Toshiba T115D - AMD/HD3200 11.6 thread

I'm getting great battery life, too, and playing through the first Citadel of ME on this little demon ant of a notebook. It gets a shade hot, but it can carry about twenty times it's weight.

It runs hot when I play Mass Effect.

 

curious, what kind of framerates are you getting in Mass Effect? I saw the prior model with the 4500 at Office Depot and loved it except for the GPU, now that there is a 3200 model, I'm tempted again! Do we think this would game better than the Asus 1201n with the dual core atom and Ion gpu? Thanks! Have owned a few Toshibas, and enjoyed them all.

 

Aerows,

Does the T115d have different power saving modes? if so, which one are you using?

 

for me the connectivity is still a deal breaker, has anyone popped open there case to see if the wifi card is easily replaceable or if the entire notebook has to be torn apart, i do alot of video content streaming from my main pc to my laptop and wireless "g" just doesnt cut it.

the t135d has wireless n and uses the same chipset no idea why they chose to gimp the t115d

if only the msi u230 would finaly release for sale in the US, gigabit lan and wireless N, bluetooth ant is there for internal bluetooth option and uses the L335, 1 step up from the L325 used in the t115d

 

"if only the msi u230 would finaly release for sale in the US, gigabit lan and wireless N, bluetooth ant is there for internal bluetooth option and uses the L335, 1 step up from the L325 used in the t115d"

The L335 may be faster @ 1.6 Ghz but the L325 @ 1.5 Ghz has 1MB cache vs 512KB on the L335 sooo...

 

i dont know how i missed that the l325 has the same cache as the l625, i guess i was thinking that was the difference in the l625 was the larger cache size. so the t115d will have the better processor but still missing connectivity... seriously why no .11n and no gigabit hardwire. i tried calling toshiba to see if i can buy 1 with at least an "N" card installed for additional cost and they said that they wouldnt that i would have to do it myself after purchase.

if only this card was available for sale now..
http://www.liliputing.com/2009/09/atheros-launches-802-11nbluetooth-combo-mini-card.html

btw is there an open mini pcie slot in the t115d

 

I've been really considering the asus 1201n also but now just seen this for $50 cheaper. Is the dual cpu in this better than the dual atom in the 1201n, what about the 3200HD compared to the ion?

 

L325>>Atom N330
Ion>HD3200

The 1201N is marginally better at gaming, but the Toshiba will provide a better experience in everything else, except maybe heat (haven't heard much about heat from the 1201N camp)

 

Here are the relative 3D Mark Vantage graphic scores of the ION, ION LE and HD3200 from FutureMark at http://service.futuremark.com/hardw...7&popularChipsetIds=556&popularChipsetIds=429

 

I cant seem to find any stores in Canada with this. Anyone have any idea what stores carry this? I see it at Tigerdirect.com but not the Canadian site.

Anyone know if Tigerdirect.com ships to Canada?

 

I am trying to make the same decision and I can certainly use some help from the board. The Toshiba sounds like a pretty capable machine and the reviews seem reasonably favorable for the T135 (havent' seen any formal reviews from teh so called experts on the T115D yet).

I am not a gamer at all, but I watch a tremendous amount of video on my computers... mostly H.264 in 720 and 1080P (about 2.5 gigs worth and counting). I want to be able to watch my movies and shows on the road and do the usual wordprocessing on my office computer using citrix. So, I guess for me, the key thing is video playback and battery life.

I am considering the T115D, Asus 1201N and possibly an Acer 1401 or Dell 11z (with an SU4100 and Intel X4500MHD). Like most people, I am not a fan of Intel graphics chips. I have also never really had a great experience with AMD products, particular in laptops, but I am big fan of ATI graphics cards and I am willing to give an AMD processor another try. I am also opened to other suggestions--provided they are in the 11.6'' to 12.4'' range. I would also like to stick to a $500 budget.

 

Nice link, their gap is larger than I expected, but I guess that's how a Atom processor outperforms a CULV in games.


