HP Pavilion g6
Summary
The HP Pavilion g6 is aimed at the casual gamer who needs a decent multimedia laptop under Rs 45,000. However, the G6 is not a full blown gaming machine and cannot run all latest games at highest settings. The laptops comes with all the latest multimedia features and is built well. The low battery life and cramped keypad are some basic issues that keeps the G6 away from being a recommended laptop in its category.
REVIEW
The HP Pavilion g6 is a mainstream multimedia laptop that pits itself against the likes of the Acer Aspire 5740G and the popular Dell Inspiron 15R series. Powered by Intel Core i5processor along with the latest AMD Radeon HD 6470 mobility GPU, the Pavilion g6 is capable of handling gaming as well. The newer HP Pavilion g6 models are expected to ship with the second generation Intel Core i3 & Core i5 sandy-bridge processors, while the review unit is shipped with the first generation Core i5 processor from Intel. The g6 seems to be positioned as a product that has something for everyone, it has multimedia features, gaming capability and good processing power under its hood to be a future proof investment, the question is, how well does it perform as an all rounder? Lets find out!
Non-review model with glossy red finish on the contours of the keypad and palm-rest
Non-review model with glossy red finish on the contours of the keypad and palm-rest
Look and Feel
The Pavilion g6 comes with a glossy charcoal-grey finish on the lid, with a predominant HP logo etched on it. The glossy black finish on the keypad and the body contours surrounding it, adds a nice contrast with the charcoal grey finish on the areas engulfing the palm-rest and the contours of the keypad. The lack of dedicated numpad keys and the combining of function keys with multimedia control keys is a slight letdown. However, the g6's keypad offers good feedback and yielded satisfactory typing experience. The trackpad features gesture based pinch-zoom functionality, which allows you to zoom-in and zoom-out while reading content on the webpage. The trackpad isn't the best that we have seen on this range of laptops, there were times when the response and precision was lacking.
Features
The Pavilion g6 ships with some interesting apps like snipping tool, which allows you to capture screenshots of the selected area on the desktop, save or edit the snapshot (called a snip), e-mail the selected snip to your friend. In addition, it comes pre-installed with Magic Desktop software, which will allow you to work on another virtual desktop, where you can lock access to your files and settings by assigning a master password. The Magic software also allows you to dynamically switch back to your regular Windows desktop by going to the Menu >> settings. Thereby one user can have multiple desktop settings for home and office user.
The Pavilion g6 ships with some interesting apps like snipping tool, which allows you to capture screenshots of the selected area on the desktop, save or edit the snapshot (called a snip), e-mail the selected snip to your friend. In addition, it comes pre-installed with Magic Desktop software, which will allow you to work on another virtual desktop, where you can lock access to your files and settings by assigning a master password. The Magic software also allows you to dynamically switch back to your regular Windows desktop by going to the Menu >> settings. Thereby one user can have multiple desktop settings for home and office user.
Performance
The Pavilion g6 definitely out runs its nearest rival - MSI FX600 across most of the synthetic benchmark tests including the PC Mark Vantage and Maxxon CineBench R11.5. The G6 clearly outruns the FX600 in the PC Mark Vantage gaming benchmark with a score of 4538 points against FX600's meagre 3107 points. However on the flip side, the g6's powerful configuration yields poor battery-life, which is less than an hour. The other notable exceptions are that the FX600 scored much better than the g6 in the 3D Mark 2006 benchmark and speaker quality test, which is quite surprising. The gaming benchmarks yielded almost neck to neck scores with the g6 scoring 37.01fps in Farcry 2 and 121.5fps in the Doom 3 test, while the FX600 scored 38.29fps and 108.6fps respectively. Overall, the performance scores tilt the scales heavily in favor of the Pavilion g6, which comprehensively outplays the FX600.
Our Take
The HP Pavilion g6 is a strong performer in the sub Rs. 45,000 price category. A decent gaming performance across Doom 3 and Far Cry 2 benchmarks and coupled with the feature-rich configuration, it makes a strong statement. The g6 is aimed at the casual gamer, who needs a decent multimedia laptop under Rs. 45,000. However, the G6 is unsuitable for high-end gamers who love to play the game at its highest resolution with full 3D visual enhancements and anti-aliasing turned on. The G6 can only give you a decent gaming experience at medium graphic details with anti-aliasing disabled.
