Toshiba Satellite L500-1XC - is this worth the money (£409)? Help needed

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Hi everyone,

I'm on the lookout for a laptop - I'll be just doing general web-browsing, but I also need a machine capable of 720p/1080p playback and the ability to do video editing.

I've found this (Toshiba Satellite L500-1XC 15.6-inch Notebook: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo) - the Toshiba L500-1XC for £409 @ Amazon.

Here are the specs:

Windows 7 Premium 64bit

type : Intel® Core™ i3-330M Processor
clock speed : 2.13 GHz
Front Side Bus : 1,066 MHz
2nd level cache : 3 MB

standard : 2,048 MB
maximum expandability : 8,192 MB
technology : DDR3 RAM (1,066 MHz)

320GB

TruBrite® HD TFT High Brightness display with LED backlight with 16 : 9 aspect ratio

Intel® HM55 Express Chipset with Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD

DVD-RW Drive

-----------------------------------------------------

I'm not fantastic with specs, really. I know what everything is, what I mean is I'm not massively clued up as to what's good value for money.

Is this a good buy at £409?

Is there anything better out there, which has a similar spec and price?

Thanks a lot for any help, it'd be much appreciated, as I'm a little stuck and need some assurance.
 
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Looks like a good price, certainly enough laptop to do all you want, though you wont get 1080 playback on the screen you'd need an external monitor or TV as the resolution of the screen on that is only 1366x768.

If you don't mind getting a refurb you could try the dell outlet, there are sometimes great deals on there.

http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/dfo/df.aspx?refid=df&s=dfo
 
Looks fine to me - the price is similar to comparable Dells and HP laptops with the Core i3 cpu.

- Simon.
 
Thanks a lot, guys.

I just wanted to make sure that this was the best available machine/spec for the money and I was wondering if there were any better valuable alternatives.
 
Argos have it also for £399, got one last night.
 
I'm also after the Toshiba L500-1XC; I'm looking on behalf of my brother.

I've recently been recommended a Lenovo G550 Laptop - NTD5UUK too which has 4GBs of ram and the hard drive is 500GB. I think this might be beyond my brother's budget though.

It's also been pointed out that Best Buy currently sell the Toshiba L500-1XL for £249. You'll have to check this out though as I can't guarantee it.

Find a Store
 
Started this up earlier, its very fast(one i was using was a 256MB beast mind). I have a few questions.

1 - Im thinking of getting more RAM, now where do i get it from and is it just a case of any make will do? Also do you put it in yourself or get it done somewhere?(i have no idea lol)

2 - I have backed up the system onto DVD discs, how often does this need doing?

3 - It came with McAfee 30 day trail, once thats up what do people recommend i get? And anything else i should consider to completely protect it?

4 - Can you buy cases or covers for it as we have a cat it its hairs get everywhere and im anal about any dust on my stuffs?

What other things can i add to it? Im totally new to Windows 7 so need to learn tricks etc

All help most appreciated.
 
Also the laptop i got only has the power button at the top, where in the Argos picture there are other buttons for play/FF/RW etc, have they given me the wrong one or is the picture wrong?

Edit:also it says on the Argos website 'Intel Core i3 dual core i3-330M' but there is no mention of dual core on the box, just Core i3 330M, is it dual core or not?
 
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Yes good spec for the price.

i3 is great. I was skeptical being as they are the entry level of the new range but they have loads of oomph!

We got one a few months back and it works 64bit photoshop like magic and it even runs an acceptable resolution of flight sim x.

Have struggled running some video editing however.

If video is just a fun thing for you I think your suggested machine will be great. If it is a really big deal I would spend £100 more and get an entry level i5.

Tosh's are great at the moment I got one about 6 weeks ago. Really happy with the service direct from Toshiba in the UK and there help line is excellent. Much better than anything you will get from the average retailer I suspect. And its free and you can get a really cheap 3yr guarantee if you want as well.

Hope this helps,

John:thumbsup:
 
Hey Smiffy,
If answer to most of your questions.....

1 -
Most makes will be fine. My personal preference is Kingston. Assuming you have a memory slot free, you can put either a 2gb or 4gb chip in there. Costs are about £50 per 2GB. You'd need DDR3 1066mhz SODIMM memory. Shops that sell it can be googled using the search term "2gb ddr3 1066 sodimm"
I actually repair laptops, so I would fit it myself. If you feel like having a go, there plenty of tutorials on the web! The memory slots are hidden by a cover in the centre of the underside of the laptop (usually has a little picture of a memory chip on it) Its not too difficult, just remember to put them in at an angle initially before pushing them down.

Although, if you're going to upgrade it anyway, why not return it to Argos under their guarantee, then pop to John Lewis and get the already upgraded one (and higher model number) for £449 as I posted previously. Would save a lot of hassle as you wouldn't have to buy and install the memory yourself, and would work out near enough the same price in the end too.

2 -
You should have got a restore DVD with the laptop. This will restore the laptop to the state you first received it in. I therefore backup only my data on a frequent basis (personally I do every two weeks, but it depends on how much you use it)

3 -
I use Norton Anti-virus, but there are loads out there. You could just renew with McAffee as the easiest option. Most AV programs are much of a muchness these days. Different people have different preferences, and I don't want to start that debate here!

4 -
Depends what state you are going to leave it in when its not in use. On the desk, or in a case?
I keep mine in one of these when its not in use
Crumpler The New Gimp Laptop Sleeve


Windows 7 tips and stuff : Look on the Internet!!
 
The Intel i3 is Dual core, regardless of what it says.
Intel® Core™ i3 Processor - Overview

Argos have the wrong picture. The multimedia buttons are only available on the 1XD model (even more reason to upgrade)

Didn't see it before, but Argos do the 1XD model too, so you may be able to do a straight swap. Say you bought the wrong one or something.
 
Well i just called Argos to see if i can change it and basically they said now that i have used it then no it can't be swapped as they won't beable to resell it. Clearly i should have payed more attention to it when opening it and not just dived in all excited lol.
 
I know i can't play latest games on this(i have PS3 for real gaming), but what games can i play on it?

Would Football Manager be ok to play on it and can i play with full settings?

Any other great games i could play on it? Don't matter how old they are just want to kill some spare time.
 
How do i connect the laptop to TV via HDMI? I plugged in the cable but get nothing?
 
If you go to properties, you should have an option to display via the hdmi, thats how Win 7 works on my desktop...

Also has anyone tried to put XP on this yet?
 

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