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HP Pavilion 17z-ak000 (A9-9420, Radeon 530) Laptop Review

A snail's pace. Stoney Ridge is bottom of the barrel when it comes to overall performance. The AMD option may save a few bucks here and there, but the sluggish responsiveness is a very high price to pay.

Our look into AMD's current lineup of 7th generation APUs continues with the A9-9420 processor and Radeon 530 GPU in the Pavilion 17z. Unlike the quad-core Bristol Ridge A12-9720P SKU we reviewed just a week prior, this dual-core Stoney Ridge configuration does not come with Dual Graphics support and is even less expensive for those on a tighter budget. Other than the CPU and GPU differences, this is the exact same Pavilion 17z chassis that we are already familiar with. Prices start for as low as $430 USD with integrated Radeon R5 graphics and 900p display or as high as $600 USD with our dedicated Radeon 530 graphics and 1080p display.

See our existing reviews on the Pavilion 17 series for more information on what to expect in terms of features and design. Everything we have to say about the keyboard, connectivity options, and quality of the Pavilion can be found through the links below. We'll be jumping straight to performance in order to see if the A9-9420 can be a worthy alternative to Intel's budget Core i3 range.

HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Processor
AMD A9-9420 2 x 3 - 3.6 GHz, Stoney Ridge
Graphics adapter
AMD Radeon 530 - 2048 MB VRAM, Core: 1021 MHz, Memory: 1000 MHz, DDR3, Radeon Software 17.4.4, 22.19.162.4
Memory
8 GB 
, 1066.7 MHz, 13-13-13-30, Single-Channel
Display
17.30 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 127 PPI, ID: AUO109D, Name: AU Optronics B173HW01 V0, IPS, glossy: no
Mainboard
AMD CZ FCH
Storage
Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD, 1024 GB 
Soundcard
Realtek AMD Family 15h Models 60h-6fh - HD Audio Controller
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 3.5 combo, Card Reader: SD reader
Networking
Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit-LAN (10/100/1000MBit/s), Realtek RTL8188E Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/)
Optical drive
Slimtype DVD A DA8AESH
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 24.6 x 415 x 278 ( = 0.97 x 16.34 x 10.94 in)
Battery
41.6 Wh, 2850 mAh Lithium-Ion, removeable
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Additional features
Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: no, Radeon Settings, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
2.631 kg ( = 92.81 oz / 5.8 pounds), Power Supply: 345 g ( = 12.17 oz / 0.76 pounds)
Price
500 USD
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

The all-plastic chassis is ordinary in every sense of the word. It brings nothing new or special in order to keep prices low and does nothing to hide the fact that this is a no-frills budget system. The base creaks when attempting to twist it and the lid is very susceptible to warping once again. Pushing down on the center of the keyboard or outer lid will result in slight depressions since the surfaces are not entirely rigid. The bumpy matte texture can at least hide fingerprints quite well compared to the smooth glossy surfaces on most other notebooks if grease build up is a concern.

Construction quality is otherwise excellent on our particular unit. Unlike our last Pavilion 17z, we can find no unintended gaps or crevices between the chassis materials.

At about 2.6 kg, the Pavilion 17z is slightly lighter and smaller than many other inexpensive offerings.

423.3 mm / 16.7 inch 281.9 mm / 11.1 inch 31.9 mm / 1.256 inch 2.9 kg6.39 lbs419 mm / 16.5 inch 287 mm / 11.3 inch 34 mm / 1.339 inch 3 kg6.61 lbs418 mm / 16.5 inch 283 mm / 11.1 inch 25.1 mm / 0.988 inch 3 kg6.61 lbs414 mm / 16.3 inch 283 mm / 11.1 inch 27 mm / 1.063 inch 2.8 kg6.24 lbs415 mm / 16.3 inch 278 mm / 10.9 inch 24.6 mm / 0.969 inch 2.6 kg5.8 lbs410 mm / 16.1 inch 280 mm / 11 inch 20 mm / 0.787 inch 3.6 kg7.85 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity

Available ports include the basic USB 3.0, HDMI, and headphone jack. The optical drive takes up a large portion of the right edge and there is still no USB Type-C, mDP, or legacy VGA.

Front: No connectivity
Front: No connectivity
Right: SD reader, USB 2.0, Optical drive, Kensington Lock
Right: SD reader, USB 2.0, Optical drive, Kensington Lock
Rear: Removable battery
Rear: Removable battery
Left: AC adapter, Gigabit RJ-45, HDMI, 2x USB 3.0, 3.5 mm combo
Left: AC adapter, Gigabit RJ-45, HDMI, 2x USB 3.0, 3.5 mm combo

SD Card Reader

Transfer rates from the SD reader are slow at just 37 MB/s with our Toshiba SDXC UHS-II test card. The Pavilion 15 Power and XPS 15 series have SD readers that are many times faster than our HP unit. Removing an inserted SD card is difficult since the reader is not spring-loaded and the card sits almost flushed against the edge.

SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
HP Pavilion Power 15t-cb2000
 
68.3 MB/s +133%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
 
29.26 MB/s
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
 
28.1 MB/s -4%
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
HP Pavilion Power 15t-cb2000
 
131.7 MB/s +252%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
 
37.44 MB/s
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
 
32.7 MB/s -13%

Communication

WLAN is provided by the same Realtek RTL8188E module as our previous Pavilion 17z unit for 802.11n connectivity. A real-world test standing one meter away from our Linksys EA8500 router returns an average transfer rate of just 46 Mbps compared to over ten times that speed with newer 802.11ac-compatible WLAN options.

