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Customer Reviews for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
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Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Model: A215-S7422
SKU: 8535347
UPC: 032017977419
This laptop's built-in 802.11b/g wireless LAN lets you work and play even while you're on the go. The 15.4" TruBrite TFT-LCD screen shows off your games and movies at a high 1280 x 800 native resolution.Windows Vista Home Premium preloadedWhich Windows Vista edition is right for you? Compare.Take a product tour.
Average Customer Rating:
3.6
out of 5
(47 Reviews) 47
Rating Snapshot 47 reviews
5 stars
14
4 stars
16
3 stars
5
2 stars
8
1 star
4
68% of customers would recommend this product to a friend
(
32 out of
47)
Customer Reviews for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Review 1 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Great Purchase
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: Computernerd12
from Wilmington, DE
on 12/27/2007
I love this computer. It sells for a great low price and its capabilities are simply outstanding. I personally prefer to buy "TOSHIBA" anyway. This computer tops off my opinion of the brand. Its great graphics are a compliment to its amazing memory capacity (which can easily be expanded). And aboout this notorious "black screen" problem, I have experienced this problem once or twice but to our convience; if you were working on something in Microsoft office, it saves it. This makes it especially easy for someone to turn it back on and resume work like nothing happened. And I don't know what any of you guys are experiencing but my battery has a 3 hour capacity. So I think its great and it can run all day long if plugged up. Well I love this computer and I hope that others do too. Happy holidays to all and to all a good night!
What's great about it: Fast, Great graphics, good price, lots of memory (adjustable)
What's not so great: Black Screen (once a month)
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 2 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Toshiba Satellite
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: Hollyberry
on 12/27/2007
I have had this computer for roughly 9 months. I have not had any blackout problems, unless users consider a low battery a blackout. It is light enough to travel with and user friendly. I wish the battery would have a longer life, however this is my 3rd laptop and non of them lasted longer than an hour so I think that is a common problem. For the money, this Toshiba is a good value.
What's great about it: dependable, light weight, quick boot
What's not so great: short battery
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 3 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Best Purchase Ever
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: CandyBlizzard
from New York,NY
on 12/26/2007
This computer is off the hook!!! Someone who doesnt have this computer must be crazy!Before I got this computer [about 5 weeks ago] i checked all of the reviews talking about black outs no such thing happened to my computer...LUCKY ME!!! This computer is so dandy to me....My friends got sooo jealous of me..!! i justed laughed at them.. Also my little sis whines all day to use it.5 year olds...i bet she is jealous..OHHH
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 4 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Excellent value
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: ricoman
from CT
on 12/21/2007
I've had this laptop for 2-3 months and love it. I'm kind of shocked at some of the other reviews. I have never had the black screen problem. Even on the power saver setting the system is pretty quick. The DVD burner works well as does the wireless network. All for around $500, what more do you want? Are there better laptops out there? Sure, but not for this price. When you consider the price, I have to give this laptop 5 stars.
What's great about it: Toshiba brand laptop, price, quality
What's not so great: battery only lasts an hr. on full power
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 5 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
A Good Laptop
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: AveMaria
from Florence, SC
on 12/20/2007
I purchased this laptop about 2.5 months ago and am quite happy with it. I work in I.T. support and always have been impressed with Toshiba laptops; for my personal use I will not buy another brand.
Upon purchasing this laptop, after about two weeks of use, I upgraded the RAM to 2.5 GB to improve the performance with Vista. I have not had any problems with the screen going black and/or the laptop freezing as some other reviewers have experienced.
I recently loaded Windows XP Professional on the laptop because I prefer XP over Vista and it works perfectly. Toshiba doesn't have XP dirvers on their support page for this model but there is a Satellite Pro model (A210-EZ2202X) that comes with XP drivers that uses the exact same chipset, audio, video etc. as the A215-S7422.
At such a low price, along with Toshiba's reputation and Best Buy's excellent service, you won't find a better laptop.
Upon purchasing this laptop, after about two weeks of use, I upgraded the RAM to 2.5 GB to improve the performance with Vista. I have not had any problems with the screen going black and/or the laptop freezing as some other reviewers have experienced.
I recently loaded Windows XP Professional on the laptop because I prefer XP over Vista and it works perfectly. Toshiba doesn't have XP dirvers on their support page for this model but there is a Satellite Pro model (A210-EZ2202X) that comes with XP drivers that uses the exact same chipset, audio, video etc. as the A215-S7422.
At such a low price, along with Toshiba's reputation and Best Buy's excellent service, you won't find a better laptop.
