HP Pavilion ZV6000 Review (pics, specs)

by Bill Burgess, Tennessee USA

The HP zv6000 is at the lower end of the price range for HP notebooks, but I feel it is an excellent value for all that is included. It is primarily intended to be a desktop replacement style notebook, but with 3-4 hours of battery life, it will definitely do the job of a portable computer. The processor is an AMDdesktop variant, and if you upgrade to the 64-bit AMD Athlon you will get the 939-pin chip! It is built on the 0.13 micron Newcastle core with 512kb of L2 cache which will provide excellent performance.

HP ZV6000 (view larger image)

HP Pavilion zv6000 Configuration

• AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0 GHz processor
• 768MB of PC2700 RAM
• 128MB ATI Xpress 200m video (dedicated memory)
• 8x Dual Layer DVD+/-RW drive
• 15.4" wide screen (no BrightView)
• 40 GB 4,200 RPM Hard Drive
• Windows XP Professional
• 12 cell battery
• No built-in wireless selected (USB based wireless card solution used)

Useful Links: Go here for possible configurations| HP ZV6000 MediaImage Gallery

Reasons for Buying

My original reason for wanting to buy the zv6000 was that I saw an offer in an Office Depot storeweekly circular that advertised this notebook with an AMD Sempron 3000+ processor for only $500. That certainly piqued my interest. I have been a fan of AMD processors since my firstmachine with an AMD K6 300 processor. I went to the local Office Depotretail store and talked with a salesperson, and the first thing I noticed was that they went to their TechDepot.com website to order it. This offer was only for "in-store website orders." This was kind of weird I thought, but they have their reasons I'm sure. After the salesperson started configuring the notebook with all the options I wanted I saw that thisnotebok was going to get over the thousand-dollar mark quickly. I left thinking that the offer on the zv6000 was just another marketing ploy to get you in the door and stack up the price before you knew what hit you.

However, I started thinking about the two hundred dollars in rebates that they were offering and the fact the AMD 64-bit 3200+ processor is better than my desktop system. And so after a few days of looking for reviews and configuring the "perfect system" (for me, of course) about fifty times on Office Depot's website, I found the Notebookreview.com forums with people discussing the yet to be owned zv6000 machines. This siteeven had detailed pictures of the zv6000 up before HP's website. I wanted to see even more pictures, so I called HP to see if I could get more pictures and the tech support guy said they just didn't have any available. This was before the 3-D multi-angle view had been put on the HP site.

So after thinking about things I decided to buy, and I ordered at the local Office Depot on April 14, 2005. Part of the reason the notebook was a bargain was because it had to be assembled in China and shipped here. This process took nine business days (arrived on 4/27/2005). I'm used to online orders, so this wasn't a huge issue. I had it shipped to my parents' house, and I had planned to wait until I got off work to go pick it up. This was before I started reading people on the forum post about dead pixels. Well, I couldn't just sit at work and wonder. So I rushed home during lunch and found the screen in perfect condition. Hoorah!

Form & Design

I have never been a fan of manufactured computers. Since learning how to build desktop computers, I haven't encouraged anyone to buy a factory-built PC due to corporate markup and the fact that the selected and combined parts make the PC, not the name. This notebook was the first change for me in not attempting to build my own machine. The zv6000 as I configured ithad everything I wanted in a desktop: Athlon processor, DVD burner, and a nice LCD screen. When I received my zv6000, I believed that a well-made desktop replacement computer could be manufactured by one of the "big companies." The design is very modern with the same lines as its predecessor, the zv5000. One downside that is to be expected of a desktop replacement is the weight. At a little over eight pounds with the battery installed, it is not fun to carry everywhere you go. However, it is what it is... a desktop replacement. That's exactly how I intend to use it, and one bonus is that it is portable in regards to battery power.

