A505-S6969 Thoughts

Hello everyone,

I just got my Toshiba Satellite A505-S6969 from Newegg yesterday via UPS.

First off:

The laptop looks and feels awesome! It is not too heavy either!

The trackpad works great but its placement sucks (at least for me). I am used to a Macbook Pro trackpad that is centered. My right wrist is having a hard time getting used to bending slightly to the left. I think HP has also implemented to new left placed trackpad...I wonder why?

Note: If you are going to use Vista...do all the updates from Windows and drivers from Toshiba that are available. I had a problem with the HDD/UBS copy at first but then updated the driver from Toshiba's site. I hate to say this once again but VISTA SUCKS. LOL. I am on my way to installing Windows 7 64-bit.

The HDMI connection is a little tricky. I haven't figured out how to adjust my Samsung LCD TV, since the some of the desktop is not showing up (I would appreciate some help with this).

I will be installing some intense games soon and will let you all know how it goes.

 

I've never noticed the touchpad being off to the left until now. It isn't a big deal since if it bothers you, just use a mouse.

 

LOL. I know its not that big of a deal, just a nuisance.

UPDATE: I installed Windows 7 RC and now the computer flies. I also installed Ubuntu 9.04 64-bit dual-boot. Ubuntu makes Vista look like something a caveman invented.

I really am loving this laptop. I am loving the fact that I got it for 799 plus 15 bucks for shipping from newegg.

Does anyone know if the Windows 7 free upgrade will allow the RC users to simply enter a code or install something. Or, will it take a complete reinstall?

 

well, the touchpad isn't a deal for me lol I use a mouse

Congrats for your laptop, i envy your GPU

 

XxLblinkxX,

Have you tried Ubuntu 9.04 64-bit on your system. It rocks. Just thought I would let you know. The wi-fi works right out of install & all you have to do is enable the proprietary ATI driver.

 

Glad to hear that you like your laptop. You cannot beat it for the price, imo.

 

Can someone pls tell me how the battery life of the A505-S6969 is? (say, for example, on power saving mode, with decent brightness...)

 

Alright! I wanted to hear that Now I gotta partitionate my HD and of course download latest Ubuntu lol

thanks for the heads up! +1

 

How's the screen? I was disappointed that this model doesn't have the LED screen like the 6965 but since the 6965 has gone up in price, this model is tempting me again.

 

Oh No! Newegg doesn't seem to be selling the A505-6969 anymore.

 

Wow... I wonder why. Perhaps too many sells? xD

 

To get my A300 working with my Bravia, I had to click on the HDMI connection thing on the desktop.

Or there's probably something that you can do in CCC or Windows Personalization. I think there's some settings in there that you could try.

 

Hmm, here's a link to it:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114653

It does say sold out. I'm chatting with a customer service rep now to see if they'll be getting more... Hmm, their customer service chat people at least have no clue: "Unfortunately we do not have any details on upcoming changes in inventory or pricing. I apologize that I do not have any information regarding this."

She told me to keep watching newegg.com for updates duh

Krista

 

It's back in stock!!

I wish they'd drop the price a smidge.

 

I was getting ready to pull the trigger on this laptop at Newegg on Saturday, when it went SOLD OUT. I got on the alert list and was notified this afternoon. So I went ahead and ordered....looking forward to it. I also decided to go ahead and get the extended 12-cell battery from another seller. The dang battery cost gave me more heartburn that the laptop itself. Not cheap.

 

Hope you can share detalles once you recieve it that would be awsome

 

Of course.... will be giving it a really workout this weekend after I get it on Friday. First thing up to see how she works will be some gaming (a WoW raid). Outside of that, it will be a web browsing system.

 

How much battery life does this thing get, jacob?

 

You know, I haven't actually timed the battery life...but it is pretty good for the system specs and running Vista. I don't think anyone will be disappointed.

 

Do you have an estimate? I am thinking of buying one of these myself.

 

Out of stock again. Looks like it's pretty popular... or they don't get very many at a time.

 

Bummer. I was planning on ordering one today.

 

Lol!...

 

That is great, blink. Laugh at my pain and suffering

 

They'll be back...

 

Shes right! ... dont worry abaddon4180, they'll be back since its a top seller

 

I hope it is back up soon. I need it by Wednesday of next week.

 

Hmm it's it's not back in time, you could get the A505-6965 from Best Buy... video card isn't as good but it has better features otherwise.