What's great about it: Good Price. Good Performance.
What's not so great: Only 1 GB RAM standard. Windows Vista.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
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Review 6 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
good buy
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: 2centsworth
from NJ
on 12/19/2007
i've read a lot of reviews in this corner regarding the "black screen problem". i just tested this laptop which i bought last night. it did happen to my laptop! BUT! and this is important! you have to go to Control Panel and Change The Power Settings in the Balanced,Power Saver and High Performance Options. Change the "Turn off display" to whatever you want, and change the "Put the computer to sleep" to NEVER. The default setting is really set to putting your computer to sleep after a while(i have no idea why Toshiba did this), but following this simple step will make the "black screen problem" go away and make this laptop a truly reliable one. Another alternative is just to right-click the battery icon in the scroll bar in the lower right and change the Power Settings from there. enjoy surfing!
What's great about it: TOSHIBA..nuff said.
What's not so great: keyboard design is not the best in its class
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
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Review 7 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
think twice
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: blackscreenblues
from arkansas
on 12/13/2007
i have had this laptop 3 weeks, use it eveyday. boots fast with the upgraded 2g. screen will backout for no reason causing you to rebot. battery life is short. surfing the internet you have about a hour only.
What's great about it: nice keyboard, nice design
What's not so great: screen blacks out, low battery life, window vista
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Review 8 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Great Laptop
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: toolman083
on 12/09/2007
I had this laptop for 10 weeks now and I simply love it. Between my kids and I this laptop is used for hours everyday. I had the black screen problem that is memtioned in some other reviews, but it's easily corrected. I called toshiba tech support and they talked me through a minor adjustment, that was 8 weeks ago and it hasn't happened since. I like having the media reader and volume control in the front, makes things alot easier. I bought this laptop on sale and I wish I bought another one for my kids. Oh, by the way, the battery life is 65 minutes.
What's great about it: clear screen, price
What's not so great: minor adjustment needed
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 9 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
My First Lap Top
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: mousieangel
from Batavia, Il
on 12/09/2007
This is my first lap top and I am VERY satified with it !!!! When I purchased it, I had the Geek Squad install everything that neded to be done on it. It was WORTH paying for the serrvice and I would highly recommend the service to everyone !!!.It was done in less than an hour. Dont let these other bad reviews throw you off on purchasing this lap top. I always use it plugged in to the wall for power. The screen ONLY goes black when the battery is low. Otherwise.................I have been on here for HOURS plugged into the wall and it works PEREFECTLY!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish the battery did last longer, but I have NO PROBLEM using it plugged in.Im NOT a traveler, so this lap top is PERFECT for me!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What's great about it: Easy to use
What's not so great: none so far
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 10 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
not a great buy
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: gazi
from boston
on 12/04/2007
I purchased this a week ago and I've had a hp prior to this.
Within a week this has shut down spontaneously twice for no reason, the screen view is not so great, keys are very mushy, no web cam or mic for the same price, i thought this would be more value for my money but am not happy
Within a week this has shut down spontaneously twice for no reason, the screen view is not so great, keys are very mushy, no web cam or mic for the same price, i thought this would be more value for my money but am not happy
What's great about it: has a fast start up
What's not so great: key board is bad, and there is no efined area for scrolling on the pad, laptop has shut down twice without a reason wit
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Review 11 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Great budget laptop
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: thugangel
on 11/27/2007
The cons I've stated are pretty much what's to be expected if you're buying a laptop with AMD mobile processors. I've never used a laptop with Intel Core Duo or Core 2 Duo, but I have with Intel Pentium Dual-Core. The HP dv6000t equipped with Pentium Dual-Core gets hotter than A215-S7422. Not to mention that you're getting a crippled Intel processor if you go with Pentium Dual-Core, as it is a hybrid of the Centrino line and the Celeron line. Read the wiki, if you want to know what's up with the Pentium Dual-Core. Pentium Dual-Core laptops are at about the same price level as this laptop, so I went ahead with a much more superior processor: AMD Turion 64 X2.
I really wanted to get a laptop with Core 2 Duo, but there isn't one out there that fits my wallet. Every laptop has heat problem. And the battery life isn't much of a problem as long as you carry the power adapter with you, which is quite small anyway. Since I know that this laptop is not a 14 incher, I was prepared for the extra little sacrifice it had to make in power consumption.
As I've wanted to get a laptop with Core 2 Duo, I wanted to get laptop that's equipped with graphics chipset that can decode h.264 video files with hardware acceleration. Most of the laptops out there that's equipped with Intel processors are also equipped with Intel's GMA. As much as I have researched, Intel GMA X3100 can't do such thing. I may have to wait until X4500 arrives to have the same feature. Such dilemma has brought me to this laptop.
