Qustions about a Toshiba M35X S3112

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Miss Leigh <lgh@cts.com> wrote:
: Greetings,

: I saw a Toshiba M35X S3112 at the discount retailer Costco. I would like to
: know if any one is familiar with the Toshiba M35X series. Or is any one has
: some experience with the M35X S311 models. What are some of the good
: attributes of this configuration? What are some of the negatives?

I bought my last Toshiba laptop at Costco two years ago, when the
Centrino models had just come out, and I decided the technology was
still too new. So I bought a budget laptop there which I've been very
happy with. The 6-month no-questions-asked Costco return policy on
computers is unbeatable.

Two years later, I need a new battery and a bigger hard drive, and I'm
thinking instead of just buying a new laptop. Glad to hear Costco
finally has a Toshiba Pentium M laptop again - they haven't for a
while.

Anyway...from the specs

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?prodid=110353...*1674*1675*

I'd say this one looks pretty good. The Pentium M 1.8GHZ should be
very speedy indeed. I do wish the hard drive was not the slow 4200
RPM, but that probably saves some battery. And I don't like the
shared video memory, but these days I don't think it's a big issue
unless you are playing high-speed games or need super-fast graphics
(most people don't). Shared video does steal some of your main system
memory. The specs say that both memory slots could be occupied, which
would be a shame - I would probably bump this one up to 1GB of RAM
because up to 64MB gets stolen for video.

The integrated memory stick/smart media reader is useless to me
because I have Compact Flash, and I would rather not have it wasting
space on the computer.

Did you know you can get a Dell 600m from Costco.com for the same
price? And even though you must order it online, it has the same
Costco 6-month return policy if you buy via Costco.com? Check this
out:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=110316...*4338*

They have the same CPU and hard drive size (not sure if the Dell hard
drive is 4200 RPM or not). Here are some pros and cons after a quick
comparison:

Dell Pros
- Windows XP Pro (most people don't care, I would like it)
- 1GB Ethernet (most people don't care, I might use it once in a blue
moon)
- 8X DVD burner, Toshiba is only 4X.
- Dell is lighter (5.3 lbs vs. 6.6lbs)
- Dell has a old 9-pin serial port (something I might use
occasionally)
- Faster video card (I think, and it's probably not integrated RAM)
- Better Intel wireless card (802.11a/b/g)
- Infrared port
- Modular bay (2nd battery or 2nd drive)
- 3-year Dell Warranty vs. 1-year for Toshiba

Dell Cons
- Smaller screen (14.1" vs. 15.4" Toshiba)
- Only 2 USB ports
- No Firewire port

I'm not sure about battery life - Toshiba is spec'ed at four hours...

Andrew
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