just picked up a Satellite M50-MX5 (comments and questions)

Posted this as a reply to a review of a similar laptop, figure i might get more response this way.

I found this forum 4 hours AFTER buying the M50-MX5 from futureshop (FS) for 1499CDN. I am in Canada btw. Oh well let's get cracking, I have a month to return it if you guys manage to change my mind. I have many questions and would greatly appreciate this forum's collective advice. This is my very first laptop.

I wanted a smaller one, so 14 inch sounded great even though FS had the 15 inch for a hundred cheaper but it also had the 740 chip, whereas i have the 750. I've noticed you guys with the M55 have the 740, wonder why mine's 750? Also, as part of the deal, FS installed a free extra 512 of ram, giving my 1gig of ddr2.

Others have mentionned flex problems with the keyboard and the overall plasitc build of the system.
I haven't felt up that many laptops but this keyboard seems firm and inplace. Also, i don't see how the build is weak, it is plastic but then again, i have yet to see a laptop made of metal.

The video aspect troubles me though. I haven't played a game in years due to lack of system capabilities. This laptop is powerful everywhere but in the video. Most new games list a 3d card as their first requirement. This intel 900, is it that bad??? Will this system be albe to run the latest games like Doom 3 or ... gosh i dont even know whats out there. I'm not that much into gaming, but the option would be nice.
Another question that stems from that is, what kinda of expansion slots are inside this thing? Could i get an AGP (does agp exist in laptops? ) video card?

Overall, i think i made the right decision in that i have a laptop 4 times more powerful then my P3 home pc. 1.86 centrino with a gig or ram sounds like a beast to me.

One thing i really want to know though, asap, is how do i clean this thing, what do i need to keep and what can go? I want to get rid of aol and anyother type of garbage like that, but also i want to install firefox and delete explorer, delete norton antivirus for AVG and so forth. How much of the added features can i safely strip away? Like toshiba software, can that go? What are the advantages of formating and installing XP PRO? Why the heck are there so many icons in my task bar and so many processes running in my task manager? I need better control over my system resources. It was surprising to see so many things running on a bare system.

Feel free to take a stab at any of these questions, or redirect my queries to another thread, hopefully this can start a discussion. And hopefully within a month, i'll either be more confident with my purchase, or looking into another laptop purchase.
I will be posted frequent updates here as my experience progresses.

 

The Satellite M50 doesn't have the horrendous build quality some people accuse Toshiba of having. I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10 on build quality on a rating scale. About the Video Card: The GMA 900 is a weak option for games - you definately won't be able to play newer 3D games on that - the most you'll be able to do is some simple mulitmedia like watch DVDs or play older games from 2-3 years ago. There are no AGP laptops that I'm aware of (maybe some 17" 20 lbs. giant notebooks do), but some newer laptops do come with PCI-E cards that allow for some limited VCard upgrades. I'd take a look at the "How to Optimize a Notebook Computer" in the Dummy Articles section (don't worry, you're not a dummy!)

 

thanks for replying. Well I ran my own "tests." Essentially meaning i downloaded the demos of Far cry and the Latest Need for Speed. Far Cry froze completely in about 4 seconds, NFS Wanted played choppy at low settings, REALLy choppy with anything higher. Bummer.

This brings me to my dilema:

I spend 2000 grand CDN on this notebook, alot of money by my account (starving student). Now I'm wondering why did I opt for a higher end 750 centrino with a gig of RAM? Seeing that i cannot play games on this PC and I am not a programmer/graphics designer/whoever-else-needs-high-end-pcs, why did i get it.

Seeing that it cannot play games, hence cannot replace my desktop pc, all i will be doing on this notebook is browsing, homework, picture/music storage, burning, downloading, and general bs you see people partake in at coffee shops. So DO I NEED SUCH A SYSTEM? Could i not do the abovementionned activities on a 900$ (CDN) celeron from gateway? Heck, with the money i spent on this notebook, i could by that cheapy laptop AND get a new desktop rig!

I have been surfing and studying on it all day and love the speed and easy wireless connection (neighbor's hehehe). It does everything except gaming very well. But my old pc could most likely also function like this if i ever format it and clean it up a bit.

