HP Pavilion g4-1215dx

  The good: The HP Pavilion g4-1215dx has a great price, an attractive-for-the-price design, and better-than-average speakers, as well as enough graphics performance to play basic games.

The bad: A slower-performing AMD A4 processor is better than other bargain-basement processors, but less powerful than Intel's Core i3; screen colors look washed out; battery life is merely average.

The bottom line: Budget shoppers take note: the extremely aggressively priced HP Pavilion g4-1215dx is a worthwhile laptop pick for those who want a basic, cheap computer. It's hard to find a decent laptop for less--and we've seen lesser laptops that cost more.

If you're going to make a budget laptop, you'd better get your price right. That's the best thing about the HP Pavilion g4-1215dx: a $379 price that makes this easily one of the most wallet-friendly 14-inchers we've come across.

Of course, price is meaningless if what's included doesn't stack up. Thankfully, HP's redesigned Pavilion g4 delivers enough on this front, too. Its 1.9GHz AMD A4 processor won't ever be confused for an Intel Core i3, but it's fast enough for most basic purposes and can even handle some basic gaming. A 320GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM are nothing to sneeze at, either.

The package is wrapped in a clean, unassuming, but very functional body, adding up to a laptop that cuts corners but offers you a lot for a practically Netbook-level price. Compared with laptops like the Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4220, which is over $100 more and features a slower processor, HP's new Pavilion g4 comes up smelling like a computer bouquet. Anyone looking for a spare computer or a simple machine for some basic video viewing or photo storage on a very limited budget should add it to the consideration list.

Editors' rating

3.5starsVery good

• Design:8.0
• Features:7.0
• Performance:7.0
• Battery life:7.0
• Service and support:7.0

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