New Portege Z830

If we compare it with S3, we can say that Z830 is better (light, thin, backlit keyboard, USB3.0, etc.) and cheaper than S3.

Asus UX31 looks excellent but most of the reviews does not say so.

So, its better to see first reviews before purchasing.

 

$899 Canadian? That's like $50 US right?

Wow... if it has an SSD, that's better than the Acer Aspire S3.

 

Or buy it from somewhere that offers trouble-free returns. After all frustrations that I had with Samsung Series 9, I'm going to look very carefully at return policies before I buy an Ultrabook (or similar).

 

Since holiday season is coming up, some stores have extended return policies.

otherwise I was hoping costco would get something other then the Acer ultrabook..*sigh*

 

Costco has had the portege series in the past [Online site, not in warehouse], so I'm hoping they'll get the z830.

Costco - Computers - Shop All Laptops

 

That is a good price- CAD to USD conversion is pretty much 1:1 right now. So that makes it $900. Specs say it has a 128gb drive- that means it has got to be SSD- if they were going to be stingy and make it HDD, then they wouldn't have put only 128gb in, they would have made a much larger capacity, as its not a very expensive upgrade. That is a very attractive price. Almost makes me want to go to canada to order it!

... but I learned my lesson after the UX31- try before I buy!

 

I found some prices:

Toshiba's Portege Z830 ultrabooks priced at £899 | The Verge

considering this matches the Canadian price on the i3 model I would guess it will be same for us models(just change pound sign to dollar sign)

full specs: http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/innovation/series/Portege-Z830-Series/1112901/

 

the bit i'm interested in also is the UK site claims no moving parts, so is it a passive cooling system?????!!!!! how can that be on an i7 cpu, or for that matter any core i series cpu?

i think they are telling small porkies in embelishing the use of SSD's on the whole range and claiming its a no moving part machine, i'd put cash on there being a fan in there

 

aaaggghh! 899! such a good price... didnt wait for one..
i was expecting it to be 1000(64gb ssd) to 1100$(128gb ssd) so.. i didnt wait for this model... ordered a dell v131

 

Even though it's only 1366x768... at $900, I think I'll buy one just to futz around with. I can probably sell my 2010 13" MBA for at least $900 so it will be a wash.

Hopefully next year we'll see higher rez screen models (or maybe Asus will get their Zenbooks more stable).

 

Whether you are talking $'s or £'s that is a big price jump to get the i5 model.

Unfortunately, the i3 is dramatically slower, since it is slower and crippled without turboboost.

Passmark:
i3-2367M @1.4ghz no turbo : 1921
i5-2557M @1.7GHZ turbo to 2.7GHZ: 2358

So a by passmark about a 25% difference, which is not as bad as I tjhought, but I'm guessing there will be a relatively big real-world difference.

 

Here's a hands on review of the Z830 by Josh Smith of Gotta Be Mobile. The reviewer finds the Z830 to be stylish and has other positive points about the new Toshiba ultrabook. Smith has concerns about the fan noise (so it DOES have a fan and, therefore, a "moving part"). He has additional qualms about the speed of the SSD; the location of Home, End, PgUp, PgDown keys; and the "flex" of the screen. However, none of these concerns would be "deal breakers" for me, provided that the announced US price is comparable to the Canadian.

 

I find this part interesting:

Constantly on? That can't be right... that's not the case on the MBAs, the S3 or the UX series.

Not sure what he thinks a better arrangement of keys are (I asked him in the comments).

 

The price is still competitive. Also by looks of it we are paying 70$ to get windows 7 professional. There might be a version with home premium and core i5 later on

 

Thanks for the link.

Excuse my rant, but I really wish Toshiba would update their keyboard design. I would have bought an R700 or R830 when they came out had I been able to type on the keyboard. I'm sure it is user dependent, but the small, cramped layout feels painful when compared to other similar sized laptops by Sony, Apple and Lenovo. Is it that hard to make a keyboard that Toshiba and Acer can't figure it out? I'd rather type on the R600's trampoline keyboard (with normal size keys) then feel my hand cramp up on their newer models.

I would not even mind much if Toshiba did not otherwise have such compelling products. But Apple learned years ago that you focus on the keyboard, screen and touchpad first and then work on the hardware. It seems like Toshiba works in the reverse direction.

 

I wouldn't interpret too much in that price jump yet... it looks like there may be more than just a different processor you're getting- from Toshiba's previous offerings, that price jump may also be a matte screen, a fingerprint reader, a better warranty, etc. I'm not certain, but just saying it could be a justified price jump.

