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Toshiba Qosmio X70 Notebook Review

Performance break. Toshiba's multimedia notebook Qosmio X70 is available for 1,300 Euros (~$1411). For that money you get a lot of processing performance, but there is not enough GPU power for gaming and fast SSD storage would be good for the system as well.

For the original German review, see here.

The 17.3-inch multimedia notebook is equipped with an Intel Core i7-4710HQ and the AMD Radeon R9 M265X. The package for 1,300 Euros (~$1411) also comes with 16 GB memory and a 1 TB hard drive with 8 GB SSD cache. Other important specifications are the speakers from Harman/Kardon, a Blu-ray burner as well as a Full HD display.

We want to check the price-performance ratio of the new Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102 in a comparison with two potential rivals. Thanks to its powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M, the Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro is not only well-equipped for multimedia purposes but also for gaming and is available for the same price of 1,300 Euros (~$1411). More GPU performance is offered by the Asus N751JK as well; our review unit was equipped with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 850M. The processor, however, is identical. Asus equips its device for 1,350 Euros (~$1466) with 8 GB memory and a 128 GB SSD in combination with a 1 TB hard drive.

Case

We can see a combination of aluminum and plastic elements at our review unit. The otherwise dark chassis is complemented by some red accents. The keyboard unit and the lid are made of brushed aluminum, but the edges of the lid are a bit sharp. Otherwise, the build quality is okay. A bit inconvenient is the glossy display frame and the high susceptibility to dust. The hinges also seem to be a bit small at a first look. It is easy to open the display, but they left a sturdy impression during our review, even though only longer periods of use can say something about the durability. The Toshiba is not one of the lightest companions with almost 3 kg, but at least 500 grams lighter than the Asus N751JK. A height of up to 28.5 millimeters is justified for a 17.3-inch device. You will have to remove the whole bottom cover if you want to maintain the device, only the battery can be replaced without tools.

A simple aluminum case...
A simple aluminum case...
...is decorated...
...is decorated...
...with red elements.
...with red elements.
No maintenance hatches.
No maintenance hatches.

Size Comparison

415 mm / 16.3 inch 280 mm / 11 inch 35.6 mm / 1.402 inch 3.4 kg7.5 lbs423 mm / 16.7 inch 293 mm / 11.5 inch 25.4 mm / 1 inch 3 kg6.61 lbs413 mm / 16.3 inch 268 mm / 10.6 inch 33 mm / 1.299 inch 2.9 kg6.45 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity

The port variety meets the usual standard in this notebook class with 17.3-inch displays. The port layout, however, is quite interesting: All the ports at the right side are pretty far at the front, which enables a quick and comfortable access. The ports on the left side are located at the rear, including the power connector and two USB 2.0 ports. This is also the problem: Important permanent connections like external displays or an Ethernet network connection have to be attached at the front of the right side, where the cables will limit the available space. Another problem is that only one side has USB 3.0 ports.

Right side: headphones, microphone, 2x USB 3.0, HDMI, Ethernet, VGA
Right side: headphones, microphone, 2x USB 3.0, HDMI, Ethernet, VGA
Front: SD-card reader
Front: SD-card reader
Rear
Rear
Left side: Kensington lock, AC power, 2x USB 2.0
Left side: Kensington lock, AC power, 2x USB 2.0

Communication

Wired network connections can be established via Gigabit Realtek RTL8168/8111 module. Wireless connections are handled by an Intel Dual-Band Wireless-AC 3160 module, which is supposed to support transfer rates of up to 433 Mbps. We want to determine a more realistic download speed in the review environment of the author. The router is a Fritz!Box 7362SL and we use an Apple MacBook Pro Retina (Late 2013) for a comparison. After some downloads of a 1 GB file we measured 6 MB/s for the Toshiba Qosmio X70 and 11.15 MB/s for the MacBook.

Accessories

Our review unit is not shipped with any dedicated accessories. The provided quick-start guide gives a nice overview about the functions. The website of our Toshiba notebook lists some standard accessories like batteries, charging cables and bags.

Maintenance

Instead of opening maintenance hatches, you will have to remove the whole bottom cover. This is a loan unit, so we did not open the device to avoid any damages.

