Toshiba 15.6" laptop - $229 at Best Buy

[brocks]

Thanks for the link to shouldiremoveit; that looks like it will be very handy for all my PCs.

I'd really, really like to do a clean install of 8.1, and I only have to download the drivers once (plus the preinstalled ones are six months old), so that part doesn't bother me, although for some reason so far I've had crap download speeds with this laptop --- I hope it was just bad luck on those particular websites. I just can't understand why MS makes it so much harder to upgrade your OS if you're a paying customer than if you're a pirate.

One thing I noticed about Norton, luckily, was that when I uninstalled it, it didn't automatically turn Windows Defender back on for me, which every other AV program I've ever seen does. That alone would make me never want to use it.

 

[Kaido]

Thanks for the link to shouldiremoveit; that looks like it will be very handy for all my PCs.

I'd really, really like to do a clean install of 8.1, and I only have to download the drivers once (plus the preinstalled ones are six months old), so that part doesn't bother me, although for some reason so far I've had crap download speeds with this laptop --- I hope it was just bad luck on those particular websites. I just can't understand why MS makes it so much harder to upgrade your OS if you're a paying customer than if you're a pirate.

One thing I noticed about Norton, luckily, was that when I uninstalled it, it didn't automatically turn Windows Defender back on for me, which every other AV program I've ever seen does. That alone would make me never want to use it.

I believe I had ridiculously long download speeds from Toshiba's site as well. As far as Norton goes, it's one of the culprits that doesn't flip the Defender switch after uninstall; I have some instructions here: (I had the same thing happen on a previous computer with Norton, garbage!)

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2325766

As far as I know, there is no way to do a clean install using the existing key. You would need to find an unmodified Toshiba-keyed Windows 8 disc, which I haven't seen and may or may not exist. I know with Dells, at least the business ones, the generic Dell XP/Vista/7/etc. disc activates on all business-class machines, making it very easy to do a fresh install with current drivers, but Microsoft wouldn't even take my Toshiba key online, so I doubt an official System Builder (the new "OEM" term) disc would work either. Would like to know more though, since I'll probably be snagging more of these for work!

 

[brocks]

Oops, looks like I may have a bad battery. The amber light started flashing while the PC was plugged in, which the manual says means either the battery or adapter is bad. I followed the instructions to take out the battery and clean the terminals, which looked fine, and when I put it back in, now the light isn't flashing any more, but the charge indicator never goes above 97%, whether the laptop is turned on or not (it's plugged in, whether on or off). I let it charge several hours while turned off, and it still never went above 97.

I can certainly live with 97%, but I'd guess that it means the battery will stop holding a charge at as soon as it's out of warranty. I hate to do it, because the nearest Best Buy is 100 miles away, but I guess I'll take it back. I have till Jan 15, right?

 

[qliveur]

I believe I had ridiculously long download speeds from Toshiba's site as well. As far as Norton goes, it's one of the culprits that doesn't flip the Defender switch after uninstall; I have some instructions here: (I had the same thing happen on a previous computer with Norton, garbage!)

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2325766

As far as I know, there is no way to do a clean install using the existing key. You would need to find an unmodified Toshiba-keyed Windows 8 disc, which I haven't seen and may or may not exist. I know with Dells, at least the business ones, the generic Dell XP/Vista/7/etc. disc activates on all business-class machines, making it very easy to do a fresh install with current drivers, but Microsoft wouldn't even take my Toshiba key online, so I doubt an official System Builder (the new "OEM" term) disc would work either. Would like to know more though, since I'll probably be snagging more of these for work!

Yup, I brain-farted when I said you could download the 8.1 ISO with the generic key. I thought that's what I did, but I apparently had had too much beer that night. 😳 You need a retail or upgrade Windows 8 key to do it. You'll still need the generic 8.1 key to install it, though.

I suppose that it would be okay to use a "borrowed" retail key since all you're doing is downloading the ISO and using your OEM key to activate Windows.

 

[Kaido]

Oops, looks like I may have a bad battery. The amber light started flashing while the PC was plugged in, which the manual says means either the battery or adapter is bad. I followed the instructions to take out the battery and clean the terminals, which looked fine, and when I put it back in, now the light isn't flashing any more, but the charge indicator never goes above 97%, whether the laptop is turned on or not (it's plugged in, whether on or off). I let it charge several hours while turned off, and it still never went above 97.

