Help with a decision, please...(long)

I have been researching a new laptop and have come to the conclusion that Toshiba offers the best bang for the buck.

My budget is $1700.

I am having trouble making a decsion on which model to buy.

My wife and I plan to use this computer for web surfing, email, music, watching DVDs, and also watching TV through a Slingbox.

The TV piece is important, we only have 1 TV, it has a dual tuner, and I like to watch hockey 7 nights a week and she likes to watch her shows, and I am tired of missing goals while she watches Lost.

I will also be doing some gaming, but I am not a hardcore gamer, and I don't play any first person shooter games. I may want to play WoW at some point if I can make the time, and assuming it doesnt make me motion sick.

Here are the models and configurations I am considering:

1. Satellite M60-S8112TD Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz), Microsoft® Windows® XP Home, Peacock Blue, 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz SDRAM (512MBx2), 17" Diagonal Widescreen SXGA+ w/TruBrite?Technology (1680x1050), ATI® MOBILITY™ RADEON® X600 with 128MB DDR SDRAM, 40GB HDD (5400rpm), 8X DVD SuperMulti drive (Double Layer), Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG (802.11a/b/g), Li-Ion Battery (8 Cell, 4300mAh), 1 Year Standard Limited Warranty


2. Satellite M40-S4111TD - Laptop Intel® Pentium® M 740 (1.73GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB), Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz SDRAM (512MBx2), 15.4" Diagonal Widescreen SXGA+ display (1680 x 1050), NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6600 PCI-E x16 128MB SDRAM, 40GB HDD (5400rpm, Serial-ATA), DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive, Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG (802.11a/b/g), Stereo Speakers, Lithium Ion Battery (12-Cell, 8600mAh) ,

3. Tecra A4-S312TD - Laptop Intel® Pentium® M 750 (1.86GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional SP2, 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz SDRAM (512MBx2), 15.4" Diagonal Widescreen SXGA+ display (1680x1050), NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6600 w/dedicated 128MB DDR SDRAM, 40GB HDD (5400rpm, Serial ATA), CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG (802.11a/b/g), Li-Ion battery (6-cell, 4300mAh), 1-Year Standard Limited warranty

My wife likes the full size keyboard on the M60 as well as the large screen. Battery life is not a show stopper, 2 hours would be plenty. We wont be carrying it long distances, so weight is not much of an issue.

Here are my questions, any input is greatly appreciated.

For DVDs and TV, will the GeForce card be much better than the Radeon?

How noisy are the fans, optical drives?

Do these units generate much heat during normal use? Normal being watching a DVD, or web surfing and listening to music. I have a Levenger lap desk, so heat isn't much of a big deal, but cooler is definitely better.

How diffrerent is the build quality between the Satellites and the Tecras?

I am leaning toward the M60, but want to make sure I am not passing up a better machine in an M40 or A4.

Or maybe these are all overkill for my needs?

Thank you in advance.

 

i think youre totally in the right ballpark in terms of what notebook to get. me, i have the m60 but with slightly different specs:
-pentium M 750
-nvidia geforce 6600 go

I dont know if the nividias are better than the ati's, but i watch 2-3 dvds a week and the geforce has not had any problems. considering that lower end notebooks have the ability to play dvds with integrated graphics, im sure both of these cards will be able to handle anything you throw at it.

there isnt much fan noise but when you load it up it can get loud, but i never notice it. only when you play games, and watch dvds you can notice the noise but definitely not that big of a problem.

yes, there is some heat when under normal use but it only gets warm, never hot.

ive heard that tecras have better build quality. but hey, if youre not going to be carrying it around anywhere it shouldnt be a prpblem. the build of my m60 is great, no cracks or squeaks.

that m40 you described is pretty much the little brother to the m60. 17" vs 15.4"

it sounds like you need a multimedia / entertainment notebook, and the m60 is perfect as that was the sole reason i bought the m60 in the first place. its got the perfect combination of power and portability. plus, 17" is a lot better to watch tv on than a 15.4" and itll handle all of your other misc tasks.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I am going to pull the trigger on the M60.

 

does that mean youre getting it?

 

Good Pick! The M40 has some quality issues - hopefully Toshiba will fix that soon. The Tecra doesn't have that Mulitimedia "oomph" as the M60 in my opinon, but is still a great all-around notebook.

 

Big_B : Yes, that means I am buying it. I ordered it last night. Thanks for your feedback.

xAMDvsIntelx : Thank you for the feedback.

 

haha i mustve been drunk or something...i thought you meant you were going to literally shoot the m60, implying (to me) that you werent going to get it. when you do get your m60, id be glad to answer any questions that you may have regarding your m60. so are the specs listed in your initial post the one youre getting??

 

Yeah, Brian is drunk quite a bit! Just giving you crap man, but the M60 is a really nice machine, I'm loving it more and more everyday. This is what the specs are on mine. I didn't want to pay Toshiba way too much for their 1 gig of RAM so I upped the laptop in other areas, for cheaper. I ended up spending just about $1750 on it. Hope you like your laptop, I'm loving mine!

Toshiba Satellite M60-S8112TD
Intel Pentium M Processor 760 (2.00GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz), Microsoft Windows XP Professional,
Peacock Blue,
256MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz SDRAM (256MBx1),
(already ordered 1 stick of 1 GB RAM from NewEgg.com for $XX wasn't going to pay Toshiba's $XXX for the same thing)
17" Diagonal Widescreen XGA w/TruBrite™Technology (1440x900),
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X600 with 128MB DDR SDRAM,
60GB HDD (5400rpm), (deciding if I want to sell this and get a Hitachi 7200 rpm 100 GB drive from NewEgg.com or not)
8X DVD SuperMulti drive (Double Layer),
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG (802.11b/g),
Li-Ion Battery (8 Cell, 4300mAh)