Toshiba T3600CT - Revision history

Andrei.boiu at 09:36, 23 September 2021

2021-09-23T09:36:40Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:36, 23 September 2021
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	}}		}}

	[[Category:Toshiba]]		[[Category:Toshiba laptops]]

Andrei.boiu at 21:53, 20 September 2021

2021-09-20T21:53:47Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:53, 20 September 2021
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	Disassembly is very difficult as there are many screws and clips. Even removing the internal harddrive is quite an adventure. This is typical of many compact Toshiba laptops. Unfortunately, the poor board design and many shortcomings such as the harddrive make this model quite avoidable. Keep in mind that compatible 486-era harddrives are very difficult to find in good condition and they are quite small. Modern IDE harddrives and flash storage solutions such as compact flash are entirely incompatible although a 1.3 GB harddrive is reported to be usable.		Disassembly is very difficult as there are many screws and clips. Even removing the internal harddrive is quite an adventure. This is typical of many compact Toshiba laptops. Unfortunately, the poor board design and many shortcomings such as the harddrive make this model quite avoidable. Keep in mind that compatible 486-era harddrives are very difficult to find in good condition and they are quite small. Modern IDE harddrives and flash storage solutions such as compact flash are entirely incompatible although a 1.3 GB harddrive is reported to be usable.

			== Greatest features & flaws ==
			{\| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2
			\|- style="background:#efefef;"
			! Features !! Flaws
			\|-
			\| Reasonable Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 performance for a 486 laptop \|\| Very small LCD screen
			\|-
			\| Integrated trackpoint \|\| No LCD brightness control, no soundcard support
			\|-
			\| Quite good keyboard and case durability \|\| Very poor, difficult disassembly and service
			\|-
			\| The most compact 486 laptop \|\| No internal drives, no VGA output port
			\|}

	== Review ==		== Review ==

Andrei.boiu at 20:50, 22 August 2021

2021-08-22T20:50:01Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:50, 22 August 2021
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	*8 MB EDO RAM (standard) up to 24 MB Max (16MB on Toshiba proprietary RAM module)		*8 MB EDO RAM (standard) up to 24 MB Max (16MB on Toshiba proprietary RAM module)
	*8.4-inch TFT color LCD (640x480 resolution, 55:1 contrast ratio, 256k colours)		*8.4-inch TFT color LCD (640x480 resolution, 55:1 contrast ratio, 256k colours)
	*Western Digital WD90C24A ~~GPU~~ (1MB VRAM, 1024x768 256 colour capable)		*Western Digital WD90C24A video chipset (1MB VRAM, 1024x768 256 colour capable)
	*No sound card		*No sound card

Andrei.boiu at 20:01, 13 August 2021

2021-08-13T20:01:51Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:01, 13 August 2021
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	*250 MB HDD		*250 MB HDD
	*~~3.5 inch FDD (unreliable)~~		*No floppy drive

	=== Other ===		=== Other ===
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	It has a medium performance CPU, with an average video controller for a 486. The CPU does not release too much heat so active cooling is not necessary. The keyboard has reasonable tactile feedback but it is very far from being the best, with quite a long key travel and a mushy feel. The trackpoint thumb stick feels quite uncomfortable, requiring the use of an external pointing device, an external mouse. The laptop's plastic case is somewhat durable but the internal design is horrendously complex, requiring lots of disassembly to access even the harddrive.		It has a medium performance CPU, with an average video controller for a 486. The CPU does not release too much heat so active cooling is not necessary. The keyboard has reasonable tactile feedback but it is very far from being the best, with quite a long key travel and a mushy feel. The trackpoint thumb stick feels quite uncomfortable, requiring the use of an external pointing device, an external mouse. The laptop's plastic case is somewhat durable but the internal design is horrendously complex, requiring lots of disassembly to access even the harddrive.

