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Samsung Series 9 (15in) review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £1200
inc VAT

The first true 15in ultra-portable is expensive, but it’s in a field of its own

Specifications

15 in 1,600×900 display, 1.7kg, 1.7 GHz Intel Core i5-3317U, 8.00GB RAM, 128GB disk, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk
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A full-size, Chiclet-style black keyboard continues the colour scheme set out by the metallic chassis, with a blue-tinged LED illuminating each key from underneath. It’s not quite as bright as a white backlight, which limits its usefulness in anything other than complete darkness, although we appreciate its inclusion over a non-backlit model. Unfortunately, we immediately noticed how shallow the keys were when typing – a consequence of the incredibly thin dimensions. They spring back quickly but the lack of travel takes some getting used to. Thankfully, the all-in-one touchpad is much more effective. We aren’t usually fans of all-in-one designs, but everything worked perfectly – including multi-touch gestures.

Samsung Series 9 (15in)

Inside, the Intel Core i5-3317U processor is a dual-core, low-voltage model running at 1.7GHz. Thanks to Hyper-threading, Windows sees four separate cores, and Turbo Boost can increase the clock speed to 2.6GHz for certain applications. All this led to a score of 49 overall in our multimedia benchmarks, so this ultra-portable laptop has enough power for some intensive tasks. With its 8GB of RAM, multitasking won’t be a problem either. Samsung has improved the already fast 128GB SATA3 SSD with its own boot optimisations, making it incredibly fast when powering on from standby. We could reach the Windows desktop in less than ten seconds, and resume from sleep in less than two.

Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors are significantly more capable than their Sandy Bridge predecessors in games. The Intel HD 4000 graphics built into the Series 9’s Core i5-3317U processor could only manage a fairly jerky 19.7fps in our Dirt 3 test, so anti-aliasing is asking a little too much from the chip, but disable AA and you’ll get reasonably playable frame rates at 720p, even in modern titles.

Samsung Series 9 (15in)

We were impressed with how well the Series 9 did in our light-use battery test – despite the large screen, it still managed to last almost seven hours away from the mains. This is what we would expect from a 13in laptop, so to see this kind of battery life in a 15in model is a great result.

At £1,200, the Series 9 certainly isn’t cheap, but considering there are no 15in ultraportables that are as thin or light as this, it’s a reasonable premium to pay. If you need the extra screen space and a more spacious keyboard than a 13in laptop will give you, yet still want something portable, there are very few alternatives available right now. However, for most people a 13in model will be better value.

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Basic Specifications

Rating *****
Processor Intel Core i5-3317U
Processor clock speed 1.7 GHz
Memory 8.00GB
Memory slots 2
Memory slots free 0
Maximum memory 8GB
Size 14x355x236mm
Weight 1.7kg
Sound Realtek HD Audio
Pointing device touchpad

Display

Viewable size 15 in
Native resolution 1,600×900
Graphics Processor Intel HD 4000
Graphics/video ports micro-HDMI, mini VGA
Graphics Memory 384MB

Storage

Total storage capacity 128GB
Optical drive type none

Ports and Expansion

USB ports 3
Bluetooth yes
Wired network ports 1x 10/100/1000 via adaptor
Wireless networking support 802.11n
PC Card slots none
Supported memory cards SDXC, MMC
Other ports minijack headset port, 2x USB 3.0

Miscellaneous

Carrying case No
Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Operating system restore option restore partition
Software included Microsoft Office 2010 starter edition
Optional extras none

Buying Information

Warranty one year RTB
Price £1,200
Details www.samsung.co.uk
Supplier http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk