Just got the new R835-P50X

I figure ill post this.
I am so pissed.
i run a company and we are having shipping issues but we dont treat our customers like this (ignoring, BSing them, etc) rather we bust our a$$ to fix our errors.

First off these are my opinions based on many years working on Computers from a hardware level, and actully understanding it.

Here is the Link to this page
Toshiba Portege R835-P50X Review

R835-P50X Review and Heat sink Issue (Read all of it and you will not be happy either)

This page was created in the hopes it is able to help you out in your next laptop choice.

Aswell as help the current owners of it get a resolution to the heat sink issue.

I was put on a 10 day temp ban for
"This user profile has been banned from the Toshiba Forums for 10 days for profanity filter evasion and legal threats, both violations of the Forums Terms of Service. Future violations may result in being permanently banned from the Toshiba Forums."
so i removed what i said there it can be found on my opinion page about this product linked above

I dont know whats going on with toshiba.

 

oh wow i hadnt even told amazon .
but i will update my page and post there.
i am going off what toshiba advertised and the lack of com after EP said it should have copper.

 

i know some computers use AL heatsinks unfort in this NB it needs the Copper as my tests where in 68F room i tried it again in my Heat room (85-90F) and temps where at Max with only 1 HD movie Going. I wasnt going to push it further and didnt have accurate Air Thermometer so i wasnt risking it since toshiba said i voided my warranty by outing them..

If you also notice (i was corrected) the GPU is on the die so its that much more heat that needs to be pulled away..
in the r700 series they used AL but in the R800 Video it said copper..
If we can find the copper ones part number from that video id grab on in a second and Toshiba could have just given us the UK part number at a minimum (not optimal outcome but a start)

the other problem well not a problem if heat mngmnt was correct IMPO is its an 8 layer board so it will definitly split and brake traces if it gets to hot or higher than optimal temps for long run times (IE the AL heatsink and lack of Heatsink on the Bridge (also the inducters id like to take care of as i was told i have no warranty any more..(now i have to make sure the thermals are taken care of ASAP)

Also we have to remember mine at 68F room was at 75% and thats a clean motherboard its not filled with dust and stuff stopping the air from hitting the board. (im posting a video of a bouble bath i gave my toshiba 2435 and it so needed it you can see the before and after etc. (described in the post above and the page i made for this.

(they really Pissed me off when they said im stuck with it.
at a minium they could have taken it back i clearly know how to work on a Notebook)

If ya think this is bad.
My last Blue ray player crashed due to overheating during a firmware update POS
and the new one has a heatsink unlike last one but its so scuffed on the chip side im suprised it works at all as a heatsink LMFAO>>

I will say this.
for the past 8 years i have been hard in with Thermal Mngmnt (LEDs and IC, and other thermal Sources) That gives me a Great understadning of the problems we are facing in this NB and the issues that will probably arise later
Cant / wont go into to much detail other than saying that)

this notebok was mfrd i think 2002 and it hadnt been given a bath ever but was brushed off 2 years ago, i let it run to see how bad build up can be and it about killed the machine a few more humid days and she woulda shorted out. (you can see in the pics the dust is bridinge leads on power leads.
and a bit of corosion building up thus allowing a short to happen accross traces.
i also gave it a Conformal coating of acrylic to prevent shorts and humidity from affecting board any further (board was fully recoverd from dirt corosion etc. and is in new cond)

2435 bubble bath album
https://picasaweb.google.com/tlordon/Toshiba2435BubbleBath#

here is the 2435 just 2 pics until video done. (video will have more.)
one shot before the bath
one during the bath..
there are some before after video will be better.

