Hewlett Packard Pavilion ze4220 (DB385A) PC Notebook

Pros: Quick, reliable
Cons: Lightweight construction, not meant for heavy transporting

Our family had a desktop computer that was being fought over by every member. Our son wanted to play games, I needed to pay bills, and my husband wanted to go to the sports sites. After about six months of the constant pushing and pulling for the ...

Pros: Cheap, seemingly a lot of bang for the buck
Cons: Low quality components

The ze4220, part of the HP pavilion series, looks like a lot of bang for the buck. A $1,000 notebook with a dvd/cd-rw, 256 megs ram, and a decent processor/videocard to do wordprocessing/surfing and some game playing. But after using it for a few months, you begin to realize you got what you paid for. The DVD/cd-rw doesn't always work right, it doesn't properly close cd sessions. It locks up many times trying to burn a multisession cd-rw. I get static when playing a CD or DVD. The monitor is very very prone to flicker. Some people have reported having to send the unit back three times for repairs. They keyboard is very cheap. The touchpad is nearly unusable and inaccurate. I'd rather not use my laptop if I can't use a mouse with it. That's how bad the touchpad is.

Am I satisfied with my purchase? No way. I have zero confidence this machine is going to be working in a year. In hindsight I wish I spent an extra $300 to buy something better.