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Toshiba Satellite M640

The Toshiba Satellite M640 and M645 offers a 14-inch laptop with solid performance and attractive design at a modest price. As parents and students prepare for back to school season, is the Satellite M640 below in the top of your shopping list? Read on to see what you think of this model i5 Core equipped with discrete Nvidia graphics.

 

 

 

 

Toshiba Satellite M640 (M645-S4055) Specs HighLight:

 

  • 14-inch 720p (1366x768) display with LED backlighting
  • Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
  • Intel Core i5 450M (2.40GHz)
  • Nvidia GeForce 330M graphics card w/ 1GB GDDR3 dedicated memory (Optimus switchable graphics)
  • 4GB DDR3 RAM
  • 500GB 5400RPM hard drive (Toshiba MK5065GSX)
  • 802.11b/g/n wireless
  • Slot-Loading DVD SuperMulti (+/- Double Layer) with Labelflash
  • Warranty: 1-Yr Parts and Labor, 1-Year Battery
  • 6-cell Li-ion battery (48Wh) and 75W power adapter
  • Weight: 6.12 lbs
  • Dimensions: 13.3 x 9.1 x 1.12-1.45 inches
  • Price as configured: $1,049.99 ($719 starting price)

 

Design

The Satellite M640/M645 is the latest generation of multimedia notebooks from Toshiba and is designed to offer a perfect balance between performance and style. At first glance, the design of the M645 is quite traditional with sculpted edges, a mix of shiny plastic and soft texture, and some attractive LED accent lighting. The exterior is covered in what Toshiba calls the "Fusion X2 Finish in charcoal." Personally, I call it shiny black plastic with a texture "chain" pattern printed on the surface to help hide fingerprints and dirt. Despite the trade name fool to the end, I have to give Toshiba credit here. The pattern of string texture gives the modern image of plastics is not brilliant but as a magnet for the horrible stains, dirt or anything else that a student is spilled on a laptop.

The bottom of the notebook includes two access plates of RAM, wireless card and hard drive. Although most people who buy consumer multimedia laptops do not perform the updates, the engineers at Toshiba's actually very easy to get inside this laptop. Simply remove one screw to access the hard drive and a screw to get to the RAM and wireless card.

 Display and Sound

 The M645 has a 14-inch diagonal screen with LED backlight and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The overall quality of the screen is "very good" in the narrow vertical viewing angle sweet spot. The backlight is even and bright, the contrast is strong and the colors are good when the colors are a bit hot to the default settings. If there is one obvious question that has to be the narrow vertical viewing angles. While horizontal viewing angles (side view) are virtually flawless, the colors become more vulnerable when viewed from above and downwards significantly and distorted when viewed from below. If you are using this laptop for editing color accuracy will have to be sure you're viewing the screen straight.

The Satellite M645 features harman / kardon stereo speakers mark just above the keyboard. These speakers offer a great variety of high, medium and low tones with the base of a surprising richness of a laptop without a dedicated subwoofer. Because these speakers are located above the keyboard that direct sound up and toward the user. Another element worth mentioning is "Toshiba's Sleep-and-Music" feature that lets you isten to music from your MP3 player through these fantastic portable speakers, even when the notebook is turned off in sleep mode. The headphone jack also provides a great connection, static-free external speakers or headphones. 

Touchpad and Keyboard

The full-size keyboard with LED backlight M645 with Chiclet-style keys that are responsive and provide extra space to avoid typos. The keys are large and flat and have a glossy texture that shows patches of his skin oils over time. There is no significant flex unless you apply significant pressure to the keys in the center of the board. An individual keystrokes are quiet, virtually without a "click-clack" noise as you type, making it an excellent choice for taking notes in a classroom or office meeting room. The keyboard also features dedicated media keys on the keyboard and dedicated home, end, page up and page keys.

Other Features

The Satellite M645 features a variety of ports - making this a laptop of the most "future proof" 14-inch notebooks we've reviewed recently. You get two USB 2.0 ports and one combo eSATA / USB 2.0 if you want to use fast external storage units. The M645 also includes dual video ports: VGA connection to the old school projectors and HDMI for the new monitors and HDTVs. More importantly, the M645 includes an ExpressCard slot so you can upgrade this laptop with USB 3.0 ports, if needed. All descriptions of the picture are from left to right. 

 

 

ASUS G73JH Monster

 

 The G73 is the latest portable gaming on the success of ASUS product line G-series. This monster has a 17.3 inch Core i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and has a mobile video card more powerful, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870.

ASUS G73JH-A2 has the following specifications:

  • 17.3-inch 1080p (1920x1080) display with LED backlighting
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  • Intel Core i7-720QM processor (1.6GHz/2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB L3 cache)
  • ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 graphics card
  • 8GB DDR3-1066 RAM
  • Two 500GB 7200RPM hard drives (Seagate Momentus 7200.4/ST9500420AS) (Non-RAID)
  • Atheros AR9285 802.11n Wireless LAN adapter
  • Built-in Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
  • 8X DVD Super Multi drive
  • Two-year limited warranty (one year on battery pack) with one year of accidental damage protection
  • 8-cell battery pack (14.8V, 5200mAh, 75Wh)
  • Weight: 8.5 pounds
  • Dimensions: 16.3” (W) x 12.6” (D) x 1.8” (H)
  • MSRP: $1,599

 

The ASUS G73JH is available as a notebook pre-configured only, although some dealers to offer XoticPC limited customization. Those looking Blu-ray should check G73JH-A1 model, which has the same specifications as our test unit and a Blu-ray to $ 1,699.
The ASUS G73 is has a "stealth" look, with a non-traditional way with angled surfaces and sharp lines that is clearly influenced by modern stealth aircraft. . The back stands out is especially aggressive with their exhaust vents at an angle.
The physical size of the G73 is daunting, even compared with other 17-inch laptops. The chassis is made with cane up 5 degrees, which gives the notebook a feeling stronger and helps with ergonomics. The laptop has a rubber shell, which is a nice touch and adds a measure of durability. 
The G73JH comes with a 17.3-inch screen with LED backlight with a full HD (1920x1080) resolution. The screen has a glossy surface that helps to make colors more vibrant, but suffers from reflections as a result. The screen is, in a word, beautiful. It is a pleasure to use for games and multimedia. The viewing angles are about average, there is little color change from side to side. However, quickly wash and dark colors from above and below.

The display has high resolution, and that is appreciated. With Full HD is easy to view two windows side by side without damage too. The higher resolution also helps to bring out fine details in games and reduces the amount of scrolling required when surfing the Web. 
 
 

 

 

 

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