Toshiba Tecra A4 ?

I just noticed that this new Tecra is listed on the Toshiba website and many of it's specs look great except for the hard drive, which if I ordered this model, I would need to upgrade it.

If I decide on this model, I have a couple of questions......
1)What is the difference between the XGA TruBrite display and the SXGA display. Which has the brightest, clearest images?

2)Which WiFi is recommended and what is the difference: Intel ProWireless 2915 ABG (802 a/b/g) vs. Atheros 802.11 b/g wireless-LAN supporting Atheros SuperG technology?

This comes with the Mobile Intel 915 GM Express Chipset.

3)All of the ram choices come with the PC2700 DDR333 SDRAM. Can this be upgraded? If so, would you suggest getting the lowest amount of ram and then upgrading?

4)There are many choices for the processor speeds....Is there much difference between the Intel Pentium M 760 2.0 GHz and the Intel Pentium M 770 / 2.13 GHz processors?

5)Is anyone familiar with the quality of the sound on this notebook line?

6)It comes with an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900; up to 128 MB of graphics memory is from the main memory via UMA. Does that mean that there is no dedicated graphics memory? Is it shared graphics memory? I would prefer dedicated graphics memory. This graphics memory also concerns me.

I'm still not finding everything I want in a laptop in any brand so I'm wondering what to (kind of ) settle for and then upgrade after purchase. I want a quality 15.4" screen with a fast processor, larger faster hard drive, and more ram......with fairly good sound, and not too heavy.Want to use it for photo and video editing as well as word processing and web surfing.

 

1) This is personal preference. Do you want more brightness or a higher resolution?
2) Intel claims their new card is better. If it's not much more expensive take it.
3) Toshiba will charge a premium for RAM, you can do better elsewhere. It should be able to to take DDR2 as well.
4) I would get the slowest one available, you're paying more for something that adds little value to most buyers.
5) It's brand new, but based on other Tecras I'm sure it's middle of the road or worse.
6) It's shared. Unless you want to go gaming, you don't need dedicated. Besides that, the dedicated PCIe cards with Sonoma aren't even out yet. Another 2-4 weeks for those.

You might also look at the M45.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Brian

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>

Thanks for your response.

Regarding your opinion that the Tecras may be middle of the road or worse, do you feel that the Satellite line is supperior?

<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

I think the consensus around here is that laptops generally do not have good speakers; you will be much better off getting a decent set of headphones.

Having said that, I'm also looking to buy the Tecra A4. I think its spec looks very promising, given its affordable price tag! I'm deciding between this Tecra A4 and the Acer Aspire 1689. They have similar spec and the Acer is a tad cheaper.