Toshiba R700 / R705 /R630 Owners Thread

Thanks for the info, appreciate it. I am just looking for a thin and light laptop that is some what quiet where it can not be heard in a quiet class room. Any suggestions?

 

The R700/630 would be fine in a quiet class room. All you would hear is a quiet hum at low load. Like most notebooks, the fan ramps up if you are watching HD video but that isn't what you would be doing in class. Right?

 

I disagree. I'm pretty sure you would hear the toshiba in a quiet room. My girlfriend has a R630 and I constantly hear the fan... it is a pain!

 

I live in the US and so I am only aware of the R700 models. I assumed the R630 is the same but maybe not. My wife used to complain about how loud my HP dv3z was. I got rid of it due to the heat and noise. She has never complained about the R705.

What type of applications is your girlfriend working on when you hear the fan? Mine has a only a slight hum when I am doing anything other than HD video or WI-DI. (e.g. browsing, Microsoft Office apps, accounting programs, etc.).

 

Has anyone seen a difference with the new BIOS?

 

The only diffrence between r700 and r630 is that the docking port is missing.
It's same case, same fan etc.
Anyway, is it possible to dissable "fan always on" in BIOS?

 

As 9while9 said, its the same. When my girlfriend got her R630 I was amazed by the lightweight and form factor. Since I also need a new laptop I figured to give the R700 a try hoping I would get used to the fan. But I didn't. I tried the R700 a few days and sent it back.
The devices I've seen (or heard) all ran at a minimum fan speed of 43%. Even in idle! Personally I can only confirm the opinion of the notebookcheck.com guys..

 

@hlat: So what did you get instead?

 

Thats the problem.. nothing so far! To be honest I couldn't find a suitable notebook which combines all my needs.
There is just no 13" notebook available which has an unnoticable fan, nice screen and long batterlife. You always have to make a compromise...

 

I think I'll go with Lenovo ThinkPad X201. You should check out sony vaio vpc-z series or hp envy if you can afford it
The best looking notebook right now is ideapad u260 (battery life sux)

 

so I think I might be going with this one... Amazon.com: Toshiba Portégé R705-P41 TruBrite LED 13.3-Inch Laptop (Metal/Blue): Electronics

what do you guys think?

How is the r705 on watching videos, are the graphics decent enough?

 

Is th eprocessor the only difference between the Amazon unit you mention and the Bestbuy unit? Is it worth the $100 difference as far as performance since both have same graphics, screen and HDD?

Gary

 

I thought about the x201 too. The only problem is the screen resolution and maybe that its a little to small. I also thought about the x301. A 13" with 1440x900 resolution would be perfect but its missing a card reader and a express card slot.
Sony Z13 has a nice screen but a crappy battery life and also a hearable fan (idle). I also don't need nvidia graphics and I'd like to have better support than Sony's.
The R700 with the 9 cell battery would have been a really nice device if they would have built in an acceptable fan and a better screen. Its a shame...

@OneHitWonder: None of the modern notebooks has problems playing videos! Don't worry.
@huntnyc: in my opinion it isn't worth it. Save the 100$ for a good SSD. That would really make a difference.

 

@hlat Well the only thing left is HP elite 8440p . It has an option of 1600x900 screen , express card, antiglare and the cooling system turns up to 35.2 dB(A) under constant processor load (unlike r630/50db ) and you can also connect a 12 cell battery slice . ... dont think you can find anything better ...its 14" but thats shouldnt be a big problem

 

actually it is a problem
I'm pretty impressed by the quality of the elite books but it also makes them more heavy. At the moment I have a Dell D620 (14") with a media bay battery. It weights about 2,7kg (nearly 6 pounds) with this configuration. Aside from the weight it has nearly everything I need. 7hrs battery life, 1440x resulution, good build quality. The elite book wouldn't do it any better except with more power. Another way might be the T410s. But it has suprisingly low battery life even with the ultra bay.
I'm searching a few month now and I keep asking myself why none of the OEMs is able to develop a notebook which combines all the useful stuff someone needs. I mean, what could possibly be that difficult? Some examples:
- Z13: why do I need an high performance ultra portable if the battery life is so bad that I have to carry a power supply to get over the day?
- R700: Why do I build a full powered ultra portable which is annoying to everyone around?
- x201s: Why do I build the perfect ultra portable with has just everything someone could ever need except WAN?

