Review: Toshiba Satellite M50-A-11C Overview A significant chunk of the laptop market is still taken up by traditional notebooks that trounce Ultrabooks with larger screens, more versatile specifications and lower prices than many of Intels hyped-up machines can currently match. The Satellite M50-A-11C is the latest such system to arrive on the TechRadar testing bench, and Toshiba reckons its got the sort of specification that will make slimmer laptops envious. Power comes from a combination of a current-generation Intel Core i5 processor and discrete Nvidia graphics core, and those headline components are backed up by a decent specification elsewhere – plenty of RAM, a large hard disk and good connectivity. Toshiba isnt usually a firm that takes risks with the physical design of its laptops, and thats certainly the case here. The Satellite M50 is a good-looking machine, but theres little new about the layer of brushed aluminium thats used to coat much of this machine, or the glossy black bezel that surrounds the 15.6in screen – and the panels resolution of 1,366 x 768 isnt exactly going to set pulses racing, either. This versatile mid-range machine has plenty of competition. The home-grown Toshiba Satellite U50t represents the new breed of Intel laptops: its got an Ultrabook sticker on its wrist-rest, which means its lighter than the M50 – and, at £630, its barely any more expensive than this machine. Samsungs Ativ Book 9 Lite also takes aim from the slimmer end of the market. Its an ultraportable designed along the same sleek lines as Samsungs more expensive laptops, and its got a touchscreen alongside AMD hardware. Crucially, it costs just £499. Competition also comes from the Asus Aspire V5, which is a Windows 8.1 touchscreen machine thats smaller and lighter than the Toshiba M50, and the Lenovo G505s – a £500 system with a chunky design and a 15.6in screen that aims to satisfy the mid-range market before the M50 can get its chance. Specifications Processing power in this machine comes from a Core i5-4200U. Its a part hewn from Intels latest Haswell architecture, and this 22nm chip has a respectable specification that includes a 1.6GHz standard clock, a Turbo Boost peak of 2.6GHz, and two Hyper-Threaded cores. Its the same processor as in the Toshiba Satellite U50t, and a better-sounding proposition than the low-power AMD A6 parts inside the Samsung and Asus laptops – although it may face a stiffer test when up against the Lenovos beefy AMD A10 APU. The graphics core, like the processor, is a current-generation part – at least in name, if not in architecture. Nvidias GeForce GT 740M uses the GK107 core that did the rounds in last years range of 600-Series mobile GPUs, and here it has 384 stream processors clocked to 810MHz alongside 2GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory. It sounds more powerful than the integrated Intel and Radeon chips inside three of its rivals, although the Lenovos AMD A10 graphics might give the GeForce silicon a scare. Elsewhere, theres 6GB of DDR3 memory and a 750GB hard disk. Thats plenty of storage capacity, but were not exactly expecting great speed from that drive – it spins at just 5,400rpm. If youre after pace, the Samsung has an SSD, although its capacity is restricted to just 120GB. Connectivity includes dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 4.0. The Ethernet port sits on the right-hand edge along with two USB 3 connections and an HDMI output, and the Toshibas left-hand side houses a USB 2 connection, audio jack and SD card reader. Its an acceptable port selection, although Toshiba has omitted a VGA output. Theres no room for a DVD writer either – a disappointing omission that, at least, brings the M50 in line with Ultrabooks. The M50s chassis is made largely from plastic, with a thin layer of brushed aluminium used to add a touch of class to the lid and the interior. Its a smart-looking machine that does nothing new in terms of physical design. We found it nearly impossible to get inside, too – theres no smaller panel to provide access to the memory slots and hard disk, and we couldnt budge the base even once wed removed a multitude of screws. The Toshiba is no Ultrabook, which becomes obvious when its frame hits the scales: the M50s 2.2kg weight is heavier than the other Toshiba machine as well as the M50s rivals from Samsung and Acer – only the 2.4kg Lenovo G505s is heftier. The M50s 22mm thickness is more impressive. Thats almost two millimetres inside Intels official specification for larger Ultrabooks, and it matches Toshibas own Satellite U50t. Its also much slimmer than the 29mm-thick Lenovo. The heavy weight and thin design contributed to middling build quality. The wrist-rest is strong, but the screen flexed back and forward – and the base panel is made from flimsy plastic with plenty of give when its prodded. Wed protect the M50 in a sleeve before slinging it in a bag. Performance 3DMark: Ice Storm: 52142 Cloud Gate: 7503 Fire Strike: 1142 Cinebench: CPU: 2.37 GPU: 48.41 PCMark 8: Home score high performance: 3472 Home score power saver, no GPU: 2142 Home battery test, high performance: 3hrs 34mins Home battery test, power saver: 4hrs 42mins BioShock Infinite: Medium, 1,366 x 768: 37fps High, 1,366 x 768: 29fps Dirt 3: High, 1,366 x 768: 54fps Hard disk: AS SSD sequential read: 103MB/s AS SSD sequential write: 78MB/s The Toshibas Core i5 processor skipped through Cinebench to a score of 2.37: a little better than the other Toshiba and the AMD A10-powered Lenovo, and a