Toshiba satellite L305-S5919 laptop (2GB memory, Intel Celeron) - only $299.99 now at BestBuy

Vista Home Basic with no upgrade would be a slight issue for me.

But if you do get one, I encourage you to upgrade the CPU by going on eBay and buying a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo (just need to make sure it is compatible with mobo chipset; prices for low-end CPUs can be $15-25) and just popping in the chip. It makes a world of difference on Vista and should improve battery life. It did on my celeron laptop I got in '07.

Can you upgrade the cpu's on laptops? I thought they were soldered in?

~p

i already have a laptop. with windows 7.

Just got one in DE store pick-up with no shipping/tax. Great deal PC for surfing the net.
Can I install XP on this (hate vista)? Any special steps to take before popping in my XP installation CD?

Jerryxu said: Just got one in DE store pick-up with no shipping/tax. Great deal PC for surfing the net.
Can I install XP on this (hate vista)? Any special steps to take before popping in my XP installation CD?

Just popping it in is not going to work.
It will just give you a door stop.

Celeron, very old CPU technology. Good price but slow laptop with slow CPU.

Jerryxu said: yesidonoitall said: Jerryxu said: Just got one in DE store pick-up with no shipping/tax. Great deal PC for surfing the net.
Can I install XP on this (hate vista)? Any special steps to take before popping in my XP installation CD?

Just popping it in is not going to work.
It will just give you a door stop.

I don't understand this post at all. What door stop are you talking about? Any valuable inputs at all
???

Just putting in a new os will make the working laptop a doorstop, dead weight, paper weight.
It will not work.
You need drivers

Celerons are not "old" technology.. Some people on this forum have no idea what they're talking about..
This Celeron is based on the Core 2 Duo Merom-2M, which means that unless you already have a Core 2 processor,
this Celeron will most likely blow away any of your previous CPUs.

FYI netbooks with those Atom processors are equivalent to half
the power of those Pentium M processors from 6 years ago (Atom 1600MHz = Pentium M 800MHz).

The GMA 950 graphics on typical netbooks are 4 years outdated and and run at 1/4 capacity (133/400 mhz).

Netbooks don't come with a DVD drive.

Even though this is a budget laptop, it'll blow away ANY currently available netbook in terms of CPU or graphical power.

Netbooks are for light use and ultra mobility since they only weigh about 2-3 lbs, good enough for basic home and office work.

Is this one, also at BB worth the extra $80? It seems like it is the same box, just dual-core pentium.

Thanks!

Product Features
*Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core processor T3400
With 667MHz frontside bus, 1MB L2 cache and 2.16GHz processor speed.
*2GB PC6400 DDR2 SDRAM
For multitasking power, expandable to 4GB.
*Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support
Records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media. Also supports DVD-RAM.
*15.4" WXGA TFT-LCD widescreen display
With TruBrite technology and 1280 x 800 resolution showcases movies, games and other images. Native support for 720p content.
*250GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)
Offers spacious storage options and fast read/write times.
*Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
Features 128MB - 1342MB dynamically allocated shared memory. Built-in stereo speakers.
*4-in-1 bridge media adapter
Supports Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO and MultiMediaCard formats.
*3 high-speed USB 2.0 ports
For fast digital video, audio and data transfer.
*Built-in Atheros high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g)
Allows wireless connection to the Internet.
*Built-in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector
Along with a 56 Kbps modem for easy wired Web connectivity.
*Weighs only 5.5 lbs. and measures just 1.5" thin
For easy portability.
*Good battery life
Of up to 2 hours and 17 minutes.
*Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition operating system
With Service Pack 1 (SP1) preinstalled provides a stable platform for word processing, Web navigation, gaming, media storage and more.

Jerryxu said: yesidonoitall said: Jerryxu said: yesidonoitall said: Jerryxu said: Just got one in DE store pick-up with no shipping/tax. Great deal PC for surfing the net.
Can I install XP on this (hate vista)? Any special steps to take before popping in my XP installation CD?

Just popping it in is not going to work.
It will just give you a door stop.

I don't understand this post at all. What door stop are you talking about? Any valuable inputs at all
???


Just putting in a new os will make the working laptop a doorstop, dead weight, paper weight.
It will not work.
You need drivers

I got it. All the drivers are on their website. However, some Vista computers will apparently not allow xp to be operated normally. Something in the bios--(below) that is what I was asking, whether the xp will install and run properly even with the xp drivers. In other words, do I have to go through the following before the xp can be properly installed.

1. Set SATA to non-native (disable) in BIOS
2. Format the drive to NTFS (my XP disc with SP2 didn't recognized the stock Vista-formatted disc, so you'll need something else most likely)
3. Install Windows XP
4. Download all Windows Updates (I did everything but SP3), including Hardware Updates (Ethernet is enabled by default, so just use an Ethernet cable initially; Hardware Update includes Wifi and other drivers)
5. Install the Chipset Driver (ICH8)
6. Install the Video Driver (GM965 for the X3100)The XP disc doesn't include the SATA driver needed to recognize the HD. You'll need to slipstream the SATA driver into your XP disc. You can go to nliteos.com to learn the tricks. Good luck!

pyratio said: Can you upgrade the cpu's on laptops? I thought they were soldered in?

