Review Toshiba AT300SE-101 Tablet and Samsung Series 4 400B5C-H02DE Notebook battery

The visual difference, as well as the difference in the designation of the two latest Toshiba devices, is just marginal. That raises the question why the AT300SE is 50 Euros (~$65) cheaper compared to the direct predecessor. The basic specifications are almost identical; both devices are equipped with the Nvidia Tegra 3 chip with a clock of 1,300 MHz and 1 GB memory. Our review unit has 16 GB flash storage. Resolution and display size are also identical. Both have a 10.1-inch display with 1280x800 pixels. The devil is apparently in the details. ASUS K93S Battery

The main factor for the purchase decision of such a mobile companion is the everyday performance. To determine the performance of the mid-range model more precisely and classify it we check the device thoroughly and compare it to the latest models with similar hardware.

Despite the total weight of 625 grams the chosen materials are very simple. With a first look at the back you could think it was aluminum. ASUS K93SM Battery This thought quickly disappears after the first contact; it is structured polycarbonate. Because the base cover is made of plastic the AT300SE leaves a very durable impression. This impression is supported over the time of the review; we were not very cautious with the back but could not find a single scratch. A disadvantage of the polycarbonate is the pressure sensitivity. Towards the center of the tablet the plastic can be noticeably pushed in. We observe a similar behavior when we start to twist the device. The case design has cause for criticism at the front. The bezel is flush with the display - less protection for the panel against small scratches. ASUS K93SV Battery

In terms of size we can see a small enlargement compared to the predecessor. With 261 x 180 x 10.5 mm the AT300SE grew in all three dimensions (AT300: 260.6 x 178.9 x 8.95 mm). However, the size difference is hardly noticeable when we put both devices next to each other.

ASUS K95 Battery The main hardware specifications of the AT300SE have not changed compared to the AT300. Both use an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, which was manufactured in a 40 nm process. The 4-plus-1 technology means that an additional fifth companion core is integrated. This energy efficient processor handles less demanding tasks. The memory is a 32-bit single channel 667 MHz DDR3-1333 module with 1,024 MB. Our review unit has an integrated flash storage with a total capacity of 16 GB. After deduction of the system software the user can use 12.78 GB. If this is not sufficient you can extend the storage with micro SD cards of up to 32 GB. ASUS K95V Battery

Because of the similar main hardware components we suspect big similarities in terms of synthetic benchmark results between the reviewed Nvidia Tegra 3 devices. In GLBenchmark 2.5 the results of the two devices and the Xperia Tablet S fluctuate less than 1 fps. Only in the Linpack benchmark the AT300SE can clearly take the lead and beats the competition by up to 67%. The tablet also reaches a good result in Smartbench 2012, with the exception of the Google Nexus 7 no device can keep up with our review unit. ASUS K95VM Battery

With the browser based benchmarks the end results are mixed. In Google V8 Ver.7 the AT300SE can surpass the Surface RT, the Nexus 7 and the Xperia Tablet S. Only the Asus Memo Pad Smart 10 gets a 16% better result. It is the same situation with Sunspider 0.9.1, except for the Surface RT, which gets a better ranking. These kinds of benchmarks always heavily depend on the used browser; in our review we used the standard Android browser, not Google Chrome. ASUS Eee PC 1002 Battery

AndroBench 3 determines the performance of the integrated flash storage. With sequential and random read accesses the AT300SE takes the lead. In this discipline the Google Nexus 7 falls behind by almost 48%. Read accesses to the flash storage are more common in daily tasks; the performance advantage is significant. The situation changes when we have a look at the sequential write accesses, now the AT300SE is up to 72% slower. ASUS Eee PC 1002HA Battery

Due to the performance of the Nvidia Tegra 3 we are pretty certain that the AT300SE can easily handle video trailers for Transformers 3 and Skyfall in Full HD quality (1080p) prior to the actual test. The video material is in a Matroska container with a data rate of up to 6,100 kbit/s. Our assumption can be confirmed, there are no problems with stuttering or other interferences during playback. The bright display, combined with a good black value and high contrast give ambitious viewers a pleasant viewing experience. ASUS Eee PC S101 Battery

