Toshiba Satellite Z30-B Notebook Review

We are familiar with the casing of the Satellite Z30 from previous tests since Toshiba also uses it for its more expensive Portégé Z30 business models. The steel-gray, metallic colored magnesium casing still makes a very elegant impression in terms of feel and looks. Both display hinges, a narrow bar below the touchpad and Toshiba's logo on the lid are silver colored, which set an appealing contrast in conjunction with the black keyboard and black display bezel. Regrettably, the edges above and below the screen are rather wide, but fortunately all surfaces are matte and fingerprints are thus not an issue. The display hinges are agreeably smooth running and it is possible to open the lid with one hand, but still tight enough to prevent excessive rocking.

The stability of the just 1.2 kg (~2.6 lb) heavy laptop is also impressive. Thanks to the rubber stoppers (four in the corners, one in the center), the base unit is very stable and can only be pressed marginally without disconcerting creaking noises. However, the lid itself is very thin and consequently considerably more flexible. It is quite easy to warp it, and pressure instantaneously produces wave formations on the screen.

According to Toshiba, the laptop fulfills the requirements of the strict HALT test (Highly Accelerated Life Test) that is performed by the Technical Control Board Rhineland and simulates three years of use. In addition, drops from a height of up to 76 cm (~30 in) and small amounts of liquids (max. 30 ml) should not cause any damage. However, we did not test these claims.

The battery is integrated into the casing and cannot be removed from the outside. It is possible to remove the laptop's underside, but it is slightly awkward. We will take a closer look at the procedure in the Maintenance section.

Touchpad

Questions may arise when using the touchpad for the first time because two wide, separated areas without apparent functionality are above and below the input device. A closer look at the Portégé Z30 business model unravels the mystery. There are additional keys for a Touch Stick on the keyboard and a fingerprint reader below the touchpad.

The touchpad is a ClickPad from Alps. The size is acceptable, especially when considering the screen's low resolution. However, it could be somewhat larger for using multi-touch gestures with up to four fingers more comfortably. The surface has been roughened slightly, but still has good gliding properties. Two narrow and somewhat protruding lines clearly mark the two integrated mouse keys, and the fingers can find them very easily. The quiet click noise and decent drop appealed to us.

In addition to the usual configuration options in the driver (key assignment, enabling/disabling gestures, etc.), there are two additional functions in the two upper corners, which can be enabled by double tapping. The entire ClickPad can be disabled in the upper left, which is especially useful when using an external mouse. Toshiba's Eco energy profile can be enabled in the upper right. Unfortunately, neither area can be reconfigured.

After the enormous improvements in the smartphone market, there are now also increasingly more high-resolution screens in laptops. However, Toshiba has ignored this trend in the Z30-B-100 and installed a matte, HD screen (1366x768 pixels) that is based on TN technology in the device. Consequently, in our comparisons, the laptop drops significantly behind the other competitors because both Dell's XPS 13-9343 (1920x1080 pixels) and Asus' ZenBook UX305FA (3200x1800 pixels) have a clear advantage here. Toshiba has devices with a matte, Full HD screen (Z30-B-10C) or a matte, Full HD touchscreen (Z30-A) within its Z30 series that are both available for 1349 Euros (~$1493).

Regrettably, the screen is very disappointing subjectively. The brightness is still its best quality. With an average of 286 cd/m², the backlight in conjunction with the matte screen is strong enough, and the illumination is a very good 91 percent. Unfortunately, the maximum brightness is limited to 232 cd/m² in the battery mode, which is important for a mobile device. 

The high black level of 0.69 cd/m² makes dark areas look very faded and grayish rather than black. Overall, the image is quite pale (contrast 422:1) and slightly grainy. Neither games, nor videos are much fun with that. Compared with Dell's XPS 13 and Asus' ZenBook UX305 rivals, our review sample is clearly at a disadvantage (see chart). We would have expected a better screen, especially in a device designed for private consumers.

The matte screen allows pleasant outdoor work without struggling with annoying reflections. However, the backlight is not bright enough for comfortable use in direct sunlight. Although the screen's content can still be recognized, after a while, it becomes very strenuous for the eyes. There should not be any problems in the shade.