Specifications: Processor: Intel Core i5 - M480; Memory: 3GB DDR3 667 MHz; Chipset: Intel HM55 Express; Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6470M; Hard drive: 610.5 GB; Display: 15.6-inch HD LED, Screen resolution: 1366 x 768 pixels; Weight: 2.55 Kilograms;
Ratings
Features: 3.5
Performance : 3.5
Build Quality: 3.5
Value for money: 3.5
Overall: 3.5
Features: 3.5
Performance : 3.5
Build Quality: 3.5
Value for money: 3.5
Overall: 3.5
| Brand | HP |
| Model | Pavilion g6 1001xx |
| Price (Rupees) | Rs. 45,000 |
| Features | |
| Component Specifications | |
| Processor Model No | Intel Core i5 – M480 |
| Processor Speed (MHz) | 2667 |
| RAM (MB) | 3072 |
| RAM Type | DDR3 |
| Memory Speed (MHz) | 1066 |
| Chipset | Intel HM55 Express |
| Graphics Solution | AMD Radeon HD 6470M |
| Dedicated Video Memory (Y / N) | Y |
| Dedicated Video Memory Size (in MB) | 1024 MB |
| Audio Chipset | IDT High Definition Audio |
| Storage size (in GB) | 610.5 |
| Drive type (HDD/SSD/other) | HDD |
| Optical Drive Type / Speed | DVD Writer / Multi |
| Bundled OS | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
| Characteristics | |
| Screen Size (Inches) | 15.6 |
| Type of LCD | HD LED |
| Screen Resolution (Native) | 1366 x 768 |
| Weight (Kg) | 2.55 |
| No. of Ports (USB / FireWire) | 3 / None |
| USB 3.0 (Y/N) | N |
| Connectivity (LAN / Bluetooth / Wi-Fi) | Y/Y/Y |
| E-Sata (Y/N) | N |
| Display output (VGA/DVI/HDMI/Display Port) | Y/N/Y/N |
| Memory Card Reader (Y/N) | Y |
| Type of Memory Cards Supported | SD, MMC |
| Inbuilt Webcam (Y/N) | Y |
| Webcamera resolution (in megapixels) | 1.3 |
| Build (So 10) | |
| Body | 7 |
| Keypad | 7.5 |
| Lid, movables | 6 |
| Ergonomics and Usability | |
| Keypad Tactile Feedback (So 10) | 7 |
| Key Layout, bevelling, spacing & Usability (So 10) | 6.5 |
| Shortcut Keys/Switches (So 10) | 6 |
| Trackpad ergonomics, size, position (So 10) | 5.5 |
| Trackpad accuracy (So 10) | 4.5 |
| Biometrics (fingerprint/face) login (Y/N) | N |
| Wi-Fi On/Off Switch or Button (Y/N) | N |
| Dedicated Bluetooth On/Off Switch or Button (Y/N) | N |
| Dedicated TouchPad On/Off Switch or Button (Y/N) | N |
| Performance | |
| Synthetic Scores | |
| PC Mark Vantage | |
| PC Mark Score | 6055 |
| Memories Score | 3839 |
| TV and Movies Score | 3765 |
| Gaming Score | 4538 |
| Music Score | 6810 |
| Communications Score | 5172 |
| Productivity Score | 5805 |
| HDD Score | 3695 |
| 3D Mark 2006 | |
| CPU Score | 2888 |
| Overall Score | 4724 |
| Maxxon CineBench R11.5 (CPU score) | 2.27 |
| Battery Life Test (in minutes) | 57 |
| Real World Tests | |
| Speaker Quality (at 50% volume) (So 10) | 6.5 |
| HD Movie Viewing (using VLC) (So 10) | 7 |
| DivX Encode 7.0 (.VOB to .Divx, default mode) (Sec) | 78 |
| WinRAR 3.9 (Compression / Decompression benchmark) | 1493KB/s |
| File transfer Test (4 GB test file-sequential) (Sec) | 103 |
| File transfer Test (4 GB test file-assorted) (Sec) | 232 |
| PassMark Wireless Mon 3.0 Signal Strength (in %) | 67 |
| PassMark Wireless Mon 3.0 bandwidth (in Mbps) | 99 |
| Wi-Fi file transfer test (Mbps) Zone 1 (in Mbps) | 15.15 |
| Doom 3 (fps) (800x600, medium detail) | 121.5 |
| Far Cry (fps) (1024x768, medium detail) | 37.01 |
| Warranty (Years) | 1 year |
Contact: Hewlett Packard, Personal System Group, India
Phone: 18004254999
E-mail: N/A
Website: http://www8.hp.com/in/en/home.html
Price: Rs. 45,000
Phone: 18004254999
E-mail: N/A
Website: http://www8.hp.com/in/en/home.html
Price: Rs. 45,000
