Toshiba Qosmio X775 Review

Toshiba Qosmio X775

Review Summary:

A reasonably powerful gaming notebook with a low-res screen, outlandish design and mediocre build quality.

Pros

• Excellent performance
• Decent backlit keyboard
• Great speakers
• Runs cool and quiet

Cons

• Low resolution display
• Strange design
• So-so build quality
• Poor touchpad buttons

Toshiba Qosmio X775 Full Review

 

The Qosmio is Toshiba's top-end multimedia and gaming notebook line. This latest iteration sports a striking design, 1.5GB graphics card, and dual hard drives. Is it any better than previous generations? Read our review to find out.

Our Toshiba Qosmio X775-Q7272 has the following specifications:

• 17.3-inch glossy 900p display (1600x900 resolution)
• Intel Core i7-2630QM quad-core processor (2.0GHz, up to 2.9GHz Turbo Boost, 6MB cache, 45W TDP)
• Intel HM65 chipset
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M graphics card w/ 1GB GDDR5 dedicated video memory
• Graphics automatically switchable to integrated Intel graphics (Nvidia Optimus)
• 6GB DDR3-1333 RAM (1x 4GB + 1x 2GB; supports up to 8GB - 2x 4GB)
• Dual 500GB 7200RPM Seagate hard drives (ST9500423AS)
• Atheros AR9002WB-1NG wireless network adapter
• No internal Bluetooth
• Integrated webcam
• Tray-load Blu-ray ROM/DVD burner (MATSHITA BD-CMB UJ141EL)
• 1-year limited warranty
• 8-cell Li-ion battery (47Wh)
• Weight: 6.6 lbs.
• Dimensions: 16.3 x 10.8 x 1.1~2.4 inches
• Price: $1,499.99

The processor and graphics listed above are enthusiast-level specifications; this notebook is clearly designed for gaming and high-end multimedia use. The 500GB hard drives are relatively small considering 640GB, 750GB, and 1TB drives are becoming mainstream. The biggest issue with these specifications is the low 1600x900 screen resolution; a multimedia notebook, especially one with a Blu-ray drive, should have 1920x1080 (1080p) native resolution. As it stands, this notebook can't properly display Blu-rays as they are intended to be played.

Build and Design
The most objective way to describe the Qosmio X775's design is "controversial." I'm certain some potential buyers will love the non-traditional appearance of this notebook. That said, it's hard to imagine a majority of people would find such a look "attractive."

The X775's shape is not as extreme as the previous-generation Qosmio X305, but what it lacks in curves it makes up for in bizarre colors. The palm rest and lid surface have a wood grain-like texture with metal silver paint which is almost blinding in direct light; needless to say, I am not a fan. The colors fade between black and red, which adds to the extreme look (for better or worse).

The build quality is disappointing. The X775's plastic construction does little to differentiate it from most budget notebooks; more upscale materials are required on a notebook this expensive. The chassis has significant flex when twisted by the corners, meaning this notebook needs a stronger internal frame. The lid is flimsy and can be twisted with almost no effort; ripples appear on the screen when pressed from behind, indicating the display panel itself has little protection.

Overall the gaudy design is tough to like and the build quality is substandard compared to other multimedia and gaming laptops in the same price range.

Ports and Features
I expected the X775 to sport a better variety of ports - as it stands the notebook has the basics plus USB 3.0 but lacks an ExpressCard slot, DisplayPort, and eSATA. The optical drive also had an annoying rattle while reading DVDs. All picture descriptions below are listed from left to right.

Front: Media card reader

Rear: Battery pack

Left: AC power, cooling exhaust vent, VGA, Ethernet, HDMI, USB 3.0, USB 2.0

Right: Kensington Lock slot, optical drive, 2x USB 2.0, microphone and headphone jacks

Screen and Speakers

The Toshiba Qosmio X775 has a large 17.3-inch display with a glossy surface. Without even laying eyes on the screen, the 1600x900 resolution is a con; considering the X775 is not a budget notebook by any stretch of the imagination and it has a Blu-ray drive, it should have a proper 1920x1080 (full HD/1080p) resolution.

Setting the resolutuion complaints aside, the X775 uses a typical TN-type panel, meaning the colors distort when viewed from above and below. The display is certainly bright enough and has satisfactory contrast, though isn't particularly colorful. In the end it's essentially the same quality as a typical 17.3-inch mainstream notebook, which isn't a good thing considering the X775 costs twice as much as a budget 17.3-inch notebook (or more).

