The main reason why I looked into the Satellite 2060 CDS was the reputation that Toshiba had for making good notebooks, that had room for hardware enhancement. I initially bought the notebook as is, and I must admit that my impressions were less than favorable. So, I decided to tweak things and try to get the best performance out of the machine.

The first step I took was to add RAM. For anyone considering this notebook, this is my highest recommendation: get more RAM. 32MB can't run one program these days with bulky OS'. The 2060 allows you to upgrade to 160 MB, and if you can afford to go that high, I would highly suggest it. I decided on a 64 MB card, for a total of 96 MB of RAM. Did it make a difference? You bet. The 2060 began to flex some muscle, and could handle multi-tasking programs with minimal effort.

The second step was to get rid of Windows 98. If you haven't been living in a cave, you should all know about the 98 deficiencies. I can't stand this OS! In my opinion, it's the worst OS ever made. I have never seen anything so unstable and unreliable. I guess this would be the biggest downfall of the 2060. If you are comfortable with changing the OS, this is something I would seriously advise all 2060 owners to do. You will thank me later.

My first experimental OS was NT4.
Installation: Moderate. Anyone that has installed NT 4 knows it is all manual. I like having control over my OS and system, so I really enjoy using NT 4 as a solution for my systems and organizations that I consult. As far as the 2060 was concerned, NT 4 loaded quickly. It is necessary to prepare for this conversion by going to toshiba's web site and downloading all of the drivers for sound, video, modem, bus, and power management.
Pros: SPEED! NT 4 makes 98 feel like a snail. The difference is very noticable. The machine just simply flies. There were no problems with the system after installation, and it ran better than it ever did before. In fact, I used NT 4 on this system for 8 months, and never saw it crash, or have any problems.
Cons: Power management. The biggest complaint of NT 4 comes from its portable user community. There isn't much in the area of power management in the OS, and this is one necessity that can not be overlooked when using mobile technology.

With the power management issues creating concerns, I began my second experiment 4 months ago with Windows 2000.
Installation: The easiest I have ever done. This is no exaggeration. I placed the CD in the CDROM, typed in the answers to all the information it wanted, and installed every piece of hardware in my system. No upgrade folks; this was a clean install. I have never seen an installation this easy. Kudos to Microsoft and Toshiba for working together on this one.
Pros: Speed again. No noticable slowdown from the conversion from NT 4 to 2000. It continued to cruise through multiple programs. In addition, the power management on this OS is incredible. With the available power management download from toshiba, you can set the priorities on your 2060 in no time. There is even a meter that measures your CPU temperature.
Con: 2000 doesn't come with the Toshiba 2060. This OS should be packaged with every notebook. It gives you everything your power desktop can give you, in a portable way. If you can afford to get the upgrade, I would suggest you do. I would also recommend a clean install.

In summary, this is one machine that doesn't come at its best out of the box. Did you expect it to at its price? If you did I have some bridges that I'm looking to sell. All kidding aside, it needs more tweaking to get it where one can begin to see its value. With an additional $300-$400 investment, this notebook is still very affordable and packs quite a punch. With 160 MB of RAM and Windows 2000, those of you that were disappointed in its performance would be greatly satisfied. After four months on 2000, I haven't had a single hiccup. Not bad for a $1500 investment!



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1400
Operating System: Windows
Processor: AMD K-2
Processor speed: 301-400
Screen Size: 11"
RAM: 96
Internal Storage: CD-ROM
Hard Drive (GB): 4-6