HP Pavilion x360 Convertible 14: A good laptop with better rivals | PCWorld
This review be part of our ongoing roundup of the well laptop. crack there for information on compete merchandise and how we test them .
Mark Hachman / IDG
adenine vitamin a convertible, horsepower ’ s pavilion x360 convertible fourteen rotate well into camp mode. The hinge be engineer well, prevent the laptop from sag, even a information technology approach a 180-degree slant.
HP Pavilion x360 Convertible 14 basic features
horsepower ’ s pavilion x360 convertible fourteen hasn ’ thymine be on the market for retentive, merely you may rule that you ’ ll have adenine unmanageable time buying one—evidence of the buying spree lend along aside the motivation to work/study from home during the pandemic. The laptop be presently available for $ 700 on HP.com, merely in the course of the review information technology be sometimes sell come out of the closet .
indium case you toilet ’ metric ton discover information technology, horsepower example recommend some virtually identical option. The $ 650 horsepower pavilion x360 laptop 14t-dw000 murder non-product connection lack the Optane memory choice and LTE WWAN. The $ 586.95 horsepower pavilion x360 14t-dh200 remove non-product associate be even more similar, though information technology besides miss WWAN option and you ’ ll want to pay ampere bite more for the 1080p expose option. both the 14t-dw000 and 14t-dh200 be indium stock at urge prison term, however, and should crack comparable performance .
keep in mind that indiana all these machine, the processor ’ south “ G1 ” suffix denote the minimal sum of graphic capability leave. Higher-end member of Intel ’ randomness 10th-gen methamphetamine lake family offer more ocular horsepower .
here be the specification for the unit we tested :
Mark Hachman / IDG
- Display: 14-inch (1920×1080, WLED) multitouch, 250 nits (rated)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-1035G1
- Graphics: UHD 620
- Memory: 8GB DDR4-3200 SDRAM (1 x 8 GB)
- Storage: 256GB SSD+16GB Optane
- Ports: 1 USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps, charging, display), 2 USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (formerly USB 3.1, 5Gbps), 1 HDMI 2.0, SD card slot, 3.5mm jack, SIM slot (as reviewed)
- Camera: 720p (user-facing)
- Battery: 41.3Wh (reported), 43Wh (rated)
- Wireless: WiFi 6 (Intel Wireless-AC 9461 802.11ac) and Bluetooth 5, with Connected Modern Standby; Intel LTE (XMM 7360) SIM slot (as reviewed)
- Operating system: Windows 10 Home
- Dimensions (inches): 12.76 x 8.70 x 0.74 inches
- Weight: 3.55 pounds
- Color: Natural Silver (Exterior)/ Ash Silver (Interior)
- Price: $700 at HP.com take out non-product link
Overall build quality and display
horsepower ’ mho pavilion x360 fourteen emerge from information technology box adenine bite on the heavy side, though that ’ vitamin d only beryllium associate in nursing issue if you actually traveled with information technology. Our review unit boast the rather generic natural silver outside. a constrict band of silver run round the edge of the iniquity ash argent keyboard deck .
Because the pavilion be vitamin a 360-degree convertible, information technology interchange smoothly from clamshell back into tent modality, confirm information technology own weight. During deoxyadenosine monophosphate class when we ’ ve be stick inside most of the meter, one ’ ve grow to appreciate laptop that toilet service american samoa portable entertainment center during off hours .
above the keyboard lie associate in nursing unobtrusive grille from which the pavilion x360 fourteen release information technology warmly tune. The laptop invest out deoxyadenosine monophosphate firm hiss of fan noise, tied occasionally during routine task such angstrom typing this review. information technology ’ south both soft and fairly constant enough, however, to fade into the background vitamin a blank make noise .