HP ZV6000 right-side (view larger image)

HP ZV6000 left-side (view larger image)

HP ZV6000 back-side (view larger image)

HP ZV6000 left-side open(view larger image)

HP ZV6000 right-side open(view larger image)

Screen:

Another bonus is the screen. Though I kick myself now for not getting the BrightView option (it saved money not to), the 15.4" wide screen is a pleasure. Lines are crisp and the contrast is good. I had to adjust it a bit in the Windows Display Properties "Advanced Settings," but after I got the contrast set up just right, the Fn key on the keyboard has two buttons (F7 & F8) for adjusting brightness on the fly. I was a little surprised by the resolutions given by the preinstalled driver. 1280 x 800 is the native resolution so I figured that it would have other widescreen adapted resolutions. Nope. Standard 800 x 600 and on up are the only other options. After installing the latest Catalyst drivers I got some higher resolutions, but nothing above 1280 x 800 is really useful because it doesn't scale to fit the screen.

Speakers:

The speakers are nothing special. I think they replaced the Harmon-Kardons that are typical with HPs with some generic, low-cost 2" x 1" speakers. They don't necessarily sound bad, but I have to put the Master and Wave levels close to max to get volume where it needs to be. I recommend an external set of speakers, though, if you're going to keep it at a desk. The headphone and mic jacks work fine.

Processor and Performance:

The Athlon 64 3200+ is an amazing processor. I have edited video, recorded professional quality audio, and just surfed the Internet and it does it all without missing a beat. Boot time is about 90 seconds or more with all of the included software, but I have reduced this to about 30 after a fresh reinstall of the operating system. This is with a 4,200 RPMhard drive. A faster drive with a bigger cache and moreRAM especially would certainly produce better results. I am not a gamer, so I cannot tell you how well it plays the newest games.

We use Super Pi to get a benchmark of processor speed. The Super Pi program simply forces the processor to calculate Pi to a selected number of digits of accuracy. Calculating to 2 million digits is our benchmark:

Comparison of notebooks using Super Pi to calculate Pi to 2 million digits (plugged in):

Notebook	Time to Calculate Pi to 2 Million Digits
HP Pavilion ZV6000 (AMD Athlon 3200+)	1m 51s
Gateway 7426GX (AMD Athlon 3700+)	1m 39s
IBM ThinkPad T43(1.86GHzAlviso Pentium M)	1m 45s
Fujitsu LifeBook N3510 (1.73 GHz Alviso Pentium M)	1m 48s
IBM ThinkPad T41 (1.6GHz Banias Pentium M)	2m 23s
Compaq R3000T (Celeron 2.8GHz)	3m 3s
Dell Inspiron 600m(1.6 GHz Dothan Pentium M)	2m 10s
Dell Inspiron 8600 (1.7GHz Banias Pentium M)	2m 28s

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The keyboard is nice enough. I haven't used that many laptop keyboards, but all the keys are easily reachable on this one and not too bunched together. The only complaint I have is that the mouse scroll bar is directly under my right hand. This causes the page I'm typing on to move around intermittently. But! Thefolks at HP created a magic little button that turns off the touchpad, for this exact reason I assume. The virtual scroll zones are nice for vertical and horizontal scrolling.

ZV6000 TouchPad and Keyboard area (view larger image)

Input and Output Ports:

Adding the 128MB 200m ATI card is one of the best options on this computer because it means an automatic upgrade to a 6-in-1 memory card reader and an IEEE 1394 port. There are also four USB 2.0 ports, 1 x PCMCIA, 1x Express 54 slot (w/ 128mb video card upgrade), 10/100 LAN, 56k modem, 7pin S-video, 15-pin analog video out, and headphone/microphone jacks. There is no parallel port, which is almost useless these days, anyway. One thing I wish it had is VIVO. I would like to be able to capture video without the use of an external device, but it can't have everything for the price it isI guess.

Built-in Wireless G with 108 MB/s access is an additional option that I did not include. Bluetooth comes with this package. I just didn't feel I would have enough of a use for this because I don't have any Bluetooth devices, and I already have a USB based Wireless antenna card.

