ETA on Toshiba Puma Notebooks

After reading this article:

http://www.laptoplogic.com/news/detail.php?id=5213

it sounds like these notebooks should already be available on Toshiba's website.

Especially given this statement: " The new range of Satellite laptops are already available via Toshiba's online store, major online stores and retailers."

But I can only see one Puma notebook so far, the A300. Does anyone know (or can estimate) when the other satellite Puma models will appear? I am particularly interested in the U400.

 

Hi,
The 13.3" Toshiba U405-S2852 is now sold at Best Buy.

Toshiba U405-S2852
Best Buy sku: 8897615
Current sell price: $899.99

Specs:

• AMD Turion RM-70 (2.0GHz CPU clock) processor w/1800MHz Hypertransport Bus
• 3GB DDR2 800MHz
• 250GB Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
• ATI Radeon HD 3100 graphics (500Mhz GPU clock)
• DVD SuperMulti Drive
• Webcam with face recoginition
• 802.11G Wireless (Atheros)
• Multi-card memory card reader

Windows Experience Index scores:

• 3.5 Base Score
• 4.8 CPU
• 5.9 Memory
• 3.5 Graphics
• 3.7 Gaming graphics
• 5.2 Hard Drive
  
  

 

Can you provide a direct link? a search for the skew and a quick glance at their laptops on bestbuy.com shows nothing for me.

 

Hi Pianomano8,
Unfortunately. this model is not yet on Best Buy's website. The Best Buy location I was at just placed it on display with the fact/price tag.


It looks identical to the new glossy black Toshiba models carried at retail.

I would expect it to show up on Best Buy's website by July 6th.

 

Blksnake: Thanks, I'll keep my eyes open and maybe run by the local BB this weekend. I'll admit I'm not fond of the Toshiba's look (or, traditionally, of the Toshiba brand's reliability, but that's an old prejudice from years ago). This is definitely worth a look.

I wonder if the RM-70 is a new cpu core that has all the improvements of the ZM-XX series (more C-states, etc..) but just less cache; or if it's an older gen Turion X2 rebadged. If you happen to have one of these machines, would you mind posting a CPU-Z screenshot or something similar that might show the detailed CPU info, like core revision and all that?

 

Hi Pianomano8,
According to NBR moderator miner, The Turion X2 RM series have the same number (3) of power states of the Turion ZM series. LINK

I captured a Lavalys Everest report and posted it on my SkyDrive account with public access:
Toshiba U405-S2852 - Everest report (PDF)

This report should have all the info your looking for.

 

Blksnake: Thank you very much, that does contain all the information I'm looking for. The only difference between the RM and ZM series appears to be cache size and (maybe) HT frequency.

Thanks for posting such detailed information, I have very specific needs (I'm a programmer) and this helps me make an informed decision.

 

Does anyone have experience with the Toshiba U405 with the AMD RM-70 versus the Intel Centrino ? The Intel model runs hot (actually hot to the touch). The AMD model appeared to be cooler when I sampled it at Best Buy. Any comments ? Also, is there a performance difference between the two ?

 

Update: It appears the laptop is now for sale at some select places in the US. Bestbuy/Tiger Direct for example.

 

Why do the Toshiba's have a HD3100 Integrated graphics, I was in a Best Buy today and got to take a look at the 14.1" model. I thought all the new AMD's had the new HD3200? Maybe I missed something?

 

Same, I am a little confused, is this a watered-down best buy special? Also can someone verify that these models do still come with an HDMI port?

 

The 14.1" model I saw at Best Buy did not have HDMI.

 

I'm wondering the same thing, can anyone comment on this?

Edit: Also I'd love to hear some user feedback on this machine!

 

I was just there this morning. That 14.1" as well as the puma based 13.3" U405d DO have HD3100 and not the full HD3200, and both lack HDMI.

 

Thanks for confirming!

But now the big question is: what impact does this have on performance. The HD3100 might still be worth it if it performs the same in games as the HD 3200 does.

Who gives us more info? Maybe someone has bought it and can run 3dmark on it.

