Customer Reviews

HP G72-250US 17.3-Inch Laptop

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I wanted to replace my 2005 laptop with a 4GB, Core i3 machine and went looking for the best bang for the buck in this category. I did not want thin and light - this machine would rarely leave the house and I would just get a desktop except that, these days, it's nice to be able to move the PC from desk to couch to bed to kitchen for use as a TV, as a phone, as a photo album, as toddler entertainment...

The HP was on sale and provided the absolute max amount of screen for the dollar, and that was the deciding factor for me. Unlike a few years ago, most current laptops now have tremendous similarity in design and subcontractor components, so they all have decent keyboard, memory, hard drive, webcam, etc. But the screen on the HP was enormous compared to others at this price point and the casing had a nice texture.

I am very, very happy with this machine. If you are looking for desktop replacement, go big and you will not be disappointed. The only minor flaw so far is the miniature up/down arrows mentioned by another reviewer, though you canalways use the numeric keypad as backup arrows. I actually like the reprogramming of the useless F1-F12 keys for volume and other functions (a la Mac Book Pro) and consider this a plus.

Again, great value, great feel, freaking giant screen. Love it.

I purchased this laptop about a month ago. For the price, it's great: huge screen, 320GB, 4GB of RAM, full keyboard including numpad, Win7, etc. I've had no serious problems with it.

A few minor issues:

Like many other laptops, this one comes with a bunch of HP software that you probably don't need.

The Up+Down directional keys are half-sized to save space on the keyboard.

The F1-F12 keys perform alternate controls like screen brightness, volume, play/pause, etc. But the alternate controls are set as the default functions of the F keys: you need to press the 'fn' key to use F1, F2, etc. This was a problem when I went to play a game that used the F keys. To change this, press F10 when booting to access the BIOS. In the "System Configuration" menu, you will see an option for "Action Keys Mode." Disable it to restore your F1-F12 keys to the normal settings.

Update May 4, 2011:

I've had this laptop for many months now, and it's still running great. However, I recently noticed that the buttons on the touchpad are a bit hard to press. I never noticed before because I use a wireless mouse, so it has never been a problem. But those who only plan to use the touchpad exclusively might not like this design. Not worth knocking off a star, since it's not a big issue, and I'd expect most people to use a mouse with a laptop this size.

I wanted a 17" screen with 16:9 resolution and 4GB memory at the lowest price I could find. I considered a similar Toshiba offered as a special at the same price by Costco but decided against it because I don't like the feel of Toshiba keyboards and their machines in general seem to have a lower quality feel and look about them. Dell also was offering a similar, discontinued model for a hundred dollars more. I've owned several Dells and have nothing against them but I wanted to try a different brand and this was $100 less. I immediatley liked the feel of the keyboard as opposed to the Toshiba. I also like the look of the silver case, much classier than either the Dell or the Toshiba. I've only owned the machine a short while and so cannot speak to it's long term reliability but so far it is fast and easy to use with no problems. It comes with a 320GB hard drive. I wish it had 500GB as the Toshiba did. But, truth is, 320 is perfectly adequate for most peoples needs. I also wish it had a backlit keyboard as the Toshiba did and so did my previous Dell laptop. I miss that. But for a 17" screen with 16:9 resolution (great for videos, etc. an amazing difference from the 13:7 resolution found in most 17" and nearly all 15" computers) and 4GB memory, this can't be beat.

I've had this HP G72-250US laptop for a few weeks and am very happy with it. I have had an HP zd8000 for about 5 yrs. and it's still working OK but this new one is faster, better screen, larger storage, etc. - Actually, it kicks butt over the zd8000.
I waited 'til they got rid of Vista to buy and like the Windows 7 so far.
I bought it at Staples and it was $599. Plus an instant $50 discount and an HP $50 rebate so I end up spending $499 (not bad if you consider my zd8000 was about $1,800+).

The main reason that I bought this laptop is because of the HUGE 17.3 screen and also because it is made by HP!

PROS about this HP Computer:

1) Fast wireless N Card built in. I just turned on the computer, and the card read my router and I was up and running on the internet in just 5 minutes! (Having the built in card on this desktop like the laptops do was a MUST for me. Also, the internet runs so quickly with this card in the computer, I am just amazed!

2) The Hard Disk is so so quiet, even when it runs it is hard to hear and the hard disk does not run often. (Good signs!)

