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Review Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K Notebook

The beautiful appearance is deceptive. With the Satellite M50D-A-10K, Toshiba offers a slim office computer with quad-core processor, 8 GB of RAM and 750 GB hard drive for about 500 Euros (~$677). Aluminum elements make the exterior of the device more beautiful. Our review reveals, whether the notebook performs well.

For the original German review, see here.

Nowadays, there is no lack of 15.6-inch office notebooks. Every manufacturer offers many models covering the whole price range. With the Satellite M50D-A-10K, Toshiba added a slim 500 Euros (~$677) model to its line-up. The notebook is not unknown to us. With the Satellite M50-A-11L (Core i5-4200U, GeForce GT 740M), we recently reviewed the identical Intel counterpart. The M50-A-11L could not really convince and got a "good" (76%). Our review will reveal whether the M50D-A-10K performs better.

We compare the test device to the Acer Aspire V5-552G (AMD A8-5557M, Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8750M Dual Graphics) and the HP Pavilion 15-n005sg (Core i5-4200U, HD Graphics 4400). Both of them are slim notebooks with a price of about 500 Euros (~$677).

As the Satellite M50D-A-10K and the M50-A-11L are identical, we will not describe case, connectivity, input devices, and speakers in-depth here unless there are differences. Please refer to the review of the M50-A-11L for information about these aspects.

Case

We criticized the sharp edges on the top side of the Satellite M50-A-11L's base unit. It seemed the test device had slipped through quality control. The M50D-A-10K has this flaw to a lesser extent. So, it got a slightly better case sub-rating. However, the edges of the M50D are also not completely rounded.

Connectivity

Operating System and Recovery

The Satellite comes with preinstalled Windows 8 (64-bit). A Windows DVD is not included. So, you should create recovery media as a first step to be able to reinstall the system after you e.g. replaced the hard drive. This is possible via Toshiba's Recovery Media Creator. Recovery media can be a USB drive (at least 16 GB) or a set of DVDs. The latter requires an external burner.

It is possible to replace the preinstalled Windows 8 with Windows 7. However, Toshiba only supports Windows 8/8.1 and does not provide Windows 7 drivers. Therefore, it's at your own risk. In addition, not all tools the notebook includes are available and not all function keys, including flight mode, can be used under Windows 7.

But, the required drives are available. Wi-Fi module, card reader and Bluetooth model work with the Windows 8 driver from Toshiba's website. The only working APU driver we found is the current beta driver (Catalyst 13.11) from AMD's website. Furthermore, the chip set driver, which also includes the required USB 3.0 driver, is needed from AMD's website. However, Windows 7 only supports USB 2.0. Finally, the Ethernet driver is missing. It can be downloaded from Realtek's website

Maintenance

Although the Satellite does not have a maintenance hatch, it is not difficult to get to the inner components. First of all, you need to remove all the screws on the underside. Afterwards the underside can be removed with a putty knife. This is not a difficult task, since it is easy to loosen the bottom tray. Now, the components are free.

It is possible to access RAM, hard drive, Wi-Fi module, BIOS battery, battery, and fan. The Satellite features two RAM slots, which are both occupied with 4 GB modules each. Nevertheless, RAM does not work in dual channel mode, because the built-in memory controller only supports single channel mode. It is easy to replace the hard drive. 2.5-inch hard drives with a height of 7 or 9.5 mm can be used. In addition, the fan could be removed for cleaning. It is even possible to replace the battery, which is fixed with a few screws and connected to the main board with a plug.

Display

Although the Satellite M50D-A-10K features the same panel as the M50-A-11L, the measurement values are slightly different. This is normal. Two identical displays never bring completely the same measurements. Furthermore, there are measurement errors. Overall, the displays of the two Satellite models cannot really convince. They are not especially bright and have a low contrast.

