For value-buyers trying to get the most out of their investment, the HP Pavilion series has been the go-to solution. For years, this has been the Pavilion’s main selling point, with more expensive features kept for the Spectre and Envy series.
The new Pavilion Laptop 13 follows the same principle, but with some unexpected features that make it seem more like a luxury laptop without costing nearly as much. But does the cost justify the price? In this in-depth examination, we attempt to provide a solution.
Specifications for the HP Pavilion Laptop 13
- Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor
- DDR4-3200 RAM: 16 GB
- 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage
- Display: 13.3″ FHD IPS display with a brightness of 250 nits.
Performance of the HP Pavilion Laptop 13
The HP Pavilion laptop 13 we received for evaluation is equipped with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU with Intel Xe graphics. This SKU includes Intel Xe graphics as standard, and there is no news on an AMD or Nvidia alternative at this time.
In addition, you get 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD. I approached this review with an open mind, keeping my expectations in check on what the laptop can accomplish and how it can aid me with my day-to-day workload.
This section will be divided into two parts: one with comprehensive Synthetic benchmark scores and the other with real-world testing.
For the best results, I ran all of the test tools in Windows’ Best performance mode. The Intel Core i5-1135G7 is a quad-core processor built on a 10nm technology. On paper, it has 8 threads and a maximum Turbo frequency of 4.20GHz.
When we tested the Pavilion Laptop 13’s office-centric benchmark tool, we received a score of 4,704 on PCMark 10. The score is greater than the score of the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition, which is powered by an Intel Core i7-10710U CPU.
The HP Pavilion Laptop 13 scored 1599 on Cinebench R20. It is, in fact, greater than the score achieved by the Dell XPS 13 with its Intel Core I7-1065G7 when we tested it. I received similar results on Cinebench 15 and Cinebench 11.5, where the HP Pavilion Laptop 13 managed to outperform some of the laptops we’d previously evaluated here at Digit.
I ran 3DMark’s Fire Strike benchmark to evaluate the GPU and got a score of 2909, putting it towards the top of the list of standard laptops we’ve tested.
All test runs were performed successfully, with no software or hardware difficulties. That’s usually a good indication, because certain Windows laptops have a tendency to crash during these benchmark tests.
When it came to real-world tests, the laptop held its own without ever giving up on me. It handled the renowned Chrome browser with roughly 25-30 tabs distributed over numerous windows with ease. It was simple to switch between them, and it sat quietly in the background while I worked on something more resource-intensive, such as Photoshop.
I also tested the Intel Xe GPU on this laptop to see whether it can keep up with your gaming demands. AAA titles such as GTA V and The Witcher 3 will provide playable frame rates at modest settings. It is by no means the best method to play these games, but it is wonderful to have the option.
We normally run our games at maximum settings and one below that for testing, but this is not a gaming laptop, and anything above low settings would make you reconsider gaming on this laptop. Esports titles such as CS:GO and Apex Legends will also operate well if you keep your expectations in control. Overall, I believe the HP Pavilion Laptop 13 will meet your gaming demands on occasion.
Under heavy use, the laptop’s bottom and top around the keyboard get visibly warm to the touch. That’s not to suggest that using the laptop wasn’t difficult at times. It is also worth noting that the laptop did not throttle as a result of the thermals. I did encounter tiny stutters at times, but I have no reason to assume that they were caused by the thermals.
Finally, I ran CrystalDiskMark on the 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD. I did all of the sequential read and write tests, as well as some random KiB tests, to see how it performed.
Sequential read and write rates were 2301.58 MB/s and 1066.47 MB/s, respectively, according to the CrystalDiskMark application. It isn’t as quick as some other machines, such as HP’s own Spectre X360, but it’s enough for a mainstream laptop at this price.
13-inch HP Pavilion laptop display
The HP Pavilion Laptop 13 has a 13.3″ FHD IPS display that is shown when the lid is opened. The display features a 16:9 aspect ratio. It is encircled on all four sides by plastic bezels, which, as I said in the design portion of this review, appear rather cheap in comparison to the rest of the laptop. The front-facing 720p HD camera is enough for Google Meet and Zoom chats.
We scratched the surface of the display with the Portrait Displays C6 HDR2000 colorimeter and ended up with a complete examination of the display. The display reached a maximum brightness of 269 nits, compared to the promised 250 nits.
The colorimeter indicates that the display is uncalibrated out of the box, which is not surprising given that this is a low-cost laptop. We’re looking at an average Greyscale DeltaE value of 3.5, which can be improved with manual colour calibration.
The DeltaE values of most light colours in Colorchecker are likewise considerably below the margin of error, with some deeper tones appearing pale. However, if you look at the graph below, you will see a problem with the blue colour in the RGB spectrum. The figures are completely erroneous.
HP Pavilion Laptop 13 Calman Analysis
When you navigate to the ColorChecker graph, you will observe the problem with the blue colour. All scenarios using one or more shades of this colour will have some discoloration.
The screenshot posted below demonstrates how far off the DeltaE figures are in settings featuring colour, such as the blue sky, blue flower, and so on. Unfortunately, even manual colour calibration will not entirely resolve this issue, and your DeltaE value will still be significantly off.
So, what does it all imply, and what can you anticipate from this display in your daily life? Because it isn’t the most color-accurate panel on the market, it’s not great for color-sensitive work.
The panel could only reliably reproduce 60% and 39% of the sRGB and DCI-P3 colour spaces, respectively, implying that there are better laptop displays available for your everyday media consumption.
Calm evaluation of the HP Pavilion 13’s display.
