HP Pavilion ze4430us Laptop (1.80--GHz Athlon XP-M 2400+, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

by HP

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13 x 10.7 x 1.6 inches ; 7.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 12 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000A279E
• Item model number: DK582A#ABA
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,680 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 13, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

HP has designed its Pavilion ze4430us Notebook PC to meet the needs of those who require satisfactory performance and wireless connectivity at an affordable price point. It won't efficiently drive the latest games or break any speed records, but the Pavilion ze4430us should suffice quite nicely for most typical mobile business and leisure applications.

At 12.96 by 10.72 by 1.62 inches, the unit is of average size. It is conveniently lightweight though, at a mere 7.25 pounds. Inside, HP has installed a capable yet cost-effective 1.8 GHz AMD Athlon XP-M 2400+ processor with battery-conserving PowerNow Technology, 512 MB of DDR SDRAM memory (expandable to 1024 MB), and an ATI Mobility Radeon graphics chipset with 64 MB of shared (not dedicated) memory.

The system features an adequate 40 GB hard disk for file and application storage and a convenient DVD+CD-RW combo drive for listening to and burning music CDs, archiving data and playing the latest movies. DVD writing is not offered in this stock configuration. The system's crisp 15-inch XGA TFT display supports images of 1024x768 resolution, and its 16-bit Sound Blaster Pro-compatible audio chipset and integrated Altec Lansing-designed speakers deliver accurate, full-bodied sound.

Controlling the Pavilion ze4430us is a snap. The unit features a full-size 88-key keyboard with embedded numeric keypad, a Touch Pad with on/off button, and a dedicated vertical scroll up/down pad. Other amenities include two traditional USB 1.1 ports for plug and play peripherals (high-speed USB 2.0 ports are not included), an IEEE 1394 FireWire port for fast interaction with external devices such as digital camcorders, and an S-Video TV-out. Communication facilities include integrated 802.11 b wireless LAN, an RJ-45 Ethernet jack for fast "wired" network and Internet interaction, and a 56K modem for low-speed e-communication.

Bundled software includes Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Corel Productivity Pack including WordPerfect 10 and Quattro Pro 10, and Intervideo's WinDVD DVD player.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall satisfactory, July 26, 2003

By 

Peter Alfheim (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP Pavilion ze4430us Laptop (1.80--GHz Athlon XP-M 2400+, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) (Personal Computers)

I've owned it for 3 weeks and I'll keep it. It runs quite smoothly and I've found no BIG issues although I've looked for them and I am not a novice. Some not-so-big issues though:

1. It has a dead pixel (a pixel on the screen which is always turqoise). Most people who saw it would return the laptop for an exchange but I am not disturbed enough to do that. I called HP's Customer Service and they told me they would only replace defective screens that have at least 7 dead pixels. A friend of mine had told me that Dell had the same policy so I was not surprised. The guy on the phone was helpful although he "registered" me as a owner without asking me first.

2. I've installed Linux on it and it works well now. However, I had the typical laptop Linux problems: the "nousb" install option must be used to avoid keyboard freeze during installation; I had to deactivate pcmcia support which was freezing the boot (not fixed this yet b/c I don't need it); and, most frustrating, the ATI Radeon Mobility IGP 320M (U1) video card is virtually unknown to the kernel so I can't get any accelerated graphics in Linux... Actually the 'agpgart.o' kernel module won't load b/c the agp bridge is unknown. It looks like ATI/HP have not released the specs for this videocard yet thus there's no proper Linux support for it. It works with the generic "vesa" driver as well as with the "ati" and the "radeon" drivers, as a generic VESA. So it only ranks some 437fps when tested by glxgears - it should go to at least 550 for a "standard" Linux game like Chromium to run fine. Hopefully the ATI/HP drivers will come out soon!

Absolutely no issue in Windows except for the disk defragmentation program that always leaves some data in the upper part of the drive so that noone will be able to partition it to install Linux (for example). I thanked Microsoft for a wasted half an hour to figure it out and then I run 'chkdsk /F' to fix the drive and I partitioned it immediately after that.

The DVD/CDRW combo works fine, same for the Network and the PS/2 port with the classic Y-cable to accomodate both an external mouse and a keyboard. The scroll pad doesn't feel particularly subtle but it works. Things I haven't checked yet: the S-Video connection, the external monitor, the parallel and serial ports, the wireless network interface and the modem.

This laptop has eight visible blue lights and a green one, so it may look like a Christmas Tree to some more conservative people. Speaking of design, I don't like the metalic net covering the speakers, and the overall combination of silver and black with blue shades gets mixed reviews from my colleagues.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great all around notebook!, September 28, 2003

By 

Ryan (Vancouver, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP Pavilion ze4430us Laptop (1.80--GHz Athlon XP-M 2400+, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) (Personal Computers)

I bought this notbook at Best Buy for $1049 if you account for the mail in rebates($200 worth). The first one I bought had a dead pixel, but I returned it to Best Buy a day later and they gave me a replacement no problem. The notebook seems to be great so far. I haven't got the TV Now button working, but the TV out through the Radeon driver options works flawlessly. I don't understand what the difference would be.

The notebook is even capable of running some games. I've tried Quake 3, which ran with no problem at all, although my PC image quality is better. Wireless networking works without a hitch. The button on the front of the laptop to toggle the wireless on/off is very nice for security risks. Battery seems to last a while. I recommend running the battery configuration program when you first get the laptop (do it at night cause it takes a while (about 8hrs)). Screen quality is great, very bright when plugged into AC power. At $1049, this thing seems to be a steal. I purchased the $250 extended warranty from Best Buy which covers you for 3 years. I think seeing that the first notebook had a bad pixel, the warranty is worth it. Will also cover you when your battery doesn't hold a charge anymore, which will inevitably(SP?) happen.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful!, August 20, 2003

By 

Kristen (Catonsville, Moldova, Republic of) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HP Pavilion ze4430us Laptop (1.80--GHz Athlon XP-M 2400+, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) (Personal Computers)

Very easy to use, although i wasn't the one to hook it up...works very well in wireless areas. i'm also amazed at how long it lasts without having to be charged (almost four hours!!)