I realized a couple weeks ago that it my current laptop (a Gateway ML6732) was starting to show its age. Two years old in laptop years is a lot! The performance was just not handling the demands of all my programs. I was going to try and switch the operating system over to Ubuntu. (That is Linux for those of you who don't know.) Unfortunately Gateway doesn't like anything other than Windows on their laptops.After much thought and research I ended up in the electronics section of good old Wal Mart looking at what they had available. After a few minutes it was pretty obvious that the Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7015 was the best they had to offer. $698.00 plus the $99.00 for the 2 year warranty. Yes, I do feel that this is a necessary addition! This didn't seem like a lot of money when I started reading the specs:
Performance Processor:
AMD Athlon™ II Dual-Core Processor P320
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Graphics Engine: ATI® Mobility Radeon™ HD 4250
Graphics Memory: 256MB-1405MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory
Memory and Storage Memory: 4GB DDR3 memory (expandable to 8GB DDR)
Hard Drive: 500GB HDD (5400rpm)
Optical Drive: Blu-ray Disc™ ROM and DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash®
Audio and Video Display Size: 17.3" widescreen
Display Type: HD+ TruBrite® LED Backlit display
Display Resolution: Supports 720p content, 1600x900, 16:9 aspect ratio
Audio: Microphone jack (mono), Standard stereo speakers, Headphone jack (stereo) Communication Webcam: Webcam and microphone built into LCD bezel
Wireless LAN*: Wi-Fi® Wireless networking (802.11b/g/n)
LAN: 10/100 Ethernet LAN
Power AC Adapter: 65W (19V 3.42A) Auto-sensing, 100-240V / 50-60Hz inputBattery: Li-Ion (48Wh, 6-Cell)Battery
Life: Up to 3.73 hours
Expansion PC Express Slot: No PC Express Slot
SmartCard Reader: No SmartCard Reader slot
Media: Memory Card Reader
USB Ports: 2-USB (2.0), 1-eSATA/USB combo port
HDMI: HDMI output port
It fits in my Swiss Army Laptop Bag but just barely. The addition of the 10key pad is nice. It boasts a full size keyboard but it still feels like a laptop keyboard and the keys on the bottom row are set up a little oddly and my fingers are going to take a bit of time to adjust. I would call it a 7/8th keyboard!
Now, for just a few things that I do not like.
First off is the fact that it does not have bluetooth. Though I am not even sure that that is an issue not that I have an iPhone.
Second, it gets hot. Like cook the legs hot and the single exhaust fan on the side is not nearly as good as it should be. I did purchase a Targus duel 17" lap chill mat. Though I think the one I got is for the old 17" laptops not the newer ones because it hangs off the edge a little. The mat really helps keep it cool so I stongly suggest getting one.
Third, there are just not enough USB connections. Two dedicated and USB/SATA combo just doesn't cut it. My old laptop had four total and that wasn't enough. I think I will be able to solve the problem by adding a USB hub to the chill mat. It looks like it will fit with some slight modifications, but with everything that uses USB these days I would think there would need to be more not less. Maybe everything is going to be moving to wireless LAN soon. Right now my iPhone is connected to the USB/SATA port, my wireless mouse is connected to one of the ports and the chill mat is connected to the third one. So, if I want to plug in one of my external hard drives I will have to unplug something- my iPhone.Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Graphics Engine: ATI® Mobility Radeon™ HD 4250
Graphics Memory: 256MB-1405MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory
Memory and Storage Memory: 4GB DDR3 memory (expandable to 8GB DDR)
Hard Drive: 500GB HDD (5400rpm)
Optical Drive: Blu-ray Disc™ ROM and DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash®
Audio and Video Display Size: 17.3" widescreen
Display Type: HD+ TruBrite® LED Backlit display
Display Resolution: Supports 720p content, 1600x900, 16:9 aspect ratio
Audio: Microphone jack (mono), Standard stereo speakers, Headphone jack (stereo) Communication Webcam: Webcam and microphone built into LCD bezel
Wireless LAN*: Wi-Fi® Wireless networking (802.11b/g/n)
LAN: 10/100 Ethernet LAN
Power AC Adapter: 65W (19V 3.42A) Auto-sensing, 100-240V / 50-60Hz inputBattery: Li-Ion (48Wh, 6-Cell)Battery
Life: Up to 3.73 hours
Expansion PC Express Slot: No PC Express Slot
SmartCard Reader: No SmartCard Reader slot
Media: Memory Card Reader
USB Ports: 2-USB (2.0), 1-eSATA/USB combo port
HDMI: HDMI output port
- There are some things that I really like about it. 500gig HD is pretty nice. I can sure fill it up fast though if I am not careful. Thankfully large capacity hard drives are getting pretty cheap. I also like the 4gig of ram expandable to 8gig, I haven't opened the case to see what the configuration is but I imagine I will be upgrading that very quickly.
It fits in my Swiss Army Laptop Bag but just barely. The addition of the 10key pad is nice. It boasts a full size keyboard but it still feels like a laptop keyboard and the keys on the bottom row are set up a little oddly and my fingers are going to take a bit of time to adjust. I would call it a 7/8th keyboard!
Now, for just a few things that I do not like.
First off is the fact that it does not have bluetooth. Though I am not even sure that that is an issue not that I have an iPhone.
Second, it gets hot. Like cook the legs hot and the single exhaust fan on the side is not nearly as good as it should be. I did purchase a Targus duel 17" lap chill mat. Though I think the one I got is for the old 17" laptops not the newer ones because it hangs off the edge a little. The mat really helps keep it cool so I stongly suggest getting one.
That is probably a good enough preliminary review. I have only had the computer for about 12 hours so I am sure there will be more things to say about it in the very near future. Got any comments?
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