Overall I am very happy with the DV7-4070us laptop. I purchased a Dell for my wife last year, a Toshiba for myself just a couple weeks ago, and now this HP for my mom, so I think I have a fairly good point of reference. I chose the HP based on a Consumer Reports review and its specs, as well as some faith in the HP name.
Pros With the i5 450 processor, performance on Win 7 64 bit with MS Office Pro 2010 (added after purchase) is very good. Resumption from standby is nearly instant, and all programs are very responsive. Sound quality for a laptop is very good also, much better than my Toshiba (tho the HP is a bigger unit which helps). I also like that the HP has single finger buttons for volume and other commonly used features they are clearly labeled and you do not need to hold a function key (but you do trade off needing to hold a function key to get F1, F2, etc.). Battery life has also been very good, and the display is the best of the laptops I have. I would also say the overall feel of the unit, with its metallic feeling shell is excellent no plastic creaks when you pick it up and the hinge seems substantial. Keyboard also is very good, a nice layout without annoying function key presses for home, end, pg up, etc. lie on our year old Dell. Keyboard feel is ok, good throw but I would like a little more positive tactile feedback. Installed software on the HP (webcam and other features) is very good, and the way it walks you through setup is very used friendly.
Cons The touchpad is less responsive than my Toshiba. Single finger pointing is fine but gestures like two finger scrolling took some getting used to before they worked reliably for me. I'm also not a fan of the buttons being part of the pad they are stiff, and clicking sometimes moves the pointer unintentionally. Click and drag takes some practice. The Toshiba with a smaller pad but dedicated buttons and a lighter touch is much better to use. Another oddity is that the power and disk access lights are on the right edge of the unit, and you can not see them in normal operation. Perhaps it is because I'm a tech geek, but I really like to see the disk light to understand what is going on when a PC gets busy.
Last oddity to note after loading MS Office 2010 Access did not work it would most always hang when opening a table for view. Turns out this is caused by the DigitalPersona software loaded for the fingerprint reader. After stopping and disabling the "Biometric fingerprint.." service Access is fine. This quirk is apparently shared with other HP and Dell laptops that have fingerprint readers, and impacts Access 2007 as well. See the thread at . When I receive word from HP on a permanent fix I will update this review.
Overall I think this is a great unit. Everything has worked smoothly, wireless has been reliable, and performance is great. Be wary tho of any laptop with a fingerprint reader if you really intend to use it along with MS Office pro and MS Access.
The Pavillion dv7-4070us is a fine spec machine. However, what lets it down massively is it's HORRIBLE touch pad which is at times uncontrollable and extremely infuriating. Even with sensitivity turned up to the max it still stutters and sticks all over the place. Not only this, but the buttons are ridiculously stiff also. I had hoped I would get used to this but have given up and now connect a mouse. If you are happy to do this then the machine is fine, but it rather defeats the purpose of a laptop in my view.
Aside from that the machine is good only annoying thing is the amount of annoying HP clutter on the machine, constantly badgering you to buy Norton and share your music etc...etc... If you can turn a blind eye to this then fine. I bought this model specifically for the sound and no complaints there.
Buy HP Pavilion dv7-4070us 17.3-Inch Laptop Now
Luv this computer. If you do basic 3-D Gaming like WOW you're gonna love the ATI 1GG Video Card it's like having a 2nd processor. So with 4GB RAM, plus the 1GB Video Card, in effect you've got 2 processors running (the Intel I5 clocked at 2.4 GZ & the 1GB ATI 5650)and basically a total of 5GB Memory to run video making for a very smooth ride.
And HP adding the BLU RAY drive (just awesome) now its a high def TV too! If HP would get some common sense and for a thousand buck computer also give you the back up disks (for Windows & Drivers), that would be even better. I don't have an "extra" exterior hard drive lying around just to back up a mirror image of the computer. What would it cost them to throw in the back up disks a dollar? And this is a consumer friendly PC?
2 other Caveats. Take a look at the HP Direct site & see if you want to custom order this unit (right now they are throwing in 6GB RAM upgrade free at a lower price point & free ship) Also, even though I love the Blu Ray drive thrown in to this unit, my kids' Dell Studio 17 (same specs Intel I5 & ATI Card) is clear winner for awesome bass sound quality, more solid build, 9 cell battery standard & a glass LCD display that seems to go on forever.
