Thinking of buying zt3000 series, need opinions

After scrapping both dell 5150 and the zv5000 series by HP for bad reviews...

I have decided to slightly increase my budget, move into centrino world and narrowed my choice down the zt3000 series by HP.

HEre are the specs I am buying the price for it. (With APP and $100 mail in rebate, before tax)

Operating System Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition

Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) M Processor 705 (1.5 GHz)

Display 15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1280x800)
Graphics Card 32MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) 9200

Memory 512MB DDR SDRAM (2x256MB)

Hard Drive 30 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive

Primary CD/DVD Drive DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive

Networking Intel(R) Pro Wireless 2200 802.11b/g WLAN

Primary Battery 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery ( i heard its about 4 hours)

HP extended service plans 3-year HP Accidental Damage Protection with Express Repair extended service plan

Final Price: $1444.55 +TAX

Need opionions/comments/recommendations, etc.

Any Input is much appreicated. Thanks to this forum, I finally gave up on Dell and moved on.


I would also like to know how centrino mobile processors fair in gaming and multimedia. I understand, its probably not as good as a p4 3.06 ghz that a 5150 would come with, but what does 1.5ghz compare to, in terms of performace? Sorry to be speaking in laymen's terms but I dont know much about this stuff.

 

Well, I have only had mine for a very short time and this is my first notebook. So, take it for what is worth.

In my opinion, the zt3000 is a very good notebook. It runs very cool. I was choosing between the zt3000 and the Toshiba M30. The Toshiba ran a littler warmer (tested them both side by side at BB and CC). It is a nice size and weight (even though 6.5 lbs is a little heavier than I thought). It survived a trip to work in normal briefcase. Of course, the notebook was in its own sleeve w/in the case. So, far all is well with it and I love the looks. I am in the process of testing everything out to make sure it works, but so far so good. I do not know anything about gaming because I am not a gamer (unless you count Monopoly). Regular apps and browsing the internet on it are fine. [8D]

I know this is not much, but it is just my opinion/observation. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I am enjoying mine. [ ]

 

I would recommend upgrading to the 725 processor because it has the 2MB L2 cache versus 1MB for the 705. I would also recommend getting the 64MB video mainly because it's something you cannot upgrade later and you mention something about gaming. Also, just get the 256MB memory from HP and then buy more separately elsewhere. Sale price for additional 256MB is about $50 or 512MB is about $70. Lastly, with bluetooth being only $19 more, i would recommend that also. I plan to use it for my wireless mouse. that way i don't have to plug anything into the usb port.

hope that helps. i just got mine last night. haven't really had any time to play with it though.

 

[ ][ ][ ]I agree...u must choice upgrade one,such as 715,725,735,745...
up to 2 mb cache,u must upgrade ur system one year later...
so u have to buy an Ýntel chipset that has 855 GME or PM.
but it must be available for PM system.So in the future u can
easily upgrade to dathon,but u cant move anywhere with 1,5 ghz,take this advise.[ ][ ][ ]

http://www.notebooksbilliger.de/images/AMILO_M_big.jpg

 

IS the extra mb of cahce really good? HP charges 75 bucks for the upgrade, so not sure if i can afford that as this is already stretching it thin.

Do i really need 64 mb of video memory, games i play like couunterstrike run fine on my desktop which only has 8 mb of sharead memory. So I am wondfering if 64 is even necessary and wrotht he extra 50 bucks for what I plan to be doing.

Ther eason I am upgrading my ram thrugh HP is that the uypgrade only costs $50 and becaus eI am buying the extended warranty, I am pretty sure if u upgrade anything on your own, it voids the warranty.

 

Okay I just checked the x1000 series by compaq, which i originally thought, was the exact same thing as the zt3000. But the upgrade from 705 to 725 is onyl $50 as opposed to $75 for the HP. Doesnt make much sense to me. ]

Can any one shed some light on this problem for me? Should i just go with the x1000 for the cheaper upgrade price?

 

There is no real difference between the HP ZT & Compaq X, except for the different looks and speakers. But with such small speakers, you're not gonna notice a difference. It's possible the speakers cost more on the HP so that's why the extra savings on the Compaq (guessing). I'd consider the Dothan CPU, it's best to get more than what you currently need as long as it's in your budget. This will allow you to future-proof your system. You can upgrade the CPU's aftermarket if you deicde you want to, but it may be pricey. You could wait a couple years when the technology is not as new and get it then. Like I say, pay now or "pay" later. [ ]

Regarding about the performance of the CPU's, I have a link here that may shed some light. It compares the P4, AMD64, Pentium M (Banias & Dothan) & Celeron M.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2129&p=1

-Vb-

 

I went ahead and bought it. Came to about $1587 after rebate.

I went ahead with the upgrade to 1.6 as recommended. everything else, I left the same. I really didnt need bluetooth and the $50 upgrade for vram wasnt worth it for me, considering I can run Counterstrike just fine on my dektop which only has 8 mb of integrated vram probably gonna run into problems in the future with regards to gaming but thats okay...

I am assuming that by buying 2 dimms, I will be able to udual channel the ram, is this true?

Thanks again for all the input. U guys helped me fro mmaking the mistake of choosing the 1.5 ghz. Wish me luck [ ][ ]

 

Congrats on your notebook purchase.

Regarding the memory, I don't think the Intel 855 chipsets have Dual Channel Memory support. I believe it's only available on the P4 notebooks that use desktop chipsets & desktop CPU's.

-Vb-