HP 15-ba077ng Notebook Review
For the original German review, see here.
There are plenty of low-cost laptops. Every laptop manufacturer has at least one in their portfolio. We are facing a corresponding 15.6-inch model, HP 15-ba077ng. It relies on AMD's APU from the Bristol Ridge generation. The configuration is impressive: A Full HD screen, SSD, 8 GB (2x 4GB) of working memory. HP is asking approximately 450 Euros (~$482) for the whole package. Our report reveals whether the laptop is worth its price. Devices such as Acer's Aspire E5-553G, Lenovo's 310-15IKB, Asus' F555, Dell's Latitude 15 3570 are among its rivals.
Case
The 15-ba077ng is the wrong choice if value is placed on a high-quality aluminum casing. HP explicitly uses black plastic here. The lid's back features a grooved texture. Grooves have also been milled into the wrist rest. The casing is mostly made of matte plastic. Only a glossy plastic rim surrounds the sides. The laptop does not have a maintenance hatch, and thus the casing has to be opened to access the innards. More about that later. The battery is removable.
Overall, the laptop's build is solid and does not exhibit any major shortcomings. For example, a slight excess of materials can be felt at the upper edge of the display bezel when the display is opened. The casing yields only marginally when pressure is applied to both sides of the keyboard and below the touchpad. The base unit could have been slightly more solid in our opinion. However, this is all still within an acceptable range. Only minor image distortions become visible when trying to twist the lid. They are more visible when pressure is applied to the back of the lid. The hinges keep the lid firmly in position. Opening the lid with one hand is possible.
HP's 15 undercuts most of its rivals by a few hundred grams with a weight of almost 2 kg (~4.4 lb). No significant size differences exist.
Connectivity
HP at most offers the standard supply of interfaces. Of the three Type-A USB ports, only one operates in the USB 3.0 standard. There are no Type-C ports. Although Gigabit Ethernet has been standard for some years now, HP has installed only one Fast Ethernet port. The interface positioning could be improved as they are all on the same level as the wrist rest.
SD Card Reader
The memory card reader does not break any speed records. A maximum transfer rate of 38.3 MB/s is achieved when copying large data blocks. Transferring 250 JPG image files (approx. 5 MB each) is performed at a speed of 27.2 MB/s. The readers in most rivals reach the same speeds. We test the memory card reader with a reference card (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II).
Communication
A Wi-Fi module that carries a Wi-Fi chip (RTL) by Realtek is inside the laptop. It does not support the fast ac-standard, but only the 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi standards. The transmission speeds that we measured in ideal conditions (no other Wi-Fi devices in the vicinity, short distance between the laptop and server PC) are not particularly good. Other low-cost laptops have more to offer here, as our comparison chart illustrates. The connection between the router and the laptop was always stable. Interruptions were not an issue. The installed Fast Ethernet chip is a member of Realtek's RTL8191/2/3 family. It does an impeccable job.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| Acer Aspire E15 E5-553G-109A | |
| Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| Acer Aspire E15 E5-553G-109A | |
| Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| iperf Server (receive) TCP 1 m | |
| Lenovo Ideapad 310-15IKB | |
| HP 250 G5 SP X0N33EA (jseb) | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| HP 15-ay116ng (jseb) | |
| iperf Client (transmit) TCP 1 m | |
| Lenovo Ideapad 310-15IKB | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| HP 250 G5 SP X0N33EA (jseb) | |
| HP 15-ay116ng (jseb) | |
Webcam
Nothing should be expected from the webcam. It produces low-quality photos at a maximum resolution of 640x480 pixels.
Accessories
The laptop comes with the usual accessories: A quick start guide and warranty conditions.
