HP Pavilion G7 Review: A Multimedia Notebook

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HP Pavilion G7: At First Glance

People constantly search for laptops with decent hardware features for a small price. Specifically, students and low-income earners who are strictly on a budget are some classes of people that look out for such laptops.

However, such laptops seem difficult to find because, most times, manufacturers sacrifice specifications to meet up with an inexpensive price. Nevertheless, the HP Pavilion G7 manages to offer solid specs at an inexpensive price.

At this point, I am sure you cannot wait to see what you will be getting from the HP Pavilion G7 if you decide to buy it. Therefore, without wasting much of your time, let us proceed with this review in full.

HP Pavilion G7: Design, Dimension, and Weight

Judging by its design, the HP Pavillion G7 is a very plain laptop. However, despite its simplicity, it still manages to look sleek and attractive.

Furthermore, it has a two-toned color scheme. The lid and palm rest have silver-gray color that nicely contrasts with the remaining dark charcoal gray chassis.

As expected of a laptop in this class, the HP Pavillion G7’s chassis is built of plastic. Unfortunately, this laptop will not be as tough as metallic-built laptops.

Nevertheless, the plastic chassis of this laptop makes a robust impression, especially from a distance.

Also, there is little or nothing to complain about the structure of the laptop except the edge between the lid and the bezels. That is because the edge between the lid and the bezels is a bit rough and could have been better.

Speaking of the lid, it has the iconic HP logo at the center. Although the lid flexes a bit, it is still averagely rigid when you hold it.

When you flip the lid open, you will see the laptop’s massive 17.3-inch screen. The display is surrounded by thick bezels that contribute to the massive screen size.

However, the top bezel houses an HP-resolution webcam with an integrated digital microphone. The webcam is not very convenient for making video chats because it is blurry but it can still serve the purpose regardless.

Meanwhile, you should be aware that the laptop’s camera does not support facial recognition. In addition to the camera, the top bezel also houses two rubber stoppers.

The function of the stoppers is to prevent friction between the bezels and the laptop’s deck when it is closed. There is also one rubber stopper on the side bezels.

Meanwhile, the bottom bezel houses an HP logo for branding. Below the bottom bezel, you will find two tight metal hinges that hold the lid uptight.

Due to the toughness of the hinge, two hands are required to open the lid. Despite that, the lid will slightly wobble on the hinges when opened.

For the display, it has an HD (1600 x 900 pixels) resolution. Although the resolution is poor for a 17-inch display, it is not surprising to see, considering the price category.

HP has called the display of the Pavilion G7 an “HP BrightView LED Display.” For better understanding, a BrightView display is one with a glossy surface that improves its vibrance and contrast.

However, due to the glossiness, the screen is prone to light reflections which reduces viewability. Therefore, when using this laptop outdoors, especially under direct sunlight, you might want to shield the display from the sun.

Another factor that does not make the display suitable for outdoor usage is its poor maximum display brightness. The poor maximum brightness of the display is quite disappointing, considering that it is LED-backlit.

Speaking of the maximum brightness, the HP Pavilion G7 measures a maximum brightness of 184 nits. The consequence of the meager screen brightness is that the HP Pavilion G7 is not suitable for outdoor usage.

Another thing that might disappoint you about the display of this laptop is that it is not touch-enabled. Hence, you can only make screen inputs and navigate the screen via the keyboard and touchpad.

After discussing in-depth, the display of the HP Pavilion G7, let us proceed to its keyboard. In that regard, this laptop has a full-size keyboard and a dedicated numeric pad with a traditional layout.

Thankfully, the keys type quietly, and they have very little resistance to press. Also, the keys are not spongy, and they register clicks quickly.

Unfortunately, the keys do not have a backlight. Hence, without an external source of light, it will be difficult to type in the dark.

As expected, the HP Pavilion G7 has a touchpad below the keyboard. The touchpad is generously spacious and seamlessly molded into the palm rest.

However, the texture of the touchpad’s surface makes it easy to distinguish from the rest of the palm rest.

Impressively, the touchpad supports multitouch gestures such as rotate, zoom, and two-finger scrolling. Additionally, the discrete right and left mouse buttons click silently.

Now, let’s discuss the sound performance of the HP Pavilion G7. In that regard, the sound produced by the HP Pavilion G7’s speaker is better than you will get from most laptops in the same category.

The speaker also has an integrated microphone for voice input.

