HP Pavilion dv7t Review

Pavilion dv7t Notebook 

Review Summary:

The HP Pavilion dv7t is a powerful multimedia notebook with a good combination of processor, storage, and graphics performance.

Pros

• Excellent performance
• Fantastic audio quality
• Good port selection
• Excellent build quality with an appealing design

Cons

• Underdeveloped touchpad
• Heat issue in one spot
• Low(ish) battery life

HP Pavilion dv7t Full Review

 

The 17-inch HP Pavilion dv7t is the new quad-core lineup of multimedia notebooks by HP. In our review of the dv7t series, we will see if HP has improved the known complaints about the prior dv7/dv7t. We will take a look at its build quality, performance, heat and temperature, battery life, and more. We will also test our review notebook for its gaming ability. Keep reading our full review below to find out if this is the right multimedia notebook for you!

Our HP Pavilion dv7t features the following specifications:

• Intel Core i7-2630QM quad-core CPU (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
• 17.3" diagonal HD+ HP BrightView (glossy) LED Display (1600 x 900)
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 8GB DDR3 memory
• 660GB total, dual hard drive system (160GB SSD + 500GB at 7200RPM)
• 1GB GDDR5 Radeon HD 6770M graphics
• Blu-ray player and SuperMulti DVD burner
• Gigabit Ethernet and Intel 802.11b/g/n wireless
• TrueVision HD webcam
• 6-cell Li-ion battery (55 Wh) and 120W power adapter
• Dimensions: 16.3" x 10.8" x 1.2"
• Weight: 6.72 with standard battery
• MSRP as configured: $1,605

The base MSRP for the HP Pavilion dv7t is $1,099 but that price will vary depending on how you customize the notebook. The bigger choices are the operating system (Windows 7 Home Premium is included; Professional is $99 more; and Ultimate is $139 more), the Intel i7 quad-core processor (Intel Core i7-2630QM is included, i7-2720QM is $150 more, and i7-2820QM is $350 more), and the graphics card (the 1GB GDDR5 Radeon HD 6490M graphics card is included, the Radeon HD 6770M is $25 more, and the Radeon HD 6770M with 2GB of dedicated memory is $75 more). Other features, parts, and accessories can be added for extra.

Build and Design
The new HP Pavilion dv7t consists of umber-colored glossy plastic materials with a hard metallic finish. HP has been known to go mostly for style over functionality in its build quality in the 17-inch entertainment notebook realm, but this time around the outer build quality seems to have improved greatly from the last 17-inch dv7t.

As far as design goes, the notebook has a dark brown color (labeled as "umber") and the all-over brushed metallic gives the notebook a nice textured look. The frame around the display consists of glossy plastics, a stylistic move by HP. The model name is featured in the upper-righthand corner of the display, and "beats audio" is written in the upper lefthand corner (Beats Audio is HP's new audio-enhancing software). The overall finished result of the design strikes me as sophisticated and trendy; it's a design almost anyone would enjoy. It also comes in a "steel gray" color for $25 extra.

The brushed metallic finish has greatly progressed the build quality from last time; now the exterior frame of the notebook feels stronger and the overall build quality really is excellent. The chassis is made of tough aluminum across the top and plastic underneath, and does not bend inward much when pressure is applied in the center of the keyboard. The palmrests do not flinch at all when pressure is applied and the side follows suit, but the top of the chassis does bend a little. The aluminum finish helps the palmrests and the rest of the chassis stay nice and cool even when the notebook is exerted. The speakers are located across almost the entire top of the chassis and below the touchpad, and also at the bottom of the notebook for a surround sound effect. The touchpad is ringed by a light blue backlight. The only complaint I have is the less-than-sturdy aluminum hinges: they bend when you press down on them. They do, however, seem as though they will be long-lasting and will withstand many years of being used.

Since the notebook has a monster-sized 17.3-inch diagonal display and a 6.72-pound weight, this is probably not made for weak laps, (or laps in general) or for heavy traveling...but it will do nicely to be placed on a desk or to be carried around the house.

Ports and Features
The dv7t has an above average port selection when compared to most other consumer entertainment notebooks. The series has jumped onto the SuperSpeed bandwagon and features two USB 3.0 ports (along with two USB 2.0), HDMI 1.4 and VGA, and a multi-format card reader. There are no DisplayPort or ExpressCard ports. All descriptions are from left to right.

