Toshiba Portege Z830 ultrabook i7

in excellent condition

Processor	1.8GHz Intel Core i7 2677M
Memory	6GB, 1,333MHz DDR3
Hard Drive	128GB SSD
Chipset	Intel QM67
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 3000
Operating system	Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Dimensions (WD)	316 x 227 mm
Height	15.9 mm
Screen size (diagonal)	13.3-inch
System weight	1.13 kg
Category	Ultraportable

 

As part of the EasyGuard feature, the keyboard on the Z830 is spill-resistant. It's not the same as being spill-proof, so while it can handle minor accidents, you'll still need to turn off the laptop immediately.

This is where things start taking a turn for the worst. Despite a chiclet design, the keyboard on the Z830 feels cramped. The height is compressed and the keys are truncated so that they appear more rectangular than square. We weren't expecting too much from the key travel given the thin chassis, but this laptop felt more stiff and shallow than some other Ultrabooks we have tested.

Toshiba went with a traditional multitouch touchpad with distinct buttons rather than the buttonless ones found on its competitors. Such a design allows the Z830 to accomodate a fingerprint reader between the buttons, which is a feature not found on other Ultrabooks. You can also turn off the touchpad by pressing a tiny button just below the spacebar, which is useful when the laptop is connected to a mouse.

Features

The business-slant of the Portege Z830 is evident from the matte display on our review unit. The 1,366 x 768-pixel screen doesn't match up to the 1,600 x 900 resolution on the Asus Zenbook, but to be fair, it is typical for a 13.3-inch display. The viewing angles are nothing to write home about while we felt that the screen brightness could have been higher. We liked the fact that the screen had a thin bezel. 

The lid and the display also showed quite a worrisome amount of flex, though perhaps this flexibility allows it to survive accidental drops. 

	Toshiba Portege Z830	Average for category (Ultraportable)
Video	VGA, HDMI	VGA plus HDMI or DisplayPort
Audio	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jack	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data	1 USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0, SD card reader	3 USB 2.0, SD card reader
Networking	Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband
Optical drive	None	None

As you can expect from a manufacturer experienced in building ultraportable laptops, the Portege Z830 makes no compromise when it comes to connectivity options. There are more ports on this laptop than its competitors, including USB 3.0, HDMI and an SD card slot. Toshiba has even managed to fit in full-sized Gigabit Ethernet and VGA connectors, so there's no need for dongles and adapters like the ones bundled with the Asus Zenbook.

Another feature that business users would appreciate is the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) option that's available on the Z830.