Rating: 
Summary: Good Hardware, Bad Support
Review: Awesome notebook if you stick with XP Home but HP Support will tell you they will not support XP Pro if you upgrade or fresh install. (But you can "Build To Order" straight from HP with Pro installed.) How odd that HP Support will tell you that they don't have the drivers. While I had XP Home for a couple of days the one thing I did notice is the Wireless network "Monitor" would not report a connection correctly. Using Linksys Wireless-G Router (801.11b mode) I had a pretty good connection (30' + 1 Wall + 1 Window) however, while surfing the internet the network monitor was saying no connection. I have since installed XP Pro and have not been unable to get the wireless to work. Actual battery time is a little over stated as usual. I'm averaging just over 2hrs actual up time on my machine which isn't long enough for some DVD's. Better get an extra battery or auto/air adapter for this one if you plan on using any CPU/Graphic intensive applications on a long flight. One more thing worth mentioning is it seems HP has gone to shipping there product without installing the "Pre-installed" software. Upon first boot I was left at a completely fresh OS with nothing on it. You have to dig for their application software to install the things you want (i.e. DVD software, Corel, Acrobat Reader.) I personally like this method but they don't tell you clear enough in the instructions, like place this notice first in the "Quick Start" guide or something.
Rating:
Summary: Good unit, read for advice on purchases.
Review: Hi, I'm a technician. I've been dealing with a lot of laptop models for many years and know what to shop for. I can only tell you that this model is pretty good despite other customer reviews. I got my unit refurbished (I recommend new) and tested all its features within 5 days to make sure everything is fine with it. I've had great experiences with a lot of Pavilion model HP computers and bad experiences with Compaq name brand desktops and some laptops. Here's some advice to follow when you are shopping for a laptop:
1- If you need power similar to a Desktop, stay away from Celeron Processor and Centrino laptops. Stick with Pentium 4 or higher.
2- If at all possible, i purchasing on-line, print out the laptop specs and go to your nearby computer store and see if they have one on display to see how it works, size it up then purchase if you really like it.
3- If at all possible, before purchasing it, call the customer service for hte name brand you want and see how their customer service is like. Make sure the computer you're about to purchase has a 1 year warranty.
3.5- If at all possible, avoid units with built-in wireless connectivity if you need long range wireless networking. Built-in units have a shorter range. Also, The wireless unit in this one works under XP Professional without problems after upgrading.
4- When you've decided on purchasing your computer and have received it, look for the restore CD's and perform a complete restore of the system. Sometimes manufacturers install new utilities that could interfear or cause freezes on the computer.
5- Keep the computer on for about 2 days and see if it freezes or has errors in operation. Also test how long the batteries last once its fully charged. If you don't perform these tests within a week, most places you purchased from won't take it back and some manufacturers won't replace it under warranty.
If you need any more advice, contact someone you trust that knows about computers or contact me -or- leave a review here to contact you at.
Rating:
Summary: Good unit, read for advice on purchases.
Review: Hi, I'm a technician. I've been dealing with a lot of laptop models for many years and know what to shop for. I can only tell you that this model is pretty good despite other customer reviews. I got my unit refurbished (I recommend new) and tested all its features within 5 days to make sure everything is fine with it. I've had great experiences with a lot of Pavilion model HP computers and bad experiences with Compaq name brand desktops and some laptops. Here's some advice to follow when you are shopping for a laptop:
1- If you need power similar to a Desktop, stay away from Celeron Processor and Centrino laptops. Stick with Pentium 4 or higher.
2- If at all possible, i purchasing on-line, print out the laptop specs and go to your nearby computer store and see if they have one on display to see how it works, size it up then purchase if you really like it.
3- If at all possible, before purchasing it, call the customer service for hte name brand you want and see how their customer service is like. Make sure the computer you're about to purchase has a 1 year warranty.
3.5- If at all possible, avoid units with built-in wireless connectivity if you need long range wireless networking. Built-in units have a shorter range. Also, The wireless unit in this one works under XP Professional without problems after upgrading.
4- When you've decided on purchasing your computer and have received it, look for the restore CD's and perform a complete restore of the system. Sometimes manufacturers install new utilities that could interfear or cause freezes on the computer.
5- Keep the computer on for about 2 days and see if it freezes or has errors in operation. Also test how long the batteries last once its fully charged. If you don't perform these tests within a week, most places you purchased from won't take it back and some manufacturers won't replace it under warranty.
If you need any more advice, contact someone you trust that knows about computers or contact me -or- leave a review here to contact you at.
Rating: 
Summary: Lousy, lousy, lousy
Review: HP/Compaq make lousy products, and they have lousy tech support. If you want to buy this, go to their website and custom-build it; it will be approximately $400 cheaper on their site configured as is, and you can pick better stuff if you want. I have a ze5400 that I customized to use for school and it is the worst computer I have ever had to work on. XP is the worst operating system ever created and I would reccomend that anyone who already has a computer with a perfectly functional screen/motherboard/cpu/etc just replace certain components (like cd drives) instead of getting a new, lousy notebook--especially one with XP. ~Note: Amazon seems to be a rip-off on nearly all of their electronics. Make sure you check the manufacturer's website first before you buy.
