Toshiba Satellite P755-113 review

Handling processing duties inside the Toshiba Satellite P755-113 is an Intel Core i5 2410M. The second generation Intel Core chips have been causing quite a stir in the desktop world lately, and the processing chops that the new Sandy Bridge architecture is capable of is impressive in mobile computing too.

The Core i5 2410m runs at a rather weak 2.3GHz, however, over just two cores and two threads. The absence of Turbo Boost from the lower end CPUs such as this compounds the underwhelming performance from a £999 laptop.

The Toshiba Satellite P755-113 sports a formidable 6GB of RAM. That's more than the Medion Erazer X6811, Alienware M11x or HP Envy 14 offer.

That might appear to show value for money, but when you consider that Medion's X6811 packs an Intel Core i5 480M CPU running at 2.66GHz over 4 threads – for £100 less – it seems the specs have been wrongly prioritised. We'd rather see the CPU fighting fit with the bog standard 4GB of RAM than the Satellite P755-113's configuration.

On the plus side, the extra memory will help in image manipulation and music production scenarios, or simply if you're a heavy multitasker, affording the Toshiba Satellite P755-113 some versatility. As far as workstation duties go, the laptop's more than qualified. A low end Sandy Bridge CPU is still more than capable of chewing through Office apps.

Let's not beat around the bush. The Toshiba Satellite P755-113 isn't a workstation machine. It's about gaming. And boy does it handle this side of things with gusto. The Nvidia GT 540M is DirectX 11 capable and boasts a 1GB frame buffer. That means it won't just play the latest games, it'll play them at high detail settings and still manage perfectly playable frame rates.

It helps that the native resolution of the Toshiba Satellite P755-113's 15.6-inch screen is a fairly small 1366 x 768. Smaller resolution means fewer pixels to render, and so faster frame rates. It's not all good news though – 1080p high definition is off the menu, so games and videos won't dazzle with crispness as they would on a 1920 x 1080 screen.

To be fair, though, the competition don't outdo it at this price point. Alienware's M11x [LINK], Medion's Erazer X6811 and HP's Envy 14 all run at 1366 x 768 natively as well. Such is the way with laptops of this size. The graphics card does offer an edge over those rivals, however. It's the most powerful GPU of the lot, and that's surely an enticing prospect for gamers.

3D Vision

The Nvidia bleeding edge tech doesn't end there with Toshiba's Satellite P755-113. Included in the price is the Nvidia 3D Vision kit. This breaks down as a set of hugely uncomfortable glasses and a built-in IR receiver above the screen which, used together, will enable you to enjoy games, films and photos in three glorious dimensions.

OK, there's still an element of scepticism around 3D among tech enthusiasts, but if you want to buy into it, this is a handy package. Desktop systems require an external IR receiver, and that means one occupied USB slot, an extra device Windows needs drivers for, more cable clutter and so on. But with the Toshiba Satellite P755-113 it's easy to jump straight into 3D. The glasses need to charge via a USB cable, but other than that it's mess-free 3D. That inclusion makes the price tag look more reasonable too – none of the other circa-£999 laptops mentioned have 3D capability.