@set2374

Why exactly do you dislike Intel graphics? It will do everything you want it to do easily. If you want to watch movies on the road then the 1201N is probably the worst choice, power draining dual core atom and graphics chip gives it only 4 hours of battery life in regular use, much less movies. A CULV is the best way to go IMO. The Dell 11z is a good choice, it's in your budget and has better battery than the Acer 1410, but if you really want the extra life go with the Acer 1810tz or Asus UL20 (both are a step up in budget though).

 

Seems like the Ion has more than twice the graphics ability. That might be just enough for me to go for the 1201N instead. And it doesn't help that I cant find any store in Canada that sells the S1125.

 

Overclocked, I'm getting 12-15 fps at 1024x576 and all settings at low. Surprisingly it looks pretty good, and plays well.

From my short experience with this laptop (T115D), I am thoroughly impressed with the dual core Neo. It blows away the Atom 330 dual core, and has a GPU that's actually matched to the CPU, not a weak CPU with strong GPU like the 1201N, or strong CPU with a weak GPU like the Acer 1410.

Be leary of those 3DMark Vantage results though. While the HD 3200 is a DirectX 10 GPU, it scores quite low with DX10, however it does quite well with DirectX 9 in 3DMark06. With an overclock you can approach the scores of the ION in the Eee 1201n.

Also, after owning an Eee 701 (Celeron 900), Eee 900 (Celeron 900), Eee 1000h (Atom N270), Asus N10J (Atom N270 with 9300m GS), and an Acer Aspire 1410 (Core 2 Solo SU3500 1.4GHz and 4500MHD), I can tell you that the Atom is a complete dog with anything requiring any amount of CPU horsepower. The Atom will be *THE* bottleneck of any machine housing it, even the dual core 330 Atom. It will also restrict full power of any GPU.

From a purely gaming perspective, in most cases, the ION is probably the better bet, but from a gaming and general computing standpoint, the Neo X2 coupled with the HD 3200 is a great matchup.

Obviously the choice is up to the buyer, but just a little something to chew on.

 

Here's a little tip if you want to set your own custom resolution. I like 1024x576 because it's 16:9 so fits the screen, and small for improved gaming performance. Some games won't go below 600 vertical lines, so you may have to live with 1024x600, but that scales reasonably well, with only a small black bar on either side. This tip will probably work with all ATI cards, and maybe already common knowledge, but I've had either nVidia or Intel GPU's in my desktop and laptop PC's for the last several years, so am not that familiar with ATI (although the X800 I had years ago was kick butt).

***** DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK *******

It should be safe, but keep the refresh at 60Hz for any resolution you create, but keep in mind that if you go trying some strange resolutions it may damage your machine. Also, if you go to set your new resolution and your screen goes blank, just let it sit for 15-20 seconds because it should revert back to normal if you don't click the confirm resolution button.

This will require some registry editing too:

(1) Click your start button and type 'regedit' (no quotes) in the "search programs and files" box and press Enter. This will bring up the registry editor.

(2) Drive down to the following registry folder:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Video\

You will see a number of entries there, something like {FB9F6A31-BD59-4AAF-8903-A5672F388532}, yours will probably be different. I can't tell you which one to look for, most likely at the bottom, so expand each one, starting with the last one, and click the '0000' entry, until you find the following entry in the right pane:

"DALNonStandardModesBCD1".

Double click this entry or right click and select "modify"

You will now need to type in your resolution and refresh using a zero where there is no entry. For 1024x576 just type:

1024057600000060

And then close and exit the registry editor.



(3) Restart your computer This is important for your new resolution to take effect.

(4) Once your computer has restarted then right click your desktop and select "screen resolution"



(5) Click "Advanced Settings", then in the new window that pops up click "list all modes". You should be able to scroll to find your new resolution, in this case 1024x576. Select it, click OK, OK in next window. It will ask if you want to activate or keep these display settings, click "yes".



Now your screen should be at the new resolution, chances are it hasn't scaled it, so let's do that now.

(6) Open up your Catalyst Control Center. If you are using the Toshiba supplied drivers, I believe you have to open it from the Start Menu, otherwise just right click your desktop or use the system tray icon.