208
cd/m²
195
cd/m²
182
cd/m²
210
cd/m²
203
cd/m²
170
cd/m²
206
cd/m²
185
cd/m²
165
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Samsung 156AT30-T01 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 210 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 191.6 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 79 %
Center on Battery: 203 cd/m²
Contrast: 239:1 (Black: 0.85 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.36 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 5.62 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
33.5% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
35.95% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
52.3% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
34.79% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.33

Performance

The Satellite is a slim 15.6-inch office notebook. Its CPU performance is sufficient for everyday tasks like office, surfing, Skype, and watching videos. Currently, our test model costs about 500 Euros (~$677). In addition, we found two further models. The M50D-A-103 comes with a 500 GB hard drive and costs 500 Euros (~$677) too. The M50D-A10D features an A4-5000 APU, 4 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive for about 450 Euros (~$609).

If you require a higher CPU performance, you should select a model of the M50-A series. They use Haswell CPUs and GeForce GT 740M graphics cores. The cheapest model of this series is the Satellite M50-A-113 with Core i3-4010U, 4 GB of RAM and a 750 GB hard drive for currently about 600 Euros (~$812).

CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
GPU-Z
HWInfo
System information: Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K

Processor

With the A6-5200M APU, Toshiba equipped the Satellite with a model of the current Kabini generation. The CPU part of the APU is a quad-core CPU with a clock rate of 2 GHz. It does not feature a Turbo. With a TDP of 25 Watt, it comes in between standard mobile APUs (about 35 Watt) and ULV APUs (about 15 Watt).

On battery as well as in mains operation, the processor always runs at maximum clock rate (2 GHz) during the CPU tests of the Cinebench benchmarks. In the multi-thread tests, the Satellite can keep up with the Aspire (AMD A8-5557M, Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8750M Dual Graphics). But, the processor of the Aspire could have achieved better results if its four cores had clocked with 2.8 GHz. However, the cooling system of the Aspire was not sufficient. So, the cores only clocked at between 2.1 to 2.4 GHz. Neither competitor can keep up with the Pavilion (Core i5-4200U, HD Graphics 4400). The Haswell Core i5 processor is significantly better. The Aspire took the lead in the GL tests. On battery, the result is slightly lower, as the GPU only clocks at 400 MHz.

The AMD is about on par with the Core i3-4010U (1.7 GHz, ULV, Haswell) in multi-threaded tasks. The big weakness of the AMD CPU is its single thread performance. It cannot keep up with the mentioned Core i3 in this scenario and is only about on par with the Pentium 967 (1.3 GHz, ULV, Sandy Bridge).

Cinebench R10 Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
1944 Points
Cinebench R10 Shading 64Bit
2925 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
6475 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
1599
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
5486
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
3010
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
0.52 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
13.06 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
1.91 Points
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
12.96 fps
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
98 %
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
153 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
43 Points
Help
Cinebench R11.5 - OpenGL 64Bit (sort by value)
Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K
Radeon HD 8400, A6-5200, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
13.06 fps
Acer Aspire E1-522-45004G50Mnkk
Radeon HD 8330, A4-5000, Toshiba MQ01ABD050
12.78 fps -2%
Acer Aspire E1-572-34014G50Dnkk
HD Graphics 4400, 4010U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
12.82 fps -2%
HP Pavilion 15-n005sg
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVT
14.49 fps +11%
HP Pavilion 15-e052sg
Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8670M Dual Graphics, A8-5550M, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E380
26.58 fps +104%
Acer Aspire V5-552G
Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8750M Dual Graphics, A8-5557M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
34.06 fps +161%
Toshiba Satellite M50-A-11L
GeForce GT 740M, 4200U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
40.06 fps +207%
Cinebench R11.5 - CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K
Radeon HD 8400, A6-5200, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
1.91 Points
Acer Aspire E1-522-45004G50Mnkk
Radeon HD 8330, A4-5000, Toshiba MQ01ABD050
1.45 Points -24%
Acer Aspire E1-572-34014G50Dnkk
HD Graphics 4400, 4010U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
1.87 Points -2%
Acer Aspire V5-552G
Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8750M Dual Graphics, A8-5557M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
1.91 Points 0%
HP Pavilion 15-e052sg
Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8670M Dual Graphics, A8-5550M, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E380
2.06 Points +8%
Toshiba Satellite M50-A-11L
GeForce GT 740M, 4200U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
2.29 Points +20%
HP Pavilion 15-n005sg
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVT
2.51 Points +31%

System Performance

The system runs smoothly and achieves good results in the PCMark benchmarks. However, it cannot keep up with the Aspire (AMD A8-5557M, Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8750M Dual Graphics) or with the Pavilion (Core i5-4200U, HD Graphics 4400). This is not surprising since both competitors feature faster CPUs.

