HP Pavillion zv5000z Review

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by cheq326

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by jmk08I don't know that it is running in high speed..it's on a table, so the vents aren't blocked. <hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

I cut a 12" long piece of 1x2 and placed it under the rear support nubs on the bottom of mine - gives the fans a chance to breathe.


I notice on the HP Shopping site that the 1920x1200 screen option is no longer available. Anybody know, or hazard a guess, why? Or do I just gloat that I got one while you still could?

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

 

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

 

It appears that many of the configurations have changed in the recent week. What's up with that? I have a question...while working on the notebook, I hear a clicking noise (or should I say churning type sound), something different than when a page is being accessed. I am guessing that it's the hard drive. It's coming from the left side. Does anyone else experience this and is it normal? I'll say one other thing... I'm not thrilled with the keyboard. I sure hope I get use to it...especially the "n" key, I'm constantly having to go back and hit it!

 

If it is your hard drive, figure out who made it, get the manufacturer's HD diagnostics program and run it. Hitachi and Seagate definitely offer them, I've used both. See if it finds anything.

The zv5000z/R3000z series will be one year old next month. They're due for replacement. We've had no word on what those replacements will be nor when precisely they'll be out, so I'm speculating that HP is holding out for the 64-bit WinXP release in April. I could very easily be wrong on this though.

 

It's pretty much a given that HP will have Turion notebooks, but those aren't due until mid-year. I'm hoping that we'll see new AMD notebooks from HP sooner than that using 90nm Athlon 64's. And they'd better put in a proper GPU this time... but I'm concerned that I've heard zero hard info on what and when such notebooks will be. Maybe we will have to wait for the Turions... sigh.

 

I read somewhere that HP will have Turion notebooks available when the processors come out. Maybe HP will update the zv5000z then? I'm guessing PCI Express Graphics, a thinner notebook, and longer battery life with the new notebook.

What does everybody else think?

 

I have experienced the same problem as jmk08 with digital media. My Smartmedia 128MB card became unreadable in my camera or PC's after reading it in my zv5405us. Has this problem happened to anyone else?

CarlW :: zv5000z (zv5405us) :: 512MB :: 80GB 4200rpm :: 15.5" WSXGA (1280x800) ::XP Home

 

Carl ~ I contacted HP..they were of no help, except that they did advise me to contact SanDisk (the maker of the card). I then contacted SanDisk and they were great! Apparantly, the woman explained that Olympus (my camera mnfg) has a proprietory format. As soon as the media card was placed into and read by the notebook, she said the card wouldn't be recognized by the camera. She did indicate that it may work one or two times, but made it very clear that Olympus cameras are very proprietory and it eventually wouldn't work. She did say that Olympus was the only camera mnfg that this was a problem with. Anyway, SanDisk is sending me a new card! How generous is that? When in fact it's really a problem with Olympus. I am going to give Olympus a call as well and see if they have a driver I could load on the notebook, but in the meantime, I will just be hooking the camera up to the notebook and leave my media card out of the card reader. Good Luck!

 

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

 

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

 

Has anyone installed Windows XP Pro on an a zv5000z machine that had XP Home preinstalled. I intend to do a clean install of Windows XP Pro and hope to use the restore disks for the special drivers (i.e. digital media drives, special function buttons and most of all the power save features). I tried calling HP and of course they said we don't recommend that our customers do that. ( It's a support issue ) I just want to avoid wasting the money on Windows XP Pro if there is a known problem.


CarlW :: zv5000z (zv5405us) :: 3200+ 512MB :: 80GB 4200rpm :: 15.5" WSXGA (1280x800) ::XP Home

 

Here's a similar topic for a different HP model though but I think it applies as well.

http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11469

Just make sure you have all the latest drivers from HP's support site.

 

Would this Toshiba drive work with the zv5000 series as well?

http://www.ultradrives.com/product_info.php/cPath/22_29/products_id/626

Would be a little cheaper alternative to the Pioneer one.

Thanks

 

Yes.

 

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-146-020&depa=0

Hitachi 60GB 7200RPM drive. Also check out Seagate's 100GB 5400RPM drive. Notebooks use 2.5" drives, so a 3.5" desktop drive just isn't going to fit.

