HP Pavilion 15 (2021) review

Our verdict

The HP Pavilion 15 packs decent performance and a sharp display into its pretty slim body. It's not perfect, but it's a hard worker.

To the

Decent touchscreen

Lots of processor notebook

Stylish look

Against

Disappointing battery

No separate graphics

Two minute review

The Pavilion line has always represented HP's mid-range consumer brand, and this 15-inch fits right in; it's a not-quite-ultrabook laptop that really has a lot going for it. The model we have here oozes just so high-spec hardware, from 16GB RAM to a speedy 512GB SSD, from a 15.3-inch FHD touchscreen display to a 4th Gen AMD Ryzen 7 processor.

For the most part, it absolutely rocks those components and achieves results that, while not quite as high as the high mark set by Intel's 11th Gen mobile processors, are truly commendable.

All that guts is packed (literally to the point of bursting) in a handsome and defiantly attractive body, a slim form that looks more expensive than it is, and more than enough ports to make this fully useful no matter what you might have for it .

There's a full-size keyboard that makes typing feel great, and a large trackpad that didn't let us down. When it comes to day-to-day desktop work, be it the occasional photo editing, web browsing or when "working" in front of a film or two, this has what it takes and doesn't get too hot (or, crucially, too loud) while doing it.

But, of course, we're looking at an $849 (£850, about AU$1,000) laptop here, and for all its capabilities, HP isn't known for making miracles. Corners have been trimmed, although chosen sensibly and are likely features you can do without.

For example, there is no keyboard backlight and the case, as good as it is, is completely stiffened out of plastic. Discrete graphics are also available, forcing the HP Pavilion 15 to rely on the above-average integrated processor in the Ryzen -SoC, which will likely put off those who consider this a full entertainment laptop or those with specialized creative use cases.

If you're happy with its limitations, we see no reason not to choose the HP Pavilion 15. It perfectly lives up to expectations in its price range and fits in perfectly alongside machines like the Lenovo Thinkbook 15. It doesn't

feeling

compromised - at least until you try to start a game or go offline for long periods of time on the rather limited battery - and it doesn't look compromised either. If your limits match the HP Pavilion 15's limits, then this is a winner.

price and availability

data sheet

Here is the HP Pavilion 15-eh0014na configuration sent to TechRadar for review:

CPU:

AMD Ryzen 7 4700U (2.0 GHz base clock, up to 4.1 GHz max. boost clock, 8 MB L3 cache, 8 cores)

Graphic:

AMD Radeon graphics (7 cores, 1600 MHz)

R.A.M:

16GB DDR4 (3200MHz)

Screen:

15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS with touch screen

Storage:

512GB SSD

Ports:

1 x USB Type-C (10 Gbit/s, power supply, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge), 2x USB Type-A (5 Gbit/s), 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x combo jack

Connectivity:

Realtek RTL8822CE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2x2) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 combo

Camera:

HP Wide Vision 720p Camera

Weight:

3.9 pounds (1.75 kg)

Size:

14.17 x 9.2 x 0.7 in (36 x 23.4 x 1.8 cm; W x D x H)

The HP Pavilion 15-eh0014na - also known as the eh0015cl - reviewed here is the big brother of the HP Pavilion 15 family, making it one of HP's highest mid-range prices. That doesn't mean it's extremely expensive; in the US, it is available for $849.99, while it's in stock on HP's UK store for £850. In Australia, you'll have to settle for the eh0065AU, which omits the touchscreen found here and replaces the 512GB SSD with a 1 -TB version replaced; it's also a bit more stunning at AU$2,199.

Dial things down in the Pavilion line and you can bring that price down quite a bit. If you're going for a mid-range device it makes sense to slash things like storage and you can potentially get away with 8GB of RAM - although we can would definitely recommend sticking with 16GB if you can afford it.

Comparing the specs to HP's sleek but premium Envy series, for example, this certainly looks like a better offering, although the Pavilion can and certainly can't perform a little less due to the lack of discrete graphics in the workstation. have the far-reaching home potential of the Envy.

A more accurate comparison might look something like this

Acer Swift 3

, which packs hardware at a reasonably similar (albeit slightly less powerful) level and also touches the same price point: it's lighter than this and smaller too, but we think it falls into the same niche.

(Image credit: Future)

draft

The ultrabook category is hard to define. If you take the word to mean "any laptop with a sleek look" then this absolutely fits in. The HP Pavilion 15-(2021) looks absolutely amazing for its price point, with HP cutting things way back.

(Image credit: Future)

The screen, for example, is fairly thin (although a little bulkier around the edges due to the subtle black protective border) and a lot more rigid than we'd normally expect for a plastic-bodied laptop gives it extra rigidity.

This makes using the touchscreen a little more of a sticker than having the same experience on a sheet of glass, but that's a simple concession that easily hits a price point. The base looks similarly slim, with clever angles used to show off the slightly bulbous hide belly.

Which brings us to the other possible meaning of the word

Ultrabook

, what we'd call "every thin and light laptop" - emphasizing actual thinness and lightness rather than implied. It's tight, but the HP Pavilion 15 doesn't really fit. Sure, we've seen bulkier machines, and we have seen heavier ones, but the 15-eh0014na doesn't exactly fit into a niche. It's not a one-handed like that

LG grams

, nor is it paper thin like that

MacBook Air

.It is subtly dense in its own special way.

