HP i7 Notebook

HP Pavilion 15 (i7-6700HQ, GTX 950M) Notebook Review

Sascha Mölck (translated by Martina Osztovits), 12/22/2015

Geforce Notebook Skylake Windows

A balanced bundle. With the Pavilion 15-ak003ng, HP offers a well-equipped multimedia notebook in 15.6-inch format. Among other things, there is a quad-core processor, an IPS display and an SSD on board. However, it slightly tarnishes the good overall impression that the warranty is only one year.

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The Pavilion 15 is one of those notebooks which we have already reviewed multiple times; Intel as well as AMD variants. While the Intel models always featured ULV processors so far, HP uses a standard-volt quad-core mobile processor of the Skylake generation in our current test model. In addition, it comes with a GeForce GTX 950M graphics card. HP wants to attract users who like gaming. Our review will reveal whether the computer is appealing. Its competitors are notebooks like the Acer Aspire V5-591G, the Asus GL552JX, and the Lenovo Y50-70.

Since the Pavilion uses the same design as its ULV siblings, we will not cover case, connectivity, input device, and speakers here. Information about these is available in our reviews of the Pavilion 15-ab022ng and the Pavilion 15-ab052ng.

Test device courtesy of cyberport.de

HP Pavilion 15-ak003ng

Processor

Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6 GHz (Intel Core i7)

Graphics adapter

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M - 4096 MB, Core: 993-1124 MHz, Memory: 900 MHz, DDR3, 128 bit bus, ForceWare 359.06 (10.18.13.5906), Optimus

Memory

16384 MB  

, DDR3-1600, dual channel, two RAM slots (both used)

Display

15.6 inch 16:9, 1920x1080 pixel, Samsung SDC5544, IPS, Full HD, glossy: no

Mainboard

Intel HM170 (Skylake PCH-H)

Storage

Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP, 128 GB  

, M.2-SSD + Seagate ST2000LM003, 2 TB HDD @ 5400 rpm

Weight

2.38 kg ( = 83.95 oz / 5.25 pounds), Power Supply: 342 g ( = 12.06 oz / 0.75 pounds)

Price

1200 Euro

see all specifications

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Case

HP uses the same case as in the other Pavilion 15 models, yet with different colors. The device is completely black with green highlights. For example, a hexagon pattern is printed on the palm rests, which dissolves towards the keyboard and the keyboard light is green. On top of that, the Pavilion sits on green rubber feet.

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Display

Pixel grid

HP has equipped the Pavilion with a matte 15.6-inch display with a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. While we liked the contrast (941:1), the brightness is quite low (240.8 cd/m²). A device of this price class should deliver a brightness of 300 cd/m². The display never shows PWM flickering.

250 cd/m² 266 cd/m² 250 cd/m² 240 cd/m² 254 cd/m² 237 cd/m² 239 cd/m² 223 cd/m² 208 cd/m²

Distribution of brightness

X-Rite i1Pro 2

Maximum: 266 cd/m² Average: 240.8 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 78 %
Center on Battery: 254 cd/m²
Contrast: 941:1 (Black: 0.27 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.54 | - Ø
ΔE Greyscale 2.29 | - Ø
64% sRGB (Argyll) 41% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll)
Gamma: 2.5

ICC File (X-Rite i1Pro 2)

	HP Pavilion 15-ak003ng Samsung SDC5544	Acer Aspire V5-591G-71K2 ChiMei N156HGE-EAL	HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng BOE	HP Envy 15-ae020ng CMN15C4	Asus GL552JX-CN154H Samsung 156HL01-102	Dell Inspiron 15 7559 LG Philips LGD04D9 / 156UD2 / Dell P/N: 53FC4	Acer Aspire VN7-572G-72L0 LG Display LP156WF6-SPB1	Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70-59441231 Samsung L FLLTN156FL02L01
Screen		-74%	-87%	-104%	-0%	-33%	1%	-19%
Brightness	241	240  0%	215  -11%	226  -6%	317  32%	273  13%	310  29%	253  5%
Brightness Distribution	78	86  10%	83  6%	88  13%	91  17%	85  9%	86  10%	85  9%
Black Level *	0.27	0.48  -78%	0.76  -181%	0.48  -78%	0.31  -15%	0.78  -189%	0.33  -22%	0.44  -63%
Contrast	941	519  -45%	293  -69%	500  -47%	1052  12%	354  -62%	994  6%	600  -36%
Colorchecker DeltaE2000 *	3.54	10.15  -187%	8.5  -140%	12.14  -243%	4.14  -17%	4.05  -14%	4.74  -34%	4.34  -23%
Greyscale DeltaE2000 *	2.29	12.13  -430%	9.35  -308%	12.74  -456%	5.46  -138%	4.68  -104%	3.15  -38%	4.21  -84%
Gamma *	2.5	2.48	2.46	2.49	2.44	2.55	2.51	2.48
CCT	6698 97%	13445 48%	1040262%	15295 42%	7574 86%	6871 95%	6336 103%	6573 99%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)	41	74  80%	42  2%	38  -7%	64  56%	58  41%	54  32%	49  20%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)	64	100  56%	66  3%	59  -8%	97  52%	90  41%	82  28%	77  20%

* ... smaller is better

The display performs well in color representation. The DeltaE 2000 shift is already only 3.54 out-of-the-box and only marginally misses the target value (DeltaE smaller than 3). In addition, the grayscale is very balanced. As a result, the display is not bluish. The values can only slightly be improved by calibration. The display does not cover the AdobeRGB and sRGB color spaces. The coverage is about 41% (AdobeRGB) and 64% (sRGB), respectively.

Pavilion 15 vs. sRGB

Pavilion 15 vs. AdobeRGB

CalMAN - ColorChecker

CalMAN - Grayscale

CalMAN - Color Saturation

CalMAN - ColorChecker (with calibration)

CalMAN - Grayscale (with calibration)

CalMAN - Color Saturation (with calibration)

HP has equipped the 15-incher with a viewing-angle stable IPS panel. Thus, the display remains legible from every position. Moreover, the Pavilion can be used outdoors if the sun does not shine too bright.