Computer Review: Toshiba Satellite A105

[01rangerxl]

Specs:
- Toshiba Satellite A105-S4084
- Windows XP SP2 Media Center Edition
- Intel Core Duo 1.60 GHz processor
- 1 GB RAM
- 120 GB hard drive

I got this computer two years ago for school and entertainment. It is used for a variety of tasks from writing papers to gaming. I have been very impressed with this computer overall. In two years of harder than average use, it hasn't had any real down time. It has stood up to drinks being spilled on the keyboard, being dropped a couple of times, having things fall on it, etc. I have seen many laptops, including ones significantly more expensive than the Toshiba, have serious issues after 1.5-2 years of use. This one seems to be as solid and consistent as ever. The only problem I have really had was the clock going to the wrong time. It did that for a period of months, but it has been keeping the correct time lately. Battery life is still excellent with the original battery. I can be on the internet or typing for around three hours + on the battery alone (less with games).

For anyone who needs a reliable, general purpose, jack of all trades / master of none kind of computer, I'd look at Toshibas. Mine was around $850-900 at Circuit City.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Sounds like a good low-cost work horse. The dual core Intels seems to perform very well in notebooks (in desktops, too).

I'm looking at mini-notebooks at the moment myself. There seems to be a few interesting products that either already hit the market (HP mini 2133, Asus Eee PC) or are about to hit the market (MSI Wind, Dell E-series). Granted, they're not about max performance (Intel Atom CPU or VIA CPU) but rather portability - 10" screen. I like to travel light, but still want to be able to send/receive emails, browse internet, work on office apps. Of course it could be done on a smartphone too, but not very comfortably. At around $500 price point, the mini-notebook has its appeals.

 

[Barkleymut]

I have a 6 or 7 year old Toshiba laptop that still runs. I put Trend Micro spyware software on it last year and it hasn't run well since. It takes maybe 5-10 minutes to even boot up. But it still works once warm. Bought it from Circuit City for 599 cant beat that.

 

[tom slick]

I've had an A105-S4014 for a few years. It has also been a reliable computer. It's never had a hardware issue and I have only reloaded XP on it once and that was for slow performance after uninstalling a program. It's traveled all over the place with me and always been great.

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

I've got a M45-S2652 that is almost 3 years old and is still going strong. Aside from the key I broke, and the aftermarket RAM chip that failed, I have had no issues with any of the factory hardware.

I plan to get another Toshiba when I retire this one.

 

[Cutehumor]

I'm on my second toshiba laptop. does the cooling fan run alot on yours?

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

Mine doesn't run that much, but I did blast all the dust out of it with an air compressor after a couple of years of usage and that brought down the temp of the air coming out of the heatsink and made the fan quieter.