Toshiba Adds Penryn-powered Notebooks

Toshiba has added Intel's Penryn-class processors to selected Satellite notebooks, offering gamers and road warriors more pure processing power.

Toshiba has added Intel’s Penryn-class Core 2 Duo T8100 processors to it’s Satellite X205 and U305 offerings, giving both gamers and the light-and-portable crowds reasons to celebrate. The Satellite U305-S2816 caters to customers looking for a thin notebook with peak performance, while the substantial X205-SLi2 and X205-SLi4 cater to serious gamers.

Starting at $1,349.99, the U305-S2816 offers a 2.1 GHz Core 2 Duo T8100 processor with 23 MB of L2 cache, 2 GB of RAM (expandable to 4 GB), a 250 MB hard disk drive, a DVD±RW dual-layer DVD burner, Intel GMA X3100 graphics, and a 13.3-inch LCD display. Weighing in at 4.6 pounds, the U305-S2816 also features 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, an embedded Webcam and microphone, and an integrated fingerprint reader.

Moving up the food chain a bit, the X205-SLi2 and X205-SLi4 are based on the same 2.1 GHz Penryn processor, but sport 17-inch screens, an integrated HD DVD/DVD burner, and dual 512 MB GeForce 8600M GT graphics controllers. The SLi2 features 2 GB of RAM, two 160 GB 5,400 rpm hard drives and a 1,440 by 900-pixel screen, while the SLi4 offers 3 GB of RAM, two 7,200 rpm hard drives, an external USB TV tuner, and a 1,680 by 1,050-pixel LCD screen. Both feature 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless networking, plus integrated Webcams, microphones, and fingerprint readers. Pricing for the X205-SLi2 starts at $1,999, while the SLi4 starts at $2,499.99.