Toshiba Satellite P2. Review Notebook. Review. comby Perry Longinotti, Canada. Toshibas P2. 00 MB1. C is a 1. 7 desktop replacement model targeted at the mainstream PC user small officehome office and students. Unlike last years P1. Canada only comes in a single configuration with an MSRP of 1. CDN. It is a pretty conservative computer as the specs reveal. The specifications Intel Core Duo T2. GHz, 5. 33. MHz FSB, L2 Cache 2. MBMicrosoft Windows Vista Home Premium. Standard Memory 2x. MB DDR2 6. 67. MHz Maximum 4. GBHard Disk Drive 1. GB, 9. 5mm height, S ATA, 5. Optical Drive DVD Super Multi Double Layer Drive. Display 1. 7 Wide XGA TFT with Tru. Brite 1. 44. 0x. 90. Graphics Controller Mobile Intel 9. GM Express with 8. MB 2. 56. MBSound System Realtek ALC8. Communication V. K DataFax Modem, 1. Ethernet LAN, Intel Wireless LAN 8. Integrated 1. 3 Megapixel Web Camera for Video over IPExpress Card Slot. Ports. 5 in 1 Media Adaptor SD Card, x. D picture card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Multimedia CardFour USB 2. FILExt. com is the file extension source. Here youll find a collection of file extensions many linked to the programs that created the files. This is the FILExt home. No more missed important software updates UpdateStar 11 lets you stay up to date and secure with the software on your computer. Modemphone line. Ethernet. IEEE1. 39. RGB, S Video Out. First Impressions. Intervideo Windvd Creator 3 Platinum 436uThe unassuming box conceals a very robust notebook. Despite its dimensions 1. Weight comes in at 3. Toshibas design department has been trying to differentiate their notebooks based on color. The overall look is reserved, but a blue onyx lid gives the P2. It is generally sharper looking than your average budget desktop replacement notebook. view large imageThe P2. The keyboard base has a slight amount of flex. The keys are light with short travel. Overall I would rate the keyboard as pretty good if it were not for a questionable design decision a very funky key layout. view large imageSpecifically, the shift, space and enter keys have been radically truncated to accommodate a numeric keypad. This might be a reasonable compromise for accounting professionals or people in accounting academic programs, but for many people this could be a deal breaker. I thought that last years P1. I type. Try before you buy. view large imageA great looking high contrast 1. Toshibas Tru. Brite technology eases the disappointment of the unusual keyboard. This notebook is great for movie watching. Native resolution for the screen is 1. HD, but 7. 20p content should look OK. Without a dedicated GPU 1. Another aid to portability is the P2. It is one of the smaller 7. I have seen. The more I use Vista, the less I like it. In addition to all sorts of gaudy chotchkas plastered all over the interface, Vista features a truly intrusive authorization system and an abundance of error messages the likes of which I have not seen since Windows ME. Combine this with the increasingly heavy and intrusive utilities that come on these machines drawers spring open any time you mouse over a screen edge and you will be longing for XP in short order. I think Dell has the right idea making XP available as an option. I am no retro grouch. I love progress and innovation. In my opinion Vista represents neither. Toshibas software is fine, although it is starting to get to the point where it is clearly hogging resources. The slick graphical user interface of Toshibas Config Free utility stutters a bit and Toshibas helpful function key on screen display also struggles to stay responsive. view large imageThe latter utility is neat, when you depress the function key FN a drop down menu appears on the screen indicating the function and choices. However, since these choices are already listed on the keys, I have to wonder if this is an answer to a question that isnt being asked. Toshibas web cam software also sits in a hide away drawer on the left side of the screen. It has a few fun effects but it is no Photo Booth. view large imageIn rushing to make Vista fied utilities and drivers, software companies are creating an artificial need for more memory and faster processors. A 1. 8. GHz dual core PC with 1. GB of RAM will run Windows XP very nicely. Running a light load of three open browser windows and Config Free, the P2. A clean Windows install with careful and well chosen re introduction of some of the P2. Performance. Core Duo performance is still good, but with 6. MHz front side bus Core 2 Duo processors common in this price range the P2. CPU is dated and a bit pokey. This CPU is faster than the Pentium M and Turion X2 CPUs that you will find in less expensive notebooks. RAM and storage is dropping in price. The P2. 00s 1. 60. GB HDD is great, but the stingy 1. GB of RAM is a disappointment more so given the OSs voracious appetite for RAM. At this price point 2. GB is becoming common. Super. Pi results for the P2. I have seen from other Core Duo notebooks with similar specs. A score of 1 minute 2. The PCMark. 05 score of 3. PCMarks is also what we would expect from this combination. Unplugged, the P2. Battery Eater test. About an hour and twenty minutes is average for this type of notebook. The dual core processor and big screen hurt Battery performance. A small capacity 4. Ah battery does not help either. With all this space, surely Toshiba could fit a larger capacity battery pack. view large imageDVD viewing away from a power plug was better, I created a power profile with full LCD brightness that I used for this test and the P2. Stranger than Fiction with no problems. With less tortuous settings you should be able to get through the entire movie. Excessive heat was never an issue with the P2. It also ran quietly. Hard drive performance is good. The Fujitsu MHW2. BH 1. 60. GB has a spindle speed of 5. MB buffer. HDTune Results view large imageA relatively quiet DVD burner handles your optical storage needs. The dual layer DVD burner is compatible with a multitude of disc formats, but burns DVD R or DVDR discs at a maximum of 8x. Toshiba bundles Inter. Video Win. DVD Creator 2 Platinum and Sonic Record Now You know you wont be playing the latest 3. D games on the P2. Intels video system just is not up to the task. You also wont get any help from this system if you plan to decode HD content downloaded from the Internet.   Audio reproduction is a bit disappointing. The speakers produce a tiny sound with poor frequency range. There is a lot of treble, not much mid range and zero bass. If you plan to blast your MP3 collection out of this notebook for the benefit of your dorm, invest in some external speakers. Use a good set of headphones and the experience is better, but it still wont replace a dedicated audio player or a notebook with a better audio chip.