 

i just bought the zv5000v its probably arriving this week. Anyway i decided i'd probably upgrade the HD to that hitachi if it is really as bad as ppl say...

i was wondering if anyone can give me a link to the exat item i need....becase i looked around and as for as i can tell all the harddrives i've seen are for desktops.....is there a difference ?

 

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

 

which one is better...the seagate or the hitachi??

 

Depends. Streaming throughput is about the same on both, but the Hitachi has much better access times. Either will be a vast improvement over the 4200RPM drive HP uses. If you don't need the extra 40GB the Seagate offers you might as well get the Hitachi. I have the Hitachi.

 

the hitachi it is then....so is installing it really that simple...just take out the old and put in the new.....?

 

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

 

The problem with the 1900 x 1200 resolution on the 15.4 - 17" lcd moniters is that its too much. I've heard many people complain that it gives a sparkly effect when on certain backround. A resolution that high was originally designed for large 21" moniters i believe

But of course everyone loves to overdo everything so now they put all the resolution in a relatively small area where it is not needed

inronically i was actually going ot buy the dell 9200 model with a 17" widecreeen with that obcenely high resolution cause i thought "hey it cant hurt" once i did research on it i found out its a waste of money.

 

ANYWAY I JUST GOT THE LAPTOP TODAY...THE ZV5000Z .....hows the dvd burner on here??? good??

o and btw its pretty fast even the the 4200rpm hard drive

 

I am looking at purchasing a ZV5000z and have several questions. Let me add that I will be doing a variety of tasks including games, multimedia, emailing, surfing the web for starters. And I have use a Netgear WP614 (I think) wireless router. First should I go with "brightview" or SXGA for the screen? Second, XP Pro or Home ? Third, hard drive size ? Fourth what processor ? Please feel free to ask me any additional questions. Thanks !

 

1) BrightView if you want 1280x800 res, 1680x1050 non-BrightView if your eyes can handle text at the higher resolution. I'm very happy with my 1680x1050 res screen.

2) XP Home, unless you plan on connecting to a corporate LAN running Windows servers. I run Home.

3) Depends. A lot of us swap in 7200RPM or 5400RPM drives, so we buy the cheapest HD offered. Otherwise, it's a judgement call.

4) The fastest Athlon 64 you want to spend money on. The 3400+ is the sweet spot, but the premium for the top-of-the-line 3700+ isn't all that bad.

 

realistically the 1.8 is more then enough for doing most stuff....even video editing

 

MAde my own docking station wooohoo!!

i had a wireless microsoft keyboard/mouse already. It only takes up 1 USB. Its pugged in to the Adapter and The cable modem and i pushed it all the way back and proped it up on something just the right size with the exact slope at around 20-30 degrees. It also has a nice grip..( a labelmaker i dont use with very rubbery buttons )

anyway its great...it bassically the same setup i had before exept where my old lcd moniter stood now my laptop stands and the tower is gone.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by onebyone1958

 

I just recieved my new z5000 yesterday.

One thing you guys are forgetting to mention is that the motherboard in this computer (beautiful piece of equipment I must say) is an Nforce 3 150 which only supports a 600/1200 mhz hypertransport link. [ ] Even though HP advertises on the website that the notebook has a 800/1600mhz Hypertransport link. (any lawyers reading this??? [ ])


I picked up this laptop for the screen. I just could not find a higher resolution screen anywhere for this price. (1680x1050) I had a Dell D800 that had wuxga and I just got so used to the screen that it was the most important thing I was looking for when purchasing this laptop. (If you don't have a great screen then use it for a server!) [ ]

I also wanted an XP 64 processor. Dell doesn't sell laptops with them. In addition I had to suck it up and take the crappy video card but I have my desktop for gaming and if I get the itch to play on the road I guess the zv5000 will have to suffice.

I know that large companies can tend to have sucky service support but unless you want to pay the big money for a quality laptop from a smaller company or the extra 300$ for support you really cannot complain. Computer parts die all the time and I have seen dozens of things misshipped.

The case that this notebook is shipped in is one of the prettier cases that I have seen and the sound is high end for a laptop. Check out the Notebooks at BestBuy before you buy one online. I like the little button to turn off the touchpad and the blue lights are sharp. Some people complain about 3USB ports instead of 4 but c'mon...it's a laptop and you can always but a hub.

HP did not send a dongle for the video out in the package but I have a dozen of them at work so no worries. (did anyone else get the video dongle?)

