zx5000 reliability concern

I am a first time notebook customer and am considering the zx5000 with P4-M 2.8 GB and 512 RAM and 60 GB (5400 rpm) HD. I will be going oversees for 1+ yr. with this thing in a couple of months and obviously reliability will be important.

Does anyone have experience with the zx5000?
Any reliability issues with it (or HP Pavillions in general) that I should be worried about?
Does anyone know what oversees support is like from HP (in the MiddleEast)?

 

I have a zx5000 and love the machine I snuck in on the end of that 10% of coupon so I got it for a great price on top of everything else. I don't know of any major HP problems at the moment. Compaq had issues a few years ago before HP bought them out, but now they seem to be doing well.
As far as support overseas I have no idea, you would have to talk to HP about that.

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

 

Thanks Quikster.

One other question: If you have a CRT or flat screen monitor, how is the monitor output signal of the zx5000? Does the monitor appear blurry or show other problems? This will be my only machine, so I will probably hook it up to a larger screen for reduced eye strain.

 

No, the image should be exactly what you would get with a desktop or anything else.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

The image is good, however if you are running it in the widescreen mode on the laptop and desktop your screen will be scrolling on the crt.

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

 

I didn't realize that I would have control over the widescreen. So if I choose to plug it into a CRT, I should change the screen setting through the control panel?

 

One other question: I plan on using this machine to run engineering drawing and CAD programs. Do either of you have experience with these types of programs, and will 512 MB of RAM be enough or should I go for 1GB?

 

When you switch from viewing the image on your notebook to the external outputs, the signal will modify to fit your screen. As for memory, I'd recommend 1GB if you can afford it. Buy aftermarket from someone like Crucial.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Quikster, how is the battery life on this notebook? I originally and still want the zt3000, but I am considering the zx5000 with 12 cell battery and the Pentium 4-M 2.8. How heavy and large is it? I would like around 4 hours of battery and something that would be fairly good to carry around campus with me. I'm getting down to the final days. I am going to order something any day now. Right now HP seems to have the best selection for me. Anybody have any insight?

-Kyle

 

Brian, I like your idea of adding aftermarket memory. Am I correct in assuming that if I get a unit with 1 X 512MB of memory, it will NOT be installed in the user accessible memory slot (but rather in the slot under the keyboard?) Thereby, allowing me to add another 512 of aftermarket memory to reach 1GB?

 

Blaf - yes it should be installed in the slot under the keyboard and not take up your user accessible slot.

kf_man - like i and a few others have had in the zx5000 w/ the P4M and 12cell battery we are getting 3.5 - 4 hours of battery life even with having the wireless turned on and in constant use. Personally I don't really notice the weight all that much I have a Kensington backpack that I found at circuit city (the only one I could find that comfortably fit the 15.4" widescreen), but it weighs about 8 lb + almost another 1 lb for the power converter (man this thing is huge). It all fits nicely in that backpack though and I carry it around campus all day everyday without an issue.

So I think it is definitely feasible to carry it around campus, however it wont be your lightest nor your smallest notebook around. If you don't mind the weight though, I think for the price you can't beat the power and features.

The zt3000 is a fine machine as well with the same nice wxga screen only a little thiner and 1.5lbs or so lighter. Of course these lighter and smaller parts cost more money, so its all about what you want and how much your willing to pay for it.

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

 

Ok, thank you very much. I guess I have some deciding to do before I purchase. It's a pretty hard decision of power vs. portability. Does anyone know anything about the zt3000 power converter?

-Kyle

 

I just go my zt3000... what do you want to know about the converter? Its rather small, maybe 1.2"x3"x3/4" and cant weigh mre than 1/2 lb.

Its about the size and weight of a VCR remote but a bit shorter.

 

Well, I just ordered my zx5000 and it should be here in a couple of weeks. Thank you all for your help.

After I placed the order I got the part number for my machine and went to www.partsurfer.hp.com to get the exact specs on the 512MB memory in my unit so that I could match it exactly with a 512 aftermarket stick for a total of 1GB. I found that the memory listed for my machine is 512MB, 266MHz, PC2100 DDR SDRAM DIMM

The Crucial website lists a 333MHz, PC2700 as being a correct replacement or addition for the zx5000.

1- I am dissapointed that HP isn't using a PC2700 for this machine. 2- If I buy a PC2700 stick from Crucial will it work with the PC2100 stick that's already in the machine?

Any ideas?

 

blaf, where did you order the zx5000 from? www.hpshopping.com? I'm having bad luck with them right now and I want to see if that's where you are shopping as well...

-Kyle

 

kf_man - I tried buying it on hpshopping.com but the purchase would not go through. So, I called HP sales and they confirmed that they are having a website problem - can't take orders. I placed the order over the phone and they honored all the free shipping, $100 rebate etc. stuff.

 

Yeah, I just finally got an order placed online. I did call after my problem and they didn't say anything about the website having problems. They blamed the bank and the information I entered. After I got my refund of money, I replaced the order online with the same info and now it's working, go figure...

-Kyle

Current Laptop: None

Laptop I want:
HP Pavilion zt3000 series customized NB
- Intel(R) Pentium(R) M 1.6 GHz
- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home
- 512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB)
- 40 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD/CDRW Combo Drive
- Intel(R) Pro Wireless 2200 802.11b/g & Bluetooth
- 15.4" WVA WSXGA+ (1680x1050)
- 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) 9200
- Microsoft(R) Works/Money
- 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- hpshopping in-box envelope

^ ordered this but it's never coming :'( I can't recommend hpshopping.com so far, but tomorrow is another day... ^

Tomorrow brought luck...I got my money back and replaced the order...it is currently confirmed and being processed!

 

About the memory... The hp partsurfer lists 2x256Mb 266MHz, PC2100 DDR for my hp pavilion zx5078cl. However, after manually inspecting both chips, I discovered that hp used Infineon 2x256Mb 333MHz, PC2700 DDR chips. Now why hp would have one set of specs on the box and another on their website is anyone's guess. But my chips do say 333MHz, PC2700 DDR.

Has everyone had good experiences upgrading with Crucial 333MHz, PC2700 DDR chips in their zx5000? How about that 60Gb 7200RPM hard drive?

Jeremy

__________

 

Thanks Jeremy.

I guess I'll be ordering the PC2700 memory stick.

 

www.partsurfer.hp.com seems to have some strange information in it. Not only does it list the memory for the R3000Z as PC2100, it lists the hard drive as 3.5" drive that are 1" high...

Somehow, I think the information isn't correct. Could be wrong though.

 

Well I would pretty much discount that info as a typo or a bad site. The specs listed everywhere are 2700 and as for a 3.5" drive, if you had that in there, where would all the other parts be, even cheap laptops use the 2.5" laptop drives.

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