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HP Envy x360 15z (Ryzen 5 2500U, Vega 8, SSD, FHD) Convertible Review

Mostly solid. The Envy features a powerful Ryzen 5 2500 APU, a fast NVMe SSD, and a backlit keyboard. In addition to input by fingers, the touchscreen also supports an optional stylus pen made by HP. Unfortunately, the dark display and occasional crashes dampen our expectations and the overall impression.

Hewlett Packard’s latest 15.6-inch convertible is powered by an AMD Raven Ridge APU, and we are already familiar with the device itself as we have had a similar model in review just recently. Its competitors are, among others, the Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA, the Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777, and the Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP501UQ.

Given that both Envy notebooks are identical in construction, we will not be going into details in terms of case, connectivity, input devices, and speakers. For anyone interested in these we would kindly like to refer them to our Envy x360 15 review.

HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng (Envy x360 15 Series)
Processor
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U 4 x 2 - 3.6 GHz, Zen
Graphics adapter
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) - 256 MB VRAM, Core: 1016 MHz, Memory: 2400 MHz, dual-channel, 22.19.655.1
Memory
8 GB 
, DDR4-2400, dual-channel, two slots (both occupied)
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 141 PPI, capacitive, 10-point multitouch, native pen support, Chi Mei CM15E9, IPS, glossy: yes
Mainboard
AMD CZ FCH
Storage
Soundcard
Realtek ALC295 @ AMD K17.1 - Audio Processor - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
3 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: audio combo jack, Card Reader: SD, Sensors: gyroscope, e-compass, accelerometer, TPM 2.0
Networking
Realtek RTL8822BE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCIe Adapter (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.2
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 19.6 x 359.7 x 248.8 ( = 0.77 x 14.16 x 9.8 in)
Battery
55.8 Wh, 4835 mAh Lithium-Ion, 11.55 V
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: FHD
Additional features
Speakers: stereo, Keyboard: chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, McAfee Live Safe (trial version), MS Office 365 (trial version), 12 Months Warranty
Weight
2.06 kg ( = 72.66 oz / 4.54 pounds), Power Supply: 341 g ( = 12.03 oz / 0.75 pounds)
Price
799 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Size Comparison

381.9 mm / 15 inch 253.1 mm / 9.96 inch 20.2 mm / 0.795 inch 2.8 kg6.22 lbs377.7 mm / 14.9 inch 253 mm / 9.96 inch 22.5 mm / 0.886 inch 2.2 kg4.85 lbs364 mm / 14.3 inch 246 mm / 9.69 inch 18 mm / 0.709 inch 2.3 kg5.07 lbs359.7 mm / 14.2 inch 248.8 mm / 9.8 inch 19.6 mm / 0.772 inch 2.1 kg4.54 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs
SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
69.4 MB/s
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
 
67.8 MB/s -2%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
26.5 MB/s -62%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
24.7 MB/s -64%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
22.7 MB/s -67%
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
82 MB/s
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
 
79.2 MB/s -3%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
31 MB/s -62%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
27.3 MB/s -67%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
25.6 MB/s -69%
Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
676 MBit/s 0%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Realtek RTL8822BE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCIe Adapter
676 MBit/s
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
670 MBit/s -1%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
RealTek Semiconductor, Device ID: B822
438 MBit/s -35%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165
313 MBit/s -54%
iperf3 receive AX12
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Realtek RTL8822BE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCIe Adapter
632 MBit/s
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
518 MBit/s -18%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
475 MBit/s -25%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
RealTek Semiconductor, Device ID: B822
473 MBit/s -25%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165
178 MBit/s -72%

Maintenance

It is not impossible to open and upgrade the Envy per se. However, HP have done everything they could to make it as hard as humanly possible. The device lacks a dedicated maintenance hatch, and in order to get to the internal hardware the case has to be opened. This, in turn, requires removal of all screws at the bottom of the device, including the four hidden ones underneath the rear rubber strip. Afterwards, the base panel can be slowly and carefully popped open with a spudger tool or a spatula. This step requires an extra amount of care and finesse since the base panel seems to be practically glued to the case. Once opened, you have access to the SSD, the fan, the battery, and the RAM slots that are hidden behind an extra shield. In order to get to the Wi-Fi card, the entire motherboard has to be removed.

internal hardware
internal hardware

Running Linux on the Envy

To find out how well Linux and Ryzen get along we have tried installing Ubuntu 17.10.1 on the Envy. Given that the installer image does not contain any GPU drivers, the resolution was fixed at 800 x 600 after first boot. And since Ubuntu also lacked a driver for the Wi-Fi chip we had to connect to the internet via a compatible USB Wi-Fi adapter first. After installing all available Ubuntu updates we went on to download and install AMD’s GPU driver for Linux from AMD’s website. Unfortunately, rebooting the device after installing these drivers did not really solve the issue.

Ubuntu is barely usable out of the box
Ubuntu is barely usable out of the box
Installing the latest updates does not really help
Installing the latest updates does not really help

This was not particularly surprising given that the running Kernel (4.13.x.x) lacked support for Ryzen’s Vega GPU. Full support is only available with Linux kernels 4.15 and newer, so we had to install Kernel 4.15.4 via Ubuntu’s Kernel Upgrade Utility (UKUU). Another reboot and the system came up in FHD using the previously installed AMD GPU driver for Vega. Positive side effect: the newer kernel also supported the Envy’s Wi-Fi chip.