One other complaint I have is that the power supply is like a brick. It is the largest power supply that I have seen for a laptop.

Here is something else that may be of interest to you all...

In reading I have found that the Athlon 64 processor that comes with this motherboard can only handle 1 double sided memory chip @ 400mhz.
If you want to try to install 2 memory chips @ 400mhz get the higher priced single sided memory chips @ 400mhz and you may get it to work. I do not know if anyone has tried this yet. 333mhz is no problem single or double and that is why HP ships them that way. No garuntees but that is what I read:

http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040602/index.html


Almost everything else about this laptop can be found in this thread.
I do want to thank Brianstretch for keeping up with this post. It takes a dedicated person to stay with a thread for that amount of time.

Pro's : Athlon 64, High Resolution screen, Pretty case, Nice sound
Con's : Sucky Video, Power Supply on steroids, Hypertransport@600/1200

And I am outta here..... [ ]

P.S. I just happen to work for a school district and I got the APP price for the laptop (saved about 130$) they never contacted me or my work or anything to check if I worked for a school. So if you work for a school (hint hint) sign up and get the discount. If you don't work for a school...and you get caught...you might have to pay the difference.


__________________________________________________________
It is better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.

 

Hello,
I'm very close to ordering a zv5000z, and this thread has been enormously helpful - thanks! If I do get the laptop, I'm planning on installing a faster HD, better RAM than Infineon, etc. But, I have a few questions:

1) My cousin owns an HP zd7000, which I've used extensively. I have a set of tools specially designed for computers, and when I attempted to swap out her 4200rpm HD for a 7500rpm one, the head of the Phillips screw seemed to be easily damaged with only very minor force. Since it's not my laptop, I stopped the procedure.

Those of you who have installed your own hard drives, RAM, etc., what sort of tools have you used? Any special brands? (I don't want to wreck those screws.)

2) Is it true that if you get a 3000+ CPU that half of the 1MB of L2 cache is disabled? (I read this in an article at X-bit labs.) If so, then I'd want to get at least a 3200+.

3) In addition to HP, I've also been looking at so-called customizable laptops, especially the Asus M6BNe and Sager 3790 (excellent video card). Both of those are powered by a Pentium M CPU, but I think that would be OK with me. I'd prefer an Athlon 64, but Pentium M Dothan seems excellent as well, albeit more expensive than the socket 754s installed on the HPs.

Anyway, here's my dilemma:

With the HP, I know what I'm getting in terms of build quality of the body, screen quality, keyboard quality and nice ergonomic feel, etc. I also know that customer/tech support isn't exactly the best, but fortunately, out of all the PCs and laptops I've owned, I only needed tech support once. So, that's probably a non-issue. I also know that I'll be swapping out HP's stock RAM and HD for stuff of my own choosing. I may even install a faster DVD/CD-RW, as others have done.

So, in evaluating this, I'm thinking it might be less expensive to simply buy the Asus or the Sager. At most of the custom vendors, you can choose high-quality RAM and a Hitachi 7200rpm drive to begin with, AND there's no extra junk software installed.

On the other hand, there is *no place* around here to evaluate one of the Asus or Sager laptops in person. In contrast, you can fiddle with HPs to your heart's content at many retail shops to make sure they're right for you.

So, as I said, I'm in a quandary. Do I buy the HP -- a laptop whose overall build quality and feel I know I like a lot, but I'd want to install different RAM and HD; OR, do I buy a "custom" laptop such as the Asus or Sager? I wouldn't have to perform any hardware upgrades myself, BUT, since I've never seen either of these, I might not like the look, feel, speaker quality, etc. as much as I do on the HP.

I'm leaning toward going with "the known" vs. "the unknown".

Any info and/or insights would be greatly appreciated!!

-- Jerry

 

I just used a regular Phillips screwdriver to replace my HD. Maybe you needed a slightly larger screwdriver? A little more force can help keep the screwdriver from slipping sometimes.

The Athlon 64 3000+ notebook CPU has 1MB L2 cache. Most desktop Athlon 64 3000+ CPUs have 512KB L2 cache by design (Newcastle and Winchester cores). There were some early desktop 3000+ chips that had 1MB cache with half disabled, but those are long gone.

If you want to be able to run 64-bit WinXP, well, there y'go.

