Toshiba Laptop Thoughts

atlantis58 · 23rd March 2006, 6:28 PM

Hi Guys,

Im looking at getting this unit just for UNI and dowloading some.... oppss..

I meant uni work and email

tell me wha you think

http://www.compello.com.au/shop/prod...cat=252&page=1

Its a toshiba L20 celeron.

Im on a very tight budget

Kerpal · 23rd March 2006, 7:21 PM

if you let us know how tight the budget it, maybe we can suggest some alternatives.

atlantis58 · 23rd March 2006, 8:02 PM

less than $1000

caudex · 23rd March 2006, 8:39 PM

when i was in secondary school, i had a toshiba laptop that lasted me for 4 years without any hardware or software problems.
They are well built machines and very sturdy.

Sonicman · 23rd March 2006, 9:44 PM

These machines feel pretty cheap, and we've had a few in with mouse problems. For a cheap machine, they aren't too bad.. you might want to consider a second hand machine like a toshiba satellite a33 or something

ss1 · 23rd March 2006, 10:25 PM

I remember seeing a sub $1000 toshiba in an officeworks catalouge a couple of weeks ago?
Cant remember the model no though.

bennyg · 23rd March 2006, 10:35 PM

I write this on a factory refurbished Toshiba M35X that I bought from a place more than 6 months ago (not sure I'm allowed to "advertise" or whatnot considering there are "sponsors" of OCAU - PM me if you want, this place is in Melbourne). Although this model isn't retailed in Aus the only other place that did import them sold at $2500

$1299 for similar specs to the one you're looking at (C-M 1.4, 512 ram, 60G hdd, the most beautiful 15.4" widescreen) All I can say is, very very happy. Pity about the Intel integrated graphics though (lectures are so crap these days I think I'd not do very well if I had something else to do like game). Wireless around Melb Uni is great too (except a 50 meg weekly limit - I blew it in 30 mins last week DLing f**ken tax legislation

)

Definitely look at second hand - but make sure they offer warranty because this refurbished one isn't warranted by Toshiba but by the seller

Oh and chances are if you see something in Officeworks, you can get it quite a lot cheaper elsewhere. Wouldn't buy PC equipment from the 16-year-old-acneheads there (reminds me of that guy in the Simpsons who seems to be behind every checkout in Springfield)

Kerpal · 24th March 2006, 1:33 AM

I've always had bad experiences with toshiba, but then again other people have not. I would personally be saving your pennies, maybe around the 1500 mark is a sweeter spot in the price range of notebooks, because anything sub 1000 will just not have the day to day grunt you will come to expect, and with running windows xp for decent performance i'd be looking for at least 512 also.

this is all my opinion, if you need it quickly, its not a bad start, but with that little bit of extra cash, it could be better.

Geodude · 24th March 2006, 3:42 PM

Hey,

i got one of the TPG laptops 1 year ago and had no problems.
(P-M 1.6 512m ram, and 9700 64mb v card).

They dont offer these anymore but have a look that the one they are offering, both running AMD cpus.

http://www.tpg.com.au/online/

deadspawn · 25th March 2006, 10:10 AM

Toshiba have two build levels.

You've got your corporate level, which they build in factories in Japan, and you'll look at it and think "holy batman, this notebook kicks the ring!", and you'd be right.

Then you've got your cheap Toshiba's, that they get some drunk to build in china for you, that absolutely sucks.

refer to my post in this thread about cheap noteooks
http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...0&postcount=14

p.s. just so you know, when you spend less, they spend less and its not just on the hardware they spend less too. What about the software that drives the networking? How about the software that burns your CDs for you?

I had a corporate client in the city that had a cheap toshiba notebook and his notie kept dropping off the network. Navigating the bullshit networking software toshiba put on this notebook was half the pain. After I uninstalled it the damn thing kept dropping out anyway, so I ended up putting in a netgear PCMCIA card to handle the ethernet, and all the problems went away.

Expect to get something you'll throw away in a year, maybe a year and a halfs time, even if you're buying what would supposedly be a reputable brand like Toshiba. I promise you this, there definitely is two levels of build quality, and its quite obvious how they save the money.

mordy · 25th March 2006, 9:49 PM

first of all, its not functional as it will need atleast 512MB of ram at the absolute minimum

so ur gonna bust ur $1000 budget straight away

Viper · 28th March 2006, 1:06 AM

They are plenty of fine laptops for under $1000 that will last a few years

Go and check out the Acer 3623 for $899 with a further $100 cashback on them. They even include wireless and for about $70 more u can get an extra 512MB ram stick and have the machine running with 768mb ram for under $1000! They are a celeron 1.5, 256mb, dvd/cd, 14.1" clearbright, intel chipset etc etc..

$1000 laptops are poping up everywhere! I have sold these cheap laptops at work all day since Acer started the ball running a year or so ago, and dispite the great amount you actually sell, very few are returned with problems.

Of course they are less quality then a $5000 Toshiba, but people have to stop living by the price = low quality falacy so much. They just aren't as bad as people say... 6 years ago, when somebody made a $2500 laptop, and the market average was $5000, everybody said the same thing. Its called economies of scale

PS: If I were to choose a sub $1000 laptop, I would stick with Acer or Compaq. For the few I have seen returned, it was cheap Toshibas

23rd March 2006, 6:28 PM	#1
atlantis58 Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 56	Toshiba Laptop Thoughts Hi Guys, Im looking at getting this unit just for UNI and dowloading some.... oppss.. I meant uni work and email tell me wha you think http://www.compello.com.au/shop/prod...cat=252&page=1 Its a toshiba L20 celeron. Im on a very tight budget

23rd March 2006, 7:21 PM	#2
Kerpal Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 149	if you let us know how tight the budget it, maybe we can suggest some alternatives. __________________ <<Didjital Vibrations>>

23rd March 2006, 8:39 PM	#4
caudex Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 1,479	when i was in secondary school, i had a toshiba laptop that lasted me for 4 years without any hardware or software problems. They are well built machines and very sturdy. __________________ Sucessful sales with ArTy, Amfibius, Lolami, CaeSiuM-X, jaster1mereel and SaTaN.