 

Hi guys, this is my first post. I found this site last week and have been reading a LOT. I just bought my first notebook at Best Buy yesterday, the Toshiba U405D-S2852. I think I was the first in my area to get one, the guys had just put one out on display and were loading their security software when I spotted it. I didn't have much time yesterday to set the machine up and I'm in the process now. My reasons for getting this lappy are a subject for another thread, I guess. They didn't include gaming but since I do a lot of gaming I figured I'd see what it's capable of, especially since benchmarks were asked for.
So far:
3dMark 2001=7738
3dMark 2005 V1= runs through the first sequence at 11-12 fps but then shuts down.
3dMark 2005 v1.2 and 1.30= both are locking up on the splash screens.
To tell the truth I was hoping for more on 2001.
Also this is my first time messing with Vista, so I don't know if these lockups are Vista related or puter at this time, I haven't found any versions specifically for Vista.

 

Aquamark 3= GFX 6,096
CPU 2,824
total= 29,312

 

Thanks for posting that - if you don't mind, how is the battery life?

 

Eaglerapids: Thanks for posting! Too bad 2005 doesnt run, because 2001 scores say kind of little to me. Perhaps you could run a few games (with different requirements from low specs to high specs) and inform us how the 3100 performs.

If the 3dmark 2005 issue is non-vista related I'd be surprised, since I would think at least the HD 3200 should be able to run such a test?

 

3dMark 2006 won't run either:-( but I'm beginning to think it my not be the puter itself. 06 wanted to install some DirectX 9 components so I let it but still locked on the start screen when I tried to run the program. I just found 3dMark 2003 (I save everything ) and installed it but it's locking up on the splash screen also, it should run just fine I would think, so there must be some conflict with DirectX 9 going on, well maybe not conflict but still be missing some components or something.
Remember guys, this is my first venture into Vista...... it's slick looking and all but I'm already thinking of installing XP Pro, I'm just not sure yet about XP drivers for this machine.
92DX, I haven't even had a chance to try out the battery yet so the jury is still out on it. I mean I've made sure it works but that's all.

 

Oh, a couple of thoughts before I head out for work.
Again, this is my first notebook so I'm a complete newbie with laptops.
This is a beautiful machine, I wanted a small lappy to take with me everywhere. I'm a flyfisherman and I love photography and I wanted a machine to run Adobe Lightroom. Critical photo editing on this screen isn't going to happen but first indications with Lightroom are positive, not perfect but way better than on my aging desktop, I'll dock this machine for real work, but in the field I think this will do the job. I also want to tether the camera to the machine but haven't yet tried.
The sound from the speakers is very low, not good at all. But when I test the "smart audio" the volume is much higher. I can turn the sound volume to 100% but the levels only show about 25%, still looking for a setting to increase this.
Personally, I like the Fusion finish.
There is a slight flex in the keyboard, but I like the feel.
PCWizard says this is a Samsung screen, device manager says Generic PnP device.
Gotta get to work! I hope this has helped somebody

 

Thanks! Got some more questions for you:

-How do you feel about the quality of the screen (does it look crisp, how's the brightness)?
-Is the sound quality produced by the headphone port good? (No static noise/hiss?)
-Does the machine run hot during use?

And, well, once you've got time for it, games!

Edit: Make sure to get the latest Direct X 10 for Windows Vista!

 

Ok, home from work .
I feel the quality of the screen is pretty good, it is crisp and bright. That said, I don't like the glossy screens but from my reading they are far to common on laptops. The biggest problem is if you move your view just a little the brightness changes, this makes editing photos difficult, but I knew this going in. I popped a movie in and it's ok, not great. Doesn't seem as sharp as web pages and the desktop, a bit grainy, but I've only tried a quick look see. Again, I have little to compare with being this is my first lappy.
The headphone port is fine.
Again, I have little to compare with but the machine does not seem to run hot, it gets a bit warm but nothing like the heat people are talking about the Intel version is generating. I let it run, plugged in, all night last night no problems whatsoever.
In fact, this is one of the main reasons I went with the Puma version. All the puters I've built have been AMD solutions because I felt AMD offered more bang for the buck but I was ready for a Core2Duo this time around and if I'd built a desktop I would have. I quit being an early adopter a few years ago but from my reading AMD has been to work and I liked what they've done with the Puma so here I am . I shoot Pentax also, what can I say, lol? If the underdog is working hard I like to support them.

