| Laptops and Notebooks Reviews : Toshiba |
 | Toshiba Satellite T115D-S1125 LED TruBrite 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
toshiba -- 2010-08-30
I am currently having trouble with wireless. Not sure if its the laptop's fault. esata port does not work. Everything else is fine.
Very pleased with my Toshiba Satellite T115D-S1120 LED TruBrite! -- 2010-08-20
I live in Costa Rica and to buy that computer would cost me much more! I am travelling quite often to Italy and it is very easy for me tp take my Satellite becauese is very light! Thanks Toshiba
Loreno Rocchi
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 | Toshiba Satellite A505D-S6008 TruBrite 16.0-Inch Laptop (Black/Silver)
pretty good computer -- 2010-07-19
Nice computer, but the media player sensor buttons are in the way just to the left of the keyboard - always muting it or starting it inadvertently. All the ports are on the sides, so wires and sticks are in your face. Display - Too much reflection.
Great price for a 2.5GHz AMD Turion II Laptop -- 2010-07-19
Summary: Very fast 2.5GHz AMD Turion II CPU, great looking, bright display, huge 640GB drive, 4GB RAM, bad webcam, better than average Wi-Fi.
I wasn't expecting the speakers to perform this well, quality-wise. Trebles ring clearly, bass response is very good for such a small size and the bundled Dolby Surround Software is useful and gives a nice ambiance to the music. The volume is limited, though.
This laptop brings four (4) USB ports, and that's including the SATA/USB port. At first I couldn't find the one on the left side, next to the left speaker. I uninstalled Norton without any hassles, and now I'm happily running AVG free edition. HD videos are played excellently and Microsoft Office 2007 opens up very quickly.
The integrated Wi-Fi works better than any other adapter I've used, even external USB adapters. Signal strength at this location has always been "Low" because the router is several rooms away: surprisingly this adapter reports "Excellent" all of the time. Frequent Wi-Fi outages are now a matter of the past. Note that this laptop comes without internal Bluetooth.
I find the webcam's image to be truly terrible indoors (artificial light). It may perform better outdoors. The battery also under-performs, lasting around 100 minutes on normal and maybe 110 on "eco Mode" (assuming continuous, semi-intensive usage). This is probably due to the high-speed CPU: the A505D-S6004 sister product is reported to last around 3 hours on batteries. I'm planning on buying the 12 cell battery in the near future:
Toshiba Primary High Capacity Battery Pack - Notebook battery ( high capacity ) - 1 x lithium ion 12-cell 9000 mAh
The keyboard heats up a little after 30 minutes of intensive use, even with a chill mat. Some people complain that the keyboard is noisy but I have to disagree: I find the sound to be nicely muffled when striking the keys with the required force. Very intense typing may produce more noise, but not really that noticeable. I'm a fast typist (70wpm) so you can trust me on this. Put on some music and this thing is, in my opinion, virtually noiseless. The keyboard light is a nice feature that works well, providing much needed-lighting in dark rooms.
Here are the specs page at Toshiba Web if you want to take a look:
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 | Toshiba Satellite U505-S2020 TruBrite 13.3-Inch Touch Screen Laptop (Black)
Very good computer -- 2010-08-11
It's a very good computer. It is or seems very slow at first. Once I Installed Google Chrome everything was faster. The webcam works very well and has no problems whatsoever. The touch screen is very accurate.
The screen IS multi-touch as well as the trackpad.
And finally, The laptop has a nice finish to it with the texture and look of it.
Tip: It isn't mentioned anywhere, but if you want to right click with the touch screen fast, tap and hold the place where you want it to right click and tap with another finger somewhere else. Don't let go of the first finger until you can see that it has right clicked.
(When I say tap and hold that means you touch the screen and leave it there. And when I just say tap that only means To touch the screen and let go.)
