Display, Audio, Heat and Connectivity
Given the price of the Toshiba Satellite C655, you’d probably expect this laptop to have a fairly terrible display. As much as I’d love to offer a surprise, there isn’t one to be found here; the C655’s LCD is definitely not good.
The biggest issue is the combination of very glossy display, a backlight that isn’t bright, and extremely poor vertical viewing angles. Because the display is glossy and the backlight is insufficient to overcome the reflections in any brightly lit room it’s often necessary to tilt the display down to compensate. However, the sweet spot of the C655’s display is limited; tilting the display just a few degrees can result in a noticeable change of image quality. The issue isn’t bad when using Word, but it can become annoying quickly when trying to view photos or watch a movie.
While the black level performance of the C655’s display isn’t outstanding, it’s on par with your average laptop LCD. The real oddity was the laptop’s white saturation performance, or complete lack thereof. Using Lagom LCD’s white saturation test page I found that the C655 was unable to render any image beyond the first three. That’s the worst white saturation performance I’ve seen, and it is also evident in the gradient test page. There isn’t much noticeable banding, but portions of the test image that should be gray are instead entirely white. The white saturation performance also further reinforced just how sensitive the laptop is to changes in vertical display angle. The slightest change of the display’s incline could cause all of the white saturation test images to disappear entirely. Push the display’s angle further and all of the test images suddenly appear – but only with the familiar negative-image glow of an LCD that has been pushed too far.
Audio quality isn’t going to excite you, either. The C655’s size allows for two fairly large speakers to be installed, and they are quite loud with the volume turned up as high as possible. The main problem is one that is typical among laptops – the lack of a subwoofer. With nothing to drive bass, the dinky speakers are quickly overwhelmed, causing distortion. Even listening to podcasts can result in some nasty scratching sounds if one of the podcast’s hosts has a deep voice. Turning the volume down solves this problem, but bass-heavy tracks need to be played very softly to avoid unwanted noises, making the C655 an unlikely host for a party.
Heat and Connectivity
It’s hard to gauge how a laptop will handle heat by looking it. Large laptops are sometimes warm, and small laptops sometimes cool. The power of the processor, the size of the laptop, and the engineering of the cooling system are all factors.
The Toshiba Satellite C655 is just one more example of why laptop thermals are unpredictable. The efficient single-core E-240 processor in this large laptop never dipped under 50 degrees Celsius at idle, which is actually quite warm; most laptops hover closer to 40 degrees Celsius. That might sound alarming, but the full picture is better.
When placed under load, the E-240 inches up just a handful of degrees. Even after thirty minutes of stress testing it remained a pleasant 58 degrees Celsius. And then there is the noise – or lack thereof. The C655 isn’t silent, but it’s very close. There is no audible fan noise when the laptop is idle, and even during periods of heavy load the fan is nothing more than a subtle whisper. If it’s windy outside, you’ll likely never hear it over the ambient noise in your room.
Although there is plenty of space on the C655 for connectivity, the laptop’s budget keeps your options limited. Almost all of the available ports are on the left hand side of the laptop, and among their number you’ll find VGA, Ethernet, headphone/mic and two USB ports. A card reader can be found at the front, below the touchpad. While the connectivity is poor, given the price there this isn’t anything to complain about.
i need drives toshiba
i need drives toshiba c655d-s5130
what is the expected battery
what is the expected battery time when fist used? im at 92% battery life and have 3hours and 30 min left is that bad???
This is the exact model that
This is the exact model that I have.It works great;the only thing I would exchange it for is a toshiba satellite a215.
I recommend both models to everyone.They’re great laptops.
My 8 month old Toshiba C665
My 8 month old Toshiba C665 has got a loose left hinge, similar to your right hinge, and when I try closing it it is reluctant to close.
I am a certified electrician and electronic technician, (40yrs) NZ, and believe this type with the new deep set hinges have an error in manufacture, where I am told the brass seat that is moulded into the base plastic cover works loose with use, and I have always been very careful when using this model as from new it feels very unstable around the hinge are, when you open it up, it feels floppy and bends, so much I believe it it not rigidly fastened, and the movement loosens the plastic around the brass insert that the holding screws for the hinge eventually come loose or tear away.
Toshiba should recall these models as the earlier models with straight hinges like the Tecra M9 had no such problems.
Software works fine.
sir my laptop is TOSHIBA
sir my laptop is TOSHIBA C665-P5010 …I GOT SAME PROBLEM THE PLATIC BASE FOR SCREW IS BROKEN AND THE LEFT HINGE IS DAMAGED WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW…HOW MUCH IT WILL COST? OR SHALL I TAKE IT TO A SERVICE CENTRE WHERE HE WILL FIX A SMALL PLATIC HOLDING BASE AND THEN THE SCREW CAN BE FITTED INTO IT..IS THIS FINE….PLEASE REPLY ME FAST SIR..
I have the same laptop and
I have the same laptop and after about 8 months the right side of the bottom base cover screw base broke from hinge stress. i think there should be more support screws in that area.
You are so right!
You are so right!
THE HINGE IS NOT AT ALL
THE HINGE IS NOT AT ALL FITTING INTO THE PLASTIC BASE…I THINK THE PLASTIC SCREW COVER IS BROKEN AND THERE IS NOTHING TO HOLD…PLEASE HELP ME
have to replace bottom base
have to replace bottom base cover
Same model satellite c665
Same model satellite c665 left hinge plastic mount broken after 13 months. We have four other toshiba laptops and I will stop buying Toshiba as there is no customer service contact or care.
hello my laptop recently
hello my laptop recently stopped turning on, i plug in the charger but the charging light on the laptop doesnt turn on or charge and my laptop doesnt turn on at all any ideas on what is wrong
I have a similar problem with
I have a similar problem with the hinges on my C655D-S513,and I am in total agreement with the comment by the certified technician. Don’t think I will be recommending this product to anyone.