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HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng Notebook Review

Price-performance smasher? HP promises that its exceptional multimedia laptop, Pavilion 15, can boast among others, with a Full HD screen and plenty of storage for a price less than 500 Euros (~$568). However, closer inspection shows shortcomings in the 15-inch device.

For the original German review, see here.

After introducing HP's Pavilion 17, the first laptop based on AMD's new Carrizo platform, a few weeks ago, we would like to dedicate this article to the smaller, 15.6-inch sister model. For a competitive price of just 500 Euros (~$568), the buyer gets an A10-8700P quad-core APU, 8 GB of RAM and a dedicated Radeon R7-M360 graphics card (in Crossfire array with the processor-integrated Radeon R8 M365DX), among other things. Furthermore, the manufacturer is not frugal and shows off with hardware such as a 1000 GB SSHD, Wi-Fi in ac standard and a Full HD screen that are normally found in much higher price range devices.

Competing multimedia laptops with comparable configurations, such as Acer's Aspire E5-571G, are usually at least 100 Euros (~$114) more expensive, or lack many of the features mentioned. But of course an attractive price is not enough - let us find out how HP's option fares in routine use against the mostly Intel-based competition.

HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng (Pavilion 15-cx Series)
Processor
AMD A10-8700P 4 x 1.8 - 3.2 GHz, Carrizo
Graphics adapter
AMD Radeon R8 M365DX - 2048 MB VRAM, Core: 720 / 1125 MHz, Memory: 800 / 900 MHz, dual-graphics array (Radeon R6 Carrizo + Radeon R7 M360 2 GB DDR3), 15.200.1060.0, Enduro
Memory
8 GB 
, 1x 8 GB DDR3L-1600, 1 of 2 slots filled
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel, BOE0641, TN panel, LED backlight, glossy: no
Storage
Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive, 1000 GB 
, 5400 rpm, 8 GB SSD cache
Soundcard
AMD Carrizo - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: headset jack (3.5 millimeter), Card Reader: SD
Networking
RealTek Semiconductor RTL8101/2/3 Family Fast Ethernet NIC (10/100MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.0
Optical drive
hp DVDRW SU208GB
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 25.2 x 385 x 261 ( = 0.99 x 15.16 x 10.28 in)
Battery
41 Wh Lithium-Ion, 4 cells, removable
Camera
Webcam: 720p
Additional features
Speakers: Bang & Olufsen (stereo), Keyboard: chiclet, Keyboard Light: no, 65 watt power supply, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
2.2 kg ( = 77.6 oz / 4.85 pounds), Power Supply: 250 g ( = 8.82 oz / 0.55 pounds)
Price
499 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

Our review sample is based on the exact same casing as the recently tested Intel counterpart, Pavilion 15-ab022ng. Considering its price, the laptop looks impressive, and the silver color that gradually turns to a darker charcoal gray towards the back imitates a high quality aluminum chassis. Although it is actually only simple plastic, our quality verdict is mostly positive. The base unit in particular, proves to be exceptionally robust, and barely exhibits visible or audible deformations even under forceful, pinpoint pressure. This is all the more impressive since the casing is relatively slim with a height of 2.5 centimeters (~1 in) and weighs only 2.2 kilograms (~4.9 lb).

The lid does not do as good a job, and in our opinion could use one or two additional crossbars. The display yields several millimeters when pressing a hand gently against the lower bezel or on HP's logo on the back. This leads to temporary image distortions. The tightly pulled hinges make it necessary to use both hands for opening the device. However, the lid does not wobble excessively even under strong vibrations.

Apart from a few not quite perfectly spaced gaps between the casing's upper and lower trays, the Pavilion scores with decent build quality and can definitely compete with equally priced rivals. No more can be expected for 500 Euros (~$568).

Connectivity

SD card performance (sequential/JPG folders)
SD card performance (sequential/JPG folders)

Unfortunately, only two of the three installed USB ports support the modern USB 3.0 standard. However, that should not be a limitation in everyday use. The obsolete Fast Ethernet port (100 Mbit/s) is even more annoying since it is hardly suitable for high-speed data sharing in the age of terabyte hard drives. External monitors can only be connected to the Pavilion 15 via HDMI 1.4a, restricting 4K monitors to a frame rate of 30 Hz (Full HD: 60 Hz).

