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MagyarDynabook Portégé X40-K review: Premium laptop with a budget display
Office workers looking for a premium business laptop have a lot to choose from including the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon series, HP EliteBook series, and the Dell Latitude 7000 or 9000 series. Not to be forgotten, Dynabook has launched its Portege X40-K to compete with the premium models from more well-known makers. The Portege model can be configured with 12th gen Core-P vPro CPUs, touch and non-touch FHD IPS displays, and 8 to 32 GB of removable RAM starting at about $1400 USD. Our specific test configuration is a mid-range option with the Core i7-1260P, 16 GB RAM, and a non-touch FHD display.
More Dynabook reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84.3 % | 08/2022 | Dynabook Portégé X40-K i7-1260P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.5 kg | 17.9 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82 % | 07/2022 | VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL i5-1235U, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 1.6 kg | 19.8 mm | 14.10" | 1920x1080 | |
| 85.3 % | 07/2022 | HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES R5 5600U, Vega 7 | 1.4 kg | 19.8 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 85.2 % | 02/2022 | Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.6 kg | 19.5 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 85.3 % | 01/2022 | Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 1.4 kg | 17.9 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84.6 % | 08/2022 | Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR R5 5625U, Vega 7 | 1.6 kg | 18.37 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1200 |
Case
The chassis is a complete revision from the older Portege X40-G. Its bezels are much narrower on all sides while the two large gray hinges along the back corners are now gone in favor of a bar hinge. The edges and corners of the lid are now chrome-cut as well.
Dimensions are about average for a 14-ich business laptop. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is noticeably lighter albeit also more expensive in comparison.
Connectivity
There are plenty of ports to choose from including four USB ports (2x USB-C + 2x USB-A) and support for Thunderbolt 4. Our main complaint lies with the positioning of the ports as they are packed quite closely together. Thicker USB devices or HDMI cables may impede adjacent ports as a result.
SD Card Reader
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K (AV Pro SD microSD V60) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K (AV Pro SD microSD V60) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Communication
An Intel AX211 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. Transfer rates are both excellent and steady when paired to our 6 GHz local network.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
Webcam
The 720p webcam is blurry and should be 1080p considering the "premium" price point. IR support is optional, but at least there is a shutter for privacy on all SKUs.
Maintenance
Bottom panel comes off easily with just a Phillips screwdriver for easy servicing.
Accessories and Warranty
There are no extras in the box other than the user manual and paperwork. On the plus side, this is one of the few budget office laptops to come with a 3-year limited manufacturer warranty as standard.
Input Devices
Display
Our unit comes with a similar Chi Mei panel as found on the Vaio FE14 (N140HCA-EAC vs. N140HCA-EAD). The two budget panels therefore share similar attributes including the limited 65 percent sRGB cover space, but our Dynabook display appears to have weaker black levels for a shallower contrast ratio.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 246.4 cd/m²
Contrast: 601:1 (Black: 0.41 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 6 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 1.86
ΔE Greyscale 6.4 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
44.9% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
64.6% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
43.4% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.01
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K Chi Mei N140HCA-EAC, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL Chi Mei N140HCA-EAD, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.10 | HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES AUO559C, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA AU Optronics B140HAN04.0, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR AU Optronics B140HAN04.0, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR BOE NV14N42, IPS, 1920x1200, 14.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 5% | -15% | -10% | -9% | -10% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 43.4 | 45.7 5% | 36.9 -15% | 39.1 -10% | 39.6 -9% | 39.2 -10% |
| sRGB Coverage | 64.6 | 68.6 6% | 55.5 -14% | 58.6 -9% | 59.4 -8% | 57.4 -11% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 44.9 | 47.2 5% | 38.2 -15% | 40.4 -10% | 40.9 -9% | 40.5 -10% |
| Response Times | -22% | -27% | -27% | -31% | 29% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 33.6 ? | 34.8 ? -4% | 39 ? -16% | 41 ? -22% | 40 ? -19% | 23 ? 32% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 20.4 ? | 28.4 ? -39% | 28 ? -37% | 27 ? -32% | 29 ? -42% | 15 ? 26% |
| PWM Frequency | 25250 ? | |||||
| Screen | 16% | 10% | 47% | 41% | 17% | |
| Brightness middle | 246.4 | 278.1 13% | 304 23% | 265 8% | 273 11% | 292 19% |
| Brightness | 237 | 256 8% | 270 14% | 247 4% | 264 11% | 279 18% |
| Brightness Distribution | 88 | 87 -1% | 83 -6% | 88 0% | 88 0% | 90 2% |
| Black Level * | 0.41 | 0.27 34% | 0.25 39% | 0.14 66% | 0.22 46% | 0.34 17% |
| Contrast | 601 | 1030 71% | 1216 102% | 1893 215% | 1241 106% | 859 43% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 6 | 4.01 33% | 6.78 -13% | 5.09 15% | 4.27 29% | 6.26 -4% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 21.16 | 18.76 11% | 17.59 17% | 19.84 6% | 7.76 63% | 19.14 10% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.86 | 3.12 -68% | 4.69 -152% | |||
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.4 | 3.5 45% | 2.43 62% | 2.33 64% | 2.5 61% | 4.31 33% |
| Gamma | 2.01 109% | 2.23 99% | 2.43 91% | 2.42 91% | 2.43 91% | 2.27 97% |
| CCT | 6738 96% | 7247 90% | 6759 96% | 6344 102% | 6463 101% | 6102 107% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -0% /
9% | -11% /
-1% | 3% /
23% | 0% /
18% | 12% /
13% |
* ... smaller is better
