Is this a good notebook to buy?

It certainly has good specs, and Toshiba is a good brand.

cheers ...

Grace can you link? I am not aware of GT360m on that model. All I know of is GTS360m.

Yes you can play the games you ask of well.

Hard to answer your question without knowing cost? 18.4 is cool with you? Kind of large?

But yes those are good specs overall. You can do better on specs alone (other than speakers) if you want.

It does qualify. What is the main benefit of this notebook vs other high end performance systems is it's audio. If that is important to you then yea sure I gives it an edge over others I could mention.

The i5 threw me off. Especially because I was reading this (link) just before I read your thread. I do not get the advantage of an i5 2.27Ghz over a i7 720QM 1.6Ghz? When i7 720 is running two cores it runs at 2.4Ghz. For $1499.99 (yea I know $1500) you can get an i7. Yes you lose 2GB RAM and lower resolution. Still above HD. I don't have the answers but I would think increasing resolution and lowering CPU is counter intuitive.

These things I bring up are very subjective. It is one heck of a notebook no question.

Asus has a 15.6" with same GPU/i7 same price range. I doubt speakers will match up. Asus has 17.3" better GPU i7 better specs other than say the speakers again. Same price point.

The model you are looking at reminds me of the same market as the Gateway FX. Great specs but one component is the weak link. CPU is dumbed down. Most but not all reduced resolution also. Asus even put out some G50 through Best Buy same thing.

At $1500 if you get the Toshiba I myself would get the i7 that still has damn good resolution just not as good as the one you linked. And 4GB vs 6GB means nothing to me and even more so for gaming. It makes zero difference.

You make the call.

I would get the Toshiba just for ease of repairs if needed. Toshiba has authorized repair centers in most large cities. Which is certainly better than having to ship the laptop somewhere and in some cases paying for it out of your own pocket

Good point but if you don't live in a large city how does that help? Asus pays shipping so once again what is your point?

All that said if OP goes Toshiba which one? i5 or i7? Comment on that as that is the real issue here I would say. I say i7. Please comment if I am mistaken.

Well, the point being, by large city I was thinking 200,000 or more. Here in Halifax, there are a few authorized dealers. I know Asus pays shipping, but it is still being shipped and not being done locally. More chance for banging around and when it is done locally, you can check it before it leaves the shop to make sure problem is corrected.
As far as the processor, I have been seeing that there may be heat issues with the i7. Havent seen anything on the i5 but maybe not looking hard enough.

Other than the ability of HT (Hyper threading) core-15 offers the same performance as the core-i7 with much less cost. Better choice for manufacturers and consumers in many platforms.

cheers ...