Warranty

Toshiba grants a standard warranty of 24 months for our review unit. This includes a pick-up service for Germany and Austria. You can also enhance the security with Toshiba's "No matter what" insurance and warranty extensions.

Input Devices

Keyboard

The advantage of many 17.3-inch notebooks is the space for a full keyboard, including numeric keypad without slimmed-down keys. Still, the arrow keys and the row with F-keys of the X70 are narrower than the rest. The lettering of the keys has a high contrast thanks to large and white letters. A one-stage red illumination helps you to hit the correct keys in darker environments. You will immediately notice that the different sections of the keyboard have different pressure points. While the left area is very soft, it gets firmer when you move to the right side. The numeric keypad, however, is very soft again and the space bar is very stiff. This does not result in a convenient typing experience in combination with the surface that is too smooth and almost feels oily. This raises the question whether the input device is suited for office tasks. Other special keys are not available, even though there would be enough space.

Touchpad

Initially we were happy about the large dimensions of 10.2 x 6.8 centimeters. The gliding capabilities are basically okay, but inputs occasionally freeze, which is annoying with drag & drop gestures in particular. We also get very imprecise movements in the peripheral areas, which means we would recommend an external mouse for longer sessions.

At least the size is decent.
At least the size is decent.
Large lettering is easy to read.
Large lettering is easy to read.
Unfortunately, not suited for office tasks.
Unfortunately, not suited for office tasks.

Display

Our review unit uses a glossy Full HD display, but Toshiba, unfortunately, decided to equip the device with an inexpensive TN panel with 1920x1080 pixels. Acer integrated a better screen: The Aspire V 17 Nitro uses a matte IPS panel. The average brightness of our review unit is completely sufficient for bright rooms with around 270 cd/m², but the rivals are even brighter by around 40-50 cd/m² on average. We cannot determine a brightness reduction on battery power.

270
cd/m²
266
cd/m²
252
cd/m²
245
cd/m²
287
cd/m²
242
cd/m²
289
cd/m²
294
cd/m²
281
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Chi Mei N173HGE-E21 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 294 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 269.6 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 82 %
Center on Battery: 287 cd/m²
Contrast: 571:1 (Black: 0.503 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 10.74 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 11.69 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
61% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
67.5% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
93.6% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
65.8% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.33

Even though the contrast ratio of 571:1 and the resulting black value of 0.5 cd/m² are slightly better compared to the rivals, the high black value still results in an inconveniently blurry grayscale. We can also notice a strong blue cast, which is supported by CalMAN with a grayscale deviation of 11.69. The colors are not much better with a DeltaE value over 10. The Acer can benefit from its IPS panel with deviations around 7, which can be noticeably improved with a calibration.

Graphics artists will not be happy with the review unit because of the low color-space coverage alone. We were able to determine coverage of 61% for the AdobeRGB color space and 81% for the sRGB color space.

sRGB color space
sRGB color space
AdobeRGB color space
AdobeRGB color space
CalMAN: Grayscale
CalMAN: Grayscale
CalMAN: Saturation Sweeps
CalMAN: Saturation Sweeps
CalMAN: ColorChecker
CalMAN: ColorChecker

The outdoor usability is affected by the glossy display; you can only use the Toshiba in the shade thanks to its decent luminance. You might want to have a closer look at the Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro with its matte panel if you plan to use your 17.3-inch notebook outdoors more often.

You can use the notebook...
You can use the notebook...
...outdoors as long as...
...outdoors as long as...
...you can find a place in the shade.
...you can find a place in the shade.

You will, unfortunately, have to make some compromises in respect of the viewing-angle stability as well. The integrated TN panel quickly suffers from brightness and color distortions when you shift your viewing position. The maximum opening angle of 125 degrees could be bigger to enable a comfortable use on the lap. However, this will be a pretty rare scenario with a 17-inch device.

Viewing angles
Viewing angles

Performance

The specs of our review unit include a high-end Intel CPU, a mainstream GPU from AMD as well as dual-channel memory, which means our Toshiba Qosmio X70 is well-equipped for multimedia purposes and light gaming. However, the performance will not be sufficient for gaming enthusiasts because the graphics card will be the bottleneck. Other configurations of this series have less memory (8 GB) or a more powerful Intel Core i7-4720 HQ. The model with the faster CPU is actually 50 Euros (~$54) cheaper right now.