Front: SD/MMC port

Back: Exhaust vent

Left: Exhaust vent, VGA, HDMI, Ethernet, USB 3.0 (x2), microphone jack, audio jacks (x2)

Right: Activity lights, USB 2.0 (x2), optical drive, A/C power, lock slot

Keyboard and Touchpad
The dv7t features a full-sized Chiclet-style keyboard, which basically means the keys are not raised as much nor curved to fit the form of the fingers (some keys on Chiclet keyboards are curved slightly, but the keys on this particular keyboard are not curved at all, they are flat). There is also ample amount of space in between the keys to help with the reduction of typos, a change from the earlier dv7 models with a more traditional keyboard. There is also a full numberpad included with each model.

The typing experience was found to be quite good overall despite the flat keys, with great tactical feedback and key throw. Surprisingly, there weren't any major problems and users shouldn't suffer all that much if they're making the switch-over from the traditional keyboard to the Chiclet-style keyboard. The aluminum chassis and frame helped to greatly make the keyboard solid; it hardly flinched under pressure when we pressed down.

We do, however, have a few smaller complaints about the keyboard area. For one, there is no backlit keyboard option. Not only would this have been a neat stylistic option for HP, but some users simply like to game/do other tasks in the dark. Since it's hard to see exactly where the function keys are in the dark, not having this option may be a letdown for some.

Another complaint is the size of the up/down arrows. The traditional size is usually slightly smaller than the lettered keys, but on this keyboard the up/down arrows are extremely small. This may be annoying in any number of instances--and moreso irritating to those who play casual arcade games, and need those keys on the regular.

HP has also done away with the array of useful quick-launch and media (sound) buttons used on older dv7/dv7t laptops. My older dv7 at home had a large slew of LED media buttons--this newer dv7 only has a browser quick-launch button; that's it. Something like this is complete opinion; rather you like the "cleaner" look without these buttons or you like the ease of access those buttons lend to.

One of the major problems I have with my dv7 at home is the glossy touchpad. Its design is appealing to the eye, but in use, it is one of the worst touchpads I've come across due to the gloss material and the design of the touchpad buttons. If your fingers have even just a little bit of moisture on them, they will drag along the surface of the touchpad due to the build quality. Not only that, but the cursor frequently gets "stuck" in transit even when your fingers are moving along the pad. I've also found that sometimes the cursor will bounce around randomly.

The new design of the touchpad is what HP calls an "oversized clickpad," meaning it's bigger than most touchpads used on laptops. It has improved some this time around--no more glossy surface. This time it's matte, and while this definitely improves the experience, it still has its flaws. For one, it's not as smooth as it should be, which leads to the same "dragging" problem like last time if there is any moisture on your hands.

Secondly, there is no scrollbar using the default settings; a feature that should have definitely been included, especially since this is a multimedia notebook. Also, the touchpad buttons make a somewhat irritating "click-clack" noise when you press them.

The touchpad has been greatly improved from the previous generation dv7, though, so HP is moving in the right direction. It's (comparatively) a great deal easier to use now.

Screen and Speakers
Our review unit has a 17.3-inch widescreen BrightView LED display with an HD+ resolution of 1600 x 900, but HP has given users the choice of another display--an anti-glare LED full HD option (resolution of 1920 x 1080). We will be covering our review unit's display only. The screen has a glossy (reflective) surface; some people may find the reflection of objects near the laptop to be distracting, while others may find it to be beautiful; but one thing is for sure, this notebook may not be the greatest to use while outside.

I'm very happy that HP decided on the HD+ display rather than the lower-resolution 1366 x 768 that is still utilized on some entertainment notebook screens. After testing the screen for its luminance rating, the top measurement we received was 114 nits and the average was 104 nits. The darkest measurement found was .44 and the average was .50. This leaves the contrast rating at a 208:1, which is a lot lower than I expected for this screen at first glance. It's still slightly above average, but I would have liked the contrast to have a higher rating. You may want go with the 1080p display option for an extra $150 if that contrast ratio is too low for you.

Horizontal viewing angles are not that great and images and colors begin to distort starting at about a 15 percent backward tilt. Vertical viewing angles are a lot better and can go roughly 50-60 degrees off-center before the reflective surface begins to interrupt the viewing experience under normal room lighting. Overall, though, the display should be good for entertainment purposes and most people won't experience problems with gaming (unless the glossy surface is too distracting).

The prior dv7t entertainment notebooks had above average audio quality, but it would reach a distortion point at higher levels... and there wasn't really a way to go in and individually change the audio settings to prevent distortion (besides turning the volume down a bit). The new dv7t has a triple bass reflex subwoofer with speakers that are located across almost the entire top of the chassis, below the touchpad across the front, and at the bottom of the notebook for more of a surround sound effect. 

