Toshiba Satellite A500-14H
Specifications
Price comparison
Average of 3 scores (from 3 reviews)
Reviews for the Toshiba Satellite A500-14H
Source: PC Pro
Archive.org versionWith budget laptops offering more and more for ever-diminishing prices, mid-priced models are having to work pretty hard to justify their existence. After all, when you can get a perfectly capable portable for under £400 exc VAT, then there seems little reason to spend more on the likes of the new Toshiba Satellite A500. Toshiba's latest portable boasts all-new design and a keen price, but it's when playing movies and games that it shines.
Single Review, online available, Length Unknown, Date: 09/17/2009
Rating: Total score: 67% price: 83% performance: 67%
Foreign Reviews
Source: Notebookjournal
DE→EN Archive.org versionSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/08/2009
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 70% performance: 60% features: 70% display: 40% mobility: 30% workmanship: 70% ergonomy: 70%
Source: Computer Totaal
NL→EN Archive.org versionSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 12/17/2009
Rating: Total score: 78% price: 80% performance: 89% features: 100% mobility: 22% ergonomy: 44%
Comment
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650: The Mobility HD 4650 is based on the Desktop 4650 architecture, but features a lower clock rate of memory and core. Depending on the core clock (450-550MHz possible) and the used memory (DDR2, DDR3, GDDR3 with 600-800 MHz possible) the mobile 4650 can show a different performance. The current consumption of the chip alone ranges from 15-25W. Features Avivo HD video features.
Non demanding games should be playable with these graphics cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Core 2 Duo: This is the Core Duo and Core Solo successor with a longer pipeline and 5-20% more speed without more power consumption. As an addition to the Core Duo design there exists a fourth decoder, an amplified SSE-unit and an additional arithmetical logical unit (ALU).
The Core 2 Duo for laptops is identical to the desktop Core 2 Duo processors but the notebook-processors work with lower voltages (0.95 to 1188 Volt) and a lower Frontside bus clock (1066 vs 667 MHz). The performance of equally clocked notebooks is 20-25% lower than Desktop PCs because of the lower Frontside bus clock and the slower hard disks.
P8700:
Mid-range dual core processor with 3 MB level 3 cache and a TDP of 25 Watt.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
16.40":
This range for display formats was and is a rarity. It is larger than the general standard of 15 inches, but not yet in the range of large workstations. One usually has higher screen resolutions available, but portability suffers from that.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.3.15 kg:
A laptop with this weight is comparatively heavy and less designed for mobility than for use at the desk. Therefore, the devices tend to shine less with battery life than with a large screen and higher performance.
Toshiba: Toshiba Corporation is a Japanese conglomerate or technology group. The company was established in 1939 and in 1978 Toshiba became the official company name. The company's products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors, hard drives, printers, batteries, lighting, logistics and information technology. Toshiba was one of the largest manufacturers of personal computers, consumer electronics, home appliances and medical equipment.
75%: This rating is poor. More than three quarters of the models are rated better. That is rather not a purchase recommendation. Even if verbal ratings in this area do not sound that bad ("sufficient" or "satisfactory"), they are usually euphemisms that disguise a classification as a below-average laptop.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
