HP Pavillion zv5000z Review

IF the dimensions of zv5000v is 14 3/8" x 11 1/4" x 2"
I really like the shinza zeroshock sleeve but it doesn't look like it would fit, even the large one!!
Is there anything that is the same as this type of protection that is respectable company in which i can trust my expensive laptop with that will fit my laptop!??
15.4'' is starting to have its cons & i haven't even received the laptop yet!!


http://shinza.com/product_info.php?products_id=46&osCsid=683f66b09d7512a35fe3fe75fa1e9a3c

"Medium" dimensions (please measure your notebook and compare to interior figures!)
Exterior (W x D x H): 14.2 x 1.0 x 11.8 inches (360 x 25 x 300 mm)
Interior (W x D x H): 13.0 x 1.8 x 10.2 inches (330 x 45 x 260 mm)
"Large" dimensions (please measure your notebook and compare to interior figures!)
Exterior (W x D x H): 15.0 x 1.0 x 13.0 inches (380 x 25 x 330 mm)
Interior (W x D x H): 13.8 x 1.8 x 11.4 inches (350 x 45 x 290 mm)

 

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

 

hi smilingbeast!

thanks for the info! m gonna order the HD and install it asap.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>i appologize for the newbie questions, but how do i clone this stock HD to the new HD? do i need to buy an external USB 2.0 HD case?
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

For under $25 you can get a fast USB2 external case (Vantec Nexstar is the one I have) and stick the old drive in it.

I got one of those to use the stock slow 30 gig drive as a handy big copy and backup device, and decided to do an install from the disks and option out of a lot of the HP installed software.

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 shinryuu
(QUOTE EDITED BY wgehrke)


I am about to fly overseas myself, and I just got the zv5000z ... anyone know which is a good adapter that works with majority of airlines and provides good power?

Thanks.
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

If you try to get more power that 75 watts from the Airline Power Connector it will SHUT DOWN!!!!

Your only hope is to:

1. Have spare charged batteries.

2. Find a way to reduce the power consumption on the notebook to 75 watts. If you or someone else have some power measuring equipment and you take the battery out of the notebook AND run always at reduced CPU speed AND reduce the brightness of the LCD display AND operate with just one SODIMM memory module you MIGHT possibly get the power down to 75 watts.

3. Carry your car battery with you! []

Maybe brianstretch or the other person that has contacts inside HP could find out if it is possible to run the notebook on 75 watts under some conditions.

Bill
zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 40GB 4200rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

worst come worst, I could just power it off, and recharge it using the 75 watts for 5-6 hours at a time, and use it for 2 hours or so, rinse and repeat, right?

I'm flying international, so its a pretty long flight. I could just sleep for a few hours while it is charging and powered off [ ]

Also, any ideas on a replacement power brick? the HP one is HUGE!
The Compaq one I had before was ½ the size!

 

I'm thinkin' if you're going to be doing a good bit of traveling or working on battery power, it might be worth it to kick down a get a 2nd high capacity battery. I've seen some pretty reasonable prices for new ones on eBay.
Or... you could run a REALLY l o n g extension cord into the galley where the flight attendants make coffee, and get full 110v from there![ ]

Hey, worth a shot - remember, if you don't ask, the answer is ALWAYS no.


Cheers,

Stevo

zv5000z: Ath64_3200+ (2.0GHz) - 1GB DDR - 80GB 5400rpm - 64MB 440 - 15.0" XGA - Win2k (tentatively)

 

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

Also, any ideas on a replacement power brick? the HP one is HUGE!
The Compaq one I had before was ½ the size!
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

I had this one for less than 30 days when I forgot my HP brick while traveling. It is a Targus model that you can get at Best Buy for $130. It is much smaller and lighter. Buy.com has it for $108 with free shipping. http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PAPWR300U

Bill
zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 40GB 4200rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

Use ClockGen to force 1GHz at 0.85V. That'll keep CPU power consumption within a dozen watts. I seriously doubt the rest of the system will consume anywhere near 60 watts. Heck, 1.8GHz at 1.2V will probably work too. It's the default (and overly conservative) full speed at 1.5V that chews up the battery (81W max).

