Toshiba Tecra A4 Opinions

geelen · 28th June 2005, 10:05 AM

Hi guys, I did a search but A4 is too short for the search query, so I wasn't able to get much useful info... Anyway, what I'd like to know is this: Does anyone have the Tecra A4 P-M 750 (1.86GHz) model with the WSXGA screen and the GeForce 6600 go? This is the lappy I'll get over a dell 9300 because I want something smaller and lighter than it.

I've heard that the battery life is pretty bad with the A4, which could be annoying. Also, the RAM is only DDR1 PC2700 (512MB, one slot taken, one slot free). Is this going to make any big difference to performance? Perhaps a better question is: If I'm going to upgrade to 1gb anyway either now or in a few weeks, should I get another of the same, mix and match with a faster second ram chip, or try and sell the old one and stick two fast DDR2 chips in there?

Oh and the screen isn't glossy. Is that all that bad? It'll still be bright enough, right??

I am aware that the hard drive is only 4200rpm, but I'm getting a faster one and swapping them. Then I'll put the stock drive in an external enclosure

I'll do a good review of this process if anyone wants it, with benchmarks before and after the HDD upgrade. Could be interesting....

-=N0N@ME420=- · 29th June 2005, 9:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geelen

Hi guys, I did a search but A4 is too short for the search query, so I wasn't able to get much useful info... Anyway, what I'd like to know is this: Does anyone have the Tecra A4 P-M 750 (1.86GHz) model with the WSXGA screen and the GeForce 6600 go? This is the lappy I'll get over a dell 9300 because I want something smaller and lighter than it.

I've heard that the battery life is pretty bad with the A4, which could be annoying. Also, the RAM is only DDR1 PC2700 (512MB, one slot taken, one slot free). Is this going to make any big difference to performance? Perhaps a better question is: If I'm going to upgrade to 1gb anyway either now or in a few weeks, should I get another of the same, mix and match with a faster second ram chip, or try and sell the old one and stick two fast DDR2 chips in there?

Oh and the screen isn't glossy. Is that all that bad? It'll still be bright enough, right??

I am aware that the hard drive is only 4200rpm, but I'm getting a faster one and swapping them. Then I'll put the stock drive in an external enclosure

I'll do a good review of this process if anyone wants it, with benchmarks before and after the HDD upgrade. Could be interesting....

Intel Pentium M Processor 750 (1.86GHz) 512MB RAM, 15.4" SWXGA+ 1680x1050 16M Colour Active Matrix TFT Display nVidia GeForce Go 6600 with 128MB dedicated video memory, 80GB Hard Disk Drive, DVD Super Multi Drive Double Layer, 3 x USB (V2.0), FIR, 5-in-1 Card Reader, Parallel, Modem, Lan, Wireless Lan (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth, Firewire, Touchpad, Microsoft OneNote 2003, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Floppy drive optional.

bsbozzy · 29th June 2005, 10:25 AM

I have a user who has this laptop and i havent had one complaint about his battery life.

The 166Mhz ram doesnt matter when your only running a fsb of 133Mhz

mrturkey · 30th June 2005, 2:22 PM

I have the Tecra A4 with 1.73 Centrino. Awesome machine, put an extra gig of ram in it to help things along.

64MB Geforce 6600 Go
60GB
DVD/RW
Bluetooth
802.11G
15.4" Widescreen 1680 x 1050

Port replicator is cheapish and comes with 2nd power pack

geelen · 30th June 2005, 3:24 PM

turkey, what do you think of the screen? I've ordered my 1.8GHz model (with almost identical specs) but it wont be here for another week at least

The screen was my only concern, in the showroom it looked as if the brightest setting was still a bit dull, especially when it was sitting next to one of the lower-spec A4's with the WXGA CSV screen. Although the models I was comparing with were an A3 (i think... it had an XGA non-bright screen) and the SXGA non-bright screen on an S2 (both 4:3), she didn't have an A4 with the WSXGA for me to look at.

Dont get me wrong, the screens looked good, very sharp indeed. But I'm concerned they wont be bright enough...

ChessKing · 30th June 2005, 9:54 PM

geelen,

I have purchased the exact model which you are referring to about three weeks ago. You will find that the hard drive is actually a 5400rpm, I too thought this drive was a 4200rpm but after running a system diag tool it revealed that it was a 5400rpm drive.

As far as screen brightness is concerned I believe you will find it more than adequate for everyday use. I use it in a well lit office and at night and have no problems with the brightness.

David.

AngelFrost · 1st July 2005, 1:20 AM

Any chance of a photo? And how long is the battery life roughly?

I've been considering ordering one myself to replace my Dell Latitude C600.

geelen · 1st July 2005, 9:34 AM

5400, eh? I'll see what mine comes with. I've already ordered a replacement drive for it, I'll do some benchmarks when I get it.

