Toshiba Satellite P205-S6287

Designed for those looking for a big 17-inch screen at a reasonable price, the P205-S6287 features a spacious hard drive, ample RAM, and all the multimedia amenities we've come to expect from the Satellite series. If you're looking for a Vista notebook that will satisfy most of your productivity and entertainment needs, this is a solid choice. Just don't expect a barn burner.
 
The 7.4-pound P205-S6287 is housed in an elegant Onyx Blue finish that's highlighted by illuminated neon-blue status indicators. Under the glossy lid is a roomy keyboard and number pad that had a little too much give. We're fans of the large touchpad, but we weren't too keen on its positioning; it's situated left of center, which required some adjusting. Above the keyboard is a row of multimedia and quick-launch buttons that allowed us to bring up a Web browser, control CDs and DVDs, or boot a media player for swift access to our music library.
 
The glossy 17-inch widescreen display (1440 x 900-pixel resolution) really delivers: It offers plenty of onscreen real estate for multitasking, and text never looked too small when we read documents or surfed the Web. DVDs looked great from all but the most extreme angles, although we had to contend with some reflection from the glossy panel. Above the LCD is a 1.3-megapixel webcam for videoconferencing or snapping quick photos to e-mail to friends. The picture quality was mediocre, however.
 
Twin Harmon Kardon speakers flank the multimedia buttons and deliver impressive audio; the bass was full and the volume clear and loud, which will make your music and movies sound great, especially if you're accustomed to the tinny speakers found on most notebooks.
 
Our test unit was configured with a massive 200GB hard drive, allowing you to store gobs of music, video, photos, and other files. The P205-S6287 also sports a 4X DVD+/-R DL SuperMulti drive and Labelflash technology for burning images onto DVD labels. There's also a 5-in-1 memory card reader for easy content transfers and an ExpressCard/54 slot for adding peripherals and accessories.
 
Performance from the 1.73-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5300 processor with 2GB of RAM was just decent; the P205-S6287 notched a 3,127 score on our PCMark05 test. That's well below the average for desktop replacements, but we didn't have any problems running Office or applications like Media Center. The integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics card (with up to 256MB of shared memory) produced a decent 3DMark03 score of 1,285. And it garnered a solid 41 frames per second while running F.E.A.R. in autodetect mode (640 x 480-pixel resolution). The GPU handled all of Vista's translucent eye-candy--including 3D Flip--without a hiccup.
 
We saw strong wireless throughput averages of 18.3 Mbps at 15 feet from our access point, and 16.8 Mbps from 50 feet. The six-cell battery lasted 1 hour and 43 minutes on our DVD rundown test, which is also on target for its class.
 
Bundled software includes Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Adobe Acrobat Reader 7, Google Desktop, Yahoo Music Jukebox, and a slew of Toshiba's utilities, including Toshiba Flash Card, an onscreen reference guide to the various uses of the F keys. You also get a one-year limited warranty and 24/7 toll-free technical support.
 
Speed demons will want to wait until Toshiba upgrades this series with Intel's latest and greatest Core 2 Duo processor. However, if you want a large widescreen and plenty of multimedia perks without emptying your wallet, the Toshiba Satellite P205-S6287 is a fine choice for both work and play.

 

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