HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15 (2021) review

HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15 (2021)

The Pavilion Gaming 15 is the $590 entry point of HP's 2021 gaming vintage: a Core i5 11300H, a GTX 1650 with 4GB of VRAM and 32GB of RAM. It shares its price with the Omen machines of the same year and concedes the graphics axis to all of them.

Where it holds up

With no stated strength in the deltas, the absolute sheet leads with photo design at 90 — top-tier, and the number that keeps this chassis relevant. Light office work at 84.85 sits high, overall performance at 65.89 reaches the high band, and gaming at 59 is honest mid-tier for the class. Value at 78.15 lands in the high band, the market's verdict on complete-but-modest machines. Overwatch, Grand Theft Auto V and Rainbow Six Siege clear their recommended bars, and the creative tools clear minimums.

Where it falls short

The graphics score of 63.1 runs 20% below the gaming-class median of 78.49 — the sheet's structural ceiling and the honest difference between Pavilion and Omen badges of the same year. Memory stops at 32GB against the 64 median, the stated weakness. The 52.5Wh battery trails the class median by a quarter, portability at 33.1 sits in the low band, and the 13.44% depreciation curve is mid-pack.

Price and depreciation

At $590 with 13.44% annual decay, the two-year projection lands near $440 — the shared flat curve of the 2021 vintage across this batch.

Alternatives to consider

Every other $590 gaming machine in this batch carries a stronger graphics engine on paper — the 1660 Ti, the 3060, the 3050 and the 5500M against this sheet's GTX 1650. The Pavilion's answer is the photo score and the lightest footprint of the group.

Bottom line

Fairly priced for the class. A top-tier photo score and recommended-bar gaming at $590, with the weakest graphics engine of the vintage — buy it for light play and screen work, not for the badge's ambitions.