HP Pavilion zx5280us Notebook PC (3.20 GHz Pentium 4 (Hyper-Threading), 1024 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD+RW/CD-RW Drive)

Rating:
Summary: Really bad quality
Review: Bad quality... sent it back twise in few months for service for same problem, that is still not fixed. Really pathetic quality, with even more pathetic service... Don't get it...

Rating:
Summary: Desktop Replacement
Review: With something this size and this much power, it's probably not going to be a good mobile solution, but rather something to replace your desktop and still offer some mobility. There's always tradeoffs with size, power, and energy consumption - that's electronics.

I didn't have a desktop to replace, but this would've done the job. I purchased this notebook (...). That was a few months ago, and you still can't build a better system on Dell for that price.

It runs all the day-to-day stuff fine, and is terrific with graphics-intensive apps. I've been running Far Cry in 1024x768x32 mode with moderate settings, plus high texture quality, and there's very few noticeable slowdowns (Far Cry is known to be a demanding game). It can burn an audio cd in under 5 minutes, and I've done some decent video editing using both Wax 2.0 (freeware from debugmode.com - it's a little buggy) and Windows XP Movie Maker - free download from Microsoft. I've done a little Java coding and HTML editing on it using the NetBeans free IDE/compiler (netbeans.org), and it's fairly quick with that as well. My only complaint here is about the graphics/display configuration - ATI's is alright, but it's no nView. nView is the display configurator/toys/tools thing from nVidia, and it's just nicer than ATI's stuff. It seems like ATI edges past NVidia on the graphics/performance, but nVidia put more effort into their tool. I may look for a GeForceFX on my next system. (As a side note, if you're ever thinking linux, nVidia seems to have marginally more support, although if their standard drivers don't work, don't hold your breath waiting for tech support).

At 15.4", and heavier than most laptops, this is not the most portable solution - if you're on the go a lot, get something smaller. Battery life is also not very good - less than the running time of an average movie on DVD. If you know you'll be able to plug it in, you'll be fine, otherwise it may not be worth lugging.

I purchased this because where I currently live I don't really have the room or the permanency for a desktop system, but wanted similar power, and I think I've gotten pretty much what I expected.

Pros (all about power):
- Great Graphics - the Radeon Mobility 9600 w/128 MB.
- Lots of RAM (1024 MB)
- DVD/CD Writing
- 3.2 GHz --> Fast CPU (for the time being, anyways)
- WiFi b/g + LAN ethernet + modem --> connectivity galore
- Multi-cardreader reads my SD card just fine.

Cons (not particularly mobile):
- It gets pretty hot.
- Screen contrast average (watching movies across a room is difficult, especially darker scenes).
- No nView
- Battery life bad.
- Included software is basic - Just MSWorks, trials of some other real applications. Pick up UT2004, Doom3, or FarCry + a decent mouse for games if you want to test the graphics.

I can't find a bag/backpack big enough to carry this thing plus accessories at the retail stores, and am reluctant to order one online without viewing the size first. I am thinking a Targus Matrix or North Face Bandwidth will work (14.3" x 11.6" x 1.8" are the dimensions).