Need Advice Please

I have been considering buyin a zd7000. Lookin at the HP site this is what they have see below)

My guestion is, what would you change? I am not into games. Use mostly for surfing, email, all the usual stuff and also keep business records in Quickbooks. I do like to play around with my digital photos and with my current system, I have to not have anything else running when I am using Adobe Photo.

One more guestion, would you buy now or is there something new just around the corner?

Sorry for such a long post.

zd7140us
Processor
Intel® Pentium® 4 processor with HT Technology 3.0GHz

Operating system
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Memory
512MB DDR SDRAM (2 x 256MB) at 333MHz; maximum memory 2048MB DDR SDRAM (2 x 1024MB)

Graphics card
NVIDIA® GeForce™ FX Go5200 with 64MB DDR (dedicated)

Hard drive
60GB Enhanced IDE [gigabyte is defined as 1,000,000,000 bytes, accessible capacity may vary]

Primary CD/DVD drive
DVD/CD-RW combo drive

Display
17.0" WXGA+ TFT WVA (1440 x 900) display

Wireless connectivity
54g Integrated 802.11 b/g wireless LAN

Digital media
5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro or SmartMedia cards

External ports
4 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, 1 port replicator/connector, 1 IEEE 1394 (FireWire), 1 FIR (Fast Infrared)

Communications
Integrated 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector), integrated V.90/V.92 56K modem (RJ-11 connector)

Dimensions
15.67" (L) x 10.94" (W) x 1.67" (front H) 1.85" (rear H)

Weight
9.4 lb.

Sound
Internal Harman Kardon® speakers; 16-bit Sound Blaster® Pro-compatible audio, volume control buttons and mute button

 

looks like a good fit, with digital photo editing that 5 - in - 1 card reader will come in handy, and I find the widescreen nice for all the toolbars/toolboxes in programs like photoshop. Then of course its also nice for watching movies.
The processor should be plenty fast for what you will be doing as should the memory and video card. A way to get more memory for your money though, if I remember correctly, they charge approx 100.00 for an extra 256 mb chip to put you at 2x 256 for 512, for that price you could keep the default 256 mb and buy a 512 stick and put it in giving you 768mb ram.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

Thank you for your help Quikster.

Carol S Blevins

 

This is a nice notebook except that it is pretty heavy, so if you are going to carry it everywhere with you, you will get pissed off with its weight. Also, since it is a regular processor, not a mobile one, your notebook may be getting warm to keep it on your laps when you run some hardcore applications. But if you need it as a desktop replacement, then it must be great! If I ever want to buy a desktop replacement then 17" display would be a must. [ ]

 

For caring it around some it really isn't that big of a deal for me. Granted your notebook does way an additional 1.5 lbs or so, but if you get a good comfortable backpack, I don't even notice it that much, since my school books I carry around have the time way more than that.
Also, though I'm used to carrying a 50-70lb pack for hiking, so perhaps that is why I don't notice it much.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

Yes, I understand that it is heavy. My Inspiron 7500 is pretty to me but only time I will be carrying it is every day from our house across the driveway to our office. I have read about the cooling pads you can buy.

I have a question about the HP site. I can not figure out how to customize a system. I click on it but it just shows the one system, no options to choose. Do you have to call them to customize?

Please excuse any typos. Some of my keys are not working. Am having to copy and paste some letters. Very slow process.

Carol S Blevins

 

It should be right on their website: www.shopping.hp.com and then under notebooks, HP, zd7000, customize

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

If you customize your system, make sure and go with the new nVidia Go 5700. It is light years ahead of the 5200, and some have even said that it is better than the ATI 9700!

 

for digital image editing a 5700 would be overkill, the only reason to get that chip is for video games or some 3d rendering like 3d studio max.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856