HP Pavilion tx2000z Review

I would like to improve the portability of my tx2000z by removing the optical drive to reduce the weight of the notebook.

Do you think it is a good idea ?
How can I cover the hole ?

 

the tx2000z comes with a plastic bay insert that is used for that purpose. It's a thin lightweight frame with a curved side to match the laptop. Check your box, it should be there.

I gave a different laptop to my wife with the optical drive removed and she hasn't missed it at all for 3-4 months now. If you won't need to use the optical much, it will help reduce the weight a little bit. If you do use the optical, the little weight saved might not be worth the trouble.

The drive is so light to begin with that the easily removable drive would be better if they offered a bay battery, imo. then you can opt for a smaller primary batt so the weight distro wouldn't be so lopsided.

 

I have recently visited HP's official site and did the customizations for the tx2000z just to see an estimation of how much it would cost in the end.

However, when I got to the part of choosing the primary battery for the laptop, there was a small image of the different battery cell options and I was kinda surprised to see that the 6 cell battery appear more compact and less sticking out than the image seen in the review. Interestingly, there's no longer an option for a 4cell battery.

So has HP remodeled the battery size due to complaints of how it raises the laptop? Or is HP lying about the actual size of the batteries?

Here is a small image of the size comparison shown on the HP website:

http://hpshopping.speedera.net/www.shopping.hp.com/shopping/images/cto/battery_t.jpg

Any insight on this is much appreciated.

 

The image that HP uses for the battery is inaccurate. it actually depicts the 6 and the 12 cell batteries used in the ir regular notebooks not the tx2000. The 4 cell(not offered in the US) should sit flush with the ntoebook and the 6 cell and the 8 cells should stick out from the back. The 8 cell having the bigger bulge and providing some amount of lift on the back of the ntoebook.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

So the 6 cell batteries only stick out of the laptop in the back, right? Not bulgy and lifts up the laptop?

Because that's one of the possible cons that is stopping me from buying this laptop.

 

yes, the 6-cell sticks out about an inch and does NOT have the additional bulge.

I thought that i would find it annoying at first (since it's not completely flush with the back of the laptop) but it's really not bad. I don't think i would like the bulge of the larger battery. the 6 cell is good although battery life is not as good as i would like for a tablet.

 

was researching this laptop after finding it on SD for $ 599.00 (after $320 instant savings and $180 MIR) on sale from 25th May 08 at Office Depot (memorial day sale), here is the link to the ad scan for this laptop. Looks like you have to go to store to configure & order it, so shipping would be extra - I think this is a great deal for this tablet/notebook from HP
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showpost.php?p=11426983&postcount=2

more OD ad scans:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=172713&t=827145

Specs from SD OP:
* Operating system Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) edit
* Processor AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-60 (2.0 GHz) edit
* Display 12.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800) w/Integrated Touch-screen edit
* Memory 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) edit
* Graphics Card NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 6150 edit
* Personalization FREE Upgrade to HP Imprint Finish (Echo) + Fingerprint Reader + Microphone edit
* Networking FREE Upgrade to 802.11b/g WLAN and Bluetooth from 802.11b/g WLAN!! edit
* Hard Drive FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive from 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive!! edit
* Primary CD/DVD Drive FREE Upgrade to LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support edit
* TV & Entertainment Experience No TV Tuner w/remote control edit
* Primary Battery 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery edit
* Security Software Norton Internet Security(TM) 2008 - 2 Year Subscription edit
* Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works 9.0 edit

Time to get it now!

 

Is it just me or does the contrast look absolutely horrible on the screen ? The blacks in the pics seem grey.

 

Kudos to hp for giving this tablet exactly what it needed. The passive screen of the older model sucked. If they could manage to get the weight slightly down and make it slightly thinner they'd take control of the tabblet market.

 

ok now i am having one problem with this laptop... with an external mouse plugged in, the mouse cursor randomly jumps to the lower right and right-clicks when it does. Very annoying. Anyone else ever had this problem?

 

Let me tell my story.

I purchased this laptop with 250gig HD and 3 gig ram, bluetooth, wireless N from Samsclub for $950-$40 gift card. I tacked on the $79 extended warranty for 4 years. So it ended up being $1080 with the taxes. It's a bit more than I usually spend, but I don't mess around with rebats and I like the 6 month return policy. So I spent a few hundred more than you guys most likely.

I have a few complaints

1) The screen is grainy. I expected more for the price
2) About 1 week into my computer use, the wireless network and sound icons disappeared from the system tray. I find it a pain, and I expect more
3) I was initially disappointed by Vista, however, I found a few webpages on how to tweak it a bit so the startup time is faster
4) A friend purchased a Gateway for $650 with 3 gig RAM but using the Pentium Dual Core (not Core2Duo). This computer seems faster and startup and shutdown time is about 15-20 seconds less than the HP tx2000. I find that frustrating given how much more I spent on the computer
5) I have heard that hptx2000 is not fully compatible with Ubuntu. I dont' care about the tablet part, but at the very least, I'd like the wireless networking capability to work
6) The hard drive is constantly grinding - on what I have no idea. The Gateway does not have this problem.

I expected a lot more given this is one of the more expensive computers I have bought. I usually buy the cheapies given I think computers go out of date faster than others and I believe that if you are using internet and Office, almost any processor will suffice.

I like the HP for it's 12 inch screen, but the weight is heavier than I thought. I can't see anyone really using the tablet in one hand and a pen in the other.

What does everyone thing of the problems?

 

After playing around with my laptop, I noticed something strange about it when playing hd 720p videos.

When the laptop is running on battery (unplugged), the videos I tested would lag a lot and freeze eventually while the sounds would continue as normal, out-of-sync.

When plugged in, the videos would play smoother, with some lag once in a while.

Has this occurred to anyone else's tx2000?
Kinda negates the point of having a portable laptop if I have to be charging it to watch videos within its resolution range.

Could it be that the Nvidia GeForce card?

Any insights on this is much appreciated.

 

It might be your power performance settings. Set it to max performance while watching videos unplugged. That might help.

 

I thought it was that at first, too. But the same thing happened even after I tweaked the settings and changing the battery management to performance focus.
I also deleted all of the bloatwares that may have limited the laptop's resources.

 

Check the BIOS as well, since HP might have set it up as default option in the BIOS to run the system in battery optimized mode which basically will put the system into the lowest power mode possible. Change it to Performance and then try playing the videos.

 

Good review... i actually got me a set model tx2032au... i think mind is a 4cell battery... According to the review you can get 4 hours... but I dont seem to get that kinda hour... what settings for power option did you set??

thanks in advance...

 

i bought this from costco for $999. i wasn't sure if i needed/wanted a tablet, but i discovered i love the tablet features.

however, i will be returning it because

1) too heavy
2) gets too hot to sit on my lap (main way i use a tablet)
3) too thick
4) screen is pretty bad, especially outdoors

on the plus side, the handwriting recognition is amazing! i will in future consider getting a tablet with vista, but prices on the business class tablets need to drop before i can do that.