The Toshiba Satellites are a series of affordable and powerful laptops from Toshiba. These laptop computers are portable and yet powerful enough to serve as a desktop replacement. Models of the Toshiba Satellites series vary by features and size, and range from the Satellite T115 with an 11.6-inch LCD for ultimate mobility, to the high performance Toshiba Satellite P500, with an 18.4-inch LCD monitor.

Of all the Toshiba Satellites, perhaps the best combination of size, price, and specifications is the Toshiba Satellite A500. The Toshiba Satellite A500 is resourceful enough to function as a business computer at work, in the classroom and in the home as well. All Toshiba Satellites in the A500 model come with an extended life battery, a numeric keypad, a DVD drive, USB ports; expansion slots, a long life battery and a 16-inch LCD monitor active matrix backlight display.

Of the Toshiba A500s, the A500-ST56X7 Toshiba Satellite is an excellent choice. This model of the Toshiba Satellites series comes with a 2.26 GHz Intel i5 -430M Dual Core Processor, complete with Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology, for an efficient and powerfully fast computing experience. The A500 –ST56X7 also has a 500GB internal SATA hard drive and comes with 4GB of DDR3 memory. The A500 – ST56X7 comes equipped with an Intel Media Accelerator HD Graphics card with 32MB-1696MB of dynamically allocated shared graphics memory, which should handle most graphics intensive software without any problems.

For those seeking a more powerful computer, the A500 model comes in an upgraded version, the A500-ST56X6 . This model of the Toshiba Satellites has many of the same features as the A500 – ST56X7, but comes with a more powerful processor and graphics card. The features the Intel Quad Core i7-720QM Processor and an NVIDIA GeForce 310M Graphics card with 512MB GDDR3 discrete memory.

If you are looking for a widescreen monitor to serve primarily as a desktop replacement, check out the Toshiba Satellites series Model P500-ST68X2 . This model has an 18.4 LCD monitor with 1680 x 945 native resolution. It also features the Intel Quad Core i7-720QM Processor and an NVIDIA GeForce 330M Graphics card with 1GB GDDR3 discrete memory.

At the other extreme in terms of size and portability is the T115D-S1120 Toshiba Satellite, with an 11.6-inch monitor. This model is designed to be the ultimate in portability and comes equipped with an AMD Athlon Neo Processor MV-40, 2 GB of DDR2 memory, and ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics card with 128MB – 828MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory. The SATA hard drive features 250GB of storage.

If you need a portable computer with more power, a good choice is the U500-ST5307 . This model has a 13.3-inch LCD monitor, an Intel Dual Core i3-330M Processor, and an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD graphics card. The hard drive has 320GB of storage capacity.

All the Toshiba Satellites mentioned above come equipped with stereo speakers, a built in webcam and microphone for business video web conferencing or day to day socializing, and an internal wireless Network Interface Card, or NIC capable of supporting wireless 802.11b/g standards. All the Toshiba Satellites above also feature a DVD drive, with the exception of the T115D – S1120, which is capable of attaching an external DVD drive. All feature the Windows 7 Operating System.

Toshiba Satellites get high ratings from consumers and reviewers, with high marks for ergonomics, as well as performance and design. Reviewers and consumers love the combination of memory, processing power, and value. For more information on the Toshiba Satellites, click on the links above.