New Portege Z830

Question: A user on this forum is requesting the FCC id on my machine. says he wants to use it for test purposes. Is there any harm in sharing it?. ... or is this some kind of scam?

 

Do you mean the "Experience Index"? Just noticed that it said not applicable while on batteries. That's what I used just now to run the Crystal diskmark benchmark too. I think I'll let it drop to 10% then plug it in ... then try again. While still on batteries (since like... 3pm), I'm showing:
Processor: 6.9
Memory (RAM): 7.3
Graphics: 5.9
Gaming graphics: 6.2
Primary Hard disk: 6.7.
Again -- while on batteries.

[Just re-ran the test plugged in; same scores]

 

Yes it's not applicable if on batt.

It is not a scam sir.
You can search for the details on the FCC Site, if you know the ID.

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm

Information is available to the public.

 

I have the ASUS UX31 and purchased the Portege Z835 a few nights ago

The ASUS is an industrial work of art,very well built,
only problem I have had is the occasional missed keystroke
The UX31 is great to admire,i prefer the Z835 for every day use
I also have read quite a few reviews slamming the Z830 as being ugly,Must disagree,its a very well designed and attractive notebook.

 

Those are great scores...
Other than the processor and RAM, those scores are higher than my W701ds.
Especially the Hard Disk.

 

And that's why I think ultrabooks will be a growth market.

Portability, battery life, instant-on like a tablet but has the productiveness of a laptop.

Glad you are enjoying it... I felt the same way when I got my MacBookAir a year ago (except I don't have the dedicated Pg/Hm/End keys and I stopped trying to use Win7 on it due to wonkiness). I'm going to sell the MBA and probably still have money left over after getting the Z835.

 

Couldn't agree more. The "7% remaining" battery warning eventually came on -- around 10:30pm. So ... at least 6 hours or *more*, maybe 7, while transferring files from my old slate to the new z830.

Thanks for the kind comparison to the W701ds. Shew -- that looks like a beast. If you're serious, that's quite a kind encouragement.

Audio quality is great. Speakers or headphones, it's first class.

 

Yes seriously...
I do have 12GB RAM so ...
And my i7 processor is slightly faster, but not that much.
We're just on-par on the graphics.
But I also got a slightly higher score on the gaming graphics.
My hdd rating though is just 5.9, so yeah, sucks...

With that, the Z830 really looks very promising.
Not to mention that it's the lightest so far...

 

Hello, I´m thinking to buy an ultrabook and after read this forum i think i´ll pick a toshiba z830 (over the asus ux31 for the problem of this model). But i have a quiestion which are the dimensions of its charger? is it like as macbook air or ux31e? It´s important for me because I´ll carry laptop and its charger.

Thanks, and sorry for my English.

 

The charger unit measures 1 x 1.5 x 3.5 inches -- and feels very lightweight... lighter than most "bricks." The cord is also longer than most, doesn't require a "3-pronged grounded tip" (at least in the USA), and doesn't feel "heavy to the touch."

 

And it isnt a charger where the brick plugs right into the wall,like the apple or ux21 models. Which i actually like, bc the wall-bricks took upan extra slot annd were more difficult to unplug.

 

z830guy

I would be very very grateful to you, if you run PCMark Vantage test on you z80 with i7. So that we could compare it with ux31!

 

Whoa...this is a bit bigger deal. I've signed up for the key .. but it didn't kick it out to me automatically. Maybe it requires human interaction? I'll keep you apprised.

In the meantime, the Toshiba "wetsuit" style zipper pouch came in today for it. Part #PA1454u-1sn2
It fits perfectly. The only scenario that seems more perfect to me would be some kind of portfolio-style leather case that disguised it as a leather legal pad folder. Let's keep our eyes open for something custom. I *wish* someone would make something that didn't have to be unzipped and laid aside. There are several such cases for the Mac Book Air. Let's hope the z830 catches on so the 3rd-party market catches on and wants to do the same for us. In the meantime, this $19 solution should get me by.

 

Boo, toshibadirect removed Bluetooth from z835 st8305, it's looks like it really does not have BT ((

 

Well, I finally purchased the z835... Now I just need to pick it up in the store. Final cost (after tax, black friday promotion, random gift card, reward zone holiday bonus, reward zone points earned from purchase) = $710! although, that is before memory upgrade, wireless card upgrade, and a possible ssd upgrade...

 

Great stuff Makryger. I'll look forward to seeing which ssd you buy -- so I'll know what's on my to do list for the future!

 

I was looking at the design of the hard drive.

So I guess the first section is the boot sector, then there's the general "data" section, then the last segment is the recover/toshiba files section. Sound correct?

 

Thanks for the picture z830guy. So how's your z830? I thought you weren't going to receive it till wednesday.