long way ahead of the Samsung – its low-power AMD chip only scored a paltry 0.96. The M50 was similarly impressive in gaming benchmarks. The Toshibas score of 52,142 in 3DMarks Ice Storm test beat every other laptop here – the nearest challengers, from Toshiba and Lenovo, scored 37,565 and 44,412. The M50 backed up this theoretical pace in real-world tests run at its 1,366 x 768 native resolution. The Toshiba hit a playable 37fps in BioShock Infinites medium settings, and it managed a near-playable 29fps at the games high quality levels. It then scored an easy 54fps in Dirt 3s high-quality benchmark. The Toshiba lasted 3 hours 34 minutes in PCMarks Home battery test in high performance mode, with this figure extending to 4 hours 42 minutes when using power saver. Thats a decent result that matches the cheaper Samsung Ativ, although its unable to match the six-hour lifespan of the Toshiba Ultrabook. The keyboard uses the familiar Scrabble-tile layout, and the Toshiba is wide enough to include a numberpad alongside a sensible layout and plenty of additional function keys. Quality is good, too; the base is firm, and the keys have a consistent action that lends itself to rapid typing. Theyre responsive, but if were quibbling wed prefer the keys to be a little heavier and have a bit more travel. The Toshibas action matches the Samsung and Acer machines and easily beats the Lenovo. The trackpads two buttons are light, and the pad itself is decorated with a smart textured pattern. It feels rougher than most trackpads, but we like that – it provides extra grip. The screens 1,366 x 768 resolution is standard on mid-range and budget machines, but it feels a bit low on 15.6in panels – Windows 8.1s Live tiles look huge, and theres not enough desktop real estate to have two desktop windows open side-by-side. The Toshibas screen is non-touch, and it didnt blow us away in tests. The measured brightness level of 222 nits is entirely average and the black level of 0.68 nits is worse. That latter figure proves particularly problematic, as different shades of dark grey at the bottom of the scale just werent distinguishable on this panel. The contrast ratio of 324:1 is poor too, and contributes to lifeless colour reproduction. The sRGB gamut coverage level of 56.3% is bad, too. The Toshibas screen only covered the whole gamut when handling blue shades, and it wasnt far away when rendering yellows, but it fell short across the rest of the range. The screens blue dominance lends white areas a slight hue and makes the screen feel cold. The Toshibas screen is an undoubted budget panel, and the lack of quality and low resolution means its only suitable for web browsing, basic work and gameplay – 1080p films will suffer thanks to a lack of pixels and the lack of clarity in darker shades, and its just not got the colour accuracy to handle photo or video editing. Sadly, none of this machines rivals have better screens. Media performance is further hampered by mediocre speakers. Theres not enough volume to fill much beyond a small bedroom, and bass is barely present. The top-end is tinny and dominant, and it buries the treble – high-hats dominated our test tunes to an uncomfortable level. Verdict The M50 is a mid-range machine, but its clear that Toshibas budget has swung towards the components: the Core i5 processor is one of the fastest weve seen in a mid-range notebook, and the discrete Nvidia core is better than integrated Intel chipsets and the Radeon silicon inside AMDs APUs. The lack of cash for the panel, storage and design shows, though, with poor screen quality and mixed chassis strength. We liked That Core i5 processor is impressive, with more than enough power to handle general computing tasks as well as work software – only the most intensive work tools will require the added power a Core i7 part can deliver. The graphics core, too, is better than most other laptops at this price range, and it can run modern games at reasonably high quality levels at the screens native resolution. The keyboard is good, with a numberpad a comfortable action, and its paired with a responsive trackpad. Battery life is decent for a 15.6in machine, and the aluminium-clad exterior looks slick, even if theres little innovation when it comes to design. We disliked The concentration on components means that other aspects of the M50 have suffered. The screens 1,366 x 768 resolution looks stretched across a 15.6in diagonal, and quality is poor: the middling brightness level, low contrast and poor gamut coverage mean the screen feels vapid and lifeless. Its not touch-sensitive, either. The tinny, weak speakers for more damage to this machines media credentials. Build quality is mixed, and the 750GB hard disk has plenty of space but poor read and write speeds. Final verdict The M50 falls down when it comes to its screen quality and physical design, but its not as if its rivals are any better in this regard – every other machine here makes do with a 1,366 x 768 panel of middling quality, and none offer much more than typically plasticky construction. The Toshiba, instead, makes up ground in benchmarks: thanks to a Haswell processor and discrete core its faster than any other system here. Its a little more expensive than the competition, but if you prize power over build quality then its better value than the competition – and the added speed will see this machine last longer, too.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 13:17:32 +0000
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