Best Buy's Toshiba M35X_S109......How do you like it?

[Peter007]

For those who are curious about this $499 Laptop from Best Buy, here are some of my complaint

There are 3 things that really bothers me:

#1 NO Buildin WIFI......I thought all Intel ExtremeGraphic comes withthe WIFI module....NO Wonder its $499

#2 NO Intel "Enhanced Speedstep" Energy Saving Technology; according to Tom's Hardware">http://www4.tomshardware.com/mobile/20040309/index.html</a>

#3 NO PARALLEL PORT for older HP laserjet

#4 NO INFRARED PORT to synchronized my Palm PDA

#5 NO WINDOWS XP HOME CDROM

#6 TOO MUCH JUNK SOFTWARE INSTALLED; REFORMAT become an absolute requirement
_______________________________________________________________________________

What I love about it:

#1 Toshiba Name &amp; Build Quality - much better than cheapo Comapq &amp; HP &amp; DELL &amp; GATEWAY

#2 CELERON M (1.4G)....performs like an AthlonXP 2000+ according to Sandra:
.....I am most impressed by this CPU's Cool Operation, it just doesn't get HOT

#3 Quietness, b/c the FAN doesn't need to kick in

#4 Toshiba's Power Managment Software is simply Superb

#5 Metal Surface is a quality touch

#6 LIGHT WEIGHT for such a BIG NOTEBOOK - in comparison to Compaq 2201 that is

That is my 0.02 cent

 

[Jassi]

Format it install only the stuff you want. The lack of wifi is surprising, check the manual.

 

[Peter007]

Just found out that Celeron M doens't have the much needed
Intel "Enhanced Speedstep" energy saving technology; according to Tom's Hardware

 

[rainypickles]

afaik, intel extreme graphics does not imply wifi. centrino does, however. so if your laptop has centrino (i dont know if celeron m cant count as centrino), it ought to have wifi. if you should have it, check the laptop for buttons to enable the wifi.

 

[Peter007]

No button for Wifi.....

Hence my suspect it doesn't come with it

Can anyone else with this laptop confirm?

 

[avash]

I managed to snag the same laptop at BB yesterday.

Your suspicions are confirmed. No wifi.

Toshiba Satellite M35X-S109 page

Click on detailed specs. If this particular Satellite laptop had wifi, the switch would be on the right side of the laptop near the volume knob and audio jacks.

 

[Praetor]

I'm thinking about taking mine open to see if the card is physically there and just not enabled. Does anyone else have the Atheros Wireless LAN miniPCI card driver listed in the Add/Remove Programs control panel? I'm not sure if that's from my Linksys wireless adaptor or what.....

 

[Necrolezbeast]

Originally posted by: Praetor
I'm thinking about taking mine open to see if the card is physically there and just not enabled. Does anyone else have the Atheros Wireless LAN miniPCI card driver listed in the Add/Remove Programs control panel? I'm not sure if that's from my Linksys wireless adaptor or what.....

Good point, it did had the atheros wireless LAN driver in there....give it a look and let us know what ya find. I find this thing to be pretty quick but I agree with the too many crap programs on there. Also, I have never owned a notebook before; are all these programs for the touchpad necessary, and the toshiba power setting stuff? What all would I need to do for it to work the same and have some decent power settings if I were to format? Thanks

 

[fbrdphreak]

Format and DL some of the Toshiba software. I love the Toshiba power software and I would load the Touchpad software personally. otherwise, I don't think you need anything else (cept drivers for the mobo &amp; CPU of course).
And no, no Wi-Fi and no E-SpeedStep. Celeron-M, not Pentium-M.

 

[Peter007]

I suspect the WIFI is hidden &amp; disable.

The way I understand, Centrio = Pentium M + 855GME Chipset (Intel Extreme Graphic)
the WIFI is not an actual units, but just part of the 855GME function;
using partial CPU calculation and partial motherboard chipset = a software WIFI that save on
manufacturing cost. No need to buy Broadcom chipset anymore, hence the on going lawsuit between
the two giants.

Celeron M is just a Pentium M with 1/2 Cache and SpeedStep disable.
So the hardware to enable WIFI and Speedstep is presented inside the Celeron M, just disable.

