Best Laptop Ive seen or owned
Written: Mar 03 '03 (Updated Mar 03 '03)
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Pros: Beautiful Screen, great sound, fast and powerful. Great battery life.
Cons: Big and heavy. DVD Burner doesnt seem ready for prime time.
The Bottom Line: I love this laptop! System has all the latest features and should be usable for many years. If you like Movies, music, and games this laptop is for you!
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| cseyer's Full Review: Toshiba Satellite 5205-S704 (PS520U-31P036) PC Not... |
I purchased this computer directly from Toshiba in early November. It took almost two weeks to receive, it seems Toshiba has had problems with availability of these systems. It was well worth the wait right out of the box setup is quick and easy. System did not come with Windows XP SP1 so the first thing I did was connect to my home network and download latest updates from Microsoft. I checked Toshiba's site but there have been zero updates to date. Package includes laptop, a remote control for DVD playing and powerpoint presentations, a weight saver that fits in open style bay (doubles as storage for remote, cool!) ac adapter, phone cord, a/v connector for vieweing on tv through composite inputs, and various software disks. Point of note is that laptop will not burn to DVD with factory installed software. There is a Panasonic Movie DV software in the box but it is not installed that will capture video via Firewire connector and burn to DVD. The Drag 'n Drop software can be used to burn CD's but must be updated (free upgrade) to recognize DVD. I installed Nero which worked perfectly with the drive. Now to the other headaches with burning DVD it took several tries to find media that this machined would consistenly recognize. (It doenst like Memorex) which is a common brand. That being said now that I am using Lead Data media the drive performs beautifully. I am able to burn DVD movies that my other PC and my home DVD players recognize and play. This laptop is perfect for watching movies, the screen is UXGA (Ultra is the top LCD screen right now) another point of note is that the "native" resolution for this screen is 1600 x 1200 which makes text very small and hard to read. I found a software program called LiquidView that allows user to select font sizes and makes menus, internet, Microsoft Office, and all other text bigger a must in my opinion. The built in speakers are by Harman/kardon and are the best Ive heard in a laptop. The built in WIFI is fantastic and works well with my Linksys wireless access point. Another selling point for me were the USB 2.0 ports guaranteeing compatibility with future external devices. The 60 GB drive is not a high speed drive I think it is a 4500 RPM but it works very well and seems fast enough. Battery life is very good watching a DVD on battery allows at least 2.5 hours of life more than enough to watch most movies. Comes with 512MB memory in two chips so if you want to upgrade to 1 GB will have to throw out old chips and buy two 512MB. I had to buy a new laptop case for this computer it is very large! Most of the size comes from the 15" screen. I have called Toshiba support once with questions about DVD media but have had much better luck with their online forum with other users experience very helpful.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2700
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
cseyer
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Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 1 member
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