	~~The FDD~~ drive was a very poor ~~choice~~, ~~since~~ the ~~belt driven disk rotation fails after many years~~, ~~compatible belts being harder to find unreliable~~. The ~~removable disk bay is very good for a laptop of its generation and the~~ rechargeable battery can be easily removed or replaced. There were many Toshiba laptops that used the same battery and working with a removed battery does not affect stability or aesthetics. There are two more internal rechargeable NimH batteries inside the laptop that may leak and are somewhat harder to replace (not the typical, compact CR2032 3V button cell). They are used for Bios settings and memory suspension features.		Having no floppy drive or any other way of plugging an external CD-ROM or floppy drive meant that the laptop was very poor in terms of flexibility. Although having a floppy drive was somewhat difficult with such a case, the lack of ports on the laptop itself for connecting any external storage, without the docking station, is a very major design flaw. The rechargeable battery can be easily removed or replaced. There were many Toshiba laptops that used the same battery and working with a removed battery does not affect stability or aesthetics. There are two more internal rechargeable NimH batteries inside the laptop that may leak and are somewhat harder to replace (not the typical, compact CR2032 3V button cell). They are used for Bios settings and memory suspension features.

	The integrated speaker is way too small for any decent listening, capable of only the standard PC beeper output. No effort was made for integrating a sound card, not entirely unsurprising for a laptop released in 1994, but quite so for a Japanese laptop.		The integrated speaker is way too small for any decent listening, capable of only the standard PC beeper output. No effort was made for integrating a sound card, not entirely unsurprising for a laptop released in 1994, but quite so for a Japanese laptop.

Andrei.boiu at 19:56, 13 August 2021

2021-08-13T19:56:56Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:56, 13 August 2021
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	== Review ==		== Review ==
	A fast, quite slim laptop, released in 1994, with a good LCD screen but a way too small chassis. Everything feels overly cramped starting with the screen, moving further to the keyboard and trackpoint buttons. An additional design failure is the lack of a VGA output on the laptop, meaning that using an external screen requires the bulky docking station. The display has only two brightness levels, standard and energy saving. Response time is acceptable.		A fast, quite slim laptop, released in 1994, with a quite good LCD screen but a way too small chassis. Everything feels overly cramped starting with the screen, moving further to the keyboard and trackpoint buttons. An additional design failure is the lack of a VGA output on the laptop, meaning that using an external screen requires the bulky docking station. The display has only two brightness levels, standard and energy saving. Response time is acceptable.

	It has a medium performance CPU, with an average video controller for a 486. The CPU does not release too much heat so active cooling is not necessary. The keyboard has reasonable tactile feedback but it is very far from being the best, with quite a long key travel and a mushy feel. The trackpoint thumb stick feels quite uncomfortable, requiring the use of an external pointing device, an external mouse. The laptop's plastic case is somewhat durable but the internal design is horrendously complex, requiring lots of disassembly to access even the harddrive.		It has a medium performance CPU, with an average video controller for a 486. The CPU does not release too much heat so active cooling is not necessary. The keyboard has reasonable tactile feedback but it is very far from being the best, with quite a long key travel and a mushy feel. The trackpoint thumb stick feels quite uncomfortable, requiring the use of an external pointing device, an external mouse. The laptop's plastic case is somewhat durable but the internal design is horrendously complex, requiring lots of disassembly to access even the harddrive.

Andrei.boiu: /* Features */

2021-08-13T19:54:09Z

Features

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:54, 13 August 2021
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	*Intel Mobile 486SL DX2 50MHz CPU		*Intel Mobile 486SL DX2 50MHz CPU
	*8 MB EDO RAM (standard) up to 24 MB Max (16MB on Toshiba proprietary RAM module)		*8 MB EDO RAM (standard) up to 24 MB Max (16MB on Toshiba proprietary RAM module)
	*8.4-inch TFT color LCD (640x480 resolution, 60:1 contrast ratio, 256k colours)		*8.4-inch TFT color LCD (640x480 resolution, 55:1 contrast ratio, 256k colours)
	*Western Digital WD90C24A GPU (1MB VRAM, 1024x768 256 colour capable)		*Western Digital WD90C24A GPU (1MB VRAM, 1024x768 256 colour capable)
	*No sound card		*No sound card