I can certainly live with 97%, but I'd guess that it means the battery will stop holding a charge at as soon as it's out of warranty. I hate to do it, because the nearest Best Buy is 100 miles away, but I guess I'll take it back. I have till Jan 15, right?

Wow, that stinks. Mine charges too 100%, so it sounds like something is definitely funky with yours. Can you return it by mail perhaps?

 

[Kaido]

Yup, I brain-farted when I said you could download the 8.1 ISO with the generic key. I thought that's what I did, but I apparently had had too much beer that night. 😳 You need a retail or upgrade Windows 8 key to do it. You'll still need the generic 8.1 key to install it, though.

I suppose that it would be okay to use a "borrowed" retail key since all you're doing is downloading the ISO and using your OEM key to activate Windows.

Ah, so you're saying Windows will activate with the Toshiba OEM key properly from the stock Microsoft 8.1 ISO, but in order to get that ISO, you need a retail key to use temporarily?

 

[qliveur]

Ah, so you're saying Windows will activate with the Toshiba OEM key properly from the stock Microsoft 8.1 ISO, but in order to get that ISO, you need a retail key to use temporarily?

Yeah, that's it. At least, that's how it worked on my Dell laptop that had 8 Pro. I now remember that I used the key from a Windows 8 Pro upgrade that I purchased late last year for the download. I installed it using a generic 8.1 Pro key and then activated it with the Dell OEM 8 Pro key using the slmgr -ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX command. Just follow the instructions here. They work.

The retail/upgrade key should probably match the version (Core or Pro) on the computer you're upgrading, as should the generic 8.1 key you'll need for installation. It also might be a good idea to do the download on the machine you're upgrading because I've read that everyone's getting a different ISO, which could mean that each ISO is tuned to a specific hardware configuration. You'll get x86 or x64 depending on which version is on the computer you're using to download the ISO.

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, that's it. At least, that's how it worked on my Dell laptop that had 8 Pro. I now remember that I used the key from a Windows 8 Pro upgrade that I purchased late last year for the download. I installed it using a generic 8.1 Pro key and then activated it with the Dell OEM 8 Pro key using the slmgr -ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX command. Just follow the instructions here. They work.

The retail/upgrade key should probably match the version (Core or Pro) on the computer you're upgrading, as should the generic 8.1 key you'll need for installation. It also might be a good idea to do the download on the machine you're upgrading because I've read that everyone's getting a different ISO, which could mean that each ISO is tuned to a specific hardware configuration. You'll get x86 or x64 depending on which version is on the computer you're using to download the ISO.

It looks like they'll be coming out with a recovery media...someday:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832416789

Supposedly will be $15:

http://betanews.com/2013/11/05/windows-8-1-back-up-media-disc-available-to-buy-soon/

Versus...just downloading the ISO online? Thanks, Microsoft 😛

 

[brocks]

Wow, that stinks. Mine charges too 100%, so it sounds like something is definitely funky with yours. Can you return it by mail perhaps?

Actually, I'd rather drive 70 miles one way than stand in line at the post office at Christmas 🙂

The manual said that the battery meter is more accurate if you let the battery discharge completely, and then recharge it, so I tried that. My meter now won't go above 85%.

It runs for nearly five hours on the battery, though, which is plenty for me. I guess I'll see if it gets any worse over the next month, and take it back if it doesn't. I'll probably exchange it rather than get a refund, because I really like it otherwise.

Oh, except one thing. I hooked it up to my router with an ethernet cable, and could only transfer files to and from my desktop PC at about 4MB/sec. I googled around, and found that you need to turn on "jumbo packets" in your network adapter at each end. Went to the network properties in my desktop, and turned it on. Went to the network properties in the laptop --- no such setting.

Bummer, but I can live with 4MB.

 

[Kaido]

Actually, I'd rather drive 70 miles one way than stand in line at the post office at Christmas 🙂

The manual said that the battery meter is more accurate if you let the battery discharge completely, and then recharge it, so I tried that. My meter now won't go above 85%.

It runs for nearly five hours on the battery, though, which is plenty for me. I guess I'll see if it gets any worse over the next month, and take it back if it doesn't. I'll probably exchange it rather than get a refund, because I really like it otherwise.