Maintenance
Looking at many of the HP consumer laptops that we have tested, the suspicion arises that HP loves to design as user-unfriendly maintenance and upgrade options as possible. This is also true of HP's 15. The laptop does not have a maintenance hatch, making it necessary to open the casing. First, the battery has to be removed. Then both back-sided rubber stoppers (left and right of the battery slot) have to be pulled out since they conceal screws. After that, all screws have to be released before levering off the underside with something like a putty knife. The base tray is secured quite tightly. It is easiest to remove in the area of the drive slot. Thus, it is recommended to start there. After removing the base tray, the user can access the SSD (M.2 2280), both working memory banks, the Wi-Fi module, BIOS battery and the fan.
Warranty
HP ships its laptop with a one-year warranty – including a pick-up service. Other manufacturers are more progressive and offer a two-year warranty, even in the low-cost sector. It is possible to upgrade the warranty on HP's laptop. A three-year warranty, for example, costs around 35 Euros (~$37).
Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies & Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.
Input Devices
Keyboard
HP has equipped the 15.6-inch laptop with an unlit chiclet keyboard that includes a number pad. The flat, lightly roughened keys have a medium drop and clear pressure point. Their resistance is satisfactory. Subjectively, the keyboard at most only yields marginally when typing on it. We did not find this annoying. The keyboard installed here is suitable for home use. Buyers looking for an as affordable laptop as possible that comes with a keyboard suitable for prolific writers should consider the ThinkPad E models by Lenovo. The latest 15.6-inch model, ThinkPad E560, is available starting at just under 600 Euros (~$642).
Touchpad
The multi-touchpad has a surface area of approximately 11 x 4.5 cm (~4.3 x 1.8 in). Thus, it offers enough room for using gestures. The various gestures can be turned on and off individually in the pad's configuration menu. The pad's roughened surface does not stop the fingers from gliding over it. Two dedicated mouse keys are incorporated below the pad. They have a short drop and a clear pressure point.
Display
The matte, 15.6-inch screen in HP's laptop has a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The brightness (200.2 cd/m²) and the contrast (373:1) are not exciting. Both rates are too low, even for the price level of HP's laptop.
The screen also exhibits PWM flickering at brightness levels of 70% and less at a frequency of 50 Hz in battery mode. This can lead to headaches and/or eye problems even in insensitive users. Note: PWM occurs in battery mode and not in AC mode! (See screenshot 2 in the PWM visualization).
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Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 209 cd/m²
Contrast: 373:1 (Black: 0.56 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 12.21 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91
ΔE Greyscale 13.48 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
60% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
38% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
41.31% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
60.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
39.98% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.34
| HP 15-ba077ng TN LED, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Lenovo Ideapad 310-15IKB TN LED, 1920x1080, 15.6" | HP 15-ay116ng TN LED, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Asus F555UB-XO043T TN LED, 1366x768, 15.6" | Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA TN LED, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Acer Aspire E15 E5-553G-109A TN LED, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Dell Latitude 15-3570 TN LED, 1366x768, 15.6" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -5% | -7% | -4% | -5% | -1% | 2% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 39.98 | 38.07 -5% | 37.34 -7% | 38.22 -4% | 38.04 -5% | 39.72 -1% | 40.61 2% |
| sRGB Coverage | 60.2 | 57.3 -5% | 56.2 -7% | 57.5 -4% | 57.2 -5% | 59.2 -2% | 61.1 1% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 41.31 | 39.34 -5% | 38.58 -7% | 39.49 -4% | 39.3 -5% | 41.07 -1% | 41.96 2% |
| Response Times | 2% | 0% | -11% | -4% | 19138% | -28% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 42 ? | 43 ? -2% | 40 ? 5% | 46 ? -10% | 43 ? -2% | 42.4 ? -1% | 37 ? 12% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 22 ? | 21 ? 5% | 23 ? -5% | 27 ? -23% | 23 ? -5% | 14.6 ? 34% | 37 ? -68% |