The notebook benefits a lot from replacing the hard drive with a Solid State Drive. We tried it. Windows boots faster and the whole system is more responsive. Furthermore, the PCMark results increase significantly. Our SSD (Crucial RealSSD C300 - 64 GB) improves the PCMark 7 result by almost 60% to 2672 points.

PCMark Vantage Result
3932 points
PCMark 7 Score
1668 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated
2117 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated
1921 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated
3044 points
Help
PCMark 7 - Score (sort by value)
Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K
Radeon HD 8400, A6-5200, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
1668 Points
Acer Aspire E1-522-45004G50Mnkk
Radeon HD 8330, A4-5000, Toshiba MQ01ABD050
1469 Points -12%
Acer Aspire V5-552G
Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8750M Dual Graphics, A8-5557M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
1904 Points +14%
HP Pavilion 15-e052sg
Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8670M Dual Graphics, A8-5550M, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E380
1996 Points +20%
Acer Aspire E1-572-34014G50Dnkk
HD Graphics 4400, 4010U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
2385 Points +43%
Toshiba Satellite M50-A-11L
GeForce GT 740M, 4200U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
2424 Points +45%
HP Pavilion 15-n005sg
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVT
2680 Points +61%

Storage Devices

HD Tune
HD Tune
CrystalDiskMark
CrystalDiskMark

Toshiba equipped the Satellite with a hard drive from its own production line with a capacity of 750 GB and a revolution speed of 5400 rpm. CrystalDiskMark reports a read rate of 112 MB/s. HD Tune displays an average transfer rate of 94.3 MB/s. These are very good values for a 5400 rpm hard drive, which usually achieve about 83-86 MB/s in HD Tune. The hard drive's 4k-read/write rates are also high. Finally, the drive deserves praise for its low access time of 16.6 ms. Overall, Toshiba incorporated a good hard drive into the Satellite.

TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
Transfer Rate Minimum: 52 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 114.3 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 94.3 MB/s
Access Time: 16.6 ms
Burst Rate: 127.4 MB/s
CPU Usage: 4.7 %

Graphics Card

The Radeon HD 8400 graphics core is responsible for graphics output. It supports DirectX 11.1 and has a clock rate between 267 and 600 MHz. The Satellite performs worse than the Pavilion (Core i5-4200U, HD Graphics 4400) and the Aspire (AMD A8-5557M, Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8750M Dual Graphics) in all 3D benchmarks. This is what we expected as the M50D features the weakest GPU. It is about on par with the HD Graphics 4200 GPU.

3DMark 03 Standard
9526 points
3DMark 05 Standard
6002 points
3DMark 06 Standard Score
3335 points
3DMark Vantage P Result
2013 points
3DMark 11 Performance
677 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
31963 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
2450 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
366 points
Help
Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K
Radeon HD 8400, A6-5200, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
Acer Aspire V5-552G
Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8750M Dual Graphics, A8-5557M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
HP Pavilion 15-n005sg
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVT
Toshiba Satellite M50-A-11L
GeForce GT 740M, 4200U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
Acer Aspire E1-572G-54204G75Mnkk
Radeon HD 8750M, 4200U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
3DMark
79%
42%
95%
137%
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score
31963
44098
38%
35061
10%
35341
11%
50492
58%
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Score
2450
4965
103%
4062
66%
4713
92%
5433
122%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Score
366
722
97%
544
49%
1035
183%
1209
230%

Gaming Performance

The Satellite is not really gaming-capable. Several games run smoothly in low resolution and low quality. Undemanding games including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and various representatives of the FIFA series also run smoothly in native resolution and with higher quality settings.