Note: the latest available Linux kernel at the time of testing was 4.15.5. However, Ubuntu reproducibly froze during boot with this particular kernel. If newer kernels are available we suggest trying these first - if things deteriorate, you can always boot into recovery mode and try a different kernel.

Kernel installation via UKUU
Kernel installation via UKUU
Running with AMD's GPU driver finally enabled
Running with AMD's GPU driver finally enabled
Steam crashes during startup
Steam crashes during startup

Apart from the touchscreen, the Envy’s hardware was working perfectly fine with the 4.15 Linux kernel. The touchscreen requires a driver that was not available at the time of writing. GPU video acceleration seemed to be working perfectly fine - 4k Videos on YouTube ran buttery smooth. We were unable to play any games though - while Steam installed just fine it crashed at launch. The same happened with X-Plane 11.11: it installed just fine, but crashed reproducibly a second after launch.

Display

subpixel geometry
subpixel geometry

The 15.6-inch FHD touchscreen (1920x1080) features a decent contrast ratio (1473:1) but an abysmal maximum brightness of just 207 nits. We expect at least 300 nits from a modern notebook.

Unfortunately, we were able to detect PWM flickering at brightness levels of 30% and below. Fortunately, the frequency was very high (25kHz) and thus harmless. Even the most sensitive users should not suffer from headaches or eye strain because of it.

212
cd/m²
193
cd/m²
209
cd/m²
202
cd/m²
221
cd/m²
204
cd/m²
196
cd/m²
210
cd/m²
216
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Chi Mei CM15E9 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 221 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 207 cd/m² Minimum: 11.8 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 87 %
Center on Battery: 222 cd/m²
Contrast: 1473:1 (Black: 0.15 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.35 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 3.09 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
86% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
56% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
42.74% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
62.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
41.36% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.23
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Display
-4%
53%
1%
-5%
Display P3 Coverage
41.36
39.97
-3%
67.3
63%
41.74
1%
39.19
-5%
sRGB Coverage
62.2
58.3
-6%
88.7
43%
62.8
1%
58.9
-5%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
42.74
41.29
-3%
64.9
52%
43.13
1%
40.49
-5%
Response Times
-35%
-24%
-8%
-11%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
40 ?(22, 18)
30.8 ?(14, 16.8)
23%
45 ?(23, 22)
-13%
55 ?(20, 35)
-38%
44 ?(22, 22)
-10%
Response Time Black / White *
26 ?(14, 12)
33.6 ?(18, 15.6)
-29%
36 ?(21, 15)
-38%
20 ?(4, 16)
23%
29 ?(15, 14)
-12%
PWM Frequency
25000 ?(30)
201.6 ?(99)
-99%
19840 ?(90)
-21%
Screen
-26%
-4%
-18%
-16%
Brightness middle
221
230.2
4%
314
42%
244
10%
229
4%
Brightness
207
222
7%
287
39%
242
17%
221
7%
Brightness Distribution
87
88
1%
85
-2%
93
7%
76
-13%
Black Level *
0.15
0.2
-33%
0.25
-67%
0.25
-67%
0.15
-0%
Contrast
1473
1151
-22%
1256
-15%
976
-34%
1527
4%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
4.35
5.7
-31%
4.55
-5%
4.94
-14%
5.03
-16%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
8.98
20.8
-132%
7.39
18%
7.3
19%
8.89
1%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
3.09
2.6
16%
4.95
-60%
4.93
-60%
5.56
-80%
Gamma
2.23 99%
2.2 100%
2.37 93%
2.7 81%
2.64 83%
CCT
6068 107%
6109 106%
5803 112%
7401 88%
7015 93%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
56
37.5
-33%
58
4%
40
-29%
37
-34%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
86
57.9
-33%
89
3%
63
-27%
59
-31%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-22% / -23%
8% / 3%
-8% / -13%
-11% / -13%

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 25000 Hz ≤ 30 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 25000 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 30 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 25000 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Out of the box, CalMAN found a DeltaE 2000 deviation of 4.35 (ideal: less than 3). We found no blue tint on the display.

CalMAN - ColorChecker
CalMAN - ColorChecker
CalMAN - gray scale
CalMAN - gray scale
CalMAN - saturation
CalMAN - saturation

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
26 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 14 ms rise
↘ 12 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 57 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
40 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 22 ms rise
↘ 18 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 55 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

The Envy’s viewing angles were, as expected for an IPS panel, superb. Outdoor usability was severely hampered not only by the low maximum brightness, but also the highly reflective nature of the screen itself. It was thus only usable in the shade.

HP Envy outdoors
HP Envy outdoors

AMD’s Vari Bright technology is supposed to reduce power consumption and improve battery life by dynamically adjusting the panel’s brightness based on the contents displayed on the screen. However, given the Envy’s very low maximum brightness we strongly suggest disabling this feature altogether in order to avoid any further decreases of brightness when running on battery. The Vari Bright feature can be disabled in AMD’s Radeon Settings application.

Radeon Settings was preloaded in the device
Radeon Settings was preloaded in the device

Performance

The HP Envy x360 15z is a 15.6-inch convertible with enough oomph for the most common usage scenarios, and its integrated GPU is not averse to casual gaming either. At the time of writing, our review unit cost $750 on HP’s website, and the device itself was available in various hardware configurations. In addition, a practically identical model equipped with a choice of Intel CPUs and Nvidia GPUs was also available.

CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
HWInfo

Issues and Crashes

We have already had a US model of the Envy in review in late 2017, and had experienced random crashes when first reviewing the unit. Unfortunately, things have not really changed since, and our review unit suffered from the exact same issue and randomly crashed while running various benchmarks (PC Mark 8 Creative, PC Mark 10, LuxMark). The cause seems to be the same for all these crashes: we get an error message saying that access to the graphics hardware has been denied for the application.

In order to eliminate any preloaded HP software, drivers, or modifications we decided to wipe the SSD completely (which even included all hidden partitions) and reinstall Windows 10 (1709, 1703, and 1607) from scratch via an ISO file downloaded directly from Microsoft’s website. We have also tried every single GPU driver listed on HP’s website and flashed the latest BIOS firmware (dated 1/26/2018) to no avail. The machine kept crashing randomly.

It is worth noting though that the crashes did not occur while running our gaming benchmarks or during normal everyday use. Consequently, they should not be too much of an issue for most users. Nevertheless, HP, Microsoft, and AMD need to address this ASAP.

LuxMark cannot access the graphics hardware
LuxMark cannot access the graphics hardware

Processor

The Envy is equipped with an AMD Raven Ridge based Ryzen 5 2500U APU with four physical cores running at a base frequency of 2 GHz and a turbo boost clock speed of up to 3.6 GHz. The CPU supports SMT with up to two threads per core.

While running our CPU benchmarks on mains, the CPU ran at 2.8-3 GHz and 1.4-3.6 GHz in multi-thread and single-thread benchmarks, respectively. In single-core benchmarks only a single core was running at 3.6 GHz with the other three happily chugging along at 1.4-1.8 GHz. When running on battery, turbo boost was rarely ever applied at all. Frequencies were at 2 GHz (multi-thread) and 1.4-2.4 GHz (single-thread). Accordingly, benchmark results while running on battery were somewhat lower than benchmark results while connected to external power.

We run Cinebench R15 in a loop for at least 30 minutes in order to determine whether or not turbo boost is applied for prolonged sustained loads as well. There was a noticeable drop in performance after the first iteration, but scores remained consistent afterwards. Turbo boost was applied throughout the entire loop.

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Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit

By and large, the CPU part of AMD’s Ryzen APU was on a par with Intel’s Core i5-8250U processor. We blame the seemingly underdesigned and underpowered cooling system for the fact that the Ryzen 5 2500U was not always able to keep up with the Core i5-8250U due to the lower overall turbo boost speeds.

Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
8161
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
16466
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
4473
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
47.22 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
6.91 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.61 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
98 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
48.72 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
618 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
142 Points
Help
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
158 Points +11%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
150 Points +6%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
144 Points +1%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U
144 Points +1%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
143 Points +1%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
142 Points
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
141 Points -1%
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
140 Points -1%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
137 Points -4%
Asus VivoBook 15 X510UQ-BQ534T
Intel Core i5-8250U
136 Points -4%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U
128 Points -10%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Core i5-7200U
126 Points -11%
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P
80 Points -44%
Lenovo ThinkPad A275
AMD PRO A12-9800B
75 Points -47%
CPU Multi 64Bit
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
856 (824.96min - 856.42max) Points +39%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U
724 Points +17%
Asus VivoBook 15 X510UQ-BQ534T
Intel Core i5-8250U
720 Points +17%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
618 Points
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
606 Points -2%
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
589 (499min - 552max) Points -5%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
581 (509.25min - 581.32max) Points -6%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
574 Points -7%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
549 Points -11%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
507 Points -18%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U
331 Points -46%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Core i5-7200U
326 Points -47%
Lenovo ThinkPad A275
AMD PRO A12-9800B
225 Points -64%
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P
222 Points -64%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Multi 64Bit
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
9.46 Points +37%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
6.91 Points
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
6.66 Points -4%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
6.46 Points -7%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
5.84 Points -15%
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
5.71 Points -17%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
5.65 Points -18%
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P
2.62 Points -62%
CPU Single 64Bit
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
1.77 Points +10%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
1.68 Points +4%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
1.65 Points +2%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
1.65 Points +2%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
1.61 Points
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
1.6 Points -1%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
1.53 Points -5%
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P
0.94 Points -42%
Cinebench R10
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U
21990 Points +34%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
21024 Points +28%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
18814 Points +14%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
18070 Points +10%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
17444 Points +6%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
16684 Points +1%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
16466 Points
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
15307 Points -7%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
14400 Points -13%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U
11398 Points -31%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Core i5-7200U
11078 Points -33%
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P
7188 Points -56%
Rendering Single 32Bit
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U
5546 Points +24%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
5541 Points +24%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
5517 Points +23%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
5501 Points +23%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U
5003 Points +12%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Core i5-7200U
4976 Points +11%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
4805 Points +7%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
4625 Points +3%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
4473 Points
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
4418 Points -1%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
4103 Points -8%
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P
2596 Points -42%
Geekbench 3
32 Bit Multi-Core Score
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U
13130 Points +16%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
13093 Points +16%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
12913 Points +14%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
12793 Points +13%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
11301 Points
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
11283 Points 0%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U
6820 Points -40%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Core i5-7200U
6439 Points -43%
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P
5371 Points -52%
32 Bit Single-Core Score
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
3477 Points
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
3412 Points -2%
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
3372 Points -3%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
3196 Points -8%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U
3183 Points -8%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
3180 Points -9%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U
3002 Points -14%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Core i5-7200U
2893 Points -17%
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P
2062 Points -41%
Geekbench 4.0
64 Bit Multi-Core Score
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
13211 Points +37%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
12394 Points +29%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
12100 Points +26%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U
12068 Points +25%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
11840 Points +23%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
11105 Points +15%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
9616 Points
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U
7354 Points -24%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Core i5-7200U
6795 Points -29%
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P
4899 Points -49%
64 Bit Single-Core Score
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
4226 Points +17%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
4082 Points +13%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
4029 Points +12%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U
4003 Points +11%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
3992 Points +11%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
3975 Points +10%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Core i5-7200U
3632 Points +1%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
3605 Points
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U
3581 Points -1%
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P
2158 Points -40%
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Multi-Core Score
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
13653 Points +39%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
13030 Points +32%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
12674 Points +29%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U
12607 Points +28%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
12304 Points +25%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
11266 Points +15%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
9835 Points
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U
7766 Points -21%
64 Bit Single-Core Score
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
4268 Points +13%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
4148 Points +10%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
4122 Points +9%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U
4095 Points +9%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
4081 Points +8%
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U
4077 Points +8%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U
3898 Points +3%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
3767 Points
wPrime 2.10
32m
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
12.64 s *
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
10.8 s * +15%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
7.819 s * +38%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
6.9 s * +45%
1024m
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
375.9 s *
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
333 s * +11%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
251.1 s * +33%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
198 s * +47%
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
HP 15-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U (Edge 41)
255.2 Points +32%
HP 17-bs103ng
Intel Core i5-8250U (Edge 41)
252.8 Points +31%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933 - 2GB GPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G (Edge 41)
244.2 Points +27%
MSI B350I Pro AC - DDR4-2933
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G (Edge 41)
243 Points +26%
Asus VivoBook 15 X510UQ-BQ534T
Intel Core i5-8250U (EDGE 40.15063.674.0)
241.7 Points +25%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel Core i5-8250U (Edge 41)
240.8 Points +25%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U (Edge 41)
238.1 Points +23%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Intel Core i5-7200U (Edge 41)
221.5 Points +15%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel Core i5-7200U (Edge 38)
219.9 Points +14%
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
209 Points +8%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U (Edge 40.15063.674.0)
203.9 Points +6%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U (Edge 41)
193 Points
HP 15-ba077ng
AMD A12-9700P (Edge 38)
134 Points -31%