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 | Toshiba Satellite M645-S4055 LED TruBrite 14-Inch Laptop (Black)
Mejor de lo que esperaba -- 2010-09-02
Toshiba Satellite M645-S4055 LED TruBrite 14-Inch Laptop (Black)
Definitivamente mejor de lo que esperaba. La computadora la compró un amigo que fue a Estados Unidos y la recibió por mi. Al recibirla en México, pude constatar que el diseño en verdad es excelente, no tengo problemas de teclado ya que la configuración Estados Unidos-Internacional me permite usar las teclas tal cual se despliegan físicamente y puedo usar acentos y la letra ñ.
Adquirí dos computadoras de este mismo modelo, lamentablemente una de ellas tenía un ligero desplazamiento en la pantalla y tuve que hacer válida la GARANTIA INTERNACIONAL que me funcionó perfectamente y en dos días tuve en perfecto estado mi segunda computadora.
Contras: Probablemente me parecen demasiadas aplicaciones de Toshiba que ni siquiera voy a utilizar que retrasan un poco el inicio del equipo.
A favor: Tamaño, el backlit keyboard es lo máximo, la conectividad y portabilidad.
Tex
Good balance of size and power -- 2010-08-24
I was deciding between this (Toshiba Satellite M645-S4055 LED TruBrite 14-Inch Laptop (Black)) and the ASUS 14 in bamboo (ASUS U43JC-X1 14-Inch Bamboo Laptop (10 Hours of Battery Life)) which was the same price, but the ASUS was on pre-order forever it seemed and this one was out of stock or available elsewhere for more $$. I happened to catch it back in stock one night 8/5/10. I needed to replace a 5+ yr old HP laptop and a 2 yr old HP desktop, so I wanted the power of a desktop (or near) with the portability of a laptop, and I really like the size/weight of the 14 in. This Toshiba and the ASUS were pretty even on many specs - hard drive, 1 gb graphics, RAM, keyboard style, OS, i5 processor, etc - so at the time it came down to availability and features. I say at the time because now that the ASUS is available, it also comes with a 150 GC which I can always use. That would've probably made me wait on the ASUS had that been made known when it was still on pre-order.
ASUS over Toshiba:
Longer battery life, 8 cell vs 6 cell on the Toshiba
USB 3.0 - currently don't have a use but good for the future
WiDi - I currently don't have a use for it
Bamboo finish - very nice looking, would look great just sitting on the end table!
And for a limited time, that it comes with a 150 gift card, making it the cheaper option
Toshiba over ASUS:
Graphics card (both 1 gb NVIDIA plus integrated, but Toshiba's is 330 vs ASUS 310)
RAM - 8 gb max - both come with 4 gb but that's where ASUS maxes out
Sound - reportedly better on the Toshiba but I can't say for sure, I know it sounds good and full to me
Keyboard - backlit
Sleep & Charge USB port - bonus but not essential for me
Sleep & Music - bonus but again not essential
Labelflash printing - pretty cool and might use this, so far haven't tried it
Have also seen on a couple of reviews that even though the ASUS has a 2.0 mp webcam, the quality isn't good. I don't use a webcam much so this wouldn't have been a dealbreaker either.
Trackpad buttons - two instead of one like the ASUS. I've used the ASUS on a 14 in thin & light I got for my nephew and it's awkward, though I'm sure one can get used to it in time.
Bluetooth - you have to get the ASUS U43JC-A1 to get bluetooth for more money.
At the same price, I think the Toshiba is probably the better deal, however the ASUS with the 150 GC would've been the better deal of the two.
Now that I have the Toshiba, what do I think? It's great so far, though nothing's perfect! The fusion finish is pretty neat and I wasn't sure what to expect based on the pictures.
Keyboard, Trackpad, mouse buttons - I like the slight pattern on the trackpad, have a better feel of where I am on it without feeling like it's friction. As expected, the backlit keyboard is nice. The keyboard itself is good, the spacing, not soft, haven't noticed any flex. The keys are "slick" - at first it felt odd but getting used to it. There's a row of "buttons" at the top that are touch buttons - they control sound level, play/pause, wifi, and eco mode. These stay lit for easy access, as does a small light bar above the trackpad. The trackpad also has an easy on/off button above it.
