Price erosion at the lower end of the laptop market means that many of today's budget machines aren't much more expensive than higher-end netbooks. The HP G62 is a good example. Even though our sample, the G62-450SA, packs in a reasonably powerful Intel Core i3 processor and a 15.6-inch screen, it's currently available online from Laptops Direct and other vendors for a lowly £400 or thereabouts.
No oil painting
The G62 doesn't exactly set the heart racing when you first clap eyes on it. Apart from the glossy screen surround and brushed-aluminium effect on the hinges, the entire shell of the laptop is sculpted from boring, matte black plastic. This gives it a less-than-premium look and, while there's a geometric pattern etched into the keyboard surround and lid, it doesn't really do much to lift the design out of bargain-basement territory.
Nevertheless, unlike Toshiba's Satellite Pro C660, the chassis does feel very solid. We reckon it'll stand up to some long-term abuse. Also, although the matte finish is drab, it's less likely than some other finishes to show up scratches.
Many budget laptops suffer in terms of connectivity, but the G62 doesn't do too badly. It has three USB ports, as well as both VGA and HDMI video outputs. There's also a multi-format card reader, a Gigabit Ethernet port and Wi-Fi connectivity. It does, however, lack extras like Bluetooth support and an eSATA port, which you'll find on more expensive machines.
The laptop's 500GB hard drive provides plenty of space for storing media files like photos, music and videos, and there's also a DVD rewriter so you can burn your own discs.
The keys could do with more travel, but are easy enough to type on.
Rather than opting for a keyboard with isolated keys, as seen on Apple's MacBooks, HP has instead gone with a more traditional set-up. Still, the keys are flat and have a raised centre, so they feel similar to those on an isolated keyboard when you're tapping away on them. We'd prefer the keys if they had slightly more travel to them, though.
Something else to be aware of is that the function-key roles have been swapped around, so, for example, the F10 key is set by default to adjust the volume level -- usually you'd hold down the Fn key and hit F10 to get at the volume control. It's not a huge issue, but it does make shortcuts involving function keys slightly more complicated than usual.
The screen's horizontal viewing angles are rather tight and the glossy coating makes it quite reflective, but it's reasonably bright and even. The 1,366x768-pixel resolution is par for the course on budget 15.6-inch laptops, and text and graphics look reasonably crisp and sharp.
Inside job
A 2.26GHz dual-core Intel Core i3-350M processor acts as the engine of this PC and is supported by 3GB of RAM, which provides a decent amount of space for the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system to breathe.
The laptop's performance in the PCMark05 benchmark test was good given its modest asking price. It managed to rack up a score of 5,395, which means it'll handle light to moderate computing needs, like word processing or photo editing, without too much complaining.
The Core i3-350M is an older Arrandale processor, however, so it lacks the faster integrated graphics found in Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors. As a result, it only managed to post a score of 1,681 in the 3DMark06 test, whereas laptops that use the newer Core i3 chips, such as the Lenovo B570, generally offer twice the 3D performance. Only the very oldest and least demanding 3D games will run with decent frame rates.
When it comes to battery life, the G62 doesn't really spring any surprises. It's pretty normal for 15.6-inch laptops to last around 1 hour and 20 minutes in the intensive Battery Eater test, which runs the CPU at 100 per cent until the battery conks out. The G62 managed to pretty much hit this target, lasting for 1 hour and 19 minutes. It's no marathon machine, then, but it's not too shabby either.
Conclusion
The HP G62-450SA is difficult to get excited about. It's not a bad laptop but, compared to some of its slightly cheaper rivals, it comes off second best. For example, it's outgunned both in terms of style and performance by the Lenovo B570, yet that model comes in slightly cheaper, leaving you little reason to opt for the G62 instead.
Edited by Charles Kloet
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User reviews15
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NL10FI 17 April 2013
Good: Very Little
Bad: A considerable amount
Comment: This has to be the worst laptop I have ever purchased. It works fine for around about two months, before problems start occurring. Even though it has an intel core i3 processor, I believe it is the first generation one. It can cope with minor operations such as light browsing, word processing etc, but as a student with work for school, it cannot cope with large documents and powerpoint presentations, nor heavy browsing, gaming or video and photo editing. Part of this is down to the processor, but more importantly down to the RAM. It only has 3gb, meaning there is not a lot of room for many programs or windows open. I had to upgrade to 6 but even then it struggles a little. The biggest problem with it is overheating. It would be no problem if the processor could not cope, but to not cope and overheat enough to start a housefire is something else. After 10 minutes, the loudness of the fan will become ridiculous, as it attempts to fight a losing battle against a processor which is running in excess of 60 degrees. You may as well not have a fan. Furthermore, sometimes it will randomly crash for no reason, in which case it requires a hard reboot.
To sum up in as few words as possible, stay well away from this laptop. Buy something else like a dell or a macbook. It might be more expensive, but you are paying for something which is more reliable.
e22 15 January 2013
Good: Quite nice design, good size screen, all necessery ports
Bad: very poor build, extremely unreliable, bad value for money
Comment: I bought it for my teenage daughter. It was only used at home in very controlled conditions for a year and a half before it had to be written off.
It looked nice when it arrived. It seemed ok.
7 months later fans gave in. They had to be changed (under warranty)
10 months later hard drive had to be changed (under warranty). All files lost.
13 months later it was going from bad to worse: loud fan again, internet disconnecting, black screen. We had to change graphics card at our own (very substantial) expense. Some of the problems disappeared for a while.
15 months later it stopped rebooting. I have just managed to get it going once.
18 months later it was declared dead beyond repair. Too many parts would need changing. Not cost effective.
18 months later we have have a new laptop and it is not HP.
Our family owns another "big" computer and two more laptops. I have never had such a poor piece of engineering before.
lilemz93 15 November 2012
Good: Big screen, good os, stylish, good processor, good memory
Bad: overheats, annoying shortcuts on keyboard, not very good battery life
Comment: I have had my laptop for just over two years and it's okay. I use it for uni work and general internet use, no games. For the first year it was great, then about 18 months in it crashed quite randomly, the operating system had to be reinstalled. Now it's okay but pretty slow and it overheats all of the time, like i'll be on Skype and it'll overheat, or i'll be watching a tv show and it'll do the same. Annoying! Also the keyboard shortcuts can be frustrating, I always press the E-mail button and outlook pops up. I wouldn't really recommend this laptop to be honest but it's -okay-.
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