I got the laptop last Thursday. After spending the last few days with it, I am extremely happy with my purchase.
I realize it will not come close to the new Sagers in raw performance, but I decided that the screen and sound
quality meant more to me than a faster machine. Even still though, the machine has played any game and application
just as fast as I could want so far. I simply love this laptop. To top it off, I got it for $2300 brand new from Toshiba!
I took the laptop to work on Friday, and almost every single person who saw it commented on the screen. They were
all saying it looked like an HD quality screen. It definately looked better than all the CRT monitors at work. I compared a few
sample images and movies and the sharpness/clarity and contrast were all better on the CASV screen.
As for the sound, I am very impressed. It can get very loud. The subwoofer in combination with the Harmon Kardon speaker
system provides a sound system unmatched by any other laptop. I dont think anyone could argue that there is another laptop
that has a better screen/sound combo than the S705.
I also spent some time with the Media Center. I am thinking Toshiba should have built the remote sensor device into the laptop, instead of having a seperate usb device. A review on PC Mag stated that the TV quality was bad, and I agree. But after playing around with the Mpeg-2 settings I fine-tuned the picture and it now looks equal to my regular TV. I think the MCE is nice addition and I plan on using it to occasionally record TV shows. However, had Toshiba given the option to save a hundred or two without the MCE I wouldn't have gotten it as I dont think a laptop is the best solution for this.
The 5600FX Go so far has played every game without a hitch so far. I have been very impressed with the graphics. I plan to test
alot more games out on it...I downloaded HD clips for Windows Media Player 9 and they played flawless and looked fantastic.
As for any negatives on this machine I would say there are a couple minor issues:
1) Heat - the bottom of the laptop gets extremely hot after an hour of use. Much hotter than my old Dell laptop.
2)Battery - I am definately getting the second battery. I get only around an hour and ahalf on a full battery. Also the battery doesnt really charge if the laptop is plugged in while being used. My old Dell would always get a full charge within an hour or so, but with the Toshiba it has to be turned off in order for the battery to be fully charged. Its a bit of an inconvenience...
3)No 2nd CD/DVD drive - Since the laptop ships with MCE, you get the TV tuner by default in the 2nd bay. So I am going to have to order another CD/DVD drive along with the 2nd battery.
Other than those issues (which are not that big of a deal) I cannot be happier. Other than gaming, I spend a good 50-60% of my laptop time using the internet and for applications. Its comforting to know that while doing this I am viewing the best laptop lcd on the market.
If the new Sagers ever get the CASV screen then I will be all over it !! I figure I could sell this one and break-even or come close to it with the money that I saved.
So even though I ended up not buying a Sager (which even took me by surprise since I have been waiting since last November for the new sagers) I still plan on sticking around the forum. I am very interested in hearing reviews of the 5680. It is going to be a killer machine indeed.
I think the S705 & 5680 both have their pro's and con's and one could not go wrong with either one. It all depends on the person and what they plan on using their laptop for....
I realize it will not come close to the new Sagers in raw performance, but I decided that the screen and sound
quality meant more to me than a faster machine. Even still though, the machine has played any game and application
just as fast as I could want so far. I simply love this laptop. To top it off, I got it for $2300 brand new from Toshiba!
I took the laptop to work on Friday, and almost every single person who saw it commented on the screen. They were
all saying it looked like an HD quality screen. It definately looked better than all the CRT monitors at work. I compared a few
sample images and movies and the sharpness/clarity and contrast were all better on the CASV screen.
As for the sound, I am very impressed. It can get very loud. The subwoofer in combination with the Harmon Kardon speaker
system provides a sound system unmatched by any other laptop. I dont think anyone could argue that there is another laptop
that has a better screen/sound combo than the S705.
I also spent some time with the Media Center. I am thinking Toshiba should have built the remote sensor device into the laptop, instead of having a seperate usb device. A review on PC Mag stated that the TV quality was bad, and I agree. But after playing around with the Mpeg-2 settings I fine-tuned the picture and it now looks equal to my regular TV. I think the MCE is nice addition and I plan on using it to occasionally record TV shows. However, had Toshiba given the option to save a hundred or two without the MCE I wouldn't have gotten it as I dont think a laptop is the best solution for this.
The 5600FX Go so far has played every game without a hitch so far. I have been very impressed with the graphics. I plan to test
alot more games out on it...I downloaded HD clips for Windows Media Player 9 and they played flawless and looked fantastic.
As for any negatives on this machine I would say there are a couple minor issues:
1) Heat - the bottom of the laptop gets extremely hot after an hour of use. Much hotter than my old Dell laptop.
2)Battery - I am definately getting the second battery. I get only around an hour and ahalf on a full battery. Also the battery doesnt really charge if the laptop is plugged in while being used. My old Dell would always get a full charge within an hour or so, but with the Toshiba it has to be turned off in order for the battery to be fully charged. Its a bit of an inconvenience...
3)No 2nd CD/DVD drive - Since the laptop ships with MCE, you get the TV tuner by default in the 2nd bay. So I am going to have to order another CD/DVD drive along with the 2nd battery.
Other than those issues (which are not that big of a deal) I cannot be happier. Other than gaming, I spend a good 50-60% of my laptop time using the internet and for applications. Its comforting to know that while doing this I am viewing the best laptop lcd on the market.
If the new Sagers ever get the CASV screen then I will be all over it !! I figure I could sell this one and break-even or come close to it with the money that I saved.
So even though I ended up not buying a Sager (which even took me by surprise since I have been waiting since last November for the new sagers) I still plan on sticking around the forum. I am very interested in hearing reviews of the 5680. It is going to be a killer machine indeed.
I think the S705 & 5680 both have their pro's and con's and one could not go wrong with either one. It all depends on the person and what they plan on using their laptop for....