Rating:
Summary: Bad hardware, bad support
Review: I do not recommend buying anything from HP/Compaq. I bought a Pavilion xt125 from them less than six months ago. It has cause me a lot of trouble. I've had to wipe out the hard drive and do a complete system restore back to factory settings and reinstall all my programs four times (almost once a month), and I know I'll have to do it again if I keep using the computer. According to HP, there is a bug with some of their laptop models and Windows that causes errors in the registry. To them it is a Microsoft problem. To me, they are still selling the computers, which state right on them that they are "designed for Windows," in spite of the fact that they know that Microsoft has not yet worked out this bug, so it is also, and perhaps more, an HP problem. As far as I'm concerned they are knowingly selling defective machines and they are stealing customer's money. They won't do anything to rectify the situation once you buy the machine. They suggest using a different operating system, but also say they won't support the product at all if you do.
Rating:
Summary: Good for the $$$
Review: I have had the machine for about 6 months. First thing I did was wipe the OS and tried to install win2000 pro not knowing that HP didn't provide the drivers! I was *VERY* pissed to find out that they do not support them. HP is obviously in bed with Microsoft, and if I knew this ahead of time I would have never bought the machine. The nerve..... IN any case, I agree that winXP home is complete crap. However, with all that said, after spending quite alot of time (15+ hours) installing XP and all drivers, and using the horribly inadequate networking features of XP to wireless communicate..... Once it was configured, the machine has been performing flawlessly. I bought the machine for 2 reasons. The first is to write my thesis: alot of math modeling and data crunching, and the machine was not particularly fast. It is substantially slower than a 2.4GHz desk PC, but have not compared it to other laptops. The second reason was to use the new software synthesizers that are hitting the market using USB MIDI. It seems to function quite well, but chokes on very sample heavy sounds (meaning that the HD is a little slow and/or 512MB of memory is not quite enough) such as Steinberg's 'The Grand'. Also, for real-time sound applications, the built-in sound card has huge latency issues mainly due to non-ASIO drivers, but a quality sound card plugged into the PCMCIA bus works well. All the peripherals are adequate.... and adequate is the key word. The CD, memory, HD are not top performers, but they are not terrible. The saving grace of the machine is the connectivity it offers: 3xUSB, firewire, modem, ethernet, wireless 802.11b, serial, printer, SVGA, IR, 2xPCMCIA slots. Not much more you can ask for in a laptop. The batteries do not last long at all, well under 2 hours. This is personally not much of an issue, but is something to consider. All in all, I am happy with the machine, but very unhappy with the operating system that was shoved down my throat....
Rating: 
Summary: HOW to QUIET the FANS!!!!
Review: I have read many reviews for this laptop and the number one complaint is how loud the fans are. This I agreed to..BUT...with the NEW BIOS UPDGRADE just released for this laptop, they are MUCH more quieter!..Seriously, you will be AMAZED at the difference! Simply go to the HP website and download the update for the BIOS and u'll be completely happy with this laptop if that was your only dislike, like it was for me until I updated. Now that they are quieter, this machine just AMAZES me. I HIGHLY recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: HOW to QUIET the FANS!!!!
Review: I have read many reviews for this laptop and the number one complaint is how loud the fans are. This I agreed to..BUT...with the NEW BIOS UPDGRADE just released for this laptop, they are MUCH more quieter!..Seriously, you will be AMAZED at the difference! Simply go to the HP website and download the update for the BIOS and u'll be completely happy with this laptop if that was your only dislike, like it was for me until I updated. Now that they are quieter, this machine just AMAZES me. I HIGHLY recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Fair price with ok performance
Review: I just have played with ze5375 for weeks. I think this is a good laptop in this price range. Its graphic performance is not satisfied to me however when I tried to change the background pictures it takes seconds to refresh. I don't know why and I don't think a P-4 2.4 system should act like that.
Another thing I don't like is some software you have to install by yourself my machine was missing burner software the software cd is included in the package though...
Basicly this laptop is fair on its price.
Rating:
Summary: Great machine for the price
Review: I love this laptop.
The fan is a little loud, but it doesn't bother me as much as I have learned bothers others who have reviewed it.
The screen resolution is good, it's a fast machine.
I have owned it for six months and it has worked beautifully for me. Hasn't crashed once. It's as powerful and as fast as any desktop...and portable, always a plus. It could have a longer battery life, but I think that the battery is average when compared to DELL and others laptops I have seen.
The wireless card is a great feature.
The cd burner is very easy to use.
I have used it to watch DVDs, and I thought the picture was sharp. The speaker is good for a laptop, and overall I would say that this laptop is a great value for the features it comes with. I would still recommend to get the extended warranty possibly from the store where you are buying. Laptops are not as easy to fix as desktops. The extended warranty should cover the repairs and a new laptop if the one you own cannot be fixed.
|