From there, make sure you are in "advanced mode" and select "desktops and displays" from the upper left corner. You will see your laptop representation at the bottom of the screen just above the "Basic..." button. Click the little upside down triangle in that icon and choose "configure".



(7) A new window should open up with an "Attributes" tab and "Scaling Options". Select "Preserve Aspect Ratio" to ensure your screen scales appropriately. CLick "OK" and your desktop should fill the whole screen (if you used a 16:9 resolution like 1024x576).



Now this resolution should be selectable for games and scale properly. The scaling options should be saved, but if not, just go back into your Catalyst Control Center and reset the scaling option. You need to be in the selected resolution for this to work though. It saves settings for each resolution as I understand it.

 

HTWingnut, thanks for the resolution tips. I'm loving this little laptop, too. I'm impressed with the platform, and it's just what I wanted .

 

Should I be concerned with lack of wireless n?

 

This little guy has piqued my interest. Seems like the Neo X2 are the response to the SU series, not the ATOM. I was noting both the Toshiba and the HP Neos, but HP seems to have some serious things going on if the NBR pages are a remotely accurate representation. Anyway, I've looked at toshibadirect and it shows the Turion model has having 256-1919MB dynamic for the 3200, but the Athlon as 128-828MB. Is that due to the RAM being 2GB instead of 4GB or a difference in the platform? Since you've pushed yours from 2GB to 4GB I figured you would know firsthand. Are you using an external DVD and if so which one? Is the webcam 0.3MP or 1.3MP? Oh, and finally, can you give full Experience scores?

Does anyone know what the performance difference between the Athlon Neo X2 and the Turion Neo X2 are? They seem like basically the same chip but there's gotta be something different going on to make up for the $100 price difference (aside from the screen size).

Finally, any links to any teardown/service guide for the T115D/T135D? I've noted the sticky about the disassembly guides but nothing about the T115/T135 is there (unless it is like the others).

I think that covers everything I'd need to know. Thanks!

 

Once I upgraded the memory to 4GB 1919MB is showing in Catalyst on my T115D


I use a Sumsung USB DVD burner with no problem except I don't seem to be able to boot from it (I am working on it)

The webcam takes pics @ 640*480 max so its 0.3 MP

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks Steve. I read someone's comment on Newegg that they weren't able to get the T135D to boot unless they used the Toshiba branded USB DVD drive so I hope there's not some sort of whitelist in place.

 

Very good info on this thread. Thanks to all who contributed. Out of all the higher end netbooks I've tested by visiting Fry's and Micro Center, this one seems to be one of the best out at the moment. A couple concerns

1. I too wish it had 802.11N. Has anyone been able to determine if the WIFI NIC is swappable?

2. I have noticed that the mouse pointer really is not as smooth as it should be. Do you folks think this is something that will addressed down the road?

3. The gloss really seems like a figure print magnet. Is this a problem for anyone else? Perhaps the red model won't be as noticeable? Seems the only place to get that model is from Toshiba direct.

4. I have never purchased my own laptop. Always used my place of employment's. Does this come with Win7 media for reloading?

5. Another model that looked interesting was the MSI U2100-O36US with a more matte finish. Doesn't have the fancy dual processor but the next model (U230) seems to address that. Trying to decide if I should pull the trigger on the T115D or wait and see how the U230 fairs.

Thanks all!

 

I don't know. When I get brave I'll open mine up. I want to anyways to get the proper clock generator number so I can effectively overclock it with SetFSB. The provided PLL works for a 1.7GHz overclock, but would like to push it further. So far the G has been working great though.

It's a synaptics touchpad, so it's got all the normal configurations to make it to your liking. I used it primarily to set up the laptop with a reformat and resinstall with Windows 7, and had no issues. Personally, I use a Logitech VX Nano mouse. I can't stand touchpads.

I hate gloss as well. But it seems to be the norm these days. You get over it. I'm not festidious with cleaning mine otherwise I'd go nuts. It's no worse than any other notebook or netbook out there for the most part. The red probably won't be quite as bad, but it's still glossy.

