Toshiba X205 is the s9359 worth 500 more than the s9349 ?

Hello
I am buying a notebook and have norrowed it down to the 2 models ofToshiba X205 how much of a difference in proformace is there between the X205-S9349 and the X205-S9359. I know one model has a slightly better Graphics card and processor.. I know one has larger hard dive and better resolution but harddrive on the lower model is big enough and 1440 900 is a good resolution for gaming .
Is the difference in proformance worth the extra 500.

 

I guess that depends on what you want to use the laptop for. If you're a serious gamer, then the higher end one is your best bet. If you're like me, who mainly use it for work, then the lower end one is just fine. With the $500 I saved, I can use it toward a gaming desktop, or the PS3. Go the PS3 route and you have both a Blu Ray and HD DVD player. I had the same dilemma, but figured the $500 difference not worth it.

 

How much of a difference does the upgraded graphic card make 500 is a lot of cash .If there is only a small difference in preformance they the lowwer model seems like a better deal.

 

I picked the lower one because $500 just for a faster CPU and a 512 MB version of the same card is a rip off IMO.

 

I chose the s9359 for a few reasons.

Video Memory - 512 vs 256 - It doesn't make much of a difference on the laptop - but from what I understand it makes a difference when running on an external monitor at a higher resolution.

Hard Drive Space - 120 GB more - And yes - YOu can \upgrade this after the fact - but I'd rather have it all now.

Screen - 1680 vs 1440 - It does make a difference - It gives you a sizable increase in screen real estate

T7300 vs t7100 - 4MB cache and faster clock speed. Probably not that noticeable but hey, why not

$500 Bucks is quite a difference so its a personal call according to your budget. I would think the video card and screen resolution would be the main things to consider - These will not be upgradeable so what you have now is what you get.

The 9359 also comes with a Hybrid (Analog/Digital) TV Tuner and Remote

 

And to add another point...

The S9359 comes with Vista Ultimate vs S9349 with Vista Home Premium.
The Vista ultimate upgrade is selling at $259.95 currently at amazon - which goes to half the $500 value already.

 

Thanks - forgot that one.

 

Oh I forgot the TV Tuner and Remote too.
- is the tuner analog or digital, NTSC, PAL or ATSC?
does the remote double up as vista media center remote?

 

See above... Its a hybrid tuner...it has anlog coax/composite inputs and you can also hook up a High Definition OTA tuner.

The remote is a Windows Media Center Remote.

 

Personally I wouldn't spend the 500 more on it, the s9349 is plenty fast. Spend 200 of the 500 that you were going to spend on the s9359 and get 4 GB of ram! That would do more Dmg. Like chaz mentioned if a 1.8 couldn't do what your wanting a 2.0 probably isn't going to be able to either...

 

If you are using 32bit OS, I read somewhere that ram beyond 2+GB can't be used.

 

It's a little more complicated than that, but essentially, you're not really getting full bank for your buck if you have 4GB RAM and are running a 32bit OS.

Windows XP (32bit) can address 4GB of RAM; however, the system typically reserves about 0.5GB for things such as drivers and the like, so your system will generally only show about 3.5GB of available RAM. Furthermore, applications running under Windows XP are apparently limited to only 2GB of RAM maximum.

So, it would appear to be the case that a 32bit OS such as XP will "see" 3.5GB of RAM, but your applications will, in effect, only "see" 2GB RAM max, which suggests that the additional 1.5GB of RAM may be largely wasted, depending on how your system manages multiple applications.

 

You ca keep one of the 1g sticks and buy a stick of 2g and it wiil be recognize by the OS. Save some money the extra 1g will be a waste...

 

I got the 9349 and just got a T7700 for $345 so mine should be faster than the 9359 running at 2.4Ghz.