Toshiba Satellite M30X-S191TD

Toshiba's Satellite M30X-S191TD may have a very attractive price, but the anemic components really make its performance lack behind many other budget notebook computers.

10/19/05 – Toshiba's Satellite M30X-S191TD is powered by the Intel Celeron M 360 (1.4GHz) processor that is derived from the Pentium M. It has better battery usage than previous processors but still lacks the performance of the Pentium M. The system is matched up with 256MB of PC2700 DDR memory. This is disappointing as this is really the minimum amount a system should have and most budget notebooks now come with 512MB of memory.

Storage is average for a budget notebook on the Satellite M30X-S191TD. The 40GB hard drive is smaller than more expensive systems but should hold enough files for the majority of users. The 24x CD-RW/DVD combo drive lets the system playback DVD movies or read and write data or music CDs. More and more budget notebooks are starting to include DVD burners and it would be nice to see Toshiba include on of the M30X.

The large 15” LCD screen on the M30X-S191TD is very easy to read thanks to its standard 1024x768 resolution. This can be a big plus for those who need vision correction. The screen is driven by the older Intel Extreme 2 integrated graphics that uses some of the limited 256MB of memory further reducing the system performance. Don't expect to use this system for any real 3D graphics at all.

Toshiba makes up for some of the lower components by including Windows XP Professional, but overall the system just lacks the power of many other budget notebooks to give it much of a recommendation.