I try to replace my (personal) personal computers once every three or so years if not sooner. Being in the Information Technology field I need to keep up abreast of changes as they evolve. And that means actually utilizing the technology I might find myself recommending to clients, friends, and family.

My old laptop, a Toshiba Satellite 1905-S301, which still works mind you, is getting a little long in the tooth, and she is getting progressively slower, as I add more and more programs. And she is starting to make far too much noise, and the screen is getting harder and harder to read; perhaps it these old eyes. And while I am not running out of usable hard drive space, the built-in 10/100 NIC and DVD/CD-RW are both malfunctioning, so I recently sent the laptop in for service; thank God for long-term service contracts!

So I decided that it was time for a new laptop; my old one has served me well, but it was time to move on. In a new portable I was looking for a semi-desktop replacement laptop, one that could hold all of my day files, play movies & music, and conduct business away from my home office. And to be quite honest I have so much hanging off my desktop, no laptop could replace it one for one.

So, starting around November of last year I started researching the Internet for the right “mobile workstation” to fulfill my ever increasing mobile computing needs. My criterion for the new system was as follows:

1. Price: between $1,000 and $1,500.00.
2. Pentium 4M @ 3.06 GHz (400MHz FSB) or above clock speed, or;
3. AMD Athlon XP 64 3000 1.8GHz or above clock speed.
4. Minimum 512 MB DDR SDRAM.
5. Minimum 15.4” WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x800) display.
6. Minimum 60 GB 5400 rpm hard drive.
7. Minimum (3) USB 2.0 Ports.
8. Minimum (1) PC Card Slot.
9. Built-in DVD/CD-RW drive.
10. Built-in IEEE 1394 Firewire
11. 5-n-1 Media Card Reader.
12. Windows XP Professional SP2.

I looked at laptop offerings from Dell, and almost immediately dismissed them; they were generally too expensive and not as feature rich at the price point I was willing to pay. Gateway, too was out of the running pretty quickly too due to a lack of trust in the product. And one by one I eliminated offerings from IBM (one of my traditional favorites), Compaq, Sony, Fujitsu, and Winbook; none of these companies offered the right mixture of price and performance I was looking for.

Just two laptop manufactures were left after the dust settled: Hewlett Packard and Toshiba. Both offered what I wanted, but in the end I choose the HP Pavilion zv5000z because I thought it provided me with the best available combination of features, price, performance, and quality. The base price for the HP Pavilion zv5000z with the AMD Athlon XP 64 3400 2.2GHz processor was $1149.00, but I added a few items to get the unit up to where I wanted; my budget allowed for $1600.00.

I went for the AMD Athlon XP 64 3400 2.2GHz processor for two reasons: 1. Because I wanted to be able to test the 64 bit version of Windows XP Professional Microsoft has released under Beta (which I have signed on for), and; 2. Because the processor has continually out-performed Pentium 4M processors running at up to 3.2GHz (more on that below).

I bought the laptop on-line at HPShopping.com and with the base HP Pavilion zv5000z they offered a free upgrade from a 40GB 4200 rpm hard drive to a 60GB 4200 rpm drive, but I upgraded to an 80GB 5400 rpm hard drive for performance reasons. I also upgraded the memory from the base 256MB to 512MB of memory, and choose a wireless 802.11g/Bluetooth adapter in addition to the built-in 56K Modem 10/100 LAN card. I also opted to upgrade to Windows XP Professional SP2 from Windows XP Home Edition.

Total for the HP Pavilion zv5000z laptop: $1,499.00, with a $50.00 mail-in rebate and free DVD-CDRW drive. For this tidy sum my new laptop came with the following configuration:

Processor: AMD Athlon XP 64 3400 2.2GHz
System Bus: 1600MHz using HyperTransport technology with up to 9.6GB per second total processor-to-system bandwidth.
Screen: 15.4" WXGA BrightView (1280 x 786 maximum resolution) Widescreen display;
Memory: 512MB DDR400 SDRAM (1x512MB), Max 2.0 GB;
Video Card: 64MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce 4 440 Go 1394;
Removable Storage: DVD/CD-RW multifunction drive;
Fixed Storage: 80GB 5400 rpm hard drive;
NIC: Broadcom 10/100 Ethernet;
Wireless: 802.11g/ Bluetooth
Modem: V.92/56K Modem;
Ports: 1x Parallel printer port; 3x USB 2.0 ports; 1x SVGA; 1x 1394 Firewire; 1x Type II PC Card (PCMCIA) slots; 1x S-Video out; 1x 5-n-1 Media card Reader; 1x headphone & microphone jacks.
OS: Windows XP Professional SP 2.