Apart from some details (hard to access SD card reader, HDMI port too close to the front), the positioning of the individual interfaces seems well considered and ergonomic. The DVD burner on the left makes the layout more suitable for right-handed users.

Front: No interfaces
Front: No interfaces
Left: Power socket, Fast Ethernet, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, SD card reader, DVD burner
Left: Power socket, Fast Ethernet, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, SD card reader, DVD burner
Rear: No interfaces
Rear: No interfaces
Right: Headsetjack , USB 3.0, HDMI, vent, Kensington Lock
Right: Headsetjack , USB 3.0, HDMI, vent, Kensington Lock
Speedy Wi-Fi connection
Speedy Wi-Fi connection

Communication

HP has reinvested the money saved on the Ethernet adapter in the Wi-Fi module. The Pavilion 15 is one of the few devices in this price range that supports all-important wireless standards in both the 2.4 and 5 GHz band (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth 4.0). Although Intel's Dual-Band Wireless-AC 3160 is limited to single-stream transmissions (1x1, max. 433 Mbit/s), the gross speed of approximately 30 MB/s that we ascertained under ideal conditions is impressive. The range and connection stability in conjunction with the TP-Link Archer C7 router also made a good impression.

Accessories

As often is the case, the included accessories are limited to the suitable power supply and quick start guide. No other items, such as driver DVDs, are in the box. However, that is not really a problem since our installation of Windows 10 Pro - only FreeDOS was preloaded ex-factory - identified almost all components without any problem. Missing drivers and BIOS updates can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website.

Maintenance

The buyer will not find a maintenance hatch on the Pavilion 15. Instead, it will be necessary to release all screws on the underside (some hidden under the stoppers and covers) before carefully levering off the casing's halves with a credit card. We would recommend that only savvy users do this. Potential upgrade options inside include replacing the Wi-Fi module and 2.5-inch hard drive, among other things. Furthermore, one of the two memory banks is empty.

Warranty

The purchase price includes a one-year manufacturer's warranty, which can be extended via Care Packs for a surcharge. An upgrade to a total of 3 years pick-up and return service (U4819E) costs approximately 100 Euros (~$114).

Input Devices

Keyboard

TThe Pavilion has the same keyboard unit as its 17-inch sister model, and thus we would refer to our review. The lateral bezel of the chiclet keyboard is slightly narrower due to the smaller casing, but this does not have a negative effect on the stability. The chassis hardly yields even when typing energetically on it. A well-defined typing feel evolves despite the relatively soft stroke with a short drop. We would also like to highlight the impeccable response of all keys and the low (but in some places rather rattling) noise.

Touchpad

Regrettably, the touchpad from Synaptics can only conditionally confirm the keyboard's overall successful performance. Although the 11.0 x 6.5 centimeter (~4.3 x 2.6 in) pad scores with good gliding traits, high accuracy and pleasantly responding multi-touch gestures, the integrated mouse keys proved to be a total failure. Their stiffness, noise and lack of clearly defined pressure point make productive work difficult. The wish for an external mouse arises soon.

Keyboard
Keyboard
Touchpad
Touchpad

Display

Subpixel arrangement
Subpixel arrangement

Bright, high-contrast and viewing angle stable – in our tests, the Full HD screen in the Pavilion 17 surprised us with its above average qualities. Can the screen of the 15-inch model, with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, keep up with that? Unfortunately, not: Apart from the decent pixel density of 141 PPI, the installed TN panel disappoints in almost every aspect. Although the LED backlight manages without potentially flickering PWM control, and achieves a homogeneous illumination, the maximum brightness is limited to a poor 200 cd/m². This might be sufficient indoors most of the time, but higher brightness reserves will often be needed in bright offices or near windows.

