Printed from www.pcpro.co.uk
High-end laptop winner
Samsung Q320
Verdict
Blends portability and finesse with an impressively affordable asking price
Review Date: 2 Oct 2009
Price when reviewed: £561
Overall Rating
Alternative products
Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T
It isn't powerful, but its portability, looks and battery life make this laptop a great buy
HP Pavilion dv6-1240ea
An excellent laptop, that's keenly priced. As long as you can live with its glossy, eye-catching looks it's a very good buy
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Comparison
| Product |
Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T
|
HP Pavilion dv6-1240ea
|
Samsung Q320
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| Details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part Code | 3810T-944G32n | DV6-1240sa | NP-Q320-AS02UK |
| Review Date | 22 Nov 2009 | 7 Sep 2009 | 2 Oct 2009 |
| Price ex VAT | £576 | £608 | £561 |
| Price inc VAT | £662 | £699 | £645 |
| Overall rating |
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| Features & Design |
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| Value for Money |
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| Performance |
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| Warranty | |||
| Warranty final | 1yr collect and return | 1yr collect and return | 1yr collect and return |
| Physical specifications | |||
| Dimensions | 322 x 228 x 29mm (WDH) | 379 x 258 x 45mm (WDH) | 327 x 232 x 40mm (WDH) |
| Weight | 1.670kg | 2.840kg | 2.180kg |
| Travelling weight | 2.1kg | 3.4kg | 2.8kg |
| Processor and memory | |||
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 | Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 | Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel PM45 | ||
| RAM capacity | 4.00GB | 8.00GB | 3.00GB |
| Memory type | DDR3 | DDR2 | DDR2 |
| SODIMM sockets free | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SODIMM sockets total | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Screen and video | |||
| Screen size | 13.3in | 15.6in | 13.3in |
| Resolution screen horizontal | 1,366 | 1,366 | 1,366 |
| Resolution screen vertical | 768 | 768 | 768 |
| Resolution | 1366 x 768 | 1366 x 768 | 1366 x 768 |
| Graphics chipset | Intel GMA 4500MHD | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4530 | Nvidia GeForce G105M |
| Graphics card RAM | 64MB | 512MB | 256MB |
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| HDMI outputs | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| S-Video outputs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DVI-I outputs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DVI-D outputs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DisplayPort outputs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Drives | |||
| Capacity | 320GB | 500GB | 320GB |
| Hard disk usable capacity | 285GB | 466GB | 298GB |
| Spindle speed | 5,400RPM | 5,400RPM | 5,400RPM |
| Internal disk interface | SATA/300 | SATA/300 | SATA/150 |
| Hard disk | Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B | Toshiba MK5055GSX | Samsung HM320JI |
| Optical disc technology | N/A | DVD writer | DVD writer |
| Optical drive | N/A | LG GT20L | TSSTcorp TS-T633A |
| Battery capacity | 5,600mAh | 4,200mAh | 4,400mAh |
| Replacement battery price inc VAT | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Networking | |||
| Wired adapter speed | 1,000Mbits/sec | 1,000Mbits/sec | 1,000Mbits/sec |
| 802.11a support |
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| 802.11b support |
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| 802.11g support |
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| 802.11 draft-n support |
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| Integrated 3G adapter |
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| Bluetooth support |
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| Other Features | |||
| Wireless hardware on/off switch |
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| Wireless key-combination switch |
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| Modem |
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| ExpressCard34 slots | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| ExpressCard54 slots | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| PC Card slots | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USB ports (downstream) | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| eSATA ports | 1 | 1 | |
| PS/2 mouse port |
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| 9-pin serial ports | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Parallel ports | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3.5mm audio jacks | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| SD card reader |
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| Memory Stick reader |
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| MMC (multimedia card) reader |
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| Smart Media reader |
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| Compact Flash reader |
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| xD-card reader |
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| Pointing device type | Touchpad | Touchpad | Touchpad |
| Audio chipset | Intel HD Audio | IDT HD Audio | Realtek HD Audio |
| Speaker location | Above keyboard | Above keyboard | Front edge |
| Hardware volume control? |
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| Integrated microphone? |
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| Integrated webcam? |
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| Camera megapixel rating | 1.3mp | 0.3mp | 1.3mp |
| TPM |
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| Fingerprint reader |
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| Smartcard reader |
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| Carry case |
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| Operating system and software | |||
| OS family | Windows Vista | Windows Vista | Windows Vista |
| Recovery method | Burn own recovery discs | Recovery partition | Recovery Partition |
| Software supplied | Microsoft Works 9 SE | CyberLink DVD Suite, Microsoft Works 9 | CyberLink DVD Suite, CyberLink YouCam |
| Battery and performance tests | |||
| Battery life, light use | 9hr 21min | 3hr 0min | 4hr 29min |
| Battery life, heavy use | 3hr 31min | 1hr 14min | 1hr 27min |
| Overall application benchmark score | 0.77 | 1.10 | 1.02 |
| Office application benchmark score | 1.21 | ||
| 2D graphics application benchmark score | 1.19 | ||
| Encoding application benchmark score | 0.94 | ||
| Multitasking application benchmark score | 1.06 | ||
| 3D performance (crysis) low settings | 4fps | 45fps | 28fps |
| 3D performance setting | Low | Low | Low |