System information Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102

Processor

The Intel Core i7-4710HQ has four cores and a nominal clock of 2.5 GHz, which is raised up to 2.8 GHz via Turbo Boost according to HWinfo. A look at Intel's specifications shows that the maximum Turbo clock should be 3.5 GHz. We cannot say whether the indicated values of HWinfo are correct at this point.

The performance is among the fastest notebook processors. Intel specifies a TDP of 47 Watts and both rivals are equipped with the same processor. We want to evaluate the performance of the three devices with Cinebench R15 and we can quickly see that the Asus is 12% slower than the Qosmio, despite the similar CPU, while the Acer is even 17% faster than the Qosmio with the same processor. This shows that the reduced Turbo clock affects the performance.

The Turbo Boost is completely deactivated on battery power, which explains the bad result in the Cinebench R15 multi-core test with just 508 points.

More comparisons are available in our benchmark list.

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
138 Points
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
126 Points -9%
Asus N751JK-T4144H
116 Points -16%
CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
565 Points
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
660 Points +17%
Asus N751JK-T4144H
499 Points -12%

Legend

 
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102 Intel Core i7-4710HQ, AMD Radeon R9 M265X, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
 
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q) Intel Core i7-4710HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD
 
Asus N751JK-T4144H Intel Core i7-4710HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, SanDisk X300s SD7SB3Q-128G
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
8596
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
16863
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
5167
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
63.2 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
6.11 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.55 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
98 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
59.4 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
565 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
138 Points
Help

System Performance

The subjective performance impression of the Toshiba is good and without bigger delays thanks to the SSHD and the powerful CPU, but you can still notice the difference between the SSHD and a real SSD in some scenarios. The overall positive impression is also confirmed by PCMark 8. The results of the review unit in the Home benchmark clearly surpass the faster rivals; they can only keep up in the Creative and Work tests: The Acer falls behind by 19% in the home test and 7% in the Creative test, while the Asus is roughly 3% faster than the Qosmio X70 (Creative). Both rivals surpass the Toshiba notebook by 3% and 5%, respectively, in the PCMark Work test.

PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
4097 Points
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
3620 Points -12%
Asus N751JK-T4144H
3328 Points -19%
Creative Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
4689 Points
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
4368 Points -7%
Asus N751JK-T4144H
4846 Points +3%
Work Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
4182 Points
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
4374 Points +5%
Asus N751JK-T4144H
4312 Points +3%
PCMark 7 - Score (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
5095 Points
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
5808 Points +14%
Asus N751JK-T4144H
5266 Points +3%

Legend

 
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102 Intel Core i7-4710HQ, AMD Radeon R9 M265X, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
 
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q) Intel Core i7-4710HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD
 
Asus N751JK-T4144H Intel Core i7-4710HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, SanDisk X300s SD7SB3Q-128G
PCMark 7 Score
5095 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
4097 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
4689 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4182 points
Help

Storage Solution

Toshiba equips the Qosmio X70 with a 1 TB SSHD including 8 GB SSD cache. The rivals follow another strategy: They just integrate two storage drives; in addition to the 128 GB SSD you get a conventional 1 TB hard drive. This is also the reason that the SSHD of our review unit cannot compete with the benchmark results of the rivals. Still, transfer rates of more than 150 MB/s (read) and 86 MB/s (write) are pretty good. More comparisons and the differences between the individual hard-drive technologies are available in our corresponding FAQ section.

No HDD benchmark entry found!

Graphics

Toshiba uses the AMD Radeon R9 M265X, which is an upper-mainstream card. Our GPU runs with a core clock of 625 MHz and a memory clock of 1,000 MHz. The graphics chip has 4 GB dedicated memory and can be deactivated in favor of the integrated Intel HD Graphics 4600 depending on the load.

Our initial suspicion about the biggest performance difference compared to the rivals is confirmed at this point. The Acer with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M manages a decent result of 5,178 points in 3DMark 11, which is 2,000 points higher than our review unit. The situation is similar for the Asus N751JK with a GTX 850M, which manages 4,500 points.

Similar to the processor, you will have to live with performance reductions on battery power, where the Qosmio X70 only reaches 1,690 points. We want to mention that the points were really determined with the AMD GPU and not the integrated graphics unit, which manages around 900 points.

