X
CNET logo Why You Can Trust CNET

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965 review: Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965

Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965

Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise VR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tablets Credentials
  • Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
Scott Stein
5 min read

Editors' note: This review is part of our 2009 Retail Laptop and Desktop Back-to-School roundup, covering specific fixed configurations of popular systems that can be found in retail stores.

6.2

Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965

The Good

Features a dual-core processor for a very aggressive, entry-level price.

The Bad

Unattractive, bulky design; missing useful features such as Bluetooth or a Webcam.

The Bottom Line

For a price just north of Netbook territory, Toshiba's chunky 15.6-inch Satellite L505D-S5965 has a solid, but uninspiring, selection of specs that at least won't hinder your basic computing needs.

With laptop prices dropping across the board, the bottom-line territory for entry-level machines is a fascinating landscape. Leaving Netbooks aside for a moment, what can you get for less than $500 in mid-2009? If you're willing to bulk up, Toshiba is offering its Windows-Vista-running Satellite L505 for $450. With it, you get a dual-core AMD Athlon X2 CPU, 3GB of RAM, a decent 16:9 15.6-inch screen, a DVD burner, 250GB hard drive, and basic ATI graphics--which is a pretty good package for less than $500. It's an improvement over similarly priced systems with sluggish Intel Celeron processors, but don't expect to impress anyone but yourself, because this machine screams "satisfyingly mediocre."

Price as reviewed / Starting price $449.99
Processor 2.1GHz AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core
Memory 3GB, DDR2 800 MHz
Hard drive 250GB 5,400rpm
Chipset AMD RS780
Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon 3100
Operating System Windows Vista Premium
Dimensions (WD) 15 inches wide by 10.15 inches deep
Height 1.1-1.3 inches
Screen size (diagonal) 15.6 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter 6.02/6.9 pounds
Category Mainstream

This Satellite L505 retail-ready fixed-configuration laptop provides a total package that is not exactly the sexiest portable on the block, but is reasonably likable considering its Netbook-esque cost. A glossy, gray-with-pinstripes exterior recalls recent Asus designs we've seen, but we weren't thrilled with the overly bland look. Inside, a lighter gray, glossy plastic surrounds the gray plastic keyboard, above which is a dark gray plastic bezel around a 15.6-inch screen. That's a lot of glossy gray, and--combined with this system's considerable bulk--it gives the machine an unsophisticated, cheap look. But it's attractive enough if you're primarily interested in the bargain price.

Toshiba's keyboard has tapered keys, which feel good to type, and comes with a full number pad, too, which is a nice touch. We also liked the touch pad, which was strangely flush with the rest of the case (and the same color, too, thus blending in and disappearing), but with a matte texture to demarcate where it starts and ends.

The 15.6-inch TFT LCD glossy screen has a resolution of 1,366x768, which is standard for wide-screen mainstream system. It's also a 16x9 aspect ratio display, which is fast becoming a norm across laptops. It looks pretty good when watching videos, and text is crisp. Two exposed stereo speakers were merely average, and a handful of physical media control buttons sit next to the power button between the speakers and aren't backlit. The volume control is a plastic wheel, and oddly sits on its own at the front of the laptop. There are no clear maximum or minimum markers, and it's hard to figure out how many spins raise or lower the volume.

Another odd note: the L505D-S5965 has no Webcam. This wasn't an obvious omission to us the first time around, but when we finally noticed, it bothered us. While it's a cost-saving measure, Webcams are nearly universal nowadays, even in the cheapest laptops, and it wouldn't have hurt Toshiba to throw one in.

  Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965 Average for category [mainstream]
Video VGA-out VGA-out, HDMI
Audio Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data 2 USB 2.0, 1 USB/eSATA, SD card reader 4 USB 2.0, SD card reader
Expansion None ExpressCard/54
Networking Ethernet, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional WWAN
Optical drive DVD burner DVD burner

Don't expect much in terms of ports or connections on the L505, because this is pretty bare-bones. Two USB ports, a VGA output, and an SD card reader are pretty much it, plus an extra USB/eSATA port, which is the one stand-out inclusion. There's no Bluetooth or 802.11n Wi-Fi--both fairly common features even in budget systems.

AMD's 2.1GHz AMD Athlon X2 is a decent dual-core processor that can handle Vista as well as basic office apps and multimedia, and while the benchmark tests weren't spectacular, they were perfectly decent considering the low-cost of the machine. Faster alternatives in the same price range of our Back-to-School retail laptop roundup use Intel's low-cost 2.0GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core T4200.

An ATI Mobility Radeon 3100 GPU provides fair, but not great, video support, so you can play some basic games on this machine, too. Popcap's Plants vs. Zombies looked great, but don't expect a kick-ass game of Far Cry 2.

Juice box
Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965  
Off (watts) 0.38
Sleep (watts) 0.92
Idle (watts) 15.3
Load (watts) 60.79
Raw (annual kWh) 62.94
Annual operating cost (@$0.1135/kWh) $7.14

Annual power consumption cost
Dell Inspiron 1545-012B
$5.75 
Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955
$5.86 
Compaq Presario CQ60-417DX
$6.59 
Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965
$7.14 

The L505D-S5965's six-cell battery only lasted 1 hour and 38 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, which is significantly lower than we'd like out of a mainstream 15-inch laptop; between 2 and 3 hours is what we'd expect from even a budget 15-inch. Our battery drain test, however, is especially grueling, so you can expect longer life from casual Web surfing and office use.

The Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965 is backed by an industry-standard, one-year warranty. Support is accessible 24-7 via a toll-free phone line, an online knowledge base, and a Web site with driver downloads.

Note: While this machine comes with Windows Vista, many retailers, including Best Buy, and some hardware manufacturers, are offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 for systems purchased after the end of June.

Multimedia multitasking test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Dell Inspiron 1545-012B
1,120 
Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965
1,318 
Compaq Presario CQ60-417DX
2,741 
Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955
2,814 

Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Dell Inspiron 1545-012B
223 
Compaq Presario CQ60-417DX
251 
Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955
269 
Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965
291 

Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Compaq Presario CQ60-417DX
225 
Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955
225 
Dell Inspiron 1545-012B
236 
Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965
238 

Video playback battery drain test (in minutes)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955
157 
Dell Inspiron 1545-012B
147 
Compaq Presario CQ60-417DX
131 
Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965
98 

System configurations:

Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955
Windows Vista Home Basic SP1; 2.2GHz Intel Celeron 900; 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 128MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 160GB Toshiba 5400rpm

Compaq Presario CQ60-417DX
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 2.2GHz Intel Celeron 900; 3072MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 128MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 160GB Samsung 5400rpm

Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 2.1GHz AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core QL-65; 3072MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon 3100; 250GB Toshiba 5400rpm

Dell Inspiron 1545-012B
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 2.0GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core T4200; 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 128MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 160GB Western Digital 5400rpm

Asus K50IJ-RX05
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core T4200; 3072MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 128MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 320GB Seagate 5400rpm

Find out more about how we test laptops.

6.2

Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965

Score Breakdown

Design 6Features 7Performance 6Battery 4Support 7