Toshiba Satellite L505-S5993 15.6-Inch Laptop

                With a large 15.6 inch widescreen monitor, large hard drive and plenty of memory, the Toshiba Satellite L505 has a lot of performance in a not-so-portable package. Ideal as a desktop replacement laptop, it offers a full range of features expected from a desktop computer, but in a laptop sized package.

Toshiba Satellite L505-S5993 Laptop Technical Details:

• CPU: Intel Pentium T4300 dual-core 2.1 GHz (1 MB L2 cache, FSB 800 MHz)
• Main Memory: 4GB DDR2 800MHz
• Graphic system: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with up to 1750 MB of dynamically shared memory
• Display: 15.6-inch high-definition TruBrite 1366 x 768
• Hard Disk: 500GB SATA
• Webcamera: 1.3 megapixel
• Optical Disc Drive: 8x SuperMulti DVD drive with double layer support
• Wireless Type: 802.11b/g/n
• I/O Port: 3 x USB, VGA, eSATA, Modem, LAN
• Card Reader: 5 in 1
• Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium
• Battery: 6-cell (4000 mAh) up to 2.45 hours
• Weight: 6.00 pounds (2.72 kg)
• Warranty: 1 year warranty
• Price: $579.99

              The 15.6 inch monitor is enough for everyday use. My wife owns a similar Toshiba with a screen of the same size. It is not up to the full day workloads of a desktop computer, where a much larger desktop is more comfortable. But for using a single window at a time, this is just enough. At the highest resolution the screen will accommodate a web browser with an instant messaging program or other slim window at the side. A VGA slot if available for attaching a monitor.

                   The memory is enough, 4GB will serve even the most demanding of users, and is upgradeable to 8GB, although I really don't see that as being worthwhile because the odds of actually using that much memory are very slim. If you run enough programs to fill up more than 4GB of memory then the speed of the processor will start to come into play as it will have a lot of programs to deal with.

           The processor is fast enough, but will chew on power. This is not a super low power CPU and that is reflected somewhat in the short battery life of this laptop. Nothing special, but will perform as expected for the price range.

            The 500GB hard drive is more than enough. Up to 100 DVD movies. Just remember to back up your data if you're going to use that much space. Although hard drives are pretty reliable, they are a common point of failure and are usually not recoverable. With all the information you can store on there, it means there is a lot to lose if the hard drive is damaged. The same information can also be lost due to viruses, so backup regularly. Consider an external hard drive or online storage for backup.

         802.11b/g/n wireless is always good. This offers speeds of up to 300Mb/s for the wireless connection to the router if the router supports it. There is a wired Fast Ethernet port too, which is standard and will connect nearly anywhere there is a network available.

        Rounding out the rest are three USB ports, built-in speakers, a webcam, and audio input and output.

          One little gripe though. I really don't think it's necessary to squash the 10-key numeric keypad onto the right. I would opt for a keyboard without the numeric keypad. Although the extra keys are helpful, it is pretty much expected that it won't be included on laptops because it just makes the space too squashed.

          Overall, I would recommend this for home use. It can get lugged around, but does not offer the portability of a netbook. My wife's version, with different speakers is just great. Windows 7 is a plus too.