Toshiba Satellite L505 – ES5018 Review

This lovely Toshiba notebook boasts a 15.6 inches matte/anti-glare screen thus providing great viewing angles without glare. The bezel around the screen is so less that it adds to the great look of the notebook. Since this is a low range notebook you cant expect core2duo processors. It has a Intel Pentium T4400 / 2.2 GHz coupled with a 3GB DDR3 Ram by default. The design seems to be tough and the performance is decent compared to its price.

Battery life is not so great and another good thing is, it comes with less to no bloatware. They could have improve the web-cam resolution along with the improved spacebar (bigger). It slightly feels heavy and bulky but that’s understandable considering it has 15.6 inches screen.

Looks And Design

Though we found the design of the notebook attractive yet we did not find it striking enough. However we liked the fact that although both the lid and the deck are glossy yet the neutral colors hide fingerprints. With dimensions of the notebook measuring 15.1×10.2×1.6 inches, the notebook is not exactly travel friendly.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Though the notebook gave us a good feedback, yet we noticed a bit of a flex. There is a dedicated number pad on the right side of the keyboard. The size of the touchpad is very good and it offered smooth navigation. The silver mouse buttons are also big and crisp.

Toshiba Satellite L505 – ES5018 Features

Toshiba Satellite L505 – ES5018 is all about providing cheap dual-core laptop for the masses thus don’t expect any pleasant surprises. So if you are in the market for a Mid range dual-core notebook look no further,this great little machine is the one you are looking for. It even has a dedicated keypad which is mostly rarely seen on notebooks under 15.6 size. 320GB hard-drive should be enough for most of the storage needs. Since this is a budget notebook it doesn’t come with a dedicated graphics card so be prepared for integrated Intel GMA 4500M chip-set with 128 video memory for all those gaming you wanted to do. Battery is powered by a normal 6 cell battey and  comes installed with a Windows 7 Home Premium.

• Built-in Devices Stereo speakers , Wireless LAN antenna
• Width 15.1 in
• Depth 10.2 in
• Height 1.6 in
• Weight 6 lbs
• Color Fusion finish in graphite
• Localization United States
• Notebook type Thin-and-light (4-6 lbs.) , Budget

Processor

• Processor Intel Pentium T4400 / 2.2 GHz
• Multi-Core Technology Dual-Core
• 64-bit Computing Yes
• Data Bus Speed 800 MHz
• Features Enhanced SpeedStep technology , Execute Disable Bit capability
• Chipset Type Mobile Intel GL40 Express

Cache Memory

• Type L2 cache
• Cache size 1 MB

RAM

• Installed Size 3 GB / 8 GB (max)
• Technology DDR3 SDRAM – 800 MHz

Environmental Parameters

• Min Operating Temperature 41 °F
• Max Operating Temperature 95 °F
• Humidity Range Operating 20 – 80%

Storage Controller

• Storage controller type Serial ATA
• Storage Controller / Serial ATA Interface Serial ATA-150

Storage

• Floppy Drive None
• Hard Drive 320 GB – Serial ATA-150 – 5400 rpm
• Storage Removable None
• Hard drive type Portable

Optical Storage

• Type DVD±RW (±R DL)
• CD / DVD read speed 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD)
• CD / DVD write speed 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 6x (DVD±R DL)
• CD / DVD rewrite speed 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 5x (DVD-RAM)

Optical Storage (2nd)

• 2nd optical storage type None

Card Reader

• Card reader type Card reader
• Supported flash memory cards miniSD , microSD , Memory Stick , MultiMediaCard , SD Memory Card , Memory Stick Pro , SDHC Memory Card

Display

• Display Type 15.6 in TFT active matrix
• Max Resolution 1366 x 768 ( WXGA )
• Widescreen Display Yes
• Features TruBrite

Video

• Graphics Processor / Vendor Intel GMA 4500M Dynamic Video Memory Technology 5.0
• Video Memory 128 MB
• Max Allocated RAM Size 1341 MB

Audio

• Audio output type Sound card
• Audio output compliant standards High Definition Audio
• Audio Input Microphone

Notebook Camera

• Camera Type Integrated

Input Device(s)

• Input device type Keyboard , Touchpad
• Keyboard localization and layout US
• Features Multi-touch technology

Telecom

• Modem None

Networking

• Networking Network adapter
• Networking / Wireless LAN Supported Yes
• Data link protocol Ethernet , IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11g , IEEE 802.11n , Fast Ethernet
• Networking standards IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11g , IEEE 802.11n , Wi-Fi CERTIFIED

Expansion / Connectivity

• Expansion Slots Total (Free) 2 ( 0 ) x Memory
• Interfaces 1 x Display / video – VGA – 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) , 1 x Microphone – Input – Mini-phone 3.5 mm , 1 x Headphones – Output – Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm , 2 x Hi-Speed USB – 4 pin USB Type A , 1 x Storage / Hi-Speed USB – Hi-Speed USB / eSATA , 1 x Network – Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX – RJ-45

Miscellaneous

• Features Security lock slot (cable lock sold separately)
• Compliant Standards RoHS

Power

• Power device form factor External
• Voltage Required AC 120/230 V

Battery

• Technology 6-cell Lithium ion
• Installed Qty 1
• Battery capacity 4000 mAh

Operating System / Software

• OS Provided Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition

Battery Life

The six cell battery of the notebook offers a runtime of around 3 hours which is a bit of a disappointment. Though the notebook comes at a cost effective price point yet it did not impress us much. If you are willing to pay a little extra, then you can get HP G62t or Gateway NV5934u which offers much better performance than Satellite L505.