HP Pavillion zv5000z Review

I doubt there is any way to upgrade the LCD screen.

Bill :::: zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 60GB 7200rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>If I were going for size, I'd look for something in the 12 or 13 inch screen size, and hope I could get 1280x1024. The 1920x1200 screen on my zv5000 is what really appeals to me - alekh hit the nail square on the head: the screen is what you'll spend a lot of time looking at; it's like buying a good stereo system with cheap speakers unless you get as large and as sharp as you can afford.

I fully agree about ditching the DVD R. But (this to brafit) [ps: is that like if the shoe fits ... ?] changing out a cheap 30GB 20 rpm OEM drive for a 7200 rpm 60GB is really painless, and there are even illustrated instructions available on the web.

Stefano
HP zv5200 DP523AV: AMD 64 3400 2.2GHz, 2x512MB RAM, 60GB 7200rpm HDD (Hitachi 7K60), 15.4" WUXGA (1920x1200), XP Pro; Paradox
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I'm still waiting for the dv1000 to ship from China so I'll wait until I have it in front of me and then see how I feel about it. Does HP limit how many times you can fool around with lappies and send them back? Anything smaller than 14" would be too small, I'm not really going for super-portability, I just really hated the zv5000z (probably influenced disproportionately by the trouble I had with it). Maybe I'll switch to brightview once I get a look at the thing although after looking at them in BestBuy I find them way too reflective as some others have said. We'll see. (And no, Stefano, the name has nothing to do with shoes or anything else. [:I])

 

Do any of you know the manufacturer and the exact chipset of the modem built into the HP Pavilion zv5000z?

I know.

 

As I mentioned I ordered and today recieved the new 100 GB 5400 rpm drive. I do not intend to replace the internal drive (7K60) in my notebook. I purchased an external USB 2.0 2.5-inch enclosure also and have it installed. In my five benchmarks (HD Tach 3.0.1.0) I came to the following conclusions, this is not a large and or complete sample by any means. Inside the unit I have benchmarks on the 40 GB 4200 rpm drive that came with the unit and of course now the 60 GB 7200 rpm. On the USB interface I have benchmarks on the original 4200 rpm 40 GB, the new 100 GB 5400 rpm drive and on a 3.5 inch Seagate 120GB 7200 rpm drive.

1. A disk drive used on the zv5000z USB 2.0 interface throttles back the burst and average speed of any drive. It cut the burst speed significantly from 95-97 MB/s (direct installation inside the computer) to 18 to 27 MB/s (USB 2.0 interface) but only cut the average speed a more moderate 24 MB/sec (internal 40 GB) to 18 MB/sec (USB 2.0). It also seems to increase the random access time slightly.

2. I love the new 100 GB on the USB interface. I have not encountered any disk performance problems with any of the external drives with my Adobe Premiere and Photoshop. (Why an external 2.5-inch drive configuration? The current wedding video that I am working on is already 66GB and I do not want to drag the large external powered 3.5-inch drive around.)

3. Surprisingly, the new 100Gb 5400 rpm 2.5-inch drive is faster that the Seagate 120GB 8MB cache 7200 rpm 3.5-inch drive on the USB interface. I wonder if this could be due to the electronics in the 3.5-inch enclosure.

When I have motivation, I think I will go buy an IEEE-1394 inteface enclosure and compare the benchmarks. I will also be buying a 7200 rpm 100 GB drive when available to upgrade the internal drive at some later time.

Bill :::: zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 60GB 7200rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

Belarc Advisor says this for the modem

Agere Systems AC'97 Modem

Bill :::: zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 60GB 7200rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Kizio

 

Wow, you guys replied fast.

I know.

 

Wait, that "I know." at the bottom of my last post isn't saying that I know the answer to my question, it's just my uh, signature.
...

I know.

 

Bill - you mentioned a while back on this post that you are using the Targus power supply. How is it holding up and which tip are you using? Targus says that the supply isn't compatible with the ZV5000.

 

Hey everyone,

I tried Doom 3 on my zv5000z laptop w/ 64 mb geforce 4 440 go but it is way to slow even on low quality settings. Does anybody know if the geforce 4 440 go is overclockable?

 

Yes. Same trick as the desktop nVidia cards. Add this registry key:

HKLMSOFTWARENVIDIA CorporationGlobalNVTweakCoolBits = 3 (REG_DWORD)

That will activate the clock settings page on the usual nVidia settings dialog.

