Being an increasing number of manufacturers wish to make their business
notebooks stand apart by adding faux chrome aluminium exteriors and
high-quality loudspeakers, Toshiba has taken a back-to-basics approach
with its latest business laptop, the affordable Tecra C50. This 15.
6-inch notebook forgoes flashy, external components in favor of hardware
that matters to business users, particularly small-business
operators--a able Core i5 processor, a helpful Webcam for
videoconferencing, a lot of I/O ports, and a first-class keyboard.
Furthermore, the Tecra C50-B1503 model tested here costs only $699, backed by a one-year limited warrantee with a reassuring return policy: In case a major component (defined since the LCD, motherboard, memory, or hard drive) does not work out through the first six weeks, Toshiba will replace the laptop with a new or refurbished unit. The particular same deal applies to the Core i3-powered Tecra C50-B1500, which is merely $579.
To hit such a minimal price point, however, some compromises were inevitable. The non-touch screen maxes out there at 1, 366x768 resolution, which seems decidedly revealing by today's standards, and the notebook's speakers struggle to fill a room with sound even at maximum volume. More worryingly, the laptop performed poorly on our benchmark assessments, and we noticed considerable slowdowns when multitasking. We all definitely wouldn't recommend the slower Core i3 model.
Do these issues overshadow the Tecra C50's business-friendly features and budget-friendly price? We don't think so. Go through on to see why.
Design and style
The Tecra certainly won't impress office colleagues with its snazzy design. The notebook features a generic-looking black plastic chassis with horizontal striping on the lid and deck. Matte black plastic frames the 15. 6-inch display, with an integrated 720p Webcam centered above the display. A chrome Toshiba company logo at the bottom remaining corner of the lid is the sole accent on the otherwise plain, smudge-prone exterior.
The laptop sports a traditional-style keyboard with a numeric keypad on the right. A loudspeaker grille runs the duration of the deck above the keyboard, and the 3. 6 by 2-inch touch pad is focused under the G and L keys. The leading edge of the deck curves upward above the bottom and the edges of the lid are tapered, giving the laptop a rounded appearance when closed.
The interface selection is rather standard for a business notebook. About the left, you'll find an Ethernet port, a USB 2. 0 slot, a 3. 5mm headphone jack, and a DIGITAL VIDEO DISC SuperMulti drive. Two UNIVERSAL SERIES BUS 3. 0 ports, an HDMI port, and a VGA port are located on the right. Typically the inclusion of the last is a major reward, particularly if your workplace makes use of older monitors or projectors with VGA connections. A new 6-in-1 card reader are available on the front border.
Like the outside, the Tecra C50's matte display isn't particularly impressive. The resolution, as described, is a mere 1, 366x768, and the screen looks fairly dim despite brightness turned to the maximum. When we watched a high-definition trailer for Typically the Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, colors appeared noticeably gray-tinged and muted. On the positive side, the viewing perspectives are wide enough that we could move more than a foot to either side without triggering the colors to wash out there.
The DTS Sound-powered loudspeakers proved similarly lackluster. Once we listened to music on Spotify, the music seemed muffled and hollow, and the bass tended to crowd out notes at the high end. Even at maximum volume, the audio speakers struggled to fill our family room. Disappointingly, the notebook lacks almost any music control panel which you can use to change the sound quality.
Appearance aside, arguably the main aspect of any business laptop is its keyboard - and the Tecra C50 doesn't disappoint here. Even though keyboard sports a traditional rather than island-style structure, the step-shaped keys provide enough spacing that we rarely made adjacent-key problems while writing this review. Vertical travel is good, and the keys offer enough tactile feedback that typing never felt mushy. Furthermore, we didn't notice any flex in the keyboard. Number-crunchers will also appreciate the inclusion of any numeric keypad on the right.
Windows 7 64-bit
Windows 7 32-bit
 |
Toshiba Tecra C50-C |
Furthermore, the Tecra C50-B1503 model tested here costs only $699, backed by a one-year limited warrantee with a reassuring return policy: In case a major component (defined since the LCD, motherboard, memory, or hard drive) does not work out through the first six weeks, Toshiba will replace the laptop with a new or refurbished unit. The particular same deal applies to the Core i3-powered Tecra C50-B1500, which is merely $579.
To hit such a minimal price point, however, some compromises were inevitable. The non-touch screen maxes out there at 1, 366x768 resolution, which seems decidedly revealing by today's standards, and the notebook's speakers struggle to fill a room with sound even at maximum volume. More worryingly, the laptop performed poorly on our benchmark assessments, and we noticed considerable slowdowns when multitasking. We all definitely wouldn't recommend the slower Core i3 model.
