For years, we’ve encountered Samsung notebooks on various fairs and IT gatherings, but they’ve never amassed enough on the market for one to get to our office, it seems. This situation is finally prone to changing, it seems, and we got our hands on the first Samsung notebook that we’ve had the chance to test officially. The model at hand, although not exactly new, is well-balanced nevertheless, with a mid-range price and equipment; a perfect chance to get to know what Samsung envisions for mid-range PCs.
Although physically sizeable, Samsung Sens R540 isn’t too heavy, which means that it’ll sit in anyone’s lap or on a desk just as easily. The production quality is marvellous, there are no screeches or “breathing room”, everything fits nicely and gives an impression of firmness and reliability. We’re especially glad to see no glossy surfaces on the notebook (Samsung calls this type of finish “Espresso”), which means that the device is very resistant to fingerprints. The LED-backlit display is very bright, but we wouldn’t have minded if it were matted, or even with a higher resolution. The keyboard is full-sized, and there was even enough room for the numerical section, separated cursor keys and two Function keys, which is something that we greet most warmly. Above the keyboard, one can find two decent-quality speakers and a nicely designed power button, while the microphone’s position under the keyboard is unusual, but very functional nonetheless.
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The touchpad supports multi-touch features, it’s sufficiently large and has a pleasant texture. Although it’s technically placed in the middle of the notebook’s surface, the inclusion of a numerical keyboard section makes it looks decentred, so it would’ve been a good idea to move it slightly to the left. Several discreet signal LEDs are located further below, while the surprisingly good webcam is situated above the display. The sides contain the obligatory optical drive, standard-fare connectors and little else; the only thing standing out here is the presence of an HDMI port. On the front, you have a card reader at disposal. The bottom contains a large number of cooling openings and high-quality rubber stands. The battery indicator is a nice detail available just by a press of a button, so that you can quickly check up on your battery level even if the notebook is turned off.
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We were pleasantly surprised by just how fast Samsung Sens R540 managed to log into the 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium. Although we knew that there were 3 gigs of RAM in the system, the slower CPU made us completely unprepared for the speed and response of the system that we got. What Samsung’s engineers really did remains a mystery to us, but the system is simply more responsive than many much more expensive models. Underestimating the CPU once again, we were expecting it to heat up considerably during work and drain the battery quickly, but none of this proved to be true. Heat levels are low at best, the exhaust system is barely noticeable, while the autonomy is solid for a 4400 mAh battery. Feel free to keep this notebook in your lap for prolonged periods of time, it will neither overheat nor start to “scream”, which isn’t that usual in this price segment, and therefore a major plus.
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The folks at Samsung were also quite generous, preinstalling the Office starter pack (Word and Excel) alongside Windows, which are more than enough for all basic office tasks. When you need a break from work, you’re bound to reach for some entertainment. The integrated graphics is weak by definition, so don’t expect to be playing full-blown 3D games, but surfing the net, listening to music, and most importantly, HD video playback, all work flawlessly. Pair all this with the HDMI output and exceptionally low heating, and you get a notebook that’s perfectly apt to play the role of a media centre PC.
