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General discussion

School Laptop; deal or not?

Jul 31, 2004 12:12PM PDT

I have read through all the helpful advice people have left on this site to all the other college related purchases and tried to keep it in mind. I want a centrino for the extended battery life, but an trying to keep cost as low as possible. I picked up a new Toshiba A55-306s at what seemed like to me a great deal ($1150) and am trying to decide if I should keep it or return it and look for something else. Its specs are as follows:

a55-306s

Intel Pentium M Processor 715, 1.5GHz (Centrino)
* which claim 2MB cache even though I though I saw on this site only the 1.6GHz+ offered this; am I correct in thinking with 2MB cache this 715, 1.5GHz is the newer Dotham(?) chip*

256MB RAM
*which I will upgrade to 512k*

40GB Hard Drive

15-inch XGA TFT Display

DVD/CD-RW

The thing that stands out at me most is the shared 32MB video memory, rather than a dedicated card. However, I dont use any CAD or video editing software and only occationally play games. I was wondering if this is enough of an issue to consider a different computer. As I said earlier cost is an issue, I was looking to spend less than 1500 and this seemed to fit the bill in all aspect but the video card. Another slightly more expensive one I considered ($1350-1400) offer similar specs with a 32mb dedicated card but only 1mb cache. Is the upgrade at video memory worth the downgrade in cache. Any input would be appreciated.

Discussion is locked

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Re: School Laptop; deal or not?
Aug 1, 2004 4:42AM PDT

You are ok with the 715 Dothan Pentium M 1.5 -- that is a Dothan with the 2mb L2 system cache. Many other manufacturers like HP and Dell (and most of the models sold at retail) are selling the 705 Pentium M 1.5 which has only the older Banias 1mb system cache.
So, to be safe I tell people to get the 1.6 Dothan but you have the 715 so that is ok.

Note: You can not upgrade your video memory like in a desktop where you can pop in a new video card at anytime. Therefore, if you really want maximum versatility for your notebook you should get one with at least 32mb dedicated video memory (and ordering a notebook custom allows 64mb which is better for only $50 more).

You have a decent price for a retail notebook if you really are satisfied that you won't need the dedicated video. Your CPU is fine and Toshiba is a quality brand.

However, if you are a student you can get a flood of discounts through HP/Compaq -- student APP discount, $100 rebate on any custom HP or compaq notebook, possibly a $100 coupon instant discount, etc.

If you go to X1000forums.com you can see many student orders for everything you will need that get them a 1.6 Dothan Pentium M, 256MB of RAM (add more later cheaper), CD-RW/DVD ROM, 64mb dedicated video memory (or 32mb $50 less), 15.4" widescreen, and Intel 2200 b/g wifi for between $1,000 and $1500 depending on options. The Compaq X1000 series (which I have) weighs 6.5 pounds and the HPZT3000 is the same thing.

I also recommend the Toshiba M35 series which weighs 6.2 pounds and has Trubrite(and 64mb dedicated video) and you can also order it custom online --but I don't know if you can get a student discount.

Come to X1000forums to read about all the issues for getting the best pricing/discounts -- and you can read about all the service/support issues as well.

I nearly bought an M35 but because of the X1000forums this machine has been a great experience and all issues I had were resolved by bios/driver updates I learned about on the forum (10,000 + registered users for these 2 models and the HPnx7000 series only).

Try out all three of these at Circuit City -- the Trubrite on the Toshiba is a new plus but otherwise the specs are very close.

The Compaq and HP has a great feeling keyboard so try this out in person. This has been documented in reviews and the IBM's are better but don't have notebook LCD's above 14.1" mostly.

Note, the Toshiba M35 and Compaq X1000/HPZT3000 have the 15.4" widescreen, outstanding for viewing more on spreadsheets on the sides, great for widescreen DVD's and with a larger viewing angle (from the sides) than a 15" square screen LCD. And with the Pentium M architecture they still come in at 6.2 and 6.5 pounds and are quite thin.

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Re: School Laptop; deal or not?
Aug 1, 2004 4:55AM PDT

It's a fair deal, but tomorrow a new deal arrives...

As to the video, it's the kiss of death to 3D games but will handily outperform 2 year old laptops.

Bob

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Re: School Laptop; deal or not?
Aug 1, 2004 12:53PM PDT

A nice built notebook. You should run 3D applications at 16-bit color. After you add more RAM it should be ok.

I've had the same video issue choosing an 12" ultraportable. I'm fine with my R100 now.