| PWM Frequency | 50 ? | 50 ? 0% | 28740 57380% | ||||
| Screen | 20% | 11% | 18% | -1% | 9% | -1% | |
| Brightness middle | 209 | 185 -11% | 249 19% | 214 2% | 201 -4% | 224 7% | 202 -3% |
| Brightness | 200 | 184 -8% | 234 17% | 205 3% | 202 1% | 201 1% | 211 6% |
| Brightness Distribution | 88 | 95 8% | 89 1% | 82 -7% | 92 5% | 75 -15% | 88 0% |
| Black Level * | 0.56 | 0.28 50% | 0.44 21% | 0.46 18% | 0.67 -20% | 0.46 18% | 0.62 -11% |
| Contrast | 373 | 661 77% | 566 52% | 465 25% | 300 -20% | 487 31% | 326 -13% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 12.21 | 8.07 34% | 11.71 4% | 6.52 47% | 10.36 15% | 10.5 14% | 12.35 -1% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 20.66 | 14.83 28% | 19.51 6% | 9.1 56% | 18.88 9% | 16.8 19% | 19.9 4% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 13.48 | 8.83 34% | 13.13 3% | 7.05 48% | 11.06 18% | 11.23 17% | 13.46 -0% |
| Gamma | 2.34 94% | 2.47 89% | 2.57 86% | 2.41 91% | 2.56 86% | 2.12 104% | 2.44 90% |
| CCT | 15364 42% | 10628 61% | 15273 43% | 8623 75% | 11368 57% | 11096 59% | 15217 43% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 38 | 36.2 -5% | 36 -5% | 36.6 -4% | 36 -5% | 38 0% | 39 3% |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 60 | 57 -5% | 56 -7% | 57.8 -4% | 57 -5% | 59 -2% | 61 2% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 6% /
13% | 1% /
6% | 1% /
9% | -3% /
-2% | 6382% /
3594% | -9% /
-4% |
* ... smaller is better
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 50 Hz | ≤ 70 % brightness setting |   |
The display backlight flickers at 50 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 70 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 50 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8705 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
The laptop does not do a very good job in terms of color reproduction either. It presents a DeltaE 2000 color deviation of 12.21 in the state of delivery. A rate less than 3 would be desirable. Beyond that, the screen has a bluish tint. The color profile that we provide leads to an improvement; a double click installs it. Note: It should be checked whether the same screen model (manufacturer + model number) corresponds to the one installed in our review sample. Otherwise, the color reproduction could worsen even more. Different screens by different manufacturers are often used within a laptop model series. The AdobeRGB and sRGB color spaces cannot be displayed. The coverage rates are 38% (AdobeRGB) and 60% (sRGB).
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 22 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 6 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 16 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 44 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 42 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 21 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 21 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 64 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.8 ms). | ||
HP has equipped the laptop with a viewing angle dependent TN panel. Thus, the screen is not legible from every position. The laptop is not really suitable for outdoor - its brightness and contrast are too low for this. The device could at most be used in the shade or under cloudy skies outdoors.
Performance
HP has a 15.6-inch office laptop with more than enough computing power for office and Internet in the shape of the 15-ba077ng. Our review sample is available for approximately 450 Euros (~$482) and is one of the premium models in HP's 15-baxxxng series. Currently, the cheapest configuration (AMD A6-7310, HD panel, 500-GB SSD, FreeDos) costs around 250 Euros ($268). The models in the largely identical HP 15-ayxxxng and HP 250 G5 lineups extend the range considerably.
Processor
AMD wants 2017 to be its year. With the new Ryzen APUs, the company attempts to reduce the gap with Intel that has become greater in the past few years. However, the first Ryzen laptops will be released in a few months. Until then, buyers will have to live with the predecessors. The current review sample is based on an A12-9700P APU. It is a mid-range model from the Bristol Ridge generation.
A quad-core processor makes up the CPU part of the APU. It clocks at a base speed of 2.5 GHz, which can be boosted up to 3.6 GHz via Turbo. The processor performed our CPU test at 2.5 to 2.8 GHz (Multithread) and 2.8 GHz (single thread). Thus, the Turbo does not use its full potential. One core was occasionally boosted to 3.6 GHz in the single thread tests. This was more often the case in routine use.
