Does anyone own a X300-11S yet?

Hey, does anyone own a x300-11s yet, if so could you post a review please that would be awesome xD.

 

I have one on the way! I really hope it arrives tomorrow and if so, I'll post asap

 

Is that the one with the GTX? Were did you get it?

 

No it's the European X300-11S, with the 9700 GTS, and from www.laskys.com

 

I also have one of this model on the way. Should be with me this week.

Suek were you making animted movies on youtube by any chance?

 

Errr nope, not me!

 

Ok, thought it might be you.

I'm also curious about the screen. Was going to take a look at it in London, but never got the chance. Ordered it without seeing it...

 

Yay! It arrived, a whole hour after I went to bed. Doh. Went to sleep at 0530 after a lot of WoW play and the courier came at 0630.

So I've taken some pictures which I'll post later and I'm in the process of setting up the laptop now. Will definitely report back, count on it! If there is anything in particular people are interested in let me know

Edit: Since I know some people are waiting to hear about the screen, I don't have anything to report yet. It's still installing itself so it's at a crappy resolution :

 

Going to pick mine up now, I'll report back as soon as i can.

 

Qosmio X300-11W in UK has X9100 and 9800MGTX

 

Nice one Suek- my one is scheduled for Friday =(

Oh well, do post pics and give us your opinion. Cheers.

 

so is the X300-11S laptop worth its amount ?
hows the testing going on?

 

Ok I haven't really got to the fun stuff yet I'm afraid, been multi-tasking all day. But I can give you some first impressions etc.

1. It's not as heavy as I was anticipating. By no means is it a small notebook of coures, but it's manageable, definitely, for the class.

2. It's quiet as anything.

3. It looks awesome. Really. I'm a girl if that wasn't obvious, it's not that it's 'pretty' or anything, and I definitely wouldn't say there's any pink on it at all - I hate pink. The red inside is very shiny and metallic, lovely. Goes great with the little lights which are quite unobtrusive.

4. For normal, Windowsy use it doesn't seem to be working at all, no warmth or anything which is very different from my little Samsung.

5. I like the Touchpad. Yes, it's textured. No, I'll never use it (yay for a mouse), but it's fine. The keyboard takes a little getting used to, from a desktop keyboard. The gloss is a little weird but I can see me finding it comfortable enough before long. My Samsung (Q45) has very very firm keys which actually become uncomfortable after a while if you have even small nails which I do. The Tosh's keys are a a lot more forgiving somehow.

6. It sounds AMAZING. I've not tested it properly - just quickly threw on an AVI but wow there's so much depth to it, I'm just blown away, really

7. The screen is great, really. The resolution is fine for me. The blacks aren't quite as black as my NEC 20WGX2 but that's a very nice looking 20" monitor to compare it to. It remains to be seen what it's like for gaming of course, but I'm happy with it

8. The USB ports are a little stiff. I'm using a Logitech VX Nano with it at the moment and it took a bit of effort to get the receiver in.

9. On pictures, it looks like the speakers get in the way of the keyboard, like the speakers are raised? I've taken pictures which I'll post later but the speakers are NOT raised. In fact they are ever so slightly lower than the rest of the unit but it is very comfortable to rest your hand there, no worries.

10. There's a glowy red light underneath the red grill at the front, near the speakers. Nice.

11. I love that the ethernet port is at the back.

12. Setting it up was a breeze, no worries there. Oh yeah, loads of bloatware to take off. Seriously! The systray was mental to start with.

Hmm I think that's about it so far

 

Very nice Sue, look forward to receiving mine.

I would recommend tweaking the blacks within the nVidia control panel to get that little bit more out of the monitor as another user on here did to get even better results.

Please also report your battery life and if you would find it portable enough to lug around with you.

Thanks...

 

I couldn't find the blacks... just brightness/gamma and each colour channel.. I'm going to download the latest nvidia stuff and see if it gives me anymore too

As for portability I think it's hard to find a bag for it (a laptop specific one at least).. I've ordered a Jansport Lapstation hoping it'll fit, so more on that when it arrives

 

http://www.getpartsonline.com/pa1425u-1ncs.html

I think this one will do, it's on the explore.toshiba site as well, or maybe it's the 15" edition...hmm can't remember, anyway.. the colours seem to fit, no?

 

Device compatibility: 11.1" W by 1.8" D by 14.0" H

No chance :|

 

So you don't think it would fit a regular 17" bag?

I've ordered the Targus XL (which includes a built in rain cover) but may go for a Jansport Revolt (just because it looks nicer- gotta match the laptop ). Both are 17" bags...

