The triple core 1.8ghz Phenom II is a strong and economical processor choice for a desktop replacement-type laptop. This computer regularly gets 3.5 hours on the battery with only the screen brightness turned down a bit. I really enjoy this.The video card is listed as an ATI Radeon 4250, which it is, but the M880 chipset for it gives it power way beyond the Radeon 4250's power in itself. When I checked the GPU benchmarks, the M880 chipset Radeon 4250 was consistently ranked middle of the pack, above such GPUs as the ATI Radeon HD 5145.
This computer is nice and portable, and the size is perfect for carrying with me. The screen isn't small to where it creates any issues with seeing for me; I'm actually enjoying the fact that it is shorter and I can cradle it in my lap perfectly and totally comfortably.
The keyboard is not one with a full NumPad, but that doesn't bother me much. The keys don't have a loose sensation at all, which I really enjoy. I am still getting used to the location of a few of my keys, especially the backspace, but I'll certainly get used to it soon enough. The trackpad isn't bad; you can tweak it however you like. One major issue I noticed right away is that the Webcam drivers were so out of date that the webcam wouldn't work when I first got the computer. I tried to update it and was told that this was already the newest available driver, but it still didn't work. I ended up taking it off altogether and restarting the computer and it works just fine now. Just a word of warning for those who are looking at this one: The webcam may take a second of fiddling with to get it set up correctly. IT is nothing too bad, and there are guides all over the internet explaining how to do this.
Other minor gripes, the touchpad can be seems a bit insensitive at times, even with it turned up almost all the way... The two finger scrolling also isn't as intuitive as it was with my last ASUS. I also have to press the power button to get it out of sleep... All minor gripes that I will come to terms with soon, after which I will be completely satisfied with my purchace. ;)
These are my impressions after a few days with this computer... Great specs and performance for the money! I'll be sure to update this review if anything else comes to mind.
EDIT I want to add that the sound quality that comes out of these speakers is not too bad. Look in the Control Panel for a utility called SmartAudio. It controls all the sound output for the computer and will give you much greater control over your desired sound. You can go into the SmartAudio settings and have it appear in the System Tray if you're going to be listening to a lot of music! I'm not claiming that the speakers are perfect; you're still going to need good external speakers or headphones if you want an excellent and LOUD audio experience. Basically, these are good for stock speakers, mainly because of the SmartAudio software (found in Control Panel)...
So now it is my moral duty to leave a review of this product so others might learn from my experience with this laptop.
I used to have an HP before this one which by the way was a complete piece of junk compared to this one, and the build quality on the Toshiba is much better that any of the HP's out there right now, given that this one does not have the bells and whistles like HP's have like a remote control to control your media or a wifi on-off switch, but still it is so worth the money when you actually have this thing in your hands.
The only thing I don't like about this laptop so far after a week of use is that the mouse pad buttons make a clicking noise and are not silent when clicked. Windows 7 loads up fairly fast and compared to my desktop which has a 3.0 ghz quad core processor, this one loads up may be a second or two later, so really impressed by that.
I have really been looking for a 14" screen laptop coz 15" seemed to big for my portable computing needs, and I dont know for what ever reason the 14" laptops Ive been looking for have been more money than the 15" laptops, so I was lucky enough to find this one.
Haven't tested the graphics card yet, but I know it should be alright for playing suitable games on the laptop since I use my desktop for playing power and graphic hungry games.
I also like the feature where you can put two fingers on the track pad and maximize or minimize your fonts going in or out on the track pad.
If you are on a budget, you need a laptop for yourself or your son or daughter going to college this should satisfy most peoples needs.
Oh and by the way I did go to a best-buy and turned on a laptop with an i3 processor and this one has a much faster load time than an i3, so people out there debating Intel i3 or this one, it should be a no brain er, I didn't have a chance to compare i5 to this one, but in comparison with an i3 I would think that this processor should be at par if not less than an i5.
Oh and by the way the battery on this thing is really good, It lasted me about 4.5 hours before it needed a charge in Toshiba Eco mode.
I think I've done my job for leaving a review for this laptop so now I can sleep good, coz I know hopefully I helped in simplifying someone Else's decision out there.
