HP Pavilion Gaming 15

amazon HP Pavilion Gaming 15 reviews

Configuration

Processor: Intel Core i7-9750H (6 cores 12 threads), clock speed: 2.6 – 4.5GHz, 12MB cache

Ram: 8GB (DDR4 – 2666 MHz), maximum upgradeable: 32GB

Discrete Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 (4GB – GDDR5)

HDD: 1TB SATA 3 read speed 7200 rpm (can upgrade more capacity / and add SSD drive)

The above configuration is quite average among the configurations of this 2019 version, the machine fully meets office tasks, and then gently entertains by listening to music and watching movies.

However, the point I need to note is that the initial default machine only has 1 HDD 1TB, so the boot speed will not be fast, the average is about 40 seconds, sometimes it is nearly 1 minute, and When I get to the login screen, sometimes there is a lag, which is a bit annoying.

Although we can buy an additional SSD to speed up the launch and operation of the machine, I feel a little “reluctant” here! A good business trick, because if you spend more than $45, users will have a similar configuration version, but replace the 1TB HDD with a “good” 512GB NVMe PCIe SSD a lot of!

Going back to the HP Pavilion Gaming 15 (2019) code DK0232TX that I am holding in my hand, here is more detailed information about the machine, some results of evaluating the machine’s performance through benchmark tests, speed drive read/write, CPU and GPU performance, etc.

After the benchmarks, the CPU of the machine gave a high clock rate: on average, over 4.0 GHz. The i7-9750H proved to be powerful and quite redundant for the popular GTX 1650 series, although the overall performance of the Pavilion Gaming 15 2019 version has not increased much compared to the 2018 version, only about 15%, apart The reason may be that the company has “bundled” the CPU’s clock, so that the temperature of the machine does not rise too high, affecting the durability of the internal components.

The next reason is that the GTX 1650 HP GPU only uses the 4GB version, not the higher memory version to ensure the product price, through the graphics card tests, the Pavilion Gaming 15 2019 version 1650 that I evaluated, is suitable for playing the current games in Full HD resolution with High settings or lower.

Compared to other competitors, the GPU on Pavilion Gaming 15 is a bit lost, with about 5% lower performance.

Gaming

As mentioned above, with HP Pavilion Gaming 15 2019, you can completely play most of the current good games at FHD resolution and High graphics level or lower.

With a fairly light esport game like CS: GO, it is not difficult for this machine, I play well and the FPS is achieved at a high level: from 140 – 190 FPS.

Switching to a game that requires quite a bit of configuration is Far Cry 5, this is a shooting game launched in early 2018, then HP Pavilion Gaming 15 gave quite good results, FPS levels fluctuated in the range of 50 – 70FPS with High settings.

Real game test

Full HD resolution, High setting, V-Sync off, Balanced battery, Auto fan.

Highest FPS: 75, lowest: 36, average: 45 – 60

Game Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

Full HD resolution, High setting, V-Sync off, Balanced battery, Auto fan.

Highest FPS: 60, lowest: 28, average: 35 -50

The configuration is pretty good, so when playing games, I don’t put too high requirements on the capabilities of the HP Pavilion Gaming 15 2019, the machine still gives a good experience, with acceptable FPS in heavy games with High, If you want a higher FPS, play the game better, you should reduce the configuration setting to Medium…

But having said that, with the screen having a refresh rate of only 60Hz, while gaming laptops are now almost defaulting to 120Hz or higher, this makes the game experience on the Pavilion somewhat not smooth, lag, and sometimes even tearing.

Temperature and Heatsink

Although know that gaming laptops, when using the machine for heavy tasks, or especially when playing games for a long time, the machine must be hot, one of the points that users are most worried about on the HP Pavilion Gaming 15 2018 is a high temperature of 90 – 95 degrees Celsius (with both CPU and GPU) after about 1-2 hours of gaming use.

Just listening to it, I feel a bit “sorry” about the machine! And perhaps not many of you accept this heat for a long time.

Realizing that, HP has made a big improvement, at least in terms of the temperature of the machine.

