The Satellite P35 is the ultimate gaming machine, loaded with the latest in everything, including a 17" WXGA display with TruBrite for the best in graphics. The 16: 9 aspect ratio makes it perfect for viewing wide-screen format movies!The Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor supports Hyper-Threading Technology, improving the performance of many applications. The ATI discreet graphics optimizes visuals without compromising system performance. The 17" diagonal wide-screen display is intensified with TruBrite technology, producing images so sharp they are mesmerizing from across the room. Harman Kardon speakers and SRS TruSurround XT technology create a rich, more immersive audio experience. And the sleek, ultra-cool chassis contains a massive hard drive that has plenty of room for your applications and files. With razor-sharp images, robust sound and intense power it all adds up to the ultimate gaming machine.
The Toshiba Satellite P35-S609 is the ultimate gaming machine, loaded with the latest sight and sound technology plus a 17" diagonal Wide-screen display for the best in graphics. The sleek, ultra-cool chassis contains an extra-large 80 GB hard drive that has plenty of room for your applications and files. The P35-S609 also features a hyper-threaded 3.20 GHz Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor, 512 MB of installed RAM, a Super Multi-Drive that can burn CD, DVD-, and DVD+ discs, and an integrated 54g wireless LAN
The Basics
- Hard Drive: The spacious 80 GB hard drive (4200 RPM) offers more than enough storage for both your work and home files as well as a multimedia library.
- Processor: The Mobile Intel Pentium 4 538 processor features a fast 3.20 GHz speed. It also offers Hyper-Threading technology, which allows a single CPU system to behave in some aspects like a dual-CPU system. This results in more efficient software performance (such as faster reaction times in gaming applications) and enhanced multitasking. It is also well suited for professional-quality image, audio, and video editing. Thanks to its Mobile features, the processor can save power when its not needed, thus conserving battery life. It also has A 1 MB L2 cache and an 533 MHz front-side bus (FSB).
- Memory: The 512 MB of built-in memory (1 DIMM, PC-2700 DDR333) is a good start for power users. It can be expanded to a toal of 1.5 GB.
- CD/DVD Drive: The DVD Super-Multi drive is compatible with both DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW discs (as well as DVD-ROM and DVD-RAM). It offers a 4x DVD read speed, and writes at 2.4x for DVD+R/RW and 2x for DVD-R/RW. You can also burn CDs at 16x and read them at 24x.
- Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard 85-key keyboard and electro-static two-button touchpad.
Sound and Graphics The P35-S609 comes installed with an ATI Mobility 9000 IGP video/graphics card, featuring 16 MB to 128 MB of shared video memory (64 MB is the default). It will deliver relatively strong 3D graphics rendering and it can can drive an external display. The 17" diagonal wide-screen display (1440 x 900 pixels) is intensified with TruBrite technology, producing sharp, mesmerizing images. Harman Kardon speakers and SRS TruSurround XT technology create a rich, more immersive audio experience.
Connectivity and Expansion Slots
The P35-S609 offers a good range of expansion and connectivity options, including a PCMCIA slot for one Type II PC card and the following:
- 3 USB 1.1 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
- 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) ports for connecting digital video camcordrs and other peripherals
- 1 RGB monitor port
- 1 TV-out (S-Video)
- 1 headphone jack and 1 microphone jack
It also has an integrated 802.11g wireless LAN (which is compatible with the more widespread 802.11b and offers faster data transmission rates), integrated 56K modem (V.92), and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).
Preloaded System and Software
The P35-S609 comes with the Windows XP Home Edition operating system, and it also includes Microsoft Works (for working with word processing and spreadsheet documents). Other preloaded software includes Norton Antivirus 2004 (with 90 days of complimentary live updates), Quicken New User Edition, Napster online digital service (30-day trial), Adobe Acrobat Reader, InterVideo WinDVD (for playing DVD movies), ArcSoft ShowBiz DVD, and Sonic Solutions RecordNow Basic.
Dimensions and Weight
At 9.5 pounds, the P35-S609 is weightier than most notebooks used by business professionals, but is on par with other notebooks in this gaming class. It measures 1.6 x 16.5 x 11.5 inches (H x W x D).
Power
The included 12-cell rechargeable lithium-ion battery has an approximate 2-hour battery life (during normal use). It also comes with a 120W AC adapter.
What's in the Box
This package contains the Toshiba P35-S609 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It's backed by a 1-year warranty for parts and labor.
1 Great Product
I loved this product not only did I get a great deal as the 15" screen was only $80 cheaper, the built on this is great. The DVD/CD drive is a little slow for me but when watching DVD it doesn't lag that much. The built-in wireless card was great, I just bought a wireless router, plugin and play. I love the screen as it lets me watch widescreen movie. Running multiple program now isn't as much as a problem as there's room on the side to compare notes. Great when I'm researching something and need the info on the side to compare. As a gaming machine might not be perfect, but for the price I got it for, it's more than what I expected. A little on the heavy side to me through.
Overall: I loved it...
2 Nice machine, but don't be misled by the "free" software
The processor runs my tax software surprisingly fast. The monitor is awesome, good for watching DVD's. The only drawback I've encountered is that Microsoft's Office expired after a few months.
Unless I'm doing something wrong, the Office software that comes with this machine is a "trial" version. The keycode that came with the machine does not unlock it permanently. Still a nice machine for the money.
3 AWESOME..THE BEST THERE IS
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS LAPTOP. RESEARCHED FOR 2 MONTHS BEFORE SETTLING FOR THIS, AND IT WAS WELL WORTH THE WAIT. VERY POWERFUL, GREAT SCREEN, LESS FAN NOISE......JUST LOVE IT.
