The Toshiba Satellite M505 is a practical counterpart to the Dell Studio 14z. With the Satellite M505, $650 buys a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive, and a 14-inch display with 1366-by-768-pixel resolution.
A DVD-RW optical drive and a flash card reader are included, as well. This laptop also has an eSATA port if you need to add a high-speed hard drive; but since it has no HDMI port, you won't be able to use it with an HD display.
It's no lightweight, either: Compared with the Dell Studio 14z, the Satellite M505 weighs more (5.4 pounds versus 4.3 pounds). Its battery life is an hour less than that of the Dell, too, and it offers only a run-of-the-mill integrated graphics chip (no gaming here). On the flip side, however, the M505 has more memory than the Dell, and a larger hard drive. We also liked its speakers and its case design.
Pros: Good specs for the price; cool design
Cons: Average battery life; no HDMI port
