Tecra R840 - first impressions

Hey All, given I always appreciate feedback from others on a machine that I'm considering, I thought I'd post some impressions of my new Tecra R840.

Custom build: (just the hi-points listed)
cpu: I7-2640m
gpu: HD 6450m
lcd: 1600x900 LED
hdd & ram = user upgraded

Previous laptop was a Portege M100. Was very happy with it and managed to upgrade the optical to DVD and keep it current for another year or two. Prior to that was a happy owner of a IBM, so this time around I looked most seriously at both Lenovo and Toshiba. I had a chance to try a W520 for a day; the power, performance, and build quality impressed me greatly. But the size, weight, and style did not. Hence my choice to buy the Tecra.

Tecra R840 impressions:
Weight: The spec weight is accurate but it feels more when you hold it. The power brick is actually impressively small and not very heavy.
Size & style: The shaping & style is handsome in my opinion. Seems likely to fit well in 14" laptop cases (thought some sleeves could be tight). The lid and palm rest have a grooved texture. I think it's great, looks good, gives a higher quality feel than smooth plastic, and does seem to hide finger prints better.
Quality: I was hoping for slightly better, but overall it is made well. The pillar technology does stiffen the keyboard, but it still flexes if you push. Normal typing I don't notice any however. It's no ThinkPad, but a notable level up from the Satellites.
Keyboard: The keyboard has gotten poor reviews, but I actually really like it. The smooth, flat keys make it easy to mistype, I'll grant. But my accuracy is fast improving and I like the feel. It's light, short stroke, with a positive feedback. Fairly quiet, not the quietest, but much more so than a Thinkpad. Love the layout. Home and End are dedicated (huge pet peeve of mine if they aren't) and enter, space, backspace are properly sized.
Touchpad: Despite driver settings, I find it terrible for "palming." That said, it doesn't matter much for me because I've always prefer an external mouse. The overall feel and response of the touchpad is good.
Noise:Impressively quiet! By no means truly silent but it's a very quiet dude. Even the fan at max is not as loud as I was expecting. As soon as you reduce the load, fan drops right away.
Screen: Ah yes, the biggie for many of us. It is a matte display. I did get the 1600x900 upgrade which was worth it, but it is still somewhat disappointing. Readability is good, ghosting is minimal. However, color accuracy is fairly poor in my estimation. Reasonably pleasant, but not accurate. Blacks are weak. Viewing angles are mediocre. Moving your head slightly has the encroaching "shadow" from the corners. The biggest issue for me is that this not a true 16.7 million color display. Typical of the crappy TN panels these days. The dithering is good, and in most normal apps and photos you won't notice. But smooth gradients and dark colors you will. Unfortunately, the only decent screens out there seem to be the IPS panels, which are few and far between... and pricey.
Performance: I have not run any official benchmarks, rather subjecting it my normal tasks and stress tests. Overall, very impressive. The I7 does seem to run hotter than expected, however. Haven't done video encoding with it yet to really see what it can do. Have not tested battery life much yet.
Gaming: Most reviews and comments I found claimed the 6450m would be little better than intel's HD3000. It's hard to say for sure, but that does not seem to be the case. Example running an older game with my buddy, his T520 with HD3000 was turning out around 60-70fps, my Tecra was pegged at the max 125fps. With newer games I had to fiddle with some settings but achieved various very playable compromises.
Misc: I have a dual boot Win 7 and Ubuntu Linux running just peachy. Those who wish to change the hdd themselves, be aware the oe hdd is thinner than most 9.5mm, like the WD Caviar Blue that I put in. There are little plastic bumpers stuck to the plastic door that you can remove if your drive is the full 9.5mm. Getting in the BIOS, wouldn't think it was so hard! Not sure what Toshiba did, but the typical hold ESC and press pwr button, then pressing F1 does not work. Instead hit F12 right away on boot to get the boot menu and there is an option to enter setup...weird.

Feel free to ask any specific questions, I'll try to answer!

Hope this helps

FB

 

Thank you for the review FoxtrotBravo! Congrats on your purchase.

Just wanted to point out, the body of the Tecra is constructed of a carbon-fiber mesh, with the "honey-comb" pillar supports as you mentioned. It's supposed to still be pretty strong while giving it a more lightweight appeal.
http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/tecra/R840

Sorry to hear the 1600x900p matte display isn't as great as the IPS panels.


Also, I came across this video a couple weeks ago on youtube. Shows some users stress testing the tecra r840 [dropping, stepping on, spill test].
Amazing for Toshiba Tecra R840 - YouTube



Good luck and keep us posted with any progress.

 

Thank you! Laptops are every 5-7 years for me, so it's always a big deal, lol.

