Review: M45-S165

[stoopid]

Took advantage of the latest Best Buy deal on these. I'm a long time laptop owner and user, and have owned one Toshiba before (a desktop replacement model a few years ago that kicked arse).

Specs:

• Celeron® M processor 370 (1.50GHz), 1MB L2 cache
• 512MB DDR PC2700 RAM (bus runs 400mhz)
• 15.4" WXGA TFT display with Trubrite Technology
• 802.11g/b wireless, onboard modem/LAN
• 8x DVD-RAM, +/-R, 4x RW, 2.4x DL, CD-RW combo drive
• 80GB 5400 RPM hard drive
• Harman/Kardon® speakers
• ATI Xpress 200M integrated graphics
• (3) USB 2.0 Ports

I have yet to get the multi drive to burn at it's advertised speeds, always slightly below the max spec. For an afterthought item I don't complain, better than the 2x burners they were throwing in these budget machines not so long ago.

The screen is very nice, but glare is an issue at a slight angle. 3D graphics are poor thanks to a shared memory and extremely handicapped ATI 200M chipset. This is expected for a low-end model.

Only issue is battery life (slightly less than 2 hours), which is acceptible. I expect more from a laptop then 2 hours, but this seems to be the going rate in this price range.

Slightly over 6 piunds is good for a 15.4" laptop. 1.4" thin is also very good.

5400 rpm drive is a little whiny. The extra speed is a nice perk, as many lower end laptops come with 4200 RPM drives. Access times are noticeably better than with my 4200 RPM Averatec.

I give this a 9/10 rating, mostly because it's a great bang-for-the-buck if you can find one for around $800 as I did.

[Fidget]

thanks for the review, nice to see that you are liking your new machine.... another satisfied toshiba owner, im noticing a trend here.

[davez82]

how are the fonts, on the screen, are they pretty clear or blurry a bit. I was inspecting the 45 today and the text looks a bit distorted, might be their model, especially in right click menus and such.

[stoopid]

how are the fonts, on the screen, are they pretty clear or blurry a bit. I was inspecting the 45 today and the text looks a bit distorted, might be their model, especially in right click menus and such.

I haven't noticed any blurring, but maybe it's not something I would notice unless I was looking for it. It's essentially the same screen they put on more loaded/expensive models, and the display is by-far the best part of the laptop IMO.

Fidget, Toshiba has been good to me so far which is why I came back for a second helping. :)

[Fidget]

same for me man gonna be a second helping for me too. well that is a second on the personal laptops business ones it is more than that, the tecras are popular and generally awsome, so durable.

[davez82]

hm.. seems like only the m40 is customizable on the toshiba site, and the premade m45's only come with intel graphics, is the m40 and 45 the same thing?

[g00nter]

they should be the same (chassis), apart from some of the details (cpu, gpu, hdd size, ram, etc). Usually when a laptop model ends in 5, it's the retail version of the one that ends in 0.

[kaelfi]

Only issue is battery life (slightly less than 2 hours), which is acceptible. I expect more from a laptop then 2 hours, but this seems to be the going rate in this price range.

Hah! The M40 is no better at a higher price point!
Congrats on the purchase! :dude:

[Fidget]

yeah the m40 is not much better other than the graphics card...really they are the same basic machine just the m40 has the much better graphics capabilities.

[stoopid]

I've done some tweaking of the xpress 200M video card, and while it will play 3D games, it does so rather poorly. My default clock speed is 300mhz on the core, ram is at system bus speed (since it's half-shared). Was able to overclock the core to 450mhz using ATI Tool. RAM can't be overclocked, obviously. Appears they really crippled this chip :(.

UT2K4 barely plays on low and lowest settings.

[Fidget]

a good reason to have the dedicated video card of the m40... if games are your thing.

[smokinggun]

It's a shame that these Celeron M notebooks don't seem to have decent battery life. Even my 6 yr old Pentium-based laptop got 2 hours from a single charge.