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I've seen a lot of problems with the Toshiba's over the last 3-4 years. Perhaps they have fixed the issues, but there were a lot of driver conflicts, which would cause problems with certain media software...

@Wiz -- I always use external monitors -- I have to use reading glasses to see a 17" lappy screen. :eek:
 
@rick - I was thinking about getting like a 24" or 27" screen maybe even a 30" and rig it so it sits just above the back of my laptop-behind the keyboard and in front of the internal screen for when I DJ. I think it would be really cool and soooo easy to see. Just an idea I'm toying with. First I need to start DJing some gigs, LOL.
 
I thought of that but I had two previous units (one a core duo (cheap one)) and duo core and they never hiccuped running light duty video and audio. Primary use is VDJ for audio w/ occasional Karaoke or video. No scratch or fancy video mixing. Right now, I have my Toshiba in parts on my bench. The NEC/TOKIN cap is bad and not easy to replace. So this will be my backup unit to the main rig and primary unit for my ceremony/mini rig.
 
Ed Witles said:
I thought of that but I had two previous units (one a core duo (cheap one)) and duo core and they never hiccuped running light duty video and audio. Primary use is VDJ for audio w/ occasional Karaoke or video. No scratch or fancy video mixing. Right now, I have my Toshiba in parts on my bench. The NEC/TOKIN cap is bad and not easy to replace. So this will be my backup unit to the main rig and primary unit for my ceremony/mini rig.
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It's not so much for today, but for tomorrow. As hardware gets faster, applications take advantage of it and some unfortunately get re-written to need faster hardware. Generally the best bet for a working system is buying just below the knee of the curve, where the price/performance ratio changes slope. and that is an i5 today.

I'm sure the i3 system will be everything your current system is today .. as long as you don't plan a long life of it, it'll do.
 
Interestingly enough, I bought two laptops about two years ago. One being a Core 2 Duo, and the other being an i5.

They both have dedicated video cards.

The i5 is somewhat slower than than the Core 2 in most cases, and seems to run hotter. Both are pretty much spec'd the same, with the exception of the CPU and video chips. The i5 has an NVidia chip, the Core 2 has a Radeon (both with 1GB of DDR3).

They both work fine with audio, but the Core 2/Radeon combo seems to be smoother with video.
 
The Core 2s had higher processor speeds available if I recall .. the i series does better with hyper-threading and battery life. And I also have had better luck with Radeon chips for whatever reason.
 
steve149 said:
The Core 2s had higher processor speeds available if I recall .. the i series does better with hyper-threading and battery life. And I also have had better luck with Radeon chips for whatever reason.
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I've had better luck with the Radeon as well -- not sure if the chipset is better, or the drivers are written better...

I've had the NVidia blow up on me on a few occasions. No big deal in my office, but I'd hate to have it blow chunks in the field!

So, I use the Core 2/Radeon in the man cave, where I'm likely to play videos (and I don't want to wait through a reboot or just it taking it's time to recover), and the i5/NVidia in the office.

BTW, that Turbo Boost crap on the i5 sucks! I think it just makes the fan turn on...
 
is this what you need

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or
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So, I picked it up and swapped HDs. Installed a x64 Ultimate and only the needed drivers. It ain't no slouch, but graphics were 6.1 and 4.1 (4.1 for Aero, I think). However, it uses the new stupid AC plug that is not standard and there is no way to change any BIOS settings. And the keybd, while full size, I'll need to get adjusted to. Now a trip back to bbuy is in order as I might get the Toshiba (same specs) but $50 more - assuming the AC adapter and other things look more better.
 
If you're buying the Window's licenses, I would not bother with Professional or Ultimate versions, as they are mainly for businesses that have domains set up or those that need extended XP support for applications. The other benefits (backup, etc.) can be had by cheaper and better applications. There is NO performance differences.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/compare
 
The Wizard Of OZ said:
@rick - I was thinking about getting like a 24" or 27" screen maybe even a 30" and rig it so it sits just above the back of my laptop-behind the keyboard and in front of the internal screen for when I DJ.
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Pay no attention to that man behind the screen.
 
Steve so we are not a business then and shouldnt buy the pro or ultimate version

well you do what you like sorry I always get the ultimate and do NOT have to use it the way you say
seems you cant setup windows in a simple way and need to do things fancy
or maybe its too hard for you and have to use the home version
leave the pro version for the professionals


have a nice day
 
DJ Web Guy, I came up with my screen name a couple years ago after thinking how cool it would be to have a large DJ booth to work inside of. The reality of it is that a huge booth like I envisioned would be costly and would require a lot of work to set up and would take up a lot of room in my van. That was before everyone started making the awesome backlit facades that are being used now. My ODJT avatar came much later.
 
DjDennis said:
Steve so we are not a business then and shouldnt buy the pro or ultimate version

well you do what you like sorry I always get the ultimate and do NOT have to use it the way you say
seems you cant setup windows in a simple way and need to do things fancy
or maybe its too hard for you and have to use the home version
leave the pro version for the professionals


have a nice day
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It has nothing to do with whether you are IN business or not. The Ultimate/Pro versions have a few features that multi-user businesses might need .. the 2 biggest being domain attachment and better XP compatibility.

If there is more than 1 or 2 folks that are on this board that need domain connection ability, I would be surprised .. just not normally found in home/small business systems. XP compatibility is primarily for OLD business apps .. again I would doubt anyone here needs that.

So to pay almost double for features that are not needed seems to be a waste .. If you're going to pirate it anyway, pick your poison .. If you're going to pay for it, save some money and use it where it counts (more RAM, better disk, better graphics).

Dennis, I'm happy to learn if you can identify something needed in the Ultimate version that is missing from the premium version.
 
I just successfully repaired my cranky laptop. The NEC/TOKIN chip cap (Google if you like) was bad and bought a hot air gun rework station and solder paste to repair it. Well, after the new ones came in from Singapore, it was not going back on. Then saw where one used 4 330uf 2.5v tant chip caps. So, got some from Digikey. They arrived yesterday and now the lappy is happy again. No spare parts and all screws went back to their homes. BACK STORY: The problem is most Toshiba Satellites made around 2007/2008 (mine is a 205) shuts down when connecting to AC or just won't turn on period. And sometimes just plain tunrs of when it sees fit.
 
ok whatever

have a nice day
 
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