That's some impressive stress testing, wow... I confess I have not done so with mine, he he. (shocker)
Toshiba's description is accurate, but ultimately the chassis was not as strong feeling as I expected from their advertisement. Perhaps I'm expecting too much "stiffness" and it in fact may be quite survivable/resilient.

Thanks for the reminder/link; I neglected to review that and properly word my review.

Will do, and cheers.

 

I'm shopping around for a new laptop since my old Satellite has started showing signs of slowing down. I've used two Toshiba laptops in the past 10 years, with about 5 years of use out of each. As such, Toshiba is still my go-to first brand for looking at new laptops.

I was trying to decide between the Tecra R480 and the Portege Z830 until I saw the Z830 in person; I found the screen very flimsy and it was a real turn-off. That puts the R840 as the Toshiba frontrunner and I'm hoping to learn more about it. I'm considering a similar build to yours, but the screen upgrade doesn't seem to be available from Toshiba Canada.


So anyway, on to the questions about the Tecra R840...

I'm wondering about your impression in terms of overall build quality of the machine? How much of it is metal? Does it feel pretty solid? Is there much "wobble" in the hinges? Aside from your comments on the screen, is there anything in terms of build quality or general fit and finish that you think needs improvement?

Did you get the 9 cell or the 6 cell battery? If you did get the 9 cell, how much does it stick out at the bottom?

How do you find the fan noise on the machine now that you've had it for a while? Still impressed with it being quiet?


Sorry for so many questions, but I haven't been able to find many detailed reviews of this machine online. I can't even find a store nearby to see one in person!

The other laptop I'm considering is the Dell XPS14Z.

 

why such a change of laptop spec may i ask? only to go from nealry buying an ultrabook (clearly for use as a lightweight, low punch machine for internet browsing and video watching) to a much more powerful and heavy machine with gaming in mind??

the logical selection to me if the Z830 turns you off would be an R830/835 as it is more solid than the Z830 and only a bit heavier with similar capabilities?

i'm only saying this as i own an older R700 which is identical externally to the R830/835 series and its very solidly built. the hinges are solid, no screen wobble etc etc and whens all said and done its a very light weight machine as well

 

Hi DJM,

No worries on the questions! I know exactly where you are, had a very hard time finding much on the R840 before I bought it. I'm happy to try to help.
Not sure about Canada, but here the Satellite R845 can be found at Staples office supply store. Its essentially a totally stripped Tecra R840 with a different color (dark cobalt blue kinda.. whereas the R840 is full on flat black), fewer ports, slower components....but I think the chassis is the same. I looked at it several times since it was as close as I could get.

Overall quality is good. It's no Thinkpad but still feels far better than most laptops you'll find in BestBuy or the like. Basically there is no metal. Hinge covers are plastic and the entire skin is a plastic-like composite. There's no glossy plastic...all matte and the lid & palm-rest are grooved.. Nice feel and gives a professional look. The ports are very solidly mounted and are "super surface", if you will. They are not the annoying sub-surface type that are hard to use.
Overall solid, yes. The most flex is on the right side of the keyboard, above the optical drive. For obvious reasons, no way to support it from underneath) Other than that, she's pretty stiff and sturdy feeling. I did find a surprise in the HDD bay... very little extra chassis for the hdd and it's not mounted... it just lays in there with not a lot around it.
The screen is thin enough that you can grab the corners and torque/twist it (not sure if any laptop won't do that), but the hinges have no wobble. Smooth with good friction. Screen opens to about 140deg I'd say... which is no where near 180 but even with the machine in a port replicator (thus slightly tilted toward me) I've not found this angle limit to be a problem yet.

I got the 6 cell, primarily because I wanted a slim machine that travels well when it's not in the port replicator. Guessing here, the 9 cell might protrude down about 12-15MM? The port replicator has a grove for it.

I continue to be happy with it's noise level. If the gfx chip is busy, vid content or a game, it is more noisy but no were near the noisiest laptop I've heard. She does get quite hot underneath however (not normally.. just during intensive multimedia).


And on the screen, yes my review stated my disappointment in the lack of 16.7m colors, viewing angles, and black levels.. That is all still true. But, I can say that simply using it I have found it relatively pleasant to view. The text is significantly more crisp and readable than many screens I see at the big box stores. (which unfortunately, is not a compliment to my screen but rather a statement of how bad the average panel is...sigh). Plenty of brightness levels for my needs as well.


Would you like any pictures? I couldn't get them until later today but I can do so if it would be helpful in any way.

Hope this helps!

Cheers
FB

 

Thanks for the reply FB!

I was hoping the "magnesium alloy" casing Toshiba described was a metal, but it sounds like it's more of a plastic. As long as it's rigid enough not to flex too much and not too cheap looking, it should be OK.

I had the same thought about the 6 cell vs. 9 cell battery. I chose the larger battery on the laptop I have now and I really think it just ended up adding more weight and a big lump along the bottom. I think keeping the whole thing flush at the base is nicer.

