Toshiba X305 Awesome!

2 nights ago I got my Toshiba X205 sli1 stolen at Starbucks. Man I was bummed out big time, cause I tweaked that notebook to perfection as far as it's potential was concerned and it could run my games very nicely. So There went my baby.

I still had a few grand to pay on it, and I needed a computer, but man was I on a budget and I wasn't about to settle for one that couldn't play games.

I was concerned because of my bills racking up and I still had bout a 1000 bucks left to pay of the x205. I couldn't think of something that could match the quality and prowess of the x205 besides the Toshiba x305 and Gateway p7811fx besides going online and purchasing an enthusiat gaming notebook like Sager, Dell etc. Cause the only retail outlets down here in Hawaii are Best Buy and Circuit City.

I was disgusted cause I have grown really fond of what sli could do and the offerings on an sli configuration from these two stores were nadda. And there was one specialty store here that could build you a gaming notebook, but I knew it would go way over my budget just getting the bare minimum (I was willing to enslave myself by dishing out $2000 max on my credit card even though I knew I couldn't afford it) I was already to take the plunge with the Sager 8660 because of the posts I've seen here on the forum.

I had second thoughts though and went to Best Buy cause I didn't want to wait for the Sager to be shipped and I just wasn't sure about all this ordering online stuff and if I wouldn't be happy with the product besides having to deal with the hidden costs which would have definetley gone over the $2000 mark.

I had the 2 options like I mentioned above Toshiba x305 or Gateway 7811fx. I've read that the gateway was more powerful and just a hundred bucks more at $1449 and was about to just get it cause I kinda didn't like the x305 one that was on display as I compared the features on it to the x205 that I had it did look like a toy and plastic and unprofessional didn't have as many usb ports as my x205 and just seemed like a cheap product. I took a long look at the Gateway 7811fx and I wasn't impressed at all, also comparing the build and features to the x205 that I had, it was lacking big time and it didn't seem solidly built to last and I knew that's why they had to cut corners and leave out a lot of features to keep the costs down, albeit put in a good graphics card and cpu, but besides that, you get what you pay for.

So I used one of the computers to do research on the net for like 3 hours just reading up on both and I came to the conclusion that the X305 was very well thought out in Toshiba's Research and Development department. Oh yeah the stock Gateway is more bang for the buck but that's it your stuck with that and pray that it's powerful enough to last for future games. But the X305 as I've read seems to be very upgradeable hence other configurations with better faster gpus and cpus and hdds that'll be released soon. And I went a second time to now abuse the x305 that was on display and now understand why Toshiba went with the durable platic casing and hollow feel it just seems more able to take punishment than the flimsy tight gateway model. Seems as though if I dropped the x305 it would bounce but the gateway would shatter. To make a long story short I thought about my budget and pros and cons and felt very pleased with Toshiba so far as I've had the x205 and really liked and missed it. So I bought it thinking it would be just as powerful if not a little less as the x205 because of the 3dmark scores posted by users 73xx as compared to the x205's 7575.

I got home set it up and man I love this notebook! Crushed all my low expectations of how I thought it would perform. I installed COD4, Gears Of War, The Orange Box, Oblivion, and Bioshock, and Dam now with max graphic settings I can enable Anti Aliasing and they all run way better than the x205 with effects I don't think I noticed on the x205, and the x205 was Awesome at running all those games at max without AA as well.

So I am very happy that I didn't spend more money than I could afford and got a notebook that went above and beyond. I don't miss my x205 as much now, although I'd still wish I can recover it from the theif.

Lastly I hear a lot of ppl bashing this notebook on this site, infact I see a lot of ppl bash Toshiba, but from my experience with Toshiba I can say don't be decieved. Toshiba is top notch and quality with know how. This notebook made up for my loss because even if I'm still paying 1000+ for my stolen one this one just cost me $1400 is more powerful and from what I've read is upgradeable to future proof me till I pay of this and the stolen one off. Then by that time I can buy another one after tapping this one out, since my plan was to buy another one when the x205 couldn't run games anymore, but that plan changed after it got stolen.

Anyway Thank you Toshiba, and I would recommend anyone on a budget get this AWESOME GAMING NOTEBOOK!