You can make your own backup media. I recommend doing that as soon as you power up your laptop. If you can get ahold of an actual Win 7 x64 Home Premium DVD you can do a fresh install using the key on the sticker on the bottom of your laptop, but you'll need to call MS to activate.

That MSI dual core Neo model does look appetizing and comes with Gigabit ethernet and Wi-Fi N, plus the slightly faster L335 (compared with L325). Not sure of price. If it's $50 more expensive then it'd probably be worth it. If it's $100 then I'll be happy with my slower network. But it looks like the U230 only has a 3-cell battery compared with the 6-cell of the T115D. I have 30 days to return my Toshiba, so if the MSI comes out soon for about $500 I may have to re-evaluate my decision!

 

the u230 can be pre ordered for around $515 US so its a safe bet that the retail value will be very close to that. after close examination the L325 in the T115D is the faster of chips despite its slightly slower clock. as pointed out to me on this very thread the L325 has a 1mb cache and the L335 has a 512kb. the battery on the u230 can be upgraded to a 6 cell as well but comes with the 3 cell standard.

 

"Thanks Steve. I read someone's comment on Newegg that they weren't able to get the T135D to boot unless they used the Toshiba branded USB DVD drive so I hope there's not some sort of whitelist in place."

I hope thats not the case...

 

Retail probably $529 or something like that. But buy a 6-cell in addition, that cranks the price up at least another $50, probably $60 or $70.

Regarding the DVD drive, that seems odd. I had no issue with my Rosewill USB DVD drive with my T115D. But maybe different for T135D?

 

I'm certainly not married to Toshiba, so if the U230 can provide the same configuration and at a comparable price, I'm sure it is worth taking a look at, as well. To be honest, I waited for the U230 as long as I possibly could, but it just took too long. The Tosh came with everything I wanted as far as specs are concerned. It's got great looks IMHO, though, so I'm pretty pleased I went the Toshiba route this time

That's strange. I would think that any USB device that is bootable, including a memory stick/card reader/external HD would work as well as another, since it is a function of the BIOS, not of the device itself. I do know that you can select which device you want to boot from in the Toshiba BIOS. Whoever commented probably either a) changed something in the BIOS to remove USB drive as the first boot choice or b) (more probably) had a bad CD in the drive

 

The U230 should allow you to use the standard wind 9-cell battery like the U210 model did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7OE9p2vFdE

 

Just played with the single core version at Fry's about an hour ago, as I am shopping for a cheap, small notebook. I have narrowed it down to this one and the Acer 1410. The palm rest area is larger than that of the Acer, which lets me rest my palms on it completely. On the Acer, I can't. This is a big plus for the Toshiba. The texture of the keys felt weird though.

Is $400 a good price for the single core version?

 

Yes, that's an awesome price, and you are getting twice the graphics performance with the 3200. I'm the wrong person to ask, though, since I also bought a 1410 and sent it back after a day. This one has got me fending off my mother from stealing it. Every time I stop by for coffee, she has a new reason to use it, and I suspect that I'm going to have to give it to her soon because her desktop is taking the plunge.

I may buy her one if you can pick up a single core for $400. That would solve two problems - letting me keep the dual core I have, and getting her running again well

 

Not to keep dwelling on the forth coming U230, but according to the U230 driver page, it would appear that it will be using the 32-bit version of Win7 versus the 64-bit OS installed on the T115D. Just adding more food for thought.

Man do I wish the T115D had 802.11N for my future pure N network.

 

Why couldn't Toshiba use the NB205 keyboard for the T115D? Now that would have made the T115D the greatest in its class.

 

IMHO, unless you plan on a lot of file transfers with your home network, G is fine for web surfing. So far while I'm doing some benchmarking, I wish I had N only because I'm transferring a lot of demos and stuff from my home server. But I ended up just copying them to a WD Passport drive and doing it that way. I agree though N and Gigabit would be nice.