So do i stick with this system, or do i just get a cheap notebook and a powerful pc for the home for about the same price???

 

Well, I'd say get rid of the notebook you have now - its useless for gaming, but would make for a fair multimedia notebook if you want that. It all comes down upon your needs - do you Need the Porbabilty of a notebook? If not, I say go with the desktop/cheap laptop choice. If you need mobility, I'd say go with another notebook.

 

If you are a student, portability is great! I have the M50 and I bring it to some of my lectures. Ill tell you, when I put it in my bag it feels like im carrying something lighter than a binder...or equivalent. The 100 gig, and the nice speakers doesnt hurt...as well u have 1 gig of ram . I guess if you dont care at all about the hd space, portability, and the speakers, than go with another notebook.

 

I do like the centrino, the hdd, the speakers, and the portability. It just that people make it sounds like I wouldn't be able to surf, watch movies, do homework, and store music and pictures on anything worse. I mean why do they make 800$ celerons? Are they really gonna surf, play dvds, process words, or store pictures any slower??? Sure the hdd is gonna b slower but beyond that i jst don't get it. Who needs this laptop i got now??? Like who needs a fast processor if they don't have a good video game. You can't tell me a centrino 750 is gonna make hotmail work any faster than a celeron.

Hell, i've been working on a P3 for years, and the only reason i'd think about upgrading to a new system is for games.
It does everything just fine.

Ugh... i just wanna know why people need fast performance laptops if even they can't play games or do video editing/graphic design as well as a desktop pc. Iexplorer/firefox, microsoft word, winamp, and a divx codec... can run on celeron well enough too... so why all this power?

 

People get performance laptops because they want to be portable and have the same performance and power as a desktop. If you don't need to move your computer around, or not that often, go for the powerful desktop/cheap laptop combination. As Jun said, laptops are also useful for taking notes for college and having the ability to move your computer from place to place. The Satellite you have is a good computer, but all you need is a better GPU to increase gaming performance and will give you similar performance to your desktop. So it's up to you, do you want a laptop that can do it all, or a powerful desktop and a cheap laptop for general productivity?

 

so what's an example of a laptop that can do it all???
Or what would i have to do to this one to make it such???

 

wow it sounds like your in a pickle there polish jr

Obviously going from a p3 to a centrino is gonna amaze you, especially with the 1 gig of ram.

first off to clean off your system, I can give you my contact and i can run you through the cleaning up of it thats not a problem...

I bought a hp 4270 and wiped it clean and put xp pro and still had all my hp functions with it (I love the remote control given with it)

I use xp pro cuz I program and need to run a server for testing my crap. But for the most avg user Home Edition is also good (well we will see when Vista comes out) I know you can use more administrative tools in XP Pro as well. But you also need to get a legit version if you plan on keeping your windows up to date...so you gotta shell out like 200 i think...

I have heard of stories of fellow students saying their celeron laptops being craptacular...like overheating issues and such...if you are going to get a celeron make sure its the celeron m i believe that is the mobile celeron chip ( i could be wrong) but these same students are the ones who install spyware and adware until there computer explodes!

See if you can also get 1 gig of ram with your celeron it will make a huge difference.

So I say if you can't play the games on it and you want it to be playing games, then return it and go with a beefy desktop and a cheaper priced laptop. I can give you some places to go to get a good priced desktop i'm in ottawa where are you located?

hope this helps cheers

 

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...665000FS10068374&catid=11520&logon=&langid=EN


same thing as mine now, only a celeron... i can get the one gig upgrade... do i stay with this or get the celeron? Anyone know anything about that video card, its ATI but still shared so better or worse???

 

http://www.ati.com/products/radeonxpress200/

check er out

 

wait a minute that might be for AMD comps
my bad

 

I suggest going over to our Hardware Fourms and filling out the Notebook FAQ (its basically a form of questions so we know which laptop you want to buy). From there, we can direct you to which laptop to buy.