If you do get a chance, a picture of the profile of the laptop with the lid open would be helpful. All of the pictures I've seen online seem to be taken from an angle so I can't really tell how thick the screen is. No need to rush on my part - whenever you get some time.

To 1994F7PT:
Like FB, I only buy a new laptop every 5-6 years, and look for something durable with a good build quality and internals that will age well. I didn't really know what the ultrabook (or any ultrabook, honestly) was like until I saw one in person. On paper, it seemed to have similar specs to what I was looking for and the added portability would be a nice bonus. It almost felt like a toy (albeit, a very expensive one) when I held it in person though. Not my cup of tea at all. The Asus Zenbook really impressed me, but it seemed a little light on specs.

I thought the Tecra R480 was basically identical to the Portege R830, but with a better build quality.

 

Only the r830 series (Portege; 13.3") has a magnesium alloy casing; the Tecra (r840; 14") is a carbon-fiber resin case, it is supposed to be very strong.

Toshiba Portégé® Laptop Computers | us.toshiba.com
Toshiba Tecra® Laptop Computers | us.toshiba.com


**EDIT**
Found this:

http://www.hardwarezone.com.ph/feature-event-toshiba-tecra-r840-rock-steady-reliability

 

ah fair enough!

well as said above, the main construction material difference between the tecra and the portege is that the tecra is resin and the portege is magnesium alloy. i haven't personally used/seen/felt a tecra but the portege are pretty damn resiliant. and the z830 is bomb proof practically, bloke over on the z830 thread dropped his after pulling cable accidentally from desk height onto solid wood floor and not a dent or scratch upon it, just a hole in the floor! lol!

 

Flex is not really a bad thing and it certainly does not mean cheap or less durable. In Japan, they make sure the skyscrapers flex, because the flex absorbs the shock and helps them withstand the earthquakes (makes them more durable).

Also for instance the iphone is all glass and feels "solid", ie no flex. If you drop it, it simply shatters. My old Nokia phone was all plastic and had a little flex. That thing was dropped hundreds of times over the years, and it just kept bouncing around, no damage whatsoever. Now which one do you think is more durable?

Magnesium is the lightest structural metal. Sure the magnesium alloy flexes a little bit, but that's how these laptops are at least a pound lighter than all others in their respective classes. And believe me, my wife has the Portege 705 and it feels a lot lighter than my Dell xps m1330.

Overall, the flex on my wife's laptop is very minimal and I don't think it affects the experience negatively in any way. The only thing that feels flimsy about her laptop is the dvd tray. I wish they put in a slot loading drive. But other than that, I think the Portege series (and this tecra I guess) are the best laptops in their classes mostly due to their weight.

 

agreed, my old XPS 1330 is a brick compared to the tosh

 

Agreed. Flexibility can equal resilience and survivability. Most of us would prefer the feel of something strong and solid as compared to something flexible, but laptops being a portable device there are other considerations.

My old portege (mix of plastic and mag alloy I believe) shows its wear for sure and has one broken edge on the palm bezle ...but that was do to a very significant impact. Toasted the HDD (because it was running), but otherwise no ill effects.

The tecra's case has some give, but it's firm enough to give the feel of quality. I'm sure Tosh has some hype on this new material, but after handling it my hope is that the Tecra will be survivable in the long run and still look handsome too!

... I'll get those photos for you, DJM

 

A little camera shy, but here it is... hope these help! (Apologies for the digital noise; my camera is no good for this sort of thing.)

Cheers,
FB

 

Thanks FB. She's a fine lookin' machine

You folks have made some great points and given me a lot of good information. I'm glad I randomly stumbled into this forum looking for user reviews of this laptop!

I'm wondering now if maybe I should give the Portege 830 a little more thought.

FB, did you consider both? And what finally cinched you on the Tecra?

 

Yes in fact I did consider both. My previous machine was a Portege M100 (12" 3:4 lcd) and had hoped originally to replace it with "like" but also had a list of requirements. Ultimately the R830 didn't last in my line-up for the following reasons:

• - R830 limited to 768 vertical pixles (I wanted an upgrade over my existing 1024x768 Portege, yet also realized how stuffing a 1600x900 wide panel in the 830 might be hard on the eyes to read!) (side note: I hate the 16:9 in current laptops, argh! )
• - No esata port (I strive for good port compliments)
• - Expresscard (such as a 1394a) would block the CD tray whilst installed
• - No dedicated gfx option (I do play a few games when I travel, visiting family over holidays, etc; HD3000 wouldn't cut it.)

I did see in person what I recall being a R700... seemed really well made, (though as a display model it was pretty "experienced"). Not sure how much changes on the R830 chassis.