Battery:

I got the 12-cell battery, and I have been very pleased with it so far. I ran it down the day after receiving my notebook and ittook asolid four hours to get the battery drained. I ran MobileMeter (http://dssc3031.ece.cmu.edu/~tamaru/mobilemeter/mobilemeterreadme-e.htm) andthe new battery already registers as having 5% wear. I assume this 5% is simply lost through the chemical breakdown in the battery.

Operating System and Software:

My computer came loaded with Windows XP Home plus more preloaded software than I could deal with. The first thing I did was load a fresh install of Windows XP Professional that I already owned. This took a large burden off of boot-up time, and there is much less running in the background. I didn't really have a use for the software that came with it so I just reinstalled the drivers and was done with the factory-included cds.

Complaints:

The only complaints I can think of are a constant vibration when CD spin-up is at full speed and a constant, high-pitched note. The vibration sounds like something might need to be tightened to fix it, but I understand that faster speeds mean more vibration. Also, a constant high-pitched squeal is apparent when the battery is charging on AC power. I took out the battery and it went away, so I'm not sure what this is due to. I just know that it's present. Nothing a little music can't make you forget about!

Praises:

The most obvious thing I enjoy about this notebook is that it does everything my desktop system did, but there is no clutter and no huge desk required to hold it all. The LCD is the second best aspect. The wide screen 15.4" LCD looks so much better than even the 19" CRT that I'm used to. Another plus is the fact that my Tascam US-224 recording interface (http://www.tascam.com/Products/US-224.html)actually works with this system. It hasn't worked with any other system without some problem. Thank you HP! One last huge upside to buying this system was just that. For what is in it, I feel I got a very good deal. After rebates, the total came to $816. It would be hard to build a desktop system with all the options I chose for that price. However, I would gladly pay now for upgrading the screen to the BrightView option. Oh well.

Conclusion:

I definitely recommend this notebook to anyone who is looking for a powerful desktop replacement or just good notebook that they don't mind lugging around.

Pros:

• Very good notebook for the money
• Solid construction
• Bright, crisp screen even for the regular LCD
• All the inputs/outputs I really need
• New technology: i.e. first PCI Express video for AMD notebook
• Replaces a whole desktop computer!

Cons:

• Have to wait for construction and shipping from China
• Have to wait for rebates to come back
• Speakers could be better

HP ZV6000 Media Image Gallery

• HP ZV6000 MediaImage Gallery

Pricing and Availability

 

Great review, Bill.

A couple questions:

1.) The battery specs seem very good! What were your computer's settings when you ran the battery tests? Full brightness, no underclocking? Running the DVD drive?

2.) Any comments on the video card performance? I assume you're not a gamer, but being a college student next year, video card performance is of some importance for gaming and also video editing.

 

Nice writeup. Short but to the point.

I kinda feel good that I'm not the only one who opted out of the wireless option. Just like you I chose the 15.4" WXGA, not the brightview.

The fact that it's a desktop replacement is almost an understatement. I would never consider going to a desktop system after using this machine. All the bells and whistles are in this thing--well, almost all of them . [ ]

I don't have much complaints about the speakers though. I guess it's because I've spent the past few years listening from the cheesy little speakers on my iBook G3.

I hope we start seeing dual core processors hitting the mobile market within in a year, because my next system I plan on purchasing will definitely take advantage of that technology.


HP Pavillion zv6000
AMD Sempron 3000+ 1.8GHZ
512 Mb (2x256)
128 Mb ATI 200M
DVD/CDR combo/40 GB 4200 rpm
Win XP Home / 8 cell batt

Current beater: iBook 600 Mhz G3/ 384 MB / 15 GB HD / 8 MB vRam

 

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to put it together and post it.

Question: Your specs show 768 MB RAM. Did you order the machine with 256 and add a 512 stick yourself? 768 is not available on this machine OEM-installed, as far as I'm aware.

 

You mentioned: "1x Express 54 slot (w/ 128mb video card upgrade)"

Does that mean that this laptop has the ability to upgrade to an additional 128MB on the video, for a total of 256mb? Or does that mean you upgrade to a new Video Sub-System that takes over the Radeon 200M?