You'll have to experiment to find what your notebook can handle. Results vary quite a bit. If you see glitches, you're going too fast.

 

I would guess that they won't support it but that it'll work just fine. HP "support" being what it is, I don't think official support would make much of a difference. Given how popular these notebooks are I'm sure Microsoft will make sure they work. (Really!)

 

Thanks alot Brainstrech.

I just have one more question for tonight.

How is HP going to support the Windows 64 bit edition later on? Even if the 64 bit edition is sold at stores, in my experience installing an OS that does not come preloaded will have problems.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by funkdoobiest

 

Hello everyone

Does anyone knows where I can get the F.21 bios, another questions is the F.30 the wrong bios for the ZV5380 AMD, my computer after switching the power to always on runs at full speed display by cpu-z i currently have the F.30 bios should i go to F.21 thanks in advance.

 

F.30 is the current BIOS, released earlier this month. I flashed it in without incident. You might as well stick with it.

You should set your Power Scheme to Portable/Laptop. This will enable PowerNOW! power management and only run your CPU at full speed when necessary.

 

Hey guys,

I'm a newbie to the forum and I just wanted to thank all the contributors to this thread for all the useful information that I garnered from it. I ended up buying the zv5000z, and I love it! I have one question though.

You know how Windows XP usually tells you how much power and time you have remaining if you move your cursor over the battery icon in the task tray? On this laptop, it only shows the power remaining (eg. 90% remaining), but not the time remaining. I have Windows XP Pro SP2 installed on my box.

It's just weird because all my old laptops (HP ze4101 and Dell 600m) had this, and I really like knowing the estimated time left before my battery dies.

Anyone know of how I can turn that feature on? Or know of a freeware program that does that well?

 

Hi all

i have a question, I am getting ready to deploy to Iraq and was wondering since they use 220V over there, can I plug my laptop directly into the outlet without a converter??
The power supply says for the laptp says input 120-240V does that means that I can plug it in directly into the outlet??? thanks for any suggestions, also does anyone knows where can i get a cover for the keyboard that will minimized dust from getting into it??? once again thanks.

 

The voltage is not a problem. If Iraq uses 220V, then it's still within the range of the AC adapter.

Your main concern should be the kind of power outlets that they are using over there. I imagine that although the voltage is different, you might have the same kind of outlet as in the States. If you are not sure, I would recommend going to a travel store and picking up a set of those travel plugs. That will almost guarantee that you won't have problems plugging in theere.

Good luck!

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by neonflx

 

Thanks


one more thing is it ok to install the newest NVIDIA UDP drivers 5.10 or should i stick with the ones hp have on their CD, thanks

 

Hi everyone,

I've been noticing on this forum that people are recommending that you switch out the ddr 333 modules that come from the factory with ddr 400 modules. But I saw a review on CNET that stated that memory speeds don't make as much of a difference on athlon 64s as they do on pentium 4s. How much of a real performance increase can I see by upgrading to ddr 400 modules?

My processor is an Athlon 64 3000+.

Thanks in advance.

 

I just installed the Hitachi 60G 7200rpm and there is defenetly a noticable different on speed, much more responsive, only wish there was a way to add the spare HD to it

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by neonflx

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Just get yourself a 2.5-inch USB 2.0 external enclosure like the Sabrent SBT-ESU25 from NewEgg. http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=17-155-701&depa=0
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Wow such a deal! My Vantec NexStar (well, 6 months ago or so) cost almost twice that, and didn't come with the #0 Phillips head driver [I had one anyway], nor the instruction booklet titled "User Menuer" <g>

But I'm quite happy with it and it gets me some use from the 30GGB 4200 RPM slug I had to buy from HP

Stefano
HP zv5200 DP523AV: AMD 64 3400 2.2GHz, 2x512MB RAM, 60GB 7200rpm HDD (Hitachi 7K60), 15.4" WUXGA (1920x1200), XP Pro; Paradox

 

About this external drive:

Just get yourself a 2.5-inch USB 2.0 external enclosure like the Sabrent SBT-ESU25 from NewEgg. http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=17-155-701&depa=0

I checked the newegg site, it states that this enclosure is USB powered, but does it also have an external power supply? I feel it will work just fine with my HP zv5000z, but I also have my old Dell Inspirion 5000 that I travel with and I don't know if it's USB has enough power for it.

WinginHunk, www.wills-domain.com
Focus your eyes to where you want to be,
Not to where you are afraid of falling to....