Just my opinion. Find em in a store and try em out for yourself first( before you plunk down a grand.) Both are nice. Real nice. Sweet!
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I bought this computer last week and I have been using it every day, for work and personal entertainment. I have to say it was a very good purchase, the i5 processor works as expected (I have been dealing with computers since 1986 and I have a lot of experience with hardware and software as well).
As today I can't afford the i7 processor or the Envy series, I am quite comfortable with the 4070 performance in general. The touch pad is the only thing I don't like, because it is too hard to manage.
With the size of this laptop (17.3"), I use it basically as a replacement for my desktop (actually I don't have one), so the touch pad issue is gone, being replaced by a wireless mouse. If you like a portable laptop, this will not be the one, you better buy a lighter and smaller one. The fan on the side tends to extract all the air from below the laptop, so you will feel the heat coming out, but is OK due to the size of this computer, it was expected.
The screen is very nice, 17.3" diagonal, it is very sharp and has bright colors. The sound is awesome, I am playing some MP3 and some FLAC files and they sound great. Blu and HDMI out make it worth the money (U$S 949 in Amazon) besides the 640 GB hard drive, which it is not huge, but I have some additional external HDD's storing Tera-bytes.
Windows 7 Home Premium works pretty nice too, although this version does not allow you to join domains, like for my job, but no big deal, I solved it with a VPN connection. It has a quick start from HP which allows you to browse the web or listen music or see pictures without booting W7, but I normally don't use it. The 4GB RAM works OK, but as I will do some music and video editing, I will add another 4GB to complete the allowed total of 8GB RAM. All bundled software is gone pretty quick if you uninstall it.
It has a fingerprint reader which I like, although it only lets you log in to web pages with IE and not Chrome, but that is Chrome development issue, not HP... The brushed aluminum finish (Argento I think is called) gives this computer a great look. The integrated webcam and microphone worked perfectly.
The keyboard is extended with numeric pad. The battery is a 9-Cell battery, so it is much better than the 6-Cell batteries.
It also has Wi-Fi a/b/g and n and a Gigabit Ethernet card. Perfect for what I need. I have not tested the multi card reader yet but it should be working just fine.
I would like it to have USB 3.0, but it only comes with the Envy Series so far, I think it will become more popular next year. This computer has 4 USB 2.0 ports, and one of them is shared with an external SATA port if you need to connect some of those SATA drives.
Pros: Big display, fast processor, HDMI, Blu, W7HP, Fingerprint reader, etc.
Cons: Touch Pad, not the best touch pad I have seen, too hard too manage and sometimes uncontrollable.
PS: Please, excuse my English, it is not my native language.
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I loved this PC on paper...Intel Core i5 processor, discrete graphics, LED screen, Blu-ray player too. But, after having this PC for 45 days, the hard drive died. This laptop is not meant to be moved so if you are getting a laptop because you expect it to be portable, DON'T BUY THIS ONE. I took this notebook on a weekend road trip (in a protective padded laptop bag) and it was gently handled. When I returned home and plugged in my laptop, I got a black screen stating "Boot Device Not Found". HP is sending me a new hard drive but I still have to reinstall everything on a brand new computer which I feel is unacceptable. Secondly, if you want to play games or watch recorded TV from your DirecTV DVR, it doesn't work for that either (even though the DirecTV software comes pre-installed). What HP neglects to tell buyers is that the dual (switchable) graphics cards prevent you from updating the ATI Radeon drivers. No updated graphics drivers means no DirecTV and no advanced gaming. Overall, the rest of the computer works well but I felt someone needed to report these major drawbacks.
I was issued the Dell Latitude E6510 for my job. After six months of use, two of the USB ports stopped working. The technology team at my company replaced the motherboard which resolved this issue. However, two months later, the computer now freezes when I move the Dell even slightly, and then I need to force a shutdown in order to restart and unfreeze the computer. Also, the power cord now has a short, and I need to play with the cord until I get the blue light to indicate 'charging'. I then need to be very careful that the cord doesn't move and short out again; this in addition to, as I mentioned, needing to be careful that the computer doesn't move on my desk and freeze thus causing me to lose whatever information I just entered into the computer. I am currently awaiting the technology team at my company to pick up this computer to check on the freezing issue and replace the power cord. For a laptop at this price point, I would recommend taking a look at the Toshiba Portege or Lenovo IdeaPad. The Dell Inspiration also receives good reviews, but I would not recommend any Dell product after my experience with this product.
