Toshiba Qosimo X505 - Variants

I checked toshiba direct, and the cheapest variant they offer is the X505-892 with i5-460M and Nvidia 460M 1.5 GB DDR5 card. Cost is 1129$
On buydig the 885 is available for 950$ only inclusive of tax and shipping.

So I am wondering, is it worth the approx exra 200$ for 460m vs 450m i5 and the 1.5GB DDR5 card instead of DDR5 1GB card.

From what I see, I will gain a lot in gaming performance, however, in regular multimedia performance the 450m and 460m have barely any difference

 

I think you are correct: you'll gain a lot in gaming performance from the Geforce 460M but not so much in power from the new processor. I think the price difference is worth it because the Qosmio is a gaming machine, but if you are only a casual gamer maybe you don't need the Geforce 460M. Actually, maybe you don't need the Qosmio at all. (The keyboard has been improved as well, I don't know if that's important to you.)

Tomorrow there will be a $200 discount on the Qosmio line at Toshiba Direct, not sure if it will apply to the X505-892.

Toshiba | Laptops, Notebooks, Accessories, Electronics & Projectors

And here you can see an excellent user review of the X505-893 (Amazon sells them for $1150): http://forum.notebookreview.com/toshiba/526399-toshiba-qosmio-x505-q893-user-review.html The 893 has a backlit keyboard.

 

Jeeze, if they discount the Q893 and Q892 by $200.00, talk about thew deal of the freaking century!!! Yoo-hoo, a4500435, you better be ready to buy if they do!

 

Toshiba does not sell the Q893. It's an Amazon (and J&R) exclusive. And I assume the $200 off refers to the list price ($1279 for the Q892) and not to the current price ($1129). Well, we'll see tomorrow.

 

Oh yes, if the Q893 drops significantly again, I probably will give in to temptation. I kind of doubt it though, seeing as the Q893 is exclusive to Amazon. Not even J&R has it anymore.

Anyway, maybe there'll be some deals on Black Friday or Cyber Monday...

 

I am sincerely hoping either 892 or 893 drop to 1000$ by first week december.
It will be woohoo moment.
however with toshibadirect I found out that if I buy it, I will pay 90$ as california tax!

 

I'm slightly fearful that by the time the Q893 drops to ~$1000, Sandy Bridge will have come out, and the next-gen Qosmio will be in the pipeline.

Thankfully though, I highly doubt the GPU will be changed anytime soon.

 

Thats why they are dropping prices, to get rid of old stock before they push new SB-based models. Knowing Toshiba they most likely start selling them on the next day after SB is officially released.

In terms of GPUs, expect 5xxM to be on time (desktops are here already).

 

Looks like the only model this applies to is the Q894, though, to be honest, it is not a bad deal at all. A mere $250.00 above the Q893 that I have and you get the i7 740 and Blue-ray.

 

Yeah, and if SB brings other perks, like USB3.0, then it might be worth waiting for. I'm still not sure how much improvement SB will bring to dual-cores, but ~20% seems to be a safe number.

I don't get your point about the 5xxM series though. Isn't the GTX 580 just a redo of the lousy GTX 480? I haven't seen anything on the timeline or release date of the rest of the 500 series.

 

My point is that mid-range 5xxM could arrive in time for new Qosmio model. Even if its just a die shrink => less power&thermal reqs => possibility to squeeze more powerful submodel into similar chassis.

 

Hmm, that's possible, but I highly doubt it. Nvidia isn't known for such quick updates, and the 580M in no way translates to new mobile parts.

Besides, SB debuts on Jan. 5, less than a month and a half away, and we haven't even heard of mid-range desktop 5xxMs. So, no, I don't believe it.

 

I just found out that if you use code GAMING100 at ToshibaDirect, it discounts $100 off any Qosmio until Nov. 30! Along with the $200 discount, the Q894 is only $1299!!

If anyone has been holding out for a quad core, bluetooth and Blu-ray, that's a real steal.

 

Great find, a4500435! How did you discover that coupon? Are there coupons for other Toshiba models or just for the Qosmios? The OP might be interested to know that the Q892 is only $1029 with that coupon.

By the way, I don't get the Q894. Why would they put Blu Ray and a 720p screen? I'd rather have a 1080p screen and no Blu Ray.