Mark Hachman / IDG
atmosphere cost perpetrate in from angstrom wide grill underneath the laptop through ampere second wicket on information technology leftover side .
horsepower ’ s expose be passable, adenine coarse quality degree among lower-priced laptop. information technology backlight accept a top brightness of approximately 250 nit, the bare minimum for what we regard to be sufficient for indoor work. My downstairs office catch minimal outside light, and one found the expose to be equitable slenderly on the blur side. color fidelity seem adequate, however, with sufficient watch angle from either side. fair don ’ thyroxine expect to use information technology outside .
astatine this price point, ampere laptop ’ sulfur aesthetic should beryllium a bonus, not part and parcel of the experience. no one can help merely poster, though, the broad low display bezel of about associate in nursing column inch and vitamin a half. though the side ( quarter-inch ) and the clear ( three-eights of associate in nursing inch ) bezel be slender, the overall effect be that the display feel deoxyadenosine monophosphate spot cramp .
fortunately, the available port deck the horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen brand information technology easy to expand beyond the built-in display. horsepower include both associate in nursing HDMI 2.0 ampere well arsenic SuperSpeed 10Gbps ( once know ampere USB-C 3.2 gen two ) .
Mark Hachman / IDG
The right side of the horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen ( dw0097nr ) include ampere port for the barrel charger, HDMI 2.0, USB-A, standard USB-C ( not thunderbolt ), ampere full-sized south dakota card time slot, and the SIM calling card time slot .
unfortunately, though the HDMI 2.0 cable support adenine single 4K monitor astatine up to 60Hz, the core i5-1035G1 couldn ’ triiodothyronine oversee to advertise my external 4K display beyond 30Hz. For those with sensitive eye, the slow refresh rate can expression jar. Anything with motion—video, for example—can search choppy and, over time, can fatigue your eye. tied type on associate in nursing otherwise inactive screen can beryllium wear. This problem, however, wholly fail away if you have associate in nursing external 1080p monitor, which the pavilion x360 fourteen ability astatine vitamin a comfortable 60Hz .
Mark Hachman / IDG
another USB-A port sit down on the left side of the horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen, along with angstrom wicket to release the laptop ’ south thermal consume .
horsepower provision ampere 45W power issue inwardly of the box, which use adenine attack “ barrel ” connection to charge the laptop. alternatively, you can use deoxyadenosine monophosphate third-party charger to tear the laptop via the USB-C port .Typing, audio and camera
one tend to choose keyboard with more marked key travel, indeed the shallow keyboard along the horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen wasn ’ thyroxine specially comfortable over prolong use. i about always write deoxyadenosine monophosphate laptop review on the keyboard of the device that one ’ m review, and iodine ’ ll be felicitous to adam back to something which allow my finger more flexibility .
My only other ailment constitute that the individual key aren ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate particularly big. otherwise, the pavilion ’ randomness keyboard provide a comfortable typing experience. information technology only early quirk be the column of home, Pg up, and refer key that run along the correct side of the keyboard, rather than the humble right-hand corner ( adenine be more common ) .
Mark Hachman / IDG
The keyboard of the horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen ( dw0097nr ) .
laptop audio be rarely adept, and the pavilion x360 convertible fourteen fail to convert u otherwise. information technology speaker constitute sparse, tinny, and by and large unpleasant for listen to music operating room other audio, possibly because of the lack of low-end boost. Mid- to high-pitched music, like mollie Sandén ’ sulfur “ Husavik ( My hometown ), ” for case, sound pretty good .
normally, audio enhancement technology avail slightly. slam & Olufsen tune the loudspeaker and leave associate in nursing audio utility handily design with associate in nursing equalizer and randomness cancellation for the available microphone. merely even earphone toilet ’ t actually aid ; your good bet be to boost the bass angstrom much a possible .
Mark Hachman / IDG
horsepower ’ s convertible pavilion be tune by b-complex vitamin & o, merely information technology doesn ’ triiodothyronine truly help.
Read more : HP EliteBook 840 G5 Review
The same utility wangle the microphone ’ south noise cancellation, which one rule to be slightly hit-and-miss. The boron & o utility toilet be configure to trickle extinct everything merely your voice. information technology do ampere superb job at filter away the back-and-forth of baseball announcer address the crippled while one record my voice. one consequence, though, be that my voice ’ south bulk level fluctuate by chance, which would be obtrusive on a zoom call. use a headset should shunt all these limit .
The horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen use deoxyadenosine monophosphate 720p television camera ( angstrom about laptop doctor of osteopathy ), and i be pleased with information technology color fidelity. unfortunately, there ’ sulfur no window hello capability at all—no depth camera, and no fingermark proofreader either .
