New Laptop: Toshiba vs. HP

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My Toshiba Satellite A305-S6905 is starting to get long in the tooth. Some time ago, I posted about an issue that I had involving the computer dropping my home network on a regular basis. The problem made itself permanent. It was a network card, which I was able to replace myself out of another Toshiba exactly like mine that my Sister destroyed(and Gave me.) So I am up and going again. For how long, who knows but....

Went looking today and came up with 2 options:

1. HP Probook 450 G1 15.6 Laptop:

Intel Core i5 4200M processor 2.5GHZ
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (and a disc for 8.1)
8GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM
750GB 5,400 RPM Hard Drive
Switchable AMD Radeon HD 8750M/Intel HD Graphics 4600
DVD+RW Drive
10/100/1000 Network
802.11b/g/n Wireless
Bluetooth4.0
LED-backlit HD Anti-glare Display

2.Toshiba Satellite S55-B5289 15.6 Laptop:

Intel Core i7-4710HQ Processor 2.5GHz
Microsoft Windows 8.1
8GB DDR3L-1600 RAM
1TB 5,400RPM Hard Drive
Mobile Intel HD
Memory Card Reader
10/100/1000 Network
Intel Dual-band Wireless AC 3160
Bluetooth 4.0
Widescreen TruBrite LED-backlit Display

I like the Toshiba because it has a faster processor and I have had a great experience with the one I currently have. The negatives are that it 1s a Windows 8 machine and I lose the DVD drive (not huge because I have a portable but still.....)
I like the HP because it is Windows 7, has the DVD drive, and interior access to the machine is slick. However, it has a slower processor, and the censor forbids me from explaining my feelings on the last HP machine that I owned. However, when employing a rational, less emotional perspective, it looks like it might be the ticket.

Looking for opinions about which would be the better machine. I do basic net surfing, word processing, e-mailing, etc. Nothing that is taxing in and of itself, but I absolutely hate a slow machine. Also, would welcome other suggestions with a $600. max budget. Thanks in advance.
 
Perhaps the Toshiba, with a StartIsBack shell. Out if those two.

Honestly, I feel Toshiba the better brand as well.

Has your hard drive held up well on that Toshiba?

I have an older Satellite C-series. A workhorse laptop. Slow, old, Celeron. Was gifted it. Has wifi, 16:9 screen, burner CD/DVD. Win 8 with StartIsBack (and there are others, makes it look like Win7 or XP.) Will work until I can afford one of my preference.
 
The weak link of my computer has been the hard drive. It is on its third (yes the third) since I bought it new in February, 2009.
I bought the computer @ Best Buy. It was explained to me that they spec'd the computer. The first drive was a fujitsu (2.5 years.) The second was a Toshiba (which lasted a month.) Took that back and got a WD Blue (which is still in it.)
Other than the HD, this has been the only other issue with it.
 
Originally Posted By: Tdbo
The weak link of my computer has been the hard drive. It is on its third (yes the third) since I bought it new in February, 2009.
I bought the computer @ Best Buy. It was explained to me that they spec'd the computer. The first drive was a fujitsu (2.5 years.) The second was a Toshiba (which lasted a month.) Took that back and got a WD Blue (which is still in it.)
Other than the HD, this has been the only other issue with it.


This is precisely why I asked about the hard drive. Out of all the Toshibas I have ever had, this budget C855D-S2154 (Satellite) is the ONLY that has not died an early death to a clicking, dying, read-error hard drive and frozen and unusable computer. Go fig.

No more Qosimos for me..
 
One of the HPs with the trackpad in the CENTER is the only thing I could tolerate. How you PC people can stand having a trackpad on the left side is beyond me. I'm a Mac person.
 
I have a Toshiba 1200 laptop, built in 2002, that I use for work (manuals, basic web, looking up parts, etc.)-thing REFUSES TO DIE! Has more cracks than the San Andreas fault, pieces of plastic fall off every time I use it, still keeps chugging along. My HPs haven't lasted nearly as long.
 
I like the hp because of the windows 7, gpu, and the disk drive. Have you considered some high end used laptops or some gaming laptops?
 
My favorite laptop of all time was a Toshiba. I dropped it while moving and made the mistake of replacing it with an "equivalent" HP. It was the worst piece of technology I've ever owned. I gave it away to someone who needed it more than I, and stuck with a desktop for a while.

A few years ago I started traveling more for work and needed an ultra-portable. Like you, I put aside my emotions and chose the best laptop that I could find for my needs, an HP DM1Z. It was fast enough, has great battery life, and is super light and portable. The drawback? It's a dog, terrible to type on, and runs very loudly with its AMD E-350 APU. I won't even mention the horrible time I had with an ordering mixup that required hours of my time on the phone with a customer service team with such strong Indian accents that I had to apologize at least a half a dozen times, hang up, and try again. I've had Asian and Hispanic friends with strong accents before, but I swear there must be a certain region in India with a dialect so different from English, that makes fluency impossible.