 

It all depends on what you are going to use a laptop for.
If you are not concerned like me to move around, taking notes in lectures or etc, or if your not concerned about having wireless access, or if your not concerned about weight...etc etc etc. If your only looking to find a comp that can do word and email and web browsing, and not concerned about anything else, then go buy the cheapest quality notebook. But I guess if you are going to play high resolution power games...then you might want to think about a better video card and a higher processor speed...so it all depends on what your using it for.
Im not really an expert with computers, but if you want some better opinions on what would best suit you, then fill these questions out

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=29271

Hope what I said helped somewhat

 

General Questions

1) What size notebook would you prefer?


a. Ultraportable; 12" screen or less
OR
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
any bigger only if its is significantly cheaper
2) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
definitely internet surfing via wireless
definitely microsoft office
definitely winamp for mp3s, divx movies etc.
definitely mass storage of pictures and mp3s
possibly but not crucially gaming

3) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
will take with to school and wherever
4) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
occassionally, when the craving for games comes, i like to play whatever is new
5) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
prefer toshiba, sony, dell, hp, heard to stay away from acer and gateway
6) How many hours of battery life do you need?
as much as possible, would like to see 3 minimum
7) What is your budget?
1000-1500 CDN (not including warrenty and tax)
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
not really, as long as i can return
Screen Specifics

9) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?

whatever is normal for 14 inch widescreen
a. XGA = eXtended Graphics Array; 1024x768; This resolution will give you the largest viewable text and images while offering the least amount of screen real estate.


b. SXGA = Super eXtended Graphics Array; 1400x1050; This resolution offers a middle ground between XGA and UXGA.

c. UXGA = Ultra eXtended Graphics Array; 1600x1200; This resolution will give you the smallest viewable text and images while offering the greatest amount of screen real estate.

d. WXGA = Widescreen eXtended Graphics Array; 1280x768 or 1280x800; This resolution offers the same as XGA except that there is more horizontal real estate; 1280 versus 1024. Popular for movie viewing due to support for widescreen.

e. WXGA+ = Widescreen eXtended Graphics Array+; 1440x900; This resolution is offered on 17” widescreen notebooks and is comparable to WXGA in terms of text and icon size versus available screen real estate. Popular for movie viewing due to support for widescreen.

f. WSXGA+ = Widescreen Super eXtended Graphics Array; 1680x1050; This resolution is comparable to SXGA in that it offers a middle ground between WXGA/WXGA+ and WUXGA. Popular for movie viewing due to support for widescreen.

g. WUXGA = Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics Array; 1920x1200; This resolution offers the smallest viewable text and images while offering the greatest amount of screen real estate.

10) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
no preference


Build Quality and Design

11) Are the notebook’s looks and stylishness important to you?
price and value is more salient
12) How long do you want this laptop to last?
functioning for at least 5 years, to be moderately "in date" (as appose to out of date) for 2 years

Notebook Components

13) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
60-80 gig
14) Do you need a DVD, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-R drive?
Would be nice

_______________
from filling this out i discovered that I'm a spoiled cheatskate that probably is expecting too much from too little money spent.

Anyways, I still would like someone to answer my initial question of why does someone require a fast processor such as the centrino 750 and all the fixin's, like on my m50, and then cheaps out on the video card? What do people do on computers that they need fast processing and a lot of ram that isn't video related? Basically...
in my mind theres two types of people:
people who play games buy a fast labtop WITH A GOOD VIDEO CARD
and
people who do not play video games, therefore not really demanding much from their laptops.

then i get a laptop with a fast processor but skimps out on the video. Why?

thanks to all for putting up with my noob-like behaviour.

Oh and to update a bit

DOOM 3 plays on medium 640x480 kinda choppy, but bearable.

 

You could just customize the Toshiba Satellite M50 with the ATI X600 GPU instead of the Intel GMA 900. You can only customize the M50 with the X600 on Toshiba's website - meaning, you won't be able to walk into a Computer store and pick up an M50 with an X600 already in it. A few more choice to consider are the Sony S-Series and the Sony BX-Series. They come with the Nvidia GeForce 6400 Go and the ATI X700 (I think 64MB) respectively. Again, these can only be had with the GPU on sony's site, not in stores. However, you may be pushing your budget with the later two, especially the BX. I still say the M50 is right in your ballpark - just custom order it.