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
Radeon R9 M265X, 4710HQ, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
2955 Points
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD
5178 Points +75%
Asus N751JK-T4144H
GeForce GTX 850M, 4710HQ, SanDisk X300s SD7SB3Q-128G
4495 Points +52%
3DMark - 1920x1080 Fire Strike Score (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
Radeon R9 M265X, 4710HQ, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
1944 Points
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD
3633 Points +87%
Asus N751JK-T4144H
GeForce GTX 850M, 4710HQ, SanDisk X300s SD7SB3Q-128G
2765 Points +42%
3DMark 11 Performance
2955 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
76148 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
10364 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
1944 points
Help

Gaming Performance

That you can get more GPU performance for the money is apparent when you look at the 3DMarks. But how is the situation in real gaming benchmarks? The majority of titles like Crysis 3 or Battlefield 4 that were launched last year can actually be played smoothly with high details. Newer games like Watch Dogs (2014) can usually only be played with medium or low settings. The Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro manages almost twice the number of frames per second with high details compared to the Toshiba Qosmio X70. More gaming benchmarks are available in our article "Computer Games on Laptop Graphics Cards."

Crysis 3
1366x768 Medium Preset AF:16x (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
41.9 fps
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
76.4 fps +82%
1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:16x (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
25.7 fps
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
50.3 fps +96%
1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:2xSM AF:16x (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
9.9 fps
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
18.7 fps +89%
Battlefield 4
1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
64.3 fps
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
99.7 fps +55%
1366x768 High Preset (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
42.1 fps
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
71.8 fps +71%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:4x MS (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
16 fps
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
29 fps +81%
Watch Dogs
1366x768 Medium Overall Quality, Medium Textures (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
34.6 fps
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
53.6 fps +55%
1920x1080 High Overall Quality, High Textures AA:2x MS (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
13.3 fps
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
26.4 fps +98%
1920x1080 Ultra Overall Quality, Ultra Textures AA:4x MS (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
9.6 fps

Legend

 
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102 Intel Core i7-4710HQ, AMD Radeon R9 M265X, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
 
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q) Intel Core i7-4710HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD
 
Asus N751JK-T4144H Intel Core i7-4710HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, SanDisk X300s SD7SB3Q-128G
low med. high ultra
Crysis 3 (2013) 67.5 41.9 25.7 9.9
Battlefield 4 (2013) 98 64.3 42.1 16
Watch Dogs (2014) 42.6 34.6 13.3 9.6

Emissions

System Noise

The powerful processor and the dedicated graphics card result in compromises in terms of the fan characteristics. The fans are still deactivated while idling and you can only hear a slight murmur of the SSHD. But start browsing the web in the energy-saving mode or switch to the high-performance mode and you can hear the fans. They can get pretty loud and also change their frequency during gaming or under sustained load. The rivals are once again better and both devices are around 4-5 dB(A) quieter under load.

Noise Level

Idle
33.3 / 33.2 / 34 dB(A)
HDD
33.2 dB(A)
DVD
37.6 / dB(A)
Load
44 / 47.4 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 under...
The Toshiba under...
...stress.
...stress.

The aluminum surfaces stay cool while idling, which is typical for this material. It does not get uncomfortably warm with light workloads like web browsing, either, but the situation changes under load: You get a strange feeling during typing since the left side of the keyboard still stays under 25 °C, while the right side reaches almost 47 °C.

Our stress test is supposed to give us an idea about the core temperatures of the CPU and GPU under load. The CPU temperatures quickly reach up to 99 °C after a couple of minutes, which results in thermal throttling. After one hour we can see that the processor clock leveled off at around 2.4 GHz. A 3DMark 11 run immediately after the stress test shows that you can use the "full" performance despite the extreme scenario before the benchmark and the results are similar to a cold run.

