Notebookcheck Logo

Review Samsung Q320

The new Samsung Q320, an attractive, dynamically designed notebook, is now facing our tests. The 13.4 inch display executed in an edge-to-edge design bids a 16:9 cinematic format. Aside from that, there is a dedicated GeForce G105M graphic card from nVidia inside. Read on to find out more about the strengths and weaknesses of the new Samsung generation.

Many thanks to our Polish colleagues from notebookcheck.pl who have executed these tests and provided us with this review.

Case

Samsung Q320

The looks of the Samsung Q320 already impresses at first sight. This doesn't only apply to its looks, but also the feel of the plastic case is relatively good. Additionally, the matt surfaces present themselves as almost insusceptible for fingerprints. Apparently, Samsung has taken the critique of users and testers seriously and has refrained from using high gloss surfaces for the base unit.
It looks different for the display lid. This shows a black high-gloss finish, which is very susceptible for smudge and traces of use.

The case also shows a good stability in the test. There is practically no twisting to be noticed when lifting the laptop at a case corner, but it does creak slightly. This applies equally to the display lid so that it can be spoken of a seemingly very robust notebook.

The selection of a slot-loading drive instead of the standardly deployed optical drive usually found is appealing. The case makes an overall encased impression with this. The only weak point of the case under point pressure is found on the front left edge, directly above the audio sockets. The bottom side also proves to be very pressure resistant due to the use of high-quality plastic.

Looking closer at the workmanship, a somewhat unequal gap can be recognized in the metal-like inlays. But, apart from this, the Q320 looks very elegant altogether. In a sense, it resembles the Sony Vaio SR in this regard.

The hinges do an overall good job. A luffing after opening angle adjustments or a quivering at vibrations couldn't be established by us. However, the hinges restrict the maximum opening angle to about 120 degrees, which could prove to be a tad too little depending on the utilization.

Front: Cardreader
Front: Cardreader
Left: Kensington lock, LAN, VGA, USB, USB/eSATA, HDMI, audio ports, ExpressCard/34
Left: Kensington lock, LAN, VGA, USB, USB/eSATA, HDMI, audio ports, ExpressCard/34
Right: Optical drive (slot load), USB, power socket
Right: Optical drive (slot load), USB, power socket
Rear: Battery, fan
Rear: Battery, fan

Input Devices

The keyboard presents itself well-executed, with a layout very well-designed for the 13 inch format. The CRTL key is found exactly on its innate place and the right shift key has also been placed beside the numerical keyboard bordering the arrow keys. The size of the single keys also appeals to us.

The pressure resistance at typing is low, the pressure point has been ideally chosen. A disadvantage of the low pressure resistance is that it leads to typos faster, due to the lack of feedback, than a stiffer key stroke. Fortunately, typing is generally very quiet, too. Only the key caps have a bit of room and causes a gentle rustle.

The additional Fn key beside the arrow keys also proved to be practical. It's even possible to adapt the display brightness single-handedly with it.

The built-in touchpad has a matt surface, which can be described as smooth. The size is also adequate for a pleasant and precise mouse cursor navigation on a 16:9 display.

Unfortunately, the easy-moving keys belonging to it only have a mediocre quality. A long key travel was shown at pressing. In opposition, we can evaluate its width, operating noises and the pleasant feel as positive.

Samsung Q320
Keyboard
Samsung Q320
Touchpad

Display

Samsung Q320
Color Diagram

Samsung has equipped the Q320 with a 13.4 inch display with an LED background light. This screen made by Chi Mei Optoelectronics uses a cinematic-friendly resolution of 1355x768 pixels in a 16:9 format. The screen can be easily cleaned due to its edge-to-edge design with a straight bottom edge above the hinges.

A disadvantage of this variation is an intensely reflective surface. Especially in combination with a dark background and adverse light conditions (i.e. outdoors), you have more of a mirror than of a high quality user interface. We could establish an average brightness of about 200 cd/m2 in mains.

