Customer Reviews

HP G6-1B60US Notebook PC (Charcoal Gray)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Overall the HP G6-1b60us is a good balance of features, performance and price - only the loud cooling fan keeps it from being great. The display is bright, the keyboard has a good feel and the large off-center touchpad makes a lot of sense for anyone that operates a mouse with their right hand. The mouse buttons below the touchpad are a bit stiff, but for light usage don't seem overly difficult. Performance is about what I expected from a budget laptop model with Windows 7 being ready for use in just under 20 seconds (prior to loading any of your own programs). The computer is very easy to setup out of the box with smart and simple setup menus to guide you through initial startup of the system, and fortunately HP has left a lot of 3rd party trial software off the system - saving you time from having to remove software that just slows your system down from the start.

The one standout weakness of this computer is the constant, unwavering system cooling fan noise. If you are someone bothered by the constant "shhhh" noise of a small computer fan, this computer is NOT for you. In a quiet room the fan will be very noticeable - particularly if the laptop is on a hard surface such as a table where the sound is reflected back at you. The one setting related to the system fan (the ability to disable the fan from a setting of "Always on" in the system BIOS) seems to have no effect on the speed or time of operation of the fan in this model. The fan is louder than every high-performance laptop computer I have used at work over 10 years, and is perhaps necessary for the AMD processor in this system, but it is the only disappointment in an otherwise solid entry level laptop. A summary of pros and cons as I see them from my use of system are below.

Pros:
* Good ergonomics - Bright display, solid keyboard feel, well placed touchpad
* Very good sound - The Altec Lansing speakers produce very clear sound and volume for an entry level system and are placed in a smarter location than many laptops that place them on top where they collect dirt and other debris
* Sturdy construction - Large display hinges feel solid, the unit doesn't flex easily and materials used in construction appear of good quality
* Good performance - The system is reasonably quick for any standard computing needs, and could be further improved with replacement of standard 5400 rpm hard drive

Cons:
* Loud system fan noise - Constant, unchanging fan noise can be quite noticeable in quiet rooms or on hard surfaces
* Few hardware configuration options - Related to the fan in particular, no ability via BIOS or Windows settings to manage cooling fan operation even by reducing CPU performance
* Poor access to memory/hard drive - If you want to add memory or change to a faster hard drive or SSD in the future the access panel is snapped in by plastic tabs that are guaranteed to break off with more than one removal

Other information:
Windows Experience Index ratings for the system running Windows 7 Premium 64-bit as configured out of the box are: Processor: 5.4, Memory: 5.9, Graphics: 4.6, Gaming graphics: 6.2, Primary hard disk: 5.9

In conclusion I would recommend this laptop if the price is under $500, but only for someone not annoyed by the kind of steady noise a computer fan can produce.

I believe this is a terrific value for someone who wants a laptop to do more than just web browsing, email,and word processing. It's fast enough and has adequate memory to work with video and music. We've been impressed with the keyboard, screen resolution, weight and "feel". The processor does its job effectively without any lag. For anyone who needs a good laptop and does not want to spend a lot of money this one is a great choice!

My favourite definition of quality is "fitness for use", more importantly especially when buying a laptop, headache free use. Whilst this laptop may be many things: solid build, nice design, HP support assistant software two thumbs up and all. This laptop should also come with a note saying headache attached as the battery stated "77% available, plugged in not charging" within 48 hours of its receipt thereby turning my smile into a frown :(.

I did research some laptops before choosing this one so there are some good points about this laptop and they are as follows:

Price: Not bad, but not great, @ USD $449.99 it was sweet enough for me to say yes to, however I quickly turned sour when I saw that within 72hrs of my purchasing the item the price had dipped to $379.99 USD. I wanted to cry! That's what I would have called a great price. This however only lasted for approximately 48 hrs before skyrocketing up to $479.99 (Had even considered buying another one @ $379.99, but these hopes were quickly dashed, felt as if I was on the Fed with prices moving up and down so sudden!y)

With regards to overall build etc a previous reviewer "MTM" had a really good take on it so I'll just copy portions of his/ her review and add my own spin.