The display is not well calibrated out of the box. Calibrating the display ourselves with an X-Rite colorimeter would improve average DeltaE values drastically as shown by our CalMAN screenshots below. Nonetheless, some colors remain very inaccurate at higher saturation levels due to the narrow color space as mentioned above. Magenta and Blue colors in particular are not nearly as accurate as the other primary and secondary colors.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 20.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 12 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 9.2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 39 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 33.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 16 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 17.6 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 39 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17924 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
At only about 250 nits, the screen isn't bright enough to be used in most outdoor environments without the colors being washed out. Dell Latitude and HP EliteBook laptops can be much brighter by over 2x, but they also retail for much more.
Performance
Testing Conditions
We set our unit to Performance mode via Windows prior to running any benchmarks below. We also disabled "Eco Mode" via the pre-installed Dynabook Settings software. It's recommended that users become familiar with Dynabook Settings as a wide variety of settings are accessible here including performance, charging, boot options, passwords, and more. It even includes a real-time power consumption reading which is an uncommon feature on laptops. Several of the settings available are shown through the screenshots below.
Processor
CPU performance is excellent with multi-core results that are 10 to 30 percent faster than the average Core i7-1260P in our database. The CPU is faster than most if not all Core U-series and Ryzen U-series alternatives at the time of review.
Performance sustainability could have been a bit better. When running CineBench R15 xT in a loop, processor performance would dip by about 18 percent after the initial run as shown by our graph below.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| HP Pavilion Plus 14 eh0097nr | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (3866 - 10570, n=25) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Huawei MateBook 14 2021 AMD | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (1436 - 1786, n=25) | |
| HP Pavilion Plus 14 eh0097nr | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| Huawei MateBook 14 2021 AMD | |
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (2176 - 10898, n=26) | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (11015 - 56906, n=26) | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (669 - 2709, n=26) | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (42571 - 82493, n=26) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (2901 - 6975, n=26) | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (5950 - 26376, n=26) | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (16041 - 92356, n=26) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (259 - 771, n=26) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (1237 - 5858, n=26) | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (13261 - 43652, n=26) | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
System Performance
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (4796 - 6068, n=17) | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (9260 - 11251, n=17) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (6167 - 8629, n=17) | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (5231 - 6908, n=17) | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1484 - 1811, n=16) | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1486 - 1755, n=16) | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1451 - 1872, n=16) | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1253 - 1807, n=16) | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5500 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (25125 - 71544, n=25) | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (24983 - 72065, n=25) | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (23512 - 66799, n=25) | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1260P (77.9 - 118.4, n=21) | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
LatencyMon reveals DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs on our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is imperfect as well with 24 dropped frames during our minute-long video.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR | |
| Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR | |
| HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
The Samsung PM991 in our test unit would exhibit performance issues when stressed. Sequential read rates when running DiskSpd in a loop would be as high as 3000 MB/s during the start of the test before falling to the low 1500 MB/s to 2200 MB/s range as shown by our graph below.
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
Graphics performance is about 10 to 15 percent slower than the average laptop in our database with the same Iris Xe 96 EUs GPU. The deficit can be attributed to the single-channel RAM configuration of our test unit. We recommend adding a second RAM module to improve GPU performance by significant margins.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 6392 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 19058 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 3602 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 1527 points | |
Help | ||
| Cyberpunk 2077 1.6 | |
| 1920x1080 Low Preset | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| HP Pavilion Plus 14 eh0097nr | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (13 - 25.9, n=42) | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL | |
| 1920x1080 Medium Preset | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| HP Pavilion Plus 14 eh0097nr | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (10.8 - 21.7, n=37) | |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (9.8 - 16.9, n=34) | |
| HP Pavilion Plus 14 eh0097nr | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (7.4 - 16.8, n=32) | |
Witcher 3 FPS Chart
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| GTA V (2015) | 71.3 | 56.9 | 11.4 | 5.14 |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 74.9 | 45.2 | 23.7 | 11.9 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 102.8 | 71.9 | 44 | 41.7 |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 31.6 | 16.1 | 12.2 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 51.1 | 38.4 | 34.2 | |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 70.7 | 26.9 | 23.1 | 18.7 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 1.6 (2022) | 17 | 14 |
Emissions
System Noise
Our test unit would exhibit a slight electronic noise or coil whine of 23.4 dB(A) against a silent background of 22.8 dB(A). Fan noise would remain relatively quiet when running Witcher 3 on 1080p Ultra settings due to the very low frame rates. Users should instead expect a fan noise of 31.2 to 40 dB(A) when gaming.