Do these issues overshadow the Tecra C50's business-friendly features and budget-friendly price? We don't think so. Go through on to see why.
Design and style
The Tecra certainly won't impress office colleagues with its snazzy design. The notebook features a generic-looking black plastic chassis with horizontal striping on the lid and deck. Matte black plastic frames the 15. 6-inch display, with an integrated 720p Webcam centered above the display. A chrome Toshiba company logo at the bottom remaining corner of the lid is the sole accent on the otherwise plain, smudge-prone exterior.
The laptop sports a traditional-style keyboard with a numeric keypad on the right. A loudspeaker grille runs the duration of the deck above the keyboard, and the 3. 6 by 2-inch touch pad is focused under the G and L keys. The leading edge of the deck curves upward above the bottom and the edges of the lid are tapered, giving the laptop a rounded appearance when closed.
The interface selection is rather standard for a business notebook. About the left, you'll find an Ethernet port, a USB 2. 0 slot, a 3. 5mm headphone jack, and a DIGITAL VIDEO DISC SuperMulti drive. Two UNIVERSAL SERIES BUS 3. 0 ports, an HDMI port, and a VGA port are located on the right. Typically the inclusion of the last is a major reward, particularly if your workplace makes use of older monitors or projectors with VGA connections. A new 6-in-1 card reader are available on the front border.
Functions
Like the outside, the Tecra C50's matte display isn't particularly impressive. The resolution, as described, is a mere 1, 366x768, and the screen looks fairly dim despite brightness turned to the maximum. When we watched a high-definition trailer for Typically the Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, colors appeared noticeably gray-tinged and muted. On the positive side, the viewing perspectives are wide enough that we could move more than a foot to either side without triggering the colors to wash out there.
The DTS Sound-powered loudspeakers proved similarly lackluster. Once we listened to music on Spotify, the music seemed muffled and hollow, and the bass tended to crowd out notes at the high end. Even at maximum volume, the audio speakers struggled to fill our family room. Disappointingly, the notebook lacks almost any music control panel which you can use to change the sound quality.
Appearance aside, arguably the main aspect of any business laptop is its keyboard - and the Tecra C50 doesn't disappoint here. Even though keyboard sports a traditional rather than island-style structure, the step-shaped keys provide enough spacing that we rarely made adjacent-key problems while writing this review. Vertical travel is good, and the keys offer enough tactile feedback that typing never felt mushy. Furthermore, we didn't notice any flex in the keyboard. Number-crunchers will also appreciate the inclusion of any numeric keypad on the right.
Windows 10 64-bit
| Type | Company | Date | Size | DOWNLOAD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Management Technology (AMT) | Intel | 24/05/2016 | 105 MB | Here |
| Bluetooth | Intel | 24/05/2016 | 10.1MB | Here |
| Bluetooth Link | (NA) | 24/05/2016 | 20.2MB | Here |
| Chip Set Utility | Intel | 24/05/2016 | 5.3MB | Here |
| Display Driver | nVidia | 24/05/2016 | 319 MB | Here |
| Display Driver | Intel | 24/05/2016 | 203 MB | Here |
| LTE Driver | Sierra Wireless | 24/05/2016 | 41.0MB | Here |
| Rapid Storage Technology Driver | Intel | 24/05/2016 | 19.4MB | Here |
| Smart Card Reader | O2Micro | 24/05/2016 | 16.2MB | Here |
| Sound Driver | Realtek | 24/05/2016 | 216 MB | Here |
| Touch Pad Driver | Synaptics | 24/05/2016 | 174 MB | Here |
| Touch Pad Driver | Alps Electric | 24/05/2016 | 40.4MB | Here |
| Wireless Lan Driver | Intel | 24/05/2016 | 346 MB | Here |
Windows 7 64-bit
| Type | Company | Date last modified | Size | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display Driver | nVidia | 19/05/2016 | 317 MB | Here |
| Fingerprint Software | Toshiba | 19/05/2016 | 28.5 MB | Here |
| LAN Driver | Intel | 19/05/2016 | 45.7 MB | Here |
| Sound Driver | Realtek | 19/05/2016 | 215 MB | Here |
| Wireless Display | Intel | 27/06/2016 | 124 MB | Here |
Windows 7 32-bit
| Type | Company | Date | Size | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display Driver | nVidia | 19/05/2016 | 317 MB | Here |
| Fingerprint Software | Toshiba | 19/05/2016 | 28.5 MB | Here |
| LAN Driver | Intel | 19/05/2016 | 45.7 MB | Here |
| Sound Driver | Realtek | 19/05/2016 | 215 MB | Here |
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