Desktop Replacement Winner:

Update: Since we initially posted these results, we retested the MacBook Pro in its native OS X operating system (rather than in Vista using Boot Camp), and have adjusted its numbers accordingly. It still remains third overall, as its power consumption in OS X actually increased when we re-ran our tests. See further updates throughout this page. After recalculating the scores for all the notebooks in the category, the scores for the desktop replacements are as follows:

Toshiba Satellite A355 (84.8)

Runners-Up
Second Place: HP ProBook 4710s (82.4)
Third Place: Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch) (76.9)
Fourth Place: Dell Studio XPS 16 (64.3)

This category also saw a neck-and-neck race between the HP ProBook 4710s and the Toshiba Satellite A355, with the Toshiba system eking out the win by 1.9 points (Editor's note: No longer the case. See update above).

Battery and Charging Results
The Satellite A355’s main strengths lie in its low power consumption when charging (6334.2 watts), which is more than 1300 watts below the ProBook, the next closest competitor, and less than half that of the Dell Studio XPS 16 (13744.8 watts). The only area where Toshiba’s system did not fare well was battery life, as its endurance of 2:21 was more than 2 hours behind the 17-inch MacBook Pro, the category leader. Update: When recharging in OS X, the MacBook Pro used an average of 62.4 Watts, and took 3 hours and 20 minutes to fully recharge—that’s an increase of 12 minutes and 4.7 watts compared to its scores when running in Boot Camp mode.

Power Consumption During Use
With the exception of our Movie test (where it placed second), the Toshiba Satellite A355 used the least amount of power for every other benchmark. Only the ProBook, with an identical average power use (25.2 watts) during the Web-surfing test, came close. The ProBook was the next closest. Update: The MacBook Pro also consumed more power during our Web surf test (30.1 watts vs. 27.1 watts), and when idle (25.9 watts vs. 24.7 watts). However, power use decreased while playing a movie (34.1 watts vs. 39.1 watts), and since PCMark Vantage only runs in a Windows environment, that score remained the same.

Third-Party Ratings
The Satellite’s EPEAT Gold rating of 21 was good, but 1 point behind the MacBook Pro; Toshiba’s Greenpeace rating of 5.3 (out of 10) was the best of the other companies in the category, but it’s nothing to write home about.