Next up in this design section of the HP Pavilion G7 review, let’s talk about its ports. Regarding that, this laptop offers a reasonable number of ports, thanks to its large size.

On the left, there is a VGA, 2 USB 2.0 ports, an RJ45 port, a headphone jack, HDMI, a microphone, and a card reader.

Meanwhile, on the right edge, there is an optical drive, 1 USB 2.0 port, a power port, and a Kensington lock. Unfortunately, HP did not provide a Thunderbolt port on the HP Pavilion G7.

To round up this section of the review, let us consider the weight and dimensions of the HP Pavilion G7. Precisely, it weighs 2744.2 g and has a dimension of 411.9 x 267.9 x 36.5 mm (W x D x H).

As a result of the figures above, the HP Pavilion G7 is large and heavyweight, which is not surprising because it is a 17.3-inch laptop. Nonetheless, it is still slightly more lightweight than the Dell Inspiron 17 7000.

Specifically, the Dell Inspiron 17 7000 weighs 2770 g and measures 412.5 X 277.5 X 22.1 – 22.6mm (W x D x H).

After careful consideration of the design, weight, and dimensions of the HP Pavilion G7, I have decided to rate it a seven.

HP Pavilion G7: Processor (CPU) Performance

The HP Pavilion G7 uses a dual-core Intel Core i3-370M processor, which has a 3 MB cache memory.

Additionally, the Intel Core i3-370M processor has 2.40 GHz as its base frequency. Sadly, the processor frequency cannot be turbo boosted beyond that.

Considering the processor’s specs, it is a low-end processor. Therefore, it only has the ability to run basic processing tasks.

For a real-life illustration of the processor’s performance, let us look at its result in a Cinebench R10 benchmark test. For clarity, Cinebench R10 is a benchmark test tool used to measure the processing performance of a computer.

To deliver on the processor evaluation, the test checks for the single-core and multi-core performances. For a better understanding, single-core is all about performing tasks with a single processor core.

On the other hand, multi-core is all about using all the processor cores. For the case of this dual-core processor, in the multi-core test, the two cores are used.

Meanwhile, it is necessary to note that the higher the score in this benchmark test, the better the processor’s performance. That said, the HP Pavilion G7 scored 3322 points in the single-core test.

Meanwhile, in the multi-core test, it scored 7505 points. In comparison one of the laptops in its class (the Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E320  and the ASUS U56E-BBL5) underperformed in the single-core test but performed better in the multi-core test.

Specifically, the Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E320 had 3446 points in the single-core test and 7400 points in the multi-core test. You should be aware that the Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E320 uses a less powerful Core i3-2310M processor.

Based on all I have said in this section and the performance of the HP Pavilion G7 in the benchmark test, I believe that a rating of seven is fair.

HP Pavilion G7: Memory (RAM) Performance

For its memory, the HP Pavilion G7 features a DDR3-SDRAM on two slots. The standard memory capacity for this laptop is 4 GB, although it can be upgraded to 8 GB.

This simply means that the laptop’s second memory slot can accommodate an additional RAM of 4 GB.

In the aspect of performance, with the standard 4 GB RAM, you can efficiently multitask lightly. However, if you desire more multitasking efficiency from the laptop, you can upgrade the memory to 8 GB.

Speaking of multitasking, with the 4 GB RAM on my test model, it is capable of surfing the web smoothly with 10 tabs opened.

In addition to that, it can also download 2 high-resolution pictures at the same time. To give more clarity about the memory performance of this laptop, let us discuss its result in a PC Mark 7 test.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that a PC Mark 7 is a benchmark test that evaluates the memory performance of a computer. Once again, a higher score on the PCMark 7 test signifies a better memory performance.

From the PC Mark 7 test, the HP Pavilion G7 15 scored 1,933 points. Comparatively, the ASUS U56E-BBL5 had a lesser score of 1,920 points.

Meanwhile, it is important to note that the ASUS U56E-BBL5 also comes with 4 GB DDR4- SD RAM.

In conclusion, the standard memory capacity of the HP Pavilion G7 is small. Thankfully, it can be upgraded to a maximum of 8 GB, which is quite acceptable for a laptop in this category.

Therefore, I will be rating the HP Pavilion G7 seven in this section of the review.

HP Pavilion G7: Storage Options and Performance

When it comes to storage, the HP Pavilion G7 comes with a 5400 RPM SATA HDD which supports a maximum storage capacity of 640 GB.