 

Cool! Congrats on your new purchase. You probably made the right decision, as the 7811 has a few issues that need to be ironed out.

 

Not to sound harsh, but how the **** do you have a laptop stolen from Starbucks? If I were in such a public place I'd be sure to take my laptop with me to the bathroom (where I assume you went, since where else is there to go?) in standby mode.

On topic: congrats on your new machine.

 

Yeah I was stupid, but I've left it many a times when I did use the bathroom and dude there was a sh*t load of babes around and I had to look cool and confident, but that night I really felt it was gonna get stolen. I was in the John and having thoughts of it being gone when I came out and I never felt so strong about it like that night so I was forcing myself to pee as fast as I could and at the same time looking in the mirror telling myself "nah it's all in the mind, it's all in the mind" I got out and hastily walked back to the table and was about to cry asking the foxy babes with tears in my eyes if they seen anyone take my laptop. Luckily the tears didn't roll down my face. The funny thing I'm typing this as I sit here again at StarBucks with some of the same honeys, as they Awe at my Fantasic incredible X305q701. You know, I have to redeem myself after that fiasco. Anyway gotta go pee....

 

Congrats and bring that new laptop with you when you pee !!! God Bless

 

That made me lol! Don't like the look of the X305, but whatever floats your boat.

 

Hehe, what's the name of that specialty store? The Apple Store? But really, so far I've gone through 3 laptops in the past 6 years and 2 of them I got online. The one I got locally, an HP, was from CompUSA and I probably wouldn't have bought it if I didn't need it immediately. The only down side for us in Hawaii is having to pay higher shipping costs and having to wait a little longer for our stuff to reach their destinations.

I guess I've been somewhat lucky ordering online. My first one, ordered from Gateway, turned out perfect. The second one, my Asus, was given a good run through by the reseller before it was shipped. If you're ordering online, you just have to be sure about what you want, and if you end up not liking it, be ready to pay for return shipping and restocking fees. Otherwise, there really is no hidden costs. Anyway, you should try ordering online some time. You'll open yourself up to a wider variety of laptops and deals than what we get stuck with on the islands. Also congratulations on finding a laptop that works for you.

 

Prydeless yeah I really wanted to try, but budget was my concern and I really found a nice compromise with this. It's a shame CompUsa had to shut down they had better stuff then Best Buy and Circuit City. Nice hearing from a local boy.

Yeah this was almost a deal breaker for me looking at it in Best Buy next to the other notebooks this looks like a misfit, UNTIL you bring it home. Man this really is cool looking and unique. I've had 3 people comment on how nice the laptop looks. One of the college babes came up with her friend and said "wow nice laptop, is that customized?" It's a chic magnet this'll definitley help with my pick up game. Seriously the look is brilliant. Reminds me of they highend gaming notebooks that's advertised on Nvidia's site.

 

The 7811-FX IS user upgradable! and a much better performer IMO.

 

I believe it is easy to upgrade the memory, CPU, and hard drive, but if it is like past FX laptops, then the GPU is soldered on. Whereas the X305 and F55 have modular GPU's that look to be upgradeable. I hope this helps. God Bless

 

I'm so tempted to pick up one of these when I visit the U.S next month after having owned an X205 for the past year, But whenever I look at the Gateway P7811fx I become torn between the two! Arghhh I just don't know what to do!

 

Get the x305. Believe me, you will not regret it. After playing all the games I played on my x205 sli one and how I thought it was superb this one makes the games even better with different effects I havent seen. AND YOU EVEN CAN PLAY WITH THE THING UNPLUGGED WITHOUT FRAME RATE DROPPING EVEN TILL THE BATTERY GIVES THE CRITICAL ALERT!!!!!!! with the x205 if I wanted to game I had to be by an outlet if I wanted to keep the performance good. NOT ANYMORE. Played COD4 multiplayer outside my house last night was so happy, even if for about 50 min but it felt long. This system is so awesome ppl underated it. Its a well kept secret if it doesn't sell. Man I'm in love and I don't think about the x205 anymore infact I think it was a blessing to have it stolen!

 

I bought the X305 when it came out and returned it, mine had heating issues so I was able to return it after 1 week of ownership. Thankfully Bestbuy had a big sale and I was able to pickup the Gateway P-7811FX for only $1249 and a free $50 game.