When a device can handle HD movie playback, it is very likely that more demanding games are no problem either. With Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and GTA III we played two current 3D games on the tablet. Apparently the CPU load was not very high, we could not even determine a warming up of the device. To be on the safe side we also tried 2D games like Angry Birds or Osmos HD but, as expected, these less demanding titles were no problem. ASUS Eee PC S101H Battery

Energy Management

Power Consumption
In terms of power consumption the AT300SE falls behind the Xperia Tablet S and Memo Pad Smart 10. This can be explained with the significantly higher display brightness. During idle the review unit consumes between 1.6 and 5.4 Watts. The Tablet S is content with 1.3 up to 4.9 Watts. Cross-platform we also have a look at Windows-RT devices. The Surface RT consumes more power with values between 3 and 6.2 Watts. Under load Microsoft's first tablet also needs more power than our review unit – between 7.6 and 10.6 Watts. The AT300SE is more frugal with a power consumption of 7.1 up to 8.7 Watts. During standby we measure 0.2 Watts; we could not determine any consumption when the device was turned off. ASUS Eee PC S101H-BLK042X Battery

Battery Runtime
Due to the moderate power consumption the AT300SE can reach solid results in our runtime tests. We simulate the maximum SoC load with the application "Stability Test". Furthermore all wireless modules are activated and the display is set to maximum brightness. Only after 4 hours and 32 minutes does the tablet have to be plugged in. Xperia Tablet S as well as Asus Memo Pad Smart 10 have to be recharged after 3:12 hours. A complete charge (device is turned on) takes 4 hours and 19 minutes. The other extreme of our runtime tests is the idle simulation. ASUS Eee PC S101H-BRN043X Battery The display brightness is reduced to a minimum and all wireless modules are deactivated. With 15 hours and 18 minutes the device is very enduring, however, the Sony Xperia Tablet S keeps up 11 minutes longer. The result of our more realistic scenario is 9 hours and 20 minutes. In this scenario web pages are opened in a defined rhythm via script - with a brightness of around 150 cd/m². The difference to the Asus Memo Pad Smart 10 is clearly noticeable with 2 hours and 40 minutes. The AT300SE clearly wins this test section. ASUS PC S101H-CHP035X Battery

Samsung Series 4 400B5C-H02DE Notebook

The classic, often bulky business notebook is not extinct yet and still appeals to corporate users. In addition to the usual industry leaders like Lenovo (ThinkPad), HP (Pro-/EliteBook) and Dell (Latitude), Samsung has also established itself in this market segment.

ASUS PC S101H-PIK025X Battery The South Korean manufacturer has positioned the 15.6-inch Series 4 400B5C notebook in the 800 to 1100 Euros (~$1048 to $1442) price range. Our test model is the top of the range one (400B5C-H02DE) and not only has a Core i5-3210M and a 128 GB SSD, but also features mobile internet access via the 3G module. The rest of the specifications include 4 GB of RAM, a matte WXGA display and integrated graphics, which are not exactly the highlights of the notebook and are shared among all the models. To the liking of many companies, Samsung has installed the "old" Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, because Microsoft's newest operating system does not hold a particularly high value in the business sector. ASUS Eee PC S121 Battery

In order to rank the 400B5C among the competition, in the following review we have chosen three alternative notebooks. The test candidate from Samsung must prove its qualities against Lenovo's ThinkPad T530, HP's ProBook 6570b and Dell's Latitude E6530.
One of the important reasons causing the high price of professional business notebooks is the construction of the casing. It should meet specific requirements in terms of stability, quality and ergonomics. In marketing jargon, Samsung has named its case "Duracase Pro", which is standard for every version of the Series 4 laptops. The manufacturer also boasts that the chassis can withstand loads of up to 500 kg and drops from a 76 cm height - a promise that we are not keen on testing in practice. asus A2 Battery

But even during normal everyday use, the case leaves a convincing impression. The matte black plastic is visually appealing and its high-quality feel cannot be compared to the cheap plastic used in affordable consumer notebooks. Equally impressive is the excellent durability - even strong pressure on the usually weak spots, such as above the DVD drive, is met with practically no deformation. All this comes at the expense of mobility - the notebook weighs 2.5 kg and is 3.6 cm thick. asus A2000 Battery

The display is held by two tight metal hinges that work with high precision. There is only minimal teetering and the notebook requires two hands to be opened. A practical rubber strip protects the keyboard from dirt. The display lid is just as stable as the base unit.