If you generally like the M50D-A, but want to regularly play games, you could select one of the M50-A models. Haswell processor and GeForce GT 740M GPU ensure that most of the games can be played. The cheapest model of the M50-A series is available for 600 Euros (~$812). If 500 Euros (~$677) should not be exceeded, the Aspire V5-552G is another alternative. If you want an Intel CPU, the Acer Aspire E1-572G (Core i5-4200U, Radeon HD 8750M) is a good choice. It also only costs 500 Euros (~$677).

low med. high ultra
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (2010) 29.9 22.1
Total War: Shogun 2 (2011) 55.2 10.7
Dirt 3 (2011) 61.3 29.3
Deus Ex Human Revolution (2011) 27.9
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) 15
Anno 2070 (2011) 37.4 16.5
Diablo III (2012) 36.3 23.6 19.1
Sleeping Dogs (2012) 25.7 18.7
Dishonored (2012) 22
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012) 27.6 18.8
Hitman: Absolution (2012) 16.2
Tomb Raider (2013) 27.4 14 9.8
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013) 63.6 24.7 12.3
BioShock Infinite (2013) 25.1 13.3
Metro: Last Light (2013) 12
GRID 2 (2013) 41 22.4
Company of Heroes 2 (2013) 7.4
F1 2013 (2013) 35 25 21
Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K
Radeon HD 8400, A6-5200, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
Acer Aspire V5-552G
Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8750M Dual Graphics, A8-5557M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
HP Pavilion 15-n005sg
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVT
Toshiba Satellite M50-A-11L
GeForce GT 740M, 4200U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
Acer Aspire E1-572G-54204G75Mnkk
Radeon HD 8750M, 4200U, TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075
Tomb Raider
243%
35%
190%
226%
1024x768 Low Preset
27.4
72.4
164%
39.3
43%
87
218%
92.6
238%
1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x
14
54.7
291%
20.3
45%
42.6
204%
45.5
225%
1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x
9.8
36.6
273%
11.4
16%
24.3
148%
30.8
214%

Emissions

System Noise

While idle, the computer works quietly most of the time. Only a permanent fan noise is audible and the noise level is between 33.8 and 35.1 dB. However, these values are too high for a simple office notebook. The Aspire (29.8 to 32.8 dB) and the Pavilion (31.2 to 31.7 dB) are quieter. Under medium (3DMark06) and full load (stress test: Prime95 and Furmark) the Satellite gets really loud and the noise increases to 42.1 and 43.4 dB. The Pavilion (34.1 and 35.8 dB) and the Aspire (39.8 and 42.6 dB) perform better again.

In particular, the fan of the Satellite sticks out negatively. It permanently whistles at higher revolution speeds and the user will get annoyed quickly. This whistling is also audible during everyday tasks and gaming.

Noise Level

Idle
33.8 / 33.9 / 35.1 dB(A)
Load
42.1 / 43.4 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance)

Temperature

The Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K during the stress test.
The Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K during the stress test.

While idle, the case temperatures of all three computers are in the green. Under load, all of them partly exceed 40 °C. The Aspire gets warmest with a temperature of 49.9 °C at the fan. 

In the stress test (Prime95 and Furmark run for at least one hour), the CPU runs at full speed (2 GHz) during the first five minutes on battery and in mains operation. Afterwards the clock rate falls to 1.6 GHz. The GPU clocks at 600 MHz during the stress test in mains operation and its clock rate falls to 400 MHz on battery. The CPU temperature leveled off at about 90 °C in mains operation.

