Toshiba Satellite L645D: Mobile AMD at 3GHz
by Dustin Sklavos on March 9, 2011 3:20 AM ESTConclusion: But it's $619
Reviewing the Toshiba L645D-S4106 has left me with decidedly mixed feelings. Cheap Arrandale-based notebooks are going to provide better processor performance than even AMD's fastest in the L645D, and they'll offer better battery life in the process. Likewise, I really wish Toshiba would just put glossy plastic out to pasture. I've griped about this before but it bears repeating: glossy plastic photographs reasonably well and that's about it, and using it on the keyboard is a horrendous idea.
But...the L645D is $619.
Taken in a vacuum the L645D might be underwhelming, but thankfully for Toshiba (and possibly you and Joe Sixpack), it's not in a vacuum. Toshiba attacks the budget market fairly aggressively, and the value proposition of this notebook is certainly strong. The processor may be competing with some of Arrandale's slowest, but Arrandale's architecture is really quite fast so there isn't much to complain about there. Toshiba may be shipping it with a slow hard drive, but that drive still packs 640GB of capacity. The Mobility Radeon HD 4250 may be on its last legs, but it still gets the job done in a pinch (and at very low settings). And hey, you get a Blu-ray drive standard and an HDMI output to use it with.
A quick visit to NewEgg proves that if you want the 14" form factor, you're going to have to spend a little more to get it. There aren't any cheaper 14" notebooks with the Blu-ray drive, and there are maybe one or two available that promise better CPU performance than the L645D does. If you're buying on a budget you need to accept that you'll have to make some trade-offs. In the case of the L645D, that means putting up with Toshiba's glossy finish (really only an authentic nuisance on the keyboard) and middling battery life in exchange for a decent processor, a Blu-ray drive, and mobility. For the college student strapped for cash the L645D may not be such a bad call, but because it's a budget notebook you're really going to have to decide what's important to you.
Under the circumstances we'd suggest taking the L645D (or a similarly built Toshiba notebook) for a test drive in retail before taking the plunge. The entire L640 line looks like it offers tremendous bang for the buck, with this one being king of the castle. It's tough to recommend any budget notebook because of all the trade-offs that are always involved, but if you need something portable and don't have a lot to spend the L645D is a good option. If you're in the above situation, though, losing Blu-ray and saving another $100 is probably an even better idea.
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ET - Saturday, March 12, 2011 - link
It's not as if even E-350 graphics are all that great. It's hardly enough to run modern games at low settings. Maybe the Brazos gets a D, the 4250 a D-. "Terrible graphics" may be a little strong, but not terribly off the mark. Older generation Intel graphics would get an F, though the newest generation beat the 4250 in most game tests in this review.And don't get me wrong, I think that the E-350 is a good compromise of performance, price and power, and I think that its graphics are a decent match for the underpowered CPU. I even bought a Thinkpad X120e and I intend to play games on it. But honestly, a powerful CPU really should be accompanied by a decent GPU. Hopefully Llano will see to that. The 4250, even if it's better than older Intel IGP's, isn't a decent GPU.
ET - Sunday, March 13, 2011 - link
My mistake regarding Intel IGP. I looked at the HD Graphics instead of 3000. Now that I took a second look, it's clear that even older gen Intel IGP (HD Graphics) are faster than the 4250 in most games, and current gen destroy both 4250 and E-350's 6310. So yet, 4250 is terrible. :)notanakin - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
I'm just wondering what the point of the Blu-ray drive is - surely this is not a machine for viewing Blu-ray disks, given the poor screen and size. And does anyone store/backup onto Blu-ray?Meaker10 - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
HDMI output, its a mobile bluray player for hooking up to a decent TV. Or watching on the go since the screen is still better than DVD quality.Shadowmaster625 - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
There was no mention of how quiet this thing is when playing blu rays.Ushio01 - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
You can now get a blu-ray player for less than $50 Toshiba can easily buy them for far less than that. This year blu-ray will become a commodity for notebook's rather than an option.piroroadkill - Thursday, March 10, 2011 - link
Try and find slim laptop drives that are that price.ET - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
was the mention of Jarred working on low end gaming benchmarks. I'm looking forward to that very much.Anyway, looks like decent value for money as long as you don't want any gaming. I agree that I'd love to see higher res as standard at 14" and up. 1600x900 would be more reasonable at 14". Still, I'm not really in the market for such a laptop, and at 11.6" this resolution is decent.
mino - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
Second this!JarredWalton - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
So, here's the full game list I'm using. Some are newer but not too demanding, others are quite old. Can anyone recommend one more title, so I end up with a nice, round 20? LOL... Comments are welcome:Batman: Arkham Asylum
Battlefield 2
Civilization IV
Civilization V
Company of Heroes
Crysis: Warhead
Fallout 3
Far Cry
FEAR (original)
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Minecraft
Oblivion
Quake 4
STALKER (original)
Supreme Commander
Torchlight
Unreal Tournament 3
World of Warcraft