In comparison to the predecessor model, the 400B5C has made a significant step forward and can now compete with Lenovo's T530. But first place is still occupied by Dell's Latitude E6530 – even the impeccable workmanship of the Samsung cannot dethrone it. asus A2000D Battery

In terms of processor, the user can choose between Intel's Core i3-3110M and the Core i5-3210M. Our test model is equipped with the slightly faster Core i5 one.

The dual-core CPU is part of the Ivy Bridge generation, which was announced almost a year ago. It is manufactured in the advanced 22 nm technology. Thanks to the Turbo Boost 2.0, the 3210M can increase its base frequency from 2.5 GHz up to 3.1 GHz (2.9 GHz when both cores are under load). The processor also supports Hyper-Threading technology, which allows up 4 threads to be calculated simultaneously. Intel has specified a TDP of 35 W for the whole chip. This value is rarely reached, even under full load. asus A2000G Battery

The 400B5C is offered solely with the integrated HD Graphics 4000, which is extremely efficient, but is only really suitable for undemanding 3D applications. In the case of the Core i5-3210M, the GPU works at 650 up to 1100 MHz (Turbo) and shares the 3 MB of L3 cache with the CPU.

In terms of memory, the notebook is equipped with a 128 GB SSD and 4 GB of RAM, more precisely a single 4 GB DDR3 1600 module. Unfortunately, the system memory works in single-channel mode, which hinders the graphics performance in some situations. However, this has no effect on the performance of the processor. Also, a future upgrade is possible. asus A2000H Battery

Processor
In terms of price and performance, the Core i5-3210M is currently in the middle of Intel's product line. In Cinebench R11.5 it achieved a score of 2.88 points. The maximum clock frequency of 2.9 GHz is held constantly under full load, which is the reason for this good result. Even the Lenovo ThinkPad T530, equipped with one of the fastest (and most expensive) dual-core processors - the Core i7-3520M, achieves only a 17% better score, which is barely noticeable in reality. A significantly faster option would be the quad-core i7-3632QM, which offers almost double the performance with 5.8 points, provided that the application can take advantage of the additional threads. asus A2000K Battery

Surprisingly, Samsung had not equipped the 400B5C with one of its own hard drives, but rather uses an mSATA SSD by Lite-On. It carries the name LMT-128M3M and has a gross capacity of 128 GB, of which only about 96 GB remains free after we take into account the recovery partition.

In combination with the Marvell flash controller (88SS9174), the SSD is almost as fast as the Crucial m4 and the Intel SSD 510, both of which are known for reliability and performance. The latter is undeniably proven by our measurements: the AS SSD benchmark confirmed that the LMT-128M3M has sequential transfer rates of almost 500 MB/s when reading and more than 300 MB/s when writing. In combination with the excellent results of the 4K test, the SSD is placed in the upper end of our HDD/SSD rank list. asus A2000L Battery

System Performance
Thanks to the fast SSD and not so slow processor, the 400B5C scored 12777 points in PCMark Vantage and leaves its rivals several thousand points behind. But this comparison is not entirely fair, because the competitors from HP, Dell and Lenovo lack an SSD, which is the component that the PCMark series benefits the most from. Ideally we would have liked to present you the results of the PCMark 7 as well, but unfortunately the benchmark crashed within the first few minutes of running and did not produce any usable score. asus A2000S Battery

In practice, our experience confirms the results of the synthetic benchmarks. Rarely does the user feel the need for more processing power, with the only exceptions being extremely demanding application such as HD video editing and simulation programs. We advise the cost-effective upgrade of a second RAM module, bringing the total to 8 GB.

