Toshiba Satellite L655-S5161X

Toshiba Satellite L655-S5161X

The great thing about buying a cheap laptop now is that many of them now come equipped with Intel Sandy Bridge parts, a new processing technology that'll take laptops to the next level. Like many other budget laptops, the Toshiba Satellite L655-S5161X ($699.99 list) is simply taking last year's design and adding a second-generation Intel Core i3-2310M processor and integrated graphics. The result is a nimble laptop that will adequately replace that aging desktop of yours. However, you can get the same parts and a better typing experience from the HP Pavilion dv6-6013cl ($650 list, 4.5 stars). Last year's design isn't necessarily a bad thing. The L655-S5161X's relatively chunky, plastic frame basically took some random keyboard symbol and ran it in a broken spiral pattern, topped off by a gray glaze that looks better than it sounds. It reminds me of the Dell Inspiron M501R-1655MRB ($650 list, 3.5 stars), which uses a brush pattern underneath a similar gray tint. And it definitely isn't as dull (or as smudge-resistant) as the black matte finishes found in the Acer Aspire AS5742-6475 ($600 list, 4 stars) and Gateway NV50A02u ($480 list, 4 stars). The L655-S5161X weighs 5.3 pounds, placing it somewhere between the HP dv6-6013cl (5.6 pounds) and Acer AS5742-6474 (5 pounds).