Toshiba Satellite Pro C70-B-111 Notebook Review

The reason why C70 laptops are sold at the starting price of only 500 Euros (~$648) is due to the black plastic casing. Toshiba did not even try to create an elegant impression, for example by using a brushed metal surface, but presents the laptop in stark simplicity. The only visual highlights are set by the set-piece lowered area over the entire width where the keyboard and the speaker grille are housed under the screen. The wrist rest and lid both feature a dotted texture that makes fingerprints tolerable. The areas beside and above the keyboard, screen frame and the base are made of simple, matte plastic that is slightly textured. The case can only be warped with high force, and does not produce any noise. It is not possible to open the lid with only one hand. We did not notice any manufacturing flaws. However, in our opinion, the area around the touchpad yields a bit too easily, and gives a somewhat cheap impression.

As expected in this price range, the connectivity does not go beyond the bare minimum. At least there are two USB 3.0 ports. They are placed on the right in front of the vent where most ports are located, that may result in a lack of work space due to disturbing cables or peripherals when, for example, using an external mouse. Power, a USB 2.0, and the Kensington slot are well positioned behind the DVD burner. The SD card slot and the highly visible status LEDs, are positioned on the front right.

Keyboard

The keyboard's layout alongside the dedicated number pad is convincing. The 102 adjacent, level and roughened keys are mostly where they are expected to be in a standard desktop keyboard. Important keys, such as CRTL or shift, are larger but the cursor keys are only half the size. The stroke  is average for a laptop of this size and we would describe the pressure point as a bit too soft. The fact that the keyboard yields under minimum pressure, in particular around the L-key, affects the typing quality and the overall impression. Also a shortcoming: The FN-keys, which are only accessible as a secondary assignment, have a tiny, low-contrast lettering that can only be recognized in good light (there is no backlight). Toshiba forgot the visual on screen feedback for the volume keys.

Touchpad

It is too bad that the classic touchpad is not a bit larger; there would have been enough room. There is a few millimeters wide area at the outermost edge that does not respond to touch. The surface is slightly roughened, and provides a good response when gliding over it. We did not observe any lags, and the accuracy and responsiveness did not give reason for complaint. The squeaky keys that should preferably be pressed only in the center, give a cheap impression. Overall, they can be used fairly confidently owing to their pleasant resistance, and good audible response. Up to three simultaneous touches are recognized; the Synaptic driver provides multiple, well-documented configuration options.

1600x900 pixels distributed over 17.3 inches equals to a not quite standard pixel density of 106 ppi. The matte screen is based on the low-cost TN technology that results in a few drawbacks. Both the maximum brightness of approximately 250 cd/m² and illumination of 84% are average. Subjectively, a black screen looks homogeneous; there is no sign of clouding or even screen bleeding. The screen in Acer's Aspire E1-772 is considerably brighter, and often has the lead among our three comparison devices.

Toshiba's targeted application field for the C70-B-111 as a stationary business laptop should not be a problem for the Intel Core i5-4200U (2x 1.6 - 2.6 GHz; TDP: 15 W), which is supported by a more than sufficient 8 GB of RAM. It even has enough reserves for more demanding tasks, such as complex image editing in Photoshop or games. Then there is the dedicated, lower-range AMD Radeon R7 M260 graphics card with a 2 GB GDDR3 RAM. Everyone should find something among the configurations that we mentioned in the intro, as long as they do not expect a genuine gaming machine, or a professional device for 3D rendering for 750 Euros (~$972).

The benchmark chart below this paragraph speaks for itself: The older and/or graphically less demanding the game, the more likely it is to experience smooth gameplay using medium settings in 1366x768. This is true for games with an isometric perspective, such as Anno 2070 or Dota 2, and even tracks like Bioshock Infinite that are based on the relatively modest Unreal Engine 3, can take advantage. Users who value a higher graphic quality or want to play current graphic smashers like Thief or Crysis 3, should avoid the R7 260M, and look around in the performance class of an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M or higher. Battlefield 4 refused to start no matter which driver we used. Experience shows that it will however run smoothly using at most minimum settings in a resolution of 1024x768 pixels.

System Noise

Although the fan in Toshiba'a Satellite Pro C70-B-111 ran during low usage, such as office or browsing, it was hardly distinguishable from the usual ambient noise. Prime 95 pushed the fan to a higher speed that was a bit too rough for our taste. The device was clearly audible in the fan's third level, but it did not distract the writer at all. The noise level increased even more, when the graphic stress test FurMark was added, and was still audible from a distance of three meters (~10 feet). However, the author still did not find it annoying. Since the keyboard also produces only moderate noise during typing, we can definitely recommend Toshiba's laptop for use in noise-sensitive surroundings. Both competitors were marginally quieter in the test.

Toshiba's Satellite Pro C70-B-111 is clearly superior to our comparison laptops when it comes to long battery runtimes. This is rare for a desktop replacement. The review sample is always among the four longest running laptops (idle and load: first place) when using the same comparison basis as in power consumption, and even sends models with a considerably stronger battery, packing. One to two hours of gaming is possible, and an outstanding runtime of almost five hours was recorded in the practical Wi-Fi test.

Apart from the relatively bright screen's partly massive shortcomings, the "flexible" keyboard, and far below average sound, Toshiba has created a bundle that made an overall good impression in the test with its Satellite Pro C70-B-111, which we believe is worth its money. As indicated in the intro, the technical aspects like the great Turbo utilization and good thermals that always ensure a cool and audibly unobtrusive operation are particularly impressive. The runtimes were top in all single tests, although it is too bad that they are only secondary for a laptop of this size. The casing is solid, but it is extremely bland and not ideal. The maintenance options are also modest. In terms of performance, the device is quite suitable as a mid-range desktop replacement, which allows taking care of routine tasks perfectly and even risking an occasional game. A hard drive with an accelerating SSD cache would not have hurt the overall subjectively good performance, which should be expected for this price. We can give Toshiba's laptop a conditional purchase recommendation since 17.3-inch multimedia laptops are a rather rare thing.