p100 or p105 s921

I have been reading a lot of general comments on the forum comparing these two, and since I cannot seem to choose between the two, I'd like people to directly compare them in this thread, and help me (and others like me) decide..

i have about $2000 to spend, and thats how much both p105 and a pimped up p100 cost (if u go to toshibadirect and select almost best everything)... the issues where i compare the two are mentioned below, and it'd be cool if you guys help me decide..

firstly, the resolution.. p105 has a max of 1440x900, while p100 is 1680x1050.. how bad is 1440x900 on a 17inch widescreen.. is it low resolution for any purpose (other than graphic artists, which i aint).. can one "live" with a 1440x900, or am i going to end up wanting higher resolutions, and regret buying the p105..

secondly, video card.. i know 7900gs is like cutting edge, and wont be obsolete for another 2 years, but how bad is 7600? can i play all the current latest games at a decent resolution and quality? what abt an year down the line? or two?

thirdly, 160gb in the p105 is cool, but 4200rpm is worrying.. how bad is 4200rpm? does harddisk speed make a lot of difference?

fourthly, bluetooth.. i've never used it, but i might end up buying a phone which does.. guess i could always get an external card (pcmcia?) which does that..

fifth, i expect the 9cell on the p100 to give more life than the 9 cell on the p105 (cos of the 7900gs).. is it true the 9 cell on the p100 sticks out?

lastly, p105, being the bigger brother, has a lot of bells and whistles like dvi output, led lights, etc, and is in general more future proof than the p100.. will the difference between them matter a lot 2-3 years down the line?

to be honest, I am tending towards the p100, pimped up.. only thing stopping me is the 7600 compared to the 7900, and p100 being older, and thus likely to be obsolete earlier.. are these worth worrying about? are there other features which p105 has which make it a must buy over p100?

any comments would be helpful..

 

I have a P100 and have never seen a P105 in person so I can only comment on some of your questions.

1) The P100 DOES have DVI. Here is a pic of the back of mine:


2) I wouldnt make the hard drive a major decision in which one to get. The hard drive appears to be pretty easy to replace. Two screws to get the cover off and then your at the inner cage. I did not remove the inner hd cage but from the look of it, it looks pretty easy. I did not know how hard the hd would be to remove when I ordered mine so I got the 7200rpm 100Gb hd, if I had to do it over again I would of gotten a cheaper hd and ordered a better hd from somewhere else and saved some money. Some pics of the hd cover and inner cage:




3) I have been kind of busy lately so the only game I have played is Half Life 2 and the P100 does an admirable job. I tried it at 1680x1050 with no AA and it would stutter a bit when lots of stuff exploded or in a big firefight but after lowering the res a bit it did fine. I can't really predict the future but I know people that are still gaming with 9800 Pro gfx cards in their desktops, I see no reason why I will not be using this in 2 years. To be totally honest lots of times I don't notice the eye candy stuff unless I am looking at screen caps anyway so even in desktop graphic cards I usually don't buy the top of the line stuff (I just got a x800xl recently).

4) I just have the 6 cell battery, I would recommend getting the 9 cell if you plan on using the battery much. The battery is not on the edge of the laptop so I don't know how/if it sticks out anywhere.

Hope this helps

 

thanks a lot... ur detailed p100 reviews/pics are really helpful..

can you tell me what resolution u use for normal programs on the p100, and if its more than 1440x900, then how bad does 1440x900 look on a 17inch widescreen..?

 

I use 1680x1050 for everything except games. 1440x900 isnt an option in display properties, not really sure how it would compare. They are both 16:10 ratio widescreens so I dont thing the differences would be drastic.

Since the screen resolution questions isnt specific to Toshiba, I would ask in "Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades" if anyone has used both screen sizes. Since I have never seen them side by side maybe someone else who has had experience with both could make a more informed comment.

 

I'm getting biased towards the p100.. the only advantage i can see of the P105 is the 7900gs graphics card, but as long as i can run the latest games at a decent resolution and quality, i'm not too concerned by the future..

P105 does not seem to offer any other advantage, and thus i see no need for ANYONE, other than the most serious of gamers, to go for the p105 over the p100..

if anybody disagrees, please post why one would want a lower resolution, slower harddisk, non-bluetooth, non-customizable machine (thats the p105)..