I'm looking into buying a laptop around the middle of this month and I have narrowed my choices down to the Toshiba Satellite M35-S4561 and the Acer Aspire 2025wlmi.
The specs are as follows:
Toshiba:
Acer
My concerns are as follows:
1.) The Acer is a tad faster than the Toshiba. 1.8 vs 1.7. Does this make a significant difference?
2.) Acer uses an 8-cell battery, which Toshiba uses a 6-cell one. Again, is there a big difference?
3.) A friend told me that GeForce is much better than Mobility Radeon. Since I'll be using the laptop a lot for multimedia and graphics (no gaming, though), this is important to me. The TruBrite screen is also helpful.
4.) I hear the Toshiba runs much hotter than the Acer. Since my computer is on all day, that concerns me.
5.) Toshiba has no bluetooth, meaning I have to get an extra USB attachment for it.
6.) I like that the Toshiba has a tray for the DVD Drive, as I'm very careful in handling my discs.
Since the Acer would be about $200-300 more expensive, though, I'm wondering if my qualms are enough to merit my going for it anyway. Plus, my friends all say that the Toshiba is more reliable and that it's more suited for my uses.
I was hoping to get a third opinion. Given my concerns, which model do you think would be better?
I'd truly appreciate the input, especially from those with Toshiba experience (my current laptop is an Acer Aspire 1400 and I have had no problems with service, so I'm not concerned over that. That being said, it's only two years old and I've had to replace a modem and the monitor went dark once -- had to replace a board underneath the LCD -- so I don't know if I can attest to its durability.)
Thank you very much!
The specs are as follows:
Toshiba:
Quote:
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Product Highlights Performance • Intel® Centrino™ mobile technology o Intel® Pentium® M processor 735 o Intel® 855PM chipset o Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG • 512MB of Main Memory Slim Design • 80GB** hard disk drive • DVD SuperMulti drive Great Features • 15.4" WXGA active-matrix screen display*** with TruBrite™ Screen Technology • High-Quality Video Engine • NVIDIA® GeForce™ FX Go5200 graphics controller; 64MB DDR SDRAM external video memory • Composite Monitor-IN port Get On-Line • Integrated V.92/56K modem • Integrated 10/100 Ethernet LAN • Integrated 802.11b/g Wireless LAN module System Characteristics Operating System • Microsoft® Windows XP Pro pre-installed (M35-S4561) CPU/Chipset information • Intel® Pentium® M processor 735* o (1.70GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 400MHz Front Side Bus) • Intel® 855PM Chipset • Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG Memory • 512MB DDR SDRAM (Both slots may be occupied at time of purchase) , expandable to 2048MB (2 DIMM) • Optional available expansion memory modules: 256MB/512/1028MB, SODIMM: Memory compatible with PC2100 DDR266 and PC2700 DDR333 Data/Address Bus Width: 64bit/32bit Mass Storage - HDD/Optical Drive • Primary Hard Disk Drive: 80GB** hard disk drive, Enhanced IDE (ATA-5) interface, 4200rpm drive rotation; 9.5mm height, 0.2lbs, Service Removable • DVD Super Multi drive: 12.7mm, Enhanced IDE Interface; service removable Maximum speed: CD-ROM(24x), CD-R(16x), CD-RW(8x), DVDROM( 8x), DVD-R(4x), DVD-RW(2x), DVD+R(2.4x), DVD+RW(2.4x), DVD-RAM(2x) Compatibility: CD-ROM(read), CD-R(read/write), CDRW( read/write), DVD-ROM(read), DVD-R(read/write), DVDRW( read/re-write), DVD+R(read/write), DVD+RW(read/write), DVD-RAM(read/re-write) Graphics/Video • 15.4" WXGA active-matrix display with TruBrite Screen Technology; internal display supports up to 16M colors at 1280 x 800 internal LCD resolution • NVIDIA® GeForce™ FX Go5200 graphics controller with 64MB DDR SDRAM external video memory, AGP 4X interface • High quality Video Engine (HVE): o Black extension, White extension, Sharpness, LCD Over Drive, Edge Enhancement (only Monitor-IN), 3DComb filter (only Monitor-IN), Noise Reduction (only Monitor-IN), 10-bit AD Converter (only Monitor-IN), NTSC/PAL Video decoder (use for Monitor-IN) Sound • STAC9750TG Codec Chip; Software Sound; 16-bit stereo, full duplex support, AC'97 Rev2.2 compatible • Built-in harman/kardon stereo speakers • Built-in Microphone (monaural); Direct 3D Sound (supported by driver), DirectSound (supported by driver) and DirectMusic (supported by driver); MIDI (playback) Support; Sound Volume (by Dial); • Ports: External Microphone port (monaural), Headphone port (stereo), Line-in port (shared with Monitor-IN) Input Devices • Keyboard: Full sized 85 keys with 12 function keys, 2.7mm key stroke, 6mm height; Dedicated Windows® keys support; HotKey function; Integrated TouchPad pointing device with Scroll function (by software on Touchpad) • CD Control Function: Mode Control Switch (CD/DVD/Digital Audio), Skip to Previous Track, Play, Stop, Skip to Next Track • Express Media Player button • TV-out button • Monitor-IN button Expandability • 2 Memory slots – Both slots may be occupied at time of purchase • 1 PC Card slot supports 1 Type II PC Card Communications • Integrated V.92/56K modem; Data and fax support • Integrated 10/100 Ethernet LAN • Integrated Wireless LAN (Intel 802.11b/g) Ports • Composite In (Monitor-IN) port • RGB (monitor) port • 4 Universal Serial Bus ports (USB) • TV-Out (S-Video) • RJ-45 LAN Port • RJ-11 modem port • i.LINK™ (IEEE 1394) • Secure Digital® (SD) card slot • Line-In port Physical Description • Dimensions (LxWxH): 14.2" x 10.6" x 1.4" • Weight: 6.17 lbs |
Quote:
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OS Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Processor Intel® Pentium® M Processor 745 1.80GHz Memory 512MB (256/256) Storage 80GB hard drive Super Multi Write Plus (DVD -RW, +RW, -RAM) drive 4-in-1 card reader TFT Display 15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) Graphics ATI® MOBILITYTM RADEONTM 9700, 128 MB DDR Connectivity 802.11b/g WLAN, BluetoothTM, Gigabit LAN, V.92 modem Specifications Intel® CentrinoTM Mobile Technology - Intel® Pentium® M processor - Intel® PRO/Wireless network connection - Intel® 855 chipset family Installed Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Processor Intel® Pentium® M processor 1.80GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 400MHz system bus Chipset Intel® 855GME Memory 512MB DDR333 SDRAM (256MB installed in each of two memory slots) User upgradeable up to 1GB (one 512MB memory card in each slot)2 or 2GB (one 1GB memory card in each slot) subject to availability of 1GB cards Storage 80GB ATA/100 hard disk drive Internal trayless, slot-load Super Multi Write Plus drive maximum speeds: Read – 4X DVD-R, 4X DVD-RW, 4X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 8X DVD-ROM, 24X CD-ROM, 2X DVD-RAM Write – 2.4X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+RW, 4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 16XCD-R, 8X CD-RW, 2X DVD-RAM Front-access 4-in-1 card reader for optional MultiMediaCardTM (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) card, SmartMediaTM card or Memory Stick® Video 15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT LCD, up to 16.7 million colors, with features powered by CyberLink®: Cinema Vision - Fits 4:3 and 16:10 video to LCD with non-linear stretching algorithm Clear Vision - Detects video frame by frame and changes saturation, brightness and contrast controls dynamically to deliver sharper, more vivid image ATI® MOBILITYTM RADEONTM 9700 graphics, 128MB video memory VGA, S-video TV out ports Support for simultaneous display on notebook LCD and external monitor Audio 2.1-channel stereo speakers with subwoofer, integrated microphone, virtual surround sound powered by CyberLink®, stereo microphone/line in, stereo headphone/speaker/line out, Microsoft® DirectSound® compatibility Interface Ports Three USB 2.0, DC in, parallel, RJ-11 modem, RJ-45 LAN, VGA, S-video TV out, stereo microphone/line in, stereo headphone/speaker/line out, FireWire® (IEEE 1394), FIR (fast infrared) Card Slots Type II PC Card slot, 32-bit PC CardBus architecture, Zoomed Video support Front-access 4-in-1 card reader for optional MultiMediaCardTM (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) card, SmartMediaTM card or Memory Stick® Connectivity V.92 56Kbps3 data/fax modem, PTT (postal, telegraph, telephone) certified in select countries, Wake-on-Ring ready; 10/100 LAN, Wake-on-LAN ready; Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection, 802.11b/g WI-FI CERTIFIED Included Software Installed: Acer Launch Manager, Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, Aspire Arcade, CyberLink® PowerDirectorTM,4 Intel® PROSet, Norton AntiVirus® 2004,4 NTI CD-Maker™ 6 Gold On CD shipped with the system: Acer System Recovery Aspire Arcade Software suite with five digital media modes includes features that allow users to: Edit and author videos View DVDs and videos Display and edit photo slide shows Record and play music Burn files onto CD or DVD disks File formats supported: Video - ASF, WMV, MPEG1, MPEG2, DAT Image - BMP, JPG, PNG Disk - DVD, SVCD, VCD 1.0, VCD 2.0 Audio - MP3, WMA, WAV, CDA User Interface Touchpad with four-way Internet scroll key 85-key keyboard, inverted T cursor layout, embedded numeric keypad, 3.0mm minimum key travel Easy-launch keys: two user-programmable, Web browser, e-mail with LED Media console: Aspire Arcade button, console display, stop, five-way media controls (previous, next, play/pause, volume up, volume down) Wireless button with LEDs Average Dimensions and Weights 14.2" (360.0mm) W x 10.7" (273.0mm) D x 1.1" - 1.3" (28.0mm - 33.5mm) H / 6.6 lb. (3.0kg) Power Eight-cell lithium ion battery: up to 5.0 hours life depending on configuration and usage; 2.0 hours recharge time with system off, 3.5 hours with system in use ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) 1.0b support |
1.) The Acer is a tad faster than the Toshiba. 1.8 vs 1.7. Does this make a significant difference?
2.) Acer uses an 8-cell battery, which Toshiba uses a 6-cell one. Again, is there a big difference?
3.) A friend told me that GeForce is much better than Mobility Radeon. Since I'll be using the laptop a lot for multimedia and graphics (no gaming, though), this is important to me. The TruBrite screen is also helpful.
4.) I hear the Toshiba runs much hotter than the Acer. Since my computer is on all day, that concerns me.
5.) Toshiba has no bluetooth, meaning I have to get an extra USB attachment for it.
6.) I like that the Toshiba has a tray for the DVD Drive, as I'm very careful in handling my discs.
Since the Acer would be about $200-300 more expensive, though, I'm wondering if my qualms are enough to merit my going for it anyway. Plus, my friends all say that the Toshiba is more reliable and that it's more suited for my uses.
I was hoping to get a third opinion. Given my concerns, which model do you think would be better?
I'd truly appreciate the input, especially from those with Toshiba experience (my current laptop is an Acer Aspire 1400 and I have had no problems with service, so I'm not concerned over that. That being said, it's only two years old and I've had to replace a modem and the monitor went dark once -- had to replace a board underneath the LCD -- so I don't know if I can attest to its durability.)
Thank you very much!