Despite from the look of the size, A215-S7422 weighs really light. The fashion design is normal yet minimalistic, which fits my personality, and I love how the keys aren't flashy. In fact, as some have mentioned, the keys changes color depending on the lighting. Sometimes it would be white-ish, sometime it would be gray-ish. The keys' color variants is very similar to the moon's color, which I find it very fitting as this is a Satellite series after all.
As I've heard from the Best Buy manager at my local store, and an acquaintance who works at GeekSquad, the Toshiba lines were the least they had to do service for. I've had this laptop for 16 days now and I've yet to experience the "black screen" problem as others have mentioned. The closest thing I've come across to was the screen turning off when power adapter was not plugged into the laptop for a while(which is normal, instead of running a screensaver) and having to press the power button after it has gone to hibernation (which happens after a few minutes the screen turned off and the power LED light would slowly blink in orange). Normal for a mobile Vista setup.
The boot up is fast. Surprisingly, 1GB of RAM is faring really well with Vista. But I will be upgrading this baby up to 2GB for multi-tasking purposes and battery life improvement. A215-S7422 can handle up to 4GB. And, I still haven't found the answer yet, but since the AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58 can handle DDR2 800Mhz and if this laptop could handle that type of RAM, that'll be an additional bonus point as a future proof laptop. And since the hard disk drive is connected through SATA, I will be replacing it with a solid state drive once they've become affordable. Since the hard drive is located at the front and gets pretty warm, SSD is very welcome.
If you're gonna place this laptop on your lap for a very long time, a cooling pad would be a requirement, as the same for most other laptops out there. The fan intake is located where your lap would normally be in if your legs are stretched out, so if there's no cooling pad, place something solid under or have the edge lean to the side of your leg; as long as you leave your CPU some space to breathe. A friend of mine unknowingly was blocking the fan grill with his lap when he was using my A215-S7422 and later got the Vista's Blue Screen of Death as the result.
The keys are durable and won't be wearing down anytime soon. The touchpad's sensitivity is in perfect setting by default. Re-installation and making new partitions is easy. Though, re-installing to factory set-up includes the bloatwares you get from the beginning :(. In order to improve performance, I would recommend uninstalling stuff you don't need. Especially Toshiba Games as it is composed of WildTangent. I would recommend uninstalling McAffee and install a much more superior Anti-Virus scanner/protection. It's not recommended, but I disabled System Restore in order to improve performance. A thing to gripe about is that Vista, on any laptop, takes a long time to shut down. You're better off hibernating when you're in hurry.
This laptop is Linux friendly.
The mechanism of the function key is software based. It'll take a while to activate when not in use so you'd have to hold the function key down for a few seconds in order to trigger it. Another way of triggering it is by hovering the mouse to the top of the screen. This isn't much of a problem since the function key is rarely used.
Having the mic and headphone ports and volume control at the front makes media life more convenient and having two USB 2.0 ports on each side makes your work orientation much more flexible. Speakers are louder than HP's. I just wish that this laptop could handle 1400x900 resolution. But just like most of the other laptops out there, maximum is 1280x800. I also wish this laptop came with built-in webcam...
I think that's all I've got to say about this laptop. This is a fast solid laptop for a cheap price. You could never go wrong going with A215-S7422. Unless you encounter the "black screen" phantom...
What's great about it: Cheap, slick design, lightweight, ports' locations
What's not so great: Heat, battery life
I would recommend this to a friend!
+7points
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Review 12 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Love it
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: mamabayer
from Ft. Lauderdale
on 11/27/2007
After reading the reviews I was worried, but I'm glad I didn't let them discourage me. I'm very happy with this laptop... so far no issues with the black screen, and I bought the longer life battery so no issues with battery life...got the web cam from Toshiba for skype only $25. It has all the memory I need for simple home use, but from what I understand you can expand to 4G easily.
What's great about it: The price;beautiful bright screen:runs much faster than my daughters gateway(less than a year ago);great reception
What's not so great: Takes awhile to boot up and down; stays a little warm
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 13 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Not the best purchase ever
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: Littleman
on 11/25/2007
I got this laptop on the Thursday before Thanksgiving. It was good for everything I wanted it to do, but it blacks out. I would not recommend this laptop to someone who likes things done quickly. It also starts up a little slow. It is not a good laptop and I do not Recommend it to you. But, I tried, if you think it will be good for you. You should try it and you will most likely be disappointed.