(this first one will happen to the R835 as you can see in my video it gets air from the fain on both sides of the board. thus this will happen




after cleaning and conformal coating.






after cleaning and conformal coating.





an again after cleaning and conf coating



DA BATH




2435 bubble bath album
https://picasaweb.google.com/tlordon/Toshiba2435BubbleBath#

and here she is working again within 8 hours of tear down, Bbuble bath IE board clean, coros clean, coat dry etc start.
start was aprox 11pm end was at 7am
(was on conf calls to EU so i had free hands figured why not do it now as i was planing on it soon as a demo of how dirty it can get even with blowing air in it.. (but this was prime time to show it)



(Check picassas time stamp) on the initial pics and end pic.
Thats Full Teardown (minus LCD/Lid as it has no fans to suck dirt in nor heat componnets other than driver)
full wash of each part.
drying of all parts boards so when power applied in 5.5-6ish hours at this point
then the Corosion clean and board check etc
that has to dry.
then conromal coating
then drying again.
assymbly
those two are almost same as soon as tack sets in assy started.

now ya we all can thow a NB in some suds but to have it working again and now the NB will now run for another 8 years unless it gets a surge or something else crazy. (board looks great condition after board and corsion clean

it has already lasted past 1 7200rpm drive and on its 2nd.

I love that 2435 as old as it is it runs hd 720 to the Tv no problem. 1080 ya right on 512mb ram LMFAO

 

k i prematurely dropped a few bombs (full discloser etc)
EP just emailed me saying still working on heatsink issue
they i guess are trying to figure why vid shows one thing and machine shows another.

Ill post updates to convs at that other link.
but i ask for the UK part number for the one i liked. so at least at a start we can get a few of them on order(hopefully toshiba will reimburse us for that)

All i want is what i thought i was buying and a bit more thermal mngmnt (later is a bonus fix that we can even do ourselfs. IE ad a heatsink to Bridge and other hot components.. (my frankinstine machine will be the first to get these mods LOL)

also if my warranty is infact bunked i will be adding a conformal coating of acrylic or silicone (havent decided) to the board and sub parts as the fans will slam dirt dust on the board like the 2435 did right under its fan (it was drawing air from both sides and shooting into heatsink..
so you can tell if it did that in 2 years to the board imagine our board with the current heatsink. when the dirt compiles and that dramaticly reduces heat leaving board as the dirt is now an insluator holding it in.
also the conromal coating if i use acrylic will be smooth so dirt wont want to stick to it. so when a good shot of air comes in under and above the board it will blow most of it off rather than sticking to the board

 

Looks like Amazon is shipping again as soon as they receive stock. I'm not sure what prompted Amazon to halt sales a few days ago.

 

i think toshiba is ignoring the problem and hoping it goes away..
unfort as much as people arent having heat issues now they will soon enough..

i have not heard any thing since friday.

and BB wont call me back..

is someone in eu that can open there and let us know there outcome then we can source that part number to at least buy the correct heatsink

 

As we are not getting anywhere with Toshiba.

i have contacted a attorney in my area to File a Class Action Suit Against Toshiba.

I will post updates on that on Friday

Toshiba in there own video renforce the copper design then switch to AL> and a crapy heat plate.

i pushed on my plate when system was on and temps dopped a few C (no load) and that shows it doesnt mame good contact.

 

***UPDATE******
I gave EP at toshiba 2 weeks and nothing was resolved.
I warned Toshiba this required a resolution.

so i decided it was best to contact an attorney to file a class action suit regarding this issue.
so i did yesterday.

and let toshiba know my Current sittuiation.

LOL i got a call back within a few hours from My new contact at toshiba regarding this issue,
he is my liaison with Toshiba US, Legal, Engineering, Toshiba Japan, Toshiba Europe, all parties involved.

Conv is logged but not being released at this time
they are in there discovery phase in finding out the change and the fix.

I flat out told them i wanted to love toshiba again but they where making it hard. (not answering me and giving me bad answers was not going to make it right)
and this machine could rock if it had the correct thermal Mngmnt especialy as advertised.

he said he let me know there updates early next week. (stay tuned)
So i hope we see some answers soon

PM if you own one

 

The fact that you are still in contact with someone over at Toshiba and they are looking into the "switch" is a good sign. The real answer lies when they finish finding out the switch and how to fix.

 

toshiba R series has been my dream notebook eversince..
i planned to get one this week... but.. im now reconsidering after seeing this problem..

which units are affected?

even with those with copper fins... their copper heatsink is still probably too thin?

