Customer Reviews

HP Pavilion DV7-3180US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Anyone unhappy with this unit is nuts or spoiled as hell. Can't really find a complaint. Fast. Been using for over a month now problem free. Took it out of the box, turned it on, set it up, and started working, and remember saying out loud "I can't beleive I own this". Most computer hardware wise for the money I could find. Solid. Only thing that disappointed was that the HP Media Bundle has issues but the Windows programs are reliable. I like to install my own media software anyway so I still give this machine 5 stars.

I have used the HP Pavilion DV7 for the 17 months now. It was purchased by my company as I would never have considered purchasing such a "cheap" laptop. I only preface with this bit of nerd snobbery so you can know this review is written by someone who hasn't touched a notebook under $2K for over a decade and has rather high PC performance standards:

In short, this is an AMAZING steal for the price. The technical specs are superior to what you'll find in the more "elite" market and the performance of this PC is really impressive. In fact, I'm leaving my company and am only on Amazon writing this review as I prepare to purchase another of these models for my personal use...

PROS:
I originally thought I'd only use it for work (aka spreadsheets, etc) but started using it for video watching, gaming, movie burning, etc because it was working so smoothly. I'm a very hard PC user. I don't like to close applications and am always multi-tasking as in: several Microsoft Excel spreadsheets; a few Word documents; at least one Project file; iTunes playing in the background; Outlook running and checking mail every 15 seconds; Google Chrome open with 7 tabs; and Mozilla Firefox open with 7 more tabs. This PC has performed expertly for a year and never even paused despite my harsh use. As in, no crashes, no hesitation to respond to a click despite aforementioned heavy (ab)use and because it's worth repeating--no crashes.

CONS:
The only thing I have to report, is after 17 months of solid use, I've worn the "E" off (key/hardware works fine) and the "R" is on her way out too!

Although I had no issue with mine, I feel compelled to report that of the 4 PCS my company purchased, one did end up with a fried motherboard. To be fair, that particular employee was prone to visiting...websites of ill-repute...and could have caught himself a virus (ironic) that turned the fans off.

Research the documented motherboard issue on the HP Pavilions before you buy!!!! I thought for many years that HP was a trusted reliable brand. I spent $1200 on this HP just to find out 13 months in that there is a motherboard issue. This unit overheats easily (often without you being aware) and you will lose your motherboard (and your investment will be lost). The dv7 has the same overheating/motherboard problem that the other pavilion dv series exhibits. If you buy the unit anyway (or have already purchased) watch carefully for signs of problems BEFORE the 1 year warranty expires. Motherboard problems can present initially as odd issues such as power problem (powering off, turning off while booting up, etc). ALWAYS use laptops on a hard surface. In this case using a cooling surface didn't prevent the problem but often this can help you avoid issues. Good luck!

I know that for the price your paying for this computer it isen't that bad. It only has one fluck that I have experenced and that is that the dislay drive stops responding and immediantly recovers after the screen gos black for a few seconds. It has something to do with the kernel drive 184.66 and I can't fix it because hp and nvidia haven't come up with a solution too the problem yet and yes I did a system recovery several times also uninstalling and reinstalling the driver. Other than that I really can't complain other then that little problem with the display drive. I really dont like the fact that they took out the 500GB (7200RPM) hard drive and replaced it with a 640GB (5400RPM). Overall I give this computer a 4 out of 5.

This is a powerful laptop, it has a decent video card and a lot of memory for todays standards. Blu-ray works fine and the power of the processor is kind of equal as a Desktop Core 2 Duo @ 2.6 Ghz. Graphics runs faster, I can play some games @ 1600*900 resolution, but others that need more graphics I play them @ 1280*720, which is not an issue for me.

The only problems I have is that when you render MPEG4 video the CPU heats a lot, it goes from the 60 degrees celcius to 90 degrees celcius and that is something dangerous because the CPU can only resist 100 degrees celcius.

Other thing I want to mention is that the sound quality is bad if you let it at default, you need to install the audio drivers and try to adjust them with a lot of diferent combinations for a decent audio quality.

And the last thing about this PC is that battery doesn't help that much. If you spend your time going through the internet, etc. the battery will last about maximum 2 and half hours, and if you play games or edit video, it will only last about 1 hour.

Overall, if you want something for games and video editing this computer is fast for that but heats a lot, but if you want a computer just for navigate though the internet, this is not for you.

P.S. I recomend buying a good heat sink for this laptop.

I upgraded to this laptop from an old Toshiba. I was reluctant to go with an HP but I thought I would give it a try. I have to say that i love this laptop. It has more than enough power to get the job done and the 17.3 in. LED display is just beautiful. The battery life is also very surprising, I can get about 3-4 hours (compared to 1-2 hours on my Toshiba) of battery time before I have to find a power outlet :) The cooling fan can get a little noisy while playing a game but that is understandable. Also, the HP logo in the back can be VERY bright in a dark room (I don't know if you can turn that off or not). All in all, this is a great computer to upgrade to.