Andrei.boiu: /* Features */

2021-08-13T19:53:37Z

Features

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:53, 13 August 2021
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	*Intel Mobile 486SL DX2 50MHz CPU		*Intel Mobile 486SL DX2 50MHz CPU
	*8 MB EDO RAM (standard) up to 24 MB Max (16MB on Toshiba proprietary RAM module)		*8 MB EDO RAM (standard) up to 24 MB Max (16MB on Toshiba proprietary RAM module)
	*8.4-inch TFT color LCD (640x480 resolution, 60:1 contrast ratio, ~~16-bit colour~~)		*8.4-inch TFT color LCD (640x480 resolution, 60:1 contrast ratio, 256k colours)
	*Western Digital WD90C24A GPU (1MB VRAM, 1024x768 256 colour capable)		*Western Digital WD90C24A GPU (1MB VRAM, 1024x768 256 colour capable)
	*No sound card		*No sound card

Andrei.boiu at 19:52, 13 August 2021

2021-08-13T19:52:52Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:52, 13 August 2021
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	{{footnotes\|		{{footnotes\|
	# There was only a single model with these specifications, meaning that ~~identifications~~ is very easy.		# There was only a single model with these specifications, meaning that identification is very easy.
	}}		}}

	[[Category:Toshiba]]		[[Category:Toshiba]]

Andrei.boiu at 19:52, 13 August 2021

2021-08-13T19:52:33Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:52, 13 August 2021
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	\|style="vertical-align:top" \|		\|style="vertical-align:top" \|
	<div style="margin: 0; margin-right:10px; border: 1px solid #dfdfdf; padding: 0em 1em 1em 1em; background-color:#F8F8FF; align:right;">		<div style="margin: 0; margin-right:10px; border: 1px solid #dfdfdf; padding: 0em 1em 1em 1em; background-color:#F8F8FF; align:right;">
	Toshiba (~~Satellite~~) T3600CT Overview		Toshiba (Portege) T3600CT Overview

	== Features ==		== Features ==
	*Intel Mobile 486SL ~~DX 33MHz~~ CPU		*Intel Mobile 486SL DX2 50MHz CPU
	*4 MB EDO RAM (standard) up to 20 MB Max (16MB on Toshiba ~~PCMCIA~~ RAM module)		*8 MB EDO RAM (standard) up to 24 MB Max (16MB on Toshiba proprietary RAM module)
	*9.5-inch TFT color LCD (640x480 resolution, 60:1 contrast ratio, ~~256 colours palette~~)		*8.4-inch TFT color LCD (640x480 resolution, 60:1 contrast ratio, 16-bit colour)
	*Western Digital ~~WD90C26A~~ GPU (~~512kB~~ VRAM, 256 colour capable)		*Western Digital WD90C24A GPU (1MB VRAM, 1024x768 256 colour capable)
	*No sound card		*No sound card

	*~~120, 200, 320~~ MB HDD		*250 MB HDD
	*3.5 inch FDD (unreliable)		*3.5 inch FDD (unreliable)

	=== Other ===		=== Other ===
	*Mono speaker (PC beeper only)		*Mono speaker (PC beeper only)
	*~~2xPCMCIA Slots~~		*1xPCMCIA Slot
	*VGA Output		*VGA Output (only on docking station)
	*NimH rechargeable battery		*NimH rechargeable battery
	*Single PS/2, Serial, Parallel ports		*Single PS/2, Serial, Parallel ports
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	== Best retro purpose ==		== Best retro purpose ==
	Early DOS gaming and Windows 3.1. Due to the ~~very~~ slow CPU and graphics support anything that is mildly taxing, such as Windows 95, ~~is way too much for such a machine~~. The built-in screen does not offer great room with just 640x480 resolution, although the contrast is ~~quite~~ good for a machine of its time (1994).		Early DOS gaming and Windows 3.1. Due to the slightly slow CPU and graphics chipset support anything that is mildly taxing, such as Windows 95, should be avoided. The built-in screen does not offer great room with just 640x480 resolution and such a small size, although the contrast is very good for a machine of its time (1994).

