Toshiba Portege R835-P70

Toshiba Portege R835-P70

The Toshiba Portege R835-P56X received an Editors' Choice Award when it was first reviewed in March 2011. The review below has been updated to include comparisons to more recent competitors and to highlight the different available models of the Portege. The laptop remains a CNET Editors' Choice. When we first reviewed the Toshiba Portege R835 in March, it earned an enthusiastic Editors' Choice Award. But that was five months ago--an eternity in PC time. Now that second-generation Intel Sandy Bridge chips are in nearly every competing laptop, how does the Portege stack up? The answer is this: as of August 2011, the Portege R835 is still one of the best overall values in the 13-inch laptop category. In fact, as the available configurations have evolved, you may find the current iteration of the Portege to be an even better deal than the laptop was when it was first introduced. Core i5 models have been seen online and in stores for $649 to $729 during various back-to-school sales. While some of the differences between the configurations are important and some aren't (more on that below), each version still delivers a solid magnesium-alloy chassis and a thin and lightweight design.