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Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT Notebook Review

Mixed feelings. Toshiba adds another model to the already pretty diverse segment of the 17-inch notebook category. The C70 uses standard hardware and lacks any noteworthy features. Can the notebook distinguish itself from the competition?

For the original German review, see here.

The Toshiba C70-C-1FT is yet another multimedia notebook designed mostly for stationary use. The included hardware is pretty common right now and can be found in many different notebooks in various segments of the market. One of these frequently-seen items is the Intel Core i5-6200U, which did very well in a number of our reviews. The GPU is the gaming-capable Nvidia GeForce 930M. The 17-inch class is hotly contested, however, so there are plenty of alternatives:

Model Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118 HP Pavilion 17-f217ng Asus N552VX-FY103T Acer Aspire V Nitro BE VN7-792G-74Q4
Size 17.3-inch 17.3-inch 15.6-inch 17.3-inch
Resolution 1920 x 1080 1600 x 900 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080
CPU Intel Core i5-6200U Intel Core i5-5200U Intel Core i7-6700HQ Intel Core i7-6700HQ
GPU AMD Radeon R5 M335 Nvidia GeFoce 830M Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
Processor
Intel Core i5-6200U 2 x 2.3 - 2.8 GHz @ 2.6 GHz, Skylake
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce 930M - 2048 MB VRAM, Core: 928 MHz, Memory: 900 MHz, DDR3, 64-bit interface, 10.18.13.5435 WHQL, Optimus
Memory
8 GB 
, DDR3-1600, Single-Channel
Display
17.30 inch 16:9, 1600 x 900 pixel 106 PPI, LG Philips LP173WD1-TLF1, TN LED, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel Skylake-U Premium PCH
Storage
Toshiba MQ01ABD100, 1000 GB 
, 5400 rpm, 825 GB free
Soundcard
Intel Skylake-U/Y PCH - High Definition Audio
Connections
0 PC-Card, 0 Express Card 34mm, 0 Express Card 54mm, 2 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 0 USB 3.1 Gen2, 0 Thunderbolt, 0 Firewire, 0 VGA, 0 DVI, 1 HDMI, 0 DisplayPort, 0 S-Video, 0 Modem, 1 Kensington Lock, 0 Serial Port, 0 eSata, Audio Connections: Audio combo-jack, Card Reader: SD, MMC, SDHC, 0 SmartCard, 0 Fingerprint Reader
Networking
Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit-LAN (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.1
Optical drive
DVD +/- RW Double Layer
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 20 x 410 x 280 ( = 0.79 x 16.14 x 11.02 in)
Battery
44 Wh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: HD webcam
Additional features
Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: no, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
3.56 kg ( = 125.58 oz / 7.85 pounds), Power Supply: 210 g ( = 7.41 oz / 0.46 pounds)
Price
999 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case & Connectivity

The design looks rather ordinary. The upper part of the base unit is made from plastic with a brushed texture. The bottom and the top of the lid are smooth. The chassis could be a little more sturdy: picking the unit up with one hand, for example, left us with an uneasy feeling regarding the overall stability. Rubber feet make sure that the notebook remains put even on very slick surfaces. The display hinges bounce a lot. The areas below and next to the keyboard yield easily when pressure is applied. Although noticeable while typing, it does not have a detrimental effect. Fingerprints are an issue and tend to show up after a very short time. 

The transition gaps between the parts are rather large and accumulate dust somewhat easily. The chassis can be opened without a problem even though there are no maintenance covers. Expansion is limited to a second RAM slot. The battery can be swapped out easily once two screws are removed.

To measure the performance of the SD card reader, we use a Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II reference card. We recorded 84.3 MB/s for large data blocks and about 35 MB/s for JPGs (5 MB each). These transfer rates aren't very impressive.

