Portege R700 - the thin and light 13.3"

Hello, I've been reading these forums for quite awhile and now its time to post! Well I'm in a market for a 13 incher, I have looked at MBP 13", Vaio Z, Vaio S, and Portégé R705. I have 1k scholarship and 1k of my own cash to spend.

Today I visited Best buy to check out R705, I have few remarks about this machine. It feels sturdy, light weight, good value for price. One thing that I disliked, maybe because of my high expectations since I was looking into buying i7/SSD R700, is the keyboard. To my personal taste its too stiff, didn't like typing on it, feels unconformable and also track pad keys are too stiff, takes a bit of pressure to make a click. So after checking Portégé R705 this strengthened my decision of buying Vaio Z.

 

Is this the spec for the R700 (non-glossy?) screen or R705 (glossy) screen?

In Japan, the higher speced RX3 has a light-weight LED screen, which I am not sure if it's the same as the R700 sold here in US or it's something different -- if it is, US Toshiba is not taking credit for the reduced weight (100 gram in Japanese specs)

 

Yes, the keyboard does take some getting used to, but for 800$ i think the r705 is a better buy.

 

I am down to the R700 with i7 chip or the Vaio Z. The R700 will cost about $1,550. Are there any Vaio Z's that I can get for $1,600 or so?

 

why would u want an i7 on a small portable laptop

 

hey gamermatt, just curious, i'm not a gamer by any means, but have you tried gaming on your 705? do you think it could handle some games like call of duty (not worried if it can't do it at the highest resolution) i might not even game, ut it would be nice to know that i could...

 

I have not tried gaming on it, and i dont plan to. Im sure it could handle modern warfare 2 (if thats the COD game ur talking about) on lowest settings, but not too much more than that. The core i3 cpu could handle some light gaming probably, but with no dedicated gpu, theres no real point to make this a gaming rig by any means, lol. I have a desktop, that i built, for that ;D

 

Did you try customizing at sony's website? The i7 does cost a lot more but you get a much better screen, gt330m, and a raid-0 config. But I believe the battery life is a tad shorter, and I am not sure if they offer a 3yr warranty. So I guess it boils down to if you want those...

 

Yeah, if you have enough money for Vaio Z, go for it because its worth it, that's what I will be buying in few weeks.

 

Hey,
I went to Best Buy to take a look at the R705. I could feel vibrations under the palmrest (by the mouse). Did you guys notice the same thing? Does it get irritating?

Thanks

 

I feel no vibrations under the palmrest on my r705, maybe it was used and abused in the store because it is up for display.

 

It's a huge dilemma between the r700 and Vaio Z. I've done a lot of value-for-money comparisons and found that Vaio Z is worth the money. The only thing that may seem optional to some buyers is the discrete graphics, which possibly contributes to $200-$300 to the cost - but you can't exclude it.

However, Vaio Z does have the issues I listed earlier and also it doesn't have a good port replicator. Toshiba hi-speed port replicator rocks with USB 3.0 and HDMI (Vaio Z lacks both).

 

Gamermatt, thanks for all the info you're sharing. Hopefully, more owners will join soon and balance your load I have another question: the r700 has a fan at the bottom - does it blow air towards bottom or rather suck the air in?

I am ready to compromise on bottom heat and display brightness/contrast, but a stiff keyboard seems to be too much of a compromise even for a low-cost machine. If there's anyone else in this thread who experienced the keyboard, please share your opinion regarding the stiffness.

I am currently on a Dell XPS m1330 and the keyboard is very good - my fingers can float and type on the keys without any effort.

 

Hmmm as far as the air blowing or sucking in, i think it uses a fan on the left side that blows air out the side, but its very slight because the fan is never on high when i use my laptop... i cant really tell if its sucking or blowing (thats what she said) lol

As far as the keyboard being stiff, i actually prefer it after getting used to it, because it feels a lot more durable, i dunt know why i just like it better

 

I agree with Gamermatt :

The keyboard feels very different compared to those I've used before. After about an hour of use, my speed went from 77wpm on a standard desktop keyboard to 59 on this one while missing a keystroke once every few words. But I think most of my misses were not a result of stiffness, but rather because of the flat keys that my fingers kept slipping over (nope.. never used a chiclet before). I think a couple of days of regular use should set that mostly right.

 

Frankly speaking, I don't think that a good keyboard requires people to get used to it. How does it feel compared to a Vaio (for example S or Z) keyboard? When I first tried the Vaio S I immediately fell in love with the keyboard, which is really soft and sensitive, even though I tend to push hard on the keys.

 

I think I'll wait for what you guys think after a couple more days of use.

Anyone else observed keyboard stiffness? What's your opinion?

It's frustrating that there's simply no no-brainer ultraportable out there.

 

I agree very much. Keyboard is where you're doing the most physical interaction with the machine - it shouldn't bother you at all.