 

I received my 6969 on Friday mid-day. I got it unpacked and was surprised at how quickly overall it was up and running. Only some minor configuration setting were needed and it was at the desktop ready to work.

The first thing I did was to remove all the bloatware, Norton, Trail Office and Works. I have access to McAfee's full suite via licensing with my company and I am much more familiar with it, so decided to go that route. Once Norton was gone and McAfee installed, I moved on. I also recently bought my own copy of Office 2007 via a program with my office as well for this latop. I have not installed that yet.

Next, I got it hooked up to my network and had it check on MS updates, and there were a TON needed for Vista. This took quite a while to get them all installed (probably 2-3 hours). Now, the basic system was ready to go.

One of the reasons I went with this laptop was for the video card. I enjoy gaming a few times a week (WoW), and wanted to be able to do decided graphics to including raiding (which was my issue with the current laptop -- not beefy enough to handle anything beyond a 5 man -- and even then it was poor). I fired up the online installer of WoW and let it sit for the rest of the day evening to get all its updates and installed (it will take probably 6-8 hours to get it off the internet ready to go).

The next day I checked everything out and it looked good. I started using it and was really happy with its overall performance. The feel of the laptop is very solid and easy to get use to. The keyboard feel is really nice, I like it better than my current HP. I also like the ablity to quickly turn off/on the touchpad...a very nice feature for when I want to use a regular notebook mouse. I also found the screen to be vibrant and easy to look at. Sometimes I have found various dispalys to be "too intense" where it can hurt your eyes without some adjustmenst. No issues here.

I am getting adjusted to the touchpad a bit, i seem to have some issues getting just the right placement for scrolling, but I think it is a more of a "me" issue than anything. It does appear to work well, but my fingers just don't naturally go to the right spot yet, but I think that will come with time of use.

Heat - one thing i noticed was that she does seem to run a tad warm. The vent on the left side works well, and gets it out, but she does seem to a good bit warmer doing normal operations than I was use to.

Battery life - the standard battery seems to go FAST. It will last a little under 2 hours depending on tasks being done. I did order the 12-cell extended battery but that won't be here for a few more days. Being able to plug in isn't that big a deal, but it is nice to go full wireless for a few hours. We'll see how the bigger battery does in a few days.

Gaming, I had a few free hours to give the new system the WoW test, and it peformed flawlessly. I was able to set the card to mid-high settings and it looked awesome (55-60 fps). I did some leveling of an alt to get a feel for it and man, this laptops video card is SWEEEET. I also got into a 25 man raid on my main, and it took work PERFECT. I was able to roll through it without any performance issues, about 35-40 fps.

Overall, extremely happy so far with this laptop. It is going to take some getting use to the size of it, as I am moving away from a 12.1" HP that is intended for travel, so a 16" seems huge, but that was kind of the point. I won't be traveling with this one, and it is mainly for mobility within the house.

 

thats just GREAT! You should able to handle WoW on Max settings, since your on 4650 lol Im not sure though.. anyway its good like you say

cheers

 

its back in stock at newegg yall

 

wow! lets see how long it last now xP

 

Weird, they didn't send me an email alert.

 

I can't believe I'm still wavering on buying this puppy So what if I have 4 good working computers at home!! *sigh*. Okay that's the problem... but dang... it would certainly be an upgrade to my (perfectly servicable) S96Jm

Quick, everyone tell me, if you have it, how wonderful it is... OR tell me some terrible problem you're having with it that'll stop me from spending money.

Krista

 

wow.... hummm i dont know xD S6965 is GREAT! I best S6969 is better on certain things, like for gaming. But less HD space

 

If I could I would. I have had it a week now, been using it every night, and am extremely happy with it. Sure it has only a 250GB hard drive, but for what I do it works. Plus, you can always get a bigger one later. Pretty easy to swap out if it is that big of a deal, and those are cheap.

Overall, I really like this laptop.

 

dammit. newegg out of stock again. do u think thyll restock it? cause on the site says its deactivated/

 

Who knows... Since its deactivated we might not see it around for some time.

 

dammit. really wanted that notebook..

 

What is a Deactivated Item?
When a product is out-of-stock, it may show as "Deactivated" on the item page. This could mean that the item is no longer available and we are searching for a new supplier or it has reached the end of its product life cycle and will no longer be available at all.

Thats sucks there and also i think the Best Buy A505-S6965 is also out of stock. One of my family members wanted to get it after seeing how good mines is

 

lol same here. Only that the problem is that we live in Mexico, and that specific model cannot be found here