 

Powerful thin and light notebooks will always have some compromises. If you are wanting to get something that can handle sustained high CPU loads then a bigger notebook should be better able to handle the heat. That's one reason I've just invested in a Thinkpad 420s (a higher resolution display being the other main reason).

John

 

Does anyone have the NON-Bestbuy version? [r830, r840, r850]

I still curious if the porteges sold directly from Toshiba have the Aluminum vents; as they differ considerably from the Bestbuy version.
Toshiba Direct | portege Laptops & Notebook Computers


I can see where the Aluminum vents could make you angry, but I don't see returning it for that issue. I'm still considering the r835 [BestBuy] as an option for me.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

a few replies

ya well have to wait and see.

its not just the "fins" the plate on the cpu is LMFAO Read my comments below and in the video i explain it a bit.

yes and no. if it was deliverd as advertised i would not be complaining it would be the power house as advertised and cpu not run hot.

legal aspects aside from anything. (my claim they changed from the advertised system design)
its not just the heatsink fins. (that is a biggy though even thought not relized by all yet,,(keeping it short)
the heat plate is just a thin sheet of copper with the pipe soldered to it.
basic metal physics or whtver say when it gets that hot (up to 99C) it will flex thus IMPO taking away from contacting the CPU IE if they just had a thicker plate i see the temps being lower and if using copper fins to even lower and if soldered fins then even lower. and not only that when used a sheet of PGS it got hotter than when i used liquid on the cpu this has never happend to me before IE the thin plate is not mating with the cpu the way it should..
On top of that the way the cpu heat plate is held down it has presure on the outer edges going down straight to straight/on angle away from cpu thus maiking that thin plate able to bend and create a dome like above the cpu..
(on this thin heat plate they should have put a spring in the center above the cpu so when its screwed down it also puts firm presure to ensure cpu stays in contact as the holders try to lift it IMPO and the heat and how thin the plate is causing flex.
Hope i make sense i only had a min to type this.. (busy day)


i have seen high end laptops fail due to bad thermal managment and seen cheap laptops live today under full demand.
IE my
2, Dell C800 P3850s ($4,200ea) dead and other stolen while it was dying. HOT HOT
2 toshiba 5205s that are dead (high end) (i wanna say $2,500+ea) HOT
1 toshiba 2435 $1,500 maybe if that Cheaper unit and it still renders Video today. staying cool
1 acer 4620Z $299. YES 299 Champ renders AVCH 1080P 60FPS 19MBPS and stays cool
(only reason i upgraded to R835 was HDMI and SATA Externaly)
1, Toshiba R835, $745 (i think) it got up to 99C at one time during render that the acer maxed at 69c .
I know cpu wattage etc = heat but its the plate and copper fins. (also if you notice in that video they use more padding to keep air going the way it needs to go in my unit its basic and just goes everywhere and some goes threw fins.

Dont bother stealing my notebooks there tagged deeper than you will find (what ya gonna do never hook to any internet)(protect against theifs more than i should)

I will say i got lojack with GPS for the r835 ontop of my bios mods as it has wimax and INTEL ANTI THEFT built in...

so when they take it and boot up and go in as guest (mine locked)
they will be just allowing wimax tracking to nail them (sure use my wimax internet your going to the clink)
its kinda dumb but it works and if they steal it not knowing IAT is active then they are screwed.
you cant just use basic settings.. (as much as it can be compromised im guessing they will recover more than just the laptop ie the other stuff they stole that is hard to replace.)


oh i forgot since this r835 has a solderderd in cpu thermal management for it is even bigger issue as it can NEVER be replaced without serious work (re flowing board, UHG i hate having to fix a board that way, should never have gotten that bad or been designed that poorly from factory)
so its even an issue if you dont even consider Toshibas own video saying they used copper for the Whole series because the reasons they state. then when you add that and the switch its a HUGE Issue.

 

NomisR posted in this thread that he has the non-Best Buy version, a R835 P56X but he hasn't posted since regarding the cooling fin material.

 

LMFAO the 2 5205s i have that died due to GPU Overheat

they where part of a class action suit that i missed out on. .
SOB

Toshiba Sued Over Notebook Design | PCWorld

 

Thanks for info.

