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Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:46 pm
by Extension_Cord
Can anyone recommend me a new laptop? Unfortunately I have a Toshiba and its pathetic even though its a year old. Just about everything has broken on it, now my battery and its out of warranty. I would like something under $800 so that rules out apple for now. I just need it for taking notes and surfing the internet, no games or anything.

Take away, don't buy a toshiba laptop. I should have listened when people warned me, but damn my $400 Acer lasted me 3 years without a problem. I've had to do the following on a year old laptop:

Replace charger (ebayed)
Replace speakers (Toshiba tried to do this THREE times and couldn't fix it. Local PC repair guy did it in a day).
Replaced HDD (took from old laptop)
Replace RAM (took from old laptop)
Now the battery completely died (out of warranty)

What bad luck, Toshiba didn't fix, refund or replace anything but the speakers three times (still didn't work). I dont think its worth fixing because there seems to be reoccurring problems with Toshiba's and especially for this model (I hope atleast) I need a new laptop by Dec. 15 when my written finals begin.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:47 pm
by 03121202698008
Macbook Air

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:49 pm
by Extension_Cord
blowhard wrote:Macbook Air
Arent they like $1200?

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:50 pm
by 03121202698008
Extension_Cord wrote:
blowhard wrote:Macbook Air
Arent they like $1200?
Yep. If you don't want to buy a new laptop every year or two, pony up. Smallest one starts at $999 and rumors of $100 off on black friday.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:51 pm
by kalvano
Anything by Asus. My wife has one and it's great. Their U-series laptops are fairly lightweight and I love hers. I wish I had gotten one of those instead of my Lenovo.


Also, no need to spend Air-type money. You can buy a fine laptop for under $800 that will last a long time.

Or, if you're willing to spend an extra $100 (or can find a good holiday sale), HP has a spiffy new Ultrabook out for an MSRP of $900.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/a ... _mind.html

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:52 pm
by Extension_Cord
blowhard wrote:
Extension_Cord wrote:
blowhard wrote:Macbook Air
Arent they like $1200?
Yep. If you don't want to buy a new laptop every year or two, pony up.
You do have a point, sucks because I wasted $700 on this POS and now its just a slow desktop.

How long will a Mac last me?

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:52 pm
by 03121202698008
Extension_Cord wrote:
blowhard wrote:
Extension_Cord wrote:
blowhard wrote:Macbook Air
Arent they like $1200?
Yep. If you don't want to buy a new laptop every year or two, pony up.
You do have a point, sucks because I wasted $700 on this POS and now its just a slow desktop.

How long will a Mac last me?
I'm on 4 years. Carry it every day in school, has been to Iraq twice. Most importantly, it still feels blazingly fast. I have a MB Pro...not the Air. Just go play with one. Also, see my edit about price. 11 inch starts at $999 and black friday sale.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:53 pm
by SilverE2
It sounds like you had a lemon, according to this squaretrade study: http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/Squa ... y_1109.pdf, Toshiba reliability is second only to that of Asus. Before my current laptop I had a Toshiba that lasted me over 4 years without any problems.

With that said, before starting law school I bought a new laptop and decided to go with an Asus. The prices are competitive, the machines are reliable, and I love my laptop.

If you buy a mac, you're going to end up spending double for all the components anyway. I don't really see any reason to "save up."

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:54 pm
by 03121202698008
SilverE2 wrote:It sounds like you had a lemon, according to this squaretrade study: http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/Squa ... y_1109.pdf, Toshiba reliability is second only to that of Asus. Before my current laptop I had a Toshiba that lasted me over 4 years without any problems.

With that said, before starting law school I bought a new laptop and decided to go with an Asus. The prices are competitive, the machines are reliable, and I love my laptop.

If you buy a mac, you're going to end up spending double for all the components anyway. I don't really see any reason to "save up."
No you're not. Why do you think you're paying double?

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:54 pm
by Extension_Cord
kalvano wrote:Anything by Asus. My wife has one and it's great. Their U-series laptops are fairly lightweight and I love hers. I wish I had gotten one of those instead of my Lenovo.


Also, no need to spend Air-type money. You can buy a fine laptop for under $800 that will last a long time.
Yeah I got 3 years out of a cheap Acer ($350) and it still works. I gave it to a family member when I bought this one and they let their kid use it. I thought I wanted to place Starcraft two on this but never got around to it. Now I wont, lol.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:54 pm
by kalvano
Extension_Cord wrote:
blowhard wrote:
Extension_Cord wrote:
blowhard wrote:Macbook Air
Arent they like $1200?
Yep. If you don't want to buy a new laptop every year or two, pony up.
You do have a point, sucks because I wasted $700 on this POS and now its just a slow desktop.

