This is an ok product for the price I paid (529.99 at Best Buy). The built in mic is barely heard, but I use my own so that's not a big deal with me. I've had it since early April 2010 and no major issues, but more like annoyances. When I burn cd's now for some reason it makes a loud noise and it seems as if the cd is spinning too fast. There also seems to be bugs in windows media, which may not have anything to do with the hp g60 itself. Battery life isn't that long(a little over 2 hours) but I keep it plugged in anyway unless I'm doing something really quick. If I just close the laptop without shutting it down and open it at my next location (within an hour) it gets VERY hot. soon as I plug it up, the fan begins to cool it more. The screen and webcame are great pluses. Windows 7 is great too, but I'm not too fond of IE, which is a whole different review lol.
Pros:
-SPEED: Initially, I was very impressed by the speed of this laptop, and to this day it hasn't slowed a bit.
-SIZE: It seems to be very good at 15.6" screen size, with no troubles about it being either too big or too small.
-SPEAKERS: The Altec-Lansing speakers it comes with are very functional, and were quite a bit louder than I was expecting. Now, are they anything compared to the 300-watt surround sound speaker system that I use for iTunes? No, but they are quite exceptional nonetheless
-CAMERA: Had no complaints from people on Skype about the camera or microphone... really, I don't know what these other people are saying.
Cons: (Though few, they should be addressed)
-BATTERY:... yeahh.. not so good, if I'm honest. However, I almost always have it plugged in, so it's really not a big deal, but off the charger and on power save mode you might get... 3 hours out of it? Then again, they do sell a bigger 12-cell battery (I believe) for it, so if battery's your thing, you could always purchase that.
-BLACK CASING: So, the black plastic finish is very attractive... for about 3 weeks. Finger prints are almost impossible to get off, but I've come to live with it being a little smudge and just moving on from aesthetic appeal.
-BACKLIT KEYBOARD: or rather, lack thereof. I wish the keys were backlit on this, but it's not too difficult overall to get a light somewhere lol.
OVERALL: Quite good. Would but it again if I had to.I bought this laptop in early 2010 and to be fair, it's still kind of okay, especially for less than $600. Also, it was the first new laptop I purchased in years so at the time, almost any upgrade seemed kind of awesome. Now, it's probably a 2.5 star machine. ...meh.
CONS after two years:
*I have replaced the battery once and it's due for a second replacement already. The first one crapped out within the original one-year manufacturer's warranty--within months, actually--so it didn't cost anything but it was a pain in the ass. The diagnostics were screwy, couldn't get anyone on the phone in the US. Was told by some people they wouldn't replace it but after sending some screenshots in to customer service a battery just showed up at my house. Not sure whatever happened with that ticket that must've had two different answers on it...?
*Originally, the battery holds about a 2.5 hour charge anyway.
*The AC adapter has needed replacing three times. None covered under warranty. I've used a cheap laptop cord replacement service from online for about $20 each but that means with shipping I've spent an additional $70 on AC adapters.
*Monitor broke last month BUT to be fair I did accidentally drop it on the corner from a couple inches off the ground. The screen didn't crack or anything but a wire was clearly loose. I was able to see the screen but it was green and magenta until I found the sweet spot where it would go back to normal. After some research online, I was able to buy a replacement LDVS cable and install it myself for about $30. The $30 covered the cord, a screwdriver set to open the laptop up, an anti-static wristband, and an extra set of laptop screws. Works like a charm now. Of course, after opening up the bad cable, it revealed at last three tiny wires totally severed. I suspect the constant opening/closing of the lid did the majority of the wear and my wrist slip just sealed the deal.
*I also took the opportunity to totally clean and dust the CPU fan when I had it opened up and that improved noise and performance quite a bit.
*Upgrades are limited: Comes standard with 3GB RAM but hardware only accommodates 4GB RAM and only if you are running a 64 bit operating system. On the other hand, it also comes standard with Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OS.
*At almost 7lbs, it's pretty heavy to tote back and forth to school.
*Webcam software (YouCam) has to be uninstalled to use the webcam with Skype. The two programs are not compatible and once you uninstall YouCam I think you have to purchase separately. I ditched it in favor of Skyping since I don't upload videos of myself anywhere anyhow.
*Machine comes with a crap-ton of crappy programs installed that are all set to run on startup. Then again, what PC doesn't these days? I had to clean off all kinds of useless HP stuff and adverts and clear away the programs that run on startup. If you're not really savvy about getting rid of these dumb programs you'll be highly annoyed at these settings.
PROS after 2 years:
*I like Windows 7--fewer bugs than Vista and easier to use. Control panel is nice.
*Speed still good after 2 years. I run a bit of software on it--photoshop, dreamweaver, aptana, MS Office suite, gimp, corel, irfan, itunes, etc, etc. but I don't run movie or music editing software and I'm not a gamer. So, if you want to run a normal suite of productivity software, write papers, edit photos, and surf the web, this computer is adequate. I suspect if you're an online gamer or an editor this is a woefully inadequate setup.
*Decent value for a student. I bought this my second year of school and it'll take me to graduation this semester. However, I've had to put about $100 of maintenance into it between the cords and the screen issue. A RAM upgrade from 3GB to 4GB on Crucial will run you about $60 if you find you're ready for it. Plus another battery replacement (especially if you want a 6-9-12 cell (that will add a weird oversized bump to the battery compartment, btw) is going to be another $40 to $60. So, if you pay $550 for it originally, it will end up costing and additional $100/year or more for maintenance, etc, and end up costing you closer to $800.
*Easy to open and clean and fix. Lots of youtube videos on this and similar computer models if you're shy about fixing your own electronics.
*285GB usable hard drive isn't bad if you're the average user, again. For movies, etc, that would probably fill up pretty fast but for average sized photos (as in, not a prosumer or pro photo person, music, or movie person) it's okay.
*Streams video pretty good (depending, of course, on your internet connection) and can simultaneously run a good ten or more programs.
*Never had issues with mouse trackpad, wireless internet, hard drive or motherboard.
In general:
Student? Casual user? Looking for basic computer to surf the net, write a letter, and store some family photos? This laptop is fine. With proper maintenance it will probably last for 5 years or more. Expect to spend an additional $200-$300 in software and hardware upgrades over the life of the laptop; more if you plan on paying someone else to service and fix it for you.
Gamer, editor or photo pro? Invest in better hardware, RAM, graphics, storage, etc, and don't bother with this machine.I've had nothing but issues with this product. The DCD/CD drive won't read discs, the hard drive has crashed twice, and I wasn't able to install Microsoft office on it without taking it to a local shop. I use it for basic home business and finance work and am already looking to replace it.I've have this product for a little over 4 months. I got it June 4, 2010 and It's now October 11, 2010 so you can do the math. I got this laptop as a graduation present from my parents and it was thrilled. But I soon learned that the mic sucks. I managed to do a few things w/ it and its better now but still barely heard and occasionally flips out and kills the ears of who ever is talking with me on skype. Then in June the DVD player completely busted. The laser was shot and now I can no longer play DVDs or burn any CDs. Thinking perhaps it was just a dirty lens I tried to clean it but no luck it is actually busted. Then last month my internet explorer crashed and is unusable now ad I had to go download firefox. Now my charger has now begun to refuse to work and unless it's positioned just right then my laptop will not charge. I've talked to friends of mine who have had hp's have had the exact same problem. Go spend your money else where b/c you'll be wasting your money here.
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