Toshiba Tecra A50-C Notebook Review
The 2015 Tecra A50-C was announced late July with promises of core business features at an affordable price. Higher-end ThinkPad, Portege, and EliteBook model can easily be over $1000 USD while the Tecra A50-C starts at just $729.
Our test model today is the lowest-end configuration with a ULV Core i5 CPU, 8 GB RAM, and a 500 GB HDD. While we liked the 2013 Tecra A50-A, we found it to be a bit slow with very noticeable coil noise. Let's see if the 2015 Tecra A50 fixes any of these issues and if it can compete with other costlier 15.6-inch business notebooks.
Case
Unlike more and more notebooks these days, the Tecra A50-C is recognizable right from the get-go. The signature grooved surfaces from the 2013 Tecra A50 make a return and it's uncommon for a notebook to have such glossy edges. This time, however, the grooves are smaller and smoother with reflections similar to brushed aluminum without the excessive glare. The texture itself is smooth in one direction and rougher in the perpendicular direction. The Tecra's unique combination of glossy and matte make for an intriguing impression.
In terms of quality, the base holds up quite well against twists and depressions despite the all-plastic chassis. It is, after all, advertised to hold up against heat, shock, and vibration. Pushing down on the keyboard and palm rests only results in minimal warping. The weakest area is the surface directly above the removable disk drive, though this is common for most other notebooks with an optical drive as well. The display exhibits above average resistance to twists due to its thick bezel and edges. Unfortunately, the outer lid is very easy to depress and feels like it belongs on a budget consumer notebook. Slight creaking can even be heard when pushing down on the center. Lastly, the gray hinges are strong enough to prevent wobbling when typing up to its maximum angle of about 160 degrees. The initial wobbling of the display still occurs when opening the lid.
The new Tecra isn't aiming to win any design awards and is about the same size as other 15-inch business notebooks including the ThinkPad T550 and TravelMate P255. It also weighs about the same as the TravelMate at about 2.1 kg, though the ThinkPad is heavier due to its wider range of features and superior build.
Connectivity
Available interfaces include the standard SD reader, USB ports, and the all-important VGA-out for conferences and classrooms. While our test model does not include it, Smart Card is an optional configuration.
There are no ports on the rear or front of the notebook, so the left and right edges can feel quite crowded. Furthermore, the ports are all positioned close to the front where cables are more likely to become an annoyance. On the bright side, this also means that they are easily accessible.
Communication
WLAN is provided by an Intel Wireless-AC 3165 in a M.2 1215 form factor. The module supports theoretical transfer rates of up to 867 Mbps with integrated Bluetooth 4.0 and WiDi. We experienced no connectivity or dropout issues during our time with the notebook.
Toshiba includes no WWAN or SIM options for the Tecra A50-C. We recommend checking out the Portege series if such connectivity features are vital.
Security
Like Smart Card, the fingerprint reader is also optional for this particular Tecra model. Intel TPM 1.2 as well as EasyGuard are standard across all configurations for HDD protection against accidental drops and bumps.
Accessories
The Tecra A50 series now includes the same docking port as the higher-end Portege series. This means the notebook can share the same accessories between families for improved versatility. Toshiba offers dedicated port replicators and docking stations for its notebooks.
Users will only get a warranty card out-of-the-box. A caddy for the optical drive would have been a nice extra for those who would rather keep the slot empty to reduce weight.
Maintenance
The motherboard is accessible with just an ordinary Philips screwdriver. Our only complaint is that there is an excessive amount of screws (25!) that must be removed before the bottom panel can come off.
A spot for the optional Nvidia discrete GPU can be seen underneath the length of the single heat pipe.
Warranty
Standard limited warranty is a full three years from date of purchase, which is two years longer than most consumer notebooks and one year longer than most other business notebooks. Coverage for the battery is still only one year. The Toshiba SelectServ Program allows owners to extend the warranty even longer with more options.
Input Devices
Keyboard
Compared to the 2013 Tecra A50-A, the A50-C includes a number of small changes to the layout of its spill-resistant Chiclet keyboard. The F keys are now evenly spaced and the FN and Ctrl keys are now smaller in order to make room for a longer Space bar. These are definite improvements that should make the keyboard feel more familiar to new users. Unfortunately, Toshiba has removed the AccuPoint that is a staple on most other business notebooks and has even cut the keyboard backlight.
