HP 15-AY173DX 15.6 Laptop (Intel Core i5, 8GB Memory, 2TB Hard Drive, Textured Grooves Black)

HP 15-AY173DX 15.6″ Laptop (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 2TB HDD, Black)

HP 15-AY173DX 15.6 Laptop (Intel Core i5, 8GB Memory, 2TB Hard Drive, Textured Grooves Black)

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The HP 15-AY173DX is a pretty much typical full-size mainstream laptop for 2017. But, it provides a huge hard drive to stand out from the crowd. The HP 15-AY173DX features an Intel Core i5 processor (CPU), 8GB of system memory (RAM), and a 2-Terabyte hard drive (HDD). These core components are packed in a black plastic chassis with textured linear gradient grooves on the palm rest. It’s a budget casing, but these grooves give it a hint of modern and sporty-elegant look.

As for the display, the 15.6″ LCD panel is a typical entry-level one. It has a resolution of 1366-by-768 pixels as opposed to sharper Full HD 1920×1080. IPS technology for wide viewing angles and touchscreen support are missing, too. For typing and interaction with Windows 10 OS and software, there’s a full-size non-baclit keyboard with numeric pad and a touchpad with integrated “mouse click” buttons.

As for internals, the heart of the system is the 7th Generation Intel Core i5-7200U dual-core processor. It’s an ideal processor for the day-to-day tasks of the home and home & office users. It can effortlessly handle usual duties like web browsing and email, video streaming, text and spreadsheet processing, casual gaming, and similar. If you want to see what running popular apps looks like on this CPU, you can check out our review of the i5-7200U and its Intel HD 620 integrated graphics. The notebook’s main memory size is 8GB. That RAM size is large enough for all normal PC tasks. The included 2TB hard drive as a stand-out feature of the HP 15-AY173DX offers an abundance of free data storage space. It’s twice as large as common notebook HDD size of 1TB, which is a high capacity, too. Therefore, the HP 15-AY173DX can be an attractive buying choice for those who want to store large files like high-definition videos. On the negative side, the provided HDD spinning at 5,400 rpm is the slowest kind of storage devices on the market.

HP 15-AY173DX 15.6 Laptop (Intel Core i5, 8GB Memory, 2TB Hard Drive, Textured Linear Grooves Black) 2

Furthermore, the HP’s 15-AY173DX has a built-in DVD drive, stereo speakers, a web camera, wireless and wired Internet & LAN connectivity, a fast USB 3.1 port and a pair of older-standard USB 2.0 ports, HDMI video output, a combo audio mic / headphones connector, and a multi-format media card reader. Overall, it’s an admirably equipped laptop in the networking and peripheral connectivity department.

The battery inside the 15-AY173DX has a relatively low capacity of 31 WHr. Still, HP claims the battery can provide “up to 7 hours” of operation off the grid. But, that’s most likely with heavily reduced display brightness and low CPU usage.

This notebook model weighs in at 4.7 pounds and is 0.9″ thick. It’s decently portable for a 15.6-inch notebook.

HP 15-AY173DX 3

Specifications

Brand
Laptop Type
Screen Size
Screen Resolution
Touchscreen
Other Display Specs
Processor (CPU) Intel Core i5-7200U 7th Gen (enables smooth everyday computing)
Graphics (GPU) Intel HD 620 integrated graphics of 7th Gen Core i3, i5, i7 (for light gaming)
System Memory (RAM) Size
Data Storage
DVD Optical Drive
Keyboard & Input


Speakers & Audio Stereo speakers
Combo microphone and headphones audio jack
Camera Front-facing web camera
Wi-Fi Wireless 802.11N
Ethernet Network Port Yes
Mobile broadband (4G LTE)
Bluetooth No
USB Ports 1 x USB 3.1
2 x USB 2.0
Video Output Ports 1 x HDMI
Media Card Reader SD card reader
Battery "up to 7 hours" of battery life
31 WHr capacity
Weight 4.7 pounds
Height 0.9"
Width 15.2"
Depth 10.2"
Windows Version
Warranty 1-year

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Published on June 7, 2017

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User Reviews, Questions and Answers

Below you can read and submit user reviews, questions, and answers about the HP 15-AY173DX. Thank you for your contribution.

Current rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  1. ngambifranck –

    currently using this laptop, so far so good, did major upgrade though removed the dvd and put a caddy and in the sata port i have an ssd, can say its super slick, just love it. as for games the only one game i move playing is football games, it handle fifa 18 and pro 19(at low settings ) pretty well. i will like to upgrade the ram to 16gb but i dont understant this dual and single channel stuff, can some one explain it to me please

    • Dan Z –

      Hi, to get dual-channel RAM in this case means using two RAM sticks instead of one, for instance 2 x 8GB versus 1 x 16GB. So if you plan to upgrade to 16GB, it’s recommended to get 2 x 8GB. As the main advantage, dual-channel RAM can noticeably improve gaming performance. It all depends on a game, but for sure the difference is noticeable. Especially when graphics processing relies on integrated graphics, like on this laptop.

  2. Dayanand Sharma –

    how to disable and enable touchpad in this laptop, have any specific button in this system

    • Danijel Z –

      There’s no button for that. If you use Windows 10, you can go to Settings / Devices / Touchpad and disable / enable it there. Or you can go to Control Panel / Hardware and Sound / Mouse and there will be a touchpad tab (on my HP ProBook its called Click Pad). Under that tab you can also enable or disable it. You can also go to Device Manager > Human Interface Devices > HID-compliant touch pad and enable / disable it there (right click on it).

      Note: I have edited this answer to include multiple ways to enable / disable touchpad.

  3. 5 out of 5

    Carlos –

    Puede agregársele un disco sólido (ssd)? En resumen; tiene bahía de discos duros disponibles?

  4. Brian Claudio –

    Is the RAM upgradeable?

    • Danijel Z –

      The official specs sheet isn’t clear regarding RAM. But I’ve found in this maintenance guide http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05087748 (page 31) a picture of internal components of the HP 15-ay series. The picture shows two RAM slots, so it should be possible to add another RAM module. However, RAM in this model is an Authorized Service Provider part. This means it isn’t meant to be replaced by users, so there’s a chance that RAM upgrade might void your warranty.

  5. 4 out of 5

    Speedy Mercer –

    I bought an HP 15-AY173DX and am quite happy with it overall. There is ONE complaint I have so far and that is that the speakers SUCK! It sucks the worst when you actually use it in your lap as the speakers point DOWN and are placed on the BOTTOM front edge of the notebook! WTH HP??? Plan on using headphones or external speakers on this one.
    I have one other SLIGHT gripe that is so minor as to be hardly worth mentioning but the power cord plugs in the Left side and I like it on the Right side better because of the way I use my notebooks.
    Like I said, other than the speakers, it works great! If sound isn’t a major concern, it’s a great unit.

  6. Bryte –

    How is this device in terms of gaming? To me personally I think the specs are quite ok for games. I haven’t used it yet. I wish someone would say something about it.

    • Danijel Z –

      It depends on a game. But generally this laptop with the Intel HD 620 graphics is good only for basic gaming. Here’s a review of the HD 620: http://laptoping.com/gpus/product/intel-hd-620-review-graphics-of-7th-gen-core-u-series-kaby-lake-cpus/
      Keep in mind that the HP 15-AY173DX has single-channel memory (1x8GB) and that slows down game rendering (generally around 25%). The review above is for dual-channel memory. So overall, the laptop is good for non-demanding games like Minecraft, LoL, Counter Strike on low settings, and similar light game titles.

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