Friday, October 25, 2013

Toshiba Satellite A500 review

With budget laptops offering more and more for ever-diminishing prices, mid-priced models are having to work pretty hard to justify their existence. After all, when you can get a perfectly capable portable for under £400 exc VAT, then there seems little reason to spend more on the likes of the new Toshiba Satellite A500.
Skim through the A500's specifications and, at first, such cynicism would seem to be well-placed. With an Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 processor, 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard disk, there's precious little to set it above the morass of budget-priced portables. Look closer, however, and there is one crucial difference: this Toshiba boasts one of the more capable mobile graphics chipsets around - the ATI Radeon HD 4570.
Indeed, gaming is where budget laptops so often stumble and, if you like nothing better than kicking back with a game at the end of the day, you'll find Toshiba has put the extra budget at its disposal to good use. It's still no match for the likes of the Asus G60Vx, but fire up Crysis and it puts up a valiant fight. Our medium Crysis test runs through a test level at a resolution of 1,280 x 1,024 and medium detail - a challenge which saw the A500 manage a very reasonable average frame rate of 19fps.
Design and build
It's not just games that look good, though, as Toshiba has gone right back to the drawing board with the A500. There's something unmistakably familiar about the rounded edges and the combination of glossy black with silver trim and pinstripes. In fact, it's almost as if Toshiba has been taking some fashion tips from the excellent HP Pavilion DV6. That's no bad thing, though; it marks a definite improvement on its somewhat frumpy predecessors.
Toshiba Satellite A500 rear
Meanwhile, it may not be the lightest laptop - weighing in at 2.94kg (3.48kg with the power adapter) - but the A500 feels strong and sturdy in all the right places. The base, for example, is impressively rigid, and while the lid and hinge feel a touch more flexible, it feels like a laptop built to last.
Unfortunately, that's not the case when it comes to battery life. It's unlikely that anyone will want to carry around a 3kg laptop on a regular basis, but light use battery life of just 2hrs 23mins puts paid to all but the briefest of jaunts away from the mains. Even the HP Pavilion dv6 outlasts the Toshiba, stretching to a more reasonable three hours.
And, once you get over the excitement generated by the ATI graphics, the Toshiba doesn't have a great deal to shout about. Performance is pretty modest - the Core 2 Duo and 4GB memory managing a middle-of-the-road 1.01 in our benchmarks - and the rest of the specification is simply par for the course.
Impressive visuals
Sometimes, however, just looking at the raw numbers isn't enough to give you the true measure of a laptop. Fire up a DVD or a game, for example, and the Toshiba relishes the challenge. A superb pair of harman/kardon speakers quickly get the foot tapping, and the 16in display raises the heart rate just a little higher.

