Customer Reviews

Toshiba Satellite M35-S456 15.4" Laptop (1.70 GHz Pentium M (Centrino), 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD Super Multi Drive)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This (Special Edition) laptop has simply taken my breath away with its exceptional performance and (mostly) intelligent construction. The large screen, mammoth hard disk, powerful processor and elegant design make it both a delight to behold as well as an effective tool for productivity. And if you have the luck to be on a red-eye flight with nobody to converse with, pop in a DVD and use the Express Media player - this nifty tool turns the notebook into a DVD / CD player without having to boot up the actual computer. As a side note, the Express Media player is installed on a separate subsystem (occupying 100 Mb) on the hard disk and can be pretty tricky to tweak. According to Toshiba's manual, removing the player and then deciding to put it back on again will require reinstalling the *entire* system. Ouch. Therefore, I actually suggest removing it entirely to avoid any hassle.

The Harman/ Kardon speakers are exceptional for laptop sound. The built-in 802.11g wireless capabilities and the onboard software make it a cinch to get on the internet as well as troubleshoot most networking issues. The keyboard and touch pad are firm and sensitive (albeit without the scroll features of most HP / Compaq machines) further reinforcing the overall feel of a solid machine. The notebook comes with 4 USB 2.0 ports, SD Card, Video in / out (S-Video), type II PC card slot, Firewire / iLink (IEEE 1394). The laptop doesn't get too hot compared to most other brands, but does create a decent amount of heat. My only concerns were disappointing battery life (about 2.5 hours at best), the lack of Bluetooth, *trial edition* of Microsoft Office 2003, and a high price tag. However, the price really is justified and the noted issues *could* be handled by shelling out a bit more. On the technical side, the placement of the USB ports can be a little inconvenient, with none of them on the back end. Perhaps the reasoning for this decision was that one could easily plug / unplug the USB cables without having to reach around the machine and fumble.

Although the manufacturer's warranty is limited to a year, I recommend an extended warranty (in spite of the cost), especially if you travel around a bit. Why? Most extended warranties protect your (valuable) notebook from power surges, decaying pixels (on the screen), malfunctioning parts and almost all innate problems - Circuit City's City advantage program foots the bill for s&h too, whereas the manufacturer's warranty requires you to pay for shipping. If you consider this notebook an investment as well as a tool (I do), isn't it worth insuring? After all, even the best care and workmanship *cannot guarantee* a fan from failing or a motherboard from frying.

I comparison-shopped SONY and HP notebooks against this one, and the Toshiba came out the winner. I've dealt with computers (as both a programmer and a network technician) for 8 years, and this is one of the best all-round products I've seen. It's great for students, gaming enthusiasts and the average person on the go. Even though it only weighs about 6 lbs. (pretty light), I wouldn't recommend it to a traveling business person. Instead, the smaller, more compact SONY VGN s150 might be a better choice.

For those who are not familiar with the notebooks and their components, this review of the Toshiba Satellite M35-S456 would hopefully clear things up a bit.

Processor: 1.7 GHz Intel Centrino - Provides for fast, powerful performance. Although it's not as powerful as the Pentium 4 (P4) processor, the Centrino (aka. Pentium M) is optimized for mobility, using significantly less electricity (hence longer lasting battery) than other chips. Furthermore, the P4 chip generates a lot of heat, requiring a powerful (often bulky and heavy) fan to keep it cool.

Memory: 512 Mb RAM - This, in layman's terms, ensures faster computing. Comes with PC2700 DDR333 @ 166MHz in 2x256 from Toshiba's website, or better yet, comes with a single 512 Mb chip when purchased through most Circuit City stores, which is where I got mine.

Hard Disk: 80 GB @ 4200 RPMs. It's important to realize that although 4200 is not as fast as a 60 GB at 7200 or 10,000 RPMs, the slower speed keeps the machine very quiet and requires less battery power too. 80 GB, one of the largest retail notebook hard disks out there, is plenty of space to work with and I'm in the process of creating a dual boot Linux / Windows system.