* ... smaller is better

System Performance

The system was very smooth and responsive. PC Mark benchmark scores were decent, albeit lagging behind Intel’s Core i5-8250U occasionally. We do not consider this to be a major issue, though, as the system was snappy and fast at all times, and never felt any slower than an Intel-based notebook. In addition, our CPU and GPU benchmarks proved that the Envy is indeed very powerful. Further performance improvements are not possible - HP has already done everything they can for optimal performance.

PC Mark 10
PC Mark 10
PCMark 7 Score
6091 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3462 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
3428 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
3800 points
PCMark 10 Score
2944 points
Help
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
3844 Points +11%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
GeForce 940MX, i5-7200U, Micron SSD 1100 (MTFDDAV256TBN)
3703 Points +7%
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
3622 Points +5%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U128G1002
3587 Points +4%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
3462 Points
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
3450 Points 0%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U, SanDisk X400 256GB, SATA (SD8SB8U-256G)
3446 Points 0%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
Vega 8, R5 2500U, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
3385 Points -2%
HP 15-ba077ng
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9700P, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-256G
2777 Points -20%
Work Score Accelerated v2
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
5030 Points +32%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
4922 Points +30%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U128G1002
4689 Points +23%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
GeForce 940MX, i5-7200U, Micron SSD 1100 (MTFDDAV256TBN)
4491 Points +18%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
3800 Points
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
3797 Points 0%
HP 15-ba077ng
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9700P, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-256G
2773 Points -27%
PCMark 10
Digital Content Creation
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
3108 Points +9%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
Vega 8, R5 2500U, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
2901 Points +2%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
2848 Points
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U128G1002
2801 Points -2%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
2586 Points -9%
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
2397 Points -16%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
GeForce 940MX, i5-7200U, Micron SSD 1100 (MTFDDAV256TBN)
1995 Points -30%
Productivity
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
6840 Points +75%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U128G1002
5867 Points +50%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
5389 Points +38%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
GeForce 940MX, i5-7200U, Micron SSD 1100 (MTFDDAV256TBN)
4760 Points +22%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
Vega 8, R5 2500U, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
3942 Points +1%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
3901 Points
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
3113 Points -20%
Essentials
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
7723 Points +24%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
7470 Points +20%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U128G1002
7142 Points +15%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
GeForce 940MX, i5-7200U, Micron SSD 1100 (MTFDDAV256TBN)
6621 Points +6%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
6236 Points
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
5692 Points -9%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
Vega 8, R5 2500U, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
5288 Points -15%
Score
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
3925 Points +33%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U128G1002
3510 Points +19%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
3372 Points +15%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
2944 Points
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
GeForce 940MX, i5-7200U, Micron SSD 1100 (MTFDDAV256TBN)
2850 Points -3%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
Vega 8, R5 2500U, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
2814 Points -4%
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
2501 Points -15%
PCMark 7
Score
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
6091 Points
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
5862 Points -4%
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
5650 Points -7%
HP 15-ba077ng
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9700P, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-256G
4258 Points -30%
Lightweight
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
6004 Points +34%
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
5894 Points +32%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
4474 Points
HP 15-ba077ng
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9700P, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-256G
3561 Points -20%
Productivity
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
5587 Points
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
5336 Points -4%
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
5279 Points -6%
HP 15-ba077ng
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9700P, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-256G
3074 Points -45%
Entertainment
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
4402 Points +12%
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
4214 Points +7%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
3939 Points
HP 15-ba077ng
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9700P, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-256G
3306 Points -16%
Creativity
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
10815 Points +40%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
10780 Points +40%
HP 15-ba077ng
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9700P, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-256G
7903 Points +2%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
7723 Points
Computation
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
18004 Points +130%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
17973 Points +129%
HP 15-ba077ng
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9700P, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-256G
11192 Points +43%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
7842 Points
System Storage
HP 15-bs103ng
Radeon 520, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD PM871a MZNLN256HMHQ
5532 Points +5%
HP ProBook 470 G5
GeForce 930MX, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
5529 Points +5%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Vega 8, R5 2500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
5246 Points
HP 15-ba077ng
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9700P, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-256G
4695 Points -11%