If we were to guess, HP even seems to have had a little trouble fitting those Ryzen 7 internals into the case. There's a very slight dent at the base; we weren't sure if it was a trick of the eye, for staring at the thing for so long, but a straight edge at the back reveals that it's actually slightly curved. Nothing to deduct points for, but it's an aesthetic speed bump.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

It can be crammed in, but it's not badly designed. There's a decent, if not outrageous, array of ports, with a USB Type-A socket on each side of the device, a multifunction Type-C port on the left side, a full-size HDMI output and a built-in microSD reader.

(Image credit: Future)

The keyboard features a full-width ten-key layout that takes some getting used to, and offers minimal flex and decent key travel - we certainly felt comfortable, although you might struggle in low-light conditions as there's no backlight on offer. Underneath is a decent multi- Touch trackpad with a convincing click, as well as a fingerprint reader on the palm rest.

(Image credit: Future)

perfomance

benchmarks

This is how the HP Pavilion 15-eh0014na performs

our suite of benchmark tests

:

3DMark: Sky Diver:

10,443;

Fire Strike:

2,792;

time spy:

1,080

Cinebench CPU:

2,883 points

GeekBench 5:

1,095

(single processor)

;4,722

(multi-core)

PCMark 10 (home test):

5,095 points

PCMark 10 battery life:

6 hours and 33 minutes

Battery life (Techradar film test):

6 hours and 15 minutes

It's tough in the laptop market. AMD and Intel are at their traditional bickering hands, and they're playing a game of Leapfrog; while the Ryzen 4000-series CPU in this machine was the crown jewel of laptop chips a few months ago, Intel's are 11th generation processors have now come and surpassed it.

Given that this device doesn't quite live up to the competitor's benchmark scores in some areas, it's easy to conclude that this is bad, but that's far from the case. The Ryzen 7 4700U still is a fantastic mobile processor which (coupled with its fast storage and generous allocation of RAM) gives it a perfectly snappy feel and helps it easily keep up with everyday desktop tasks. This definitely doesn't feel like a lesser laptop.

However, what it can't do is offer a lot of gaming performance. Here you have to rely on the integrated Radeon Graphics solution, which is not entirely useless, but performs in the benchmark results in the range of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M presented in 2015. Esports titles can only dampen it down a bit, but anything more important is asking too much. Again, things feel perfectly smooth on desktop. This isn't being sold for its gaming potential, so it would be it doesn't make much sense to penalize it for the lack of a separate graphics solution.

As it is, the package here is enough to provide more than adequate performance without needing too much cooling or compromise. This one simply refuses to get too hot - even when we've really hammered the SoC with benchmarks, they have Fans rarely spin up. When they did, they were entirely tolerable, and the solid B&O-tuned sound system managed to drown them out. We don't dwell on the downward-firing speakers (there's got to be a better way), though that works hard.

The screen is decent, if unspectacular. It achieves a sufficient pixel density at 1,920 x 1,080 that things don't appear obviously grainy to the eye, and is highly reflective - something that helps with the IPS panel's somewhat disappointing contrast, though this also means it's not fun to use when you've got a window behind you. We mentioned the sticky touchscreen performance; although we've seen larger fingerprint magnets, it's handy to have a microfiber cloth on hand if you're a regular poke around in this panel.

battery life

There are no two choices: the HP Pavilion 15's battery life is a major disappointment. Given its weight, we expected this to have a bulky battery that would last at least a full workday; as it is, you'd have your work by eight Hours to glean from it. Our movie test didn't get much past the six-hour mark, and PCMark's battery test managed a half-hour more.

Sure, it's not the worst - certain gaming laptops' volatile batteries can give out after a few hours, and that's a lot better than that - but it's additional proof that HP may be running out of room in the HP Pavilion 15 has chassis, or at least cut a little corner too much. Luckily it charges quickly and happily reaches half capacity in about half an hour.

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if...

You need a laptop that's perfect for work

This is beautifully designed and offers plenty of desktop power, with the added benefit of a decent webcam and full-size keyboard. If you're going into business on a budget, it's a great solution.

You need a strong screen

While the reflective coating doesn't make it suitable for every situation, the HP Pavilion 15's display is consistent and uncluttered, with great viewing angles - and the touchscreen on this version works well.

You have a limited budget

Okay, so this isn't exactly a budget laptop, but you get a lot for your money - lots of fast storage, plenty of RAM, a large display, a fast processor and plenty of modern conveniences in a shell that belies its price.

Don't buy it if...

You want to work in 3D

The integrated graphics here aren't useless, but they're not at the level of a modern discrete graphics solution; they're probably good enough for most applications, but gaming or hardcore 3D work is out of the question.

You want something that keeps going

We were disappointed with the HP Pavilion 15's battery life. It's not absolutely pathetic, but we'd expect a little more staying power, especially considering its weight. Speaking of which...

You want a lightweight laptop

That looks thin, but it's actually a bit outside of the ultrabook category - and it's weighty too. If you want something that you can easily present to someone with one hand, look elsewhere.

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best laptop 2021

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