BB has the X305 on sale right now for $1349.

If I had to do it again, I would go with the P-7811FX. The LCD is so much better and sharper. The specs do favor P-7811FX slightly, more bang for the buck.

The P8400 CPU in the P-7811FX is better than the P7350 CPU, which doesn't even have Intel SpeedStep Technology.

Well you could've done better but it's your money.

 

Well if you read through my post money was a huge factor in my decision because I wasn't even planning on buying another laptop for at least 2 more years, since my X205 sli1 was more than sufficient with running my games I was very happy with it, and I'm still paying it off.

But with my limited choices from Best Buy and Circuit City and from the 2 gaming notebooks, I was disappointed that there were no Sli rigs to choose from.

Yeah the x305 was on sale when I bought it at $1349 and so was the p 7811fx at $1449. So trying to save every penny and infact very weary of the choices I spent 3 hours on the net reading reviews and forums of both machines. I also went and tried both although there weren't really any games to indicate the performance for each, so I kinda abused both displays by dropping it from 5 inches, slamming on the keyboard, slamming the lid shut and flexing it all the way back, etc. I came to the conclusion that Toshiba's model was tougher.

Then I thought about performance and upgradeability. The p7811fx has better specs and resolution but I want to play my games maxxed without sacraficing performance and turning down settings and I'm thinking Toshiba new this from research and development so they chose to put a lower res monitor that would be sufficient for gaming. A good overall set of gaming hardware that would complement each other and keeping it simple to keep costs from skyrocketing and bringing gaming to the mainstream, buy giving them a full fledge gaming notebook that was conceived from the ground up.

I think the Gateway model was just add one off the newest graphics card and gpu into one of our business chassis and see what we get from there, without being able to let the gaming enthusiast grow with upgradable options. Just buy our next model.

So later I think the gateway will start to chug with later games at native resolution or even with some modern games. I didn't like the layout of gateways model.

I was already impressed with the quality of Toshiba's x205 sli1 and was familiar with their 24/7 customer service and website to download software upgrades.

 

there techsupport is non american's which is sad. because my grandfather has a Toshiba and he called tech he said they was very unhelpful and he could not understand them. i call them and said it this needed to be replaced. they gave me a very hardtime about it. but it is a nice laptop. ii lucked out on my Fujitsu which has american tech support

 

I agree some tech reps aren't really helpful, but I just keep on calling and I get someone different. It is hit or miss but knowing I can call anytime gives me comfort.

 

Well, I agree the X305 is sturdier because it is very thick compared to the thinner profile P7811FX.

The P7811FX is a better gaming notebook overall, I like the position of the touchpad better than the X305, it is shifted to the left purposely to be closer to the WASD keys, keeping your hands closer.

I didn't crack open the X305 but was told that the 2nd drive bay was difficult to access and Toshiba did not supply a 2nd drive "tray" and it's a $50 option. It's included on the P7811FX.

I agree with you the P7811FX screen resolution will lower performance of gaming @1920x1200 which is 1080p. This means, a CPU upgrade would be needed in some games to improve performance.

However after using the P7811FX, I actually prefer the sharper and brighter screen over the blurry and less sharp X305 LCD. It's one of the weakness of the X305, a blurry screen.

Another issue is the glossy finish is prone to fingerprints and what a good idea about making the keyboard the same finish.

I agree with you on many points, I feel the X305 simply isn't worth $1499 or $1349, it should be priced around $1199.

The P7811FX has better hardware all around, better LCD, CPU, GPU, the BIOS is very tweak friendly.

Again, you already bought the laptop so I don't want to make you have to defend your purchase. But these are my conclusions comparing the two.

 

In the last few weeks I had Hp HDX9320, Toshiba X300-11s and finally i bought Gateway p-7811 fx.

HP seems to be the best build quality but I had 2 units and 2 were faulty.
( dad pixels and hissing sound coming from the lcd connector )
Hp tv tuner sucks.
I was playing supreme commander on Hp and I was not happy at all.
1680x1050 high details shadows off.
Plus - very quiet when browsing internet ( idle )
3d mark 06 = 8000 marks ( stock )
HDX was finally returned and i got my refund.
price 1280 UK sterling = 2300 US


Toshiba - laptop was faster then hp in supreme commander but resolution was different ( smaller )
1400x900 high level of details shadows off
3d mark 06 = 7600 marks ( stock )
Fan noise was annoying when browsing internet. keyboard - very poor quality. laptop was looking like a toy from the toys shop.
price in the uk 1200 sterling = 2100 US dollars.
I returned this laptop and got my refund again.