In my opinion the OEMs should focus more on the peoples needs than on getting everything as light as possible. Toshiba could have saved the dvd (no one needs it today) to get space for a better cooling system. Lenovo could offer the screen of the x201s as an option for the x201.

 

It sounds like you are looking for more of a passive cooling system (i.e. NO FAN). Passive cooling requires space and size. For me, Toshiba's active Airflow system is better, keeps size and weight down, retains the optical drive, and it works - I never have a laptop where the keyboard and trackpad are hot to the touch. The exhaust port is the only major heat point and the tradeoff 90% of the time is a little hum, not overworked fans.

As you noted, each notebook is a series of compromises. But for my money ($799 US), the R705 is the best when you consider price and performance. You can spend more and get a great notebook like a Sony Z or a Thinkpad BUT you won't totally eliminate fan noise. Heat has to be disbursed.

PS: I asked my family yesterday if they thought my Toshiba was loud and everyone was wondering what I was talking about.

 

It does not neccessarily have to be a passive system. There are a lot of notebooks you can barely hear even with a permanent running fan. The Thinkpad X301 is a nice example. Its the same with my old Dell.
I'd say it has something to do with the actual cpu generation which requires more cooling than the old C2Ds. But you also have to say that most of the manufacturers are doing a pretty bad job adjusting their cooling settings.

I totally agree with you. The R705 is a great offer for that "little" money. Probably the best if you see what you get. But you have to admit: a R700 for 1500$ is not.

Thats good to hear. I was wondering if it may have something to do with the i3. I guess it runs a bit cooler than the i5, so maybe Toshiba has different Bios settings?
But it may also be just me.. I'm pretty shure I'm a little to sensitive according noise levels. My girlfriend's last laptop was also not the quietest model. She doesn't bother as much as I do. The point just is: if you are used to silent devices you can't get used to that.

 

I am wondering also - does the Bst Buy r705 run significantly cooler that the i5 Amazon version? I think I will be buying acouple of these soon - just too good of a deal in lightweight performance to pass up. Enjoying this thread a lot and thanks.

Gary

 

About to buy the Amanon Portege but am wondering can someone recommend a durable sling bag or backpack you like to carry this laptop? I will buy also a Case Logic slevve for the laptop and place inside a sling bag or backpack and thnaks for your help.

Gary

 

That's a good point. One of the directors of our company saw my R705 and liked it. He decided to buy a R700 and loaded it up with the latest and greatest features (e.g. Core i7, SSHD, docking stations, TV tuner, etc.). He is significantly north of $2,000. I will have to ask him about the heat and noise after the "new toy" fascination wears off.

 

I'm supposed to receive an R700 this week (for my daughter) so I'm anxious to see what the fan noise is like...

It doesn't really matter since I ended up with the R700 by eliminating everything else out there. I needed 13", light, and i3 or better (got the i3).

Does it really take 15 hours to charge the battery with the computer on, 5 hours with it off ? My Dell E6410 takes less than an hour when its on (though it only lasts about 4 hours on a full battery, everything on).

 

I've been contemplating purchasing and have been following this thread for about two months now, and many of these posts have been very helpful in my decision, so thanks to everyone.

Last night I ordered my R705-P41 as a birthday present to myself, along with a Momentus XT 7200RPM 500gb SSD hybrid to replace the 5400rpm drive that will come with the notebook.

Just wondering if anyone else has experience with Seagate's Momentus XT hard drives? I've read plenty of reviews, and it appears to be about a 40% performance increase over the 7200RPM drive that comes with the R700. Obviously any 7200RPM drive will be a huge increase over the R705's 5400RPM drive, but I decided to go for the SSD hybrid as it was only a tiny bit extra, and from what I've read it's a great performance boost.

 

Seems like one helluva combination you've picked there. It would be interesting to hear how the hybrid drive works out for you, it's an intriguing concept.