	Can run Wolfenstein 3D well, DOOM is ~~borderline~~ playable. Best suited for slow-paced games (turn-based) such as Heroes 1&2 ~~if you can find or have a good mouse~~.		Can run Wolfenstein 3D well, DOOM is somewhat playable. Best suited for slow-paced games (turn-based) such as Heroes 1&2.

	== Benchmarks ==		== Benchmarks ==
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	== Durability and Repair-ability ==		== Durability and Repair-ability ==
	The durability of this laptop is below average. While the chassis plastic is ~~quite fine~~, the internal circuitry is quite lacking. The use of poor quality capacitors and electronics design make the infamous ~~P30 error to be~~ quite common. ~~Unfortunately, when you try to replace the capacitor there is~~ very ~~little space to install a new one and installing it may not fix~~ the ~~issue as the system board may be damaged~~.		The durability of this laptop is below average. While the chassis plastic is somewhat allright, the internal circuitry is quite lacking. The use of poor quality capacitors and electronics design make the laptop fails quite common. The infamous switching led lights with no booting is quite common. Internal battery leaks can be very damaging on the inside.

	Disassembly is very difficult as there are many screws~~, layered boards~~ and ~~a complex way to link components~~. This is typical of many compact Toshiba laptops. Unfortunately, the poor board design and many shortcomings such as the harddrive make this model quite avoidable. Keep in mind that compatible 486-era harddrives are very difficult to find in good condition and they are quite small. Modern IDE harddrives and flash storage solutions such as compact flash are entirely incompatible.		Disassembly is very difficult as there are many screws and clips. Even removing the internal harddrive is quite an adventure. This is typical of many compact Toshiba laptops. Unfortunately, the poor board design and many shortcomings such as the harddrive make this model quite avoidable. Keep in mind that compatible 486-era harddrives are very difficult to find in good condition and they are quite small. Modern IDE harddrives and flash storage solutions such as compact flash are entirely incompatible although a 1.3 GB harddrive is reported to be usable.

	~~On the other side, replacing an old or damaged LCD fluorescent lamp~~ is ~~quite simple as it requires only disassembly of the display's case and removal of some screws and a top plate~~.

	== Review ==		== Review ==
	A ~~mostly midrange~~, quite slim laptop, released in 1994, with a ~~quite~~ good LCD screen but ~~an outdated~~ chassis and ~~no integrated pointing device~~. The display has only two brightness levels, standard and energy saving. Response time is acceptable.		A fast, quite slim laptop, released in 1994, with a good LCD screen but a way too small chassis. Everything feels overly cramped starting with the screen, moving further to the keyboard and trackpoint buttons. An additional design failure is the lack of a VGA output on the laptop, meaning that using an external screen requires the bulky docking station. The display has only two brightness levels, standard and energy saving. Response time is acceptable.

	It has a ~~low~~ performance CPU, with an average video controller for a 486. The CPU does not release too much heat so active cooling is not necessary. The keyboard has reasonable tactile feedback but it is far from being the best, with quite a long key travel and a mushy feel. The ~~Ballpoint cursor system (if you have~~ the ~~rare side~~ mouse ~~attachment available) should be allright~~. The laptop's plastic case is ~~quite~~ durable but the internal design is horrendously complex, requiring lots of disassembly to ~~acces~~ even the harddrive.		It has a medium performance CPU, with an average video controller for a 486. The CPU does not release too much heat so active cooling is not necessary. The keyboard has reasonable tactile feedback but it is very far from being the best, with quite a long key travel and a mushy feel. The trackpoint thumb stick feels quite uncomfortable, requiring the use of an external pointing device, an external mouse. The laptop's plastic case is somewhat durable but the internal design is horrendously complex, requiring lots of disassembly to access even the harddrive.