205
cd/m²
211
cd/m²
216
cd/m²
186
cd/m²
202
cd/m²
203
cd/m²
186
cd/m²
196
cd/m²
192
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
BOE0641 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 216 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 199.7 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 202 cd/m²
Contrast: 306:1 (Black: 0.66 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 8.72 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 9.22 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
66.8% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
42.4% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
46.21% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
67.3% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
44.72% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.17
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
1.920 x 1.080 TN-Panel
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
1.920 x 1.080 TN-Panel
Acer Aspire E5-571G-536E
1.920 x 1.080 TN-Panel
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
1.366 x 768 TN-Panel
Dell Vostro 3558
1.366 x 768 TN-Panel
Display
23%
-1%
-10%
Display P3 Coverage
44.72
55.9
25%
44.34
-1%
40.25
-10%
sRGB Coverage
67.3
80.7
20%
66.1
-2%
60.6
-10%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
46.21
57.8
25%
45.95
-1%
41.59
-10%
Screen
-2%
-20%
33%
-11%
Brightness middle
202
223
10%
212
5%
245
21%
267
32%
Brightness
200
226
13%
217
9%
236
18%
253
27%
Brightness Distribution
86
91
6%
91
6%
86
0%
91
6%
Black Level *
0.66
0.77
-17%
1.1
-67%
0.31
53%
0.78
-18%
Contrast
306
290
-5%
193
-37%
790
158%
342
12%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
8.72
10.13
-16%
12.4
-42%
6.6
24%
14.62
-68%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
9.22
11.68
-27%
13.94
-51%
6.96
25%
16.03
-74%
Gamma
2.17 101%
2.92 75%
3.08 71%
2.35 94%
2.36 93%
CCT
10298 63%
12592 52%
17672 37%
8450 77%
23192 28%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
42.4
52
23%
49.2
16%
43
1%
39
-8%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
66.8
66
-1%
61
-9%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
24.75
Total Average (Program / Settings)
11% / 5%
-20% / -20%
16% / 25%
-11% / -11%

* ... smaller is better

Response time b/w switching: 2.8 ms rise / 16.4 ms fall
Response time b/w switching: 2.8 ms rise / 16.4 ms fall
Response time gray-to-gray: 20.4 ms rise / 18 ms fall
42.4 percent AdobeRGB coverage
42.4 percent AdobeRGB coverage
66.8 percent sRGB coverage
66.8 percent sRGB coverage

The screen meets only the minimum requirements in color reproduction: A coverage of 42.4% in AdobeRGB and 66.8% in sRGB are insufficient even for hobby photographers. The same is true for the high DeltaE shifts of approximately 9.0 in both colors and grayscale levels. However, we would like to emphasize that comparably priced rivals do not do much better - laptops with higher-quality IPS screens rarely start below 700 Euros (~$795) depending on the configuration. At least calibration improves the reproduction significantly and reduces the distinct bluish tint.

ColorChecker (pre-calibration)
ColorChecker (pre-calibration)
Saturation Sweeps (pre-calibration)
Saturation Sweeps (pre-calibration)
Graustufen (unkalibriert)
Graustufen (unkalibriert)
ColorChecker (post-calibration)
ColorChecker (post-calibration)
Saturation Sweeps (post-calibration)
Saturation Sweeps (post-calibration)
Grayscale (post-calibration)
Grayscale (post-calibration)

Despite its anti-reflective surface, the Pavilion 15 can only be used conditionally outdoors. As expected, the weak backlight does not have a chance in direct sunlight, and forces the user to look for the shadiest place possible. Asus' F555LJ and Dell's Vostro 3558 fare better here: both achieve approximately 250 cd/m², but they also have the coarse WXGA resolution of 1366x768 pixels.

Outdoors

Our review sample presents us with the typical drawbacks of a low-cost TN panel in slanted viewing angles. The screen's contrast decreases and colors distort when moving the head up or down by only a few centimeters. These image distortions are more intense if viewing the screen from vertical angles.

Viewing angles: HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
Viewing angles: HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng

Performance

AMD's A10-8700P is the second-fastest offspring of the Cazrizo series introduced in June. Depending on the load, temperature and TDP setting (can be configured from 12 to 35 watts), the four cores clock at 1.8 to 3.2 GHz, making it slightly slower than the FX-8800P top-model (2.1 to 3.4 GHz). We have compiled further details, benchmarks and consumption measurements concerning the A10-8700P and Carrizo in general in a dedicated article.