 

Use ClockGen to force 1GHz at 0.85V. That'll keep CPU power consumption within a dozen watts. I seriously doubt the rest of the system will consume anywhere near 60 watts. Heck, 1.8GHz at 1.2V will probably work too. It's the default (and overly conservative) full speed at 1.5V that chews up the battery (81W max).

 

Great, thnx for the ClockGen info.
BTW, do you know what the current core in the zv5000z is (130nm or 90nm)?

zv5000z: Ath64_3200+ (2.0GHz) - 1GB DDR - 80GB 5400rpm - 64MB GeForce4 440 - 15.0" XGA (1024x768)

 

Hey brianstretch,

Does ClockGen work completely inside the OS, or does it make any BIOS changes (have never used it before, but heard it was a pretty good util) ?
Are there any settings within ClockGen that are more preferable to use, or any that would definitly be NOT good to use with a zv5000z?


Thnx & cheers,

Stevo

zv5000z: Ath64_3200+ (2.0GHz) - 1GB DDR - 80GB 5400rpm - 64MB 440 - 15.0" XGA (1024x768)

 

Argh, sorry about the double-post...

Yes, ClockGen works inside the OS, it makes no permanent changes. The BIOS and the CPU itself limits your ability to do anything damaging (no insane core voltages nor higher than normal clock multipliers allowed). Mostly it's just a matter of figuring out how low you can set the voltage at a given clock multiplier and still have a stable system. Besides what I listed, full speed at 1.3V, 1.4GHz at 1V, and 1.6GHz at 1.1V usually work. Some of the newer cores can do better but what I listed are pretty safe and will give you the bulk of the possible power consumption improvement. I recommend not tinkering with the HTT and AGP settings in the Clocks panel, those can get you into trouble if you don't know what you're doing (they're strictly for overclocking).

 

It is 130nm. They really are not delivering any 90nm yet

Bill
zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 40GB 4200rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

PS: From http://www.theinquirer.net/

By INQUIRER staff: Friday 17 September 2004, 15:56

CHIP FIRM AMD confirmed to the INQUIRER this afternoon that it started shipping 90 nano versions of some of its chips on Wednesday of this week.

The parts concerned are the Athlon 64 3000+, 3200+ and 3500+, but others will follow quite soon.

 

thanks stefano! the HD is on its way, got the free 2 day shipping from zipzoomfly.

got another question. i was searching for additional memory for my zv5255us and crucial recommended PC2700 and not PC3200. can i still use the 3200 without experiencing any problems? do the zv5255us and zv5000z use different memory modules?

thanks!!!

 

Crucial/Micron PC2700 or PC3200 memory will work, but if you mix a PC2700 and PC3200 stick the lowest common denominator settings are likely to be used (the higher latency of the PC3200 and the lower bandwidth of the PC2700; definite on the bandwidth, not sure about the latency). This isn't that big a deal but it's preferable to used matched pairs. Pretty much every notebook currently sold uses standard 200-pin DDR SODIMMs. AFAIK HP uses PC2700 memory in both notebooks. If you're buying a matched pair and don't mind the extra expense, buy PC3200.

 

Check This Out!

Techexcess has HP Notebook cases at $14.50 and $23.50 plus shipping.

http://www.techexcess.net/category.aspx?categoryID=76



-----Impossible is nothing-----

 

got the HD today and did a clean install of XP pro and the other drivers! got the free 2nd day shipping.

Thank you very much smilingbeast!!


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

 

hello
this is the problem that I have with the zv5000 that I just bought on 9.8.04,it is the athlon 2800+ model with 256mb and xp home edition.I notice when I put in a corsair 512mb it display through the properties as running on 398 mhz and before the memory add on it display as 798mhz,I have put the setting to always on and have it plug in to the wall.and when I went in the bios I notice that it said that it is a zv5200 sempron chip,any info on this problem is greatly appreciated.thanks again in advance.
sincerly
scrooge7

 

WinXP's speed monitor is broken, even in SP2. Use MobileMeter instead.

