Toshiba Satellite P755D: Nearing the End of the Road for Llano
by Dustin Sklavos on April 11, 2012 12:00 AM ESTYes, Another 1366x768 Screen
We've belabored this a thousand times, you've belabored it a thousand more; it's not worth getting into here. At least with the Toshiba Satellite P755D we can argue that the notebook is a budget machine, so asking for a fancy screen in it suggests end users may be barking up the wrong tree. Of course, adding a Blu-ray drive to a notebook with a 768p display seems like a mixed set of priorities; the same money spent getting a BRD in the P665D would buy a substantially better panel (e.g. AU Optronics B156HW01 v4 goes for around $95 online, where the LP156WH4-TLA1 costs $60). That said, the 768p screen in the P755D isn't actually the worst one we've seen (though it's close in several areas!), but the resolution remains too low for a notebook this size.
The panel in the Satellite P755D errs on the side of color gamut and accuracy instead of high brightness and contrast. I'm not necessarily certain the tradeoff is a worthwhile one, as the gains just don't seem great enough and contrast is quite poor even by TN panel standards. Heck, even matte LCDs that compromise on contrast in order to avoid glare frequently offer better contrast.
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JarredWalton - Thursday, April 12, 2012 - link
There's a setting in AMD's control panel called PowerPlay. Set that for Maximum Performance and you shouldn't have any downclocking (except maybe on high-end parts like the 5870, 6870, etc. and above?) Using those settings, the AMD "test Llano" laptop lasted 161 minutes doing "gaming" while on battery power. I don't think Dustin tested the Toshiba, but it would be less most likely (given the other battery life numbers are all lower)--probably around two hours, give or take. By contrast, the Sony VAIO SE with a 49Wh battery and 6630M (and better gaming performance overall) lasted 90 minutes in the same test. I'm not sure how pertinent "gaming on battery" tests are, though -- most people I know don't usually play many complex/demanding games on laptops while unplugged.kamm2 - Thursday, April 12, 2012 - link
As mentioned in the article, the case on these laptops is not very desireable. A coworker bought a P755 for his daughter and I helped set it up. My wife needed a new laptop and the price and specs were good so I was very close to buying one. I just couldn't do it though due to the cheap feel of the case and trackpad buttons.stimudent - Friday, April 13, 2012 - link
I have an A8-3550MX for about a month now. It can comfortably run four computational chemistry projects while playing a Blu-ray. It has been a pleasure to use too for everything else in between.The only problem may come when the computational projects tap into the GPUs causing a slight hesitation in the Blu-ray playback.
Etern205 - Saturday, April 21, 2012 - link
I currently still have my Toshiba, but I got their business line up the Tecra. It's was the very first Intel dual core @ 1.8GHz, 512MB DDR2, 80GB SATA HDD, and Intel IGP. I later on upgrade my HDD to 160GB and installed Vista Home Premium 32bit upgrade it to 2GB and Vista runs great. No lags or slow responses where other notebooks may require more ram just to work properly.I like Toshiba, but their configurations sucks big time. Let's say you want a system with a decent GPU, then must get their 17" models. I want a 13" or so with a decent GPU, but I see none of in their line up. Even their GPU in their 17" model aren't that great compare to others.