Toshiba Satellite L655-S5161
- Category: Notebook Computers
May 3, 2011
Editor's Rating
- Speedy Intel CPU
- Sleep-and-charge USB
- Above average battery life
- Glossy screen shows reflections
- Touchpad design
- No USB 3.0/eSATA
The Toshiba Satellite L655-S5161 is an entry-level laptop with an Intel Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. It provides good performance, but doesn't provide a lot of the more advanced features that you'd find on a slightly more expensive laptop.
The 15-inch Toshiba Satellite L655-S5161 measures 15 x 9.8 x 1.2-inches (wdh) and weighs about 6 pounds, which is still fairly portable and is small enough to carry around all day at work or school. It does weigh slightly more than similar models, so keep that in mind if you do need to carry it around with you. The design of the laptop is very simplistic and comes in many different colors. Our review unit was a white laptop, but since all of the colors have an accompanying glossy finish, we can say that the darker colors do show fingerprints very prominently.
The island-style keyboard is mostly very well-sized and allows for a comfortable typing experience. The only key that is awkwardly undersized is the spacebar, which can be a little frustrating. There is a separate number pad as well, which is a plus that some users will appreciate.
The multitouch-enabled touchpad on the Toshiba Satellite L655-S5161 has a matte finish that is flush with the deck of the body, which makes it easy for your fingers to slide off the touchpad if you're not looking. The two mouse buttons below the trackpad are, however, nicely sized.
The 15.6-inch display has a native resolution of 1366 x 768-pixels, which is 720p high-definition quality. The screen does have a very glossy coating, which does show glare from ambient light or sunlight. The screen produced very good quality images, especially while watching 720p video.
Connectivity options on the Toshiba Satellite L655-S5161 include VGA, HDMI, 3 USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, an SD card reader and the usual audio jacks. There is also 802.11b/g/n wireless connectivity and a DVD optical drive. Noticeably absent is USB 3.0 and eSATA, which either one would make a welcomed addition.
Toshiba includes their sleep-and-charge feature with this laptop, which allows you to use one USB port to power or charge a USB device, such as a cell phone, even if the computer is in sleep mode or powered off.
Specifications of the Toshiba Satellite L655-S5161 include an Intel Core i3-2310M (2.1GHz) CPU, 4GB of DDR3 memory, integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics and a 5400RPM 500GB hard drive. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) is the operating system for this laptop. The Intel Core i3 that Toshiba includes is a second generation and is newer than some of the other Core i3 CPUs, so you can expect improved performance. It gives excellent performance for the average computer user who performs average tasks, even with lots of multitasking.
The Intel integrated graphics is also slightly improved over older chipsets, but it still isn't good enough to play any 3D games. Basic gaming is allowed, but at minimal graphics settings.
Battery life is very strong and beats the average and many other competitors in this category. Expect to get between 4-5 hours with this laptop.
