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HP dv7t Laptop Review

Finding a good deal on a high-end laptop can be quite difficult at times. Most people opt for mid-range or budget notebooks, and as such there's a lot of choice at the lower end of the market. That's not always true in the premium notebook category. Expensive laptops are a bigger investment, so it makes sense to put a bit more thought into such a purchase. The new HP dv7t Quad Edition laptop is a one such machine, and it comes with fairly large price tag. Is the HP dv7t worth it? We'll try to answer that question below.

Hardware and Performance

The dv7t Quad comes equipped with a second-generation Intel Sandy Bridge processor, specifically the Core i7-2630QM clocked at 2.0 GHz. On top of that, it features 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, a 128 GB SSD, a 5,400 RPM HDD with 540GB of storage space, a 17.3-inch HP BrightView LED screen, and a beefy AMD Radeon HD 6770M GPU. In terms of performance, its PCMark Vantage scores are nearly double that of its main competitors. If you're not sure what PCMark Vantage means, it's just a benchmark for general computing performance. The dv7t's numbers show that the it blows most of the other laptops out of the water.

Cost/Benefit Analysis

No matter where you buy it, the dv7t is an expensive proposition. Considering the fact that it's a quad-core notebook with a spacious SSD, more RAM than you will probably ever need, disturbingly powerful graphics, and a slew of other features, the dv7t isn't really overpriced. If you add up the cost of the primary components, you'll get a figure that's not much less than the price of the notebook itself. Basically, this laptop is a great investment if you really need the power it affords. If not, you might want to opt for something more basic.

Main Selling Points

The primary arguments in the dv7t's favor are its superior hardware, competent build quality, gorgeous display, and amazing performance. It's a terrific multitasking laptop thanks to its hearty hardware configuration. The SSD in particular makes it incredibly fast when it comes to handling a variety of different computing jobs. It supports 1600 x 900 pixel resolution and is capable of playing 1080p HD video. It's also fairly sturdy, and is constructed of quality materials that should stand the test of time.

Principal Drawbacks

The main reason you might not want to buy this laptop is power. Rather, you may not want to get the dv7t because it's too powerful for most people. All that horsepower under the hood can churn through a lot of battery life pretty quickly when it's being put to full use. Speaking of which, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the battery life you can expect with this PC. Under a normal load, you can generally count on about 4.5 hours if you're just browsing the web. The other main drawback is that the built-in Wi-Fi antenna is less than stellar. It's also a touch heavy at 7.2 pounds.

Odds and Ends

Featuring plenty of USB ports for peripherals, a fingerprint reader, HDMI output, and more, the dv7t has all the extra niceties you'd expect in a laptop this expensive. Despite its powerful hardware, the dv7t remains cool even under heavy workloads. Most laptops get pretty toasty after intense gaming sessions, but this HP takes it all in stride. The engineering team obviously put some thought into both active and passive cooling and general internal layout. While it may not matter some, the styling and aesthetics of the HP dv7t are also very pleasing to the eye.

Who Should Buy The HP dv7t?

If all you need is a basic machine for sending e-mails, browsing the web, doing some spreadsheets, editing documents, and watching movies, you should look elsewhere. This laptop is overkill for such purposes. You could buy a notebook half the cost of the dv7t and have it be more than enough for basic office work. The dv7t is perfect for hard-core gamers, graphic designers who rely heavily on Adobe Photoshop, and people who have monstrous media collections. If you want one of the most powerful notebook PCs on the market, the dv7t is one of the best you can find.

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