- Intel Celeron 1005M
- 4GB Memory 500GB HDD
- Intel HD Graphics
- Touchscreen
- Windows 8
Great value
01/21/2014
This review is from: TOSHIBA Laptop Intel Celeron 1005M 4GB Memory 500GB HDD Intel HD Graphics 15.6" Touchscreen Windows 8 C55T-A5222
Pros:
Full-sized keyboard and numbers keypad, touchscreen, Toshiba quality
Cons:
Battery life, hard to read F keys, terrible viewing angle.
Overall Review:
I'm very pleased with this laptop. I wanted something to replace my desktop and tablet (a Toshiba Thrive). This does the job for me, personally. I must note that I ordered a 120gb Samsung SSD to upgrade the laptop upon arrival. I only worked with the stock computer long enough to clone the HDD to the SSD. It worked just fine and was smooth and easy to setup. Once the SSD was in and an additional 2gb of memory installed (comes with one 4gb stick and one open slot), the machine is very fast and operates smoothly for what I use it for. Mainly, high productivity software and standard web browsing, email and Win 8 games.
I also use it to stream movies through various services such as Netflix, Epix, etc. It does so without any problem at all. One knock against watching movies is the viewing angle. You have to be virtually straight on to see it correctly. Any deviation (left, right, up, down) causes the images to wash out or virtually disappear. Fortunately, I prefer using the HDMI out to a HDTV for movies and shows.
I don't know how this would do for gaming, but I don't have any interest in gaming and didn't buy it for that.
I'm a bit disappointed with the battery life. Even with an SSD which uses far less energy and runs cooler so the fan runs less, I get about 4 hours on a charge. This is a probably the only detail that reminds me this is a refurb and not new. Still, I use this like a desktop and it's plugged in most of the time.
The function keys are very hard to read. The function they perform with the FN key overshadows the blue on black imprint for F1 - F12. I use a lot of keyboard shortcuts and I'm less than pleased with this. In time I will probably adjust to them.
The sound from the speakers is decent enough for dialogue. Music is a different story. No big deal. I was not expecting much from laptop speakers at this price point. However, I was disappointed with the sound when I hooked up a set of external 5.1 speakers w/subwoofer. There was no bass. Output from the sub was nonexistent. After searching the internet for a fix, I found there were many others having the same problem on Toshiba ( and ASUS) laptops in Win 8.1. There is no problem with the hardware or drivers. The fix is in finding the well hidden sound adjustments. The defaults on the stock machine cut out all bass. Just do an internet search for the answer and you should be able to fix it easily. My external speakers now sound as they should.
The laptop comes with a lot of Toshiba apps that are more annoying than helpful. There are several shortcuts to games I will never play that I haven't figured out how to remove. Even with the games uninstalled the shortcuts remain. I like a very clean machine and never have liked the "helpful" programs and apps manufacturers preload on their products. I'm still finding my way around my first Win 8 PC so the cleanup and configuring is ongoing.
Overall, I am very pleased with this laptop for
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- Kelly F.
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Verified Owner
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Owned For:
1 month to 1 year
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