Toshiba Satellite L745D review: Toshiba Satellite L745D

What constitutes a rock-bottom budget laptop? Normally, the holiday "doorbuster" special tends to be a $300-range machine, with a 15-inch screen, a low-end chassis, and an underpowered processor. While we sometimes mock these computer bottom-feeders, they can offer surprisingly competent value for the price...from time to time. Still, what to make of a doorbuster that's priced at $500? The Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4220 is just such a machine. Bulky, underpowered, and yet somehow it costs as much as an entry-level Dell Inspiron 15R.

5.7

Toshiba Satellite L745D

The Good

The <b>Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4220</b> is a functioning laptop running Windows 7, with a 500GB hard drive.

The Bad

The Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4220 has a sluggish, underperforming processor, disappointing battery life, and a price that hardly fits its performance.

The Bottom Line

Budget shoppers had best look elsewhere than the 14-inch Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4220. A low-end processor and middling speed aren't worth the $499 asking price, and we've seen many laptops in the same range that offer more.

The AMD E-350 processor in this 14-inch laptop is the same horsepower as what we're used to seeing in 11-inch ultraportables like the HP Pavilion dm1z. The HP dm1z costs less, is more portable, and has better battery life. The marriage of low-end CPU with midsize budget laptop here makes no sense, especially when far faster Intel Core i3 laptops are available for the very same price.

Our advice: steer far clear of configurations like these, and aim for a better set of specs for the money. Toshiba makes laptops that are better deals, and so do most manufacturers. This is a doorbuster wannabe that will bust no doors.