 24.7 °C
76 F
26.5 °C
80 F
27.7 °C
82 F
 
 24.4 °C
76 F
26.5 °C
80 F
26.7 °C
80 F
 
 24.4 °C
76 F
26 °C
79 F
27.1 °C
81 F
 
Maximum: 27.7 °C = 82 F
Average: 26 °C = 79 F
29.1 °C
84 F
29.6 °C
85 F
24.7 °C
76 F
28.5 °C
83 F
25.5 °C
78 F
24.5 °C
76 F
27.8 °C
82 F
25.3 °C
78 F
24.5 °C
76 F
Maximum: 29.6 °C = 85 F
Average: 26.6 °C = 80 F
Power Supply (max.)  30.1 °C = 86 F | Room Temperature 22.8 °C = 73 F | Voltcraft IR-360
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 30.8 °C / 87 F, compared to the average of 29.5 °C / 85 F for the devices in the class Office.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 39.9 °C / 104 F, compared to the average of 34.2 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 47 °C / 117 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 26 °C / 79 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 30.1 °C / 86.2 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (-2.4 °C / -4.3 F).

Energy Management

Power Consumption

While idle, the energy consumption of the Satellite is between 5.1 and 8.8 Watt, which is alright. The test model comes in between the Pavilion (4.3 to 7.3 Watt) and the Aspire (8 to 14.6 Watt). Under medium load (3DMark06) or full load (stress test: Prime95 and Furmark) the power consumption of the Satellite increases to 25.8 to 33.1 Watt. The Pavilion is more frugal again (25.7 and 28.9 Watt). Naturally, the Aspire needs more energy than its competitors since its features an APU and a dedicated GPU.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0.6 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 5.1 / 8 / 8.8 Watt
Load midlight 25.8 / 33.1 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Voltcraft VC 940
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Battery Life

While idle, the battery of the Satellite is empty after 9:23 h and comes in slightly below the Pavilion (10:04 h) and the Aspire (10:15 h). We test the idle runtime with the Battery Eater Reader's test with minimum display brightness, energy saving profile and disabled radio modules. Under load the M50D shuts down after 1:35 h. The Aspire (1:36 h) and the Pavilion (1:38 h) are about on par. We test the load scenario with the Battery Eater Classic test with maximum display brightness, profile "maximum performance" and enabled radio modules,

The Wi-Fi test ends after 4:16 h on the Satellite. The Pavilion (4:50 h) and the Aspire (5:09 h) have a longer battery life here. During this test an automatic script loads websites in 40 second intervals. The energy saving profile is selected and the display brightness is set to about 150 cd/m². We tested how long a video keeps running on battery by playing the short film Big Buck Bunny (H.264 coding, 1920x1080 pixels) in a loop. The energy saving profile is selected, the radio modules are deactivated, and the display brightness is set to 150 cd/m². The Satellite lasts 4:24 h. The Aspire (4:21 h) is on par again. We did not run this test on the Pavilion.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
9h 23min
WiFi Surfing
4h 16min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
4h 24min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 35min

Verdict

The CPU performance of the Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K is sufficient for simple tasks like surfing, Skype, writing, and watching videos. The big hard drive offers a lot of space for personal data and works quite fast. Furthermore, the buyer gets a decent keyboard and might appreciate the warranty of two years. But, there are also points of critique. The M50D only features a rather dark, low-contrast display. That the fan whistles under load is almost a knock-out criterion. Furthermore, we feel that the price is slightly too high. The Satellite performs worse than the two equally expensive competitors. Both of them deliver a higher processing performance.

The Acer Aspire V5-552G is a good choice if a slim, affordable, and gaming-capable notebook is required. Despite its higher processing performance, the Aspire also performs slightly better than the Satellite in battery life. Furthermore, the Aspire's case is partly made from metal. If you like the Aspire, but need even more CPU performance, you could select the identical Aspire V5-573G with Core i5-4200U, GeForce GT 750M, and matte full HD display for 600 Euros (~$812). However, a Windows OS is not included.

Among our three comparison devices, the Hewlett Packard Pavilion 15-n005sg has the best CPU performance. If this is a criterion, the Pavilion is the best choice. In addition, it is the only one of the three notebooks with an optical drive.