The keys themselves are very quiet when typing, but are quite flat and can be easy to miss with short travel. Feedback is also a bit on the weak side and could have been more firm. Compared to an AccuType keyboard, we prefer the Lenovo solution for its deeper travel and more satisfying feedback.
Touchpad
The removal of the AccuPoint has also elicited a redesign of the touchpad. The dedicated mouse keys are now on the bottom and the edges that separate the touchpad from the palm rests are now more defined. Unfortunately, the touchpad is a bit small at just 9.2 x 5.2 cm. Toshiba could have certainly utilized the dead space between the Space bar and touchpad for additional surface area.
As for functionality, we experienced no cursor jitters or other unusual behavior during use. Multi-touch features like pinch-to-zoom and scrolling work without major delays, but the small surface area available makes such actions needlessly more difficult. The Synaptics V7.5 software is able to recognize up to three fingers simultaneously. Unfortunately, there appears to be no option to automatically disable the touchpad when typing.
The mouse keys are surprisingly responsive and comfortable to use compared to the keyboard and touchpad. Travel is short, but feedback is very firm with a satisfying auditory click when pressed.
Display
Our test model is equipped with a 1366 x 768 resolution display, though Toshiba can also configure up to 1080p. In either case, the displays will be matte with no touchscreen options. A quick search for our LP156WHB-TPB1 panel name shows that similar panels can also be found on the Satellite C55D and Fujitsu Lifebook A555. In both these cases, however, we found display quality to be very disappointing.
The same can unfortunately be said for our Tecra A50-C. While there is minimal backlight bleeding, colors are very inaccurate and text appears grainy due to the low native resolution. Brightness is also on the low side at just under 200 nits compared to the competition. Contrast is below average, which only accentuates the poor picture quality.
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Brightness Distribution: 82 %
Center on Battery: 194.1 cd/m²
Contrast: 360:1 (Black: 0.539 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7.35 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.86
ΔE Greyscale 6.88 | 0.09-98 Ø5.1
59.5% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
37.9% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
41.17% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
59.8% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
39.84% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.11
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | HP Envy 15-ae020ng | Toshiba Satellite C55D-C-10P Carrizo-L | Dell Inspiron 15-5558 | MSI PX60 QD-034US | Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -1% | 4% | 3% | 66% | 34% | 4% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 39.84 | 39.3 -1% | 41.6 4% | 41.22 3% | 67 68% | 53.2 34% | 41.5 4% |
| sRGB Coverage | 59.8 | 58.7 -2% | 62.3 4% | 61.8 3% | 97.7 63% | 79.9 34% | 61.8 3% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 41.17 | 40.64 -1% | 43.01 4% | 42.58 3% | 69.2 68% | 54.8 33% | 42.93 4% |
| Screen | -6% | 10% | 25% | 55% | 1% | -12% | |
| Brightness middle | 194.1 | 240 24% | 216 11% | 177 -9% | 300.9 55% | 297 53% | 186 -4% |
| Brightness | 198 | 226 14% | 220 11% | 176 -11% | 285 44% | 287 45% | 169 -15% |
| Brightness Distribution | 82 | 88 7% | 85 4% | 78 -5% | 86 5% | 83 1% | 85 4% |
| Black Level * | 0.539 | 0.48 11% | 0.28 48% | 0.15 72% | 0.431 20% | 0.9 -67% | 0.7 -30% |
| Contrast | 360 | 500 39% | 771 114% | 1180 228% | 698 94% | 330 -8% | 266 -26% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 7.35 | 12.14 -65% | 10.46 -42% | 8.52 -16% | 1.79 76% | 8.74 -19% | 7 5% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.88 | 12.74 -85% | 11.5 -67% | 9.72 -41% | 2.19 68% | 9.31 -35% | 8.1 -18% |
| Gamma | 2.11 104% | 2.49 88% | 2.29 96% | 1.85 119% | 2.29 96% | 2.42 91% | 2.27 97% |
| CCT | 8885 73% | 15295 42% | 12724 51% | 5036 129% | 6724 97% | 10649 61% | |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 37.9 | 38 0% | 40 6% | 39 3% | 63.1 66% | 50.8 34% | |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 59.5 | 59 -1% | 62 4% | 61 3% | 97.8 64% | ||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3.96 | ||||||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -4% /
-5% | 7% /
8% | 14% /
19% | 61% /
58% | 18% /
10% | -4% /
-7% |
* ... smaller is better
Color space coverage is about 38 percent and 60 percent of AdobeRGB and sRGB standards, respectively. These are typical numbers for budget TN panels found on more inexpensive notebooks. The Tecra A50 is certainly not built for professional graphics work.