 

Alexmuw, check this one out at the Microsoft store in Bellvue.
Toshiba Portégé® R835-P55X 13.3" widescreen Laptop

I played with it yesterday and it is pretty good...I just want the matte screen option...glossy blows in daylight, glare for me, though images are very pretty!

 

Thanks for the tip. I think I might go with the Satellite E305 [14"], Still gets 7+ hrs of battery and comes more bells and whistles than the portege (though it's 5 lbs).

 

Have you played with the 305 yet? I found it to be very "plasticy" and was not a huge fan of the sunken touchpad. The backlit keyboard also had some oddities about it...seemed very "leaky" in terms of around the chicklets. The SC does it but not to the same degree imo

 

Hy, tlordon I totally agree you on this issue of suing.. If the respectful and communicative way is not to be followed. Toshiba made a HUGE mistake by replacing copper with AL, I personally live in Hungary, where these units have "slightly" higher prices (even the older R630 with i3 370M is sold for 1177 USD /VAT incl/), since these units are not to be introduced in Hungary for months I can not check on the copper heatsink issue for you , but I might ask the Hungarian rep. if that helps.

I would have sued Toshiba aswell, since it really makes difference- I can not understand how on earth can they try to sell this airflow system as an advanced cooling system if it's not just worse because of the dust but it also makes the NB unuseable on almost every surface (if its not a plain and hard one)..
This in conjunction with an AL heatsink is just way beyond foolishness.. Heat can be managed, if they took the Acer 3820tg dual fan solution, or even an ASUS air through solutions they could have made a better move.

By the way I have been wondering about getting the R830 from Germany with 300MBS SSD for a slightly cheaper 950 EUR. The exact model number is R830-11C if it matters.

Sorry for the english grammar mistakes..
But I will follow your story and wish everyone a better solution than "banning from official forums"..
Anything like a recall for component replacement.

 

Screen:
Does the laptop have a glossy or a mate screen?
On some review (even though they refered to the p56 modell) i read that it has a glossy screen. On some I read it has a matte screen.
Is it possible that the p50, the p55 and the p56 have different screens?
I want a matte screen and am thinking about buying the P50 or P55.
Thanks in advance!

 

Hi, I used to have the R600. I put an SSD in it and it would overheat regularly to the point that it would warn me to shut it off then blue screen.

Now I have the r835-p50x but this is the BB version. My R600 was a corporate version so it had the docking station slot and matte screen.

This one's keyboard is hoakey. the keys are way too spread out.. only good for a two finger typer. The screen is super shiny so really bad in rooms with natural light. Also the fan is much louder, but it only kicks in every now and then. Same crappy speakers as the r600. Also, it has a new power adapter so I can't use my old one. (my old laptop got stolen). Those are my beefs so far.

I wiped it and put on a new w7 x64 image, but I'm having an issue. I can't find the download for the function key driver/app. If anyone knows where that is, it would help me A LOT.. because I shut off the wireless with the fkeys before I reimaged it... and now the wireless can't be turned back on. The O/S sees the device, but it won't power on.

 

you need the Toshiba value added package for the FN keys.
I did the same thing..
DL from Toshiba's site

 

update. r.
well i cant go into exact detail but heres the basics
here it is from memory...Pretty accurate (logged though)
i dont want to disclose the logs even though im operating under the implied consent due to the contents of my emails and site etc.. (im in a one party state but they in cali but i clearly say calls being recorded IE read my site on this and if you could the emails i sent EP before Legal and GP got invovled GP sayid he was going to read all emails and site and then said he did so so they have given implied consent.as they did not say any thing about the calls being taped i clearly say i recorded ep's call and we need to record all calls with cust service IE this issue..)

talked to GP from Toshiba a bit over a week ago there abouts, (i disccus in earlier post how i got to talk to this person)
friday i got a call, and was told they said "the video does not say the fins are copper and that the AL has the same performance as the copper per there inhouse tests"
i redierate the video does infact say the fins are copper.
and asked them to reconsider there statement above.
(the plate thickness was not even discussed in detail as the video made no mention of its thickness even though it shows it being thickish)
(ill get back to that later)
so we discuss a bit more and we hang up.