In addition to the processor-integrated Radeon R6 (384 Shaders @ 720 MHz), the Pavilion is equipped with a dedicated Radeon R7 M360 (384 Shaders @ 1125 MHz, 2 GB DDR3 @ 900 MHz, 64-bit interface). Unlike Intel-based systems, both GPUs not only operate in the either-or approach, but also can be interconnected in a Crossfire array, and are used together for calculating images. AMD calls this dual-GPU solution Radeon R8 M365DX.

The working memory has a decisive influence on the resulting performance, especially for integrated graphic chips; only faster dual-channel RAMs can more or less satisfy the bandwidth requirements of modern GPUs. This principle, however, has apparently not reached all manufacturers since HP has installed only one 8 GB module in our current review sample. Thanks to the replacement memory from AMD, we could perform the following benchmarks with the ideal configuration of 2x 4 GB DDR3L-1600. Buyers of a Pavilion 15 or 17 should take note if their RAM configurations.

Processor

2.9 GHz in single-threading, ...
2.9 GHz in single-threading, ...
...2.3 GHz in multi-threading
...2.3 GHz in multi-threading

Although AMD defines a configurable TDP frame of 12 to 35 watts, most laptop manufacturers limit the power dissipation to approximately 15 watts. The reason for that is: Many devices are offered with Intel processors, which also have a TDP of 15 watts in the case of ULV chips. Thus, the power supply, cooling system and other components can be directly adopted from the respective sister model based on a different CPU platform.

The Pavilion can only partially utilize the potential clock headroom of the A10-8700P  due to this dissipation limit. Instead of the maximum possible 3.2 GHz, we observed around 2.9 GHz in single thread applications, and even 2.3 GHz were achieved when all four cores were fully loaded (battery and AC mode). Therefore, the Carrizo APU reaches the level of a Core i3 from the Broadwell generation in the ideal case, but can also occasionally fall behind by 20 to 25% in poorly parallelized software.

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P
63 Points
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U
109 Points +73%
Dell Vostro 3558
Intel Core i5-5200U
108 Points +71%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-536E
Intel Core i5-4210U
102 Points +62%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
82 Points +30%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U
85 Points +35%
CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P
195 Points
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U
261 Points +34%
Dell Vostro 3558
Intel Core i5-5200U
259 Points +33%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-536E
Intel Core i5-4210U
215 Points +10%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
208 Points +7%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U
217 Points +11%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P
0.79 Points
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U
1.1 Points +39%
Dell Vostro 3558
Intel Core i5-5200U
1.27 Points +61%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-536E
Intel Core i5-4210U
1.19 Points +51%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
0.96 Points +22%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U
0.97 Points +23%
CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P
2.3 Points
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U
2.9 Points +26%
Dell Vostro 3558
Intel Core i5-5200U
2.81 Points +22%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-536E
Intel Core i5-4210U
2.38 Points +3%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
2.27 Points -1%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U
2.32 Points +1%
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0
Pass 1 (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P
72.9 fps
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
69.7 fps -4%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U
73.9 fps +1%
Pass 2 (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P
15.06 fps
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
12.96 fps -14%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U
13.6 fps -10%
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
4096
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
6403
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
2170
Cinebench R10 Shading 64Bit
4225 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
8900 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
3080 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
0.79 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
22.73 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
2.3 Points
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
30.92 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
195 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
63 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
98 %
Help

Storage Device

HD Tune benchmark
HD Tune benchmark

The limited budget was not enough for an SSD in this case. Nevertheless, HP has found a good compromise of costs, storage capacity and speed with a 1000 GB SSHD from Seagate. Thanks to the additional 8 GB of flash memory - fully automated and invisible to the user - frequently used files are cached and loading Windows and smaller programs (e.g. the browser) are hardly slower than with a full-fledged SSD.

Standard benchmarks, such as HD Tune, reflect this advantage, which evolves after a certain period of usage only very insufficiently. The tool records an average transfer rate of 89.7 MB/s and access time of 18.7 milliseconds in sequential read - other 5400 rpm hard drives without a fast flash memory cache achieve similar rates.

Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
Transfer Rate Minimum: 54.4 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 115.6 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 89.7 MB/s
Access Time: 18.7 ms
Burst Rate: 142.3 MB/s
CPU Usage: 4.5 %

System Performance

The Pavilion 15 surprises with astonishingly good performance rates in the synthetic PCMark that are in some cases even higher than those of the Core i5 CPUs in Intel rivals. There are two reasons for this: Firstly, our review sample benefits from its SSHD in this rather storage-device biased benchmark, and secondly, AMD's GCN architecture offers a comparatively strong OpenCL performance. Both mutually even out the existing deficiency in terms of CPU raw performance - naturally depending on the software.

The 15-inch device also proves to be a fast office device in routine use, and is subjectively on par with equally priced Core i3 systems. However, the system eventually finds its limits in more demanding applications and heavy multitasking. It is too bad that no manufacturer has a laptop with a higher TDP setting (and consequently higher Boost clock rate in full CPU utilization) in its lineup.

PCMark 7 - Score (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
Radeon R8 M365DX, A10-8700P, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
3290 Points
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
GeForce 840M, 5200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
2710 Points -18%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-536E
GeForce 840M, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
2809 Points -15%
Dell Vostro 3558
HD Graphics 5500, 5200U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX
2541 Points -23%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
HD Graphics 5500, 5005U, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
2784 Points -15%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
GeForce 920M, 5010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
2574 Points -22%
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
Radeon R8 M365DX, A10-8700P, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
2825 Points
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
GeForce 840M, 5200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
2962 Points +5%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-536E
GeForce 840M, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
2772 Points -2%
Dell Vostro 3558
HD Graphics 5500, 5200U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX
2758 Points -2%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
HD Graphics 5500, 5005U, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
2544 Points -10%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
GeForce 920M, 5010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
2972 Points +5%
Creative Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
Radeon R8 M365DX, A10-8700P, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
3333 Points
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
GeForce 840M, 5200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
3239 Points -3%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-536E
GeForce 840M, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
2805 Points -16%
Dell Vostro 3558
HD Graphics 5500, 5200U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX
2896 Points -13%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
HD Graphics 5500, 5005U, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
2870 Points -14%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
GeForce 920M, 5010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
3102 Points -7%
Work Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
Radeon R8 M365DX, A10-8700P, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
3532 Points
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
GeForce 840M, 5200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
3760 Points +6%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-536E
GeForce 840M, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
3792 Points +7%
Dell Vostro 3558
HD Graphics 5500, 5200U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX
3800 Points +8%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
HD Graphics 5500, 5005U, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
3321 Points -6%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
GeForce 920M, 5010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
3613 Points +2%
PCMark 7 Score
3290 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
2825 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
3333 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
3532 points
Help

Graphics Card

Dual-graphics array
Dual-graphics array

Regular readers of our reviews will know that we have not exactly lavished AMDs dual-graphics technology with praise in the past. The issues and drawbacks of an asynchronous Crossfire array were usually significantly bigger than the resulting performance gains. That, however, seems to be slowly changing. The Radeon R8 M365DX, composed of the processor's Radeon R6 GPU and dedicated Radeon R7 M360, virtually outruns the mid-range competition from Nvidia under Windows 10 and with updated graphic drivers - at least in the 3DMark benchmarks. A lead of approximately 30% on a GeForce 840M that hardly calculates slower than the latest GeForce 940M is more than impressive in relation to the price range.

Undoubtedly, one of the highlights of the Carrizo platform is the integrated HEVC/H.265 decoder that we dealt with extensively in our architecture article. It should actually run natively and without third-party software under Windows 10. However, the display remained black in all videos in our tests. Apparently, there is still a problem with the driver. We finally managed playback via Media Player Classic, but only at very high CPU load.

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
3102 Points
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
1522 Points -51%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
NVIDIA GeForce 840M
2371 Points -24%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
NVIDIA GeForce 920M
1706 Points -45%
Dell Latitude E5550 Broadwell
Intel HD Graphics 5500
1061 Points -66%
3DMark - 1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
2004 Points
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
1068 Points -47%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
NVIDIA GeForce 840M
1563 Points -22%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
NVIDIA GeForce 920M
1161 Points -42%
Dell Latitude E5550 Broadwell
Intel HD Graphics 5500
734 Points -63%
3DMark 06 Standard Score
8336 points
3DMark Vantage P Result
7076 points
3DMark 11 Performance
2701 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
41517 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
5261 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
1687 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score
817 points
Help

Gaming Performance

The dual-graphics array can only partially confirm the strong 3DMark results in real gaming. Although still 6 of 10 tested games presented gains compared with the integrated Radeon R6, they were considerably lower than in the Futuremark software, with the exception of "Tomb Raider". The frame rate stagnated or even dropped slightly in the other four games. Beyond that, the GPU combination seemed to increase the processor's load since many games tended to run slower in very low settings.