Bluetooth is not included on our particular configuration.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
517 MBit/s +1021%
HP Pavilion Power 15t-cb2000
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265
415 MBit/s +800%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Realtek RTL8188E Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC
46.1 MBit/s
iperf3 receive AX12
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
658 MBit/s +1321%
HP Pavilion Power 15t-cb2000
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265
627 MBit/s +1254%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Realtek RTL8188E Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC
46.3 MBit/s

Accessories

There are no included extras outside of the Quick Start guide and AC adapter.

Maintenance

Serviceability is tricky because the bottom panel is very tightly latched around its edges and corners. Both a Philips screwdriver and sharp edge are required for upgrades or changes.

Warranty

The standard one-year limited warranty applies with optional HP Care Pack and pickup services if needed.

Input Devices

Keyboard and Touchpad

Key travel is still very shallow with light feedback and loud clatter while the narrow trackpad (11.5 x 5.0 cm) could have benefited from a wider surface area. Typing is not as firm or as quiet as on pricier notebooks like the XPS 15 or Spectre x360 series.

Standard Pavilion keyboard layout
Standard Pavilion keyboard layout
Shallow and light key travel
Shallow and light key travel

Display

Our configuration uses the exact same AU Optronics B173HW01 V0 IPS panel as our previous Pavilion 17z with the A12-9720P APU. As such, both of our units share very similar display characteristics including brightness, black levels, black-white response times, and color coverage.

Unfortunately, some unfavorable attributes have also carried over from previous Pavilion 17z. For one, backlight bleeding is even more noticeable around the bottom two corners especially when playing movies with black borders. The overlying matte panel is grainier than on other notebooks and so images and texts aren't as "clean" as they could have been.

Moderate-heavy uneven backlight bleeding on the bottom right corner
Moderate-heavy uneven backlight bleeding on the bottom right corner
Subpixel array (127 PPI)
Subpixel array (127 PPI)
337.8
cd/m²
371.1
cd/m²
352.1
cd/m²
338.5
cd/m²
363.6
cd/m²
339.1
cd/m²
360.3
cd/m²
335.7
cd/m²
347.1
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
ID: AUO109D, Name: AU Optronics B173HW01 V0 tested with X-Rite i1Pro Basic 2
Maximum: 371.1 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 349.5 cd/m² Minimum: 15.57 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 90 %
Center on Battery: 363.6 cd/m²
Contrast: 983:1 (Black: 0.37 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.8 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 8.8 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
87.3% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
57.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
64% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
87.5% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
64.8% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.16
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
ID: AUO109D, Name: AU Optronics B173HW01 V0, IPS, 17.30, 1920x1080
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
ID: AUO109D, Name: AU Optronics B173HW01 V0, IPS, 17.30, 1920x1080
HP Pavilion Power 15t-cb2000
AUO41ED , IPS, 15.60, 1920x1080
Lenovo V510-15IKB 80WQ0002GE
LG Philips LP156WF6-SPK3, IPS, 15.60, 1920x1080
Asus X555DA-BB11
TN LED, 15.60, 1920x1080
Display
0%
-36%
-37%
-43%
Display P3 Coverage
64.8
64.3
-1%
39.28
-39%
38.8
-40%
35.12
-46%
sRGB Coverage
87.5
88.5
1%
58.9
-33%
58.1
-34%
52.7
-40%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
64
64.6
1%
40.59
-37%
40.12
-37%
36.29
-43%
Response Times
-9%
-30%
-13%
-3%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
34 ?(15.6, 18.4)
40.8 ?(22, 18.8)
-20%
51.6 ?(26.4, 25.2)
-52%
39 ?(20, 19)
-15%
42 ?(23.6, 18.4)
-24%
Response Time Black / White *
27.2 ?(16.4, 10.8)
26.4 ?(14, 12.4)
3%
29.2 ?(16.8, 12.4)
-7%
30 ?(19, 11)
-10%
22.4 ?(14.4, 8)
18%
PWM Frequency
20000 ?(90)
Screen
12%
-9%
-7%
-26%
Brightness middle
363.6
333.5
-8%
256
-30%
256
-30%
242.7
-33%
Brightness
349
323
-7%
241
-31%
252
-28%
232
-34%
Brightness Distribution
90
91
1%
88
-2%
87
-3%
88
-2%
Black Level *
0.37
0.32
14%
0.21
43%
0.3
19%
0.52
-41%
Contrast
983
1042
6%
1219
24%
853
-13%
467
-52%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
5.8
4
31%
5.2
10%
5.4
7%
4.9
16%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
10
6.9
31%
19.3
-93%
9.36
6%
20.3
-103%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
8.8
4.5
49%
3.5
60%
5.37
39%
2.7
69%
Gamma
2.16 102%
2.19 100%
2.35 94%
2.58 85%
2.34 94%
CCT
5900 110%
6386 102%
6576 99%
6795 96%
6876 95%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
57.2
57.5
1%
37
-35%
37
-35%
33.5
-41%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
87.3
88.1
1%
59
-32%
58
-34%
52.5
-40%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
1% / 7%
-25% / -17%
-19% / -14%
-24% / -26%

* ... smaller is better

Color coverage is very wide for a Pavilion-class notebook at approximately 57 percent and 87 percent of the AdobeRGB and sRGB standards, respectively. Cheaper panels on budget alternatives typically cover about 60 percent of sRGB for shallower colors overall. 

vs. sRGB
vs. sRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. Yoga 720 15
vs. Yoga 720 15

Further measurements with an X-Rite spectrophotometer reveal an inaccurate grayscale and a warm color temperature out of the box. A calibration improves grayscale and colors dramatically and brings the average deltaE down to just 1.8. We recommend a display calibration in order to get the most out of the notebook.