 

Deciding between BestBuy version and Amazon - but I am seeing 3 USB ports listed on Amazon P41 version and 2 USBs listed on BBs P35 version. Is this correct and thanks.

Gary

 

Where did you hear that? My charge times are just a little bit longer than your Dell. It is my understanding that slow recharge times extend battery life but few would see 15 hours as an acceptable trade-off.

 

There are 3 on the BestBuy version as well but one of them doubles as a USB/eSATA connection. I would bet the Amazon version is exactly the same but I haven't looked at the specs.

 

Thanks and I think then the only difference must be the processor. So, I will go into BB I believe and thanks again.

Gary

 

One more thing, I will give this laptop to relatives in Philippines but I am thinking I should also buy a cooler to go with it to help in tropical climate. Anyone know what cooler I can buy that would work well with this laptop and thanks.

Gary

 

I own both the R705 and the Sony Z13. I personally don't find either of the fans loud at idle. The R705 definitely gets loud under heavy load. But once the load goes away, I barely notice the fan noise (and I get very annoyed by fan noises). In the office, the R705 fan is not noticeable over the HVAC and white noise hum. The Z13's fan is even quieter and doesn't even get very loud under heavy load. Overall, the Z13 is probably the quietest laptop I've ever owned (and I've owned dozens). As for the Z13 battery life, I'm getting around 4 hours a charge. That's about 30 minutes more than what I get from my R705 on average. Not spectacular, but not horrible. The two HUGE differences between the Z13 and R705 are price and screen quality. I got a good deal on my Z13, but it was still $400 more than the R705. For me, it was worth it to get the much higher quality screen.

As for Sony support, I agree with you there. I got a very good deal on a Microsoft Store 3 year protection plan. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll deliver good support if needed.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul P Does it really take 15 hours to charge the battery with the computer on, 5 hours with it off ?

First, I'm presuming that the Tecra R700 sold in Canada is equivalent to the Portégé R700 sold in the US. (btw, where on earth did they get 'Portégé' from ? was it a typo of Protégé that got deployed before they noticed ?)

The specs for the US version don't mention charge times, but the Canadian specs do (for the i3) :

http://www.toshiba.ca/web/pdf/R700-00C/PT318C-00C001.pdf
​

What's really frightening are the specs for the i7 R700 :

http://www.toshiba.ca/web/pdf/R700-007/PT319C-007001.pdf
​

21.5 hours to charge with the computer on ?

On another strange note... The Toshiba Canada website sells accessories for their laptops at what can only be called exhorbitant prices : 500$ for 100 GB hard drive ? 300$ for a CD-R/W drive ?

Toshiba Canada - mobile computing - accessories - expansion
​

I picked up the R700 a few minutes ago and I'm now waiting for my daughter to get home from college so we can tear into the box.

 

It sounds like Toshiba-Canada is trying to cover themselves for a worst-case scenario but if I read those times, I would likely look elsewhere for a notebook. I can only say the charge times for the US version that I own (R705) haven't caused me to question my purchase. They seem similar to every other laptop I have owned.

 

Hey guys, I just got myself an R705-P41 from amazon and am loving it so far. I have a quick question though. Every time I switch to battery power, or from battery power back to AC power, the screen flashes black for a second like the graphics are resetting. Have you guys experienced this at all? I am sure it's a power setting somewhere that I'm missing, but it's a little annoying. Anyone have any ideas as to what might be going on?

Also, unfortunately, in the particular notebook I received the left chrome trim piece seems to be a bit loose, but I don't feel like returning the entire notebook just for that, so I'll just get it repaired at a depot here in San Francisco when I have the time. Just sharing my experience.

Thanks in advance.

 

I started setting up my daughter's R700 today and discovered to my dismay that it doesn't have bluetooth. All models but two of the R700 have it but in my attempt to cut costs, only on memory I thought, I ended up with a model without it. Had I realized I would have spent the extra 100$ and gotten the extra 2gb and bluetooth.

So my question, can I add bluetooth after the fact ?

