Toshiba T115D - AMD/HD3200 11.6 thread

i havnt heard of that one, is that similar to Rome Total War?

 

I bought one for my wife, installed Torchlight. It runs beautifully. Titan Quest is an awesome diablo clone as well, let me know how that runs. I remember it running somewhat well on my desktop 7600GT and blazing when I upgraded to ATI 4670.

 

Yeah, it doesn't have the battle phase though, and is a bit more involved as far as the grand strategy.

 

What is going on with my T115D I am getting no where close to the battery life you guys are getting I am running roughly 50% on the screen brightness and have the WiFi on and using firefox to surf with battery was 99% charged and I unplug and then it says I have 1 hour 52 mins left and 93% what am I doing wrong. Help

 

Are you in power saver mode? Are you playing flash games or watching lots of flash video? Those two drain your battery life a lot. Also have you done a 100% to 5% drain so that windows can calibrate your battery? Remember that Window's estimates your battery life based on what you were doing when it last sampled your power usage, so if you're doing something intensive when it calculates your battery life, it'll be lower than if you were doing something light.

 

Currently I have 81% left and I am only surfing the web and it says I have 1 hr and 45 mins left. That just does not seem right also I have the screen brightness set to the lowest setting and I am in balanced mode. I am just on this forums site so no flash games. The Toshiba eco program says I am constantly drawing around 24w-26w. There must be something wrong.

 

Well you're in balanced mode for starters. Google for some batterylife improvement guides, you're probably missing a lot of tweaks that can be done.

 

Well I took the leap and cracked the case to install a Mushkin IO 64GB SSD and 4GB of RAM. Bottom line: an awesome upgrade. Fortunately Toshiba posted more drivers on the support site so whatever Windows Update could not find I found there.

I installed the latest 10.3a ATI catalyst drivers specifically designed for x64 mobility. So far, no issues.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/h87AXtqahw_he5gOp0f_SA?feat=directlink

Sorry for the quality of the pic, I snapped it with my phone. You can see that the wireless NIC is a half-height pci-e. I may root around on ebay and find a wireless N card for an upgrade. Something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Atheros-AR5B93-Wireless-Half-WiFi-Mini-PCI-E-card_W0QQitemZ320499621795QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9f441fa3#ht_1888wt_1008

I had no problems booting from my Sony USB DVD drive but I went for this method instead and the clean install on the SSD went perfectly. Had to use the Microsoft Robocall method to activate though, no worries.

http://www.intowindows.com/bootable-usb/

My only gripes so far are the damn torx screws on the HD bay which threw a monkey wrench in my tear down.

WEI after upgrades: Proc - 4.1 RAM - 5.5 Graphics - 3.1 Gaming - 4.5 HD - 7.2

Space available on the SSD after I installed Windows Home Prem x64, itunes, vlc, chrome, skype, ATI catalyst CC, and a couple of others: 42 GB.

 

Does anyone have a link the Onscreen display App that Toshiba uses for this model? The FN keys work but I like the onscreen confirmation.

 

I am thinking of getting the 1120 model. How much difference is there in the 1120 and 1125 models as far as performance? I don't game. I will use it for web, email, and video. Usually have 1 to 4 apps going at 1 time. (no photo shop, video editing, etc.) Just web surfing and streaming video for me.

Will the 1120 be okay for those tasks? Where would I see a difference in the processing power of each?

Thanks!

 

For the $50 I think the dual core will serve you better in the long run. Websites will only get more graphically demanding and applications will only get better at utilizing parallel processing. For streaming video like hulu et al they still rely heavily on the CPU since adobe flash 10.1 has only just begun to utilize the GPU.

 

I pulled the trigger on the T115D-S1120. Got it in yesterday. So far it is great! It does collect finger prints, but that really doesn't bother me too much. I'll post pics later in a new thread.

Very thin! Very light! I have a Macbook Pro 15" so this is a big step down in size for me. But I really like it. I used it for about 4 hours yesterday and had over 40% battery left. That is more than enough for me because I am mainly using it around the house.

The screen is very sharp. It doesn't get as bright as my MBP but it is plenty bright enough. The high resolution took a bit of getting used to on a small screen. I am glad I went with this instead of a standard netbook with Windows Starter. I got it for $390 shipped after bing cashback from CompUSA. (12.5% cash back at the time of purchase).

 

I picked up the T115D-S1125 a couple weeks ago, and after a few performance tweaks I am now using it as my primary computer (hooked into a 1080 monitor/external kb/mouse at the desk). I do web development, and most of my day is spent in Adobe CS4 apps (Dreamweaver/Photoshop) and talking on Skype.