Grayscale before calibration
Grayscale before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
Grayscale after calibratgion
Grayscale after calibratgion
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration

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
27.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 16.4 ms rise
↘ 10.8 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. » 64 % 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
34 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 15.6 ms rise
↘ 18.4 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. » 40 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

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 not detected

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.

Outdoor visibility is average when under shade owing to the matte panel and relatively bright backlight for this price range. It's important to note that Radeon Vari-Bright must be disabled through the Radeon Settings menu or else the maximum brightness will be limited to just 198 nits when not connected to an outlet. Users will want the maximum brightness allowable when working outdoors especially if under direct sunlight. Viewing angles are wide to make avoiding glare easier if necessary.

Outdoors under direct sunlight
Outdoors under direct sunlight
Wide IPS viewing angles
Wide IPS viewing angles

Performance

The A9-9420 SoC is capable of Burst (or Boost) frequencies of up to 3.6 GHz similar to the quad-core A12-9720P. Unlike the A12, however, its base clock rate is 200 to 300 MHz faster while integrating a slower Radeon R5 GPU instead of the Radeon R7. Overall performance is still slower than Intel's budget Core i3 series since AMD lacks Hyper-Threading for its dual-core Stoney Ridge and quad-core Bristol Ridge series.

Graphics power is provided by the discrete Radeon 530 with 2 GB of DDR3 VRAM. While the Radeon 530 should be slightly faster than the R7 M340 on paper (384 vs. 320 shaders), our results below show it to be slower since the A9 series is lacking the Dual Graphics support found on our A12 Pavilion 17z configuration.

Processor

CineBench benchmarks reveal the A9-9420 to be on par with the i3-5010U and i3-4010U in multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads, respectively. Single-thread performance is surprisingly good with a respectable Super Pi completion time ahead of even the A12-9720P to indicate better performance sustainability at higher clock rates. In contrast, multi-thread performance is much weaker due to the lower thread count per core when compared to Intel alternatives. Running CineBench Multi-Thread in a loop results in very steady scores throughout with no statistically significant performance dips.

See our dedicated page on the A9-9420 APU for more technical information and benchmark comparisons on the processor.

CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R15
CineBench R15
0102030405060708090100110120130140150Tooltip
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Apple MacBook 12 2017
Intel Core m3-7Y32
120 Points +41%
HP Pavilion 14t-ab000 K9E07AV
Intel Core i3-5010U
87 Points +2%
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel Core i3-7100U
86 Points +1%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A9-9420
85 Points
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD PRO A12-9800B
77 Points -9%
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD A9-9420
75 Points -12%
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
AMD A10-9620P
72 Points -15%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A12-9720P
69 Points -19%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
Intel Core i3-4010U
65 Points -24%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Apple MacBook 12 2017
Intel Core m3-7Y32
265 Points +92%
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel Core i3-7100U
256 Points +86%
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
AMD A10-9620P
230 Points +67%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD PRO A12-9800B
229 Points +66%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A12-9720P
229 Points +66%
HP Pavilion 14t-ab000 K9E07AV
Intel Core i3-5010U
219 Points +59%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
Intel Core i3-4010U
163 Points +18%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A9-9420
138 Points
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD A9-9420
124 Points -10%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel Core i3-7100U
1.03 Points +3%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A9-9420
1 Points
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD A9-9420
0.96 Points -4%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A12-9720P
0.94 Points -6%
HP Pavilion 14t-ab000 K9E07AV
Intel Core i3-5010U
0.92 Points -8%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD PRO A12-9800B
0.86 Points -14%
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
AMD A10-9620P
0.81 Points -19%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
Intel Core i3-4010U
0.69 Points -31%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel Core i3-7100U
2.85 Points +73%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A12-9720P
2.7 Points +64%
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
AMD A10-9620P
2.66 Points +61%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD PRO A12-9800B
2.47 Points +50%
HP Pavilion 14t-ab000 K9E07AV
Intel Core i3-5010U
2.4 Points +45%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
Intel Core i3-4010U
1.76 Points +7%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A9-9420
1.65 Points
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD A9-9420
1.56 Points -5%
Cinebench R10
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel Core i3-7100U
8718 Points +80%
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
AMD A10-9620P
7420 Points +53%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A12-9720P
7200 Points +49%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD PRO A12-9800B
6854 Points +42%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
Intel Core i3-4010U
5194 Points +7%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A9-9420
4841 Points
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD A9-9420
4627 Points -4%
Rendering Single 32Bit
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel Core i3-7100U
3871 Points +30%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A9-9420
2969 Points
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD A9-9420
2761 Points -7%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A12-9720P
2640 Points -11%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD PRO A12-9800B
2621 Points -12%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
Intel Core i3-4010U
2345 Points -21%
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
AMD A10-9620P
2277 Points -23%
wPrime 2.10 - 1024m
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD A9-9420
747 s * -11%
HP Pavilion 14t-ab000 K9E07AV
Intel Core i3-5010U
730 s * -8%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A9-9420
673 s *
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel Core i3-7100U
645 s * +4%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD PRO A12-9800B
475.7 s * +29%
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
AMD A10-9620P
470.9 s * +30%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD A12-9720P
415.5 s * +38%

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
5166
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
4841
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
2969
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
1.65 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
25.48 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
85 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
98 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
32.06 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
138 Points
Help

System Performance

PCmark benchmarks rank our Pavilion within single-digit percentages from the budget Intel-Powered Satellite Pro R50-C. In practice, however, the HP is extremely slow. Launching applications will take seconds longer than usual and overall system responsiveness is even worse than on other notebooks with primary HDDs. Despite the molasses-like chug, we never experienced any actual crashes.

PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 10 Standard
PCMark 10 Standard
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
HP Pavilion Power 15t-cb2000
Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), i7-7700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
4499 Points +55%
Toshiba Satellite Pro R50-C-16V
HD Graphics 520, 6006U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
2937 Points +1%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
2897 Points
Asus X555DA-BB11
Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
2335 Points -19%
Work Score Accelerated v2
HP Pavilion Power 15t-cb2000
Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), i7-7700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
4627 Points +16%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
3976 Points
Toshiba Satellite Pro R50-C-16V
HD Graphics 520, 6006U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
3707 Points -7%
Asus X555DA-BB11
Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
3246 Points -18%
Creative Score Accelerated v2
HP Pavilion Power 15t-cb2000
Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), i7-7700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
5151 Points +62%
Toshiba Satellite Pro R50-C-16V
HD Graphics 520, 6006U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
3234 Points +2%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
3174 Points
Asus X555DA-BB11
Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
2856 Points -10%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
2897 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
3174 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
3976 points
PCMark 10 Score
2046 points
Help

Storage Devices

The same 1 TB Avolusion SHDD as found on some of our previous AMD-powered Pavilion units is back. Average transfer rate from the 5400 drive is slow at just 82 MB/s according to HD Tune compared to over 100 MB/s from many 7200 RPM options. We recommend investing in a lower capacity primary SSD especially if the large 1 TB storage space will not be necessary for everyday use.

See our table of SSDs and HDDs for more benchmarks and comparisons.

July 26, 2017 update: We can confirm that the Avolusion SHDD was installed by the reseller CUKUSA and is not the original drive as shipped by HP. Users who purchase the Pavilion 17z directly from HP.com will not receive the same drive as we have on our tested unit.

CDM 5
CDM 5
HD Tune
HD Tune
PCMark 8 Storage
PCMark 8 Storage
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
Asus X555DA-BB11
Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
Toshiba Satellite Pro R50-C-16V
TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
Lenovo V510-15IKB 80WQ0002GE
Samsung CM871a MZNTY256HDHP
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
-2%
-15%
13527%
2%
Read Seq
90
106.9
19%
96.5
7%
532
491%
90
0%
Write Seq
93.4
97.5
4%
77.9
-17%
511
447%
90.3
-3%
Read 512
28.71
32.28
12%
20.82
-27%
414.8
1345%
28.47
-1%
Write 512
44.35
35.39
-20%
19.83
-55%
307.7
594%
47.07
6%
Read 4k
0.316
0.373
18%
0.342
8%
39.51
12403%
0.31
-2%
Write 4k
0.813
0.636
-22%
0.836
3%
108.1
13196%
0.3997
-51%
Read 4k QD32
0.711
0.694
-2%
0.595
-16%
361.6
50758%
1.021
44%
Write 4k QD32
0.87
0.682
-22%
0.706
-19%
253
28980%
1.076
24%
Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
Sequential Read: 90 MB/s
Sequential Write: 93.4 MB/s
512K Read: 28.71 MB/s
512K Write: 44.35 MB/s
4K Read: 0.316 MB/s
4K Write: 0.813 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 0.711 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 0.87 MB/s

GPU Performance

The raw graphics power of the discrete Radeon 530 is in line with the GeForce 940MX and Iris Graphics 640 in the latest Surface Pro 2017 according to 3DMark 11. 3DMark Cloud Gate and Fire Strike, however, are more physics-heavy benchmarks that rank the Radeon 530 much lower alongside the GeForce 920M and HD Graphics 620. The discrepancy can be attributed to the very poor CPU performance from the A9-9420 as the GPU can only be as fast as its weakest link. Note that the Pavilion 17z with the A12-9720P processor and slower Radeon R7 M340 GPU can outperform our A9-9420 configuration by about 50 to 60 percent due to a combination of Dual Graphics and faster multi-core performance.