 

thank you Brianstrech it display speed properly now,thanks again.
scrooge7

 

Heya brianstretch,

What do you mean by Win XP's speed monitor is broken?
I am about to ship my beautiful new zv5000z lappy back to HP tomorrow, because Windows XP keeps displaying my Ath64 3200+ (2.0GHz) as 797MHz. System Properties displays it that way, DX Diagnostic does, and CPUID shows 797 as well. Additionally, when I boot into MemTest86+ from the CD, it starts up and ALSO shows 797MHz. This seems like something at the hardware level since, as you know, MemTest doesn't need to touch the OS or the HD.
Also (I'm not sure what your research has shown, but), as far as all the info I could gather before purchasing, these zv5000z's were supposed to be carrying the Mobile Athlon 64, and it is my understanding that Mobile Ath64 3200's and above are all supposed to be the CG Revision chips. The BIOS and also cpu-z show this CPU's stepping as the C0 chip.
Is HP's marketing info wrong? Has my research uncovered faulty data? Is this really a Mobile CPU or just a DTR? Does it seem to you like the CPU really IS having a problem? Will JohnBoy find a date in time for the big school dance? (couldn't resist throwin' that one in...)
Hopefully your length of time with one of these has helped you uncover all the little untold info. Thnx in advance for your input!


Cheers,

Stevo

zv5000z: Ath64_3200+ (2.0GHz) - 1GB DDR - 80GB 5400rpm - 64MB GeForce4 440 - 15.0" XGA (1024x768)

 

Uninstall the cpu driver and install driver version 1.1.0.0

I had the same trouble when I installed the latest AMD driver and this corrected the problem. I know others have posted that the newest driver works tn their notebook but I and others could not make it work in theirs.

The driver is on the AMD web page.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by step-dad

 

Yes, step-dad,

That should work for scrooge7's problem, where it seems to be OS specific. I wish I had an alternative to my situation, where MemTest86 clearly demonstrates that it is at the hardware level (brianstretch.... anything.... brianstretch....
I wish they had the 90nanometer CPUs in these babies already. The power mangement, heat dissapation, and communication with the rest of the system is definitely superior than the 130's.


Cheers,

Stevo

zv5000z: Ath64_3200+ (2.0GHz) - 1GB DDR - 80GB 5400rpm - 64MB GeForce4 440 - 15.0" XGA (1024x768)

 

My Computer | Properties | General tab will usually display the current Athlon 64 CPU speed incorrectly. Pretty much every third-party program will display the speed correctly, though they often misidentify the precise CPU revision/model number. I have one of the earlier zv5000z's so I have a C0 stepping CPU. Anything built in the past few months should have a CG stepping DTR class chip.

I'm using the 1.1.0.14 CPU driver dated May 2004 from amd.com, BIOS F.12, WinXP SP2. What does MobileMeter say your CPU temp is? If you set your Power Scheme to Always On, does your CPU run at full speed? Can you use the nForce3 version of ClockGen to force, say, 1GHz at 0.85V and 2GHz at 1.3V? (Which works for me, so it should work on newer chips, 800MHz at 0.95V and 2GHz at 1.5V are the factory defaults.)

If PowerNOW! is working correctly your notebook should stay at 800MHz until you do something that demands more CPU power. Power consumption at 800MHz is a fraction of what it is at full speed.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Col. Stevo

 

Hiya brianstretch and wgehrke,

In my lappy (which is now back in box with RMA info on it, waiting for FedEx), this problem still occurs, even at the pure hardware level, as verified from MemTest86+ and from Knoppix Live CD Linux utils, both of which don't touch the HD or Windows OS. Mine was just built about a week ago, so it SHOULD be using a CG Revision CPU, but shows in BIOS and cpu-z as a C0 chip.
Also, when in Windows, I could fire up Doom 3, and CPUID and cpuinfo (as well as DirectX Diagnostic) would still show 797 or 800MHz while Doom 3 was running. Jay and Brain (a L-2 tech and a senior tech) both feel that mine is a chipset problem and the MoBo might need to be replaced. It will be intersting to see what the service center comes up with when it gets to Milpitas tomorrow or Monday.


Cheers,

Stevo

zv5000z: Ath64_3200+ (2.0GHz) - 1GB DDR - 80GB 5400rpm - 64MB GeForce4 440 - 15.0" XGA (1024x768)

 

I had similar problems (CPU stuck to 800 MHz)- I ran SiSoft Sandra and got poor results. I tried out clockgen and after reboot now the CPU is running at the expected speed, also confirmed by SiSoft Sandra. Not sure what this is all about. I am also using AMDs latest driver (1.1.0.14).

