Toshiba Satellite L50-C-275 Notebook Review

It is quite obvious that the Satellite L50-C is the successor of the Satellite L50-B. However, the new model is significantly more angular. The entire casing is made of plastic. The top side of the base unit and the lid are uni-colored in "satin gold" as described by Toshiba. In addition, these two parts feature a hairline pattern and a glossy finish. The other parts of the case are mainly from matte, black plastic. However, the sides are an exception since Toshiba has used a high-gloss finish on them.

You can find some small flaws in the build quality: The optical drive is not completely enclosed and the gaps are not absolutely accurate. However, Toshiba should improve the stability. In our opinion, the base unit can be twisted too easily. While the computer lacks a maintenance hatch, it is easy to remove its underside. You do not need to open the case for replacing the battery, since it is connected externally. It is held by two screws instead of clips.

There are no surprises as far as the interfaces are concerned. Two of the three USB ports support the USB 3.0 standard. A video out (HDMI) is available. The interface layout is good. The area beside the palm rest remains free of cables.

The memory card reader is one of the faster ones of its kind. During copying large data blocks, it achieves a maximum transfer rate of 88.1 MB/s. Moving 250 jpg files (5 MB each) is done at 68.7 MB/s. We always use our reference card (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) for testing memory card readers.

Windows 10 Home (64-Bit) is used as the operating system. A recovery DVD is not included. Toshiba offers a one-year warranty for this computer - which is too short for a 750-Euro (~$826) laptop. The warranty can be extended to three years for about 70 Euros (~$77).

The Satellite L50-C-275 is a multimedia all-rounder in 15.6-inch format. It brings sufficient performance for all usual application scenarios and can run games smoothly. Our test model costs about 750 Euros (~$826). In addition, Toshiba offers variants with different colors and configurations. At the time of testing, the cheapest model with Pentium N3700 processor, HD display and 1 TB hard drive was priced at 399 Euros (~$439). It does not include a dedicated GeForce graphic.

The Satellite is powered by an Intel Core i5-6200U (Skylake) dual core processor. This CPU is one of  the ULV models and features a TDP of 15 watts. This mid-range processor is powerful enough for most user requirements. The CPU works at a base clock of 2.3 GHz. Thanks to Turbo, the clock rate can increase to 2.7 GHz (both cores) or 2.8 GHz (only one core). The Turbo is used in mains operation and on battery. In our tests, the CPU outperforms its direct Broadwell predecessor (Core i5-5200U) by 10 to 15%. This is due to the improvements in the Skylake architecture and the slightly higher clock rates.

A fast SSD and a powerful processor make for a fast and smoothly running system. Problems did not crop up. The PCMark results are very good. Our comparison figure shows that notebooks with weaker AMD graphics core perform rather better than our test model. This is due to the fact that the PCMark 8 benchmarks in particular benefit from AMD GPUs. It is hardly possible to improve the system performance of the Satellite. You could only add a second RAM module.

Toshiba has equipped the Satellite with an SSD from Samsung. It is an M.2 model (2280) with a capacity of 256 GB. About 200 GB of the storage capacity is available to the user. The rest is used by the Windows installation and the recovery partition. The transfer rates of the SSD are very good.

There is a place for a 2.5-inch hard drive inside the Satellite. However, our test model cannot be retrospectively fitted with such a drive since the necessary SATA slot is missing. Apparently, 2.5-inch hard drives are reserved for cheaper Satellite models.

The graphics core is very different to that of the Satellite predecessor model's: The Radeon R7 M260 has made way for a GeForce 930M GPU. The latter is a mid-range model, which supports DirectX 12. The GPU clocks at up to 941 MHz, which is significantly lower than the predecessor's (GeForce 830M; 1.150 MHz). However, a bigger shader count (384 vs. 256) makes up for this. As a result, the 930M performs better than its predecessor in the 3DMark benchmarks. Moreover, the Nvidia GPU outperforms the Radeon core used in the Satellite L50-B models.

The GeForce graphic and Intel's HD Graphics 520 GPU form a switchable graphics solution (Optimus). Nvidia's GPU handles demanding applications like computer games, while Intel's graphics core is used in everyday tasks and on battery. The graphics cards are switched automatically. User intervention is possible, yet not necessary.

Compared to its predecessor, the Satellite's gaming performance has improved significantly. It can run many games smoothly. However, the user usually will have to do with an HD resolution (1366x768 pixels) and low to medium quality settings. The maximum resolution of the display can only be used in a few games. Very demanding games like “Assassin's Creed Syndicate” are not playable at all. You have to select a different notebook for higher gaming performance. GeForce 940M devices are already available from about 600 Euros (~$661). Notebooks with GeForce GTX 950M GPU start from about 900 Euros (~$991).

The energy consumption of the Satellite is unobtrusive regardless of the load. We measured a power consumption of up to 10.1 watts while idling. During the stress test, it increases to 51 watts - CPU and GPU work at full speed. During everyday gaming the energy consumption is about 36 watts (+/-5 watts). The power adapter is rated at 65 watts.

Our realistic Wi-Fi test simulates web surfing. The profile "balanced" is active and the display brightness is set to about 150 cd/m². The Satellite achieves a battery life of about 5:45 h - a good value.