Left side: SD card reader, headphone/microphone jack, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI, Kensington lock slot
Left side: SD card reader, headphone/microphone jack, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI, Kensington lock slot
Right side: power jack, Ethernet, USB 2.0, DVD burner
Right side: power jack, Ethernet, USB 2.0, DVD burner

Input Devices

Keyboard

The keyboard isn't one of the Toshiba's strengths. Even though the feedback is decent and far from spongy, the key travel is particularly short. Once actuated, the keystroke ends rather abruptly, which is a little uncomfortable at first. The keys themselves are not rounded and their surfaces don't conform to the fingers. A backlight is lacking, but the function keys have additional mulitmedia functions, which makes them - just like the dedicated number block - quite useful.

Touchpad

The touchpad surface lets fingers glide easily, but lacks precision. This is not a clickpad, which means the user has to click the dedicated mouse buttons or double-tab on the pad itself. With a size of 9 x 5.4 cm the touchpad is rather small as well - given this is a 17-inch notebook, Toshiba could've easily made it larger. The lower and the right edge support horizontal and vertical scrolling, but gestures sometimes activate scrolling by accident. Multitouch works as intended, although switching between the two input styles frequently leads to misinterpretations.

Display

Subpixel array
Subpixel array

The Toshiba is equipped with a matte display panel with a native resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels. The maximum brightness of 266 cd/m² is below average and the contrast of only 263:1 downright mediocre. Given that the notebook sells for about 900 Euro (~$1025), these results are not exactly appealing. In addition, the display exhibits PWM flickering at a brightness of below 90 % at a very low frequency of only 50 Hz, which can lead to eye strain or headaches even for those who are not particularly susceptible.

237
cd/m²
257
cd/m²
268
cd/m²
249
cd/m²
263
cd/m²
275
cd/m²
241
cd/m²
256
cd/m²
268
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
LG Philips LP173WD1-TLF1 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 275 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 257.1 cd/m² Minimum: 26 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 266 cd/m²
Contrast: 263:1 (Black: 1 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 13.6 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 15.27 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
71% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
46% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
52% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
70.9% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
52.4% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 1.94

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
10 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 5 ms rise
↘ 5 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 21 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
17 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 7 ms rise
↘ 10 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 25 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 50 Hz ≤ 90 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 50 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 90 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 50 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18100 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Viewing angles
Viewing angles

The color accuracy leaves to be desired as well and the display suffers from a distinctly bluish hue. The average DeltaE color deviation is 13.6 with the maximum at 22.06. The goal here is a value of 3 or lower. Colors with values above this threshold deviate clearly from what they should look like. For a bargain-priced notebook this wouldn't be such a big deal, but considering the price of the review notebook, this lack of performance isn't really acceptable in our book. All competitors except for the much lower-priced HP Pavilion fare much better here.

The viewing angle stability is acceptable - at least in the horizontal plane. Deviations in the vertical plane lead to very noticeable color shifts.

Colorchecker
Colorchecker
Graylevels
Graylevels
Saturation
Saturation

Thanks to the matte panel treatment, the display content is easily visible outside even when the sun is out. The lack of panel reflections compensates for the just average display brightness.

Performance

The Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT is a 17.3-inch allrounder notebook predominantly designed for desktop use. The hardware is powerful enough to handle most standard workloads and light multi-tasking. At low resolutions, the notebook can handle gaming as well. At the time of writing, the Satellite sells for about 900 Euro (~$1025).

Processor

The notebook is equipped with an Intel Core i5-6200U. This frugal dual-core CPU offers middle-class performance and is thus more than sufficient to handle even multitasking without major issues. In addition to hyperthreading, the processor also has a very low TDP of only 15 watts. The i5-6200U is clocked at 2.3 GHz, although the Turbo can overclock one core to 2.8 GHz and both cores to 2.8 GHz. Full performance is available no matter if the notebook is plugged in or running on battery power.     

Users requiring more power should take a look at the Asus N552VX-FY103T, which comes with the much more potent Intel Core i7-6700HQ. The notebook with its quad-core i7 CPU offers about double the performance in the Cinebench R15 CPU multi-core benchmark and scores about 20 % higher in the single-core test. The quad-core processor only really makes sense if the applications are designed to take advantage of it.

