Unboxing Toshiba Satellite A505 - S6965

oooo yeaaah !!!! xDD

 

Pocket the cash. If anything and you really want to have that piece of mind: you should only get an extended warranty from the manufacturer. The reason: who do you think is going to stay in business longer, Toshiba or Best Buy? To answer that, replace Best Buy with Circuit City or CompUSA.
Also, if you ever need hardware service, Best Buy will send it out to Toshiba for service anyway.

 

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonmob_win7-64.aspx

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonmob_win7-32.aspx

Btw: The manager isn't working right now since the ATI drivers are only in beta.

 

You want hot, try a DV7-1135nr. That is a BCL (Birth Control Laptop).

Seriously though, it shouldn't be too hot unless there is something wrong with it.

 

can we install win xp 64 bit/32 bit on this machine. do we have all the drivers needed to do so like ethernet, wireless, sound, display the main drivers.

 

On the Best Buy review site, a guy who bought this model has installed Windows 7 and he said drivers were available for Win xp and Win 7 on the Toshiba site.

 

i chked toshiba website but there are jst modem drivers, camera drivers and some other crap.. anyone intsalled XP yet on this machine. for got abt XP on the whole it would be very fast considering the specs it has

 

hey can we play crysis warhead on this

 

Yes! Medium Settings

 

I got this week the a505-6965 from best buy(sent overseas to me). i wanted the newegg versiom with a 4650...but the P7350, 500GB hard drive and lower power consumption of 4570 is a good trade off.

bad:
Vista and Toshiba bloatware are a bad combo, startup is slow(disable most of them with msconfig). hard drive running at 100% at the time!!!
i was so pissed i installed Windows 7 ultimate 64bit

GOOD:
Backlit Full Keyboard
Fast generally
Relatively Cool even when gaming (except for fan vent of left side)
Screen doesn't burn your eyes even in dark
good collection of ports
glossy finish ..black and shiny looks great
windows 7 (catalyst 9.7..mod install) says 3hours of battery life..not tested
has all the features of mainstream laptops.
Excellent Product.

Windows 7 install
i installed the Windows RTM..u can install an RC..i think (active till march 2010..but RTM faster)
you can rearm the RTM for 30days ( 3 times each)..or try something else
I upgraded so i won't have to reinstall all the drivers and software.
had to remove google toolbar,ATi catalyst and intel PROset/ wireless for upgrade to proceed.
i began the upgrade from windows..everything was simple..took 1.5 hours

 

Nice, but in overall did you like the laptop?

 

1.5 hrs its way too much u upgraded it r clean install by formatting the existing one, it willhardly take 20-25 mins. also u said catalyst 9.7 mod install does it give ATI control manager where u can adjust ur screen settings, game play settings etc.. yes battery life does come up to 3 hrs if normal surfing.

i too feel the hot air running down the vent all the time but i chked with Hardware monitor and the temps are below 55 for processors n for HDD 35-37 but i couldn't find temp of GPU can anyone let me how to find it?

 

Well, that's good. Heat blowing out but the laptop remaining cool is a good thing Someone else said the cpu temps were staying pretty low. I wonder about gpu.

Krista

 

yeah, I gotta check out the GPU! xD

somebody out there knows this information?

 

"i too feel the hot air running down the vent all the time but i chked with Hardware monitor and the temps are below 55 for processors n for HDD 35-37 but i couldn't find temp of GPU can anyone let me how to find it?"

Have you tried Ati Tray Tools?

 

already asked the same question? why copy the content already there

 

Try downloading Everest i think it shows the GPU temps

Btw there supposed to be hot air blowing out of the vent that is how all laptops stay cool from the heat of the CPU and GPU. The laptop does gets 3 hours of battery life which is very good for a laptop with a Dedicated graphic card and a 6-cell battery so far im very happy with it and its a great buy

 

I guess ATI GPU's run hot but get their job done, recently many ppl complained abt nVidia GPU's getting burnt n not able to handle the heat generated, personally I like nVidia but ATI is good.

I am satisfied with the performance of the laptop, need to do a clean win 7 RC n vista ultimate install this week hopefully. was thinkin if we have all the drives to install 64 bit xp (to make use of all 4GB RAM, can it r it jst uses 3GB) any thoughts.

 

"why copy the content already there"

You asked if there was a way to monitor GPU temps and I am suggesting that you can monitor GPU temps with Ati Tray tools.

 

my bad didn't read the last sentence

 

Have you tried Ati tools? Does it work?

 

not yet jst chk that sentence will chk it tonite tnx

 

Mmmm, anyways... like people here say, if you feel hot air blown out = laptop fan doing its job. So its not a problem, and some folks stat that it has a stable temp. right? so what the heck lol

 

ATI tools, i think it is for overclocking, man i dont need that, need to chk GPU temps sw

 

Ati gpu temp monitor

 

yes i like this laptop it's GREAT and i am comparing it to a couple of 2008 HPs and older Dells and compaqs i used last month as well as the Acer 6930 with a T6500 and 9600GS.

the most distinct difference between the the toshiba and the acer is that the laptop doesn't get particularly warm on the surface and it is a decent 6.5 lbs.
keyboard layout is seems better also.

i downloaded the WIN7 radeon mobility driver from ati website but it didn't install.
found the mod tool, patched the driver then installed cat 9.7 with control center.

