Toshiba Satellite L775-119 review

If space is limited, a large laptop can go some way to replacing a desktop PC and doesn’t even have to cost much more. Toshiba’s Satellite L775-119 is a 17″ model with a Core i5 processor for less than £600.

With its plastic construction and basic design, the laptop is unlikely to turn heads, but the silver texture-effect lid and wrist rest are at least reasonably easy on the eye. Looks can be deceiving, of course, and it quickly becomes clear that the Satellite L775 shouldn’t be underestimated.

The dual-core 2410m might be the entry-level chip in Intel’s Sandy Bridge i5 line-up, but it’s still incredibly potent; the basic 2.3GHz clock speed can increase to 2.9GHz when needed using Turbo Boost. Paired with 4GB of RAM, it completed our multimedia benchmarks with an overall score of 54, which easily outpaces first generation Core i5 desktop processors. Although at 2.8kg it’s not the most portable laptop we’ve seen, almost five hours in our light-use battery test proves it’s still possible to use on the move.

It’s difficult to include a dedicated graphics card while keeping costs low, so Toshiba has opted to stick with the graphics chipset built into Intel’s processor. It’s more than powerful enough for high definition video, playing 720p content on the laptop without dropping frames. It can also output in 1080p on a compatible external display, using the single HDMI port. Unfortunately, gaming on integrated graphics still requires sacrificing detail and resolution, as a score of 13.8fps in our new Dirt 3 benchmark test shows.