Rating Summary
“The Pavilion DV7-3061nr is an exceptionally well balanced laptop”
- tech savvy
- Pros
- large hard drive, cool and quiet, built in stereo speakers and subbwoofer, price/performance, Windows Experience Index score, Aesthetics and Feel, Wide Screen & Graphics, Battery Life
- Cons
- no backlighting for keybboard
Hewlett-Packard PAVILION DV7-3061NR-E NOTEBOOK PC —
With the release of Windows 7 and breakthrough price/performance gains in laptop technology enabling desktop replacement laptops to deliver the goods at unprecedented cost parity, it's hard to go wrong shopping for any of these portable wonders being offered by the top manufacturers. When I started looking in early December, I was working with a few specific requirements to best meet my immediate and foreseeable future needs:
0) Priced within reach. For me this meant less than $800.00,
1) In many respects the PC is above all else, a personal electronic file cabinet. I tend to accumulate lots of files, so a priority for me was a large hard drive.
2) Another priority was speed. No one likes to wait for a response from their PC- a fast start-up, seek, and open response is essential.
3) Screen size and resolution. I wanted 17" with 1600 x 900 resolution for viewing wider and more lifelike images, and being able to share those images with others nearby. 17" is the standard for a 'desktop replacement' laptop, and this is what I wanted - near desktop performance in a portable, stowable package.
4) Good aesthetics, and ergonomics - especially the keyboard, the mousepad, and the discrete indicators and controls such as speaker volume, player controls and wireless communications.
5) Good sound reproduction to go with the high-res screen.
6) Good graphics rendering to take advanatage of the high-res screen.
7) Good connectivity- the more available ports, including HDMI, multiple USB, and PC expansion, the better.
8) Good battery life: 200 minutes minimum at moderate useage level. Fast recharge to 100% in 2hrs or less.
9) Cool and quiet operation to allow comfortable use on my lap.
10) A few 'nice to have' features, including built in web cam and mic, disc labeling capability, and backlit keyboard keys,
After looking at and comparing nearly every major brand and retail outlet, I found the HP Pavilion DV7-3061nr online at Sears.com It seemed to have nearly everything I was looking for. After receiving and setting it up, I was not disappointed.
I really like the aesthetics and feel of the entire HP Pavilion product line. The DV7 17" version is particularly eye-catching with its wide screen, multiple connectivity ports, generous keyboard and auxiliary controls. The 3061nr model in particular is possibly the lowest cost iteration of the DV7 platform currently available, yet it boasts a Windows Experience Index number of 4.6 and an index cumulative score number (total of all parameters -CPU, RAM, Windows Graphics, Gaming Graphics, and Hard Drive) of 29. This computer is a sleeper! The combination of the AMD M500 Turion processor, 4 GB of RAM, ATI Radeon HD 4530 dedicated graphics processor, and 500 GB Hard Drive is exceptionally well balanced in this model, and you know its working well when it runs ambient temperature cool, quiet, boots (restarts) in 50 seconds flat, and runs over 4 hours on one charge.
About the only feature I find lacking in this marvelous machine is keyboard backlighting, which I would really be able to use working in the evening and nightime. I don't know why (maybe related to battery life) but none of the PC companies seem to offer this feature. Other than this relatively minor detail, I'm very satisfied with the DV7-3061nr, and would encourage anyone with similar requirements and expectations for a laptop to visit Sears.com or KMart where this model is available.
Hewlett-Packard PAVILION DV7-3061NR-E NOTEBOOK PC
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