Oh, except one thing. I hooked it up to my router with an ethernet cable, and could only transfer files to and from my desktop PC at about 4MB/sec. I googled around, and found that you need to turn on "jumbo packets" in your network adapter at each end. Went to the network properties in my desktop, and turned it on. Went to the network properties in the laptop --- no such setting.

Bummer, but I can live with 4MB.

I think Jumbo frames only applies to Gigabit LAN ports (this is only 10/100), but don't quote me on that.

Yeah, that's strange that it's reporting weird battery issues. I get 100% on a full charge and BatteryBar is showing roughly 3:30 for runtime with Wifi/full brightness (although I haven't done long-term tracking). Might want to give the free version of BatteryBar a try, if if it gives you any more information:

http://batterybarpro.com/

I'll see if I can finish throwing all of the data from this thread onto a wiki page for reference this weekend, it's kind of a pain browsing through 100+ replies to get information 😀

 

[rhd]

I just bought one of these laptops - works great so far.

Anyone know if it possible to upgrade the OEM Realtek Wifi 8188E to an Intel 7260HMW AC?

Thanks

 

[MadScientist]

This is a big YMMV. Our local BB was out of the $230. Toshiba laptop so they offered my brother the $300. Toshiba for $230. Slightly better specs, and 1 USB 3.0 port. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/satellite-15-6-laptop-6gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive/1689182.p?id=1219060352357&skuId=1689182&st=toshiba%20laptop&cp=1&lp=5#tab=overview

 

[Kaido]

This is a big YMMV. Our local BB was out of the $230. Toshiba laptop so they offered my brother the $300. Toshiba for $230. Slightly better specs, and 1 USB 3.0 port. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/satellite-15-6-laptop-6gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive/1689182.p?id=1219060352357&skuId=1689182&st=toshiba%20laptop&cp=1&lp=5#tab=overview

The $229 laptop is sold out in my surrounding area & is not available for shipping online, so either they yanked it for the BF sales weekend, or it's gone for good. The laptop in your link has a 2.4ghz Ivy Bridge Pentium, vs. the 1.8ghz Ivy Bridge Celeron, so that's a pretty good boost, as well as an extra 2 gigs of RAM. If it really has a USB 3.0 port, that's great, and that might explain why the Celeron versions are mis-printed with the USB 3.0 sticker if this one uses the same chassis, just with a better CPU & more RAM.

 

[MoInSTL]

Just an update. Great little laptop for the $. After adding 2GB of RAM I had for a total of 6GB, swapping the HD for Samsung 840 Pro 128GB from desktop and clean Windows 8 install it runs much better than it did out of the box. I also boot straight to the desktop and use StartMenu8.

I chose the High Performance setting in Power Options (not default Balanced Performance) so my battery life is around 4 hours and something. I just wish I could do clean install of 8.1. No issues with wireless. Getting 54Mbps. Haven't tried to tweak anything yet though. Just default settings ATM.

So add some RAM and an SSD if you can as it's much, much faster. A clean install adds to performance increase as well.

 

[MoInSTL]

I'll see if I can finish throwing all of the data from this thread onto a wiki page for reference this weekend, it's kind of a pain browsing through 100+ replies to get information 😀

Did you get a chance to get a wiki page up? There is a wiki that may help in the Slickdeals thread. Third post down.

 

[Kaido]

Did you get a chance to get a wiki page up? There is a wiki that may help in the Slickdeals thread. Third post down.

Oh yup, thanks for the reminder! Thread fell off the the front page, out of sight out of mind 😀 I still need to clean up a few sections, but it's getting there! Here's the link: (I did make a shortcut link at Tinyurl, /c55-a5300, if you need an easier bookmark - but shortcut addresses are banned for posting here)

http://catch42.pbworks.com/w/page/70889898/Toshiba C55-A5300 laptop

I've been watching inventory; I'm not sure if they've just run out temporarily or if they're phasing it out already. It's not available for shipping online and it's unavailable in all of my local stores. They do get deliveries on a per-store basis, but they get nabbed pretty quickly, so you have to grab them while you can. The C55-A series is available in a variety of configurations however, so if you're just looking for a good deal, there are models other than the 5300, such as the 5308 with an i3 for $349, which includes some extra goodies like a mouse & flash drive:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=product&id=pcmprd213500050000

 

[Kaido]

I picked up the C55-A5302 model today (2.4ghz Pentium 2020M & 6GB RAM). The front USB port on the right side is blue, so it is USB 3.0. My guess is that they have a standard chassis (the C55-A) and then they stick in different CPU's & RAM amounts. However, the base Celeron version in this post does NOT have a blue USB port, and is thus mislabeled as USB 3.0, so they must have two base chassis and use a standard sticker on the box sticker, instruction sheet, and laptop sticker. It sells for $387 on Amazon, but Best Buy has it for $299 right now:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/satellit...rive/1689182.p

All of my local stores are showing out of stock for the $229 Celeron model (with no online shipping available), but there are plenty of the Pentium models available both locally & online.