Graphics Card
The HD Graphics 4000 is primarily designed for multimedia tasks such as decoding and encoding videos. The chip completes them without difficulties, because nearly all the usual codecs are supported. asus A2000T Battery

However, the user should not expect much in terms of 3D performance. Although the HD 4000 supports DirectX 11.0, the chip is usually too slow for such software. The score of 581 points in 3DMark 11 is on the level of old low-end graphics cards like the Radeon HD 6470M.

Of the four games that we tested on the 400B5C, only three were played with smooth frame rates. However, we were limited to 1024x768 pixels and low graphics details, which is acceptable for a business notebook. In Battlefield 3 the absence of visual treats is not helping - at 15 fps the title is unplayable even in the lowest quality settings. asus A2508H Battery

Energy Management

Power Consumption
The energy consumption of 9.4 up to 13.2 W in idle makes the 400B5C quite unremarkable. The notebook is neither the most efficient, nor the most inefficient in the business class. Under high load, the consumption rises to 36.7 up to 44.2 W. Although this seems like a very good result in comparison to rivals such as the ThinkPad T530 (up to 81.9 Watt), we must note the difference in the hardware configurations. The included power supply (60 W) has more than enough power reserves. asus A2514H Battery

Battery Life
The removable 48 Wh battery of the notebook should last up to 6 hours according to Samsung, which is not an unrealistic promise. Under optimal conditions (minimum brightness, deactivated wireless modules, energy saving profile), the Battery Eater Reader's test even produced 6 hours and 35 minutes.

In reality, such runtimes are impossible. With WLAN active and medium brightness (about 150 cd/m², energy saving profile), our test model lasted little over 5 hours. Seen on its own, this is a respectable result. An optional "power battery" with a higher capacity, Lenovo's T530 is available with a 9-cell 94 Wh battery for example, would make the 400B5C even more attractive. asus A2534H Battery

The manufacturer has throttled the processor slightly on battery power (maximum Turbo up to 2.5 GHz), which leads to a 15 to 25% performance drop. However, the battery life benefits greatly under high load. Even in the Battery Eater Classic test (maximum brightness, active wireless modules, high performance profile), the notebook lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes, a significantly better result than most rivals. Samsung promises that even after 1000 cycles the battery will still have 80% of its original capacity, thanks to an intelligent charging management.

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Review Toshiba Satellite L855D-10K Notebook

If you have a look at the Satellite-L855 series on the Toshiba website you could think Toshiba has thought of everything: Brushed aluminum surfaces are resistant against fingerprints and also stay cool, a keyboard with a "perfect pressure point" and a large touchpad should provide convenient handling. In addition, powerful processors and graphics cards - that should be perfect for multimedia purposes. We have a look at the Toshiba Satellite L855D-10K and determine whether these are just marketing slogans from Toshiba or if this notebook series can really convince us. Dell Inspiron 17R(5721) Charger

The "D" behind the model designation indicates AMD based systems, while notebooks without "D" in the designation use Intel processors. In both cases the graphics are provided by AMD. Currently there is just one model with the designation 10K from the AMD based Toshiba Satellite L855D series, which we review. Besides the quad-core processor AMD A8-4500M it also has 8GB memory, a 750 GB hard drive and a Crossfire combination of the two AMD graphics solutions Radeon HD 7640G and 7610M. Dell Inspiron I15N-3910BK Charger

Case

At a first glance the Toshiba Satellite L855D-10K inspires us with its unusual color - Toshiba calls it "Iceblue" - and with the brushed aluminum at the cover. However, with the first contact it becomes evident that the stability is not very convincing: Even under slight pressure the cover is clearly pushed in. If the cover is open it can be easily twisted, which can also be seen in brightness changes of the display. Furthermore, the display frame made of glossy plastic arches forward considerably; the result is a gap between the aluminum and plastic.Dell Vostro 2421 Charger