4 incredible buy for the money
I'm a computer scientist getting a PhD in computational neuro-science and bought this to bring to school, work, and home.
By settling for the 3.2 gigaherts instead of the 3.3 I saved close to $500 and the machine still performs really well.
The screen is incredible (great for gaming).
The speakers are incredible (never heard a laptop sound like that).
THe components are just incredible, fast wireless card, DVD burner, etc.
I did a personal benchmark and out of 130,000 operations and disk reads it outperformed my desktop (1.6 gigahertz with 5200 RPM disk) by 30,000 operations. Oh, and when I called and complained about the lack of an OS installation CD (see cons) they took note and a higher up actually called me back the next day. That blew me away, since usually I know more than anyone I can get a hold of, if I can get a hold of anyone.
dvd/cd drive is slow
Battery time is pathetic, but that's what you get for the power. Be sure the keyboard placement is good for how you type because this is a big machine so the placement is different than smaller ones.
On white backgrounds if you're not looking at an image the screen has an apparent mesh - however this is common to laptops and flat screens in general. I'm just a bit paranoid about everything being perfect. However, during games or when I'm looking at pictures the screen is absolutely incredible. The one other thing was that there is no real installation CD for the OS, there's only a disk image. Through trial and error I found that if I partitioned the disk however I wanted, the recovery CD would allow the image to be written to the first partition rather than overwriting the entire disk. Still, it was a pain in the ass to figure that out, and I'm also kind of tired of Microsoft billion dollar empire coordinating with hardware manufacturers to squeeze a little more blood from people - even when it limits their ability to use the software THEY ALREADY PAID FOR!
5 Good desktop substitute
Pro:
17" screen, free backpack offered by Toshiba is excellent, well built, lots of features
Con:
Heavy, short battery life especially when wi-fi antenna is on, shared video RAM, no printed manual
I bought the P35-S602 in early December. Toshiba currently offers a $50 cash rebate, but in lieu of cash, the buyer could opt for a backpack which I did. Got the backpack today and it is very nice, with lots of pockets, still small enough to carry it on to commercial airliners. The backpack makes the computer much more transportable.
The 17" screen is nice, but most software really couldn't take advantage of it except electronic spreadsheets which utilizes the entire screen, very nice. Most other software however use only part of the screen with the right side being blank. I may have to change the screen setting. While the screen is nice, my 19" Samsung 191T LCD TFT screen with a Matrox adapter is much nicer.
I was pleasantly surprised the 512 MB RAM that came with the computer was on a single strip using up just one slot. Toshiba suggests using Kingston RAM, but when I opened up the computer to add another 512 MB of RAM, I found out that the existing RAM was made by Samsung. So I now have two different brands of SODIMM in my computer. They work fine together. Adding RAM is extremely easy.
Someone commented that it's not a gaming machine. If shared RAM bothers you, a discount warehouse based in Kirkland, WA sells a model with 64 MB of discrete RAM for $100 more than I paid for my machine. So I figure I save the money by putting an additional 512 MB of RAM.
There are some very useful utilities added on by Toshiba. An example is to set up a LAN with the Ethernet port and a Wi-Fi network. But see below for disadvantages of some other Toshiba utilities.
The computer comes only with an electronic owner's manual in a PDF file which is far from comprehensive, for example, there is nothing to show you how to burn a CD. I have to use Windows XP Help to find that out. I still don't know how to burn a DVD-RAM disc. I am also surprised it only comes pre installed with Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5 since version 6 has been out for quite sometime.
A fully charged battery lasts about 2 hours, but half that when the wi-fi antenna is switched on (FYI, I couldn't surf the Internet until I upgraded my Linksys WRT54G firmware, apparently, there was a conflict between Windows XP SP2 and the Linksys firmware that I upgraded in May 2004, I also have to assign an alternate IP address. The Toshiba does not default to 192.168.1.xxx).
Toshiba added several features to Windows XP. As a result, you must use the Toshiba utilities. As an example, managing power usage must be made with the Toshiba utilities and not in the XP utilities. So you must know the idiosyncracies of the computer.
The built in flash reader does not support CompactFlash, which is used by most professional digital cameras.
It is a nice computer but does not appear to be any faster than my P4 2.4 GHz desktop. It is, however, definitely fast enough for what I use the machine for. It should be a good workhorse for a few years.
6 Good deskpot, I mean laptop
This things is the Hummer of laptops -- ridiculously large, ridiculously powerful. Which explains my pros and cons
PRO'S:
1) 17" screen is a joy to look at. Very bright. Widescreen. Beautiful.
2) Seems to have a good cooling system, had it on my lap for hours and it never so much as warmed up.
3) Lighter than I thought it would be (a shade under 10lbs)
4) More than fast enough for todays applications. 3.2 gHz hyper-threading chip is faster than most desktops'. Also, the thing finishs booting up practically before you're finished pressing the "on" button, a good hint of its speed
5) Did I mention the screen?
CONS
1) Shared video RAM. ARRRRGHHH, WHY DOES IT EXIST??!! Cant call this a true gaming machine solely for that fact. A real shame considering the potential of this computer. Its like building a Ferrari that only runs on cheap gas. Dont be decieved by Toshiba's attempt to market this as a gaming machine -- this is DEFINITELY NOT a gaming machine. This is the only reason I hesitated to buy the machine -- and Im not even a gamer.
2) With such a nice (and expensive) screen, you're going to have to get a warranty that covers physical damage to the screen, or else you wont have any peace of mind. And thats not going to come cheap -- cost me $350 for a 2 year plan.
3) Understand that you make sacrifices in the portability department for having a 17" wide-screen. I would recommend it as a stay-at-home laptop. You cant take it to work -- it'll take up your entire desk, and co-workers will be attracted to it like bees to honey.