DVD Playback - I've burned DVD's with no problem. I went to play back a dvd I had just burned to check it, and playback was stuttering, I was worried. However, the laptop had been on for days - I rebooted and all was well, playback was fine. Playing a movie was great, smooth, and the sound was full (the movie 2012). The slot loading dvd drive made a little more noise than I expected at times like during software installation but maybe that's normal? Something I'm going to monitor to make sure there's not a problem. I plan to do some home movie type editing, the reason I wanted the 1 gb VRAM and a decent processor, so have to make sure the noise doesn't indicate an impending problem.
Battery Life - I'm averaging about 4 hrs when I run it all the way down. Though longer battery life would've been nice, I don't travel much at all and it would be rare that I'd need to run off of battery any longer than that. I believe a higher capacity battery is available though (12 cell) if I decide I need it. I looked into that before purchasing.
Windows 7 - I had only had brief experience with Win7, while working on others' computers so this was my first real taste of it. Was still using XP except had Vista on a desktop (that is being sold now!). So far I like it, and def better than Vista. There's a slight learning curve but there are some things I have set so that things like the task bar at the bottom are more like I'm used to. I was also able to install a 32-bit software that I wasn't sure would install and run, much to my surprise. The software is several years old but it's a title I like and am used to, and was sad to think I couldn't use it. Installation however was smooth and it is running just like it did on my old XP laptop (just faster!).
WiFi - I have a Cradlepoint router with N (verizon mobile internet), and had no problems connecting to it. Also have a WiFi printer (Epson Artisan 810) - went to the Epson site first to get the right Win7 64 bit drivers and am able to print and scan via WiFi as well.
Noise - For the most part it's quiet. My old HP laptop and desktop were deafening at times. It's not as quiet as the Dell I use for work, but close.
Heat - Warm (just near the back) but bearable - Though they never recommend it, I can sit it on my lap without feeling like I'll need burn cream after. Keyboard, trackpad, etc have all stayed cool.
Software/Bloatware - Not bad, not as much as I thought there would be and is usually on new machines. I uninstalled Norton AV since I already have a multi-user license for McAfee Total Protection. McAfee downloaded, installed and is running with no problems. I have not tried the Toshiba online backup and don't plan to. It keeps reminding me which is annoying so I've got to see how to stop that. If I need online backup the McAfee I have actually comes with it. I transferred all my email over to Windows Live Mail from another computer. Comes with IE but I installed and use Firefox.
Office 2007 Trial - Mentioning this specifically because I saw a review of another M645 model that they had problems with the trial. I didn't use it, I already had Office 2007 Enterprise, so I uninstalled the trial and installed my version.
Update 8/27/10 - Picture posted. Finally stuck a SD card in, and you know how most laptops (at least my last 3) you have to push the card in til it clicks and sometimes it doesn't want to? Don't on this one. It slides in smoothly right up front (under the indicator lights, right of touchpad) and it sticks out just slightly, even less because of the angled front.
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 | Toshiba Satellite L505D-ES5025 TruBrite 15.6-Inch Laptop (Grey/Black)
excellent, fast, functional, affordable laptop -- 2010-08-05
I bought this laptop to replace my Toshiba Tecra. My Tecra was slow, crashed frequently, and became almost unusable when paired with my kaspersky Internet Security. Because of my experiences with that computer I was hesitant to try another Toshiba but was convinved by both the specs and the affordability of this model.
I must say I was completely, pleasantly surprised by how great the Satellite is! This computer is lightening fast. I am actually finding myself annoyed by the slowness of my desktop computer now, which is an extremely expensive computer. It downloads my audio files in record time and uploads my mp4 files to youtube in less than half the time I have been accuostomed to. I am a transcriptionist and find the keyboard to be very comfortable and efficient for long periods of typing. The screen is very clear and crisp. HD appears great on it.
Probably one of my favorite things about it is the Windows 7. I, like most people, have been extremely dissapointed in Windows Vista and had really high hopes that 7 would be an improvement. Windows 7 has exceeded my expectations in every way! I quite often have many windows open at one time and switch back and forth to research the topics I'm writing about and review instructions that have been sent to me via email. The Windows 7 allows you to view in small or full size every Window you have open without actually navigating away from the Window you're currently working on. This has been extremely helpful to me. Everything about Windows 7 has been functional and intuitive and has helped to make me even more productive. I cannot say enough good things about Windows 7 or the Toshiba Satellite. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fast, affordable, functional laptop.