As far as how to test it, I was thinking:

SuperPi (or whatever it's called)
3DMark01,03,05
a general benchmark (PCMark??)
Battery Life test

For the following configurations:
Stock
after clean Win install
after upgrading hard drive and ram

I might just use battery life estimates for the first two configs, and do real tests after upgrading. I don't think I can wait several hours after I get it to upgrade

Oh and I'd probably look at setting the GPU clock higher for the last two configs, to make a total of 5 different configurations for the 3DMark tests.

Any suggestions? It's still a week away, unfortunately, but if I do get it by next weekend I'll do my best for a full review.

torana · 9th July 2005, 7:45 AM

Hi guys

I have the 1.86 model with 512MB, will upgrade to 1GB next week.
Runs HL2, far Cry, NFS2 no dramas at all.
Made over 14,045 points in 3D Mark 2001, all with standard settings.

Cheers

torana

geelen · 9th July 2005, 10:04 AM

What do you get in 3DMark05?

AlexMJ · 20th July 2005, 3:38 PM

Some info for people considering the Toshiba A4.

When I tried to order one recently I was told Toshiba had discontinued the model with the nVidia GeForce 6200 (Toshiba code PTA40A-0UC004) because of a problem with the video sub-system which they weren't able to fix.

Just a heads up in case somebody tries to flog the old model cheap without telling you about the problem.

mrturkey · 21st July 2005, 1:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by torana

Hi guys

I have the 1.86 model with 512MB, will upgrade to 1GB next week.
Runs HL2, far Cry, NFS2 no dramas at all.
Made over 14,045 points in 3D Mark 2001, all with standard settings.

Cheers

torana

geforce 6600 or the new one with the x600?

Drnrg · 21st July 2005, 1:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrturkey

I have the Tecra A4 with 1.73 Centrino. Awesome machine, put an extra gig of ram in it to help things along.

64MB Geforce 6600 Go
60GB
DVD/RW
Bluetooth
802.11G
15.4" Widescreen 1680 x 1050

Port replicator is cheapish and comes with 2nd power pack

i have this as well, got it with 1gb ram though, runs bf2, gta:sa and just about everything else at pretty high quality settings (sa runs at max everything), as for screen quality, looks good to me, battery life is about 2h with wireless on

mrturkey · 21st July 2005, 1:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geelen

turkey, what do you think of the screen?

Sorry about my late reply, wrong email in the thread notify.

I run my notebook with an L90D+ LCD beside it. The desktop LCD is brighter, no question. I always run mine flat out on brightest setting, I don't find it to be a problem though.

mrturkey · 21st July 2005, 1:30 PM

we need another 2 notebooks at work, might switch mine for one of these....

http://cworld.com.au/info.php?ID=118331

• Intel Pentium-M 750 1.86GHz
• Memory: 512MB DDR RAM (+ BONUS 512M RAM for a limited time)
• Hard Drive: 60GB-5400rpm hard drive
• 15.4" SWXGA+ TFT Active Matrix WSXGA+ / 1680x1050 resolution
• Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon X600 PCI Express Dedicated VGA card
• Optical Drive: DVD SuperMulti (DVD±RW/DVD-RAM) Drive Dual Layer writing supported
• Audio: AC97 Audio
• Modem: 56k V.92
• Bluetooth onboard
• Network: Gigabit 10/100/1000 TX LAN Ethernet
• 802.11a/b/g WiFi Wireless LAN
• Pointing Device: Touchpad
• Interfaces: 1 x Parallel, 1 x VGA, 3 x USB 2.0, 1 x RJ11, 1 x RJ45, 1 x Firewire, 5-in-1 Media Reader
• Dimentions: 360 x 269 x 29-36mm
• Weight: From 2.72kg
• Battery: 6 Cell Li-Ion / 4400mAh / up to 3 hours
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional
• Warranty: 1 year courier pickup and return International warranty

Faster CPU
Faster HDD
Faster Graphics?

28th June 2005, 10:05 AM	#1
geelen Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 29	Toshiba Tecra A4 Opinions Hi guys, I did a search but A4 is too short for the search query, so I wasn't able to get much useful info... Anyway, what I'd like to know is this: Does anyone have the Tecra A4 P-M 750 (1.86GHz) model with the WSXGA screen and the GeForce 6600 go? This is the lappy I'll get over a dell 9300 because I want something smaller and lighter than it. I've heard that the battery life is pretty bad with the A4, which could be annoying. Also, the RAM is only DDR1 PC2700 (512MB, one slot taken, one slot free). Is this going to make any big difference to performance? Perhaps a better question is: If I'm going to upgrade to 1gb anyway either now or in a few weeks, should I get another of the same, mix and match with a faster second ram chip, or try and sell the old one and stick two fast DDR2 chips in there? Oh and the screen isn't glossy. Is that all that bad? It'll still be bright enough, right?? I am aware that the hard drive is only 4200rpm, but I'm getting a faster one and swapping them. Then I'll put the stock drive in an external enclosure I'll do a good review of this process if anyone wants it, with benchmarks before and after the HDD upgrade. Could be interesting....

29th June 2005, 10:25 AM	#3
bsbozzy Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Sydney Posts: 2,729	I have a user who has this laptop and i havent had one complaint about his battery life. The 166Mhz ram doesnt matter when your only running a fsb of 133Mhz __________________ WTB: Any one have a VT SS Commodore die cast model in heron white? Please PM Me.