Also yes, please someone post their thoughts on the 200m Video Chip, I cannot find any reviews on it anywhere.

 

I found the answer to my own question!
beammeup4: you might find this interesting as well...

(I posted this elsewhere, but thought I would do it here as well.)

This Laptop, when configured with 128mb of Video comes equipped with the ExpressCard54 card slot. This slot can be used for Video Upgrades. nVidia is working on the GeForce 6600 Go (256mb) MXM Card.

You just pop that baby into the Express54 slot, and it takes over as your video processor. Pretty dang sweet if you ask me!

http://www.nvidia.com/page/mxm.html

 

sounds good, but doesn't the zv6000 have an ATI card? Or does this notebook have an nVidia chipset?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by beammeup4
2.) Any comments on the video card performance? I assume you're not a gamer, but being a college student next year, video card performance is of some importance for gaming and also video editing.
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

The video card won't make any difference in video editing unless you're creating 3D animation from scratch. Memory, HD space, and CPU speed are the big drivers in video editing.

BTW, Bill - nice review! Thanks for posting.

Russ

HP ZV5000z
Athlon 64 3000+
768mb RAM
60gb 4200rpm HD
nVidia G0 440 64mb
DVD-RW/CD-RW
1394, 5-in-1 card reader
15.4" wide screen
802.11 b/g w/Speedbooster

 

Yes, it comes equipped with an ATI Radeon Express graphics chip.

However, just like with Desktop PC's that have "onBoard" video, if you install a seperate Graphics "Card", it will automaticly disable the onboard video, and begin to use the card instead.

Same thing here, you put in the MXM Card (Via your Express54 slot) and it takes over as the primary video adapter.

 

Okay, looks like I could be wrong about MXM and Express54 being the same thing.

The article I read (at first glance) made it look like MXM and E54 were the same thing, but it does not appear so.. Bummer :-/

I will keep searching.

 

Hey does anyone know how well the 128MB ATI Xpress 200m video card performs for gaming? I mainly use consoles to do my gaming but I'd like my new laptop to be able to run some of the newer games like Half-Life 2, Sims 2, or Guild Wars with decent graphics quality. So I was wondering if anyone knew if this video card was capable of doing that.

 

Ok first off this thing is not meant to be a gaming notebook if you go to the HP thread here owners of this notebook say it only gets 10fps on Doom 3, that just plain sucks and only gets a score of around 672 in 3dMark05. that basically makes this thing about as good as a ATI x300 or king of all the intigrated crap thats out right now.

and no you can not just put a video card in the express card slot.

dont get me wrong that would be so sweet to be able to just replace the video card every year than to replace my notebook every two but as of now they dont make anything like that.

 

Gargoyle is right about that..

I misread the article.. the MXM port has not come out yet - but when it does it will enable you to upgrade your Video Card in notebooks much like the video in Desktop PC's.

 

Helpful review!

Three questions about the ZV6000:

1. Does it have a VGA out port? The HP site and rep say it doesn't have one. But, the PC-Connection configurator page and some other 3rd party vendors say it does have one. Bill says it has a VGA port, but the pics don't show one.

2. Is the graphics card capable of dual monitor support-- that is, a different screen shows up on the external monitor rather than the same screen?

3. Would the resolution to any external monitor be the same as the one displayed on the notebook screen?

thanks!

 

Yes, there is vga-out. It's located on the back next to the usb2.0 port:

http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/3752.jpg

------------------------------
Http://www.zv6000forums.com

For all zv6k/r4k dialogue.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by bluedevils

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by dmike

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by beammeup4

 

I installed the centon sodimm pc3200 and it works fine. it was $48 at cheifvalue.com

HP Pavilion zv6000
15.4" WXGA Brightview
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2.0GHz)
1g DDR SDRAM
80 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
8X DVD +/- RW/R &amp; CD-RW Combo Drive
128MB ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M
54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g Bluetooth

 

Congrats!...Good deal.