Nevertheless, the APU has more than enough computing power for office and Internet application, and is consequently found in office laptops and affordable all-round laptops. A look at our comparison chart shows that the APU cannot compete with Intel's current mid-range processors (Core i5, Skylake, Kaby Lake). The distance in the single thread performance, which is more important for routine use, is bigger than in the Multithread performance. The CPU finds rivals among Intel's Core i3 processors from the Haswell, Broadwell, and Skylake generation. The scores of the Multithread are roughly on par with those of the Core i3-6100U processor. The single thread performance is more comparable with that of the Core i3-4030U and Core i3-5010U processors.
| Geekbench 4.0 | |
| 64 Bit Single-Core Score | |
| HP 15-ay116ng | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA | |
| 64 Bit Multi-Core Score | |
| HP 15-ay116ng | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA | |
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| HP 15-ay116ng | |
| Lenovo Ideapad 310-15IKB | |
| Asus F555UB-XO043T | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| Lenovo B50-70 MCC2GGE | |
| Lenovo Ideapad 500-15ACZ | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E560 20EV000MGE | |
| Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA | |
System Performance
The combination of AMD's APU and a fast solid-state drive ensure a smooth-running system. We did not encounter any problems. HP's 15 clearly lags behind most Intel devices in the PCMark benchmarks. Our comparison chart illustrates that it can keep up with Lenovo's B50-70 (Intel Core i3-4030U) in some sub-benchmarks. The relatively low single thread performance of AMD's APU is again evident here. However, the scores should not be overrated. Users who work primarily with office applications and/or open websites should not really notice the low performance. Increasing the total performance is not possible since HP has already exhausted all options.
| PCMark 7 Score | 4258 points | |
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 2777 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 2413 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 2773 points | |
Help | ||
Storage Device
The system drive is a solid-state drive by SanDisk. It is an M.2-inch model (2280) with a total capacity of 256 GB. Roughly 200 GB can be used. The Windows installation and recovery partition reserve the rest of the storage capacity. The SSD's transfer rates are good.
| HP 15-ba077ng SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-256G | HP 15-ay116ng Samsung CM871a MZNTY256HDHP | Asus F555UB-XO043T Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 | Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA Toshiba MQ01ABD100 | Acer Aspire E15 E5-553G-109A Liteonit CV3-8D128 | Dell Latitude 15-3570 Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrystalDiskMark 3.0 | 62% | -88% | -89% | -4% | -37% | |
| Read Seq | 447.4 | 501 12% | 108.5 -76% | 107.6 -76% | 348.6 -22% | 453.2 1% |
| Write Seq | 243.3 | 483.9 99% | 106.2 -56% | 96.6 -60% | 311.8 28% | 137.7 -43% |
| Read 512 | 333.4 | 413.8 24% | 34.52 -90% | 22.5 -93% | 295.9 -11% | 308.5 -7% |
| Write 512 | 283.1 | 294.9 4% | 42.45 -85% | 24.23 -91% | 185.8 -34% | 134.1 -53% |
| Read 4k | 20.99 | 34.91 66% | 0.391 -98% | 0.474 -98% | 23.76 13% | 19.06 -9% |
| Write 4k | 62.7 | 95.7 53% | 0.855 -99% | 1.089 -98% | 44.94 -28% | 21.31 -66% |
| Read 4k QD32 | 143.1 | 370.9 159% | 0.774 -99% | 0.861 -99% | 171.6 20% | 93.5 -35% |
| Write 4k QD32 | 138 | 243.6 77% | 0.852 -99% | 0.991 -99% | 143.2 4% | 23.3 -83% |
Graphics Card
AMD's integrated Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge GPU takes care of video output. It supports DirectX 12 and achieves speeds of up to 758 MHz. While the CPU part of the APU is inferior compared to most Intel rivals, it looks different with the GPU. The Radeon graphics unit manages to take a slight lead on Intel's present HD Graphics 620. A look at our comparison chart illustrates this clearly. Lenovo's IdeaPad 310-15IKB is a suitable comparison as its working memory - like HP's 15 - operates in dual-channel mode. This mode leads to a higher graphics performance of both the Intel and the Radeon iGPU.
