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

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.

The machine is very good, but could be better...
Pros:
- Almost a complete machine
- The sound quality is very good
- Vista Ultimate + Windows Hold'em
Negs:
- The boot process is too slow
- It's a big notebook
- The brilliant cover shows any dirty or fingerprint
Good value for product, especially with Vista Ultimate. Slick but bulky and heavier than most laptops; not to lug around. The sound is good for this little box. It has all the goodies you generally want on a desktop.
this computer advertised well but when I got it it always seemed to be so slow and it froze several times. I had to format the hard disk and finally sold it to my computer geek friend that could have a better use for it. Only had it for 3 or 4 months and got sick of having trouble with it every day..... Dont think Ill ever buy Toshiba again.... after that went for a Dell XPS 1330 and havent had a bit of trouble with it...



Product Description
Powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processor technology, the Qosmio F45 meets the demands of multimedia users, who want to watch movies, listen to music with 2 Harmon Kardon speakers and subwoofer, Download files, and more at the same time at peak performance. A couple of interesting features of this laptop is that it includes built-in 1GB Turbo Memory that gives you faster boot up times, fingerprint reader and Webcam. You also get a ton of hard drive space, 200GB to be exact. Enough storage for all kinds of file types, it also makes a great workspace for capturing and editing digital video! The best part of this notebook is that it comes preinstalled with Vista Ultimate, which is the best operating system you can get since it has all the functions of Vista Home Premium and Business combined in one. 200GB SATA Hard Drive 15.4 diagonal WXGA (1280 x 800) TruBrite TFT LCD display Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 with up to 256MB shared graphics memory Built-in Webcam and microphone Super Multi 8X DVD+-R/RW Drive with Double Layer and Labelflash 2 Built-in Harman/Kardon Stereo speakers with subwoofer Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965 802.11AGN Wireless 10/100 Ethernet Fingerprint reader 5-in-1 Bridge Media Adapter - MMC, SD, MS, MS Pro, xD 1 ExpressCard Slot (34/54 Slot) 4 USB 2.0, 1 Headphone out; 1 Microphone-in, 1 VGA, 1 TV-Out (S-Video), 1 IEEE 1394, 1 RJ-11, 1 RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions - 14.9 (W) x 11.0 (D) x 1.77 (H) Approximate Unit Weight - 6.6lbs

First of all Amazon sent me this laptop priority overnight (arrived the next morning, two hours after the e-mail notifying me it had been shipped) after I signed with a free trial of Prime. They also gave me a $100 discount toward the Qosmio purchase because I purchased two HD-DVD players from them back in late 2007 (when HD-DVD and Blu-ray were battling it out). What can I say? Amazon rocks! :-)

When my five-year old Medeon laptop died a few weeks ago I agonized whether to get a new laptop with HD-DVD or Blu-ray for under $1,000 as a replacement. I love high-def movies and own more HD-DVD's than Blu-ray now, but plan to get more Blu movies in the future. The Toshiba Qosmio F45-AV423 is the ideal laptop for my high-def viewing needs right now. If you value CPU horsepower, hard drive space, speedy performance, 3D-intensive computer gaming or anything not involving HD-DVD viewing (or prefer Blu-ray) there are better deals/laptops elsewhere. For road warriors that want some HD-DVD love on the go this Qosmio delivers the goods.

When hooked to my HDTV with an HDMI cable the F45-AV423 recognized it as a 1920x1080 LCD and filled the screen properly (at 1080p/60Hz). I had to turn off the laptop display on the Qosmio to see HD-DVD movies on my HDTV (regular computing applications can have both screens on). Except for some sparkles (visible only when I was really close to my HDTV) my HD-DVD movies looked as good on my TV set as my XBox 360 HD-DVD add-on (component) or Toshiba HD-A20 player (HDMI). I changed the laptop's sound output from 5.1 to 2.0 stereo and 2.1 surround, and that was reflected in the HDTV's speakers. Don't have a surround system but SPDIF is supported for surround systems without HDMI inputs). If you want to use a laptop as a primary or back-up HD-DVD player connected to an HDTV (surround system notwithstanding) the F45-AV423 passes muster.

Using the default Toshiba HD-DVD player software 18 of 20 HD-DVD's I tried on this laptop (including notoriously unreliable Universal combos like "Children of Men" and "Hollywoodland") played without a hitch. Downloading the newest/latest WinVideo program (which also supports Blu-ray) might do the trick for the few HD-DVD movies (like "American Gangster") that won't play. Even at 1280x800 on a 15.4" screen (which isn't true widescreen and has black bars) HD-DVD movies were much sharper than regular DVD's. My "Hot Fuzz" HD-DVD looked incredible (slight glare from a brightly lit room notwithstanding) and the sound was no slouch either. The Harman Kardon speakers and small subwoofer in this Qosmio are a step above the crap-for-sound audio from most laptops. The drive loads, plays and ejects discs (DVD or HD-DVD) silently, an improvement over the vacuum cleaner sound of my old laptop's drive spinning furiously when playing a disc. Other regular computer applications (computer games, web surfing, webcam, etc.) worked fine while an HD-DVD disc played, neither blazingly fast or agonizingly slow. And from a stylish point of view the black & white colors, combined with the button interface (love the wheel volume control) give this Qosmio an attractive look.