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In addition to its Core 2 Duo P8600, Toshiba’s Qosmio has a SpursEngine quad-core media processor, which is based on the PlayStation 3’s Cell chip. Using the built-in webcam, the Qosmio can recognise pre-determined hand gestures to perform common tasks such as pausing video, although it rarely worked for us. The SpursEngine can boost video encoding speeds if used with software designed to take advantage of it. With Toshiba’s included converter software, the Qosmio converted an 11-minute video from MPEG2 to H.264 in just two minutes. The popular video encoding program Super took 17 minutes, although the resulting video looked better. Hopefully, more SpursEngine-optimised software will appear, as the included program isn’t very sophisticated. The SpursEngine can upscale DVD video so that it looks better on the 18.4in, 1,680×945 screen. The screen is bright with fairly accurate colours, provided you’re sitting directly in front of it. The G50-127 is the only desktop replacement here to lack a Blu-ray drive. The glossy grey, black and chrome design looks great, but the glossy finish on the keyboard and touchpad buttons makes them slippery. The touchpad is accurate, but we had to stretch our fingers to reach the buttons. A built-in TV tuner can record analogue or Freeview broadcasts. The 320GB hard disk is the smallest of the desktop-replacement laptops, though, and could fill up quickly. Although the Qosmio is slower than Acer’s Core 2 Quad-powered Aspire 8930G in our Windows benchmarks, it’s fast for demanding tasks. You’ll need to reduce graphical detail a little when gaming, though. The GeForce 9600M GT graphics chip scored 17fps in Call of Duty 4, and a smoother 31fps with reduced graphics.
The Qosmio’s SpursEngine looks promising, but Toshiba has sacrificed too much to accommodate it. Until more software supports it, most people are better off with a more practically equipped desktop-replacement laptop such as Acer’s Aspire 8930G.