200.6
cd/m²
215.5
cd/m²
177
cd/m²
197.6
cd/m²
209.9
cd/m²
182.8
cd/m²
200.7
cd/m²
218.4
cd/m²
199.9
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Maximum: 218.4 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 200.3 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Contrast: 191:1 (Black: 1.1 cd/m²)
Samsung Q320
Q320 outdoors

A significant disadvantage of the used display is the weak color representation. The colors look pallid and blurry. Black isn't represented optimally, either. Also, streak formations in form of a brighter stripe with a width of one millimeter along the display's bottom rim could be established.

The next weak point shows itself in the viewing angle stability. Compared with the cheaper MSI VR340, used by our Polish colleagues, much stronger image distortions turn up along the vertical axis.

Reference Image
Samsung Q320
Samsung Q320
Samsung Q320
Samsung Q320
Samsung Q320
Samsung Q320
Samsung Q320
Samsung Q320
Samsung Q320

Performance

Samsung Q320

The test device is equipped with a 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 processor. This belongs to the Penryn CPUs manufactured in a 45nm process and demonstrates a solid performance at moderate energy requirement. It's a good choice for a mobile laptop, which should also be suitable for basic office tasks at the same time.

The nVidia Geforce G 105M belongs to a new generation of graphic cards, which is still produced in the older 65nm process. Compared to the 9300M GS, it only has half as much shaders, but is clocked higher with 640/1400 MHz. The use of a 256 MB GDDR3 memory with a rate of 700 MHz (1400 MHz effectively) improves its performance to a certain degree.

Unfortunately, the graphic performance is limited by the 64 bit memory bus so that it quickly comes to its limits in actual 3-D prone games. In view of the form factor, which implies mobility as the focal point, it is a useable graphic solution, in any case.

3DMark 2001SE Standard
16121 points
3DMark 03 Standard
7048 points
3DMark 05 Standard
4218 points
3DMark 06 1280x720 Score
2559 points
Help
PCMark 05 Standard
5284 points
Help
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
4380
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
2308
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
2976
Help
Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo
 ResolutionSettingsValue
 1024x768highest, 0xAA, 0xAF238.4 fps
F.E.A.R.
 ResolutionSettingsValue
 1024x768GPU: max, CPU: max, 0xAA, 0xAF27 fps
 800x600GPU medium, CPU medium, 0xAA, 0xAF76 fps
 640x480GPU min, CPU min, 0xAA, 0xAF341 fps
Crysis - CPU Benchmark
 ResolutionSettingsValue
 1024x768Medium, 0xAA, 0xAF10.65 fps
 1024x768Low, 0xAA, 0xAF23.47 fps
Crysis - GPU Benchmark
 ResolutionSettingsValue
 1024x768Medium, 0xAA, 0xAF10.94 fps
 1024x768Low, 0xAA, 0xAF24.43 fps
250 GB - 5400 rpm
Transfer Rate Minimum: 6.6 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 64.6 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 48.7 MB/s
Access Time: 18.2 ms
Burst Rate: 95.8 MB/s
CPU Usage: 4.3 %

Gaming performance (Fraps 60s):

Call of Duty 4
Resolution: 1280x720; normal/medium details
min. 10, avg. 13.42, max. 17fps

Company of Heroes
Resolution: 1024x768; high/med details; AA off
min. 10: avg. 17.93; max. 25fps

FIFA 07
Demo version default
min. 58; avg59.58; max. 61fps

Gothic 3
Resolution: 1024x768; high details
min. 6; avg. 9.62; max. 13fps

Medal of Honor Airborne

Resolution: 1280x720; all medium
min. 14; avg. 17.75; max. 22fps

Supreme Commander
Resolution: 1024x768; high details; AA off
min. 9; avg. 12.88; max.16fps

Witcher
Resolution:1280x720; med details; AA off
min. 10; avg. 20.32; max.39fps

Emissions

System noise

The fan regulation attracts negative attention in idle mode, or rather with low load. The soundscape is characterized by an unpleasant periodic rise and fall of the noise.

