zx5000 owners?

Is there anyone on the board that actually owns a zx5000? Would love to find a review from an owner.

SK

 

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.aspx?newsID=1929

 

When I was doing my research I found a zx5000 review under the Notebook News forum. It reviews a slightly older version (2.4 GHz processor, etc.) but it does a really good job of covering all the bases. I suggested you check it out.

 

That's the one, postal. That review is how I stumbled onto this site. There is a thread about it too under Notebook News, as I mentioned above. My earlier post should say 'suggest', not 'suggested'. Sorry 'bout that.

 

Thanks for the review link. But, is there any with the P4?

SK

 

If you can wait a couple days, FedEx says mine will be here on Wednesday. It won't be nearly as nice (the review, hopefully not the computer) as the one we mentioned, but it will be something.

I'm probably going to take Wednesday off so I can be sure I'm there to sign for it!

 

I'm suppose to being doing a review for this site so if I get it done or close to it soon i will e-mail what I have, it will take more work for itto be ready to send in to them and for them to post it so I'll try to get you a mini review.


Compaq R3000T (CTO)
P4 Desktop 3.0GHz w/HT
1 X 512MB RAM
Radeon 9600 128MB
60GB 5,400 RPM HD
AquaMark3: 24,257, 3DMark03: 3,115

 

I do have one, and i do love it. I just put linux on it, and i'm very thankful that i have the p4/HT because i'm doing a gentoo install, and it has to compile literally everything. With HT it acts like it has 2 processors compiling in parallel.. it's pretty nice.

I'd write a review, but i'm busy as hell.. if you have specific questions/issues, feel free to shoot me an e-mail

[email protected]

-psionic

 

Thanks! I look forward to the reviews...

 

Try timing compiling the same program with one and two threads (make's -j switch controls this) and see how much of a difference HT makes. I suspect you'll find that HT actually slows you down. export MAKEFLAGS="-j2" is often a useful way to do this. Watch your CPU temp in gkrellm (assuming sensors-detect likes your notebook) while compiling multiple threads, ought to be interesting.

 

I've heard reports that i might get better performace if i make the flag "j3" as in threads +1. comments?

 

Yes, that's usually recommended, but I didn't think the difference was all that great. Try both [ ].

 

My zx5000 finally arrived today. Here is my shipping info.

Ordered & Confirmed: 7/21
Ship Date: 7/30
Arrived: 8/3

It made it from China all the way to MD in just 2 days (the rest was the weekend).

My specs
3.0GHz P4 w/HT
1 X 512MB RAM
60GB 5400 rpm HD
15.4" WXGA w/ Brightview
DVD/CR-RW Combo Drive
128MB ATI Radeon 9600
802.11 g/b WLAN

Without overstating anything, I must say I got an amazing machine. I'll run it down a little in my day-one review.

Screen: The widescreen w/ Brightview is beautiful. No dead pixels that I can see at all. The glare isn't that bad either. I sat with 2 big windows behind me while setting it up and playing some games yesterday, and I didn't have any problems at all seeing the screen.

Noise/Heat: I must say I was quite impressed/surprised to hear how quietly my computer runs and idles. It is actually quieter than my girlfriend's old zt1135 while sitting side-by-side. It got a little louder while installing Rise of Nations, but not enough to make me have to turn up the sound. After playing RoN for about an hour and a half, I didn't notice any heat problems at all. I didn't have it on my lap or anything, but I felt around the edges and there were no noticeable hotspots.

Size: I knew I was getting a bigger notebook, but when I pulled it from the box, I was still surprised. It is a little heavy, but since I won't be travelling very often, this is fine with me. Also, the power "brick" is just I've heard. It is quite large and it was a little warm after gaming.

Sound: I'd read on these forums how good these H/K speakers are, but you don't know how good until you actually hear them. During the RoN installation, I was blown away. My girlfriend even commented on how good the computer sounded. It is probably even better than my old Gateway desktop speakers w/ subwoofer.

Games/DVD: As I stated before, I played RoN for about an hour and a half last night. The installation was fast and painless. The audio and video were both outstanding. I couldn't tell for sure, but the game didn't look stretched to me on the widescreen either. I also watched an episode of "Family Guy" before going to bed. That played and sounded equally great on my machine.