 

Yes you can. Check the following link:

Toshiba Bluetooth V2.1+EDR USB Nano Adapter | Toshiba Direct

While it does tie up a USB port, it does give you a Bluetooth option. I almost bought one to wirelessly tether with my Blackberry but I ended up buying an Android with a Mobile Hotspot instead.

 

You can get similar devices which probably cost less than the Toshiba

 

I ended up getting a bluetooth usb dongle made by Asus. 18$ cdn (about 15$ in the US) bluetooth 2.0 but it works fine for the mouse.

I don't like that it sticks out though, especially when sliding it in and out of a sleeve. I'm going to be replacing the keyboard (with a multi-lingual one) and I'll look into installing an internal BT while I'm at it. Not sure it's possible, is there supposed to be a bluetooth led somewhere to show it's activity ? I don't see a bt symbol in the front row of leds on this machine.

 

No, is a notification on the taskbar

 

I got my R700 this week, really nice piece of HW. I was very curious about possibility to replace DVD drive with SSD. First I noticed it's listed in safe remove list but Windows Device Manager revealed it's connected to SATA controller. So I decided to look at it for myself and removed bottom cover. I was quite happy to see standard Slim SATA connector instead of the one posted in another thread. I have European version R700-17G with i5-460 CPU. By the way the "south bridge" without heat sink looks quite strange, I hope it's not getting too hot under load.

Some pictures:
DVD Drive
DVD Drive Connector
Bottom cover
CPU heat sink side
CPU heat sink top
Main board
Inside withdout DVD
Inside

 

but if you replace the dvd you will have a "hole" in the right side.

I don't think that can be any good...

sorry, my english is too bad

 

Hard drive is a piece of cake. There is a door on the bottom that grants access to the hard drive. There isn't anything even there holding the hard drive in place, just a flexible SATA/Power lead.

Regrading the keyboard replacement, if you actually do it, can you post a few pictures and a guide? I want to replace mine since the space bar is acting up, it would be a huge help. Thanks.

 

I am thinking to buy Toshiba Portege R700-184 (in UK) with the following specs:

Intel Core i5-560M, 2.66GHz
Memory 4GB DDR2
Hard Dive 320GB
Integrated Webcam
Built in Bluetooth
Built in 3G

My question is: Can I replace the Hard drive with 128 or 256 SSD?
Can I replace the memory with a 4GB DDR3?

Thank you for your responses!!!

 

You can replace HDD with any standard SATA SSD. Memory already is DDR3, all notebooks based on Intel Core i5, i3, i7 CPUs support only DDR3.

 

Hi there

I am normally a Lenovo guy but I am thinking of going back to a Portege for the spare machine. I am looking at the 700 and see there is a 705 in production but not available in the uk. Can anyone point out the key differences in the two machines?

 

The R705 series is marketed as a consumer version while the R700 is targeted for the business user. In reality, the major differences is that the R705 lacks a dedicated docking station connector and an ExpressCard slot. In exchange, you get Intel Wireless Display built-in and upconverting software on the R705, both of which can be downloaded on the R700.

I bought the R705 and I have absolutely no regrets. For $799US, the price/size/performance ratio can't be beat. Apparently, CNET thinks so too - It is one of their editors' choice notebooks.

 

I think that R705 is EU R630, which i think is available in UK.
Absolutely same h/w.

 

i'm thinking of getting the Toshiba R700 here in Canada. does the fan really make a lot of noise??
NCIX.com - Buy Toshiba Tecra R700 Intel Core I3-350M 4GB 320GB DVDRW 13.3IN Windows 7 Pro Notebook - PT318C-00F001 In Canada.

 

I may be wrong, but I believe the 705 lacks bluetooth, if you care. The lowest models of the R700 don't have it either, which i found out after the fact, so check the specs if necessary.

 

Many thanks for the helpful answers

I can find the R630 in variants 13T and 13R. I can also find many variants of the 700 model both with i3 and i5. I am a little puzzled by the choice but can go through the technical specs. However can anyone comment on whether at least the screen and the case is the same for all 700s and the R630s?
Thanks.

 

it's not the same screen for all 700s and R630s

I heard that there are matte screens

the r630 has glossy screen