HP Intros G62t 15.6" Notebook

HP Intros G62t 15.6" Notebook

HP today introduced its latest consumer notebook, the G62t series. It offers a 15.6-inch widescreen display (LED-backlit) and the new Intel Core i3/i5/i7 dual-core processors. The full specifications are as follows:

• 15.6-inch LED-backlit display (16:9 aspect ratio, 1366x768 resolution)
• Intel Core i3-330M/350M, i5-430M/520M/540M, i7-620M dual-core processors
• Intel HD Graphics, available HDMI port
• 2-4GB DDR3 RAM (8GB max)
• 160-500GB 7200RPM hard drives
• 8X DVD Super Multi drive
• Wireless N, optional Bluetooth
• 6-cell li-ion battery
• Dimensions: 14.72" (W) x 9.70" (D) x 1.25"~1.44" (H)
• Weight: 5.5 lbs
• 1-year limited warranty

The G62t series is available now and starts at $599.99 with an Intel Core i3 processor.

HP Product Page

 

The notebook itself looks decent but it gets very expensive when customizing. Even the base price is too high . . . I would not pay $600 for a system with 2GB RAM/160GB HDD when others are available for the same price with double that.

The preconfigured versions will likely have the best value.

 

Compared to the G60t, it has lost a bit over one pound in weight (5.5lbs vs. 6.57lbs). It's also thinner (1.44" vs. 1.72" at thickest point) and trimmer in width and depth (14.72" x 9.7" vs. 14.88" x 9.9"). The weight loss is particularly impressive, as long as it doesn't sacrifice quality materials to achieve it.

The $599 price is pretty much in-line with the Dell Inspiron 15 and Toshiba Satellite L500. The $599 price currently includes a FREE upgrade to 3GB DDR3 RAM and FREE Webcam, although the webcam is standard on the Dell and Toshiba. The Dell and Toshiba also have standard Media Card Readers, but the HP G62t charges $25 for one (and that $25 also adds an HDMI port).

The danger with most configurable 'value/budget' models is that options can end up doubling the base price if you're not careful! Entry-level notebooks stop making much sense financially when they hit the starting price of the mid-range model above them (the dv6t in this case). The dv6t starts at $699 with the same i3 processor, 3GB DDR3, HDMI & Firewire, Lightscribe, Media Card Reader and a huge 500GB 7200rpm hard drive included in the price. A G62t configured to match the base dv6t as closely as possible would be $759, or $60 more than the dv6t! And the G62 would still lack the Firewire and eSATA ports and upscale design features.

The Toshiba L500 is the most formidable competitor at the moment. The configurable L500 also starts at $599 but that price currently includes a FREE upgrade to the Core i5-430M currently! Or for $444, you can get the L500D with 2.1GHz AMD Athlon II M320, 3GB RAM, DVD-RW, wireless-N, eSATA port and a Media Card Reader...

 

While I'm sure this doesn't have quite the bearing on the bottom line as what allfiredup described already......has anyone noticed the (cosmetic) similarity between this and the Envy??

Despite this, the G-series machines never made and still don't make any sense to me. The G60t might have it's spot as a value model--a bridge of sorts between the one remaining Compaq and the dv family--but this new G62t along with the larger G71t sit far too close to HP's current mainstream offerings IMO.

Leave the G60, chop the G71 and call this G62t the new dv6 (which would make sense given the cosmetic similarities with the high-dollar Envy machines).

 

lol.. can I say Macbook ripoff? Not to say I'm not tempted to get one though if the price is right.

 

I'm at a loss for why so many laptops are standardizing on the 1366x768 resolution, no matter what the screen size is.

One of the reasons for getting a bigger display is to be able to fit more information on the screen at one time -- not just see it bigger. I can understand why 1366x768 may look fine on a 13" screen, and maybe even a 14" screen, but why in the world are we seeing this on the 15.5-15.6" screens?

I have no problem with 16:9 instead of 16:10, even though it seems like onscreen video is driving the bus now when it shouldn't...

1600 x 900 should be perfectly viewable, even without glasses, on a 15.5-15.6" screen.