Less expensive options are the Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118 (same processor) or the HP Pavilion 17-f217ng, which comes with the less powerful Intel Core i5-5200U, but still offers quite comparable performance.

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Asus N552VX-FY103T
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
146 Points +26%
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-792G-74Q4
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
139 Points +20%
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
116 Points
HP Pavilion 17-f217ng
GeForce 830M, 5200U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680
108 Points -7%
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
106 Points -9%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-792G-74Q4
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
679 Points +136%
Asus N552VX-FY103T
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
673 Points +134%
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
292 Points +1%
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
288 Points
HP Pavilion 17-f217ng
GeForce 830M, 5200U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680
260 Points -10%
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
116 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
288 Points
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
55.5 fps
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Help

System Performance

Thanks to its modern Intel Core i5 processor and a decent enough hard drive make, the notebook responds fairly quickly and smoothly. We didn't encounter any problems or issues during the review period. Although the results of the PCMark 8 benchmark trail the competition slightly, they are still decent. Other notebooks with similar hardware shouldn't be much faster or slower - at least not noticeably so. The more powerful notebooks pull ahead slightly, but during daily use this should be of little to no consequence.

PCMark 8 - Home Score Accelerated v2
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-792G-74Q4
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
3751 Points +29%
Asus N552VX-FY103T
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
3452 Points +19%
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
3232 Points +11%
HP Pavilion 17-f217ng
GeForce 830M, 5200U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680
2949 Points +1%
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
2906 Points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
2906 points
Help

Storage Devices

Toshiba integrated their own 2.5-inch HDD with a capacity of 1000 GB and a rotational speed of 5400 RPM. The benchmark results are decent for a drive in this class and the competing models don't offer appreciably better scores.

Toshiba MQ01ABD100
Transfer Rate Minimum: 34.9 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 115 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 87.8 MB/s
Access Time: 17.9 ms
Burst Rate: 84.7 MB/s
CPU Usage: 1 %

GPU Performance

Toshiba has equipped this particular Satellite with an Nvidia Geforce 930M. The GPU is based on the Maxwell architecture, supports DirectX 11, and offers a base core speed of 928 MHz and a maximum speed of 941 MHz. The graphics card has access to 2048 MB of DDR3 RAM running at 900 MHz. The frequencies mentioned are available even when the notebook is running on battery power.   

In addition to the GeForce graphics card, the notebook also features the processor-integrated Intel HD Graphics 520. Nvidia's Optimus technology can switch between the GPUs, which in turn can extend the battery life. 

As an alternative, the Asus N552VX-FY103T comes equipped with the GTX 950M, which offers about twice the performance. The HP Pavilion 17-f217ng ships with the predecessor of the 930M and scores only slightly lower. The Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118 is equipped with a Radeon R5 M335, which is a noticeably weaker GPU.

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-792G-74Q4
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
5709 Points +153%
Asus N552VX-FY103T
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
4579 Points +103%
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
2260 Points
HP Pavilion 17-f217ng
GeForce 830M, 5200U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680
2094 Points -7%
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
1889 Points -16%
3DMark 11 Performance
2260 points
Help

Gaming Performance

We shouldn't expect top-notch performance of course, but the notebook is definitely gaming-capable. The GPU can handle older titles even at high detail settings. Newer games or more demanding graphics settings are out of the question, however.  

We used an external monitor to check the gaming performance at maximum details, since the Toshiba only supports a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels.

Competing notebooks like the HP Pavilion 17-f217ng  and the Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118 trail our review notebook in this area as expected; the more powerful alternatives Asus N552VX-FY103T and the Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-792G-74Q4 both score higher. If gaming is frequently on the agenda, we recommend looking at a notebook with at least a Geforce GTX 960M or better.