 

Yeah.. For example, have you ever driven a car with a poor and inaccurate steering? Quite often you have to continuously correct the trajectory moving the steering wheel because the car is not going where you wanted. With a good (and probably expensive) car you don't even need to think about the steering wheel, the car goes naturally there, where you like. And you don't need to get accustomed at all!
To me it's the same with the keyboard, having to retype or correct means that you are not easily reaching your target. Probably it's not an issue for many people, but as I write a lot, I consider very important to have a good keyboard.

 

The thing with this keyboard is not that it has a chicklet keyboard vs a regular one. It's that this chicklet keyboard uses keys that are smaller than other chicklet keys.

At BestBuy I went back and forth between typing on the Vaio S and the Toshiba. The S has the same chicklet keys that my Vaio FW has. Regular size. The Toshiba's chicklet keys are maybe like 3/4 the size, vertically. Horizontally I think it's about the same.

I'll admit that typing on the Toshiba felt strange to me, since I'm used to regular size chicklet keys. But I only used tried it for a few minutes in the store. It's quite possible that you DO just get used to the different feel.

 

What should be the third alternative I should look at beyond Sony Vaio Z and Portege r700?

I just need a reasonably priced 13.3" Core i5 ultraportable with SSD, vibrant screen, no heat, good keyboard with less than 3.2 pounds (1.4 kg) weight. Is that asking too much?

I am still inclined to r700 and mainly hinging on more first-hand reports of the keyboard stiffness/comfort-factor.

I plan to do a lot of software development and no gaming.

 

I just noticed, too, from an image that the keyboard is vertically cramped while a lot of space is there in the palmrest area. They should increase the key height in next revision.

 

I agree. I'm not sure why they chose to squeeze down the size of the keys. Should be plenty of room for regular sized chicklet keys.

I really wish the Vaio S were a bit lighter. It's pretty much everything I want in a laptop except that it's a little too heavy (comparatively).

 

I never met a keyboard I didn't have to get used to.

And, a lot of this keyboard stuff is just personal preference. I don't like a keyboard that doesn't offer up at least some resistance (better stiff than a softy, lol). I don't know about the vertical space though. That sort of worries me. I like my thumb to be able to reach the space bar easily, and when they crunch up these keyboards that gets harder and harder.

I think the Sony S in BB is probably the best laptop keyboard I've used, but my BB still hasn't put out the Portege, darn it.

 

I'm a Vaio S owner and to tell the truth I love it. But I'm experiencing lots of troubles in getting one well done and fully working. So I started looking for another 13" notebook but, except this Toshiba, I'm still unable to find something close to it. This R700 outperforms the S in a couple of important thing, light and battery (but looking at the battery capacity I believe it's able to provide just an hour more, not 2-3). However, the more I look at it the more I like the S. I wish it was lighter too, but I think it is really really well designed in almost every single aspect (and looks very good compared to this Toshiba, which I don't like much). After all it's not heavy either... So, in the end, I think I'll keep on trying with the S.

 

Good to know. Thanks for the feedback.

By the way, how many actual hours of battery life are you getting on the S with normal use? Normal use for me would be a fairly bright screen (not too dim) with WiFi on and multiple windows & applications running.

For the R705 owners, could you also answer this question?

Thanks!

 

If you're considering spending on the i7 w/ ssd, you might want to check the additional warranty options as well. $250 with toshiba gets you a 3-yr accidental damage protection with on-site repair. You get something similar for $400 with sony, but no on-site. Not sure if its important to you but just thought should let you know...

Edit: Of course, there's square trade...

 

Are you sure the keyboard is not backlit? I'm getting conflicting info on this. I was told: The Portege R700 has a backlight from behind the keys which means the light shows up in between the keys (similar to a Mac).

Is that not true?

 

Keyboard isn't backlit as far as I saw in official specs and everywhere else. But I saw this wrongly mentioned somewhere else, too.

 

Ive already talked extensively on battery life. I get approx. 4 hours with numerous programs running, and my battery plan is somewhere in between performance and "eco." Im sure u can get 6 hours or so, but to go 8 hours is pushing it. I think you can only get 8 hours if u keep the computer idle with literally everything OFF.

the r705 (one at bb) does not have a backlit keyboard. I do not believe the r700's do either. I still dont understand why you guys want to pay so much more money to have an i5 or an i7 over an i3 in a 13" laptop. They take up more battery generally, and theres no point in having an i7 on a freakin ultraportable laptop.

 

No backlit keyboard. If it had one, I'd be sold. But without one, I'm torn.

To answer Matt's question: I'm considering going with the i5 because I wanna be able to comfortably edit AVCHD video. I'm told that i5 does much better than i3 at this, but I've never actually done it myself so I can't say for sure.