PS - Is there any Intel Extreme Graphic FAN SITE? Like Rag3D for ATI Fans, and NVNEWS.com for nVidia fan?

 

[LoudTIGER]

if there is no intel wi-fi then it is not badged "centrino". i have a pentium-m w/ intel extreme graphics but they cant call it "centrino" because my laptop uses the atheros chipset for wi-fi

 

[rainypickles]

Originally posted by: Peter007
So the hardware to enable WIFI and Speedstep is presented inside the Celeron M, just disable.
fan?

that's wrong. wifi is not emebedded in the mobo or cpu. it is a separate card. the hardware IS capable of accepting a mini-pci or pcmcia wifi card, but it is not simply disabled. wifi is not part of the chipset.

 

[fbrdphreak]

rainypickles is right. Centrino uses Intel Wireless Pro 2200BG Mini-PCI card that allows 5 diff power states for the best power saving options. Centrino = P-M + Intel 855 + 2200BG.

 

[spanky]

on the topic of wireless for the s109, there is a thread over in the "deal discussion" forum of fatwallet talking about adding internal wifi to their laptops. someone said that you can buy the intel pro 200bg mini pci card from ecost, and the internal antennas from ebay. i dont think anyone has completed their installation yet, or if they did, they have yet to post a success story. just an fyi...

 

[Praetor]

Also, there are a few people on Hardforums that are discussing taking apart their laptops. One individual will be posting pictures of the process. I think I'll let him do the work in taking his apart to see how the process goes.
http://www.hardforum.com/showt...&amp;highlight=toshiba
http://www.hardforum.com/showt...&amp;highlight=toshiba

 

[rickon66]

You can get this at Dell:



INTEL - PRO Wireless 2200 802.11b/g Mini PCI Card
Dell Part #: 430-0913, Manufacturer Part #: D5516
Usually Ships: 1-2 Weeks $29.00
$26.10
[You Save $2.90]



It should plug right in. It comes with driver disk and manual.

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: rickon66
You can get this at Dell:



INTEL - PRO Wireless 2200 802.11b/g Mini PCI Card
Dell Part #: 430-0913, Manufacturer Part #: D5516
Usually Ships: 1-2 Weeks $29.00
$26.10
[You Save $2.90]



It should plug right in. It comes with driver disk and manual.

potentially silly question... does it come with an antenna?

 

[DukeN]

Man you guys are soooooooooooo lucky.

Here in Canada I couldn't even hallucinate of getting a notebook like that for near that price

 

[Pneumothorax]

Don't bother to buy a wireless PCI card. Just bought the above mentioned Intel card and took my my M35x apart and the cheapskates at toshiba were SOOO cheap they didn't even bother to install a simple PCI-M slot. The solder points are there on the mobo but no slot and no antenna either. So we're stuck with PCMCIA wireless cards.

 

[Peter007]

Speaking of CHEAP.....

I just found out there is NO INFRED PORT to sync my Palm PDA

Can anyone else confirm this as well, that there is NO IR :Q

 

[Peter007]

Man you guys are soooooooooooo lucky.

That is what I say about you!

National Healthcare, reasonable drug prices, and a more intelligent Prime Minister

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: Peter007
Speaking of CHEAP.....

I just found out there is NO INFRED PORT to sync my Palm PDA

Can anyone else confirm this as well, that there is NO IR :Q

i have not checked, but i thought i saw an IR port on the right side of the laptop, located behind the single pcmcia slot? at least it looked like one

edit - nevermind. u r correct. there is no IR port. i just checked out the laptop and it looks like it has the capability to have an IR port, but in the s109, it's just sorta blocked off with a plastic cover.

 

[Praetor]

wtf. Man. That sucks. I was all hyped to try out that IR port later on with my PocketPC. (which so happens to be Toshiba. )

 

[spanky]

well for $499... i wasn't expecting the world. it's still a pretty swift notebook with a nice big screen. pretty respectable battery life too. i'm happy... not having built in wifi won't kill me, as i already have a pcmcia card, and i never use IR. now if someone could only tell me whats going on with the video memory...

 

[uOpt]

Well, it has 100 Mbit Ethernet which is more important for me than Wifi, and it has firewire + USB 2.0. That is a lot better than many $1000 notebooks sold lately.