How long will a Mac last me?

You can buy a perfectly good laptop that will last just long as a Mac without going over $1000. Or even $800.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:55 pm
by nickjive
Check out Apple's refurbished macbooks. The inventory changes pretty much daily, be on the lookout for good deals. I've seen Macbook Airs for as low as $699...I've ordered refurb products from Apple before. Everything comes just like new, free shipping, and even a 1-year warranty. Definitely worth every penny.

Here is the cheapest laptop they have right now:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC503LL/A

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:56 pm
by 03121202698008
kalvano wrote:

You can buy a perfectly good laptop that will last just long as a Mac without going over $1000. Or even $800.
I'm not saying you can't. But the Air is sexy, light, amazing battery life, and OSX is far superior to Windows. Find me a laptop similar in size/weight/speed that's cheaper. Have you ever played with one? Go check it out. they are thinner than an ipad when closed.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:56 pm
by SilverE2
blowhard wrote:
SilverE2 wrote:It sounds like you had a lemon, according to this squaretrade study: http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/Squa ... y_1109.pdf, Toshiba reliability is second only to that of Asus. Before my current laptop I had a Toshiba that lasted me over 4 years without any problems.

With that said, before starting law school I bought a new laptop and decided to go with an Asus. The prices are competitive, the machines are reliable, and I love my laptop.

If you buy a mac, you're going to end up spending double for all the components anyway. I don't really see any reason to "save up."
No you're not. Why do you think you're paying double?
Go ahead and price an apple laptop. Then price a laptop from another company with the same parts. Look at the prices. Realize you're paying for brand name and not much else.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:57 pm
by 03121202698008
SilverE2 wrote:
blowhard wrote:
SilverE2 wrote:It sounds like you had a lemon, according to this squaretrade study: http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/Squa ... y_1109.pdf, Toshiba reliability is second only to that of Asus. Before my current laptop I had a Toshiba that lasted me over 4 years without any problems.

With that said, before starting law school I bought a new laptop and decided to go with an Asus. The prices are competitive, the machines are reliable, and I love my laptop.

If you buy a mac, you're going to end up spending double for all the components anyway. I don't really see any reason to "save up."
No you're not. Why do you think you're paying double?
Go ahead and price an apple laptop. Then price a laptop from another company with the same parts. Look at the prices. Realize you're paying for brand name and not much else.
My point. You can't. No one makes one as thin/fast. Nor can you buy one with OSX.

Sure, you can get the proc/memory...but I'm more worried about the whole package. I can also buy a 1986 Ford Pinto and put a Mercedes engine in it. Not the same thing.

Edit: And if you think you can...go play with one. I used to be hardcore PC. Now I'm a believer. They may cost more but this one has lasted twice as long as any other laptop I had. And not because they broke...I got bored with them. Windows got slow, battery started screwing up, etc.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:59 pm
by SilverE2
blowhard wrote:
SilverE2 wrote:
blowhard wrote:
SilverE2 wrote:It sounds like you had a lemon, according to this squaretrade study: http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/Squa ... y_1109.pdf, Toshiba reliability is second only to that of Asus. Before my current laptop I had a Toshiba that lasted me over 4 years without any problems.

With that said, before starting law school I bought a new laptop and decided to go with an Asus. The prices are competitive, the machines are reliable, and I love my laptop.

If you buy a mac, you're going to end up spending double for all the components anyway. I don't really see any reason to "save up."
No you're not. Why do you think you're paying double?
Go ahead and price an apple laptop. Then price a laptop from another company with the same parts. Look at the prices. Realize you're paying for brand name and not much else.
My point. You can't. No one makes one as thin/fast. Nor can you buy one with OSX.
What? My Asus which I paid less than $800 for is faster than ANYTHING under $2k that apple offers. Plus who the fuck wants OSX?

Saw you edited: what do you think you get out of "the whole package" that justifies spending so much money for?