Just wondering, does yours have the fingerprint reader?
How's the fingerprint software? I hope it's better than HP's SimplePass

As for the first section in your picture, I don't think it's a boot sector. When I did a clean install on my DM4, I deleted all partition and created two. One for the OS and the other for the data. It worked fine even after deleting that 100mb partition that I have no idea what it was. I've never owned a Toshiba PC before, but I find it weird how the recovery partition (what you said was last) doesn't have a designated letter unlike HP.

Can't wait for more reviews/hands-on accounts. I'm just waiting for the model with a fingerprint reader, maybe an i5, and hopefully a 256gb ssd.

 

Received my Z830 today and swapped the SSD for a Runcore T50. I quickly learned that the BIOS is bottlenecked at SATA 2 for the drive. The SSD is an easy swap in any case as is the single stick of RAM. First impressions...love this system!

I have the i7 with 6GB ram. I had read about concerns on the monitor flexibility and after using it all day, I can say the build quality is excellent. There is no way the monitor would not be flexible being this thin. I have 3 other ultras presently and can say that the weight of this is visibly lighter which makes as much of a selection factor as the backlit keyboard which was a necessity for me. This seems to be the cream of first round ultras if one can live with knowing that the SSD speed is held to SATA 2. There is no appreciable visible difference between SATA2 and SATA 3 in typical use in any case. Here are some piks!

 

What are your read/write speeds with the new drive? Is the i7 worth it over the i5? How's the heat with the i7?

 

@Series 9 Guy

Can you say something about the fan noise?

Thanks!

PS: Helpfull Pictures. It seems to be easy to change the SSD or to replace a weak battery!

 

Got the laptop! Haven't been able to convert it over to my main machine yet, so a full review is pending. But I wanted to see whether I could find the wireless card to switch it with bluetooth, and the center screw is a tamper proof security torx. (The six stars with a hole in the middle.) I guess I have to order one of those first. Thanks a lot, Toshiba. Was that REALLY necessary?

 

The torx screw will be standard in any 8 dollar multi kit... Thats what mine cost some time ago.

My Z830 is a i7 and absolutely no heat at all....not even warm. The fan does make a bit of noise and I will probably tackle unhooking that but it is not really bothersome at all. I had read that it is on always but this is not the case. I am only running on battery now but the tests I took yesterday with the RunCore T50 were 285/270. The 830 has bluetooth.

Quite frankly, I opened a brand new X220 that I have and a orange from U260/400 Lenovo brand new as well. The U260 (Cdn numbering) is orange and an amazing system as was its packaging and presentation. The wife is keeping that and, coincidentally, the son as well wants the same. Both say this is an amazing system but think we are getting just too thin.

 

Where is the best place to buy the runcore? Also, can you post crystaldiskmark scores?

 

The Runcore can be found with a simple Google and will post scores later...

 

Is this the drive you purchased Series 9 guy? May I ask -- did you keep all the Toshiba-provided untilities?

 

Yup, PinoyBoy, they delivered quite a bit prior to their original estimate. And the UPS prediction was spot-on, once it was loaded on the truck in California.

The fingerprint reader is perfect, honestly. I had a fingerprint reader on a Lenovo a couple of laptops ago. Every other instance, I had to use the password. The fingerprint reader was just a hassle. But this one... well... the best commentary is -- I haven't had to resort to the password yet. In fact, I haven't even gone to the trouble of figuring out how to access the password alternative yet. The fingerprint reader has worked perfectly.

I think we would all rather have s fast 256 Gig. Whoever produces it first, if it's affordable, will be rich.

 

So when are we going to see some unboxing videos?

Or are you guys waiting for me to do it so you can listen to Justin Bieber again?

 

Good stuff. I was seriously looking at the Samsung Series 9 -- again! -- but now I'm re-focused on the Toshiba.

 

Sorry BigNerd. I was too excited to get mine out of the box to stop and shoot a video.

 

100% agreement on everything you observed, Series 9 Guy. Not warm, fan rarely spins up to audible level.

 

Series 9 Guy, can you share some thoughts on how the Toshiba compares to the Series 9 laptop? The more detail the better.

Thanks...

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/toshiba/610559-new-portege-z830-37.html#post8105620

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...op-zx310-900x3a-unveiled-280.html#post8106015

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sol...ta-1-8-sata-ssds-available-6.html#post8105587

I have been using this all day today and since I broke it open and switched over the SSDs last night

PROS

Lightest Ultra available by a noticeable difference
Backlit Keyboard
Battery life is 6 plus hours
Great finish with no fingerprint residue
VERY solid construction has a great feel
No heat whatsoever
Great Trackpad
plenty of ports
i7/6GB/SSD/USB3/Media Card Slot

CONS

Only SATA II SSD speeds
Max 6GB RAM as only one piece can be switched out (2GB integrated)
Max 768 Pixels.
Fan (I dont think its necessary at all)

 

I would 'second' all these. Same user experience. And again... fan doesn't bother me at all, even if we leave it. It's a bit like a refrigerator noise. Just a *slight* white noise... but I became accustomed to it in no time.

