HP Pavilion zx5040us Laptop (2.8 GHz Pentium« 4, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive)

by HP

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 13 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001B1AK2
• Item model number: ZX5040US
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 12, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Offering powerful mobility options, the HP Pavilion zx5040us notebook PC is a great choice for a family multimedia laptop or a get-up-and-go workstation for your home office. The zx5040us features a fast 2.8 GHz Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor, a combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, 54g wireless LAN, large 60 GB hard drive, and 512 MB of installed RAM. For a step up in price, the HP Pavilion zx5070us offers an 80 GB hard drive and a DVD/CD writer.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: The spacious 60 GB hard drive (4200 RPM) offers more than enough storage for both your work and home files as well as a good-sized multimedia library.
• Processor: The 2.8 GHz Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor will come in handy for tasks such as digital photo or video editing. Thanks to its Mobile features, the processor can save power when it's not needed, thus conserving battery life. It also has a 533 MHz FSB (front-side bus).
• Memory: The zx5040us comes with a 512 MB built-in memory (DDR SDRAM, 333 MHz)--a good start for power users--with a maximum memory expansion up to 1.28 GB (1 x 256 MB, 1 x 1024 MB). It also has an L2 cache of 512 KB.
• CD/DVD Drive: It comes equipped with a combo DVD/CD-RW drive, which enables you to play DVD-ROM discs and DVD movies as well as burn data and record music to CD discs (at 24x speed).
• Keyboard & Mouse: The zx5040us has a 101-key keyboard and touchpad with on/off button and dedicated vertical scroll up/down pad.

Sound and Graphics
You'll get crisp, clear sound via the integrated 16-bit Sound Blaster Pro-compatible audio card. The zx5040us features internal Harman Kardon speakers.

The installed ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 IGP video/graphics card is a relatively strong 3-D graphics renderer, and it has 64 MB of shared video memory. The 15.4-inch WXGA WVA TFT active matrix LCD has a native 1280 x 800 pixel display.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
You get a good offering of connectivity options with the zx5040us, including both high-speed USB 2.0 and FireWire:

• 3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) ports for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 parallel port for connecting older printers and scanners
• 1 RGB monitor port
• 1 TV-out (S-Video)
• 1 PS/2 port for connecting keyboard or mouse
• 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II compatible)
• 1 headphone jack and 1 microphone jack

It also has an integrated 802.11g wireless LAN (which is compatible with the more widespread 802.11b and offers faster data transmission rates), integrated 56K modem (V.92), and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
The zx5040us comes with the Windows XP Home Edition operating system, and it also features Microsoft Works (for working with word processing and spreadsheet documents). Other preloaded software includes Norton Antivirus 2003 (with 60 days of complimentary live updates), Quicken, Microsoft Money, Microsoft Encarta Online Deluxe, Adobe Acrobat Reader, InterVideo WinDVD SE (for playing DVD movies), MusicMatch Jukebox, Muvee AutoProducer, and Roxio Easy CD and DVD Creator (Basic).

Dimensions and Weight
Measuring 11.6 x 14.25 x 1.8 inches (L x W x H), it's not the thinnest notebook available. It weighs a moderate 8 pounds.

Power
The included rechargeable lithium-ion battery has 8 cells (which refers to the number of charge-storing components within the battery) and offers a standard amount of power for a notebook PC (around 2 hours of typical use).

What's in the Box
This package includes the HP Pavilion zx5040us notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this laptop, October 7, 2004

By 

johnny trigen "johnny" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP Pavilion zx5040us Laptop (2.8 GHz Pentium« 4, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive) (Personal Computers)

Mostly I'm writing to respond to some other comments on this page. For one thing, the video memory is not shared. Another reviewer writes do not buy this or any other HP/Compaq product, which seems rather harsh but of course he has a right to his opinion. I'd really like to know what the same problem he's been having is, perhaps some of us would know how to fix it? I successfully stumped the support team myself for a few days with a hardware problem until I realized, oops, it was really a software problem, silly me! I've had my laptop for about 6 months now and I've enjoyed using it more than any other machine I've had. I don't find the laptop to be monstrously heavy, but I'm a pretty big guy; I do travel with it over about a 200 mile radius throughout the week. I've found HP's online support team to be very helpful and fast in replying. Anyway, I've really enjoyed this laptop so far for games and schoolwork and would definitely consider HP my first choice when buying off the shelf again. I think it's a good choice for gaming when on the run (though frankly, it's a little under-powered for something like FarCry which demands the latest graphics cards & drivers, but for Half-Life, Morrowind, etc., it's great) and a delight when doing programming work.

1.0 out of 5 stars Do not get this Notebook, September 23, 2004

By 

Pankaj Bhakta "Software Engineer" (Irving, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HP Pavilion zx5040us Laptop (2.8 GHz Pentium« 4, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive) (Personal Computers)

Do not buy this or any HP/Compaq Notebook... Unless you are prepared to keep sending it back for same problem, and be in limbo for the same problem after warranty is over. Really bad experience with HP. I am disappointed...

5.0 out of 5 stars Does what it's supposed to do, August 20, 2004

By 

C. Reimer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HP Pavilion zx5040us Laptop (2.8 GHz Pentium« 4, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive) (Personal Computers)

I really recommend this computer for someone who wants to replace their existing desktop. It's fast, has a decent sized hard drive, and looks pretty nice too. If you plan on traveling with your laptop frequently keep in mind that it's REALLY heavy.