Toshiba Satellite A35-S159 Laptop (2.30-GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive)

by Toshiba

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 16.4 x 11.5 x 1.8 inches ; 7.7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000DJEFX
• Item model number: PSA30U-1TC4CV
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,017 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 24, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

A midlevel workhorse that offers solid but not spectacular amenities and power, the Toshiba Satellite A35-S159 Notebook PC delivers wireless communication, ample storage space and Pentium 4 processing at an affordable price point. Serious 3-D artisans and gamers and demanding multimedia fans should look toward one of Toshiba's more upscale machines (such as the P10 or P25 series of Media Center notebooks), but budget-minded shoppers should find the Satellite A35-S159 more than meets their needs.

Driven by 512 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM memory (expandable to two full GB) and one of the most cost-effective processors in the entire Intel Pentium 4 family, the 2.3 GHz Pentium 4, the Satellite A35-S159 is powerful enough to run any typical mobile application. However, its 3-D video performance is somewhat less impressive. Featuring an integrated Intel 852GM graphics chipset with 32 MB shared (not dedicated) memory, the system will not deliver smooth frame rates in most current mid- to high-end games or sophisticated 3-D graphics applications.

Measuring 13 by 11 by 1.7 inches and weighing in at 7.72 pounds, the Satellite A35-S159 is of average size -- far less bulky than a "desktop replacement" unit but nearly double the weight of some of today's lightweight tablets and ultra-compact models. Inside, Toshiba has included an accommodating 60 GB hard disk, a full-size 85-key keyboard with dedicated Windows and application hotkeys, a generous 15-inch XGA TFT active-matrix display capable of 1024 by 768 resolution, and a convenient DVD/CD-RW drive through which you can burn and listen to audio CDs, archive files, and enjoy the latest Hollywood blockbusters.

Connectivity options are satisfactory. The system features three high-speed USB 2.0 ports for plug and play peripherals, an S-Video TV-out jack, an RJ-11 modem port for dial-up communication, an RJ-45 LAN port for high-speed networking, and integrated 802.11g wireless support for those times when you just can't plug in. An IEEE 1394 FireWire port (normally used for downloading data from digital camcorders) is not included. Bundled software includes Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Works and Intuit Quicken New User Edition 2003. In ideal conditions, battery life is estimated at an acceptable two hours.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heat problem yes, but still a solid machine, April 28, 2006

By 

K. Pierre-Louis "tohdturtel" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toshiba Satellite A35-S159 Laptop (2.30-GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive) (Personal Computers)

I've had this computer for almost three years. About two years into it it developed the heating issue that others have complained about - it began shutting down at unpredictable intervals; usually when I had the CPU running at full capacity. I did some research and discovered that the problem was dust. Namely poor cooling design causes the computer to take dust inside and over time it makes it hard for the computer to release heat properly. I took it to a computing center and got them to open it up and clear out the dust - I'd long since been off warranty.

I also went out and dropped 20 dollars on an extrernal antec laptop fan. It's the kind of fan that you sit your computer on and it operates more silently than the toshiba fan. Together with a regular vaccuming of the actual laptop fan to suck out any dust I haven't had a problem since then. I'm going to take it in again in a month or two to get the dust cleared out BEFORE I start having problems again.

So I know what you're thinking...why the 4 stars? I paid less than 1200 bucks for this machine. A dell machine of similar price would be falling apart in many, many, more critical ways (I should know I used to work in a computer lab), and compaq's/hps are infinitely worse machines. It's speedy, I've had absolutely no connectivity problems with the wifi (I've used over a dozen different wifi connections and I often have a stronger connection than my friends), ditto with the LAN...I've used the modem precisely once so I can't comment on that.

I've put a total of 70 dollars worth of service into this machine. You put way more money into a car to maintain it. A computer is a complicated piece of machinery...I don't understand people who think that they can buy it and not have to do anything to allow it to keep operating in peak condition.

Does this computer have it's flaws? Yes. But for it's price it's a good value. I wouldn't buy a Honda and expect a Mercedes.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MINI-JOURNAL OF THE LIFE OF MY SATELLITE A35-S159, December 16, 2005

By 

enkeb "<3Ez" (San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toshiba Satellite A35-S159 Laptop (2.30-GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive) (Personal Computers)

i have had this laptop for 3 years now, and during the 1 year company warranty and 3 year with compusa, i had the WORST cooling problem...like the other users on this review forum, I had to ice the heat sinc in order to keep my laptop from shutting off abruptly (note folks that this is a security for your computer, if it continues to increase in temperature while it remains on, your hardware may be destroyed due to intense heat)...thus i had compusa replace the whole cooling system...it was a breeze and on a couple occasion had it it abruptly shut down on its own with the new cooling plates (for the new users without a warranty, the best way to maintain the cooling system is to blow straight into the exhaust while holding a damp cloth up to the fan screen, thus you will catch all the dust build-up)...also while i had my laptop hanging from my shoulder, my mustang door came swinging back at me knocking my laptop to the ground causing the hard driv to fail....this is typcial once excessive shock has been encountered...i simply had this replaced...for the next year and a half i had no problems and with all the things filed such as my library of 1500+ songs and music videos i still havnt filled up the lovely 60GB HDD...it is however as we call it today, a good desktop replacement according to its weight...its weight is on the rim btwn laptops that stay at home and laptops you can lug around at school...lately however iv been using a 3rd party ac adaptor and my ground needle snapped off...eventually i believe the temporary solder work i did to charge the unit caused the lcd backlight to short...after much research NOTE* even though your power jack supply is fused to the motherboard, you can have someone professionally un-solder that jack and replace it with another one at http://laptopjacks.com (which is about $25)...and if you can spot what has caused your backlight to go out like mine, (connections, lcd, bulb, etc) generailly it is bound to be the whole screen...all you need to do is go to a site like http://screentekinc.com and they will provide you a brand new screen (with available extra options like XBRITE in sync with the tech today)for roughly around $250 - $300 brand new... USERS if u made the investment already, take care of it because regardless of TOSHIBA having great technology the only downer is that their parts and durabilty are not necessarily the strongest...in comparison to the new line of Sony Vaio Laptops my A35 is just one big peice of powerful plastic...if u refuse to do repairs there are companies wherein you can sell your computer and they will buy it off you for the good parts...I FOR ONE AM IN NO FINANCIAL POSITION TO GET UP AND REPLACE THE WHOLE THING ESPECIALLY WITH THE NEW COOLING SYSTEM AND HARD DRIVE...it has served me strong for the past 3 YEARS in MOVIE MAKING for school, music promotion, web-design, church-sermon audio recording/digital and many work and school related tasks, so far everything else is good for another couple years...thnx

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it, February 12, 2009

By 

ADS (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toshiba Satellite A35-S159 Laptop (2.30-GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive) (Personal Computers)

I've had my AS35-S159 for close to 8 years with almost no problems. I did encounter the overheating issue at some point and all it required was vacuuming off some of the dust and cat hair trapped in the cooling unit. My wife went through 2 laptops (HP, DELL) during the same time.
What sets this laptop apart is stability, I can have 3-4 programs running at once and it never crashes. I will definitely stick with Toshiba for my next laptop - whenever that may be.