(The reviewer was compensated for posting this review. However, the opinion stated in the review is that of the reviewer and the reviewer alone. Further, the reviewer independently selected this product to review and has no affiliation with the product maker/distributor, Amazon or the review requester)
dissatisfied -- 2010-07-22
I bought a Toshiba laptop and to my surprise the touchpad did not work properly from day one. After hours on the phone explaining the problem and doing a thousand procedures I had to ship it to Toshiba. The problem is that they lost my computer and they don't do anything to solve the problem. I have called them more than 30 times already and they have been unwilling to help me. I will never buy a Toshiba again and I suggest you do the same.
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 | Toshiba Satellite C655-S5049 15.6" Laptop (Intel Celeron Processor 900, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 Home Premium) Black
Nice for the Price But with Surprising Omissions -- 2010-08-21
I got this LT at a very good price. It looks nice and has a great keyboard, but the touchpad will require "tweak to touch and taste", it has a lot of adjustment options. I was able to adjust mine for great response. This unit is fast enough for everything I've tried so far. It looks good and feels well built. However it has some surprising omissions, namely no webcam, no bluetooth, and only two USB ports! Each of these items of themselves are surprising, but all three?? This is practically unheard of these days. Also be aware that both memory slots contain 1 GB each which means you would need to get a 2 GB memory module in order to upgrade to 3 GB, etc. This unit is also somewhat noisy at times, and gets quite warm in operation. However if these items are not a problem for you then you should be quite pleased with this LT.
C655-S5048 REVIEW -- 2010-08-16
I got this on sale at Office Depot for $400 yesterday. It works ok so far except for a few minor things. If you notice, a lot of recent laptops stopped using keys with beveled edges. The new ones are mostly flat and not as easy to type with. I think it's to cut costs. The mouse on this computer seems to be a little goofy. It will not let you keep two fingers on the mouse at the same time, it will freeze the mouse. Also the mouse seems to pause a lot and the arrow sometimes disappears for a few seconds. Also the mouse pad is offset from the center of the computer to the left side of the computer so you have to reach over with the right hand to use it. That's a little uncomfortable. I can't figure any reason why they did that. They've lowered the height of the screen by an inch so the new format is wider than previously. That again is a puzzlement to me because webpages are typically taller and narrower. But all the newer computers are doing it. It's too bad that the designers can't resist changing things all the time. My previous computer was a Compaq F700. Except for the annoying Vista, that was a great computer with a really good mouse in the right place and a comfortable screen size.
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 | Toshiba Satellite A665-3DV LED TruBrite 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
broke in less than month -- 2010-08-23
WOW where to start, broke in less than month, the battery stopped charging intermittently. If I wiggled the connector where it plugged into laptop it would start to charge. After several hours on phone with tech support we determined that the connection was bad where it plugged in (I had another power cord. When I sent it in the repair paper work said that they cleaned the battery connections with alcohol, so repair not performed as expected (diagnostic details done with phone tech support not followed up with repair center). I am sure I am going to have to send it back again to get the original problem fixed. Customer support very bad and uncaring on two different phone calls. Called repair center after repair for follow up with tech that worked on PC and was hung up on. I work in tech support and CR, our goal is to have customers for life and to exceed their expectation whenever we can. Other than logistics of getting the laptop repaired quickly 2 weeks, it has been a huge disappointment. I will tell anybody I talk to not to buy Toshiba anything. This typical of Toshiba's attitude with a repair survey they sent me " Although we read and value customer comments, we are unable to respond to each one individually." Shame on them they should!
Hope this Helps. (very thorough review) -- 2010-07-08
^*If I could I would give it 3 1/2 stars. I really couldn't decide between the two, so please get as much as you can out of the context.*^
Quick Pros and Cons--
Pros:
Packed with cutting edge hardware
Decent display
3D BLU RAY!!
