I do copious amounts of research when buying electronics, but it's reading product reviews that gives me a sense of comfort about the product. Therefore, when I literally couldn't find any descriptive reviews of this laptop, I was terrified. However, the technical specs swayed me. And I'm glad I took the plunge.
What you need to know is that this computer delivers on performance. I've already loaded up about half of the hard drive, and it's still just as fast as when it was clear. It's not lightening fast (maybe around 7-10 seconds for it to come on) but is certainly a lot faster than my older laptop that took around a minute each time to start up. The graphics are very sharp as well.
The two big disappointments from me concerning hardware, are the sub-par speakers and glossy screen. My five year old Lenovo speakers had a much richer, fuller sound with a discernible bass. These speakers are tiny and shrill sounding in comparison. It's not the end of the world for me as I hardly use the built in speakers (use headphones or a speaker set), but it certainly surprised me. The screen is glossy as opposed to matte, which I knew when buying it, but it pisses me off. I hate glossy screens--I do a lot of graphics work and they just annoy me. However, given that everyone is trying to make their hardware look like Apples', I couldn't find any laptops with the same specs with a matte screen.
The metal brushed finish and casing is really nice though. It feels sturdy and expensive as well as looks seriously cool. It is heavy and quite large though. This is not a "carry around in the backpack" laptop. It's not a monster--but is also not portable in my opinion. The keyboard is a bit odd as well. I've always had laptops where the keys are very tightly placed. On this keyboard, there are large gaps between keys. I initially thought this would screw up how fast I type as I thought my fingers would have to relearn distances--but it's been fine actually. It might take a few minutes to get used to though. Also, in my perfect world--this computer would have a trackpoint.
Anyone upgrading from Windows 7 to 8, needs to be aware that there are initially some very big differences. Being a child of the tech era, I was convinced that I would just naturally be able to figure everything out immediately within a few minutes. Not so. It took me a good hour and watching a couple of youtube tutorials to figure out how to run programs, how to navigate between my desktop app and the start screen properly and even how to actually put it to sleep. At first it was just confusing and tedious, but now it's really not so bad. It's simple to use once you get used to the new layout and extra options, and is additionally very fast and very clean. The graphics are sharp and well done. As I'm using 8 on a laptop, I don't think I'm ever really going to have a use for the app start screen, but it's just one click from there to a traditional desktop--and the desktop now has even more functions and capabilities, so overall not too bad. I have to say though, if it was a tablet--I think it would be a pretty killer and simple operating system. I was planning on buying a Google Nexus tablet eventually, but now given the ease, fluidity and high performance of Windows 8--I will be seriously looking at other tablets now.
All in all, I got what I wanted--a high performing laptop with lots of space for a great price. It's not the most portable and isn't perfect, but I'm happy. And that's what counts.
***Update, so today I was horrified that I had a defective laptop. The mouse and touch-pad were completely frozen. I restarted several times figuring that would make it snap out of it, and nothing. With my heart in my stomach, I did what all people should do when they have computer problems---googled it. Come to find out, Toshiba put a key that freezes the mouse close to the volume controls keys. I'm not really sure what the point of this key is, and it's not a problem now that I know that it's there--but I figured if I had a mini panic attack over it, probably other people will eventually have this same problem. So just a heads up on this key.
****UPDATE****10/7/13
Due to my recent experience with the laptop I am taking off two stars. I tried taking it on a trip a few months ago--and even though I was very careful with it and had it padded at all times, my inner screen somehow cracked. Toshiba support said that this was my fault, and I ended up having to pay about $250 to get it fixed. I would concur that it was "user error" on my part as I did not receive a defective laptop; however, I think it is ridiculous that the laptop couldn't survive one measly weekend trip in a thickly padded backpack (had it in my photography backpack which protects my thousands of dollars of camera gear just fine). So unfortunately, when I said above that this laptop is not portable--I was more right then I knew at the time. It's not just a size issue, it's actually a build issue too. Despite feeling sturdy, its just not. I would recommend buying it only if you plan on barely moving it (ie. it staying on top of a desk).
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I did quite a bit of shopping around to find a good laptop for not a ridiculous amount of money. I'm very happy with the choice I've made. I use this computer primarily for work, and the programs I use are graphically intensive and rough on a processor. This computer maintains its speed regardless of what I've got running. It's comfortable to use, doesn't get hot on your lap, the graphics are great, and it looks cool too! Many have complained about Windows 8. I'm actually enjoying it now that I've become acclimated to using it. As for long term usage of this computer, I can't yet say, but so far I am very impressed.Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite S875-S7140 17.3-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed
This is basically a good laptop: plenty of hard drive and memory, and a very fast chip. The problem with it is that it's not properly grounded. I sent back the first one, received a second one, and they both had the same issue. I had to return it and cancel the order. Amazon customer service was very nice, very cooperative, but that doesn't make up for the product being faulty.Here's the problem I'm talking about:
In the middle of the power cord is a rectangular box. It's supposed to convert AC current (from the wall outlet) to DC current. I know somebody with a pretty good knowledge of electronics, and with the proper equipment, and we were able to measure a little bit of AC current leaking out of the box. There's not supposed to be any AC current going to the laptop. As a result, I could feel a slight vibration, or tingling, on the outside of the laptop. The outside is aluminum, so it conducts electricity. What I was feeling was not a physical vibration, it was a small AC current. Besides being uncomfortable having electric current coming from the case, this is bad for the equipment in the long run. Even worse, there's a person in my house with a pacemaker, and stray electric fields/currents are downright dangerous for them.
Toshiba needs to deal with this issue. I wouldn't use a laptop with this problem.
Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite S875-S7140 17.3-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed
It works very good and fast, a lot of space on the Hard drive It is not too heavy and so quiet.I read a review about this Laptop from some reviewer who said that it does not have a LED
on the "Caps Lock" key, it is not true, I see the green light when I hit the Caps Lock key.
I have the Laptop just 4 weeks but I love it.
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