 

can u explain more n give the urls frm where u downloaded the sw's.

yes i too like this laptop more now as i jst installed win 7 RC n the performance the laptop is givin me is more, it installed in jst 15-20 min.

i say when i installed the win 7 in some of the HP's that i used earlier did not give me such performance boost so i posted a question doubting the performance of win7 as every one says when compared to vsita. now i can see the difference.

 

Driver:
http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html

Add 4570 to install list:
http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php

 

how to integrate the two files or modding?

 

mod instructions are on the page... just select the folder with the install files, the mod tool adds 4570 to the list of graphics cards.

 

Thank You! And good hearing you like the Toshiba

 

Hey does it has only one bay for HDD or an extra bay is there, was thinkin to get a SSD.

Edit: can anyone confirm anything abt this.

 

yes it worked but when installing windows warns that the drivers may be old or harm ur comp and may be someone can track r something n get latest drivers frm laptop owners website. did u get that mssg shld we ignore it n install it. how did u finf 9.7 i see only 8.. somethin in the website

 

only have timeshift on the laptop now but it works fine
will install more games during the week

 

Hi, I would like to know if anybody can help me on this, my cousin is decided to pick the A505, but we saw the P505D at the same price in Best Buy ( LINK ). We wanted to know which of this 2 laptops is the best for the price, both are at 699 but one has obviously a bigger screen.

I also notice that the P505D has a AMD Turion™ X2 and a ATI Radeon HD 3200 video card. My knowledge is not the best, but are they better than the processor and the video card from the A505?

Thanks for your time, I hope someone can help us with this purchase decision.

 

Not even close the HD3200 is a IGP and its much weaker than the HD4570 Mid range dedicated card and the Intel is much better than the AMD processor the AMD will produce more heat and less battery life than the Intel. The A500 is much better for the price

 

, but are they better than the processor and the video card from the A505?

No, the HD3200 is an integrated graphics solution. You will not be able to play the latest games with this combo...If you dont play games then yes, it will be better.

 

Ill leave it this way.. A505 ... P505D

The A505 is much better than the other, and they're on the same price. The screen size make the P505D get that price I suppose.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys! It seems we will pick the A505!

 

Hey all, newly registered to this site.

Firstly, thanks for the posts and the info. This thread actually sold me on buying an a505-s6965, which I just did about 3 hours ago. Typing this post on it as we speak

So far I really like this thing. CoD4 running at default graphics flawlessly, perfect on the backlighting for the keyboard. Curious if anyone else's function 'FN' key and spacebar do not light up when the backlighting is active? I can see the FN key has a light under it but it doesn't shine through on mine...just stays dark.

Also, one of the main reasons I went with this lappy was because of the HDMI out. Plugged it into my Samsung 42" plasma and did minor video properties setup...video and sound come through fine, but I can't seem to get 5.1 while watching a DVD (using Toshiba's player or WMP). I have HDMI out to my TV, then digital audio out from my TV to my receiver. I know this setup works from using my ps3 the same way. Anyone have any pointers on a setting I might be missing to get 5.1?

Thanks in advance, and for the good infos so far!

 

Actually...reading up some it seems like this laptop might not be able to output 5.1 sound...is that accurate?

If so, probably need to get a USB sound card or something?

 

I purchased a Sony FW about a week ago and just returned it to get a A505-S6965. I really like it. For some strange reason my screen doesn't seem bright enough. At Best Buy, they had the model without the LED screen sitting right next to this model, with the LED and the model without the LED looked a lot brighter. I asked the sales guy and he said it could be something wrong with that laptop. Anyway, I bought one and my son has a MacBook Pro and boy, his screen is super bright. I installed Windows 7, wonder if that could be a problem with the screen. Is the screen on these S6965 really LED?

Also, my spacebar and "FN" key do not light up either. I think that is just the way it is made.

 

Hi, thanks for responding about the FN and spacebar keys. Seems odd that they'd put a light under the FN key, but not make the letters on the key clear so it shines through. No biggie though.

As far as the brightness...I was messing around with the different "power plans" which you can adjust in control panel or by right clicking the battery icon and selecting 'power options'. I noticed when I put it on high performance, the screen gets MUCH brighter and crisper. Balanced, not so bright, and I'm assuming 'Eco' would be even less bright as a battery saving function. If your power option set to high performance when you're seeing the not-so-bright screen? Might be worth checking out if you haven't already...

Also...anyone have any idea's on the 5.1 sound question I asked a couple posts back? Thanks much all!

 

I checked, mine is on Performance. It must be looking at a MacBook Pro screen for a while and then looking at this one. Overall, I'm very well pleased with this computer. It is a great bargain.

 

You can hold the FN key and press F7 to increase the brightness when on battery and Hold FN and press F6 to decrease the brightness

 

Any one tried installin the catalyst by modding it? it does nasty things can anyone let me know if they tried it

 

check control panel sound try selecting HDMI output, and see if you can configure 5.1

 

About the "FN" and SPACE key, they don't light up. They should but what ever, we know where they are anyways

About the HDMI 5.1 thingy, I really don't have knowledge about it ... sorry

 

Has anyone updated the video drivers? If so, how did you do it. Thanks

 

Scroll down this page for a step by step guide.