Further color analyses with an X-Rite spectrophotometer reveal very inaccurate colors and grayscale. RGB balance is especially off, so colors appear unnatural and shallow at first glance. Thankfully, a quick calibration improves picture quality dramatically. Colors still become less accurate at higher saturation levels due to the imperfect sRGB coverage of the panel, but we highly recommend a calibration if possible.
Outdoor usability is generally poor. The matte panel certainly helps in reducing glare, but it is just not enough to overcome both the dim backlight and limited viewing angles of the TN panel. The Tecra A50 is more of an indoor notebook for these reasons.
Viewing angles are inferior to increasingly common IPS panels. This is insignificant for the sole business user, though it can make sharing the display with others nearby more difficult.
Performance
Core configuration options include a 2.2 GHz i5-5200U or a 2.4 GHz i7-5500U plus an integrated Intel HD 5500 or dedicated GeForce 930M GPU. Our particular test model is the lower-end configuration with the dual-core i5-5200U and integrated graphics. The CPU is wholly capable of operating up to 2.7 GHz according to HWiNFO and will idle at 800 MHz if on Power Saver mode. The GPU core is always operating at its base 900 MHz speed even if idling on Power Saver mode according to GPU-Z.
RAM is expandable up to 16 GB via the two SODIMM slots provided. Our unit uses one 8 GB module from Samsung in single-channel mode.
LatencyMon shows recurring spikes even when the system is on Airplane mode. This is likely due to the built-in McAfee protection software, Toshiba Service Station, or the Toshiba Eco Utility that all automatically run in the background upon startup.
Processor
Though it may be a Broadwell core, the ULV i5-5200U performs very similarly to the ULV Haswell core it replaces in terms of raw performance. CineBench R15, for example, shows a boost of only a few percentage points compared to the i5-4300U and i5-4200U. Single-threaded performance can be even slower on our Tecra A50 due to higher Turbo Boost rates for the outgoing generation of Core i5 and i7 CPUs. The results are unsurprising as the benefits of Broadwell lie mostly in its lower heat output and more powerful integrated GPU.
| Cinebench R15 | |
| CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | |
| Eurocom P5 Pro Extreme | |
| HP ProBook 470 G2 K9W25EA | |
| Dell Latitude 14 7414 Rugged Extreme | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Z40-59422614 | |
| CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | |
| Eurocom P5 Pro Extreme | |
| HP ProBook 470 G2 K9W25EA | |
| Dell Latitude 14 7414 Rugged Extreme | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Z40-59422614 | |
| Cinebench R11.5 | |
| CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | |
| Eurocom P5 Pro Extreme | |
| HP ProBook 470 G2 K9W25EA | |
| Dell Latitude 14 7414 Rugged Extreme | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Z40-59422614 | |
| CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | |
| Eurocom P5 Pro Extreme | |
| HP ProBook 470 G2 K9W25EA | |
| Dell Latitude 14 7414 Rugged Extreme | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Z40-59422614 | |
| Cinebench R10 | |
| Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | |
| Eurocom P5 Pro Extreme | |
| HP ProBook 470 G2 K9W25EA | |
| Dell Latitude 14 7414 Rugged Extreme | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Z40-59422614 | |
| Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | |
| Eurocom P5 Pro Extreme | |
| HP ProBook 470 G2 K9W25EA | |
| Dell Latitude 14 7414 Rugged Extreme | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Z40-59422614 | |
| Rendering Single 32Bit (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | |
| Eurocom P5 Pro Extreme | |
| HP ProBook 470 G2 K9W25EA | |
| Dell Latitude 14 7414 Rugged Extreme | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Z40-59422614 | |
| Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | |
| Eurocom P5 Pro Extreme | |
| HP ProBook 470 G2 K9W25EA | |
| Dell Latitude 14 7414 Rugged Extreme | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Z40-59422614 | |
| Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - 32M (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | |
| Eurocom P5 Pro Extreme | |
| HP ProBook 470 G2 K9W25EA | |
| Dell Latitude 14 7414 Rugged Extreme | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Z40-59422614 | |
| wPrime 2.10 - 1024m (sort by value) | |
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 | |
| Eurocom P5 Pro Extreme | |
| HP ProBook 470 G2 K9W25EA | |
| Dell Latitude 14 7414 Rugged Extreme | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Z40-59422614 | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
PCMark 7 ranks our Tecra A50-C alongside older notebooks like the HP Folio 13 and Fujitsu Lifebook UH572. The primary HDD is partly to blame as more modern notebooks typically come with primary SSDs instead. Our Fujitsu Lifebook A555, for example, is equipped with the same i5-5200U CPU and integrated HD 5500 GPU, but scores 4147 points in PCMark 7 compared to just 2956 points on our Toshiba.