My laptop was built early September, CPU is SH7-CG, Stepping A.

Is there something wrong with AMDs latest driver and/or something wrong with the chipset as a previous post suggested?

Juergen

 

Also, on a side note, I bought some Kingston SODIMM Ram (512MB), and apparently in stores at BestBuy or CircuitCity, they seem to have two types. There is one with Nanya chips, and one with Infineon chips. (it says on the bottom of the box either NANYA or INF, next to the UPC code and next to the KVR333SO/512 part number.)

I ran CPUID, and it says I have Nanya chips (for my slot #1), so I bought the Kingston package that says Nanya, and Memtest reports no problems.

Also the Nanya SODIMM has likr 4 chips on the PCBoard, and the INF has like 10 chips...

The other thing, Kingston 512MB RAM SODIMM is on sale at BestBuy.com this week for $74.99 after a $25 MIR!

 

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

 

hi! i want to try Suse Pro 9.1 on my zv5000. has anyone had any issues with the Suse? i read that wireless wont work, how bout the card reader? how do i go about resolving the wireless issue? m very excited to install Suse on my machine.

Thanks!!


AMD64 3400+; 60G Hitachi 7200 rpm; 512 meg RAM; XP pro

 

Resolving the wireless issue: smack Broadcom with a cluebat until they cough up the Linux drivers they've already written but refuse to release. They're the most hated networking company in the Linux community. Alternatively, smack HP with a cluebat until they turn off the BIOS whitelist that locks out all non-HP wireless miniPCI cards (documented in the HP Hardware Guide, page 8-1 IIRC). I tried to swap in a Linux-friendly Atheros card but the BIOS gave me an error message telling me to remove it. HP's only suggestion was to use one of the driver wrappers to let you use the Windows drivers under Linux but that only works under 32-bit Linux.

Outside of that, everything I tried worked, though I didn't try the card reader. I don't have cards to test with.

I'll vouch for 64-bit Fedora Core 2 and nVidia's 64-bit Linux drivers. You'll need to have BIOS F.12 flashed in (F.11 will probably work too), F.03 lacked patch for K8 Errata #93 that caused lockups on Linux distros that didn't have a workaround (FC1 locked, FC2 didn't, not sure about SuSE).

 

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

 

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

 

Regarding the setting - just tried it out - I read in the values and it shows a multiplier of 4x (therefore 800 MHz). I then only set it to 9x and I get my 1800 MHz. I found out that the CPU runs at 800 MHz no matter whether it runs on batteries or power supply.

BTW - Windows continues to report 800 MHz, SiSoft Sandra however shows the correct clock speed, also the benchmarks respond accordingly. I have not tried it out yet but clockgen allows a command line entry which would allow to fix the clock rate issue.

It is my suspicion that the latest AMD driver is the culprit - let's wait and see if a newer version will fix it. Has anybody a better solution?

Juergen

 

Im about to get the following zx500 configuration

- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional Edition
- Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 3.00 GHz w/HT Technology
- 15.4" WVA WUXGA (1920x1200)
- 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) 9600
- 1.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x512MB)
- 60 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD/CD-RW
- 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
- 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

I hope it's fast, and nice. it's the most powerful laptop I could find for the money. Everyone here seems to have had great experiences with theirs, not to mention the great reviews it has revieved on many respectable notebook review sites, such as this one.

Wish me Luck...and stop me if I am making a huge mistake
[ ]

 

Im about to get the following zx500 configuration

- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional Edition
- Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 3.00 GHz w/HT Technology
- 15.4" WVA WUXGA (1920x1200)
- 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) 9600
- 1.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x512MB)
- 60 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD/CD-RW
- 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
- 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

I hope it's fast, and nice. it's the most powerful laptop I could find for the money. Everyone here seems to have had great experiences with theirs, not to mention the great reviews it has revieved on many respectable notebook review sites, such as this one.

Wish me Luck...and stop me if I am making a huge mistake
[ ]

 

I just bought one with almost the same spec. as yours except a 3.2G cpu and I like it !!!

