mcyi ZD8000 Review - Page 3

I finally got a tracking number for my X6000

Got mine on Monday! I'm still messing around with it, so I haven't used it much. I'm having an issue with Media Center crashing on me and generating an crash report. Once I figure out how to correct this, without having to re-install the OS, I'll report back on my thoughts.

Sorry to hear about your woes. Did this happen on the first day the first time you powered up your zd8000? Or, do you recall if you might have installed some software before the crashing began?

I originally had the HP Pavilion zd8060ca and the zd8080us (Canadian off-the-shelf models). But then I was reminded of the fact that P4 chips are known for generating a bit of heat. And being that the space inside a laptop is fairly cramped...

Any how, I haven't crossed P4 HP's off my list just yet. Am very eager to hear your report. Lot's of luck buddy!

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the notebook, but this problem irks me. Just when I think I've got it worked out and am so close, it crashes again. I wish I could just figure it out. It seems like it originates on the main menu screen, but beyond that screen, I can navigate somewhat.

I don't know. I'm not looking forward to a reformat, but that may be my only recourse.

i just got my Compaq X6000, play doom 3 full settings and the graphics are out of this world (radeon x600 256mb).
The resolution on the screen is really good i played a HI def video from microsoft and it looks preatty cool.

The X6000 is a P4 based notebook? Sounds like the X6000 isn't affected by the P4 (assuming it's a P4 and not a Centrino) and it's heat issues. I know Doom 3 is quite the hardware pig. CPU included. True?

yea some times the the computer starts going a bit slow but when is really working tha graphics are good and yea it gets a bit hot.

OK, so I finally have my zd8000 working properly. Had to reformat, but in the process, it allowed me to get rid of some of that bloat from the default install, so it's all good.

My initial impressions are that this thing is a beast. It's huge. It sits higher on the table top than my Gateway M675. And it does run hot. Not so hot that I can't type as some have mentioned, but it warms up. I'll have to keep an eye on that as I've only done some basics.

Here's a huge point that I noticed: it runs QUIETER than my Gateway did. The Gateway sounded like sitting on the runway at the airport with the top down. I can hear the fans on the zd8000, but not nearly as bad as it is on the M675.

The ultrabright display is crisp and clear. Videos looked great and webpages are crystal. The only thing I don't like is if I'm sitting with my back towards the window, I can see reflections due to the glass-like surface. Not annoying, but just awkward. It'll take some getting used to.

I like the Media Center interface. It's different and gimicky, so I wonder if I'll continue to use it as time goes on? We'll have to see about that one, but I did hook up the tuner and played with it. Does a good job. Setup was flawless and I opted for the dual tuner config. Picture-in-picture is pretty neat. Haven't recorded anything yet, so I can't speak on that, but I will later on.

One thing I haven't figured out is that even though I've downloaded all of the usual codecs I need to play all of my downloaded video, when using Media Center for playback, some of them won't operate properly. However, when I play them directly in Windows Media Player, they work fine. Something else for me to work on I guess.

So far, I'm very pleased. I'm going to play some games on it today (instead of doing homework like I should) and try and stress it out. I've got Neverwinter Nights loaded and I'm adding Doom 3 and possibly another graphics heavy game. I just want to see what this puppy can't do, as it does everything else with ease.

Kirk out.....

What program are you using to play your "downloaded videos"? I read a review that said if you use PowerDVD MCE 2005 will choke. You need to download or buy WinDVD6. Why this is I don't know. If I had the URL for the review of MCD 2005 I would have included it. Sorry!

My 2 cents...

I'm using the included WinDVD 5, but they play fine in Windows Media Player, but don't load at all in MCE, and I find that to be weird as you'd think MCE was based off of WMP. Go figure.