HP Pavilion 17 G121WM Review: The Ideal Desktop Replacement?

HP Pavilion 17 G121WM: At First Glance

In recent years, HP (Hewlett-Packard) has proven to be one of the most reliable laptop manufacturers in the market. This is because the brand has the ability to manufacture adequate laptops with a good balance between price and specifications.

On that note, to add to its long list of reliable laptops, HP launched the Pavilion 17 G121WM in 2017. The HP Pavilion 17 G121WM is a durable desktop replacement laptop that offers adequate performance at an affordable price.

To be more specific, as of March 2022 (when I wrote this review article), the laptop had a starting price of $395.00. However, does HP Pavilion 17 G121WM actually offer adequate performance, or its inexpensive price is just a means to lure buyers?

To get an answer to that question, you have to read the remainder of this review article.

HP Pavilion 17 G121WM: Design, Dimension, and Weight

In terms of looks, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM does not offer much but features a decent design style. To start with, the body of the laptop is entirely made out of plastic.

This laptop’s plastic body has a glossy-grey finish on the exterior and a glossy-black brushed hairline pattern on the interior. Sadly, due to the glossy finish of the body, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM attracts fingerprints and smudges.

Hence, to keep the laptop neat at all times, you need to have a wipe close by. On a positive note, despite being entirely made of plastic, this laptop isn’t fragile or seems cheap.

As a matter of fact, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM is so sturdy that you will hardly notice any creaking sound or flex. Speaking of how solid this laptop is, its lid and base are firmly attached together by a set of sturdy plastic hinges.

Focusing on the laptop’s lid, you will find an “HP” logo inscribed at the center. This logo has a glossy-silver finish that shimmers beautifully when rays of light shine on it.

Moving on to the interior, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM features a 17.3-inch display with HD+ (1600 x 900) resolution. This display delivers decent picture quality and color accuracy for regular video streaming and web browsing.

Besides, the display comes with an anti-glare coating that reduces reflection and the effect of direct sunlight. Hence, you should be able to use this laptop in well-lit areas without issues.

Sadly, as with the entire body of the laptop, this 17.3-inch display is surrounded by bulky bezels. However, at the top bezel, you’ll find an HD webcam neatly placed in the center.

Like most HD webcams, this laptop’s webcam is quite adequate for regular skyping and video calls. Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem ideal for taking pictures as it delivers blurry images.

Moving on, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM comes with a chiclet-style keyboard. Impressively, this keyboard offers a full number pad on the right side.

As a result, accounting operations and calculations should be very easy on the laptop. Besides, the keys on this keyboard are evenly spaced in a manner that makes typing comfortable.

Also, the keys are not shallow, and feedback is quite swift. Hence, the laptop’s keyboard should offer an overall adequate typing experience.

Just below the keyboard, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM features a spacious touchpad with a set of dedicated click buttons. Moreover, this touchpad has a smooth surface that allows for easy finger-gliding and seamless navigation.

Also, the touchpad supports multitouch gestures like two-finger scrolling and pinch-to-zoom.

For the ports, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM offers a decent amount of ports on its sides. Specifically, on the left side, there are two USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet port, and a headphone/microphone combo jack.

Meanwhile, on the right side of the laptop, you will find a regular USB port and an HDMI port.

In terms of dimension and weight, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM measures 418.8 x 286.7 x 27.1 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 2639.9 g. With this size and amount of weight, it is quite obvious that this HP laptop is bulky and heavy.

Due to this, you might not be able to comfortably carry it around – that’s why it is an ideal desktop replacement laptop. Moreover, compared with the Dell XPS 17 9700, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM is bulkier and heavier. 

Specifically, the Dell XPS 17 9700 measures 374.4 x 248 x 8.6 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 2530 g.

Thus, to end this design review section, I will rate the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM an eight out of ten.

HP Pavilion 17 G121WM: Processor (CPU) Performance

In terms of processor, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM is powered by a dual-core AMD A10-8700P processor with 2 MB cache memory. This processor has a base frequency of 1.80 GHz and a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz.

Furthermore, the AMD A10-8700P is a mid-range processor that is designed specifically for mainstream laptops. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t fast or capable of running powerful applications efficiently.

As a matter of fact, this processor is capable of delivering a good performance when carrying out intensive workloads. Besides, the AMD A10-8700P consumes less power and generates less heat while running.

That said, let us briefly discuss the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM’s result on the Cinebench R15 test to further verify its CPU performance. In brief, Cinebench R15 is a benchmark test that measures how fast a computer’s CPU can perform under various workloads by using its cores.

Hence, this test is divided into two – the single-core test and the multi-core test. In case you are wondering, the single-core test evaluates the performance of the processor when one of its cores is in use. 

Meanwhile, the multi-core test evaluates the performance of the processor when all its cores are in use. Moreover, on the Cinebench R15 benchmark test, higher is better.

So, based on the Cinebench R15 single-core test, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM scored 69 points. Meanwhile, on the multi-core test, the laptop scored 194 points. 

When compared to the Acer Aspire E17 E5-752G-T7WY, which uses the same processor, this HP laptop performed better. Specifically, the Acer Aspire E17 E5-752G-T7WY scored 59 points and 175 points on the Cinebench R15 single-core test and multi-core test, respectively.

In conclusion, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM offers a mid-range processor that delivers impressive performance. Also, the laptop outperformed most of its competitors on a CPU benchmark test. 

Therefore, I will rate the laptop a nine out of ten in this processor review section.

HP Pavilion 17 G121WM: Memory (RAM) Performance

The HP Pavilion 17 G121WM comes with two memory slots and a standard memory of 8 GB DDR3L SDRAM. Sadly, 8 GB is also the maximum memory that this laptop supports.