Details
Part CodePSAM3E-03U018EN
Review Date17 Sep 2009
Price ex VAT£565
Price inc VAT£650
Overall rating4 stars out of 6
Features & Design4 stars out of 6
Value for Money5 stars out of 6
Performance4 stars out of 6
Warranty
Warranty1 yr return to base
Physical specifications
Dimensions384 x 260 x 44mm (WDH)
Weight2.940kg
Travelling weight3.5kg
Processor and memory
ProcessorIntel Core 2 Duo T6500
Motherboard chipsetIntel GM45/GM47
RAM capacity4.00GB
Memory typeDDR2
SODIMM sockets free0
SODIMM sockets total2
Screen and video
Screen size16.0in
Resolution screen horizontal1,366
Resolution screen vertical768
Resolution1366 x 768
Graphics chipsetATi Mobility Radeon HD 4570
Graphics card RAM512MB
VGA (D-SUB) outputs1
HDMI outputs1
S-Video outputs0
DVI-I outputs0
DVI-D outputs0
DisplayPort outputs0
Drives
Capacity500GB
Hard disk usable capacity466GB
Spindle speed5,400RPM
Internal disk interfaceSATA/300
Hard diskToshiba MK5055GSX
Optical disc technologyDVD writer
Optical driveMatshita UJ880AS
Battery capacity4,000mAh
Replacement battery price inc VAT£0
Networking
Wired adapter speed1,000Mbits/sec
802.11a supportno
802.11b supportyes
802.11g supportyes
802.11 draft-n supportyes
Integrated 3G adapterno
Other Features
Wireless hardware on/off switchyes
Wireless key-combination switchyes
Modemno
ExpressCard34 slots0
ExpressCard54 slots1
PC Card slots0
USB ports (downstream)4
eSATA ports1
PS/2 mouse portno
9-pin serial ports0
Parallel ports0
Optical S/PDIF audio output ports0
Electrical S/PDIF audio ports0
3.5mm audio jacks2
SD card readeryes
Memory Stick readeryes
MMC (multimedia card) readerno
Smart Media readerno
Compact Flash readerno
xD-card readeryes
Pointing device typeTouchpad
Audio chipsetRealtek HD Audio
Speaker locationAbove keyboard
Hardware volume control?no
Integrated microphone?yes
Integrated webcam?yes
Camera megapixel rating1.3mp
TPMno
Fingerprint readerno
Smartcard readerno
Carry caseno
Operating system and software
Operating systemWindows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
OS familyWindows Vista
Recovery methodRecovery partition, burn own recovery discs
Battery and performance tests
Battery life, light use2hr 23min
Battery life, heavy use1hr 5min
Overall application benchmark score1.01
Office application benchmark score1.02
2D graphics application benchmark score1.21
Encoding application benchmark score0.94
Multitasking application benchmark score0.88



Read more: Toshiba Satellite A500 review | PC Pro http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/351643/toshiba-satellite-a500#ixzz2iirfp8yb

Toshiba Satellite C660D-10W review

The low price of the Toshiba Satellite C660D-10W will immediately make it attractive to those with limited funds or perhaps those who were considering buying a netbook, but would prefer something with more power and flexibility.
In order to shave £170 off our £500 nominal limit, Toshiba has had to cut down considerably on components.
Powered by a single-core AMD V140 processor running at 2.3GHz it may be much faster than a netbook, but the Toshiba Satellite C660D-10W is also considerably less powerful than any of the Intel-powered laptops against which it’s being compared.
The AMD V140 main processor chip is joined by an integrated graphics processor, also from AMD, and one that looks on the spec sheet like a true discrete card.
But Toshiba Satellite C660D-10W has an ATI Mobility Radeon HD4250, an integrated rather than discrete solution. It's able to use up to 256MB of system memory but has no dedicated RAM of its own. It delivers performance around the same level as the integrated Intel graphics in the less expensive Intel-based Acer and Advent laptops here.
But the Toshiba Satellite C660D-10W also comes with only 2GB of RAM, half the amount provided in many of these budget models. And remember that some of that system RAM will be lost to the graphics processor, which carries none of its own.
When running WorldBench 6 the Toshiba Satellite C660D-10W returned a rather disappointing score of only 76 points, but this test includes some rather heavy-duty applications such as rendering in 3D Studio – a task which caused the Toshiba Satellite C660D-10W to struggle somewhat. As did the multitasking tests, which put a heavy strain on single-core processors.
However, if you stick to the lighter tasks for which this notebook is better suited, it fares rather better. It actually beats most of the competition when running the Microsoft Office portion of the test.
Only two USB 2.0 ports are provided, both of which are on the left hand side of the unit, but more disappointingly, there’s no HDMI port so it won’t be easy to hook up to your TV.
Still, you get a decent bundle of support software, including Nero 9 Express Essentials, a nice 15.6in LED-backlit display and a full-size keyboard with numeric keypad.


