Hewlett Packard Pavilion ZD8000 Laptop Review

The Hewlett Packard Pavilion ZD8000 laptop performs admirably when stacked up next to other media notebooks, and the hardware is exceptional. The case is standard, with an off-center trackpad with raised scroll surface, a full keyboard with a numeric keypad, and volume and wireless controls below the screen.

The HP Pavilion ZD8000 is a Media Center monster weighing in at 10.5 pounds and has just about everything you can think of stuffed into its 11 x 15-inch body. There is a DVD burner, a six-in-one card reader, four USB 2.0 ports, and a FireWire port. The system uses a Harman Kardon speaker system and has a beautiful 17-inch LCD. HP has begun using brighter and clearer screens, resulting in better viewing angles and great DVD playback.

The Hewlett Packard Pavilion ZD8000's motherboard includes PCI Express and a PCI Express(otherwise known as ExpressCard/54) slot on the side. HP has chosen a PCI Express-enabled graphics card, the ATI Radeon Mobility X600 with 256MB of memory for high-end game playing. This graphics accelerator will handle anything you throw at it.

The HP Pavilion zd8000 also includes 1GB of 400-MHz memory and a USB digital drive bay, which is a USB flash or hard drive that pops into the side of the laptop.

The star of the Media Center is an external dual TV/FM radio tuner manufactured by Adaptec. This dual tuner let us bring in two shows at once and record one show while watching another. The Hewlett Packard Pavilion ZD8000 runs Windows Media Center 2005, which looks incredibly rich and full on the huge screen. You're able to record TV and burn it to CD or DVD with Sonic Solution's embedded Media Center burner.

To add TV or video to a DVD, just select "Other Programs", insert a disk, and with HP's new, slim remote, the 4X DVD-R burner kicks in and does the rest. The Hewlett Packard Pavilion ZD8000 is a very powerful, well equipped machine that's capable of handling any tasks; just don't get too far from an AC power outlet!