What do you think of this laptop ??

[Fusewire]

I am getting a new laptop...

This will be the first laptop I have owned as I have always used desktops at home although I do use a 15" dell laptop at work.

I like the look of this Toshiba, has anyone got anything good or bad to say about it ??

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/asp/versions.asp?rewrite=Toshiba_Satellite_X200-219_PSPBUE-00800EEN&pagetype=version&page=

I have never owned anything from Toshiba, what are they like in terms of quality and aftercare etc...

I will be using the laptop for web / email, video chatting, a bit of dvd burning, some light to medium gaming and for watching TV using my slingbox.

Any alternative reccomendations would be gratefully recieved, must have 17" screen and at least 256MB graphics card webcam and the most I want to spend is £850.

Thanks all in advance.

 

[Mark_a]

At one time Toshiba were the laptop maker, in the same way that IBM were the desktop maker. That was a long time ago now, though, and lots of things have changed. As for the spec, and the intended use, it all seems perfectly fine to me. Put it this way, I'd happily buy one, if that's what I wanted. Not enough graphics grunt for me, but for what you want it's good enough. The only con is that there must be dozens of similarly speced laptops out there, from dozens of different makers, all as good as each other, so choosing is something of a lottery.

Regards

Mark

 

[Lucas44]

I agree with Mark, a few years ago Toshiba laptops were fantastic machines. I feel that they have lost they're edge in the market in recent years. Running Vista i would recommend as much RAM as possible. If you're not in too much of a hurry the new p300 might give you more bang for your buck:

http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe....ervice=UK&PRODUCT_ID=150954&toshibaShop=false

 

[Fusewire]

Having read a few reviews on the Toshiba x200-219 its biggest weakness seems to be the battery life - under an hour for intensive use stretching to 1hr 15 mins on light usage with power saving features switched on.

Can I get a more powerfull battery to fit to this laptop ? or if not can anyone reccomend a laptop similar to this one that wil go for at leat 2 hours on the battery.

 

[badbob]

You don't need to spend £850 for laptop for Windows/Office/E-Mail use. £600 max will do. Just look for a 2GB RAM, Intel C2D machine

Something like this

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Toshiba_Satellite_Pro_A200GE-24S_PSAE7E-01V010EN/version.asp

 

[Fusewire]

You don't need to spend £850 for laptop for Windows/Office/E-Mail use. £600 max will do. Just look for a 2GB RAM, Intel C2D machine

Something like this

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Toshi...EN/version.asp

Thanks badbob, but the screen really needs to be 17" and I want a dedicated graphics card (at least 256mb), I am looking at aroung the £850 mark as I want it to last at least 3-4 years so I want to buy one that is a little overspeced so I have some future proofing.

 

[Fusewire]

If you're not in too much of a hurry the new p300 might give you more bang for your buck:

http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.c...hibaShop=false

I like the look of the P300, does anyone know when they are going to be released ??

 

[badbob]

http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_7720G-302G32Hi_Laptop_LX.ALN0X.248/version.asp

http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_7720G-1A2G24Mi_Laptop_LX.ALN0X.249/version.asp

If you're not gaming then you don't need 256MB of discrete, I can understand you might might dedicated VRAM on a budget card so no system memory is used though. Intel GMA is ok for older games, should be ok for Half Life 2.

 

[Cyborgmatt]

What about this: http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/302396

It would cut your spendings in half and has almost everything you require.

 

[badbob]

Intel Core Duo 1, so not as fast as the Intel C2D. I'd wait for the latest Intel C2D chips, I think 8400 range is out now.

 

[Lucas44]

I work in the computer dept for a major department store and i think we should have the p300s in about 3 weeks. its gonna be tricky to get a 17" with good battery life as its really not what they are designed for.

hope this helps