 

R830 chassis is identical to R700, its internals are where it differs

i thought the R830 did have eSATA? i know for a fact the R700 does as i have one

 

Thanks, 1994F7PT. Looks like I may stand corrected! Or, partially so.... Looking just now, I see some R830 models have it in their specs, some do not. Likewise, the photos are inconsistent, showing differing port configurations (location of USB3 port, and whether or not eSATA is present.)

The "sub" models seem to change often with Toshiba, so I guess it's possible that an eSATA configured model R830 was not available when I did my original research. Had it been, or even if it was, I would have considered it more but still very likely gone Tecra.

 

its a combo port, usb 2.0 and eSATA, i believe it is also the sleep and charge port too, although i have never enabled mine as i have no use for it. on mine its the fursthest back of the 2 usb ports on the left side of the laptop

 

Flex is OK also long as the internals are designed to accomodate it. A single large mainboard in a flexible chassis is likely to crack but I recall that my R700 has several smaller boards joined together with ribbon cable.

John

 

The early R830 models did have and were advertised to have esata on Toshiba's site.

The later models are listed to have no esata on toshiba's website.

The latest R835-P81 is listed as not having esata and the pictures do not show an esata/usb combo port (one of the usb ports on the left hand side), instead there is a usb3 port there.

However, I just bought the R835-P81 and it does have the esata/usb combo port on the left side. The only difference (on the outside) between my r835 and my wife's r705 is that the r835's right hand side usb port is a usb3 port.

I was confused when I received my laptop and wondered if amazon sent me an older r835 (possibly the P56x which is still listed) but the stickers on the bottom clearly say P81 and the rest of the specs (faster cpu, higher ram, etc) confirm P81.

So I don't know what Toshiba is smoking really. How can the product pictures on their website be inaccurate??

Anyway, I am happy because I got both esata and usb3, and I still have 3 usb ports overall. Best of both worlds I guess, since I have a couple esata 2TB external drives that I frequently use.

 

ai they seem to be a bit random, probably fitting motherboards with left over bits etc like they do at end of production runs in the auto industry!

on the UK website the pictures are all inaacurate for all sorts of models, for example the new Satellite Z830 shows it as the portege business model with the finger print reader etc

 

I have recently bought the Tecra R840-111... I'm really well-impressed!

Just one thing: how many utility-programs are installed?!?!? There are plenty of icon in my systray!
I'm thinking about uninstalling some crap-ware.... Any advise?

Do you know if the amd switchable graphics works?

 

Congrats Marcot!

Don't forget to make your Recovery Disk DVDs, in case you ever need them in the future.

As for the software to uninstall, here's your spec page: Timeout Error - Toshiba

In my opinion, I would keep anything with "Toshiba" on it. Other software items can be deleted if you deem appropriate.


Good luck and keep us posted of any updates.

 

Thank you!!
The Recovery Disk DVDs (argh, 5 DVDs) was one of the first thing I've maked.

Ok, I am going to keep the sw marked "Toshiba"... maybe not the bullettin board... I'll check.
I used Pc-Decrapifier to remove unwanted software (trial sw, ecc..).

I must say that i really appreciate this site's review about the Tecra R840... The paragraph about Emissions was the one that maked me choose this laptop. I hate noisy laptop.
And the laptop is actually what I was expecting.
Good job.

I'll keep you posted of anu updates.

 

I'm thinking of replacing the HDD with a bigger one (500gb would be fine).

Now I'm at work and don't remember the model (I used HWINFO to get the code, it is supposed to be a Toshiba hdd), but it seems that my hdd is 9.5mm.

I didn't understand if the WD Caviar Blue is fine, in terms of dimensions. If not, could you suggest a model to me that fits better?


EDIT
the HDD model is: TOSHIBA MK3261GSYN LINK to MKxx61GSY[N] product page

 

I have a strange behavior when i connect the notebook to an external monitor via vga.

The external monitor resets. Randomly the monitor seems to power off and to restart. The notebook does not recognize this and keeps on being set in the "extend desktop" way.

How can I be sure if it is a problem of the external monitor or the vga-port of the laptop?
That monitor did not have that issue with my previous notebook.

I know that in some notebook, there are some utilities that are hidden in the bios for testing vga. Often there are made visibile by hitting a particular keys in the standard bios.

Any idea?


EDIT: the problem was related to external monitor. A factory reset of the monitor fixed it.

thanks.

 

Has anyone got an r840 with the 900p screen? Any comments on quality vs say thinkpad t420 or sony SA?

Would be nice to know!

 

Sorry, mine (tecra r840-111) is a standardized HDTV 720p/1080i displays, “HD ready” (HDR) 1366x768. But it's very good to me.


Does anyone know if it's possible to use the ATI switchable graphics with the 6450M ? Maybe if I install some modded drivers.....(becouse I can't install updated driver from the ATI site; only the drivers supplied by toshiba works.