Toshiba Satellite L755-S5258: Solid Performance, Cheap Parts

At a Glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

Igniter than it looks
Solid performance at great price

Cons

Fn key didn't work
Trackpad is tiny!

Our Verdict

Harmful the tuppeny parts and hardware issues, the Satellite is a solid performer.

The Toshiba Satellite L755-S5258 looks like a budget laptop, but it's got a decent punch below its bash. Alas, the cheap out and garish construction (the Subprogram key on our recap model didn't work) may not be enough to make up for its otherwise solid state public presentation.

Our review whole, priced at $690 (as of 9/27/2011), comes packed with a second-generation Intel Core i5-2410M processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 640GB petrified drive (spinning at 5400 revolutions per minute). The Satellite L755 also features inbuilt 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, a built-in webcam and microphone, and an HDMI port. It comes with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium installed.

In WorldBench 6 benchmark tests, the L755-S5258 scored an acceptable 115. That score is nowhere near the teetotum of the charts, especially in the completely-purpose laptops category to which this model belongs, but it's still bad good for a sub-$700 notebook, and is only deuce points below the heaps of the HP Marquee dv6 and the Toshiba Satellite M645-S4118X, two similar, but somewhat pricier, machines.

The L755 has no discrete graphics card–IT relies connected the united graphics of its Sandy Bridge processor. Indeed graphics performance leaves something to be desired: In Grease 2, for example, it manages a barely playable frame rate of 19.6 frames per second (victimization high-superior settings and a resolution of 1024 by 768). This is median for integrated graphics; and the aforementioned Horsepower Marquee dv6, which has a low-oddment discrete graphics card, managed only a slimly better frame rate of 24.3 fps in that test.

The visual style of the Satellite's design is interesting, to say the least. The notebook has a rounded, glazed impressible cover that is light gray with a subtle criss-cross pattern. A large, pale silver grey Toshiba logo is printed in the middle, and the entire cover is unlined. The criss-cross pattern carries complete to the keyboard deck as well. The interior has ring-shaped insets for various features, including the speakers and trackpad buttons. Gross, these design details make the laptop look like a futuristic cartoon product, and not in a good manner. Though it's not my style, perhaps it'll appeal to some.

Despite the plain design, the machine is sturdy and lighter than it looks. IT weighs 5.7 pounds, which is average for a 15.6-inch laptop, and is just subordinate 1.5 inches thick at its thickest point.

The Satellite does fairly well with its ports, especially given its reduced price. On the socialist side is a 10/100 ethernet port, a VGA port, an HDMI interface, microphone and headphone jacks, a Kensington lock one-armed bandit, and a USB 2.0 port with Sleep out and Charge technology. The latter feature lets you charge your USB devices while the laptop is in sleep mode. The satisfactory side has the DVD-SuperMulti drive as well as cardinal additional USB 2.0 ports (without Sleep and Charge). A memory board reader, along with several position lights, is happening the front edge.

The keyboard and touchpad are comme il faut for a 15.6-in laptop. The keyboard's flat, smooth keys are extremely comfortable to type on. (And I truly do mean smooth–the keys are so slick that I almost want to upright run my fingers ended them.) Luckily, this smoothness isn't much of a hindrance to speedy typing. The keyboard also has a 10-key number pad–a good summation to a 15.6-inch notebook.

Our review model did own one issue: the Function Francis Scott Key refused to sour, even after keyboard drivers were reinstalled. A Lot of keys are intended to work with the Fn Francis Scott Key connected this computer, so the fact that it's not working is certainly a problem.

The touchpad is a little less impressive, though it's easy to use and responsive. It is a half-size, raised square, just slightly rougher than the surrounding wristpad. Two large, discrete buttons are below it, some easy to press. The only problem I had with the touchpad, aside from its aesthetics (I dislike textured squares arsenic opposed to properly denoted pads), is that it's fine. The Planet L755-S5258 has a lot of wristpad real demesne, so it's unsatisfactory that Toshiba didn't make use of it effectively. For object lesson, the buttons at a lower place the touchpad are very big and read upbound often more space than necessary. The trackpad does support multitouch gestures, just you scarcely have sufficient room to execute them.

The Satellite's lustrous 15.6-inch LCD screen has a autochthonous resolution of 1366 by 768. The screen is skillful to look at, just it's non perfect. Information technology's generally a little dimmer than I commonly like, and colours tend to look washed out. Multimedia playback is smooth, only you leave see some blockiness and noise, especially in dark scenes. Speakers are typical laptop quality–very soft-spoken for this size of machine. Connected the plus side, the sound sexual climax out of the speakers–what little you can hear of information technology–is laconic.

Don't let the Toshiba Satellite L755-S5258's low-growing price jester you: This lapdop is a unanimous performer. Alas, the rest of the invention is not as solid–the notebook looks and feels cheap, the Function key, at least on our test building block, wouldn't work, and the trackpad is extremely small. All Toshiba has to do is make sure its parts are on the job and enlarge the trackpad (which should be easy–they had enough way for a identification number fill out, after all), and the Satellite L755-S5258 would be an excellent budget machine.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/476899/toshiba_satellite_l755_s5258_solid_performance_cheap_parts.html

Posted by: martinhaddince.blogspot.com