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Toshiba has two notebooks I like. Here are my choices -

1) 40GB/2.66 GHz P4/CD-Burner for $1249.99

2) 60GB/2.80 GHz P4/DVD-Burner for $1599.99.

Both computers have 512MB RAM, able to watch DVDs, integrated wireless, good graphics card with 32MB, 3 USB 2.0, parallel port, monitor port, S-Video Out, etc.

Which is the overall better buy for college?

I would like advice from current college students as well!

By Lethalfang (Lethalfang) on Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 04:52 pm: Edit

The second one, because of the DVD-burner. You may want to make copies of your DVD rentals in the future.

By Tenisghs (Tenisghs) on Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 08:43 pm: Edit

My parents believe even the first option ($1249.99) is too expensive to spend on a notebook. So the $1599 is definitely out of question.

The DVD burner is only 1x. I feel if I spend more money on that, it would become obsolete soon.

By Ty310 (Ty310) on Friday, August 29, 2003 - 05:31 am: Edit

Remember, you can only copy a DVD movie legally if you own it and want to make a backup copy. Got that?

By Drusba (Drusba) on Friday, August 29, 2003 - 10:34 am: Edit

The difference in speed is unnoticeable. The DVD burner is unnecessary. 40GB of hard drive space should be fine. The lower cost model is fine as is. If I were to spend that higher price I would take the cheaper model and upgrade on RAM and graphics card. Also, before purchasing I would likely go on-line to Dell and Gateway to see if you can get about the same even for less.

By Tenisghs (Tenisghs) on Friday, August 29, 2003 - 11:38 am: Edit

To Drusba-

512MB of RAM is not enough!? Jeez. Dell and Gateway do not offer the 512MB on their entry models, and if they do, it is extremely expensive.

Yeah the graphics cards somewhat sucks but I am not a gamer so everything is good.

By Shu (Shu) on Friday, August 29, 2003 - 11:48 am: Edit

The first one is enough for your college life, and the price is more acceptable for your parents.

With both of them having 512MB RAM, P4-2.8G can not be felt obviously faster than p4-2.66G, furthermore, 40GB harddisk is enough for you, espesially you can burn CDs to backup your data.

By Tenisghs (Tenisghs) on Sunday, August 31, 2003 - 01:34 pm: Edit

I just want to update everyone that I got the Toshiba A20-S207 (512MB RAM, 40GB HDD, DVD/CD-RW, 3 USB 3.0 ports, integrated wireless 802.11b and other nifty stuff) for $1249. So far I love it!

Toshiba was nice enough to add a TELEPHONE CORD along with the adaptor in the packaging for future internet access. The keyboard is sturdy. Its a nice blue/black color. It matches my notebook carrying case! lol

This computer is so nice. It has DVD/CD playback buttons on the lid of the notebook you can initiate without having to use the touchpad. The sound is fabulous for a notebook!

It is quite heavy (under 8lbs) but it makes a fabulous desktop-replacement. Too bad CNet.com or PCWorld.com forces consumers to buy Dell and Compaq.

By Batman (Batman) on Sunday, August 31, 2003 - 04:40 pm: Edit

Hah! Cnet is no great fan of Compaq. It just so happens that the new x1000 is the best out there at the moment. I agree, however, that they are tied to Dell at the hip.

By Shu (Shu) on Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 06:53 am: Edit

My latest computer is a laptop bought half year ago, SONY Vaio PCG-GRS100(P4 1.8G, 256M DDR RAM, ATI MOBILITY RADEON7500, 30G Harddisk, 3 USB ports, 1 sony magicgate, 1 1394 port and other nifty stuff).

The screen of SONY is excellent! I compared my laptop with my friends' Compaq & Toshiba, SONY's screen is much better than others.

Furthermore, my SONY is cooler than my friends' when used for a same period of time.

By Batman (Batman) on Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 03:39 pm: Edit

It's not cooler than running a Pentium M. I do agree that the Sony screens as well as some of the Toshibas are quite nice -- probably the best out there. The Toshibas also have outstanding sound quality for a notebook. However, for speed, power, battery life, weight etc. the Compaq is better -- and the screen (especially wsxga) is still quite nice, beautiful widescreen. Also the cost of the Compaq is significantly lower with better specs including larger Harddrive, a 64mb ATI Radeon 9200 video card, and built-in infared and Bluetooth. Also unlike a lot of other notebooks, the Compaq x1000 is very easy to upgrade.

By Tenisghs (Tenisghs) on Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 03:53 pm: Edit

And Compaq have reliability/service issues.

So far, as I am not a gamer, I am pleased with my Toshiba notebook computer. It may not be a Pentium M or WSXGA screen (i prefer 1024 x 728 resolution), it has great performance and excellent sound quality speakers. =)

By Batman (Batman) on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 12:11 am: Edit

Hah! Funny. All notebook manufacturers have quality/service issues -- check out the discussion forums on any manufacturer and you'll find tons of complaints about them all. IBM is probably the best, but they've had their share of problems also.

I'm not knocking your Toshiba. I hope it serves you well, and my guess is that it will. I'm glad you are satisfied with it, which after all, is the most important issue above all others, right?

Just making the point that for the same, or even less money, the X1000 is a somewhat better value at the moment. Of course, in the long run who knows? Good luck!

By Shu (Shu) on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 10:58 am: Edit

It is obvious that Pentium M is cooler than P4, but I did the comparation on the P4 level. =)

Bluetooth isn't as good as it sounds. As a reasult, it just a interim interface between infrared ray interface and WIFI interface. The transmission speed of bluetooth isn't very fast, and the transmission distance also isn't very far. So choosing a laptop with WIFI is better than that with bluetooth.

By Batman (Batman) on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 10:15 pm: Edit

Yeah, I agree with you about the bluetooth if it comes down to having to choose (the WiFi works great). But if you can have both it's great. The best use for bluetooth for me is synching up my notebook with my PDA. Can also access the internet with my PDA using cell phone or through my notebook connection. BTW, getting bluetooth on the x1000 was only $19 extra --- couldn't pass it up at that price.