Official x300/x305 Owner's Lounge

Dude55 · 10-04-2008, 12:31 PM

UPDATED 11/8/09!
I highly recommend installing Windows 7 64 Bit

This is the place to be, my friends; the red carpet. In this thread, we will discuss anything and everything x300/x305. Some of the topics can include:

1. Tips
2. Comments
3. Questions about buying
4. Overclocking
5. Upgrading
6. Software Tweaks

You can feel free to post pictures of your setups, benchmarks, etc.

Latest Drivers:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...postcount=1454

My tips:

Programs to have:

1. CCleaner http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/
- Does a good job of cleaning the registry as well as your computer for temporary files, cookies, memory dumps, etc. It is a very lightweight program that is overall quite nice.

2. Nvidia System Tools 6.03 http://www.nvidia.com/object/nvidia_...ools_6.03.html
- The temperatures on this thing are dead on. The configurable user interface is brilliant as well as the monitoring utility whose transparency can be adjusted as well as what to monitor such as CPU/GPU Temps, CPU/GPU Usage, CPU usage, GPU clocks, RAM usage, Hard Drive temps, etc. It also allows for overclocking and the saving of profiles!

- Sadly, my System Monitor displays the message "OpenGL Functionality not supported!!"

- For overclocking, I suggest having 3 saved profiles:

1. 600/875/1400 - Mild, low overclock
2. 650/950/1600 - Medium, higher overclock - Stable
3. 675/975/1785 or 700/1000/1800 - Maximum Super High Overclock - Still stable. Choose whichever one is more stable.
~~But remember, not all of the same cards overclock the same, see how far you can go. The farthest I can go is 700/1100/1900. I only run this extreme for benchmarks. Otherwise, I run 675/975/1785 so it doesn't stress the card too much.

Note: Do not run your overclocks at startup! It will just stress the GPU unnecessarily and overheat your card...Only overclock right before you play a game to increase frames if you need it!!!

3. PCWizard http://cpuid.com/pcwizard.php
- A great simple free lightweight program for finding out everything you need to know and want to know about your computer. It also has several simple and quick benchmark tests with simple comparative results to other components relevant to the benchmark.

4. HW Monitor http://cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php
- Great, simple, lightweight program for monitoring temperatures.

5. Prime 95 25.9 http://majorgeeks.com/Prime95_d4363.html
- Good for stress testing the CPU and RAM to test stability and/or check temps.

7. EVGA Precision http://www.evga.com/precision/
- Requires signup, but provides a configurable and simple user interface. It allows you to check frames to and adjust the color and positioning. For overclocking, however, this is a big no-no. :sad:

8. RightMark CPU Clock Utility http://cpu.rightmark.org/
- Getting info about your CPU, chaning CPU voltages, CPU throttle, etc.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824 - Best Undervolting guide there is

9. Auslogics Disk Defrag http://www.download.com/Auslogics-Di...html?tag=mncol
- Defragments your disk quickly with a graphical interface that provides information about the process in blocks and colors; pretty cool. It is also lightweight and very useful.

10. Auslogics Registry Defrag http://www.download.com/Auslogics-Re...-10678033.html
- A serious program that defrags the registry just like the Auslogics Disk Defrag does.
There are two things I do not like about both of these programs though:

1. The settings you can adjust are basically poor with one or two options.
2. They like to include information about junk files which can lead you to other software from them, but no graphical ads!

10. MemSet (Currently Version 4.0) http://tweakers.fr/memset.html
- This program allows you to tweak your memory timings. It definitely works and the settings can be saved. I have run memory benchmarks and lowering the timings of 7-7-7-20 to 7-6-6-18 allowed for a 10-20% increase in memory performance. Going any lower than that, however, may damage your memory, especially by frequent Blue Screens. 7-6-6-17 would be the limit.

