Played with Toshiba X205 today at Best Buy - mmmmm!

Wow! I walked into my local Best Buy today and just swung by the laptop section (as I impatiently await my Vostro 1500), and they had a Toshiba X205 on display. I was so close to just buying one and cancelling my Dell order.

The quality looks great, except the sucker is huge. Even though I don't travel so much, I just can't see lugging this sucker around too much, or throwing it on my lap. However, the HD-DVD drive is definitely an attractive feature (I have an Xbox 360 with HD-DVD). In general here's the significant pros cons on this laptop (with my recommendation in cons that would convince me):

Pros:
(1) 8700m GT 256MB up to 768MB with TurboCache
(2) HD-DVD Drive
(3) Big Bright Screen
(4) Full keyboard layout with numpad
(5) HDMI
(6) Speakers - WOW! Harmon/Kardan with a woofer!
(7) Dual HDD drives

Cons:
(1) Vista Only, plus only 32-bit offer WinXP as an option
(2) 1.8GHz CPU, why not at least the 2.0GHz CPU
(3) 1440x900 resolution - good for 15.4" but 1680x1050 minimum for 17"
(4) Overall size and weight. Just too much of a brick IMHO.

Minimally if they offered XP and 2.0GHz CPU I'd probably have been sold. I can live with the lower resoulution and size. I can almost justify and/or afford a $2K laptop, but I'd have to dump another $140 for a copy of XP OEM, and the CPU is just a little to light for my tastes. Ok it's fine now, but want a little more oompf for future proofing somewhat.

Given if this offered an 8800m GT with the 2.0GHz CPU I'd have bought it in a heartbeat for $2000.

 

They have a higher end version that has a 2.0 processor and 1680x1050 resolution. If it didn't weigh so much I'd seriously be considering it too.

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?seg=HHO&poid=383432&coid=-33936

 

Yeah, I saw that, but the 0.2 GHz increase in CPU speed and additional 120GB in HDD space doesn't justify $500 more in price. That should be the $2000 version, and the $2500 version should have the 2.4GHz CPU with 400GB HDD.

I think the 8600m and 2.2GHz CPU in my Vostro 1500 should be more than adequate for the occasional gaming I do on the go. Should I need a little more oomph, I will probably try to O/C my GPU down the road.

 

i think the higher spec one also has a 512mb 8700gt, rather than the 256mb. i definitely like the laptop too, although, am slightly annoyed toshiba dont offer a full 1920x1200 screen to take full advantage of that HDDVD drive. I imagine they dont so that they can still flog their Qosmio range,

 

Wow that's one heck of a computer!

 

I'm happy with mine.

 

I played around with it also at BB. Very nice speakers, not heavy at all for a 17"er, screen quality is above average, and the build quality in general isn't too shabby considering its a consumer notebook. Overall its quite nice but I hate 17" laptops in general. The A205 is also a nice lappy, only difference from X205 is it is a 15.4"er, only two speakers, and an HD2600 instead of 8700GT (much cheaper & lighter though)

 

I reviewed this laptop in July:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3856
I truly enjoyed using the machine, especially as a multimedia hub. The speakers are absolutely amazing. You can read the review to get my other impressions.

If only it was configurable, I'd take out the HD DVD drive, stick with the minimum amount of memory and upgrade aftermarket, get the higher res screen and the faster processor, and perhaps go with a single hard drive. Going that route it would most likely end up with a lesser MSRP than current.

At any rate, I did not experience any performance issues with the 1.8GHz CPU.

 

Couldnt agree more !

 

Too bad it looks so ugly, imo. The same with the M1730....what was Dell thinking...

 

Generally it sounds pretty great, but the HD-DVD drive sounds like a bit of a gimmick, and IMO the only really pointless part. Will it actually do anything for you, given that the monitor size and resolution isn't so hot? If you were going to hook this beast up to an HD-capable TV screen of abnormal size then that would be fine, but without this extra screen is HD-DVD going to give you anything beyond a much higher pricetag?

 

If you see it in person it doesn't look ugly. The only part of it that looks bad that I saw was 'TOSHIBA' written in size 5000 font across the back of the screen cover.

 

does anyone know if that laptop will ever come out in the uk?

 

It's not in the same league as the M1730, it's prettier than the M1730.
Dell is still capable of designing ugly machine, wat a relieve.

 

@harlo115
Yes the laptop is in the UK only the higher end model and known as the X200 not x205
I enquired with Toshiba whether the two hard disks were in raid0 which would be a great performance boost, I miss the dual drives I had in my desktop

I am so tempted to get the Tosh X200 average best price £1364 which is very comparable to similar specced laptops from the likes of Rock.

