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| Samsung R530 |
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| Samsung R530 |
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| Samsung R530 |
The Samsung R530 is a 15.6-inch laptop – par for the course these days. There’s not a great deal that’s exciting about the exterior, but at around £500 it’s highly affordable, and it’s worth a second look if you’re in the market for an entry-level machine.
Vibrant red plastics on the top of the Samsung R530 help to set it apart from other budget laptops, and the colourful design stretches through to the inside of the machine. Open it up, and you’ll find a brushed silver finish. It replaces a glossy finish on older Samsung laptops, and looks great. It’s also relatively hard wearing, hiding fingerprints and scuffs well.
Unfortunately, the lower half of the Samsung R530 isn’t built to quite the same standard. There’s a slight flex from the plastics under pressure, although the chassis is still easily tough enough for the rigours of day to day use.
Samsung has built the top of the Samsung R530 out of a patterned plastic. As with the palm rest, it’s attractive and hard wearing, and the company claims the materials are actually scratch-proof. Although it didn’t seem right to intentionally scratch one of Samsung’s finest, and we can’t test that claim, it certainly felt tough enough to protect the fragile screen.
Weighing in at 2.5kg, the Samsung R530 is a semi-portable laptop, and it’s just about light enough to take out and about with you. As with most other 15.6-inch laptops, it’s not that thin, however.
The design of the keyboard is reminiscent of previous generation Sony VAIO laptops, with a slightly tapered edge helping you to distinguish between the keys, and a highly responsive typing action is also similar to expensive Sony laptops. It does rattle during use, however, so don’t plan on using it in the quiet coach on a train unless you’re willing to face up to the glares of other travellers.
When coupled with 4GB of memory (although only 3GB is usable, due to the 32-bit version of Windows 7), the Samsung R530 is easily capable of mixing it with range-topping laptops from a year ago – putting our trusty Core 2 Duo-equipped Sony VAIO SR in the shade when we tried out a few benchmarks.
As can be seen in our full Samsung R530 review, we like this laptop. It’s not just about value for money, however, as it also offers a good enough interface, build quality and spec to use as your everyday laptop.
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| Samsung R530 |
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| Samsung R530 |