23rd March 2006, 10:35 PM	#7
bennyg Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, Oztraya Posts: 684	I write this on a factory refurbished Toshiba M35X that I bought from a place more than 6 months ago (not sure I'm allowed to "advertise" or whatnot considering there are "sponsors" of OCAU - PM me if you want, this place is in Melbourne). Although this model isn't retailed in Aus the only other place that did import them sold at $2500 $1299 for similar specs to the one you're looking at (C-M 1.4, 512 ram, 60G hdd, the most beautiful 15.4" widescreen) All I can say is, very very happy. Pity about the Intel integrated graphics though (lectures are so crap these days I think I'd not do very well if I had something else to do like game). Wireless around Melb Uni is great too (except a 50 meg weekly limit - I blew it in 30 mins last week DLing f*ken tax legislation ) Definitely look at second hand - but make sure they offer warranty because this refurbished one isn't warranted by Toshiba but by the seller Oh and chances are if you see something in Officeworks, you can get it quite a lot cheaper elsewhere. Wouldn't buy PC equipment from the 16-year-old-acneheads there (reminds me of that guy in the Simpsons who seems to be behind every checkout in Springfield) Last edited by bennyg; 23rd March 2006 at 10:41 PM.*

24th March 2006, 1:33 AM	#8
Kerpal Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 149	I've always had bad experiences with toshiba, but then again other people have not. I would personally be saving your pennies, maybe around the 1500 mark is a sweeter spot in the price range of notebooks, because anything sub 1000 will just not have the day to day grunt you will come to expect, and with running windows xp for decent performance i'd be looking for at least 512 also. this is all my opinion, if you need it quickly, its not a bad start, but with that little bit of extra cash, it could be better. __________________ <<Didjital Vibrations>>

23rd March 2006, 8:02 PM	#3
atlantis58 Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 56	less than $1000

23rd March 2006, 9:44 PM	#5
Sonicman Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Toongabbie, Sydney, NSW Posts: 61	These machines feel pretty cheap, and we've had a few in with mouse problems. For a cheap machine, they aren't too bad.. you might want to consider a second hand machine like a toshiba satellite a33 or something

23rd March 2006, 10:25 PM	#6
ss1 Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Perth Posts: 83	I remember seeing a sub $1000 toshiba in an officeworks catalouge a couple of weeks ago? Cant remember the model no though.

24th March 2006, 3:42 PM	#9
Geodude Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Canberra Posts: 94	Hey, i got one of the TPG laptops 1 year ago and had no problems. (P-M 1.6 512m ram, and 9700 64mb v card). They dont offer these anymore but have a look that the one they are offering, both running AMD cpus. http://www.tpg.com.au/online/

25th March 2006, 10:10 AM	#10
deadspawn Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 442	Toshiba have two build levels. You've got your corporate level, which they build in factories in Japan, and you'll look at it and think "holy batman, this notebook kicks the ring!", and you'd be right. Then you've got your cheap Toshiba's, that they get some drunk to build in china for you, that absolutely sucks. refer to my post in this thread about cheap noteooks http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...0&postcount=14 p.s. just so you know, when you spend less, they spend less and its not just on the hardware they spend less too. What about the software that drives the networking? How about the software that burns your CDs for you? I had a corporate client in the city that had a cheap toshiba notebook and his notie kept dropping off the network. Navigating the bullshit networking software toshiba put on this notebook was half the pain. After I uninstalled it the damn thing kept dropping out anyway, so I ended up putting in a netgear PCMCIA card to handle the ethernet, and all the problems went away. Expect to get something you'll throw away in a year, maybe a year and a halfs time, even if you're buying what would supposedly be a reputable brand like Toshiba. I promise you this, there definitely is two levels of build quality, and its quite obvious how they save the money.

25th March 2006, 9:49 PM	#11
mordy Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: melb Posts: 5,070	first of all, its not functional as it will need atleast 512MB of ram at the absolute minimum so ur gonna bust ur $1000 budget straight away

28th March 2006, 1:06 AM	#12
Viper Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Milky Way Galaxy - Brisba Posts: 315	They are plenty of fine laptops for under $1000 that will last a few years Go and check out the Acer 3623 for $899 with a further $100 cashback on them. They even include wireless and for about $70 more u can get an extra 512MB ram stick and have the machine running with 768mb ram for under $1000! They are a celeron 1.5, 256mb, dvd/cd, 14.1" clearbright, intel chipset etc etc.. $1000 laptops are poping up everywhere! I have sold these cheap laptops at work all day since Acer started the ball running a year or so ago, and dispite the great amount you actually sell, very few are returned with problems. Of course they are less quality then a $5000 Toshiba, but people have to stop living by the price = low quality falacy so much. They just aren't as bad as people say... 6 years ago, when somebody made a $2500 laptop, and the market average was $5000, everybody said the same thing. Its called economies of scale PS: If I were to choose a sub $1000 laptop, I would stick with Acer or Compaq. For the few I have seen returned, it was cheap Toshibas __________________ sdf. I don't own a computer. Done and Recommend Trades with: chuna, DiVi8, ARC99, Ehhhe Yebeb, D r M u t l e y, Febs, marknaton, Ahux, Bosisto, Julz, pete_pumpkin, sml_nail, C0V3R, psychoneurosis, i-spi, rommy, and fenerli Last edited by Viper; 28th March 2006 at 1:16 AM.