How would you rate it against, say, an average 15" laptop in terms of weight? This I ask as I almost went for a Sony FW series instead which is more of a lightweight.

 

Well, the laptop is thicker at the back than at the front - the thickness goes up to 6.5cm. I've gone for the Lap Station because it doesn't have an all around pocket sorta thing, it's got a dedicated zip section with a mesh 'seatbelt' or something to hold the laptop in.. I figure it might fit better.

The Targus XL that people recommend should do it but the one I found in the UK isn't the one that people talk about it seems...

 

I think you could be right on there being two different versions of the XL. I remember seeing two at least.

Anyway, do post pics for us to see. Better to see it in the flesh than some photoshopped looking pics!

I also ordered a docking station for it. Will see how that works out...

 

hi, can you please confirm the weight of the laptop, as I have been looking around and found that some sites say low 3kg and others say high 4kg. Thanks.

 

It's just over 4kg.

 

Ok ok pics are inc! I'm sorry, they're not the greatest, but hey

Basically, the box itself is quite huge, open it up (it opens right out, you don't pull the laptop through the top) and you're greeted by the computer in some foamy covering, and plastic, safely snug in polystyrene.

There's a box with accessories, which I've photographed:



As you can see, the charge is quite big. There's a remote in there, along with a little battery for it (CR2016 if you were wondering), Quickstart guide, User Manual, Warranty Info, McAfee stuff.

The laptop itself (on my bed and reflecting the curtain pattern behind):





And this is one of it open on my small desk (note it's tucked behind my other LCD!), not much space and err.. a long hair that managed to stray onto the keyboard. It shows the glossy nature of the keyboard quite well, along with some of the lights. The reflection is a pattern on my desktop.



And here's one to show the angle of the speaker, how it's actually a lot more flat than some pics have shown it - as I said it's slightly lower than the surroundings, and very comfortable to rest on. Even picked up a little bit of dust already! :O

 

Very nice- thanks suek, looks like a winner to me!

I'd be afraid of fingerprinting the whole thing up!

 

Actually, I haven't put any prints on it yet. Yes, it's very glossy, but it doesn't actually seem to get coated in prints!

And the remote is *so* cute.

 

Am I right in saying that the remote slides into the side of the base? Looks very unique! Could've sworn I read that somewhere...

 

Yep it goes into the Express Card slot. Just push it in and it pops out a bit again so you can take it out

You don't have to keep it there - there is a blanking plate too, but it's very handy.

 

Nice pics,
I was just wondering what is the screen like glossy or matt finish, like how does it do in sunlight?
And also does it have a digital sound output? or the the HDMI output also carry sound?

 

That is a nice touch! Especially useful if connected via HDMI at a distance I would imagine.

It is glossy. Glossy screens always handle sunlight worse than matt screens but have better colour fidelity and make blacks appear deeper.

To the second, yes and yes.

 

thanks .

 

hey suek can ya post some performance benchmarks or 3dmark maybe? xD a picture of the screen when its on would be cool to see how good the quality of the screen is. Thanks for the pics you posted earlier, looks nice

 

Will see about performance benchmarks and stuff.

I purposely avoided taking pics of the screen with it on because it just comes out like utter rubbish with the camera. I can't get a decent representation of it no matter what I do :-(

 

Ah ok, well ty in advance if ya show some benchmarks =).

 

Just saw it today in PCW. Looked interesting. Liked the speed and screen is very good (requires some tweaking through panel manager i.e. gamma and contrast). The red scheme is like marmite; you'll either love it or hate it. I am pretty neutral on it. Mouse pad is ok (wish it had an edge to it) and keyboard is decent. Sound is amazing as mentioned- probably the best in its class if not the best amongst retail laptops. On the portability side, it's a monster and I would class it as a true desktop replacement. Build quality is excellent. Portability wise, fine if you plan to carry it around sometimes, but if a lot more mobility is needed you would probably want something smaller or otherwise you would need a backpack to reduce the cumbersome nature of it.



On first view I would rate it 4/5.

Overall, a very impressive laptop.

 

I think I'm a bit overly fussy about the screen. I've been spoilt, and I don't really have a good basis for comparison in the laptop market. I might put it up against my brother's Macbook Pro and see how it fares. My external LCD cost me nearly £300 when I bought it and you can buy laptops for that price!

Incidentally, this is the first time I'm writing an extended piece on the laptop itself (have been posting from my PC keyboard) and I have to say it's a really great keyboard. Very responsive, you can type nice and softly if you want to, and like I said, the keys are **** comfortable. It seems a bit of an odd keyboard at first because of the shine but my fingerprints so far are really not destroying the aesthetics as I was initially worried about.