Max. Load
 25.1 °C
77 F
34.7 °C
94 F
46.1 °C
115 F
 
 23.8 °C
75 F
34.8 °C
95 F
46.8 °C
116 F
 
 23.5 °C
74 F
23.8 °C
75 F
40 °C
104 F
 
Maximum: 46.8 °C = 116 F
Average: 33.2 °C = 92 F
48.1 °C
119 F
26.1 °C
79 F
22.7 °C
73 F
47 °C
117 F
27 °C
81 F
22.2 °C
72 F
34.7 °C
94 F
29.6 °C
85 F
23.3 °C
74 F
Maximum: 48.1 °C = 119 F
Average: 31.2 °C = 88 F
Power Supply (max.)  46.7 °C = 116 F | Room Temperature 20.6 °C = 69 F | Voltcraft IR-360
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 33.2 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 31.2 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 46.8 °C / 116 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 48.1 °C / 119 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 23.8 °C / 75 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(-) The palmrests and touchpad can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 40 °C / 104 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-11.2 °C / -20.2 F).

Speakers

Four Harman/Kardon speakers are supposed to provide the optimal sound. Still, you should look elsewhere if you want rich and deep bass. However, you get balanced medium tones and a sufficient maximum volume. The review device can also be used for spontaneous movie evenings thanks to the 17.3-inch display. Even though the Harman/Kardon system creates decent results, we know that there is still room for improvement thanks to other reviews.

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The idle values already show that Toshiba did not integrate frugal components and we can measure between 7.3 and 13.3 Watts. The rival from Acer is a bit more flexible with a minimum consumption of 5.3 Watts up to 18.3 Watts. 

The load consumption of the Toshiba is pretty high with 105 Watts, but still lower than the 128 Watts of the Acer. Even though the Asus was faster in the benchmarks, it only consumes up to 90 Watts and therefore 15 Watts less than our review unit. The processor consumes more power than the graphics card in our review unit: We can measure 78 Watts in the CPU test Prime95 and 62 Watts in FurMark for the Toshiba.

Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
Radeon R9 M265X, 4710HQ, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD
Asus N751JK-T4144H
GeForce GTX 850M, 4710HQ, SanDisk X300s SD7SB3Q-128G
Power Consumption
-9%
-5%
Idle Minimum *
7.3
5.4
26%
8.4
-15%
Idle Average *
13
12.6
3%
13.3
-2%
Idle Maximum *
13.3
18.3
-38%
13.8
-4%
Load Average *
72.8
84.2
-16%
86.7
-19%
Load Maximum *
105.4
127.6
-21%
90
15%

* ... smaller is better

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.1 / 0.3 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 7.3 / 13 / 13.3 Watt
Load midlight 72.8 / 105.4 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 Runtime

Toshiba only integrates a small battery with a capacity of 48.6 Wh and the manufacturer advertises a runtime of up to 4.5 hours. The Battery Eater Reader's Test even determines a maximum runtime of more than 7.5 hours.

We use our WLAN test to simulate a more realistic scenario where you browse the web. The brightness is adjusted to 150 cd/m² and our review unit ran for 3 hours and 20 minutes before it went into hibernation mode. The Acer Aspire V 17 manages 20 minutes more and the Asus N751JK even lasts 1.5 hours longer.

But how long is the runtime in a worst case scenario? We check that with the Battery Eater Classic Test, where the Qosmio X70 manages almost one hour. The rival from Asus was better in the WLAN test, but it shuts down 20 minutes sooner in this scenario. Only the Acer Aspire beats the Toshiba by almost 50 minutes.

More information about our test scenarios is available here.

Battery Runtime - WiFi (sort by value)
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102
200 min
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q)
220 min
Asus N751JK-T4144H
298 min

Legend

 
Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102 Intel Core i7-4710HQ, AMD Radeon R9 M265X, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
 
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro (VN7-791G-759Q) Intel Core i7-4710HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD
 
Asus N751JK-T4144H Intel Core i7-4710HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, SanDisk X300s SD7SB3Q-128G
Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
7h 44min
WiFi Surfing
3h 20min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 04min

Verdict

Toshiba Qosmio X70
Toshiba Qosmio X70

Toshiba's Qosmio X70-B-102 is a multimedia notebook with a decent amount of processing power. The case is made of aluminum and plastic parts in combination with red design elements. The overall build quality is decent, only the fingerprints as well as the dust on some surfaces and the glossy display, including its frame, don't look very nice. You will quickly notice some issues when you use the input devices for typical office tasks. The keyboard is quite spongy and the smooth keys cannot provide the necessary grip. The touchpad is generously sized but lacks precision in the peripheral areas.

