HP ZE5475

I'm a newbie, but I have searched the forums and haven't found any info on the HP ZE5475.

I'm looking for a laptop to replace my desktop since I'm moving across the country to go to graduate school in the fall. I have been doing tons of research and today I bit the bullet and bought this laptop from STaples.

It was a good price $1297 Cdn for
P4 2.66
512 Ram
40GB hd
dvd/cd-rw
15" screen
wireless b

Has anyone heard any good things or bad things about this particular laptop? Luckily, I have 10 days to return it because I noticed that it just shuts off when you slightly move it and the keyboard sticks (although that could be me - I'm used to lightly touching a keyboard). Also ,the Staples guy told me the Works Suite would come with it and doesn't. *sigh*

I'm wondering if I just got a lemon or if this brand is cheap for a reason? This is my first laptop, so if anyone has any suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

It's a good laptop if you're going to be doing office and academic type work with some basic games. Since the computer doesn't have a dedicated video card, performance will not be good for any serious graphics-intensive work. At least it has a mobile processor (I think), so I'd expect around 3 hours of battery life out of it.

AlphaAJ86

 

Mattessa,

It sounds like your notebook is defective. No notebook should shut off just my moving it unless something was loose inside causing a short. The keyboard shouldn't stick either. Definitely return the unit, either for a refund or exchange.

What will you be using this notebook for? Will you be playing games? As what AlphaAJ86 indicated, the graphics chips is not really designed for high-end graphics rendering, 3D modelling or graphics intensive games/apps. A unit with dedicated video memory and an ATI 9200+ graphics chip should be minimum for these uses. Otherwise, this should be good enough for basic usage,, DVD watching, cd burning, internet surfing, etc....

Also, $1297CDN is a pretty good deal. Just checked the Staples.ca website and they have a ZE5615 for $1500CDN and it only has a Celeron CPU.

-Vb-

 

Thanks for the advice. I returned the unit today. The only reason it was so cheap was because it is being discontinued and it was the last one they had.

So, it's back to the drawing board for me. I just need something for academic work, some basic web design (nothing fancy) & internet. I don't play that many games - maybe the Sims and NHL99, but nothing that graphics intensive. I'm trying to get a latop with an ATI card since I've been extremely happy with my desktop that has an ATI all in wonder card. (But this desktop is 6 years old & dying(

 

Well, there are a few notebooks that have the required power to do what you need at a fairly decent price. First, what price range are you looking at?

Averatec
Compaq R3000, HP ZT3000, HP NX7000, HP NX5000

You could even go to a "whitebox" / build your own type notebook from a small company. I probably wouldn't really recommend this route as warranty/support may become an issue when you need it.

After I found out your price range, I could probably recommend a few other brands. Maybe even a few shops in Toronto that carry the smaller brands, since I'm in Toronto as well.

-Vb-

 

I'm hoping to spend less than $2000 including tax/warranty.

If I wasn't moving to the prairies, I wouldn't mind buying from one of the smaller companies in TO. I have no trouble buying parts for my desktop at these small places, but not for a laptop. So I guess I should buy a major brand due to warranty issues.

Thanks for the help!

 

Well, for $2000 on the road, I think there are a few models out there that will fit the bill.

Compaq Presario R3000 Series - The models for $2k after taxes, have shared video memory, but at least it's more powerful than the ZE5475, but weight quite a bit

Toshiba Satellite A Series - The A40 is more because of the faster CPU, the A60 is one of Toshiba's newer models

Other brands that may fit the price range are probably not as well known as the two above, but are still fairly large

eMachines M5xxx Series - Probably lighter than the above units, has an AMD CPU, shared video again, but larger HDD, owners say service/support is ok

Gateway 200 or 450 Series - 200 Series very thin & light notebook, Pentium-M CPU for long battery life, 450 Series bigger, but more powerful & also has Pentium-M for long battery life, not a lot of places sell this in Canada, Futureshop used to carry, but not listed on their site anymore

Averatec - They used to have the 5100 series, but I think they're now discontinued, but they'll soon be coming out with the 6100, nice widescreen model with a powerful video card & Intel P4 CPU's for under $2K before taxes

I guess these few brands/models I listed should give you some idea what's out there. Make sure you shop around for the best price because Staples offers a 150% price match guarantee on everything. Also, if you have access to Costco, I'd recommend hopping in there to see what they have, from what I've heard & read, they have a 6month return policy.

Good luck!

-Vb-