Processor: 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo T5550
Memory: 2GB DDR2
Storage: 250GB hard drive
Optical Drives: DVD±RW
Display: 13.3-inch TFT
Graphics: Integrated graphics
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
Toshiba’s $949.99 Satellite U405-S2820 won’t dazzle you with its components or feature set, but if you need an affordable, truly portable notebook with good battery life and decent media playback, then this is a solid choice.
The Satellite U405-S2820 is like a shrunken version of the Satellite A305-S6845 we recently reviewed. Both have the same attractive, fingerprint-prone, gunmetal-gray finish; the same shimmering media control panel under the display; the same glossy keyboard; and the same uncomfortably warm touch pad set flush to the chassis.
The main differences, however, are price and portability. Weighing 6.5 pounds, the A305-S6845 was too bulky to travel with, and at $1,399, it wasn’t exactly a budget system. The U405-S2820 shaves off two pounds by shrinking the display from 15.4 inches to 13.3 inches while cutting nearly $450 from the price.
If you’re in the market for a low-cost, portable system, these changes are quite welcome. We found the new Sattelite’s weight unobtrusive during long walks, and the 1,280×800-resolution display was certainly bright and clear enough to see even in the moodiest coffee shop. In addition to the standard selection of ports and slots—three USB, plus VGA, modem, Ethernet, and ExpressCard—the notebook includes 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi but no Bluetooth support. You also get a fingerprint reader, a Webcam, and a roomy 250GB hard drive, plus microphone and headphone jacks (you’ll need the latter to compensate for the unit’s weak speakers).
With its low-end 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo T5550 CPU, the U405-S2820 managed just average performance on our benchmark tests—the 3,840 it scored on Futuremark’s PCMark05 was on par with what we saw from the $899 Lenovo IdeaPad Y510, which featured a slightly slower processor. We couldn’t get the unit to run Futuremark’s PCMark Vantage or 3DMark06, though the system’s miserable score of 5 frames per second at 1,024×768 on F.E.A.R. should tell you everything you need to know about its 3D performance—this machine isn’t for gamers and high-end graphics users. Multimedia tasks were mediocre as well: The notebook scored 566 on Cinebench 9.5, and 3,457 on Cinebench 10. It also needed 8 minutes and 48 seconds to plow through our Windows Media Player test, and it took 5 minutes and 14 seconds to encode 11 tracks in iTunes. Not very inspiring, perhaps, but its other scores indicate that it will be just fine for undemanding users.
One area the U405-S2820 did excel is battery life. It lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes in our DVD-rundown test, which is pretty good for a thin-and-light with a standard 6-cell battery. Couple that with the system’s briefcase-friendly dimensions, and you have a good contender for budget-priced portable computing—as long as you keep your performance needs in check.