Good point about Windows 7. I'm not sure why they do that. They include 2GB standard expandable to 8GB I believe. You can always use any standard 64-bit Win 7 DVD though if you can get ahold of one and use the same key.

 

Agreed. As of right now, I'm running a pure G network. I try to keep the network in a pure state (no backwards compatibly) because of obvious performance hits when doing so.

It blows my mind that it has an eSATA port but no N.

Ahh, good to know! I was not aware that Win7 keys were interchangeable.

 

Any Windows Vista or 7 key is good for the 32bit or 64bit version of the same package (i.e. Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate). So you can go 32bit or 64bit Home Premium with this key, but not Professional or Ultimate.

My network is set up as G/N network, but my N speeds don't seem to be compromised at all.

I am a bit disappointed with the networking speeds, but if you look at the Acer Ferrari One, it comes with Wi-Fi N and Gigabit but NO eSATA or HDMI, costs $100 more and has the L310 1.2GHz CPU instead of the L325. Even the MSI U230 with the 3-cell battery is more expensive, maybe not by much, but comes with the wi-fi N, but would cost more to get a 6-cell or 9-cell battery if that is important to you. For this type of machine one would think it would be.

Overall I think this Toshiba is a pretty good package.

 

Do you run N on 5ghz or 2.4ghz? If G is on 2.4 and N on 5, they should not interfere at all. However, one would require a dual band / dual radio router not to mention devices that can utilize N on 5ghz band.

I guess I do intend to get a router that is dual band / dual radio anyway so perhaps this is a moot point for me. Wanted to mostly use N to upgrade the WDS bridging going on between PVR's for video streaming.....sorry, getting off topic.

Very good catch! Didn't even consider that. Are you sure you aren't employed by Toshiba?

 

The U230 is certainly worth dwelling on . I had a thread in the MSI section for it, and wanted it back in November. I sincerely hope it comes out, because it has nice specs, too. I don't feel like I "settled" though with the Tosh, it's got nice build quality and overclocks decently. MSI, however, makes products that OC to the moon, and if the U230 ever comes out it will likely be drool-worthy.

 

I have the DIR-655 which doesn't support 5GHz. But I'm ok with that. My laptop usually gets signal off an access point anyhow due to my house is set up, the DIR-655 won't reach the whole house reliably.

I wish!

Considering the MSI is the same hardware, unless they give you BIOS options or software to overclock, it will overclock same as the Toshiba. I'm just not happy with the 3-cell battery. $500 was more than I really should have spent to begin with. But maybe I should return this Toshiba and wait for the MSI results anyways. Sounds like it will be released any day now.

 

You can already buy the MSI U230 with a 6-cell from provantage.com for $520 with shipping (no tax outside Ohio). The site lists it as a Special Order.

http://www.provantage.com/msi-u230-040us~AMST90YA.htm

 

Ahh, must mean they are getting very close to release the U230. From the looks of various pics I've seen, the U230 appears to have almost identical case as the U2100?

Another indication that the U230 is getting close....I just noticed that Fry's has dropped the price of the U2100. When I went there a couple days ago, it was $399. Now it shows up as $379 online.

When I did some comparing with the T115D and the U2100, the MSI didn't seem to have multi-touch or be able to scroll windows via the sides of the touchpad. Perhaps it was just a setting that wasn't turned on?

Another interesting thing was when I went into the computer properties of each to get the Win7 rating. Even though the Tosh has a dual core and the MSI does not, they were both being rated the exact same, 3.0.

If the U230 is supposed to have the L335 (smaller cache than the L325?), wouldn't it perform slighter worse than the Tosh? I haven't found the info yet but anyone know what the U230 is forecasted to have as far as video chipset?

 

I think the difference between the L335 and L325 would be negligible. Hard to tell until you get some actual benchmarks. Only thing I can find is from PassMark which shows L335 slightly better. I don't know exactly what Passmark test though.

Also, not sure how well the L335 will overclock compared with the L325 or L310.

By the way, it's only $510 now. It is about 0.5" wider, but about 0.75" shorter and weighs 0.6 lbs less, and has a 12.1" instead of 11.6" screen.