First Impressions

I have to admit that I had reservations about buying an HP laptop; their reputation in the portable arena as been lacking over the years, but they have steady improvement of late, and the HP Pavilion zv5000z comes high recommended by PC Magazine. I would have preferred another Toshiba, but the price point was too high and I was anxious to buy a new machine. That being said, I have to admit that I am loving this laptop. The speed of the CPU; the sharp, clear, vibrant richness of the display; the overall performance of the machine; and the surprisingly light weight, are all reasons to like the HP Pavilion zv5000z. But what has impressed my more is the quality of build, how cool the computer runs, and how quiet this machine is.

While my HP Pavilion zv5000z's two cooling fans are whisper quite (when they do blow), the Toshiba 1905’s cooling fans have grown quite noisy; obnoxiously noisy as a matter of fact. HP Pavilion zv5000zis so quite that I can forget it’s even on!

Body

The body of the HP Pavilion zv5000z is a very attractive flat black with brushed silver highlights around the keyboard, and soft blue LED’s. On the front of the unit are two Harman/Kardon 16 bit Sound Blaster compatible stereo speakers separated by three buttons for increasing and decreasing the volume and another button in the middle that will allow you to mute the speakers. Finally, between the two speakers is a silver button for releasing the display and blue LED’s for the power, hard drive access, and battery charging.

On the right side of the laptop, near the front, sits the headphone out and microphone jacks. Next there is a single USB 2.0 and 1394 Firewire ports. Moving back there is an expansion port which connects to the HP Notebook Expansion Base, a beautifully engineered docking station if ever I saw one. Finally near the back of the unit are situated the 10/100 LAN port and S-Video output port.

On the left side of the HP Pavilion zv5000z is the optional port for a 3.5” floppy or HP Digital Drive which sits on top of the combination DVD/CD-RW drive. Moving back are two more USB 2.0 ports, one PC Card slot, a beautiful 5-n-1 card slot, which has a blue LED situated above it that illuminates whenever a card is accessed. Finally, at the rear of the unit a universal Kensington lock slot positioned.

The back of the HP Pavilion zv5000z is relatively stark; starting from left to right are the A/C adapter input, SVGA port, a parallel port, and the V.92/56K Modem port. Meanwhile on the bottom of the unit is an expansion port for connecting the HP Pavilion zv5000zare various access plates, a release latch for the battery, and two cooling fans.

The keyboard is full sized affair, black keys with white letters. At the top of the keyboard are five keys including the power, wireless on/off, My Pictures, Media Player, and Internet browser. All of the buttons are illuminated with blue LED’s underneath, but only the wireless button de-illuminates when deactivated. The display is relatively thin but sturdy and also houses the antennae for the wireless/Bluetooth adapter.

Processor

As I stated above, I picked the AMD Athlon 64 3400 for two reasons; it is comparable to or outperforms Intel’s Pentium 4M running up to 3.2GHz and; it is compatible with the new 64 bit Windows XP Professional to be released sometime early next year by Microsoft. But there is a third reason as well, the Athlon 64 3400 is cheaper then the Pentium 4M running at 3.2GHz, by enough of a margin for me to take notice.

In addition, the AMD Athlon 64 3400 has a number of noteworthy performance markers that help separate it from the competition. Most prominent is the on-chip memory controller which cuts memory access latency; a respectable 1MB of L2 cache; support for SSE2 instructions, a innovative system infrastructure based on high-speed HyperTransport links (HT 16-bit/800MHz downstream and HT 16-bit/800MHz upstream); and finally AMD's 64-bit instruction set extensions. These changes have made the Athlon 64 a very serious competitor for the Pentium 4M. some might consider the AMD AMD Athlon 64 3400 ’s one downside is its one memory channel, in a processor world seemingly devoted to the dual channel memory bus.

However, memory latency is the AMD Athlon 64 3400 ’s widely acknowledged strength despite the single memory channel. AMD does offer a dual channel processor, the Athlon 64 FX, however the bus requires registered DIMMs, and those add a cycle of latency to memory accesses. Because the memory controller is built into the AMD Athlon 64 3400 reducing latency, the processor beats almost every other comparable processor in established memory latency tests, thereby notably increasing performance.

Memory

The HP Pavilion zv5000z shipped with 512MB DDR400 SDRAM, This memory configuration should prove adequate for current usage however, space is reserved for a second 512MB of ram to be installed via an access panel underneath the unit. The maximum amount you can add is 2.0 GB in two slots.

