Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi6 Laptop
A top of the line Toshiba gaming and multimedia powerhouse can be yours in the Satellite X205-SLi6 with plenty behind the hood to run all the current games.
Ease of Use, Performance: 20/25, Look & Feel: 18/25,
Features 24/25, How much I enjoy 23/25
Total: 85/100
The Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi6 has a lot going for it and plenty of horsepower, or Intel and NVIDIA power, to run all the current PC games at really good frame rates. The model I am reviewing is a really packed model with all the little extras that add to the price and enjoyment of a multimedia powerhouse.
The main ingredients for the X205-SLi6 are an Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 processor running at 2.5 GHz, two NVIDIA Geforce 8600M GT 512 MB Ram graphics cards running in SLI mode, two 200 GB 7200 RPM Toshiba SATA hard drives, and a DVD Supermulti optical drive with Labelflash print ability. The model I received also came with an external TV Tuner and remote control with external sensor for a complete multimedia experience.
To say that this model is a desktop replacement is about correct and in size alone it does take up a bit of room but it would with all it contains. The notebook has a 17” widescreen display and has a full keyboard with number pad for ease of use in everyday typing and internet work. The notebook when closed is about 2 inches tall and your usual 11 inch by 16 inch size, no larger than any other 17 inch widescreen laptop but a bit thicker.
The notebook weighs about 10 pounds and the power adapter weighs in at a whopping 2 pounds, it is literally the size of a brick. I was very surprised when I unpacked the power adapter and it measured 6 and a half inches long, 3 and a quarter inches wide and two inches tall. The power adapter as well as the laptop get very warm when using as well, I checked out some temperature readings and saw some pretty high ones.
The power adapter gets about 42 degrees Celsius or 107 degrees Fahrenheit and the computer has a few spots near the vents that are about this same temperature. Internally the core and other temperatures run about normal for a dual core processor and the other components so the heat is not a worry, just a caution more for what you set the laptop on. I would be careful about the surface the laptop sits on and be sure to not set the power adapter on a bed or other soft surface, it does get quite warm.
The computer comes complete with Windows Vista Ultimate with all the goodies like Media Center and several free and useful programs from Toshiba. There is the usual group of trial software from Microsoft and Toshiba as well as some that Toshiba is in partnership with like Norton and Memeo.
The Toshiba Laptop does come with a few programs that you don’t have to pay for like the Toshiba DVD Player and ULead MovieFactory that work pretty good. The ULead MovieFactory is one of their standard edition programs that you get with products and is pretty basic but fully functional. I have been using several programs from ULead recently and have been pretty happy with them for the most part but in order to get a really good video or movie editor you need to get a deluxe version and not the general or standard ones.
The Satellite X205-SLi6 comes with a lot of hardware for the cost of about $2500 and you do get plenty for your money. The model I have comes with the dual graphics cards set up in NVIDIA SLI mode so you have both cards for your gaming graphics. You also have the dual disk drives for plenty of onboard storage and the little extras like the TV tuner are really nice.
The TV tuner works perfectly with Windows Media Center and the included remote control is a nice bonus even if it does have the external remote sensor. The TV tuner picks up all the channels I get in my area clearly and watching television as well as movies on the X205-SLi6 was great.