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Toshiba Satellite P15-S409 Notebook PC (2.80-GHz Pentium 4 (Hyper-Threading), 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive)

Toshiba Satellite P15-S409 Notebook PC (2.80-GHz Pentium 4 (Hyper-Threading), 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive)

List Price: $1,799.00
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not all that great
Review: --------------------
I don't think it is such a GREAT notebook as some people are talking about it. The 3 things I don't like about it are:

1. It comes with Windows XP Home. What you will do with all this super configuration without certain features like Backup and Automated Recovery, IIS, Remote Desktop connection etc. which doesn't come with XP Home edition. The worst part is Toshiba doesn't support the upgrade (I called up Toshiba to confirm this after looking at the review by Thomas Fitzgibbon below). You have to spend another $300 to get XP pro which puts the cost of this notebook equals to or even greater than some good note books available in the market.

2. The DVD writer comes with it can only write on to DVD -R disks. While the whole industry is turning to +R type, it would be better if you have a writer that writes on to both +/- types. And none the less the speed of the writer is disappointing (1x and 2x).

3. Hard drive size and battery life are also disappointing.

I am not saying tha it is a bad one but definitely there is a room for improvement in this model for the price we are paying and thus it is not all that great and super duper notebook that you can have.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What a machine for the money - not for heavy gaming
Review: Had a Dell notebook and found it mostly useless, this notebook rivals most desktops on the market.
Pros...wireless G networking, nice size hard drive, nice screen size, firewire, hyper-threading P4 @2.8 GHz, DVD-RW
Cons: Graphics card, bulky, battery life, keyboard

Graphics card is good for your average+ user, this notebook is BIG in size = not for a traveler,keyboard takes some getting used to, great for desktop replacement...just awesome.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What a machine for the money - not for heavy gaming
Review: Had a Dell notebook and found it mostly useless, this notebook rivals most desktops on the market.
Pros...wireless G networking, nice size hard drive, nice screen size, firewire, hyper-threading P4 @2.8 GHz, DVD-RW
Cons: Graphics card, bulky, battery life, keyboard

Graphics card is good for your average+ user, this notebook is BIG in size = not for a traveler,keyboard takes some getting used to, great for desktop replacement...just awesome.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Big and beautiful
Review: I bought this laptop because some business applications I must use required the graphics card installed. The applications ran beautifully. That done, I began to appreciate this computer for its other strengths. Although I have always been a small, light, tiny keyboard computer guy, I have now hopelessly converted to this "full size" laptop. Yes, it weighs more, but the display is fabulous (better than my old monitor at home), the keyboard is large enough to allow me to work all day, and the wireless connectivity is great.
This computer is good for a desktop replacement. It is also good for a traveling businessman like myself who needs real power and who enjoys a screen that allows relaxed viewing. Great for middle-aged eyes!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Winner
Review: I have had this computer for approx. one month. It can completely replace a desktop. At 2.8 GHz the processor smokes and the wireless connection is great. I was able to easily connect with a linksys router. It will work with a 802.11b router but comes equipped with an integrated 802.11g wireless LAN. It comes with a DVD multi and I have successfully copied several DVD's for my personal backup. It has 512 MB DDR SDRAM which I specifically looked for. It is expandable to over 2GB RAM. It comes with a 60 gig HD.

This computer runs very cool. Most of the laptops I have experience with run pretty hot. The 15.4 in. screen is beautiful. The full size keyboard is comfortable and the computer overall feels light considering the screen size. The speakers aren't that bad, and actually put out pretty good sound as opposed to the usual tinny sounding speakers.

I compared price to options, etc, and found this to be an excellent deal for the money.

The only dissapointment is battery life, which seems to be about 1 percent loss per minute no matter what I might be doing on the computer, streaming (audio/video), or just surfing the internet. It is supposed to have about a two and a half hour battery life and that is not the case with mine. I considered dropping my rating to 4 stars because of the battery, but I am so pleased with overall performance that I stayed with 5 stars.

I searched and compared, high and low, came up with this and am extremely pleased overall.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: STRAIGHT TO THE FACT REVIEW ON THE P15-S409
Review: I have had this laptop for over 6 months now. Here's my review:

PROs:
- Good lookin!
- Nice wide screen
- P4/ 2.8 GHZ/ 60GB HDD is great
- Love the DVD/CD burner

CONs:
- It comes with XP Home. It SHOULD have XP Pro. I had to upgrade mine, but you have to take care to upgrade it before you install SP1. This was a big issue for me.
- Battery life is about an hour. With P4 and all the applications, this is expected I guess.
- No INFRARED port!! I was disgusted when I found this out recently.
- Toshiba Support is NOT good. They do not even have a decent user forum on their site!!!