AMD's GPU includes the sixth iteration of the Unified Video Decoder (UVD) that unloads the processor when rendering videos. It supports all common formats, such as H.264 and HEVC/H.265. The CPU's capacity ranged around 15% when we played our test video (4K, H.265, 60 FPS).
| 3DMark 06 Standard Score | 7654 points | |
| 3DMark Vantage P Result | 5568 points | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 1881 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 43345 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 5173 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 1096 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score | 521 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 398 points | |
Help | ||
| GFXBench | |
| on screen Car Chase Onscreen | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| 1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| GFXBench 3.1 | |
| on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| 1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| T-Rex Onscreen | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| Geekbench 4.0 - Compute OpenCL Score | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| HP 15-ay116ng | |
| Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA | |
| LuxMark v2.0 64Bit | |
| Sala GPUs-only | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| MSI CX72-7QL | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| Room GPUs-only | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| MSI CX72-7QL | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
Gaming Performance
AMD's APU in HP's 15 allows playing many games. However, these are primarily games with relatively low hardware requirements, and also only at low resolutions and low quality settings. It will not be possible to play performance-driven games such as "Watch Dogs".
HP's 15 provides better frame rates than comparable, Intel-based laptops only in some cases. HP's often lags behind them, which is again due to the APU's weak processor. The 3DMark benchmarks show that the Radeon R7 has a slightly higher performance than the HD Graphics 620 GPU. Gaming routine reveals that AMD's CPU often slows down AMD's GPU.
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diablo III (2012) | 70 | 54.6 | 45.5 | 41.3 |
| Tomb Raider (2013) | 74.1 | 36.9 | 28.1 | 12.7 |
| BioShock Infinite (2013) | 60.9 | 37.8 | 32.6 | 10.7 |
| Battlefield 4 (2013) | 44.1 | 29.6 | 20.4 | 7.7 |
| Thief (2014) | 15.3 | 12.6 | 12.3 | |
| GRID: Autosport (2014) | 91.3 | 40.6 | 21.6 | |
| Sims 4 (2014) | 122.3 | 44.8 | 23.2 | |
| F1 2014 (2014) | 62 | 41 | 31 | |
| Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014) | 29.9 | 27.3 | 16.7 | |
| Battlefield Hardline (2015) | 37.7 | 32.1 | 12.9 | |
| GTA V (2015) | 41.5 | 38.1 | 10 | |
| Dirt Rally (2015) | 79 | 27.3 | 15.2 | |
| Metal Gear Solid V (2015) | 45.5 | 36.4 | 14.3 | |
| World of Warships (2015) | 47.1 | 35.4 | 20.9 | |
| Anno 2205 (2015) | 26.1 | 14.4 | 6.7 | |
| Star Wars Battlefront (2015) | 22.9 | 21.2 | 10.5 | |
| Rainbow Six Siege (2015) | 47.1 | 20.8 | 14.7 | |
| Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) | 22.5 | 14.2 | 7.1 | |
| XCOM 2 (2016) | 18.4 | 6.9 | 4.9 | |
| Far Cry Primal (2016) | 15 | 9 | 8 | |
| Deus Ex Mankind Divided (2016) | 15.5 | 11.6 | 6.4 | |
| Battlefield 1 (2016) | 23.3 | 16.7 | 8.3 | |
| Civilization VI (2016) | 30.5 | 14.6 | 7.6 | |
| Farming Simulator 17 (2016) | 63.2 | 47.5 | 22 | |
| Titanfall 2 (2016) | 34 | 30.3 | 10.5 |
| BioShock Infinite - 1280x720 Very Low Preset | |
| Asus F555UB-XO043T | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| MSI CX72-7QL | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| Lenovo Ideapad 310-15IKB | |
| Acer Aspire E5-774-54HJ | |
| HP 15-ay116ng | |
| HP 250 G5 SP X0N33EA | |
| Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA | |
| Tomb Raider - 1024x768 Low Preset | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| HP 15-ay116ng | |
| Battlefield 4 - 1024x768 Low Preset | |
| MSI CX72-7QL | |
| HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| Acer Aspire E5-552G-F62G | |
| HP 15-ay116ng | |
| HP 250 G5 SP X0N33EA | |
| Sims 4 - 1024x768 Low Preset | |
| MSI CX72-7QL | |
| Razer Blade Stealth QHD i7-7500U | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| Diablo III - 1366x768 Medium / low | |
| MSI CX72-7QL | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| Titanfall 2 - 1280x720 Low / Disabled AF:Trilinear | |
| Acer Aspire E5-774-54HJ | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| Battlefield 1 - 1280x720 Low Preset | |
| Acer Aspire E15 E5-553G-109A | |
| Acer Aspire E5-774-54HJ | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
| World of Warships - 1366x768 Low Preset AF:Trilinear | |
| MSI CX72-7QL | |
| Razer Blade Stealth QHD i7-7500U | |
| HP 15-ba077ng | |
Emissions
System Noise
The fan in HP's 15 spins permanently at low speeds in idle mode. The produced noise is tolerable. Once again, the BIOS option "Fan always on" is responsible for the permanently active fan. The fan is often inactive when this option is disabled, and silence prevails. The fan hardly speeds up during load. We measured a noise level of just 33.4 dB(A) during the stress test. The reason: Both the CPU and GPU clock at their lowest speeds. The fan can sometimes speed up for a short time in everyday use.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 31.5 / 31.8 / 31.8 dB(A) |
| DVD |
| 37.2 / dB(A) |
| Load |
| 31.4 / 33.4 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 30.6 dB(A) | ||
| HP 15-ba077ng A12-9700P, Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge) | Lenovo Ideapad 310-15IKB i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620 | HP 15-ay116ng i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620 | Acer Aspire E15 E5-553G-109A A12-9700P, Radeon R8 M445DX | HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA A10-9600P, Radeon R8 M445DX | Asus F555UB-XO043T 6200U, GeForce 940M | Dell Latitude 15-3570 6200U, HD Graphics 520 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -3% | -3% | -1% | -10% | -16% | -1% | |
| off / environment * | 30.6 | 29 5% | 30.5 -0% | 30.5 -0% | 31.2 -2% | 31 -1% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 31.5 | 30.6 3% | 31.3 1% | 31.4 -0% | 31.7 -1% | 34 -8% | 31 2% |
| Idle Average * | 31.8 | 30.6 4% | 31.3 2% | 31.4 1% | 31.9 -0% | 34 -7% | 31 3% |
| Idle Maximum * | 31.8 | 30.6 4% | 31.3 2% | 31.9 -0% | 31.9 -0% | 34.2 -8% | 31 3% |
| Load Average * | 31.4 | 36.8 -17% | 35.6 -13% | 33.7 -7% | 41 -31% | 38.9 -24% | 34.2 -9% |
| Load Maximum * | 33.4 | 38.2 -14% | 36.15 -8% | 33.8 -1% | 42.7 -28% | 43.6 -31% | 34.3 -3% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 40.6 |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
HP's 15 performed our stress test (Prime95 and FurMark run for at least one hour) in the same manner in both AC and battery mode. The processor always clocked at 800 MHz, while the graphics unit starts the test at 400 to 450 MHz and throttles to 300 MHz in the course of the test. Our stress test is an extreme situation that will not occur in everyday scenarios. The processor utilizes its Turbo in routine use. Throttling is not an issue. The laptop did not heat up excessively during the stress test. The temperatures remained clearly below 40 degrees Celsius (~104 degrees Fahrenheit) on all measuring points.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 34.8 °C / 95 F, compared to the average of 34.3 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 38.3 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 22.4 °C / 72 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (34 °C / 93.2 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.6 °C / 81.7 F (-6.4 °C / -11.5 F).
