While 17 inch laptops aren't the most popular machines, they've still got a very strong following, particularly amongst those who look for a compromise between performance and portability. HP, being one of the world's leading PC manufacturers has a whole slew of 17 inch machines and today we're ready to get to know one of its most promising new models under the name of HP Pavilion 17-g192dx.
This new laptop features 8GB of RAM, a Core i5 processor and a very tight price point amongst many other advantages. Now we'd like to invite you to come on down and get to know this notebook in depth as we review the HP Pavilion 17-G192DX.
Display and overall appearance
We really like the design of the HP Pavilion 17-g192dx. It's not as modest as its price might lead you to believe. On the contrary, it's got a very solid build that has more in common with the premium line of laptops then it does with the more affordable line.
As with most 17 inch laptops, this model comes with an WLED backlit display with your standard 1600 by 900 pixel resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. The keyboard is an island style keyboard and while it's not backlit it still packs a punch in terms of productivity by being extremely ergonomic for daily usage.
This isn't a very lightweight model, weighing in just shy of 7 pounds but that's within the norm amongst 17 inch models.
What's it packing?
When looking at the performance of the HP Pavilion 17-g192dx one can't help but be very pleased. An Intel Core i5-5200U processor is in charge of the overall performance here and that's a pretty good CPU for anything from deploying virtual machines to working on your standard power point presentation.
Getting into the nitty gritty, this is a dual core CPU with 3MB of cache and a 2.2GHz base frequency that can be leveraged towards 2.7GHz when things get a tad more demanding. All in all, this is your "jack of all trades CPU" being above your standard Core i3 performance and just a pinch below the performance delivered on an i7. Sure, it's not a sixth generation model but a 5th generation one but it still packs quite a punch for your everyday tasks.
Improving upon this is the system memory (the RAM) which in this case is an 8GB DDR3 module working at 1600 MHz. Again, we're pleased to see HP didn't go down the 4GB route since 8GB is best not just for the laptop's performance today but also a good way to guarantee a strong performance down the line when it's time to update Windows.
Can I play games on this laptop?
Gaming is not recommended on the HP Pavilion 17-g192dx. Specifically, this model houses an Intel HD 5500 Graphics chip which might perform well on low settings for games such as Overwatch and Dirt Rally but, in general terms, this isn't a gaming machine and you should look elsewhere if this is your primary intention with this model.
That said, stuff like editing high resolution video and streaming Full HD content should pose no issue.
Storage and battery life
While both CPU and RAM are very impressive features on this affordable laptop, stuff like storage and battery life don't really stand out. In this regard we've got a 1TB mechanical hard drive operating at 5400 rpm and a 4 cell battery which should deliver anywhere between 4 to 5 hours of battery life depending on your overall usage patterns.
No, these aren't impressive features by any standard but for those who value having storage capacity over storage velocity HP's made the right call.
What may I plug in?
Let's take a quick look over at the connectivity options in this HP Pavilion 17-g192dx review. Here we've got your usual suspects; 3 USB ports (1 of which is USB 2.0), an HDMI output, ethernet port, the almighty SD card reader and HP even made room for a DVD reader.
HP didn't forget about all of those users who like to watch their media content directly on their laptops and placed B&O speakers which work pretty well for a laptop and you've also got a TrueVision HD Webcam for all those evenings spent video chatting with friends and family members.
Closing statements: Is this your next laptop?
After doing our due diligence in this review of the HP Pavilion 17-g192dx it seems as though we've run into a pretty complete notebook, packed with features for both power-users a casual users who just want a laptop with a big screen.
We particularly appreciated the mid range Core i5 CPU and the vast amount of RAM available from the get go. Storage and battery life aren't bad but they fall into the standard for this category so all in all we've come out of this with a pretty positive balance.
If you're looking into buying a 17 inch high performance laptop that's not intended for gaming and you prefer having lots of storage then this is an excellent choice at a killer price.