HP Pavilion 14
Windows of opportunity
Affordable laptops rarely surprise us. The best you can usually expect is a serviceable computer that makes a few compromises. True to form, this 14in laptop from HP isn’t bad for the price, and you’ll probably be happy to live with the corners it cuts.
Runs Windows tasks well and has all the ports you need
Our review laptop was equipped with an Intel Core i5 1135G7 processor, but cheaper i3 and pricier i7 models are also available. This was accompanied by 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. It performed reasonably well in our Windows benchmark tests compared with laptops at a similar price with the same processor. It even kept up with slightly pricier models, but couldn’t match the performance of our current favourite laptop, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 (see page 30). For basic productivity, though, the Pavilion 14 has plenty of potential.
It uses Intel’s built-in Iris Xe graphics, so don’t expect to run the latest games at top performance. However, it maintains reasonable frame rates if you drop the resolution to 720p and scale back some of the 3D detail settings. In our videoplayback test, the battery lasted a few seconds short of eight hours, which is a good performance for the price.
The Pavilion’s 14in Full HD IPS display is average, but not much worse than we’ve seen on other affordable laptops. It mustered only 55 per cent of the colours in the SRGB colour standard, leaving everything looking a little drab. We were pleased to find that it’s also a touchscreen, which is rare at this price, and its anti-reflective matte finish ensures the on-screen image is easy to see even under bright lights.
The laptop measures 17x325x216mm (HXWXD) and weighs 1.4kg. That’s reasonably small and light for a 14in budget laptop. The keyboard is spacious and sensibly organised, too, although for some reason HP has placed the power button between the print-screen and delete key. There’s also a fingerprint scanner for quick logging in, which is located below the cursor keys where it’s nicely out of the way. The keyboard has a bit of flex but nothing to worry about, and the 115x73mm trackpad is faultless.
Connectivity is also good, with two USB 3.0 ports and a USB-C port that also
SPECIFICATIONS
Four-core Intel Core i5-1135g7 processor • 8GB of memory • Intel Iris Xe graphics • 14in 1,920x1,080 pixels IPS touchscreen • 256GB SSD • 720p webcam • Wi-fi 5 • Bluetooth 5 • 1x USB-C port • 2x USB 3.0 ports • Microsd card slot • HDMI port • Windows 10 Home • 17x325x216mm (HXWXD) • 1.4kg • One-year warranty www.snipca.com/39305 supports Displayport video and power (or you can use the Dc-in socket and supplied charging cable). There’s an HDMI port, a microsd card slot and a 3.5mm audio jack, too. However, it supports only Wi-fi 5, not Wi-fi 6.
As a general-purpose laptop, the HP Pavilion 14 takes some beating at this price. It looks and feels as if it should cost more, and has some features we wouldn’t expect, such as its touchscreen. The screen’s quality could be better, but that’s our only serious complaint and, if you’re using the laptop for Windows work and web browsing, its dull colours won’t be much of a problem.
Having said all that, we’d still recommend the Amd-powered Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 ( www.snipca.com/38429), which at the time of writing was available for £629 and is even faster when running Windows.