Also, keep in mind, if we use the cool custom key to switch to "Projector only" for screen resolution, it'll drive just about anything. For example, right now I'm working off of a *gorgeous* V7 monitor -- at 1920x1200. And I have another gorgeous external monitor at work. So the only time the 768 pixel thing is a limitation is when I'm not at either of my desks.

 

Don't know if this was addressed but anyone know the difference between the z835 and z830. And I don't mean the on paper specs. I mean in terms of quality of the components such as LCD, SSD, heatsink and etc..

I mean a lot of sites are reviewing the z835 and claiming its an z830 which I don't think is an accurate representation :/

customizing I see

13.3" HD LED Backlit Display (1366x768)
13.3" HD TruBrite® LED Backlit Display (1366x768)

are they both matte and whats the difference?

 

Planning to buy one from Bestbuy and have few questions:
- How is bestbuy's screen? Matte or glossy? There is no Bestbuy in Southern California that have it in store.
- Do I need to update drivers before using the laptop?
- How can I fresh install windows 7 specially there is no optical drive and I do not have external one?

Thanks for the responses.

 

- BB screen is glossy. I don't think any of the screens are matte. For me its not a dealbreaker, as I have lived with a glossy screen for years, but it can get distracting at times.
- I had some difficulty connecting to my home network. Updating the wifi drivers resolved the problem instantly. Otherwise, I have not needed to do any driver updates.
- You'll have to find an ISO of Windows 7, then download the "Windows7 USB-DVD Download Tool" to turn a USB drive into a bootable disk.

 

The Z830 is a matte screen. I have also no connection problems and have used it during travel the passed few days. In fact, as I sit here and type, I have access to 5 other WiFi networks in the neighborhood, in contrast to the Series 9 which was terrible.

 

Can anyone comment on the brightness of the matte screen?

 

I can and have had the Series 9 in my hand which is, by the book much brighter. IF you are comparing each side by side at 100% brightness a visible difference is apparent. As for the Z830, I haven't found it necessary to use any higher than the preset 40/100 in any conditions as of yet.

In fact, thats just way too bright!

This brings up something else I particularly like about the 830 which is a button directly right of the power button for 'one stop shopping' of all brightness, volume, battery, wifi, connectivity, sync and presentation settings... quick and easy.

I cant tell you how many times I accidentally shut off my wifi on my other lappys.

 

Glad to see you guys are liking the Z830 - great info on the i7 version. Is anyone using the Z830 as their primary computer?

I think I could use the Z830 as my only computer but would need an external monitor to do Photoshop work and such ... no way I am editing photos on a 768p screen.

 

Thanks for the info guys.

Looks like Bestbuy bumped up the prices to $899 because of cyber Monday maybe. Have to wait till it goes back to $799. I have Bestbuy store card so the 18 month no interest would be of great help.

 

@series9:

So is the z830 better than the S9?

Being almost half the price is probably one of the best features.

 

Oh, wow. I can't believe they raised the price. Thank goodness i bought it on friday!

 

How is the stock SSD inside the Z830? (again z830 not z835) and as for the memory, we can upgrade it with a 4GB 204 pin to make it 6gb correct?

 

I like the Z830 much better than the S9. The stock SSD is fine although I upgraded to a Runcore T50 to test SATA 3 capabilities. The beauty of the SSD is access time which is about a hundred times faster than a hard drive at .01ms typically. Because all SSDs have similar access times, one will not be able to defer between them in typical computer startup and use.

 

series9guy/z830guy thanks for sharing!

I want to order the i7 too, where did you get yours from? toshibadirect?

Any idea if i7 necessarily means matte screen? the specs don't say matte/glossy and I'm scared I'll get the glossy version..

 

Hi Bololobo. Glad you're interested.
I'm looking at this z830 screen and, I'm tellin' ya, if this is not a matte screen, it's certainly close to it. Not a high shine on this at all. I'm going with matte.

I ordered mine from Toshiba Direct within minutes of finding out that orders had commenced. Rec'd it 3 days later.

 

Hey if anyone ordered a laptop with 3 years standard warranty. Can you tell me how much it costs to upgrade to 3 years onsite?

you can check here:

Toshibadirect - Service Plans


---

Also, anyone know what kind of ram you can upgrade the z830 with?

 

Uniten, you asked about memory -- I think makryger upgraded his RAM... so I'll let him respond on that one. As for the SSD -- I heartily agree: it has the *sense* of being very zippy (I think just because we're used to a spinning platter). I've posted my read/write scores elsewhere in this thread, so you can refer to those for the scientific answer. but the *anecdotal* answer is -- this is the fastest computer I've ever owned by *far.*. The stock drive might drop to the bottom of the heap for SSD drives, but I think the point is -- even the bottom of the heap for SSD is still fast enough for the typical office applications. Granted -- If you were rendering big videos or plotting rocket trajectories for NASA, maybe you'd want a faster SSD, but this one seems to be filling the bill just fine for my uses.