Software tips:

1. Disable unnecessary windows components
2. Delete unnecessary windows components
3. Remove unnecessary start up programs
4. Try not to have more than 75 processes in the background
5. Run Disk Cleanup
6. Use CCleaner and Auslogics programs at least 1 TIME a week. (I use CCleaner a few times a day.)

Hardware Upgradeability:

1. CPU

- Stay with the P series, ex. P8600, P9500 because of the 25W Power Consumption compared to 35W. This will save you some heat and allow for more overclockability if you have an Nvidia Chipset. You can go for an X9100 or the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000, Q9200, or QX9300. However, they are quite expensive. Try finding them on Ebay, and try to avoid ES (Engineering Samples) CPUs.

2. GPU

- I wouldn't upgrade your GPU until your CPU is at least a P9500 in my opinion. A 9800M GTX is too powerful for only a 2.0ghz or 2.26ghz CPU. The links for the GPU's are at the bottom.

3. Hard Drive

- Stick with 7200 RPM for faster performance unless you get a 320GB or larger as these have similar speeds at this size. They have 640GB 5400RPM and 750GB 4200RPM hard drives out now for a crapload of storage!
- There are 2 spots for 2 hard drives! So go ahead and add another! (I have 2 hard drives now!!)
- As with RAID, I believe that it is not supported with the x300/x305.

SSD's: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...id-State-Disks

AN SSD will allow for immense speeds 2-3 times faster than even a 7200RPM drive. Since they are expensive, just get a 32GB or 64GB SSD for the OS and some main programs. Get a larger HD for other storage.

Steps to adding a hard drive:

1. Flip your laptop over.
2. Take out your battery.
3. Look for the hard drive cover. It has two screws on the bottom.
4. Remove the screws, then the cover.
5. Remove the first hard drive by just pushing it backwards, not up or down or sideways.
6. Insert your second hard drive in the space where it was originally empty--usually the bottom--and slide it in there. Make sure that it is flat, then push it forward. Also, make sure that the stickers are facing up with the blue chip facing down. (The hard drive you get, unless it's an SSD, will most likely not have a caddy, so your hard drive will rattle and bounce. However, if you have some plastic pieces to put underneath the hard drive all the way on the bottom, then do so. I also suggest placing foam in between both of the hard drive and perhaps on the sides to dampen sound and somewhat diminish the heat and movement due to it not having a caddy.)

Note: the caddy does not fit on the bottom, so don't bother.

7. Put the hard drives back gently in the right direction.
8. Close the cover and put the screws back on.
9. Put in your battery and lock it.
10. Turn your computer on.
11. Go to computer management.
12. Initiate the drive.
13. Format the drive to NTFS.
14. Mark the drive as an active partition.
15. Your drive is ready to go.

http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/T...000061070.aspx - 2ND Hard Drive Caddy.

4. Memory

- 8GB is now supported if you wish to upgrade to 8GB. Just expect to pay a premium.

- You can add 1333mhz RAM, however it wouldn't make the most sense unless you are overclocking your processor, and only those with Nvidia Chipsets can do that, ex. x306-q706.

Speaker Sound Editing:

I don't recommend going too high in volume to preserve your speakers, just as it applies with any other speakers. Going too high may damage them, especially at certain frequencies. To adjust the Bass and Treble qualities of your speakers:

1. Go to control panel
2. Switch to classic view
3. Double-click Realtek HD Audio Manager
4. Go to Maxx Audio
5. Make sure everything is set to on and daytime
6. Adjust bass and treble settings as you like
7. Also on the red part with the touch sensitive buttons, click the Dolby button on the far right and adjust bass to your likings as well.

Nvidia Control Panel Editing:

Here is a step by step guide to what you can do to this card to maximize performance in the Performance console:

I. 3D Settings:

1. Adjust Image Settings with preview:
A. Let the 3D Application decide

2. Manage 3D Settings:
B. Under Global Settings, restore defaults.
C. Under program settings, select specific games in which you would like to have different settings for through the console.