I've been thinking hard about this today and I want to go to XP, to lean this machine down. I'm sure not going to be running DX10 games on it so why do I need DX10? I have a retail copy of XPPro ready to go so tonight I begin my search for the XP drivers I'll need. Wish me luck, I need to get this thing up and going! Then we'll see about benchmarking and gaming.

 

ok, I'm sitting out back in the sunshine watching Gladiator and talking to you guys over somebodies unsecured wireless network , life is truly a beach. Pretty good connection, too.
Who thought up these glossy screens? I can see the movie, ok, but if I shift my focus, I can see me better......which is not good, lol.
The movie was running good under "balanced", I switched to "battery saver" and it's still running smoothly.
Nice and sharp, but really, I wouldn't want to watch an entire movie in the sunshine.

 

Hey just a tip for sound.. I'm sure there are better ways to do this, but I always use VLC (its really lightweight free software, and can play virtually every media file - when windows media etc wont be able to).

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

When you're playing something, hit CTRL+Up Arrow to increase the volume - you can get it up to 400% volume, which is useful with crappy quiet laptop speakers.

 

Thanks 92DX, thats a cool player but I'm afraid even it can't overcome the limitations of these speakers, lol. They may be a bit louder, but not much.
Sound does not seem to be a big selling point of this lappy although it does sound ok through the headphones.

 

Once again thanks for the info and good luck with XP! Keep us posted!

 

Well, now I remember why I quit being an early adopter.
Toshiba doesn't have much of anything for XP drivers for this notebook, yet, at least I could find.
Instead, I've started setting it up on Vista and I'll see how it goes. I need to use this thing rather than spend hours and days chasing things around getting XP to run, when things settle down I'll make a decision. I was going to skip Vista altogether but now that I have it.......
This thing has a combined eSata-USB port and I have a FreeAgent Pro external drive that supports it (although I have to buy the eSata cable). This fits my needs and what are the chances of getting XP drivers for this? I'm going to wait a bit.

 

3DMark03=1780, I tried again and it decided to run this time, still no luck with 05 or 06.
Battery life seems to be a bit over two hours on balanced, frankly, I was hoping for a bit more.

 

Looks like performance is cut aloing with the lack of the hardware based HD decoder. The HD3200 scores around 9008 in 3DMark01 and 3300 in 3DMark03, toshiba should have opted for the HD3200 but then again if you are not gaming or dont mind the cpu usage during HD/bluray playback then the 3100 should do fine.

BTW, could you possibly post a screenshot with GPU-Z( http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1132/TechPowerUp_GPU-Z_v0.2.6.html). It would be good to know the default clock speeds for the 3100.

 

here's the screeny.

 

Thanks. Looks exactly the same as my HD3200. Wonder where the performance difference is coming from?

 

Well, you do have a higher end CPU, if we're comparing my notebook to the one in your sig but, really, I'm wondering about my drivers and the fact that 3dMark 05 and 06 won't run. There is something amiss. I can't find anything on ATI's site specifically for the 3100's, especially for a notebook. I have d/l'ed a set but haven't tried to install them. I have been busy trying out Lightroom and the apps I bought this machine for and it looks to have acceptable performance. Not perfect but it kicks my Barton's butt (Barton 2500+ o/c'ed to 2.2 gig, running at 194mhz FSB). Amazing really. This 3100 does really well running an extended desktop onto an old CRT, have yet to test it at 1680x1050 on my main LCD, if it will do that, it's a keeper for me.

ATI Catalyst™ 8.7 Display Driver for Windows Vista (32 bit) - Motherboard/IGP Drivers

This is the driver package I d/l'ed, I have to go out, now but maybe I'll try these out later.
One other thought, I'll install Soldier of Fortune or Serious Sam II, something like that and maybe they will fix up DirectX 9 on the machine, I still think that's an issue.

 

Isn't the HD3100 supposed to run at 350 MHz core(because it is the value version of the IGP)? If I recall the HD3100 was 350MHz, the HD3200 was 500MHz, and the hopefully soon to be released AMD 790GX (HD3300) is supposed to run at 700 MHz.

-J.B.