Type

Custom-built laptops are built specifically for you in our manufacturing facility. With a custom laptop you can choose the exact specifications that work best for your needs and budget. Because each one is custom-built, they generally take a bit longer to ship than a prebuilt laptop.

Prebuilt laptops are already built and in-stock models are ready to ship right away, therefore these models can't be customized. If you need your laptop faster, you might consider ordering a prebuilt model to ensure a quicker shipment.

 Weight

Weight may vary depending on product configuration, vendor components, manufacturing variability and options selected.

 Family

Toshiba offers four different families of laptops for different uses and needs.

Portege® laptops are among the thinnest and lightest on the market and offer an upscale design.

Qosmio® laptops are designed for no-compromise performance, perfect for gamers and technology enthusiasts.

Satellite® laptops are intended for home and everyday use and are available in a wide variety of sizes and styles.

Tecra® laptops are designed for business use and have the durability and performance to keep up with your work life.

 Battery Life Rating

Measured by MobileMark® 2007. Battery life rating is for comparison purposes only, and does not indicate the battery life that will be obtained by any individual user. Actual battery life may vary considerably from specifications depending on product model, configuration, applications, power management settings and features utilized, as well as the natural performance variations produced by the design of individual components.

 Graphics

Most value laptops feature integrated graphics, which means that the graphics controller shares memory with the rest of the laptop's components. If you're planning to use your new laptop for basic tasks like surfing the web and email, integrated graphics is a cost-effective option.

For gamers, designers and performance enthusiasts, however, having fast and clear graphics is vital. Discrete graphics options have their own dedicated graphics memory, so they can process graphics faster than integrated options. If you plan on doing design work or playing graphics-intensive games on your laptop, you should get a discrete graphics card with as much graphics memory as your budget will allow.

 Operating System

Windows® 7 Home Premium is a perfect fit for most home users.

Windows® 7 Professional is recommended If you need additional productivity options such as simplified set-up & connections, encryption & advanced backup, or need Windows XP Mode for compatibility with older programs.

Windows® 7 Ultimate is recommended for advanced users, or those who need additional data protection or multi-language support.

 Processor

The processor is like the "brain" of the computer and is one of the most important components in a new laptop; it determines how fast software runs, how smoothly PC games play, and how quickly you can accomplish things.

Processors with more cores (for example "dual-core" or "quad-core") typically have more speed for improved multitasking than those with a single core.

 Category

Toshiba offers the perfect laptop for any use. Just select the option that best suits what you're looking for and we'll do the rest.

 Memory

The more memory you have, the faster your applications can run. Having more memory also allows you to do more things on your computer at once — for example, burning a music CD and surfing the web at the same time. Because memory is fairly inexpensive, you should purchase as much memory as your budget allows.

 Optical Drive

Most Toshiba laptops come standard with a DVD SuperMulti drive, which is another name for a DVD burner (DVD±RW/CD-RW).

Blu-ray Disc™ ROM allows you to watch high-definition Blu-ray movies right on your laptop, while Blu-ray Disc™ RE will let you burn your own Blu-ray discs as well. Most Blu-ray drives come with DVD SuperMulti drive technology as well, so that you can also read and burn standard DVDs.

 Screen Size

Screen size is an important factor to consider when choosing a laptop. While laptops with smaller screens are more portable, larger models offer more room to work.

13.3": Ultra-portable models that offer the greatest mobility.
14.0": Very portable, but with more room to work.
15.6": Extra space for multimedia & multitasking.
17.3": Ideal desktop replacement for extra screen space.

 Storage

The hard drive is where your operating system, applications and files are stored on your computer. If you plan on using your laptop to store digital photos, music and movies, you should get a larger hard drive to allow you the most storage space.

7200rpm hard drives spin faster than a standard hard drive, so they're able to open programs and files more quickly than a 5400rpm drive.

Solid state drives operate at a much higher speed than traditional spinning hard drives. Because there are no moving parts, these drives also offer greater shock resistance, reliability and improved battery life rating.