Samsung RV511 15.6 inch Laptop (Intel Core i5 480M 2.66GHz, 6Gb, 640Gb, DVDRW, WLAN, Win 7 Home Premium)

There is already a good review for this machine. I took the plunge as getting an i5 processor and 6gb ram for this price it seems a bargain (£549.99)

Just to add, if anybody is interested, the Windows experience score taken the first day of ownership:

Processor 6.9
memory 6.9
Graphics 4.9
3D gaming graphics 5.8
Hard disk 5.9

The only "negative" i can find is the machine is a little on the big side - not massive, but a little big. The keyboard has a large built in wrist rest area where the touch pad is. A nice touch is the numerical pad, something I have never had on a lap top.

All in all I'm very happy with my purchase and grateful for the previous reviews.

After owning a Samsung R60plus since may 2008 , i decided it was time to get a new laptop.
Having owned other makes before i decided i would like to stay with a samsung as they are reliable and the build quality is really good.

Delivery was really quick.(2days)

Inside the box is a recovery cd , laptop , battery , quickstart guide and power lead.
It was really straight forward to setup and within 30 minutes i was good to go.

As soon as you start the laptop it asks you to partition the harddrive , so i set my main c: drive at 150gb and left the rest to drive D , which suits my purposes really as i will not be installing alot of software.

I removed the trial version of Norton security and office 2010 and installed my own version of office 2007 and mcafee security ( which is free with o2 broadband).

There is quite a bit of trial version software preloaded, which i really hate , but once removed , its no big deal.

The first thing i did was charge the battery and head over to my brothers house to show him my new laptop. We decided to see how HD video on youtube performed ( we did this at his house as he has btinfinity ( 40mb connection)
Well the picture quality was stunning but the screen kept flickering once in a while which worried me slightly.

I got home and tried the youtube videos at home and the same thing happened , so i removed the battery and plugged it in directly to the mains and the problem vanished. It would appear the graphics card doesnt have enough power from the battery to perform during hd playback but works fine from mains power.
I have been to nvideas website to download new drivers for the graphics card but there is nothing available for the 315m at the moment , so the flickering issue might well be cured by a later driver version in future.
This issue isnt a huge problem as my laptop rarely leaves home , its more a desktop replacement as my house is too small for a big computer , so it is constantly run from the mains.

The keyboard is really nice to use and it has a nice big wrist rest. The built in number pad is a really neat addition especially since i do alot of spreadsheet work.
The touchpad also operates like many touch screen smart phones for functions as zooming in , rotating etc.

I connected to my wireless network without issue , and decided to pair my blackberry torch via bluetooth to the laptop and transfer some files - excellent . Very simple to setup and no hastles.

In summary , this is a fantastic laptop and a good price for the specification.

Would i buy it again - Yes - without question.

pros
Best spec for the price ( £550 for rv511-s03)
great screen
laptop doesnt harvest greasey fingerprints as there are no shiney surfaces
fantastic keyboard
bluetooth v3
great battery life ( 7 hours watching youtube vids and some dvd burning / ripping)
good speakers with plenty of volume
nice webcam and software comes with some fun/good features
fits in my 15.2 inch laptop bag so no need to buy a new one
comes with recovery cd so no need to backup the laptop onto dvds as soon as you turn it on.

cons
power connector location on the laptop
screen is a little stiff to open , im sure it will free up over time
too much trial version software
lack of graphics card drivers from nvidea to resolve flickering issue of hd playback on battery power.
lack of usb v3

my advice is , if you are thinking of buying a new laptop and are looking at this one , DO IT, you wont regret it.
I am now looking to sell my r60plus to make the cost of this laptop even better :)

Bang for your buck! That's an apt description for this lovely little powerhouse of a laptop. It's got buckets of memory, a very fast processor and more RAM than you can shake a stick at. The design is cosmetically appealing and it's vibrant colours and screen resolution will have you drooling. The connectivity is also above par. Plug in HDMI cable straight into your flat screen TV and the picture will be transferred to the larger screen automatically.
The only negative I can think about is par for the course for laptops in general , and that is the sound quality. Slightly tinny, but this really is a very minor drawback. Pay double the price for the same spec in a more fashionable brand if you wish. But DO consider this computer first. Remember Samsung is THE up and coming name now in LCD TV's, if they continue with the good work they have laid out on this little darling then they could make inroads in the premium portable computer market.
In conclusion , I have been using my new Samsung for a month now and I am as happy as a pig in the proverbial. Stunning value for money. If undecided I strongly urge you to hit "BUY" ,you won't regret it. Good luck guys.