Hence, you won’t be able to upgrade the laptop’s memory to more than 8 GB. Nevertheless, 8 GB RAM should be enough for the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM to carry out most computing tasks easily.

In actual fact, the laptop will be able to multitask easily with this amount of memory. Speaking of which, this HP laptop should perform smoothly when about 13 Chrome tabs and a YouTube video are running concurrently.

Moreover, transitioning from one tab to the other should not be a problem for the laptop.

To further ascertain the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM’s performance, I will briefly go over its PCMark 10 test results. Briefly, PCMark 10 is a benchmark test that examines a computer’s overall memory performance by simulating real-world productivity tasks.

Furthermore, on this test, a high score implies good memory performance and vice-versa. Thus, according to the PCMark 10 test results, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM scored 2010 points.

In comparison, this HP laptop performed better than the Acer Aspire E17 E5-752G-T7WY. Precisely, the Acer Aspire E17 E5-752G-T7WY was only able to score 1981 points on the PCMark 10 test.

All in all, I will rate the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM an eight out of ten in this memory review section.

HP Pavilion 17 G121WM: Storage Options and Performance

Storage-wise, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM comes with a 5400 RPM SATA HDD that supports a max storage capacity of 1 TB. For most users, I believe this amount of storage capacity should be sufficient.

However, storage-hungry users might think otherwise. Fortunately, you can increase the overall storage capacity of the laptop by using its multi-format SD card reader.

To determine the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM’s HDD performance, let us discuss its CrystalDiskMark 3.0 test results. For clarity, CrystalDiskMark 3.0 is a benchmark software that evaluates the speed of a computer’s storage drive.

Practically, the benchmark test measures the read and write speeds of the storage drive. Briefly, the read and write speed means the time it takes for a computer’s storage drive to open and save files, respectively.

Moreover, a high “MBps” value on the CrystalDiskMark 3.0 means faster read and write speed. Hence, based on the test results, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM has a sequential read speed of 89.5 MBps. 

In addition to that, the laptop also has a sequential write speed of 82.28 MBps. Comparatively, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM’s HDD is faster than the ASUS N75SF’s HDD by a pretty close margin. 

Specifically, on the CrystalDiskMark 3.0 test, the ASUS N75SF delivered a sequential read speed of 87.01 MBps. Also, the laptop delivered a sequential write speed of 81.58 MBps.

In conclusion, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM offers a sufficient HDD and an SD card reader for storage expansion. Moreover, the laptop beats one of its competitors on a storage benchmark test.

Therefore, to conclude this storage review section, I will rate the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM an eight out of ten.

HP Pavilion 17 G121WM: Graphics Card Performance

For the graphics card, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM comes with an AMD Radeon R6. Moreover, this GPU is an integrated graphics card that offers a standard frequency of 800 MHz.

Sadly, as an integrated GPU, the AMD Radeon R6 is embedded into the laptop’s processor. Hence, it shares the system memory with the CPU to carry out graphics-related operations.

Due to this, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM might not be able to run graphics-intensive apps or games smoothly. However, the laptop should be able to effectively run some outdated games.

For instance, while playing Sims 4, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM delivered a smooth frame rate of 89.7 fps (frame per second). 

To further determine how well this laptop can perform graphically, let us consider its 3DMark test results. 3DMark is a benchmark tool created by UL to evaluate a computer’s 2D and 3D graphics rendering abilities. 

Furthermore, as with most tests in this article, higher means better on this graphics benchmark test. So, according to the 3DMark test results, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM scored 3787 points.

Comparatively, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM delivered a better score than all the laptops in its category. For example, the Acer Aspire E5-551-T8X3, which also uses AMD Radeon R6 GPU, scored 3726 points on the 3DMark test.

In conclusion, although it features an integrated GPU, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM can play some outdated games smoothly. Besides, the laptop outperformed all the laptops in its category on a GPU benchmark test.

Hence, I will rate the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM an eight out of ten in this graphics review section.

HP Pavilion 17 G121WM: Battery Life and Performance

Coming down to the battery, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM is powered by a 4-cell 41 Wh lithium-ion battery. Unfortunately, HP didn’t mention how long the laptop can last with this battery.

Hence, to find out, let us briefly discuss the result of the laptop on a battery rundown test. To start with, the battery rundown test involves surfing the web continuously via a WIFI connection until the laptop’s battery run flat.

Thus, at the end of the test, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM delivered a battery life of 4 hours and 56 minutes. Although this battery life isn’t particularly impressive, it is better than the ones of competing laptops.

For instance, on the same battery rundown test, the Acer Aspire E5-551-T8X3 delivered a battery life of 4 hours and 30 minutes.

In summary, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM offers an average battery life. However, the laptop has a longer battery life than most of its competitors.

As a result, I will rate the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM a seven out of ten in this battery review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The HP Pavilion 17 G121WM is a desktop replacement laptop that delivers adequate overall performance. To give more details, this laptop comes with a powerful processor and a sufficient HDD.

Furthermore, the laptop has a decent amount of ports and a comfortable keyboard. However, the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM is quite bulky, and its battery life isn’t impressive.

Nevertheless, if you need an affordable laptop to replace your desktop computer, you should consider the HP Pavilion 17 G121WM.

I hope you found this HP Pavilion 17 G121WM review helpful. If you found the review helpful, we would love to hear from you.

Kindly spare two minutes to share your thoughts with our community using the comments form at the bottom of this page.

Alternatively, simply respond to the “Was this page helpful” question below and provide us with your feedback.

Finally, for more laptop reviews, visit our Laptop Reviews page. You may also find our Laptop Specs page very helpful.