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Toshiba Portege R700-15X review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £951
inc VAT

The R700 is more powerful than most ultra-portables. However, the high price doesn't sit well with the 32-bit version of Windows, just 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard disk.

Specifications

13.3 in 1,366×768 display, 1.4kg, 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 520M, 2.00GB RAM, 320GB disk, Windows 7 Professional 32-bit

http://www.ilgs.co.uk

Toshiba’s Portégé R700-15X ultra-portable has a Core i5 520M processor, which gives it a degree of power that belies its lightweight design. At this price, we expect good performance and were rather disappointed to find only 2GB of memory installed. The R700-15X also comes with the 32-bit installation of Windows 7 Professional, so you’re effectively limited to upgrading to 3GB of RAM.

One piece of good news is that, despite its small size, the R700 has a DVD writer, which is lacking in many ultra-portables. It also looks great, with a black brushed-metal finish that feels good too. It’s both light and sturdy enough to cope with being carried around in a rucksack or briefcase.

The keys are widely spaced but responsive and comfortable to type on. There’s no numeric keypad, which leaves more space for larger keys and also means that the touchpad can be positioned underneath the space bar while still occupying a comfortable centrally located positioned on the wrist rest.

Toshiba Portege R700-15X

There are three USB ports, one of which doubles as an eSATA port. You can use either VGA or HDMI ports to output graphics to an external monitor, and there are the usual 3.5mm stereo in- and outputs. There’s also an SD card reader and even a fingerprint scanner for the security-conscious. We were pleased to find a Gigabit Ethernet port and dual-band 802.11n WiFi. The hard disk capacity is adequate at 320GB, although we’d expect more at this price.

Predictably for such a tiny laptop, the quality of the sound that comes out of its miniscule speakers is awful: tinny, muddy and entirely lacking in bass. This won’t matter too for Windows sounds, but we don’t recommend playing music through them.

The 1,280×720 display also has its problems. The mat finish means that you can use it in direct sunlight without any unwanted reflections, but colours look a little dull, even at full brightness. This shouldn’t be a major issue, unless you need an ultra-portable with fine colour precision.

The R700 has great battery life, managing seven hours and 56 minutes in our tests. It also did well in our benchmark tests, with an overall score of 86. It isn’t designed for gaming as its Call of Duty 4 score of 10fps shows.

The R700 packs a surprisingly amount of power into a lightweight and durable chassis. The DVD drive and 320GB hard disk make it easy to install software and store files. A three-year warranty is welcome and helps to justify the price, but you still have to pay to send it back to Toshiba if there’s a fault. If you want a powerful ultra-portable, the R700 is a good choice, but if you’re happy to carry an extra 800 grams, Acer’s Aspire TimelineX 4820TG costs less, is faster and lasts longer.

Basic Specifications

Rating ****
Processor Intel Core i5 520M
Processor clock speed 2.4GHz
Memory 2.00GB
Memory slots 2
Memory slots free 0
Maximum memory 8GB
Size 17x316x227mm
Weight 1.4kg
Sound Realtek HD Audio
Pointing device touchpad

Display

Viewable size 13.3 in
Native resolution 1,366×768
Graphics Processor Intel HD Graphics
Graphics/video ports VGA, HDMI
Graphics Memory 128MB

Storage

Total storage capacity 320GB
Optical drive model Matshita UJ-844S
Optical drive type DVD+/-RW +/-DL

Ports and Expansion

USB ports 3
Bluetooth yes
Wired network ports 1x 10/100/1000
Wireless networking support 802.11a/n
PC Card slots none
Modem No
Supported memory cards SD, SDHC
Other ports none

Miscellaneous

Carrying case No
Operating system Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
Operating system restore option burn own restore disc
Software included Nero 9
Optional extras none

Buying Information

Warranty three years RTB
Price £951
Details www.toshiba.co.uk
Supplier http://www.ilgs.co.uk