HP Pavilion 15 (2020) review

Verdict

The HP Pavilion 15 is a sturdy, slick laptop that comes at a reasonable price. It packs plenty of performance under its silver hood while offering a sharp 1080p display and a decent-capacity SSD. However, the battery life is a disappointment for those who work on the go.

advantages

Powerful processor for everyday tasks

Solid display on most settings

Stylish, elegant appearance with good build quality

Disadvantages

Battery life below average

The display can be a bit dark in brighter settings

Non-backlit keyboard may be an issue for some

Important Specifications

Evaluation price: £850

15.6 inch 1920x1080 IPS

AMD Ryzen 4700U

16GB DDR4 RAM

Integrated AMD Radeon graphics

512GB SSD

Dimensions: 360 x 234 x 17.9mm

Weight: 1.75kg

The HP Pavilion 15 packs so much that it could be argued that it's above its weight as a mid-range laptop.

It comes with a powerful AMD fourth-generation Ryzen mobile chip, but it also offers some decent design features and a variety of ports.

And although it may not look as classy as a

Dell XPS 13

, or have the sheer grunt of the new

MacBook Air

, it might still be worth a look if you're looking for a bargain.

price and availability

The HP Pavilion 15-eh0014na model I have for review is currently available for £849.99 / $699.99 through HP's online store. This configuration features AMD's Ryzen 4700U mobile processor, a 512GB SSD, 16B RAM and integrated Radeon graphics.

This price makes it more expensive than that

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7

and Microsoft's

Go Surface Laptop.

This puts it in the frame for consideration for those who have some money to spend.

HP also offers a few cheaper models, including the HP Pavilion 15-eh0017na (£499) and HP Pavilion 15-eh0017na (£649.99 / $629.99). These laptops come with the Ryzen 3 4300U and Ryzen 5 processors 4500U and offer slower speeds but cheaper prices.

Design and Keyboard - Premium looks, solid keyboard and decent port selection

Good looking with some sharp and sleek design touches

The aluminum construction makes it feel sturdy and well built

Keyboard feels responsive, albeit with questionable layout

One of the first important things to note about the HP Pavilion 15 is that it doesn't really look like a mid-range office laptop. With its sharp edges and cool silver design, you'd think it was designed for gamers, just without the RGB glam.

It offers an attractive, understated look with a modern and pleasingly thin frame that still holds a 720p webcam for all your video conferencing needs. The build quality is robust, being primarily aluminum to ensure this device can withstand a drop.

The Pavilion 15 weighs significantly more than most of its competitors at 1.75kg, but is still portable enough to carry in a bag and carry around a university campus.

HP has opted for a touchscreen setup on this laptop, but since the Pavilion 15 isn't a convertible, bending the hinge back can only do harm.

The company also works with B&O to bring balanced audio performance to this business-class laptop. In addition, the speakers are mounted at an angle on the bottom of the laptop, so the sound isn't obstructed by your desk.

Even though the Pavilion 15 is a fairly slim kit, HP hasn't skimped on the port assignments. The laptop has two high-speed USB ports, a Thunderbolt 4/Type-C port, as well as an HDMI output, a headphone jack and a mic -SD card slot, offering plenty of compatibility with it. It's nice to see older ports included in a market where USB-As and HDMIs have sometimes been abandoned altogether.

There's also welcome Windows Hello support through the small fingerprint reader, which sits just below the keyboard's dedicated number pad and is easy to reach when needed.

The keyboard is pleasantly tactile, smooth, and responsive, which sets it apart from some of the more compact laptops on the market. One thing to note, however, is that it's not backlit, meaning it may not be the best option for working after the fade of the light is.

The Pavilion 15's trackpad is almost MacBook-sized, giving your fingers plenty of room to move. It's pleasingly smooth and tracking is accurate, with some fairly firm and responsive buttons.

Display – A 1080p display with some nice colors

1080p resolution is ideal for everyday use

16:9 aspect ratio is fine but a bit dated

250 nits brightness is not enough for super bright settings

For the Pavilion 15's display, HP relies on a proven Full HD 1080p resolution that is ideal for everyday work. The large 15.6-inch IPS display offers enough screen space for an ideal experience when streaming movies or watching TV .

Watching a few different shows on Prime Video and browsing the web, the screen is bright and colors are nicely vibrant. Viewing angles are pretty good too - although with a classic 16:9 aspect ratio, I feel like HP is behind the curve Most modern Ultrabooks have a 16:10 ratio, which is better for viewing websites.

