Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 17" Laptop (Intel Core Duo Processor T2500, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive)

by Toshiba

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 16.8 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000FLD01K
• Item model number: PQG31U-016007
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 12, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Featuring a sleek, streamlined design, the Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 notebook PC provides you a powerful media center that you can take anywhere. It runs the Windows XP Media Center operating system, which enables you to save TV programming from the built-in TV tuner and save shows to the hard drive or burn to DVD via the dual-layer, multi-format DVD burner (which can also view new HD-DVD discs). It's powered by Intel's new, groundbreaking processor--the powerful Core Duo T2500--which provides an optimized, multithreaded architecture for improved gaming and multitasking performance and a more efficient power consumption. The dual execution core T2300 has a 2.0 GHz processor speed and 2 MB L2 cache. It features a widescreen 17-inch display, two 100 GB hard drives (for a massive 200 GB total), 1 GB of installed RAM (2 GB maximum), integrated tri-mode wi-fi connectivity (802.11a/b/g), and Bluetooth wireless connectivity.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: The G35-AV650 has a unique hard drive array for a notebook--two separate 100 GB (5400 RPM) hard drives for a total storage capacity of 200 GB. They can work together to boost performance, particularly when handling large files, and you can use one as an exclusive media drive for saved TV programming and an MP3 library.
  
• Processor: The Intel Core Duo T2500 processor is built with the Mobile Intel 945PM Express chipset, and it has a 2.0 GHz processor speed, super-fast 667 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and large 2 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)

  The Intel Core Duo processor has two computational execution cores in a single processor, providing greater system response when running multi-threaded applications simultaneously with no significant increase in power consumption. It's optimized for multitasking and is ready to support the next version of Microsoft Windows, code-named Vista. It can simultaneously run multiple demanding applications--such as graphics-intensive games or serious number-crunching business productivity applications--while downloading music or running virus-scanning security programs in the background. It's more efficient, thanks to Intel's Power Coordination and Deeper Sleep, which help to transfer power only to those areas of the processor that need it. It also features Intel's Digital Media Boost, which delivers enhanced performance on floating point-intensive applications such as CAD tools, 3D and 2D modeling, video editing, digital music, digital photography and gaming.
  

• Memory: The 1 GB of installed RAM (2 x 512 MB, PC5300, 667 MHz) is a good start for such a multimedia-centric notebook. But you'll want to max out the 2 GB (2 x 1024 MB) of available memory capability from the two slots.
  
• CD/DVD Drive: The double-layer DVD drive is compatible with a wide range of formats including the new high-definition HD-DVD discs and dual-layer DVD+R discs, which can hold up to 8.5 GB of data--great for backing up your MP3 collection. It features the following compatibility and speeds: HD DVD-ROM (1x), CD-ROM (24x), CD-R (16x), CD-RW (10x), DVD-ROM (8x), DVD-R (4x), DVD-RW (4x), DVD+R (Double Layer (2x)), DVD+RW (4x), DVD-RAM (3x). The format adopted by the DVD Forum, HD DVD technology allows you to enjoy movies in high definition. It enhances your notebook with brilliant visual detail and stunning sound. Movies featuring HD will play on the new Qosmio.
  
• Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard 85-key keyboard and electro-static two-button touchpad.

Screen, Graphics and Sound
The G35-AV650 has a 17-inch XGA display w with a resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels and a 16:9 aspect ratio, making it perfect for viewing widescreen format movies. It also provides TruBrite technology, which makes images brighter and more vivid thanks to its anti-glare feature and 350 cd/m2 brightness rating when plugged into the AC adapter (146 cd/m2 rating when in battery mode). The standard definition NTSC TV tuner offers such features as 3D Y/C comb filter (which dramatically reduces edge image artifacts while improving transition detail), digital noise reduction, closed captioning, and parental controls (V-Chip).

Video is powered by the Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics card with 256 MB of dedicated video RAM. Nvidia's TurboCache feature increases the performance of this thin and light notebook PC without increasing its size or draining its battery. It's coupled with the PowerMizer 6.0 advanced power management technology, which significantly extends your notebook PCÕs battery life while minimizing the amount of heat it produces. It also features an integrated audio card that provides 16-bit stereo sound via the built-in Harman Kardon speakers as well as Dolby Home Theater virtual surround sound.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
The G35-AV650 features an integrated PRO/Wireless 3945ABG wireless LAN that's compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found in home routers and wi-fi hotspots) as well as 802.11a networks (which has a higher throughput, but more limited range--great for closed office environments). It also includes a next-generation ExpressCard 54/34 card slot (in addition to a standard PCMCIA slot), which lets you take advantage of thinner, faster, and lighter expansion cards for even more advanced wireless, networking, storage, and security features. With the Bluetooth wireless connectivity, you can synchronize and transfer files between the PC and peripherals such as cell phones and PDAs. You get a good offering of connectivity options, including both super-fast USB 2.0 and FireWire options:

• 4 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 1 Composite video in
• 1 S-Video out, 1 S-Video out
• 1 HDMI audio/video out
• 1 fast infrared
• 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II, 32-bit)
• 1 headphone output shared with S/PDIF digital audio output
• 1 microphone input

This notebook also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Fast Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
The pre-installed Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is essentially Windows XP Professional Edition with a variety of tools to help you to create, organize, and enjoy digital media ranging from music to home movies to photo slide shows. Additionally, it enables you to control your television with the included remote and record and pause programs (much like a DVR--or digital video recorder--such as Tivo or ReplayTV). It's compatible with cable, digital cable, satellite TV and antenna inputs, and it includes an FM tuner. It also comes preloaded with Microsoft Works 8.5, Microsoft Office 2003 OneNote, InterVideo WinDVD, SonicSolutions RecordNow, McAfee VirusScan (6-month trial), McAfee Internet Security Suite (30-day trial).

Dimensions and Weight
This notebook measures 16 x 11.5 x 1.9 inches and weighs 9.5 pounds.

Power
It's powered by a 6-cell rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which has a battery life of up to 2 hours (depending on usage).

What's in the Box
This package contains the Averatec G35-AV650 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a one-year limited hardware warranty (with home service) and a 1-year battery warranty.

Product Description

Like any notebook, Toshiba Qosmio G35AV650 is built for excellent productivity when you're away from home. The Qosmio takes you even further than that - it allows for major creativity and fun with virtually incomparable graphics. Change the way you experience all your digital entertainment, with the Qosmio G35-the ultimate 4-in-1 portable home entertainment center powered by the latest Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology. Enjoy more screen, viewing angles, and brilliance with the 17" diagonal Widescreen UXGA Ultimate TruBrite display (1440x900). Stunning visuals come courtesy of the Toshiba-unique QosmioEngine and NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 high-performance graphics card. In-your-face graphics meet on-demand entertainment with the integrated NTSC TV tuner and QosmioPlayer. Enjoy more movies and music than ever, with the double-layer DVD SuperMulti Drive. Enjoy outstanding sound on your notebook PC with with Toshiba's new 1-bit Digital Amplifier and integrated Harman-Kardon enhanced Bass Reflex speakers. TV Tuner - NTSC Standard Definition (720x480) PCI-Express x16 graphics subsystem, featuring NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 with 256MB GDDR2 discrete graphics memory Ports - RGB (monitor) output; S-Video output; Component output; Composite input (shared with stereo input); S-Video input; Stereo input (shared with composite video input); S/PDIF output port (shared with headphone port); Microphone input; Headphone output; iLINK IEEE-1394 Firewire; Universal Serial Bus USB v2.0 - 4 ports; RJ-45 LAN port; RJ-11 modem port 56K Dial-up modem 10/100/1000 Base-TX Ethernet / Intel Pro/Wireless Network Connection 3945ABG 802.11a/b/g / Bluetooth v2.0 / InfraRed Remote Control Unit Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear) - 16.0 (406.0mm) x 11.6 (295mm) x 1.79 (45.5mm)[F]/2.11 (53.5mm)[R] without feet / Weight - About 10 lbs 4700 mAh Li-ion battery / DualVolt AC adptr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No perfect in any shape or form, but still good for what it says it does..., August 26, 2006

By 

Adam L. Safianow "Kiddo" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 17" Laptop (Intel Core Duo Processor T2500, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive) (Personal Computers)

I had a lot of mixed reactions about this laptop. Most of the features were like... "oh it has this" shortly followed by "but wait, why?" You'll understand what I mean later on.

PROCESSOR:

This laptop came out at a very bad time. Granted the Core Duo with 2.0GHz is a step up from the AV600 and has much better clock speeds, it could have still been upgraded to the 2.16GHz. Also, with the Core 2 Duo processor line coming out in the very near future, it's a wonder why Toshiba didn't wait. With a premium laptop, the latest and greatest is always welcomed.

MEMORY:

Not bad. This laptop has two 100GB hard drives, allowing for 200GB of storage at a steadily quiet 5400rpm. The RAM however is very disappointing. Toshiba actually doesn't let you upgrade before you buy. What they do do is stick you with dual channel 512 sticks making 1GB total. Now, 1GB is pretty good for a casual laptop, but this is a PREMIUM laptop. 2GB would have been nice here. This laptop can actually be upgrades to 4GB, but I don't know how well it would run that, or if it would recognize all of it.

DESIGN:

Pretty nice. TV tuner built-in, nice media reader. Card reader. Everything else is pretty standard. The media controls are pretty nice, and I like the added security and the shortcuts on the trackpad. Keys are nice size, and the screen is really nice and bright at 1920 x 1200 maximum resolution running at a possible 1080p (only 1080i externally though). The black is very sleek and the build is pretty decent. The AV650 is heavier than Sony's AR190, so that's also kinda disappointing.