Great looks
Decent speakers for portable
Pretty justifiable for gaming but not perfect
Nvidia 3d package and software is impressive
Cons:
Runs extremely hot
Short battery life
3d can be a gimmick depending on the content
SLOW boot times can be up to 2 minutes from complete shutdown state
3d Glasses are very uncomfortable and don't have great coverage
Performance is not always solid and framerate drops do occur
The Toshiba A665 3DV Laptop: One of three (competing with Asus and Acer) brand new 3D capable notebooks to enter the market. Personally this was a budget-wise entrance into the much hyped recent 3d technology. I can honestly say that the 3d hype eventually got to me in and I decided to narrow my search for a 3d capable laptop instead of just a standard notebook.
**Overview**:
I caught wind somehow of a new PC/X360 game called 'Sniper Ghost Warrior'. It looked like a ton of fun and I really wanted to get back in touch with my earlier PC gaming days. Being a diehard playstation gamer myself, I figured this to be the opportune point to buy my first laptop. More importantly however, this is a much cheaper solution to get into the world of 3d without spending a fortune because 3D TVs as of now are upwards of 2000 dollars, include that with the limited 3d-capable software of consoles and you have a real pocket gouge.
**Review**
Let me make this very clear: The Tiding factor in my decision between this model and the Asus g51j 3d model was the capability of 3D BLU RAY! This is HUGE. Not only is a blu ray player a very nice bonus, but the implementation of a software patch later this year will allow you to watch whatever blu rays are available in 3d. Once again, this comes down to the price point: being an efficient machine that does it all without having to go buy a 3d capable BD player and TV. Whether you would rather watch your movies on the big screen is an entirely different story.
Let me just say, the blu ray playback(no 3d) on this display has been fairly disappointing. I am so peculiar with my displays, I like my pixels very tight and my image razor sharp but not overblown. I hate a soft and dull image. This screen isn't that, but it's not what I expected. I used 'Crank' on Blu Ray as demo material(one of the most pixel popping blu rays out) and I was not extremely impressed. I used one great reference scene where the camera is following Jason Statham down a brick alley, the white artisan style bricks usually have so much depth and crystal clear pixels. They just didn't seem to pop as much with this display. However further viewing proved the display and BD Drive to be ample for viewing, however it doesn't match up to a great small-medium 720p TV in my opinion, which doesn't seem possible: Generally the smaller the screen, the higher the pixel count(more pixels "built in) to the LCD screen and the sharper the picture(take the super sharp display of the apple iPad. The screen is so tiny but the resolution is virtually double because there are so many pixels on such a little screen). But then again this is a computer, not a TV, and I guess with the 3d capability it almost makes up for it.
--Gaming is a much different and extremely complex situation as far as graphics. All games are developed differently, have different settings, and you can tune settings in game and in windows providing a hugely complex situation which I can't firmly give a good answer as to how it looks. All I will say is that coming from console gaming (where graphics generally aren't pushed to the limits) this display is more than enough to fit my graphics tastes.
--Onto the hardware for gaming: I think in general terms, this computer packs more than enough hardware to get the job done... by the books and on paper, HOWEVER: On my first playthrough of sniper ghost warrior (a very pleasing game visually, but no crysis) I quickly ran into some framerate issues on the first mission(not even with 3d on). Not huge at all, but at a certain point in the map things would start to slow down/lag and if I jumped or looked in a certain direction things would get jaggy but not unplayable at all. It was hard at first to get over that tiny little hiccup however, seeing that I just dropped $1600 for a top notch, technologically supreme piece of hardware(this thing was built for gaming and media). Just playing Left 4 Dead 2 (in 3d) last night I ran into some huge framerate issues, but mostly at the very end of the mission.
--Early Problems/Performance issues:
I ran into some very frustrating issues early on, but it seems to be working itself out fairly decently now.
