The Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4220RD ($509.99 direct) won't wow you with impressive performance or features, but this laptop may still catch your eye with its rock-bottom price. Value-priced systems run the gamut from cheap and chintzy to surprisingly well appointed laptops, and sometimes it can be hard to sort out which is which. While the Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4220RD will definitely meet your basic computing needs for an inexpensive price, its meager selection of features and components better suited to a netbook will leave some people wanting more.
Design
The chrome red plastic covering the lid and palm rest is what Toshiba calls Matrix Red. The design is accented by a subtle checkered pattern. Though the all-plastic construction isn't as sturdy as the combination of plastic and brushed aluminum on the Asus U56E-BBL5 ($649.99 list, 4 stars), there's surprisingly little flexing in the chassis. Measuring 1.5 by 13.3 by 9.1-inches (HWD), it's also a bit lighter, weighing 4.47-pounds as compared to the Dell Inspiron i14RN4110-8073DBK ($529.99 street, 3 stars), which weighs 5.15 pounds, despite their similar dimensions.
The Satellite L745D-S4220RD has a 14-inch widescreen display, and its 1366 by 768 resolution (which can display 720p video) is standard at this screen size. Also common among value laptops is the low-quality of the speaker set. As the volume goes up, the sound quality diminishes, and my testing with a few shuffled songs on Pandora left me wanting to use headphones.
The Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4220RD has a full-sized keyboard. The keys are square, but it's not the chiclet-style that's become so popular. There are no significant spaces between keys, which may be an adjustment for some users. Regardless, the typing experience was quite comfortable. Less enjoyable was the multitouch trackpad, which is covered with a light texture to distinguish it from the smooth-surfaced palm rest. The texture felt irritating under my fingertips. The right and left mouse buttons were responsive, but clicked a little too loudly.
Specifications
- Type
- Value
- Operating System
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
- Processor Speed
- 1.6 GHz
- RAM
- 4 GB
- Weight
- 4.47 lb
- Screen Size
- 14 inches
- Screen Size Type
- Widescreen
- Graphics Card
- AMD Radeon HD 6310
- Storage Capacity (as Tested)
- 500 GB
- Networking Options
- 802.11n
- Primary Optical Drive
- Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW
Features
There are only so many ways to reduce the price of a laptop, and the feature set was one of the main areas to get cut on this laptop. Basic connections like headphone and microphone jacks are all present, along with a built-in card reader (SD, MS/Pro). With three USB 2.0 ports, VGA and HDMI outputs, an Ethernet port and 802.11n Wi-Fi, there's not a lot here that isn't anything we haven't seen on competing systems. The optical drive, which does offer dual-layer DVD reading and burning, is similar to the one found in the Acer Aspire AS5253-BZ480 ($499.99 list, 3.5 stars). The 500GB 5,400rpm hard drive is larger than the 320GB drive found in the Acer, but smaller than the 640GB offered in more expensive models like the Dell Inspiron i14RN4110-8073DBK and Asus U56E-BBL5.
The Toshiba L745D-S4220RD is light on features, but heavy on the bloatware pre-installed on the system. You get a 30-day trial of Norton Internet Security, a starter version of Microsoft Office 2010, a collection of sample games from WildTangent, and two scoops of programs and utilities bearing the Toshiba brand name. While it's not unusual to find a lot of bloatware on a laptop in this price range, you'll want to set aside some time to clean up the system. Toshiba also covers the laptop with a standard 1-year warranty covering parts and labor, and an unexpected but welcome 1-year warranty on the battery as well.
Performance
The processor was also significantly slower than the competing Intel systems, both the Toshiba and the E-350 equipped Acer Aspire AS5253-BZ661 ($469.99 list, 3.5 stars) scored 0.61 points in our Cinebench R11.5 rendering test--the Asus U56E-BBL5 scored 2.60. It took 7 minutes 4 seconds to finish our Handbrake video encoding test, and 18 minutes 33 seconds to complete our Photoshop CS5 test, rendering the Toshiba Satellite unfit for heavy multimedia editing.
The AMD Fusion E-350 is one of AMD's Fusion line of accelerated processing units (APU). As such, the processor shares its chip die with an AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics processor. In 3DMark 2006 the Toshiba Satellite scored 2,394 points at medium detail and resolution settings, a far cry from the 4,840 points scored by the Asus U56E-BBL5. However, when tested with actual games, the Satellite scored 16 frames per second (fps) in Crysis and 12fps in Lost Planet 2, besting competing laptops but just below the playable threshold. You may not be able to enjoy a round of Crysis on this laptop, but World of Warcraft isn't out of the question.
Another area where the Satellite held its own was in battery-life. In our MobileMark 2007 battery benchmark, the Toshiba lasted 5 hours 2 minutes with a 6-cell 48Wh battery, settling somewhere between the Acer Aspire AS5253-BZ480 (4:50 with a 6-cell 49Wh battery) and Dell Inspiron i14RN4110-8073DBK (5:24 with a 6-cell 44Wh battery). All of these fell behind the Asus U56E-BBL5, which leveraged a much larger 8-cell 74Wh battery to last 7:34.
The Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4220RD may not impress you with its performance, but its $500 price tag make it well worth your consideration. The Dell Inspiron i14RN4110-8073DBK sells for only $20 more, and offers a Core i5 processor and all the improved performance that comes with it. Of course, if you can afford an extra $150, check out Editors' Choice Asus U56E-BBL5, which offers a lot more power and features.
Source:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2392666,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05039TX1K0000760
No comments:
Post a Comment