Rating: 
Summary: Great graphics chip
Review: After much research, I chose this machine because of its combination of features, weight, and price. What I didn't expect was the excellent graphics chip on this. The machine comes with a Nvidia GeForce2Go with a 166Mhz DDR bus and a 16Mb DDR video memory. This is in contrast with many laptops that use slower graphics chip or use onboard graphics that share memory with the main RAM. The range of graphics modes supported is quite impressive. Of course the 14" TFT screen only supports 1024x768, but I have it configured now to simultaneously drive an external monitor at a total of 2048x768! That's right, I have a horizontally spanning virtual display where I can mouse from my TFT to my 19" analog monitor. Having the dual displays is fantastic! Works great in WinXP and you get so much more screen real estate. Alternately, you can choose to drive your external display exclusively at high resolutions like 1600x1200 or 1920x1440.Note: on this machine there are 3 USB ports, but no PS/2 ports for an external keyboard or mouse. You will need a USB keyboard or mouse if you want to use an external one or get a USB-PS/2 adapter.
Rating:
Summary: best. gamer. laptop. EVER.
Review: Ever since NVidia announced the Geforce2 Go chip for laptops, I knew I had to get one. I closely followed the prices and availability of equipped laptops, finally deciding on this one after trying it out at CompUSA. The video performed better than I expected, and I expected quite a bit. I'm a fairly hardcore gamer and am amazed at the speed and quality of the video subsystem on the 3005-S304. The only slowdowns I've seen are in Quake 3 when I turned all the settings up to full, but this will bring even a beefy desktop to its knees. At 1024x768 in 32-bit color with the defaults for texture quality and lighting, I couldn't notice any framedrop. I tried Max Payne at 1024x768 at 32-bit color and it was similarly very smooth. I HIGHLY recommend this computer if you're looking for a laptop to game on. Not only that, but the P3 kicks butt in development as well. I've switched over to using the laptop exclusively for Windows development at work, because it's just so much faster at building the projects than the 600mhz Dell with 384MB ram I was using.
Rating:
Summary: Great Price for Very Good Notebook
Review: I actually have the model 3005-S303 (same except 850Mhz). Running Windows ME. Have had no problems, been using it for 3 months. Built-in modem and ethernet card is great for me. For the included features, the price seems right.
Rating: 
Summary: Beware
Review: I am on my second S304 in 2 days, and getting ready to pack this one up and bring it back. Although the feature to price ratio is excellent, the quality is suspect. I chose to purchase this over the Compaq 1720US because of the addition of an extra USB port, PCMCIA slot, and better graphics card. Unfortunately, I have had the same problem with both machines, a loud whirling fan and a clicking hard drive. I could live with the fan as it rarely runs, but the hard drive noise is almost constant, every time the system hits the HD the drive clicks. On the positive side, the system does have some neat features, such as the ability to play DVD/CDs with the case closed and still have access to the controls, including volume, play, pause, etc. In addition, the overall specs are unmatched at the current price by anyone except Compaq.
Rating:
Summary: Beware
Review: I am on my second S304 in 2 days, and getting ready to pack this one up and bring it back. Although the feature to price ratio is excellent, the quality is suspect. I chose to purchase this over the Compaq 1720US because of the addition of an extra USB port, PCMCIA slot, and better graphics card. Unfortunately, I have had the same problem with both machines, a loud whirling fan and a clicking hard drive. I could live with the fan as it rarely runs, but the hard drive noise is almost constant, every time the system hits the HD the drive clicks. On the positive side, the system does have some neat features, such as the ability to play DVD/CDs with the case closed and still have access to the controls, including volume, play, pause, etc. In addition, the overall specs are unmatched at the current price by anyone except Compaq.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth the price, slight noise problem
Review: I chose this laptop over sony & IBM because of the price that comes with the spec. It has 20gb hd, 256mb ram, dvd/cd-rw combo, iLink, 3 usb ports, smartmedia slot & nvidia. If you look for the same spec for sony or ibm, it'll probabily cost you 200-400 more. I watched a whole movie with this laptop, and going to try running Quake 3 later. So far so good, except for the clicking noise when accessing the hard drive and loud fan once in a while. Better to check with toshiba store/representative about the noise, since abnormal/consistent clicking sound from the hard drive might actually be damaging to your hard drive.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent value for money
Review: I have had this Laptop with the XP pro version on it since Nov,
I knew the specs of it before i bought it. I also knew that i could not get a comparable Laptop for the same price anywhere else..The graphics card is the icing on the cake. It runs superbly, does everything you could ask without fault. I know people complain about the ticking of the hard drive, but its not something that is likely to make you not buy it, although i am surprised that Toshiba still use such a low speed Hard Drive 4200 rpm, nevertheless its still quick.. I reccomend it wholeheartedly.
Rating:
Summary: very pleased and to address the noise issue IMO
Review: i own this laptop and am very pleased. for the price you get a good package. it is more than i will ever need. i just wanted to address the complaints about the HD noise. YES, the HD does make a click-klack noise when it is in use. However, this noise is just the normal noise of drive heads repostitioning. Out of curiousity I have dB analyzed HDs outside of there metal casings and this noise is common and normal and not a sign of damage or soon-to-lose-data errors. A few websites have wave files are in agreement. Many drive manufacturers have done great in dampening this noise. I am assuming that toshiba didn't. So eventhough this is a noisy laptop HD, i don't think it is malfunctioning. Also, has anyone noticed that their CD-RW can burn at 8x?
Rating: 
Summary: Beware is right
Review: I wish I had read his review (and the first review) before I bought one. This is the PERFECT machine - except for that lousy hard drive. Made that click every time it accessed the disk. Drove me crazy. The system lasted only 15 minutes before I took it back. Checked the demo in a retail store and it did it too. If you care about noise at all, stay AWAY from this computer. Broke my heart to return it. Can't find a thing with similar specs. If only Compaq would put 16MB of video ram into their 1720 instead of 8MB, that would do it. Or if Toshiba put a Intel-M instead of a regular Intel into the 5005. Oh, well. Guess I'll wait for the next wave of laptops...
Rating:
Summary: Beware is right
Review: I wish I had read his review (and the first review) before I bought one. This is the PERFECT machine - except for that lousy hard drive. Made that click every time it accessed the disk. Drove me crazy. The system lasted only 15 minutes before I took it back. Checked the demo in a retail store and it did it too. If you care about noise at all, stay AWAY from this computer. Broke my heart to return it. Can't find a thing with similar specs. If only Compaq would put 16MB of video ram into their 1720 instead of 8MB, that would do it. Or if Toshiba put a Intel-M instead of a regular Intel into the 5005. Oh, well. Guess I'll wait for the next wave of laptops...
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