Samsung R730 17.3 inch HD notebook

Chunky Wilberforce

at 9:44 am

A month ago I bought a similar model to this laptop. It was a Samsung R730 identical in every way bar the following exceptions:

It had 1GM more RAM.

It had an older processor.

Other than that, they were identical. Since then, I have recommended them to friends, until one of them asked about this model. At the time, the prices were identical, and I favoured the other model, purely on the basis that it had more RAM. You would only ever need the extra RAM if you were a power user. Indeed I eventually upgraded my OS to the 64 bit version, not primarily for the extra RAM but to run 64bit Photoshop.

Now however, the prices have changed, and this is now a lot (£60) cheaper. I have used both machines and they are identical unless you want that extra RAM. Chances are you won’t.

Anyway, I have reproduced below the review I wrote for that, because, having used both models, I can confirm that they are identical in terms of the review.

=====================================================================================================================

Laptops are a funny beast. Years ago I used to swear by Toshibas. Then I started swearing at them. After a brief, painful soiree with Sony I have plumped with Asus, and in this instance, Samsung. In recent times I have been very impressed with Samsung’s build quality of their products, and now own a Samsung 24″ monitor and Samsung 32″ TV. I now have a Samsung laptop, and they are all colour coordinated!

The only downpoint about this laptop is the amount of stuff installed on it. Far too much for my taste. I spent the first hour uninstalling Office 2007 trial and McAfee. I left the DVD utilities though, as they looked useful and were full versions as opposed to trials. There is a load of other gubbins as well which I removed. If you are an inexperienced user you may find the stuff useful, but it drives me mad.

Anyway, I have now installed all my own software (Office and Adobe CS4) and the machine flies. Its a lovely bit of kit. the keyboard feels great and the mousepad is easy to use. The button does click a bit too audibly but that is a minor quibble. Battery life is a very reasonable 3 hours odd.

One of the main reasons I plumped for this laptop in particular was because it had an HDMI port. At my desk I have a DVI-D KVM switch, which I use to a single (large and lovely) monitor, keyboard and mouse with multiple computers. http://www.amazon.co.uk/CS1784-4-Port-Switch-Audio-Support/dp/B001AK1LHA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Unfortunately, being a digital device, it doesn’t work with an analogue VGA connection. You can buy an adapter but they cost about the same as a laptop. So thats a no go. However, a laptop with an HDMI port and one of these babies http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000SKDU9A/ref=oss_product can connect nicely. I am typing this on my laptop through the KVM, and it works a treat.

One final point, the IO interfaces are all sensibly placed, at least for my KVM. In the past I have had issues with laptops where the sound IO has been on one side of the laptop and the VGA port the other. They are all on the same side here, so the KVM cable can easily cope with both ports and a USB port. This is a nice touch, though not essential to anybody’s purchase.

So, to summarise, buy this and be pleased. At this price it is cheaper than the competition (I know, I looked) and is really, really worth it. This is a very high quality laptop indeed, and for the low price it is a steal.
Rating: 5 / 5