***ooops forgot to say*****
toshiba told me that they were "most likely in raid 0" so still no definite answer BOO!

 

Did you see it in person either X205 or M1730??

 

The drives in the X205 are simply two separate drives, no RAID.

 

The x205-S9349 is an impressive combination of power and actual functionality available for its price range. Most of the best features of the x205 are not mentioned or given little more than a cursory nod.

-insanely cool even while it 8700GT is massively overclocked. (GPU remains at 68C even with 24+% OCs! Casing can be described as "a little warm" under these conditions, but nowhere near "hot".)

-Quiet, even while cooling a massively overclocked 8700GT.

-Speakers... while I know people mention them, the difference between these speakers and the ones you usually get in a laptop are worth re-mentioning. They are good enough to show you how bad other laptop speakers are and indeed good enough to show you how bad some recordings are.

-Battery... almost 3 hours of battery life (in power saving mode) with 2 hard disks, the second fastest single-card mobile GPU in the world, a 17" widescreen display, and a full set of nice speakers... Let's just say I am nothing less than impressed.

-Size and portability... despite its 9.2 pounds and larger size, the x205 is easily manueverable and I bring it everywhere I ever brought my 15" laptop that it replaced. Being so cool and quiet (especially compared to my old 15") I actually find the x205 MORE portable as the comfort of not having my lap/wrists/palms seared or my ears assaulted by fan noise means I can do more and get away with more. Weight/size is the least annoying of heat, noise, or weight/size as more often than not your lap, your shoulder, or your carry case are mitigating the weight and frankly the size thing only becomes an issue when you need to fit it in a cramped place.

-Only a T7100... The 8700 + T7100 combo outperforms an 8600 with a T7500 very VERY easily in games at stock clocks. (especially the DDR2 versions) Nevermind if we OC the 8700 (and the 8600). Honestly, most people have no idea of the processing power they actually require and the T7100 is no slouch in any way, shape, or form.

-Only 1440x900... I'll take my 17" 1440x900 Toshiba over any 17" 1680x1050 Dell in existance. Our company has a deal going with Dell, and despite the fact I do like the Dell machines I have seen in general, the screens are nowhere near as nice as the Toshiba one. I wouldn't mind more pixels overall, but one look at the Dell 17" 1680x1050 screens reminds me why it just plain doesn't matter.
Honestly I have found the 1440x900 screen is a blessing in disguise actually as the 8700s achillies' heel is high resolutions. Having "only" a 1440x900 screen (roughly equivalent to 1280x1024 in pixel count) means the 8700GTs 128-bit memory interface is less strained at native resolutions in most games. (note please that the 8600GT is in the exact same boat)

I'd say its the little things that the stat sheet doesn't show you that make the difference...
The Toshiba engineers really did sit down and do the math on what would truly make the most difference per price differential and the x205-S9349 really does deliver.

I am very happy with my x205 and would recommend it to anyone looking for a 17" laptop with gaming capability or entertainment as one of the priorities.

 

First I would take out the HD-DVD drive, and upgrade the processor. 1.8GHZ at $2000, thats a little low. I do not like it.

 

Why remove the HD-DVD drive?
Toshiba tosses it in...
its frankly their "everything-and-the-kitchen-sink-super-multi-drive-with HD-DVD".

Note the fact that the Toshibas are not configurable brings the upside that you can have one tomorrow.

1.8GHz T7100 is included in the $1750 x205-S9349 model.
Why would you pay $2000 for a $1750 computer?

The only computer which comes anywhere near touching the performance/price of the lower x205 model for gaming in that price range are configured boxes featuring the clevo M570RU. (and you'd have to haggle with the salesperson to get better)

 

Where did you get an X205-s9349 for $1750? It's been pretty much $2000 everywhere I've looked.

 

If you consider the $100 rebate, you can get it at $1749.99 from Amazon.
Hmm is it easy to qualify/get the rebate?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1187848701&sr=8-2


Also, I think Cosco and J&R and Circuit City have their own promotion too giving 5 HDDVD, printers and such on top of these prices....

 

I just noticed the Circuit City one. TBH I'd prefer the S9359 for the features it offers, but it's well over $1000 more than the laptop I've ordered and only offers me an 8700m and 17" screen, and I'd lose 200MHz in the CPU and have to spend another $140 for Windows XP. Nice laptop, but quite expensive.

 

When I first saw this PC I was like BUY then I saw HD-DVD I was like no thanks.

 

the x205 is a beast

 

Why? Microsoft camp is supporting HDDVD....

