Review Samsung Series 5 510R5E Notebook and battery life
According to Samsung the 5 Series includes well-rounded notebooks that are compact and light, but also have potent processing power. The model for review was the 800 Euro (~$1050) 510R5E S01DE, a Germany special that certainly fulfills these characteristics. hp HSTNN-XB70 Battery
Inside the 15-inch case is a potent dual-core processor from Intel's Ivy Bridge series (Core i5-3210M) and an energy efficient 22 nm iGPU at work. The DirectX 11.1 capable AMD Radeon HD 8750M is striving to find the perfect compromise between speed, heat dissipation and power consumption.
To remove any memory oriented performance bottle-necks, Samsung has included two DDR3 RAM modules with a capacity of 4096 MB each. The hard drive bay meanwhile contains a 1000 GB HDD and the matte display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It is not surprising to find the latest Windows 8 64 bit operating system on the laptop. hp HSTNN-XB71 Battery
Altogether, the specifications indicate a well-rounded system. Our review will determine the strengths and weaknesses of the mobile device.
When it comes to the case, the manufacturer hasn't made any glaring mistakes. Samsung has skillfully combined both plastic (display bezel, keyboard surroundings, base) and metal (palm rest, lid).
With the exception of the jet black bottom of the 15-inch notebook, the remaining surfaces are covered with a refreshing silver-grey color. We would also describe the shape and size to be pleasing to the user. The multimedia device makes a classy and at the same time simplistic impression. Thanks to the matte surfaces, the notebook doesn't stand out as a dust-magnet which is usually the case with glossy devices (e.g. Toshiba Satellite L850). hp KG297AA Battery
The manufacturing quality of our reviewed device was up to a good standard. For those that are not especially demanding, the level of quality should definitely be sufficient. We weren't quite as content when it came to the stability though. Depending on the amount of pressure exerted, the keyboard and touchpad dent inwards considerably in some cases, and the lid could also be a bit more firm, although these shortcomings shouldn't stand out negatively during normal daily use. The slim case (23 millimeters high) and the light weight (approximately two kilograms) allow the machine with a good level of mobility. hp NBP6A93B1 Battery
A few more words regarding the opening mechanism: Samsung have set both of the hinges in such a way that opening the display requires both hands. Despite the relatively rigid mechanical components, the display still wobbles when the base is moved even slightly.
Processor
In order to avoid overexerting the cooling system and keep the price of the notebook attractive, Samsung has 'only' included a 2.5-3.1 GHz dual-core CPU, rather than a quad-core processor.
The Core i5-3210M from the Ivy Bridge generation of CPUs is among the most popular notebook CPUs for a few months, which should come as little surprise considering that the model provides good performance and acceptable power efficiency (35 watts TDP). HP DL606A-ABA Battery
Like other Ivy Bridge processors, the dual-core CPU is manufactured using the 22 nm process and the 3 MB of L3 cache are also an indication of good performance. Thanks to the Hyper-Threading technology, the Core i5-3210M can process up to four threads simultaneously.
Since Samsung has adopted AMD's Enduro graphics switching technology, the HD Graphics 4000 integrated into the processor also gets put to use. Altogether, we consider the Core i5-3210M to be a very good choice. HP PPP009D Battery
Turbo Boost
We weren't able to detect throttling (reduction of clock speed) of the CPU in the 510R5E as a result of temperature issues and power saving profiles. When utilized, the Core i5-3210M usually operates at quite a substantial clock speed of about 2.9 to 3.0 GHz. Only when the Turbo Boost is switched off does the clock speed fall to the standard 2.5 GHz.
CPU Performance
The CPU performance is on par with other machines containing the same processor. During single-core rendering in Cinebench R11.5 the dual-core processor scores 1.2 points, which is only just below that scored by the quad-core 2.3-3.3 GHz Core i7-3610QM (1.33 points @ Acer Aspire V3-571G). HP PPP009C Battery
When it comes to multi-core rendering (several cores used) the difference expectedly becomes considerably bigger. A mere 2.9 points in comparison to the result achieved by the Core i7-3610QM, since Intel's entry-level quad-core manages to score approximately double this score (6.22 points @ MSI CX70). This doesn't mean that the Core i5-3210M is slow by any means though, and for most applications it should provide sufficient processing power.
