Shoutbox

Hi everyone

Yes, I'm still alive and I need a bit of help with something

So I know I've already asked in the past (maybe 2 years ago?) about laptops, but I've made the decision that I want a Toshiba. I'm a student so my budget is limited so I was looking at the Toshiba Satellite C650 (05N, if that's of importance). I just need it for school and little things (I'm not a gamer) so it seemed like a good choice, but I was reading some reviews and several people wrote that it started slowing down after only a month of use and then they end up having other problems..

So, I just wanted to know if anyone knew about it and could tell me if I should get it or not.

Also, they have a model with Intel, and one with AMD. What's the better choice?

Thanks greatly in advance if you can help me a bit

whats the difference in CPU speed Wacky? between the AMD and intel?  personally i would go with AMD , intel seem to be over-priced.

wacky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11oneone!

Intel vs AMD usually depends of your need, what's you budget and what exactly would you do with the computer?

Also, Toshiba is a great choice in my opinion, but did you check out Lenovo Thinkpads? They're a tad pricier, but last forever!

If you want me to check you something out at FutureShop, let me know, still got a lot of friends that work there.

edit: just checked the specs of the Satellite C650-05N on Newegg; it's usually what I used to recommend for students that need to use the office suite, online, music and video, basically everyday tasks. The only thing is, the price their listing it at is high IMHO, I got some work-mates same spec'ed PCs at around 400$. Although, they were Compaq and Gateway, Toshiba tend to usually be a tad pricier.

edit2: ran a shopbot, it seems Newegg's price is indeed too high. Sears.ca has it for 500$.

edit3: definitely can get cheaper yet same spec'ed models, check this Compaq one right here, yes, it's HP instead of Toshiba, but you'd be saving over 20% of the price..

quote:

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Originally posted by Alias
whats the difference in CPU speed Wacky? between the AMD and intel?  personally i would go with AMD , intel seem to be over-priced.

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"Intel® Pentium processor T4500 (2.3GHz, 1MB L2 Cache) with Enhanced Intel® SpeedStep® technology"

"AMD Athlon™ II dual-core processor P340 (2.2GHz, 1MB L2 Cache) with AMD PowerNow!™ technology"



C650: http://www.toshiba.ca/web/product.grp?lg=en&secti...part=11376#spectop

C650D (AMD): http://www.toshiba.ca/web/product.grp?lg=en&secti...ct=10930&category=

The Intel one is on sale in some stores right now but does .1 GHz make a difference?

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Originally posted by albert
Also, Toshiba is a great choice in my opinion, but did you check out Lenovo Thinkpads? They're a tad pricier, but last forever!

If you want me to check you something out at FutureShop, let me know, still got a lot of friends that work there.

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hmm I don't know much about the Thinkpads. Where can I go to look at them?

If you don't mind, could you ask about the C650? I want to know if there have been a lot of problems with them and I know if I go to ask they'll just say no to try to sell the product

I guess I just want something that will last me at least 5 years. I really don't want to have to change it anytime soon. I just do school work (I use Word and do scientific research, etc.) so nothing big. I've been using my father's laptop for a few years now and it's a Toshiba. I've never had any problems with it, which is why I guess I'm leaning towards getting my own Toshiba, but (at least when it was bought) it was one of the better quality ones which might be why I've not had any problems with it (oh and I take care of it ).

I hate buying expensive things. I always worry I'll make a bad decision


my brother uses a Compaq. He end up having problems with his screen. I also have a friend who had 3 HPs. he had problems with all of them so I'm not very temped to get an HP hmm unless I can be convinced otherwise

Edit: also, I often have many apps open at the same time. I need something that will run smoothly even with the taskbar filled!

i would go with the AMD  but in some ways im BIASED

quote:

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Originally posted by wacky

"Intel® Pentium processor T4500 (2.3GHz, 1MB L2 Cache) with Enhanced Intel® SpeedStep® technology"

"AMD Athlon™ II dual-core processor P340 (2.2GHz, 1MB L2 Cache) with AMD PowerNow!™ technology"

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The .1 GHz probably won't make a different, but PowerNow! is actually something I dislike; I always find it to be laggy when throttling the speed or bringing it back up. Although, to be fair, my bad experiences with AMD probably don't help my judgment; I find myself disliking the computers before even being on them.

quote:

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Originally posted by wacky

hmm I don't know much about the Thinkpads. Where can I go to look at them?

