Built like a tank, to be sure...
Written: Nov 03 '09
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Pros: Well-built, fast, and reliable desktop replacements.
Cons: Plastic trim pieces falling off is definitely an annoyance!
The Bottom Line: Knowing what I know, would I buy one for myself? Absolutely!
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| classof1's Full Review: Toshiba Satellite 1905-S303 (PS192U-014R8V) PC Not... |
Well... I'm both an owner and a servicer. My shop uses two: (1) a 1905-S277 (earlier model) and (1) 1905-S305, and I've serviced about a couple of hundred of these models, so ... for what it's worth...
First off, these are the Taiwanese-designed and -manufacturered Toshiba's. That ain't a knock on the Taiwanese, but ... out the door goes Toshiba's most valuable attribute: ease of service. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most painful to service, this one ranks a 9 1/2 - it's actually painful to service it. On the other hand, the plastic panels are thick and sturdy, and there are additional aluminum brackets inside the laptop to hold the essential ingredients together, so ... they're built like tanks. If you're ever gonna get hit by a laptop, don't get hit by one of these.
Our two 1905's are both 15" models that tip the scales at 9 lbs - the 16" models weigh nearly 1 lb. more. Throw in the bulky, chunky AC adapter at 1.5 lb each, and you have yourself a glorified desktop computer. Of course, Toshiba sold these as desktop replacements, and that's what they really are: thick, sturdy, stable, bulky, chunky, and ... rock solid - intended for use on your desks. I have no qualms with that, as I knew it going in.
Our two were both equipped with 512MB of memory, 40gb hard drives, and both have DVD/CD-RW drives. We run Windows XP, and since we're a service shop, we uses these to burn CD's quite often. They're both plenty fast, the screens are bright and easy to read and, from a hardware/Windows standpoint, both are straightforward, predictable, and reliable. We run 'em every day, and they've been utterly problem free for us - that's not to say they don't have faults, but more on that later!
Now... the 1905-S277 and S278 models were not factory pre-wired with WiFi antenna's (to go wireless, you'll have to use a PCMCIA wireless card that sticks out the side) - but since we're service people, it only took us a few short minutes to install a pair of WiFi antenna's behind the screen, and that was pretty much it. All the other 1905 models were factory pre-wired with WiFi antenna's.
Now... for something that's built like tanks, the 1905's have really, really, really lousy, crappy plastic trim pieces. The little CD buttons in the front of the unit, the little plastic status indicator panel between the CD buttons, the two speaker grills underneath the screen - these things will tend to just fall off if you stare at 'em too hard. And that constitutes the bulk of the service in these units. Think of it as ... an M1A1 Abrams battle tank - bullets and artillery can't hurt it none, but its headlight lens falls off every other month.
Overall, though, I like these machines. Having seen so many of these come through our shop, I'd expect them to last a lot longer than the average laptop - that is, if you won't mind the superficial, non-essential pieces falling off of their own accord...
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1300
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40
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Epinions.com ID:
classof1
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Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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