Description:
Similar to Toshiba's stunning P25 series of high-end notebooks but sporting a smaller profile, marginally downgraded components and a more affordable price point, the Satellite P15 series is a good solution for power-hungry users who just don't want the added weight and expense of a full-blown mobile "desktop replacement". This particular unit, the top-of-the-line Satellite P15-S470, features upscale amenities such as DVD burning, wireless networking, a wide-screen display and more than enough graphics power to handle many of today's most demanding 3D games. Though not nearly as petite as some of today's ultra-light notebooks, the P15-S470 is nevertheless comfortably portable at 14.2 by 10.8 by 1.7 inches and just 8 lbs. Inside, Toshiba has equipped the unit with a potent 3.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor featuring Intel Hyper-Threading Technology for more efficient CPU usage. The system's power section also features a lightning fast 800 MHz bus, 512 MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM memory (expandable to a full 2048 MB) and an NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 graphics controller with a very useful 64 MB of dedicated (not shared) video memory. Even in this stock configuration, the system will handle most anything you can throw at it, be it 2D or 3D in nature. The P15-S470 sports a sizeable 15.4-inch widescreen display screen capable of dazzling 1280 by 800 resolutions. With this widescreen format, you can watch DVD movies the way they were intended, without black borders or chopped images. The system's 60 GB hard drive is quite large for a portable computer, and its versatile DVD-R/-RW/CD-RW optical drive allows you to listen to and burn audio CDs, archive your data, watch DVD movies, record home videos to DVD format, and utilize both DVD+ and DVD- formats. Other critical features include an IEEE 1394 FireWire port for fast interaction with devices such as digital camcorders, a trio of high-speed USB 2.0 ports for plug and play peripherals such as scanners or external drives, an S-Video TV-out, two memory slots (both of which may be simultaneously occupied), and an impressive variety of interior and exterior one-touch controls. Communication facilities include 802.11wireless networking, 10/100 Ethernet LAN and an integrated 56K modem. Toshiba has loaded the P15-S470 with a solid roster of software that includes Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition operating system, Intuit Quicken New User's Edition 2004, Microsoft's Works 7.0 productivity suite, and a variety of multimedia and Internet utilities. Maximum battery life expectancy is average at approximately 2 hours.
| 