 

HP just notified me of the upgraded BIOS to F.21 dated 2004-09-18 for the zv5000z.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-24631-1&lc=en&sw_lang=8&product=425543&os=228&cc=us

Bill
zv5000z :: 3200+ :: 1GB :: 40GB 4200rpm :: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) :: XP Pro

 

uhmmm wierd

the F 30 bios is out there with the same date

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?product=425543&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&os=228&tool=softwareCategory&softwareitem=ob-24633-1

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>ROMPaq for Notebooks System BIOS Update
HP Pavilion zv5000z (DP523AV) CTO Notebook


Release Date: 2004-09-18 Version: F.30

Description

This package contains the System BIOS (ROM).

PURPOSE: Recommended

OPERATING SYSTEM(S):
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows XP 32-bit Home Edition
Microsoft Windows XP 32-bit Professional



Fixes

- Fixes issue where a notebook with Intel HyperThreading Technology would stop responding while installing Microsoft Windows 2000.
- Fixes Power Management issue where notebook would shut down rather than entering Hibernation mode when the battery entered "critical" charge level (three percent or lower).

<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

 

Apparently the people maintaining the HP site are too clueless to differentiate between AMD CPUs and Intel CPUs, so they post BIOSes for both CPUs and let the customers figure it out. R.30 is strictly for Intel CPU notebooks.

 

are you sure R.30 is only for intel cpu's?

I have an amd xp-m 3000+ with windows xp home sp2 and my cpu is always showing 797Mhz. Purchased 9/3/2004.

Can someone clue me in on what to do? I was just going to download the F.30 bios.
I tried uninstalling the amd64 driver from "add or remove programs" and rebooted and it still shows 797Mhz.

I am still confused on how to resolve this issue.
Should I download F.21 which is the old driver?Or should i download F. 30? Should I download a third party program? HELP PLZ!

» F.30 current 2004-09-18 2.55M

» F.25 2004-08-09 2.52M

» F.21 2004-05-28 2.51M

 

Oh geeze... they deleted everything on the zv5000z other than F.30. You want the F.21 that wgehrke mentioned from September, the one from May is for Intel notebooks IIRC. I flashed in the F.21 version for AMD HP notebooks today without incident, alas I deleted the installation file afterwards.

F.30's support for Intel HyperThreading is the tell that it's the wrong BIOS.

Ah, look up the support page for the Pavilion zv5220US, that has the correct F.21 BIOS. Flash that in. Or go get the one from the Presario R3240US page if you have a Compaq.

 

Yes,

AMD processors do not use Intel Hyperthreading technology ( as far as we know..... [ ] ).
I have had an issue with my new lappy, where it is stuck at 798MHz with a 4.0 multiplier. In fact, since it has been CSO'd twice now in as many weeks, it will be going back permanently in a few daays. HP is building me a new one completely from scratch right now.


Stevo

zv5000z: Ath64_3200+ (2.0GHz) - 1GB DDR - 80GB 5400rpm - 64MB GeForce4 440 - 15.0" XGA, harman/kardon speakers

 

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

 

GREAT find! I wish I had time to play with it.

Hmm, I wonder if this would help:
http://www.msc-ge.com/e/aktuelles/presse/07818/

Maybe there's something here?
http://www.biosmods.com/

 

Guess I found a clue for the 800Mhz fixed-clock-speed problem.
Check the following review excerpt posted on ZDnet (http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/HP_Pavilion_zv5000z/4505-3121_16-30822949.html)

>>"after a bad start, my zv5000 runs great"
>>luft99 on 27-Jun-2004 08:24:12 AM
>>Pros: ...<not posted>...
>>Cons: runs on 800 mhz mostly. if you want to operate full speed
>>switch to desktop power mode. graphic card could have been better
>>but works

I'm not yet a zv5000z owner. I'm doing my research first. So, can someone with the above problem test if switching to desktop power mode solves it. Thanks

 

Hi guys,

I am seriously thinking about picking up an HP zv5000z. All the specs fit my needs, but i had one question. How "weak" is the video card/graphics processing? I keep reading that it is "acceptable" for gaming, but still very weak etc. I read that the gpu in this notebook is 3 yrs old? Does that mean some of the newer games can't be played on it altogether? or will it just be slower/less detailed? Will i be able to play the new GTA San Andreas on it, for example?

thanks