With the Series 9, Samsung actually already had a notebook that could be labeled as an Ultrabook, but it was already on the market before Intel itself started with the slogan Ultrabook. The Samsung Series 5 is therefore Samsung's first official Ultrabook. It is remarkable that this notebook is equipped with a normal hard disk.
Samsung uses its Series 5 for notebooks that fall in the middle segment. The Series 5 Ultrabook is therefore not equipped with the fastest ultrabook components. For example, the processor is an Intel Core i5-2467M and this ultrabook is equipped with a normal hard disk of 500 GB in combination with a 16 GB SSD for cache purposes. The attractive-looking housing combines aluminum with plastic in which fiberglass is incorporated. The rigidity of the housing is a bit disappointing, but it is sufficient. A funny detail of the on/off switch is that you only press the logo. The touchpad is nice and big, it has two physical buttons and supports multi-touch gestures. The keyboard is - as with almost all ultrabooks - of the chiclet type. The screen is a 13.3 inch version with a resolution of 1366 x 768. It is nice that the screen has a matte coating and that the brightness is fine.
Under the cover at the bottom we find an empty DDR3 memory slot. You can therefore easily expand the notebook to 8 GByte internal memory. In terms of expansion ports, the Series 5 is very complete. We see an HDMI port, USB 3.0 and via a supplied adapter there is also VGA. Remarkable is the Ethernet port, where a cover has to be unfolded before the plug can be plugged in. The WiFi card that Samsung uses turns out to be the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230. This card is one of the best WiFi cards on the market and combines 802.11n at 2.4 and 5 GHz with Bluetooth 3.0. This card is also suitable for Intel Wireless Display.
Hard Drive
Basic storage is provided by a 500GB drive. Additionally, a 16GB SSD is used as cache using Intel Rapid Start Technology in combination with Diskeepers ExpressCache technology. In short, the SSD is used for hibernation mode, so that the notebook quickly goes to sleep and is quickly ready for use again. Another section is used as a cache for launching programs. You can easily disable the cache functions of the 16GB SSD. PCMark 7 is not impressed with the cache solution given the score of 2511 points in the Storage test. However, we do notice it in practice. This means that the ultrabook is quickly ready for use when you open the lid.
Conclusion
The Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook is clearly an entry-level ultrabook and is, for example, equipped with a hard drive in combination with an i5 processor. Now the difference between the i5 and the i7 for the applications an ultrabook is intended for is not that exciting, and it does have a favorable impact on the price. On a positive note, the Series 5 Ultrabook has a few handy extras up its sleeve. For example, we see USB 3.0 and - very uniquely - an Ethernet port. The free memory slot is also handy, so you can effortlessly expand the memory to 8 GB. We think the suggested retail price of 899 euros is a bit high.
Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook (NP530U3B-A01NL)
Price € 899
Guarantee 2 years
Processor Intel Core i5-2467M (1.6GHz)
Memory 4GB DDR3
Graphic Intel HD Graphics 3000
Screen 13.3 inches (1366 x 768)
Storage 500 GB SATA, 16 GB cache SSD
Connections 2 x USB 2.0, USB 3.0, HDMI, VGA (via included adapter), 10/100/1000 Ethernet, 3.5mm headset jack, SD(HC/XC) card reader
wireless 802.11b/g/n, bluetooth 3.0
webcam Yes (1.3 megapixels)
Battery 45 Wh
Included Charger, VGA adapter
PCMark 7 Score 2355 points
PCMark 7 Storage Score 2511 points
PCMark Vantage HDD Score 1766 points
Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Dimensions 315.1 x 218.9 x 14.9 to 17.6mm
Weight 1.42 kg
Judgment 7/10
Pros
USB 3.0
Ethernet connection
Memory lock
Negatives
Normal hard disk
Casing stiffness
