Why shouldn't I?

Give me some reasons why I shouldn't get the Qosmio X505-Q885.

 

I'm also sorely tempted by the Q885, for all the reasons you probably are. $999 is a steal for what you are getting. But I'm still waiting, for the following reasons:

• GTS 360m is a decent card, but a bit underpowered and no DX11 support. The GTX 460m should be out within 6 months. It should be about as powerful as a 5870 and even better at DX11, so it'll have a long life.
  
• Intel's next-gen of Core processors, Sandy Bridge, promises to bring increased performance and more efficient power usage, also in about 6 months.
  
• The keyboard design isn't great, and the location of the media buttons is stupid.
  
• The screen may not be highest quality, I still don't know; it's CCFL, not LED.

Personally, I'm hoping that Toshiba gives us a glimpse of the new Qosmios before the end of the year. If the updates are to my liking, I'll wait; if not, a Q885 by then should be even cheaper.

If you aren't a hardcore diehard gamer and the above doesn't concern you that much, the Q885 is a great laptop and should last you quite a while. My 7-year old Satellite 1135 is still kickin'.

 

I really like the design of this computer, it's less glitzier than the G51JX-X1/X3 I've been looking at.

I am not too worried about 1080p or the size. I just wanna know if this will be a quality piece that can do what I want. Watch hulu and play games well, not hardcore.
I find the lower end games better, like Civ 4 and SimCity 4. Would like to play Fallout: 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. I am sure this can handle it.

 

Battery life.

Seriously though ... can you give us more of an idea why you want to purchase that model? You are interested in gaming, as you said, but perhaps other models out there that cost less could fulfill the parameters you listed at a more inexpensive price? (Although perhaps you find a really good deal on one?)

What else would you primarily use it for? Any audio or video work? Intense number crunching or code compilation?

 

Battery life is surprisingly good on the x505 series, actually. Maybe cause it doesn't need turbofan engines to cool itself. If you aren't gaming or doing anything really intensive, you should be able to get 2 1/2 hours, easily.

I don't think quality should be an issue for you, the x505 will handle those tasks with ease. If you really aren't demanding that much from laptop though, you might want to check out a cheaper model. For $1000 though, I don't think you'll find anything better.

 

Intense number crunching, like raiding with 25 people? Yes, I will be doing audio and video. I would like to listen to music while watching movies.

I like the fit and finish of these higher-end notebooks.
I'll have no money in six months.

You look at the lower models, like in the 700-899 side. Spend a few more dollars and get a better model.

 

Question though.

Would I need to do a complete wipe and reinstall of the OS like I am reading with the G51JX?

 

No, you can always simply uninstall the bloatware manually. I like reformating and installing from scratch; you can always grab the drivers and utilities from Toshiba (though you should get GPU drivers from Nvidia for the 360m).

 

Q885 comes with it's own bloatware free Windows7 disk, right? Or do I make my own set?

 

Hardly any manufacturers include a bloatware free OS disk. However, you don't need one. Just get the Windows 7 ISO you need (there's links on this forum) and either burn it, or do what I do and just extract the files and run the exe.

 

Does this laptop have a wireless n card with 2.4GHz and 5 GHz support, or is it one of those 2.4 GHz only cards?

 

Well, I decided to get the Q885.

Just placed an order with Tigerdirect through Amazon.
Shipping was cheeper and got 2 day.

Can't wait.

 

PLEASE let us know what you think of the laptop, especially the screen. I haven't been able to find a Q885 on display anywhere.

 

Huzzah!

I would also be interested in your thoughts/reactions about the machine when it arrives.

 

You can check out my new thread. It's not detailed yet, but I like it so far.