low med. high ultra
Tomb Raider (2013) 122 60 33 16
BioShock Infinite (2013) 83.2 47.65 38.78 13.17
BioShock Infinite
1366x768 Medium Preset
Asus N552VX-FY103T
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
101.5 fps +113%
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
47.65 fps
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
25.6 fps -46%
1366x768 High Preset
Asus N552VX-FY103T
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
84.3 fps +117%
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
38.78 fps
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
21.4 fps -45%
Tomb Raider
1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-792G-74Q4
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
177 fps +195%
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
60 fps
HP Pavilion 17-f217ng
GeForce 830M, 5200U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680
55.4 fps -8%
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
29.1 fps -51%
1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-792G-74Q4
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
113 fps +242%
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
33 fps
HP Pavilion 17-f217ng
GeForce 830M, 5200U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680
31.3 fps -5%
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
22.3 fps -32%

Emissions & Energy

System Noise

Noise level
Noise level

The noise emissions are a particular strength, as the Toshiba never gets very loud and remains far from obtrusive. Even under load, the Satellite is noticeably less noisy then the competition: we measured around 35 dB, which is only slightly above the average result at idle. Only the optical drive could be a little less noisy in our opinion.

Noise Level

Idle
32.3 / 32.3 / 33.2 dB(A)
HDD
33.1 dB(A)
DVD
37.6 / dB(A)
Load
34.9 / 40.3 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Audix TM1 Arta (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 31.2 dB(A)
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
HP Pavilion 17-f217ng
GeForce 830M, 5200U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680
Asus N552VX-FY103T
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-792G-74Q4
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
Noise
-10%
-8%
-4%
-5%
off / environment *
31.2
31.3
-0%
Idle Minimum *
32.3
33.9
-5%
32.2
-0%
33.1
-2%
32.6
-1%
Idle Average *
32.3
33.9
-5%
32.2
-0%
33.2
-3%
32.6
-1%
Idle Maximum *
33.2
33.9
-2%
33.6
-1%
33.2
-0%
33.4
-1%
Load Average *
34.9
43.8
-26%
43.6
-25%
37.7
-8%
36.5
-5%
Load Maximum *
40.3
44.2
-10%
45.2
-12%
43.4
-8%
48
-19%

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

The Toshiba handles our stress test (Prime95 and Furmark in parallel for at least one hour) in identical fashion no matter if it is plugged in or running on battery. We didn't encounter throttling at all. The Satellite does very well again as far as the temperatures are concerned: even under maximum load, the warmest areas are barely warm to the touch. Despite the low TDP of the CPU and the dedicated GPU, this is not something that can be taken for granted. The competition gets either about as warm as the review notebook or considerably hotter.

Max. Load
 23.2 °C
74 F
29 °C
84 F
33.7 °C
93 F
 
 23.2 °C
74 F
29.9 °C
86 F
37.4 °C
99 F
 
 22.9 °C
73 F
25.2 °C
77 F
31.1 °C
88 F
 
Maximum: 37.4 °C = 99 F
Average: 28.4 °C = 83 F
37.6 °C
100 F
27 °C
81 F
23.6 °C
74 F
33.8 °C
93 F
27.3 °C
81 F
24.4 °C
76 F
28.2 °C
83 F
28.7 °C
84 F
23.7 °C
75 F
Maximum: 37.6 °C = 100 F
Average: 28.3 °C = 83 F
Power Supply (max.)  43.4 °C = 110 F | Room Temperature 22.1 °C = 72 F | FIRT 550-Pocket
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 28.4 °C / 83 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 37.4 °C / 99 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 37.6 °C / 100 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.2 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 31.1 °C / 88 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-2.3 °C / -4.2 F).

Speakers

Frequency response Pink Noise
Frequency response Pink Noise

The sound quality of the upwards-firing speakers is acceptable. Bass is definitely lacking, but the mids and highs are decent. Although the speakers sound compressed and somewhat empty, even listening to music isn't an overly onerous task. The speakers do their job, but not much more. Of course the user can always hook up external speakers via the 3.5 mm audio jack.

The bar with the speakers
The bar with the speakers

Power Consumption

The Toshiba requires up to 14 watts during idle, which is slightly higher than the competitors with the same CPU. On average, the Satellite is less frugal than the more powerful competitors with quad-core CPUs.