3DMark 11
3DMark 11
Ice Storm
Ice Storm
Ice Storm Unlimited
Ice Storm Unlimited
Ice Storm Extended
Ice Storm Extended
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Fire Strike
Fire Strike
3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P
3597 Points +55%
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2016 (2.9 GHz)
Intel Iris Graphics 550, 6267U
2696 Points +16%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) i7
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, i7-7660U
2493 Points +7%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD Radeon 530, A9-9420
2327 Points
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U
2230 Points -4%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), PRO A12-9800B
2210 Points -5%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), PRO A12-9800B
1829 Points -21%
HP Envy x360 15t-w200
NVIDIA GeForce 930MX, i7-7500U
2160 Points -7%
Asus X302UV-FN016T
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX, 6200U
1747 Points -25%
Microsoft Surface Laptop i5
Intel HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U
1467 Points -37%
Asus X555DA-BB11
AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P
1288 Points -45%
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge), A9-9420
1096 Points -53%
1280x720 Performance Combined
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2016 (2.9 GHz)
Intel Iris Graphics 550, 6267U
2597 Points +68%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) i7
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, i7-7660U
2184 Points +41%
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U
1770 Points +14%
HP Envy x360 15t-w200
NVIDIA GeForce 930MX, i7-7500U
1750 Points +13%
Asus X302UV-FN016T
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX, 6200U
1572 Points +1%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD Radeon 530, A9-9420
1549 Points
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), PRO A12-9800B
1454 Points -6%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), PRO A12-9800B
1060 Points -32%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P
1337 Points -14%
Microsoft Surface Laptop i5
Intel HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U
1215 Points -22%
Asus X555DA-BB11
AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P
861 Points -44%
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge), A9-9420
790 Points -49%
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2016 (2.9 GHz)
Intel Iris Graphics 550, 6267U
13172 Points +107%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) i7
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, i7-7660U
11264 Points +77%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P
10116 Points +59%
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U
8385 Points +31%
HP Envy x360 15t-w200
NVIDIA GeForce 930MX, i7-7500U
8187 Points +28%
Asus X302UV-FN016T
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX, 6200U
7733 Points +21%
Microsoft Surface Laptop i5
Intel HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U
6539 Points +3%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD Radeon 530, A9-9420
6377 Points
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel HD Graphics 620, i3-7100U
5854 Points -8%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), PRO A12-9800B
5311 Points -17%
Asus X555DA-BB11
AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P
4033 Points -37%
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge), A9-9420
3661 Points -43%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P
1926 Points +57%
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2016 (2.9 GHz)
Intel Iris Graphics 550, 6267U
1657 Points +35%
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U
1593 Points +30%
HP Envy x360 15t-w200
NVIDIA GeForce 930MX, i7-7500U
1502 Points +23%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), PRO A12-9800B
1466 Points +20%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), PRO A12-9800B
1013 Points -17%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) i7
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, i7-7660U
1418 Points +16%
Asus X302UV-FN016T
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX, 6200U
1282 Points +5%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD Radeon 530, A9-9420
1224 Points
Microsoft Surface Laptop i5
Intel HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U
789 Points -36%
Asus X555DA-BB11
AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P
764 Points -38%
HP 15-bw077ax
AMD Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge), A9-9420
642 Points -48%
1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics
Asus X302UV-FN016T
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX, 6200U
49876 Points +7%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD Radeon 530, A9-9420
46594 Points
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U
42314 Points -9%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
AMD Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P
41700 Points -11%
Microsoft Surface Laptop i5
Intel HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U
33260 Points -29%
HP EliteBook 725 G4
AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), PRO A12-9800B
32389 Points -30%
Lenovo Thinkpad 13-20J1001BUS
Intel HD Graphics 620, i3-7100U
28425 Points -39%
Asus X555DA-BB11
AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P
26331 Points -43%
3DMark 11 Performance
2121 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
40215 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
3749 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
1062 points
Help

Gaming Performance

Real-world performance on certain titles is in line with the Radeon R7 M340 and Iris Graphics 540 as found on the MacBook Pro 13 2016 despite what the synthetic 3DMark benchmarks show above. Other titles like Doom and Overwatch, however, show the Radeon 530 to be behind by as much as 80 percent against the MacBook even when on the lowest settings possible. Actual performance is a mixed bag and appears to be highly dependent on the title in question.

See our dedicated page on the Radeon 530 for more technical information and benchmark comparisons.