At first I found a few things here and there that were a little slow or annoying, but I played around with various settings and found solutions for all of my issues. Here are a few tips I found:

- Download new touchpad drivers from synaptics.com ... I find if I set the scrolling preference to scroll 1 line at a time, I get the smoothest performance from the 2-finger scrolling... subject to personal preference of course.

- The webcam was laggy in Skype until I did the following: Video settings->Webcam settings-> uncheck Low Light Compensation ... this noticeably sped up the camera.

- Text editing in Photoshop was sluggish at first. I went into the Photoshop prefs and disabled OpenGL acceleration. That sped it up.

- Speakers were too quiet: Saw someone else's tip to go into speaker properties->Enhancements tab->Check the Loudness Equalization checkbox. Speakers are still not the greatest (tinny etc) but at least they are loud enough now.

All in all, I'm very pleased with this machine. When I'm not working, I've been using it for watching movies (Netflix streaming and 720p video are no problem; 1080p stutters) and some light gaming (Civ 4 runs great). And of course the size is awesome for carrying around the house, surfing the web or slipping into a binder when I head out to meetings. I've been averaging around 4 hrs battery life I think.

It's not the fastest machine out there, but it's more than adequate for my needs, and for the compact size and the $500 pricetag I think it's unbeatable. It reminds me of my good old 12-inch Powerbook: good performance in an awesomely small package.

 

Go dual-core. You won't be sorry. I'm glad I did, because most applications can utilize dual core, and some expect it. It comes with Windows 7, too, so it will natively handle dual-core very nicely.

I'm still in love with mine and I've had it nearly 2 months.

I just ordered a newer, faster drive for it (WD Scorpio Black 7200rpm, 320GB) and I am planning to put XP on that drive while putting the original in an enclosure. The only reason I'm doing that is because I'm still running this laptop with the bloatware install of Win 7, and some of the games I want to play have fewer system requirements when run with a clean XP install (Dragon Age - runs with Win 7 bloatware install, but gets choppy in some places - I'm still knee deep in the game that I am currently playing exclusively on this laptop - I finished it on my desktop, too, and am in Awakenings on it but I'm playing it through again on the Tosh )

It's just so handy to have around. I bought a slipcase for it, and I can take it everywhere. I took it to the dr.s office the other day, where I sat for about 2.5 hours, and it was so nice to be able to read a book and put on some headphones and play a game for a little while as I waited.

 

I'm playing DA:O on it too, love the game, and it's decent on this little powerhouse. It's kind of awesome to buy a brand new game (and what a good one!) and have it run just fine on what is essentially a netbook .

 

Another tweaking tip...

The colors on my screen just didn't look correct after my clean install of Win 7. Make sure to go into the Display Control Panel and select the "Calibrate Color" option in the left column. I didn't bother to look if the factory install's colors were more accurate but I needed to calibrate after installing Win 7 clean and using the 10.3a version of the x64 ATI Radeon Mobility drivers (I highly recommend them, for betas they have not crashed on me yet).

I see that the official 10.3 release is out now. I'm downloading it now

 

As far as overclocking the GPU, has anyone noticed any heat issues when doing so? Do you think overclocking ONLY the GPU would allow for a performance bump?

Also, do you think there would be an appreciable difference in running 4GB in single channel vs. dual channel? Thanks everyone!

 

Replaced the stock WLAN card with an Atheros AR5B93...works perfectly on my N network. I know people had questions about if this would work so I would say it does though I can only speak for the above model of replacement card.

 

NY1790
Do you mind giving some instructions or maybe even some pictures on how to go about changing out the WLAN card. How hard is it to get to?
I have the T115D-S1125RD, so far I've put in 4G RAM and a 256GB Crucial SSD. I guess I'll never be happy.
Thanks for any info you have.

 

It's not too hard to replace the WLAN card. The hardest part is finding all of the screws and opening the case.