II. Display

1. Change Resolution
A. Put the resolution to its native resolution, usually the max resolution
B. Max out the refresh rate, usually 60 hertz.
C. Make sure the color quality is set at 32 bit.

2. Change Flat Panel Scaling
D. Use Nvidia Scaling
3. Adjust Desktop Color Settings
E. Adjust the settings for all monitors to your liking. For my LCD, I have it on:
Brightness: 50%
Digital Vibrance: 41%
Contrast: 65%
Gamma: 60%

Although, it varies for different LCD's. So experiment with your screen and adjust the settings to what you would like best.

4. Set up Multiple Displays
F. Only use one display, make sure it shows for #'s 2 and 3, Digital Flat Panel.

III. Performance

A. Device Settings

9700M GTS GPU Engine Specs:
Processor Cores 48
Core Clock 530 MHz - Max is around 700
Memory Clock 799 MHz MHz - Max is around 1000
Shader Clock 1325MHz - Max is around 1800

As stated way above, save different profiles:

I have the following profiles:

LOW OC
MEDIUM OC
MAX OC

I start with Max OC, and then dim it down. So don't load your overclocks at windows startup. Just load them before you play a game. But, those clocks might not work. It just depends on the computer and the card. Not every graphics card is the same.

GPU UPGRADES!

NB9E-GTX = 9800M GTX
NB9E-GS = 9700M GTS
NB9E-GT = 9800M GTS

This one is the 9800M GTX:
http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/T...000063270.aspx

This one is the 9700M GTS:
http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/T...000064080.aspx

This one is the 9800M GTS:
http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/T...000062220.aspx

More tips, tweaks will come soon. Please feel free to ask questions, make comments, and provide answers. I will try to update this often.

EXTRAS:

Go to http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/t..._sc_modSel.jsp to download the latest drivers.

64-Bit

http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook_winvista_win7_x32_186.81_whql.html32-Bit Get the newest Nvidia 32 Bit Drivers!

Get the newest Nvidia 64 Bit Drivers!

The new x305's for the US are out:

Toshiba Fan: http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/T...000061940.aspx

1. x305-Q705 http://explore.toshiba.com/laptops/q...X305/X305-Q705
2. x305-Q706 http://explore.toshiba.com/laptops/q...X305/X305-Q706
-- This model apparently has 2 9800M GTS's in SLi.
3. x305-Q708 http://explore.toshiba.com/laptops/q...X305/X305-Q708
4. There is an x305-Q707 coming soon!

Cq's guide for disassembly of the q701:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=283393
http://explore.toshiba.com/laptops/qosmio/X305 - x305 General Website

jacob808 · 10-04-2008, 12:57 PM

Right on. Just the place I was looking for. I'll check this thread often and hopefully I'll learn a lot from the more computer literate users around here. Thanks for starting this Dude.

I knew nothing about my T mobile Shadow WM6 cell phone but when I found a site dedicated to it that had owners and users suggesting tips and tricks for it I now have a $80 smart phone that can hold it's own against the iphone
and hopefully this thread will do the same with the X305s potential.

tornbacchus · 10-04-2008, 02:59 PM

ah well i hope your talking about the x300 from canada, because thats the one i got. i actually went through 1, returned it and got this one. the reason for the return was because the load up times were way too long. at startup, it took at least 2 - 3 minutes. writing came up saying "please wait" after the vista logo. so i returned it and got another one. i can tell you this is ALOT faster. it takes less than 40 seconds to boot up from turing it on and getting to my desktop. so if this happens to you, id suggest returning it. some people say they had this problem, but didnt think to return it. (there were also alot of errors in the log, saying startup hung for a few minutes)

well now that i got it, im very happy with it. i bring it to school and get alot of people looking at it. i love the red and the glossy keyboard. the speakers are the best ive ever heard on a laptop, with a 5.1 system on a lappy, this is amazing.

