Toshiba Satellite S855-S5379 15.6-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed Aluminum)

I bought this computer on one of the Black Friday Deals. It arrived in 4 days! Very easy to set-up and get running out of the box. I like the size and the hardware included with the computer. I don't really see the need for a lighted keyboard...I don't look at the keyboard when I am typing anyway. The keyboard is nicely configured and a good size. The mouse is as good as any on a laptop. I am going to get a cordless mouse soon.

I do want to say something about Windows 8 though...it is really annoying! You can only have 2 things open at a time, and it tends to redirect you to a Windows 8 download site when loading software and apps. Skype is really horrible on it. I had to unload the Windows 8 version and re-load the explorer version. People on the other end were getting messages that I did not have an updated version of Skype.

The mail app for Windows 8 doesn't seem to come with an address book...I guess it expects you to memorize all your email contacts.

The way you have to close the Windows 8 apps is odd. I can understand it on a touch screen, but it is very cumbersome on a laptop. It is also hard to find all of the stuff that I got used to using on Windows 7. Too many steps to access files and programs.

Other than Windows 8 which came with this computer...I do like the computer itself. I am hoping the "8" will grow on me.

I already had a beefy computer at work and another at home, and I mainly bought this for some portability. This delivers all that and more, and could easily have served as my main computer in all but my most intensive tasks. I do high end gaming at home and computationally intensive research at work, for which this laptop wont quite cut it, but for the average usage it is great!

Pros:

Keys on the keyboard have a nice feel. They are placed slightly different from what I'm used to so I'll miss keys when I type sometimes, but that will change as I adapt. Having a full number pad is very nice.

Trackpad is very nice. Very smooth and responsive under Linux. It feels slightly schizophrenic under windows but it's not bad and I've not fine tuned it yet.

Great specs for most purposes as long as you're not looking for a heavy duty gaming rig. Plays Guild Wars 2 and Torchlight II just fine on medium/low settings

Having an i7 processor is an unexpected luxury.

Cons:

Resolution is sub-par, but that is the same with virtually all laptops at this price range and screen size

Wireless receiver seems to occasionally lose connection, even when showing full bars. Usually a quick dip into airplane mode and back will get things running again.

Windows 8 is somewhat of an awkward windows system. It's not just that things are in new locations, but the menus are very contextual, and items are not always grouped in ways that are intuitive. If I hadn't already been intending to install Linux as my primary OS, I definitely would have only shopped among windows 7 machines.

Overall it's a great machine for the price. There are some quirks such as with the reliability of the wireless, but overall I'm quite happy with the machine.

Extra info for Linux users:

Most people wont need this information, but I hate how reviews never give info on Linux issues, so this section is the only reason I'm bothering to write a review! For reference, I installed Fedora Core 17 on here with KDE.

-The most common difficulty installing linux is getting the networking up and running, and this machine was especially problematic. Having the wireless card need some assistance is common, but for this machine even the ethernet didn't work! The solution for this is to make sure your installation process gave you basic compile tools and kernel headers, and then install the compat-wireless (now called compat-drivers I think) alx driver. Ethernet is perfectly happy after that, though it must be recompiled with every kernel update.

-Getting the wireless running was an unusual ordeal as well. Realtek is usually quite good about providing native linux driers, but this laptop has the RTL8723AE chipset. It is apparently so new that not even the windows version of the driver is available on the manufacturers, and you can only get the windows version OEM from Toshiba. I assume you can find it on Toshiba's website and then use NDIS wrapper, but Toshiba's search function was so broken I was never sure I found the right driver. Luckily RealTek released their internal (so no guarantees) linux driver in a drop box for people to download. (You'll have to google for it, Amazon wont let me insert links) Yes, it is an unverified download so take it at your own risk, but you can find several threads on various forums where people are using it with no adverse effects. Note, that at least for me, when compiling it there were errors, and I had to comment out an offending line of code. So far there have been no repercussions, but results may vary!

-Once I got past the initial growing pains, this machine runs like a dream under linux. The track pad works flawlessly with every gesture I could want. The OS is snappy and responsive, much more so than the native windows 8 installation. I'm very happy with the machine. The wireless receiver gets a little less range than while in widows OS, probably due to the unofficial driver, but it's not a serious issue.

Buy Toshiba Satellite S855-S5379 15.6-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed Aluminum) Now

I also bought this from the Black Friday Deals. The performance of this laptop is really good and lighter than my old 15.6" Toshiba. I was having difficulty using Windows 8 at first, but now I'm starting to get used to it. Windows 8 is not that bad at all. My only problem with this laptop is the webcam. It's not working properly. It works on Skype, but it doesn't take picture/video when I use it with the camera application. Also it won't broadcast when I try to use it on the internet browser. Besides the webcam problem which I'm trying to get fixed, this is a really good laptop.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Satellite S855-S5379 15.6-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed Aluminum) Here

I contacted amazon and they sent out a replacement laptop within a couple business days. I opened it and got it fired up. After having used the laptop for a couple of days I am quite pleased with it. Very powerful laptop for the price. While waiting for the replacement I researched quite a few other 15" laptops and had a hard time finding any with the i7 processor close to the price of this TOSHIBA. I am happy with my purchase. I only use the computer for general tasks and have not tried any gaming or high demand multiple applications running together.

This laptop came extremely well packaged with decent documentation. Start up went quickly and easily. Keyboard feels good after a little bit of typing. The touch pad works well. Have only had it for a couple of days.

The display is nice. I am not an expert on displays so all I can do is describe it in generalities. Nice color representations not any noticeable blurring of moving images. One big bright white pixel ruins it for me. I know one pixel is really not that big but it sure stands out.

Want Toshiba Satellite S855-S5379 15.6-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed Aluminum) Discount?

Got this computer in the afternoon and worked 6 hours straight trying to establish a stable connection to the internet. Called Toshiba customer service who wanted $100 payed in advance for a one-time consult for this hours old new computer. Called another company who did provide some consultation, but after more hours trying to establish the link, I am returning it for a different computer. I have an earlier Model Toshiba Satellite that works great. Watch the Windows 8 software, as that is the only differnce in this new computer.