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Specifications

Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K (Satellite M50D Series)
Processor
AMD A6-5200 4 x 2 GHz, Kabini
Graphics adapter
AMD Radeon HD 8400, Core: 600 MHz, 13.152.0.0
Memory
8 GB 
, DDR3, single channel, two RAM slots (both occupied)
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixel, Samsung 156AT30-T01, TN LED, glossy: yes
Mainboard
AMD Yangtze
Storage
TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075, 750 GB 
, 5400 rpm, 660 GB free
Soundcard
AMD Kabini - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: audio combo, Card Reader: SD, SDHC, SDXC
Networking
Realtek RTL8102E Family PCI-E Fast Ethernet (10/100MBit/s), Atheros Communications AR9565 Wireless Network Adapter (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.0
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 21.3 x 377.5 x 249.5 ( = 0.84 x 14.86 x 9.82 in)
Battery
50 Wh Lithium-Ion, 11.4 V, 4160 mAh
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: HD web cam
Additional features
Speakers: stereo, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: no, McAfee Live Safe - Internet Security (trial version), MS Office 365 (trial version), 24 Months Warranty
Weight
2.2 kg ( = 77.6 oz / 4.85 pounds), Power Supply: 237 g ( = 8.36 oz / 0.52 pounds)
Price
599 Euro

 

The lid...
The lid...
...and the palm rests are made from metal.
...and the palm rests are made from metal.
Toshiba used brushed aluminum.
Toshiba used brushed aluminum.
The hinges hold the lid securely in place.
The hinges hold the lid securely in place.
The maximum opening angle is 135 degrees.
The maximum opening angle is 135 degrees.
A number block is available.
A number block is available.
Access to the hardware is possible once the underside is removed.
Access to the hardware is possible once the underside is removed.
There are two RAM slots.
There are two RAM slots.
It is not difficult to replace the hard drive.
It is not difficult to replace the hard drive.
The fan can be removed for cleaning.
The fan can be removed for cleaning.
The APU is soldered.
The APU is soldered.
Good: There are two WLAN antennas.
Good: There are two WLAN antennas.
The BIOS battery is also soldered.
The BIOS battery is also soldered.
The battery could be replaced.
The battery could be replaced.
The battery capacity is 50 Wh.
The battery capacity is 50 Wh.
The battery is connected to the motherboard via a plug.
The battery is connected to the motherboard via a plug.
The notebook is not really...
The notebook is not really...
...suitable for outdoors.
...suitable for outdoors.
The speakers are on the underside.
The speakers are on the underside.

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Pros

+two years warranty
+fast hard drive
+good battery life
 

Cons

-Fan whistles at higher speeds
-dark, low-contrast screen

Shortcut

What we like

The fast hard drive and the good battery life.

What we would like to see

A brighter display with better contrast, and a fan that does not whistle.

What surprises us

500 Euros (~$677) is a steep price for a notebook with rather low CPU performance and an unconvincing display. Other manufacturers offer a lot more for this price.

The competition

Acer Aspire V5-552G, HP Pavilion 15-n005sg, Acer Aspire E1-532, Satellite M50-A-11L, Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 15, HP Pavilion 15-n050sg, Medion The Touch 300 (Akoya S6212T), Lenovo G505s-20255, Asus F550DP-XX022H, Acer Aspire E1-572, Acer Aspire E1-522, HP Pavilion 15-e052sg, Satellite C50D-A-10E, Samsung ATIV Book 2 - 270E5E, Lenovo G500s.

Rating

Toshiba Satellite M50D-A-10K - 04/14/2014 v4(old)
Sascha Mölck

Chassis
64 / 98 → 65%
Keyboard
73%
Pointing Device
58%
Connectivity
58 / 80 → 73%
Weight
62 / 20-67 → 89%
Battery
84%
Display
66%
Games Performance
50 / 68 → 74%
Application Performance
54 / 92 → 59%
Temperature
84%
Noise
74%
Audio
60%
Camera
38 / 85 → 45%
Average
63%
69%
Office - Weighted Average
Sascha Mölck, 2014-01-18 (Update: 2014-01-18)