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    A130 custom-built on the way -- advice?

    Discussion in 'Toshiba' started by soul_schizm, Apr 16, 2007.

  1. soul_schizm

    soul_schizm Newbie

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    Hi everyone,

    I have a A130 custom job on the way. I've heard good and bad, and was wondering if anyone could share their experiences. Here are the specs:

    Core2duo 7200 2Ghz
    2GB DDR2 RAM
    120 GB HDD
    GeForce Go 7600 256MB
    8x DVD+/- CDRW
    TrueBrite display
    Metallic Onyx Blue exterior
    Bluetooth internal

    I've heard the battery won't last very long with this config. Would an extra, hi-cap battery buy me much more time? Not that I'm in need of being portable all the time, but I do want to be able to go completely wireless some times, say 25% of the time unconnected.

    I went with the Toshiba A130 because it seemed like a real good tradeoff between price, power (wanted the GeForce 7600), and some portability (didn't want the 17" desktop-replacement, too big). Any advice, things to watch out for, etc. would be great.
     
    soul_schizm, Apr 16, 2007
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  2. MaxxxRacer

    MaxxxRacer Notebook Consultant

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    The a130 is a decent laptop, just be gentle with it because laptops with dedicated video chips tend to fail more easily.

    To ensure the laptop has a long healty life, avoid blocking the heatsink vent. Letting the laptop overheat will kill the video chip before it will kill anything else.

    secondly, dont press too hard on the kb. those video chips are sensitive to board flex and will fail if the motherboard flexes too much (I see this all too often).

    the extra large battery isnt worth it IMO. it kills the portability due to the extra weight and it just doesnt fit well with the laptop.
     
    MaxxxRacer, Apr 17, 2007
    #2
  3. soul_schizm

    soul_schizm Newbie

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    That's all good advice. I was unaware of the extra risk involved with having dedicated gpx.

    Maybe I'll just concentrate on a really good case and an extra ac adapter, and leave the extra battery.

    There's another thread on this, but I also noticed there's no longer a A130 customize option on the website! Am I getting one of the last of the mohicans? :D
     
    soul_schizm, Apr 18, 2007
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  4. adampk17

    adampk17 Notebook Evangelist

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    I got my A130, that is very similar to yours, just last Thursday. I haven't let the battery run dead but it's apparent that it does not last very long with our config, I'd say 2 hours max, less if you are gaming, which I would not recommend doing on battery power. So far I'm quite happy with it, be glad that you got a A130 while you could, especially since you wanted the 7600, that card doesn't appear to be available with the new A200/205.
     
    adampk17, Apr 20, 2007
    #4
  5. andyasselin

    andyasselin Notebook Deity

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    Hi where do order custom ones? i did,nt think they did that
     
    andyasselin, Apr 20, 2007
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  6. adampk17

    adampk17 Notebook Evangelist

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    adampk17, Apr 20, 2007
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