There are very few options out there: business-class notebooks (which are hard to find with a glossy screen, if that's what somebody wants), the HP Envy 15 with its crappy touchpad, and that's about it.

 

The new one has a pretty good touchpad now. It is funny that most people say that this looks like Envy 15 altough it looks more like MBP. I believe HP is trying to attack low budget mac buyers with similar design and hardware. I believe the cheapest macbook with I series CPU will still be around $1000 and may not carry all the things G62t is missing like HDMI port. We shall see.

 

New touchpad on the Envy 15? I tried an Envy 15 a week or two ago at Best Buy and it was so jumpy, so sensitive even while TYPING that I couldn't consider it. Maybe I was trying an old one...

 

Well not to sound like a broken record, but that resolution is quite a turnoff for that size screen >.>

Base price also seems high if it's the bare minimum. Nowadays you can get a fully decked out notebook(HDD and RAM wise) for 600$ if you know where to look.

 

Yeah totally agree.

 

Looks pretty good but yes, I agree the base price is too high for just 2GB/160GB HDD

 

The thing is, most budget consumers only want a 1366x768 screen. I know some of my friends who are not as computer-literate would not appreciate tiny text and small icons, and would much prefer giant and simple (yes, I know DPI settings exist).

What is funny is that HP does not seem to offer a 1600x900 resolution upgrade for additional cost.

The base price is in line with what I see currently out there. A Core i3 processor + 2GB RAM + 160GB hard drive is around $600, and with the free upgrades HP likes to add in as well as the frequent sales, you'll probably be able to get 3GB RAM + 250GB hard drive for that price soon.

 

I can understand HP not offering a resolution upgrade (1600x900) on an entry-level model like this. But they don't even offer it on the dv6t Quad Edition, which is the top-of-the-line Pavilion 15.6" model (starts at $949). It is only available with a 1366x768 display, just like the G60/G62!?

 

HP has a history of using low-res screens. They always had 1280x800 on their 15.4" dv6000 series, and then finally offered a higher-res 1680x1050 on the dv5t (which I scooped up) . . . and now they have nothing higher than 1366x768. Dell is basically the only company that offers a higher-than 1366x768 screen on a consumer-grade 15.6-inch notebook - very disappointing.

 

I remember that the dv5t and dv7t (17.0") both had WSXGA+ (1680x1050) displays as an option. But I couldn't recall if the the dv6000-series offered an upgrade from WXGA. If I'm not mistaken, the dv9700t could be configured with WXGA+ or upgraded to WSXGA+.

Dell deserves some credit for offering resolution upgrades on all of their Studio models and the Studio XPS 16. They were even offering a '900p' (1600x900) upgrade on the 14.0 Inspiron 14 and 15.6" Inspiron 15 for a short period. The 17.3" Inspiron 17 originally showed an optional 1920x1080 display as 'coming soon' in the Tech Specs, but it never happened. As the entry-level, dirt-cheap models in the Dell lineup, they're fine with just basic resolution. It actually wouldn't make much sense having a $100+ 1080p display option on laptop starting at $379!

They do offer the following in addition to the standard 1366x768 (or 1600x900 std on the 17.3" Studio 17)-
Studio 14z and 14- 14.0" (1600x900 optional)
Studio 15- 15.6" (1920x1080 optional, recently dropped 1600x900 option)
Studio 17- 17.3" (1920x1080 optional)
Studio XPS 16- 15.6" (1600x900 standard; 1920x1080 LED or RGB-LED optional)
***Inspiron 14- for some odd reason, Dell offers most consumer models on their Small/Medium Business site as well; if you configure an Inspiron 14 on the Dell Home/Home Business site, there are no display upgrades offered; BUT if you configure the Inspiron 14 from the Dell SMB site, the 900p (1600x900) is still offered (for the moment)...

The only other offering I can find close to $1000 with a higher-resolution display is the SONY VAIO CW (VPCCW26FX/W- $1049) which has a standard 14.0" 1600x900 display- ( LINK) or add a BluRay Combo drive for $1119- ( LINK) on NewEgg!

