The screen could be better but this laptop is a perfect
farewell to Windows 7.
Samsung Series 5
550P5C-S03
If you are looking for something to replace your old desktop
but not ready for Windows 8, Samsung Series 5 550P5C-S03 may be for you. It comes
with Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit and very fast performance.
With 6GB of RAM and Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz, 550P5C-S03 glided
over our test easily, impressively gaining a score of 53. It is more impressive
than most of ultra-books models, so it is fast enough for both daily and
multi-core apps.
The specialized Nvidia GeForce GT 650M also glided over Dirt
Showdown test, gaining an average speed of 58.5fps fluently at High Quality
setting plus 720p resolution. However, for some games, you may have to lower
the setting. Testing it with Crysis 2 require harder tasks, the device only got
average 23.41fps at Ultra setting (max. 1366x768pixel resolution). Though, this
result was quite impressive for a laptop that is not made for game, so you will
be able to play several 3D games.
Another striking point is sound system, including 2 JBL
speakers above the keyboard and 1 small sub-woofer beneath the chassis. It of
course has more bass than we had ever heard from a laptop, but the majority
aims at the lower surface. Treble was quite thin but the speakers sound still
good in case you lack a headphone.
Large-sized Chiclet typed keyboard is very comfortable. However,
the keyboard’s hard edge is pretty sharped than we favor. Overall, keys are
hollow and wide, providing a lot of feedback. The smooth touchpad is as fast,
especially with multi-touch actions, like pinch-zoom. Its two specific buttons
feel a sleeker than the rest of the laptop, yet they are enough for daily use.
Chiclet-typed
keyboard
550P5C-S03 has a good connection kit, including 4x USB (two
of which supports USB 3.0 interface), VGA and HDMI for external displays, and
4-in-1 card reader. There’s also Ethernet port, Bluetooth, jack slot and DVD
read/write drive.
We were impressed by runtime. It lasted for 8h 7min, shining
in our tests, meaning that you won’t face any difficulty using on the go.
The only downside of this laptop is anti-glare coat on the
15.6in screen. This means that it is not as bright as other laptops having
glass surface. As a result, colors seemed diluted in hi-contrast images. It
spread reflection effectively, but all of our dynamic colors revealed quite
many shadows in top and bottom of the screen, giving white images a little
greyish look around the edges.
Samsung Series 5 550P5C-S03 is a comprehensively excellent
laptop with features (performance, runtime and gaming) that suit most users,
making it an ideal option for families which like working and being away from
home. Toshiba Satellite winning our BestBuy is a little costlier, yet it has more
powerful Core i7-3630QM processor and 8GB of RAM, thus it is a better deal. However,
in case you prefer the design of Windows 7 and Samsung’s fashion, you will be
interested in Series 5 550P5C-S03.
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Info
·
RRP: $870
·
Website: www.pcworld.com
Technical
specs
·
Processor: Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz
·
RAM: 6GB
·
Storage: 1TB HDD
·
Graphics: NVidia GeForce GT 650M
·
Optical drive: DVD+/-RW+/-DL, DVD-RAM
·
Screen: 15.6in wide-angle LCD (1366x768p resolution)
·
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit.
·
Size/weight: 30x369x243mm/2.5kg
·
Power consumption: 1W (standby), 12W (idle), 82W (processing)
·
Warranty: 1-year RTB
·
Overall Windows score: 53
·
Multi-tasking: 51
·
Dirt Showdown: 58.5fps
·
Runtime: 8h 7min
Verdict
·
The screen could be better, but this laptop is a perfect
farewell to Windows 7.
·
Ratings: 5/5
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