HP ZBook Ultra G3a Unlocks 160GB VRAM To Run Massive Local AI Models
HP is taking aim at mobile developers and data scientists with the ZBook Ultra G3a, a 16-inch mobile workstation designed to run massive local AI models without relying on cloud infrastructure. Or as the company refers to it in its press release, a personal AI factory for professionals, powered by AMD and enhanced by Perplexity.
It's also a laptop, though that designation is only skin deep. Beneath the surface, this mobile workstation packs up to a Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 495 processor, which is AMD's flagship Gorgon Halo chip based on Zen 5 with 16 cores, 32 threads, 3.1GHz (base) to 5.2GHz (max boost) clocks, and 16MB L2 + 64MB L3 for 80MB of total cache.
The Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 495 also sports a dedicated NPU capable of delivering up to 55 TOPS of AI performance, and integrated Radeon 8065S graphics with 40 cores clocked at up to 3GHz. Taken altogether, AMD's top Gorgon Halo part can hit up to 131 TOPS.
What's also interesting here is the massive amount of system memory on tap, along with how it can be allocated. Rather than relying on a discrete workstation-class GPU, the ZBook Ultra G3a wields 192GB of LPDDR5X unified system memory. HP's datasheet identifies the memory as LPDDR5X-10700, though transfer rates top out at 8,533 MT/s on smaller capacities and step down to 8,000 MT/s on the 128GB and 192GB models. Typically, workstations will trade maximum theoretical clocks for rock-solid stability, given the focus on mission-critical applications.
Beyond the speed metrics, through HP's software utility or BIOS settings, users can dynamically shift up to 160GB of that big memory pool to operate as dedicated VRAM. That massive frame buffer allows local execution of agentic AI models, complex 3D rendering in software like Autodesk Revit, and multi-tenant LLM testing without smashing into traditional memory walls.
"Together, HP and AMD are ushering in the era of Personal AI, where extraordinary AI power moves from the data center into the hands of professionals. For years, the most powerful AI has lived in the cloud," said Jack Huynh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Computing and Graphics Group at AMD. "Now, with up to 192GB of unified memory and the ability to run models up to 300 billion parameters locally, that power is right beside you, working alongside you and your most demanding applications. The new ZBook shows what’s possible when AI becomes truly personal, giving people the freedom to explore bigger ideas, solve harder problems, and bring their most ambitious ideas to life."
HP says its sleek mobile workstation measures just 17.9mm thin and weighs 4.2 lbs. To sustain long inference runs and heavy multi-threaded workloads inside the thin and relatively lightweight chassis, HP overhauled the cooling with a larger vapor chamber and custom mid-mount fans featuring four times the fin surface area of the previous generation. According to HP, this yields an 81.8% boost in thermal performance over the ZBook Ultra G1a, and enables up to 100W of performance for advanced workloads.
Available display configurations center around a 16-inch 16:10 aspect ratio panel, with options ranging from a power-efficient WUXGA display up to a 120Hz 3840x2400 HP DreamColor screen covering 100% of the DCI-P3 color space, as well as a more premium 2.8K OLED touch option.
Physical I/O includes a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports (40Gbps with DisplayPort 2.1 and power deliver), a USB-C port (10Gbps with DisplayPort 2.1 and power delivery), a powered USB-A port (5Gbps), an HDMI 2.1 output, and a 3.5mm headphone/mic combo jack. The system also supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0 for wireless chores, as well as optional 5G (sub-6GHz) via HP Go 5G.
Beyond the physical specs, the ZBook Ultra G3a ships with a 30-day Perplexity Computer trial.