ASUS has a slew of 15.6" and 17.3" models with 1080p displays standard, but they're priced $1500 and up and I consider them gaming/specialty models.

Toshiba the other big one that never offered display upgrades on any models other than their Tecra business models....and their lineup is far more appealing to me than HP's and even Dell's in most other ways, but a 15.6" or 16.0" display with 1366x768 resolution is unacceptable! Especially when they pair it with a higher-end GPU, fast CPU and SSD and price it over $1200....for a low-res display, no thanks!

The only way to get a 1920x1080 display on ANY Toshiba is on the Qosmio X505 18.4" behemoth and then ONLY on the top configurations! All of the X505's priced $1499 or less have an 18.4" display with 1680x945 resolution....and ALL of the Satellite P-series (18.4") have that odd resolution, too! But the $1899 X505-Q880 is the only way to get a 1080p display from Toshiba...and bring a wheelbarrow!

 

Here's the build for the G62t I recently bought from HP for $764.08 shipped.

HP G62t customizable Notebook PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-430M Dual Core processor (2.26GHz, 3MB L2 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.53GHz
• 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
• Intel(R) HD Graphics with 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader and HDMI
• 15.6" diagonal High Definition HP LED Brightview Display (1366x768)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• FREE Upgrade to Webcam + Microphone
• Wireless-N Card
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• No Modem
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

I did a fresh install of Windows 7 Home Premium x64 when I received it, and it's a really nice system, so far. I really like the case is not the industry standard glossy plastic.

 

It looks impressive from photos, but have not seen them in the shops yet.

How do you like the keyboard? Looks like a departure from the g60, which squeezed in a numeric keypad.

Are you impressed with battery life? Should be closing in on 4 hours with LED backlighting, Arrandale, and no-ext-video.

Have you tried full-screen HULU vids to see how the next gen Intel video performs on Flash videos?

 

The keyboard is comfortable, and in a pretty much standard layout. I do not like the buttons for the touchpad though. I would rather have 2 separate buttons.

Haven't used it away from home for an extended period yet. I bought it for an online college degree program I just enrolled in, and am mostly using it at home.

Full screen Flash videos on Hulu run smoothly without any skips. Also connected it up to my HD LCD set through HDMI and played some HD trailers off Apple without any problems.

 

Are you impressed with the Core i5 performance? I've been reluctant to try one in the store because I know I'll want to upgrade from my "old" C2D P8600! What about heat management in the G62- does it ever get noticeably warm? Does the fan run often and, if so, is it very audible or distracting?

Thanks.

 

Simple answer, yes! My Dell E1705 is a C2D 2 GHz, and the new G62t with the Core i5 2.26 GHz is noticably faster. I'm still needing to run a transcode test on the 2. I'll post the numbers once I do.

The exhaust fan on the left side of the laptop does expel warm air, but not a lot. I haven't really stressed it out though either.

 

Hi WackyT. How about noise levels ? I ´ve heard quite a few times that 7200RPM hard drives produce disturbing high-pitched noises. Any problems in that department ? Is the laptop a quiet one ? Thanks for for an answer.

 

Hikoki, the G62t is a very quiet system, even when the fans kick in. No hard drive noise either. And the display is awesome with the LED backlighting. There is quite a bit of flex in the body though that I'm not too fond of.

 

I'm thinking of getting a G62t.

It's $150 to do either of these:
- upgrade from an Intel i3 to an i5
- upgrade from integrated graphics to 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon

Which one would you guys recommend? I'm thinking I would get more bang for my buck with the graphics upgrade.

 

Definitely go with the GPU upgrade

 

What are you doing with this notebook? Might help if you fill out the FAQ in the What Should I Buy forum.

 

I'm about to order this machine, what do you guys think about the price? HP Official Store — Buy and Customize your G62 and G62t series PC direct from HP

 

I curently own a G61 aand the g62 seems to be a big improvment

 

my g61 has double those specs for 499

 

Really the G62 does not have hdmi because my g61 does

 

The G62T can be equipped with HDMI as an option.