the performance is pretty good. i can max out all settings on call of duty 4, staying above 30fps, but i like to turn off a few settings (ie AA) and i get above 60 fps, staying around 80 fps, which is awesome. i can max out GRID with all settings and keep 4xAA on, because 16 is just overkill, theres no difference in looks, just lower performance.

the screen size is good enough, @ 1440x900, i dont need anything more, and if i want 1680x1050, i hook it up to my samsung. the screen needs some tuning. its really dull out of the box. so i just uped the contrast to about 80 and the digital viberance to about 50 - 75 (whatever you prefer) i did this via the nvidia control panel.

the build quality is very strong. toshiba put alot of though into this laptop. its pretty light (compared to my friends new 15" hp, this thing weighs about the same). its a little thick, but i dont mind. i love the looks and the lights, it really stands out. with 3 usb ports, its enough but i could use more. the hdmi and vga out, its a nice touch when i hook it up to my lcd tv or monitor. the keyboard feels loose when typing, especially near the arrow keys, but i dont mind it, i actually love the keyboard for gaming.

i would for sure upgrade the cpu, but not until maybe christmas. the gpu is powerful enough for at least a year, but the best thing is that it CAN be upgraded. and is it true, like you said that it can take quad core?? i thought just duo, like a p9500, which is probably what im going to upgrade to.

i didnt know that it could support 8gb or ram, but it is unnessesary. i think it costs almost 1,000$ for 2x4gb of ddr3 ram. id spend that money on a cpu and gpu upgrade, and possibly an extra hd and games.

the wifi is super fast, i can game all over my house on it, without lag. i think for this money, they could have put a blueray in, some lappys that are under 1000$ have blueray, and this thing costs 1900$, like come on.

as for programs, there is ALOT of bloatware. i removed all programs that i could at startup. i would only have the sidebar running, the battery program, wifi and norton, but i would remove norton. its only a trial, and i dont like it. i havent gotton around to removing it though. but all in all, these programs dont slow the computer down that much. i love the wifi program from toshiba thats in the sidebar. it looks like an atom, with the rings and it finds the wifi thats closest to you. so whatevers closer to the middle (which is the laptop) the closer the wifi is

i personally wouldnt overclock my system, because i dont really care to, and i dont know how to safely. i would buy parts and upgrade it. i also want this thing to last as long as it can, so not overclocking would make it last longer.

the heat is very low for a laptop with this power. the alienwares have been reported to get its gpu temp over 80 - 90 degrees. the x300 on full load playing a game, the gpu doesnt get over 65 degrees, the hd doesnt go over 40 degress and the processors stay under 60. this is without a cooler. i built a cooler for my x300, and the gpu stays under 50, HD under 30 and cpu under 50 on full load. ---- so i would suggest building/ buying a cooler for this thing.

i forgot to mention this above, but i would personally go with a 5400 rpm @ a higher capacity. it stays cooler and is just as fast as a 7200 rpm. eg; my 320gb 5400 rpm hd, stays cooler and runs just as fast as a 200gb 7200 rpm hd because of its size.

the battery is okay. it could be better. while surfing, emailing and music, i can squeeze out maybe 2 hrs. while gaming, maybe an hour. the best thing i like about it is even if we are on battery life and gaming, we still get full power and no downclocking of the cpu/gpu. this means just as much power and speed as if it was plugged in, but shorter battery life. i dont care because im always near a plug.

programs to have would be office 2007, and any games you can think of. im downloading about 10 games now, and im just going to get as many as i can.

all in all, i am very happy with this laptop. i was going to take a drive down to the us for a gateway p-7811fx, but it has ALOT of heat problems. +, this toshiba can be highly upgraded. i would reccomend this laptop to anyone looking for a desktop replacement.

hope this helps.