PERFORMANCE:

As I mentioned before the processor is a 2.0GHz processor... but besides that being slightly disappointing, so is the graphics card. Very similar to the AR190, this device also has an nVidida 7600 GT. Now if you compare this device to the AV600, it's a step up from the 7300, than it sounds like a good jump. But when you compare it to Toshiba's P105, which is almost a grand cheaper, and has a 7900 GS, you have to questions Toshiba's motives. This is far from a gaming machine, but it is still a pretty powerful machine.

I also have some major gripes with the HD DVD features. For one, it's only readable. Unlike the AR190, you cannot directly burn onto the large capacity discs. Also, there are some hiccups in the viewing. And the software that runs some of its other features are pretty bad.

BATTERY:

Not bad. A big improvement over the AR190. I got about 165 minutes from one charge on very demanding setting. On normal usage, I got 181 minutes, so I was happy about that. It does tend to get pretty warm, so I wouldn't recommend keeping this on your lap, because it gets hot, and it's heavy, so it's best to leave this on a desk.

BOTTOM LINE:

It really is too early in the next generation gap to be dropping over $3,000 for high end media input computers, so I still say wait it out. I have already see price drops from various vendors on the AR190, and I will suspect he same will also happen with the AV650. This machine has a lot going for it, but I still say to just get something to hold you over. There are 19" SLI laptops out there for just a little more, so if you really want the ultimate computer, that's the way to go. I recommend the AR190 over this, and you can view that review that I wrote.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kosmik Qosmio Experiences, August 31, 2006

By 

Nicholas Bedworth (Maui) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 17" Laptop (Intel Core Duo Processor T2500, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive) (Personal Computers)

The Qosmio is very well constructed, sturdy, heavy, very heavy, but should stand up well to constant use as a desktop replacement.

Weak points:

1. Truly inadequate customer support. Even when you push through to Level 3 (Toshiba employees in Irvine, CA), they are not even able to tell you what error messages generated by Toshiba software mean. "We'll have to ask Japan, and who knows if they will even reply". Other users report that on occasion, the Level 3 people will be able to solve problems, but this wasn't my experience. Level 1 and 2 are non-native-English-speaking outsource companies in Asia. American users apparently cannot use the worldwide Toshiba support forums, which is bizarre.

2. Truly terrible documentation (goes with 1). The product is essentially unsupported; you're on your own. Definitely not suitable for naive users.

3. High-gloss screen is a total pain. It is very hard to use in a normally-lit room. You have to adjust the screen very carefully to avoid reflections. The anti-reflection screens on other Toshiba units are vastly more practical (I own several of them).

4. HDDVD drive. This is still a work in progress. It sort of works, but requires updating drivers and applications. Check out the AVS Forum thread on the Qosmio for the latest instructions.

5. 1 GB of RAM shipped is marginal for power users.

Strong points:

1. Once you get the dual hard drives configured as RAID 0 (Striping), the machine is extemely quick. Good luck figuring out how to do it. The manual is useless, so is tech support.

2. The machine really can make use 2 GB of RAM. I'm running SQL Server, IIS, etc., which together eat up about 1.3 GB

3. Plenty of USB connectors

4. Good connectivity with 1 GB Ethernet and HDMI AV output.

5. Quiet, even then running at high CPU usage.

6. Decent sound quality for a laptop, with large, top-mounted volume control

7. Much better build quality than functionally-similar Dell units (which seem a bit weak mechanically, sort of cheap plastic appearance).

Who should buy this machine:

1. Not your elderly parents.

2. True desktop replacement, more or less portable.

3. Check for discounts or rebates.

Overall:

A rating of 4.0 is a bit generous; more like 3.5. I considered sending the machine back on more than one occasion. Lots of raw power, lots of frustrations getting the !@#$@#$ thing running properly.

The review below reflects many of my feelings as well.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My most enjoyable "Notebook" yet, January 11, 2007

By 

W. Pozzi "cyberSamurai" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 17" Laptop (Intel Core Duo Processor T2500, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive) (Personal Computers)

I purchased this "PC replacement" for work, since the 1 year older Sony laptop I had would barely run under Vista, and I was a Vista Beta tester. This Toshiba is fantastic! "Oblivion" runs effortless at all advanced settings (as a benchmark).

There are only two minor glitches, depending on the use to which you intend to put the system. First, it is big! It really is a PC replacement. Calling it a notebook really isn't descriptive of its actual size. The screen is big, as well as fantastic! It's really spoiled me, relative to liquid crystal screens. Although it is portable, given a large enough pack, and while the computer itself is not that heavy, the adapter is. It will only run for a couple of hours without the adapter.

The second glitch is that while there is a HD DVD drive, and while it does work, the software HD WinDVD player could not play "V for Vendetta." However, this is a software problem, not a hardware problem: the visual display was garbled.