Rise of the Tomb Raider - 1024x768 Lowest Preset
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
GeForce GTX 950M, i5-7200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
45.2 fps +73%
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
37.4 fps +43%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
28.2 fps +8%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
26.1 fps
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2016
Iris Graphics 540, 6360U, Apple SSD AP0256
24.9 (23min - 27max) fps -5%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) i7
Iris Plus Graphics 640, i7-7660U, Samsung PM971 KUS040202M
23.5 (21min - 26max) fps -10%
Asus X302UV-FN016T
GeForce 920MX, 6200U, Hynix HFS128G3MND
23.2 fps -11%
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
Radeon R5 (Carrizo), A10-9620P, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
19 fps -27%
HP 15-bw075ax
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
18 fps -31%
Lenovo Yoga 510-14AST
Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge), A9-9410
16.1 fps -38%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) i5
HD Graphics 620, i5-7300U, Samsung PM971 KUS030202M
14.7 fps -44%
BioShock Infinite
1280x720 Very Low Preset
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
GeForce GTX 950M, i5-7200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
126.8 fps +106%
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
89.8 fps +46%
Asus X302UV-FN016T
GeForce 920MX, 6200U, Hynix HFS128G3MND
77.4 fps +25%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
74.5 fps +21%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
61.7 fps
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
Radeon R5 (Carrizo), A10-9620P, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
45.9 fps -26%
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2015-03
Iris Graphics 6100, 5257U, Apple SSD SM0128G
44.5 fps -28%
Lenovo Yoga 510-14AST
Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge), A9-9410
43.5 fps -29%
HP 15-bw075ax
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
43 fps -30%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) i5
HD Graphics 620, i5-7300U, Samsung PM971 KUS030202M
42.9 fps -30%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 2
HD Graphics 615, i5-7Y54, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
42 fps -32%
1366x768 Medium Preset
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
GeForce GTX 950M, i5-7200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
96.8 fps +132%
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
48.7 fps +17%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
43.5 fps +4%
Asus X302UV-FN016T
GeForce 920MX, 6200U, Hynix HFS128G3MND
43.1 fps +3%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
41.7 fps
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) i5
HD Graphics 620, i5-7300U, Samsung PM971 KUS030202M
32.15 fps -23%
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
Radeon R5 (Carrizo), A10-9620P, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
28.7 fps -31%
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2015-03
Iris Graphics 6100, 5257U, Apple SSD SM0128G
28.6 fps -31%
Lenovo Yoga 510-14AST
Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge), A9-9410
26.9 fps -35%
HP 15-bw075ax
Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge), A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
26 fps -38%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 2
HD Graphics 615, i5-7Y54, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
21 fps -50%
1366x768 High Preset
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
GeForce GTX 950M, i5-7200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
86.7 fps +157%
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2016
Iris Graphics 540, 6360U, Apple SSD AP0256
40.3 fps +19%
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
39.3 fps +16%
Asus X302UV-FN016T
GeForce 920MX, 6200U, Hynix HFS128G3MND
35.7 fps +6%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
34.1 fps +1%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
33.8 fps
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) i5
HD Graphics 620, i5-7300U, Samsung PM971 KUS030202M
28.3 fps -16%
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2015-03
Iris Graphics 6100, 5257U, Apple SSD SM0128G
23.3 fps -31%
Lenovo Yoga 510-14AST
Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge), A9-9410
22.2 fps -34%
HP Pavilion 15z-bw000
Radeon R5 (Carrizo), A10-9620P, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
21.8 fps -36%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 2
HD Graphics 615, i5-7Y54, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
19 fps -44%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF)
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
GeForce GTX 950M, i5-7200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
35 fps +194%
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
13.5 fps +13%
Asus X302UV-FN016T
GeForce 920MX, 6200U, Hynix HFS128G3MND
12.1 fps +2%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
11.9 fps
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
11.8 fps -1%
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2016
Iris Graphics 540, 6360U, Apple SSD AP0256
11.6 fps -3%
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2015-03
Iris Graphics 6100, 5257U, Apple SSD SM0128G
7.7 fps -35%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 2
HD Graphics 615, i5-7Y54, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
6 fps -50%
Doom - 1280x720 Low Preset
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2016
Iris Graphics 540, 6360U, Apple SSD AP0256
31.5 (25min - 39max) fps +88%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
20.2 fps +20%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
16.8 fps
Overwatch - 1280x720 Low (Render Scale 100 %) AA:FX AF:1x
Acer Aspire E5-575G-549D
GeForce GTX 950M, i5-7200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
152.7 fps +327%
Apple MacBook Pro 13 2016
Iris Graphics 540, 6360U, Apple SSD AP0256
68 (52min - 82max) fps +90%
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5N-X01US
GeForce 940MX, i7-7500U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
65.2 fps +82%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) i7
Iris Plus Graphics 640, i7-7660U, Samsung PM971 KUS040202M
63.3 (46min - 81max) fps +77%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
54.8 fps +53%
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
35.8 fps
low med. high ultra
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013) 71.5 43.4 35.2 21.9
BioShock Infinite (2013) 61.7 41.7 33.8 11.9
The Witcher 3 (2015) 24
Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) 13
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 26.1 14.7
Doom (2016) 16.8
Overwatch (2016) 35.8 30.4

Stress Test

The A9-9420 APU never falls below its base 2.9 to 3.0 GHz clock rate when under extreme Prime95 stress. While great, we're still disappointed to see no sustainable Burst clock rates at all especially when considering that core temperature flattens at a relatively cool 51 C. Running both Prime95 and FurMark simultaneously will bump APU and GPU temperatures close to the 70 C mark each with steady clock rates and no hints of throttling. This temperature range is typical of Intel ULV U-class processors under stress as well, so it's a relief to see the AMD APU run similarly.

CPU behavior changes when under Witcher 3 stress. The CPU can cycle anywhere between 2.1 GHz and 3.6 GHz with fluctuating temperature ranging from 53 C up to 83 C, which is strangely significantly warmer than if running Prime95 alone. Fortunately, both GPU clock rate and fan noise remain constant while the unsteady CPU performance appears to have no effect on frame rates over time.

Running on batteries will not throttle CPU or GPU power. A 3DMark 11 run on batteries returns Physics and Graphics scores of 1723 and 2338 points, respectively, compared to 1776 and 2327 points when on mains.

Prime95 stress
Prime95 stress
FurMark stress
FurMark stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
Witcher 3 stress
Witcher 3 stress
01234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Tooltip
The Witcher 3 low
CPU Clock (GHz) GPU Clock (MHz) Average CPU Temperature (°C) Average GPU Temperature (°C)
Prime95 Stress 3.0 - 3.1 -- 51 --
FurMark Stress -- 1021 -- 57
Prime95 + FurMark Stress 2.9 - 3.0 1021 71 67
Witcher 3 Stress 2.1 - 3.6 1021 53 - 83 65 - 69

Emissions

System Noise

Fan noise is essentially identical to our previous Pavilion 17z with the A12-9720P. Users can expect the fans to always be active at a relatively quiet 30.5 dB(A) when browsing or streaming content. Medium loads as represented by 3DMark06 will bump the fans to a steady 41.6 dB(A) while even higher loads with Prime95 and FurMark will drive the fans up to the maximum of 48 dB(A). It's also worth noting that running Witcher 3 will already cause the fans to operate at maximum. Fan noise under medium load is louder than on the Acer Aspire E5 with Iris 550 graphics despite the AMD solution being slower in both CPU and graphics performance. 

We can otherwise notice no electronic noise from our test unit.