Read more: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/laptop/3256315/toshiba-satellite-c660d-10w-review/#ixzz2iirKeEdW

Toshiba Satellite L505-S5966 Review

Pros: Attractive Fusion Finish; Comfortable keyboard and number pad; Dedicated media control buttons; eSATA port for fast backups;
Cons: Poor battery life; Display has limited viewing angles; Mediocre benchmark scores; Lacks HDMI port;
The Verdict: This budget notebook gets the job done for under $600, as long as you don’t don’t need long battery life.

The amount of time the notebook takes to start, from power on to full control of the desktop.

Toshiba Satellite L505
Dell Inspiron 15
Lenovo IdeaPad Y450
Category Average
50
47
50
31
Seconds (Lower is Better)
 0
 10
 20
 30
 40
 50
 60
  • Boot TimeBoot Time
  • LAPTOP Battery TestLAPTOP Battery Test
  • LAPTOP File Transfer TestLAPTOP File Transfer Test

REVIEW

SPECIFICATIONS

The Toshiba Satellite L505-S5966 proves that consumers can get much, if not all of what they need in a system that costs less than $600. Priced at $549, this mainstream notebook features a 15.6-inch screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio—ideal for watching widescreen movies. While those looking to play the latest 3D games or do serious multitasking will be disappointed, consumers who need a notebook for simply surfing the Web, running Microsoft Office, and listening to music should be more than satisfied with the L505.
Article Continued Below

Design

For a sub-$600 system, the Satellite L505 is attractive but not exactly striking. Its lid and keyboard deck sport Toshiba’s Fusion Finish with a grey Breeze pattern—essentially, lines running diagonally across the system. Both the lid and deck are glossy, but the neutral color hides any fingerprints. The design carries across the touchpad, making it all but invisible when viewed from certain angles. While a clever touch, the fact that it is also flush with the deck had us looking for it a little harder than we should have. The keyboard and bezel are a matte black that contrasts nicely with the rest of the chassis.
At 15.1 x 10.2 x 1.6 inches and an even 6 pounds, the Satellite L505 isn’t exactly travel friendly, but it’s a reasonable size and weight for a 15.6-inch system.
Above the keyboard is the power button, plus four media playback buttons: Play/pause, reverse, forward, and mute. Unfortunately, there are no volume buttons; Toshiba continues to use an old-school volume wheel, which in this case is on the front edge of the L505.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The black keyboard on the L505 provided very good feedback, although we did notice it had a bit more flex than we would have liked. Thanks to the wide 15.6-inch screen, Toshiba was also able to cram a full number pad to the right without sacrificing the size of the keyboard.
Toshiba Satellite L505-S5966
The touchpad is decently sized, and its slightly rough surface resulted in almost no friction when moving our finger across it. As we mentioned previously, however, its nearly seamless blending with the surrounding deck made it difficult to locate peripherally. The silver mouse buttons below were huge, and were decently crisp, too.

Display and Audio

The 15.6-inch screen on the L505 was suitably bright, and its resolution of 1366 x 768 is more than adequate for its size. However, the viewing angles of the glossy screen could have been better; we had to tilt the display back further than we normally do in order for it not to appear washed out. When set at the ideal angle, though, watching movies on the 16:9 aspect ratio display was enjoyable. During an explosion in a clip from The Hurt Locker, we could make out the individual bits of gravel and dust stirred up by the IEDs.
The stereo speakers on the top of the deck were decently loud, but, as is to be expected, lacked a low end; we could easily hear Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” from across a room, but missed the bass line.

Ports and Webcam

Toshiba Satellite L505-S5966
Arrayed along the right side of the Satellite L505 are two USB ports, modem, and a Kensington lock slot; on the left is a VGA out, Ethernet, headphone and mic, and an eSATA port that doubles as USB; unfortunately, this port doesn’t include Toshiba’s Sleep-and-Charge technology. Also lacking is an HDMI port, which, while disappointing, is far from a dealbreaker in this price range.
Toshiba Satellite L505-S5966
A 1.3-megapixel webcam and microphone above the display provided decent images in a video chat over Skype; while a little drab, a caller could make out the color of our eyes. However, there was a bit of motion blur when we waved our hand about two feet away from the webcam.

