• Dimensions: 14.29 (W) x 9.36 (D) x 0.70 (H) inches
• Weight: 3.2 kilos, 3.86 kilos with AC adapter
• Price as Reviewed: $1769.99

Design and construct

The Dynabook appears to be like just a little generic the primary time you see it, however deliver it into the sunshine and it shines with a novel character. Its steel construct and hanging blue coloration (referred to as “Tech Blue Metallic”) make it look distinctive. In a world of black ThinkPads and gray Latitudes and Elitebooks, the X40 dares to face out just a little bit. The rear of the display lid has a pretty brushed end, giving the silver textured Dynabook insignia distinction and pop.
 
Inside, the display has a workmanlike black matte plastic bezel, and subsequent to the webcam is a guide lens cowl. The keyboard deck is similar deep blue as the skin of the laptop computer, with a refined recessed space the place the keyboard lives. A color-matched trackpad is the place the fingerprint sensor lives, conveniently putting it close to the place your hand shall be anyway. I’d say that when you’re wanting on the Dynabook for enterprise functions, steel construct and minimalist design will hold you wanting professional in entrance of colleagues and shoppers, whereas the gorgeous blue coloration will make you are feeling extra particular than when you had a special model.

Connectivity

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

Thankfully, the Dynabook Portégé X40 isn’t only a sharp dresser in a blue swimsuit. Along the edges of this machine are loads of ports, excess of you would possibly discover on some competing enterprise fashions. Two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports kick off what’s a full suite of helpful normal ports.
 
Leave your dongles at residence? No drawback, because you even have a full-size HDMI, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a headset jack, and even an RJ-45 ethernet port. Cap it off with a DC jack (though the overview pattern I bought has a USB-C charger within the field) and a microSD card, and I can’t consider the rest I’d need right here.

If wi-fi connectivity is extra your pace, then the Portégé X40 is well-equipped with Intel Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Unfortunately, when you require mobile web, there isn’t an choice so as to add that to the X40. 4G and 5G is frequent in mainstream enterprise notebooks, from manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo, however Dynabook isn’t fairly

Keyboard and trackpad

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

In an period the place keyboards are getting slimmer and fewer good to make use of, the Dynabook bucks the development by giving a reasonably good typing expertise. Although I’d say that ThinkPads are my most popular laptop computer keyboards, Dynabook has a backlit unit within the X40 that is much better than the typical ultraportable. Keythrows are properly cushioned but have a responsive little snap when you’ve depressed every cap sufficient. Typing on the X40 just isn’t too clicky or noisy, making it nice for notetaking whereas in a gathering.
 
The trackpad is pretty satisfying as nicely. It has nice monitoring, glorious palm rejection, and an excellent satisfying click on. The floor feels clean to the contact. All round, it’s one of many higher touchpads I’ve utilized in current reminiscence. Unlike different enterprise notebooks, this Dynabook doesn’t have a pointing stick within the keyboard, so it’s an excellent factor the trackpad is a dependable performer.
 
If I can fault the Dynabook Portégé X40 for something pertaining to enter, I must ding it for its baffling perform buttons. There’s loads to this keyboard that you just won’t see on competing fashions, together with a numlock and arrow lock for the in-QWERTY numpad. But there are a ton of baffling features right here, too, together with a magnifying/display decision change sure to Fn + Spacebar, and a complicated sleep change that appears like an arrow pointing to a microchip (??). Everyday shortcuts like quantity, mute, contextual click on, and the keyboard backlight toggle are in all places.
 
What makes this an enormous annoyance is that there’s no Fn lock, so that you’ll at all times want to make use of the Fn button whereas adjusting quantity or what have you ever. The greatest concept I can put out there’s that Japanese customers have totally different wants than Americans, and that these are a holdover from the home Dynabook collection. But for this westerner, placing vital features in nonstandard spots, and requiring the usage of the Fn to invoke them was a frustration I’ve not skilled on every other fashionable pocket book PC.

Display, audio system, and webcam

While mainstream computer systems may need insane OLED and high-refresh charge screens, enterprise notebooks normally stay behind the curve. This Dynabook doesn’t mess with a tried-and-true formulation, placing in a slim-bezel 14-inch 1080p IPS display. For my eyes, this panel is dense sufficient to look good, has satisfyingly broad viewing angles, and pleasingly deep blacks. The 16:9 display ratio could possibly be improved with just a little further peak, but it surely’s adequate for single home windows and nearly usable when snapping two apps side-by-side. If I have been to levy any main criticism in opposition to the Dynabook X40’s display it’s that it’s a little dim for 2022. Peak brightness barely goes previous 250 nits, which was adequate just a few years in the past however when you’re ever gonna work close to brilliant home windows in a café, proves itself to be solely satisfactory.
 

