Toshiba Tecra R840 notebook review

Toshiba’s target market for the Tecra R840-11E is demanding business customers seeking a slim but sturdy notebook.

The Toshiba R840-11E ships with an Intel i5-2520M processor and 4GB DDR3 RAM, with incorporated HD 3000 graphics. The standard model has a 320GB 7200rpm hard drive.

The R840-11E sports a 14-inch 1366 x 768 anti-glare screen.

For connectivity the Tecra R840-11E is equipped with 802.11n WLAN and 3.0HS bluetooth. It also features UMTS/3G, a docking port and a 34mm ExpressCard slot.

Additional hardware configurations are available, though not on an a la carte basis – for instance the R840-109 pairs the i5-2520M processor with an AMD Radeon HD 6450M, while the flagship Tecra R840-116 brings an i7-2620M processor and with the same AMD 6450M dedicated graphics card.

Let’s take a look at some cool Toshiba Tecra R840 pictures:

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The R840-11E measures 341 x 239 x 19.9mm, and weighs in at almost 2kg.

The black case is minimalistic, with a fine-ridge texture and silver hinges. The lid feels durable. Even pressing with considerable force on it had no effect on the display. Our Tecra R840-11E even passed the display bezel-twisting test – clearly a robust machine.

The AR-coated matte screen is almost completely reflection-free. If GM has one complaint it’s that the blacks on the display could be blacker. A VGA webcam with built-in microphone is installed above the display.

The spill-proof keyboard unfortunately lacks a separate number pad. The touchpad has multi-touch and gesture control. Typing is quiet and agreeable, and an extremely responsive AccuPoint is situated mid-keyboard. A good-sized touchpad complements the sober keyboard.

The speakers are more suited to business than pleasure, delivering quite low volume.

All ports on the Tecra R840 are placed on the sides. Toshiba have provided two audio ports, an eSata/USB 2.0 combo port with USB sleep-and-charge, a VGA socket and a DC-in socket on the left. Crammed onto the right-hand side are a DVD-writer, SmartCard slot, an SD/MMC memory slot, a 34mm ExpressCard slot, the RJ45 Gigabit LAN port and a USB 3.0 socket. But still there’s more – on the right side are also sockets for audio in and out, an eSata/USB combo port, a display port socket and another USB 2.0 socket. Yet there is still ample room between ports to enable multiple interfaces to be connected simultaneously.

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Performance

As you might expect for a business laptop, the Toshiba Tecra R840 is furnished with numerous security features – there is a fingerprint sensor, a SmartCard reader, CompuTrace-enabled BIOS, and TPM Embedded Security Chip 1. 2, enhanced pre-boot security and Toshiba’s Anti-theft technology. Phew! That all adds up to a well-protected notebook.

For protection of a different sort the Tecra R840 series features a 3D shock sensor which parks the hard drive read/write head safely to protect your valuable data. Toshiba claims the HDD can survive a fall of 76cm without data loss.

The R840 comes with Windows 7 Professional 64-bit installed, as well as many pre-installed tools and programs, including MacAfee Internet Security, face recognition software, Recovery Media Creator, and Nero Burn Essentials and Multimedia Suite.

In Notebookcheck benchmarks the Tecra R840-11E was eclipsed by the HP Probook 6460b, though an optional SSD lifts scores considerably. For those office types who like to unwind with a spot of gaming, Fifa 11 was fine at all resolutions and Drift 3 playable in low-res mode.

Again, scores are significantly higher with models incorporating AMD’s Radeon HD 6450 card. Battery life was 6:45 for light-to-moderate use, though only one and a half hours at maximum performance.

All in all, not a good option if you’re looking for a home entertainment system, rather a very powerful business machine; quiet, efficient operation with plenty of security and interface ports, attractively packaged.

Tiger direct sells Toshiba Tecra R840-S8420 14 Notebook PCfor $1159.99.

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