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:00 pm
by kalvano
blowhard wrote:
kalvano wrote:

You can buy a perfectly good laptop that will last just long as a Mac without going over $1000. Or even $800.
I'm not saying you can't. But the Air is sexy, light, amazing battery life, and OSX is far superior to Windows.
The Air is a great product, however, your assessment of operating systems (which is a large part of what you pay for on a Mac) is entirely subjective.

blowhard wrote:Find me a laptop similar in size/weight/speed that's cheaper. Have you ever played with one? Go check it out. they are thinner than an ipad when closed.
blowhard wrote:My point. You can't. No one makes one as thin/fast. Nor can you buy one with OSX.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/18/tosh ... 35-review/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/acer ... ok-review/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/21/asus ... 31-review/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/16/hp-f ... 128gb-ssd/



Pretty much all the Ultrabooks.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:03 pm
by 03121202698008
SilverE2 wrote:
What? My Asus which I paid less than $800 for is faster than ANYTHING under $2k that apple offers. Plus who the fuck wants OSX?

Saw you edited: what do you think you get out of "the whole package" that justifies spending so much money for?
Size and speed. I'm not talking processor. OSX is way waster than Windows. Plus the Air has a flash hard drive. Boos from cold in like 20 seconds or less. Awake from sleep in under 3. 6-8 hours of battery life with real world use. I'm serious, just go hold one. I understand thinking they are overpriced...but you simply cannot hold one and deny its an amazing machine.

Have you ever used OSX? Most of the features in Windows you like were direct copies. Like I said...I was a hardcore PC guy. Play with one for a week and you'll never go back.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:03 pm
by nickjive
I bought a Compaq laptop when I first started school for $1000. Mega POS. Sold it after 3 years of suffering. Then I bought a USED Macbook on eBay for $750. 4 years later, I'm still using the Macbook. I can run Firefox, Word, iTunes and Photoshop all at the same time.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:05 pm
by kalvano
blowhard wrote:
SilverE2 wrote:
What? My Asus which I paid less than $800 for is faster than ANYTHING under $2k that apple offers. Plus who the fuck wants OSX?

Saw you edited: what do you think you get out of "the whole package" that justifies spending so much money for?
Size and speed. I'm not talking processor. OSX is way waster than Windows. Plus the Air has a flash hard drive. Boos from cold in like 20 seconds or less. Awake from sleep in under 3. 6-8 hours of battery life with real world use. I'm serious, just go hold one. I understand thinking they are overpriced...but you simply cannot hold one and deny its an amazing machine.

Have you ever used OSX? Most of the features in Windows you like were direct copies. Like I said...I was a hardcore PC guy. Play with one for a week and you'll never go back.
I owned a Mac before my latest laptop. Windows is better for me. You're assuming that just because you like something, that makes it what everyone will like. I hated OS. I want an Air, and then I plan to take OSX off of it.

As for form factor and cold boots and using SSD's, yeah, again, see Ultrabooks.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:05 pm
by 03121202698008
kalvano wrote:
blowhard wrote:
kalvano wrote:

You can buy a perfectly good laptop that will last just long as a Mac without going over $1000. Or even $800.
I'm not saying you can't. But the Air is sexy, light, amazing battery life, and OSX is far superior to Windows.
The Air is a great product, however, your assessment of operating systems (which is a large part of what you pay for on a Mac) is entirely subjective.

blowhard wrote:Find me a laptop similar in size/weight/speed that's cheaper. Have you ever played with one? Go check it out. they are thinner than an ipad when closed.
blowhard wrote:My point. You can't. No one makes one as thin/fast. Nor can you buy one with OSX.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/18/tosh ... 35-review/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/acer ... ok-review/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/21/asus ... 31-review/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/16/hp-f ... 128gb-ssd/



Pretty much all the Ultrabooks.
Uh yeah, they are still thicker and heavier. Case construction isn't as good. The Portege for instance is known to have hinge issues. They are closer I grant you, but not the same thing. Nor is that much cheaper. The Air starts at $999.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:06 pm
by 03121202698008
kalvano wrote:
blowhard wrote:
SilverE2 wrote:
What? My Asus which I paid less than $800 for is faster than ANYTHING under $2k that apple offers. Plus who the fuck wants OSX?

Saw you edited: what do you think you get out of "the whole package" that justifies spending so much money for?
Size and speed. I'm not talking processor. OSX is way waster than Windows. Plus the Air has a flash hard drive. Boos from cold in like 20 seconds or less. Awake from sleep in under 3. 6-8 hours of battery life with real world use. I'm serious, just go hold one. I understand thinking they are overpriced...but you simply cannot hold one and deny its an amazing machine.