Pros:
* Good ergonomics - Bright display, solid keyboard feel, well placed touchpad (I would like to emphasize the touchpad, its like a fine metal grating, so the traction is out of this world!! (No more slipping and sliding)

* Very good sound - The Altec Lansing speakers produce very clear sound and volume for an entry level system and are placed in a smarter location than many laptops that place them on top where they collect dirt and other debris (Whilst this may be true in a "quiet environment" the speakers otherwise perform in a noisy environment,headphones will be required, but I will put a hold on blaming HP for this as I believe its a trade off due to the fact that the speakers are SRS. So for some people the sound may be a CON)

* Sturdy construction - Large display hinges feel solid, the unit doesn't flex easily and materials used in construction appear of good quality (I'll definitely agree to this!!. Like a Rock! Ok well maybe I exaggerate but it does not flex like those of another very popular Manufacturer's, when picked up by an edge.)

* Good performance - The system is reasonably quick for any standard computing needs, and could be further improved with replacement of standard 5400 rpm hard drive. (Emphasis on the word "reasonably" whilst surfing via firefox, admittedly I was seriously multi-tabbing and had an excel sheet open Total Ram usage was noted as having reached 3.53GB of a total 4GB, with CPU usage frequently reaching 100%....should I be frightened?? I believe the problem is the processor as it has a 1.9ghz base with a very dismal 1 MB level 2 cache, Phoeey!!!).

Cons:
* Loud system fan noise - Constant, unchanging fan noise can be quite noticeable in quiet rooms or on hard surfaces (Only a problem if you suffer from some sort of neurosis, or are trying to sleep with it on in the room! Didn't mind it most times.)

* Few hardware configuration options - Related to the fan in particular, no ability via BIOS or Windows settings to manage cooling fan operation even by reducing CPU performance (Not really that big of a deal except in the 2 instances noted above)

* Poor access to memory/hard drive - If you want to add memory or change to a faster hard drive or SSD in the future the access panel is snapped in by plastic tabs that are guaranteed to break off with more than one removal (Not sure haven't checked)

ADDITIONALLY:
PROS
Try connecting the lappy to a big screen via the HDMI port and maybe just maybe you may forget that the machine came with a defective battery. AMD Radeon(tm) HD 6480G Discrete-Class Graphics with up to "2037MB total graphics memory". They didn't lie at all HDMI all the way, plug and play, don't buy another laptop without it!!!!!!!!!!
-The Cam and Mic are fairly ok, no complaints!

CONS
*The laptops display has limited viewing angles as the it was built with the intention of being a power saver, this is not really a biggy unless more than on person is trying to watch a movie at the same time.

*The laptop display itself may be suspect as I've noted lots of horizontal lines flickering across it from time to time (but truth be told I was doing a windows update of the video drivers at the time so may be the reason for the isplay being antsy) and I cringe every single time....who knows maybe apart from a defective battery I got a defective display as well? Raises eyebrow.

*With regards to the DVD-RW drive it works but not so well if you're reading a disc with lots of pics or one that's been burn't for e.g. say more than 2 yrs ago the ROM starts vibrating and spinning at incredibly fast speeds. you can literally hear the disk coming into contact with the walls of the compartment an of course the explorer window freezes.

You may ask why based on the above didn't I send back the laptop.

Response I live in the Caribbean and it cost an additional $41 USD to ship it to my country. So thinking about the $41 USD to return it to the states and the other $41 USD to get another laptop with possibly of a defective everything???

Better the devil you know than the one you do not!

I contacted HP customer support and they shipped me a new battery free of charge. Paid $9 USD to ship it out of the US. I was however able to return ship the defective battery to HP free of charge via Fedex! (Good going HP at least you got that right!!)

My opinion this would be a steal of a deal at under $400 USD....saw Anthony D paid $399.99. Lucky guy!

Whats missing:
-Bluetooth
- A better processor probably one with a 3mb cache @ 2.3 ghz??
With the above this laptop could easily have sold for $480 or so.

Awesome. Silent and smooth. Runs everything pretty fast. Perfect for casual gamming. Run most of the new games in medium settings. It's an excellent deal. You won't get anything better for this price.