Storage Devices

The Envy was equipped with a 256 GB M.2-2280 NVMe SSD made by Samsung, 195 GB of which was available to the user out of the box. The rest was taken up by the Windows installation and the recovery partition. Since they are connected to the rest of the hardware via PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe SSDs tend to be much faster than SATA III SSDs. As expected, the Envy’s SSD was blazingly fast.

The notebook also features an extra 2.5-inch secondary storage drive bay. Unfortunately, our review unit did not include a mounting frame for the slot or the necessary SATA cable. These have to be purchased separately.

NVMe SSD
NVMe SSD
2.5-inch drive bay. Unfortunately, our review unit did neither include a mounting frame for the slot nor the necessary SATA cable.
2.5-inch drive bay. Unfortunately, our review unit did neither include a mounting frame for the slot nor the necessary SATA cable.
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Sequential Read: 1487 MB/s
Sequential Write: 1241 MB/s
512K Read: 923 MB/s
512K Write: 797 MB/s
4K Read: 49.38 MB/s
4K Write: 97.3 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 295 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 212.5 MB/s
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
Micron SSD 1100 (MTFDDAV256TBN)
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
SanDisk X400 256GB, SATA (SD8SB8U-256G)
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
SanDisk SD8SN8U128G1002
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
-46%
-42%
-50%
Read Seq
1487
465.6
-69%
503
-66%
458.5
-69%
Write Seq
1241
398.7
-68%
465.3
-63%
337.2
-73%
Read 512
923
335.6
-64%
293
-68%
319.1
-65%
Write 512
797
329.8
-59%
322.7
-60%
186
-77%
Read 4k
49.38
24.11
-51%
28.9
-41%
28.39
-43%
Write 4k
97.3
89.8
-8%
55
-43%
56.6
-42%
Read 4k QD32
295
161.5
-45%
314.5
7%
321.1
9%
Write 4k QD32
212.5
199.2
-6%
209.2
-2%
128.5
-40%

GPU Performance

Graphics are handled by AMD’s Radeon RX Vega 8 GPU. It supports DirectX 12 and runs at clock speeds of up to 1018 MHz. According to AMD’s specifications, a Vega 8 GPU can run at up to 1100 MHz, but our review unit’s GPU failed to achieve these levels. Nevertheless, 3D Mark benchmark scores were at a level expected of this GPU.

By and large, the Vega GPU did much better than Intel’s integrated GPUs, and even outperformed many dedicated GPUs. The Vega 8 performed about as fast as a GeForce 940MX equipped with GDDR5 memory and much faster than a DDR3-equipped model.