**PLEASE HERE ME LOUD AND CLEAR ON THIS: I suspect that these framerate issues may be a result of the hard drive, even though it is a 7200rpm, I'm not sure what other specs it has(cache etc.), however I can't imagine that it's too sophisticated due to it being a laptop drive. The main reason I suspect that it is the hard drive is because in general use, this thing has terrible seek times. The One thing that really got to me was that from a shutdown state, this laptop takes a SOLID Minute to 2 minutes JUST TO BOOT UP. I mean I'm talking you can't do a single thing, not even open the task manager(ctrl-alt-delete) while it's booting up. All you can due is stare at the time glass. For some reason though it doesn't always take this long to boot up. It seems like it's getting a lot better, I think I just booted up last time in about 30 seconds or less. The only thing I can figure is that it has really arranged things and prioritized allowing the most important things to be processed first. I've also run into slow multitasking and program running a few times. I have a feeling that the frame rate drops in L4D2 were a result of something else happening, possibly even a BS automatic windows update that starts without notification or permission(though you can turn them off).
I also ran into problems with the 3d glasses losing sync, flashing, flickering all the time, until I realized that the transmitter works best pointed directly at the glasses, unlike most bluetooth/wireless hardware.
--Aesthetics:
The laptop itself looks very savvy, has great innovative looks and seems to be durable and solid. The lid and main chassis(under the keyboard) has a matted, thin linked chain pattern finish. It's pretty eye catching and helps minimize fingerprints. The mouse pad melts right into the rest of the the base, without being recessed which I liked. Overall it's a pretty good looking piece. The keys are smooth plastic and feel great. They have a great, thin, lightweight feel to them without being flimsy or cheap feeling. The only thing I didn't really like was that the lid doesn't lock, it just closes flush with the base. Not really a big deal but I was just used to that with my brother's laptop. I should also note that the keyboard is not backlit. Some of the manufacturers misleadingly label a whole series as having a "backlit keyboard", when in fact only some models have a fully lit keyboard. This model has a thin lit bar at the top of the mouse pad along with a LED under the logo in the corner and the media controls at the top being lit. One of the media controls themselves is the button to which you turn the lighting on or off. They lay flat/flush with the chassis and are touch sensitive, no actual button mashing.
One thing I hate: LITTERED WITH STICKERS!!! Most noticeably is a MASSIVE sticker with the model and different features all with logos and a 25th toshiba anniversary graphic in the bottom right covering more than half the distance from the right side to mouse pad. Combined with, oh, a half dozen other stickers and the smooth aesthetics are immediately killed, but you won't be bothered by that for long.
--Inputs/outputs:
This laptop has pretty basic I/Os. 3 USB ports, power cord, standard computer monitor out, ethernet, a hard drive connection, HDMI out, and headphone and microphone jacks.
++ This is somewhat of a disappointment for audiophiles as there are no audio outs( optical would be nice but I don't even know if any laptops utilize that). You're basically left with an 1/8 jack which you could buy various cables and adapters. Of course you could use HDMI, but as a fairly new format not all stereo receivers and audio devices are going to have that. The only reason I really criticize is because I'm into music production which relies on tons of higher end cable formats that you simply aren't going to get to communicate with a PC without lots of trouble. For everyone else these I/Os should be fine. Oh, there's a SD memory card slot on the front side. Also the harmon kardon speakers are quite impressive for their tiny size. They have okay bass and they don't sound cheap. Any type of surround is represented poorly however and gamers and audiophiles will quickly be turning over to their favorite headset.
--Battery Life:
I haven't adequately tested it but I estimate it at about an hour to two hours, gaming or just general OS usage. I guess it's really a given considering the hardware, this isn't a netbook designed to last, but more of a desktop replacement if you want to see it that way. I should note that this estimate is based on full out, bright screen, hardware pushing settings. Toshiba provides this laptop with an "eco mode" which can be turned on by a touch sensitive button under the screen. It surely increases the life but at the cost of reduced processing and much darker screen, which you obviously aren't going to be doing while gaming.
One other note: THIS. THING. RUNS. HOT!! This thing gets to scorching temperatures in no time. Not uncomfortable for lap-top use, but the fan on the side gets so hot, that if you put your hand in front of it, it literally feels like you would when you encounter boiling hot steam. It's pretty extreme. The keyboard and base get very warm too, not the most comfortable conditions for gaming.
