LAPTOP TOSHIBA L100 - Kolkata - buying things

The notebook being reviewed here is the PSLA4 version of the L100. The graphics are based on ATi’s Xpress 200 chipset, featuring the very rare 256MB version of this integrated graphics solution, and the processor is an Intel Celeron-M CPU.

Specs for this review:

• Intel Celeron-M 380 1.6GHz processor (400MHz fsb, 1Mb L2 cache)
• 1Gb (2x512mb sodimms) 533MHz DDR2 ram
• 60Gb Fujitsu SATA Hard disk Drive
• 256mb Ati Radeon Xpress 200m IGP
• LG 8x Dual Layer DVD re-writer
• 15” XGA matte panel at 1024*768 maximum resolution
• Built-in 802.11a/b/g wireless LAN, Gigabit wired LAN and 56k modem
• Windows XP Professional

Reasons for Buying

Being a University student, I was on a strict budget with this laptop. The laptop had to cost no more that £400, not including delivery. I wanted something powerful enough to handle basic tasks such as browsing the internet and email, using Microsoft office applications such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint, adobe Photoshop and Sibelius. It should also be able to handle some basic 3D games if possible, such as Battlefield 1942 and the 3D Grand Theft Auto series, so a good IGP was important. Another important requirement was the ability to write its own CDs and DVDs without having to use an external drive. As it would stay plugged in 98% of the time the battery life was not a concern.

With such high requirements and such a small budget, special offers were a must. As my previous laptop had suffered a backlight related screen failure I had to make a quick purchase. I had been looking at the L100 over the summer on and off when I saw that it was on offer at laptopsdirect.co.uk I jumped at the opportunity. This particular model which usually retailed at £500-£550 was down to £400. The impressive IGP and non-widescreen matte display swung it over the other offer, which was a Turion powered Acer with a SiS IGP.

Build and Design

Toshiba Satellite Pro L100 with screen on (view large image)

Pleasing laptop design is as individual as the user, however I think the L100 looks very good. It has a simple black and silver scheme, the lid also being black, which makes a difference from past laptops I have had. The overall design is very reminiscent of the Satellite Pro P100 and as such the laptop does not feel like a budget machine. The overall build is sturdy for a plastic laptop, with no flex at all and it can easily be carried by the palm-rest with one hand without any worries. The screen hinges are sturdy and the screen returns back to place quickly when pushed with little wobble. Overall the laptop feels surprisingly sturdy, but I do have two concerns. Firstly, the screen assembly has more flex in it than one would hope for. Secondly, the Toshiba logo on the top of the lid is not fitted in its space properly and has come away at the edges before.

Top view of Toshiba L100 (view large image)

Bottom view of Toshiba L100 (view large image)

Screen

Screen on at full brightness (view large image)

When the laptop arrived I noticed a pixel at the top mid-left of the screen that shined bright green whenever the screen was moved. A gentle rub of the screen over the affected area cured this. Otherwise the screen is pleasingly bright for a matte screen, almost being too harsh on the eyes in a dim environment. Toshiba’s Power management software controls the screen very well, allowing it to be brighter and dimmer at both ends of the scale, it’s better than Windows’ own power utility. Being an XGA the screen can only display 1024*768 maximum resolution, which I feel is a slightly low resolution for a 15” panel in these times, however one cannot expect everything to be perfect with a budget laptop. The only concern here is lack of desktop space, as the picture remains sharp with good bright colours and excellent contrast.

Sound and Speakers

When using the laptop’s own speakers the sound is of adequate volume and decent quality for such small speakers. There are even eventualities where the speakers are too loud and this brings to light the laptop’s biggest problem. There is no external sound control for this laptop and as such the user has to rely solely on software to change the volume such as Windows’ own volume control or in-game or media player volume controls. I find this aspect extremely annoying in general use. Another problem with the sound is that when one is using a particularly high quality sound system with the laptop the internal components such as the hard drive make perceptible noise, which makes things like sound editing and music writing difficult. An external or PCMCIA sound card would really be required for complicated music and sound-related tasks on this laptop.

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