Customer Reviews

Toshiba Satellite A505-S6960 Laptop Computer

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

UPDATE: Had a problem with it & Toshiba didn't honor warranty. Replaced with a DELL.

I bought this because it's supposed to have a 7 hr battery. It dies around 3-4 hrs. All I run is the internet (browsing, not playing music or videos) and MS WORD. I also have an Acer Aspire One which does last 5 hrs like it says. I think the screen size (more than double) is eating up the energy (I do keep the setting on bright, it's not worth eye strain to save energy).

It's easy to type on & has a full # pad. I can shut it down with a bunch of browsers tabs open and when I re-start those tabs will open right back up where they were.

The Harmon Karmon speakers are better than average for a laptop & the sound goes to a decent level unlike some laptops.

The glossy black is beautiful and does get fingerprints easy, but they are also easy to just wipe off!

Lastly, if you're going to buy online, I recommend Amazon as their customer service is 2nd to none!

I have had my laptop for a year and a half and I LOVE it! The only complaint that I have is that it keeps saying that my battery needs to be replaced, and that after a year and a half it doesn't stay charged as long, and the replacement battery is $100, but I hear that is quite common, and that is pretty minor compared to other issues that a laptop can have after a year and a half of use.

When I first was shopping for a laptop I did a lot of research online and could not find a better laptop with as much memory (4G/320G)for a better price. At first I did NOT like the huge battery sticking out of the bottom, but I am glad that saw past that because it serves as a tilt which I love because I have Guyon's tunnel(almost identical to carpal tunnel) and I can type all day and not have problems, also I can use it on my bed without having to worry about having something under it so it doesn't overheat.

I read another reviewer say that it did not get 7 hours of battery life as it claimed. It does have 3 modes that you can use it in, high performance, balanced, and eco. If you keep the laptop in high performance then no, it won't last 7 hours, but in eco or balanced mode I have gotten OVER 7 hours of usage. In high performance I got 4-5 which compared to other laptops is awesome!

I'm typing to you right now on this laptop.

I got it a little over a year and a half ago and so far it has served me very well

It came with a huge battery that stuck out of the bottom, aka about an inch above flush, with rubber feet on the bottom so it served to prop up the laptop and give a nice tilt to the keyboard and made it easier to type. The problem with it was that it stuck up like crazy and would barely fit in my bag with the battery in (or even separately since it was a block of pure battery) so I traded my friend the fat battery for a battery that sits flush and lasts about 2 hours.

When I did have the big battery, that thing would last forever when I had eco mode on with the laptop. Definitely lasted almost all day at school giving it a break at lunch time and all. 8 hours is the record and 6 or 7 was more common.

I use it for having a million tabs open in Firefox, online shopping, youtubing, amazoning, tons and tons of music, photo editing, gaming. It is on almost as long each day as I am awake. So, 16 hours a day she is running like a champ.

It runs Photoshop CS2 well, and even some more intense games.

Gamewise have run stuff like Halo, HL2 Left for dead and counterstrike source, even Starcraft 2 (on low/med) on here. Starcraft II had a tendency to crash after extended time playing (like, 3 hours) , it definitely took the temperature up but it ran well enough for me to play for a good while.

Overall this has been a good laptop. The shiny case drives me crazy with fingerprints and scratches and lint showing up without fail. Something rubs when the laptop is closed that has resulted in weird scuffs along the frame around the screen and under the webcam.

I've been vary rough with this laptop, so far the only problem has been the corners paint wearing off to white and the grill for the heatsink snapping off leaving just an exposed fan/ heatsink which is fine i dont really stick my fingers in that too often. It runs pretty cool anyways.
The CD/dvd drive is easy to randomly hit and have pop open and get caught on things but its never broken or snapped which is def good. Speakers have started to get a little hokey, sometimes one with crackle out and I have to blast the volume for a while to get them both woken back up again but usually they behave.

The touch pad is not recessed, which I LOVE when it comes to cleaning up the keyboard and mouse even though that makes it a little harder to find, but it's textured differently than the rest of the body. IT has the neat pinch and zoom two-fingered commands and the side/bottom can be used to scroll even though there's no arrows or bars for it.

I was pleased to see an eSATA port which I use for an external hard drive. Love the front wireless on off switch/indicator and the front sdcard reader. But, hate that there is not a clasp or button to open and hold it closed it with.

The multimedia buttons can be finicky too, sometimes a volume one will get "stuck" (resulting in a blasting computer or a mute computer) when I touch it fast to try and get the volume up or down quickly. But that's ever since I got the laptop and probably user error.

I purchased this laptop at Best Buy here in Baton Rouge, LA in 2009. After my warranty expired last year in 2010 I've had serious problems with this product. I've replaced the hard drive twice and now my motherboard is crashed. Toshiba has been of no help and blatantly insensitive. I'm extremely dissappointed as I purchased this product at a recommendation of Consumer Report Best Buy. I'm not sure what I will do at this point but I do know for sure I will not purchase another Toshiba.

I've had my Toshiba for almost two years. It has worked wonderfully except for keys constantly falling off. I had had it a little over a year- out of warranty of course- when the first key fell off. Shortly afterwards I lost the O including the silicone nipple underneath. Now almost 2 years in, I had three keys fall off in less than a week and the enter button seems to be headed the same way.