The newly released Toshiba Satellite L855-S5112 15.6-inch laptop PC model selling for $380 is based on the latest Intel “Ivy Bridge” processor technology, officially called 3rd Generation Intel Core. The L855-S5112 comes with the i3-3110M dual-core processor which is indeed well ahead of wast majority of CPUs used in budget latpops performance-wise, but keep in mind that this is the lowest-end 3rd Gen Core part. Therefore, its noticeably slower than the i5 “Ivy Bridge”, but more than capable for daily tasks and better than the common Pentiums.
We have made a report recently about the 17.3-inch Toshiba Satellite L875-S7110, priced at $430. This model and the Toshiba L855-S5112 are actually a bigger and a smaller siblings, since the only differences are screens and dimensions. The 15.6-incher is better for carrying around since it weighs 5.5 pounds versus 6.3 and has a smaller footprint. Also, one can expect a longer battery life on a laptop with a smaller display. On the other side, the 17.3-incher has not only a bigger screen, but also higher resolution of 1600×900 versus 1366×768.
Other important features are the same: 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 640GB hard disk, built-in DVD, USB 3.0, and HDMI. The laptops share the same industrial design, with textured silver-like plastics combined with black keyboard area and screen bezel.
A little bit confusing is existence of the L855-S5309 model, which has identical specifications to the S5112. However, it appears to be a phased out model.
Update: This model is no longer available, but you can find on the market the Satellite L855-S5113 with a slightly faster i3-3120M CPU.
