- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How it compares
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
HP Pavilion dv7
- 2.3 GHz Single core
- 8 GB
- 640 GB HDD
#1 in 2011 HP laptops
Released June, 2012
Rated 80% by by TrustedReviews (Apr, 2012)It might offer considerably more for that money - better build, better screen, slimmer profile, longer battery life, backlit keyboard and an arguably nicer OS - but in practical terms it’s simply not worth that difference.
Conclusion Check out the HP Pavilion dv7
First reviewed June, 2012
Features Key features of the HP Pavilion dv7
2.3 GHz
Rated 100% by by R.-Taylor (Feb, 2009)You are getting an HD monitor, built in webcam and microphone, silent keyboard which is perfectly sized for an adult, a beautiful interface, a lovely touchpad to turn up your volume, mute, play, fast forward and rewind... a 64 bit system with 4 GB of RAM capable of holding 8 GB of RAM... amazing.
screen resolution
Pavilion dv7 by Chris-Barish (Feb, 2013)Not only that the screen resolution looks better the sound quality is so good you don't even need headphones and the wifi works perfectly.
Pavilion dv7 by S.-PowerBecause the resolution on this machine is no higher than it is on 15 inch machines, you get a display that isn't as attractive and doesn't fit nearly as much content on it as it could with a higher resolution.
cpu speed
| 0 GHz | 3 GHz    | 3 GHz |
Pavilion dv7 by Katwoman (Sep, 2011)You can set the range for the clock speed you want your cores to run.
processor
Pavilion dv7 by Nameless-Moniker (Dec, 2011)FAST - i7 Quad-core with hyperthreading, makes the OS think it is using 8 cores.4 GB of Ram which is perfect for most people and HP was nice enough to use 1 4GB chip leaving upgrade space for another chip.
Pavilion dv7 by GEM0430 (May, 2010)Dual Core 2.56 GHz Processor (dual core is supposed to be "better).
memory
| 0 GB | 4 GB   | 8 GB |
Pavilion dv7 by 886The system memory (2 Dimm) isn't 6GB DDR3, it is 4GBThe system memory (2 Dimm) isn't 6GB DDR3, it is 4GBThe system memory (2 Dimm) isn't 6GB DDR3, it is 4GBThe system memory (2 Dimm) isn't 6GB DDR3, it is 4GBThe system memory (2 Dimm) isn't 6GB DDR3, it is 4GBPlease.
Pavilion dv7 by E.-Angio (Sep, 2010)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.
Performance Real world tests of HP Pavilion dv7
battery life
9 hour
3 hour
4.5 hour
Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors
pros
-
watch high-definition movies on Blu-Ray discs -
9 hour -
8 GB -
Jun, 2012 -
640 GB -
572 MB/s (USB 3.0)
cons
-
269 mm -
5,443 g -
Single core -
can't read a camera or phone memory card
Reviews Word on the street
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|---|---|
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 | Rated by 691 users at amazon.com Rated 60% by by Picturesque-Music (Apr, 2011) Rated 100% by by S.-Power Rated 100% by by Lynda (Sep, 2010) |
Screen
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by Rcuso (Sep, 2010)The screen is big, bright, and crystal clear, the speed of the laptop is amazing as well.
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by Timothy-A.-Wurm--Thrillz (Mar, 2012)Even though the screen isn't 1080p, it is bright, colorful, and sharp.
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | by LaptopMag (Jul, 2008)We noticed excellent color and sharpness when watching the Rocky Balboa Blu-ray disc (even in the climactic fight scene), but even in High Performance mode, we wished the screen were a bit brighter.
Battery
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 20% by by Rick-Lindsey (Jan, 2012)Then the battery will not charge even after installing a new battery.
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 80% by by Cargueliz (Aug, 2010)This laptop is fast and has great capacity.
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by Pier-Luigi-Long--Luigi-Long (Oct, 2012)Overall, it's really, really fast - and I haven't even upgraded the RAM yet, it's reliable, (well, it's an HP) and it's long-lasting - oh, did I forget to mention that it lasts 8 hours unplugged?
Keyboard
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 40% by by Mahesh-Mahadeva--mahesh-yelekeri (Dec, 2010)In spite of someone mentioned that the keyboard is not so good, I do like the keyboard layout, its strong and you have the confidence that it would not break so easily.