i couldn't help but remember the video being very clear
so i re watched it an walla at 4:07 it says copper grid not plate or pipe but grid IE the Fins.
i also ask for a email of what he just said to have on top of the recording of the call.

so i quickly call back and play that part of the video and ask them to reconsider.
Basicly told there investigation is complete but they will pass it back to see if they will reopen it.
he said thats doubtfull.
i ask for that email and he said legal said no way.. i dont know why they read my emails and site and it clearly said i recorded my call with EP and shows my intent to record any further calls and they had not said EP's calls are not consented to and to not record any further rather they continue talking to me knowing im going to record it..


so now we sit at waiting for another answer may not get one from toshiba but restasured even if toshiba blows this off its not going away.

 

thought i would post my most recent temps.
This is with AS5 and doing nothing but posting on this site.(let it cool down then posted then grabed temps.

can someone else use cpuid pro (its free)
and post there results. under no load Ie web browsing and then with a load.
id like to see if there is a varyation as this will show there is flex or at least not flat plates (side test i want seen)

the only change to the machine thus far is a momentious XT 7200 Hybrid SSD drive. and removed the stock thermal paste, tried PGS with no succes due to thin plate and now using AS5 with pea spread method and primed cpu and plate with as5 rub and buff.

Room temp is 67 yes cold but i left AC on way to long. LOL
IE my temps are this with no load and room temp of 67.
that means in hotter enviro even without load temps will be HIGHEr.
remeber in the video my temps got higher. like way to high.

 

Ok, that's my issue then, but I've tried installing version 1.5.10.64 many many times but when the install kicks off after unpacking it just disappears and installs nothing.

 

Does anyone have an older version of the Toshiba VAP? Perhaps it's a problem with this version.

 

forget it! my company gave me an iso labeled "x64" but it's actually "x86". Rebuild!

 

tlordon,

Having watched your youtube video the only thing I wondered about is how in the Toshiba video you incorporated he states the copper cooling grid is present in 13, 14 and 15 inch Business laptops. I believe the R835 is classed as a home/personal laptop rather than a business model as the R830 is, indicated in a variety of other features, so maybe this might account for the difference?

 

I'm about to receive the nordic version of this laptop, or so i think, this week. Here it's callted Sattelite R830-13D and you can find the spec to it here.

Satellite R830-13D - Produktspecifikationer - Toshiba

There's only one spec availible and we did have the Portege R700 so it seems that they've differentiated this one as a sattelite on purpose.

I can attempt to check out the heatsink when I get it and I was planning of adding some memory and an SSD as well but I'll wait with that until I've evaluated fan noise and temperatures.

Is there anyting else that I should look for and what program was used to examine temperatures?

 

read below replies for firmware UPDATE NOTICE>

yes here is a link to what i used and worked.
http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/support/downloads/tc00364500t.exe

here is the p50x link for all apps and dirvers just pic your os. if your clean install from above iso use win 7 64bit
Model Content Page

here is a link to a good iso you can use this.. and just do all the updates after its done..
http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65733/X15-65733.iso

1. toshiba legal would have tried to pull that if they could have. (would have ended it all at the start) at least the claim i have about my personal laptop but my claim is still valid even on the "business" ones they admit they switched all to AL. so its still advertised as copper and shipps with AL. still have a class suit.

2. Edit i mispoke (but i correct myself) total laps in what i knew i criss crossed a few things internaly LOL
in a way you are right but in a way you are not.
im not going to debate the business class or not. rather i will explain it this way..
we are not comparing the IS vs ISF or 325 vs M3 ie the 830 vs 835.
yes the isf and m3 have more HP and changes to cosmetic and accys in the cars but the copper heatsink/coolinggrid/fins would be like havine a isf or m3 and using the IS exauhst system( would restrict) Ie the thin copper plate and AL fins will on us)
the way i took the video above all is the copper is on all machines in the 830 class that includes the 835.


as they the way the video implies the copper heatsink is part of the overal notebook cooling design in uk they dont have personal model and to top it all off even if you take my false adverstising/bait switch whatever u want to call it out of the equation, this is another 5005 suit as im sure they know internaly the shortcomings of the thin plate and AL fins/grid.
the system will slow down when gets hot and hence you will never truly see it at full speed (CPU) as it will throttle to keep cool.. IMPO even at settings to limit cpu speed reduction when it gets hot...