In fact, during testing, playing games for about 2 hours in many games, the temperature of Pavilion Gaming 15 2019 always remained stable (about 80-85 degrees Celsius for the CPU, and 70-75 degrees for GPUs).

The positive point is that I almost do not hear the loud noise of the internal fan, and the pulse level is also quite high at 3.1-3.6GHz.

Unfortunately, when through intense stress tests, the HP Pavilion Gaming 15 2019 shows two different faces: the temperature is still cool, not different from when playing games, but the clock level of The CPU dropped quite low, below the baseline in the Aida64 test. In the FurMark test, it is mainly GPU testing, so the CPU is not “squeezed”, and still shows the necessary power.

Keyboard – Touchpad

Another factor that also affects the gaming experience is the keyboard, so Pavilion Gaming 15 2019 is no different from the 2018 version. The keys are arranged at a reasonable distance, comfortable type, and have good feedback.

However, with some games that need to use a multi-key combo, it seems that HP has not done this well, the state of missing keys still occurs, sometimes due to the long keystroke, pressing the key quickly has not finished the journey, so the machine does not work receive keys.

Next, is the Led under the keyboard which is still green, but the color is not as bold as the 2018 version, creating a pale, slightly lifeless feeling, and there is no custom mode other than toggling and increasing and decreasing Brightness.

The touchpad has the same size as its brother, the width is a bit longer than usual, and the feeling of gliding has a grip, a little hiss, and rough hands. Pressing the left and right mouse buttons requires relative force, not as light as other laptop models.

Connector

The number of connection ports remains the same as the old version, we will have 3 USB type A 3.0 ports in which 1 port has a charging function, 1 type C port also supports charging, 1 network port, 1 HDMI 1.4 port, 1 headphone jack with 3.5mm mic. Finally an SD card slot (still no Display Port, and USB type C port no Thunderbolt), just changed the arrangement to be less “stupid” and a little more reasonable.

A minus point is that the screen part is still loose, the plastic lid in my opinion when opened, has been reinforced, reinforced more firmly with the 2018 version. But perhaps that is not enough or has reached such a threshold, that can not be made more sure (for a single-hinge design like the HP Pavilion Gaming 15).

Therefore, although users can completely open the device with one hand, opening the lid at corners that are not right in the middle still creates an uneasy feeling, because the thin screen frame still vibrates, in the long run. There will be significant warping compared to the original. So if you have chosen this product line, you need to pay attention in using this constant, it is still best to open the lid by hand from the center of the screen frame.

In addition, as mentioned in the gaming section, the screen of the machine only has a 60Hz refresh rate. It is a bit difficult to bring a smooth experience in games with fast transitions such as racing, shooting action, etc. The screen of the HP Pavilion Gaming 15 2019 has a size of 15.6 inches, Full HD resolution, using IPS panels not of AUO anymore, but of a Chinese brand, BOE. The quality I compare with the 2018 version is also similar, the screen gives a wide viewing angle, bright images, and colors, but the color “standard” is not high, not suitable for jobs such as graphics 2d, 3d, need to re-colorize.

Ending

Evaluating fairly, it is clear that the HP Pavilion Gaming 15 has had quite a bit of improvement, towards a better user experience: upgraded configuration, increased performance, heat dissipation, and temperature problems better resolved, the most solid finish is the lid and hinge, etc. These are the bright spots that users can consider when thinking about this gaming laptop model.

where can you get a HP Pavilion Gaming 15 online

HP Pavilion Gaming 15 Laptop, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, AMD Ryzen 5 4600H, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 512 GB PCIe NVMe SSD, 15.6″ Full HD, Windows 10 Home, Backlit Keyboard (15-ec1010nr, 2020 Model): Buy it now

HP Pavilion Gaming 15-ec0751ms Laptop AMD Ryzen 5 3550H 2.1 GHz up to 3.7 GHz 8GB DDR4 2400 MHz 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD: Buy it now

HP Pavilion Gaming 15-Inch Laptop, Intel Core i5-9300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, 12GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Windows 10 (15-dk0041nr, Black): Buy it now