Toshiba - Satellite 17.3" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Satin Black

Tried this computer out in Bestbuy and was fairly impress by the performance in the store, after getting home and setting up I discovered that this 17.3" laptop is definitely a sleeper, here's some of my findings. The processor is very fast for a i3 2.40GHZ probably mostly due to it being a third generation ivy bridge design and having the HD 4000 on board graphics. Graphics: Installing Adobe CS5 took about 45min which is about the same as my desktop that has faster hard drives. Stock out of the box I was able to open and 725mb Photoshop file in CS5 that measures 20" wide x 12.5 high and 300dpi in under 10sec and work on it and save the document in under 7sec. Now most of the time the documents I work on are smaller than this and working on and saving those is almost instantaneousness. Also zooming in and out is very smooth in Photoshop while doing image restoration. Audio: Pleasantly surprised to find editing audio in Acoustica Mixcraft Pro 6 was very smooth and the Toshiba C875 is able to handle multiple effects per track with no problems, the 17.3" screen makes it very comfortable while editing multiple tracks. Rendering a 3:30 minute song with multiple effects took approximately 30sec which is more than acceptable. I was also very impress that the usb external sound card M-Audio Fast Track Pro driver worked flawlessly on Windows 8 seeing that is a Windows 7 driver and presents some compatibility problems clicking and popping audio during recording and playback on some Windows 8 systems, but none of that was experienced here on this laptop. The sound from the speakers is a little low but when the headphones are plugged and Virtual Surround is turned on in the Realtek Audio Manager, WOW! Video Editing: Editing a photo image show with background music in Windows Live Movie Maker went very well, the final output was rendered to HD 1080p. Also found I could push folders with images to my Sony bluray player and watch them on the TV by right clicking the folder and selecting Play To and then select the Sony bluray from the right click menu, this also worked for single images too. This is not the same as the Intel Wireless display but works over my home network and will be awesome for sharing photos during Christmas parties this year. The laptop was also able to drive a 24" HD 1080p monitor and route and send the audio through the HDMI cable, this one cable solution video and audio is awesome. Hardware: The screen is great, bright and clear, the keyboard is easy to type on, I also reversed the top row function keys to require pressing the fn key first because of the type of programs I use, this change was easily done in the bios when the computer first boots up by taping the F2 key when you first see the Toshiba logo during boot up the finding the appropriate screen to make the change to the function keys then save the bios changes and reboot. The Realtek wireless works great, with no disconnections and always has full bars at average 15mbps to the wireless modem from across the house. The laptop stays very cool and the fan comes on once in a while and the machine is also very quite. Also installed a bluetooth dongle in the usb 2.0 port next to the HDMI port and now can connect to Logitech mouse and cell phone. The usb 2.0 ports are more that adequate pulling over 20mb ps from usb sticks, I don't have any usb 3.0 devices to try out but that port should be much faster. The built in camera is acceptable in low light and the mic isn't that bad either, definitely can use this for Skype calling. Battery life is around 3.5 hours on balanced power setting, I still have to try eco mode and run the battery dry, but even 3 hours is great for what I do with the laptop. The trackpad feels good and does two finger tap right clicking and three finger flick for scrolling through pictures or navigating back a forth through webpages and it can be disabled with a press of the F5 function key, so the cursor will not jump around while typing. Multitasking: During typing this review the Toshiba C875-S7304 was driving a 24" HD external monitor that was playing a 40 track music project in Acoustica Mixcraft, Playing 198 worth the images being pushed to the Bluray player and the TV, Firefox open and checking email with multiple tabs open and oh ya I launched Photoshop opened that 725mb file while all this was going on and Mixcraft audio didn't even stutter. So in my opinion this laptop rocks and for $399 on sale "Unbelievable" there is also a 15.6 model C855-S5308 that one seems also more than capable. Unless something goes unbelievably wrong before 30 days is up this laptop is definitely a keeper, I would highly suggest getting this laptop and giving it a try, my last Toshiba from 2006 is still running strong with Windows 7 and has endured many hot summers and cold winters and only had to replace the power brick. Hope this review helps you decide, thanks for reading it.

