Toshiba C55-A5308 Laptop Essentials Black Friday Bundle Overview

The Toshiba C55-A5308 Laptop Essentials Bundle will be one of the 2013 Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals lineup at Best Buy. The C55-A5308 is a typical 15.6-inch budget configuration with a 720p screen resolution which is still an acceptable resolution for entry-level laptops, the lower-to-mid-end Intel Core i3 processor, ordinary-sized 4GB of RAM, a generous 7500GB hard drive, and a DVD writer. The only non-typical feature of the cheap Windows 8 notebook PC is the supplied HDD being larger than the average 500GB. Besides the laptop, for the price you get a mouse, sleeve case, anti-virus software, and a USB memory stick.

C55-A5308

It is not known which particular Intel i3 processor the system includes. After a research, we have narrowed our prediction to the Intel Core i3-3110M and i3-3120M, because these are the only i3 chips available in the C55-series at the time of this writing. Both CPUs have very similar performance, with 3,064 and 3,307 PassMark benchmark points, respectively. They enable Windows 8 and apps operation with no hassle, as long as you don’t do anything too complicated like high-resolution video editing or large file conversions. The CPUs sport the old Intel HD 4000-series integrated GPUs, incapable of playing the latest game titles which require 3D rendering at reasonable frame rates. The Intel Core i5 or i7 are for those who do demanding tasks on daily basis, but on the other hand, the i3-3110M and i3-3120M plaster the Celeron 1017U (1,641 points) and AMD E-300 (631 points) CPUs found in the cheapest Black Friday laptops this year.

Toshiba’s C55-A5308 is outwardly an unattractive notebook in black color, with a classic tile-style keyboard, and a non-sleek thickness of 1.4”. It’s made of plastics, but thankfully it’s matte and therefore not a fingerprint magnet. The whole system weighs 5.4 pounds, making it a somewhat bulky for carrying around much.

For detailed specifications, please take a look at the specs list below the next image.

The goodies bundled with the notebook PC are the Logitech M185 a wireless optical mouse, the Targus Debossed neoprene sleeve, and a Toshiba 8GB USB Flash memory drive. Anti-virus program provided is Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus 2013 for Windows and Mac with three user licensees included.

Overall, the Toshiba Satellite C55-A5308 and extras are among the Best Buy Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals with a reason, because they offer a great value for the money. However, we’re not sure if offered performance and features justify its “deal” satatus, because the very similar C55-A5309 (with somewhat slower Pentium 2020M and a 500GB HDD) is regularly on sale in a similar bundle for $20 less or precisely $330.

If you plan to get the A5308 anyway, it’s important to know that Best Buy’s Doorbusters will be available in-stores only, starting on Thanksgiving at 6PM. The laptop is now available online at the given discount price.

Toshiba C55-A5308 Laptop Essentials Bundle Black Friday 2013

Toshiba Satellite C55-A5308 Specifications

  • 15.6-inch display diagonal, 1,366-by-768 pixels, glossy
  • Intel Core i3 3110M / 3120M, 3MB L3 cache, 2.4 / 2.5GHz clock speed and Intel HD 4000 integrated GPU
  • 4GB DDR3 RAM memory
  • 750GB hard drive at 5,400rpm
  • DVD±RW/CD-RW writer
  • 720p HD web camera
  • Stereo speakers, DTS Sound
  • Full-size chiclet-style keyboard, no backlight, multi-touch trackpad
  • Wireless-N, 10/100 Ethernet LAN
  • 1 x USB 3.0 port, 2 x USB 2.0, HDMI video output, VGA video output, mic-in, headphone-out, media card reader
  • 6-cell 48Wh Lithium Ion battery (no info on battery life)
  • 1.4 x 15 x 9.5 inches
  • Weight: 5.4 pounds
  • Windows 8 operating system
  • 1-year limited hardware warranty support

19 thoughts on “Toshiba C55-A5308 Laptop Essentials Black Friday Bundle Overview”

    • Do you own the laptop? If you do, you can install this application http://www.passmark.com/products/rammon.htm and run it to find out which exact RAM module your laptop has. Then you just need to add the same type. The C55-A5308 comes with DDR3 1,600MHz 204-pin memory, but I’m not sure if voltage is 1.5V or 1.35V. Some RAM upgrade websites list the C55-series compatible with 1.35V, so I assume that’s correct value. But, if you have the laptop, it’s best to install the app mentioned above and see yourself.

      Reply
  1. I actually got this cpu overall its not too bad if your not expecting top of the line performance. I did however give it 16gb of ram and has done everything well. They only bad things i would say is the screen is not all that great and the speakers stink. Overall its god bang for the buck other cpu’s with similar specs go for more so i bought this cheaper and used the loose change to upgrade the memory.

    Reply
  2. I thinking in getting my wife this bundle package for Christmas, she wants to do online school, I would like to know, would she be able to do it?

    Reply
  3. Hi, can the RAM in this laptop be upgrated, if so how much?, i would like to add 4gb of ram to have 8g in total, also do you advise this computer for web designing programs like photoshop cs6, dreamweaver, etc?

    Reply
      • hi, would you recommend me a place to buy it in the us store, is it available at wallmart or bestbuy or amazon, i’ve look around and see there are many types of ram and don’t know which one will fit that laptop, if you could send me a link where to buy it cheap and that fits that model i’ll really appreciate it

        Reply
        • I think it’s best to buy via Newegg because they appear to have the largest assortment and lowest prices. I’ve made a search based on memory specs and this is the results page: http://bit.ly/1cctj8S . If you look elsewhere, try finding using these specs: 1,600MHz DDR3 204-pin SODIMM.

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          • What voltage of memory will work? 1.35 or 1.5V? I noticed both showed up in your search results.

            I want to upgrade the memory before giving to my son for Christmas….

            Reply
            • Although I think both will work, it’s the safest way to check exactly which RAM module is installed in the first slot and insert a new one with the same specs. This is a handy tool, which can display voltage of your RAM: http://www.passmark.com/products/rammon.htm It’s a small file and easy to install. It displays RAM voltage in the “memory voltage” row.

              Reply
  4. the website says office is free and isn’t with the bundle sold in store. I asked register person…she said all was in the box. typical. click on individual office icon in the description of bundle..100 dollar price tag

    Reply

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