Toshiba Satellite A665D-S6076 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion X2 Finish in Charcoal) (Personal Computers)
We've only had this machine for a few days, but it's been great. I am still having trouble getting my head around the fact this machine sells for $579 on Amazon. Wow. This replaces an older Shuttle XPC that has served us well for many years. The Shuttle is now happily residing in the man cave. Only a few minor complaints:
1) Not a big fan of the multi-touch action on the touchpad. It's a bit jumpy and sensitive. It's too easy to "pinch" and you find yourself with really big or really small text on your web pages, even when your hand is just close, not necessarily touching. I have a MacBook Pro for work, and this multi-touch pad isn't even close to working as well, but then this machine cost about a third of what the MacBook did. I can totally live with it. It's mainly my wife's machine anyway, and she prefers a mouse, so it's a non-issue.
2) Web cam is cheesy at .3 MP, but it gets the job done.
3) Screen is really glossy. I wish there was a matte option. You can get quite a bit of glare in a sunny room.
That said, there are also many pros:
1) Very snappy overall. I've always been a fan of AMD due to their architecture and cost/speed ratio. I never thought it made sense to split hairs with performance metrics on a personal machine anyway. As long as you get pretty current technology, you'll be fine. I have been in a technology job for many years dealing with servers and such, and my experience makes me prefer AMD if I have a choice. Your mileage may vary. 4GB RAM and a nice 500GB hard drive are all we'll ever need. Wish the HD was 7200 RPM, but that wasn't a deal breaker by any means.
2) Surprisingly good sound. I streamed an Austin City Limits episode on it and it sounds incredible for a laptop. Headphones also sound much better than other laptops. Even a bit more crisp and clear than my MacBook. Very impressed with the Dolby/Harmon/Kardon combo.
3) Bang for the buck. $579? Ridiculous.
4) Not too much bloatware. I was expecting more. I only had to uninstall a couple of apps and disable a few of the Toshiba software apps that pop up in your grill when you first boot the machine up. I was expecting to spend hours uninstalling junk, but I haven't had to.
1) Not a big fan of the multi-touch action on the touchpad. It's a bit jumpy and sensitive. It's too easy to "pinch" and you find yourself with really big or really small text on your web pages, even when your hand is just close, not necessarily touching. I have a MacBook Pro for work, and this multi-touch pad isn't even close to working as well, but then this machine cost about a third of what the MacBook did. I can totally live with it. It's mainly my wife's machine anyway, and she prefers a mouse, so it's a non-issue.
2) Web cam is cheesy at .3 MP, but it gets the job done.
3) Screen is really glossy. I wish there was a matte option. You can get quite a bit of glare in a sunny room.
That said, there are also many pros:
1) Very snappy overall. I've always been a fan of AMD due to their architecture and cost/speed ratio. I never thought it made sense to split hairs with performance metrics on a personal machine anyway. As long as you get pretty current technology, you'll be fine. I have been in a technology job for many years dealing with servers and such, and my experience makes me prefer AMD if I have a choice. Your mileage may vary. 4GB RAM and a nice 500GB hard drive are all we'll ever need. Wish the HD was 7200 RPM, but that wasn't a deal breaker by any means.
2) Surprisingly good sound. I streamed an Austin City Limits episode on it and it sounds incredible for a laptop. Headphones also sound much better than other laptops. Even a bit more crisp and clear than my MacBook. Very impressed with the Dolby/Harmon/Kardon combo.
3) Bang for the buck. $579? Ridiculous.
4) Not too much bloatware. I was expecting more. I only had to uninstall a couple of apps and disable a few of the Toshiba software apps that pop up in your grill when you first boot the machine up. I was expecting to spend hours uninstalling junk, but I haven't had to.
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