GIGABYTE GA-D525TUD Intel Atom D525@ 1.8GHz 1M L2 cache BGA559 Intel NM10 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this more as an experiment to see if the new Atom dual-core motherboard with the GMA3150 IGP could handle everyday tasks as a nettop like surfing the net, watching Youtube videos, checking email and running productivity software. I really want to start scaling back the power requirements of the PCs in our house, especially given their usage as either nettops or file servers. The kids will be needing new PCs soon for homework and something "green" is my preference as long as it's powerful enough and this board seems to fit the bill. I also wanted to use some of the parts I had lying around like the HDD and ODD. With that, I am very happy with what I was able to build for under $200. It's definitely faster -- much faster -- than the Dell 9300 laptop it's going to replace as the family PC. The lowest WEI value was 2.0 for Gaming/Business graphics. That is a non-issue since that is not what this is going to be used for.
This is a very good value for a processor, motherboard and IGP combination. It's also very efficient which is going to help with the electricity bill and carbon footprint of the household. Surprisingly, it's very responsive and I have no trouble doing the tasks I expected to be able to do like surf the 'net, play music, upload/view photos and use OpenOffice under Windows 7 Home Premium.
However, for maybe $30 more upfront I could have purchased a more powerful CPU/ITX motherboard combination like an E3300/DG41AN that would have performed much better. Of course, the power draw would have been a lot higher. You definitely pay a premium for newer more efficient technology. The CPU is also not passively cooled and the little fan is definitely audible, especially in the cheap case I put it in. If it had been passively cooled or the CPU fan had been silent I would have given it 5 stars easily. So far it's done everything I've asked it to knowing though I am not going to be watching HD video on this. The upcoming Intel D525MW board looks to be passively cooled but it's not available yet. That one is worth watching and might be a better nettop board for a silent build. I can see using this one with the 4 SATA ports in a home server/NAS build instead. It looks like it would be perfect for that, especially with Gigabyte's "UD" construction.
Build:
Athenatech A1089HG.150 case
Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR 1066 KVR1066D3/2GR RAM
Western Digital 400GB WD4000AAKS HDD
Lite-On IDE DVD/CD burner
Rosewill RNX-N250PC 802.11 b/g/n PCI wireless adapter
Windows 7 Home Premium


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Gigabyte GA-M68MT-D3 NVIDIA MCP61/MCP68 Chipset Driver 15.56 for Vista Matherboard

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Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5134 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)We tested a variety of Toshiba Satellites - and it's very confusing, because there are so many model numbers that are so similar.
We highly recommend the Toshiba Satellite, just not this model (C655-S5134). The problem is, it's using one of the SLOWEST processors on the market today. It's roughly 10-year-old technology.
To make matters even more confusing, after testing a dozen different Toshibas, we actually bought another Satellite C655 model (the C655-S5048) for the same price. It's almost identical in every respect, except the processor on our model (AMD P320) has a clock speed of 1,261. The clock speed on the C655-S5143 has a clock speed of (get this)... 350! That's nearly 1/4th the speed!
This was all very confusing to us, but here's the "short cut" - when you're shopping around for laptops, write down the name of the processor, and look it up at: CPUbenchmark-net
You will see some ridiculous inconsistencies, and you will be an informed consumer. Just poke around on Amazon for a few minutes - you will find plenty of Toshiba laptops for under $400, with processor speeds over 800-1,000 (which should be considered the bare minimum).
Don't think for a second that a faster processor will cost more. We also reviewed some of the more expensive Satellites ($599-$699) and found slow processors in that price class as well! And this is consistent with pretty much all computer manufacturers - the problem is that Intel, AMD, etc., invest a lot of money in marketing, and consumers demand chips they don't know anything about. But you can be a more informed consumer, and feel really good about your purchase.
Here are some general comments about the C655-series Toshiba Satellites:
PRO:
-Keyboard is an excellent size, and numeric keypad on the side is excellent for us. We use it all the time.
-Screen is fantastic - love it, no complaints. (I would not recommend the Toshiba models with the Trubrite screen - models with the TruBrite cost a minimum of $100 more & it picks up lots of glare/reflections.)
-Stays very cool (even when playing videos), and the fan rarely kicks on.
-It's light weight & durable. My 12-month old will pound on the keys occasionally, and it holds up just fine.
-Comes with built-in antivirus software. I recommend also installing Avira, and every computer/laptop you own should be running Hostsman.
-The battery isn't shabby, although this model has a slightly cheaper battery than the one I bought. The battery on the C655-S5048 lasts at least an hour longer.CON:
-No built-in camera or mic.
-Sound is not great. Most people assume it's cheap speakers, but it's not. Speakers are fine - but the sound driver itself is the problem for some reason. You can uninstall the driver & have Windows install a generic driver that will boost your sound levels by 50% (easier said than done in Windows 7).
-We have some general complaints against Windows 7, not Toshiba's fault (a discussion for another day). The biggest problem is, with the 64-bit version of Windows 7, we could not port any of our software from our previous Satellite to our new one.
Bottom Line: (1) Don't buy this model - it's a very nice laptop, but the speed is too slow. (2) You don't have to be a techie to be an informed consumer. It only takes 5 seconds to look up the speed on the site provided above (again, 800-1,000 should be considered the absolute minimum). (3) Unless you need a super-computer for specialized programming, you should be able to find a Toshiba Satellite with a great processor & all the amenities you need for under $400, right here on Amazon.
Please don't get frustrated in your search - I give this laptop 5-stars except for the speed. This is a good brand (Satellite) and a good price (under $400). But there are at least 5 other models that are 3-4x faster for the same price. If you're looking at this product, reading this review, you are definitely on the right track. Hope this helps, and enjoy your new laptop!

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Toshiba Satellite C655D: Affordable Mobile Computing
A nicely affordable, easy-to-use PC for basic productivity at home or in the office, the Toshiba Satellite C655D (model C655D-S5134) gives families, students or small and home-based businesses the essential power and workspace to study, tackle budgets with a handy 10-key pad, keep up on Facebook and Twitter, or simply do more at their desk.
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