by Jerry Jackson
The Toshiba Satellite U500 and U505 series laptops feature 13-inch displays, the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and a range of customizable options that will certainly impress most college students looking for a general use notebook. We absolutely loved last year's U405 model, but is Toshiba's latest 13-inch laptop equally impressive? Read on to find out.
Toshiba Satellite U505 (Satellite U500-ST6321) Specifications:
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 (2.0GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB cache)
- Memory: 4GB DDR2 SDRAM (800MHz)
- OS: Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)
- Storage: 400GB HDD (5400rpm, SATA)
- Display: 13.3-inch diagonal WXGA (glossy, 1280x800)
- Graphics: Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
- Optical drive: Slot-Loading DVD SuperMulti (+/- Double Layer) drive
- Wireless: Intel 5100AGN
- Dimensions: (W x D x H): 12.5" x 9.08" x 1.16"/1.50"
- Weight: 4.75lb (not including weight of AC adapter).
- Power: High Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery (12-cell, 92Wh, 8500mAh)
- Warranty: One-year standard warranty
- Extras: Texture Finish in Luxe Brown Premium
- Price as configured: $1,023.20
Build and Design
The all-new Toshiba Satellite U500/U505 series notebook offers a conveniently compact footprint similar to most laptops with a 13.3" display, but you really can't call this notebook an "ultraportable." With a thickness of 1.5 inches (2.25 inches with 12-cell battery) the U505 is probably one of the larger 13-inch laptops currently on the market. Not only is the U505 is thicker than the Apple's MacBook Air or Lenovo's ThinkPad X301, but the U505 is also thicker and heavier than the Dell Studio XPS 13 or the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The exterior of the U505 is constructed of plastic with some flex around the left palmrest and the LCD lid when heavy pressure is applied. The chassis itself doesn't suffer from the "squeaks" that are common with cheaper plastic notebooks. Toshiba wisely decided to abandon the high-gloss "Fusion" finish used on last year's Satellite notebooks in favor of a matte textured finish. Our review unit features the upgraded texture finish in "Luxe Brown Premium" that also includes chrome highlights around the edges of the notebook.
Build quality is nice when compared to low-cost netbooks, but doesn't measure up similarly priced notebooks like the Apple MacBook Pro and Dell Studio XPS 13. Although most laptop manufacturers have started to transition their notebooks over to displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio (because LCD fabricators are switching to 16:9) Toshiba managed to keep a traditional 16:10 ratio widescreen display on the U500/U505 series. This gives the U505 a more square-shaped profile compared to the more rectangular competition.
Screen and Speakers
While we're on the topic of the screen, the 13.3" glossy display features a WXGA resolution (1280 x 800). There were absolutely no problems with the screen on our review unit: the CCFL backlighting was nice and even and there are no stuck pixels. As is common with glossy screens, colors and contrast are quite good and both images and video "pop" off the screen. Just like with last year's U405, Toshiba seems to have struck the perfect balance between gloss and matte. The screen is glossy enough to produce that added richness to color and superior contrast inherent to glossy screens, yet the surface isn't so glossy that reflections become problematic unless you're working under direct sunlight with the screen brightness turned down.
The screen is simply beautiful when viewing from straight ahead. Horizontal viewing angles are good, but you will start to notice some color shift at extreme wide angles. There is also some color inversion when you view the screen from sharp vertical angles (bright colors when viewed from above the notebook or dark, inverted colors when looking up at the screen from the floor) but most people rarely view a screen from these extreme vertical angles.
Speaker performance is good despite the dime-sized stereo speakers located above the keyboard. Granted, a dedicated subwoofer would have provided better bass response rather than the "tinny" sounding bass but the highs and midrange are good for a 13-inch notebook. Peak volume levels were loud enough to fill a room with sound before heavy distortion becomes obvious. Still, like any laptop, headphones are probably a good accessory for this notebook.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Once again, Toshiba made the decision to stop using the "Fusion" finish on the keyboard keys and used a less glossy paint that gives each key a durable finish and good texture. Unlike the more traditionally shaped keys used on last year's keyboards, the U505 uses flat keys that feel a little smaller than usual because Toshiba decided to make them shaped like an upside down "T" for some unknown reason. This doesn't create much of a problem for touch-typists, but it might take a few minutes to get used to the size and feel of the keys. Key presses are smooth, perfectly deep, well cushioned and quiet. The entire keyboard has some flex under heavy typing pressure, but almost no flex when normal pressure is applied. The keyboard backlighting is nice and even and helps you see what you're typing in a dark classroom.