Performance

Toshiba Satellite L505-S5966
For a system with a last-generation 2.0-GHz Intel Pentium T4200 processor, the Satellite L505 performed adequately on our benchmarks. Its PCMark Vantage score of 2,791 was about 400 points below the category average, but still bested the $499 Dell Inspiron 15 by 100 points and the $599 Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 by about 50 points—both of which have the same processor and amount of RAM (3GB).
You should have no problem using the L505 for everyday tasks. We surfed the Web, streamed music via Pandora, and wrote this review in Microsoft Word simultaneously without any hiccups.
The L505’s 320GB, 5,400-rpm drive is excellent, as it notched a throughput of 23.6 MBps on the LAPTOP Transfer Test (duplicating 4.97 GB of mixed media files); that’s 5 MBps faster than the category average, and almost identical to the Lenovo IdeaPad Y450. The L505 booted into Windows in just 50 seconds, about 10 seconds better than average.
When it came to multitasking, the Satellite L505’s mettle was tested; while it took just 7 minutes and 56 seconds to transcode a 5:05 MPEG-4 file to AVI using Handbrake—about 3 minutes longer than the category average—it took 26:14 to finish the same task while compressing a 4.97GB folder in the background. While that second time is nearly 4 minutes faster than the Dell Inspiron 15, it’s still almost three times as long as the mainstream notebook average, although just one minute longer than the Lenovo Y450.

Graphics

Not surprisingly, the Satellite L505’s integrated graphics weren’t the best when it came to our tests; its score of 715 in 3DMark06 was about 2,600 points below the mainstream notebook average, and even sank below the Dell Inspiron 15 (767) and the Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 (774). Still, the L505 performed well enough during less graphically demanding activities; in Google Earth, it was able to fully render the skyscrapers in midtown Manhattan in about 10 seconds, and we were able to fly smoothly over the city.

Battery Life and Wi-Fi

Toshiba Satellite L505-S5966
The 6-cell battery on the Satellite L505 lasted a meager 2 hours and 14 minutes; that’s more than an hour less than the mainstream notebook average, and one hour less than the Dell Inspiron 15. The L505 has Toshiba’s new eco utility, accessible through the Power Options menu, which, when activated, enables power-saving features such as dimming the display and turning off the hard disk after 5 minutes of inactivity.
This laptop’s Wi-Fi throughput of 18.7 Mbps from 15 feet and 16.8 Mbps from 50 feet was right in line with the category averages of 19.0 Mbps and 15.6 Mbps from those respective distances.

Software and Warranty

In addition to Toshiba’s utilities, the L505 comes with a fair amount of trialware, including a 30-day trial of Norton Internet Security 2009, and a 60-day trial of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007. You also get Microsoft Works, Skype, Google Desktop, and WildTangent Orb Game Console. Additionally, there are shortcuts to NetZero, Amazon.com’s online stores, and Intuit Quickbooks Financial Center 2009.

Configurations

Toshiba Satellite L505-S5966
Toshiba offers many different configurations of the L500 series. The base model (L505D-S5965, $504) features an AMD Athlon X2 QL-65 CPU, 3GB of RAM, a 250GB, 5,400-rpm hard drive, and lacks a webcam. The top-of-the-line model, the L505-S6959 ($699), comes with a 2.1-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 5,400 rpm, 320GB hard drive, and 802.11n Wi-Fi.

Verdict

The Toshiba Satellite L505-S5966 should fit most users’ basic needs, and at $549, it represents a pretty good bargain. Some may prefer the $499 Dell Inspiron 15, which lasts an hour longer on a charge. But the L505 delvers a more stylish design and a larger hard drive (320GB vs. 250GB) for just a bit more money.