HP Pavilion ze4145 Notebook PC (1.53 GHz AMD Athlon XP 1800+, 512MB RAM, 40GB hard drive)

Amazon.com Product Description

Enjoying life's luxuries is a pleasure in itself. Enjoying them at a discount is even better. If you're shopping for a portable computer that effortlessly runs power-hungry productivity applications, hit DVD movie titles, and your favorite 3-D games--but you refuse to pay top-dollar--the Hewlett-Packard Pavilion ze4145 notebook PC belongs on your short list.

The ze4145's AMD Athlon XP 1800+ processor plows smoothly through any productivity application or entertainment title. At roughly 7 pounds and barely more than 1.5 inches thick, the ze4145 travels easily, and its 15-inch, active-matrix TFT display coupled with an ATI Mobility Radeon 4X AGP (including 3-D architecture for cutting-edge gaming) look good and, most importantly, make your software and movies look great. The ze4145's DVD/CD-RW combination drive (24x/8x/8x, 8x DVD) lets you watch movies on DVD, listen to and make CDs, and rapidly back up data.

The ze4145 offers generous helpings of memory and storage. Its 40 GB hard drive sucks up large application and data files, and its 512 MB of DDR SDRAM--expandable to a maximum of 1,024 MB--lets you easily juggle several applications simultaneously. An integrated 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) connector makes networking easy. External ports include two USB inputs, a 25-pin parallel port, a serial connector, a PS/2 keyboard-mouse connector, and 15-pin VGA and S-video TV-out plugs. The notebook also includes a 56K integrated modem with an RJ-11 connector.

Bundled software includes Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, InterVideo WinDVD, the HP RecordNow CD-RW recording utility, ArcSoft Funhouse and PhotoImpression editing tools, Corel WordPerfect and Quattro Pro productivity applications, Quicken Financial Center by Intuit, Encyclopedia Britannica Ready Reference, Wild Tangent 3-D games, Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0, and Norton AntiVirus 2002 with a three-month live update.

Product Description

The right stuff, the HP Pavilion ze4145 notebook PC has it, performance and value. Mobile AMD Athlon XP and large amount of RAM gets the job done. The DVD/CD-RW combo optical drive lets you enjoy the latest movies, or record your own music and backups. Enjoy stunning views from the 15-inch XGA TFT display. The track pad "on/off" button slows for fast tying without accidentally losing your cursor. The HP Pavilion ze4145 is built to last according to HP standards, including a spill-resistant Mylar seal under the keyboard.

Customer Reviews:

One problem.......2007-01-27

I purchased this laptop several years ago, and for the most part have been pleased. I have had one recurring problem, relating to the battery & power supply.

After about 6 months, I started having power problems. The battery was no longer charging. It was not a problem with the battery, but rather the power cord. I had several cords fail over the next year and a half. Eventually the interior piece the cord plugs into snapped off of the computer and I had to have it soddered back in. The fix lasted about a year, and again this month I am having power problems.

The design of the cord and where it connects to the computer do not seem to be ideal for people who constantly move the laptop around. If one were to leave it plugged in on a desk most of the time, this might not be an issue.

Repairs haven't been very costly, but it is a nuisance.

Great computer!!!.......2006-07-22

I have had my computer for about 3 years and I have never had a problem. It has never been in for a single repair. It has been used frequently by my two teenagers. Maybe I was just lucky?! The battery did go out about 1 year into its life, but no biggie.

Beware of a costly lemon!.......2004-12-15

I bought my HP Pavilion ze4145 brand new off the shelf at Best Buy. My biggest mistake was not buying the extended warranty.

Just like some car companies, HP built this laptop to last for about as long as the original warranty (1 year).

I can tell you that several costly items will break-down:

1) The first to go is the battery, which by the way does not last very long to justify it's expense to replace.

2) The second to go for me was the ports I used the most. Many users have reported that the motherboard cracks causing the following problems.
a. Parallel Printer port
b. The PCMIA slot of which there is ONLY one even though the slot openings (plural) gives the appearance of two.

3) The third thing to go is the CD/DVD Writer. The reader portion continues to work, but the writer is shot.

4) Finally the most costly breakdown of them all is nothing short of highway robbery. If I had the resources I would take HP to court for this one alone!

The parts that HP use in both their HP and Compaq laptops are faulty. Especially the "inverters". This little part, which used to sell for $25-30 dollars, is the lifeline to the LCD screen functioning. Only HP does not sell the inverter any more. You have to buy the entire LCD assembly for nearly $1500.00 to repair this. Or you can buy the inverter part on Ebay for as much as $150-200 dollars with no guarantee that it works.

If you dont plan on having the laptop around for a while I'd say it was a great PC while it lasted. But expect to pay a heavy toll on maintainance if you want any life out of your investment. And by all means get the longest extended warranty you can get your hands on.

You have been warned!

The power supply exploded.......2004-04-19

In addition to numerous other problems that this laptop has had over the past year, its power supply just EXPLODED.

So not only does this laptop have shoddy hardware, it's a fire hazard.

Still working after 3 montsh.......2003-03-27

I've been using this laptop regulary for 3 months now and wanted to give a report on how it's doing. The good: runs quiet and doesn't overheat, screen is still good, dvd playback is fantastic, relatively stable, burner still working (no coasters yet). The bad: hibernation doesn't work, the video card has a problem with direct x and is subpar for games (I have constant lock ups playing Half Life and video card isn't supported by newer games like America's Army), problems with the touchpad (it also feels flimsy). If you are a student like me, I'd definitely reccomend this laptop. It's got more than enough power to type a report,watch a dvd, or burn some music. Just don't count on being able to play games on it. If you get hp laptop, get one with an amd chip. It seems like the ones with pentiums have more problems and don't perform up to their specs from what I've read in the reviews here.

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