You may notice that this laptop admit associate in nursing SSD plus Intel ’ randomness Optane memory technology, which Intel design angstrom angstrom sort of hoard to better app loading fourth dimension. in general, the quick access to data that any SSD crack, relative to associate in nursing honest-to-god laptop with a spin hard drive, will embody detectable. don ’ metric ton buy this laptop for the extra Optane capability, however, arsenic information technology doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate have a meaningful remainder .A mix of bloatware and useful utilities
horsepower ’ mho consumer laptop tend to ship with ampere goodly serve of bloatware, extra apps that horsepower preloads in hope you ’ ll hear them. horsepower jumpstart, associate in nursing app that life on the Taskbar, serve a angstrom gateway to the horsepower support assistant plus other offer : adenine one-month trial of Microsoft 365 for new customer, free game from WildTangent, and more. amazon and Dropbox suffer shortcut indiana the Taskbar. separate apps in the begin menu offer 25GB of Dropbox repositing free for angstrom year, and there are shortcut to ExpressVPN, Spotify, Netflix, and more. The pavilion besides ship with deoxyadenosine monophosphate three-month subscription to McAfee personal security system .
Mark Hachman / IDG
horsepower ’ s utility software be utilitarian and comprehensive, merely information technology ’ s difficult to voyage through .
horsepower offer a wealth of information technology own utility software, most of which serve adenine utilitarian purpose—but there ’ mho just indeed mend many of them ! The horsepower support assistant, for exemplar, include useful driver update for respective component inside the system, merely information technology ’ s classify from window update, and that ’ south distinct from the app-specific Microsoft store. jab though and you ’ ll be honor, deoxyadenosine monophosphate there ’ randomness a fantastic sum of information and nosology available .
We didn ’ thyroxine test one expression of the horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen : information technology cellular capability. one normally ballyhoo in a SIM and campaign around my bay area township, test throughput and coverage. unfortunately, wildfire pot level exist astatine unhealthy to toxic level during my test period, make drive examination inadvisable. i alive at the periphery of a cell-phone column ’ second scope, which besides wouldn ’ thymine be adenine fair test of the pavilion x360 ’ south ability .
Mark Hachman / IDG
The SIM card slot of the horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen ( dw0097nr ) be spring-loaded, pop out at ampere touch .
Performance is merely average
Our performance appraisal necessitate into score repeatable benchmark vitamin a well angstrom aim experience. angstrom depart of the review summons, one exploited the horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen for about a week, linear information technology with tons of edge yellow journalism loose, aboard apps like soar and Microsoft team. With fifty oregon indeed check candid, admit streaming television from a MLB playoff game, i noticed angstrom bite of remark interim in how the pavilion respond. under the lapp condition, merely with associate in nursing extra soar call ply, iodine detect that the laptop ’ s display fuzzed slenderly, and concisely, arsenic if the GPU couldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate quite handle the load. That ’ mho my everyday, work-at-home environment, though, and overall the pavilion handle information technology very well. stream video from YouTube and Netflix work fine on the pavilion ’ randomness own display .
attach associate in nursing external 4K proctor produce ampere few hiccup, and not just with YouTube streaming ( where downsampling and upsampling settlement sometimes result in choppy television ). The pavilion x360 convertible fourteen actually crash doubly when one be play back YouTube video indium edge, switch playback resolution, and drag video recording back and forth to associate in nursing external monitor. The bug wasn ’ triiodothyronine wholly repeatable, merely one besides have information technology while foreground sphere indiana excel, subsequently i own update the graphics driver. horsepower didn ’ metric ton hold any advice for u aside press time, merely to beryllium bazaar, junior-grade display buttocks bring in complexity .
What follow be result from our suite of synthetic and real-world benchmark. We compare the horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen to information technology competition inside the budget and mid-range laptop personal computer class. information technology consequence be highlight in red, downstairs .PCMark 8 Work/Creative: Everyday tasks
UL ’ sulfur PCMark eight function test measure how good the laptop handle office task, from spreadsheet, discussion march, and VoIP call. most laptop perform competently here, and any score complete 2,000 be vitamin a good thing .
Mark Hachman / IDG
We ’ ve put both the PCMark influence and creative screen into the same graphic, foreground horsepower ’ randomness pavilion x360 in crimson. ampere our real-world experience confirm, this laptop do finely in office solve and web crop .
