The Official PC building thread - 4th Edition

No offense, but I wouldn't buy a Toshiba. Their quality is lacking, severely lacking! About the only easy job I ever did on one was replace the screen for my friend Fran, up in Boston. Toshiba wanted $425 to replace it. They gave me a big spiel about "Genuine" Toshiba parts. I bought one from another supplier for $125, delivered. It was the exact same screen manufacturer, and was a better screen (Crystal-Brite) than it came with. I could have bought the cheaper screen for $97, from the same place. So much for Toshiba "Genuine" parts! LOL!! It was about a 20 minute job to replace the screen. You don't even have to go inside the laptop, as the plugs for the screen and the wi-fi are inside the lid. 4 screws, pop the bezel off and remove and replace the screen. Working inside them is a lot more difficult.

The best two laptops I ever owned were from Acer, and I almost never have to repair anything on them. I sold the first one to someone (can't remember who) on AD. I've had HP, Dell, Compaq and Acer laptops, and I prefer the Acers.
EDIT: One big difference I did notice is the Toshiba is a single core, the Acer is a Dual Core. No Web cam on the Toshiba either. The picture quality of the one on the acer is outstanding!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

I love tearing things apart Screen replacements no longer intimidate me. A lady friend is supposed to give me an xbox 360 to play with. Apparently it no longer loads discs. That should be a piece of cake. I think I get to keep it

 

I believe that would be me, surprise!!! Oh, and it is still running great.

 

Russ,

Even if we disagree I don't take offense but I happen to agree with you although I thought Toshiba was still good as they use to be. It is good to know that that has changed before I dive in and buy one so thank you for the input which is always good!

The B950 is a dual core processor see;
Intels Specs

I need at least a dual core but would like a quad as I also use the notebook with VMware and the extra cores become important there.

I've had good luck with Acer's too and prefer them when buying an inexpensive notebook, I will not buy another HP of course. I'm not a Dell fan but I've been looking at them as well but what bothers me about Dell is their lack of web support. I had a very difficult time trying to find a Insperion IM5030 Athlon II X2 that WorstBuy has to get specs and drivers on so I may scratch them off the list too.

Thanks for the good feedback Russ,
Stevo

 

I'd take Toshiba over most laptop brands like Acer, Advent and the likes. I'd probably take them over Sony Vaios as well.
The Dell laptops can be good, but the keyboards on the modern ones are frustratingly ductile. The best ones seem to be the HP Compaqs and Lenovo, but I have nothing against Toshiba laptops, better than most. One bad product is not sufficient to condemn the entire brand.

 

I saw screw hp ldvono are good though

 

Even over Sony now that is saying something because I think Sony is one of the best and I'm no Sony fan with exception to notebooks and TV's. That is interesting that the Compaq's are still good even after HP took them over.

I know a few years back Toshiba's were very good and that is why I was looking at them.

Good input thanks,
Stevo

 

Sony are far from the best at anything they do, haven't been for years. The Japanese hold them in about as low esteem as you get, to the Japanese, they're the cheap crappy budget brand. Sony's one of those companies that built a reputation for great quality, removed the quality but kept the price high.

 

Sounds about right Sam. I lost respect for $ony quite some time ago...
I won't touch a PS3 unless it's free now.

 

I own a PS3, and it's fine, but anyone who buys Sony products because they feel they're buying the best quality is mistaken.

 

If I were more of a gamer, I might consider a PS3. There are of course games, that are exclusive to the PS3. Gran Turismo for instance

 

GT5's all I've played on my PS3 since I bought it, despite having bought other games

 

Sony makes a very good TV but I think Samsung is better now, you are right they are not what they use to be by no means. The problem I've had with buying Sony is their pricing, it is always too high compared to other brands of similar quality. I have a 50" Sony TV that is 15-20 years old and it still looks pretty good and works fine. I have a 40" newer flat screen that I've had for 5 years now and it is very nice. I also have a CRT-TV 19" flat screen Sony and now at about 12-15 years old it's high voltage section is starting to go bad which I can easily fix but won't as who wants a CRT even if they are better picture wise.

So I guess on Sony I would disagree with you.

Stevo

 

sytyguy,

I was pretty sure it was you, but I honestly wasn't 100% sure, so I hedged! Glad it still runs good, although I'm not surprised either. I had the old P3 Dell for years and it was OK, but not in the same class as the Acer. The new one is great, or it will be once I graduate from XP Pro to Win 7 Pro. It seems like I'm still in Kindergarten sometimes when it comes to Win 7, with my short term memory problems the way they are. LOL!! As greensman says, the grass is still below, and not above me.

Good to hear from you my friend,
Russ

 

It just fascinates that someone who criticises Toshiba for quality rates Acer products... Bizarre.

 

every company has good and bad

 

This is true, but I've used numerous Toshiba products over the years, and used a fair few acer ones. Quality's a variable scale, but I'd place Toshiba one notch from the top and Acer one notch from the bottom.

 

Now that is a great statement... LOL

I'm thinking you are right that the Dell just isn't in the same ballpark as your Acer too.

I was just waiting for the Acer to become an issue raised since there are plenty of Acer haters out there. I certainly wouldn't say they are the best notebook out there but like Russ I think for the money, and that is key here, they are pretty good. In fact I've had some friends buy them on my suggestion and they are very happy they did. The two Toshiba's I had lasted twice the time span that my high buck HP did in fact one of them is still chugging along fine and I bought it 5 years before my crappy HP. But all things change with time which is why I was wondering what you all thought and was glad Russ chimed in and started the debate.

Thanks Russ,
Stevo

 

Acers are very cheap, far moreso than anything else, which makes them great value for money. Common sense dictates there's a reason for the low price. They're not inherently bad for it, but they are cheaply made.

 

Stevo,

You're most welcome! I'm just very surprised that it didn't mention that it was a Dual Core. I'm surprised at that, since it would be a selling point. Toshiba started a long downhill slide about 5 years ago, when they made some real cheap junk. I had a lady friend who bought one and within two years, it had lost the LAN and the sound, a lot like the HP & Compaq desktops used to do, all the time. The old K6 Compaq's were some of the best laptops you could buy back in the day. Sony laptops are not worth the high price, as far as I'm concerned. With the Acers, the only thing I've ever had to replace on one is a bad memory stick, or an HDD. They seem to be pretty rugged, and don't have a flimsy feel to them like the Dell Inspirons do.

Russ