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Toshiba Satellite S955 (video review)

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What's hot: Fairly slim, nice looking machine with a built-in optical drive.

What's not: Despite its size, the S955 runs on Ultrabook ULV CPUs that are less powerful than full mobile CPUs generally found in 15" laptops.

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Reviewed October 21, 2012 by , Editor in Chief (twitter: @lisagade)

Toshiba is hitting the ground running with Windows 8 notebooks. In this review, we take a look at the Toshiba Satellite S955, a relatively slim and light 5 lb. 15.6" laptop that ships with Windows 8. The machine lists for $749 and you find it in stores, but not on Toshiba's online store.

Toshiba Satellite S955

The S955 is a bit of an anomaly: it's a full size 15.6" notebook with a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U ULV CPU usually found in Ultrabooks. The upside is that the machine runs quiet and cool and has strong battery life. It's perfectly adequate for web, email, MS Office, light to moderate Photoshop and general home/small business use. But unlike most 15" notebooks with full mobile Intel CPUs or AMD processors, it's not the best choice for HD video editing, serious 3D gaming or other heavy computational tasks. The S955 is available with Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics.

Toshiba Satellite S955

The base configuration ships with 8 gigs of DDR3 RAM and a 750 gig 5400 RPM HDD. It has a full keyboard with number pad, a webcam, removable battery and easily accessible internals for upgrades. Our $749 base machine has single band Atheros WiFi and no Bluetooth (a bit of a disappointment at this price). The 1366 x 768 is better than average with decent viewing angles, saturated colors and average contrast. The Satellite S955 has two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port with sleep-and-charge, HDMI, 3.5mm audio, an SD card slot and an internal DVD writer.

Toshiba Satellite S955

In this video review, we take a fairly deep look at Windows 8 on a non-touchscreen laptop. You're probably wondering if you should grab a closeout Windows 7 machine or give Windows 8 a try. You get the Modern UI (formerly called Metro) with Live Tiles and the traditional Windows 7 desktop, minus the chrome and UI busyness. Windows 8 is noticeably faster than Windows 7 (and particularly Vista), and it simply flies here.

Toshiba Satellite S955

Toshiba Satellite S955

Toshiba Satellite S955

 

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Toshiba Satellite S955 Video Review

 

Benchmarks

PCMark07: 1970 (1.7GHz Intel Core i5)

Windows Experience Index (scale of 1.0 - 9.9):

Processor: 6.9
RAM: 7.4
Desktop Graphics: 5.7
Gaming Graphics: 6.4
Primary Hard Disk: 5.8

 

List Price: $749

Website: www.toshiba.com

 

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Specs:

Display: 15.6", 1366 x 768 LED backlit TN display. Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics. HDMI and VGA ports.

Battery: 45Wh, 4-Cell Lithium Ion rechargeable (battery is removable).

Performance: 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U CPU (other CPU options are available), 8 gigs DDR 3 RAM, 750 gig 5400 RPM hard drive. Has DVD burner.

Size: 10.30 x 14.94 x 0.97 inches. Weight: 5.0 pounds.

Camera: Yes.

Audio: Built-in stereo speakers with SRS Premium Sound HD, mic and 3.5mm standard stereo headphone jack and 3.5mm mono mic jack.

Networking: Integrated single band 2.4GHz Atheros WiFi 802.11b/g/n and 10/100 Ethernet.

Software: Windows 8.

Expansion and Ports: 1 SD card slot, VGA port, HDMI, one USB 2.0 port, two USB 3.0 ports, 3.5mm stereo out jack, 3.5mm mono mic jack.

 

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