Hard Drive

I decided to go with the 80GB 5400 rpm hard drive and paid an extra $50.00 for the privilege. This was an effort to increase the performance curve even more. Some high end laptops now come with 7200 rpm hard drives, but the HP Pavilion zv5000z can only be ordered with a 4200 rpm drives with the exception of the 80GB which is only offered at 5400 rpm.

Touch Pad

I have mixed feelings in general about touch-pad’s. While I like the feel and silky movement the touch-pad provides, a mouse is more fluid in motion and provide more control over the cursor. But the touchpad on the HP Pavilion zv5000z is unlike those installed on other models I have heretofore used; there is no film to wear away under continued use. The pad is made of a material I can’t quite identify; it’s not medal, but it doesn’t feel like plastic either. But the cursor moves rather nicely when the pad is utilized. Finally, there is a wonderful on/off switch which comes in handy when I utilize my wireless mouse.

Ports

Thankfully, the three USB 2.0 ports are situated on the sides of the unit; one on the right, and two on the left side by side, but spaced far enough apart to allow for the placement of two USB devices. The included 5-n-1 Media Card reader slot’s placement on top of the lone PC Card slot is ideal in my opinion. Any use of the PC Card slot would probably make inserting and extracting media cards a simple affair, even if there is PC Card device inserted in the slot.

A 3.5” floppy drive is available for an extra charge of $50.00 which I thought a bit excessive, so I opted out because who really needs a floppy drive anymore. The drive can be placed in a slot above the DVD drive, which HP calls the Digital Drive into which an optional media card can be inserted. I found this feature redundant given that the unit already has a 5-n-1 Media Card reader slot.

Display

This is the real selling point of the HP Pavilion zv5000z. The display is beautiful; ultra-bright, sharp, crisp, colorful, and vibrant. The 15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen display brings graphics to life like a regular display never could; the text is well defined, brilliant, and easy to read. I went to the local CompUSA several times to compare the BrightView side-by-side, with other conventional displays; they couldn’t compare to the over all brilliance of this display.

DVD viewing is a wondrous experience even at full screen; who needs a big screen TV? And while I will probably never mate my HP Pavilion zv5000z with an external monitor, it’s nice to have the 64MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce 4 440 Go video card at my disposal.

Battery

The standard battery is a 8-cell Lithium-Ion, but I opted for the 12-cell Lithium-Ion for an extra $25.00 charge. I tested HP’s claim of up to 3.5 hours; in my tests the HP Pavilion zv5000z lasted just over 3 hours including viewing a DVD, listening to some music clips, and doing routine word processing and web browsing. Not lab controlled, but real world and just adequate for the perhaps three quarters of a plane ride. But since I rarely use my laptop on battery power, this is not a real issue for me.

Included Software

There is of course a plethora of useless software included on the laptop, including the ubiquitous AOL and other communications software. But there are some useful programs as well. For instance Microsoft Works and Money are included as well as a trial version of Microsoft Office 2003 Small Office. Norton Antivirus is also included, but it is only a 60-day trial version. I removed all of the above and installed my own software load-out.

But the software can be re-installed from a directory on the root of the main drive; nice touch. The only CD-ROM’s HP includes in the package are the Windows XP Professional Recovery CD’s (2), and those for Works, Money, and some other programs for editing photos and DVD that are tied to the Internet.

Weight & Size

The HP Pavilion zv5000z weights in at some 7.8lbs and is 1.8” thick, lighter and thinner than my Satellite 1905-S301. Some reviews I have read on this laptop complain about the heaviness of the unit, I do not share these concerns; I find the unit fairly light and easy to carry. Indeed the heaviest part of the HP Pavilion zv5000z is the battery.

The laptop measures 11.59" (L) x 14.25" (W) x 1.8" (H) so special care must be taken to find a travel bag to accommodate this rather large portable, but have heart one can be found. I found a perfect bag by Targus at Buy.com for $78.00. HP sells the same bag for $99.00. Having found the right bag, I carry my HP Pavilion zv5000z back and fourth to work every day and then on occasion to class. Some many find the HP Pavilion zv5000z cumbersome and somewhat heavy, I do not and besides, the power and performance are worth the small workout.

Conclusions

At this price point you would be hard pressed to find a better desktop supplemental computer. Hewlett Packard has found the right combination of price, performance and features and incorporated them into the HP Pavilion zv5000z. For the student, or professional on the go, this is the one!



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1499.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50