And finally, most importantly
--3D
The laptop comes with the nvidia 3d vision kit, which retails alone for $200. The kit includes the glasses, USB IR transmitter for the glasses, 2 different nose pieces for different fits, and a very nice soft microfiber pouch and cloth.
I was very impressed with the kit in general. The installed Nvidia software is great, allowing you to setup, and most importantly fine tune your settings not only for the 3d but for general gaming (for instance the anti-aliasing, but there are tons more settings). I was NOT however too excited about the glasses. The number one issue is the comfort: these things hurt. The frame is made of hard plastic with rubber only on the very tips of the frame, which in my case goes past my ears, so the plastic rests right on top and they flat out hurt. They aren't adjustable in any way and I find my self constantly moving them to get a correct angle. Another huge problem is that the lenses are very out-forward and thus they don't even cover but about 80-90% of your viewing area, almost like looking at the black bars on a wide screen movie; so you'll be very distracted at first trying to get the whole screen to "fit" into what your eyes see, if you can get what I'm saying. The last thing is that the glasses make the picture darker, which is starting to cause problems in gaming, while turning up brightness fades the detail and contrast, however you'll generally find yourself paying attention to the 3d effect and not the graphics themselves. I must say that they also give the screen a warmer tone, (which also seemed to give a better contrast and richer picture) so I had to do some adjusting of the display(color/contrast/vibrancy/gamma etc.) within windows which seemed to help a great deal.
****Now to the actual 3d effect in gaming(wow I'm really stretching this review). At first I was very disappointed and felt like I had wasted my investment completely. My first play was call of duty world at War (one of my favorite all time games from PS3..I had heard the 3d in it was quite something) and it just seemed very ..meh. To put it blunt, it seemed just like a gimmick, like the same 3d you have known all your life. However I was playing on 4:3 ( the default in game setting, for some reason) and having mouse sensitivity/aiming issues so I quickly became frustrated and lost focus of the 3d all together. However after going on a mad hunt for demos for the best 3d games, I came across a few keepers. Notably Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.(Also one of my favs from PS3). It's a military flight/fighter pilot game for those that don't know; flying over much of a "3d google earthed" set of cities. I was immediately impressed. Just swooping down to skyscraper level before was satisfying enough, but the 3d just adds so much more, you really do feel like something is happening. And BOY, The jet trail/ missile smoke is something to be seen. When an enemy missile that you just managed to dodge comes flying into the screen and over the wing of your plane, you get an Incredible sense of depth and it is amazingly fun.
All in all with 'Left 4 Dead 2 being decent, and a whole plethora of games to explore in 3d (and new game support only to get better and much more detailed), I definitely think it's a worthy investment if you're willing to spend the extra cash. Before you put this on order make sure you get a great deal of content lined up. Search the Nvidia list for games that you would like to see in 3d and check their rating on it, and load that shopping cart up. You might be disappointed if you don't research and try to get some really great recommended 3d games first.
Here's Nvidia's list of supported 3d games along with the ratings(not recommended, poor, fair, good, excellent, and "nvidia 3d ready"[apparently developed alongside nvidia to get the most out of the hardware])
[...]
The best thing is that when each game boots up, the software displays in plain text in the corner of the screen, the rating of the game and any settings you should change, also little notes like "sky rendered at wrong depth" etc. which I found very pleased that nvidia would take the time to do all of this, it shows they really care about the support of this product and they are going to keep pushing it.
To wrap it up:
If you're the type to invest in all that new cutting edge technology then you're probably looking at this laptop. It's primary goal is to provide not only 3d gaming but also blu ray movies in 3D. If you don't think 3d is a huge factor then look elsewhere for a cheaper or more powerful notebook.(I recommend the Asus J73 series for powerhouse gaming just based on reviews; or the Toshiba qosmio series for serious horsepower and 1080p displays; or the Asus G51j 3d if you don't need the blu ray.. the Asus G series seems to be really tailor-made for gaming).
Hope this all helped.
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