Pavilion 17z (White: Background, Red: System idle, Blue: 3DMark06, Orange: Witcher 3, Green: Prime95+FurMark)
Pavilion 17z (White: Background, Red: System idle, Blue: 3DMark06, Orange: Witcher 3, Green: Prime95+FurMark)
Pavilion 17z A12-9720P
Pavilion 17z A12-9720P
Spectre x360 15 2017
Spectre x360 15 2017

Noise Level

Idle
30.5 / 30.6 / 30.6 dB(A)
Load
41.6 / 48 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   BK Precision 732A (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 28 dB(A)
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon 530, A9-9420, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
Radeon R7 M340, A12-9720P, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-60JC3T1
Asus X555DA-BB11
Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
Toshiba Satellite Pro R50-C-16V
HD Graphics 520, 6006U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
Lenovo V510-15IKB 80WQ0002GE
HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U, Samsung CM871a MZNTY256HDHP
Acer Aspire E5-574-53YZ
Iris Graphics 550, 6267U, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
Noise
2%
5%
6%
6%
2%
off / environment *
28
28
-0%
28.9
-3%
30.4
-9%
30.2
-8%
28.8
-3%
Idle Minimum *
30.5
30.4
-0%
31.6
-4%
31.8
-4%
30.2
1%
31
-2%
Idle Average *
30.6
30.5
-0%
32
-5%
31.8
-4%
30.2
1%
31
-1%
Idle Maximum *
30.6
30.5
-0%
32.4
-6%
31.8
-4%
32
-5%
31
-1%
Load Average *
41.6
41.5
-0%
33.3
20%
31.9
23%
34.7
17%
39.1
6%
Witcher 3 ultra *
48
41.8
13%
Load Maximum *
48
48.2
-0%
35.5
26%
31.8
34%
33.9
29%
41
15%

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

Surface temperatures are flat on both sides when idling except for the warmer right palm rest due to the storage drive directly underneath. Extreme stress with Prime95 and FurMark will warm the left side of the notebook much more than the right - again because of how the processors and hollow optical drive are positioned. The main QWERTY keys can become relatively warm at the upper 30 C range, but we never find them to be uncomfortable for typing or gaming. Nonetheless, the Intel Core i3 version of this same Pavilion 17z chassis will run much cooler in the low to mid 30 C range at most.

Maximum load (top). Cool air is drawn through the top left corner of the keyboard
Maximum load (top). Cool air is drawn through the top left corner of the keyboard
Maximum load (bottom)
Maximum load (bottom)
Max. Load
 37.6 °C
100 F
40.4 °C
105 F
24.6 °C
76 F
 
 35.2 °C
95 F
36.2 °C
97 F
24.8 °C
77 F
 
 26.8 °C
80 F
30.8 °C
87 F
26.4 °C
80 F
 
Maximum: 40.4 °C = 105 F
Average: 31.4 °C = 89 F
25.2 °C
77 F
28.8 °C
84 F
43.6 °C
110 F
26 °C
79 F
32.2 °C
90 F
45 °C
113 F
29.2 °C
85 F
31.69 °C
89 F
26.8 °C
80 F
Maximum: 45 °C = 113 F
Average: 32.1 °C = 90 F
Power Supply (max.)  49.4 °C = 121 F | Room Temperature 21 °C = 70 F | Fluke 62 Mini IR Thermometer
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 31.4 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 31.2 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 40.4 °C / 105 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 45 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.3 °C / 78 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 30.8 °C / 87.4 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-2 °C / -3.6 F).

Speakers

Sound quality is good considering the low price of the system. Louder volume settings do not favor higher frequencies or cause static or chassis reverberations. Maximum volume could be a little stronger and our pink measurements below show bass reproduction to be slightly worse than the pricier Spectre x360 15.

Pavilion 17z A9-9420
Pavilion 17z A9-9420
Pavilion 17z A12-9720P
Pavilion 17z A12-9720P
Spectre x360 15 2017
Spectre x360 15 2017
dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2038.238.92533.833.63133.331.34032.433.5503131.76331.429.98030.630.810030.229.112529.228.416027.230.620027.242.125026.35431525.155.240025.248.850024.647.663023.955.880024.757.8100023.753.9125023.656.1160023.454.4200022.554.6250022.558.431502255.2400022.246.9500022.253.5630021.961.5800021.861.31000021.858.51250021.752.41600021.858.4SPL35.168.8N2.424.5median 23.6median 54.4Delta25.135.335.132.931.831.83236.535.132.428.93328.936.328.848.32761.52752.924.860.92462.822.763.32269.521.267.82174.82075.919.472.718.97117.770.117.86917.671.817.668.117.671.417.673.717.670.417.571.617.671.617.669.617.459.717.583.630.662.51.5median 69.6median 17.84.72.4hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AVApple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV audio analysis

(-) | not very loud speakers (61.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 14.7% lower than median
(-) | bass is not linear (15.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.5% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (10.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.5% away from median
(-) | highs are not linear (15.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (24.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 85% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 9% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 71% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 23% 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 Comparison (Checkbox selectable!)
Graph 1: Pink Noise 100% Vol.; Graph 2: Audio off

Energy Management

Power Consumption

AMD notebooks are generally less efficient than the latest Intel offerings due to the larger 28 nm fabrication process and more demanding GPU. Idling on desktop will draw anywhere from 8 W to 24 W depending on the Windows Power settings and brightness level compared to <10 W on the Intel-powered Toshiba Satellite Pro and Lenovo V510. Medium loads as represented by 3DMark06 will demand 50 W to be almost twice as much as the aforementioned Lenovo under similar loads. Of course, a lot of that extra energy is going towards powering the Radeon 530 GPU. Even so, our HP is still less efficient than the more powerful Aspire F5-771G with GTX 950M graphics.