For demanding graphics processing, a graphics card by AMD has been included. The Radeon HD 8750M is based on the same GCN architecture (Graphics Core Next) as its predecessor the HD 7750M, which is manufactured using the 28 nm process. With 384 unified shaders, the DirectX 11.1 graphics accelerator nestles comfortably in the table of mid-range GPUs. HP 677770-002 Battery
2048 Megabytes of DDR3 VRAM may look like an ample amount at first, but the memory only has a 128-bit wide interface. Compared to its GDDR5 counterpart which provides faster/larger throughput, the DDR3 version uses a faster clock speed to compensate for the performance losses. 825 MHz (core) and 900 MHz (memory) are clock speeds that are rather high frequencies for such a middle-tier card. HP 677770-003 Battery
Thanks to dynamic graphics switching, the Radeon HD 8750M is only active when its performance is really required. For less demanding applications such as office use, video playback or using a web browser, the HD Graphics 4000 inside the processor is used.
Advice: If a 3D application is running suspiciously slow, users should start the Catalyst Control Center (right-click on the desktop) and check which profile is active. In the menu 'Graphics options - User settings', all the installed and recently opened programs are listed. The "High performance" option represents the Radeon HD 8750M, while "Power saver" on the other hand uses the HD Graphics 4000. If necessary it is also possible to change the global settings in the Catalyst Control Center. HP 613149-003 Battery
GPU Performance
When it comes to the synthetic GPU benchmarks, the Radeon HD 8750M is only minimally slower than its main competitor from Nvidia, the GeForce GT 640M. Let's take 3DMark 11 as an example: With a GPU score of 1534 points, the AMD GPU may be substantially faster than the GeForce GT 630M (Fermi architecture, 1019 points @ Samsung 550P5C-T02), but lags behind the GT 640M (Kepler architecture, 1709 points @ Gigabyte U2442N). Compared to the in-house competition in the form of the Radeon HD 8730M (also GCN architecture, 1368 points @ Dell Inspiron 15R-5521), the HD 8750M performs about 10% better. HP ADP-65HB FC Battery
A similar picture emerges when it comes to the Unigine Heaven 2.1 benchmark. At a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels and high details with the normal tessellation setting, the Radeion HD 8750M is about 7% faster than HD 8730M(22.6 vs 21.1 fps). And while the GeForce GT 630M doesn't stand the faintest chance at about 16 fps (16.4 fps @ Dell Vostro 3460), the GeForce GT 640M on the other hand takes the lead (23.5 fps @ Acer TravelMate P653). HP ADP-65HB BC Battery
The hard drive is a 9.5 millimeter high HDD with a capacity of 1000 GB. The SpinPoint M8 HN-M101MBB comes directly from Samsung itself, and provides decent performance. With around 90 MB/s during sequential read and 88 MBytes/s during sequential write (CrystalDiskMark), these are numbers that are not provided by every 5400 rpm hard drive. The access time of 20 ms meanwhile is average for this class of device (HDTune).
Inside the 17-inch 770Z7E, the same HDD provided a comparable performance, while Toshiba's MQ01ABD100 in the HP Pavilion g6-2253sg and other notebooks represents one of the fastest 1 TB HDD competitors to the Samsung Spinpoint. hp 671567-831 Battery
System Performance
Unfortunately, due to the absence of a lightning fast SSD, the system performance isn't able to improve over other notebooks in this price range. With a PCMark Vantage score of 7283 points, the 510R5E nestles in with other multimedia notebooks like the Dell Vostro 3460 and the older HP Pavilion dv6-6008eg (7253 points @ Core i7-2630QM, Radeon HD 6770M, 8 GBytes of RAM & 500 GByte HDD).
Our comprehensive gaming test (see table below the Verdict) confirms the impressions we got during the synthetic benchmarks: The Radeon HD 8750M is able to come close to the GeForce GT 640M in terms of performance, but Nvidia's Kepler GPU has a slight lead overall. hp H2L56AA Battery
While less resource intensive games such as Diablo III, Skyrim, Fifa 13, Dishonored or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 can also be played with high details and active anti-aliasing, users will have to make do with medium settings in some cases (e.g. Far Cry 3, Battlefield 3, Guild Wars 2 or Need for Speed: Most Wanted).
