Samsung N510 Premium

The Samsung N510 returns in the Premium version, with Windows 7, 2 GB of RAM and a 250 GB hard drive (up from 160 GB). Unfortunately, the matte panel used on the previous model has been replaced with a glossy. A debatable choice (see inset) which now puts it in direct competition with other ION netbooks. Let's see if the newlook N510 has been able to retain its other qualities.

Handling, design and build: excellent comfort of use and nice and robust

The Samsung N510 Premium has the same chassis as the first N510. We still like its finsih and the good quality matte plastics. Entirely in black, it has a very sober feel, though not austere. In contrast to the matte plastics used on the inside, the hood is in glossy black. Pretty when you take it out the box, it soon picks up dust and finger marks.
 

Although it doesn't take up all the available surface, the keyboard is sufficiently wide for good usage. There is 15 mm on either side and you can't help thinking that it would have been possible to make the keyboard even wider (which would have allowed an extension to some of the smaller keys on the right). That said, it is already very comfortable to use and we suppose that this "lost" space on either side allows the integration of connectors without increasing the width of the machine. We reckon Samsung have made the right choice in the end.

The touchpad is wide and has nothing to envy other laptops, except for the fact that it's not multi-touch. The matte surface affords a nice glide, rapid and precise. While with some models, you can't avoid using a mouse due to the lack of precision and rapidity of the touchpad, on the N510 you can do without it from time to time.

The webcam gives a high quality fluid image. Colours are accurate overall and the contrast good. It adapts well to brightness. On the other hand there's a loss of fluidity in darkness and the webcam then shows its limits.

The Samsung N510 is quiet. A slight fan sound can be heard in calm environments and this increases when it's processing more demanding tasks (video gaming for example). It remains however very reasonable. The hard drive makes a more annoying grating sound though.

Connectivity is placed on three sides of the machine. At the front you'll find the 3-in-1 memory card reader. On the right hand side, the headphones and mic outs are accompanied by two USB 2.0 ports, the power socket and an antitheft port. On the left there's a third USB port and the now standard HDMI port, the VGA and the RJ45.
Samsung has now developed the good habit of indicating which connectors are which with logos on one side and another of the keyboard. Very practical.

Under the laptop, a large panel give access to the RAM and the hard drive.

Samsung N510 from above	RJ45, VGA, HDMI, USB 2.0
Headphones, microphone, 2 USBs, power and antitheft	Touchpad and click bar

Processing: office docs, internet and... HD video!
Windows 7 index: 0.0. Details: CPU 0.0 - Memory 0.0 - Graphics 0.0 - Gaming graphics 0.0 - Main hard drive 0.0.

The N510 Premium uses the Intel Atom N280 processor which runs at a clock of 1.66 GHz, or 60 MHz more than the Atom N270 used by the old N510. In practice this changes practically nothing. The 2 GB of RAM do however make a difference.
Performance is nevertheless low, with an index of just 22 (19 on the N510). Our reference machine (100 on the index) is the Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi3650 (equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo T9400).

The N510 Premium does give enough for office docs and internet usage however. It's a shame that Samsung didn't go for a dual-core CPU, as Asus has done on its Eee PC 1201N. This would have given more oomph for multimedia usage and gaming. An Intel ULV processor combined with the NVIDIA ION chipset would be even more worth a look.

HD video playback (HD 1080p, Blu-Ray equivalent) can only be carried out by the Ion chipset and software that supports the NVIDIA chip's hardware acceleration. The processor isn't rapid enough to handle it on its own. To activate hardware accleration on the graphics card we used PowerDVD 9 and Media Player Classic Home Cinema.

3D gaming: several games with low graphics settings

While we're waiting for the new ION chipset to arrive (16 CUDA units version), the first NVIDIA ION chip can nevertheless already be used for a few games on the N510 Premium.
But don't get over-excited as, although this solution is of course much better than a built in Intel graphics solution (such as the very common GMA 950), it remains insufficient for many recent games. Race Driver GRID is for example limited to around 14 frames per second with settings on low while Half-Life 2 (EP2) and Unreal Tournament 3 don't do any better with 10 and 15 FPS respectively (settings to minimum).
The Intel Atom N280 is no use here for improving 3D performance in comparison to the first N510.
You can however play less demanding titles such as 3D strategy or management games that often require fewer resources and fewer frames per second to be playable.

Audio: just about ok

The sound from the speakers is comparable to what you usually find on netbooks. Maximum volume isn't very high but just enough. The headphones out is clean overall, though there is a slight lack of precision.

Mobility, battery life

With 3h58 video playback (brightness at 100 Cd/m², Wi-Fi disactivated and headphones plugged in), the Samsung N510 Premium's battery life is almost identical to the first N510. A very good result given the hardware in this machine. Its direct competitor, the Asus Eee PC 1201NL, manages 3h45 in the same conditions, a long way behind the Samsung N210 (7h06) all the same.

At 1.4 Kg, the N510 Premium is easily transportable in a small bag, especially as the charger is tiny.