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The HP Pavilion g4's $379 price will make your eyes pop. Available exclusively through Best Buy, the AMD A4-3300M-powered laptop doesn't have the specs of a high performer, but at this price point, shoppers are looking for a competent system for web surfing, light media consumption, and e-mail. Fortunately, with strong audio, wide viewing angles, and a comfy keyboard, the Pavilion g4 is a lot more than just competent.
The Pavilion g4 has a simple, understated design--it doesn't have any interesting embellishments aside from a slightly raised HP logo on the bottom corner of the lid. Our unit was a nondescript charcoal gray, although HP does offer the laptop in other shades (Pearl Pink, Pewter, and Sonoma Red) for $25 more. Despite being made from plastic, the g4's glossy lid feels sturdy, but it's a fingerprint magnet.
Open up the notebook, and you'll find the same glossy gray finish on the lid. Both the screen and the deck are framed in black, though the screen is bordered with a black matte plastic.
Weighing in at 4.6 pounds and measuring 13.4 x 9.1 x 1.2-1.4 inches, the Pavilion g4 has just about the right heft for a machine of this size. (For comparison's sake, the 14-inch Lenovo IdeaPad V470--measuring 13.4 x 9.2 x 1.2 inches--has exactly the same weight.) This laptop is definitely convenient for travel; we slipped the Pavilion g4 in our bag, took it out on a subway commute, and weren't bothered in the least by its weight.
Heat
The Pavilion g4 is one cool laptop, and it remained so throughout our testing. After we ran our heat test (which involves streaming a full-screen Hulu video for 15 minutes), the touchpad measured only 78 degrees Fahrenheit, the keyboard 84 degrees, and the middle bottom only 90 degrees. We generally consider temperatures less than 95 degrees to be comfortable, so we were pleased to discover that the Pavilion g4 stayed well within this range. However, when did a lot of work on it--specifically, browsing the web, running a full antivirus scan and streaming a video on Netflix at the same time--the laptop's fan began to whir audibly.
- See more at: http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/hp-pavilion-g4#sthash.wQ77xN4z.dpuf
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