Wireless LAN: After installing the Microsoft Critical Updates, I was finally able to try the WLAN card. I did the "View Available Networks" and it not only found the one in my girlfriend's house, but one from a neighbor's house as well. My girlfriend's machine barely can find the signal from her own house. I was quite impressed. I wasn't able to access the internet b/c I don't have the network key for my girlfriend's router and I didn't want to use the neighbor's signal since it wasn't firewalled and my Pc-Cillin software doesn't arrive til tomorrow.

Looks/General layout: I really like the look of my computer too. All the ports that I've tried worked so far. The keyboard has a good solid feel to it and I like the volume control buttons on the front of the machine. The touchpad worked well and I like the scroll-strip too. There are a number of ports on the right hand side of the machine, but I don't see that as a big deal.

Misc.: I hooked up my MX700 mouse to the machine and it took off.

I must say that so far I LOVE my new notebook. I'm sure I'll be more impressed as I learn more about it and use more of the features (5-in-1 reader, S-video, etc.) For the $1350 I paid for it, this is one fantastic machine. I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

If anyone would like me to write about anything else, just let me know. I would be more than happy to play around on my new computer and find out for you. [ ]

 

Thanks bunsen. PC-Cillin is Trend Micro's anti-virus/firewall security suite. I've read good ratings on it from pc magazines and from members on this site. I didn't want to expose my new machine to all the dangers of the internet while using the neighbor's wireless network that doesn't have a firewall or encryption. So, I have to wait in line to use my girlfriend's computer until tomorrow.

 

Hi, nice review there wazlo21. May i ask what this PC-Cillin software is that you were waiting for?

 

hey wazlo21, your system is identical to mine pretty much. i was just wondering does your screen have a little light leakage at the bottom of it like mine does or did i just get unlucky. Heres a pic in these links so you know what im talkin about. http://www.msprotege.com/members/theprophetevan/MVC-793F.JPG
http://www.msprotege.com/members/theprophetevan/MVC-792F.JPG

 

man that sucks. on minei can only notice the bottom part of screen is brighter on the brightest settings when the screen is dark. On lower brightness settings its ok though. How about you?

 

bunsen, is yours a brightview like mine. And yes mine is less noticeable (but still there if you look hard) when i turn the brightness down, and the only time i notice it at all is when theres a dark screen. The weird thing is that when i first turn my computer on in the morning (or wake it up after the lcd has been turned off), it is not noticeable even in a dark room. However about 15 minutes later it is like it is in those pictures.

 

Thanks wazlo. Are there any other reviews?

I would love to view pics of the screen...both regular and with brightview.

SK

 

I've owned a 5000 for about month now and I love it. Everything has worked seemlessly to this point (though I haven't tried to burn a dvd yet) and I have no dead pixels or monitor issues either. I was thinking that heat may be an issue but its yet to heat up on me to this point. And I have this thing on my lap about 80% of the time I'm using it. I had one issue with it when I bought it. The second fan would not run at all. I contacted tech support via e-mail and they responded within the hour. I updated the BIOS via a link they sent me, conducted a test and voila worked perfectly. I thought the integrated wirless might give me somewhat of a headache. But I've logged on to multiple networks from Maryland to Georgia without issue. I shopped alot of places and machines before purchasing this one. And I have to say that I'm in no way disappointed with my purchase. Sorry that I don't have time to give you more of an in depth review. Perhaps I can log on later on give you more specifics. Hope that helps some though.


Specs:

P4 3.0ghz
512 Ram
60gb hd 5400 rpm
DVD +R/RW CD-RW
54b/g Wireless
Ati Radeon 9200 64mb

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by wazlo21

Without overstating anything, I must say I got an amazing machine. I'll run it down a little in my day-one review.
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

I've had mine for about 6 days. Agree with wazlo21's review, except for the light leakage (see other post).

 

theprophetevan wrote:
"does your screen have a little light leakage at the bottom of it like mine does or did i just get unlucky."

That's exactly what mine looks like. I've had mine for only a week. Have you talked to HP? If you do, I'd appreciate an email to mike AT graphtablet DOT com.

I started another thread about this before I found your comment.. doh![:0]