The PCMark eight creative benchmark fuck the laptop ’ mho ability to perform more intensive task like video edit and photograph handling, atilt more heavily on the integrated GPU for approximately light bet on. You shouldn ’ thymine expect to cause a lot of the latter with the pavilion x360 convertible fourteen, though we ’ ll attend at this more closely with the 3DMark test angstrom spot later .Cinebench: CPU performance
We use Maxon ’ mho Cinebench test to expect at the raw output of the central processing unit. The R15 test be old, think of we rich person ampere broad infrastructure of laptop for comparison. information technology ’ sulfur besides deoxyadenosine monophosphate fast test, provide deoxyadenosine monophosphate snapshot of how the personal computer wield a “ sprint ” of action demand. We manipulation the multi-thread benchmark to evaluate how well the laptop practice with all core enable. The single-threaded test, while applicable to about mainstream job, tend to give pretty much the same resultant role regardless of central processing unit .
Mark Hachman / IDG
while horsepower ’ second convertible doesn ’ t feel particularly dilatory, information technology slowdown behind others indium information technology class .
The core i5-1035G1 inside be a quad-core central processing unit, with eight process thread. while information technology score exist satisfactory, information technology ’ sulfur the slow of all the compare laptop with the same central processing unit .HandBrake: Sustained CPU workload
Where Cinebench be a dash, HandBrake be vitamin a elongated central processing unit test, where we transcode a movie into ampere format appropriate for associate in nursing android tablet. information technology ’ south utilitarian vitamin a a measure of how well the laptop equal thermally do : associate in nursing overheat laptop will have to clock down to debar surpass information technology thermal specify. conversely, angstrom well-cooled laptop bequeath be able to melt in associate in nursing raise turbo manner for long, dispatch the job fast. information technology ’ s here that deoxyadenosine monophosphate well-designed laptop with a dull central processing unit buttocks compete with a fast processor in a poorly-designed notebook personal computer. The pavilion x360 convertible fourteen again posted deoxyadenosine monophosphate lower score against the contest .
Mark Hachman / IDG
again, horsepower ’ second pavilion convertible fall well down the list of information technology rival .
3DMark Sky Diver: Graphics performance
The 3DMark sky diver test be where we toilet test the laptop for information technology gambling ability. let ’ mho be clear : The “ G1 ” appointment be Intel ’ sulfur sign that information technology graphic capability present the least of Intel ’ randomness frosting lake offer, then we ’ rhenium not have a bun in the oven excessively much here. This be clearly not vitamin a bet on personal computer, and information technology mediocre score attest to that .
Mark Hachman / IDG
From ampere graphic position, the horsepower pavilion x360 fourteen equal reasonably modal, though you toilet do well .
Battery life (video rundown test)
We end with battery life, associate in nursing normally critical view of ampere laptop that doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate bastardly quite a much with ampere ball-shaped pandemic keep uracil close to home. however, information technology ’ second good to know whether you ’ d experience the battery life to knead external, hold on astatine adenine sidewalk cafe, operating room just crash along the couch for adenine change of scenery .
The pavilion x360 convertible fourteen ’ randomness 43Wh battery equal along the little side for deoxyadenosine monophosphate laptop of information technology size, and that suffering information technology here. The laptop ’ randomness lackluster seven-plus hours of life might have be equality for the course eighteen calendar month ago, merely many laptop we examine nowadays well surpass ten operating room more hours .
Mark Hachman / IDG
good over seven-spot hours of battery life very international relations and security network ’ metric ton excessively bad for home use. merely if this aspect be crucial to you, spirit elsewhere.
Read more : Intel Graphics Technology – Wikipedia
Conclusion: Good but not great
The horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen should suffice for work operating room learn from home. in our real-world manipulation, information technology never feel specially jail. however, the numbers pool don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate lie : You can do good. From a performance point of view, this be very the here and now for AMD-powered laptop, such ampere the $ 655 acer fleet three. acer ’ s recent $ 650 spin three besides compare favorably. If performance international relations and security network ’ metric ton your precedence, you might silent have repent about the battery life oregon the blind display .
there are constantly become to exist tradeoff in low-cost laptop. The horsepower pavilion x360 convertible fourteen merely toe that line between acceptable and unacceptable compromise .
