Toshiba Satellite C55-C5241/ C55-C5240 15.6″ Laptop with Intel i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD

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If you want a 15.6-inch laptop with good performance and plenty of storage, but without being too expensive, the Toshiba Satellite C55-C5241/ C55-C5240 is one of the available choices. Currently priced at around $550, the C55-C5241/ C55-C5240 includes the excellent 5th Generation Intel i5-5200U dual-core processor, and large system memory and hard drive capacities of 8GB and 1-Terabyte, respectively.

The C55-C5241/ C55-C5240 is a mainstream consumer-class notebook for the average home and office user. The only difference between two models are their operating systems. The C5241 has the brand new Windows 10, while the C5240 runs Windows 8, with free-of-charge upgrade rights to Windows 10. The laptop isn’t primarily designed for computationally intensive work, like photo and video editing or 3D modelling on a daily basis, but the i5-5200U can handle these much better than the common budget Intel Celeron and Pentium CPUs. A review of the i5-5200U can be found here, while gaming tests of it’s entry-level Intel HD 5500 integrated graphics can be found here. The chip is accompanied by 8GB of RAM memory, sufficient for mildly heavy multitasking. The 1-Terabyte hard drive is among the most spacious in the laptop category Toshiba’s C55-C5240 belongs to, but it isn’t a fast type of storage.

Toshiba Satellite C55-C5241/ C55-C5240 2

The rest of the spec sheet is conventional fare for a budget laptop, with no surprises but also no disappointments. The display sports the standard but mediocre display resolution of 1366×768 pixels and lacks IPS technology for wide viewing angles. The keyboard is a full-size one, with a dedicated numeric pad, but without backlight. The trackpad uses mechanical buttons for left and right click actions. Alongside a DVD burner optical drive, there are the ubiquitous stereo speakers, a 720p web camera, Wi-Fi and Ethernet LAN network interfaces, three USB ports, HDMI video output, a media card reader, and a combo audio port.

When compared to the older C55-B series, the C55-C and the C55-C5240 itself have a more refined design, with brushed-metal-like plastic chassis instead of plain and dull finish.

Also, Toshiba has included a larger battery in the newer version, with a capacity of 45 Whr instead of 32 Whr. This results in an exceptional battery life of the C55-C5204 of up to seven hours, according to Toshiba’s estimation.

The laptop is 1″ thick and weighs in at 4.8 pounds, so it quite portable for the category it belongs to.

Toshiba Satellite C55-C5241/ C55-C5240 Lid

Specifications of the C55-C5241/ C55-C5240

Here are the specs of the C55-C5241/ C55-C5240 with descriptions of its features. For comparison against other laptops, you can use the "Compare Specs" button.

Brand Toshiba
Screen Size 15.6-inch

This is by far the most popular laptop screen size. It provides a lot of screen real estate, while avoiding bulkiness of the 17.3" laptops.
Screen Resolution 1366x768 pixels HD

This is an entry-level screen resolution, oftentimes found on budget laptops. It doesn't deliver picture sharpness and space on the screen like the Full HD or higher resolution laptop displays do.
Touchscreen No

This laptop doesn't support touchscreen input.
Other Display Specs TN type

Displays based on the old TN technology lack wide viewing angles you can find on IPS screens. The colors may look washed out or inverted at certain viewing angles.
Processor (CPU) Intel Core i5-5200U 5th Gen dual-core 2.2-2.7GHz 3MB cache (User Benchmark CPU score: 37)
Graphics (GPU) Intel HD 5500 integrated graphics (good only for the lightest gaming)
System Memory (RAM) Size 8GB RAM

The 8GB RAM size is the standard one in 2023. It provides comfortable multi-tasking for the most home and office users.
Data Storage 1000GB (1TB) SSD

1TB is an excellent storage capacity. The sizes above 512GB, including 1TB, are recommended for those who store a lot of large files.
DVD Optical Drive DVD writer
Keyboard & Input Non-backlit keyboard with dedicated number pad

The keyboard has a separate numeric pad on the right side of the keyboard, but it has no keyboard backlight.

