One year with the Portege R705...

This week marks a full year since I went into Best Buy in Billings and bought their first Portege R705. It might be helpful for a long-term review.

When I purchased the R705, I believed that it hit the sweet spot for price ($799), performance (full powered core i3 processor), size (13"), and weight (just over 3lbs). After one year, I still feel the same way. There has been some disappointment, though. Let's go over them:

Sound: Let's be honest. The speakers sound abysmal. I get it. The Portege line is directed at the business user. But business users like a little high fidelity too. With speakers smaller than sugar cubes though, you're not going to get much.

Keyboard: After long-term use, I really have no complaints about the touch and feel of the keyboard. It IS different but I have come to like it. The lack of back-lighting, however is my main disappointment. It isn't a deal breaker but there are plenty of times I wish I had it.

Screen: I don't have a problem with the screen resolution. That's fine for me. But get used to a dimmer screen. Most of the blame goes to Toshiba's ECO setting and the funny thing is, you'll want to use it. It goes a long way to conserving battery life, keeping the R705 cool, and limiting fan noise. Again, you'll get used to a dimmer screen but side by side with another laptop at full brightness, you might feel like trading in a little battery life.

Now there is one area that I won't complain about that other R700 user have - Fan noise. I believe I know why. The R705 uses Intel's core i3 processor. Many have opted for speedier core i5s and i7s. But speed comes at a price and that is heat. Thin and lights by nature struggle with heat. Sometimes the best answer is to scale back the processor and I have found the core i3 is no slouch.

While the R705 isn't perfect, I know I hit the jackpot. When I walk into Best Buy or Office Depot, I STILL don't feel envious of the latest and greatest features out there. I am content with what I have and after a year, that is saying something...

 

Good shout. Gives me some faith in my recent R835 purchase!
You have a nice little ace up your sleeve as well which is when you're keen for a bit of a performance boost you can (especially if you hold out for another 6-12 months) plonk for an SSD which will give you a considerably faster machine