Satellite L355 replaces the desktop

Toshiba Satellite L355 is quite configurable so it can replace bulky desktop systems.

Satellite L355 replaces the desktop Picture 1
Toshiba Satellite L355 bright case, does not save fingerprints.
Photo: Atechcomputer .

Toshiba Satellite L355 is designed to be simple, the case is bright, the surface is rough and it does not save fingerprints, contrasting with the black frame and keyboard inside. The device is not equipped with webcams or multimedia keys used when watching music videos. The size of the device is quite compact, width and depth are 396 x 289 mm, about 40 mm thick and weighs nearly 3.2 kg - quite light compared to many in the 17-inch laptop segment.

Satellite L355 owns a large keyboard with separate number keys. The surface of the keys is rough painted in a sturdy frame. Large keys are comfortable to use for a long time but are quite noisy. The touchpad is also quite large and responsive, measuring 45.7 x 76.2 mm, making it easy for users to move the cursor across the screen. Two separate mouse buttons below the hard side are placed slightly shallow but thanks to their large size, it is not difficult to use.

The Satellite L355 is equipped with a 17-inch wide-screen mirror, giving bright colors but limited viewing angles and low contrast. The 1,440 x 900 pixel resolution is also low in comparison to other cameras in the same segment, but it also shows sharp images when watching DVD and is also quite "smooth" when watching HD video files online.

The system's dual speaker system is placed on both sides, just above the keyboard, giving a medium quality sound, the volume is loud enough when listening to music but is a bit small when listening to movie dialogues. To adjust the volume, the Satellite L355 has a rotating key located on the front edge.

One of the main drawbacks of the machine is that there is no built-in webcam, and the communication ports and necessary connections are still complete: 3 USB 2.0 ports, VGA, Ethernet, Wi-Fi video outputs with on / off switch on the front of the phone with the Micro / Headphone audio jack. Next to the 8X DVD burner, and ExpressCard 34/54 expansion slot on the left. Machines without memory card readers have long been a standard feature on most laptop models.

Satellite L355 replaces the desktop Picture 2
Satellite L355 has a large keyboard with separate keys. Photo: Laptopmag .

The test machine is the Toshiba Satellite L355-S7915, which is being sold by Wal-Mart online retailer for $ 348. With configuration including Intel Celeron 900 2.2 GHz processor and 3 GB RAM, Satellite L355 performance is only equal to 15 inch CPUs using ULV CPU to save power.

The benchmark results with PCMark Vantage rated the overall performance of 2035 points, only 60% of the "power" of the desktop replacement laptop in general (3,879 points), but much higher than the ULV laptop Acer Timeline 5810T. 15.6 inches (only 1,368 points).

Satellite L355 replaces the desktop Picture 3
17 inch screen. Photo: Ecomelelectronics .

Not surprisingly, the device's multitasking performance is very limited. Surf the web with Google Chrome browser, while opening 4 web pages when switching between tabs, there will be a delay of several seconds. However, just watching the DVD and downloading (downloading data) and installing the Google Earth program, the device is still running "smoothly".

Overall the performance of the device is relatively stable. The average data transfer rate on a 250 GB HDD is 13.4 MB / second, and it takes only 54 seconds to boot into Windows even though it runs Windows Vista Home Basic.

It is also necessary to specify that Intel Celeron CPU is not the ideal tool for handling "heavy" multimedia applications. Satellite L355 takes 12 minutes 33 seconds to transfer a 5-minute video from .mp4 to .avi format with Handbrake software, while the average processing time of 17-inch models is 5 minutes 2 seconds.

Satellite L355 uses integrated Intel GMA 4500M graphics card with 3DMark06 test results of 772 points higher than the Aspire Timeline 5810T's 574 points but not comparable to 17-inch laptops replacing desktops or gaming cards High-end graphics have an average score of over 6,000. At 1,024 x 768 resolution, try playing the game Cry 2, Satellite L355 can only export 4 frames per second, while the original resolution is 2 frames / sec. When using Google Earth sometimes the image is still jerky when the map shows details and 3D buildings show up.

The included 6-cell battery can remain active for 2 hours and 33 minutes, at the middle of a desktop replacement laptop and of course with the size and weight of the 17-inch machine, not many people use it regularly. leave home. Besides, Satellite L355 is also an environmentally friendly product when reaching 22/27 points - the result of assessing the "green" level of electronic products - EPEAT. And the device is also quite effective with a full charging time of 1 hour and 54 minutes, quite fast compared to gaming laptops like Asus G51Vx (requiring 2 hours and 22 minutes to fully charge).

Satellite L355 replaces the desktop Picture 4
Machine edges. Photo: Amazon .

In Vietnam, the Satellite L355 series is mostly portable, with many versions with different processor options. Price ranges from 9 to 14 million VND.

Advantages
- Cheap.
- Big screen.
- Comfortable hard drive capacity.
- Implement good basic applications.

Defect
- Missing webcam, memory card reader.
- No multimedia keys yet.
- Medium quality speaker.