Customer Reviews

HP Pavilion zd8230us 17" Laptop (Intel Pentium 4 Processor 650 (H-T), 1024 MB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, LightScribe DVD+/-RW and CD-RW Combo Drive)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is a really fine piece of equipment. I have been using mine for heavy-duty document management, word processing, and yes, pressing CDs for my car and boat CD players. This one does everything well.

The screen on this unit is bright and beautiful. It is a pleasure to do work on, or watch DVDs. I purchased the unit for use with certain trial management software, which is memory and graphics intensive. The 8230 has performed flawlessly with no crashes, freezes, or other problems. The 3.4 Ghz Pentium 4 is blazingly fast, which makes this machine a pleasure to use.

This is not a small computer. It is a large notebook computer that is in every way as capable as a full-blown desktop. If you are looking for a little machine, this is not the unit of choice. If you are looking for a portable notebook computer that is very powerful and capable, and size is not a major criterion, then you cannot do better than this machine.

I particularly love the Lightscribe DVD player. It is the solution to a longstanding problem to be able to flip the CDs over and etch a very professional label onto the front without messing with sticky paper labels. Nice to get rid of the unprofessional magic marker labelling of disks. Once you experience Lightscribe there is no going back!

In my opinion the main accessory most users will want with this machine is a Kensington Bluetooth Optical Mouse. I have never liked the touchpad mice of the type that this unit comes equipped with. I went with the Kensington Bluetooth Optical Mouse, it installed in seconds, and has worked flawlessly ever since.

The HP zd8230us is a home run. It has become my essential tool for heavy duty trial presentations, document management, music management, and wordprocessing on the go. A powerful and effective tool that is great fun to boot!

I have only had this for a few days, but the features are incredible! The ability to watch and record tv, consolidate my pictures easily and having wi-fi & bluetooth has been awesome! I have already used the pvr to record my favorite shows and the digital media slot to download my pictures from my camera. It was so simple and easy to use, right out of the box. Having all the capabilities of my desktop and then some in a smaller package is a definite plus. Although the price is somewhat steep, it was a worthwhile purchase in my opinion. I will never have a desktop again!

This is a powerfull laptop,I would have given it a 5 star however I didnt because the battery life it not all that considering the power and weight but it is a good value considering that u can pay same amount for a sony and ull get half of all the memory speed and everything this comp is like a mobile powerstation its great if u want power and speed over weight and size

I've been living with this laptop for about 5 months and am finally ready to write a review.

First off, this amazing machine is not made for portability or business (on the go) use. Its main function is a desktop replacement. It's large, heavy, hot and has crappy battery life. If you're looking for a notebook that is going to be constantly on the road with you, this is not the one.

Now that that's out of the way....here's the positives. What stands out the most is its value. I paid approx $1500.00 from Best Buy after rebates. Now 5 months later I bet you can get it even cheaper! And that $1500.00 got me the following:

17" Widescreen Xbrite Display / Full Size Keyboard
2.8ghz P4 HT
1gb PC3300 RAM
80gb Hard Drive
128mb ATI X600
16x DL +/- RW / DVD
Integrated Bluetooth, IR, and Wireless Wifi B/G
4 USB 2.0
Windows XP Media Center W/ External Tuner Box

Now, I defy anybody to find a laptop this stacked for that price. If you price up a Dell or Sony....or pretty much any brand with the same hardware, I guarantee the price will be WELL OVER 2gs. Most I have configured are over the $2000 mark WITHOUT my system specs. Too bad Cnet never seems to mention that in all its laptop comparisons.

The 17" screen looks great and have absolutely no complaints about it. The 2.8ghz HT P4 and the 1gb ram make any project a breeze. It's 128mb ATI card gets the job done when it comes to gaming also. I'm able to play games like FEAR and Battlefield 2 at 1027*768 with details set to medium. However, if you're able to find or afford the optional 256mb card, I suggest springing for it...just for that added punch.

The DVD drive also works like a dream. It rips and burns DVDs like a champ, plus I love the dual layer option...I just wish the price would come down on the media.

And it goes without saying all the wireless functions work great. I get connectivity with the B/G in a lot of places my desktop cant. The reception seems above average.

An added extra which I love that came with media edition is the external tuner box. It plugs in via a USB 2.0 port and connects up to 3 video devices using coax/S video and component, PLUS has extra inputs for FM antenna. I've tinkered around with the box and software, all of which are easy to use and reliable. I just might have to retire the Tivo soon!

In closing, if your looking for a desktop replacement or don't plan on moving the laptop out of the house often, you simply cant beat the value and hardware with this machine!

I purchased this computer a few months ago. Overall I'm happy with it, but it serves a very narrow niche.

First, it is a big and heavy laptop. I use it for a desktop replacement, move it to one location in the morning and leave it there all day. If you are going to carry this around, don't get it! Even the adapter is big and heavy.

Second, it comes with Windows XP Media Center Edition. I found out the hard way that a lot of software doesn't work on Media Center Edition, even if it says it works on XP. Some of the software that doesn't work at all includes Act! and Filemaker Pro. Software that runs awful includes Dreamweaver and all the Macromedia web building software. If you have special software that you are running on it, make sure it will work with Windows XP Media Center Edition.