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by neonflx

 

No, it does not have an external power supply. It might require the use of two USB ports for adequate power depending on the drive. Does the Dell have two available USB 2.0 ports? The cable has a special connector on the enclosure end and two USB connectors on the other end.

Bill :::: zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 60GB 7200rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I just ordered it.

Does anyone knows something I can use to preotec the laptop form dust and I mean dust, I will be deploying to Iraq on Jan and I heard the dust there is pretty bad, I am bringing a small air compressor with me to blow it out now and then but maybe a keyboard cover or something like that to keek most of the dust out, I know dust will find a way inside no matter what, but I would like to minimize that, thanks.

 

Here is a reference to a company that makes custom keyboard "skins".

http://www.keyboardskins.com/

You might check with them. Also you can buy liquid/dust proof keyboards, maybe they have a USB version???? http://www.flexboards.com/

Bill :::: zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 60GB 7200rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

Here are my results comparing my 60 GB 7200 rpm Hitachi drive versus the 100 GB Seagate 5400 rpm drive. Transfer rates are almost identical with the 100 GB drive actually being slightly better. Random access times are definitely better on the 7200 rpm. Burst speed is also better on the Hitachi drive. I am always capacity limited so I will leave the 100 GB drive in my unit.

I guess I cannot paste the results image into this forum (if anyone knows how let me know and I will post the results). I do have a HDTach plot showing both drives and also another comparing the original 40 GB 4200 rpm Hitachi drive. There is a major difference upgrading to either of the above as many of you have experienced.

Bill :::: zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 100GB 5400rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by jeffk

 

dont know if someone posted this but i just got an email saying there is a new bios for these...i just isntalled it without any problems


http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-27505-1&lc=en&sw_lang=8&product=425558&os=54&cc=us

~beast

 

Targus 120W PARWR300U Power Supply a little weak

I just got a Targus 120W PARWR300U for use on airplane and to replace the brick that came with my zv5000- It works fine if the battery is over about 80% charged but below about 80% battery I can't run at more than idle and charge (battery icon changes from plugged in to battery and lightning bolt on front panel goes out). I do have 2gb of memory and 100GB drive. Mayhaps voltage or wattage of Targus is too low?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by bobsandefur

 

I just completed a benchmark test on the three drives for my notebook. I use the notebook for my video editing with Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5. After you have a finished project in the Timeline Window you can export the whole project in many different formats. One format that is a highly disk intensive is just to export the whole movie as an .avi file. Here are the results of the time it took to export my very short test file with three different speed disk drives.

Hitachi "7K60" 60 GB 7200 rpm 13 seconds
Seagate 100 GB 5400 rpm 18 seconds
Hitachi 40 GB 4200 rpm 23 seconds

(Exporting to mpeg is more CPU intensive than disk intensive, very little difference was noticed.)
As soon as the Seagate 100 GB 7200 rpm drives hit the market I will be buying one!!
http://www.seagate.com/content/docs/pdf/marketing/Seagate_Momentus_7200-1.pdf

Bill :::: zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 100GB 5400rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

Ok ROG,
I am no expert at all but I will try and help out due to the fact I just purchased and received what you are looking at.
1. No idea.
2. I am all for the faster processor
3. I think there is a huge difference in the 5400 to 7200 but I bought the 5400 for money and I think its plenty for me
4. Get the 512 for sure. I got 1 gig and feel very compfortable
5. This was a big one for me and I called HP and they recommended WXGA Bightview. One, it looks great and I have had lots of compliments. Two, they recommended WSXGA for people who need CAD. I am not sure what it will do for gamers. I am very happy with WXGA
6 I am not sure on this one no Palm or but plan to use bluetooth in many things including notebook to stereo and mouse and keyboard
Thats all I got I am real happy with it overall.

 

Hope I can help a little bit.

1. Not sure if they're planning the upgrade anytime soon since they still consider this a 'budget' system.
2. If it were me I would get the 3700+ since its the fastest offered. It may be overkill unless u'r using the computer for cpu intensive programs.
3. The difference from when i went from 4200 to 7200 was significant. In my situation I would forgo the extra 20gb and get the 7200 rpm drive because it makes the laptop run more like a true desktop.
4. I did the same thing with the RAM. Not sure if the issues with the RAM have been solved with the latest BIOS release, but I think getting the 256MB and doing the upgrade u'rself is the cheapest and best way to go. Make sure u have atleast 512mb though...its a necessity in todays computer world.
5. Looking back upon my decision, I would've upgrade to the 1680x1050 screen even if it doesnt have brightview. I'm from the world of trying to fit alotta things on my desktop though, so if u dont use alotta windows the brightview might be the way to go. But for me, the higher resolution helps unclutter things.
6. I have the 54g/bluetooth combo and use it with an Ipaq and have never had a problem with it. Unless the problem is in syncing with the Palm OS, I dont think u'll have a problem. Under linux the bluetooth may not work functionality wise, but I have tested it yet there.

