| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Toshiba, Dell or Packard Bell laptops: your opinion? Thread poster: Jason Willis-Lee
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| Toshiba Satellite | Sep 12, 2006 |
I bought a Toshiba Satellite about half a year ago, it turned out to be the least expensive of all those that fulfilled my requirements in terms of RAM, HD and display. I found that Samsung notebooks got top marks, but personally I did not like the very high resolution that shrinks your characters to the illegible unless you boost the view to 200%. Also think about whether you prefer a wide screen or standard display, glare or non-glare, this is quite important for your everyday comfort...
| | | | | Packard Bell | Sep 12, 2006 |
for 5 years, an it runs beautifully, not the slightest problem so far...
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Hey! Nice discussion.
I own a Dell Latitude D610, Pentium M processor and 512 Mb RAM. It works fine, I usually have a couple of explorer windows open, plus a dictionary, Word and Acrobat Writer. I only have some problems with Outlook, since it tends to halt the computer for half a minute or so.
This Laptop is not expensive, a little bit heavy sometimes, but what I like is that you can find repair parts in all the world (except Saudi Arabia, I had problems there).
... See more Hey! Nice discussion.
I own a Dell Latitude D610, Pentium M processor and 512 Mb RAM. It works fine, I usually have a couple of explorer windows open, plus a dictionary, Word and Acrobat Writer. I only have some problems with Outlook, since it tends to halt the computer for half a minute or so.
This Laptop is not expensive, a little bit heavy sometimes, but what I like is that you can find repair parts in all the world (except Saudi Arabia, I had problems there).
I wish you the best in your decision!
rgds ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Bad experiences with both Toshiba and Dell | Sep 12, 2006 |
Both my girlfriend and I purchased brand new toshiba satellites, and they were both completely nonfunctional within a year. Furthermore, toshiba refused to repair them or take responsibility for what turned out to be a major engineering flaw. In addition, the make of their computers is low quality, and not suitable for traveling.
I can also say from personal experience and the experiences of my friends that Dells are not very good computers. They are relatively inexpensive (plus) bu... See more Both my girlfriend and I purchased brand new toshiba satellites, and they were both completely nonfunctional within a year. Furthermore, toshiba refused to repair them or take responsibility for what turned out to be a major engineering flaw. In addition, the make of their computers is low quality, and not suitable for traveling.
I can also say from personal experience and the experiences of my friends that Dells are not very good computers. They are relatively inexpensive (plus) but poorly made and do not last long. Furthermore, their features tend to be uninspiring.
If you really want a good laptop, I would reccomend a Lenovo Thinkpad or an HP pavillion (with Gateway as a close third). The thinkpad is far and away the best laptop on the market in my opinion. It is very sturdy, has a long battery life, and actually works. I bought one recently (Z60t, which I highly reccomend, they are available for a little under 800USD), and every piece of software I have installed works perfectly. Not once have I experienced the blue screen of death (which, for some reason, was always a problem with my toshibas and dells)
The best piece of advice I can give you, whatever you buy, is get last years model. Do not, under any circumstances, buy a brand new computer. Not only is last year's model cheaper, but it has been vetted for any potential engineering and mechanical problems. I have seen this happen time and again, whether it be exploding batteries or faulty circuit boards. Find a slightly older model, read the reviews on it (Search for the model number in Google with the words "problem" "complaint", etc.) and then make your decision.
Good luck!
Amancio Iglesias wrote:
for 5 years, an it runs beautifully, not the slightest problem so far... ▲ Collapse
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Luca Tutino 
Italy
Member (2002)
English to Italian
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| Toshiba Satellite A 60 was a total failure | Sep 13, 2006 |
The A60 had a Pentium (not dual core) in it.
- After a few month it started to shut off automatically due to overload.
- A program provided with the computer allowed to downclock the CPU, which I did. In this way I could work slowly for a little more than one year.
-However the keyboard would get so warm that my hand woud suffer after a while.
-Any CPU intensive application would take a long time (about double than normal).
-The fans were mostly noisy, some... See more The A60 had a Pentium (not dual core) in it.
- After a few month it started to shut off automatically due to overload.
- A program provided with the computer allowed to downclock the CPU, which I did. In this way I could work slowly for a little more than one year.
-However the keyboard would get so warm that my hand woud suffer after a while.
-Any CPU intensive application would take a long time (about double than normal).
-The fans were mostly noisy, sometimes very noisy.
-The soundcard worked intermittently. Toshiba post-sale service offered to receive the pc by mail and look at it at their lab without indication about delivery time.
-At about 19 months the HD emitted a little hiss and died.
No more Toshiba for me!
Luca
[Edited at 2006-09-13 10:56] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Ditto on Toshiba problems! | Sep 13, 2006 |
Luca Tutino wrote:
The A60 had a Pentium (not dual core) in it.
- After a few month it started to shut off automatically due to overload.
-However the keyboard would get so warm that my hand woud suffer after a while.
-Any CPU intensive application would take a long time (about double than normal).
-The fans were mostly noisy, sometimes very noisy.
-The soundcard worked intermittently. Toshiba post-sale service offered to receive the pc by mail and look at it at their lab without indication about delivery time.
Luca
[Edited at 2006-09-13 10:56]
I bought a Satellite A70 two years ago, and for the last couple of months I too am experiencing the automatic shut-off! For some reason it seems to happen more often when the computer has been idle a few minutes. Sometimes shuts down 10 times a day while I am working on it. I took the battery out and it made a difference for a couple of days but that's all.
