"Since it will be used primarily for working purposes the fact that gaming isn’t much fun on the R630 can be neglected"
Matthias Scherer
The Toshiba Satellite R630 is one of the manufacturer’s more portable laptops – in fact, it’s billed as an ultra-portable laptop. Shiny, skinny and slim, how well does it hold up when faced with actual computing?
What we like best
Being light and easy to carry around is one thing, but the main thing to consider when producing (and buying) an ultraportable is the balance that is struck between weight and features. The Toshiba Satellite R630-13R is only 26mm thick but still finds enough space for a DVD writer, and despite having a very solid magnesium alloy chassis, the whole thing only weighs 1.4kg. Good balancing of portability and functionality there.
The keyboard looks professional and feels firm, thanks to the isolated, responsive keys. There’s up to 8Gb of RAM, and with the quad-core Intel i5 option (you can choose between the three second-generation Intel Core CPUs), you’ll have plenty of processing power to work with. Again, this is an inspired decision – what good is a laptop you can carry with your pointer and pinky when you can’t run more than one application at the time?
The Satellite R630 is equipped with something called Airflow Cooling Technology, which we’re not sure how it’s supposed to work, but we can confirm that the heat coming off the R630 is minimal, even after three hours of use. 320Gb is a fair amount of hard drive storage for such a lightweight device, and since it will be used primarily for working purposes the fact that gaming isn’t much fun on the R630 can be neglected.
What we like least
For a portable laptop, a non-reflective screen is ideal – you never know what the lighting conditions are going to be like. The Toshiba Satellite R630’s 13.3 inch 1366 x 768 display is glossy and bright, but is susceptible to reflections from overhead lamps, sunlight, etc.
There’s very little to be said against the Toshiba Satellite R630 – it looks good, it can take on multiple applications at once, it’s got a decent battery life and the keyboard is easy and pleasant to use. Toshiba has made few compromises between functionality and portability and has yet again produced a very good laptop.
Processor Speed
2.4 GHz
Processor
Intel Core i3
RAM
up to 8 Gb
Screen Size
13.3 inch
Graphics
Intel GMA HD
Hard Drive Storage
Up to 320 Gb
Battery
6-cell
Multimedia
DVD
HD Audio
Webcam
Mic
Ports
1 x VGA
2 x USB 2.0
1 x HDMI
1 x MultiCard Reader
Weight & Size
(W) 316 x (H) 18.3 x (D) 227 mm
1.48 Kg
Connectivity
Wi-Fi
WLAN
Bluetooth
Operating System
Windows 7 Professional
The Toshiba Satellite R630 is an ultraportable, well-designed laptop designed for lightness but with few compromises on features and functionality. Its simple black chassis and bezel make it look both professional and stylish, and its small size and weight mean that it will be a great work companion for the road.
One impressive feat of the Toshiba Satellite R630 is the fact that, despite its skinniness, the developers managed to fit in a DVD writer and all essential ports. And despite its reassuringly solid magnesium alloy chassis, it weights less than 1.5kg.
Toshiba Satellite R630-13R
Users of the Toshiba Satellite R630 have the choice between Intel’s second-generation processors, namely the i3, i5 or i7, all of which are great processors for a device the size of a netbook. Along with 320Gb memory and up tp 8Gb RAM, this makes for a well-equipped, super-portable work buddy.
To read more about the Toshiba Satellite R630-13R and its features, check out the PC Site review here.
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