Gateway p-7811 fx
Supreme commander 1600x1200 high details shadows off - fluent. I was happy. Way better then x300 and hdx.
3d mark 06 = 8722 marks ( stock driver )
keyboard is solid and build quality is better in my opinion than toshiba was but still not as hdx.
minus - fan noise when browsing internet but it is less anoying than in x300
price 1680 US including shipping to the UK. ( ebay ) VAT paid at 102 sterling = 180 USD ( value of the laptop was 700 US for customs ) total price 1860 USD.
minus - no warranty in the UK. Gateway UK will not support you laptop.
Plus - excellent screen FULL HD

I am happy with the gateway laptop. Thinking about upgrade to P9500 to get some extra marks is 3d mark. Gaming experience is way better than in other 2 laptops that i had in the last few weeks.

 

Why you doin this, huh? What has the x305 ever done to you, huh? ...........The gateway is good.............for me to poop on.

 

So jacob808 how is the X305 treating you, still good?

 

Robaloi I guess you read the posts above and so have I. I also have been reading the gateway forum posts on the p7811fx.

So anyway when I was in the 6th grade we used to go to The Fun Factory an arcade here in Hawaii that we used to hang out as kids. Well I was like what 11 years old and I was with my best friend and I saw this girl I liked we became a couple and I got my first french kiss. Any way I would go home and brag to my older brother and his friends then when they saw her they would tease me and say she's a doo doo girl and they would always say that and make fun of her. So I kinda didn't want to be seen with her and started to believe it so I dumped her. Fast forward couple years later and I think back and get disgusted because she was really pretty and we were in highschool now and she was desireable.

This is the situation with me reading the bashers of the x305 and giving praise to the p7811fx. I'm starting to think the grass is greener on the other side.

I just got this notebook last week Sunday and was very happy and satisfied with it. I had a little time on Monday to actually play and see performance wise because setting it up with installing all the games I had and the programs like rivatuner and nhancer etc. took up alot of my off days which is Sunday and Monday, and I had to go back to work on Tues until Sat. And my work hours are from 10a-8p so I actually don't have much time to play with it so I would just go on the net and read this forum and study some other things and maybe 30 min of gaming. So I was starting to get persuaded with all the hype thier giving the Gateway and belittling the Toshiba.

But now I'm off again and now I can spend more time with my purchase and that's what I've been doing since I got of like 8 hours ago and I am just as happy with the x305 as I was when I first bought it last week.

My first notebook was the X205 sli1 and I was very satisfied and impressed with that one too and thought it would fulfill my gaming needs for at most the next 3 years because I was tweaking it and tapping more power with each driver and program.

I got it back in December for $1800 and not even a year passed and I thought man how is a $1400 laptop gonna compete against a little more expensive notebook that's SLI capable. And I really wanted something that could game at the same level so I was desperate that I was willing to dish out another 2 grand. But in the end wiser heads prevailed and I thought hell I'll just take my chances cause I have to be wise and budget so I made an educated decision and bought the x305 and it surpasses the performance of the x205.

Plays COD4 maxed out with AA at 60 fps, Gears of War runs freakin unbelievable at High settings, and Bioshock is so much better all around still I didn't have much time yet to get immersed in my other games but I definitely know this is taken to a whole different level from the X205 sli1 and that system wasn't so shabby could push my games at max settings too but compared to this I now can say there's somethings that were missing like shock wave effects from grenade explosions and no more stuttering in Gears of War because of the demanding textures etc.

I can go on and on but yeah The Gateway fan boys can say all they want about the x305, but in my opinion this is another homerun for Toshiba R&D.

 

Sweet!
Thanks for replying jacob I do appreciate it because I live in the U.K and will only be visiting the U.S for two weeks in october I have to make the right decsion between the X305 and the P7811FX because if I go for the gateway it means monster shipping charges back to the U.S if something goes wrong where as with the good old Toshiba I can have it repaired back here in Blighty with Toshibas world wide guarantee.
P.S any experience with Crysis on this bad boy yet? and what resolution were you runing COD4 at?