GPU-Z
GPU-Z
DXVAChecker
DXVAChecker
3DMark Vantage P Result
11033 points
3DMark 11 Performance
3667 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
61382 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
11201 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
2123 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score
1024 points
3DMark Time Spy Score
732 points
Help
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-8550U
7043 Points +98%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKBRN 81BG001KGE
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i5-8250U
4582 Points +29%
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, Intel Core i5-7200U
4251 Points +20%
HP Envy 15-k203ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, Intel Core i7-5500U
4036 Points +14%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
3602 Points +1%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
3549 Points
Intel Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580, Intel Core i7-6770HQ
3220 Points -9%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB 80XL01NEGE
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
2918 Points -18%
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
2813 Points -21%
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2017
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, Intel Core i5-7360U
2379 (2355min - 2425max) Points -33%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
2339 Points -34%
Dell XPS 13 9360 FHD i7 Iris
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, Intel Core i7-7560U
2124 Points -40%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
1608 Points -55%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel HD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-7200U
1422 Points -60%
3DMark
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Lenovo Yoga 720-15IKB-80X7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-7700HQ
5885 Points +155%
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-8550U
5688 Points +146%
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, Intel Core i5-7200U
3574 Points +55%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKBRN 81BG001KGE
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i5-8250U
3511 Points +52%
HP Envy 15-k203ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, Intel Core i7-5500U
2957 Points +28%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
2460 Points +6%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB 80XL01NEGE
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
2339 Points +1%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
2310 Points
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
2231 Points -3%
Intel Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580, Intel Core i7-6770HQ
1903 Points -18%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
1588 Points -31%
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2017
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, Intel Core i5-7360U
1541 (1484min - 1547max) Points -33%
Dell XPS 13 9360 FHD i7 Iris
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, Intel Core i7-7560U
1369 Points -41%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
967 Points -58%
1280x720 Sky Diver Graphics
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-8550U
18397 Points +133%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKBRN 81BG001KGE
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i5-8250U
11023 Points +40%
HP Envy 15-k203ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, Intel Core i7-5500U
10011 Points +27%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
7899 Points
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB 80XL01NEGE
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
7594 Points -4%
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
7555 Points -4%
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Lenovo Yoga 720-15IKB-80X7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-7700HQ
37388 Points +146%
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-8550U
35068 Points +131%
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, Intel Core i5-7200U
22439 Points +48%
HP Envy 15-k203ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, Intel Core i7-5500U
19204 Points +26%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKBRN 81BG001KGE
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, Intel Core i5-8250U
18940 Points +25%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
16285 Points +7%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
15186 Points
Intel Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580, Intel Core i7-6770HQ
14594 Points -4%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB 80XL01NEGE
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
13979 Points -8%
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
12934 Points -15%
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2017
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, Intel Core i5-7360U
11495 (10969min - 11750max) Points -24%
Dell XPS 13 9360 FHD i7 Iris
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, Intel Core i7-7560U
11232 Points -26%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
8165 Points -46%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
7995 Points -47%
3DMark 06 - 1280x1024 Standard Score AA:0x AF:0x
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, Intel Core i5-7200U
18647 Points
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
15623 Points
Geekbench 4.0 - Compute OpenCL Score
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, Intel Core i5-7200U
40018 Points +27%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB 80XL01NEGE
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
33522 Points +6%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
31590 Points
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
23841 Points -25%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
18018 Points -43%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel HD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-7200U
16817 Points -47%
Geekbench 4.4 - Compute OpenCL Score
Intel Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580, Intel Core i7-6770HQ
166010 Points +423%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB 80XL01NEGE
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
33513 Points +6%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
31727 Points
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
23779 Points -25%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
18043 Points -43%
ComputeMark v2.1 - 1024x600 Normal, Score
Lenovo Yoga 720-15IKB-80X7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-7700HQ
4364 Points +98%
Intel Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580, Intel Core i7-6770HQ
2308 Points +5%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
2252 Points +2%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
2206 Points
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
1972 Points -11%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
162.5 fps +11%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
146.5 fps
T-Rex Onscreen
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
153.9 fps
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
59.9 fps -61%
GFXBench 3.0
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
83.7 fps +161%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
32.1 fps
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
55.2 fps +77%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
31.1 fps
GFXBench 3.1
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
66.2 fps +77%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
37.5 fps
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
49.9 fps +31%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
38.1 fps
GFXBench
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
46 fps +30%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
35.4 fps
on screen Car Chase Onscreen
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
37.9 fps
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
37.6 fps -1%
Unigine Heaven 2.1 - 1280x1024 high, Tesselation (normal), DirectX11 AA:off AF:1x
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
40.2 fps +61%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
25 fps
Unigine Heaven 3.0
1920x1080 OpenGL, Normal Tessellation, High Shaders AA:Off AF:Off
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
25.9 fps +39%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
18.6 fps
1920x1080 DX 11, Normal Tessellation, High Shaders AA:Off AF:Off
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
27.3 fps
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
26.8 fps -2%
Unigine Heaven 4.0
Extreme Preset OpenGL
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
8.3 fps
Extreme Preset DX11
Acer Aspire E5-774G-78NA
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i7-6500U
12.1 fps +8%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
11.2 fps
Unigine Valley 1.0
1920x1080 Extreme HD DirectX AA:x8
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
7.7 fps
1920x1080 Extreme HD Preset OpenGL AA:x8
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
5.9 fps

Gaming Performance

Many games ran smoothly on the HP Envy provided that resolution and details were lowered to HD (1366x768) and low to medium, respectively. Less demanding games ran at higher resolutions and details while, more demanding games such as “Final Fantasy XV” were not playable at all. By and large, the Envy’s FPS were on a par with notebooks featuring Nvidia’s GDDR5-equipped GeForce 940MX GPU.