Ok had this laptop about 2 weeks now. This thing is fast! I searched around for a 17" under $450.00 and hit a home run. I am a casual user with Excel, Word and Powerpoint on occasion. I also use Movie Maker and it works flawlessly. Web pages just appear on the screen, the unit boots up fast. At first I did hate the textured touchpad, but I quickly got used to it. If you are in this laptop for music, don't bother the speakers are totally useless..use headphones. They are "tinny" and really stink. The laptop is fast and I have not had any problems with anything. I do hate the bloatware preloaded #Norton and Office trial and all the Toshiba junk# but I guess that is what keeps the price down. I am not a fan of Windows 8 #enough said there#. The keyboard seems a bit flimsy and cheap but I am getting used to it. There are no separate "F" keys, you have to hit FCTN and then that brings you to the top row. The display #and a nice one at that# when you open or close it, make sure you do so from the MIDDLE ONLY! if you grab it from the sides it seems like it's going to break. Also opening the laptop takes 2 hands to separate the display from the unit. Overall for a 17" 4gb, 500mb, you cannot go wrong with this laptop. I am glad I purchased I no regrets.

This 17.3 display screen, with i3 processor, the new IE10, Windows8 innovations, tiles etc is excellent and fun. I am a 50+ person and find Windows 8 is easy to adapt to with some patience and curiosity; great concept and very well integrated with other features in this Toshiba laptop which is excellent quality for it's price range. I was very pleased to find Voice Recognition included and have been setting this up with excellent results; I can open IE10 by voice command, type by voice and so on; Awesome!

I just got this laptop about a week ago and I love it. I had a Dell for 7 years and hated it. I use computers for school and social. I was not sure about windows 8 at first due to reviews but I love windows 8 it took a day to get use too but after that your fine. The speakers are not the best but that's fine and the keyboard feels like it can break but it won't. It runs fast, the set-up was really easy, the battery life is great, love how big the screen is. This computer is great for any student.

This is a GREAT Laptop, I did a TON of research and decided on this Toshiba. GIANT screen which is what I wanted and it's still very light. 3rd Generation Core i3 processor is lightning fast, I've had zero issues and have had it for about 3 weeks. Windows 8 takes some getting used to but it definitely does NOT take away from how great this is. The not so good is the Touchpad, it just doesn't react as quickly as I wouold like it to. I feel like I have to use greater than normal pressure to get it to respond to me. GREAT Laptop for the $$....SIMPLY PUT!!

Bought this for my mom. Its a great laptop for under $400 because it doesnt have AMD or Pentium processor. It haa intel 3 and 500gb with 4gb. It has the larger screen. It is more than what my Mom wouldve wanted.

I have been with low-end PCs for over 30 years, this one ranked the best! Screen is so clear and so crisp, the extra 2 inches allow me to read words without enlarge the font (I am an old man, by the way :) The processor of INTEL's is definitely better than AMD's of the same category, this PC turns on without any churning, it almost has no wait time. Window 8 is an advance comparing with its predecessors but if you have owned any tablet then the operating system is not a surprise. Hey, even I can get used to this 17" PC with W8 so can you, go ahead, buy this one you won't be sorry, I LIKE IT VERY MUCH (this is what I kept telling my wife :)

I absolutely love this laptop. I am nearly done with high school, and I needed a new laptop that I could use for school and college when it comes, as well as fit into my somewhat low budget. After weeks of searching, I saw that this laptop had just come out at Best Buy and after looking at the features, knew it was the one for me. The screen is very large and clear, much better than my previous laptop (which was going on 7 years old!). It is fast for being operated by Windows, but it does freeze up sometimes, which I don't mind at all because it doesn't last more than 30 seconds, and it only happens once in a while. The only things I do not like about this laptop is the keyboard and bad sound quality. The keyboard is very flimsy for some reason, and I feel like if I would hit it the wrong way a key would fall off! That is just a minor problem, though, and one that I easily got over. As for the sound quality, all that I needed to do to solve the issue was to plug some headphones in and listen that way. Overall, this laptop is GREAT, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great computer on a low budget.