List Price: $379.99
Sale Price: $362.99
Today's Bonus: 4% Off
The Toshiba Satellite C55D-A5240NR is an inexpensive laptop with an AMD processor and 4GB of memory, running Windows 8 64-bit as an operating system. Frankly, the downfall in this configuration is the 4GB of memory, but this can be remedied, as can the lack of Bluetooth.
For someone who isn't into games requiring fast, responsive graphics, this basic laptop would be a good choice. Good build quality, nice 15.6" display (1366x768 (HD), 16:9 aspect ratio, Supports 720p content), built-in media card reader, lightweight body (only 5.2 pounds) and the perks of HDMI, webcam with built-in microphone, and (1) USB 3.0 (you also have 2 USB 2.0) made me smile. The inclusion of the DVD drive (often omitted on lightweight laptops these days) was also a nice perk.
Toshiba says it has 'enhanced sound', but I didn't notice this to be the case. I added speakers via the line-in port (used for headphones), and later decided to add a Kinivo BTD-300 Bluetooth 3.0 USB adapter For Windows 8 / Windows 7 / Windows XP / Vista, Mac OS 10.3.9 or Later, which is a cheap addition that gives this laptop the Bluetooth capabilities it lacks out of the box.
I then added Bluetooth speakers for additional 'enhanced sound' that made me happy. My speaker choices: (NEW) AYL BSPK202 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Set with Built in Speakerphone + 8 hour Rechargeable Battery and Enhanced Bass Resonator + 3 Year Warranty or (NEW) AYL Mini Touch BoomBox Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker with Built in Speakerphone + 8 hour Rechargeable Battery + 3 Year Warranty Black. You can also use Bluetooth headphones with the adapter installed. I've used my Bose AE2w Bluetooth Headphones Black via this method, without a problem.
This laptop isn't high-end. It doesn't have a back-lit keyboard, but it is full-sized and includes 10-key. It's screen resolution is average, and the battery life on a 6-cell is about 4 hours depending upon the type of usage. You can watch Netflix, Skype, Facebook, play online games, email and surf the Web. You can also edit photos and upload videos to YouTube. It's a utilitarian laptop, that anyone can afford.
The Toshiba won't be for gamers or those who intend to edit video. The graphics and the memory are lacking, and AMD processors (while the can work fine for this purpose...) take a back seat to Intel for this purpose in my opinion.
If you are looking for a solid choice for a basic laptop that's thin, lightweight, and will allow you to study, work and play for about three hundred bucks, this is a good choice!
I would suggest adding more memory though, as the basic configuration of 4GB is barely enough to run the operating system. This is unfortunately pretty much the standard with laptops in this price range, and how the manufacturers can offer them so cheaply. This laptop can be expanded to 16GB of memory, which is ideal for anyone wanting to get the most performance, but certainly not necessary. At 8GB (doubling the current configuration), you should see a noticeable performance boost.
To upgrade, I suggest either taking it to a local shop (you'll probably pay more than doing it yourself) or opening up the back to reveal the memory slots. There are (2), each with 2GB sticks of DDR3 1600MHz memory. You will need to purchase a kit with 2 sticks of 4GB (total 8GB) for about sixty to eighty bucks to do the upgrade. I suggest you look at what memory is installed first (brand, part number, speed) to verify what's installed prior to the upgrade. Sometimes this can vary, depending upon where your laptop was built.
I upgraded using this kit: Crucial 8GB Kit (4GBx2) DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11 SODIMM 204-Pin 1.35V/1.5V Notebook Memory Modules CT2CP51264BF160B. However you can (see comments) add one compatible (any brand) stick of 4GB to the existing 4GB stick for a total of 8GB. NOTE: I like to add two of the same brand and size for best performance, but some argue this is not necessary. I got the 8GB kit for less than I could have gotten 4GB of Samsung memory, so I decided to do it this way and put the Samsung part into another laptop.
Something that Toshiba did which surprised me. Despite having only a 1066Mhz data transfer rate on the installed motherboard per Toshiba's specs, they've installed memory with a 1600Mhz speed. This PC will never be able to attain that speed due to the limitations of the installed hardware, even with the faster memory, but adding compatible 1600Mhz speed memory is the way to go as it will make for a smooth running system and there's no real price issue.
If you prefer to add an additional 4GB of memory (for a total of 8GB with the existing stick (which for most appears to be a Samsung part) you may want to use: Crucial 4GB Single DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11 SODIMM 204-Pin 1.35V/1.5V Notebook Memory Module CT51264BF160B which costs much less than the existing Samsung module, yet works the same.
Upgrading the memory is not tough, so don't be afraid to do it yourself. Just take your time (look at a few tutorials on YouTube), make sure you're grounded and not on carpet when you open up the case to prevent harmful static which can ruin parts.
So if you want a basic laptop with potential for speediness with an upgrade, snap this one up.
UPDATE: 9/17/13 TIP Recovery Drive to USB
To save yourself some potential grief with ANY Windows 8 PC, think about making a recovery drive from a 32GB USB flash drive (you could do it with less, but to include the recovery partition from the hard drive get the 32GB stick). It's easy! In Windows 8 use the Search box and type in 'recovery drive'. You will see 'Create a Recovery Drive'. Follow the directions and then you'll have an essential back-up of the operating system and drivers, if needed for a reboot when Windows has failed for some unknown reason. Store it somewhere safe and continue to do system back-ups (not the same thing...) about once a week.
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