The built-in harman/kardon speakers are one of the X775's highlights. The speaker cones are much larger than expected from a normal notebook, though they sit covered by some strange-looking chrome grilles above the keyboard. A relatively large subwoofer is built into the bottom of the notebook. The sound quality is fantastic for a notebook; they are powerful and loud enough to fill the room without distorting. Bass is perceptible even when not sitting in front of the notebook thanks to the powerful dedicated subwoofer.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The X775 has a full-size Chiclet/island-style keyboard with red backlighting. The keys have a flat top and a smooth glossy surface. It is extra quiet to type on; those around you may not notice. The key travel - the distance between pressed and un-pressed positions - is short so tactile feedback is somewhat lacking, though I didn't have a problem typing quickly and accurately. There is zero flex during normal operation. The red backlighting looks great at night and is easy on the eyes.

This touchpad only gets it half right; the matte surface is easy to track on and it's appropriately sized for a 17.3-inch screen. The touchpad buttons are atrocious, however; they feel and sound incredibly cheap, making a loud hollow click no matter how easily the keys are pressed. On the plus side, I like the touchpad on/off button above the keyboard; more notebooks should come with such a feature so people can disable the touchpad if they are using an external mouse.

Performance and Benchmarks
The X775 had no problem powering through our suite of benchmarks and games thanks to its enthusiast-grade components. Multitasking with several applications at once is a breeze thanks to the quad-core Intel Core i7-2630QM processor and 6GB of RAM. The 1.5GB Nvidia GTX 560M graphics card is Nvidia's third most powerful graphics card and is more than capable of playing the latest games at high visual quality settings.

The only thing slow about this notebook is the hard drives; the 500GB 7200RPM Seagate drives are old and slower than some modern 5400RPM drives. Ideally this notebook should have come with Seagate Momentus XT hybrid hard drives or 640GB/750GB 7200RPM drives.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark Vantage measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

PCMark 7 is a newer benchmark which measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark Vantage also measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark 11 is a newer benchmark which measures overall graphics performance for gaming(higher scores mean better performance):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:

Gaming Benchmarks
We tested two demanding games on the X775: Crysis and The Witcher 2. Both games were run at the screen's native 1600x900 resolution and "high" settings. For reference, 30 frames per second (FPS) is the minimum required for a smooth gameplay experience.

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M is a powerful card though not top-end. Nonetheless, it will be able to play just about any modern game including Crysisat high visual quality settings ... particularly at 1600x900 resolution.

Heat and Noise
The X775 does well in this area. Even under full benchmarking load, the X775 remains cool and quiet. The fan is large and exhausts hot air out the left side of the notebook. I encountered no heat issues. This is a good improvement over some of Toshiba's older Qosmio notebooks and the company should be praised for making a gaming notebook that keeps temperatures in check.

Battery Life
I measured three hours of life during our standard battery rundown test (Windows 7 Balanced Power Profile, 70% screen brightness, wireless active and refreshing a web page every one minute). This is an acceptable time for a 17.3-inch notebook and good for a notebook packed with a powerful Intel Core i7 processor and dedicated graphics. It's safe to say a large part of the battery life comes from Nvidia's Optimus technology which automatically detects when the notebook isn't playing games or running graphics-intense applications and switches to the Intel integrated graphics to conserve battery life.

Battery life test results (higher scores mean better battery life):

Conclusion
The Toshiba Qosmio X775 has some to like and a lot to dislike. Let's start with the pros: excellent overall performance for gaming and multimedia, good speakers, and a decent backlit keyboard. It also has a three-hour battery life, which is very good for a powerful 17.3-inch notebook. Finally, it runs cool and quiet even while gaming.

The bad starts with the design; it's gaudy and bizarre. The build quality is disappointing as well, with substandard materials and a significant amount of flex. The screen resolution of 1600x900 is another big complaint; the X775 has a Blu-ray drive, which plays back 1920x1080 content, so why not include a 1920x1080 screen? Lastly, the touchpad buttons feel cheap and make too much noise when pressed.

The X775 is not the easiest $1,500 notebook to recommend considering the above.

Pros:

• Excellent performance
• Decent backlit keyboard
• Great speakers
• Runs cool and quiet

Cons:

• Low resolution display
• Strange design
• So-so build quality
• Poor touchpad buttons

Individual Ratings: *
Software & Support 
Upgrade Capabilities 
Usability 
Design 
Performance 
Features 
Price/Value Rating 

* Ratings averaged to produce final score