1. Remove the battery, there are 5 screws under there to remove.
2. Remove all of the screws (including RAM and HD Bay) on the underside of the case.
3. Once you've done this, there is a little plastic strip above the keyboard that you can pop out.
4. Pull on the keyboard and undo the ribbon connector
5. Undo the ribbon connectors that connect the top part of the case to the MB.
6. There are a few more screws to unscrew after removing the keyboard.
7. At this point start to carefully pry the top part of the case from the bottom (this is tricky as there are hooks by the processor vent and opposite sides)
8. If it doesn't appear like it will move, look for screws that you may have missed (there are a ton)
9. Once you have taken the top part of the case off, the MB is completely exposed. You can't miss the WLAN card. It's on the front left of the case. It pops out just like a RAM chip. For a replacement you're looking for a Half height mini pci-e. I found an Atheros AR5B93 on Ebay and it worked perfectly. I considered a Centrino (intel 5100 or 6200) but I believe that they only work with intel MBs...would like to get confirmation on that though.
10. Make sure to connect the antenna on the new WLAN card and then reverse the steps to put everything back together.
11. The hardest step has to be prying the case open. I had a difficult time at first since I needed to find a crazy screwdriver for the HDD bay.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/h87AXtqahw_he5gOp0f_SA?feat=directlink

Let me know if you can't see the picture. I snapped it with my camera phone so it's not the greatest quality. You really don't need it though as it is quite obvious where the WLAN card is once you have the top part of the case off. Good luck!

 

Yep, I'm able to see the picture. Thanks so much for all this valuable information. Honestly, I'm a little nervous about taking this completely apart. Are all the screws are a different size too?
You also mentioned a "crazy screwdriver" for the HDD bay. Are you talking about the HDD bay door and using a torx T6 driver?

 

Yeah a torx screwdriver. There is a case screw underneath the door. There about 4 different types of screws but the screw holes are labeled.

 

Has anyone experimented with overclocking the CPU in the T115D?

EDIT: Does anyone know what the Clock Generator number is for this laptop? I want to try overclocking it with SetFSB... thanks!

 

Buried in this thread (thanks to Aerows):

http://mini-gaming.co.cc/?p=124

It says Acer Ferrari One, but works for T115D too, although it's not 100% match, it does give you a little boost.

 

Hey Guys,

I live in Canada basically we got the two models.

T110(Intel 1.3G,2GB DDR3,250GB HDD, 11.6'')
http://www.toshiba.ca/web/product.grp?lg=en&section=1&group=1&product=9656&category=
and

T110D(AMD L325 1.5GHz,3200HD, 320G HDD, HD3200, 2GB DDR2 800MHz etc)
http://www.toshiba.ca/web/product.grp?lg=en&section=1&group=1&product=9953&category=

Anyway, I can get the T110D(link above) cheaper than the Intel For $579 (intel is $610) but i want to make sure im going with the better unit.

I will basically be using this laptop for Youtube,Music Downloading, web browsing, and Streaming movies to my 46'' 1080p T.V. through HDMI or PS3 Media Share.

After reading some of this thread it seems like the AMD is the proper unit, which im surprised it would be cheaper than the intel. Im a newb when it comes to these new notebook/netbooks, Is it possible through HDMI to get this laptop to display HD Content in 1080p on my T.V.?

 

Go with the AMD. The radeon 3200 graphics are far superior to the intel unit's. I regularly connect my T115d (I guess it is the T110D in Canada) to my TV via HDMI and watch streaming Netflix, iTunes, YouTube, etc.

You'll sacrifice a little bit of battery life since the AMD draws a little more power. You won't notice the slower DDR2 RAM since the uses that you describe really aren't that memory intensive.

If you buy it, look on this forum for tweaking tips to maximize your performance.
1. Update to Adobe flash 10.1 (takes advantage of HW video acceleration)
2. Update to the latest Catalyst (10.3 as of this post)
3. Try to uninstall as much of the extra software that is bundled with the computer. Ideally, have a tech-savvy friend reinstall Windows 7 from a clean install DVD/flash drive, it will improve performance IMO.

 

Well unless you plan to game, the Intel graphics (4500mhd) are just as good. They also support video decoding and are supported by Flash 10.1. So it's a trade between gaming ability and battery life.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

I plan on ordering the AMD Model next Friday.

My next question is, since the laptop itself can only display 720p, when I connect it to my HDTV(1080p 120hz) will my TV display it in 720p or 1080p when streaming movies in HD content.

Also, what configurations must i setup/check on my notebook and TV when streaming from laptop to HDTV to ensure that im getting the highest PQ and imaging.

Thanks again guys!

 

External Support and Max. Colour Support (dependent On CRT): Up to 2,048 x 1536 x 16.7 million colour

That's from the Toshiba.ca website so it probably would display native resolution on a 1080p. I have always connected it to a 720p set so I cannot vouch for that though.