my specs (frrom canada)

itel core 2 duo 7350 @ 2.0ghz (will upgrade)
4gb DDR3 RAM
320gb 5400rpm hd (partitioned)
vista 64 bit
9700M GTS gfx
custom cooler
logitech vx nano mouse

vista WEI 5.0 (cpu lowest, hd is 5.4, everything else is 5.8 and higher, 5.9 being the highest score possible)

just one last question, WHY is the HD partitioned? I would think to have ALL of the windows files in the partition. instead, one partition is emply, and its ony 6GB big! nothing is in it and there are no hidden files. its just weird why they would do that, i would think have all windows files in one partition and all program files in the other.

and my setup

Dude55 · 10-04-2008, 06:14 PM

nice setup, great in depth post. and the hard drive is partitioned because toshiba made it that way. the eisa config cant be deleted but the second one can safely if you really need the space. my laptop is really the same as yours except i got it for $1400 USD and a 200gb 7200rpm hd instead of yours. and yeah, try to wait for the quads and the new mobile graphics cards.

jacob808 · 10-04-2008, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tornbacchus

ah well i hope your talking about the x300 from canada, because thats the one i got. i actually went through 1, returned it and got this one. the reason for the return was because the load up times were way too long. at startup, it took at least 2 - 3 minutes. writing came up saying "please wait" after the vista logo. so i returned it and got another one. i can tell you this is ALOT faster. it takes less than 40 seconds to boot up from turing it on and getting to my desktop. so if this happens to you, id suggest returning it. some people say they had this problem, but didnt think to return it. (there were also alot of errors in the log, saying startup hung for a few minutes)

well now that i got it, im very happy with it. i bring it to school and get alot of people looking at it. i love the red and the glossy keyboard. the speakers are the best ive ever heard on a laptop, with a 5.1 system on a lappy, this is amazing.

the performance is pretty good. i can max out all settings on call of duty 4, staying above 30fps, but i like to turn off a few settings (ie AA) and i get above 60 fps, staying around 80 fps, which is awesome. i can max out GRID with all settings and keep 4xAA on, because 16 is just overkill, theres no difference in looks, just lower performance.

the screen size is good enough, @ 1440x900, i dont need anything more, and if i want 1680x1050, i hook it up to my samsung. the screen needs some tuning. its really dull out of the box. so i just uped the contrast to about 80 and the digital viberance to about 50 - 75 (whatever you prefer) i did this via the nvidia control panel.

the build quality is very strong. toshiba put alot of though into this laptop. its pretty light (compared to my friends new 15" hp, this thing weighs about the same). its a little thick, but i dont mind. i love the looks and the lights, it really stands out. with 3 usb ports, its enough but i could use more. the hdmi and vga out, its a nice touch when i hook it up to my lcd tv or monitor. the keyboard feels loose when typing, especially near the arrow keys, but i dont mind it, i actually love the keyboard for gaming.

i would for sure upgrade the cpu, but not until maybe christmas. the gpu is powerful enough for at least a year, but the best thing is that it CAN be upgraded. and is it true, like you said that it can take quad core?? i thought just duo, like a p9500, which is probably what im going to upgrade to.

i didnt know that it could support 8gb or ram, but it is unnessesary. i think it costs almost 1,000$ for 2x4gb of ddr3 ram. id spend that money on a cpu and gpu upgrade, and possibly an extra hd and games.

the wifi is super fast, i can game all over my house on it, without lag. i think for this money, they could have put a blueray in, some lappys that are under 1000$ have blueray, and this thing costs 1900$, like come on.

as for programs, there is ALOT of bloatware. i removed all programs that i could at startup. i would only have the sidebar running, the battery program, wifi and norton, but i would remove norton. its only a trial, and i dont like it. i havent gotton around to removing it though. but all in all, these programs dont slow the computer down that much. i love the wifi program from toshiba thats in the sidebar. it looks like an atom, with the rings and it finds the wifi thats closest to you. so whatevers closer to the middle (which is the laptop) the closer the wifi is

i personally wouldnt overclock my system, because i dont really care to, and i dont know how to safely. i would buy parts and upgrade it. i also want this thing to last as long as it can, so not overclocking would make it last longer.