In most cases, the performance advantage over the Radeon HD 8730M stays within 10%, and occasional gamers that don't have to necessarily play every game with all the bells and whistles are likely to take a liking to the Radeon HD 8750M. hp H2L55AA-ABB Battery
Emissions
System Noise
Considering the potent hardware components, the system noise is completely acceptable. In an idle state, the primary source of audible noise is the HDD, which emits between 32-33 dBs of noise. At load, the system noise only increases marginally. During the first scene of 3DMark 06, our measurement device determined a level of about 36 dB. It is just the stress test (Furmark + Prime) that made us exceed 40 dB in the 510R5E. Although the cooling fan sound may be bearable than some other all-round notebooks, our 15-inch candidate can be used for working and playing games without any qualms. hp HSTNN-LB3N Battery
The heat dissipation rates are also acceptable. Starting off in an idle state where the case heats up to an average of 28 °C, and ending with maximum utilization where the case heats up to 37 °C (top) and 41 °C (bottom), the hottest points being at the back of the notebook which can reach between 46 and 52 °C.
The components themselves are of course confronted with even higher temperatures as usual. According to the tool Hardware Monitor, the automatic over-clocking switches itself off when the processor reaches a temperature of 95 °C. As already mentioned, the Core i5-3210M then only runs at a speed of 2.5 GHz. The Radeon HD 8750M meanwhile still operates with its maximum speed of 825/900 MHz. A GPU temperature of 82 °C shouldn't be any cause for concern. hp HSTNN-LB3P Battery
Speakers
The stereo speakers (2x 1.5 watts above the keyboard) are deserving of the classification "usable". For anyone who doesn't happen to have a headset or external sound system available, the integrated speakers should be good enough to listen to a few songs or watch some movies.
Compared to other notebooks, the audio quality is at least reasonably well balanced. From time to time it is even possible to hear some decent bass. Also, the maximum volume is louder than usual, even though it still won't be enough for a really convincing performance. Depending on the source of the audio, the sound can be somewhat thin and woolly. Better quality speakers can be found in the Asus N56VZ and the Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 for example. hp HSTNN-YB3N Battery
Energy Management
Power Consumption
AMD's Enduro technology guarantees relatively frugal power consumption. 7-14 watts in an idle state are typical for a device with graphics switching. Other multimedia competitors that are equipped with a GeForce GT 640M, such as the Acer TravelMate P653 (9-12 watts) and Gigabyte U2442N (10-15 watts) operate using a similar amount of power. hp HSTNN-YB3P Battery
When loaded, the 510R5E requires between 41 watts (average 3DMark 06) and 64 watts (maximum during stress test), where the power consumption is reminiscent of the recently tested HD 7670M notebooks Toshiba Satellite L850-153 (38-60 watts) and Dell Vostro 3560 (42-60 watts).
Despite the modest battery capacity (43 Wh) the runtime isn't bad compared to other multimedia notebooks. When using as many power saving features as possible with the lowest display brightness, the 510R5E works for up to seven hours without a power cable. Just about 4.25 hours of mobile web browsing (medium power savings, ~2/3 brightness) isn't bad. hp MO06 Battery
When the CPU and GPU are both loaded, like in the case of the Battery Eater Classic test, and maximum brightness settings are used, then a single battery charge will last for around 80 minutes. In this case, a higher capacity lithium ion battery could potentially provide for quite a substantial improvement in run times.
The Series 5 510R5E-S01DE presents itself as a successful all-round notebook. On the bright side, the intelligent hardware combination and the slim and light case are aspects worthy of mention. HP Spectre XT 13-2208tu Battery
Neither the design nor the manufacturing and material quality leaves much to be desired. The matte finish additionally provides for reduced susceptibility to dust and fingerprints. Even the keyboard and touchpad designs seem to have been thought through.
The connectivity on the other hand could have been better distributed (only one audio socket), and the absence of keyboard backlight or an optical drive also become substantial reasons for a lower rating. HP Spectre 14-3200es Ultrabook Battery
Most of the criticism has to be attributed to the low quality display. Viewing angles, color space coverage and brightness all failed to meet our expectations. Demanding users should probably opt for a notebook that has a much better display (such as the Acer Aspire V3-571G-53238G1TMaii or the Dell Vostro 3560). HP Spectre XT 13-2200 Battery
In terms of the system noise, temperature, audio quality and mobility, the 15-inch notebook manages to put on a decent to good performance. Anyone who wants to buy a mobile multimedia notebook will be right on the money with the 510R5E.
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