Review: Toshiba P25-S477

[gsferrari]

My roommate just picked up one of these machines and I gotta hand it to toshiba for making one of the most amazing laptops I have seen for the price...

Here is the config :-
----------------------

P4 2.4Ghz with Hyperthreading
512MB RAM
40GB HDD
17" WXGA Screen
DVD-CDRW combo drive
32 MB Nvidia go5200
Harman Kardon stereo speakers (nice!)
Firewire and SD card clot
Integrated 802.11 (b,g??) LAN
Microsoft Windows XP Professional with crapware :lol:

Here is a view of the laptop :-


http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_017.jpg

The screen in all its 17" of glory...amazing for those widescreen DVD's that looked like a strip of band-aid on out conventional screens...im converted to widescreen now!!

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_007.jpg

Here we see the great viewing angle (I went much wider as you will see in another picture and the picture was still crisp...almost as good as the UXGA on the 5670/5680 but not quite as bright...better color resolution on this screen though...) and the layout of the keyboard and buttons...the annoying thing is that there are too many little lights (Around the power button, on the front panel etc. which can distract when you are watching a DVD in a dark room...) Here you can see the status lights for the wireless LAN (orange LED).
http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_011.jpg

The wireless LAN works very well and grabbed onto the signal from our new D-link wireless router ($29.00 after rebates). I have my 5660 hooked to this laptop and the toshiba is wandering around the house :banana:

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_003.jpg



The top of the Laptop (closed)...the bloody thing looks like a flatbed scanner!! HUGE !!

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_018.jpg

Doesn't this angle look like a closed 88XX series Sager notebook?? I was quite surprised by the similarity...

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_022.jpg

This laptop is so long that it takes quite a while to get from one end of the screen to the other using the touchpad...an external mouse is a MUST-HAVE!!

The arse end of the laptop - extensive cooling for a relatively slow processor...I was very surprised...but the good thing is that the fans rarely come on and this laptop is VERY VERY quiet...almost silent...
http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_028.jpg

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_036.jpg

The underside of the laptop...three fans just like the new Sagers...I think more fans with lower power results in silent running...:lol:

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_042.jpg

Comparing with the 5660, the toshiba is just as thick but a WHOLE lot longer. Oddly though the tosh feels lighter than the 5660 !! :scratch: I think tosh uses lighter materials...I hope this is a result of R&D in materials rather than using cheapo plastic...

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_044.jpg

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_048.jpg

This is what makes me wanna cry!! LOOK AT THAT SCREEN!! :love:
http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_059.jpg

makes the 5660 look like a wimp and it really looks better...awesome for DVD's...I even played a couple of games including the Doom Demo (slow) and they all ran full screen at 1440x900 res....

The following picture says it all...configuration etc. And you can see the harman kardon speakers. These dont have great bass or volume...I can crank the sager speakers louder than the HK - but they have a sound resolution that makes the sager speakers sound like hobby speakers...

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_062.jpg

The power adapters side by side...The Tosh is the one with the yellow sticker...just as heavy and almost as big as the Sager's..the Sager runs cooler though...has fans and stuff...the tosh feels like molten lava after a few hours of usage...

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/gsferrari/Picture_070.jpg

All in all I am extremely impressed with this laptop which we were able to pick up for $1550 from Circuit City. The only case which we could find that would hold this laptop was the Targus Deluxe Backpack...the same one that Adam uses for the 88XX and the one I use for my 5660...

Impressive Laptop - best for peeps who love watching DVD's at home...paired with decent speakers like the Klipsch Promedia series, this laptop will shine...

Try playing intensive games though and you'll begin to rethink your priorities...

PROS :-
-------

nice screen
easy to set up and use
good sound
nice touchpad
wireless
hyperthreading
light (relatively)

CONS :-
--------
Heavier than some other laptops (but the others have smaller screens)
Battery life is quite low (1.5 hours on our first test!! cycling in the works)
HUGE!! you'll have trouble if you wanna use this on the fly...get an i-book :lol:
LED's all over the place are distracting...:( this is a BIG gripe from my side...
Crappy keyboard...bad feel and I couldnt play Need For Speed or F1-2002 on it. The Sager has a very nice keyboard if you play racing games...
ATTRACTS TOO MUCH ATTENTION..WILL BE STOLEN IF THE THIEF HAS A U-HAUL IN WAITING...:banana:

[gsferrari]

I dont think this laptop warrants benchmarking in the presence of such performers like the 88xx and 56xx...but i'll still give it a shot and post the results :)

[harrelld]

I was looking at one of these at Best Buy. Almost bought it, if not for the 32MB video card.

[gsferrari]

Yeah...the 32Mb card is a turndown...

but my roommate isnt really into games...overall this system was more attractive than anything else in the store...the screen alone is worth the tradeoff in gaming...

[gsferrari]

No more pics...had to upload another set of pics so I took these ones down...if anyone wants any pictures of the toshiba/ or if they have any questions they would like to ask...please email me from an address to which I can send large files...

Cheers!! :cheers:

[harrelld]

Did you ever get the battery life to improve?

[gsferrari]

We got close to 2 hours and 30 minutes this morning. The first run gave only 2 hours...thats a lot of improvement after 4 or 5 cycles...