 

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

 

so i have the 3000+ AMD processor and it says it running at just a little over 700 MHz....is that the highest i can push it too?

and how could i increase it if thats not the maximum

 

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

 

WinXP's speed readout is broken. Use MobileMeter. Your CPU will run at 800MHz while idle and jump to 1.8GHz under load. MobileMeter will graph this behavior over time.

I have a set of Stanley precision screwdrivers I picked up from Target for $5. That's what I used for changing my HD and optical drive. Recommended.

 

powernow you say....where do you find this option...i just got my laptop yesterday so i still dont know all the little things that are specific to it

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by onebyone1958

 

I ordered my ZV5000 yesterday with a 100 GB 4200 RPM hard drive but may upgrade. I have several questions:

1)If I upgrade my HD do I void the warranty ?
2)What brand HD do I go with ?
3)Is it as simple as removing the access panel on the bottom of the laptop and unplugging the old HD and putting the new one in ?
4)How is the OS loaded, etc. with the new drive ?

Please let me know in detail as what I would need to do. Thanks ! [ ]

 

Thanks for the responses! Hmm. Well, maybe I was just too gun-shy with my cousin's laptop since it wasn't mine. Or maybe I'll buy some new tools. Thanks for the links, brand names, etc.

I'm in the process of building a socket 939 3500+ (Winchester) desktop PC, so my laptop doesn't necessarily have to also be an Athlon 64. But my instincts are telling me to go with the Athlon 64. [ ]

Based on what I've read here, it sounds like HP will be doing away with the zv5000z line within a couple of months and going to the zv6000z, hopefully offering a better video card and possibly socket 939 options. But I don't think I want to wait. I think I'll go for the zv5000z while the prices on it are so reasonable.

Thanks again for the help!
-- Jerry

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by onebyone1958

 

OK, now I'm trying to decide which CPU to get -- the 3000+, 3200+ or 3400+.

On the one hand, I think I don't need blazing speed, but on the other hand, I don't want to get the laptop and think, "Gee, I wish it were a bit zippier." I'll eventually install 1GB of RAM, as it drives me crazy when the hard drive gets accessed a lot to compensate for lack of RAM.

I'll be using the laptop for the usual basic stuff plus financial applications, database management, photo editing, some audio editing, playing movies, etc. etc.

On the one hand, the 3000+ seems plenty powerful enough. But the 3400+ is only $100 more. But would the upgrade be worth it for my purposes? I don't do much gaming at all, by the way.

Thanks for any opinions!
-- Jerry

 

I'd get the 3400+. Sure, it's overkill, but overkill is good [ ].

I do recommend getting 1GB RAM direct from HP. It's just not worth the hassle of hunting down a good deal on Kingston or Crucial RAM and opening up the notebook to get at the internal SODIMM slot (unless you configured a single 512MB SODIMM, then you can leave that alone and just add a second). 1GB RAM is about right for Windows these days. If forced to choose between a faster CPU and 1GB RAM, get the RAM.

 

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

 

You could use Knoppix and dd to copy your HD image onto your network server, swap drives and copy the image onto your new HD. I've done that before. (Knoppix is a Linux distribution that runs directly from a bootable CD. See O'Reilly's "Knoppix Hacks" for all sorts of neat things you can do with it.) You can use qtparted under Knoppix to resize HD partitions too.

 

i already installed everything on the hard drive that came with my laptop. And in total it all takes about 10gigs....now would it be possible for me to copy it all onto another computer on my network and then paste it all back onto the laptop once i put windows xp and get back on the network on the new 7200rpm hard drive...in theory it should look identical but be much faster...

now is this possble??

 

ok and when i want to upgrame my memory whats the best/cheapest 512 i can get for this model.....i'm very ignorant when it comes to compatability issues for upgrades and stuff :-/

 

Crucial or Kingston PC2700 SODIMMs.

 

So if I bought two of these and replaced the 256 ones I would be ok?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000899WI/qid=1109292501/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1_etk-electronics/104-9938406-9314322?v=glance&s=electronics&n=172282

 

Circuit City has the 512MB PC3200 memory sticks on sale this week for $50, now what I do not know is:

1. brianstrech's or other opinions on whether these Kingston PC3200 are a good choice for the zv5000z

2. The rebate is one per person per address, unless you have a friend buy one and he a applies for the rebate, but their price before rebate is only $85! I entered my zip code looking at their web site so I cannot tell if all areas have this price.

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