Toshiba Satellite L850/0C9 Notebook
Key Features
2GB Dedicated Graphics
2.3GHz Gen 3 Intel Core i7-3610QM Processor
4GB RAM
750GB HDD
15.6" Display
Windows 7 Home Premium
Also the Mini Radio Control Mario or Yoshi Kart 2 for $40 looks quite good
I bought this two weeks back for $636 from Dick Smith. It was 'supposedly' 25% off at the time.
At the time, DS had a promotion on gift cards — buy a $500 card, get a $50 card for free — so all up the laptop cost me $586.
That said, in the absence of any gift card promo, I would suggest that $636~$648 is a pretty good price.
So far, I'm fairly happy with my new laptop.
I bought the L850/0CD for $700 from centrecom a few months back ($699 + $1 upgrade to 12gb ram). It's a nice spec laptop and the memory and HDD is easy to get to. Replaced the HDD with a Sandisk Extreme 120gb SSD and now it really flies. The default install has a fair bit of crap with it, so it's (as with many laptops) worth doing a fresh install imho.
Build quality is ok, seems fairly solid. Only fault is the keyboard which feels very flimsy. Imagine a piece of paper lying on the desk, now push from both ends of the sheet until you see the middle bend upwards. That's the best description of the keyboard. It feels like the keyboard is floating in the middle so you have to press extra hard on the middle keys (to get the paper to flatten on the desk). Make sense?
Tried one hands one in store just now. Build feels as cheap as the Acer I'm looking to replace. Right click on computer icon (to check specs), spinning wheel of death… Assume would be better with the 256GB SSD I just put into the old Acer (which is having overheating problems and dies randomly even with laptop fan pad). Asked for one and was told that they had sold out. Will try another branch t'row.
Had a look at one at DSE today. Build quality is fine, but the overall finish is "plasticky". Still, for $648 (normal price >$800) you can't beat the feature set (3rd gen i7 after all) and Toshiba are a reputable laptop manufacturer with good warranty. Seems light, which is good. Most reviews are positive. Specs are here http://www.mytoshiba.com.au/products/computers/satellite/l85…
Looks to be lowest price around for that laptop - http://staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=Toshiba+Satelli…
Closest is $699 here - http://www.orangeit.com.au/buy/toshiba-satellite-l850-02y012…
Am looking for laptop replacement -might get this if don't see any better offer. Anyone seen any better ?
Found more discussions on Whirlpool when this was on sale at $874 at HN - http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1933100