Finding a notebook with the right balance of portability, features, performance, and price can be a difficult task, but the Toshiba Satellite M55-S325 (1,399 direct, as tested) has made your search easier. The M55 is the ideal notebook for the multimedia-savvy and for campus cruisers, thanks primarily to its luggable frame, roomy 100GB hard drive, and very good processing power.
The M55 weighs 5.1 pounds; with the AC adapter, the travel weight is a still-manageable 6 pounds. Its dimensions (13.5 by 9.5 by 1.5 inches) take up little desk space—great for cramped quarters—and it will slide easily into most bags and backpacks. Toshiba gives you three top-cover colors to choose from: Peacock Blue, Sunlit Copper, and Mist Gray.
The 14.1-inch TruBrite widescreen display is very bright and looked amazing as we watched a DVD of The Incredibles. The M55's Harman Kardon speakers enhance the movie-watching experience and are surprisingly good for such a small system. To the right of the full-size keyboard, a set of DVD playback controls (Play/Pause, Stop, Fast Forward, and Rewind) and two quick-launch buttons are available. It also has a Quick Play feature, which lets you play DVDs or CDs without booting up your system.
The 100GB hard drive provides plenty of storage space for aspiring video editors and digital media fanatics. The M55 smartly incorporates four USB ports (the same as on the HP dv4000). The 4-in-1 card reader (SD, MS, MS Pro, MMC) is not as elaborate as the dv4000's 6-in-1 card reader but should still suit most users. And like the dv4000, the M55 has a built-in DVD+/-RW drive.
Performance is another strong suit. The M55's SYSmark 2004 and SYSmark 2004 SE performance is very good. What helps the M55 is the faster (5,400-rpm) hard drive; most notebooks have 4,200-rpm models. Graphics power is delivered by Intel's Graphics Media Accelerator 900 GM, not the fastest solution out there but good enough for most multimedia tasks (barring high-res 3D games). If you desire better graphics in a similar frame size, check out the Asus W3V or the Sony VAIO VGN-S470P.
Battery life on the M55 was average at 3:17 (hr:min). The 12-cell battery upgrade is a bit expensive ($145 direct), but if you travel extensively, the extra battery will come in handy.
All told, the Toshiba Satellite M55-S325 is lightweight, reasonably priced, and a solid performer in its class. It's a system that will suit many people very well, whether in the home or in a dorm.
Check out this alongside other mainstream laptops in our
Toshiba Satellite M55-S325's Test Results
Multimedia Tests
PC Magazine uses the same tests and the same scale when rating the multimedia—Music, Photos, Video, Gaming—on desktops and notebooks. We do this so it is easy to compare consumer notebooks against consumer desktops in addition to comparisons within each category. As a guide: the best desktops will score above a 90 on a given subject, and the best notebooks will score above a 70. The reason for this is even the most advanced notebook will have to give up some capabilities, when compared to a desktop, for portability: notably size and weight compromises that affect hard drive space and screen size, as well as power compromises that affect CPU and graphics performance.