 

COD4 is maxed at 1440x900. I'm addicted to multiplayer. Crysis I never got the game or tried it on the x305, but on the x205 sli1 it ran like crap. I downloaded the demo version and I didn't know how to enable SLI.

To be fair, the Gateway model is a nice system, for sure, but also is the Toshiba x305. And since I'm familiar with Toshiba's products and services, I'm satisfied with my purchase especially because I wasn't even planning on getting another gaming notebook until couple more years, so it was manageable for my budget.

Again in my opinion Toshiba R&D picked and choosed the right components and material in building a budget high performance gaming notebook to bring to the masses.

 

Jacob did you get a media remote with your system?

 

Do you mean like a remote control? no I didn't , but now you mention it I think I did notice something like that mentioned in control panel or some program I just can't recall. I remember with the x205, I had expectations that it would come with some sort of remote control since I read on forums about some media remote but I never found one with that system and also with this. Unless I'm understanding this media remote wrong, please eloborate more on what it is and does, cause I was always curious about it. Thanks.

 

I thought the X305 came with a remote that fits in the Exresscard slot. Maybe its just the X300 that comes with it, or maybe the BestBuy models don't include it?

 

man I'm not even sure how to access the expresscard slot. I see it on the side but don't know how to get it open and I can't find adequate documentation on how to do it . manual's not very helpful. can someone help?

 

ixpod mines looks like it's closed with a with a cover that I don't even know how to open. theres this little protrusion that looks to be a handle but I can't even grasp it to open man this is getting frustrating.

 

Try pushing it in, the I believe it should push out by itself and then you can slide it out. Let us know if it works. God Bless

 

It's just a blanker that would be there most likely. You can get media remotes from anywhere really.

 

yeah it was a blanker, but my problem was I didn't know how to take it out so I called toshiba customer support and they told me to push it in then it would pop out. To bad I didn't call them earlier cause now I scratched it up by trying to pry it out with a screwdriver. Now I'm so depressed cause my beautiful sexy laptop got a blemish.

 

O_O Y JACOB WHY!!!!!!...screwdriver...COME ON!

anyways, lol I'm in almost the same dilemma as you but mine is not budget but shipping rates and taxes, because I wanted to buy online but the taxes...Oi.

anyways here in Canada BestBuy only carries the X305 and no gateways..none of the FX's have made it here...yes that sucks.

Could you perhaps get the Crysis demo again and see what fps you get? please.

Crysis's better optimized Warhead is just around the corner and seeing as there is no demo(Orginal Crysis should preform like crap, but results is what matters)...I'm sure your results will help us X305-potential-buyers.

I want to get this lappy but, I'm a constant gamer, and would like to know that the laptop I've invested in will at least play many current and next-gen games at Medium/High settings.

And for a Toshiba-Newbie like me has anyone clarified what "Upgrades" the X305 will be able to pull off?

 

I'll try and download it overnight since it's a huge download. then I'll give it a go with fraps running to indicate how much fps it generates but right now I just got my other games installed and want to enjoy it to. You know just take the plunge and buy it, I'm sure you won't be disappointed as it plays modern games very well. I'm more than satisfied.

 

lol, bad advise on taking plunges. Nobody should just "plunge" if they can't get a refund in $$$, BB only offers in-store credit!

And DO NOT USE FRAPS!!!! just use the fps console command and take a few screenies, that's it, fraps will throw valid-results out the window.

 

I picked up an x305 new in box clearance price $929 - $1014 out the door price. I live in west Covina , CA. I called numerous BB locations all had different prices. My Asus G1s video gpu fried, have to replace whole mainboard $385 before tax. yes display resolution is higher but ddr3 memory and gpu memory. could not go wrong.

 

you guys do know that Toshiba is coming out with a
Qosmio 4 with quad core. listen to the review at the end.


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ha if a duo core extreme with 1 9800M GTX is 3500$, i dont even wanna know the price of that.

 

The 6831FX was around in January. There is hope (although slim) we might see them again.

Why not do a road trip?

Also, I just submitted a review of the X300. Pretty close to an 6831/6860FX. I really like the Tosh.