 

To be honest, once tweaked, I compared the screen to the other surrounding units in the same class and found it to be just as good if not better than them. This doesn't usually have to be done on laptops, but I think this is an exceptional case.

I think every keyboard takes some getting used to. For example, I'm typing from a 10" netbook at the moment and my speed isn't bad. On the Toshiba, being of bigger dimensions, I would expect it to be quite a bit better (especially as I need the numpad quite a bit!).

You should have seen the PCW unit. Their lighting makes it so the fingerprints really stand out. This will bother some, but for me, I'm not fussy enough for it to be an issue.

 

Out of interest, any idea what levels you set the colours etc to to get them optimal?

Obviously it's all personal

I think the best laptop screen for colours etc I've seen is the Asus G2S... I'll be able to sit both side by side next week I hope and see if it actually is any better (just going from memory heh).

 

Funny you ask, I was going to note the settings (as a comparison to other screens is really a good way to make adjustments), but stepped away for a moment before someone else had a play around with it. Roughly, contrast was increased to around 65% and gamma was reduced by around 15-20% if I'm not mistaken. I also applied some 'digital sharpening' I think.

 

What shop did you see it at (assuming that your in the UK), at my local pc world they had the laptop in stock but didn't have any on show and they weren't going to get one out to let me look either lol.

 

As you're in London you can go to one of two locations; PC World- Tottenham Court Road or Staples Corner. Both have it on display.

Micro Anvika also have one on display I believe.

 

Ok thanks =).

 

I've been trying to get a look at the new Qosmios, but they don't appear on PCWorld's website yet, and there's minimal review info on the web.
You say you've seen the X300 in London, were the other new Qosmios (F50 and G50) on show too?

Thanks!

 

No problem...

They are on the PCW site but you have to do a manual search or type this code: 741897 into the search box.

I don't recall seeing the F50/G50 although I wasn't looking out for them to be honest.

You will see more reviews as the system gets more popular. It has literally only just been released onto the market and has kept a fairly low profile since ironically.

 

If you're thinking of buying one, I really recommend Laskys ( www.laskys.com).

I got mine for £1029 delivered. I ordered it late Wednesday night, it shipped Thursday and arrived Monday morning with Parcelforce. Really can't beat the price at the mo - most places want nearly £1200.


Anyway! Good news, I have a bag, and it fits I bought the Jansport Lap Station. The Tosh fits very snugly but it does indeed fit. The thickness of the laptop prevents the little strap from being totally secure within that, but there is a mesh bit that seals over the laptop. Plus, it's in an entire zipped section on its own so it's quite safe.

 

That's good news suek. I will try out the Targus XL and see how that works out. At least I now know there is an alternative in case things go pear shaped with it. I do prefer the individual compartment concept. Did you pay around the £30 mark for it?

I did also opt for a 3 year warranty because of the issues nVidia were having... just in case

 

Yep, it was £29.99 + postage from York Bags on eBay, they have their own website too though. Good deal since the RRP is £90!

The other compartment in the bag, the other main one is well constructed - I didn't want one all split up into little bits, so it's just a big space which is great.

I'm going to upgrade the warranty too, but you can do it any time in the first year, so I'll spread the cost a bit heh

 

I think the RRP's tend to be quite inflated but £30+p&p is a decent deal. The people behind Jansport also own Eastpak, Wrangler and some other premium labels. It's almost like one company buying out Nike, Reebok etc. and putting a high price tag on them so I would generally avoid paying top dollar on these bags! It seems the Lap Station is the only one with two compartments so I'm feeling more inclined to go for that as it's a real deal maker... I can't stand combining everything in the same pocket. Is there a seperate external zip to access the laptop compartment or is it within the bag?

 

The laptop section is pretty much laptop dedicated - there is a separate external zip. It's slimmer, the zip runs all the way around so you can open the bag out, sort of like a book?

http://www.ebags.co.uk/jansport/lap_station/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=119974

The pictures there illustrate it quite well, although the separate pockets in the laptop section are actually a bit different in mine!

It feels very comfortable on, light even, which is quite an accomplishment.

Then the other main compartment just opens like any normal bag, and there's the front panels too

 

That's a very helpful illustration! I'd be very surprised if you managed to fit the power brick into the base. I don't think I would be able to digest a £90 bag very well (as some others paid- ouch!) but at the price you paid, certainly seems like a very good purchase. The carrying straps look really well made too.

Edit: Just saw the XL pics. Seems to be similar although am not sure about the curved second compartment for fitting larger items:

 

How about some 3DMARK06 scores for a start?
Does it have the 1400x900 res. or the 1900x1200 res.?