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Question

Will laptop I buy now have same display as in 10/15 review?

Aug 18, 2016 8:17PM PDT

Hello [my first-ever post...]--

I'm planning to buy a Toshiba Satellite Radius 4K, based on reviews I've read that were written in Sept. and Oct. 2015. I want to make sure its display will be the same one it had at the time of the reviews -- not just that it's 4K, but that it's the exact same display. I don't have a reason to think Toshiba changed the display at any point after that, but please look at the following and let me know if I can go about acquiring a Satellite Radius 4K with confidence that it will have the display that was reviewed.

Laptopmag review (Sept. 2015) calls the reviewed machine "P55 4K (2015)" (I imagine the "2015" was added later, but I don't know). It also calls it "P55-C5212." PC Mag. review (Oct. 2015) calls it "P55W-C5212" (and refers to it as a Best Buy exclusive, by the way).

Currently on Amazon (Toshiba website no longer carries it), there are two items that may both be the machine I'm looking for. Neither has the exact number P55W-C5212 or P55-C5212.

One Amazon listing calls it "2016 Newest Toshiba Satellite Radius 2-in-1 15.6-inch 4K Ultra HD Touchscreen Flagship Laptop" and "P55W 4K." The display is described in one place as, "15.6-inch 4K Ultra HD 10-point multitouch LCD for hands-on navigation - TruBrite technology" and in another place as "15.6-inch 4K Ultra HD 3840x2160 TruBrite LED-backlit IPS Touchscreen Display." Note LCD vs. LED. (Or can a display be LCD, but LED-backlit? I am tech-ignorant.). 3840x2160 is the resolution specified in the 2015 reviews.

The other Amazon listing calls it "Toshiba - Satellite Radius 2-in-1 15.6-inch 4K Ultra HD Touch-Screen Laptop" and "P55W-C5316-4K." The display is described as "15.6-inch 4K Ultra HD 10-point multitouch LCD." The numerical resolution is not specified.

Can I be confident that one or both of these listings are offering what I'm looking for?

Each of these listings has multiple sellers to choose from. If there is in fact a difference in terms of display between the Radius 4K's offered under one listing and the ones offered under the other listing, can I really be confident that all the sellers listed their machines under the correct listing?

Thanks!
Lee

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Time to ask the seller this question.
Aug 19, 2016 9:06AM PDT

That's a great way to test their support before you are stuck with a machine and learn their support system is non-existent.

I want to point out that gaming at 4K on laptops is not possible yet. Be sure you know that going in.

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What's basis for seller to answer Q? Also:I have new info
Aug 19, 2016 2:22PM PDT

Thanks very much for your reply.

I just now saw a March 30, 2016, report that Toshiba had decided to stop producing consumer laptops (including the Satellite Radius 4K). Should I be reassured by that, on the idea that it's unlikely that Toshiba would have changed the 4K display between Oct. 2015 (when it was reviewed as a new product) and March 2016?

If not... In terms of your advice to ask the sellers: Would I be asking them to check to see if the model # is exactly the same as in the reviews, right down to the "C5212" part? I.e., I'd ask them to look for "P55W-C5212" on the laptops themselves? (And I should rule out the ones being sold that are "P55W-C5316-4K"?)

Thanks.

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It's pretty simple.
Aug 19, 2016 2:35PM PDT

As the maker and the seller has impetus for the sale not to mention it's their job, it's really that simple.

I don't know any Toshiba rep and won't be at a trade show for months so it's the maker and seller's responsibility to make the sale by answering your questions. If they don't or slough you off, that's not a good sign about future support.

Just like the desktop market, laptops are approaching commodity items with little to differentiate at times. My thoughts on 4K is to skip it since GPUs can't muster enough power to drive the display at 4K UHD in laptops yet (gaming.) Even playing video it's iffy so most of the time you play the content at 1080 and let it upscale (which is a hardware functions.)

TL;DR. The basis is they want to make the sale.