HP zt3000 vs zx5000

I'm purchasing a laptop for my daughter to use in law school. There sure are a lot of different features/models to consider. I'm focusing on HP/Compaq because I like their extended 3 year warranty, including accidental damage. She's attending U of Idaho which is pretty isolated so I anticipate having to mail it to HP for repair/replacement. The warranty seems to say that HP will pay for shipping but I can't get them to confirm that...does anyone know how it actually works or has anyone actually used the warranty???

I like the lighter weight of the zt3000 but I'm concerned how the pentium M processer compares to the mobile pentium in the zx5000. Does anyone have practical experience with every day use of either of these laptops in an academic setting. For example, carrying the laptop with you all day including long hours in the library reading and taking notes on the laptop. I also anticipate that she'll be searching text type databases and downloading large files from the Internet.

I'm thinking the zx5000 is a little too big to carry every day.

I'm also concerned about the size of the AC adaptor...it seems so big. How much weigh does it add??? What's the best way to carry this thing...just stuff it into the laptop bag??? Are there alternative lighter generic adaptors available.

On the zt3000 I looking at the 1.4 Pentium M, 512MB RAM, 60MB HD (4200rmp), and the 64k ATI Radeon 9200.

Does anyone know how the faster 5400 rpm Hard Drive impacts performance. I know it generally improves ...but is it noticeable for her type of applications???

Thanks,
Bob L.

 

To answer a few of your questions. It sounds like mobility is a major factor for your purchase, thus the PM is by far the best choice. The performace of the PM is very good, and a 1.4 PM will be roughly equal to a desktop 2.4 P4. As for HDD speed. If she is only doing basic word/spreed sheet stuff and not dealing with large files, then I doubt she will notice a great increase in performace with the faster drive. The slower drive may also give slightly better battery life.

Hope this is help you a bit
a
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I own a zx5000 and carry it every day with me, but it may be a little heavy for a girl to carry.

Like Underpantman said if she will not be doing anything super large aka games or video editing she will be better off with the zt3000. The Pentium M is a totally different architechure from the P4M. It was desgined from the ground up for mobility rather than modifying a desktop processor for mobile power.

The 5400 rpm hard drive wouldn't be a concern of mine, since it pretty much only helps with load time, after that gpu, cpu, and memory are what matter.

The radeon 9200 will be able to offer even decent gaming for non-state of the art games if she was to decide to do any of that. The reason I went with the zx5000 was price, I could get a 9600 instead of a 9200, and I'm not worried about weight at all. I can still get 3.5-4 hours of battery life while using wireless internet on the zx5000 with the 12cell battery. So it gets done what I needed at a cheaper price.

I think you will be happy with the service and quality of either machine it just breaks down to what your daughters needs are, it sounds like the zt3000 would be the better option though.

Also, you will probably get the best price straight through HP with the academic purchase program so you get an extra 6% off. Plus they offer free shipping at the moment and a 100.00 mail in rebate.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 21,862

 

Hi! I will be recieving my Zt3000 on friday and will have a review hopefully by monday if you can wait that long. I will be using mine in an almost purely academic environment in graduate school, so that will be my focus when Im giving it a good once over.

 

Thanks for your information. It really helps. I'm also looking forward to SpaceMonkey's update on the zt3000 on Monday. See ya!

 

SpaceMonkey...could you do me a favor and weight your new laptop. I'd really like to know what the zt3000 'actually' weights.
Thanks!

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by RJL2016

 

Ok... here it goes, im writing this message on my perty new zt3000.

I absolutely love this thing..... I do. It has surpassed all of my expectations. The screen is very nice, crisp, and bright. I spent 8 hours in front of it finishing up a design project for the semester, and found it was extremely easy on the eyes. MUCH better than my CRT [ ]. It takes running multiple programs in different windows at once like a champ. At one time, I was using paint shop pro 8, Excel, Word, and an injection molding program called moldflow all at once while surfing the web and had no problems or real slow down issues to speak of. I have never used a wide screen laptop before, and found it VERY useful for working with graphics programs or programs with many tool bars. The mouse is very responsive and I like the fact that it is defeatable for when you are typing. The scroll line on the side is very cool as well.

I watched Gladiator on it yesterday and was thrilled at the clarity. Amazingly enough, the speakers hold a rather realistic stereo image, but of course lack in low end response. I tested the IR port, and it worked well. The screen seeems very sturdy, which I was worried about. I have seen some wide screen laptops that the screen was rather flimsy and the hinges looked not very sturdy. Not on this one. Im pretty rough with my equipment, but I think this thing just may survive me. Its super thin, and relatively light( I weighed it to be just a tad under 6.5 lbs with the battery) which also fits my needs.

All in all I couldnt be happier. I still need to test the burning capabilities, and tthe wireless capabilities, but I think its safee to say I will be satisfied. Here aree the specs for my laaptop as ordered.

Intel(R) Pentium(R) M 1.5 GHz
- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home
- 512MB DDR SDRAM (2x256MB)
- 60 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD+RW / R & CD-RW Combo Drive
- Intel(R) Pro Wireless 2200 802.11b/g & Bluetooth
- 15.4" WVA WXGA (1280x800)
- 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) 9200