5:16 AM
Cyber Info Scripter
"GOOD MULTIMEDAIA PERFORMER, BUT A TAD PRICEY."
For: Large screen, good speakers, good looks, Blu-ray writer.
Against: A bit expensive, flimsy build quality, GPU is a bit
dated, no USB 3.0.
Toshiba have gone with a bold and snazzy look for the X500. The bright red LED lighting gives it a very attractive look. The chassis is made up mostly of plastic, which isn’t very strong. There’s quite a bit of flex in the lid, which should not have been. Also, most areas have a glossy finish, so fingerprints and dirt are a nightmare. The hinge seems sturdy enough, allowing the screen to tilt back 160 degrees. At 4.75 kgs, you can’t even think of lugging this around as it’s too heavy. This is the first gaming notebook we’ve come across that sports a 18.4-inch full HD screen, which is simply gorgeous.
There are four USB 2.0 ports in all (one ESATA combo) with sleep and charge function; no USB 3.0 ports though. Other features include HDMI, FireWire, Blu-ray writer, Express card slot, headphone and microphone jack and a VGA port. One thing we noticed was that the fit and finish of the chassis wasn’t very good. There were plenty of gaps around the optical drive and the ports didn’t fit well in the cut-outs of the frame. Overall, the build and finish wasn’t up to the mark; certainly not something you’d expect from a high-end gaming notebook.
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There are four USB 2.0 ports in all (one ESATA combo),
but no USB 3.0 ports.
SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions (W x D x H): 44.2 x 29.4 x 4.6 cm; Weight:
4.75 kg; Processor: Intel Core i7-2630QM, 2.0 GHz;
RAM: 4 GB; Hard Disk: 750 GB; Optical Drive: Blu-Ray
writer; Display: 18.4 in, 1920x1080; GPU: GTX 460M;
Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n, Ethernet, HDMI, USB 2.0,
eSATA, FireWire; OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
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The Harman Kardon speakers have large drivers, which can clearly be seen through the grill. A bunch of touch sensitive media keys are placed on the left, which is really annoying since you accidently hit them every time you start to type. The X500 is powered by the latest Intel Core i7-2630QM, which runs at a stock speed of 2.0 GHz, and can Turbo up to 2.9 GHz. Additionally, there’s 4 GB of RAM, a 750 GB hard drive and a Nvidia GTX 460M graphics card. The X500 is pretty well-equipped for a gaming notebook other than the fact that the graphics card is slightly old. While the CPU performance is solid in most benchmarks, the graphics card shows its age in the gaming tests.The X500 runs relatively cool and quiet even when stressed. The backlighting of the keyboard is even, but the keys themselves could have been designed better. The shortcut keys on the left could have been placed elsewhere as they always get in the way. They make an annoyingly loud beep every time you press them and there’s no way to disable that.
The Harman Kardon speakers are one of the best in a notebook. The soundstage is wide and they are able to reproduce clear highs and mids. The low end is notvery pronounced, but then again we don’t really expect it to be. The X500 is fitted with a 12-cell Li-ion battery which lasted only 1 hour 20 mins on Battery Eater Pro, which is average.Toshiba has priced it at Rs 1,00,990, which is not bad considering the large screen and great speakers. There are some minor niggles, like the average build quality, annoying shortcut buttons, and the outdated graphics card, which makes this price tag seem rather high.
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