The internal fan of the Portege is able to remain quieter for longer when compared to the VAIO FE14 or Acer TravelMate P4.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 23.4 / 23.4 / 23.4 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 31.2 / 40.5 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 22.8 dB(A) | ||
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1260P, Samsung PM991 MZVLQ512HBLU | VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL Iris Xe G7 80EUs, i5-1235U, Netac S930E 1TB | HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES Vega 7, R5 5600U, SSSTC CL1-8D512-HP | Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7, Micron 2210 MTFDHBA512QFD | Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR Iris Xe G7 80EUs, i5-1135G7, SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0 | Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR Vega 7, R5 5625U, SK Hynix BC711 512GB HFM512GD3GX013N | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -4% | -1% | -19% | -7% | -11% | |
| off / environment * | 22.8 | 23.8 -4% | 25 -10% | 25 -10% | 25.4 -11% | 25.5 -12% |
| Idle Minimum * | 23.4 | 23.8 -2% | 25 -7% | 25 -7% | 25.4 -9% | 25.5 -9% |
| Idle Average * | 23.4 | 23.8 -2% | 25 -7% | 25 -7% | 25.4 -9% | 25.5 -9% |
| Idle Maximum * | 23.4 | 23.8 -2% | 25 -7% | 32.3 -38% | 25.4 -9% | 25.5 -9% |
| Load Average * | 31.2 | 28.6 8% | 30.7 2% | 44.1 -41% | 34.6 -11% | 37.7 -21% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 27.1 | 37.1 -37% | ||||
| Load Maximum * | 40.5 | 37.3 8% | 30.7 24% | 44.1 -9% | 37.4 8% | 43.3 -7% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
Surface temperatures are cooler than expected. When running demanding loads, the hot spots on the keyboard center and bottom surface only reach about 32 C each compared to 34 C to 40 C on the Vaio FE14 equipped with a slower Core U-series CPU.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 31.6 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 34.2 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 32.8 °C / 91 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 21.9 °C / 71 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 22.6 °C / 72.7 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(+) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (+5.1 °C / 9.2 F).
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs | VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL Intel Core i5-1235U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs | HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES AMD Ryzen 5 5600U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 | Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA Intel Core i7-1165G7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs | Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR Intel Core i5-1135G7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs | Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | -7% | -23% | -35% | -16% | -27% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 31.6 | 34.4 -9% | 37.9 -20% | 43.6 -38% | 38.7 -22% | 39.1 -24% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 32.8 | 42 -28% | 44.1 -34% | 55.4 -69% | 38.7 -18% | 41.9 -28% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 24 | 21.6 10% | 27.8 -16% | 28.1 -17% | 26.9 -12% | 31.2 -30% |
| Idle Bottom * | 24.8 | 25.2 -2% | 29.8 -20% | 28.4 -15% | 27.8 -12% | 30.9 -25% |
* ... smaller is better
Stress Test
When stressed under Prime95, the CPU would boost to 3.4 GHz and at a board power draw of 39 W for the first 20 seconds or so until core temperatures hits a maximum of 92 C. Thereafter, clock rates would drop to 2.9 GHz and then finally 2.2 GHz at a board power draw of 28 W in order to maintain a cooler core temperature of 77 C. The system is therefore unable to maintain high Turbo Boost clock rates for long periods due to thermal limitations.
GPU clock rate and temperature when running Witcher 3 would stabilize at 1397 MHz and 75 C, respectively, compared to 1147 MHz and 65 C on the Lenovo Yoga 9 14 equipped with the same Core i7-1260P CPU.
Performance is slightly slower if running on battery power. A 3DMark 11 test on batteries would return Physics and Graphics scores of 12266 and 6029 points, respectively, compared to 13963 and 6136 points when on mains.
| CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Average CPU Temperature (°C) | |
| System Idle | -- | -- | 42 |
| Prime95 Stress | 2.2 | -- | 77 |
| Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 2.1 - 2.3 | 1097 | 73 |
| Witcher 3 Stress | ~1.8 | 1397 | 76 |
Speakers
Dynabook Portégé X40-K audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (81.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 25.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.5% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.6% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (20.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 42% of all tested devices in this class were better, 11% similar, 47% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 22%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 51% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 41% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | bass is linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (2.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (4.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Idling on desktop consumes between 5 W and 9 W depending on the brightness level and power profile setting. Gaming demands between 40 W and 52 W compared to ~30 W on most other Ultrabooks running on older 11th gen Core U-series CPUs. The higher power consumption with the Dynabook is due to its more powerful and thus more demanding Core-P CPU.