| HP 15-ba077ng A12-9700P, Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge) | Lenovo Ideapad 310-15IKB i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620 | HP 15-ay116ng i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620 | Acer Aspire E15 E5-553G-109A A12-9700P, Radeon R8 M445DX | HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA A10-9600P, Radeon R8 M445DX | Asus F555UB-XO043T 6200U, GeForce 940M | Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA Pentium N4200, HD Graphics 505 | Dell Latitude 15-3570 6200U, HD Graphics 520 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | -6% | 1% | -25% | -7% | -13% | -11% | -26% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 34.8 | 34.1 2% | 33.8 3% | 36.8 -6% | 33.4 4% | 33.2 5% | 33.3 4% | 36.1 -4% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 38.3 | 35.6 7% | 36.6 4% | 56.5 -48% | 32.9 14% | 44 -15% | 39.4 -3% | 47 -23% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 23.2 | 26.7 -15% | 23.6 -2% | 27.1 -17% | 27.7 -19% | 28.2 -22% | 27.3 -18% | 31.7 -37% |
| Idle Bottom * | 23.3 | 27 -16% | 23.8 -2% | 29.8 -28% | 29.4 -26% | 28.1 -21% | 29.2 -25% | 32.9 -41% |
* ... smaller is better
Speakers
The stereo speakers in HP's laptop are situated on the front edge of the device's underside. They produce quite a decent sound that allows prolonged listening. However, they lack some bass. Headphones or external speakers would have to be connected for a better sound experience.
HP 15-ba077ng audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (74 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 28.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (12.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.7% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.4% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 55% of all tested devices in this class were better, 10% similar, 35% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 22%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 62% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 32% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 6% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 92% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 4% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 95% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Frequency diagram in comparison (checkboxes above can be turned on/off!)
Energy Management
System Noise
HP's 15 does not exhibit any irregularities in terms of power consumption. We measured a maximum idle consumption of 8.9 watts. Thus, the laptop is on par with comparable Intel-based laptops. The power consumption climbed to 31 watts during the stress test. Here, it becomes obvious that both the CPU and GPU clock at their minimum speeds. Otherwise, the rate would be higher. The power supply has a nominal output of 45 watts.
| Off / Standby | 0.16 / 0.48 Watt |
| Idle | 4.4 / 6.8 / 8.9 Watt |
| Load |
30.9 / 31 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| HP 15-ba077ng A12-9700P, Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge) | Lenovo Ideapad 310-15IKB i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620 | HP 15-ay116ng i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620 | Acer Aspire E15 E5-553G-109A A12-9700P, Radeon R8 M445DX | HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA A10-9600P, Radeon R8 M445DX | Asus F555UB-XO043T 6200U, GeForce 940M | Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA Pentium N4200, HD Graphics 505 | Dell Latitude 15-3570 6200U, HD Graphics 520 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 2% | 16% | -62% | -37% | -21% | 5% | 5% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 4.4 | 3.5 20% | 3.2 27% | 7.2 -64% | 5.5 -25% | 4.7 -7% | 5.3 -20% | 4.9 -11% |
| Idle Average * | 6.8 | 6.1 10% | 6.3 7% | 10.3 -51% | 8.2 -21% | 6.5 4% | 8.8 -29% | 7.2 -6% |
| Idle Maximum * | 8.9 | 7 21% | 7.4 17% | 11.9 -34% | 9.5 -7% | 6.8 24% | 9.7 -9% | 7.5 16% |
| Load Average * | 30.9 | 31.2 -1% | 24 22% | 48.2 -56% | 44.5 -44% | 42.7 -38% | 18 42% | 25.4 18% |
| Load Maximum * | 31 | 42.9 -38% | 29 6% | 63 -103% | 58 -87% | 59 -90% | 18.2 41% | 28 10% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 51.8 |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Runtime
HP's laptop manages a runtime of 4:56 hours in our Wi-Fi test. We simulate the load needed for opening websites via a script here. The "Balanced" profile is enabled, the energy-savings modes are disabled, and the screen's brightness is dimmed to approximately 150 cd/m². We loop the short movie "Big Buck Bunny" (H.264 encoding, 1920x1080 pixels) to determine the video playback time. The wireless modules and energy-savings modes are disabled, and the screen's brightness is set to roughly 150 cd/m². The 15.6-inch laptop is depleted after 4:38 hours.