to that above even if the business class is right on the toshiba site uk the pictures are now of al fins so the suit is still valid..

sorry i deleted some of your quote. trying to keep this post small.
thanks for letting us know..
when you get it look on the left side and see if the metal not screen is silver or copper color. you wont have to open it. (but if it is copper i will ask another step)

the stock toshiba pc health monitor (type that in the serach box and it will open) or use CPU ID pro or personal both free. (pro you can buy for more info than we need here)
Record room temp and if under load or not. (lets be fair to toshiba)











***Update New firmware package 2.6*****

http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/support/downloads/t320v260.exe
Change History

Version 2.60 - 2011-05-13
Added support for TOSHIBA Hi-Speed Start.
Updated the Tecra/Satellite R840 AMD VGA BIOS - Optimized stretch.
Version 2.40 - 2011-05-09
Updated the Tecra/Satellite R840 AMD VGA BIOS - Changed the value of AMD PowerPlay when using the internal LCD and an external display.
Version 2.30 - 2011-04-11
Updated the TPM specification to improve stability.
Updated the Tecra R840 AMD VGA BIOS.
Version 2.10 - 2011-03-04
Implemented a change to the TOSHIBA PC Health Monitor battery state display.
Version 2.00 - 2011-03-01
Implemented the Intel Cougar Point Reference Code Update and Cougar Point B3-step CRID support.
Implemented the Intel Sandy Bridge Reference Code Update.
Fixed: Targus USB Mouse is not recognized after resuming from hibernation.
Version 1.50 - 2011-01-27
Initial production BIOS for these models.

 

i just wanted to say if the video was from toshiba usa the class would be an argument for a split second (you will see below) however in uk they dont have consumer class so its all of them.
and going back even the class is an issue they still pulled the copper fins/grid from all the models US and UK. so its still valid suit.
and with the thin plate on at least mine its going to be same or near the 5005 suit just a bit different.
the cpu impo will still die early as it lets cpu get hotter than should and heat is what kills even if its 10c over a good machine at all times it wont last as long.
let me know if the helps explain my point.

 

thought i would post this to the point i say about the al fins going to fall off eventully IE be like not having any heatsink and then death for the cpu thus the 5005 suit again poor thermal managment reslting in premiture failure.


this is from

But explains it very well in plain english i took out the ones not needed.
but in short it says al will expand contact 33% more than the copper so when the heat pipe and fins heat up it will all push on each other and the fins not being copper wont expand the same as the copper pipe and with the 33% more means its moving quite a bit and thus it will eventully seperate.(all the things below say this)

Coppers benifits
Lower Coefficient of Expansion - Aluminum will creep and move approximately 33% more than copper. This large movement will eventually lead to fatigue failure in rotor material due to thermal expansion and contraction. ETI's copper rotor design ensures higher reliability compared to aluminum bars.

Tensile Strength - Copper is 300% stronger than aluminum and thus able to withstand high centrifugal force and repeated hammering of the current-induced forces during each start.

Higher Melting Point - Copper can better withstand thermal cycling over the life of the motor.

Conservative Temperature Rise - Copper features conservative temperature rise limitations which prevent excessive deterioration in mechanical properties.

 

at
YouTube - ‪Toshiba Portege R830, R840, R850 Business Notebooks‬‏
at 1:40 he states the main differences in the business models. and doesnt say any thing about different heatsink design thus leading me to beleive the other videos heatsink advertised as copper is a Entire class thing IE r830 and r835..
this is if we are debating the class being the copper difference.