1st July 2005, 1:20 AM	#7
AngelFrost Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Perth, WA Posts: 36	Any chance of a photo? And how long is the battery life roughly? I've been considering ordering one myself to replace my Dell Latitude C600. __________________ OCAU Camera Club Member #123 - Fuji FinePix S5500 Undisputed king trader in my book who saved me $140 from a previous dodgy deal with another seller: Zzapped

9th July 2005, 7:45 AM	#9
torana Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Adelaide Posts: 72	Hi guys I have the 1.86 model with 512MB, will upgrade to 1GB next week. Runs HL2, far Cry, NFS2 no dramas at all. Made over 14,045 points in 3D Mark 2001, all with standard settings. Cheers torana __________________ Cheers check out our website

30th June 2005, 2:22 PM	#4
mrturkey Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Barnawartha, VIC Posts: 421	I have the Tecra A4 with 1.73 Centrino. Awesome machine, put an extra gig of ram in it to help things along. 64MB Geforce 6600 Go 60GB DVD/RW Bluetooth 802.11G 15.4" Widescreen 1680 x 1050 Port replicator is cheapish and comes with 2nd power pack

30th June 2005, 3:24 PM	#5
geelen Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 29	turkey, what do you think of the screen? I've ordered my 1.8GHz model (with almost identical specs) but it wont be here for another week at least The screen was my only concern, in the showroom it looked as if the brightest setting was still a bit dull, especially when it was sitting next to one of the lower-spec A4's with the WXGA CSV screen. Although the models I was comparing with were an A3 (i think... it had an XGA non-bright screen) and the SXGA non-bright screen on an S2 (both 4:3), she didn't have an A4 with the WSXGA for me to look at. Dont get me wrong, the screens looked good, very sharp indeed. But I'm concerned they wont be bright enough...

30th June 2005, 9:54 PM	#6
ChessKing Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Brisbane Posts: 17	geelen, I have purchased the exact model which you are referring to about three weeks ago. You will find that the hard drive is actually a 5400rpm, I too thought this drive was a 4200rpm but after running a system diag tool it revealed that it was a 5400rpm drive. As far as screen brightness is concerned I believe you will find it more than adequate for everyday use. I use it in a well lit office and at night and have no problems with the brightness. David.

1st July 2005, 9:34 AM	#8
geelen Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 29	5400, eh? I'll see what mine comes with. I've already ordered a replacement drive for it, I'll do some benchmarks when I get it. As far as how to test it, I was thinking: SuperPi (or whatever it's called) 3DMark01,03,05 a general benchmark (PCMark??) Battery Life test For the following configurations: Stock after clean Win install after upgrading hard drive and ram I might just use battery life estimates for the first two configs, and do real tests after upgrading. I don't think I can wait several hours after I get it to upgrade Oh and I'd probably look at setting the GPU clock higher for the last two configs, to make a total of 5 different configurations for the 3DMark tests. Any suggestions? It's still a week away, unfortunately, but if I do get it by next weekend I'll do my best for a full review.

9th July 2005, 10:04 AM	#10
geelen Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 29	What do you get in 3DMark05?

20th July 2005, 3:38 PM	#11
AlexMJ (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: MELBOURNE, VICTORIA Posts: 650	Some info for people considering the Toshiba A4. When I tried to order one recently I was told Toshiba had discontinued the model with the nVidia GeForce 6200 (Toshiba code PTA40A-0UC004) because of a problem with the video sub-system which they weren't able to fix. Just a heads up in case somebody tries to flog the old model cheap without telling you about the problem.

21st July 2005, 1:30 PM	#15
mrturkey Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Barnawartha, VIC Posts: 421	we need another 2 notebooks at work, might switch mine for one of these.... http://cworld.com.au/info.php?ID=118331 • Intel Pentium-M 750 1.86GHz • Memory: 512MB DDR RAM (+ BONUS 512M RAM for a limited time) • Hard Drive: 60GB-5400rpm hard drive • 15.4" SWXGA+ TFT Active Matrix WSXGA+ / 1680x1050 resolution • Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon X600 PCI Express Dedicated VGA card • Optical Drive: DVD SuperMulti (DVD±RW/DVD-RAM) Drive Dual Layer writing supported • Audio: AC97 Audio • Modem: 56k V.92 • Bluetooth onboard • Network: Gigabit 10/100/1000 TX LAN Ethernet • 802.11a/b/g WiFi Wireless LAN • Pointing Device: Touchpad • Interfaces: 1 x Parallel, 1 x VGA, 3 x USB 2.0, 1 x RJ11, 1 x RJ45, 1 x Firewire, 5-in-1 Media Reader • Dimentions: 360 x 269 x 29-36mm • Weight: From 2.72kg • Battery: 6 Cell Li-Ion / 4400mAh / up to 3 hours • Microsoft Windows XP Professional • Warranty: 1 year courier pickup and return International warranty Faster CPU Faster HDD Faster Graphics?