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 40% by by Big-Dogs (Jun, 2009)This is truly a lovely machine - looks great, functions great but everyone who had a comment about the dark letters on the keyboard was spot on.
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by The-Anomaly--AnomalyPlenty of room with a full functioning keyboard and number pad that will make you feel as though you are using a desktop keyboard.
Storage
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by Cody-Johnson--Cody-Johnson (Nov, 2011)I back everything up onto a portable hard drive, but with 750 GB of storage on this thing, I don't ever need to hook up a portable hard drive just to hold my extra files.
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 80% by by Robert-Kuchenoff (Apr, 2010)A standard Blu-ray drive on any PC is going to be an expensive add-on as well as a 500 gig hard drive - the high resolution (very bright) display is a joy to view the movies on.
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by U-of-T (May, 2011)For the price you can't beat it as it has everything except a faster hard drive.
Cpu
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by E.-Angio (Sep, 2010)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).
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 100% by by Katwoman (Sep, 2011)The processor runs very well compared to my old Intel 2.4 dual-core, but if you've been on an i7, or even an i5 quad-core, you'll notice the difference in performance.
HP Pavilion dv7 2.3 GHz, 8 GB, 640 GB HDD | Rated 40% by by W.-freeman (May, 2011)The AMD Phenom II x4 P960 is definitely the slowest processor out, why?
Competition What else you should consider
 | 3 | Sony VAIO F Series Sharpest screen Sony VAIO F Series vs HP Pavilion dv7 |
 | 4 | Alienware M Series M14x Fastest processor Alienware M Series M14x vs HP Pavilion dv7 |
 | 5 | HP ENVY 17 Largest amount of storage capacity ENVY 17 vs Pavilion dv7 |
 | 7 | HP Compaq Presario 1600 3-way tie: Most CPU cores Compaq Presario 1600 vs Pavilion dv7 |
 | 8 | Toshiba Satellite C670 3-way tie: Biggest screen Toshiba Satellite C670 vs HP Pavilion dv7 |
New duel?
Let the battle continue or dare to compare.
Editions Editions of the HP Pavilion dv7
| Price | Edition | Cores | Supported card formats | Internal storage | Manufacturer code | Compare | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | Single core | None | 1,024 GB | Pavilion dv7-6199us Entertainment PC | | ||||
 | | Single core | None | 640 GB | dv7-4267cl | | ||||
 | | Single core | None | 640 GB | DV7-4285DX | | ||||
 | | Single core | None | 640 GB | dv7-7030us | | ||||
 | | Single core | None | 640 GB | WA718UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Single core | None | Unknown | dv7-4173us | | ||||
 | | Single core | None | 500 GB | VM187UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Single core | None | 640 GB | dv7-4069wm | | ||||
 | | Single core | None | 750 GB | LW181UA | | ||||
 | | Single core | None | Unknown | WQ637UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Single core | None | 500 GB | XH108UA | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 1,000 GB | LW170UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 500 GB | Pavilion dv7-3165dx | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 640 GB | dv7-5157cl | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 400 GB | DV7-1260US | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 320 GB | DV7-1270US | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 750 GB | 17.3" | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 640 GB | WQ635UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 500 GB | WQ859UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 320 GB | dv7-1444us | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 500 GB | NV025UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 320 GB | DV7T-3100 | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 320 GB | DV7-1240US | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 500 GB | DV7-3065DX | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 640 GB | XG834UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 750 GB | Pavilion dv7-6179us Entertainment PC | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 750 GB | DV7-4280US | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 750 GB | LW172UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 640 GB | WA793UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 500 GB | VM237UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Dual core | None | 1 GB | WA801UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Tri core | None | 1,000 GB | WQ630UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Quad core | None | 640 GB | dv7t qe | | ||||
 | | Quad core | None | 640 GB | DV7-4270US | | ||||
 | | Quad core | None | 1,024 GB | XG830UA#ABA | | ||||
 | | Quad core | None | 500 GB | dv7-4296nr | | ||||
 | | Quad core | None | 750 GB | HP Pavilion dv7t dv7tqe Quad Edition | | ||||
 | | Quad core | None | 640 GB | dv7-4273us | | ||||
 | | Quad core | None | 1,000 GB | dv7-4295us | | ||||
 | | Quad core | None | 640 GB | dv7t | | ||||
 | | Quad core | SD | 640 GB | Pavilion dv7-6165us Entertainment | | ||||