Have you ever used OSX? Most of the features in Windows you like were direct copies. Like I said...I was a hardcore PC guy. Play with one for a week and you'll never go back.
I owned a Mac before my latest laptop. Windows is better for me. You're assuming that just because you like something, that makes it what everyone will like. I hated OS. I want an Air, and then I plan to take OSX off of it.

As for form factor and cold boots and using SSD's, yeah, again, see Ultrabooks.
And I respect your choice. My point for the other poster was...don't bash until you've tried one. Most of my friends who did ended up buying one eventually. If you've tried and not for you...so be it. But the Air isn't drastically more than those models you pointed to. In fact, its cheaper than one of them I opened randomly. You do realize they look so much like the Air because they are copies as well right? They are always a few features behind. And that HP is downright beefy compared.

I understand the stories say they are cheaper...that was before Apple dropped the prices on the new model refresh.

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:08 pm
by SilverE2
blowhard wrote:
SilverE2 wrote:
What? My Asus which I paid less than $800 for is faster than ANYTHING under $2k that apple offers. Plus who the fuck wants OSX?

Saw you edited: what do you think you get out of "the whole package" that justifies spending so much money for?
Size and speed. I'm not talking processor. OSX is way waster than Windows. Plus the Air has a flash hard drive. Boos from cold in like 20 seconds or less. Awake from sleep in under 3. 6-8 hours of battery life with real world use. I'm serious, just go hold one. I understand thinking they are overpriced...but you simply cannot hold one and deny its an amazing machine.

Have you ever used OSX? Most of the features in Windows you like were direct copies. Like I said...I was a hardcore PC guy. Play with one for a week and you'll never go back.
My girlfriend has a mac. Every time she wants to install software on the laptop, she needs to find a mac version of it. The compatibility issue is a huge pain in the ass.

My Asus boots in less than 45 seconds with Asus Fastboot.

It has 5 hours of battery life while being a full featured desktop replacement with a latest generation core-i5 processor.

Kalvano has posted machines just as small and light.

So what exactly makes it amazing? Just the operating system? Which is supposedly "faster"? This benchmark has windows smoking osx every single time: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a ... art3&num=1

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:10 pm
by 03121202698008
SilverE2 wrote:
blowhard wrote:
SilverE2 wrote:
What? My Asus which I paid less than $800 for is faster than ANYTHING under $2k that apple offers. Plus who the fuck wants OSX?

Saw you edited: what do you think you get out of "the whole package" that justifies spending so much money for?
Size and speed. I'm not talking processor. OSX is way waster than Windows. Plus the Air has a flash hard drive. Boos from cold in like 20 seconds or less. Awake from sleep in under 3. 6-8 hours of battery life with real world use. I'm serious, just go hold one. I understand thinking they are overpriced...but you simply cannot hold one and deny its an amazing machine.

Have you ever used OSX? Most of the features in Windows you like were direct copies. Like I said...I was a hardcore PC guy. Play with one for a week and you'll never go back.
My girlfriend has a mac. Every time she wants to install software on the laptop, she needs to find a mac version of it. The compatibility issue is a huge pain in the ass.

My Asus boots in less than 45 seconds with Asus Fastboot.

It has 5 hours of battery life while being a full featured desktop replacement with a latest generation core-i5 processor.

Kalvano has posted machines just as small and light.

So what exactly makes it amazing? Just the operating system? Which is supposedly "faster"? This benchmark has windows smoking osx every single time: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a ... art3&num=1
That is pre-Lion, and with 1GB of RAM! And it was a Mac mini...hardly the same thing. Not to mention it was gaming...when the mini is aimed at corporate clients. Nor did they go head to head. They only ran Ubuntu on the mac hardware.

See:
--LinkRemoved--

Re: Toshiba Laptop

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:15 pm
by kalvano
blowhard wrote:Uh yeah, they are still thicker and heavier. Case construction isn't as good. The Portege for instance is known to have hinge issues. They are closer I grant you, but not the same thing. Nor is that much cheaper. The Air starts at $999.

The 11" Air starts at $999. Those are all 13" or better. And thicker by a couple of millimeters maybe. In fact -

Air - 2.8 in x 8.94 in x 0.68 in
Acer - 12.7 in x 8.6 in x 0.7 in
Asus - 12.8 in x 0.71 in x 8.8 in
Lenovo - 12.8 in x 8.5 in x 0.6 in

And the weight?

Air - 2.96
Acer - 2.98
Asus - 2.86
Lenovo - 2.9


And the Portege hasn't even been released yet, how can it be known for having hinge issues?