 

[Kaido]

My i3 model just arrived: ($349 bundle)

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....rd213500050000

Pretty good deal:

* i3 Toshiba with 4GB RAM + 750GB HDD
* Webroot Internet Security Software
* Targus 15.6" sleeve
* Logitech M185 wireless mouse
* Toshiba 8GB USB 2.0 flash drive

Really nice starter bundle for a student or to replace an aging desktop PC for your parents :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

Some notes on the i3 model:

* Same chassis as the others
* Has a blue USB 3.0 port (just like the Pentium model)
* BIOS > Power Management has the "Internal USB3.0 Controller: Enabled" option (same as the Pentium model)
* 4 cores in Resource Manager (i3 = dual core + hyperthreading)
* Toshiba Satellite C55-A5308
* P/N: PSCF6U-0E4066
* Came with Windows 8.1 pre-installed (part of the Best Buy bundle pack)
* Slight thing: i3 model's trackpad seems to be semi-gloss black & smoother; Pentium model is matte black & a bit more sandpapery

So an extra $50 on top of the Pentium model nets you an i3, albeit with less RAM (4GB vs. 6GB) but a larger hard drive (750gb vs. 500gb). Plus the extra goodies (wireless mouse, USB memory stick, sleeve, etc.). The i3 is also a much more powerful processor at 2.5ghz, but I don't really notice any difference in basic activities like Internet browsing, Microsoft Office, 1080p Youtube, and so on.

Note that this also has an HD4000 GPU instead of the regular HD graphics that the other models have. I also notice the fan on (noise) and it runs more often than not, so there's always a low hum going on due to the more powerful CPU/GPU. The Celeron & Pentium models pretty much run silent for me. The right side of the laptop (upper palmrest area) does get warm (not super warm, but it was cold on the other models). The "Intel Inside" sticker was also pretty goopy when I peeled it halfway off, so I stuck it back on; the Celeron/Pentium stickers came off pretty easily, so I wonder if the higher temperature of the CPU cause more adhesion during testing at the factory.

One other note, Windows 7 makes the screen look better; I'm not sure why that is. Windows 8 has the same look as Windows XP does, kind of bright. Windows 7 definitely has better out-of-the-box graphics display capabilities built into the OS. There's probably a setting somewhere that will tweak that, I just don't know where it is! Also, they do make a touchscreen version of this chassis, the C55T-A. The i3 version is $429 at Best Buy:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/satellite-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-4gb-memory-750gb-hard-drive/2267869.p

 

[Kaido]

Turns out there is also an AMD version of this chassis, the C55D, and is also available in Touchscreen (C55DT). There's an AMD Touchscreen model available at Best Buy for $493: (1.0ghz AMD E-series with a Radeon HD 8210 GPU)

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/satellit...rive/2284103.p

Also, here is the driver for the USB 3.0 port for Windows 7:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=21129

btw, the screen on the i3 model is better than on the Pentium model. The colors are richer. The Pentium model is kind of a mid-grade TN panel, not great not terrible, but the i3 model's TN panel is definitely a higher grade. I did a Win7 install on both side-by-side and the difference was noticeable with the whites blowout & deeper colors. It could just be that the i3 got different variation of the same panel, but to my eyes it looks like a better TN panel.

Update: Celeron, Pentium, and i3 models all use the same driver kit for Windows 7. Just add the USB 3.0 driver above for the Pentium & i3 models.

Update 2: The i3 was feeling kinda sluggish, ran AJA System Test to check the drive speed. The 750gb in the i3 got 115 MB/s write & 89.1 MB/s read; the 500gb in the Pentium model got 114 MB/s write & 113 MB/s read. So you're paying for the extra 250gb size by a ~23 MB/s speed hit in reads. I didn't test the latency, but the 500gb (and 320gb in the Celeron model) feel noticeably zipper than the 750gb in the i3 for just bouncing around the system.

