58 PCWorld FEBRUARY 2020REVIEWS HP PAVILION X360 14M-DH0003DX
laptop. That’s actually not as surprising as it
sounds, as the main difference between the i5
and i7 chips is that the i7 boasts a higher boost
clock, an advantage that’s most apparent
during short, intense bursts of CPU activity.
The chart-topping Dell XPS 13 and its Ice
Lake CPU illustrate the substantially superior
performance of a (far pricier) six-core
processor compared to a quad-core system,
although you generally don’t need that kind
of horsepower unless you’re dealing with, say,
4K video workflows. On the other end of the
spectrum is the dual-core Acer Aspire 5,
which lags well behind the pack but does just
fine (and for a lot less) when it comes to daily,
single-core
productivity tasks.Cinebench
Remember what we
said a moment ago
about short bursts of
CPU activity? That’s
what our Cinebench
test, which involves
rendering a 3D image
in real time, is all
about. Unlike the
lengthy HandBrake
benchmark, which
can take an hour or
more, Cinebench is
typically all over within
five minutes or so.Once again, the HP Pavilion x360’s
Cinebench score was bunched up with its
fellow i5-packing laptops, albeit nearer to the
bottom. The Pavilion’s so-so performance can
be partly blamed on its 2-in-1 form factor, which
is tougher to keep cool than a traditional
clamshell laptop is. Still, we should note that
the Pavilion x360’s all-threads Cinebench
score is respectable given its CPU, while its
solid single-thread Cinebench result (which is
all that matters when it comes to day-to-day
computing tasks) brings it up a notch.
Looking at the competition, we see the
six-core Ice Lake-powered Dell XPS 13 way
ahead of the pack (no surprise there), whileAgain, no surprises with the HP Pavilion x360’s Cinebench performance. If you
consider its single-thread score, the Pavilion actually moves up a notch.Dell XPS 13 7390^197
(Core i7-10710U) 1,106Cinebench R15.038
(All threads)LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCEHP Envy 13-AQ0044NR^183
(Ryzen 7 3780U SE) 711
Lenovo IdeaPad S340-151WL^163
(Core i5-8265U) 698
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Black^190
Edition (Core i7-8565U) 684
HP Pavilion x360^165
14M-DH0003DX (Core i5-8265U) 564
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 6-141KB^145
81EM (Core i5-8250U) 526
Acer Aspire 5 A515-54-51DJ^159
(Core i5-8265U) 493
Acer Aspire A515-54-30BQ^158
(Core i3-8145U) 300
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