Notebook Hunter

Update: We accidentally confused the P870/023 for the P870/027. We still think this is a good special, but keep in mind it has a DVD burner, 1,000GB of HDD storage and a 1,600 x 900 resolution screen.

Second Update: Bing Lee's having a four day sale via their online store that ends this Friday, and they're selling the Toshiba Satellite P870/023 for only $1,199. There will be a delivery fee because this is only via their online store, but the final price should still end up a lot lower than the catalogue price. During checkout you'll be advised of the delivery fee before you make your final purchase.

Bing Lee’s got a four day sale on, and they’ve got good news for those who missed out on the 17.3in 3rd Gen Intel Core i7 equipped Toshiba Satellite P870/027 for $1,495 last week. They’re selling the similar P870/023 for $1,199 via their online store, which is a great price for such a massively specced notebook. Backing up the 3rd Gen Intel Core i7 processor is a good mid-range NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M dedicated graphics card and a whopping 16GB of RAM. This is enough to run very demanding programs, making the 2.99kg P870 a good desktop replacement.

See the special online here.

See a summary of the specs below.

Processor
The P870 features a 3rd Gen Intel Core i7-3610QM (2.3GHz), a new high-end processor that’s roughly 15% faster than equivalent 2nd Gen Intel Core i7s. In addition to being powerful it has better power management, allowing for longer usage between recharges.

Graphics
It comes with a mid-range dedicated graphics card called the NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M. It’s a reasonably powerful mid-range component that should have no problems with modern games.

RAM
16GB of RAM allows for multi-tasking with exceptionally demanding software. It’s also more than enough for just about any image or video editing tasks.

Storage
1,000GB of hard disk drive storage is enormous, and can store heaps of media content including burnt Blu-ray movies.

Screen
The P870 sports a 17.3in (1,600 x 900 resolution) gloss screen.

Portability
The P870 isn’t really very portable, because it weighs 2.99kg and is 33.7mm thick. This will likely live on a desk and only move around if absolutely necessary.

Other Features
The P870 has a TV tuner, which makes it possible to watch live TV on the P870 and also to record live TV to the P870’s storage.