 

[MoInSTL]

Below is what I posted at the Slickdeals Toshiba C55-A5300 thread and was asked to also post it here. Big YMMV.

At first I was going to replace the wireless card. My link rate was 65Mbps. I have an AT&T Uverse gateway which is a combo modem/router. I got a new N enabled gateway from them. Instead of installing a new card what I did was to try a different Realtek driver. Note: I did a clean install so I had to go and download the driver from Toshiba's site. To my surprise there was no b/g/n option under Wireless Mode. YMMV in that regard.

To check if you have that option:
Right click on your wireless connection bars, choose Open Network & Sharing Center, click on your connection. It will open Wifi Status. Then click Properties further down (not wireless properties). Click Configure, go to Advanced tab, go all the way down to Wireless Mode. In the value box that opens choose b/g/n. If you did a clean install like I did and downloaded the Toshiba drivers, chances are there are n b/g/n options, only b/g.

I also changed the Bandwidth tab to 20_40MHz. I also set my router to 40MHz for Channel Frequency and in my router settings it has a radio button: "Please choose the secondary channel if you choose a 40MHz channel frequency. Ignored for 20MHz channel frequency". I changed the radio button to Lower. It did not like the channel it was set to and flashed a message to choose a channel higher than 7 and less than 10. I chose 8.

Driver version from Realtek is 2007.12.0419.2013. I went to their site and typed RTL8188 in the search box, then chose RTL8188CE for Windows 8.

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/5830/l59f.jpg

As you can see, my link rate is now 135Mbps. Good enough for me. This is what worked for me. I am not a router guru so I cannot answer any questions about your router. Nor am I responsible in anyway if you screw it up. Just thought this may help some folks.

EDIT: Duh! I forgot about my Ooma VOIP using bandwidth. I 'll disconnect it over the weekend to see if I can pull 144Mbps.

 

[Kaido]

Below is what I posted at the Slickdeals Toshiba C55-A5300 thread and was asked to also post it here. Big YMMV.

At first I was going to replace the wireless card. My link rate was 65Mbps. I have an AT&T Uverse gateway which is a combo modem/router. I got a new N enabled gateway from them. Instead of installing a new card what I did was to try a different Realtek driver. Note: I did a clean install so I had to go and download the driver from Toshiba's site. To my surprise there was no b/g/n option under Wireless Mode. YMMV in that regard.

To check if you have that option:
Right click on your wireless connection bars, choose Open Network & Sharing Center, click on your connection. It will open Wifi Status. Then click Properties further down (not wireless properties). Click Configure, go to Advanced tab, go all the way down to Wireless Mode. In the value box that opens choose b/g/n. If you did a clean install like I did and downloaded the Toshiba drivers, chances are there are n b/g/n options, only b/g.

I also changed the Bandwidth tab to 20_40MHz. I also set my router to 40MHz for Channel Frequency and in my router settings it has a radio button: "Please choose the secondary channel if you choose a 40MHz channel frequency. Ignored for 20MHz channel frequency". I changed the radio button to Lower. It did not like the channel it was set to and flashed a message to choose a channel higher than 7 and less than 10. I chose 8.

Driver version from Realtek is 2007.12.0419.2013. I went to their site and typed RTL8188 in the search box, then chose RTL8188CE for Windows 8.

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/5830/l59f.jpg

As you can see, my link rate is now 135Mbps. Good enough for me. This is what worked for me. I am not a router guru so I cannot answer any questions about your router. Nor am I responsible in anyway if you screw it up. Just thought this may help some folks.

Thank you very much for the writeup! This is turning into the ultimate budget laptop, haha!

 

[Kaido]

Back in stock online!

 

[cubeless]

Back in stock online!

may have to grab another one... this thing works great (except for stupid windows 8) even with the included disk drive...

 

[Kaido]

may have to grab another one... this thing works great (except for stupid windows 8) even with the included disk drive...

Windows 7 works awesome on it, I have a bunch that I downgraded. Celeron/Pentium/i3 models all take the same drivers. Also, Windows 8 works pretty well with StartMenu8 and all the annoying stuff turned off (UAC, SmartScreen, Action Center, etc.). $229 is hard to beat for a fully-functional computer!