All in all, the notebook cover leaves the impression of poor build quality, the lower part of the case seems to be more stable. The palm rest can also be pushed in under pressure but not as easily as the display cover. We can also see a noticeable indentation of the keyboard during normal typing.Dell Vostro 2521 Charger

Except for the stability the brushed aluminum convinces with a good look and the cool haptics. The touchpad frame is also a visual highlight. Only the glossy plastic parts around the keyboard and the display are annoying, which cause the notebook to attract fingerprints, contrary to Toshiba's statement. Dell Inspiron 15R 4520 Charger

Connectivity

Toshiba wants 799 Euros (~$1047) for the Satellite L855D, so a certain minimum in terms of ports should be present. In short: The device is within the standard of competitors but you should not expect any highlights. Two USB 3.0 ports are mandatory by now, as well as the HDMI output. The L855 series devices that are equipped with a Blu-ray drive also support 3D output via HDMI port; the notebook could be used as a 3D Blu-ray player for the TV. However, our notebook only has a DVD burner on the left side.Dell Inspiron 15R 5520 Charger

The port layout could also be better: Almost all the ports are at the right front, a place that is usually occupied by a right-hander's mouse and in addition the ports are very close together. This could lead to some conflicts between USB sticks and HDMI cables. Dell Inspiron 15R 5525 Charger

Communication
A multimedia notebook like the Toshiba Satellite L855-10K should obviously be able to establish a fast connection to the internet. A network card from Atheros is responsible for that, however, it does not support fast gigabit networks. The card should be able to fully use the latest fiberglass lines for consumers but it is not very future proof. It is a similar situation with the WLAN: Fast 300 Mbit per second is not supported, 54 Mbit per second is the maximum. The reception and transmitting performance of the WLAN module are good, even with a distance of 10 meters to the router Windows still indicated four bars. The latest Bluetooth generation is also supported with version 4.0.Dell Inspiron 15R 7520 Charger

Accessories and Software
Except for a quick start guide there are no additional accessories in the box, also there are no physical recovery DVDs for the operating system. Apart from memory extensions (which can be purchased for less elsewhere) and laptop bags there are no noteworthy accessories on the Toshiba website.Dell Inspiron 15R SE 4520 Charger

Toshiba installs some applications in Windows 8 worth mentioning: Nero 12 also includes video editing software and a video converter besides the known burning software, which could be very useful. The most advertised application is Toshiba Places. Aside from links to the support it almost exclusively contains streaming services for music or videos that create costs or offers from Toshiba. You should have a look at some of the preinstalled applications but you can also safely delete them.Dell Inspiron 15R SE 5520 Charger

Maintenance
After loosening just one screw you have quick access to the memory and the hard drive via the cover at the bottom. Exemplary: Even the battery, which supplies the BIOS with energy when the device is turned off, can be easily replaced; which saves time by not having to deal with tech support. The fan can be seen behind a cover but it cannot be accessed to remove dust.Dell Inspiron 15R SE 7520 Charger

Performance

The AMD A8-4500M is a popular processor that is used in many notebooks, for example in the Samsung Series 3 355E7C-S05DE, Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E535-NZR5BGE or Toshiba Satellite L875D-10E. The CPU has four cores and a nominal clock of 1.9 GHz. If necessary the clock can be raised up to 2.8 GHz. It is based on the current Trinity-architecture and manufactured in 32 nm, based on our experiences it usually cannot keep up with Intel's current Core-i3 processors. The chip also contains an AMD Radeon 7640G graphics unit. 8 GB memory and a large 750 GB hard drive complete the package.Dell Inspiron 15R TURBO Charger

Processor
In general the turbo-feature of the quad-core processor is very turbulent: Even during idle the clock constantly fluctuates between 1.4 GHz and 2.3 GHz, Intel's Turbo-Boost technology is more relaxed in this regard. Performance wise the processor can hardly convince us: Despite its four cores the AMD A8-4500M only reaches values similar to cheap Pentium or Celeron processors in Cinebench. During battery use the processor clock is reduced in every energy profile: 1.9 GHz is possible under load. Also, the processor cores can only execute one task at the same time, Intel Core-i processors can execute two threads simultaneously thanks to Hyperthreading technology.Dell Inspiron 15R(7520) Charger