Just took a look at the review... I'm a bit worried about the mention of the fan, as well as the slower SSD. Also, really, Toshiba, do you need all five stickers on there? Ugly.

 

Another Canadian website, FutureShop, has the Z830 on pre-order for CAD $999.99. This has the i5-2467M processor and 6 GB of RAM. It seems like a pretty good deal to me. I hope that we see similar deals soon on U.S. websites.
Addendum: The FutureShop website indicates that it is a division of Best Buy Canada.

 

Has anyone heard any possibility of 256GB SSD?
I just cannot do with 128GB.

ANyone please?

 

Early reports said the Core i7 model would have 256GB SSD. But the Core i7 model doesn't seem to have made an appearance yet so I can't confirm...

 

That sounds promising. My only worry with Bestbuy is whether the you will get a cut-rate version. Didn't the BestBuy "Blue Label: R830 have shoddy cooling when compared to the stock R830?

 

Some R830 users reported the BB r835 had heat sink fins that were aluminum [not copper]. Here's a link that highlights that:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/toshiba/571389-just-got-new-r835-p50x-14.html

For comparison of the copper fins, look at this Toshiba video @ about 1:50.
Toshiba Portege R830 Official Intro Video *deception - YouTube

If in doubt of the pre-configured i7 w/ 256GB SSD; models bought directly from Toshiba should have a customization feature; hopefully you can expand the size of the SSD and upgrade to an i5/i7.

Also, I think it should be pointed out; I believe the i7 that would come with the portege is the DUAL-core i7; NOT quad-core i7 [assuming it follows the same path as the r830]
Portege R830-ST8300


Keep the updates coming

 

How would you compare:

R835 i5-2430 + 120GB SATAII SSD (either in place of HDD or DVD) = $930

vs.

Z830 i5-2557
--------------------

R835:
Pro: Faster, DVD, ?quieter and cooler

Z830:
Pro: Lighter, sleeker, instant resume, backlit KB

 

i5-2430m
Intel® Core? i5-2430M Processor (3M Cache, 2.40 GHz)
i5-2557m
Intel® Core? i5-2557M Processor (3M Cache, 1.70 GHz)


Looks like the i5-2430m has a higher base freq, a higher turbo freq and higher graphics freq, but also requires more power to operate and will run warmer [35w tdp vs 17W tdp].
What Is Thermal Design Power? [Technology Explained]
Thermal design power - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Hmmm...I wasn't aware of a cooling issue with that machine because I was not shopping for a laptop at the time the R830 was released. Do you have any reference for that? Thanks!

 

it was users who found this, upon dismantling their R830/835 series it was found that the heat sink had alloy fins, not copper, so the fans were running faster to compensate

the R700, R830 and new Z830 all use toshibas airflow cooling technology or wahtever its called, which basically means the fan runs all the time. i have had an R700 for a year or so now and the only time i notice the noise on general surfing and document handling tasks is in a library, as in if its totally silent in the room. otherwise its totally un-noticeable.

 

19947PT, thank you for that background information. I'm glad to hear that the fan noise hasn't been too much of a problem. My Sony SZ160 sounds like a jet engine at times, so the Z830 might appear to me to be quiet by comparison.

 

I'd wait on more reviews about the z830 and fan noise. The only review we have said it was loud. And it being the thinnest and lightest means that it could end up being the loudest

IMO there has been a fundamental flaw in this current generation of intel laptops. The more powerful integrated graphics is causing too much heat leading to throttling or cooling issues across many different laptop lines. And with the ultrabooks being the thinnest I expect even more issue (although the GPU is clocked lower, which helps.)

Intel is behind AMD and NVidea when it comes to GPU design. Maybe the gap will narrow with Ivy Bridge and its smaller die. But for this generation all of the positive thermal gains with the CPU are being lost because the integrated GPU is an oven and shares the same cooling system.

 

@tktk

I'm waiting for more reports on the fan noise too. I can live with the slow SSD as I will upgrade that later.

I wonder if the fan has option like the Samsung Series 9 had? Where it had a "silent" mode where the fan was on all the time and then a second mode where it came it when needed? That was a BIOS setting (if I remember correctly). I never found the fan to be an issue on that device.

 

First American Review, along with prices!

Toshiba Portege Z835 Notebook | Ultrabook Reviews

Unfortunately, its testing the i3 model, so its hard to compare it to some other i5 ultrabooks, but there were a few things that bothered me:
1) Keyboard had high error rate. Can't be nearly as bad as the ux31, but it means I'll have to go over to best buy and try for myself.
2) SSD was running like a 7200 rpm HDD. Not what you'd want out of an SSD.
3) The performance was generally slow, but again, it was an i3 drive.