the heat is very low for a laptop with this power. the alienwares have been reported to get its gpu temp over 80 - 90 degrees. the x300 on full load playing a game, the gpu doesnt get over 65 degrees, the hd doesnt go over 40 degress and the processors stay under 60. this is without a cooler. i built a cooler for my x300, and the gpu stays under 50, HD under 30 and cpu under 50 on full load. ---- so i would suggest building/ buying a cooler for this thing.

i forgot to mention this above, but i would personally go with a 5400 rpm @ a higher capacity. it stays cooler and is just as fast as a 7200 rpm. eg; my 320gb 5400 rpm hd, stays cooler and runs just as fast as a 200gb 7200 rpm hd because of its size.

the battery is okay. it could be better. while surfing, emailing and music, i can squeeze out maybe 2 hrs. while gaming, maybe an hour. the best thing i like about it is even if we are on battery life and gaming, we still get full power and no downclocking of the cpu/gpu. this means just as much power and speed as if it was plugged in, but shorter battery life. i dont care because im always near a plug.

programs to have would be office 2007, and any games you can think of. im downloading about 10 games now, and im just going to get as many as i can.

all in all, i am very happy with this laptop. i was going to take a drive down to the us for a gateway p-7811fx, but it has ALOT of heat problems. +, this toshiba can be highly upgraded. i would reccomend this laptop to anyone looking for a desktop replacement.

hope this helps.

my specs (frrom canada)

itel core 2 duo 7350 @ 2.0ghz (will upgrade)
4gb DDR3 RAM
320gb 5400rpm hd (partitioned)
vista 64 bit
9700M GTS gfx
custom cooler
logitech vx nano mouse

vista WEI 5.0 (cpu lowest, hd is 5.4, everything else is 5.8 and higher, 5.9 being the highest score possible)

just one last question, WHY is the HD partitioned? I would think to have ALL of the windows files in the partition. instead, one partition is emply, and its ony 6GB big! nothing is in it and there are no hidden files. its just weird why they would do that, i would think have all windows files in one partition and all program files in the other.

and my setup

nice informative post torn. I like the tip on the radar for wifi. I had that running on my x205 but forgot what program it was, anyway I knew it was proprietary software from Toshiba so I looked in the Toshiba folder in config free and enabled the radar. Very helpful when I'm down the street gaming at the park.

Another tip I'll contribute if nobody knows by now and if your particular model has it is the sata port on the left side doubles as a usb port so the x305 actually has 4 usb ports. I'm using all 4 right now. Got the Targus Chill mat (new refined version), a n52te, xbox 360 controller, and a mx518 Logitech gaming mouse all plugged in.

tornbacchus · 10-04-2008, 11:47 PM

ha thanks jacob, i had no idea that that was a usb port. now that i look at it, it does fit a usb. i guess i could have looked at the writing next to it, it says sata/ usb logo. well anyways thanks for that, i guess it has 4 now and maybe ill find some more XD

ps; thanks for the rep+, im now at 2

jacob808 · 10-05-2008, 03:12 AM

Oh, did I do that? You know I hear a lot of ppl here talking about repping other users. How are you supposed to add a rep to someone? I've tried clicking on the rep power, the name and nothing no option for giving a rep point.

tornbacchus · 10-05-2008, 11:46 AM

its that little white scale thing between the green circle and the report a post

Dude55 · 10-05-2008, 12:12 PM

so anybody else gonna join in? i know there are more than 3 x305 users on here man.

ixpod · 10-06-2008, 04:52 PM

There are quite a few of these threads now. I created one, and I actually found there was one before mine. I think we should merge all threads into the original for easy reference.

Anyway, anyone found any issues when plugging in earphones? I'm getting disturbance because the sound setup is designed for the 4.1 system and it doesn't recognise the need for a change of audio profile when using a 2 speaker headphone. Ideas?