The dv7 starts up very quickly. With the Quick Web feature, which I haven't tried to use yet, allows the user to access the Internet without having to start up Windows! This can be set up as the default setting when the unit is initially turned on. Since it doesn't have to boot up Windows, you can literally get online in 1/3 the time. Nice time saver.
Windows 7 took a little bit getting used to. I am switching from an XP Pentium M laptop, so it will take a little time to get acclimated. Should be no trouble, however, for most people. I like the feel of the chicklet style keys, with the full number pad too. 1GB of dedicated graphics, which supports DirectX 11, makes this machine good to great for most mid-to-high levels of graphic intense programs. I should be able to run AutoCAD with shading on this machine flawlessly. The high-performance ATI 5650 GPU can be switched off when operating on battery power, or when there isn't the need for the dedicated graphics. This saves battery usage and overall power consumption. HDD speed is 7200. Often, this is an upgraded charge in many laptops. 4GB DDR3 memory, expandable up to 8GB, should fulfill most needs. The display is brilliant, although not up to 1080P, but for a 17.3", you probably won't notice any issues. The screen does attract fingerprints. It has a large touchpad, however, I use a USB mouse. Use the fingerprint reader if you need the extra security. The webcam is easily viewable, and is very fluid in motion. Wireless card can be enabled/disabled by pressing a button on the keyboard. There are 4 USB ports (2 on either side) and an HDMI port too. The power cord plug is on the right side. This may get in the way slightly if you use a mouse. I didn't have any issue with that in the short time I have owned it. Also has a 9-cell battery, which for some systems, is an up-charge as well.
The specifications and rankings of this dv7-4060us Triple Core processor with 1GB of dedicated graphics, for the low price of $699 really can't be beat. Yes, you can spend another $200-300/minimum and get a little bit beefier machine if you are into heavy duty gaming and whatnot, but for the average to advanced user, this will certainly suit your purposes. For me, I couldn't justify paying the extra amount for more power that I wouldn't even use, for the most part, and I think you will find that to be the same.
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I bought the HP Pavilion dv-7 because I wanted a larger screened laptop. It's an increase over our HP 15 inch laptop, but I had imagined there would be a bigger difference. Another misconception I'd had is that this model had a backlit keyboard. It doesn't . The Beats audio played through the laptop's speakers is good, but far from spectacular. With some adjustment fiddling, the sound is acutally pretty good played through my external Logitech speakers. Enough whining already.The Display Color is vivid and as good as on any monitor I've ever owned. As I type this review using the 60 day trial of Microsoft Word, the text is crisp, dark, and very legible. Photos look superb on this display as do graphics brought up online. Graphics are especially good using the 64 bit explorer but web videos won't play on this format. I won't pretend to be a gamer, but the few arcade style games I've played on this laptop look terrific.
To try out the display, I downloaded a movie from Amazon. The download only took a couple hours and the movie (The Dark Knight) looked great on the screen. There is a key to adjust the brightness of the display, but so far I haven't had a need to use it.
Keyboard I like the feel of the keyboard, though the keys are not as concave as on my other HP laptop. The keys are not as slick and shiny as those on the Toshiba laptops I've seen and there is more separation between the keys.
The touchpad is not overly sensitive and works fine, but I prefer using a mouse and keep a Logitech M305 attached.
Aesthetics This is a great looking laptop with an elegant looking silver finish. On the back of the lid is an HP logo that stays lit when the laptop is on. The keys do show fingerprints and the user is advised to type on these with clean fingers. I've noticed that this unit is also a dust magnet, more so than any laptop I've ever used. Best keep a can of compressed air nearby.
Windows 7My technical savvy is average at best, but even I have had no problems adjusting to Windows 7. It's easy to learn and seems much more stable than Vista. On the hard drive are videos and help screens for Windows 7 that many users will find helpful, especially initially.
Help guides Just about all the laptop information is on the hard drive. To get you started there is a start up poster and a rudimentary owner's guide. One of the odd warnings found in the pamphlet sized guide warns the user that the computer can get hot and he or she should not rest the laptop in his or her lap. Funny stuff.
Battery life For me it's great. I never use the laptop unplugged for more than two or three hours, more than enough time to watch a movie. The battery is quite large and snaps onto the bottom of the laptop externally. Its bulk raises up the back of the laptop which actually makes for an ideal typing position.