Got this laptop as my backup for when I DJ parties. My wife also uses it when I don't need it. Works & looks great. Light weight. Screen is bright. Just what I need for my basic needs. I couldnt resist the price $400 then signed up for their credit card and got $50 off of that. $350 for this laptop! Nice!

For 399.99 (my purchase price) this laptop is amazing. Runs quiet, cool and fast. No issues at all thus far. The AMD dual core works very well with this laptop.

Easy keyboard and easy to use. I like to play games on Facebook and this machine does this very well. The graphics are adequate for light gaming. Excellent product for the price

I was lucky to pick this computer up for $399 about two months ago after owning a Dell Vostro 1500. This model is good, but I wouldn't spend more than $400 on it.
First, although it is of medium weight, the construction of the laptop feels very light and slightly cheap. It's sturdy, but I'm concerned with how long it will last after being carted around in a bag between classes.
The design itself is very sleek and clean with a glossy-finished screen. The keyboard is an adequate size, with large keys and such, but they are closer together than the keyboard on my Dell was, which has taken some getting used to.
As for the software and such, I have found it to run to my needs. Now I am not a gamer whatsoever, but I do have a large amount of media and programs that I use. I have not yet encountered a problem such as the videos or music running slower when I have several programs open at once.

Now the biggest con that I have with this model is the optical drive. First, when playing a DVD through it, it is extremely loud, so much that I can't hear the actual video very well. Second, the optical drive is very cheaply made. The plastic is very flimsy and I'm afraid that it would easily break. As well, it is difficult to open.

Another aspect about this laptop that bothers me is the number of LED lights that are constantly on. If you plan on keeping this computer near where you sleep, it becomes very annoying. When you're using WIFI, the f12 key has a little light that is always on when you're connected. Then, whether your computer is on or off, when it's connected to the power adapter a light is always on. Then, if you put the laptop on standby, the power light and a light on the side of the laptop always blink. I don't believe you can turn any of these directly off (correct me if I'm wrong) and it's just plain annoying.

The webcam that is located at the top of the screen is not the greatest of webcams. The image is very grainy and the contrast is off. The software that it comes with is fairly simple to navigate.

For those that would like to use this computer for gaming or mainly for media and would consistently use the speakers, I warn you, the quality is very poor. When you play a song it sounds like the base and anything that gives it depth are missing. And if you're watching a DVD, the sound quality is even worse because the optical drive overpowers it.

When I first turned the laptop on, it was not difficult to complete the set up and connect to the WIFI. But I did find that there was a lot of bloatware, games and useless websites that I had to delete. I also deleted Norton Anti-Virus immediately. Also, it does install a lot of updates within the first week.

The Pros:
It performs well when multiple programs are running
It is fairly lightweight
The screen is a good size and the image quality is very good
The trackpad works pretty well. Also, it looks to be located in the middle right below the keyboard. I know that many laptops feature the trackpad to the left now, but this is in the middle.
The fan is actually not too loud. It's not as quiet as a mouse, but it is manageable
There are external media controls, which are keys f6 through f11.

The Cons:
The construction could have been more solid
The sound quality is below average
The optical drive is just poor, and it runs way too loud.
All of the LED lights are unnecessary
For the arrow keys, the left and right are of average size, but the up and down have been cut to half the size and that they both equal the size of the left arrow key. They're both smaller than normal keys.
It does get warm if you use it on any surface that's not wood or plastic.
There is no clasp to keep the lid securely closed. It's a magnet.
I wish the webcam were of better quality.

Overall, I am glad that I chose this computer, as for the price it is fairly good. But I wouldn't spend more than $400 because it's just not worth it.

Had shopped other brands and had nothing but problems. Gone back to HP and this machine was a great mix of power and value.

This laptop was delivered quicker than was stated in the blurb. The packaging was well thought out as it protected the item from any possible damage.

I love HP products because you can be almost positive they will serve you well. I simply plugged it in to charge and used it right away. It came loaded with vista which is easy to navigate. It shuts down quickly and can be stored just about anywhere. The screen is large, but I wouldn't want to carry it around with me because it is a bit heavy.