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I was a huge fan of the touchpad on the U405 last year, which was quite simply one of the nicest I used on a 13-inch notebook last year. The surface was flush with the palmrests but there was a light application of what felt almost like soft sandpaper over the surface. Toshiba opted for a more traditional ALPS touchpad this time around and I'm not nearly as impressed. The recessed surface is small compared to the touchpads on most modern 13-inch notebooks and the sensitivity was only average. Toshiba was good enough to include a white LED backlight above the touchpad that not only looks cool but helps you locate the touchpad quickly in a darkly lit room.
The touchpad buttons on our review unit have a chrome look with shallow feedback and a sharp click when pressed. The buttons are nice and large with a clear separation that makes them very easy to use ... though I wish the feedback was a bit deeper when you press the touchpad buttons.
Ports and Features
The port selection of the U505 is pretty good for a 13-inch notebook. Here's a quick rundown of what you get:
- ExpressCard slot (ExpressCard/34 and Express Card/54)
- 10/100 Ethernet
- Modem jack
- 5-in-1 media card reader
- VGA out
- HDMI out
- Microphone input port
- Headphone output port
- Three USB 2.0 ports with "Sleep and Charge" (one of which is a USB/eSATA combo port)
We would have liked to see Toshiba include IEEE-1394 (FireWire) on this notebook, but considering that you're getting an eSATA/USB combo port for high-speed data transfers and HDMI for sending HD video to your HDTV we can't complain too much. You'll find a tour of all the sides below:
Front: 3-in-1 card slot, wireless on/off switch, and activity lights
Rear: Screen hinges and battery
Left: VGA, heat exhaust, HDMI, USB/eSATA, USB, ExpressCard/54, microphone and headphone jacks
Right: Slot-loading optical drive, USB, Ethernet, modem, AC power and security lock slot
Performance
Toshiba offers the U500/U505 series in a range of configurations starting with the Intel Pentium Dual-core T4200 (2.0GHz) and up to the Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.53GHz, 3MB L2, 1066MHz FSB) processor. While the entry-level Pentium dual core system with its 1MB of L2 cache and 800MHz frontside bus still provides more than enough power for multimedia encoding or image editing. The 2.0GHz Intel P7350 processor in our configuration provided an excellent computing experience, though it should be noted that there are several competing 13-inch notebooks on the market in this price range with faster processors.
The U505 also comes with your choice of either Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD or ATI Mobility Radeon H4570 with 512MB DDR3 discrete graphics plus up to 255MB shared memory using ATI HyperMemory. Granted, the U505 with integrated graphics might not be suitable for playing current 3D games, but the ATI option provides enough power for anything you might want to play ... as long as you aren't expecting desktop-class gaming performance. Still, even with the Intel integrated 4500 GPU I was able to watch 1080p video and as well as edit and encode HD videos.
You can purchase the U505 with anywhere between 250GB and 500GB of hard drive storage space. Unfortunately, Toshiba only offers the U505 with standard 5400rpm hard drives rather than faster 7200rpm drives or SSDs. The 400GB Toshiba hard drive in our review unit should provide more than enough storage space for your music library, encoded videos, and your family photos.
wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):
| Notebook / CPU | wPrime 32M time |
| Dell Studio XPS 13 (Core 2 Duo P8600 @ 2.4GHz) | 31.951 seconds |
| Apple MacBook Pro 13 (Core 2 Duo P8400 @ 2.26GHz) | 34.209 seconds |
| Toshiba Satellite U405 (Core 2 Duo T8100 @ 2.1GHz) | 37.500 seconds |
| Toshiba Satellite U505 (Core 2 Duo P7350 @ 2.0GHz) | 38.128 seconds |
| HP Pavilion dv3510nr (Core 2 Duo P7350 @ 2.0GHz) | 38.656 seconds |
| Apple MacBook Air (Intel Core 2 Duo P7500 @ 1.6GHz) | 68.173 seconds |
| MSI X-Slim X340 (Core 2 Solo SU3500 CULV @ 1.4GHz) | 108.530 seconds
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PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):
| Notebook | PCMark05 Score |
| Dell Studio XPS 13 (2.4GHz Intel P8600, Nvidia 9500M GE 256MB) | 5,450 PCMarks |
| HP Pavilion dv3510nr (2.0GHz Intel P7350, Nvidia 9300M GS 512MB) | 4,920 PCMarks |
| Toshiba Satellite U505 (2.0GHz Intel P7350, Intel X4500) | 4,437 PCMarks |
| Toshiba Satellite U405 (2.1GHz Intel T8100, Intel X3100) | 4,145 PCMarks |
| Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2.26GHz Intel P8400, Nvidia 9400M) | 4,136 PCMarks |
| Apple MacBook Air (1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7500, Intel X3100) | 2,478 PCMarks |
| MSI X-Slim X340 (1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 CULV, Intel X4500) | 2,337 PCMarks |
3DMark06 comparison results against notebooks @ 1280 x 800 resolution:
| Notebook | 3DMark06 Score |
| Dell Studio XPS 13 (2.4GHz Intel P8600, Nvidia 9500M GE 256MB, Hybrid SLI) | 3,542 3DMarks |
| Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2.26GHz Intel P8400, Nvidia 9400M) | 2,139 3DMarks |
| HP Pavilion dv3510nr (2.0GHz Intel P7350, Nvidia 9300M GS 512MB) | 1,865 3DMarks |
| Toshiba Satellite U505 (2.0GHz Intel P7350, Intel X4500) | 994 3DMarks |
| MSI X-Slim X340 (1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 CULV, Intel X4500) | 639 3DMarks |
| Toshiba Satellite U405 (2.1GHz Intel T8100, Intel X3100) | 539 3DMarks |
Apple MacBook Air (1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7500, Intel X3100)
| 502 3DMarks |
HDTune measuring hard drive performance:
Heat and Noise
Like its predecessor, the U505 does an excellent job of controlling heat thanks to the massive heatsink visible through the air vent on the left side of the notebook. The only area of the U405 that peaked near 100 degrees Fahrenheit was the area next to the wireless card after significant web browsing ... which is pretty normal. Although the touchpad and bottom of the notebook did become warm during benchmarks it was never too hot to keep on the lap. Below are images with temperature readings listed in degrees Fahrenheit:
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Battery
The 12-cell 8500mAh Li-Ion battery provides excellent battery life for the U505. The extended life battery delivered 5 hours and 18 minutes of life while browsing the web using Wi-Fi with the notebook set to "balanced" mode and the screen brightness turned down to about 70 percent.
Although that battery life is only average considering the massive 8500mAh battery, the U505 with extended life battery should provide enough juice for a student or road warrior who doesn't have access to a power outlet. Considering that some 13-inch thin-and-light notebooks like the MSI X340 managed less than four hours, the U500/U505 does a pretty decent job.
Conclusion
The Toshiba Satellite U500/U505 is a good general-purpose laptop but it has tough competition from other 13-inch notebooks currently on the market. Toshiba clearly listened to some of the criticisms about last year's U405 and made some improvements on this year's model.
Unfortunately, Toshiba might have shot themselves in the foot when it comes to the price of their higher-end configurations. I have a hard time believing that most students would be interesting in buying this Toshiba for the full retail price of more than $1,000 when that same student could buy a brand new 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro for roughly the same price. The entry-level configurations of the U500/U505 start at less than $700, so those might indeed be affordable options for this year's back-to-school season.
Pros:
- Solid performance
- Nice backlit keyboard
- Good speakers for its size
Cons:
- Thick and heavy compared to newest 13-inch notebooks
- Small touchpad
- Expensive as configured
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Toshiba Satellite U505 Review