 

I think it makes for a compelling package if you spend a lot of time away from your main desktop and have processor intensive work to do. Some people may still be able to get by with just ssh or remote desktop but that may not be feasible for others. Plus, the i5 and i7 being offered here have a max tdp of 35w, just like the i3 r700s, so with the same usage they should have similar battery times. (shouldn't they?? )

 

I think my next laptop is going to be the R705. I am going to bypass the Sony Y and S.

I think coming soon, there will be someone that figure out a way to put in a bluetooth module in there right? Like a DIY. Anyone thinking of this?

I am not going to be playing any games. I will not see any lag in those integrated graphic like from 5 yrs ago right?

 

Congrats. So what made you choose the R705 over the S ?

 

Because i5 and i7's have features that i3's don't have, and some people may need them. And i7's come in three varieties, from ulv verions that use 18W up to quad cores that use 45W. There is no reason for i7's not to be offered in the R700 especially since Intel makes i7's for machines even smaller than it such as the Lenovo U160 and Alienware M11x.

Here are some features that some i7's have over i3's:

• 2 Extra Cores
• Higher cpu clock speed
• Turbo Boost
• Extra L3 cache
• Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
• Intel Trusted Execution Technology
• AES New Instructions
• Higher graphics clock speed

 

Oh, one more reason: this will be my only computer. I won't have a powerful desktop computer to turn to.

Large external monitor, yes... large powerful desktop, no.

 

i5 doesn't uses a marginal amount of power over i3. i7 is a different story. check out reviews.

 

Just to be clear: I've never seen the R700 live, currently my opinion is based on photos and reviews.
About the battery, I'd say 4 hours, maybe a little bit less, it depends on your settings. Despite the led construction, a high level of brightness eats a noticeable part of the battery (at maximum I suppose about a 40% or more of the whole notebook consumption during light CPU load).

As I thought Toshiba lies: 66Wh for the R700 (8 hours claimed) vs 56Wh for the Vaio S (less than 5 hours claimed, quite realistic).

Not that true. i5 idle consumption matches the i3 one (while running at higher frequency), instead it's a little bit hungrier at full load (but for less time, being faster). IMHO i7 is too expensive, too hot, usually not so fast, i3 is a good cheap processor but i5 has the best performance/price ratio.

 

Hmm. Ideally I'd like a bit more than that. Decisions, decisions...

 

Well, me too. But the only solution I see is a 9 cells battery (same story for the R700, which is not significantly better).

 

Yeap, your spot on.

My BB finally had the Portege on display, and i grabbed a Pamphlet to use for a rough measurement. The distance between the top of the 'R' and the bottom of the space bar is perhaps a centimeter less on the Toshiba than on the Sony S. Other than that the keyboard is fine. I didn't think it was overly stiff at all.

Still, something to think about for people who are picky about keyboards.

I like the look of this laptop, and I side with those that like the blue color and the Toshiba label. Great weight, great size. My only reservation at this point is the keyboard.

 

Manly the weight. If I get the R705 at BB, I will need to wait until someone figure out a way to buy a BT module and put it on there.

 

I Just purchased the R705 at BB this afternoon. I will be loading all of my programs tonight so it will be awhile before I can post my impressions.

 

Yeah, I understand about the weight. If the S was lighter, I'd buy it.

Why don't you get one of those little Kensington Bluetooth dongles? They're pretty small.

 

Is the hard drive replaceable? Or are you stuck with the one it comes with?

 

I got the i7/ssd version from toshiba. I agree with the overall impression that Gamermatt provided earlier. I am assuming this one does let out more heat than the BB version. During normal usage (web browsing, editing word doc) there's not a heat issue. At max brightness, the power draw is 20-25w as I write this (there's a bunch toshiba b/g processes I haven't removed yet). I can have it on my lap with no issue. However, there is a fan below the left palm-rest that I think draws in air for circulation. While on my lap, this seems to get blocked. When I place the unit back on the table, the cpu temp goes down by ~5-10C. Full screen hulu at 480p on lap gets to as high as 92C. As long as I don't place my leg right under the left edge, its fine. i.e. I do feel the warmth but nothing major. Watching hulu while on table is much better since the temp only goes to ~72C. Here's the graph from coretemp:
http://i.imgur.com/26wzD.png

 

I can get the Sony Vaio VPCZ122GX/S for $1,700 new.

Which would you take the Vaio or the R700 with i7 for $1,550?

 

Hmm, i'd say the r705 with i3 for 800$

 

+ upgrade to an ebay US$275 i7-620M CPU. Then add a SSD and put the delivered HDD in a 9.5mm ODD caddy.

If need the expresscard slot then could go the $1000 R700 instead.

 

Guys, I don't think the R700 is CPU upgradeable...
Watch at 0:29...
YouTube - TOSHIBA dynabook RX3 (Portégé R700) Hands On