Crysis 3
1024x768 Low Preset (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
30.1 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
31.1 fps +3%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
36.4 fps +21%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
19.6 fps -35%
1366x768 Medium Preset AF:16x (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
21 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
17.7 fps -16%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
22 fps +5%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
12 fps -43%
1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:16x (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
17.6 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
12 fps -32%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
8.5 fps -52%
Tomb Raider
1024x768 Low Preset (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
85 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
70.9 fps -17%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 840M
124.8 fps +47%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
84.6 fps 0%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
118.2 fps +39%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
60.8 fps -28%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
60.6 fps -29%
1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
74.5 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
37.4 fps -50%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 840M
62 fps -17%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
42.9 fps -42%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
58.7 fps -21%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
31.1 fps -58%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
30.4 fps -59%
1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
41.8 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
22.8 fps -45%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 840M
33 fps -21%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
25.4 fps -39%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
31.9 fps -24%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
20.3 fps -51%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
19.1 fps -54%
BioShock Infinite
1280x720 Very Low Preset (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
68.1 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
63.9 fps -6%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 840M
83.1 fps +22%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
64.1 fps -6%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
79.2 fps +16%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
43.13 fps -37%
1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
44.8 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
32.3 fps -28%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 840M
48.3 fps +8%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
35.3 fps -21%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
45.4 fps +1%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
24.2 fps -46%
1366x768 High Preset (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
42.1 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
28.4 fps -33%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 840M
30.3 fps -28%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
29.6 fps -30%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
36.5 fps -13%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
19.53 fps -54%
Thief
1024x768 Very Low Preset (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
15.4 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
14.8 fps -4%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 840M
36.5 fps +137%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
25 fps +62%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
35.2 fps +129%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
20.6 fps +34%
1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
9.9 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
10.1 fps +2%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 840M
23.6 fps +138%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
14.9 fps +51%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
22.6 fps +128%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
12.6 fps +27%
1366x768 High Preset AA:FXAA & Low SS AF:4x (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
8.9 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
9.1 fps +2%
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 840M
18.9 fps +112%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
12.3 fps +38%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
18.3 fps +106%
Acer Aspire V3-371-58DJ
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
10.1 fps +13%
Dirt Rally
1024x768 Ultra Low Preset (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
72.3 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
94.1 fps +30%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
136.6 fps +89%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
137.4 fps +90%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
88 fps +22%
1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
28 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
25.5 fps -9%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
33.2 fps +19%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
42.2 fps +51%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
21.4 fps -24%
1920x1080 High Preset (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
17.6 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
14.4 fps -18%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
16.9 fps -4%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
21.4 fps +22%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
12.5 fps -29%
The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
19.6 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
15.9 fps -19%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
18.4 fps -6%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
26 fps +33%
1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
11 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
10.5 fps -5%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
10.9 fps -1%
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
6.1 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
5.5 fps -10%
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M
6.3 fps +3%
Metal Gear Solid V
1024x768 Low / Off (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
42.4 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
49.8 fps +17%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
33.5 fps -21%
1366x768 Medium / Off (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
28.9 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
32 fps +11%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
21.1 fps -27%
1920x1080 High / On (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
11.5 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
12.5 fps +9%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
8.7 fps -24%
Mad Max
1366x768 Normal Preset AF:2x (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
17 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
20.1 fps +18%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
16.2 fps -5%
1920x1080 High Preset AF:6x (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
8.8 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
9.4 fps +7%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
7.9 fps -10%
World of Warships
1366x768 Low Preset AF:Trilinear (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
50.2 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
50.1 fps 0%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
48.6 fps -3%
1366x768 Medium Preset AF:Trilinear (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
37.7 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
38.7 fps +3%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
37.3 fps -1%
1920x1080 High Preset AF:8x (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
16.6 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
17.3 fps +4%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
17.9 fps +8%
FIFA 16
1280x720 Low Preset (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
54.8 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
55.1 fps +1%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
42.4 fps -23%
1366x768 High Preset AA:2x MS (sort by value)
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R8 M365DX
37.4 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
33.7 fps -10%
Asus Zenbook UX305LA-FC012H
Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
33.8 fps -10%
low med. high ultra
Crysis 3 (2013) 30.1 21 17.6 4.8
Tomb Raider (2013) 85 74.5 41.8 21
BioShock Infinite (2013) 68.1 44.8 42.1 15.7
Thief (2014) 15.4 9.9 8.9 5.2
Dirt Rally (2015) 72.3 28 17.6 12.5
The Witcher 3 (2015) 19.6 11 6.1
Metal Gear Solid V (2015) 42.4 28.9 11.5 7.6
Mad Max (2015) 17 8.8
World of Warships (2015) 50.2 37.7 16.6 12.5
FIFA 16 (2015) 54.8 37.4 15.8
Anno 2205 (2015) 31.2 19.3 5.2 2.9

