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Toshiba Satellite L670-12J review

Toshiba Satellite L670-12J
Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £555
inc VAT

A good-value, large-screen laptop. Its only weakness is gaming performance.

Specifications

17.3 in 1,600×900 display, 2.8kg, 2.27GHz Intel Core i5 430M, 4.00GB RAM, 500GB disk, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com

From a distance the Satellite L670-12J looks like yet another plain, black laptop. Closer inspection reveals a subtle cross-hatch pattern on the lid and wrist rest, which we think is attractive.

The Satellite has a 17.3in widescreen display. The glossy finish means it’s very reflective, but it’s bright with accurate looking colours. Viewing angles are a bit tight and the backlight is a little uneven though, so colour accuracy suffers if you adjust your sitting position. The resolution of 1,600×900 pixels is large enough for working on a pair of documents side by side or for watching high definition 720p video. Although the screen doesn’t tilt back completely, it’s far enough to make it comfortable to use on your lap.

Thanks to its large screen, the Satellite is also wide enough to have both a keyboard and numeric keypad that isn’t blighted by any small, undersized keys or odd layouts. Although it feels a bit spongier than other laptop keyboards we’ve seen, the keys are responsive and fine for typing long documents. The small touchpad doesn’t take advantage of all the available space, but it’s accurate and the large buttons give just the right amount of feedback when pressed.

Toshiba Satellite L670-12J

The Satellite weighs just under 3kg, which is around average for a laptop of this size. We weren’t expecting its battery to last very long, but it lasted a respectable four hours and 10 minutes in our light-use test. Although you’re unlikely to take the heavy Satellite travelling very often, it’s good to know its battery can last most short-haul flights when you do. In terms of build quality, the Satellite is up to Toshiba’s usual robust standards.

Performance is good too. The Satellite is equipped with a 2.27GHz Core i5 430M processor which is unexpected at this price. Paired with 4GB of RAM, it came near the top of the charts in our benchmarks with an overall score of 83. Its performance running the latest 3D games was less impressive. The integrated Intel graphics chip managed less than 12fps in Call of Duty 4, but this is in line with a laptop at this price and the chip can still cope with HD video and older, less demanding games.

Surprisingly for such a large laptop, there are only three USB ports. Oddly, there’s a blanking plate occupying the space for a dial-up modem – the room would’ve been better used for another USB port. You won’t need to add more storage for a while as the internal hard disk has a generous 500GB of storage.

The Satellite isn’t brimming with bundled software, but a useful program is Toshiba’s own ReelTime application. This allows you to see your most recently accessed files on a scrolling timeline. Combined with Windows 7 Home Premium’s search capabilities, there’s no excuse for losing your files.

There’s little to criticise with the Satellite L670-12J. It’s quick in Windows, comfortable to use and has good battery life. However, if you can stretch £50 more, Dell’s Inspiron 17R has a faster graphics card, making it the better choice for gamers.

Basic Specifications

Rating ****
Processor Intel Core i5 430M
Processor clock speed 2.27GHz
Memory 4.00GB
Memory slots 2
Memory slots free 0
Maximum memory 8GB
Size 41x415x269mm
Weight 2.8kg
Sound Realtek HD Audio
Pointing device touchpad

Display

Viewable size 17.3 in
Native resolution 1,600×900
Graphics Processor Intel HD Graphics
Graphics/video ports HDMI, VGA
Graphics Memory 64MB

Storage

Total storage capacity 500GB
Optical drive model TSST TS-L633C
Optical drive type DVD+/-RW +/-DL

Ports and Expansion

USB ports 3
Bluetooth no
Wired network ports 1x 10/100
Wireless networking support 802.11b/g/n
PC Card slots none
Modem No
Supported memory cards SDHC, MMC, Memory Stick Pro/Duo
Other ports none

Miscellaneous

Carrying case No
Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Operating system restore option restore partition
Software included Microsoft Works 9, Nero Essentials 9, Toshiba ReelTime 1.6, Toshiba Bulletin Board 1.6, Toshiba Disc Creator 2.1, Toshiba Media Controller 1.8
Optional extras none

Buying Information

Warranty one year customer carry-in
Price £555
Details http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com
Supplier http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com

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