Reviews for Toshiba Satellite A205-S5831 15.4" Notebook - Pentium Dual-core T2370 1.73 GHz - Onyx Blue Metallic1280 x 800 WXGA Display - 1 GB RAM - 160 GB HDD - DVD-Writer - Intel GMA X3100 - Windows Vista Home Premium - MPN: PSAE3U06Y023 
By member:
liusand
- Aug 10, 2008
A nice budget laptopStrengths: (1) Low price. (2) Full connectivity Weakness: (1) 1GB RAM. (2) Don't like the TruBrite LCD (3) Unpleasant audio port location I like this machine because it provides me with very nice connectivity options: 4 USB, 1 Firewire, 1 PCMCIA, 1 ExpressCard, and 5-in-1 card reader. I can't complain about the performance due to the price, but upgrading to 2.5GB RAM did help a lot. I really don't like the TruBrite LCD. When I watch movies, I can see my image very clearly on the screen, which is totally not desirable. Besides this, the sharpness, display quality, and view angle are satisfactory. I also don't like the location of the audio/mic ports which is in the front. I'd prefer to have them on the left side. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
HPALS
- Jun 29, 2008
Toshiba A205-S5831Strengths: Screen size and resolution, Price Weakness: Inadequate RAM for more than routine functionalities, Lacks 802.11n. I bought this laptop at a great price. It has pretty much all the features for day-to-day use. Also has dual layer DVD writer, which certainly helps. The screen size and resolution are great. It has built-in wi-fi but doesn't support 802.11n. RAM greater than what is provided would certainly be desirable especially for Windows vista operating system. 100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
sgm00
- Jun 29, 2008
A Solid LaptopStrengths: Fast speed, great screen size, good price with enough functionalities Weakness: Windows Vista. Only 1 GB RAM. No Webcam. A little bit heavy I bought this laptop around $450.00 at Circuit City two months ago. And I love it. The existing features are standard. It works great for college students to study and entertain - fast and solid. It's definitely not for gamers and other high-end users. 75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
cenglerp
- Jun 24, 2008
Great cost/benefit for this notebookStrengths: fast and reliable Weakness: battery life, no webcam I have had this notebook for 2 months and I am very satisfied with the purchase. It is fast and can handle Vista very well (although I have upgraded the memory to 2GB, which I strongly recommend). This is my fourth Toshiba notebook and all of them have performed very reliably. 100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
CharlieHe
- Jun 1, 2008
A cheap general purpose laptopStrengths: Cheap, bought for $449.99 for Duo-core 1.73GH CPU. Nice screen, no problem play 720p HD movie. Works fine for Microsoft Office and Adobe photoshop. Weakness: Comes with windows vista. Only 1 Gb memory. Battery last less 3 hours on heavy use. I bought the laptop for my daughter who is a middle school student. She liked it very much. Although it is cheap, it also lack some features you may want. Such as no WebCamera, no HDMI and no multimedia function keys. 
100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
leewmeister
- May 23, 2008
A well designed laptopStrengths: Screen size, Play movies without passing through the operating system. Weakness: Battery life, pre-loaded software of questionable value. This laptop is very comfortable to use. The keyboard has just the right amount of resistance and the touchpad is recessed a bit. It has plenty of USB drives and reads most camera cards. The DVD drive can burn dual layer discs and when playing movies, the operating system is bypassed. The only drawback so far is that the battery is only good for a couple hours at a time, but I normally have access to a power outlet anyway. The pre-loaded software is mostly stuff I have no use for and I'll be uninstalling and deleting most of it. 50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
pipsqueak
- May 21, 2008
A very affordable laptopStrengths: Low price, good design, plenty of features. Weakness: Light on memory, battery life. I picked up one of these at a very good sale price. It is a well built machine with plenty of input options. It also features a dual-layer DVD burner. The 1 GB memory is mostly used up by WinVista, but DDR2 is fairly cheap so I'll be adding another gig before long. The screen is a great size and plenty bright with good visibility from many angles. Battery life is rated at about 2 hours - a bit short by today's standards, but I knew that before buying. I've had great luck with Toshiba products in the past - ever since my first transistor radio in 1957! I hope this nice little laptop carries on the tradition of great dependability. 100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? TopSponsored Links
 
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Fair Buy Last Year, WAAAAY Over Priced Today
Strengths: ROM drive can do(read/burn) just about anything(not blueray nor lightscribe but excellent for average user), Very user-friendly Network setups (WiFi and otherwise), Great touch-pad software
Weakness: 2GB RAM MAXIMUM = stupid (2GB is like the minimum for running an OS like Vista. That is, of course, if you want it to run WELL), Boot setup = ultra basic = almost useless for troubleshooting.
Mine cost just over $600 a YEAR ago. I've since upgraded the RAM from the wimpy 1GB (wimpy for running Vista anyway) to 2GB and am about to replace the harddrive with a faster/higher capacity drive. After adding the extra Gig of RAM, it's performance was a bit more like I had expected.
I just found it online for $625. Considering how old this model/setup is, being outdated by its much newer siblings, it's not worth more than $400 anymore. $600 is a total rip-off now.
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