What's great about it: Light Weight. Colorful. Nice Looking
What's not so great: Screen Blacks Out. Heats Up Fast.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Review 14 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
An Okay Purchase....
Customer Rating
3.0
Posted by: StefanieD
on 11/25/2007
I purchased this computer a few weeks ago and have been relatively satisfied with its performance. My biggest gripes with this product is that it gets incredibly hot in a very short amount of time, I have experienced the 'blackout' that other reviewers have complained about, the Vista that it comes with has already required numerous long and annoying updates ( I would recommend replacing this program altogether), I had to buy a brand new printer because my one year old one was incompatible with the vista, and the battery life is extremely short....but as long as it is plugged in, it's great. The keypad is also too sensitive in my opinion. The pros are the compactness, the look, the relatively low price of $699, and the leightweight feel. I would recommend this system to anyone who is looking for a laptop in addition to a regular computer, or someone who just needs it for basic functions like internet use and possibly light school work. I would not trust it as a full-time computer because of the 'blackouts' and because it can be slow at times. All in all, I am not completely disappointed with it, but then again, I have only had it for a few weeks.
What's great about it: Lightweight, compact, nice looking
What's not so great: Vista, Gets hot quickly, short battery life
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 15 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Screen goes black
Customer Rating
3.0
Posted by: missgordon
from houston
on 11/23/2007
its ok, didnt cost much ( 550)
the setup was fast and simple but my screen goes black......I have no idea what causes this, I have only had this for a week
the setup was fast and simple but my screen goes black......I have no idea what causes this, I have only had this for a week
What's great about it: low cost
What's not so great: my yahoo program couldn't upload, screen goes black
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Review 16 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Disappointment
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: KULFU
from East Lansing, MI
on 11/23/2007
This note book is one big problem. It starts very slowly; it gets very hot; it freezes suddenly and the screen turns black, and the only way you can restart it is by pressing and holding the power button; It does not interface with some software, like picture package, dictionaries and fonts. Toshiba does not even have a solution for the "black screen" problem. I am of the opinion that they should call back this product.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Review 17 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
okay, but not great
Customer Rating
3.0
Posted by: deblefko
from San Francisco
on 11/23/2007
The computer is fine, not particularly fast, particularly running the factory installed vista os. But the keyboard is cheap and begins to fail rapidly. A bad keyboard makes the computer unusable.
I would think twice about buying this laptop, since you will definitely have to replace the keyboard pretty quickly.
I would think twice about buying this laptop, since you will definitely have to replace the keyboard pretty quickly.
What's great about it: screen resolution is great
What's not so great: keyboard is cheap and will fail quickly
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Review 18 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Great Laptop
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: globo
from Southampton,Ma.
on 11/21/2007
I purchased this laptop because you can expand the memory to 4GB, I have no issues at all with this laptop and was pretty suprised with how quick it actually was. I was a bit apprehensive with some of the reviews but very happy I didn't let them change my mind about purchasing this laptop.
What's great about it: can expand memory to 4GB
What's not so great: haven't found any yet..........
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 19 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
Comfortable With Purchase
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: swalden28
from McKinney, TX
on 11/20/2007
I purchased this mainly because it was in price range and it is a Toshiba. So far the display is excellent and it has good speed for my needs. I am not very happy with the battery life, just like many others have stated. Now, I did come across the "Black Screen" issue and I started to get worried....
I later found out this has to do with performance (battery) settings. For example, the screen will go black if you are watching music videos or perhaps a movie when the performance (power) level is set on power saver or balanced. When you set the power level for max performance the issue will go away. This will not help you out much if your are on the road and rely on the battery because you will only have maybe 45 min. to 1 hour of battery life.
I later found out this has to do with performance (battery) settings. For example, the screen will go black if you are watching music videos or perhaps a movie when the performance (power) level is set on power saver or balanced. When you set the power level for max performance the issue will go away. This will not help you out much if your are on the road and rely on the battery because you will only have maybe 45 min. to 1 hour of battery life.
What's great about it: Memory, Nice look
What's not so great: Battery Life
I would recommend this to a friend!
+1point
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Review 20 for Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58 - Onyx Blue
bang for your buck
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: fsumoss
from oklahoma
on 11/20/2007
this is a good all around computer for a person that isnt doin alot.. if you are wanting a computer that will be good for college definitely this will be the one..it will handle what you throw at it expect for mid to higher end games.. but for the price point this is the best buy!
What's great about it: 2gb memory, 200 gb hdd
What's not so great: look isnt as sexy as an sony and hp, speakers arent so great
I would recommend this to a friend!
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