My Dell customer service experience was much different. I had to call a few times for help, and while their tech support was also Indian, they were all easily understood.

I refuse to buy another HP.
 
- If you are not a gamer or use GPU intensive apps, you don't need the unit with the 8750M. Gives you much better graphics but when on, it will consume more energy and shorten your battery life before you have to plug it back in. And it will run hotter.
- Windows Pro is for business, it does cost the manufacturer more so if you don't need it perhaps you can find a different model that doesn't have it.
- As mentioned above, upgrading the hard drive to SSD is well worth it. Don't discard the old hard drive,its worth $$.
- you didn't mention the screen resolution, many models only come with 1366 x 768, obviously higher is better.
- my experience is the business models (the one with windows professional) are better built than the consumer models as a rule but the devil is in the detail. If you can touch each physically, you'll get a feel for construction quality keyboard feel and touchpad responsiveness.
- if you think you might use an external display, look at each model's display ports (vga, dvi, hdmi) and what the display processor will support (the 8750M should support at least 2).
- I suppose the 8750M model will be a lot heavier with the DVD and additional heatsinks.
- Consider an extended warranty to 2 years - note they usually don't cover dropping the unit from 6'!
- the ability to go from W7 to W8 is very useful as W7 is seamless but W8 is not.

edit: took out the wifi mention as its reversed. its unusual that the business model has 8750M, that's usually reserved for consumer models.

Hope this helps, Good luck!
 
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I will say i bought a Toshiba satellite laptop back in 2009 and i have had zero problems with it although i have never taken the laptop anywhere. I bought it as a desktop replacement. I still use that laptop daily but i do maintain it by replacing the thermal paste every few years and cleaning out the dust. The cpu always runs in the 33c range when typing or web browsing. It does get up to 50c when doing some intensive tasks.
 
Originally Posted By: Tdbo
My Toshiba Satellite A305-S6905 is starting to get long in the tooth. Some time ago, I posted about an issue that I had involving the computer dropping my home network on a regular basis. The problem made itself permanent. It was a network card, which I was able to replace myself out of another Toshiba exactly like mine that my Sister destroyed(and Gave me.) So I am up and going again. For how long, who knows but....

Went looking today and came up with 2 options:

1. HP Probook 450 G1 15.6 Laptop:

Intel Core i5 4200M processor 2.5GHZ
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (and a disc for 8.1)
8GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM
750GB 5,400 RPM Hard Drive
Switchable AMD Radeon HD 8750M/Intel HD Graphics 4600
DVD+RW Drive
10/100/1000 Network
802.11b/g/n Wireless
Bluetooth4.0
LED-backlit HD Anti-glare Display

2.Toshiba Satellite S55-B5289 15.6 Laptop:

Intel Core i7-4710HQ Processor 2.5GHz
Microsoft Windows 8.1
8GB DDR3L-1600 RAM
1TB 5,400RPM Hard Drive
Mobile Intel HD
Memory Card Reader
10/100/1000 Network
Intel Dual-band Wireless AC 3160
Bluetooth 4.0
Widescreen TruBrite LED-backlit Display

I like the Toshiba because it has a faster processor and I have had a great experience with the one I currently have. The negatives are that it 1s a Windows 8 machine and I lose the DVD drive (not huge because I have a portable but still.....)
I like the HP because it is Windows 7, has the DVD drive, and interior access to the machine is slick. However, it has a slower processor, and the censor forbids me from explaining my feelings on the last HP machine that I owned. However, when employing a rational, less emotional perspective, it looks like it might be the ticket.

Looking for opinions about which would be the better machine. I do basic net surfing, word processing, e-mailing, etc. Nothing that is taxing in and of itself, but I absolutely hate a slow machine. Also, would welcome other suggestions with a $600. max budget. Thanks in advance.


I bought my church a HP touchscreen with Win8 (no DVD) for under $300. Its probably 14". Seems like a great little machine for the basic stuff.

I would get a $300 laptop and the upgrade to SSD. And max memory. Less than $600. Some laptops probably have SSD from the factory.
 
I have had a Toshiba for years and based on that bought my daughter a Toshiba Tecran for college, huge mistake ! Look on line at recent reviews, we had issues from the first day and technical/customer service are a joke, only a 14 day return policy, finally filed a complaint with Amex, after 4 months Toshiba finally agreed to refund my money, for a Windows laptop, I would look at Asus
 
Some of us of a certain age hold a grudge against Toshiba, but not because of any quality issues, real or imagined.
wink.gif
 
Update: Did a whole lot of looking, and finally found something that I think that I can live with.

Toshiba Satellite 15.6" laptop
Intel Core i5
8GB Memory
1TB Hard Drive
Multiformat DVD+-RW/CD-RW drive
HD widescreen display
Multiformat Media Reader

and a few other minor foo-foos for $647.99 OTD.

Had to be ordered. Arrival date is anticipated at April 19.
Will update when I get my hands on it.
 
I'm sure you will be pleased with it. Having owned a few HP laptops in the past turned me into a Toshiba owner from that point forward.
 
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