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

The webcam contained in the Dynabook X40 is simply a low-res 720p, and a comfortable 720p at that. While it didn’t have a lot concern exposing my face, there’s a scarcity of element within the pictures it produces. The inner microphones are nothing to put in writing residence about, both, with only a contact of noise cancellation occurring. In a pinch, each of those shall be adequate for the occasional assembly, however if you wish to look and sound your greatest, you’ll need to get a headset and an exterior USB digital camera, or a special laptop computer solely. At the very least, you get a regular privateness shutter to dam the digital camera with confidence, no stick-on cowl required.
 
The audio system on this pocket book are surprisingly weak, regardless of boasting DTS tuning. In different premium notebooks, we’ve come to anticipate boombox-like skills to pump out the jams, and the Dynabook simply can’t sustain with its wimpy downfiring stereo audio system positioned alongside the entrance edge. For a YouTube video, these have been merely OK, however as it is a buttoned-down pocket book meant for enterprise, don’t anticipate to host karaoke events with it.

Performance

Looking at it, this unassuming blue ‘book looks like it might pack middle-of-the-road chips inside, just barely suitable for Teams, some Chrome tabs, and a Word doc or two. That’s the place you’d be improper. Dynabook has put the smokin’ 28-watt Intel Core i7-1265U contained in the Dynabook X40, and it exhibits in additional methods than one. Not solely does this pack a shocking 12 cores inside, but it surely excelled at each benchmark we threw at it, save for graphically-intensive ones. Unfortunately, on its normal Balanced energy mode, this efficiency comes at a penalty–the X40’s steel chassis will get mighty toasty at full bore, and there’s a warning on the underside panel to inform you as a lot.
 

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

This all-round check provides us an amazing concept how a pocket book will fare with the each day grind. Since the Dynabook X40 is geared toward enterprise customers, it excelled at this benchmark. While an AMD-based pocket book took the lead, the X40’s performance-oriented chip hung in there and acquitted itself very nicely. Rest assured that for every thing from video chats, to Microsoft Office, this blue magnificence has guts to spare.

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

We’ve come to anticipate first rate however not superb efficiency from Intel’s newest technology of Xe Iris Graphics that come as normal with laptops like this one. As it stands, the Dynabook X40 did alright within the 3D-intensive Sky Diver check, identical to its Intel-packing competitors. AMD nonetheless has a slight edge on this because of its extra refined built-in GPU designs, however so long as you don’t anticipate to sport on a enterprise pocket book, you gained’t be disenchanted.

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

Our normal Handbrake encoding check turns an HD film straight off a Blu-ray disc right into a small model meant for viewing on a pill. In this check, the i7-1265U, with its ample cores, clocked in at an admirable 25 minutes. If you’re tackling multi-core duties on the reg, the Dynabook X40 has loads of oomph.

Battery Life

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

One space the place you’ll really feel the efficiency burn is on the subject of your cellular runtime. The Dynabook x40 comes with a small 53 watt-hour inner battery, and we discovered that in our normal battery check, it did simply fantastic. Coming in at just below 8 hours, the Dynabook undoubtedly may last more, as we measured round 8 hours and 20 minutes from the similarly-configured high-performance Dell XPS 13 Plus. There are some variations there–it’s noteworthy that the Dell had a power-sipping OLED display and a barely quicker Intel i7 inside. Anecdotally, I noticed 10% battery drop in about 40 minutes of labor on the Dynabook X40.

Conclusion

On the entire, Dynabook’s Portégé X40 is a stable choose for a enterprise PC. However you outline work, this blue laptop computer has loads of oomph to maintain your online business. Its stable construct high quality, quick i7 chip, plentiful ports, and three 12 months normal on-site restore guarantee tip this over the sting, making it a bundle value contemplating. Whether it’s a tax write off on your aspect hustle or an improve for your online business, the X40 ought to keep succesful for not less than the three years it’s lined by the usual guarantee, providing you with nice peace of thoughts up entrance.