Video Card: 64 MB dedicated NVidia GeForce FX Go5200 provides for powerful mobility with just enough juice for 3D gaming. Many notebooks come with integrated RAM, which is taken out of its memory. ie. if a system came with 512 MB of RAM with 64 MB of integrated memory, it would reduce the actual available memory (RAM) to 448 Megabytes. 512 - 64 = 448. Having a decent video card is essential to gaming as well as multimedia development.

DVD RW+/- : This notebook comes with a DVD / CD combo burner suited to most popular formats. An onboard acoustic silencer can reduce the speed at which DVDs and CDs are burned in order to create less noise. Even without the silencer, the drive is reasonably quiet. The DVD burner also serves as a more effective means to backup your data compared to simply a CD burner.

Display : The 15.4" Widescreen TruBrite screen creates rich colors with plenty of available contrast to greatly enjoy movies and provides enough desktop space to increase productivity. Note that the maximum resolution with the TruBrite widescreen is 1280x800, which isn't too bad. Using an external monitor allows for higher resolutions. I believe that this is also the largest notebook size that fits into standard notebook carrying cases.

This system is feature-laden and marvellous - I would recommend it without hesitation. Toshiba quality and reliability are legendary, making for a solid purchase.

I truly love this machine. It's powerful, light; the screen is amazing and the battery life, even with the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery lasts up to four hours! I dropped in a clean version of XP Pro, an additional 512Megs of RAM and she's a beast. The only problem I had with it was that it came with XP home. I feel most home users aren't going to blow 2K on a laptop to use for email and browsing the internet. The other drawback was that even in XP home Toshiba had installed a bunch of their additional "user-friendly" software which ran all the time and quickly became a headache. Moreover Toshiba also installed a hot "buy Toshiba direct" button in XP home where the search tab is under the start menu and if accidentally clicked it would take you to the Toshiba web site.
In summary, I strongly recommend this machine, but install a clean version of XP Pro; all necessary drivers are supplied on a restore CD provided by Toshiba and on their web site - very easy to install. Any laptop you purchase will usually have that "user-friendly" software whether you like it or not.

Kevin

I spent about 3 weeks obsessing over which notebook to buy. Let's not kid ourselves: with this tough economy stretching endlessly before most, it's not so easy to throw down 2G's for something I may/may not like or use. So for a purchase this big, I needed to do LOTS of research.

This laptop has ALL the listed specs, and MORE. I played on this in 3 different, well-known chain stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, and CompUSA). It wasn't enough for me to read all the wonderous specs and the 4.5+/5.0 star reviews; I needed to touch it, see it, work on it, hear it, and really know if it's worth the mucho bucks. After exhaustive research, LOTS of online time reading reviews, issues, problems, and making side-by-side comparisons against other Toshiba and similar notebooks, I finally decided to take a chance and buy this.

I have owned a Toshiba Tecra notebook before (great machine), but have mostly owned Dell pc's/notebooks for many years and have often been loyal to that company. However, as most now are aware, Dell's customer service has been quite unimpressive of late. I don't know about Toshiba's service, but it couldn't be any worse; besides which, I bought the in-store, 3-year warranty to make sure if there's a problem, I can take it in myself, rather than ship it back and forth to Toshiba. Also, I comparison shopped with a very similar Dell PC (Dell Latitude D800), which initially looks better at under $1400...except once I added on the "this and that" to match the specs on this Toshiba, the Dell price rose upwards of $2800!! Wow, what a difference in price, huh?

I am well aware of all the problems that could exist with this notebook; as I've mentioned, LOTS of research time went into this purchase. Some recurring issues in forums are: overheating issues, dead pixel (one) on the LCD (which some tech guy at a store told me is common on LCD screens, anyhow), smaller keyboard size (true enough, but it's not bad at all), sound system not being outstanding (come on, people, get a desktop for such extensive audio work!), and the Windows XP Home Edition that's pre-loaded (yes, really, DO upgrade to the Pro Edition, as it's less "buggy").