 

Man with those specs nothing could stop it. It sure is the king of the jungle!

 

If your budget is lower than $1750, then I cannot recommend the x205.

Let's keep in mind the vostro is a low-price business laptop designed with the option to add the ability to game a bit.

I don't think its really fair to compare them as they have different purposes.

The Vostro is designed to satisfy a lesser level of performance expectation and thus has lower-end hardware in almost every category except CPU.

The x205 (yes even the lower-end unit) will bury the Vostro in gaming in any flavor because it is limited to the GDDR2 8600.

Comparing the Vostro 1500 to the x205 is much like comparing the x205 to the $4000+ SLI "laptop/luggables".


I am still confused as to why people are having such troubles with Vista...
It requires some tweaking, but works much like any other non-SP1 version of windows Microsoft has ever released.

 

Microsoft doesn't mean anything though they don't make movies LOL. I wanted a PC with either Blu-Ray or DVD. Blu-Ray for future preferences or DVD because its cheap and I can always switch drives later. Being forced into an unwanted format kind of sucks. Plus I can always hook up the HD-DVD 360 drive I have to the PC and watch it anyway LOL.

 

It does NOT work much like Windows XP. For one, they jumbled up the way Windows Explorer and Start menu auto organize files. Why change this? It was fine the way it was. At least have an option to allow it to be like XP without removing the functionality in Vista. If you do use the existing "XP" style desktop and start menu I lose lots of items from the Start menu that *I* installed.

I have had significant decreases in performance for apps and games too. Until the drivers have matured and Microsoft decides not to force features and/or configurations on us without an easy way to set it how we want, or at least "XP" style, then I'm not touching it.

On my gaming PC, I tried using Vista exclusively and had all sorts of issues with gaming performance, audio hiss/crackle, CTD's and just general annoyance of manipulating where I wanted to go on the desktop. Not to mention the *CONSTANT* HDD activity, UAC popups, and incompatabilities with lots of existing software and games, all which worked perfectly fine in XP.

 

Yeah ditch Vista, add XP and the 2 GIG processor, and it would be out the door!

 

I have computers with both XP and Vista... I don't really notice a difference once they are tweaked how I want them.

Performance and other things can be fixed by learning what it takes to control your own OS.

Most of Vista's foibles are fixable...
UAC you can kill with a setting (and a reboot), honestly most people shouldn't. If you don't understand why, then you should not turn it off. (and should frankly never use XP again until you figure out why your normal account should not have Admin access)

Hard disk accesses can be turned off by learning WHY it accesses the hard disk... (hotfixes help as well)

Performance and the compatibility can be fixed with the hotfixes.

Crashes/misbehavior are driver issues which frankly, Toshiba did a good job of removing.
(once you get rid of their bloatware)
I haven't had even the most remote fracton of the issues you complain about.

Interface? oh come on... this is a matter of getting used to clicking or double-clicking in a slighty different place.

Your preference is your preference... but honestly, the vast majority of the complaints against Vista originate between seat and keyboard.

EVERY OS Microsoft ships has issues.
I just roll with the punches and learn to fix/twiddle the OS to do what I need it to do.
I suggest you learn to do the same.

 

Not really. Vista has its marked share of issues, period. I did try to tune it but lost some functionality that was supposed to be part of Windows. Try switching to "XP style" and you will lose start menu icons. Hell, half the time I'd install something and there was not trace of a Start menu item at all.

It has no marked improvements that I can tell. I've been an early adopter with PC technology for decades. I was the first in line for Windows 95, 98, emarassingly ME, and XP. Each had their decided advantages (except ME).

I want simplicity, and get to the files and locations I want. You just cannot tune Vista the way you want it, and what you can tune is not easily adjusted.

Vista also is a performance hog. I was getting 10-20% slower FPS in the SAME GAME when played in XP. Sure, it may be driver issues, but that's just another reason not to switch yet. If it weren't for DirectX 10 I would never consider it. The way DirectX 10 is looking to be so power hungry, it'll be years before hardware can seriously take advantage of it.

I'll just hold out for Windows Vienna, and keep Vista as a dual boot option for that occasional DX10 only game (nothing yet) or spectacular effects that you can't get with DX9.

I tried it out, I really did. I built a new gaming desktop PC with Vista only. But had to go with XP. Audio "crackle", movie hangups/skips, game performance, and interface quirkiness just drove me away, and quickly. None of these issues were present in XP. Why should I torture myself?

 

Kernal..or anyone, I wonder if the 8700 die size is smaller than the 8600? Could that be why it runs cooler?