If you don't mind, could you ask about the C650? I want to know if there have been a lot of problems with them and I know if I go to ask they'll just say no to try to sell the product

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You can take a look at www.lenovo.com . You have to order them online. The difference is basically that Thinkpads are professional models, like Toshiba Protege series, HP Probook, etc. These kind of machines usually last longer, and usually also have better support in case you need it.

quote:

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Originally posted by wacky

I guess I just want something that will last me at least 5 years. I really don't want to have to change it anytime soon. I just do school work (I use Word and do scientific research, etc.) so nothing big. I've been using my father's laptop for a few years now and it's a Toshiba. I've never had any problems with it, which is why I guess I'm leaning towards getting my own Toshiba, but (at least when it was bought) it was one of the better quality ones which might be why I've not had any problems with it (oh and I take care of it ).

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I hate to break it to you, and go against what a lot of people think, but the new consumers laptop are not made to live 5 years.

Yes, I know, a lot of people have laptop that lasted 8 years; these laptops were conceived 8 years ago. They were 2000$ a piece, could be used as a gym thanks to their huge weights, and you were lucky if you had a CD player that came with it, let alone Wi-Fi.

Nowadays laptops are 400$, comes fully equipped with webcam, microphone, sd card reader, cd/dvd write, hdmi port, firewire port, etc. They have one purpose and that is to be affordable, making their quality lesser and therefore their life a lot shorter. 5 years IMO is pushing it.

quote:

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Originally posted by wacky

my brother uses a Compaq. He end up having problems with his screen. I also have a friend who had 3 HPs. he had problems with all of them so I'm not very temped to get an HP hmm unless I can be convinced otherwise

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Every series and every model is basically different. You will find a lot of troubles with HP, but keep in mind that they're also one of the biggest sellers on the market. I personally swore it off my list because of their customer service (ironically they were ranked first for a couple of years in a row), but they still make "good" pcs when comparing to other brands. The truth is, I've heard bad stories about all of the brands, so don't put all your trust and faith into that.

quote:

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Originally posted by wacky

Edit: also, I often have many apps open at the same time. I need something that will run smoothly even with the taskbar filled!

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Dual processors and over 2GB of RAM will take care of that. It seems clients always had a hard time believing it, but a Pentium processor can handle a good amount of multi-tasking provided it has enough RAM. Try going to a FutureShop or BestBuy, open up a T4500 PC and open IE, WMP, MSN, Word, Excel at the same time. Switch between a task and another, you'll see it actually goes pretty fast!

If you really want something reliable, take a good look at Thinkpads. Professional laptops are more expensive, but are made to last longer; their priority is quality, not afford-ability.
I've gotten a T400 for me (higher end model), and a SL410 for my little sister (more media-oriented), and I haven't for 1 second been disappointed.


edit: I've just checked lenovo's site to show you a couple of models I was talking about, and weirdly it seems they removed a lot of customization options..

edit2: check them out on BestDirect.ca if you want: http://www.bestdirect.ca/search/?kw=thinkpad&p=3

Heyyyy Wacky!!!

For what it's worth, I'll try to add some personal findings/comments to things not yet replied upon. For all the rest, I fully agree with everything what Albert has said.

The reason why people say that their laptop/pc starts to lag or slow down after a while is mostly because they don't do proper (software) maintenance on a regular basis. I always say a pc/laptop is like a big industrial machine: without proper maintenance they tend to brake down. But with proper maintenance they can last a lifetime so to speak (unless it falls on the ground )

It has nothing todo with the hardware, but all with the software and installed apps, especially all the extra (crap) people often install to make their PC faster/cleaner. Such tools quite often have the reversed effect. Regulary cleaning out temporary files, properly uninstalling unused stuff, and cleaning the freshly installed OS from many of the unneeded pre-installed crap that always comes with each laptop/pc, etc, etc, goes a very long way. So these stories of lagging/slowing down after a while haven't got anything todo with what brand or model you choose.