3) Love the "standard like 101 keyboard" which has a seperate number pad like the large standard keyboards do. This is one of the main reasons I wanted a 17.3 vs a 15.6 HP Laptop was that I like having a number pad!

4) This laptop runs much cooler than my last laptop did,however, I bought a cooling fan and I placed the computer on top of this and it runs very very cool. (I would not own a laptop without a separate cooling fan as laptops tend to run hotter than desktops do).

5) Love the Windows 7 Home Premium that is on this computer. In my last computer, I had Vista and I had a love/hate relationship with Vista. So this experience so far with Windows 7 has been great.

6) The keyboard is almost totally silent, something I love! It did take about 2 weeks for me to get used to this FLAT ISLAND STYLE KEYBOARD because I am a touch typist and used to the clanky clank type of keyboard. Now, I love the flat and quiet keyboard.

CONS:
** NONE WITH THIS LAPTOP PC at all, it is PERFECT!
However, with Windows 7 here is my experience:
* Before buying this superb HP 17.3 Laptop in August,2010, I thought about it for more than six months! So I bought this HP Laptop and also the HP P6510F Desktop and love them both! I knew I wanted an HP 17.3 laptop and this one is just perfect! I am used to upgrading over the years as each time I buy a new computer with new Windows, I have found I had to buy all new software as most of the old softwares would not run with the new Windows program. In addition, about 50% of the time, I had to buy a new printer as well. The last two times I bought a new system, with Vista and now Windows 7, I was able to update the driver of my printer online and install with no problem. All in all, I am so pleased with my purchase and love this HP 17.3 laptop!

This is my third HP laptop. The first got me though three years of college, the second got me through three years of intense Website design. Both eventually died just from incessant and constant use. This HP G72 is perfect for my use, its big and powerful enough to run Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator and Fireworks simultaneously without noticeably loosing any speed. But its also lightweight enough to take with me to see clients without feeling like I'm hauling around a bowling ball. The good: lightweight, no silly lid catch switch, smaller but more powerful battery, Intel Core i3, 4 gig RAM and a giant screen! The bad: Usually there is a little stripe that marks where the touch scroll is, but is lacking on this computer. Not that big a deal though, I'll get used to it.

Excellent Laptop, the best computer I've owned, and I've had a lot of them. Great buy too.

This is a great laptop to experience the i-3 processor by Intel, and HP was caring enough to leave room for the RAM to be doubled from 4GM to 8GM. If you are planning on owning a machine for a few years after it takes on a bunch of updates, the memory upgrade will become necessary and not all laptop makers are giving consumers this option, beware! The screen size is HUGE, my wife was able to watch streaming video from overseas fine, and Window's 7 is awesome, with some more functionality than Vista and way more than XP. Some users may find HP's onboard mouse difficult to "click" though the touch pad is very sensitive both for a double-touch/click as well as for the scroll up/down features (which I haven't used much before). Definitely a machine you can enjoy using for years to come!

The HP G72-250US is a good machine. 17.3" screen is great. But c'mon Hewlitt Packard, because you put in a HDMI port, you had to short the extension cord for the 12v adapter by a foot to 18"? Other than the VZ manager not supporting the operating system for broadband, which I'm trying to resolve through Verizon, all in all I like it. It's the little things that R + D put into something, that makes the difference for me, and the cord length was a small burr under my saddle. Now, here's the
[deal-i-o] with Staples. Paid $ 549.00 plus tax, and would have got an instant $50.00 in store discount off of that, but here's the rub. You have to turn in a laptop or your old computer that will turn on. Unfortunately, mine was dead, so I couldn't participate. Still a great buy. I still killed the price by $ 50.00, and with the coupon, you'll stomp the competition on pricing. One more thing, why aren't all laptops in the year 2010 backlit on the keyboards? It can't be technologically impossible at this late stage in the game. Pssst......R + D, if research and development doesn't speak for us out here in the market, then the suits you work for will run roughshot all over us, and rape and pillage our pocket books. Other then that, this machine could have been great, instead of good.

I was a little afraid of ordering a notebook through the mail, but it arrived okay despite the box was wide open because of a poor taping on the package and the notebook could freely slide around inside, again from really poor packing.
Other than that, the HP is great! it came with everything promised. It's really fast and the screen looks great.
Haven't had the first problem.
Get Better Packers Amazon! I don't like spending over $600.00 and have the product bounce around inside the box.