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MagyarToshiba Satellite C70D-B-10X Notebook Review Update
For the original German review, see here.
The Satellite C70D-B is the successor of the Satellite C70D-A. The most striking difference is that the "B" models are considerably leaner now. We have tested a member of this slimmer lineup with the Satellite Pro C70-B-111. The "Pro" in the name indicates that this model is primarily aimed at professional users. The laptop is thus shipped with security software and the professional version of Windows 8.1 operating system is preloaded.
Contenders of the Satellite are, for example, the Asus X751MA-TY48H and Acer Aspire E17 E5-721.
We will not go in-depth about the casing, input devices, connectivity and speakers since the Satellite C70D-B and Satellite C70D-A feature identical builds. Corresponding information can be found in the review of the Satellite Pro C70-B-111.
Display
Toshiba furnishes the Satellite with a reflective, 17.3-inch screen that has a native resolution of 1600x900 pixels. The brightness rate of 258.7 cd/m² is acceptable, but the contrast of 324:1 and black level of 0.82 cd/m² should be better.
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Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 266 cd/m²
Contrast: 324:1 (Black: 0.82 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 11.65 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.94
ΔE Greyscale 12.44 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
46% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
52.5% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
71.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
53.5% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 1.83
| Toshiba Satellite C70D-B-10X TN 1600x900 | Asus X751MA-TY148H TN 1600x900 | Acer Aspire E17 E5-721-69FX TN 1600x900 | HP Pavilion 17-f050ng TN 1600x900 | Acer Aspire E1-771-33114G50Mnii TN 1600x900 | Packard Bell EasyNote LE69KB-23804G50Mnsk TN 1600x900 | Acer Aspire E1-772G 54208G1TMnsk TN 1920x1080 | Toshiba Satellite C70D-A-10L TN 1600x900 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 0% | 2% | -2% | 8% | 3% | 15% | -3% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 53.5 | 50.8 -5% | 52.1 -3% | 51.4 -4% | 54.6 2% | 52.5 -2% | 59.8 12% | 52.5 -2% |
| sRGB Coverage | 71.2 | 75.3 6% | 76 7% | 70.9 0% | 80.6 13% | 76 7% | 83.6 17% | 69.2 -3% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 52.5 | 52.5 0% | 53.8 2% | 51.8 -1% | 56.5 8% | 54.3 3% | 61 16% | 50.9 -3% |
| Screen | 9% | 23% | -1% | 16% | 29% | 34% | 10% | |
| Brightness middle | 266 | 261 -2% | 225 -15% | 238 -11% | 248 -7% | 241 -9% | 333 25% | 261 -2% |
| Brightness | 259 | 240 -7% | 217 -16% | 227 -12% | 243 -6% | 228 -12% | 322 24% | 240 -7% |
| Brightness Distribution | 81 | 86 6% | 81 0% | 88 9% | 84 4% | 83 2% | 86 6% | 79 -2% |
| Black Level * | 0.82 | 0.58 29% | 0.31 62% | 0.68 17% | 0.464 43% | 0.34 59% | 0.44 46% | 0.54 34% |
| Contrast | 324 | 450 39% | 726 124% | 350 8% | 534 65% | 709 119% | 757 134% | 483 49% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 11.65 | 12.26 -5% | 10.86 7% | 12.18 -5% | 10.43 10% | 8.34 28% | 10.61 9% | 10.72 8% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 12.44 | 11.97 4% | 10.5 16% | 13.57 -9% | 11.64 6% | 8.28 33% | 10.74 14% | 11.81 5% |
| Gamma | 1.83 120% | 1.75 126% | 1.85 119% | 2.1 105% | 2.23 99% | 2.07 106% | 3.79 58% | 2.1 105% |
| CCT | 11961 54% | 10896 60% | 10896 60% | 14690 44% | 6486 100% | 9533 68% | 12587 52% | 13927 47% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 46 | 48 4% | 49 7% | 45.6 -1% | 50 9% | 53.3 16% | 44.7 -3% | |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 5% /
6% | 13% /
17% | -2% /
-1% | 12% /
14% | 16% /
22% | 25% /
29% | 4% /
7% |
* ... smaller is better
The screen had a DeltaE 2000 shift of 11.65 in state of delivery - a common rate in the Satellite's price range. A rate less than 3 would be ideal. Beyond that, the screen exhibited a visible bluish cast.
A TN screen is used in the Satellite. This kind of screen can only offer limited viewing angles. The Satellite can be used outdoors when overly bright surroundings are avoided. Otherwise, the reflective desktop thwarts this intention.
Performance
The Satellite C70D-B-10X is a basic, 17.3-inch office laptop. It has enough computing power for applications from the office and Internet fields. Our review sample is sold for around 390 Euros (~$448). Toshiba has many other configurations in its lineup.
Processor
Toshiba equips the Satellite with AMD's A4-6210 (Beema). The CPU part of the APU is a quad-core processor that clocks with a speed of 1.8 GHz. It does not have a Turbo. The full speed is available in both AC and battery modes. The CPU tests of the Cinebench benchmarks were always performed with 1.8 GHz. The processor's benchmark scores range just below those of a Bay-Trail quad-core processor, such as the Pentium N3530 in, for example, the Asus X751MA-TY148H.
