Satellite A200

I dropped by Staples today for some graph paper and a new calculator, and saw many of their Toshibas on clearance (woohoo).

I am looking for a laptop for university. I will also be playing some games.

The Satellite A200-TH7 is on clearance for $1,197 (CAD)!
1.67GHz Intel® Core2™ Duo Processor T5450 (667MHz FSB, L1 Cache 32KB/32KB, L2 Cache 2MB)
2GB (2x 1GB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB
250GB 4200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Built-in 8x DVD Super-Multi Double Layer Drive
15.4" Wide XGA TFT with TruBrite™ Native LCD Panel (1280 x 800)
ATI Mobility Radeon® HD2600, 256MB dedicated VRAM and Up to 1024MB with Hypermemory
Integrated 1.3MP Web Camera for Video over IP
Integrated microphone for Voice over IP
Intel Wireless LAN (802.11a/g/n)
Bluetooth Version 2.0
10/100 integrated Ethernet LAN
V.92 56K Data/Fax Modem
Ports: 5-in-1 Bridge Media Adaptor (SD Card, xD picture card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Multi Media Card), 4 USB 2.0, RJ11, RJ45, IEEE 1394, external microphone port, headphone port, RGB, HDMI output port, S-Video Out
Microsoft® Windows® Vista Ultimate, Bilingual
Software Included: Norton Internet Security™ 2007 (90 day trial version); Microsoft Office 2007 (60 day trial version)
Dimensions: 362mmW x 267.8mmD x 39.3mmH
Weight: 2.72kg (6lbs).

A few things I noticed:
- Quite a bit of flex all around the notebook. I've never owned a notebook before though and maybe this is normal? Comments on the overall quality and durability are appreciated.
- I couldn't see the back, does anyone have a detailed list of all inputs/outputs this model has?
- Can anyone comment on the sound quality?
- I only now know that the HD is 4200rpms. Will this be that noticeable?
- Any suggestions and comments are welcome, thanks!
(Yes I know this is a Toshiba forum and likely biased, but you guys probably also know the most )

Also, since this is on clearance, that must mean new models are coming around. Does anyone know of anything promising from Toshiba?

 

Hi

To answer your queries:

1. Toshibas are generally very good and usually have excellent build quality and durability. I owned a Satellite A210-11P and it was very good in terms of build.
2. Check the Toshiba website for a manual, should tell you in there.
3. The sound quality should be pretty good.
4. A 4200rpm HDD is definitely noticeable if you play games, I noticed the 4200rpm was slow when playing games and Vista was a bit sluggish at times.
5. Toshiba will probably have some nice new T8xxx and T9xxx laptops coming out hence the clearance.

 

Ah thank you. This makes the laptop slightly less appealing, but still interesting.

A couple things I forgot to ask aswell,
- How is the heat on this thing? Is it comfortable to use on your lap when doing something intensive?
- Related to heat, how is the fan/HD/optical drive noise? I like quiet systems, my desktop is loud as **** and I'm tired of it. Also I will be bringing the laptop to school, so quiet is good.
- Battery life? The one review is quite impressive, with full brightness it lasted 3 hours. But that model had an integrated GPU.
- Bloatware and ease of removal?


Sorry if all these have been asked before. I've read the reviews on this site for the notebook, but the configurations are all different. The main thing being the GPU, which I assume will greatly affect battery life, heat and noise.

 

Woah! Look around a little more.

4200rpm HD, even though 250GB, is not good.

Sure, you've got quite a few ports, but I got my laptop for ~$900 (specs in sig). Are you really going to need all those ports? Because that's the only reason to pay an extra $300. In fact, I payed for my RAM from Dell, because my dad didn't want me installing my own. Otherwise, it would have been cheaper.

All I'm saying is, check around before you run with this.

And check some of these out: http://www.notebookreview.com/price/default.asp?cmd=&callingPage=0

 

To answer your second lot of questions:

6. Heat should be pretty low because of the Core 2 Duo processor.
7. It will be quite quiet, certainly not loud.
8. Battery life will be pretty good
9. There will be quite a bit of bloatware, Norton, Office 2007 Trial, Toshiba apps, third-party apps. Not too difficult to remove by any means.

And don't be put off by what pixelot said, you can easily replace the 4200rpm HDD with a better one for a reasonable price. I have to say the feature set of the Toshiba for the price is extremely good

 

I was looking at Vostros before, but aren't they very heavy? Could you tell me how heavy your Vostro is?

Also, I will would be getting a 8600 in mine, bringing the price up 100 dollars. Yes I know it is a good value but from what I read it just seems too heavy. Unless, of course, you can convince me otherwise

edit: Just saw your post Exodemia, thanks for the info.

 

I wouldn't pay $1200 for a laptop with those specs. That's just my opinion, and I just thought I'd let you know. If that's what you want to do, go ahead!

I don't have an accurate scale handy (the one I have read 4lbs, and I think it's heavier than that ). It's supposed to be 5.4lbs.

And here's the review on the laptop you're considering, if you haven't read it already.

Whatever you get, I hope you like it.

 

Yeah now that I think of it I wouldn't settle for this either. Its not like I was looking for a laptop today, I just happend to be at Staples during their clearance and got a little excited. I've been researching laptops for over a month now.

PS thats the A210, the one at Staples is the A200. There is no review listed on this website of the A200 (or A210/A215 for that matter) with this configuration. All of the review models have pretty garb specs lol.

 

The A200 is a very good laptop, I can't believe you are dismissing it so easily.

 

Compared to many/most other brick n mortar models it's very good. But pricewise there are definitely better deals out there, price is the only reason I regret having bought this laptop but I was stuck since I had $900 store credit from my previous POS returned laptop and I needed something that could play games since I don't have room for a desktop.

 

Price seems not too good, price match to here? $1102.98 +$10 ship
http://www.nxsource.com/products/159935/TOSHIBA/PSAE6C_TH70DC/
Price used to be $1700-$1800 last August.
If you are interested in some Hp's, FS and BB have some quite good deals right now with 8400GS cards.

 

Thanks for the help guys.

Like I said I was simply browsing Staples that day, and was just looking for some thoughts and input. I've already set my eyes on the Asus F8SV, think I may be ordering it soon.

Although it is undeniable that for a brick and mortar store, that is a pretty good price for reasonable specs. Definately a pleasant surprise from the seriously over-priced garbage you usually see, displayed so proudly and with Customer Service Reps who either don't know what they're saying, or will say anything for a sale.