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Samsung RC710 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £647
inc VAT

A well designed desktop replacement, but it isn't great value at this price

If you’re after a laptop with a big screen, the RC710 has a 17in display with a 1,600×900 resolution. However, inside there’s a first-generation Core i5 processor rather than a modern Sandy Bridge chip. The problem isn’t that it’s slow – more that the integrated graphics chip is much less powerful than the new version.

Samsung RC710

Samsung has attempted to avoid the problem by installing a dedicated graphics card. Unfortunately Nvidia’s GeForce GT 315M is also starting to show its age: it wouldn’t run modern games at a playable frame rate, as 16fps in our Dirt3 test shows. It can still hold its own when playing high definition video – you can watched 720p and 1080p footage on the laptop itself, but you’ll only see the full detail in 1080p videos on an external Full HD display.

Paired with 4GB of RAM, the Core i5-480M had no trouble with our multimedia benchmarks – a score of 48 is only a few points behind a second-generation chip. Battery life wasn’t too impressive at four hours in our light-use test, but the 17in screen draws more power than a 15.6in version which makes direct comparisons unfair.

The silver metallic-effect chassis has a minimalist design that will suit both home and business use, but its size makes it rather impractical for taking on the move At 2.9kg it’ll weigh you down and you’ll need a large bag too.

Samsung RC710 right side

We were happy with the 1,600×900 screen resolution, as we wouldn’t expect a Full HD panel for this price. You can still work on multiple documents side-by-side without feeling too cramped. The glossy screen finish makes reflections slightly problematic, and viewing angles aren’t the best, but there’s enough screen tilt to avoid bright lights. Colours were slightly muted, but there was plenty of contrast and our test photos looked great.

The same couldn’t be said of the weak integrated speakers, which struggled to produce clear audio. Bass was noticeable by its absence, and the speakers suffered from slight distortion at maximum volume.

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Basic Specifications

Rating**
ProcessorIntel Core i5-480M
Processor clock speed2.66GHz
Memory4.00GB
Memory slots2
Memory slots free0
Maximum memory8GB
Size32x411x273mm
Weight2.9kg
SoundRealtek HD Audio
Pointing devicetouchpad

Display

Viewable size17.3 in
Native resolution1,600×900
Graphics ProcessorNvidia GeForce 315M
Graphics/video portsHDMI, VGA
Graphics Memory1,024MB

Storage

Total storage capacity640GB
Optical drive typeDVD+/-RW +/-DL

Ports and Expansion

USB ports4
Bluetoothyes
Wired network ports1x 10/100/1000
Wireless networking support802.11n
PC Card slotsnone
Supported memory cardsSDHC, MMC
Other portsminijack audio output, minijack microphone input

Miscellaneous

Carrying caseNo
Operating systemWindows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Operating system restore optionrestore partition
Software includedMicrosoft Office 2010 Starter Edition
Optional extrasnone

Buying Information

Warrantyone year RTB
Price£647
Detailswww.samsung.co.uk
Supplierhttp://www.laptopshop.co.uk

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