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Satellite C70D-B-10X | |
| Asus X751MA-TY148H | |
| Acer Aspire E17 E5-721-69FX | |
| Acer Aspire E17 E5-721-69FX | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Satellite C70D-B-10X | |
| Asus X751MA-TY148H | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Satellite C70D-B-10X | |
| Asus X751MA-TY148H | |
| Peacekeeper - --- (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Satellite C70D-B-10X | |
| Asus X751MA-TY148H | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
The system runs smoothly. The PCMark 7 benchmark scores correspond to the APU's potential. PCMark 8 crashed right in the middle, which resulted in rebooting the laptop. Consequently, we cannot provide any scores. This behavior was also observed in Toshiba's Satellite C50D-B-125 based on the same APU.
| PCMark 7 Score | 1602 points | |
Help | ||
Storage Device
The hard drive in the Satellite comes from Hitachi. It has a capacity of 500 GB and spins with 5400 revolutions per minute. The drive's transfer rates are within a normal range for a 5400 rpm model.
Graphics Card
In addition to the processor, the installed AMD APU also integrates the laptop's graphics core. It is the Radeon R3 (Mullins/Beema) GPU. The chip supports DirectX 11.2 and operates with speeds of up to 600 MHz. AMD's graphics core is clearly stronger than Intel's counterpart in the Bay Trail generation. The 3DMark scores of the Radeon core are located between Intel's HD Graphics 4200 and HD Graphics 4400 GPUs. Many on-chip graphics cores allow a simple tuning action: Installing a second working memory module enables dual-channel mode, which allows better usage of the graphics core and better scores. This does not function in the Satellite because the APU's memory controller only supports single-channel mode.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 684 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 26600 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 2491 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 409 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming Performance
The Satellite can smoothly render some computer games in a low resolution and with low quality settings. The Windows Store provides a considerably larger selection of playable titles. These games are designed for relatively low-performance hardware. A different laptop will be needed for playing demanding games regularly. For example, Acer's Aspire E5-771G would not rip a very big hole in the budget. The E5-771-50HX sports a Core i5-4210U processor and GeForce 840M graphics core and is sold for approximately 530 Euros (~$608, without a Windows operating system).
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| Total War: Shogun 2 (2011) | 55.1 | 12.1 | ||
| Dirt 3 (2011) | 59.2 | 31.6 | 21 | |
| Battlefield 3 (2011) | 16.2 | 12.2 | 9.1 | |
| Alan Wake (2012) | 13.6 | 8.3 | ||
| Mass Effect 3 (2012) | 22.9 | 16.8 | ||
| Dirt Showdown (2012) | 31.2 | 21.3 | 17 | |
| Medal of Honor: Warfighter (2012) | 18.3 | 12.2 | 9.9 | |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012) | 30.5 | 21.5 | 10.3 | |
| Crysis 3 (2013) | 13.3 | 8.5 | ||
| Tomb Raider (2013) | 31.3 | 15.8 | 10.8 | |
| Metro: Last Light (2013) | 13.5 | 10.4 | 5.8 | |
| Company of Heroes 2 (2013) | 9.7 | 7.3 | ||
| Dota 2 (2013) | 24.9 | 21.2 | ||
| Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013) | 21.2 | 13.1 | 5.1 | |
| Assassin´s Creed IV: Black Flag (2013) | 14.1 | 10.8 | 5.1 | |
| The Evil Within (2014) | 8.3 | 5.1 |
Emissions
System Noise
The Satellite operates very quietly over the entire load range. The fan is occasionally inactive in idle mode, and only the hard drive's noise is audible. The hard drive even drowns out the fan when it spins in idle mode. Replacing the hard drive with a solid state drive would eliminate its noise. The fan does not speed up particularly even during load. We measured a noise level of 33.3 dB in the stress test - many laptops achieve this rate only in idle mode.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 31 / 31.3 / 31.3 dB(A) |
| HDD |
| 33.6 dB(A) |
| DVD |
| 37.4 / dB(A) |
| Load |
| 32.5 / 33.3 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance) | ||
Temperature
It really cannot be said that the Satellite gets warm. Just above 30 °C was reached only on a few measuring points even during the stress test. The Satellite processed the stress test (Prime95 and Furmark run for at least one hour) in AC and battery modes in the same manner. While the graphics core ran at full speed (600 MHz), the processor throttled to 1.35 GHz.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 33.4 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 34.3 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 30.2 °C / 86 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 26.9 °C / 80 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 31.8 °C / 89.2 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 (-4.1 °C / -7.3 F).
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The Satellite does not need very much power. The laptop was satisfied with an idle power consumption of up to 11.5 watts - a normal rate for a 17.3-inch laptop. The Satellite's requirement climbed up to 26.1 watts during the stress test, which is on par with a comparable Bay Trail device like the Asus X751MA-TY148H.
| Off / Standby | 0.1 / 0.2 Watt |
| Idle | 5.9 / 11.2 / 11.5 Watt |
| Load |
20.8 / 26.1 Watt |
   
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Battery Runtime
Websites are automatically opened every 40 seconds in the real-world Wi-Fi test. The energy-saving mode is enabled, and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². The Satellite achieved a runtime of 5:07 hours here. That is a good time for a 17.3-inch laptop.
Verdict
Toshiba's Satellite C70D-B-10X is currently listed with a price of approximately 390 Euros (~$448) on various price comparison websites. The buyer gets a basic 17.3-inch office laptop with enough computing power for applications from the office and Internet fields for this money. The laptop barely heats up and produces little noise. The installed screen's brightness is decent, but the contrast is too low. Unfortunately, Toshiba uses a model with a reflective surface. The maintenance cover that was still existent in the former Satellite C70D-A model has been axed in the Satellite C70-B. Consequently, the casing has to be opened for replacing the hard drive.
