Specifications and thoughts
Specification
| Toshiba Satellite A300D-15B | |
|---|---|
| Processor | AMD Turion X2 Ultra ZM-80 (2.1GHz, 2x 1MB L2 cache, dual-core) |
| Motherboard | Toshiba Satellite 300D |
| Memory | 4GB PC6400 in dual-channel mode - DDR2-800 |
| Hard disk(s) | Hitachi 250GB, 5,400RPM, 8MB cache |
| Display/TFT | 15.4in WXGA+ (1,440x900) |
| Graphics hardware | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 512MB discrete graphics card |
| Optical drive | Pioneer DVRTD08A DVD ReWriter, includes dual-layer support |
| Sound | Conexant HD audio and Dolby Sound Room |
| Modem | HDAudio Softmodem |
| Networking hardware | 1x 10/100/1000, Marvell Yukon 88E8040T PCIe Ethernet Atheros AR9281 802.11 b/g/n WiFi |
| Ports and connectors | 4x USB2.0, eSATA, VGA, HDMI, ExpressCard54, RJ45 (LAN), modem, 7-pin mini-DIN, mini-FireWire Mic-in, headphone-out |
| Operating system | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 32-bit |
| Notable extras | Built-in card-reader (SD, MMC, MS, MSPro, xD) 1.3MP webcam Harman Kardon speakers |
| Weight | 2.906kg with supplied battery. |
| Battery | 6-cell, 4,000mAh (43WHr) |
| Dimensions | 363mm x 267mm x 38.5mm (W x D x H) |
| Warranty | One year as standard, international cover |
| Price | £622, including VAT |
The standout feature here is the discrete Mobility Radeon HD 3650 512MB graphics card that's a decent mid-range offering from ATI's current catalogue.
We like the fact that the 15.4in screen ships with a native resolution of 1,440x900px, as it offers a reasonable compromise between screen and pixel-pitch size.
Based around AMD's Turion X2 Ultra CPU, with this model clocking in at 2.1GHz, general horsepower will be lacking when compared to an Intel Centrino 2-equipped machine.
A reasonably big hard drive and 4GB of DDR2-800 memory should help keep Vista Premium chugging along nicely, though.
