Toshiba Qosmio G45

Toshiba's Qosmio line is known for high-end home-theater features (and high prices), and the massive Qosmio G45 is one of our favorite desktop replacements for movie and media consumption. The latest edition, the G45-AV690, tweaks the previous model, the G45-AV680, by adding Intel's new Penryn processors and a third GB of RAM, but it already looks dated thanks to its mandatory HD DVD drive (our review unit was built shortly before Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD, but the writing was clearly already on the wall).

specifications:

• OS: Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit)

• Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7300 (2.20GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB)

• Chipset: Mobile Intel P965 Express Chipset

• Wireless: Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n), Bluetooth version 2.0 plus Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)

• Memory: 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)

• Hard Drive: 320GB Total Space (160GB x 2)

• Optical Drive: HD DVD-R/DVD SuperMulti (+/- double layer) drive (in one optical drive), supporting 13 formats

• Screen: 17.0" diagonal widescreen TrueLife TFT LCD display at 1920x1200 (WUXGA, Glossy)

• Graphics: 512MB nVidia GeForce Go 8600m GT

• Web Cam: 2.0 megapixel webcam

• Slots: ExpressCard slot (ExpressCard/34 and Express Card/54) and PC-Card Slot, 5-in-1 media card reader

• Ports: VGA, HDMI, and S-Video out, Mic, 2 Headphone, line out, 2 IR out, IEEE-1394 (FireWire), Five USB 2.0 ports

• Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 17.25" x 11.75" x 1.759"

• Weight: 10.6 Advertised, 9lbs 15oz actual w/ battery

• 90W (19V x 4.62A) 100-240V AC adapter (1lb 10.6oz)

• 9-cell (85Wh) Lithium Ion battery (1lb 2.3 oz)

• 1-Year Standard Limited Warranty

With its steep price, quality issues, and questionable durability, its hard to recommend the Qosmio G45 over other quality Toshiba notebooks like the Satellite X205 gaming notebook. The key issues that would change this decision, if fixed, are the flimsy chassis and buggy hardware failures. Another might be to offer a HD-DVD-rom drive instead of the burner, and really lighten the cost of the machine.