Overall, the battery life achieved in our practical Wi-Fi and video tests can only be called average. However, the runtimes are relatively good for a laptop based on an APU by AMD. A look at our comparison chart shows that AMD-based laptops usually do not do a very good job. However, HP's 15-ba077ng clearly lags behind rivals by Intel. The comparison with the largely identical HP 15-ay116ng (Core i5-7200U) illustrates this well. The latter is also equipped with an SSD and Full HD panel. It also uses the same 41 Wh battery as HP's 15-ba077ng. The Core i5 laptop lasts 2 hours longer in the Wi-Fi and battery tests.
| HP 15-ba077ng A12-9700P, Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), 41 Wh | Lenovo Ideapad 310-15IKB i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620, 30 Wh | HP 15-ay116ng i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620, 41 Wh | Acer Aspire E15 E5-553G-109A A12-9700P, Radeon R8 M445DX, 40 Wh | HP 250 G5 SP X0N33EA 6200U, HD Graphics 520, 41 Wh | HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng W8Y60EA A10-9600P, Radeon R8 M445DX, 41 Wh | Asus F555UB-XO043T 6200U, GeForce 940M, 37 Wh | Acer Aspire ES1-533-P7WA Pentium N4200, HD Graphics 505, 36 Wh | Dell Latitude 15-3570 6200U, HD Graphics 520, 65 Wh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | -20% | 24% | -37% | 5% | -19% | 20% | 8% | 58% | |
| Reader / Idle | 742 | 612 -18% | 869 17% | 358 -52% | 634 -15% | 560 -25% | 1024 38% | ||
| H.264 | 278 | 430 55% | 313 13% | 194 -30% | |||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 296 | 230 -22% | 412 39% | 257 -13% | 347 17% | 260 -12% | 355 20% | 321 8% | 542 83% |
| Load | 103 | 81 -21% | 87 -16% | 55 -47% | 109 6% | 95 -8% | 157 52% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
AMD's installed APU provides more than enough computing power for office and Internet applications. Furthermore, it conditionally allows playing computer games that do not have high hardware requirements or are now a bit older on the market. The laptop does not produce much noise over the entire load range and barely heats up.
HP delivers an affordable home-office laptop with the 15-ba077ng.
A fast solid-state drive ensures a smooth-running system. The SSD can be replaced, but the casing would have to be opened for this. The laptop does not have a maintenance hatch. The installed keyboard and the mediocre battery life fulfil the requirements for home use. The matte Full HD panel will not excite anyone; it is dark, low-contrast, and viewing angle dependent.
The massive cutbacks that HP has made are not visible at a first glance. The price range of approximately 450 Euros (~$482) is noticed. HP includes only a one-year warranty where other manufacturers offer a two-year warranty for their low-cost devices. A Wi-Fi module that supports the fast ac-standard and a Gigabit Ethernet have been dispensed with. HP only provides a Fast Ethernet port. HP's 15 cannot serve with a USB Type-C port either. To add to this, the screen exhibits PWM flickering at just 50 Hz in battery mode (not AC mode).
The various tests and benchmarks that we performed very clearly show why laptops based on AMD APUs only stand a chance on the market when they are offered at a much lower price than Intel's competition: The performance of AMD processors is weaker while requiring more power. The latter leads to a much shorter battery life. The somewhat higher performance of the Radeon iGPU does not bring the user any advantages in routine use. AMD will have to hit a home run with its new Ryzen APUs to pull even with Intel and to become relevant again in the laptop sector.
HP 15-ba077ng
- 01/23/2017 v6 (old)
Sascha Mölck
Price comparison