I have loved my T115d so far. It is the perfect size for travelling and I find more and more hotels have HDMI-capable TVs. I have upgraded the HD to a 64GB SSD, installed 4GB of RAM, and upgraded to an 802.11n WLAN card. Even if you do not do these right away (or ever) for an ultra portable it is very upgradeable.

 

Has anyone actually tried to connect this laptop through HDMI to a 1080p T.V. to watch 1080p content?

Im seriously debating between the T115D and the T135D as i can get the T135D for a better deal.

 

Can someone please link to the ATI Catalyst drivers they use on the T115D? I just can't seem to find the right ones...

Also, has anyone got the official PLL number for T115D yet?

 

Toshiba's being weird about letting ATI update their drivers.

I found this on gamingheaven's forums. These 10.4 drivers installed on my t115d without a hitch

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/mobile/10-4_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc.exe

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/mobile/10-4_mobility_vista_win7_32_dd_ccc.exe

 

I uninstalled all previous drivers and tried the 32-bit link above, and it would not install the ATI display driver. :-(

 

Isn't the default install on the T115D a 64 bit version of Windows 7?

I forgot since I clean installed onto an SSD as soon as I bought the laptop.

Try installing from 10.3 or 10.3a, that is how I installed 10.4.

 

Here is a link to the 10.3a catalyst drivers.

ATI Catalyst 10.3 Windows 7 | Vista (64-bit) download from Guru3D.com

 

Quick question: Windows XP drivers?? Im thinking about putting XP in the netbook instead. (Toshiba only had a few drivers. No wifi drivers.)

 

Go to the source. Check Realtek's Website for WLAN drivers for XP. You should be able to get most drivers at the manufacturer's webpage.

You may have trouble with some specific Toshiba drivers. Windows Update may find them but it's a gamble.

 

i am running win7 32-bit. no matter what i do, i cannot get the newest catalyst and ati display drivers installed. i have gone as far as removing all video drivers from my toshiba including the drivers that toshiba provides (which work but are old) and the newer generic ati 3200 drivers that windows update downloads. whenever i run the office ATI install for the newest drivers, i choose custom so i can see a list of things it is going to install and it never, ever installs "ATI Display Driver".

what's going on here?

 

The AMD download page says the latest Catalyst driver will not install at all on Toshiba notebooks.

 

The price of the dual core machine has dropped to $438 on Amazon. I'm really considering ordering this machine. Can a current owner detail how easy it is to upgrade memory and hard drive?

 

VERY Easy. You need a small phillips head screwdriver for the RAM and a TORX T6 for the HDD Bay. I found it odd that they used Torx screws for the HDD Bay and Phillips everywhere else.

I installed an SSD, 4GB of RAM, and a new 802.11n WLAN card. For a laptop it is quite easy to upgrade.

 

I got it for $438 @ bhphoto. Can't wait till I get my lappy!!

 

Thanks. Also does it include an esata port?

 

Nope. No eSATA port.

 

Ya no eSATA port. I really don't understand why they advertised as if they had it (mayber the earlier models?).

Upgraded to 4gigs and did a full clean install of Windows 7 64 bit Home edition. This toshi is flying @ stock speeds.

Quick question: Does anyone know which Toshiba drivers have the OSD display for all the volumes, wifi, etc.?? Couldn't find it..

 

Glad I found this thread. I need a supercharged netbook for a long trip next month. I was waiting on the Acer 1830T, but it doesn't look like it was coming. I didn't wnat to spend $600 for the current (soon to be old) generation of technology. At $450 this looks ideal. I'm going to grab an X25-V (I can always re-use that in a new machine) and grab one of these if the Acer does not become available in the next 2 weeks.

 

I don't mean to spam, I've been posting about it in a separate thread but haven't gotten any confirmation of my problem with my new T115 - it seems to have a weird half circle thingie wedged under the edge of the screen. It almost looks like you're supposed to pull it out or something but I haven't managed to do so. I posted an archive of high-resolution pictures of it here (please forgive the large download size). Since there are other T115 owners on this thread, I just wanted to verify this isn't normal before I send it back. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

OK, since I may obsess until I get my hands on one of these...
I really do not like shinny laptops. For those of you with machine in hand, how do you think a treatment iwth 600 grit wet-dry sandpaper would work? Any chance it could take the big lid logo off entiely? Going for the ultamate stealth look (note I have only had thinkpads for the last 10 years).

 

I'd love to find that one out too...no idea what OSD drivers to use.

 

I think the sandpaper idea would not work out too well. I recommend getting the red one since it shows less smudges or just get some of those static decals.