Beats Audio Software
HP has included its new Beats Audio software with the dv7t. The software allows users to control the individual volume levels of playback and recording devices, change the decibel amount of input from bass, focus, reach, and etc., to change how "heavy" (for example) the audio output is, and to enable certain recording options such as noise cancellation. There is also advanced settings where you can set the power management on to disable certain audio sounds in order to save on battery life when the notebook is unplugged. The software works well with most of its features and most definitely enhances the audio experience. Users will be happy with the graphic equalizer, which allows for certain audio frequencies and levels to be set. Beats Audio will leave most audiophiles happy and will make for a more complete listening and recording experience at the entertainment level. Most people won't need to buy external speakers, which can be a huge space saver. 

Performance and Benchmarks
Our HP Pavilion dv7t review unit did exceptionally well in its synthetic benchmark testing--in every test: graphical, processor, multi-tasking, gaming, and overall PC performance. There is no doubt in my mind that this system couldn't handle intense multi-tasking, Web browsing, gaming, or anything else you could throw at it. So, the synthetic benchmarks were very good (as should be expected) for a system totaling out at about $1600. Our unit has an Intel Quad Core i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz, 8GB DDR3 memory and AMD 1GB GDDR5 Radeon HD 6770M graphics. 

As far as data storage goes, our review unit came equipped with a 660GB-capacity dual hard drive at 7200rpm (160GB SSD + 500GB at 7200rpm). The dual storage drives are optional, but should be considered since the faster solid state drives will be beneficial, not only for entertainment enthusiasts, but for anyone who seeks a faster Windows boot-up time. Comparison benchmark tests of similar systems can found below.

Wprime processor comparison results (lower scores are better):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores are better):

PCMark Vantage measures overall system performance (higher scores are better):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance (higher scores are better):

3DMark Vantage measures overall graphics performance (higher scores are better):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:

Heat and Noise
The dv7t has one exhaust/cooling vent on the back and one on the left side that extends to the bottom. Our review unit tested above average during our heat tests, but had one extremely hot sweet spot on the bottom with a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit. This concerned me greatly, especially since my old dv7 had a huge heat issue - it would heat up to near breaking point, especially across the entire bottom panel, about 15-20 minutes into a fullscreen HD movie. This newer unit does much better comparatively, though, and did above average in all the areas but that one ... but HP might still need to take another look at its overall cooling system. The laptop runs very quiet; virtually no noise can be heard even under great exertion.

Battery Life
True multimedia and gaming notebooks will usually simply not be able to deliver good battery life with the standard included battery because of the high-end specifications and power-hungry parts. With Windows 7 set on its balanced power profile, screen brightness turned down 70%, wireless active, and refreshing a web page every 60 seconds, the HP Pavilion dv7t was able to deliver 3 hours and 10 minutes of mobile life with its standard 6-cell Li-ion battery (55 Wh). This is pretty low; but there is always the option of purchasing the optional 9-cell Li-ion battery. HP claims the 9-cell battery will deliver up to 9.5 hours of battery life, but this may vary greatly depending on things like screen brightness settings and computational activities.

Please keep in mind that in the comparison chart below the Dell Inspiron 15R was using an optional 9-cell battery.

Battery life test results (higher scores mean better battery life):

 

Conclusion
The HP Pavilion dv7t Quad-Core Edition multimedia notebook provides excellent processor, storage, graphics and gaming performance--scoring high on both all of the synthetic benchmark tests and the real-world tests. The combination of the Intel Quad Core i7-2630QM CPU, coupled with the 8GB DDR3 memory and the AMD 1GB GDDR5 Radeon HD 6770M graphics all work well together to impress. The audio quality should also held as great, with more than enough speakers and subwoofers placed all around the laptop in all the right spots (for both "up and out" sound and surround sound).

The dv7t, however, is not perfect. The touchpad was difficult to use and didn't have a scrollbar, the glossy screen had only a slightly above average contrast rating, and with all those high-end specs the battery only lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes when put to the test. Also, there was a heat issue with one spot of the bottom panel reaching 105 degrees Fahrenheit. While these are all things to be taken into consideration, many will not find these things to necessarily be deal-breakers: it's still an awesome setup of a laptop.

The HP Pavilion dv7t Quad Edition is available now through HP and select retailers for a starting price of $1,099. Some options and configurations will make that price go higher.

Pros:

• Excellent performance
• Fantastic audio quality
• Good port selection
• Excellent build quality with an appealing design

Cons:

• Underdeveloped touchpad
• Heat issue in one spot
• Low(ish) battery life

Individual Ratings: *
Software & Support 
Upgrade Capabilities 
Usability 
Design 
Performance 
Features 
Price/Value Rating 

* Ratings averaged to produce final score