	The FDD drive was a very poor choice, since the belt driven disk rotation fails after many years, compatible belts being harder to find unreliable. The removable disk bay is very good for a laptop of its generation and the rechargeable battery can be easily removed or replaced. There were many Toshiba laptops that used the same battery and working with a removed battery does not affect stability or aesthetics. There are two more internal rechargeable NimH batteries inside the laptop that may leak and are somewhat harder to replace (not the typical, compact CR2032 3V button cell). They are used for Bios settings and memory suspension features.		The FDD drive was a very poor choice, since the belt driven disk rotation fails after many years, compatible belts being harder to find unreliable. The removable disk bay is very good for a laptop of its generation and the rechargeable battery can be easily removed or replaced. There were many Toshiba laptops that used the same battery and working with a removed battery does not affect stability or aesthetics. There are two more internal rechargeable NimH batteries inside the laptop that may leak and are somewhat harder to replace (not the typical, compact CR2032 3V button cell). They are used for Bios settings and memory suspension features.

	The integrated speaker is ~~quite good~~, ~~although~~ capable of only the standard PC beeper output. No effort was made for integrating a sound card, not entirely unsurprising for a laptop released in 1994, but quite so for a Japanese laptop.		The integrated speaker is way too small for any decent listening, capable of only the standard PC beeper output. No effort was made for integrating a sound card, not entirely unsurprising for a laptop released in 1994, but quite so for a Japanese laptop.

	The standard HDDs supplied by Toshiba have a known tendency to have their heads stick to the parking position limiter when old, making the drive fail to start. Careful internal disassembly is required to unstick the heads from the parking position. Use care and touch only the drive arm near the center pin to slowly unstick it. Overall, the hard-drive offers medium performance while having quite a pleasant sound in operation.		The standard HDDs supplied by Toshiba have a known tendency to have their heads stick to the parking position limiter when old, making the drive fail to start. Careful internal disassembly is required to unstick the heads from the parking position. Use care and touch only the drive arm near the center pin to slowly unstick it. Overall, the hard-drive offers medium performance while having quite a pleasant sound in operation.

	Software support is great in DOS and Windows 3.1. The video controller has insufficient acceleration and low screen scrolling performance and the CPU is ~~quite~~ slow meaning that ~~even~~ running in ~~640x480~~ is quite ~~taxing for~~ the ~~machine~~. ~~The CPU is by far~~ the ~~slowest component~~.		Software support is great in DOS and Windows 3.1. The video controller has insufficient acceleration and low screen scrolling performance and the CPU is only slightly slow meaning that running in 800x600 is possible but quite slow.

			In the end, the ability to cramp a full computer in such a small chassis is incredible, although there were many compromises. Slightly larger models have, actually, continued and established the Portege series as a successful ultra-portable design that was a staple of Japanese manufacturers such as Sony and Toshiba.

	{{footnotes\|		{{footnotes\|
	# Only the screen and video chipset configuration are different between C (Colour) and standard grayscale models, all specifications and the potential performance is the same. The standard grayscale display version was ~~marketed as~~ a ~~low cost option of the C~~ model ~~due to the cheaper screen~~.		# There was only a single model with these specifications, meaning that identifications is very easy.
	}}		}}

	[[Category:Toshiba]]		[[Category:Toshiba]]

Andrei.boiu at 19:17, 13 August 2021

2021-08-13T19:17:32Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:17, 13 August 2021
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	</div>		</div>
	\|style="vertical-align:top" \|		\|style="vertical-align:top" \|
	[[Image:Toshiba ~~T4600C~~.jpg\|Toshiba ~~T4600C~~ 9.5"]]		[[Image:Toshiba T3600CT.jpg\|Toshiba T3600CT 9.5"]]
	\|}		\|}