Similar priced competitors sometimes even have an Intel Core i7 quad-core processor (Acer Aspire V3-571G, Dell Inspiron 15R SE), which is at least twice as fast in the synthetic benchmarks. If you only use less demanding applications like text processing or want to watch movies the AMD processor works just fine. However, the identical base price for considerably lower CPU performance is not justified in our opinion.Dell Inspiron 15R(N5520) Charger

System Performance
We had no problems with the system performance during daily tasks. The already very fast Windows 8 boots quickly and all the preinstalled applications can be executed without a noticeable delay. The system does not have problems with HD videos on YouTube either, only impressive 4K videos with four times the Full HD resolution show the limits of the system.

The similarly priced competitors Dell Inspiron 15R SE and Acer Aspire V3-571G are significantly faster in the synthetic system benchmark PC Mark 7. Dell Inspiron 15R(N7520) Charger

Gaming Performance
We played three games on the notebook, all of them ran smoothly in the native display resolution but FIFA 13 and Diablo III are not very demanding anyway. As mentioned before there were some issues with unpleasant micro stutters.

Mass Effect 3 is a bit more demanding but also ran smoothly even on an external Full HD display - a positive surprise. Our Graphics Overview also shows that more demanding games can quickly bring the notebook to its performance limit: Hitman: Absolution especially suffered from the weak CPU. An extensive games check of the APU can be found in the Toshiba Satellite L875D-10E review. Dell Inspiron 17R 4720 Charger

The Toshiba L855D-10K does a good job in our stress test but confuses most graphics utilities. They just add the values of both graphics cards and indicate values above 100 °C. You don't have to worry though, FurMark Multi-GPU shows the correct values and both graphics cards stay below 60 °C, the CPU is not in the critical area either with 66 °C. The 3DMark 06 score is just slightly reduced after our stress test with 7,423 points; we do not expect significant performance losses during long load periods.Dell Inspiron 17R 5720 Charger

The surface temperatures also get a good rating: A maximum of 40.5 °C at the top can be felt but is not unpleasant. With common tasks the notebook hardly warms up and the power supply unit remains pleasantly cool in all situations

Energy Consumption
The energy consumption shows two pictures: During idle our review unit consumes at least 8.3 Watts - very frugal within the competition. However, the maximum value of 17.1 Watts during idle is however much higher. If both graphics cards are active and we run more demanding applications the notebook consumes up to 73.3 Watts, an average value within the competition. The Acer Aspire V3-571G (Intel Core i5-3210M and GeForce GT 640M) consumes up to 81 Watts and the Dell Inspiron 15R-5521 (Intel Core i5-3317U, AMD Radeon HD 8730M) is more frugal with a maximum of 53.3 Watts. Dell Inspiron 17R 7720 Charger

Battery Runtime
The Satellite L855D-10K is clearly ahead of the higher performing competition: In the more practical WLAN scenario it runs over 4 hours, the Acer Aspire V3-571G and Dell Inspiron 15R SE only manage around 3 hours. All three systems have a 48 Wh battery. Dell Inspiron 17R SE 4720 Charger

The behavior of the Crossfire combination with both graphics cards is very interesting during battery use. Under load the GPU clock is significantly reduced to 380 MHz, independent from the selected energy profile. To save energy the dedicated graphics can also be deactivated; this usually happens during idle or with less demanding tasks.

How can you justify the 799 Euros (~$1047) for the Toshiba Satellite L855D-10K? With the performance? Many competitors offer significantly more performance for a street price of 550 Euros (~$721). With the metal surfaces? Not really, the build quality is not very good. With the screen? Just average. Dell Inspiron 17R SE 5720 Charger

So what remains in favor of the Toshiba in an environment with IPS displays (Acer Aspire V3-571G) and higher performance (Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition)? The battery runtimes, the cool case and the speakers are advantages of the review unit. All in all, we cannot give a recommendation for the Toshiba Satellite L855D-10K for this price, the competition just offers more for the same money.

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