Adding peripherals is easy with this laptop. I have a printer upstairs which the laptop found quickly after I had loaded the Canon drivers on the laptop. If I can make a wireless connection, anybody can.
Fingerprint reader I figured this was a useless gadget that I'd seldom if ever use. I've actually grown to like it quite a bit. Once the fingerprint reader is set up, you just brush a finger over the reader instead of typing in a password. Like a kid, I get a kick out of it every time.
HP Quickweb is something I haven't used often. When the computer is turned on a Quickweb screen appears that allows the user to access photos, music , or even the web without the need to start Windows. It really doesn't take that long for Windows to kick in, so I seldom use the Quickweb feature.
Despite a few minor complaints, I have no regrets purchasing this laptop and would do it again.
Final Word Set up of the Hp dv-7 out of the box was child's play. I downloaded and installed some updates and set up a simple password. Then the computer restarted itself for all the updates to take effect. When the computer came back on it wouldn't recognize my password. What a nightmare. Finally after trying everything I could think of and researching the problem on another computer, I opened in safe mode and was able to start all over again, erasing all that I had done previously. From my Googling I learned that mine was not an isolated problem with Windows 7. The good news is that I've had no problems since.
UPDATE In the past week I've discovered the web cam and updated Windows 7 which added more features to the photo program. The webcam effects have to be seen to be believed. I'm having a lot of fun making videos of myself and sending them to the unsuspecting. The avatars are especially filled with possibilities for the imaginative. Now a whole new world has opened to me.
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Well after a lot of research and not really being a big fan of the OLD HP computers i found this baby to be the best deal around. I'm not an order off the internet kind of guy, and if i can find it around my area, then i usually get it. Well i saw the different models of this computer at walmart and sams club. One was around 900 and the other 1000, one had a blu ray player and one didn't. The main problem that these versions had was not only the price but a much lesser graphics card. Being a CITT, and working on computers for a long time have made me very picky and finally i decided to go with this one after i read one of the comments that they had this model at Office Depot. Thanks! Well to start the body is very solid, and its like a huge macbook. The chrome type aluminum brushed finish gives it a very appealing style, and its easy on the eyes. The older models and even some of the newer ones basically are very cheap looking and also they became very boring looking back in 2008 and 9 with the metal look and glossy black finish. I loved the old 2006 HP dv4000 computers, they were built like tanks and also had great sound. The speed is pretty sup par actually to the I series of Intel's, but still the AMD Phenom II isn't a slouch, its equivalent to the Core 2 Quad 9000 they say, which seems about right to me. The ATI GPU is the big sellar here, its actually a class 2 card, right under the big boys and can run all the latest games on high or medium settings with decent to very good FPS. I didn't really want it to tote around because i have a very nice emachines,(yes nice) that i use for everything else. The only thing it lacks is graphical power, good speakers and a web cam so i really intended this for a desktop replacement, and a gaming rig i could take on vacation etc.All that said i'm really pleased overall with this laptop, i'm typing this review on it right now. I haven't gotten a taste of the batter like yet, but its a larger 8 cell so i'm sure its pretty good in itself. The computer actually doesnt run hot, warm yes, but a comfortable warm that doesnt burn your leg hair off. I can say the key board is right up there with Sony Vaio's and Mac's, not "quite" as poppy(bouncey) but excellent to type on. A few strange things i did notice to make me only give it a four, but hey thats not bad.
1. No backlit keybaord, which is odd considering everything else. And the keys don't illuminate well in the dark.
2. There is really no use for the function key and i'm looking for either a button to turn it on, or something in windows. You simply hit the function keys for volume, brighness etc. and it works, withOUT holding down the actual key. Strange.
3. There is no scroll down, sideways or any other direction on the mouse pad, but it is very smooth and responsive. Perhaps i'm missing how to turn it on as well.
4.Last but not least, i've never had a higher end Laptop with an ATI GPU, only Nvidia. My desktop has an ATI 4850 which is a class 1 and a bit more powerful, but thats all. The problem with the ATI gpu's is that the laptop versions of these are very finicky about what games they like, and whether or not the games like there drivers. For instance i tried to play Timeshift(an older game) and it just kept freezing, which it warned me to update the drivers and i did. But still this didn't help. The only others i've test so far was Batman Ark Asylum, and Clive Barkers Jericho, both pretty heavy on graphics. Both ran flawless at full 1600x900 resolution.