low med. high ultra
World of Warcraft (2005) 158.3 102.2 20.5
Anno 2070 (2011) 110.9 76.5 49.1 24.8
BioShock Infinite (2013) 105.7 68.3 58.5 18.4
Risen 3: Titan Lords (2014) 36.3 40.7 14.6 9.5
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014) 56.2 52 21.1 16.6
Alien: Isolation (2014) 71.9 49.5 28.7 22.3
Battlefield Hardline (2015) 58 51.9 21.4 14
Mad Max (2015) 43.5 22.7 20.7
Overwatch (2016) 84.6 67.1 31.9 16.2
Mirror's Edge Catalyst (2016) 45.1 28.1 12.6 8.1
Dishonored 2 (2016) 25 20.6 11.7 9.9
Watch Dogs 2 (2016) 29.6 21.7 10.7 6.9
Warhammer 40.000: Dawn of War III (2017) 43.3 16.7 14.8 13.1
Prey (2017) 56.8 20.1 16.7 14.8
Rocket League (2017) 107.3 44 27.9
FIFA 18 (2017) 147.2 76.4 63.3 58.3
ELEX (2017) 33.8 15.9 12.6 9.9
Fortnite (2018) 75 22.7 16.7 9.1
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) 20.1 10.3 5.1
Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018) 28.2 12.4 10.1 7.3
X-Plane 11.11 (2018) 24 18.3 15.6
BioShock Infinite - 1366x768 High Preset
HP Pavilion Power 15t-cb2000
AMD Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), Intel Core i7-7700HQ
117 fps +100%
Acer Spin 5 SP515-51GN-80A3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, Intel Core i7-8550U
110.8 (20.4min - 207.1max) fps +89%
Lenovo ThinkPad E570-20H6S00000
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, Intel Core i5-7200U
86.8 fps +48%
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, Intel Core i5-7200U
86.7 fps +48%
Lenovo ThinkPad E580-20KS001RGE
AMD Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), Intel Core i7-8550U
72.6 fps +24%
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB 80XL01NEGE
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
59.7 fps +2%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
58.5 fps
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
39.2 fps -33%
HP 17-bs103ng
AMD Radeon 530, Intel Core i5-8250U
33.7 fps -42%
HP 15-bs103ng
AMD Radeon 520, Intel Core i5-8250U
23.4 fps -60%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
22.6 fps -61%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
Intel HD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-7200U
19.9 fps -66%
Prey - 1280x720 Low Preset AF:2x
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB 80XL01NEGE
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
73.2 fps +29%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
63.2 fps +11%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
56.8 fps
HP 17-bs103ng
AMD Radeon 530, Intel Core i5-8250U
35.3 fps -38%
HP 15-bs103ng
AMD Radeon 520, Intel Core i5-8250U
30.1 fps -47%
Rocket League - 1920x1080 Quality AA:Medium FX
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB 80XL01NEGE
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
45.8 fps +4%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
44 fps
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
42.7 fps -3%
HP 17-bs103ng
AMD Radeon 530, Intel Core i5-8250U
24.9 fps -43%
HP 15-bs103ng
AMD Radeon 520, Intel Core i5-8250U
22.2 fps -50%
FIFA 18 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:4xMS
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
58.3 fps
Lenovo IdeaPad 320-15IKB 80XL01NEGE
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U
56.3 fps -3%
Acer Swift 3 SF315-41-R4W1
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
53.4 fps -8%
HP 15-bs103ng
AMD Radeon 520, Intel Core i5-8250U
32.6 fps -44%
Overwatch - 1366x768 Medium (Render Scale 100 %) AA:FX AF:2x
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, Intel Core i5-7200U
107.4 fps +60%
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
67.1 fps
HP 17-bs103ng
AMD Radeon 530, Intel Core i5-8250U
46.2 fps -31%
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
40 fps -40%
HP 15-bs103ng
AMD Radeon 520, Intel Core i5-8250U
33 fps -51%

Emissions & Energy

System Noise

When idle, the Envy’s fans were completely still and the notebook was absolutely silent. Sound pressure levels rose to 38.8 dB(A) during our stress test with both CPU and GPU heavily throttled due to the high combined load. Running Prime95 solo, the notebook was even louder and reached a maximum of 42.1 dB(A). Thus, the Envy is not made for users for whom a low overall noise level is of utmost importance as the fan is very audible even under low to moderate loads.

As with all HP notebooks, the Envy’s BIOS setup includes a “Fan always on” option that will, as the name suggests, keep the fan running at all times regardless of load or temperatures. This setting was disabled on our review unit out of the box.

Noise Level

Idle
30.13 / 30.13 / 30.13 dB(A)
Load
38.8 / 38.8 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 30.13 dB(A)
dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2045.145.543.544.544.245.12541.842.741.940.140.241.83132.332.832.331.431.632.34030.329.9333131.530.3503129.930.328.430.2316333.730.932.83030.533.78032.827.729.426.927.232.810030.530.429.729.228.430.512526.326.927.126.425.426.316028.228.627.727.22728.22002725.726.323.323.42725028.728.32924.424.128.731527.127.826.722.522.527.140026.329.92622.322.126.350025.527.925.321.22125.563025.827.725.720.419.925.880026.429.127.119.719.226.4100031.134.731.118.518.931.1125027.730.827.817.71827.7160028.732.228.817.417.128.7200029.232.529.217.51729.225003033.429.916.716.730315024.930.124.716.416.424.9400021.826.521.816.316.221.8500019.823.319.516.516.219.8630019.120.818.116.516.319.1800018.318.917.616.516.318.31000018.11817.516.516.418.11250018.317.917.516.716.718.31600018.618.117.71717.118.6SPL38.842.138.830.330.138.8N33.72.91.41.43median 26.3median 27.9median 26.3median 17.7median 18median 26.3Delta3.73.743.32.73.7hearing rangehide median Fan NoiseHP Envy x360 15-bq102ng

Temperature

Envy stress test
Envy stress test

Our stress test (Prime95 and FurMark run simultaneously for at least one hour) was completed identically on both battery and mains. The CPU started out at around 2.2-2.5 GHz and slowly clocked down to 1.6-1.9 GHz while the GPU started out at 400-700 MHz and eventually settled at 300-400 MHz.

By and large, the notebook stayed comparatively cool. Only when running our stress test did some surface areas cross the 30 °C (~86 °F) threshold.