We're able to record a temporary maximum draw of 68.7 W from the small (~6.2 x 6.2 x 2.7 cm) 65 W AC adapter.
| Off / Standby | 0.37 / 0.52 Watt |
| Idle | 5.5 / 6 / 8.5 Watt |
| Load |
51.8 / 68.7 Watt |
   
| |
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K i7-1260P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Samsung PM991 MZVLQ512HBLU, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL i5-1235U, Iris Xe G7 80EUs, Netac S930E 1TB, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.10 | HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES R5 5600U, Vega 7, SSSTC CL1-8D512-HP, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Micron 2210 MTFDHBA512QFD, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 80EUs, SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR R5 5625U, Vega 7, SK Hynix BC711 512GB HFM512GD3GX013N, IPS, 1920x1200, 14.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 23% | 20% | 9% | 23% | 11% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 5.5 | 3.5 36% | 3.6 35% | 4.1 25% | 3.6 35% | 4 27% |
| Idle Average * | 6 | 5.7 5% | 7.5 -25% | 6.9 -15% | 5.6 7% | 6.6 -10% |
| Idle Maximum * | 8.5 | 7.9 7% | 9 -6% | 7.4 13% | 7.2 15% | 9.4 -11% |
| Load Average * | 51.8 | 30.1 42% | 27 48% | 39.8 23% | 29.6 43% | 37 29% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 41 | 28.4 31% | 26.9 34% | 39.7 3% | 29.3 29% | 37.1 10% |
| Load Maximum * | 68.7 | 55.8 19% | 46 33% | 66 4% | 62 10% | 53.7 22% |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Witcher 3 / Stresstest
Power Consumption external Monitor
Battery Life
Expect over 9 hours of real-world WLAN browsing time from the 53 Wh battery. Charging from empty to full capacity takes about 2 hours.
| Dynabook Portégé X40-K i7-1260P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, 53 Wh | VAIO FE 14.1 VWNC51429-SL i5-1235U, Iris Xe G7 80EUs, 55 Wh | HP ProBook 445 G8-3Z6Q8ES R5 5600U, Vega 7, 45 Wh | Asus ExpertBook B3 Flip B3402FEA i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, 50 Wh | Acer TravelMate P4 TMP414-51-59MR i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 80EUs, 55.9 Wh | Dell Inspiron 14 5425 6VPKR R5 5625U, Vega 7, 54 Wh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | -13% | 9% | -17% | 7% | 39% | |
| WiFi v1.3 | 554 | 483 -13% | 605 9% | 460 -17% | 593 7% | 770 39% |
| Reader / Idle | 789 | |||||
| Load | 128 | 117 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict — Premium In Name, But Not So Much In Execution
The Portege X40-K is, in Dynabook's own words, a "new era of premium business computing". As a premium business laptop, it's fair to compare it to other flagship alternatives from the Lenovo ThinkPad T or X1 series, HP EliteBook or Dragonfly series, or the Dell Latitude 7000 or 9000 series. The Dynabook system falls short in several key areas by this metric as its display is dimmer, its colors are significantly worse, it's not nearly as lightweight, its 720p webcam is of dreadful quality, and it still utilizes both a barrel AC adapter port and a touchpad fingerprint reader whereas other premium business laptops have already made the full transition to USB-C charging and fingerprint-enabled Power buttons. The last two features in particular make the Portege X40-K feel old despite it carrying the latest generation of Intel CPUs.
The Dynabook Portege x40-K wraps a high-end CPU in a midrange chassis with an outdated display. It's marketed as a premium business laptop even though the Dynabook has more in common with budget models.
Many of the above attributes put the Portege X40-K squarely in the budget business laptop category especially when it comes to the display. For $1400+ USD, users may want to consider a flagship ThinkPad, EliteBook, or Latitude running older 11th gen Intel CPUs. Processor performance may be slower, but the gains in almost every other aspect over the Dynabook would be significant. If you really value the 12th gen CPU and base 3-year warranty, however, then the Portege X40-K can be seen as a good deal in that regard.
Price and Availability
The Dynabook Portege X40-K is not yet widely available online. The official Dynabook website is only offering SKUs with 11th gen CPUs at the time of publishing.
Dynabook Portégé X40-K
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08/11/2022 v7
Allen Ngo
Pricecompare