Maybe it's time to rethink!

 

Here's a good review at Hexus:

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=21331&page=1

 

Thanks for the link. According to the review, the single core has the ATI 1250 and the duo core has the ATI 3200. In other words, the Toshiba single core I looked at at Fry's only has the ATI 1250. That's not good.

Edit: just finished reading the review. It's one the best reviews I have read. Not only did they do a great job reviewing the U230, the comparison of various CPU is very educational as well.

 

xD that's a terrible use of logic...you can easily just check Toshiba's website and see that it comes with a HD3200. I've never actually ever seen a ATI 1250 in the US.

 

Anyone run PCMark Vantage both stock and overclock speeds? I'm getting about the same score (2451) whether overclocked CPU and GPU than stock. Actually overclock system has a slightly lower score than stock, even though most all the sub-scores are higher.

 

You are right. It does come with HD3200. Since I don't play games much except for two old games, Jardinain and Space Tripper that don't require much GPU power, I will look for something with better battery life. That review also showed that a strong GPU is not needed for movie playback, which something I will use the laptop for from time to time.

 

In your case davidt1, check out an Acer Aspire 1810T or 1410. Apparently the 4500MHD can handle HD video reasonably well, and you can get an SU7300 CPU with some great battery life.

 

Boy, this is getting to be a really difficult decision. Great info on that U230 review link btw! Each one has their pros and cons. I saw a video somewhere where a person was looking over the U230 at some trade show (CES?) and noted that there was a SIM card in it? Any idea's what that could be used for?

I think in the end, both the Toshiba and the MSI are going to be very good choices. One can make an argument for either choice. It boils down to what exactly it is one is looking for. I have my own personal mental bullet point list I'm using when looking at each. Neither are perfect but MSI seems to have more bullets in it's favor (for me).

U230 over T115D
-----------------
CPU (slightly)
Screen size (if you want a little larger one which I could go either way)
Weight
Webcam (1.3m vs 0.3m?)
802.11N
Gigabit LAN (moot point for me)
Not as much gloss (if it's like the U2100 I saw at Fry's)


T115D over U230
-----------------
Multi-Touch
eSATA
Win7 x64 which means x64 drivers are available from Toshiba
Comparing touch pads (T115D vs U2100) I preferred the T115D (my opinion)
Indicator lights in a better spot. As a right hander, my hand may cover up the MSI indicators. Center or left would be my preference.

Not all bullet points in my opinion list are weighted evenly. For instance, if it has all the features I want plus more but the track pad or keyboard is not to my liking, I won't consider it. Both keyboards (again, using the U2100 as a reference) worked just fine for me while typing random store signs in Notepad. Both pads were fine but Toshiba felt just a little better. (Even though the mouse pointer doesn't seem to move as smooth as it should.)

I'm not in a hurry to get one so I have the luxury of sleeping on it a few nights and see if my opinion changes. But as of right now, I think I would lean towards the Toshiba. I can get by without 802.11N but I will be using the touch pad and keyboard a lot. If the HID's works great with my monkey hands, tonight, I'll take the T115D.

Now lets see what tomorrow brings. I could easily change my mind if Bing Cashback is good enough.

 

Apparently there will be 2 models of the U230?

Stolen from another thread

 

Not trying to keep having a conversation with myself, but here is a Japanese? site with a plethora of screen shots and pics of the U230. Perhaps T115D owners can make some comparison observations?

 

Thanks phlegmer for the info. Looks like that MSI is shaping up to be a decent option. It also looks like it comes with bluetooth, where the Toshiba does not.

Personally, I'm going to stick with my Toshiba, mainly because I found out that while I can return it, there's a 15% restocking fee if it's not defective. Plus for G wireless not a huge deal. Now I am using the network to transfer files a lot only because I'm benchmarking, but normally it's just web surfing.

That being said, based on that Japanese review of the MSI U230, performance seems to be similar. 3DMark06 is spot on same (I got 1002, they got 1006). But there's some differences with CrystalMark:

MSI U230


T115D Stock Clocks


T115D Overclock