Toshiba Satellite X205 SLI4 Gaming Notebook

Name: Toshiba Satellite X205 SLI4 Gaming Notebook - Page 3
Brand: Toshiba

by Jeff Bouton — Monday, March 10, 2008, 12:30 PM EDT

Design and Build Quality - Part 1

Page 3: Design and Build Quality - Part 1

The Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi4 is a very large laptop, yet seems lighter than its size suggests. Measuring 15.7" x 11.3" x 2.05", the system weighs in at 9.37 lbs, but didn't feel overly heavy in proportion to its size. The unit's most noticeable physical characteristics is the 17" TruBrite TFT (WSXGA+) LCD display that boasts a 1680x1050 native resolution and support for 720p video content and the keyboard with separate number keypad. The outer shell is a brownish hue with a wavelike pattern dubbed "Flame Carmine" which is very glossy, making it a fingerprint magnet and potentially easily scratched.

The system is built around an Intel PM965M Chipset that is outfitted with an 800MHz FSB Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T8100 45nm Penryn-derived processor with 3MB of L2 cache and a clockspeed of 2.1GHz. The system is also configured with 3GB of PC2-5300 SDRAM while the board supports a 4GB maximum. The graphics subsystem is powered by dual NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT GPUs with 512MB of GDDR3 discrete graphics memory in SLI mode, while TurboCache technology allows for up to 255MBs of system memory to be shared as well. Both GPUs are clocked at 475MHz while the 512MB of GDDR3 memory is clocked at 702MHz. For external video needs, the laptop is equipped with a standard VGA port, S-Video port and an HDMI port for connection to an HD ready device.

Storage needs are handled by two 7200 RPM 160GB hard drives, totalling 320GB of storage space. Naturally, the optical storage is an HD-DVD-ROM/DVD SuperMulti double layer drive supporting virtually all DVD/CD formats except Blu-Ray. As the HD-DVD is laid to rest, look to see these specifications change in the future. The current drive's specifications include support for:

HD DVD-ROM (1x)
CD-ROM (24x)
CD-R (24x)
CD-RW (10x)
DVD-ROM (8x)
DVD-R (4x)

DVD+R (4x)
DVD-RW (4x)
DVD+R (DL) (2.4x)
DVDR (DL) (2x)
DVD+RW (4x)
DVD-RAM (3x)

The Satellite X205-SLi4 comes with 6 USB ports and a single i.Link FireWire port, offering plenty of access to external hardware components. For network connectivity there is a single RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet port, an RJ-11 modem port and an integrated Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN adapter supporting 802.11a/g/n. The system is also Bluetooth ready and sports an internal IR receiver that works with the included remote control. Powering the system is a 180w AC Adapter coupled with a 6000mAh Lithium Ion battery.