EVERYTHING else is fine. I love this laptop, despite its 3 shortcomings above.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Moving from Dell to Toshiba one machine at a time
Review: I own a small business (250 employees, $7,500,000 revenue) and have tried most of the mainstream vendors. I moved to Dell exclusivley about 7 years ago, but I have tired of the deteriorating service and support.

Toshiba caught my eye and I like each machine a little better. Nothing is perfect, but they have made some great products at very good price points.

I personally use a P25-S607 and love it. Fast, HUGE screen, GREAT graphics, and all the other things that others have stated.

The ONLY downsides to be aware of on these P10s. P15s, and P25s are low battery life (like complaining about gas mileage while driving a Ferrari), size and weight. These are PORTABLE desktops; not "laptops" or notebooks. Do not buy these if you carry your machine for hours at a time or need it to fit in a glovebox.

The only possible upgrades would be to are move to a larger (80 GB) or faster (7200 RPM) hard drive. I also wish Toshiba would offer a one-slot option for pre-installed memory. I want to be able to upgrade without losing pre-installed memory.

The Toshiba applications (ConfigFree, etc.) are much better than anything Dell ever gave me. I have been able to power these machines on and get on my wireless networks seamlessly with each purchase.

Today I issued an employee a P15-S409 to replace a 25 month old Dell that was showing incredible wear and tear that was past what it should have shown. The employee was greatful for the three USB 2 ports, the SD port, and especially the DVD-Burner married with a fire-wire port.

These machines are worth looking at in person before you make any decision. The fit & finish, screen performance, and solid feel in your hands cannot be conveyed in a pciture or on a website.

My P25-S607 is the first machine that I have owned that ever caused people to stop me and ask questions about in all the many, many, many laptops I have owned over the last 12 years.

I will continue to place Toshiba at the top of my list when I consider purchasing new machines. I still shop for every purchase based on merit. Toshiba merits first consideration at this time (I never offer any brand blind loyalty).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Might be 1 Star in 24 hours...
Review: I purchased the P15-S409 4 days ago. The unit would not resume from hiberanate or standby mode. Micro center agreed with me - its broke. Laptop # 2 -ran just fine -I see no problems, so far, but the PC is unusable. WHY? - it does not sit FLAT on any desktop!! hard to imagine that an $1,700 would be shipped with a BENT laptop base. The unit rocks about a quarter of an inch!!
Laptop #3 (I love the punishment) will be picked up tonight.
I will keep you posted...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Incredible
Review: I purchased this laptop 3weeks ago. All I can say is--- it is absolutely a quality machine. Being a gateway customer for my previous computers, I was concerned about trying another brand. Well, NO LONGER.

The laptop is extremely quick (@ 2.8 HT p4) and the full-size keyboard is nice for long typing sessions. I can't possibly do the 15.4" widescreen justice with a description----you have to simply check it out at your local store! UNBELIEVEABLE! The look of the toshiba is sophisticated with a modern sleek look. The wireless 802.11g is backward compatible with b and worked easily with my d-links b router. The DVD player is as good as most home systems and the widescreen adds the extra flair of being in a theatre. You can't beat the rare front-loading DVD/CD RW-----finally someone figured it out! The DVD writer is essential, and being able to burn DVDs for back-up (wink, wink)is awesome. A 800mhz system front bus speed,60g HD, 512 MB memory,p4 hyper-threading and the numerous USB, s-video, etc... outputs makes this little man a portable media center. I have been plesantly surprised at the temp the laptop runs over long periods of time-----with a laptop table (a must to prevent overheating and to preserve your computer) it has yet to be uncomfortable

Yes, the battery life is short, but hey you're pushing quite a system here----buy an extra battery and "ta-da." The system is a little heavier than say a centrino system, but what is a pound or 2 when considering the ability of this machine. Tech support for questions about applications and specific info has been normal----call-in and on hold for 15mins, however, trouble shooting on-line is quicker.A warning to hard-core gamers the stock video card is not adequate for the ultra memory,video intense games. But then again, no hard-core gamer is looking at this type of system configuration! See alien-ware or sager.

Overall, I'm super surprised and satisfied with the p15. This is the total package. You must consider this before purchasing a laptop!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A powerhouse for entertainment in a tiny blue case
Review: I purchased this model online about a week ago, and I'm already in love with it. This model comes with a desktop-class Pentium 4 processor with hyper-threading technology...you can feel the power as you cruch through the most complex applications. While I can't call myself a hardcore gamer, I did watch several DVDs on this notebook. Toshiba loads the PC with software that makes this widescreen notebook a portable theartre. The beautifully crisp picture looked awesome on the widescreen display.

The only "constructive critisms" I could think of...the battery life runs only over an hour-and-a-halfish, on maximum performance mode, but this is to be expected, as this little devil crams a lot of bang in a small package. Other than that, this is a great computer, and I'm very happy that I choose Toshiba, and will likely again in the future.


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