When I unplugged it a couple of times to check that something wasn't melting somewhere, the hard drive was burning hot.
Yes, the fans are noisy. And yes, I have also had problems with the soundcard working intermittently - ie. no sound until after reboot.
Also, it does not travel well at all. I took a heavier laptop because I didn't need to cart it around everyday and it was intended to be a more functional replacement for a desktop since I have a habit of moving around a lot. The few times I have taken it on trips, it has taken ages to recover ... making very strange clunking sounds etc.
And that's not even mentioning battery life... Anyhow, I can't afford to replace it so I just have to hope it doesn't die too quickly. In the meantime I have invested in a removable hard drive so that at least everything can be backed up.
Conclusion: I wouldn't invest in another Toshiba.
Oh, and unless you are carrying it around everywhere all the time, I see no reason why a good laptop should not last you around 4 years.
| | | | EmmanuelleAn (X)
Local time: 11:04
English to French
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| No more Toshiba | Sep 15, 2006 |
Luca Tutino wrote:
The A60 had a Pentium (not dual core) in it.
- After a few month it started to shut off automatically due to overload.
-However the keyboard would get so warm that my hand woud suffer after a while.
-Any CPU intensive application would take a long time (about double than normal).
-The fans were mostly noisy, sometimes very noisy.
-
No more Toshiba for me!
Luca
[Edited at 2006-09-13 10:56]
Same bad experience for me with my Toshiba Satellite. Slow, very noisy fans , very warm keyboard and worse, would turn off automatically for no reason. Nobody was able to fix it properly and Toshiba support and aftersales services were completly hopeless. Just got rid off it! I was working under stress with it. Imagine a computer that suddenly turns off while you are doing a big translation job with a tight deadline. A nightmare...Just bougt myself an HP computer. Seems far more reliable.
[Edited at 2006-09-15 17:58]
| | | | | Depends on the model | Sep 18, 2006 |
It seems, after all, that brand is not the most important thing. As Fernando said, I'd rather get some information from specialized magazines and internet on an specific model before buying it.
In my opinion, Toshiba Satellite is great (mine is M70). 9 months with it and no problems at all. Weeks later, my girlfriend bought another one and works perfectly fine. 512 MB and I work with Word, Dragon NS, PDFs, firefox, antivirus and sometimes a P2P application. All running at the same ... See more It seems, after all, that brand is not the most important thing. As Fernando said, I'd rather get some information from specialized magazines and internet on an specific model before buying it.
In my opinion, Toshiba Satellite is great (mine is M70). 9 months with it and no problems at all. Weeks later, my girlfriend bought another one and works perfectly fine. 512 MB and I work with Word, Dragon NS, PDFs, firefox, antivirus and sometimes a P2P application. All running at the same time. Anyway, I think you can find good laptops from Toshiba, Dell, HP or Sony but, again, it depends on the model. ▲ Collapse
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mrr2ro
United States
Local time: 04:04
English to Spanish
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I used Dells for many years and I thought they were good until my eyes were opened.
They are EXPENSIVE, HEAVY and it gets extremely HOT to the point you cannot use them in your lap. When I call the service desk, their reply was simple "If the battery is not melting, it is within specifications". Also, it comes with preloaded software that takes a lot of hard drive space and it is useless software anyway – Norton being one of them and it is the main culprit when your machine is slo... See more I used Dells for many years and I thought they were good until my eyes were opened.
They are EXPENSIVE, HEAVY and it gets extremely HOT to the point you cannot use them in your lap. When I call the service desk, their reply was simple "If the battery is not melting, it is within specifications". Also, it comes with preloaded software that takes a lot of hard drive space and it is useless software anyway – Norton being one of them and it is the main culprit when your machine is slow.
Since computers are a disposable item, I will go with the best value you can get and I find that in the Compaq Presario or HP machines. I found a Compaq Presario V2000 with an AMD mobile 64 processor, wireless internet, Bluetooth, multiple memory card reader, and many more features for $399 at office depot and a year warranty.
If I were to spend over $1000 for a laptop, I will be hard press to make it a disposable item in 3 -4 years, but I would not have a problem recycling a $400 laptop in 3-4 years.
Whatever you get, if it has preinstalled software, I would recommend to wipe it all out, and reinstall the OS using the CD that comes with the laptop.
The ONLY Important things to install off the CD – Operating System, and drivers for your hardware.
Al the other software is trial ware, expires in 30 days and it just not worth keeping
One of the features I liked about the Compaq/ HP software CD is that you have the choice to select what you want to install off your rescue CD.
BTW – I bought the $399 model, and then I upgrade the memory to 1.2 GB for $99 and a faster and Bigger Hard Drive for $80. So my Machine is now AMD Turion 64 Mobile, 1Gb RAM, 100Gb HD. If you decide to upgrade to Windows XP64 or Vista, the machine is ready for it. -- I did the upgrades myself, not at the store.
Also, if you have a choice --- Consider buying a Macintosh PowerBook. Very expensive, but you do not have as many issues with spy ware, malware, viruses, Trojans, etc.
I have no choice since many of the software we use a Macintosh version does not exist.
A. Pinzon
SpanishTech - Spanish Translations Austin Texas
[Edited at 2006-09-19 12:53] ▲ Collapse
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