 

there is a express card slot avail on some of the units (just premting that now, that is not in debate)

also if you notice in that video the memory cover has holes in it.

that is another thing i have a beef with..
mine ducts the air threw the whole notbook and i guess it hopes all of it goes threw the fins (unfort not the case i felt some air from lan port. )

so on some i guess they have the pads placed so it forces all that air over half the motherboard and to the fins and in ours open to the whole case. i noticed a bit of that in the vidoe embed in my video and in this most recent video confirms that as if mine had vented memory cover as it sits it would vent the air threw that instead of the fins. (i allready had my mem cover on and off during a run and when that cover came off the cpu temps whent up IE the air whent out the big memory hole and not threw the fins. Hense its not ducted the same either.


so does that mean if we buy the consumer model we are getting severly shorted on the thermal managment. i can see and live with a i3 vs 95 or i7 and not have fingerprint reader and dock like the one video says are the main differences but to have such a half tushhied thermal is just Crap idea.

 

last one promise.
i need to take a nap anyways. just got done with the last of my INTL calls and need to do domestic work in 3 hours.

note:
on the initial toshiba video claiming CU fins/grid it has a solid memory door cover.
on the other one i linked above from a toshiba rep. shows a vented memory cover. so there's a difference there to between all of them..
so on original one i saw ducting so the cpu, power chips bit more are in air flow and little bits of air gets to the other parts of MB and NB.
on mine there is no real ducting it just plows threw all of it. (see my video and you will see the toshiba ducting and mine) and then we see the video from toshiba rep that shows vented memory cover(for that to work being vented it need airtight ducting otherwise it will all vent threw memory cover and not threw fins. (do i make sense.)
k i gotta go now. but i was jumping from call to this and never got a free moment to fully get my thoughts out.


i think someone got on a "lets change this" kick.

 

I'm not arguing with your point btw, just wondering if that might have explained the difference. In the UK, we do have a consumer class, in the Satellite R830 as opposed to the Portege R830.

Your revelations have given me some cause for concern, but I've gone a pulled the trigger on buying the Satellite R830 - Satellite R830-143 - Product Specifications - Toshiba

I'll have a look for cooling system material when it arrives.

 

Exact same specs as the nordic version though you have 2 gb extra ram in yours or so I think. The nordic one is also listed as a 'homeomputer' rougly translated.

I'm getting bad vibes from all of this and might send it back regardless and wait for the Asus U36SD which is supposed to show up in July.

 

I had a couple of questions regarding the R835. Is the heat sink issue a real concern? As in, does the laptop have any heating issues or loud fan noise problem? I was looking at the VAIO SB/SC and they seem to have a very annoying loud fan.

Apart from this I read in a few reviews that the Wifi is not up to the mark in the R835. Is that true? Any issues with limited range/speed while using Wifi?

Thanks!

 

I have been using my R835 with absolutely no problems with heating. There are no hotspots on the laptop at all, importantly the palm rest area and touchpad remain really cool. The only place where you can even feel any kind of warmth is near the vent, which is obvious. The previous gen R700 had heating issues, but they have all been fixed with the R835.

As far as WiFi is concerned, I did not notice any difference with my previous laptop. Signal strength both at home and work seem to be the same. YMMV

 

Thanks. How is the graphics performance (since it has not got dedicated graphics..)? I am not a gamer but 1080p HD video playback is very important for me. Does the laptop multitask (multi-tab web-browsing, word,excel etc) well and also handle video playback well?

Apart from this, have any of you tried out Wireless Display 2.0 with this laptop? Has the performance been satisfactory (no delays, lags etc)?

Thanks!

 

I will echo this as well. I have an R835-P50X and last year used a R700 for an extended period and the R835 improves upon it in every respect cooling and heatwise. Even the vent is noticeably cooler than my R700. The laptop is also very quiet. Am very happy.

 

Just looking from the outside it appears mine has aluminum rather then copper as well.

I have another question:

It's been long enough since i bought a laptop, am currently on a dell xps since 3 years back, but then i got a disc with the operating system so that I could reinstall it if I wanted to but this time I didn't. I was planning on wiping it and reinstalling win 7 on an SSD but now I'm without a disc. How do others go about that or do you all have a disc laying around? Or is there somewhere that you can LEGALLY download the program since you need a key for installment anyhow?

 

See this thread for legal Windows 7 downloads. Also, before removing and/or wiping your HDD, use the provided Toshiba utility to make recovery discs. You can use them for reinstallation on your SSD or you may find that the SSD manufacturer has a free disc cloning program.

