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The R540 is a gorgeous-looking laptop. It may be made of plastic, but the glossy brushed-metal effect on the lid and keyboard panel look really classy, even if they are prone to picking up greasy fingerprints. Its beauty isn’t skin-deep either: inside, there’s an Intel Core i3 processor and a generous 500GB hard disk.
The processor is the latest Core i3-370M, running at 2.4GHz, and it helped the R540 to a score of 87 overall. In fact in each test, the R540 managed to beat all the other laptops equipped with a Core i3-370M. Thanks to Intel’s Hyper-Threading technology it doesn’t slow down much when you run multiple applications.
There’s no dedicated graphics chip, however, as the R540 relies on the Core i3’s integrated graphics chip. This can handle HD video, but in our Call of Duty 4 test it only scored 11fps. Even with the settings turned down you’re unlikely to be able to get a playable frame rate in a modern 3D game.
We were a bit disappointed with the R540’s expansion potential. While you get the obligatory HDMI port, which lets you output both audio and video to a larger screen, there are no eSATA ports and no ExpressCard slot. You do get three USB ports – the bare minimum – and support for 802.11n WiFi, but Bluetooth isn’t installed and the network port runs at 100Mbit/s. The memory card slot accepts only SD and SDHC formats, so if have an older digital camera you may need a USB reader.
A glossy finish on the screen exacerbates the fussy vertical viewing angles, so you have to adjust the tilt carefully in brightly-lit rooms. It also has a slight blue cast that made images seem a bit duller than they should be, although contrast was good and overall image quality was acceptable. Sound from the internal speakers was refreshingly loud for a laptop, but as usual there was little bass.
Samsung has managed to include a four-column numeric keypad to the right of the main keyboard. The flat-topped keys are large and separated from each other by a small gap which means you’re less likely to miss-hit adjoining keys. They have a light action with plenty of feedback for touch typists, and their layout is standard. The touchpad is smooth and responsive, with two separate buttons that have a comfortable, light action.
A battery life of almost four hours in our light usage test is average, and in any case the R540 weighs 2.4kg and so is too heavy to travel far. While it has the looks and build quality that we’re used to from Samsung, the current competition puts it in the shade. MSI’s CX623 may not have the R540’s looks, but its display is superior and it has all more features.