Emissions

System Noise

Although the fan is never completely inactive even in idle mode, its speed during low load is on an extremely low level. This, combined with the quiet noise from the mechanical hard drive results in a noise level below 31 dB(A), which we would describe as barely audible and not at all distracting.

Sophisticated 3D applications demand more from the cooling system, and force the noise to 40 to 44 dB(A). Even if the fan spins quite evenly and is not excessively high-pitched, the Pavilion 15 fares slightly worse than its direct competitors, Asus' F555LJ (38 - 42 dB(A)) and Acer's Aspire E5-571G (34 - 38 dB(A)).

Noise Level

Idle
30.7 / 30.7 / 30.7 dB(A)
HDD
30.7 dB(A)
DVD
36.9 / dB(A)
Load
40.1 / 44.3 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Voltcraft SL-451 (15 cm distance)

Temperature

Stress test
Stress test
Prime95
Prime95

The laptop heats up moderately in both idle and full load, and never exceeds 40 degrees Celsius (~104 degrees Fahrenheit) anywhere. Many areas of the device remain considerably cooler, and the user can always work without any impairments. The Pavilion can also be unhesitatingly used on the lap during basic tasks like browsing.

Unfortunately, none of the programs we tested could record the APU's core temperature. However, problems should not evolve since the dedicated Radeon R7 M360 (that is connected to the same heat pipe as the processor) only reached an uncritical 74 degrees Celsius (~165 degrees Fahrenheit) even during the stress test. The A10-8700P occasionally throttles to approximately 1.6 GHz because it reaches the manufacturer's defined TDP limit. The Radeon GPU also throttles slightly, and drops from 1125 to 1034 MHz.

Max. Load
 28.2 °C
83 F
39.1 °C
102 F
35.3 °C
96 F
 
 27.6 °C
82 F
34.7 °C
94 F
34.2 °C
94 F
 
 25.9 °C
79 F
28.5 °C
83 F
31 °C
88 F
 
Maximum: 39.1 °C = 102 F
Average: 31.6 °C = 89 F
36.8 °C
98 F
35.1 °C
95 F
28.5 °C
83 F
33.4 °C
92 F
31.5 °C
89 F
28.4 °C
83 F
31.5 °C
89 F
27.8 °C
82 F
28 °C
82 F
Maximum: 36.8 °C = 98 F
Average: 31.2 °C = 88 F
Power Supply (max.)  49.7 °C = 121 F | Room Temperature 24.6 °C = 76 F | Voltcraft IR-360
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 31.6 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 31.2 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 39.1 °C / 102 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 36.8 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 26.9 °C / 80 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 31 °C / 87.8 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-2.2 °C / -4 F).

Speakers

The Danish manufacturer has made itself an impressive reputation with high-quality hi-fi products, and HP's Pavilion series  now benefit from it. However, the name promises more than the integrated stereo speakers can ultimately provide in this case: Clear trebles and an acceptable maximum volume are faced with virtually non-existent bass. We would thus call the sound only mediocre. Games, videos and music are more enjoyable with external speakers or headphones that can be connected via HDMI or the 3.5-millimeter jack.