 

how bout it? I've read up on the centrino vs celeron M, seems i'd be missing out on battery life, and supposed speed. The battery life decrease does scare me, i love how i get a good 3.5 hours on the centrino, but about the speed. For day to day action, like say writing posts to notebook forum thread while running several other browsers, msn messenger, and a winamp agent, will the decrease in speed be noticeble? Also if you look at the customer reviews of the celeron, some yahoo claims that machine can run some pretty impressive games. It does have a better video card afterall.

 

oh and one other thing, half life 2 runs very well, even above 600x800

 

ok here's the cheapest centrino i could find, still with a gig of ram, only difference i can see is an even crappier video card and a slower chip.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10067099&catid=20354#

also its a gateway... compared to a toshiba, i personally feel it to be a step down. Any comments on this notebook in contrast to my m50?

 

Well, if you're going to dump the powerful notebook idea, then yes, a celeron (or a sempron, which would be better) would suffice for everyday general productivity. You're not going to notice any decreases in howe fast you can type in MS Word Celerons can run intense games, but they have to have a powerful GPU. In games, its all in the hands of the Video Card, not the CPU. However, if you're looking at a cheap laptop (Celeron-Sempron range) then go for the Sempron. Semprons come with power saving features similar to the P-M, which enable much better battery life than their Celeron counterparts. The Gateway you listed above looks like a good laptop, but as you said, it is lacking in GPU power. I'd say its a great cheap-laptop alternative, although I'd question if you really even need a 1.73 CPU. You might be able to customize a Dell I6000 with a 1.6 CPU for a low price if you use the coupns.

 

Hey Polish Jr,

I ordered the Toshiba Satellite M50-MX5 from FutureShop as well (just have to go pick it up), but could you tell me if it has a sticker on it that clearly says "Centrino"? Also, how did you get the 1GB memory upgrade? How can I go about asking for it, too?

Thanks!

 

well Futureshop since the sales people are commissioned they usually throw in special things..ie bag, or ppossibly extra ram...

so i'm guessing if he hasn't thrown it in now, just tell them you can get the same laptop somewhere else with the 1 gig of ram...
unless its a special promotion but in most cases its 100 bucks for extra 512...

 

Hey PharmaRx.
I have the M50, and it does have the Intel Centrino sticker on it, as well as a Windows XP sticker. Maybe on different one's there are more diff stickers, but that is what I have on mine.

 

hello everyone. i'm actually looking for a new laptop to buy and toshiba's m50 mx5 is number one on my list right now. i'm not much of a gamer like in the past. i just need a notebook for school and burning cds, listening to music, and watching videos. it seems the m50 will do.

the only thing i'm unsure is the colour and finish outside. it seems that futureshop only has the ugly glossy blue-green or orange finish. i just want a plain colour like black or something else that's dark just like on toshiba's website. i don't know why FS doesn't have the colour i want. and i want to buy it at FS cause i might be able to get a much better deal with them. anyone can provide help on this?

 

I have the black M50. It was either orange lid 100 dollars less, or black lid 100 dollars more from toshiba website. This is going to be your notebook for I dunno how long, but for me I want it to last as long as possible. If I am going to have a notebook as long as possible I didnt want to buy something that was a colour that I disliked because this is something that I was going to look at every single day. So I went for Toshiba and black lid 100 dollars more. Here is a pic of it.

http://www.notebookforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6303&d=1125444842

 

Cool, thanks, about the Centrino sticker. I haven't picked it up yet, but looking forward to it, after my exams are over. Currently, I have the Toshiba Satellite M30, which is about a year old. It has a 15.4" widescreen and CDRW/DVD (no DVD burner). Someone's buying this one from me, and I decided to upgrade to the M50, because I'm very happy with Toshiba. My operating system is still stable and I've had no major problems with my current machine. The harman/kardon speakers are good, which the new M50 also has. I've used my laptop for music, movies, burning CD's and school. The Toshiba power adapter is not as big and bulky as others, so it's been convenient to carry around. The 15.4" was too big for my needs, so I'm glad the M50 has a 14" widescreen.