~p

Yes, you can upgrade CPU's on most all laptops. I've done it with two laptops, Dell 600M and Gateway ML-6230. Here is a thread on the latter. Link It goes to the other site so hopefully it's not forbidden.

In fact, if you go online to Toshiba's website you can probably find out how to open the laptop and replace every component. Such manuals are commonly available from all the major laptop mfg (e.g. Dell and Gateway). It's slightly harder than replacing a desktop CPU but actually not very difficult. You'll need a screw driver and some thermal paste. The hard part is figuring out which CPU you can use. The easy way to do this is to see what other configurations your mfg. sells. For instance, with this laptop someone else suggested it can also be had with a T3400 for $80 more. I quick search on eBay shows the T3400 for $39.99 at a BUY IT NOW price.

The hard way is finding out which Intel chipset is used on the mobo. You'll have to check the owner's manual or specs. For example, it may be the GM45 Express. Then, go to Intel Website and look at the technical white paper that describes what the chipset can do. It also lists all the compatible CPUs. The problem is the manuals are written by engineers and nearly indecipherable. The lists are also not always comprehensive/accurate. For example, my gateway chipset is the 943GML according to the manual and Gateway's website. According to their info., that chipset is limited to a FSB of 533 and celeron CPU. But after googling the upgrade issue, it became apparent to me that I could in fact upgrade to a Dual Core or Core 2 Duo with 667 FSB, which I did.

On a related note, it really makes a huge difference to bump up from the celeron to a dual CPU. You don't realize how many times the computer is running background programs when you want to do something. Or the times when you want to do more than one activity, like watch a video and surf. Celerons just can't do that. My celeron was fine running XP (you'll need to find all the drivers which is a huge pain) but it could not run Vista Home basic in any reasonable manner. Once you do the CPU swap Vista is completely functional. Of course, Win 7 works like a dream. One other point that I want to emphasize. The Celeron lacks some battery saving features (I think "speedstep and halt state"), so upgrading should improve battery life. When I moved from the Celeron to the Dual Core I went from 2 hours to 3 hours (just enough to watch a long movie). When I bumped up to Core 2 Duo, the battery life went back down to 2 hours, not sure why.

This is basically just an FYI. I don't really recommend that you buy this just to swap out the CPU. I suspect you are better off finding a better deal (i.e. one that includes Core 2 Duo + Win 7 upgrade). But if you happen to get one and become dissatisfied later consider the CPU upgrade. It's a very easy fix.

Vista is not slower than xp, if comparing apples to apples.
Vista needs to have certain things turned off, that all.

Comparing Vista as it comes on a new pc to xp is comparing apples to oranges.

If I am wrong, correct me.

yesidonoitall said: Also, what am I missing here, if you want a pc with xp, Dell is selling them.

I havent seen Dell sell 14+ inch laptops with XP for around $300. Sure there are netbooks but my parents need something with a large screen.

Celeron 585:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLB6L

Pentium T3400:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLB3P

Looks like the same chip but the Celeron is single core and without Enhanced Speedstep and Execute Disable Bit.

I've been a huge fan of Win 7 RC so I'd have to think twice about buying any computer with Vista Basic (as noted above - doesn't qualify for free Win7 upgrade on October 22nd). Personally, I'd prefer a powerful desktop paired with a low-cost, low-weight, cool and quiet Atom-based netbook. If you wanted to split the difference with a mid-weight, mid-performance notebook, then...well, knowing if you need the Pentium Dual Core model depends on what you'd be doing with it.

Sure an Atom N270 at 1.6GHz is only as powerful as a Celeron ULV 900MHz but the Atom runs on just 2.5w of power (and cooling). Smaller battery, longer run time, less fan noise, less size and weight - but not nearly any sort of desktop replacement. The most stressful thing I need a netbook to do is playback H.264-AVC video full screen and the Atom/945GSE chipset (GMA950 graphics) can do that. I wouldn't want any more power-consumption, or heat than my highly portable netbook provides. Though a 12-inch display instead of 10-inch would be nice, I note that the upcoming sub-notebooks planned around Intel's new GS40 chipset are having preproduction problems with cracking cases:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10276904-64.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

In 4-1, $359.73 after tax and lcd fee

gilnavarro said: In 4-1, $359.73 after tax and lcd fee

RE:
after tax and lcd fee

ouch

Can I get it now and install later a Win 7 which is available now for 40 bucks?

lintmail said: In fact, if you go online to Toshiba's website you can probably find out how to open the laptop and replace every component. Such manuals are commonly available from all the major laptop mfg (e.g. Dell and Gateway).
I'm all for upgrading CPUs, but by my limited experience, lintmail is optimistic in regards Toshiba manuals. Unlike Dell and IBM/Lenovo and HP/Compaq (and maybe others, I can't say for all), Toshiba does not publish manuals that show how to disassemble laptops.

Further, when I located disassembly instructions on the web, I found that one needs to take the entire machine apart because the CPU socket was on the bottom of the motherboard. I gave up

YMMV on this specific model, just don't assume off the bat that it's an easy thing.

this lappy sounds like 10x the Staples one for the same price