Additionally, the laptop offers 1 multi-format SD media card reader. Personally, I find the maximum storage capacity quite small, probably because I am a heavy storage user.

Nevertheless, if you are a light storage user who does not have so many files to save, then the storage capacity might be sufficient for you. On another note, the HDD storage on this laptop is not very speedy, which is not surprising.

For a proper insight into the storage performance of this laptop, let us consider its result in a Crystaldiskmark benchmark. Briefly, you should know that the CrystalDiskMark benchmark is a test that calculates the read and write speed of a computer’s storage.

For better comprehension, read speed denotes how fast a computer can open a file. Whereas write speed denotes how fast a computer can save a file.

Hence, higher write and read speeds in the CrystalDiskMark test promise better performance. Proceeding to the test result, the HP Pavilion G7 had a sequential read speed of 148.48 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 141.55 MB/s.

Comparatively, the HP Pavilion x360 had a slower read and write speed. Specifically, the HP Pavilion x360 recorded a sequential read speed of 72 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 34 MB/s.

For a better judgment of performance, it is important to note that the HP Pavilion x360 comes with 1 TB 5400 RPM SATA HDD storage.

In conclusion, the HP Pavilion G7 has good storage performance, but, in my opinion, the storage capacity is not large enough for heavy storage users. As a result of that, it deserves a rating of seven in this section of the review.

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HP Pavilion G7: Graphics Card Performance

Coming to its graphics, the HP Pavilion G7 features integrated Intel HD Graphics.

The graphics card has a base frequency of 500 MHz and a maximum frequency of 667 MHz. Performance-wise, the graphics card produces enough power to play light games.

It is necessary to emphasize that the HP Pavilion G7 is not primarily designed for gaming purposes. Hence, its the reason for using an integrated graphics card.

Regardless of that, the laptop still delivers good graphics quality when used to play low-end games in medium settings. Speaking of games, the HP Pavilion G7 delivered 19.3 frames per second when used to play Crysis (DirectX 10)

Furthermore, it also played Lost Planet 2 (DirectX 9) at 14.3 fps. A limitation of the gaming ability of this laptop is that it cannot play high-end games at high settings.

For more performance evaluation of this laptop’s graphics, let us consider its result in a 3DMark 06 test. Before I proceed with that, you should be aware that 3DMark 06 is a benchmark test that checks the general graphics performance of a computer.

Moreover, a high score on the 3DMark 06 test, like every other test in this review, represents better graphics performance. Back to the results, the HP Pavilion G7 scored 3,816 points in the benchmark test.

Comparatively, the Lenovo Legion Y730 15 scored 9,805 points on the same test. However, it uses a significantly more powerful dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card.

In conclusion, considering the gaming and overall graphics rendering ability of the HP Pavilion G7, I rate it seven out of ten.

HP Pavilion G7: Battery life and Performance

In the aspect of battery, HP equips the Pavilion G7 with a 6-cell, 47 Wh Li-ion. Unfortunately, HP did not disclose the battery life of the laptop.

Nevertheless, it is our standard to always include the battery life details of laptops in our review. This is what I will be doing for the HP Pavilion G7.

In a battery test where a DVD movie was played at maximum brightness, the battery lasted for two hours. Moreso, it lasted for 3 hours and 10 minutes in a web surfing test.

Finally, the HP Pavilion G7 achieved five hours of battery life when kept idle under minimum brightness.

In comparison, the 15-inch ASUS U56E-BBL5, however, lasted for 7 hours and 43 minutes. However, the ASUS U56E-BBL5 uses a larger battery – an 8-cell 74Wh battery.

Finally, I thought that long battery life would be a make-up for the low-end components on this laptop, but HP disappoints. Therefore, the HP Pavilion G7 deserves six for its battery life performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The HP Pavilion G7 is a well-rounded laptop that provides quite a successful balance between price, quality, and performance. This 17-inch multimedia notebook is a very practical laptop with no major blunders.

Speaking of blunders, the screen is glossy, reflective, and dim, but it is nothing worth an alarm. To add to that, this HP pavilion does not feature high-end specifications, and this can be an excuse for its price.

Nevertheless, its stylish two-tone design and 17-inch screen deserve some credit. Additionally, although the laptop does not fire up high-demand games, it, however, supports low-end gaming.

Finally, the HP Pavilion G7 is a good option for budget hunters who have no problem using a weighty laptop or constantly charging.

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