Toshiba Satellite 1905-S277 Notebook (1.6-GHz Pentium 4, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB hard drive)

Average customer rating: 2.0

LOUD COOLING FAN

Be prepared for a nightmare!,

major overheat problem

how about an iBook?

A laptop with a desktop CPU.

Toshiba Satellite 1905-S277 Notebook (1.6-GHz Pentium 4, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB hard drive)

Manufacturer: Toshiba
Product Group: Personal Computer
Binding: Personal Computers
ASIN: B000063S43

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Product Description

Toshiba stands at the forefront of high technology and plays a leading part in the development of advanced electronics and the manufacture of innovative products for consumer and specialist markets around the world. For notebook buyers who prioritize quality and value-for-money, Toshiba Satellite notebooks are the answer. Designed for reliability as the best value on the market, the Satellite models use robust, proven technology to provide low cost solutions whether for individuals or for large companies.Satellite is the ideal portable PC for Small Office/Home Office workers, students or other home users. Featuring up-to-date specifications and useful productivity software, it offers the ideal blend of functionality and portability at a low cost.

Amazon.com Product Description

At 13.2 by 11.7 by 2 inches, the Toshiba Satellite 1905-S277 is not the smallest notebook on the market. Nor is it exactly a featherweight at 8.3 pounds. Nevertheless, if you can handle a little extra size, you'll like its winning combination of affordability and performance.

Driven by a powerful 1.6 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor with a 400 MHz bus and 256 KB of Level 2 cache for speedy data retrieval and movement, the 1905-S277 is an exceedingly fast machine. It's efficient too, with lots of temporary data storage space (256 MB of SDRAM memory, upgradeable to 512 MB), an adequate 30 GB hard drive, and a combination DVD/CD-RW drive that lets you record music and data CDs and play your favorite tunes or movies. Toshiba has even added a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive for all your smaller, older applications or quick backup needs. Hard-core gamers should note that the unit is equipped with a 16 MB ATI Mobility Radeon AGP video card, which provides more than enough graphic processing power for most general applications but probably not enough for high-end, 3-D games.

Although it may be somewhat larger than Toshiba's top-of-the-line Satellite notebook, the exceptional 5105-S607, the 1905-S277 offers the same futuristic blue-gray metallic casing and a slick, curvy design. Both units also feature several exterior one-touch multimedia controls, a number of convenient interior hot keys, and a wealth of ports, including two multipurpose PC card slots, three USB ports for plug-and-play peripherals, a parallel printer port, and an S-video out. A 10/100 Mbps Ethernet network connection and integrated 56K modem ensure connectivity in any situation.

To better help you enjoy your multimedia applications, the 1905-S277 offers a big 15-inch, active-matrix viewing screen capable of 1,024 x 768 resolution, and an integrated set of stereo speakers. Toshiba has equipped the unit with a bevy of applications, including the Home Edition of Windows XP, Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition, Intuit Quicken Basic 2001, and Norton AntiVirus 2002.

Customer Reviews:

LOUD COOLING FAN.......2004-03-14

I'm really frustrated with the loudness of the cooling fan. I leave my laptop on all the time. In the eveing, the cooling fan is so loud that it is hard to cope with when I am going to sleep. It turns itself on every five minutes and whirrs like tiny blowdryer. Really annoying. I heard that it is a problem with toshiba laptops.

Be prepared for a nightmare!,.......2002-06-26

I would recommend investing your money in a case of dead fish before purchasing this item. Having experienced multiple problems from the mouse not functioning to constant disk lock up, Moreover, Toshiba tech support is rude, ill-informed, and is more than willing to keep consumers on hold for lengthy periods of time. Never again will I put a penny into Toshiba .

major overheat problem.......2002-05-26

I had four laptop computers before this one. It is the most noisiest one I own. The cooling fan will go on and off every 15 seconds. Usually, I have it on 8 hours per day. It is too annoying and the weight of this laptop also too heavy to carry around. Over price and not a lot of softwares.

how about an iBook?.......2002-05-24

I checked out the customer reviews for this Toshiba after reading the ones for the Apple iBook and was struck by how much more positive folks were about the iBook, including Windows users switching to the Mac. Plus, the iBook reviews were written before Apple upgraded the iBook line-up May 20 -- while keeping prices the same -- and now it's an even nicer machine. So folks might want to check out the new iBooks to see if they might make more sense than a PC notebook. (I have an "old" iBook and love it -- 5 stars! -- but Apple is tempting me again!).

A laptop with a desktop CPU........2002-05-15

Toshiba and other laptop vendors are using desktop P4s in many of their notebook computers and this has led to some misunderstandings (Amazon should be more upfront about this). This particular model uses an older "Willamette" P4 that was designed for desktop use. There is also some bad information in some of the reviews that have been posted. Hopefully this may help:

There are two families of P4s. One is the older, larger (.18 micron) "Willamette" core, which has 256K of L2 cache and is designed to be used in desktops. The newer "Northwood" core (.13 micron) has 512K of L2 cache and comes in two sub-types: desktop and mobile. If the frequency is equal then the Northwood will be about 10% faster than the Willamette. In other words if a 2GHz Willamette takes 10 minutes to do something a 2GHz Northwood will (on average) do it in 9 minutes. Some applications will see as much as a 30% improvement thanks to the larger cache an other enhancements in the .13 Northwood core.

If a laptop has a mobile P4, the CPU should be identified as a P4M. The P4M is *only* built on the .13 micron "Northwood" core and so will *always* have 512K of L2 cache. If you aren't sure check the web site of the manufacturer (a good idea anyway to see how their web support looks).

A P4M cost more than a desktop P4. The main reasons are the packaging is more expensive (to dissipate heat better) and the voltage of the CPU is lower to save power and reduce heat (low voltage parts must meet stricter manufacturing standards).

Toshiba is using the desktop P4 in notebooks so they can sell a fast laptop for less money (saves around $200). The plus is you save money too. The down side is your battery life is shorter and the laptop will be larger and heavier to support the extra cooling requirements.

Myth: The desktop part may "burn up".
Fact: Impossible. The P4 and P4M are the ONLY CPUs on the market that will reduce their clocks speed before they overheat (called "clock throttling") and speed back up when they cool down. Even if your heat sink fell off the P4 or P4M will still function. If this happened to a PIII it will stop and require a reboot and an Athlon will catch fire.
(Go to http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q3/010917/index.html for more info on over-heating CPUs and see a video of an Athlon catching fire! Fun stuff!)

Myth: The PIII is "more reliable" than the P4.
Fact: The P4 was built to the stricter reliability rules than the PIII (or Athlon). New methods were used to eliminate the risk of electro-migration and hot electron failures. No other consumer CPU has been built any where near this standard. The down side is the P4 cost more. The PIII also has fewer transistors and therefore uses less power. You should balance your choice with that in mind.

Myth: Wait for the P4 Xeon this fall.
Fact: The P4 Xeon is a server part that will never go in laptop (it uses a larger package for starters). The P4 Xeon has been shipping for a year so if you wait for this fall you might feel a little foolish. :>)

I have even seen reviewers say future P4s will support a GPS. Um, the CPU has nothing to do with having a GPS. A GPS is an add-on part just like a modem or a hard drive; any CPU will support one.

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