BUT, what notebook is perfect? What other notebook has this much power, speed, battery power-saving capabilities (Centrino, baby), DVD-RW/CD-RW, Widescreen LCD screen display (you have to SEE to believe..it's SO beautifully bright that you can't help but be mesmerized and think "purty"!), 80GB storage capacity, firewire port, 4 USB ports, built-in wireless WiFi connectivity (get the Linksys Wireless router WRT54G for faster, more reliable speed), SD memory storage, and at 6 lbs., what else could you want? Think about it: what notebook doesn't have problems? They all do or will at some point. The key is to get a really good (if somewhat expensive) extended warranty plan that will cover everything, so that you can use this baby and sleep well at night knowing you're covered for all sorts of unforeseen problems. Furthermore, you can get such cool accessories for this notebook that it'll be like an early Christmas present to yourself. (See my accessory recommendations listed by ASBIN # under this product separately).

Overall, if this review isn't enough for you, I'd recommend that you go out to a store to test it, try it, see it, love it, buy it, and take good care of it--because for 2G's, this isn't your average toy. And if you decide to buy it, buy it at Amazon, because you'll save over $150 in taxes (most states), which can go towards the XP Pro upgrade, anyhow.

Oh yeah, and I'd give this a 4.5 star--not a 4.0--only because I did want the XP Pro edition, pre-loaded, and maybe additional free (READ: Useful) softwares, such as Microsoft Office. But since I have to upgrade and pay more for that stuff, I have to deduct the 1/2 star...which, if you think about it, is not bad AT ALL!

Good luck and happy shopping! And don't forget that the REBATES axe over $200 off the price, so for only $1800, you can't go wrong!

I actually bought the M35-S4561 Special edition from toshibadirect. It is the same except for coming preinstalled with XP Pro instead of Home.

The display is what got me to buy this computer. Not only the brightness but the high resolution on a wide screen, which lets me view several high resolution microscope images side by side or write and edit a document with two pages side-by-side. (The text remains legible).

There are several downsides to this laptop. Overall, it seems like they developed a great idea for a competitive laptop that aspires to fill a niche between the multimedia power of desktop replacement laptops and the portability of sleeker designs. However, they neglected to design it well to fulfill all these functions.

The first problem is its weight: if you want to carry anything more than just the laptop, your load will be too heavy to go very far. I've begun to keep it on my desktop. It still needs to be about a 1 lb. less to be called portable.

Second, it isn't built like the old Toshibas. I was severely dissapointed when, a few days after I had begun using it, I noticed that the "metallic" outer shell over the monitor had already become terribly scratched up by rubbing against a plastic binder in my bag. A white plastic under the metallic paint was showing through. Additional scratches showing the white plastic beneath have since formed around the touchpad area. How long will it take before my palms start rubbing off the metallic paint from the palm rest below the keyboard? In a few years, this may look kind of ugly. Compare this poor quality with the old toshiba porteges, for example. They used an actual metal case that was much more rugged. For the price I paid, I would expect some more quality materials to be used in something as simple as the case design. Be careful.

The computer has this interesting but pretty unuseful direct DVD playback feature. You can play DVDs even when the processor is off, by pressing a separate button that just activates the DVD player. However, as I usually keep my computer on hibernate when not using it, I would have to turn my computer on, then shut down windows, then turn on this other feature. And it mysteriously lacks volume controls other than the dial on the side of the machine. When the dial is at the highest level, the volume is still much lower than when DVDs are played back on Windows, and you can't really hear much from the speakers, so you must instead use headphones. Again, poor quality design. Why didn't someone get this right before adding it as a feature?

