Listed specifications for Samsung Q45:
- Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz, 2MB Cache)
- 2048MB DDR2-333 (PC2-5300) RAM (2 x1GB)
- 160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
- 12.1” WXGA 1280x800 Glossy Screen
- Intel X3100 Graphics Accelerator
- DVD Super-Multi optical drive
- 802.11a/b/g wireless networking
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
- 100Mb LAN
- 1.3MP integrated webcam
- Integrated HD Audio
- 6 cell 2400mAh battery
- 6-in-1 memory card reader
- Windows Vista Home Premium
- 29.9 cm x 21.7 cm x 3.6 cm (12” x 8.5” x 1.4”) [Actual: 29.8cm x 23.5cm x 3.3-4.3cm]
- 1.9kg (4.18lbs)
- Targus Neoprene Slip Cover
- Cleaning Cloth
Reasons For Buying
My previous system was an Acer 15.4” using a single core Turion processor with only 512MB of RAM. It ran for around 30mins on battery and weighed over 3.1kg, which rendered its use as a laptop somewhat questionable. I had decided a few months ago I wanted an ultraportable with a 12-inch screen or less. Unfortunately my budget as a student was limited so I was forced to compromise. There were only two 12” systems in my range, this Samsung and an Acer which didn’t have an integrated optical drive. I am also not too impressed with Acer based on my two years with my previous system. The Samsung is quite heavy and thick for an ultraportable, but still very light versus other laptops of comparable specification. It was also pleasing to see that it was attractive and didn’t command too great a price premium for the portability it provided.
Where & How Purchased
I purchased the Q45 from UK laptop vendor www.laptopsdirect.co.uk where I had previous purchased my girlfriend’s Asus A8 back in April. Like her, the service was excellent bar and I received the system on Wednesday after paying on Monday evening. I used my Mastro debit card to avoid the 1.5% or more credit-card surcharge which also meant I received a free accessory and delivery. The total cost (after currency conversion for readers in the US) was around $1,500, which was around $80 cheaper than most vendors.
There is a 1.3MP integrated webcam above the screen which is extremely small and unobtrusive. It gives pretty good results in MSN Messenger (especially in low light) but I haven’t yet checked it with still pictures. The performance is ideal for the typical student or businessperson away from home, maybe even the odd youtube video if that floats your boat.
Speakers
The speakers are unusually located on the base, at the rear. This positioning keeps the chassis clean from ugly speaker grilles and means the notebook gives a good sound on hard surfaces due to the sound reflecting from the desk. On soft surfaces or laps, the sound can become obscured. Overall the sound quality is better than most notebook computers, especially in the ultraportable segment. I prefer to use headphones however, and using various high quality headsets I found the output to be very good, definitely a step up over the AC97 standard. Those using more expensive headphones with 3.5mm adapters may find issues as I did, since the bulky adapter did not squeeze into the overhang above the line-out port. I should also point out the odd issue that inserting headphones did not automatically shut off the speakers , I cannot find a way to adjust volume without effecting the speakers unless I physically disable the speakers, which leaves me unable to just system wide volume.
Processor & Performance
This is the slowest of the regular line of Santa Rosa Core 2 Duo processors at 1.8GHz but still packs a sufficient punch for what this system is likely to be doing. The smaller cache and frequency helps to conserve power and reduce heat and noise. It is a great improvement over the slower single core processor I was using, as evidenced by the benchmarks. I should note I was unable to get PCMark05 to run because of Vista’s foibles hence its absence here. I imagine the results will be comparable to other systems in this range. Vista felt snappy enough – the 2GB RAM clearly helping here, and Aero was handled with ease by the new Intel X3100.
This integrated graphics solution borrows anywhere from 64MB to 128MB system RAM depending on the application. The amount borrowed was 64MB during desktop work at this resolution. Using the VGA out to a 1680x1050 resolution external monitor also yielded acceptable performance. I doubt many people game on an integrated solution on an ultraportable laptop, but for those that do I found it ran the latest Tomb Raider Anniversary game pretty well when AA was turned to 2x or lower. There were no noticeable delays in anything I did, and after a week SuperFetch is working fine, with MS Word 2007 opening almost instantaneously. Vista’s eye candy does give the appearance of slowness, but turning off the transition effects (fade, slide, zoom etc) make things happen on cue.
Heat & Noise
Ideally an ultraportable system will be quiet and cool since it is often used in public places. Unfortunately those two ideals do not often go together well. The Q45 is an exception, no doubt due to the thick chassis and massive exhaust that enables a large diameter fan to move slowly. During a stress test using wPrime the air belching out of the system became very hot indeed, and I would not feel comfortable using a mouse there during this activity. The rest of the system, including palm rests remained quite cool though, only heating up on the right side during intensive disk activity.
This is one of the quietest systems I have used (though not quite as quiet as the Asus A8 I recently reviewed). On battery with light load the fan remained off, or so quiet it was barely audible in an absolutely silent room. Even during the stress test, the fan was quieter than many other laptop’s quietest mode. Noise is very important to me, so I was naturally very pleased by this outcome. Undervolting the processor would yield even better results, but due to RM Clock not being compatible with the Santa Rosa refresh just yet, I was unable to test that assumption.
