It looks great but this 171n model doesn’t
follow through on its promise.
There are a few outstanding aspects to
Toshiba’s 17in desktop replacement. First, the patterned grey finish is the
height of fashion compared to many of the rivals in the Labs.
Toshiba
Satellite P870
Second, its Harmon Kardon-branded speakers
are truly excellent. They kick out full-bodied sound at high volume. It’s also
the only laptop on test this month that comes with 16GB of RAM.
In almost every other department, however,
this Toshiba is mediocre. Performance from the 2.3GHz Core ¡7-3610QM processor
is great, but the Nvidia GeForce GT 630M graphics lag behind with a decidedly
unplayable frame rate of 15fps in the High quality Crysis test.
While the chassis certainly looks good,
ergonomically the P870 isn’t up to scratch.
The
keyboard feels light and rattly to type on, and the large multitouch trackpad
has irksome integrated buttons that make clicking and dragging a chore.
The keyboard feels light and rattly to type
on, and the large multitouch trackpad has irksome integrated buttons that make
clicking and dragging a chore. The 1920 x 1080 screen is average - the maximum
brightness of 251cd/m2 and contrast ratio of 295:1 are unexciting.
With a price that tops every machine bar
the MacBook Pro and the 17in gaming-focused laptops, the Satellite P870 simply
doesn’t do enough to earn an award this month.
|
Details
·
Price: $1,995
·
Supplier: www.mytoshiba.com
Verdict
·
Performance: 5/6
·
Battery life: 4/6
·
Feature & design: 3/6
·
Value for money: 4/6
·
Overall: 4/6
|