If neither of these items run you off, it is a great computer, fast, bright and a big screen.

Hope this helps.

Randy

I bought the zd8230 in December 2005. By August 2006 the power cord would no longer stay in the back of the computer as it is the least deep of any cord I've ever had on a series of laptops over the years. (Other reviewers on Amazon have noted that the HP power cords can be a problem.) The battery life was down to 20 minutes and the laptop was RED HOT and couldn't be held on your lap. As a result, the fan was constantly running at top speed. We sent it in for warranty repair in August 2006 and it was returned like new, with a new battery and power cord.

Now, in March 2007, the power cord is falling out, battery life is very short and the computer gets very hot, causing the fan to run on high.

HP will not repair the computer under warranty in the 15th month, even though they repaired the same problem six months ago.

I have another HP laptop (dv5000) which had a serious conflict with an HP All In One. I spent hours on the phone with unknowledgable people. I reinstalled XP and other software twice. The foreign customer service people could not figure the problem out so it remained unresolved until I figured out that it was the All In One software. Again, I spent hours on the phone until I was escalated to one of a handful of engineers in Idaho who told me mine was one of seven or so HP laptops in the world to have the conflict. It took them a few weeks to provide the fix.

Next, the docking station I bought for the dv5000 stopped working. I kept putting off the call to HP because of the hours I had already wasted them. Foolishly on my part, I forgot to call them until the 55th week of ownership and, of course, the front line support people will only offer to sell me a new docking station.

You have to understand that HP has moved its technical support overseas and the frontline people are not knowledgable. Typically, they will offer you three simple steps (which you will already have done before you called). Once those don't work, they put you on hold to speak to a higher level representative. This could go on for a half hour (try something, put you on hold, try something else) until they move you up to the next level OR tell you to reload XP. It's so painful and predictable its comical. They have no clue.

My business partner (thanks to me) bought an HP laptop, I don't know the model, and bought additional memory through HP. His laptop doesn't recognize the new memory. Hmm. I wonder how long it will take him to get the problem fixed.

I wrote a letter to HP complaining. They did not respond. I have given them a negative response to two internet surveys that followed up my support experience. They did not respond.

My brother in law bought a Dell computer. He raves about their service. He has had technical problems resolved quickly. I bought an IBM laptop (now Lenovo) in 1999. It still works just fine, but couldn't handle XP, which is why I bought the HP.

I reccomend you not buy HP laptops.

This is the best laptop I have ever owned, but only because I do not travel ANYWHERE with it (on purpose). This is my "kitchen computer" where I do all my work when I'm in the house. I can run any of my desktop apps on it including graphics (Adobe etc) apps, connect everything I have including my bluetooth phone and headset, dock and sync my iPod, etc etc.. It handles everything I throw at it. If you use this unit in a mobile fashion on battery power you will hate it for its weight, low battery life etc. But if you use it mainly docked in one place or primarily when it's plugged in, you will have yourself one fine desktop replacement in a compact unit. It's all about buying the right machine for the right purposes... no one machine can do everything.

I have had several of these machines --- with them typically moving once a day. All of them have the middle pin of the power connector breakoff within a year. The only authorized repair is to replace the ENTIRE mother board (some $700 is out of warranty).

If you buy one, make sure you get an extended warranty for any of this line of PCs -- and be prepare to have it in repair for 2 weeks a year (and be prepared for it).

I purchased this notebook in December 2005 because of good reviews. I also purchased the extended warranty, but it hasn't helped much. Like others have noted, the power cord would no longer make good contact for powering up the unit after a year. It runs very hot and the fan is going all the time. Keys have stopped working and there have been software glitches. When you contact Hewlett-Packard tech support, be prepared for a 3-hour non-communication session with individuals in India. These sessions involve the same 30 questions, none of which are related to the problem, 20-minute pauses, and non-helpful suggestions. Using their web-based support isn't much better. And we are still waiting for our notebook to be returned to us from its last repair after 4 weeks! We have left messages begging for help from customer support people, but they never have returned our calls. I would strongly advise against purchasing this particular notebook because it is very trouble-prone and I would further suggest avoiding all HP products because their customer service is the worst of any company I have ever dealt with.

HP offers many different configurations of the HP dv8000 series. The unit I'm reviewing (dv8235nr) has two 100 GB hard drives, TV tuner, and an Nvidia GeForce Go 7400 GPU. From a performance aspect, this machine is simply amazing. Whether you want to record a TV show to watch later, play graphics-intensive video games, or burn CDs/DVDs...the 8230 can do it all without flinching. I bought this machine mainly for playing video games that most laptops on the market could not handle. Even with all the details and effects set to the highest level, the gameplay experience is very fluid and framerates are stable. With 200 GB of storage space, even I'll be hard-pressed to use half of it and the 1 GB of RAM makes for very smooth multi-tasking. Battery life is decent for a device of this caliber; usually about three hours on a full charge. The TV tuner is very handy and fairly simple to set up, even for a digital cable connection. The 17 inch screen is breathtaking, and really makes the gaming/movie/multimedia experience quite enjoyable. There is only one negative to the dv8230: its big footprint. The large screen and keyboard (yes, it has a dedicated 10-key pad!) take up some space. As you might guess, the machine is heavier than most laptops because of these added features.