GL to u in u'r quest

~beast

 

1) HP will almost certainly have new Athlon 64 notebooks out with better GPUs... eventually. No one knows when or what. Not even a credible rumor.
2) Absolutely!
3) 7200RPM drives have faster access times, so disk-thrashing activities (databases, program compiles, etc) should be a bit faster. Streaming thruput isn't much better though. 5400RPM drives are quieter too, not that the 7200RPM drives are loud. I think you'll be happy with the 80GB 5400RPM drive.
4) HP's RAM prices aren't that far out of line, so I'd go ahead and get a pair of 512MB SODIMMs (1GB total) from them. It's just not worth messing with upgrading later.
5) I have a 1680x1050 res screen and would buy it again. BrightView is nice for photos and what not but not very useful for text. If your eyes are good enough for the higher res (smaller fonts, unless you switch font sizes), get it. HDTV looks *great* on this screen (http://www.udbhdtv.com).
6. Definitely get Bluetooth. It's an internal USB card in addition to the standard Broadcom miniPCI WiFi card.

 

You guys have a very informative set of postings. I have read them all and my questions may be somewhat redundant but I wanted to get your current views.
I am interested in getting a new laptop and am checking out the HP zv5000z. I doubt that I will be playing any games on a regular basis but I do on occasion. Most of my work will be word processing and Internet browsing.
Questions:
1. Is HP ever going to update the graphics card? If yes, will it be soon?
2. I was going to go with the fastest processing speed -- 3700+ (2.40 GHz). Any thoughts?
3. I was also going to go with the 80 GB 5400 with Win XP Pro. I am hesitant about switching out the hard drive even though you guys appear to set out some fairly good instructions on a swap. What is the real world difference between the 5400 and 7200 speeds?
4. How about 256 mb ram? I thought that if I upgraded I would add a 512 mb stick in the other dimm. (The upgrade would likely be from Crucial and would be a PC2700 since I would not want to swap out the 256 and assume that there would not be that much difference between the PC2700 and the PC3200). I assume that if I get the laptop with 256, HP will leave the more accessible user dimm open?
5. I have taken a look at the 15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x800) at Best Buy and it looks pretty good. I didn't notice a higher resolution. Is the 15.4" WVA WSXGA+ (1680x1050) actually that much better? I assume that the WSXGA+ screen does not have the glass brightview screen. Is that correct? Doesn't the brightview screen offset the advantages of the higher resolution for wordprocessing and Internet browsing? I still am not sure that I understand the font issue with the higher screen. If I go that route, can't I just adjust the Windows properties/appearance settings to take care of this issue.
5. I was thinking of going with the 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth rather than the 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM) since I have a Palm Tungsten T3 with bluetooth. However, it appeared from some postings that there had been some lack of support by Broadcom for drivers and other issues with bluetooth. Which is the better choice?
I realize that these questions are pretty basic but If anyone has some thoughts about any of the questions I raised, I would appreciate your views. Thanks Raphael

 

Incredibly quick responses. I greatly appreciate the assistance. I think that I will head down to Best Buy etc. and try to track down a 1680 x 1050 resolution laptop (maybe I can locate a laptop with this resolution on their website before I head out) and see how the fonts are on Word or Wordperfect. Hopefully, the laptop will be hooked up to the Internet to check that out too. ROG[ ]

 

Argh, that's http://www.usbhdtv.com.

Bluetooth does work under Linux, btw, under Fedora Core 3 at least. 64-bit Linux support for Broadcom WiFi is available from http://www.linuxant.com though I haven't tried it yet. The touchpad can be made to work... but it's a lot of work, so have a USB mouse handy. Otherwise it's a very Linux-friendly laptop so long as you're using an up-to-date distro like FC3.

 

AFAIK, 1680x1050 res screens are only available on Configure-To-Order machines. Retail models like Best Buy sells don't have them.