ED: I checked Retail Me Not and sure enough the coupon was there. I don't know why, I assumed that Toshiba only had coupons like 15% off these accesories nobody wants and are 30% cheaper anywhere else. Good to know they have some decent coupons from time to time.

 

Since I am buying only in dec, I have to look for some other coupon sometime mid december.
I like toshiba as a company, but somehow I feel shortchanged that a 1920x1080 acer with 18.5" and ATI 5850 DDR5 card costs 1049$ on newegg!

But that said I am scared of buying acer, so I guess I will stick to toshiba

 

That Acer actually sounds like a really good deal. If I had not already bought the Q893, I would be seriously looking at that machine right now.

Anyone know anything about the 5850 versus the 460m?

Edit: WOW I just looked at that machine on Newegg. What a freaking steal! That thing has Blu-Ray, 1080p, an i7, the 5850...all the bells and whistles and it's $100.00 cheaper than the Q893. Damn, I am impressed.

 

Yes, I actually was looking at that laptop before I came across the Qosmio. Here's why I don't think it's worth the $150 difference of the Q893:

• It does have a 5850, yes, but uses DDR3, not GDDR5 RAM. In layman's terms, it's basically 40-50% less powerful than a 5850 with GDDR5, so this 5850 doesn't come anywhere near the performance of the 460M in the Qosmio. At 1080p, there's no way this GPU can handle current games like BFBC2.
  
• The Acer is also quite hot. I saw one idling at Frys, and it was really hot to the touch. I would not want this on my lap. This is one of those i7 laptops that can't really handle the heat.
  
• It has a glossy touchpad. GLOSSY TOUCHPAD. For those that have been fortunate not to experience this, it is a complete b!tch to use.
  
• The keyboard was not to my liking, but this is probably personal preference. The keyboard does have noticeable flex though, and the lettering is actually quite pale, and difficult to make out in the dark since there's no backlight.
  
• The screen is also a bit dim, but I will say the colors looked fine.
  
• I've heard of problems with wireless connectivity.

Having said all that, here's what I like about the Acer AS8943G:

• Metal construction, it's a nice and durable work laptop.
  
• That Blu-ray drive.
  
• 5(!) USB ports
  
• Above average speakers (though still far from Qosmio quality)
  
• I heard it comes with a remote control, but don't quote me on this.

So basically, I think if you're not a gamer and just want a laptop for work and movies, the Acer is a great deal. If you're actually serious about getting a DTR for gaming...sorry, this has nothing on the 460M's performance.

 

Yup 460M sure rocks.
Its performance is at par with 5870(DDR5) for some games, and slightly lower for others.
But after reading multiple reviews about Asus and MSI laptops with 5870/5850 cards, I found that they cannot switch off the card when not in use, leading to lower battery life. however, 460M equipped Toshiba's can simply go into "eco mode".
I do not want a huge GPU eating battery when I just surfing the web or watching a low rez video.

 

That's Nvidia's Optimus, not "eco mode". Right now, Optimus only works with i5s (Q892/3), but once Sandy Bridge comes out in January, Optimus will also work with i7s.

 

I looked at some benchmarks.
From what I see, in my budget I get
i7+360M, i7+5850
i5+460M, i5+5870

Now for normal computing i7 will give me 4 cores, and a slightly higher clock speed. However, I may not be multitasking much.
Therefore i5 is also okay for me if tasks like video encoding HD video playback can be shifted to the GPU.
Currently researching that.
As for 2-3 months, I cannot wait, I have to buy it sometime first week of December. So 99% it will be the Toshiba, because MSI has 5870 which has serious heat issues even when idle.
At 1149$ on Amazon the 893 is good value. To bad jr.com does not have this model anymore as they often give better deals over amazon.

 

Jeeze, I hope you aren't going to listen to a4500435, dude. The guy is a total troll!

lol I kid. He brings up some very good points in all his posts, particularly the last one. Any "buyer's remorse" I might have had for not snagging the Acer, he addressed nicely. In addition, I absolutely LOVE my Qosmio Q893. Not sure what a5400 is waiting for.

 

LOL, I won'e listen to him and get the 893. Maybe it drops to 1100$
My one big grouse, laptop bag for the beast.Nothing cheaper than 30$ exists for carrying this big laptop.
Should I try some local stores in bay area with no name brand bags? Do they come cheaper? Any tips?