Overall, the Pavilion Laptop 13 has a good display for its price point. Yes, it might be better, but it’s still absolutely enough for day-to-day work-related use. The FHD resolution display compensates for the smaller 13.3″ panel’s lack of sharp images, and it also provides excellent viewing angles.
Now for the things I don’t like about the display. First and foremost, it’s gleaming. Because there is no touchscreen input, a glossy surface is neither desired nor essential. Furthermore, the maximum brightness of 269 nits makes it difficult to operate the laptop outside. Users may struggle with outside sight, and direct sunshine will totally wash out the display.
Battery Life of the HP Pavilion Laptop 13
In its comparatively tiny chassis, the HP Pavilion Laptop 13 has a 3-cell 43Wh battery. I wasn’t expecting to see outrageous runtimes, and given the modest capacity, it was very short. With the performance option set to favour the battery, I was only able to achieve around 5 hours of real-world usage on Wi-Fi and at max brightness.
Battery life may have been improved.
On a normal workday, my usage includes things like researching and producing stories for the website, editing photographs for the same, continuous pings on WhatsApp, and Bluetooth music streaming. I recommend that you bring the charger with you whenever you go outside with this laptop.
The idea of continually hugging a charging station was a little depressing, but you can get a little more use out of it by decreasing the screen brightness.
The HP Pavilion Laptop 13 lasted 394 minutes in the PCMark 10 Modern Office Battery Life test. What’s nice about the battery is that it doesn’t take long to fully charge. It takes around 1.5 to 2 hours to charge the laptop from a dead condition to full capacity.
HP Fast Charge allows you to charge up to 50% of your device in only 30 minutes. Although the laptop may be charged through USB-C, it comes with a proprietary barrel charger.
Keyboard, trackpad, and I/O for the HP Pavilion 13 Laptop
The HP Pavilion Laptop 13 comes with a conventional full-size keyboard with lighted keys. You can’t modify the colours of the light, but you can vary the brightness. The keys are mushy and shallow, which means your key strokes will be less pleasurable depending on the type of keyboard you’re used to. Having said that, it’s not a horrible keyboard and is simple to learn.
On the keyboard deck, you’ll also find a fingerprint reader. It’s nice to see a distinct location for the reader rather than inserting it within the keyboard itself by changing a key, as seen in one of HP’s Envy laptops.
As you may see, the touchpad is pretty tiny. In this small form size, it seems tight, and you might want to consider investing in an additional mouse. The touchpad itself is incredibly responsive, and I had no trouble running my fingertips across it. Because it supports Windows Precision drivers, the cursor control is smooth and the gestures are highly dependable.
Moving on to the ports, the HP Pavilion Laptop 13 has a plethora of them. There are two USB-A (5Gbps) ports and one USB-C (10Gbps) port that are both Power Delivery and DisplayPort compliant.
An HDMI 2.0 connector and a headphone/microphone combination are also included. You also receive a microSD reader, which can transfer around 1GB of data in about 11 seconds during my tests.
Design and Build Quality of the HP Pavilion Laptop 13
The “HP Pavilion” logo instantly reminded me of the previous Pavilion laptops, which were designed to represent their high prices. The new Pavilion Laptop 13’s svelte looks, on the other hand, caught me off guard. It immediately reminded me of HP’s more costly Spectre line laptops, which are unrivalled in terms of style.
I adore how the Pavilion Laptop 13 has inherited many of the design elements of the Spectre and Envy series. HP has done an excellent job, and the end result is a device that is both stylish and functional. It simply appears to be more expensive than its price tag would imply.
The laptop barely weights 1.24kgs, making it very easy to transport. Its tiny and light design makes it ideal for tossing in a laptop sleeve and carrying without a bother.
But, as someone who has spent some time with the laptop, there are a handful of things I’d like to mention concerning the build quality. The Pavilion Laptop 13 boasts a luxurious style, however the chassis is built of plastic. This is especially obvious since it is prone to flexing. Push down in the centre of the keyboard deck and you’ll notice a significant drop.
The lid also bends quite a bit, which you’ll notice when you pick it up from the corners to open it. The inner bezels around the display are also made of plastic, which looks cheap on a laptop that otherwise looks great. In addition, the bottom chin is slightly broader than the other sides.
The laptop lid opens to a maximum angle of around 140 degrees. When the lid is fully opened, the base of the laptop likewise pops up somewhat. It’s nothing major, but it does create some space for air to escape. As previously said, the laptop includes a plethora of connectors.
The HP Pavilion Laptop 13 additionally has two speakers located at the device’s bottom. B&O adjusted these speakers, and they become rather loud. They don’t compare to the speakers on some high-end laptops, but they’re adequate for filling your ears when you’re not using headphones.
Overall, the HP Pavilion laptop 13 is a well-built computer that will amaze you from the first glance. It’s wonderful to see common computers get a sleek and sophisticated makeover. I’d go so far as to say it’s quite similar to the Dell XPS 13, which we admire for its appearance and build quality. The Pavilion 13 gets close, which says a lot.
Verdict
In India, the HP Pavilion Laptop 13 costs Rs 71,999. And for that price, you get an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor with Intel Iris Xe graphics, a decent FHD display, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD, all housed in a chassis that looks and feels amazing. It also gets marks for retaining several premium features from the Spectre and Envy series.
Unfortunately, the laptop’s battery life is one of its flaws. HP can certainly do more to make it last a bit longer. I can get used to a little touchpad, but it’s impossible to ignore the dismal battery life. Aside from that, the Pavilion Laptop 13 excels in practically every aspect, making it a no-brainer in this price range. The laptop’s Spectre-inspired design and feel are just the frosting on the cake that makes it even more enticing.
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