Buy Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4036 LED TruBrite 14-Inch Laptop (Black) Now
My review may not be as thorough as the previous two which were extremely helpful for me, but here goes!I spent a good deal of time researching what I needed in a computer. I debated a netbook, desktop, larger vs. smaller laptop. My previous computer was a 6 year old HP desktop which had worked well for me, but I needed something for commuting back and forth to school with. I was not a fan of laptops in general as I had never had one before and had only used a couple of laptops. My research brought me to another store at first and I had settled to wait to buy the laptop there for my state's tax free weekend, but a week before I was going to buy it the store raised the price which caused me to do some more shopping around.
This brought me to Amazon where I found this great deal! The Toshiba was a better model at a lower price and after reading the reviews I purchased it.
I have had the laptop for two days now, but I am thrilled with it so far. The difference in speed is amazing and I have never had a computer that starts up as fast as this one does. The size of it is perfect for me; it feels small and compact without being as tiny as a netbook (my sister has one and the screen size would drive me bonkers!). As far as the webcam issue, I have been able to use my webcam without any problems so far and haven't had to do anything to fix it.
I like windows 7, but I did have some minor problems trying to get some of my older software to work, but I have now gotten it all up and running (it took me an hour or so to work through these minor issues as I'm not terribly tech savvy).
The battery has been lasting somewhere between 3.5-4 hours. Great keypad for typing. The speakers are decent.
The only drawback with this laptop was that it doesn't have lightscribe technology which I use fairly often, but other than that I have no complaints. I would (and actually have already to a friend) highly recommend this laptop if you're looking for something portable, fairly powerful, and easy to use. At this price you just can't beat it!
UPDATE: I have now had this laptop for about 6 months. I would still say I LOVE IT! However, I will alert others that the hard drive crashed after less than a month of my owning it. This was an inconvenience due to classes having started. I called tech support and they were very helpful and able to address my issues, but they kept asking me what I had done to it as if it were my fault! That is the only issue I had because I had not done anything different with it than normal, but other than that the technicians were helpful and clear about what I should try and then quick to tell me my options about sending it in for service. I opted to pay to have it overnight shipped from a UPS store instead of waiting for them to send me a box that I could send to Toshiba for free. I am so glad I did this! I sent it in the next day (a friday) and was able to track progress online. I had it back within two weeks and I have not had a problem with it since. I have read some of the bad reviews and I would disagree with the two major complaints I have seen. I do not think the laptop is loud at all and my battery still lasts 3-4 hours. Still very happy with my purchase!
UPDATE: Coming up on 3 years with this laptop now. I have had to get a new battery, the original one would no longer hold a charge for more than an hour, but I nearly always have my laptop turned on. The webcam has become rather testy and if the screen is not in the right position it will not work for online video chatting, but I have not had the same issue with just turning on the webcam to use for taking video or pictures. Other than that it is still a very reliable laptop and I have not had other issues with it. I did drop it on the floor this morning (Darn cat getting in the way asking for breakfast!) and a small chip was broken off of the front right corner, but on putting the chip back in, it seems to be staying perfectly in place and the functionality of the computer was not affected at all. Still very pleased with my purchase! (I paid about $550.00 for it in August 2010.)
Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4036 LED TruBrite 14-Inch Laptop (Black) Here
This is my first review; so please be kind. Thanks.
Here I go over my first impressions, go into detail about the specs and performance, and give some advice for potential buyers.
Two things I didn't address in the video is the "fan problem" and the build quality. Although I can hear my fan, it is in no way loud or distracting; people who buy laptops with more than two cores should expect the fan to be on almost always unless they want their processor to fry.
Second, the build quality is excellent. This laptop is solidly built; the only way the laptop will even flex is if you directly push down on it. And even then the flex is slight.
I hope this review helps.
-A. McKinney
Want Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4036 LED TruBrite 14-Inch Laptop (Black) Discount?
I just received my laptop a few days ago and it dropped $30 in price since then, not sure why, but I wish I waited a couple of days to order. About the product, Toshiba did a very good job in everything, but forgot the acoustics parameter. It could be because the the triple core needs constant cooling, but the fan is on at full speed about 90% of the time. This is a big deal for me because it is just too loud and it gets to the point where it's annoying. Performance, weight, sound and battery life are just as specified, but too bad noise level was never mentioned anywhere. I had laptops with loud fans before, but usually the fan is on only for a few minutes and then turns off. This is not the case for this laptop, the fan will be on almost all the time and is very loud, even when I am not doing anything and the laptop is just sitting there. I am starting to wonder if my laptop has a bad temperature sensor because no one else complained about constant fan noise. I am thinking about returning it because it is way too noisy.
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