Toshiba's Satellite Z30-B-100 is a state-of-the-art Subnotebook. Thanks to the fast Intel Core i5, 8 GB of working memory (DDR3L-1600, single-channel) and the solid-state drive, it should not have any problems with most routine tasks, including office and uncomplicated multimedia applications. The Z30-B-10C sister model sold at an RRP of 1349 Euros (~$1493) has the same components except for the screen (matte, FHD). Although the working memory operates only in single-channel mode, this condition can be eliminated quite easily and inexpensively when required, thanks to the second, empty RAM bank.

Intel's Core i5-5200U is a dual-core processor based on the Broadwell architecture, and is built using the cutting-edge 14 nm process. Its TDP of 15 watts makes it very suitable for mobile devices like the Satellite Z30. The chip supports all common features, such as Hyperthreading (up to four threads simultaneously) and automatic overclocking via Turbo Boost (2.7 GHz for one core; 2.5 GHz for two cores). The base rate of 2.2 GHz can be reduced to 800 MHz in idle mode.

Unfortunately, the processor cannot completely utilize its Turbo Boost in the single-core benchmarks because the processor  runs at 2.5 GHz, and only occasionally speeds up to 2.7 GHz for short periods. Neither the consumption nor the temperatures are critical in this scenario, and thus it looks as if the manufacturer has limited it. The XPS 13 with an identical processor is roughly 10 percent faster in this scenario, and Asus' ZenBook UX305 with its energy-efficient Core-M lags behind by 16 percent.

The situation improves as soon as we load both cores. The processor can then maintain its maximum Turbo Boost frequency of 2.5 GHz. Accordingly, the review sample and XPS 13 are virtually on par in the Cinebench R15 multi-core test, while the ZenBook UX305 falls behind by almost 40 percent. The Satellite Z30-B-100 does not have any issues with throttling during pure CPU load.

The processor can also utilize its full performance in battery mode. More information and benchmarks about the Core i5-5200U can be found in our Tech section.

Current games can be played at most, using low details and low resolutions. Even so, smooth frame rates are not always possible (“Bio Shock: Infinite” only 28.07 fps). Some older and less demanding games (“Fifa”, “Diablo 3”, “DOTA 2”, etc.) can be played well anyway, and the same is true for games from the Windows Store. An additional RAM module would improve the performance by approximately 15-20 percent, but still would not make the Satellite Z30-B-100 into a gaming laptop.

An overview of the requirements of up-to-date games can be found in our benchmark chart.

System Noise

Toshiba's Satellite Z30-B-100 is a very quiet companion. The fan normally remains inactive during low load, and the user should be pleased with a silent device without annoying noises. Under full load, the small fan can get very loud with up to 44.1 dB(A), but that is rather the exception. The laptop is not subjectively distracting in this state since the fan does not roar unpleasantly or produce high-pitched tones.

The surface temperatures are absolutely uncritical - both in idle as well as under load. Although there is a hot spot on the upper side over the keyboard's center, this point will rarely be touched during use and the temperature is not annoying. In normal use such as Internet browsing, a temperature increase is hardly noticeable. It is possible to use the device on the lap provided there is sufficient airflow. The air inlet is located on the underside, which could be easily covered. The lack of air circulation can cause the temperatures to climb rapidly, especially during demanding tasks.

The low consumption rates alongside the 52-Wh battery promise very good runtimes, which our tests confirmed. According to Toshiba, the Satellite Z30-B-100 will run up to 16 hours. That was clearly exceeded with 23:33 hours in Battery Eater's Reader's test. Almost 3 hours was possible in the worst-case scenario (Battery Eater's Classic test). However, neither scenario is very realistic for a mobile Subnotebook, and thus we will take a closer look at our real-life Wi-Fi test.

The laptop runs a browser script that simulates Internet browsing at a screen brightness of approximately 150 cd/m² (level 6/10). The determined runtime of 12:02 hours is very impressive, and clearly outruns the competition, including the long-lasting Apple's MacBook Air 13. Consequently, a whole workday on battery power should not be a problem.

A full recharge (rest capacity: 3 percent) took approximately 2:30 hours when the laptop was on.

Toshiba states a shorter runtime of approximately 10 percent for the Full HD sister model, but the Wi-Fi runtime would then still be very competitive.