Toshiba's Satellite L645D-S4106 is probably one of the most affordable media focused laptops on the market. The system includes a Blu-ray compatible drive, 640GB hard drive space and HDMI output to make a nice mobile HD video platform. The downside is that Toshiba had to sacrifice a bit in terms of performance and battery life to achieve these goals. The result is great for someone wanting a Blu-ray capable laptop for just over $600 as long as they don't need high performance computing.
Pros
- Larger Capacity Hard Drive
- Blu-ray Drive
- eSATA Port
Cons
- Below Average Battery Life
- CPU Performance Falls Behind Core i3 Laptops
Description
- AMD Phenom II X2 N660 Dual Core Mobile Processor
- 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 Memory
- 640GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
- Blu-ray Reader And Dual Layer DVD Burner Combo Drive
- 14" WXGA (1366x768) LED Backlit Display With VGA Webcam
- AMD Radeon HD 4250 Integrated Graphics
- Fast Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wireless
- Three USB 2.0, eSATA, HDMI, VGA, 5-in-1 Card Reader
- 13.3" X 9.1" x 1.5" @ 5 lbs.
- Windows 7 Home Premium, Office Starter, WinDVD, Norton Internet Security
Toshiba has revised their Satellite L645D platform in the past few months. Instead of using a more powerful triple core Phenom II processor, they have scaled it back to a dual core Phenom II N660 processor for the L645D-S4106. This causes it to fall behind the Intel Core i3 processor in may tasks as it now does not have the extra core for multitasking or multithreaded applications like video editing. It still ships with 4GB of DDR3 memory which does help it run smoothly in most cases.
While the Satellite L645D-S4106 sacrifices a bit in performance compared to its previous counterpart, Toshiba makes up for it with a number of storage features. It now comes with a larger capacity 640GB hard drive that provides roughly thirty percent more space for applications, data and media files than the average laptop in this price range. The bigger news though is the inclusion of a Blu-ray compatible drive. In addition to being able to playback or record CD and DVD media, this drive can also playback high definition Blu-ray movies. It also comes with an eSATA/USB combo port for use with high speed external storage devices.
While the Satellite L645D-S4106 has the ability to playback Blu-ray movies, it won't be able to do so at 1080p with the 14-inch display. This display helps keep the system more compact than traditional 15-inch laptops but comes with the standardized 1366x768 resolution limiting the playback to 720p. At least this model has an HDMI port for use with an external monitor or HDTV. It does feature a glossy coating that helps with contrast and color but has the drawback of inducing more glare and reflections under certain lighting conditions. The graphics are handled by the AMD Radeon HD 4250 integrated graphics. This is a step up from Intel's integrated graphics as it has enough performance to handle casual 3D gaming at lower resolution and detail levels which the Intel GMA 4500MHD cannot.
The big drawback for the Satellite L645D-S4106 continues to be the lackluster battery performance. It comes with a relatively standard six cell battery pack with a 48WHr capacity rating. The problem is the AMD setup is a bit less efficient for power than Intel. In DVD playback tests, it is able to only go slightly more than two hours before going into standby mode. More intensive Blu-ray playback will yield below two hours. This puts it well behind the typical Intel budget laptops.
With its smaller profile from the 14-inch display, the Satellite L645D provides a more traditional laptop keyboard that does not feature a numeric keypad. It does provide a bit more size for the keys and ends up being a decent keyboard but not quite as nice as some of the newer isolated or chiclet designs. The trackpad is a decent size and is textured yet flush to the palmrest. It also uses two individual buttons rather than the single rocker or integrated buttons that many companies have moved towards.
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