HP Pavilion Gaming 15 most budget-friendly option with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card and an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor. 

Here are the specs:

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (11th-gen Intel Core i5 also available)
• Memory: 16GB RAM (8GB, 12GB also available)
• Storage: 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD (512GB, 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD also available)
• Display: IPS 15.6-inch, 1080p resolution, max 144Hz
• Ports: 1x Ethernet, 1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 1, 1x USB-A 3.1 Gen 1, 1x USB-A 2.0, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x 3.5mm headset jack, 1x SD card reader
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 (WiFi 6 AX200 and Bluetooth 5.0 combo also available)
• Battery: 52.5 Whr battery
• Weight: 4.37 pounds
• Dimensions: 14.17 x 10.12 x 0.93 inches
• Warranty: One-year limited hardware warranty

Features

Lots of power for most games and then some

You can not play games like Control, Cyberpunk 2077 or Metro Exodus with the highest graphics settings and still get 60 frames per second (not surprising with a GTX 1650), but games with less graphics resources? yeah.

In our test, the Pavilion 15 outperformed the Ultra graphics settings in Overwatch by an average of 117 frames per second at 1080p, and even managed 55 frames per second with the same settings in Far Cry 5. With Shadow of the Tomb, things got a little more complicated. Raider, Total War: Warhammer II and of course Control over the same or equivalent settings, but something that can not be fixed by converting the graphics settings to Low.

The Ryzen 5 5600H processor helps increase the frame rate in those lower quality games. This processor is not the most powerful 5000 AMD mobile processor, but with six cores, 12 strings and an amplification clock of up to 4.2 GHz, this processor is too capable of doing different things beyond the game.

Given Cinebench’s extremely high score of 9478 multi-core processing, it’s no surprise that the Pavilion 15 gaming laptop performs well in a variety of tasks. Easily handle 4K video encoding, 3D image rendering in blender, and everyday tasks like keeping some tabs open in Google Chrome – anything that relies on multi-core processing power to help you get things done faster. Comes with 16 GB of RAM provided in our review unit, this laptop has a great hardware configuration for non-gaming tasks.

144Hz refresh rate

If you are interested in e-sports, having a refresh rate above 60 Hz is practically a necessity. The 144Hz rate is standard on many higher-end gaming laptops, but it’s harder to find the same new rate on affordable gaming laptops for less than $ 900. Not only does HP’s Pavilion Gaming 15 have a refresh rate of 144 Hz, but the model reviewed here is much less than $ 900 and only $ 699.99. Other similar laptops, such as the more expensive Acer Nitro 5, have a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The booth lets you eat your cake and eat it too.

Related:Everything about 144HZ laptops

Given that this Pavilion can push FPS, MOBA, and other multiplayer games where graphics are not the main concern at 100fps, 144Hz is a must, and HP cleverly puts it in one of the more affordable models. Put yourself. Can you imagine Jungling in League of Legends with anything less? I do not think so. Once you get used to the 144Hz refresh rate, the game is less annoying in anything.

keyboard

Cost-effective laptops usually come with a standard membrane keyboard, which is usually fine, though not ideal if you want your keys to be a little sturdy. Not only does this HP Pavilion have a mechanical keyboard that gives you a satisfying kick, but the keys also have low specs to boot. The keyboard is unusually high for a low-cost laptop, but we have no complaints. Not at all.

The key is to travel on the shallow side, but not enough to be a real negative. The spacing of the keys is the same for a full-size keyboard, and any hand size must be compatible with fast typing.

Performance

For everyday use, it is safe to put Pavilion Gaming 15 on your lap. It heats up a bit, but nothing is so hot that you need to turn your skin under cold water. The usual benchmark of our Internet browser in Google Chrome only lowered the plastic chassis to 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and a quick gaming stress test raised it to 48 degrees Celsius (118.4 degrees Fahrenheit). The area around the keyboard stays cool at 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit). All of these are relatively impressive advantages for gaming machines.

Inside, components often remain at a safe temperature, especially the processor. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H reached a maximum temperature of 83 degrees Celsius for more than an hour after running the benchmarks and playing in the ultra mode – but its average temperature was 68 degrees Celsius. The lower the average temperature, the better the CPU life and the more confident you can use the laptop.

Battery life

While the HP Pavilion Gaming 15 laptop is good enough for someone like a student to use for both lectures and leisure, gaming on the go can be annoying due to disappointing battery life. Three hours is the equivalent of most other gaming laptops for this period, and the Pavilion Gaming 15 actually lasts 40 minutes longer than the Acer Predator Triton 300 we recently reviewed in normal settings.

As usual, we measured the Pavilion battery life by adjusting the screen brightness to 200 nits. Then we turned off the screen dimming and battery saving feature, and then did simple things like browse the Internet and watch YouTube videos. Then we did the same battery test for the second time with a battery saving feature of 10%, which increased the total battery life to nearly seven hours. HP promotes up to 10 hours of battery life with Pavilion Gaming, and you can get much closer to it as long as the battery life is set to at least 10%. Of course, if you want to play with the battery, expect the battery to drain much faster, even when the battery optimizer is on. Performance is also likely to be affected

Large margins

When lowering prices to keep prices down, gaming laptop makers almost guarantee that they will leave wider margins. Shrinking the screen and finding a small webcam is not cheap enough to fit in that space at the top of the screen, so aesthetics often remain on the list of priorities to keep prices down.

Read more: HP Pavilion 15 Review

If you’re someone who prioritizes price and reliability, narrow margins are probably the next thought. (Or if you are a parent who buys a gaming laptop for your child for graduation that will not hurt you. You get the same thing, kid!) But the big margins do not look great. They are one of the last relics of the past of gaming laptops, and we hope that laptop makers will one day be completely removed from the extra round of gaming laptops.

Storage

Pavillion 256GB of storage is fun for almost any gaming laptop these days, even laptops that cost less than $ 1,000. This should not be a concern for those who play less graphic games, as they usually do not take up much storage space. (Overwatch 30 GB, Fortnite 26 GB.) However, this laptop can fully play games like Battlefield 5 and Control, which each take up more than 40 GB of space. Install a few more games and your SSD will fill up in no time.

You can configure this laptop with a 512GB or 1TB drive, but that adds to the cost: an extra $ 70 for 512GB and an extra $ 140 for 1TB. Considering the cost of SSD storage on the shelf, honestly not bad. But instead of paying $ 699.99 for the Pavilion 15, as configured here, it brings the cost closer to $ 1,000, especially after shipping, taxes, and all the extra fun stuff that goes into your entire bill. Appears when paying.