Touchpad with separate physical click buttons

The touchpad features physical left and right click buttons, as opposed to click buttons integrated into the touchpad surface.
Speakers & Audio Stereo speakers

As usual, the device features a pair of built-in stereo speakers.
Camera Front-facing web camera

Laptops usually feature a frontal webcam located on the display bezel. This laptop is no exception.
Wi-Fi Wireless 802.11N

802.11N is an old Wi-Fi standard, precursor of the 802.11AC and the latest 802.11AX with improved data transfer speeds and connectivity. 802.11N is rarely used in modern laptops.
Ethernet Network Port Yes

This laptop has an Ethernet LAN port for wired internet and networking connectivity.
Bluetooth Yes

This laptop has a built-in Bluetooth module. It enables you to connect the computer to Bluetooth mice and other Bluetooth peripherals, smartphones, and other Bluetooth-equipped devices.
Mobile broadband (4G LTE) No
USB Ports 2 x USB 2.0 + 1 x USB 3.0

A total of three full-size Type A USB ports.
Video Output Ports 1 x HDMI

HDMI is a widely used digital video output port. You can find HDMI-in ports on most computer monitors and TVs.
Media Card Reader SD card reader

The laptop has a slot for full-size SD memory cards, used in many digital cameras. You can also use microSD cards with a card adapter.
Battery 4-cell 45 Whr, "Up to seven hours" battery life
Weight 4.8 pounds
Height 0.9"
Width 15"
Depth 10.2"
Windows Version Windows 10 Home

Windows 10 Home is aimed at the regular home and office computer users. Only select business users need the Professional edition. Windows 10 Home users are eligible for a free upgrade to the latest Windows 11 Home.

Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 is eligible for free upgrade to Windows 10 Home. Check Windows.com for more info.
Warranty 1-year

A typical laptop warranty.

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User Reviews and Q&A on the C55-C5241/ C55-C5240

Below you can read and submit user reviews, questions, and answers about the laptop. Thank you for your contribution.

  1. Aaron

    Hi I recently bought this PC. How much visual dedicated ram does it have?

    • Danijel Z

      The included Intel HD 5500 integrated graphics has no dedicated video memory. It uses a certain amount of main system memory for graphics purposes, I think up to 1.6 GB, depending on usage.

  2. lora

    Will my son be able to play League of Legends?
    Can I connect my Logitech Bluetooth keyboard without USB Bluetooth stick?

    • Danijel Z

      As you can read in this review: http://laptoping.com/gpus/product/intel-hd-5500-graphics-reviews-and-specs/ League of Legends will work great. The game was tested on Full HD resolution / medium settings and run at around 40 fps. Since this laptop has a 720p screen the gameplay will be even smoother at that resolution, easily around 60 fps on medium settings.

      The notebook has a built-in Bluetooth receiver, so it is compatible with your keyboard and you don’t need a USB receiver.

  3. Sppt

    Is ram easily upgradable. Toshsiba site says not user upgradable. Buy not say what kind of user.

    • Danijel Z

      Not user upgradable usually means there is no easily removable panel on the bottom for easy access to RAM and HDD and that opening the chassis might void your warranty. Technically, on the C55-C5241 you can access the RAM slot by removing the whole bottom of the chassis held by multiple screws, but there is no point of doing that. That’s because this model has only one slot which is already populated with 8GB RAM. The only option is to get a 16GB RAM module, but it is a rarity on the market and isn’t compatible with all laptop models.

  4. bernard

    Why is the C55-C5241 $150 cheaper than C55-C5240? Are there other differences than Windows version?

    • Danijel Z

      Hardware specs are identical. Only OS is different, with the C5241 having newer – Windows 10, so this model is the way to go, obviously.

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