The glossy TN panel does have the Full HD resolution, but the typical TN characteristics like the strong blue cast are still annoying. An IPS panel with wide viewing angles is available in the similarly priced Acer Aspire V 17, for example. The components could be better for the price of 1,300 Euros (~$1411) as well. Users with complex applications will be satisfied with the high-end CPU, but gamers or users that mainly use the GPU should have a look at the competition.

All in all, the Qosmio X70 is a solid multimedia notebook, but the price should be lower than 1,300 Euros (~$1411).

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In review: Toshiba Qosmio X70. Test model courtesy of Notebooksbilliger.
In review: Toshiba Qosmio X70. Test model courtesy of Notebooksbilliger.

Specifications

Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102 (Qosmio X70 Series)
Processor
Intel Core i7-4710HQ 4 x 2.5 - 3.5 GHz (Intel Core i7)
Graphics adapter
AMD Radeon R9 M265X - 4 GB VRAM, Core: 625 MHz, Memory: 1000 MHz, DDR5 memory, 2/2 memory slots, atiumdag 13.351.1006.1001 / Win8.1 64, AMD Enduro
Memory
16 GB 
, Dual-channel, DDR3L SDRAM
Display
17.30 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel, Chi Mei N173HGE-E21, TN, glossy: yes
Mainboard
Intel HM86 (Lynx Point)
Storage
Toshiba MQ01ABD100, 1000 GB 
, 5400 rpm, 5400 RPM, 1 TB storage with 8 GB SSD cache
Soundcard
Intel Lynx Point PCH - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: Microphone input, headphone jack, Card Reader: SD, SDCX, SDHC, MMC, Sensors: Brightness sensor
Networking
Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit-LAN (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0
Optical drive
Matshita BD-MLT UJ272
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 33 x 413 x 268 ( = 1.3 x 16.26 x 10.55 in)
Battery
49 Wh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 720p
Additional features
Speakers: 4 Harman Kardon speakers with 6 Watts, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, 24 Months Warranty
Weight
2.925 kg ( = 103.18 oz / 6.45 pounds), Power Supply: 540 g ( = 19.05 oz / 1.19 pounds)
Price
1300 Euro

 

Harman/Kardon speakers with good sound.
Harman/Kardon speakers with good sound.
There are no maintenance hatches.
There are no maintenance hatches.
The thin hinges are supposed...
The thin hinges are supposed...
...to keep the large notebook together.
...to keep the large notebook together.
Simple, elegant and also...
Simple, elegant and also...
...aggressive is the design of the...
...aggressive is the design of the...
...Toshiba Qosmio X70.
...Toshiba Qosmio X70.
The power adaptor weighs half-a-kilogram.
The power adaptor weighs half-a-kilogram.
The battery could be bigger.
The battery could be bigger.

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Toshiba Satellite L50-B-1TD Notebook Review Update
Radeon R7 M260, Core i7 4510U, 15.60", 2.2 kg

Links

Pros

+Good system performance
+Speakers
+Appealing design
+Size of the input devices
 

Cons

-IPS display with limited viewing angles
-Input devices
-Fan characteristics
-Price is not too high
-Display with blue cast
-Chassis attracts fingerprints
-No maintenance hatches

Shortcut

What we like

A nice design, good speakers and the high CPU performance. 

What we'd like to see

The justification of the price. The rivals show that you can expect an IPS panel or a high-quality TN panel. In addition, more graphics performance and longer battery runtimes.

What surprises us

The system performance is very good according to the PCMark benchmarks.

The competition

The Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro is a popular and powerful notebook. The Asus N751JK has good materials and just as much performance.

Rating

Toshiba Qosmio X70-B-102 - 02/27/2015 v4(old)
Nino Ricchizzi

Chassis
75 / 98 → 77%
Keyboard
67%
Pointing Device
66%
Connectivity
70 / 81 → 86%
Weight
57 / 20-67 → 79%
Battery
77%
Display
73%
Games Performance
89 / 85 → 100%
Application Performance
91 / 92 → 99%
Temperature
83%
Noise
72 / 95 → 76%
Audio
70%
Camera
58 / 85 → 68%
Average
73%
78%
Multimedia - Weighted Average
Nino Ricchizzi, 2015-03- 9 (Update: 2018-05-15)