My DV7 lasted 15 months before it started failing to recognize the power adapter. This is a chronic problem with the HP DV series. HP offered me the opportunity to spend $400 to replace the motherboard.

Google this laptop before buying, and be aware of the problems others have experienced.

I spend about 5 months a year "away from home" so I purchased this HP (Nov. 09) in the hopes that I could take many of the features of my desktop with me. On that end, this laptop has met all my expectations. In fact, I find myself now using this at home just as much as I do my desktop! When I'm on the road, I can do just about everything with this unit that I do with my desktop - business applications, internet, movie watching and "strategy game" applications. I must admit however, that I do not play what one would call "memory intensive games" and thus cannot comment on how it handles them. However, it is my opinion that anyone who went in expecting that a 17 inch laptop that is selling for under $800 to be a Blu-ray playing, 3D gaming "powerhouse" with performance and graphics equivalent to that of your home set up of an Xbox360, Blu-Ray player and a 50" plasma TV - you're not being realistic. This is a "nice" laptop and if you're a person who wants or needs a larger screen and spends most of their time surfing, photo shopping, running a small business and occasionally listening to music or watching a movie now and then - then this is a good laptop for you. Note: Not everything is "perfect" however, fingerprints are always an issue with the units glossy "finish." I also find that the touchpad is too sensitive for me (even after adjustment) but that can is quickly solved with the addition of a wireless mouse. The "Altec Lansing" speakers aren't anything special - but once again - it's a "mid-range" laptop - so what was I expecting? I have read some reviewer complaints about "heat" (I always use a cooling pad anyway) and "slowing response times," motherboards, etc. but I have not experienced ANY issues with this unit over the past year. In the final analysis, I feel this is a solid, well equipped, nicely featured product and I would have no problem getting a similar unit should the need ever arise (which it will in a couple years when all the existing features have become obsolete).

I purchased this on a wim in Walmart mainly because of the price tag, blu-ray, and the ATI Radeon 4650 this one came with. I have an Acer Desktop with an ATI Radeon 4850 and its just slighty behind it, it actually gets a windows rating of 6.6 for graphics. Oddly enough thats the same as the Nvidia GTX 260m, so i find that hard to believe so who knows if its really accurate or not. Oh well, this laptop is pretty good, great for gaming, but sub-par for everything else. I like AMD ATHLON, i repeat ATHLON processors, they are much better and a bit faster than the turion. Basically the Turion is like the Pentium Dual Core(though not quite as quick) and the Athlon would be the Core 2 Duo. That being said this has the Ultra version of the Turion which is ok, but still a little laggy when it comes to opening apps, windows and running multiple applications at once, especially when transferring data from an external hard drive. The blu-ray play looks well not that impressive, it is clear however the colors do not jump out at you like better blu ray players in say the Sony Vaios. Also they claim the screen is LED backlit, i just don't see it, i've seen a few Acers and a nice MSI computer with backlit screens that put this one to shame. The colors are just dull, and also when it comes to burning or ripping the BD-ROM drive seems to be a bit slower than an average DVD Burner, also reading discs is painfully slow. The plus is the sound, camera, sturdy build, remote, great quality keys and just an overall feel that its a solid machine. When it comes to gaming all games from around 2005 to about 2007 will run on high setting flawlessly, even Gears Of War. Now when you step up to more advanced direct x 10 games such as Far Cry 2, Crysis(which i hate anyways), Cryostasis, and Bioshock 2, you have to crank down the resolution if you want good details. So its hit and miss, for the same price you could order an Asus with a higher end card, but with many flaws as i have experienced, or just stick to a little gaming on this machine, and use your 360 and PS3 for the rest, i do. So its a good computer plagued mostly by a sub par processor and a slow umimpressive blu-ray player, but hey at least you get one. Other than that theres not to much wrong with the computer, although it runs hot, its not blazing hot like most machines with these specs. I like upper end HP's like this one, lower ends i could live without. Then again i have an Emachines that is a great basic computer that i use more than this one. Go figure.:D

the touch pad on mine sucks so bad it's almost unusable! i can't beleive no one else is complaining about it. try scrolling down a page and it go's nuts.try and stop it before the bottom and your going all the way to the top! reading anything with this is the most frustrating thing u will ever do.
this is my forth laptop and by far the worst yet. yes i tried adjusting every setting and it still sucks..........
/update.After calling HP and letting the tech. guy update the Bios... it works great!!! Now I like this laptop two stars more and would tell others to buy this one, thanks HP.