Some good things to note from the article:
1)pleasure-to-use touchpad
2) good audio
3) elegant design
4) great battery life

 

For Phil: I'll save you the trouble -- here's the part you'll be looking for:

"Using a light meter, we measured the Portege Z835's screen at 260 lux, which is better than the paltry 162 lux of the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s, but much weaker than the MacBook Air 13-inch's 330 lux or the ASUS UX31's 360 lux. Viewing angles were solid up to about 60 degrees to the left or right."

 

Fairly positive review... have to test the keys myself to see if it's just a travel issue or the same one as the UX series with the corners.

Do the other ultrabooks also support WiDi?

 

It looks like they just can't get enough travel in the keyboards on all these ultrabooks due to the thickness of the chassis. This is a deal breaker in both the UX31 as well as the Z830, and unless they come up with some type of new technology, ultrabooks are just not going to cut it for me. If there were not so many problems with the Lenovo laptops, their fantastic keyboards would overcome the lack of sleekness.

 

Hi guys, I have one of these for review and am typing on it as we speak. In short:
-Much better keyboard than the ASUS Zenbook 13.3"
-Decent sound quality
-Super light/thin

Love it so far ... at $899 this is going to be hard to pass up.

I haven't spent enough time with it to offer any definitive thoughts but so far, my impressions are very positive.

 

Charles, thanks for sharing with us your early experience with the Z830. Do you have the i3 model that was tested in other reviews?

Like makryger, I think I'll test the keyboard when Best Buy gets the Z830 in stock. I stopped by the San Francisco Best Buy on my way home last evening but the Z830 was still not listed in the BB inventory system so I don't know the BB availability date yet.

 

@ Guillermédico

FYI. An earlier post pointed to a review where it said that Best Buy will have the Z835 (not the Z830).

 

i dont find the r700 keyboard a problem, can touch type no issue but i have fairly small hands and skinny fingers which helps! i love island keyboards as well, find them much less prone to typos than std boards.

Charles, hows the backlight on the keyboard looking, i deem that the only feature missing from my R700 and tbh i'm hoping to get hold of an Z830 keyboard and retro fit it to my R700, hopefully it'll work!lol! they look very very similar in size and design, its just connection i need to confirrm as same then try it!lol!

thats my main interest in the Z830 as i can't do without my optical drive!lol!

 

Hi Kalahari: Yes, I read that post too and asked the Best Buy sales associate to look up the Z835 in the BB inventory system. I wonder when it will start showing up for future availability. Does anyone know if there is a way of accessing online the inventory in Best Buy stores (as opposed to availability at bestbuy.com)?

 

@Charles:

Are the keys smaller in height (vertical, not depth) like the other Porteges? And I don't think Tosh's keys would have the same problem as the Asus UX ones... you can press the Enter key on the corner, feel the registered "click" and it still wouldn't do the Enter on-screen.

 

Hi Guillermédico - yes, I have the i3 model, the i3-2367M to be precise. 4GB RAM, 128GB drive, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

That's correct as well. My unit says "Z835-P330" on the bottom. This is the Best Buy version. It has a Best Buy application installed which I got rid of almost immediately.

The backlighting is quite nice; it's not as bright as the backlighting on the Satellite models but easily noticeable and helps in the dark.

I have little experience with other Toshibas outside the Satellite/Qosmio range, but the keys feel a bit shallow to me regardless. They could use another mm or two of key travel.
Other than that, the keyboard is decent. It has dedicated home/end/pgup/pgdn keys unlike the ASUS UX31. The keys are probably 90% full-sized. It has a very light feel ... little effort is needed to press down the keys.
I have not experienced any keyboard accuracy issues; I can type as fast as I normally do without pause. No missed keystrokes unlike the ASUS UX31, which almost required the keys to be forcibly pressed.

Something else I've noticed about this notebook since yesterday is the fan; it is quite small and has a bit of a whine. It's noticeable but not intrusive since it's simply not very loud. I will be running benchmarks later.

Other things I like about the Z830 series:
-Full-size HDMI and VGA ports (UX31 comes with a mini-VGA w/ adapter but does NOT have a mini-HDMI adapter, you have to buy your own).
-Where the Ethernet port is cut out is kind of sharp.
-Display hinge has variable stiffness. You can open it with one hand like a MacBook however is plenty stiff at its normally opened angles.
-Chrome finish touchpad buttons get fingerprinted up very fast.
-Unreal amount of "TOSHIBA" software installed. Took me a half hour to remove. If I owned this machine, I would do a clean install right away.
-ASUS UX31 has better speakers by a decent margin. These are still better than the speakers sent on most notebooks though.

