Nicest laptop I've ever had...
Written: Oct 13 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good features, excellent video, nice weight, runs relatively cool
Cons: Problem with fan
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| hingeswift's Full Review: Toshiba Tecra 8100 (PT810U-12CP7) PC Notebook |
I work for Sabre Inc. as a Field Engineer. My responsibilities in this position include infrastructure and desktop support of our operational environment. As an FE, I get to play with a lot of different equipment, not only in support of our customers, but also for my personal use. I have deployed and supported Toshiba Tecra laptops for years, all the way back to 5xx/7xx models that weighed 50 pounds a piece. I hated them all. About six months ago, we began deploying Tecra 8100s, and I obtained one for myself.
I must say, I am impressed. Toshiba finally got a laptop right. The 8000s weren't bad, but still didn't quite cut it with their lousy Chips&Technologies video and extreme heat emission. I used to really enjoy working on 8000s in the winter, because that mobile Pentium II would cook the top of my legs when I had the laptop on my lap. The 8100 is a vast improvement in every way.
My 8100 contains a 500MHz Pentium III, 256MB of PC100 SDRAM, a 6x DVD-ROM drive, a 12GB hard drive, and a Toshiba docking station (which is really just a port replicator with an integrated 3com Ethernet adapter), in addition to the standard features. One of the most impressive features of this machine is the video: the video adapter is based on the S3 Savage MX chipset - no GeForce/Voodoo/Radeon to be sure, but nonetheless a good 3D adapter for a laptop. This machine is quite capable of playing some rather intense 3D games (seriously!) such as SWAT3 and High Heat Baseball. I am convinced it would play Need for Speed Porsche if EA would have supported the Savage MX in their video array. The only reason it won't is a driver issue.
I have had several different operating systems on this machine, and all seem to work very well. I have run Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, and BeOS 5 without much problem at all. The only problem I ever had was getting Win2K video drivers several months ago - for a long time, Toshiba never posted a Win2K driver for the Savage MX, so I had to get them from Asus or IBM. This has since been corrected.
All the components are easily accessible with a small Phillips screwdriver. You can get to the memory bay or hard drive without much effort, and it is very easy to change out the floppy/CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drives on the fly.
Some complaints:
I've never been really fond of Toshiba's pointing device. That little rubber nub just doesn't cut it for prolonged mouse navigation, and the placement of the buttons doesn't help either. It's very awkward moving the mouse around and double-clicking at times. My solution: get an Intellimouse Explorer or other USB optical mouse and go to town. These are great, because you don't have to have a flat surface since there is no mouse ball. Great for travelling, and besides that the silver/grey mouse matches the silver/grey laptop almost perfectly.
Also, the docking connector on the back of the laptop is an entirely new pin array. What's that mean? Forget about docking this machine on one of your old port replicators / docking stations, because it intentionally will not fit.
One other, more serious problem. The fan seems to be loose. It makes some terrible noises when it spins up, and even more concerning when it spins down. I have been informed that Toshiba is aware of these kinds of problems, and this is covered under their service. We have sent several 8100s back for this very problem, and the only reason I haven't sent mine in is because I'm holding off to trade it in for a 750MHz version. Mine isn't critical - just noisy at times. Some of these laptops have had total fan failures, causing processor/chipset overheating, which can result in random reboots/failures, data loss, and even permanent hardware damage. Mind you, relatively few 8100s have this problem, and it is covered if you sent it in.
The conclusion of the matter:
I say go get one if you're in the market for a high end laptop and don't want to wait for AMD to release the Palomino/Morgan mobile Athlon/Duron processors. These are nice solid laptops with good features in an aesthetically beautiful package. I would rate this laptop on par with a Thinkpad, but for less money.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
hingeswift
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Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 15 members
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