HP Pavilion15 Laptop Review

The Pavilion series has traditionally been HP's popular mid-range brand, and this 15-inch laptop fits right in; it's a not-quite-ultrabook laptop with a lot of features. The model we have here is jam-packed with high-end components, including 16GB of RAM, a fast 512GB SSD, a touch-screen 15.3-inch FHD display, and an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU from the 4th generation.

For the most part, it performs admirably with those components, yielding performance that, while not quite reaching the stratospheric heights achieved by Intel's 11th-generation mobile processor, are certainly commendable.

All of that guts is crammed into a resolutely beautiful and gorgeous casing, a slim-enough shape that appears to be more expensive than it is, also provided with more than enough ports to make this completely functional regardless of what you have planned for it.

There's a full-size keyboard that's a pleasure to type on, as well as a huge trackpad that didn't disappoint. This has what it takes for day-to-day desktop work, whether it's casual picture editing, online surfing, or 'working' in front of a movie or two, and it doesn't get too hot doing it.

But, of course, we're talking about a $849 laptop, and despite its capabilities, HP isn't recognized for its capacity to perform miracles. There have been some cuts, but they've been made with care and are likely to be things you can live without.

There have been some cuts, but they've been made with care and are likely to be things you can live without. There are no discrete graphics options, so the HP Pavilion 15 is forced to rely on the Ryzen SoC's somewhat better-than-average integrated processor, which will certainly turn off consumers searching for a full-fledged entertainment laptop or those with specialized creative professional use cases.

We don't see why you wouldn't choose the HP Pavilion 15 if you're content with its limitations. It precisely fits the expectations of its price point, sitting alongside computers like the Lenovo Thinkbook 15. It doesn't feel compromised - at least not until you attempt to play a game or go off-grid for an extended period of time, relying on its somewhat limited battery - and it doesn't look compromised either. It doesn't feel compromised - at least not until you attempt to play a game or go off-grid for an extended period of time, relying on its somewhat limited battery - and it doesn't look compromised either.

Price and Availability

The HP Pavilion 15-eh0014na, also known as the eh0015cl, is the big brother of the HP Pavilion 15 family, and as such, it demands one of HP's mid-range line's highest pricing. That's not to say it's prohibitively costly; in the United States, it costs $849.99, while in the United Kingdom, it costs £850. In Australia, you'll have to settle with the eh0065AU, which lacks the touchscreen and replaces the 512GB SSD with a 1TB model; it's also somewhat more expensive at AU$2,199.

When you're looking for a mid-range system, cutting back on things like storage space makes sense, and you might be able to get away with 8GB RAM - but we'd definitely suggest 16GB if you can afford it.

When compared to, instance, HP's stylish but pricey Envy series, the Pavilion appears to be a better value, however the Pavilion's lack of discrete graphics means it can do significantly less in the office and doesn't have the Envy's far-reaching home potential.

A more true comparison would be the Acer Swift 3, which has hardware on par with this and is priced similarly: it's lighter and smaller, but we believe it fits into the same category.

Design

The Ultrabook category is difficult to categories. If you define the term as "any laptop that has the illusion of being thin," then this laptop fits right in. The HP Pavilion 15 appears to be an excellent value for the money, with HP slashing costs significantly.

The screen, for example, is much thinner and stiffer than we'd anticipate from a laptop with a plastic chassis. Because it doesn't have the luxury of a glass front to provide extra stiffness, it's visibly well-braced on the inside.

This makes operating the touchscreen a bit more difficult than doing so on a glass display, but it's a minor sacrifice that can easily be made to meet a pricing goal. The base has a slimline appearance as well, with cunning angles employed to conceal its slightly bulbous belly.

That brings us to the alternative possible definition of the term Ultrabook, which we'd define as "any slim and light laptop" - with the focus on the actual thinness and lightness rather than the suggested. The HP Pavilion 15 comes close, but it doesn't quite make the cut. Sure, there have been bigger and heavier machines, but the 15-eh0014na does not fit neatly into either category. It's not a one-handed device like the LG Gram, yet it's also not as slim as the MacBook Air. In its own unique manner, it's quietly dense.

If we had to guess, it appears that HP had some difficulty putting these Ryzen 7 internals into the chassis. The base has a little hump; we weren't sure if it was a trick of the eye after staring at it for so long, but a straight edge put on the back part indicates that it is slightly bent. It's not anything for which we'll lose points, but it is an aesthetic speedbump.

Performance

In the laptop market, things are complicated. Where the Ryzen 4000-series processor in this computer may have been the crown gem of laptop chips just a few months ago, Intel's 11th-generation CPUs have suddenly come along and outsparkled it.

Given that this machine can't quite equal its rival's benchmark results in some areas, it's tempting to conclude that it's subpar, but that's far from the truth. The Ryzen 7 4700U is still a terrific mobile processor, giving it a delightfully zippy feel and allowing it to keep up with everyday desktop chores with ease. This does not appear to be a budget laptop.

What it can't do, though, is offer much in the way of gaming performance. You're reliant on the integrated Radeon Graphics solution here which, while not absolutely useless, scores benchmark results in the region of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M, a card first launched in 2015. It can cope with esports titles provided they're dialled down a little, but anything more significant will be too much of an ask. Again, though, things feel perfectly slick on the desktop. This isn't sold on its gaming potential, so to penalize it for lacking a discrete graphics solution wouldn't make much sense.

As it is, the package here is enough to provide more than adequate power without requiring too much in the way of cooling or compromise. This simply refuses to get too hot - even when we were really hammering the SoC with benchmarks, the fans rarely ramped up. When they did, they were entirely bearable, and the solid B&O tuned sound system managed to drown them out. We're not over-keep on the down-firing speakers but this works hard.

The screen is decent, though unspectacular. It tops out at 1,920x1,080, giving it enough pixel density that things don't appear obviously grainy to the eye, and is highly reflective - something which helps to bolster the somewhat disappointing contrast of its IPS panel, but which also means this isn't fun to use if you have a window behind you. We've mentioned the sticky touchscreen performance; although we've seen bigger fingerprint magnets, it'll be handy to have a microfiber cloth on hand if you're poking at this panel regularly.

Verdict

The HP Pavilion 15 is a sturdy, stylish laptop that's available at a decent price. It packs a lot of performance under its silver bonnet, while featuring a sharp 1080p display and decent capacity SSD. However, battery life is a letdown for those working on the go.