HP Notebook 15s: And the fan is annoying again

During our test of the HP 15s-fq1556ng we notice a repeating theme that we already saw in the HP Pavilion 14 and which can mainly be traced back to a strange fan control. While on one hand, the fans already turn on when opening a browser, on the other hand they are unable to ensure constant cooling. During our constant load test, the performance kept dropping strongly, and it was significantly lower than what would be usual for the built-in Intel Core i5-1035G1.

Even changing the power profile offered no improvements here, so that users have to manually control the fans using a third-party software, in order to be able to use the CPU optimally. However, this also results in the fans, which are not very quiet at 40 dB, being constantly audible. Depending on your sensitivity, this may have an impact on your working atmosphere.

Aside from that, the HP 15s-fq1556ng can be convincing. The few basic connections offer what is necessary, and the battery life is also sufficient with almost six hours. The input devices are solid, and those who are not depending on a high color space coverage, might be happy with the display. However, if you want to use the SD card reader, you should always have a small pair of pliers. Inserted storage cards disappear in the case and snap into place with 2 mm still sticking out. Since there is no spring mechanism, it becomes very difficult to take them out again.

As a pure consumer device, the HP 15s-fq1556ng shows some weaknesses that should be in a system that currently costs 600 Euros (~$662).