A True Desktop Replacement.
Written: Mar 03 '05
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Pros: Well built. Many features. Decent options
Cons: Not the latest graphics card. Nor is it replaceable. Cannot partiton without completely starting over.
The Bottom Line: A very good laptop for the money. But if money is no object, look to Alienware.
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| mfarris2's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Pavilion zd8000 (ZD8000AV) PC Note... |
Well, this seems to be the hottest desktop replacement on the market today. I sold an Alienware Athlon 64 bit computer to get this. Here is what I ordered and am reviewing.
HP ZD8000 with P4 3.6 Ghz. 17" WSXGA screen (1680 X 1050)
100 GB 5400 RPM Hard drive. DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW with DL support. 256 MB ATI Mobility Radeon X600. I also order when they had run out of the 1 GB memory option. So I only ordered 256 MB of DDR2 400MHZ. After ordering the computer, I quickly ordered 2 X 512 MB of Kingstons 4200 DDR2 memory (533 Mhz.) This computer supports the faster memory as well as dual channel. So I had the memory here and waiting for when the computer got here.
I also ordered the Docking station that comes with an extra 160GB hard drive. Here is what I found.
The computer is a very well built computer. There is a full size keyboard, including number pad on the laptop. The keys are a bit soft,....but still quite useable. The screen is very beautiful. But not up to HP's HD screens.
There are plenty of connections on the computer. But I do wish that they had at least two firewire ports. (It only has one) This computer does have the new PCI express graphics card. But it is built onto the motherboard. So it does NOT have a replacable video card. And it is not the latest state of the art video card. (X800 is available on the market, but HP does not offer it.)
I ordered the 100GB 5400 RPM hard drive because I needed the space. They do have an 60GB 7200 RPM hard drive available if you need the faster hard drive. However,...the hard drive bay is available. So I elected to order the bigger slower hard. And I will update the hard drive when a bigger (100GB+) 7200 hard drive becomes available.
What I do not like is that I cannot partition the hard drive of the laptop into multiple partitions. I have tried to use old faithful Partition Magic to do so. But I keep getting errors. Perhaps if I was to completly wipe out the partition and start over. First setting up muliple partitions. Then setting up the OS. But for now, that is two much work.
The docking station that I ordered as an option really is well built. It connects to the laptop via a cable. It also comes with an wireless keyboard and mouse. It seems very much like an Logitec kit. The keyboard is a little soft, but seems well built. I also order the option of the extra 160GB Hard drive for the docking station. This is a full size Hard drive that is in an HP Box. (I am not sure if it is ATA or Serial,...but I am sure once the warranty is over,...a person would be able to upgrade to something larger.
I tried to ghost over the C drive image to the docking station hard drive. It worked with the exception that windows balked at the other hard drive having the extra Master boot record. (Perhaps if you was to pull the power plug on the other hard drive before rebooting...?
There is a break out box to record two televison shows at one time. However HP fails to give any real documentation with this. (Must order Windows Media Center 2005 to get this box.)
All in all,...this is a pretty good computer. The only computer that can really compete with this computer is Alienwares new 17" laptop. It is a few dollars more,...but offers the faster graphics card.
So the bottom line is, if you are looking for a great computer,...but on a middle income budget,....the HP ZD8000 is the Desktop replacement for you. If you have no budget concerns,......I might look at the Alienware first.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $3000.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: SuperDisk
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
mfarris2
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Reviews written: 29
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