One of the last things is the sound, the Beats Audio is loud, but doesnt necessarily sound all that great. With adjustments it sounds good, but it really lacks good clarity and sounds a bit muffled with high end bass type songs. You really lack hearing cymbals, and high end instruments seem to be pushed into the backgound. With all that said this is still a great computer, none are flawless and for the price you just can't even come close to beating this one. The sony Vaio for 999$ at BB was nice but it had an Nvidia 310 card, which was barely a class 3 card and would run very much of anything. And i almost got a few other high end models but didn't wanna spend the cash. Being that i'm a casual gamer and like games anywhere from 2004 till 2008 the best, this really isn't an issue. I haven't tried Just Cause 2 yet, but i'm sure on medium specs it will run just fine. So don't blow your wad on 2000 Alienware if you really don't need it, just grab one of these before there gone. From what i've seen that will be soon.
UPDATE-Games that i've played on this laptop(tested)
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare-Full specs, great.
Devil May Cry 4-Of course not a hitch
Cryostasis-Some lag in most areas, but with Vsync off, and no Anti-aliasing its fine.
WOW-Not a big fan but i tested it, and it runs great.
Bioshock 1 and 2-Full everything.
Just Cause 2-Runs good, but i like the 360 version better.
Crysis-The GPU only has limited options for resolution, 1368x768, isn't one of them. So its low or nothing. Oh well, that game is over hyped.
Condemned-Great
Half Life 2-Orange Box-Great on all settings.
There are others and they have worked great, only a few that you really have to tone down. Luckily i didn't like most of them anyway. :D
Btw-Great web cam on this thing also. Lots of cool effects. ENJOY!
UPDATE-Just played Singularity on this, and got up to around 48 fps on full specs! Thats awesome for a computer this cheap:)
The chip in this computer rates up with the Nvidia 260m, it rates 6.7 in windows 3D graphics and Aero, just the same.:D
UPDATE 2-Since this computer has barely been out a month i keep updating as i use it more. The graphics card is out of this world for the price, just played COD Modern Warfare 2 at full specs, flawless, no lag, nothing. Also it prefers direct x 10 or 11 games so its definitely ready for newer games. On one bad note some older games are playable, but you HAVE to use lower resolutions as they are not programmed for a newer GPU, and direct x 11. Dx 9 games work well, but you can tell its not as happy with them. So its good and bad, but great because its ready for tomorrow.:D
Honest reviews on HP Pavilion dv7-4060us 17.3-Inch Laptop
my 4 yr old dell mother board died and needing an asap replacement, i went to consumer reports for info. after 2 days, it's so obvious why it has such a good rating. i thought the new operating system (windows7) would throw me over the edge (senior brain power) but it's been a walk in the park. Everything is so easy, clear and quick results. I've had toshiba (which I loved) and dell...never thought i'd become an HP fan...but it's hard not to be with the friendliness of this laptop.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Pavilion dv7-4060us 17.3-Inch Laptop
Usually, I have bad luck with computers, but this one for about 2 months so far has been nothing but a real pleasure. HP does one good thing, which is making computers! I had computers from all different companies and there would always be problems with them, but I think HP just really engineered a nice piece of technology here. There are three main reasons why this laptop ranks higher over others: 1) It has a nine cell battery, meaning you can stay hours away from the power outlet, making this good for long trips, class, etc. 2) HP puts the speakers in the front of the laptop instead of in the back. Some laptop companies like to make things all fancy with eye appealing speakers in the back of the computer, but this is impractical due to the user usually being a foot or more away from the screen. HP utilized the acronym KISS (keep it simple, stupid) where they just put the speakers in the front, hence keeping my volume at 15 percent and still being able to hear a movie with no problem. 3) It has a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 card which truly makes a difference when watching stuff in HD. It makes the world of difference, keeps everything playing smoothly, plus I'm sure it is beneficial if you are a gamer as well. I was also confident in buying my purchase from Amazon, because I believe they give you 30 days to report the product if it malfunctions, and usually if a glitch is present it is going to surface in the first 30 days. Just in case, I used HP support before and they are more competent than other laptop brands, where they will just remotely access my computer and fix anything that is bothering me, instead of me trying to follow the directions. As I am truly a picky person with computers, I can say that I am one hundred percent satisfied with my HP purchase from Amazon!