 

Jun85, the link to the picture requires registration on another site!

 

Here you go. Dont forget, the M50 is very light

 

thanks Jun85 for the pic. i really would like that colour instead of the orange or blue-green. you mentioned that you paid 100 dollars more for the black lid? did you order from toshiba's website directly or did you go to a electronic store like Futureshop or BestBuy? if you did, do they order the notebook with the black lid for you?

 

I ordered from the Toshiba website at the end of August 2005. I would think that the price would be less by now. I wanted to get it at FS b/ of the deals, but the orange was not attractive at all to me so.

 

I'm at school right now and don't really care that people see my laptop's blueish green cover. I'm in the middle of exams and didn't do my hair either... people can see that. I'm not about to goto the hair dresser and drop 100 bucks on styling, just like i don't think 100 bucks for a colour of a computer is worth it. But that's just me, if u got the money, why not spend it, i guess.

Pfoo is right, you need to go in fs and talk to a guy about laptop purchases, i gotta an 80$ bag and a ram upgrade for free, and the m50 was on sale, so it was only 1499.

xAMDvsINTELx, I've been going for about a week strong now, happy and satisified with my purchase, with little to know doubts. But then you reply saying that for day to day performance, i would not notice any speed or capability difference, were i to own a celeron or semphon. In fact, you posit that with a good graphics card, those celerons or semphons could run games quite well. So if i exchange this m50 for a celeron with a good graphics card, i would

-get money back in my pocket,
-not lose any performance or speed on the day to day
-be able to play games currently unavailable to me on the m50
-possibly have shorter battey life, although you claim the semphon is similar to a P-m chip in that aspect.

do you know see my train of thought? Why do i need a centrino? Why do you? and Why does anyone?
What stream of applications need these chips??? games don't, explorer/firefox/winamp/msn/m$ word don't, so where's the advantage for paying $500+?

BTW, i'm probably going to stay with this laptop now because i'm a pus*y and don't want to keep researching new ones and going all over town looking for computers.


another question, does this m50 have the ability to have a graphics card were i to buy one seperately and have it professionally installed or is it jam packed under this keyboard and no open slots are existant?

 

Well, the P-M (AKA Centrino), has huge advantages over its Celeron cousin for a variety of reasons:

1. One could define the Celeron as a "stipped-down" version of the P-M, which is a pretty good explaination of what it is.
2. The Celeron, metioned above as being "stripped-down" version of the P-M, only has half the cache size of the CPU (1MB), whereas the P-M has the full 2MB of cache, therefore enabling for nearly double the performance from a P-M CPU.
3. The Celeron lacks the power-saving features of a P-M (another "stripped" feature), which causes the CPU to run at full speed all of the time, therefore giving the user a poor to mediocre battery life time.
4. The Celeron doesn't have the nuances of a P-M, which include High-Definition Audio, High-Definition TV and such.

Celerons are O.K. gamers on DESKTOP computers usually. Notebook Celerons lack the high clock-speed of a Desktop Celeron, and have somewhat of a different architecture than their notebook counterparts. The ONLY reason why a Celeron system would be a decent gamer would be if it had a top-shelf GPU, a fast HD, and a significant amount of RAM

About your GPU question: Unfortunately you cannot upgrade a laptop's VCard when it has integrated graphics. The GPU has to be soldered onto your motherboard and cannot be attached through the PCMIA slots. The only true way to replace your VCard is if your notebook GPU features either MXM or AXIOM.

 

You know, they should really make PCMCIA video cards, probably impossible at the moment, but its a fantastic idea. There are countless numbers of notebooks out there with integrated graphics with users wanting to play games on em.

 

They'd probably make a ton of money - maybe you should take up the idea!

 

I picked up my Toshiba Satellite M50-MX5 (blue shell) along with a D-Link USB Bluetooth Adapter DBT-120, the IOGEAR Bluetooth Optical Mini Mouse, and Creative Live! Ultra Webcam for Notebooks (wide angle). I haggled with FutureShop and they gave me another 512MB DDR RAM for $50. I'll let you all know how the system compares to my Toshiba Satellite M30.