------------------------------
Http://www.zv6000forums.com

For all zv6k/r4k dialogue.

 

Thanks, billipo for checking!

I played with one of the zv6000's at BestBuy and found that the resolution on the second monitor actually gets up pretty high-- I think as high as 1600 x 1200 or something like that.

 

Great review Bill, I just ordered my zv6000 with the 3800+ can't wait to get it. I am wondering if anyone has tried making an external drive the boot drive and will the bios allow it. Lacie makes a 160gb 10000 rpm sata that also be connected via usb/firewire.

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by billipo

 

I just picked this up today and I am liking it so far. The best thing about it? I got it for $450. Sam's Club. Long story, but i got the manager to give me a HUGE discount. It has everything that Bill's has except mine has 512mb of RAM.

 

Kudos!!

 

I ordered mine from office depot on the 25. Still waiting for shipping etc. Anyone know how long it usually takes from the order date? Office depot told me 9 days.

 

Build time will range from around 8 to 12 days, typically (unless there's a core shortage again)...After that, should be couple days for it to arrive from Kunshan, China.

 

Right now i have a compaq presario 1200 so anything i buy will be better. I'm considering buying the zv6000 and ive heard that it has a bad video card. im not a real hard core gamer all i really want to play is Rome Total War and possibly Stronghold 2. If anyone knows or cares to find out if those would work on this computer id appreciate it.
BTW i'm getting

AMD Athlon processor 2.0 GH
128MB ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/Hypermemory
256MB DDR SDRAM (1x256MB) but im adding 100 MB from my compaq (188 if can talk my dad into it)
40 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive


and im new to this site so... hi.

 

i hope that made sense im really tired

 

I answered my own question yes.

 

Could someone please post CPUZ information about the zd6000? Also, since the Athlons are 939-pin, does it support dual channel DDR400?

 

I've been shopping around and the only comperable laptop for the price is a DELL [I hate DELL as they outsource tech support and it is the absolute worst exerience NIGHTMARE to deal with their incompetence!!]

The HP6000 is a nicely equipped laptop for the price. I have a few questions for owners of it...

First of alll I'd like to do video editing and place some of the newer game titles but dont need blistering fast 3D speeds as long as video is somewhat smooth in MMORPG such as Dark Age of Camelor or Worlds of WarCraft at say 1024x768 [or widescreen quivelent res] 20-25fps is acceptable for laptop performance for these [I can live with those fps rates if I had too].

Assumptions: AMD Althon64 3200+ CPU w, ATI 128meg M200 video, 1 Gig RAM & 4200rpm 60gig HDD.

Questions:
Expected gaming performance for games such as those listed above?

Expected gaming performance increase if I upgraded to a 5400rpm HDD?

Can you use a Firewire or USB Hard drive 5400rpm [or 7200rpm] and make it a boot drivable from the bios [boot from external Firewire and/or USB]?

Can the PCI-Ex 54 1x card slot be usable as a slot for a Graphics Card upgrade?

How long is the battery life on the 6-cell batter vs the 8 and/or 12 cell batteries?

Has anyone compared battery life using a 4200rpm HDD vs a 5400rpm drive?

Can a 7200rpm drive be installed internally in this laptop?

I'm a desktop builder kind of person.. this will be my first laptop [thus all the questions. I'm used to nVidia high end video in PC's and recently used an ATI X600 PCI-Ex desktop card and it was good performance [although the 3D renderer crapped out prematurely, but I was told that ATI isn't the best match for AMD64 CPU's [nvidia + AMD64 is a better match].

Thanks any/everyone for your assistance with any and/or all these questions.

Sincerely,
John

 

Since no zv6000 owner has yet to answer your questions, let me try to answer some of your questions...

1. Not too good, maybe some moderate to light gaming might be possible. Some of the higher end games might run but at lower settings.

