HP Pavilion ZV5220US Review

Overall Rating

Excellent screen, comfortable keyboard, built in WiFi is amazing, battery lasts longer than expected with this big screen, decent performance

The fan is almost constantly running (at least on mine) Heavy for a laptop.

Although this is my first laptop, I have had experience with many in the past 6 years or so. When I first saw this one I had to have it because of the screen, HP's reputation, the mobile processor which saves battery power, the large hard drive, 512 mb of memory, and of course the WiFi.

I compared this while in Circuit City to the other laptops around it. Yes, some of those other computers had the same features and some had better performance (on paper) but overall I decided this was the better value. You really get a lot for a fairly cheap price as far as computers are concerned.

I no longer use my Compaq desktop because my HP notebook is much more powerful and of course mobile. I use this for serious gaming, web browsing, downloading music, watching movies on the widescreen, and other basic computing needs. The processor is not the quickest, but it was made specifically for a laptop so two of its main goals is to save power and stay cool. It is definitely not a Pentium 4, but it gets the job done.

The 32mb of dedicated video memory is not enough in my opinion. I wish HP had added 64mb, but of course that would have raised the price slightly. I will add memory soon. The system stays cool for the most part, but the fan is always running and is not quiet.

The speakers are high quality for a laptop. I could watch DVDs, play games, or listen to music easily without my desktop speakers plugged in or without headphones.

Even though the screen is 15.4 it is fairly easy to find cases for this computer. A lot of computers these days are widescreen so there are a lot of cases out there that fit them. I bought a cheap, $20, Targus case the same time I purchased the computer.

My computer came with two rebates. One was $150 and the other was an option for a $50 rebate or $300 in Marriot Hotel coupons. Now, you can find this computer much cheaper than the initial $1300 or so I paid for it and you can also find a wider range of laptops with similar, and better, performance for around the same price. I have seen other HPs with 80GB hard drives, faster processors (not specifically mobile), and better installed software for around the same price now but I will be keeping mine for a few more years.