 

Thanks Charles... that's what I was referring to in regards to "height". I am consigned that most ubooks will have shallow keys but for some reason on the Tosh, they also made the surface area of the keys smaller (probably for more space in the palmrest and to allow a dropped cursor key cluster). I wanted to see if that was the case with the z830/5 because it's hard to tell from the pictures.

I've read that Tosh's fan is always on, which is concerning to me... esp since you were using an i3 vs. an i7.

Can you confirm if there was WiDi on the other ubooks you reviewed?

 

@ Charles P. Jefferies

Can you check if there's any fan options that can be controlled by a BIOS setting or some other setting?

I ask because the Samsung Series 9 had an option of running the fan all the time quietly or only running it when needed.

Thanks

 

How can I check that - device manager? I didn't check the ASUS, unfortunately. Sent that back last week.

I'll check that when I get home. Right now the fan never turns off. It's not silent.

And yes the i3 will definitely be the coolest-running of all the processors and also be the best on battery. I will be running benchmarks later. I can't imagine this 17W TDP CPU will produce much heat.

 

It could be under Program Files in an Intel folder called 'Intel WiDi'.

I think you can use the search box to and it will find it.

 

Hi Charles,

I have couple of questions which I am not sure you would be able to answer.
1) RAM - Can you check the controller to determine the max? There is 2GB on board and one slot. If I buy this I would put an 8GB module to get 10GB. Can you somehow check whether it is doable? (Without removing the bottom can you check the parts or bios)

2) SATA SSD (II or III is enabled?) - Is there any way to determine whether Toshiba enabled SATA III speed in the bios? I know that for some reason Toshiba restricted the speed on the R830/835 to SATA II. Now this Z830/835 look very similar and I know that they use SATA II SSD but I was wondering whether SATA III is enabled.

Many thanks

 

@charles:

You can just cut and paste all the question/answers here and *tada* your review is finished!

 

Found it in the Programs list - Intel Widi.

I'll see what I can do ...

1) I downloaded CPU-Z, it just shows 4GB of memory and does not indicate anything is in slot #1 or #2. And it looks like the entire bottom of the notebook needs to be removed in order to access anything. Are you sure there is an open slot?

2) That's another thing I'd need your assistance to check ... how could I determine that?
I ran CrystalDiskMark, the performance of the included 128GB SSD is positively AWFUL [see attached]. My WD Scorpio Black 500GB 7200RPM is faster in writes and pretty close everywhere else. The notebook still seems pretty responsive though. The UX31 included a much faster SSD (although it was still slow by SSD standards).

I think if you're buying one of these Ultrabooks to do anything where performance matters beyond surfing the Internet and other basis tasks, it's not a good idea.

You're right. The questions are giving me good notes to include in the review!

 

Charles,

You said " 1) I downloaded CPU-Z, it just shows 4GB of memory and does not indicate anything is in slot #1 or #2. And it looks like the entire bottom of the notebook needs to be removed in order to access anything. Are you sure there is an open slot?"

The Memory tab, in CPU-Z, shows the full memory but you didn't have the SPD tab which shows the # of slots and the amount or RAM in each?

 

I do have the SPD tab and it allows me to select slots #1 and #2, but everything is greyed out - no info at all. Just blank.

 

Hi Charles,
Thank you for checking it.

I am not sure you are comfortable removing the bottom of your new machine. Just in case, I found couple of photos of the machine design structure. ( Click Here)

1) RAM - There is definitely an extra slot. What I do not know is how we can find out whether there is a limitation (either hardware or bios) for the max RAM.

2) SATA II or III? - The Z830/835 uses mSATA drive made by Toshiba with SATA II speeds. One thing for sure that Intel controller can handle SATA III speeds. The only question is whether Toshiba enabled this in the bios. I am not sure whether you want to browse through the bios and see what is there. This may not help to determine whether SATA III is enabled. The other option would require to remove the bottom and plug-in a SATA III drive and run a test. (I understand this may not be possible/feasible. So if you are not comfortable with removing the bottom its fine, sooner or later somebody will test this. Also, it makes no sense of doing that unless you have a SATA III drive with an adapter to to plug into the mSATA port)

I think many people will throw out this Toshiba SSD due to its terrible performance and put in a faster and larger (256GB) drive.

Again, thank you for your help.

 

@ mz/x

I know someone that will be testing a SATA III SSD in the Z830 in the next two weeks or so (he doesn't have the Z830 yet). So we might have to be patient or someone else may be able to test before that.