The state of the art Toshiba Qosmio X305 laptop not only has the good looks but also comes with a lot of classy hardware. Priced extravagantly at $4200, this 17-inch, 12.4 pound laptop comes bundled with a four-cored 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme processor; 4GB RAM and dual nVidia video cards

Monitor

Though the Qosmio is loaded with top of the league hardware, the monitor is not very impressive. The 17-inch screen provides a mere 1680 by 1050 WSXGA resolution for an expensive laptop.

Ports

One good thing about the laptop is the number of ports that are available. You get three USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA port, a modem port, a four-pin FireWire port, a multi-format flash card reader, an Express Card 54 slot, besides support for wireless USB devices.

Keyboard

Though the laptop flaunts a sleek keyboard, the keys are way too slippery and the spacebar is too narrow. Also the touchpad is dreadfully prone to getting disturbed while typing.

Audio

Thanks to its four Harman/Kardon speakers and built in subwoofer, the laptop maintains high sound quality even at extreme volumes. It also has Dolby Control Center software that simulates astonishing virtual surround sound.

Software

The laptop comes with Windows Vista Ultimate and some Media applications along with an Office trial. Apart from these regulars, you also get some of Toshiba’s own software like the voice command utility with which you can voice command your applications. The other one is the facial recognition software which you can use to lock the laptop even without a password.

Though the laptop integrates some of the most sophisticated technology and sound, there is nothing special as far as the screen resolution is concerned. Also in view of the laptop’s weird and uncomfortable keyboard, we can only say that it is better to go for other brands which offer equivalent performance at a lesser price.