Face Off: HP Pavilion 15 vs. Lenovo IdeaPad Z50 vs. Toshiba Satellite S50

The new Pavilion 15 design is similar to its predecessor with just a few small differences. However, we will be focusing on the quality of the chassis instead. The completely plastic case has brushed aluminum-like surfaces to give the appearance of a more expensive notebook. Nonetheless, the base of the unit has above average resistance to twists and depressions and the hinges are taut. The lid is more susceptible to twists and warping as expected, though not any more than the average for its class.

The IdeaPad Z50 is designed a bit more sharply than the Pavilion 15. Unfortunately, its base and lid are both more susceptible to flexing and even suffers from audible creaking. The Toshiba notebook sports a similar brushed aluminum outer lid as the Lenovo with plastic used for the rest of the design.  Quality is better than the Lenovo and is similar to that of the HP.

While it's a tough call between the Pavilion 15 and Satellite S50, the edge goes to the Satellite notebook as it is thinner and a few hundred grams lighter than both other models without sacrificing build quality along the way.

Winner: Toshiba Satellite S50

The core basics are available on all models with just one or two omitted features on each. The Pavilion 15 lacks Gigabit Ethernet and VGA, while the IdeaPad Z50 is down one USB 3.0 port and the Satellite S50 is missing an optical drive. One feature may be more desirable than the other depending on which is more important for your daily needs. For the target budget or mainstream audience, however, we find the VGA port on the Lenovo to be invaluable for schoolwork and external monitors.

No models make use of any dedicated docking ports.

Winner: Lenovo IdeaPad Z50

The keyboard on the Pavilion 15 mirrors that of its predecessor with no major changes. That is, travel is shallow and feedback is on the softer side. Meanwhile, the keyboard on the Z50 is very poor as the entire surface can be easily warped. This alone makes the keys feel very cheap and the spongy feedback does little to help. Its only redeeming quality is perhaps the full-size Arrow keys at the cost of a slightly smaller Numpad.

The Toshiba S50 isn't much better. Not only is feedback poor, but it can feel different depending on the section of the keyboard. The problem is especially pronounced on the long Space Bar. On the bright side, the keys are quiet and include a backlight unlike on the HP or Lenovo. The HP keyboard has the fewest issues out of the three and is easier to become accustomed to with regular use.

As for the multi-touch touchpads, Lenovo loses this round again for its poorer response around the edges and corners and poor dedicated mouse keys. The touchpads on the HP and Toshiba perform more consistently in comparison and use integrated mouse keys instead. Toshiba comes out the winner with its firmer texture and solid precision.

Winner: Keyboard -- HP Pavilion 15

              Touchpad -- Toshiba Satellite S50

According to 3DMark, the GeForce GT 940M and Radeon R6 M266DX Dual Graphics are both neck-to-neck. The Radeon R7 M260 in the Toshiba S50 is 20 to 30 percent slower than the graphics horsepower of the Pavilion 15 or IdeaPad Z50. There are no performance benefits from enabling Dual Graphics on CineBench benchmarks.

The results from the synthetic GPU benchmarks carry over nicely to real-world gaming performance. 

The IdeaPad Z50 is again nearly on par with the Nvidia hardware in the Pavilion 15. However, users should note that AMD Dual Graphics is more likely to cause issues when gaming simply due to poorer driver support. Meanwhile, the Radeon R7 M260 is slower by 20 percent in Bioshock Infinite.

No matter the choice, all GPUs here are much more powerful than the common Intel HD 4000 or HD 4400. Gaming in 720p is possible on Low to Medium settings. For more technical information and benchmarks, see our dedicated GPU pages on the GeForce GT 940M, Radeon R6 M255DX, and Radeon R7 M260.

System Noise & Temperature

The fans on all models are always spinning by default even when on the Power Saver profile. The Pavilion 15 includes the option to turn off the fan if processing loads are low enough, but the system will override the feature as soon as processing demands pick up.

The Lenovo and Toshiba are quieter compared to the HP. However, the fans in the Toshiba tend to pulsate more noticeably and frequently. The IdeaPad Z50 comes out ahead for its less distracting fan noise and lower noise in general.

As for surface temperatures, the Toshiba notebook is the warmest by far when under heavy processing loads. It also has the warmest hot spot with a recorded 57.1 C on the bottom of the notebook compared to 40 to 45 C on the HP and Lenovo. Meanwhile, temperature development is quite uneven on the Lenovo compared to the HP or Toshiba as half of its keyboard can be much warmer than the other half. Thus, surface temperatures are cooler and flatter on the HP despite it having the loudest fan noise.

Winner: System Noise -- Lenovo IdeaPad Z50

              Surface Temperature -- HP Pavilion 15

All battery packs on the three notebooks are easily removable from the rear. It's worth noting that the Toshiba S50 utilizes screws in addition to latches, so a screwdriver is required.

Battery runtimes are longest on the Pavilion 15 by a noticeable margin. This may be attributed to its more efficient Broadwell core and Optimus graphics compared to the Haswell, Kaveri, and Radeon cores in the Toshiba and Lenovo. The Toshiba S50 comes close, but our WiFi v1.3 test is noticeably more demanding compared to our original WiFi test. 

Winner: HP Pavilion 15

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