Toshiba M35-S320 Laptop Review

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The M35 boasts Intel Centrino Mobile Technology,  extended battery life, and wide-screen XGA display, making it a top-notch yet affordable notebook great for home, student, business power, and even some multimedia users. It's quiet but hot, has 60 GB of storage space, but is not suitable for the latest gaming, according to this review. Read on for the in-depth review, including testing.

Introduction

For a long time notebook computers have been thought of as inferior to desktops. But as clock speed, memory size, and hard drive space continue to increase for both desktops and notebooks, the amount of power available to the user in a notebook computer is often times sufficient enough for whatever applications are being run. Advances in mobile CPU and graphics technology have really boosted the performance of these portable personal computers, and now it is up to the consumer to decide where his preferences lay.

There are several different notebook user types. CNET groups users by home, student, frequent flier, business power, and multimedia. Home users use notebooks as a second or third computer in the house. Students are on a tight budget and need value and durability in a notebook. Frequent fliers look for ultraportables - notebooks that weigh less than four pounds. Business power users need both power and mobility to work on a variety of applications both at home and work. Finally multimedia users like authors or gamers are looking for desktop replacements.

Today, Dev Hardware will review the Toshiba M35-S320 laptop. The M35 is one of many Toshiba Satellite laptops. Satellite notebooks fall into three groups: A-Series, M-Series, and P-Series. A stands for desktop replacement, M stands for mobile productivity, and P stands for multimedia performance. The M35, boasting Intel Centrino Mobile Technology, an extended battery life, and wide-screen XGA display, is a top-notch yet affordable notebook great for home, student, business power, and even some multimedia users.

Specifications and Features

Weighing in at 6.2 pounds, this mainstream notebook packs quite a few features at a relatively low price. Retailing for $1599 after $100 MIR, the M35 has 512MB DDR memory, a DVD/CD burner, integrated high speed Wi-fi 802.11g wireless Ethernet, integrated 10/100 Ethernet, integrated V.92/56K modem, a 15.4" 1280x800 display, a strong 1.5GHz Pentium M, and a decent GeForce FX go5200 GPU w/ 32MB video ram. The M35's display and processor gives it a significant advantage over similarly priced competition.

Processor	Intel Pentium M 1.5 GHz
Data bus speed	400 MHz
Chipset type	Intel 855PM
RAM installed	512 MB DDR SDRAM
Max Supported Size	2 GB
Cache size - Cache type	1 MB L2 cache Integrated
Hard drive	60 GB IDE Portable Internal (4200rpm)
CD / DVD type	CD-RW / DVD-ROM combo
CD / DVD read speed	24x (CD) / 8x (DVD)
CD / DVD write speed	24x
CD / DVD rewrite speed	10x
Floppy drive	None
Removable storage type	None
Removable storage capacity	None
Input device type - form factor	Keyboard, Touchpad
Keyboard included	Yes
Key pitch	2.7 mm
Weight	6.2 lbs
Form Factor	Portable
Display size - technology - form factor	15.4 in TFT active matrix
Max resolution	1280 x 800
Color support	16M colors
Built-in camera	None
Video RAM installed	32 MB
Max resolution (external)	2048 x 1536 pixels
Video output	AGP Graphics card
Graphics processor	NVidia GeForce FX Go5200
Supported display graphics	1280 x 800
Audio input	Microphone
Audio output	Internal PCI Sound card
Sound output mode	16-Bit stereo
Compliant standards	DirectMusic, DirectSound, DirectSound3D
Type	Network adapter
Data Link Protocol	Ethernet, IEEE 802.11g, Fast Ethernet
Transport Protocol	TCP/IP
Modem	56 Kbps Fax / modem Internal PCI
Analog Modulation Protocol	ITU V.92
Cable(s) included	Power cable
Expansion slot(s) total (free)	2 Memory, 1 (1 free) PC Card Type II, 1 (1 free) SD Memory Card
Port(s) total (free) / Connector type	1 Parallel IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP), 1 Display / video VGA, 1 IEEE 1394 (FireWire), 1 Infrared, 3 USB, 1 Display / video S-video output, 1 Network Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T, 1 Modem Phone line, 1 Microphone Input, 1 Headphones Output
Expansion bay(s) total (free)	1, None
Battery installed	1 Lithium ion
Max supported qty	1
Mfr estimated battery life	3:46 hour(s)
Power supply device	External 75 Watt Power adapter
Voltage Required	AC 100/240 V
Humidity range	20 - 80%
Min operating temperature	41 —F
Max operating temperature	95 —F
Max operating altitude	9840 ft

The Toshiba M35 also includes Microsoft Works, Microsoft OneNote, 3 USB 2.0 ports, i.Link IEEE 1394 port, FIR port, S-Video port, Secure Digital slot, 10/100 Ethernet, V.92/56K modem, and an ECP Parallel port. Its key features are Intel Centrino mobile technology, wide screen display, harman/kardon stereo sound, and 1-year parts and labor/1-year battery warranty.

Next: Display and Exterior >>
 

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