The powerpack does give a slight whine when the power-jack is unplugged from the system, though my ears are pretty sensitive to noises in that frequency. The optical drive is very quiet when reading and writing a disk – a great improvement over my previous systems.
Keyboard & Touchpad
The easy part to discuss here is the touchpad, which works fine. It is very grainy which allows good accuracy and tactile feedback. It also has a section at the side and bottom for scrolling horizontally and vertically which works well. It is also possible to configure the corners of the pad to perform various actions such as middle click, program launch, volume etc. The buttons are attractive and glossy, which to my mind is preferable to painted plastic which can wear away easily. They have a nice, quiet action although they do require a firmer press than may be initially assumed.
The keyboard is very good with a nice firm action and good sized keys. They cram a lot of functionality in so few keys. It doesn’t have the sponginess often associated with cheaper laptops and from this perspective it is clear to see that the Q45 is targeted at a “prosumer” market, sitting slightly oddly between consumer and business users. My main annoyance with the keyboard comes from the layout, which is rather annoying. There is the traditional bugbear of the swapped fn key and ctrl in the lower left corner, in addition to some other gripes. Firstly the backspace key is very small and can be difficult to hit at speed. Secondly the enter key is very small to boot though this is easier to adapt to. The main problem for me so far is having the right shift key be so small and now one key removed from the "?" symbol which is causing me frequent problems (especially since I often use a full size external keyboard when I use my external screen). I don’t see why Samsung could not use the additional width of the chassis to add in another column of keys for the likes of pgdn and restore a bigger shift key.
On the plus side for me is the lack of so called multimedia keys and quick launches. The only two buttons are the power key and the “Instant AV” software which I don’t find very useful. Perhaps some media playback keys would be nice, but are not essential.
Input & Output Ports
The notebook has all of the usual ports found on a modern computer including a 4-pin firewire port and VGA out. Disappointingly it only has two USB ports, one on the rear and one on the right side. This seems very few and they could easily have put another on the left side. Nevertheless, it is enough for an external mouse and USB key ... the likely uses on a machine of this kind. The card reader comes in handy and is nicely positioned at the front of the system. I am not sure having the VGA port and the modem/Ethernet ports on the sides was a great plan though – surely the rear seems a more logical location for these. The unit includes a PCMCIA slot rather than an expresscard slot, whether that is good or bad depends on your perspective. The computer includes a built in microphone, and also a line in/microphone in next to the line out.
Wireless
The notebook comes with built in a/b/g Intel wireless (no draft N despite Santa Rosa platform) and performs very well on my home network – nothing unusual to report. Bluetooth is provided and works without incident with my Sony Ericsson K800 and Nokia 6300. Vista also supports the Bluetooth headphones, which might appeal to some people, though I have not tried this feature personally.
Battery Life
This is one of the most important aspects of any notebook computer, even more so for an ultraportable such as this. The predecessor of the Q45, the Q35 was frequently reported to achieve over 5hours battery life without much effort. It comes as a relief therefore that the Q45 has a very good battery life indeed. In the following scenarios, I used minimum display brightness (very usable still) and disabled Bluetooth. I repeated each test twice (repeating more would eat up more time than I actually have) and took the average value (they were in fact very similar both times). As you can see, exceeding 5 hours is possible during light usage (general office tasks with wireless on) and one can squeak over 6hours if wireless is not required. A great system for students and road warriors then. The battery also has an LED indicator on the bottom which gives a guide to remaining power in 20% increments. I should also add I was using Aero Basic rather than Aero Glass for these tests as I understood the latter had a detrimental impact upon battery life.
Wireless On, Minimum Brightness, Office Tasks: 5hrs 10mins
Wireless Off, Minimum Brightness, Office Tasks: 6hrs 4mins
As I mentioned earlier, I like to use RM Clock to undervolt my processor but I was unable to do that in this instance due to incompatibility with Santa Rosa. Hopefully when a new version is released I may be able to extend battery life time even further. Vista’s power management is very good in reality (much better than XP) and enables great personalization.
The AC adapter is the smallest I have seen, and is very light. This makes traveling with it very easy indeed. It is about the size of a small mobile phone, and about twice as thick.
Operating System & Software
Samsung doesn’t include much bloatware on the Q45, just McAfee and Office 2007 trial. It also includes its own backup software which I haven’t tried as I prefer my own (SyncBack). This is a relief from many other system vendors, but there is still a lot of “Bloat” in Vista which can be optimized if needed. When I first booted the Q45 there were 70 running processes, after my clear out and modifications that is down to 49.
Vista required some getting used to, and has some improvements and some annoyances. It is very much a personal issue so I can’t comment too much on it.
Conclusion
The Samsung Q45 is easily one of the most cost-effective ultraportable computers available, and pretty much the only one similar for less than $2,000. The specifications are ideal for the tasks it will perform, and complement the very good battery life and small size and weight. The system is ideal for people who move around a lot and prefer an elegant, unobtrusive system – whether that is a student or business person is down to individual choice. The excellent build quality at such a low price is a credit to Samsung and I anticipate this to fulfil anybody’s expectations.
Pros
- Very quiet
- Long battery life
- Relatively lightweight
- Sober and elegant styling
- Quite heavy for the size of screen/versus other ultraportables
- Awkward keyboard arrangement
- Heat vent on right hand side
- Shiny lid may become scratched
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