As for HP, I have had several HP PCs and a budget HP laptop, although I haven't used that laptop that much, I never realy had any problems with it. But as Albert said, there are horror stories for each brand though. (and quite frankly, I often tend to believe that a big factor/culprint in those horror stories is actually the person using the laptop).

Albert is correct in saying that these days laptops are made to be budget friendly instead of long-lasting. But my experience is also that these days there are no realy "bad" bad brands anymore either. Ok, there are some top quality brands, true, but you pay for it too in that case. But in the budget friendly category, it usually is all very similar quality stuff though.

As for Intel vs AMD, personally I'd choose Intel. But that is also because I don't realy have that much experience with AMD. Though, I never thought of Intel as 'overpriced'. Also, in my experience, you have a bigger choice in brands and models with Intel processors than with AMD processors, but that is maybe because AMD is less 'popular' in Europe, dunno.

A 1/10th in GHz difference is nothing. More important is the processor itself (for Intel: Core 2 Single, Core 2 Dual, Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Extreme mobile. And the newer i3, i5 and i7) and not to be forgotten the amount of memory of course (I'd suggest at least 2GB - ps: anything higher than 3GB is only usefull if Windows is 64bit).

I guess it just comes down to specs and then comparing prices of different brands. If you have a good feeling about Toshiba, then by all means stick with it and/or keep it in favor over other equaly priced laptops with same specs from other brands. Toshiba is certainly not a bad brand.

eg: My sister's (the vet ) old laptop was a Toshiba too and now she has again choosen for a Toshiba (better specs, newer model). She hasn't had any problems with it yet and she takes it with her on the road sometimes, so...

Not necessarily from personal experience, but my understanding is Toshiba Satellites are some of the best business grade laptops, or at least they were, I would assume that they still are.

If you're looking for durability, you're probably better off with a slightly more expensive business grade laptop without all the flashy features than a cheaper consumer grade laptop. I believe the Satellites are still meant to be business class.

I personally use a Thinkpad t510i, and compared to my last Thinkpad, a T61p, I'd have to say that that it seems like quality is dropping a little bit, But I would still highly recommend them if they fall within your budget. I think laptops are one of those places where the old adage stands, "they just don't make 'em like they used to." But we just bought my sister a Thinkpad t410i with the intention of not replacing it for 4 years. So I think it's still possible.

I also believe in what Cookie says, it's not slow hardware it's bloated software that makes the user experience miserable. If you're buying a laptop with a bunch of bloat, I'd recommend cleaning out the trial software or, as cliche as it sounds, re-installing the os from scratch. Most recovery media also includes that nasty trial software, so it may not help.

I'd also recommend avoiding the Dell Vostro series, and lower End dell E series business laptops. We have a bunch at work and nobody really likes them. Vostros are re-badged consumer laptops for most purposes, and the new E series the quality just doesn't seem to be there. We used to use Dell D-series and we loved them but not the same with the E. I know this doesn't help your Satellite decision, but I figured I'd throw that in there. 

I also have a personal grudge with HP, but that grudge was more with Futureshop than the HP hardware. In two years I've had two close friends with broken HP DV2000s and DV6000. These were also Consumer grade "media" laptops. I personally would avoid Futureshop like the plague when it comes to service.

quote:

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Originally posted by lizard.boy
I believe the Satellites are still meant to be business class.

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If I'm not mistaken there are two kinds of Satellites; Satellites and Satellites Pros, the first being consumer and the second obviously a being professional level.

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Originally posted by lizard.boy
I personally would avoid Futureshop like the plague when it comes to service.

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Meh, it really depends on who you fall onto. BestBuy, FutureShop and Staples basically all work the same way for repairs of laptops: everything that is hardware is usually sent out to an external repair company.  The truth is, if you are getting a consumer laptop, you are kind of stuck going with them, if you're going with a buisness model, it's kind of different.

quote:

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Originally posted by albert
[...]if you're going with a buisness model, it's kind of different.

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True. In that case you often can get in contact with the service center yourself, cutting out the "middle man" so-to-speak (=the store where you bought the laptop). Although, even then you can have a bad experience too (speaking from personal experience).