Don't let the slimness and light weight fool you the build quality is excellent.
The chunky silver dropped hinges are robust as well, but the thin screen will flex if you deliberately try to twist it - although as with the previous generation, it also stands up well to the punishment of being thrown into your carryon and dragged around the world. The design is all about practicality the matte black case is magnesium alloy and the chassis is particularly sturdy without being heavy or looking clunky. That helps with the 20 second boot time (from powering on to being logged in to Windows) we also like the option to have the R830 turn on automatically when you open the lid (tucked away in the BIOS). We also appreciated the 7200rpm speed of the 500GB hard drive the new Core i5 processors are strong performers and it's nice when the drive speed keeps up. That's the principle and it seems to work even on a hot day it's not uncomfortable to use the R830 in shorts for general tasks - we had to run four GPU-accelerated web apps and stream a video before we noticed any increase in temperature and it was never hot enough to be a problem. That's because unlike most notebooks that let the components heat up and then use a fan to push hot air out of the case, Toshiba designed the case so that fan pulls cool air in and passes it over the motherboard to keep things fairly cool in the first place.
#Toshiba r830 screen full#
That’s because instead of a low-voltage processor, you get a full Sandy Bridge Core i5-2520M - and no, it doesn't scorch your lap.
The R830 isn't cheap, and it's both light and long lasting but the design is understated - and the performance is unusually good. Ultraportables tend to be pricey and to favour sleek design, battery life and light weight rather than performance.
#Toshiba r830 screen update#
(Pocket-lint) - Want an ultraportable notebook that concentrates on features rather than style? Optical drive, full speed processor, wireless display, USB 3.0, light weight, long battery: Toshiba delivers again with the Sandy Bridge update to the Portege range - mostly.