Toshiba Portege R835-P56X

Pros: Value of specs for $800, Sandy Bridge Processor, 3.2 lbs, great battery life, well implemented touch pad, usb 3.0 and e-SATA port, HDMI and VGA out,

Cons: Horrible speakers, some bloatware, only 5400 rpm hard drive.

Summary: Let me first say this is far and away the best combination of speed, portability, battery life and price that I've had in a laptop. Like many users, I just need a computer to surf the internet, listen to music, do some basic word processing etc. Occasionally, I like to stream my videos from the computer to the TV, take trips and have a lightweight computer handy or use programs that require a bit more processing power (video game, turbotax, whatever).

Two years ago, I got sucked into the netbook fad hoping that a netbook could fill that computing need in my life given it was only $300. Sadly, it was grossly underpowered and simply broke on me about a month ago. So I was in the market for a new laptop and, like every computer prior to the netbook, I wanted one that would last me 5-6 years at a reasonable price. I found this one and couldn't be happier. Despite the i5 processor, ram, and everything else, it still fits into a 3.2 lb package. Its the power of a normal laptop fit into a very portable form.

There are a few different versions of this laptop. The R835-P55x was a better value for me at $800 and the i5 processor, essentially the same to the P56X with a few, non-vital changes. There is also a i3 R835-P50X available for 750. So do some homework on which one is right for you. Overall however, if they all perform like mine, the whole line is great!

Pros:

- Value for the specs. I5-Sandy Bridge, 4GB RAM, 640GB harddrive, USB 3.0 port, e-SATA port, HDMI and VGA output all in a 3.2lb computer for $800. I really can't express how great it was to find this computer.

- Sandy Bridge Processor makes life easy on speed and battery life. I've squeezed out almost 8 hours of time on a single charge. The new processor will help keep it going for 5-6 years for me.

- Eco Mode/Button - I was able to get great such great battery life by powering down the screen brightness and processors using one simple button. When I'm surfing the web, I like to use it to save battery life. I hardly notice any performance difference when its in eco-mode but when I'm watching video or doing intensive processing, I press the button for full processor speed.

- Multi-touch pad - I don't use a whole lot of gestures with my touchpad but the two-finger scrolling was extremely well implemented on this compared to others that I have used. Almost as good as a Mac touchpad, in my opinion.

Cons:

- Bad speakers - This is why it lost a star for me. They sound down right horrible. The headphone jack is only slightly better. I like to listen to a lot of music with decent equipment and it downright hurts to listen sometimes. Virtually no bass and the treble can be ear piercing at times.

- A bunch of proprietary software pre-installed. It took me an hour or two going through all the different Toshiba applications and pre-installed demos to figure out which ones I wanted/needed. Some were great like the eco-utility but others were background apps like an aggregator of all the other diagnostic apps they installed which just would slow down the computer.

- 5400 RPM harddrive. A 7200 RPM harddrive would have improved the build just a little bit and would have helped squeeze a few more months out of it towards the end of its usefulness in 5-6 years.

Overall, great product that I would recommend to anyone looking for an extremely lightweight laptop with the fast processing speed to match. A rare combination.