Max. Load
 28.6 °C
83 F
38 °C
100 F
33.5 °C
92 F
 
 26 °C
79 F
32 °C
90 F
31.7 °C
89 F
 
 25 °C
77 F
25.4 °C
78 F
27 °C
81 F
 
Maximum: 38 °C = 100 F
Average: 29.7 °C = 85 F
33.3 °C
92 F
37.1 °C
99 F
29.4 °C
85 F
31.3 °C
88 F
29.3 °C
85 F
26.8 °C
80 F
27.9 °C
82 F
27.6 °C
82 F
26.3 °C
79 F
Maximum: 37.1 °C = 99 F
Average: 29.9 °C = 86 F
Power Supply (max.)  38.6 °C = 101 F | Room Temperature 22.4 °C = 72 F | FIRT 550-Pocket
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 29.7 °C / 85 F, compared to the average of 30.2 °C / 86 F for the devices in the class Convertible.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 38 °C / 100 F, compared to the average of 35.3 °C / 96 F, ranging from 19.6 to 55.7 °C for the class Convertible.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 37.1 °C / 99 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.6 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 30.2 °C / 86 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 27 °C / 80.6 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.1 °C / 82.6 F (+1.1 °C / 2 F).
heatmap top (load)
heatmap top (load)
heamap bottom (load)
heamap bottom (load)
heatmap top (idle)
heatmap top (idle)
heatmap bottom (idle)
heatmap bottom (idle)

Speaker

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2043.344.243.32540.440.240.43137.431.637.44036.931.536.95038.430.238.46340.430.540.48039.927.239.910040.728.440.712542.625.442.616043.82743.820046.523.446.52504924.14931557.722.557.740059.422.159.450060.42160.463064.319.964.380064.119.264.1100066.518.966.5125064.81864.8160060.417.160.4200061.51761.5250061.616.761.6315061.116.461.1400059.816.259.8500061.216.261.2630057.216.357.2800055.916.355.91000058.416.458.4125005016.7501600045.817.145.8SPL73.830.173.8N33.81.433.8median 59.4median 18median 59.4Delta62.7635.335.132.931.831.83236.535.132.428.93328.936.328.848.32761.52752.924.860.92462.822.763.32269.521.267.82174.82075.919.472.718.97117.770.117.86917.671.817.668.117.671.417.673.717.670.417.571.617.671.617.669.617.459.717.583.630.662.51.5median 69.6median 17.84.72.4hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHP Envy x360 15-bq102ngApple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng audio analysis

(-) | not very loud speakers (66.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 12.7% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.8% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (17.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 25% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 66% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 21%, worst was 57%
Compared to all devices tested
» 26% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 66% 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
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 96% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

frequency diagram (checkboxes selectable/deselectable!)

Power Consumption

Maximum power consumption when idle was determined to be 9.5 W while our stress test (Prime95 and FurMark run simultaneously for at least one hour) resulted in a power consumption of just 44.3 W due to the heavily throttled CPU and GPU. The power supply is rated at 65 W.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.3 / 0.43 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 4.8 / 7 / 9.5 Watt
Load midlight 40.8 / 44.3 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
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 Life

In our real-life Wi-Fi test we simulate the load caused by loading various websites. During this test, the energy profile is set to “Balanced”, display brightness is normalized to 150 nits, and all energy saving features are disabled. With these settings, the Envy ran for 7:06 hours.

Battery Runtime
WiFi Websurfing (Edge 41)
7h 06min
Battery Runtime - WiFi Websurfing
HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng
R5 2500U, Vega 8, 55.8 Wh
426 min
HP Envy x360 15m-bq121dx
R5 2500U, Vega 8, 55.8 Wh
398 min -7%
Dell Inspiron 15 5578-1777 2-in-1
i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620, 42 Wh
394 min -8%
Asus VivoBook Flip TP501UQ-FZ119T
i5-7200U, GeForce 940MX, 38 Wh
372 min -13%
Asus VivoBook Flip 15 TP510UA-E8073T
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, 42 Wh
358 min -16%

Pros

+ IPS display
+ FHD resolution
+ stays comparatively cool
+ fast NVMe SSD
+ ac Wi-Fi
+ fast card reader

Cons

- dark display
- case hard to open
- 12-month warranty

Verdict

HP Envy x360 15z. Review unit courtesy of notebooksbilliger.de
HP Envy x360 15z. Review unit courtesy of notebooksbilliger.de

HP’s 15.6-inch convertible is equipped with an AMD Raven Ridge APU and thus offers more than enough performance for most common usage scenarios. The integrated GPU is even fast enough for casual gaming at reduced resolutions and details. More demanding 2017 and 2018 games will be too much for the Envy, though.

HP’s Envy x360 15z is a well-balanced package, were it not  for the dark display.

The system was snappy and fast thanks to its NVMe SSD, which can be upgraded after opening the case. The keyboard was decent, and we particularly liked the fact that it was backlit. Battery life was decent as well, but we would have wished for a Thunderbolt 3 port that would have made the Envy x360 15z even more attractive. In addition, the warranty is limited to just 12 months - we expect at least two full years.

The IPS touchscreen had a great contrast ratio and very decent viewing angles. Brightness was too low, though. The touchscreen responds to either fingers or the optional stylus pen (model number 920241-001 according to the manual).

HP Envy x360 15-bq102ng - 03/02/2018 v6(old)
Sascha Mölck

Chassis
76 / 98 → 78%
Keyboard
73%
Pointing Device
83%
Connectivity
47 / 80 → 59%
Weight
63 / 35-78 → 64%
Battery
89%
Display
82%
Games Performance
65 / 68 → 96%
Application Performance
83 / 87 → 96%
Temperature
93%
Noise
91%
Audio
63 / 91 → 69%
Camera
50 / 85 → 59%
Average
74%
80%
Convertible - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > HP Envy x360 15z (Ryzen 5 2500U, Vega 8, SSD, FHD) Convertible Review
Sascha Mölck, 2018-03-23 (Update: 2020-05-19)