Samsung NP550P7C 17.3" Series 5 Notebook review

If you're looking for a new desktop substitute where the accent is on entertainment, large storage and fast operating speeds, then Samsung's new NP550P7C 17.3" Series 5 Notebook ought to be worth your consideration.

It's quite weighty at 3.05Kg but as it's unlikely you'll spend much time balancing this machine on your lap, that shouldn't be much of a deterrent. If you go for flashy exteriors then this isn't for you - Samsung opt for a cool silver and black finish that looks smart and business like.

There seems to be some confusion over the maximum screen resolution as the version I was sent only reaches as high as 1600 x 900 but the official Samsung site clearly suggests you can opt for full HD (1920 x 1080) as a factory option. If so, then you should obviously push for this as the NP55OP7C comes with a Blu-ray player as standard and there seems little point in having this if you can't watch in full HD.

The keyboard is the instantly recognisable chiclet type with spaced square keys that feel firm and responsive to the touch - gamers might not appreciate the tiny arrow keys though. The touch pad beneath responds well, especially for pinching and expanding movements and it doesn't dominate too much of the surface.

A quick tour of the sides reveals a LAN output for Ethernet networking plus VGA, HDMI and two USB 3.0 ports, as well as an extra USB 2.0 and an SD card slot at the front. So you can at least play your Blu-rays back through a full HD TV screen if you end up with the lower spec display.

One area where the NP55OP7C scores particularly well is its sound quality. Laptops are notoriously awful when it comes to audio but Samsung have installed two decent JBL stereo speakers with a Max Bass Boost Subwoofer that really does give a bit of oomph to the bass.

There's no shortage of power under the hood either, as the NP55OP7C has a meaty Intel Core i7 processor clocked at 2.3GHz and with 6MB RAM. This ensures fast multifunction activity, no video stop-starting and the ability to play sprawling games like Skyrim without serious lag. Graphics too are detailed and colours rich thanks to the installed NVIDIA GeForce GT650M powered by 2GB memory and there's a full 1TB of storage.

Battery life is not the greatest, however, and you will be struggling to prolong it more than about three and a half hours. Still, if the chances are you won't be moving it around much, that should be a minor inconvenience in what is overall a pretty decent entertainment computer.
 

Cost: from around £750

Score: 4/5