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Interestingly, the Pavilion 15 not only has a much higher idle consumption of 6.9 to 12.1 watts than the Intel-based sister model (4.8 to 8.3 watts), it also needs more than the virtually identically configured Pavilion 17 we have recently tested (4.1 to 11 watts). Perhaps some energy-saving features are not yet working properly under Windows 10. Principally, lower consumption rates would be possible based on the Carrizo platform.

Our review sample almost completely utilizes the reserves of its 65-watt power supply under combined CPU and GPU load. In relation to the average performance gain, we again observed that dual-graphics does not exactly improve the energy efficiency. The APU is more efficient than a Crossfire solution and will likely perform faster in many 3D games when equipped with dual-channel RAM instead of single-channel RAM.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0.1 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 6.9 / 11 / 12.1 Watt
Load midlight 61.3 / 66.5 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Extech Power Analyzer 380803
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Battery Runtime

The determined power consumption is faced with a relatively low-capacity 41-Wh battery, which limits the possible runtimes significantly. The Pavilion 15 did not even last four hours on battery power - using minimum screen brightness, disabled radio modules, and idling Windows desktop. The user will even have to recharge after just two to two and a half hours when browsing on the Internet via Wi-Fi or playing a local HD video with a screen brightness set to approximately 150 cd/m². However, we would again like to point out that this poor outcome is very likely due to some improperly functioning energy-saving features.

Reader's test
Reader's test
Wi-Fi test
Wi-Fi test
H.264 test
H.264 test
Classic test
Classic test
Charging
Charging
HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
41 Wh
Acer Aspire E5-571G-520X
56 Wh
Asus F555LJ-XX110H
37 Wh
HP Pavilion 17-g054ng
41 Wh
Battery Runtime
187%
152%
48%
Reader / Idle
222
795
258%
473
113%
H.264
154
424
175%
228
48%
WiFi v1.3
137
345
152%
216
58%
Load
75
172
129%
53
-29%
WiFi
412
Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
3h 42min
WiFi Websurfing
2h 17min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
2h 34min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 15min

Pros

+ appropriate casing quality
+ decent keyboard
+ extensive configuration
+ Full HD resolution
+ 802.11 ac Wi-Fi
+ good price-performance ratio

Cons

- dark, low-contrast screen
- slow Fast Ethernet adapter
- spongy touchpad keys
- very short battery life

Verdict

In review: HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng
In review: HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng

Naturally, some cutbacks and compromises have to be accepted in a laptop from the 500 Euro (~$568) price range - nevertheless HP has managed to create a solid product for this comparatively low price. The Pavilion 15 convinces with its decently built casing, well-tuned keyboard, and low noise and temperature development, among other things. The extensive configuration is particularly striking: Plenty of storage, a Full HD resolution screen, Wi-Fi in 802.11 ac standard - these features are not at all a matter of course even in more expensive devices. The CPU performance of the A10-8700P is, as expected, on par with a modern Core i3, while the graphics performance of the Crossfire array ranges somewhere between a GeForce 820M and GeForce 940M depending on the game.

The touchpad's stiff and spongy keys made a rather mixed impression, and the extremely short battery life disappointed us. However, that should not be a problem when the laptop is mainly used on the desk. Furthermore, the screen's relatively low maximum brightness will not be as significant here. In our opinion, HP could have also omitted the slow Fast Ethernet port - or installed a marginally more expensive Gbit LAN adapter from the outset.

The bottom line is: The Pavilion has nevertheless earned a purchase recommendation with its outstanding price-performance ratio, in case the buyer can accept the mentioned shortcomings.

HP Pavilion 15-ab052ng - 10/14/2015 v4(old)
Till Schönborn

Chassis
76 / 98 → 78%
Keyboard
76%
Pointing Device
79%
Connectivity
65 / 81 → 80%
Weight
62 / 20-67 → 89%
Battery
73%
Display
76%
Games Performance
73 / 85 → 86%
Application Performance
71 / 92 → 77%
Temperature
91%
Noise
86 / 95 → 91%
Audio
56%
Camera
50 / 85 → 59%
Average
72%
77%
Multimedia - Weighted Average

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Till Schönborn, 2015-10-20 (Update: 2018-05-15)