- 2.3GHz AMD Turion II Dual-Core Mobile M520 Processor
- 4GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM Memory
- 500GB Serial ATA Hard Disk Drive (5400RPM); DVD Super Multi Drive
- 18.4″ CCFL (16:9) 1680×945 Display; ATI Radeon HD 4200 Graphics
- Window 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Product DescriptionOffering exceptional power, features and room, the Satellite P505 laptop is a portable desktop computing alternative that super sizes your media and your freedom enabling you to enjoy your media in more places. A dazzling 18. 4-Inch diagonal highdef display, and a luxurious sound system up the ante when it comes to entertainment. And with a 500GB hard drive, plus a dual or quad-core processor11 option, you’ll have horsepower to spare. Toshiba “Smart” Features l. . . More >>
Comments
4 comments
March 2, 2010
Size wise this machine is impressive. Intellectually, I knew how large this laptop would be, but it was still a shock when I got it out of the box. And Yes, I know it’s in a good portion of the reviews, cause I read them, this bears repeating. This isn’t a comfortable fit on your lap – laptop. However, I bought this machine for two reasons. I wanted a way to watch dvd’s when we were out in the RV and I also wanted to have a laptop to use while we were out camping. I can set this up on the kitchen table in the RV and it’s almost like having a desk. I am pleased with my choice. The screen is large enough to allow us to watch dvd’s and I get a computer to play on with out spending 3-4 hundred on a TV and then 6-7 hundred on a laptop.
I’m not going offer my opinion on the technical workings, there are more reviews posted that cover that adequately and hopefully by people who are more acquainted with the technical side of things. I know when to keep silent.
I’m still getting used to the larger keys, but having enough room on the keyboard for a number pad is wonderful. The shiny case is a problem, I’m constantly wiping off finger prints. However, most of the laptops I looked at this was a common complaint as well.
It’s weight is kind of heafty and finding a bag for it was challenging. There were few choices on line for this size & I found out that finding one retail was not much better. Most laptop bags are sized for 15. 6 inch screens. I finally found a good one at Office Depot with wheels and it was also on sale!
Rating: 4 / 5
March 2, 2010
This is by far the best offer in the market. Getting all this for such low price is really a bargain. I’m using it for a week and every time I’m surprised by it features and performance.
Rating: 5 / 5
March 2, 2010
Well, if you are looking for a huuuuge laptop. . this is the one. Its got a lot of nice features and its really pretty and the sound is great. I bought this for game and movie play which is perfect. Everything runs fast and smooth. I love it. I also needed lots of memory to store tons of photos. This does all of that for me. . . not to mention the pictures look ten times better on this screen. Love it. Some negatives, The laptop is very glossy. . shows lots of finger prints. Also, be aware that microsoft office is only a trial software package. I guess I didnt read the fine print. Also, not sure why the serial and part numbers didnt work when trying to register my laptop online. ?? Anyway, Just keep in mind that this is HUUUGE for a laptop. Its not so easy traveling with it at all. Its rather heavy and there are hardly any choices as far as case covers and cool bags to carry it in go. I may end up buying a toshiba net book for travel. I gave five stars because TOSHIBA is awesome. I love this laptop. Pretty much can use it as a desktop because of its size.
Rating: 5 / 5
March 2, 2010
I hate laptops. The idea of a computer you can misplace is anathema to me. When I had to buy a laptop, therefore, I essentially bought a desktop with a carrying case. That, in a nutshell, is the 18. 4″ Toshiba Satellite. It is far too heavy to really be considered “portable. ” It is big, powerful, has a gorgeous screen, and generally does a very nice job of trying to fool me into thinking I have a desktop computer. The keyboard lights up, which is a very nice feature. The keys are full-sized and easy to press. The biggest drawback with the keyboard is the series of multimedia buttons on the side of the keyboard. They are FAR too easy to press accidentally, which means a stray finger can unintentionally mute your sound, change the volume, dim the screen, etc. Also, pressing one of those buttons results in a loud beep, even if the laptop is on mute. One of those annoying buttons on the side of the keyboard is for “eco-mode. ” Despite the fact that the laptop has an 18″ monitor which, at the time of my writing this, is the largest monitor for any laptop on the planet, Toshiba has somehow managed to earn an “Energy Star” rating for this behemoth. The eco-mode dims the monitor somewhat and stops the keyboard from lighting up. In bright sunlight, this mode is unacceptably dim. Otherwise, it worked fine. Even without eco-mode, however, this computer somehow manages to typically use less than 75 watts of power, which means it uses about the same energy as one incandescent light bulb. Quite remarkable, when you think about it. Despite the “Energy Star” rating, the battery life on this laptop is pathetic. Coaxing even an hour without being plugged in is a stretch. DO NOT buy this laptop if you plan to use it routinely in places where plugs are scarce. As for heat, this laptop runs remarkably cool. Even after several hours of intensive use, it was cool enough to place on my bare legs. The speakers are Harman/Kardon, which is shorthand for “much better than your typical laptop speakers. ” I used to plug my laptop into my stereo system at home, but I found that that was absolutely unnecessary. Even for hardcore gaming, the speakers did an adequate job by themselves. The best feature of the monitor is its size. The picture is crisp, although it had trouble in direct sunlight. It renders at 780, not 1080. My understanding, however, is that to truly appreciate a 1080 resolution, you need a large monitor–like 37″+. I certainly never have had any complaints about picture quality, even when streaming movies from Netflix. There are connectors all over the place, including an HDMI input, which means you can hook your laptop to your HD television and watch video from it. This is a nice feature; I use Netflix streaming video a lot, and it made it simple to watch the video on my larger TV set. Also, one of the USB ports has a neat feature that allows you to draw power from it even when the laptop is turned off. This means you don’t need to turn on your laptop in order to recharge your phone. The touchpad is large and easy to use. No complaints there. I am not a huge fan of touchpads (once again, my anti-laptop snobbery rears its ugly head), so I used a bluetooth mouse most of the time. The bluetooth functionality on this laptop is very good. Toshiba sells this as a gaming computer. This is something of a misnomer. They have a true gaming laptop, the Qosmio. A quick glance at the specs of this computer makes it clear that it is really a high-performance computer, and not perfectly suited for gaming. The graphics card is decent but not great, and the hard drive is a little slow. That said, most games will play on it. I had no trouble with even some of the latest titles, such as Dragon Age: Origins. The biggest problem was that there would be a longer-than-appropriate pause when the game would load a saved game or enter a new area. Once the game actually started, the graphics were acceptably smooth. I did not test it on some of the real computer-killers like Crysis or Fallout, since I am not a first-person shooter kind of guy. I did play some online games like Guild Wars and World of Warcraft, and was pleased with both the wireless connection and the graphics. To sum up. . . PROS: Monitor, Backlit Keyboard, Powerful, Great SpeakersCONS: Multimedia Buttons, Battery LifeIs this the right laptop for you? It depends on your needs. If you want a portable computer that can be taken anywhere on a moments’ notice, then you need to look elsewhere. If you are looking for a desktop replacement, or a high-performance computer with decent gaming capability, this may be your next computer. Rating: 4 / 5