John

 

Have any of you expanded the RAM to 8GB? Are there 2 RAM slots in the R835 and is one of them free? (i.e one slot with 4GB RAM or two slots with 2x2GB RAM?)

Thanks

 

I am also owner of a new R835-P56X. I bought it from amazon , at a promotion with $799 and from outside seems to have copper.
I just ordered an SSD, OCZ agility3, and till I will receive it I`ve made a clean install on the 640G HDD to make some tests.
FOR a clean install I`ve made this:
1. OPTIONAL use this software to backup the licence and the windows activation from the original win 7 instalation ABR (Activation Backup and Restore) | directedge.us and save the ABR folder on a memory stick or external HDD after you made the backup.
2. get a copy of windows home premium (there are different way to get it legal or torrents), i`ve got a win 7 HP SP1
3. install win7 home premium on the hdd (i formated all the HDD during the instalation and I made 2 partitions: one 60G and one the rest of the disk)
4. during instalation it will ask for serial number. if you have the backup with ABR you can skip this step, and if you dont have it put the serial from the microsoft sticker that is on the back of the laptop.
5. after instalation recover the activation from ABR software
6. download from toshiba support site and install the drivers in this order:
6.1 intel chipset SW instalation
6.2 Toshiba value added package
6.3 Intel display driver
6.4 Synaptics touch pad driver
6.5 Realtek audio driver
6.6 Intel wireless lan driver
6.7 Intel rapid storage driver
6.8 Intel LAN driver
6.9 USB 3.0 driver
6.10 USB-SERIAL driver
6.11 Ricoh Card reader driver
6.12 Intel management Engine interface
6.13 Toshiba intelligent dispaly management
6.14 Toshiba Eco utility
The last 2 are for maximise battery life
After you install all of these drivers in device manager you have to have all drivers recognised.
THAT IS ALL!

After that you can optimise the sistem in many ways, just google this...

I am a little bit dissapointed with the performance at this point , without any optimisations the booting time, from the push of the button , is 41 sec. with optimisation is 32 sec. But this is with the original hitachi 640G HDD. I will post also the boot time after i will receive the SSD.

 

The intel Hd3000 integrated graphics is comparable to entry level discrete solutions. It handles 1080p playback perfectly fine. Both Youtube 1080p and 1080p movies run fine without lag/stuttering. Have not tried games yet, but people have reported L4D 2, SC2 and other similar games being very much playable on medium settings. you can youtube HD3000 graphics performance for videos.
Laptop multitasks very well-- I have around 40 tabs open in 2 windows of chrome. also running skype and others in background. Perfectly fine, no lag/waiting.
I would like to try the wireless display function but I dont have the netgear router thing which you need to pull it off. Its an extra 99 dollars.

It has 2 ram slots. You can upgrade to 8 gr:2x4gb. I have 2x2=4gb, which is more than enough speed for the laptop. If you really want speed increase, invest that RAM upgrade money into an SSD. You will notice the laptop fly after that.

 

I agree with the ssd tip, swap to an ssd before ram increase.

 

I agree that more RAM doesn't necessarily improve performance subject to pointing out that Sandy Bridge, particularly the graphics, does benefit from having dual channel access with two RAM modules. Use CPU-z to check your existing RAM (or look under the RAM slot cover).

John

 

Okey so I have briefly tried out my R830 and here's my take on it. I should add i installed 4 gb more of ram to a total of 8 and a intel 320 120 gb SSD.

I love this system when it runs cool and it does that when doing the most casual things but as other have noted not always.

While doing this core temps are around 45 celsius and TZ01 temp in cpuid is around 55 which I'm assuming is whereever the censor is placed?

While doing all of the microsoft updates from a clean install it the cores ran up to 82 celsius and the fan got quite loud, but I havent noticed the fan sounding more when watching a movie for example.

One thing that's odd is that if i leave it plugged in and after som time it enters some powersaving mode which dims the screen a bit, several times the fans have increased and cores gone from 45 to 65 celsius without me running anything. If I tap it to get out of that mode they instantly cools off pretty much. Any ideas what that might be?

I'll test more and update once I have more results.