Ordered a custom A205 - on sale from Toshiba

I've been a long time user of Toshiba laptops and they have always given me good service. I recently managed to let the smoke out of my 1.5 year old M55 and my U205 is just a little small for everyday use, so I was on the hunt for a new machine. My preference has always been the 14.1 screen, but they're getting a bit rare compared to the 15.4" and 17" models. Almost pulled the trigger on the Vaio CR series, but Best Buy was out of stock. Finally decided to take a look at Toshiba Direct and I'm glad I did.

First impulse was to buy the pre-configured M200 with Santa Rosa. Fit my needs with 14.1, wireless N, Gigabit, and Santa Rosa at $1299. Then I looked at the sale on A200s and configured a nice one for a good price.

15.4'" screen

T7300 2.0 GHz

Wireless N

Paid the extra for a single stick of 1 Gig of RAM (will up it with some good stuff from Newegg)

ATI HD 2600 w/ 256 Meg (went this route because it offloads h.264 off of the CPU)

(2) 120 Gig HDs. Bit the bullet on the second one so I get the connector and cage. Will likely drop 2 7k200 or WD 250s in sometime soon.

Bluetooth

HK speakers (had 'em on my M55 and liked 'em).

Only thing missing from my wish list was Gigabit network and 14.1" screen. FWIW, the P200 has similar savings if you're in the market for a 17" screen.

Anyhow, total was $1709, but with the instant rebate, the whole package was $1367 plus tax. Nice price for all the goodies it came with! Found a free second day shipping coupon also.

I'll update when it gets here. Just hope the custom build doesn't give me any problems. Also thinking about putting XP on the rig , so I'll advise of any stumbling blocks there also.

 

I love the HK speakers on my M-55, too. And so far this laptop is still humming along just fine.