Subjectively, applications, startups, and installations take noticeably longer than usual to launch compared to SSD-based systems. Otherwise, we experienced no major issues during our time with the notebook. Pop-ups from the pre-installed McAfee Virus Protection software can certainly give a headache unless if taken care of from its Settings menu.
| PCMark 7 Score | 2956 points | |
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 2909 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 3261 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 3860 points | |
Help | ||
Storage Device
A single 2.5-inch SATA III bay is provided with no mSATA or M.2 secondary options. The optical drive can be easily swapped for a second 2.5-inch drive instead, though this will be limited to SATA I speeds and will require an optional caddy.
Our test model is installed with a 500 GB HGST Travelstar Z7K500 HDD. Average transfer rate according to HD Tune is good for a 7200 RPM drive at just over 102 MB/s. This is faster than the 500 GB Toshiba MQ01ABD100 5400 RPM HDD in our Inspiron 15-5558, which scored just above 83 MB/s on the same benchmark. We recommend an SSD configuration for faster system performance and a secondary HDD if storage is a concern.
GPU Performance
The integrated HD 5500 GPU in our Tecra is about 20 to 30 percent faster than the outgoing HD 4400 and HD 4600 according to most 3DMark benchmarks. The advantages are smaller when running Cloud Gate, though the notebook still outranks the integrated Radeon R5 and R6 Kaveri GPUs almost consistently.
These are still budget integrated graphics, so most modern 3D games are largely unplayable unless if on the lowest settings. Less intensive titles like Starcraft II run satisfactorily on the native 768p resolution.
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013) | 127.6 | 36.2 | 21.3 | |
| Metal Gear Solid V (2015) | 27.8 | 18.9 |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 1189 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 42973 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 4474 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 619 points | |
Help | ||
Stress Test
The Tecra A50-C performs generally well when under stressful conditions. The GPU in particular will never drop below 800 MHz when connected to mains, though the CPU eventually throttles to the 1.6 - 1.7 GHz range after a minute or so of being subjected to both Prime95 and FurMark. The throttling occurs when core temperature reaches the low-to-mid 70 C range.
Unigine Heaven stress is more representative of demanding daily loads. Here the CPU is able to maintain a 2.6 - 2.7 GHz clock rate for the first few minutes before throttling causes Turbo Boost to occur less frequently. GPU performance in unaffected.
Turbo Boost is slightly less frequent when running on battery power, but users will hardly see the difference when gaming or otherwise. A 3DMark 11 run on batteries returns Physics and Graphics scores of 1056 and 3170 points, respectively, compared to 1082 and 3300 points on mains.
| CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Maximum Core Temperature (C) | |
| Prime95 Stress | 2.5 | -- | 65 - 70 |
| FurMark Stress | -- | 800 - 850 | 65 - 70 |
| Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 1.6 - 1.7 | 800 | 65 - 70 |
| Unigine Heaven Stress | 1.7 - 2.7 | 900 | 70 - 73 |
| Battery Power | 1.7 - 2.7 | 700 - 900 | 65 - 70 |
Emissions
System Noise
The cooling system consists of a single 40 mm fan and a short heat pipe over the CPU and optional GPU. The fan is always active no matter the system setting and is audible under quiet ambient conditions. At its low 32 - 33 dB(A) range, the notebook is not loud enough to be distracting when browsing or word processing.
Perhaps more interestingly, fan noise when under high loads is still very quiet at just under 33 dB(A), which is unheard of for a notebook. This is compared to 40 dB(A) or higher on most Ultrabooks. We commend Toshiba for designing a notebook with very low fan noise without imposing heavy throttling limits to curb temperature development.