:toshiba: :centrino:

 

You know, I've heard many personal complaints of M50/M55 users saying that the build quality of these notebook models is of low quality and that there's much flex on the keyboard. Just wanted to say I used an M55 display model at Costo and loved it, quite well built for the price, no flexing problems and the screen was fantastic, better than my DV4000. My only little complaint is that it doesn't have a remote like on the HP DV1000 series and no dedicated GPU but otherwise an excellent notebook!

 

You can configure the M50 with the X600SE if you want to directly from Toshiba.

 

The X600SE is a pretty good for most games, but it is no comparison to the X700 or 6600 or 6800 from Nvidia. I ran 3dMark05 on my stock X600SE last night and it had a score of 1460. I downloaded the Omega drivers and overclocked it to 400/326 and got 1841, but I'm sure I will be able to get it over 2000 and put it in the range of the X700. I can't complain about the build quality of my M60 either, it is fairly light for a 17" monster (7.5 lbs) and haven't had any bad experiences so far.

Matt

 

Well, I wouldn't say that the X600SE is a great GPU - its aging. The X600 regular edition is about twice as fast as the SE edition (64bit piplelines on the SE and 128bit on the regular edition). The X600SE would most likely have a similar speed to the X300, I would suspect.

 

I already lost the rubber SD slot protector that came with the M50-MX5. Could someone tell me Toshiba's logic in not attaching the slot cover to the laptop?

 

No idea They usually already have that sort of stuff attached to the laptops.

 

i'm looking to buy a laptop as well and i like the M50-MX2 jsut because its going for $900 CDN and being discontinued soon.

what are my options for a budget of around $1000?
also i know they are coming out with dual-core centrino by february 2006, so should i wait?

 

TRU!

 

ok so i just googled that line, got this article
__________________
SINGAPORE – Intel has announced that it is working on releasing Napa, its latest Centrino mobile platform, early next year. The platform will have Yonah, Intel’s first dual-core Centrino mobile processor.

Wesley Deklotz, Intel regional manager for mobile platform marketing in Asia Pacific, said that Yonah will be manufactured using the 65-nanometer process and integrate better power management features and enhanced performance for multiple intense and multi-threaded applications.

Napa will also be integrated with Calistoga, the company’s new integrated graphics chipset designed with enhanced display and media features for better playback performance. It will also integrate ICH7-M, a new mobile I/O controller hub, up to five PCI express ports, and enhanced power management features for power savings.

Meanwhile, for its wireless feature, Napa will use Golan, Intel’s next-generation wireless technology with a mini-card form factor for smaller designs. It will use the latest industry security standards.

Deklotz said that with Napa, people will be able to use their notebook PCs not just for work but also to watch TV, play music and movies, load graphics-intensive games, and load and edit photos. He also said gaming, especially massive multi-player online gaming, will benefit greatly from using Intel’s latest mobile platform.
__________________

ok sounds amazing... can people elaborate or link us to the thread dealing with this.

How much will these new machines cost?
When will they actually come out?

I have 4 DAYS TO RETURN MY MX5.... EEK!

 

As of now, dual-core is emerging in notebooks, such as the Acer 8200 and the Dell I9400. If you wait about a month or two, I bet Toshiba will put Yonah in their notebooks as well.

 

So my MX5 is back at fs. I gave it back on the very last day possible, fs was surprisingly good about it.
In a sudden twist of attitudes, I'm now leaning (very strongly) towards a Dell! The 710m to be exact. Its still got the gig of ram and pro wireless, but everything else is relatively weaker. PM730, 855 chip, 80gig hd, intel extreme video. But its the same price and its a 12 inch model AND with the 8 cell battery i get for a measly 40 CDN, i get 5.5 hours! Both the dell and toshiba cannot play recent games so keeping the toshiba seemed pointless to me. For me, the smaller the better, so I should be happy with this. Just hope those horror stories of Dell quality and service don't become about me...

oh, by no means am i dissuading people from the toshiba line of laptops. I was extrmely happy with the MX5 and would recommend it anytime. I just happened to find something that had a big benefit for me personally.

 

Hope you like your Dell!!