Sound is good overall. Nothing fantastic though. The touchpad is functional but not very useful. It has no scroll features. It includes a toshiba utility that lets you quick launch programs by touching the corners, though I never bother with it.

The location of the USB ports are on the sides towards the front. It would have been more useful to have them in back or further back on the side, as it takes up room you can use for other things on your desk.

The installation CD has a copy of windows XP on it, but if your computer isn't starting up (as mine wasn't after a bad SP2 install did a number on it), you can't use the install CD to fix the problem. It will only reformat the drive and reinstall everything like new. So if you ever have any major windows problem resulting in a bsod, your only option will be to purchase a real copy of XP and use its system recovery console. I can't believe that toshiba and other manufacturers don't provide a real copy of the OS for such purposes. The technical support from Toshiba was mildly helpful. Ultimately, though, they said that I had to get a real copy of XP. They could have saved me the expense by having a more functional installation CD.

Overall, the computer has been useful, but disappointing in quality. Toshiba has in the past been rated up there with apple (which is what made me choose it over other companies). However, I am not sure they are still as committed to quality as in the past. At this point, I am not sure that they can be recommended over the quality level of SONY, for example. You should definitely consider other options, though this may still come out marginally better.

After laoding XP Pro this laptop has a lot of functionality in a light machine with a manageable footprint. When travelling the 15.4 inch screen is as large as you want to go for a tray table on a plane. At 6lbs this is 1/3 less heavy than my Dell inspiron 4000. The four USB ports and built in WiFi allow me to do a wide variety of tasks. The screen is great - Its brighter, and it allows me to enlarge fonts without losing information and look at large spreadsheets. My only con point is that the keyboard has a lighter feel than my Dell that I am slowly getting used to. Otherwise a well conceived and executed laptop. So far, so good ...

I bought my M35 earlier this month to replace an older Dell desktop computer. I had become quite comfortable with my Dell and was not looking forward to parting with it, but the portability of a notebook computer had become a necessity since I travel back and forth to college at least twice a year. Overall, the Toshiba was a worthy replacement. The screen is fantastic, the speed is quite comparable to a friend's P4 2.8ghz, and the system is well designed: extremely slim and weighing just over 6 lbs.
My concerns stem mainly from the fact that I have been used to working on a desktop and there are some tasks that notebooks are simply not suited for. For example, I do some work with music editing. The sound system in the Toshiba is quite good for listening to music, but cannot compete with a desktop sound card when it comes to recording or editing. I have also been somewhat disappointed in DVD playback. Although the widescreen provides a great aspect ratio to view movies, they often appear grainy and lower quality. Finally, the machine does produce a fair amount of heat, particularly for a Centrino computer, on the right side of the case. However, it is still less than a P4-based computer would produce, and not a serious concern.
All in all, this computer exceeded my expectations and is certainly a preferable choice to other models from Toshiba or other brands on the market. If you're looking for a mobile computer with good performance and multimedia ability at a reasonable price, look no further. Also, you won't find a better brand for PC notebooks other than IBM, which caters to a more business-oriented audience and does not produce machines with great multimedia features.

As freelance journalist and now Hollywood screenwriter, I can assure you I beat the daylights out of any computer at my disposal a lot more than you would. Keyboards wear out quicker for writers, hinges go off the hinge at the constant idea spurts. Come to think of it, I drive my car at 100MPH where everywhere I go but that's beside the point...well, maybe not, if only to prove I am hard on machinery.
I can go through an average laptop in about a year and a half. I have owned a Sony Vaio which was surprisingly well built but it had its little bugs. I also owned an older model Toshiba given to me through my day job and I managed to kill that too. For what I need to do this laptop has been utterly amazing, in fact, it has lasted over 2 years an is still going strong. My only additions will be an upgrade to 2 Gigs of memory since I have established that I have absolutely NO patience when it comes to machinery.
The processor is more than fast enough, if you need one faster than this you have mental issues that need examining. I am the original speed freak and this is fast enough to keep me passive. When doing research for articles or stories, I am running many multiple programs at once and she just blasts from each to the next with no problems. The screen brightness is externally adjustable which suits my many moods.
The keys have since lost the slight tactile feels to them but the springiness and feedback through my digits are still the same. I usually wear them down the no spring response in no time.
Overall, I cannot even consider another laptop, even one made by Toshiba as this model is no longer made, it was a special edition. I am sure in time this too will wear out also but Toshiba has made my replacement choice quite difficult by making the M35-S456 'special edition,' I don't know that I'll be able to live with another laptop without constantly comparing it to this one... damn, sounds like a freaking realtionship, don't it?
MJ :-)

