Toshiba Satellite C55-B5201 Extremely Cheap Laptop PC

The Toshiba Satellite C55-B5201 is a laptop model for those on a tight budget. It’s actually one of the cheapest Windows-based laptop PCs on the market, with a current price of only $230. This 15.6-incher has low computing performance as the main trade-off. Toshiba has included the very basic Intel Celeron N2830 processor in the C55-B5201. It’s good only for the least intensive computing tasks like web surf, social networking, text and spreadsheet editing, and multimedia playback. The good thing is the average consumers use their laptops exactly for these purposes. 4GB of system memory is provided for seamless multitasking (as far as the CPU allows it) and there’s an ordinary-sized 500GB hard disk for storing files. The incorporated Intel HD integrated graphics can run decently only simple games.

Toshiba’s C55-B5201 doesn’t lack any of the important mainstream laptop features. It does have a built-in DVD burner, stereo speakers, a web camera, three USB ports, VGA and HDMI video connectors, Wi-Fi and Ethernet LAN network connections, and a media card reader.

The machine sports a non-backlit keyboard with large keys and a dedicated numeric pad. It’s accompanied by a trackpad with mechanical buttons instead of integrated. Touchscreen functionality isn’t supported. As expected, the notebook has a mediocre 1366×768-pixel display resolution and IPS technology for wider viewing angles is missing. That’s however normal for a budget notebook, since models with Full HD and IPS are about three times or more pricier.

Design-wise, the C55 is a prime example of a low-cost laptop. It’s made of plastics and sports somewhat bland but clean look. The 1.1″ thickness of the chassis and overall weight of about 4.9 pounds make the C55-B5201 quite portable for a 15.6-incher. It however isn’t a travel companion by no means and is meant to be used at home, in dorm rooms and similar most of the time.

Toshiba hasn’t provided info on battery life, but judging from the specs one can expect autonomy of approximately up to five hours with light work involved.

Regarding alternatives, you can check out the Asus X551MAV-RCLN06, which is almost identical to the C55-B5201 in terms of specifications and features and currently has the same price. The only important difference appears to be their industrial design. Of course, there are numerous more expensive laptops on the market. If you’re worried about low CPU performance of the Celeron, you can take a look at some a bit pricier but considerably faster systems with the Intel Pentium processor, while $450 will give you access to the powerful Intel Core i5 with potential for video and professional photo editing and with much better integrated graphics.