The scenario under load isn't any different, as the Toshiba still maintains the top spot compared to similar models. Notebooks with quad-core CPUs draw even more power under load though and now pull ahead of the review notebook. The power adapter is rated at 65 watts and never is taxed to its limit.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.35 / 0.5 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 10.6 / 13.5 / 14 Watt
Load midlight 44 / 52 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
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.
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
HP Pavilion 17-f217ng
GeForce 830M, 5200U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680
Asus N552VX-FY103T
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-792G-74Q4
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
Power Consumption
16%
18%
-23%
-31%
Idle Minimum *
10.6
6.2
42%
6.8
36%
7
34%
5.8
45%
Idle Average *
13.5
11.6
14%
11.8
13%
10.9
19%
9
33%
Idle Maximum *
14
12.3
12%
12.2
13%
12.9
8%
14.7
-5%
Load Average *
44
36
18%
37.8
14%
72
-64%
85
-93%
Load Maximum *
52
55
-6%
44.6
14%
109
-110%
121.5
-134%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

Our WLAN test simulates a real-life scenario and loads a new web page every 40 seconds via a script. We activate the power-saving profile and set the display to a brightness of 150 cd/m². The Satellite shut down after 4 hours and 12 minutes, which is an average result, but pretty good for this class. Only the Dell Inspiron 17 lasted 50 minutes longer.

Battery Runtime
WiFi Websurfing
4h 12min
Battery Runtime - WiFi v1.3
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT
GeForce 930M, 6200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
252 min
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition VN7-792G-74Q4
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
254 min
Asus N552VX-FY103T
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, Toshiba MQ02ABD100H
268 min
HP Pavilion 17-f217ng
GeForce 830M, 5200U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680
246 min
Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118
Radeon R5 M335, 6200U, Seagate Momentus SpinPoint M8 ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
301 min

Pros

+ quiet
+ runs cool
+ matte display ...

Cons

- ... which is otherwise unimpressive
- PWM (TFT flickering)
- keyboard
- touchpad

Verdict

In review: Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT. Test model courtesy of notebooksbilliger.de
In review: Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT. Test model courtesy of notebooksbilliger.de

The Toshiba Satellite leaves us with decidedly mixed feelings. In all secondary areas the notebook scores well: it never gets hot and is extremely quiet, which allows it to distance itself from the competition. It could be even more frugal, however. 

In the areas where it counts the notebook doesn't do nearly as well - although at least the performance is not one of the affected areas. The input devices are far from impressive. The keyboard is good enough for occasional typists, but unfortunately nothing more. Users who need to type a lot are much better served with a different notebook. The touchpad takes some getting used to as well: since this is not a clickpad, the operation is somewhat unintuitive at times and feels like a significant step backwards. The most serious drawback is the quality of the display. Not only are the colors muddled and the contrast lacking, but the brightness control is implemented using PWM with a particularly low frequency, which will affect sensitive people and can cause headaches and nausea. The editor of this review was actually affected as well.

 All things considered, the Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT looks decent enough on paper and produces mostly decent results, but unfortunately it simply fails in many important categories.

Other notebooks utilize PWM at much higher frequencies or not at all. All alternative notebooks we mentioned generally offer more for the money, so we'll list them one more time: Dell Inspiron 17 5759-5118 (17.3-inch), HP Pavilion 17-f217ng (17.3-inch), and Asus N552VX-FY103T (15.6-inch).

Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT - 05/06/2016 v5.1(old)
René Kohl

Chassis
57 / 98 → 58%
Keyboard
65%
Pointing Device
67%
Connectivity
45 / 81 → 56%
Weight
53 / 20-67 → 70%
Battery
76%
Display
69%
Games Performance
62 / 85 → 73%
Application Performance
67 / 92 → 73%
Temperature
94%
Noise
87 / 95 → 92%
Audio
40%
Camera
37 / 85 → 43%
Average
63%
70%
Multimedia - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT Notebook Review
René Kohl, 2016-05-12 (Update: 2018-05-15)