"Racer's Edge" the movie, coming soon. Think fast n furious on 2 wheels...motocross, with a father/son conflict.

I have been using this for all my office needs, spreadsheets, word documents, presentations, etc. I have used it to rip CDs, create MP3s, burn CDs and DVDs, movie creation, MPG editing, firewire DV movie capture and edit.

My only complaints are that the front panel buttons for media do not activate when playing mp3s. Seems like just CDs and DVDs right now. Need to investigate if an app exists to pass control to WMP. The TV IN function works, but I find very little use for it. It only allows the screen to be used like a TV. It does not pass the video on to the processor, so it doesn't work like a video capture source. Video capture to the HDD would be nicer.

This is not built to the same standards as the older Toshibas that we have floating around the office. The Trubrite screen was beautiful, but you could see where corners were cut on the rest of the machine to hit the price point. The whole unit was somewhat flimsy. Most of the case is a kind of cheap looking silver plastic. The keyboard flexed with normal typing key pressure.

The machine I received ran so hot that the fan never stopped -- my wrists were sweaty from resting on the notebook after typing just a couple of email messages. I was running the notebook on a desk, so blocked ventillation ports were not the issue. (The warning sticker on the case saying that prolonged conact with bare skin may cause burns should have been a clue.) I had heard that this model ran hot, but there has got to be a design problem. This was unprecedented.

To add insult to injury, my particular computer arrived with little red lint specks in front of the LCD but behind the glossy outer screen surface. If you are considering buying this machine, take a long hard look at it in person and don't be memerized by the screen. If you do buy it, get it from Amazon and be sure to look into the Toshiba extended warranties that are available.

This laptop has been stunning. The build quality is actually excellent in comparison with laptops being offered today (in the same price range). If you're going to compare it to older laptops, you're just wasting your time, because laptops are all about being light and thin now. The reason older laptops seemed stronger was because the bulky plastic (and sometimes metal) had to contain their heavy guts.

The sound from the Harman/Kardon speakers, for a laptop, is great, it fills my bedroom and they offer respectable bass. A feature some might not realize is that there are vents in the lid of the laptop to allow sound to pass through with the lid closed. I do this quite often and use the multimedia buttons on the front-what a great design.

The GeForce 5200GO is really quite something-I mostly use it for DVD viewing, however, I have tried Farcry and other games on this and they functioned rather well!

I have nothing but praise for the screen, it looks better than many professional CRTs and any desktop LCDs I've ever seen. The screen size is perfect as well: 15.4". 12" is too small and 17" isn't enough of a difference other than adding more weight to a laptop.

The Centrino processor runs immensely fast, and paired with Toshiba's great power saving software, gets me 3 hours of battery life with no problem!

Perhaps the only negative thing I can think of is the design isn't as attractive as some of the Sony laptops. However, you pay for the design of Sony laptops and their build quality is quite terrible-and their parts are outrageously priced.

When I was first looking to replace my old Sony Vaio (PCG-R505GL-what an awful LCD!), I had a difficult time deciding between this and a Sony. After rigorous comparison, I bought this and am still extremely happy with my decision since then. The price per feature ratio is the best part! Go Toshiba!!