Maximum load with both Prime95 and FurMark will draw as much as 63 W from the small AC adapter (11.0 x 4.5 x 3.0 cm) rated for up to 65 W. A higher capacity adapter would have been better suited to reduce the chances of reaching any power delivery issues. A 10 to 20 percent overhead is more common amongst most other notebooks.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.18 / 0.44 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 8.4 / 11.7 / 24.1 Watt
Load midlight 50.4 / 62.8 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.
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
A9-9420, Radeon 530, Avolusion MD1TBLSSHD, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30
HP 17-x066ng
6006U, HD Graphics 520, WDC WD10JPVX-08JC3T5, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30
Asus X555DA-BB11
A10-8700P, Radeon R6 (Carrizo), Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB, TN LED, 1920x1080, 15.60
Lenovo V510-15IKB 80WQ0002GE
i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620, Samsung CM871a MZNTY256HDHP, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Acer Aspire F5-771G-50RD
i5-7200U, GeForce GTX 950M, Toshiba MQ01ABD100, TN, 1920x1080, 17.30
Power Consumption
39%
28%
43%
14%
Idle Minimum *
8.4
5.5
35%
8.3
1%
4
52%
6.9
18%
Idle Average *
11.7
9.9
15%
8.6
26%
9.6
18%
13.6
-16%
Idle Maximum *
24.1
14.6
39%
13.1
46%
9.7
60%
14.8
39%
Load Average *
50.4
28
44%
31.2
38%
27.7
45%
41
19%
Witcher 3 ultra *
58
33
43%
Load Maximum *
62.8
24.6
61%
43.9
30%
38.4
39%
75
-19%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

Runtimes from the small 31 Wh battery are mediocre at just 4.5 hours during real-world WLAN use compared to about 6 hours on the Toshiba Satellite Pro with the ULV Core i3-6006U. The removable battery makes it easier to swap and replace as needed. 

Charging from near empty to full capacity will take just 1.5 hours with the included AC adapter.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
7h 46min
WiFi Websurfing
4h 35min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 28min
HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV
A9-9420, Radeon 530, 41.6 Wh
HP Pavilion Power 15t-cb2000
i7-7700HQ, Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), 70 Wh
Asus X555DA-BB11
A10-8700P, Radeon R6 (Carrizo), 37 Wh
Toshiba Satellite Pro R50-C-16V
6006U, HD Graphics 520, 44 Wh
Lenovo V510-15IKB 80WQ0002GE
i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620, 32 Wh
HP Omen 15-ax213ng
i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, 63.3 Wh
Battery Runtime
30%
-20%
29%
-18%
43%
Reader / Idle
466
629
35%
435
-7%
765
64%
WiFi v1.3
275
341
24%
176
-36%
356
29%
225
-18%
428
56%
Load
88
116
32%
72
-18%
97
10%

Pros

+ full performance on battery power
+ removable battery
+ no CPU throttling
+ wide color gamut
+ decent speakers
+ optical drive
+ low price

Cons

- slow primary HDD; very slow system performance
- below average battery life; small battery capacity
- not as power efficient as latest Intel offerings
- inconsistent performance in games
- loud fan noise under load
- weak CPU performance

Verdict

In review: HP Pavilion 17z ak000. Test model provided by CUKUSA.com
In review: HP Pavilion 17z ak000. Test model provided by CUKUSA.com

The AMD-powered Pavilion notebooks have all been a test of patience. Not only is performance slow, but applications take far too long to launch each and every time. No one wants to wait 6+ seconds to launch a Word document only to wait another 6+ seconds to open File Explorer and even longer for Microsoft Edge and iTunes. This aspect alone is enough for us to not recommend any AMD Pavilion equipped with standard HDDs regardless of chassis quality or display characteristics.

With that out of the way, the Stoney Ridge A9 APU and Radeon 530 GPU are an imbalanced pair. Like our previous A12-9720P Pavilion 17z SKU, the graphics capabilities of our A9 configuration are held back by the slow processing power of the SoC. Frames rates can be as high as 80 percent over the HD Graphics 620 or as low as 20 percent depending on the game at the severe costs of higher power consumption, shorter battery life, and significantly louder fan noise under load. A GPU that can be as power hungry as the GeForce GTX 950M but with the performance level of an older Intel Iris or HD Graphics series is a headscratcher on its own.

The Pavilion 17z chassis is the standard budget fare with a couple of surprises. The internal speakers are decent and the display backlight is bright for its class with a wider-than-expected color gamut. Other than these few upsides, we're hoping that future hardware revisions will address the grainy matte panel, moderate backlight bleeding, and difficult servicing especially for those who want to invest in SSDs down the line.

The AMD-powered Pavilion can't seem to decide if it wants to be a cheap low-end gaming notebook or a very affordable office workhorse. In either case, it falls flat on both fronts.

HP Pavilion 17z 1EX13AV - 07/18/2017 v6(old)
Allen Ngo

Chassis
73 / 98 → 75%
Keyboard
80%
Pointing Device
77%
Connectivity
43 / 81 → 53%
Weight
59 / 20-67 → 83%
Battery
79%
Display
84%
Games Performance
59 / 85 → 70%
Application Performance
63 / 92 → 69%
Temperature
92%
Noise
82 / 95 → 87%
Audio
59%
Camera
42 / 85 → 50%
Average
69%
76%
Multimedia - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > HP Pavilion 17z-ak000 (A9-9420, Radeon 530) Laptop Review
Allen Ngo, 2017-07-19 (Update: 2017-07-26)