2. The HD does have some improvements, but mostly it will be felt during loading programs & at startup. Once you are into the game the difference will be minimal. This is ofcourse considering you have atleast 1GB RAM, otherwise pagefile usage might decrease performance.

3. I doubt it would work, but I would say Dont know.

4. Maybe, depends on a lot of other factors.

5. HP does not offer 6 cell batteries, only 8 & 12 celled ones. The 8 cell should give around 2 - 2.5hrs & the 12 cell around 3 - 3.5hrs depending on your usage & settings(screen brightness...).

6. Will be quite similar, 5400rpm HD these days consume virtually the same amount of power as the 4200rpm HD's.

7. Yes a 2.5" notebook hard drive will definately work with the laptop. Many people have done this upgrade.

There are a few other options you could consider which would give you better gaming experience but do not cost an arm & leg...The acer TM 4402 & the Gateway 75xx series.

 

HP Pavilion laptops are not very sturdy. I purchased one a year ago and after very light usage to complement a desktop PC and about half a dozen road trips, the AC power connector is unreliable and the left button on the trackpad/mouse is almost unusable.

The power connector -- the port on the laptop itself, not the adapter accessory -- intermittently fails if I even breathe on it, let alone use the laptop on, uh, my lap. From what I read online I can expect it to eventually fail completely, rendering the computer useless.

If you search the web for "HP Pavilion power connector," you'll find a cottage industry devoted to fixing power connectors in these models for two-to-three hundred dollars apiece. You'll also find numerous rants by customers who've been similarly disappointed by this poor workmanship and design and HP's deaf ear to complaints about same. If you expect high quality based on the HP name, rest assured that this does not apply to their laptops.
I'm mad @ HP. I spent 2000usd. It lasted only 6 months. Don't buy anything from HP.

 

Hello, everybody, bought me one of these a few months ago <still waiting on rebates though> and my first attemp at upgrading the memory failed, (I used pny 2700) I did live chat w/ support and they said that it used pc2100 I'm about to buy some a 512 2100 from chiefValue and wanted to know what speed ram/brand other owners have put in besides the few already listed. (On a side note I have used a program that tells you your system details and it says the computer uses pc2700 the program is everest home)

also anyone buying anything from chief value there is a coupon code modder that is $5 off good though the 12th which is why i was asking about ram.

Thanks in advance

 

My piece of advice for anyone interested in HP laptops:
steer away from these pieces of carbage.

I bought a pavilion zv6028ea in july 2005. as I received the brand new computer, the network card was dead. I needed the computer urgently for work while traveling so i had to suffer from not being able to connect to the network for the first 5 months. Then the screen just died suddenly and I had to send the computer to be repaired.

the email customer service was very fast and firendly. they did a good job.
and it only took 2 days for me to get the computer back. so relatively happy at this point, I didn't get too annoyed by the fact that the thing came back with Swedish OS (I don't speak swedish, have never lived in sweden, I live in France and the laptop was repaired in the UK!) so I had to re-install my old OS with a dictionary at hand, download all missing updates, re-install every single piece of software etc. loads of work..

until I later realised something quite devastating as i was inserting my XD-memory card into the 6in1 media card reader that I had grown to love: the card just slipped into the computer-not into a card reader but fell into the laptop completely! I had a closer look and realised that there was no media card reader anymore on the laptop. then I took a closer look to find out that also the ExpressCard slot and Firewire connections were missing! there were only holes in the place of those. I could see what's inside the laptop from the spots where there should be expresscard slot and firewire connection.


I find this completely unbelievable. once again I have to make back ups, send the thing back for repair, afterwards spend many long evenings re-installing everything, downloading updates, organising my stuff, putting back the days of music I had on my itunes etc... what a nightmare.

I like the computer, but its not reliable and the service is beyond anything accpetable. simply unbelievanle.

 

I haven't seen any postings regaarding the ability to share up to an additional 128 mb of ram through the bios. for a total of 256 mb of video ram without upgrading the video card through the expansion slot. I discovered this by accident, not that it was hidden just hadn't gone into the bios prior to