Nonetheless, we cannot guarantee the same fan behavior if the system is configured with a dedicated Nvidia GPU and faster Core i7 CPU. It's likely that the low fan noise ceiling will be lifted to the more typical 38 - 40 dB(A) range to compensate for the increased heat production.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 32.2 / 32.3 / 32.5 dB(A) |
| DVD |
| 35.8 / dB(A) |
| Load |
| 32.9 / 32.9 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  BK Precision 732A (15 cm distance) | ||
Temperature
Surface temperatures are low when the system is idling with no obvious hot spots. The right palm rest is a bit warmer than the left by a few degrees due to the HDD immediately underneath. Otherwise, no one quadrant is exceptionally warmer than the other under these conditions.
When under high loads for extended periods, surfaces closest to the fan and heat pipe warm up considerably. However, temperature development is noticeably isolated due to the small cooling system, so the temperature gradient is quite steep. The NumPad becomes noticeably warmer than the QWERTY keys as result. In general, the Tecra A50-C runs cooler than the Aspire V3-574G, but warmer than the Inspiron 15-5558 under stressful conditions.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 37.8 °C / 100 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 45.2 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24 °C / 75 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 27.8 °C / 82 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.6 °C / 81.7 F (-0.2 °C / -0.3 F).
Speakers
The integrated stereo speakers are subpar in quality. Sounds are lacking in bass even for a notebook and have a "tin can" characteristic. Maximum volume is loud enough to fill a small conference room, though quality worsens at higher settings. Even so, the poor speakers should not be a concern for the target audience as this is not a multimedia notebook.
Battery Life
Runtimes are average for the Tecra A50 when compared to other 15-inch notebooks at just below 5 hours of constant WLAN use. Our standard WLAN test loops a browser script every 40 seconds while on the Balanced profile with screen brightness set to 150 nits. Fortunately, the battery pack can be quickly swapped as expected from a business notebook. Competing consumer models like the recent Envy 15 may have slightly longer runtimes, but are more than likely to have integrated battery packs instead.
Toshiba claims a battery life of up to 8 hours of use. While our WLAN runtime is well below this mark, users can likely squeeze an hour or so more out of the battery by running at a lower screen brightness setting and using the Power Saver profile.
| Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10 45 Wh | HP Envy 15-ae020ng 55 Wh | Toshiba Satellite C55D-C-10P Carrizo-L 44 Wh | Dell Inspiron 15-5558 40 Wh | MSI PX60 QD-034US 52 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad T550 67 (44 plus 23) Wh | Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss 37 Wh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 22% | -1% | 6% | -55% | 85% | -35% | |
| Reader / Idle | 607 | 753 24% | 498 -18% | 666 10% | 192 -68% | 1264 108% | 389 -36% |
| WiFi v1.3 | 294 | 308 5% | 254 -14% | 337 15% | 146 -50% | ||
| Load | 109 | 148 36% | 140 28% | 103 -6% | 58 -47% | 177 62% | 72 -34% |
| WiFi | 677 | 309 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
The Tecra A50 series is but a shadow of the more expensive and well-regarded Portege series. In order to reach the lower starting prices, Toshiba had to cut a bit too many corners including its weaker lid, poorer display, lack of backlit keyboard, and lack of SIM support. Core business features such as Smart Card and fingerprint readers are now optional instead of mandatory. While we can't speak for the 1080p configuration, our 768p configuration is below average in terms of color quality, contrast, and brightness.
If you're set on a Toshiba, then it may be worth saving up for a Portege-class notebook instead. The difference in quality and longevity is noticeable from the get-go. However, the 3-year standard warranty for the new Tecra A50-C is hard to ignore. We recommend configuring with a 1080p panel and a primary SSD in order to get the most out of the notebook for basic office tasks. Otherwise, costlier business solutions like the flagship ThinkPad, Latitude, Portege, or EliteBook will be the better long-term option for power users.
The lowest configuration should be avoided as it is essentially stripped of most core business features. Its docking port, 3-year warranty, consistent performance on battery power, and near-silent operation are some of the major highlights of the Tecra A50-C.
Toshiba Tecra A50-C1510W10
- 10/08/2015 v4 (old)
Allen Ngo
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