The main downside of the HP screen is the brightness. HP claims a peak brightness of 250 nits, which is below the average of 300 nits expected from laptops. Based on my own experience surfing the web and watching videos, the brightness here is for okay indoors, but not really enough for excessively bright sunlight and presents a fairly reflective screen in some levels.

Performance - Business-class laptop with ultrabook performance

Ryzen 7 provides great computing power under load

Integrated graphics are good for casual gaming

The read and write operations of the SSD are disappointing

The HP Pavilion 15 comes with a fourth-generation processor, with the specific 15-eh0014na configuration on test here sporting the Ryzen 4700U. This is a similar chip to the one in the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7, and is more powerful than what that Surface Laptop Go offers – which has certainly helped this laptop deliver some surprising and quite promising results in the benchmarks.

It got some high riding scores in PCMark 10 and Geekbench 5 multi-core tests, putting the Pavilion 15 even higher than some of the more premium and expensive Windows Ultrabooks like this

Dell XPS 13

.This shows the performance gains that a Ryzen processor can bring, as well as the benefits of a decent amount of RAM.

HP Pavilion 15-eh0014na

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7

Dell XPS 13

processor

AMD Ryzen 4700U

AMD Ryzen 4800U

Intel Core i7-1165G7

Geekbench 5 multi

5408

6757

5687

PCMark 10

4915

5159

4802

3DMark time spy

1046

1364

1657

Even with a lot of Chrome tabs open, the 15-eh0014na didn't falter while browsing, and it's certainly up to the task of tackling any coursework or pressing deadlines that might need to be met.

There's even an option to indulge in some light gaming - but don't expect to get too crazy. It works well on less intense titles like Minecraft, but loading up a huge Football Manager database proved a bit too much.

The 15-eh0014na's 512GB SSD is pretty standard for Windows laptops at this price point, and its capacity is enough for everyday work. However, SSD read and write speeds remain at 1633MB/s and 922.7MB/s lags behind the competition, making saving and loading files on the physical drive comparatively sluggish.

Battery – A little overwhelming

Lasted 7 hours 30 minutes in the benchmark test

Durable for a working day

The benchmarks show that the HP Pavilion 15 is a notebook that outperforms its weight in terms of performance. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for battery life.

With the brightness reduced to 50% and the PCMark 10 benchmark, which simulates office work, the HP lasted around seven and a half hours, which practically corresponds to the number specified by HP (seven and three quarters).

The Pavilion 15 doesn't fare well compared to the competition. Lenovo's Yoga Slim 7 lasted 14 hours 39 minutes, and our favorite budget Windows machine, Microsoft's Surface Go, managed 8 hours 45 minutes.

However, benchmarks are only one side of the story; in real-world testing, the 15-eh0014na comfortably lasted a workday before reclaiming the large charge to 100%.

Verdict on the HP Pavilion 15 (2020)

The HP Pavilion 15 is a well-built and classy-looking mid-range laptop with a tactile keyboard and decent port selection. It also offers some nicely balanced speakers and Ultrabook performance at a lower price point than most of the competition.

In everyday use, however, the Pavilion doesn't fare as well as the convertible Lenovo Yoga Slim with its slightly dimmed display and subpar battery life. That means, for those looking to add a bit of style to their office setup, this is a pretty good option.

You should buy the HP Pavilion 15 (2020) if...

You want a laptop with a bit of style

The HP Pavilion 15's modern looks and robust build quality make it ideal for anyone looking for a laptop that will last and look good in office meetings.

Interested in legacy ports

Many modern ultrabooks have abandoned what are now considered legacy ports, like older USB-As and HDMI. So it's nice to see HP supporting these instead of forcing you to convert to USB-C and Thunderbolt.

You want power through everyday work

With its excellent benchmark scores in PCMark 10 and Geekbench 5 multi-core tests, the Pavilion 15 is ideal for anyone who wants to handle their office workloads without lag.

You shouldn't buy the HP Pavilion 15 (2020) if...

You want the battery to last for several days

Since the Pavilion 15's battery only lasts about seven and a half hours, it's not the best device for multi-day work or for power users - there are other laptops that offer twice the battery life of the Pavilion 15.

You are looking for high performance

While the 15-eh0014na is a great option for everyday work, Apple's M1-powered MacBook Air offers the best value for money, costing just £100 more.

You like a bright screen

The HP's 250 nits brightness is fine for most conditions, but it lacks a bit of sharpness compared to other office-grade laptops that cost a little less.

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