 

I'm at the same point as ROG and am close to ordering a zv5000z. What I'm looking for will primarily be a DTR for video editing. I use the Adobe Video suite (Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Audition, and Encore) and am encouraged to see that a few others in this thread are doing the same with no apparent complaint. Like others, I would like a newer GPU but it appears that the 440 GO not a major limitation for video work. Is this true?

When in DTR mode, I would like to attach a second monitor to the external monitor port and use it as a two-headed display. HP has told that it works but not how well it works? Is anyone else using their zv5000z in this manner? How well does this work with the 440 GO GPU?

So why do I want a notebook? I would also like to use it with a program called DVrack that provides a real-time display of the DV video stream over firewire and acts as both a NTSC reference monitor and a digital video recorder (among other things). Has anyone tried DVrack on their zv5000z?

Thanks for the input. I've already learned a lot about the zv5000z from reading through this thread.

-Dan

 

TeleDan: you're right, for 2D work (like video) just about any dedicated-memory GPU will do the job. The Athlon 64 3700+ CPU is definitely the chip to get for video encoding, and it sure sounds like 64-bit WinXP will go gold in late March. If your video editor vendor hasn't released a 64-bit port of their software by mid-year they'll be in serious need of a cluestick beating [ ].

The notebook certainly supports two-headed displays, though I haven't played with that feature. It'll work like any other nVidia GPU. It's more-or-less equivalent to the GeForce 440MX desktop GPU.

 

I took a look at the system requirements for DVRack. As far as I can tell it should work fine. If I get any spare time I will try to download the demo version on my notebook.

I have well aged eyes and do wear reading glasses. Would not give up this WSXGA+ (1680x1050) screen for anything. Also I have seriously considered upgrading to the 3700+ CPU--maybe later--if the price comes down.

I have tried my notebook on my 21" monitor and it works fine, but I have not yet acquired another monitor to dedicate to the notebook and do not think I will. I have acquired an ADS Pyro A/V Link box to output via the IEEE-1394 interface to a NTSC monitor.

Bill :::: zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 100GB 5400rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

Thanks, brianstretch, for that confirmation. I think I'm going to order one up. I've been trying to put off the purchase in hopes of a new series with the new low-power Athlon 64 and an updated GPU but I'm to the point where I can't put off the purchase any longer. From what I gather here, it sounds like most of the bugs have been wrung out of this series with firmware updates and that its a stable, solid performer. I like stable! [ ]

I do have a question about your comment on the 3700+ being the chip to get. I agree that video encoding needs all the horsepower one can muster but given the memory HP puts in these units (DDR333?), will I really see a noticeable difference with a 3700+? I was planning on ordering a 3400+ and putting the $100 into more memory.

BTW, to answer my own question about DVrack. I found an entry on the Serious Magic support site where a user reported using DVrack on a zv5000z (a zv5255us to be precise) and it ran very well even when streaming the video to a USB-connected external drive.

Thanks!
Dan

 

If money's tight, the 3700+ is less important than more memory. Encoding can make use of as much firepower as you can provide though, and the Athlon 64 scales very well.

 

Thanks for all the input. I went ahead and placed an order for a CTO zv5000z with a 3400+, 1 Gbyte of memory, and the 1280x800 brightview screen (plus a few other options like a 12 cell battery and bluetooth). The 3700+ cpu would be nice but decided to put the $100 towards more memory. Other than video encoding, most of applications I use seem to benefit more from a bunch of memory; especially if I have more than one loaded.

The choice of screen is largely due to DVrack. Unfortunately, the reference monitor display in DVrack does not scale so it would just get smaller on a higher res screen. I have a 19" CRT monitor on my desktop that I normally run at 1280x1024 even though it could go higher. I must admit that the 20" flat-panel monitor i recently got at work looks might sweet at 1600x1200. I plan to set the new notebook up in a dual-headed config to get more screen real estate for desktop use.

Thanks again!
-Dan

 

I have a zv500z shipping soon & I travel frequently. Does anyone have any good info on the battery life of the 12-cell LiON. I will not be using it on the plane for many hi-intensity purposes (lo-res RTS gaming[classics], DVD-watching, very little word-processing[in-flight], etc... My Specs: Athlon 3700+(2.4Ghz);WSXGA(1680x1050);Nvidia 64MB 4 440 go;512MB(1x512);80GB HD(5400rpm);Broadcom WLAN w/Bluetooth; 12-cell LiON

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