 

I wonder the same thing. He knows so much about this laptop that, when he finally gets it, instead of the excitement of the first night he will feel the boredom of a 30 year marriage.

 

Honestly, do you really want to buy a beautiful gaming laptop and skimp on some piece-O-crap case to carry it in? The BIG problem (pun intended) with an 18.4 inch laptop is that the bags to carry them are rare. But honestly, you are going to want to spend more than just a couple of dollars on a decent carrying case, obviously more if you want wheels. I created a thread for this when I first got my laptop. I will post the link in a sec, though it is only dubiously helpful in your case.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/toshiba/525183-good-briefcase-18-4-inch-qosmios.html

 

I will not carry it much. Moreover I have seen that many "expensive" cases do not actually offer protection, but charge for the brand.
Therefore I will buy a 13$ sleeve, and then put the laptop in whatever case I buy.

 

so everything is finalized.
Its either the MSI GX740 or the Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q893
The MSI is 50$ cheaper, however, it has 320GB HDD. Tough choices you have to make!!

 

The GX740's screen is even dimmer than the 1080p Qosmio screen, surprisingly since it's only 1600x900. I wouldn't buy it if it was half-off...I just couldn't live with that.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/504879-disappointed-gx740-screen.html

 

Man! reading this thread got me so tempted I just ordered the Q892 from toshiba direct. Since it's black friday weekend sale it cost $1079 along with a free 500 GB portable harddrive valued at another $100. I also used the coupon code "GAMING100" to knock off another $100 and got it for $979. The deal expires on Monday the 29th of Nov.

I'm wondering what's the difference between the Q892 and Q893? Is it just the backlit keyboard? Did I get a good deal or what?

 

That's a great deal, especially since you got one of the top GPUs, the GTX460M, for less than $1000.

The main difference between the Q892/Q893 is the backlit keyboard. Maybe I'll regret it, but I'm still waiting for the Q893 to drop...maybe that'll happen when Sandy Bridge comes out.

EDIT: Does ToshibaDirect charge sales tax?

EDIT AGAIN: I answered myself, for CA at least, it comes out to $1091.54:

Q892-$979.99
S&H-free
Sales tax-$95.55
Recycling fee-$16

If it wasn't for the 500Gb drive, this wouldn't be that great a deal, since DataVision is now selling the Q893 for $1124, and you can discount $20 with code DATAVIS20, and they don't charge tax, so the real difference is >$10.

 

Hi a4500435, I actually got it for $1026.17 that's with tax included. At first I couldn't find the free shipping option, since toshiba says they ship free for any purchase over $499. So I gave them a call and made a mention about that and the representative took of the cost of 2 day shipping since I live in Hawaii.

 

Well then, you got a great deal, congrats.

 

Since I am in CA, toshiba direct means tax issues.
Q893 is 1124$ on Datavision, and you said additional 20$ off with coupon.
Now thats a sweet deal 1104$ instead of amazon's 1149$

That said, how is datavision as a retailer. Their online ratings are good, but I have never done business with them

Speaking of Toshiba Q892 from toshiba direct.
With tax and recycle fee by bill for 3 items
1. 500GB HDD
2. 18" extreme backpack
3. Qosmio 893
1025 + 1025*8.25% = 1131$

So is 1104 for Q893, or a lot less for the 892 + 500GB HDD.
I lose the backlit keyboard. Worth it? Please give me your advice. Today is the last day for the deals, and I do not want to lose out!
Hellllp!!!!!!!!!

EDIT : I checked the site, its coming to 1086$ for laptop and hdd

Buydig.com has it for 1049$

Confusion ->Q893 for 1104$ (datavision)
or Q892 for 1049$ (Buydig)

 

I have noticed that from friday last week to monday (just 2 days after black friday), the Q892 price has tumbled a 100$ from 1150 to 1050.
However Q893 was 1150 then and is lowest around 1124(datavision) today.
I think I will wait couple of days and see if it gets the same 100$ tumble. A 893 for 1050$ will fit nicely in my budget!

 

I have ordered the Q892 for 1050$ from buydig. With 3-5 day shipping it came to 1053$ all inclusive! waiting for the delivery man now