Interestingly, this mannerism improves under full load. The fan runs permanently and reaches a low noise level of 32.6 dB(A) at first. A maximum of 34.5 dB(A) can already be established after a few minutes. Anyhow, the constant whirring is more endurable than a frequent change. The Q320, therefore, doesn't belong to the quietest devices but the operating noise remained overall within a limit.

Noise Level

Idle
31.8 / 32 / 33 dB(A)
HDD
32 dB(A)
DVD
34 / 40.9 dB(A)
Load
32.6 / 34.5 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light    (15 cm distance)
Samsung Q320

Temperature

The case doesn't heat up too much under low office load so that use on the thighs seems to be unproblematic. However, the situation alters under load. The bottom side reaches up to 40 degrees Celsius and more, here. We could even note a maximum of 45 degrees Celsius for the louver area. The dedicated graphic card has quite a part in the higher heat emissions, as well.

Max. Load
 38 °C
100 F
34.5 °C
94 F
28.1 °C
83 F
 
 35.3 °C
96 F
35.6 °C
96 F
29.1 °C
84 F
 
 36.5 °C
98 F
34.5 °C
94 F
28.1 °C
83 F
 
Maximum: 38 °C = 100 F
Average: 33.3 °C = 92 F
26.8 °C
80 F
29.9 °C
86 F
45.1 °C
113 F
27.4 °C
81 F
35.1 °C
95 F
39.7 °C
103 F
27.5 °C
82 F
40.4 °C
105 F
37.2 °C
99 F
Maximum: 45.1 °C = 113 F
Average: 34.3 °C = 94 F
Room Temperature 22 °C = 72 F
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 33.3 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 30.7 °C / 87 F for the devices in the class Subnotebook.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 38 °C / 100 F, compared to the average of 35.9 °C / 97 F, ranging from 21.4 to 59 °C for the class Subnotebook.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 45.1 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 39.4 °C / 103 F
(±) The palmrests and touchpad can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 36.5 °C / 97.7 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.3 °C / 82.9 F (-8.2 °C / -14.8 F).

Loudpeakers

The sound of the built-in loudspeakers is agreeably full and vibrant. The amplification is sufficient to even hear a clear and loud sound on the other side of a larger room. Music or speech output can already be enjoyed at two-thirds of the maximum volume. A further volume increase leads to distortions and vibrations.

Battery life

A 6 cell battery with a capacity of 48 Wh belongs to the Samsung Q320's scope of delivery. This allows for a maximum of 5 hours mains-free working. However, the battery life is shortened to about 3 hours in the practical WLAN mode in the energy savings profile "balanced".

In comparison to competitor notebooks, it can be noted that the Q320 is on about the same level as the Sony Vaio SR with an ATI HD 3470 graphic card in regards to battery life. In this regard, it even surpassed the MSI EX300 with a larger battery and the HP Pavilion dv3600 and down rights outstrips the Dell Studio XPS 13.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
5h 00min
WiFi Surfing
2h 57min
DVD
2h 10min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 30min
Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 14 / 19 / 22 Watt
Load midlight 43 / 55 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Verdict

We appreciated the defined orientation of mobile use of the Samsung Q320. The good quality of the deployed materials results in an overall robust laptop with a low weight and a practical design. The display lid presents itself, despite a high-gloss finish, less prone to smudge than some of Samsungs forerunners.

Additionally, the Q320 has one of the best keyboards in its category. Except for a light in dark rooms, there is practically nothing left to be desired at typing.

Unfortunately, the display proves to be a stumbling block for mobile use in adverse light conditions. The LED display might be bright but the reflective surface leads  to irritating reflections, for instance outdoors. On the other hand, the screen is easy to clean due to its "edge-to-edge" design.

A further disadvantage is found in the fan regulation. The noise characteristic is quite unpleasant, particularly at use under low load.

Surmising it can however be noted: Samsung has done a good job with the Q320. The Samsung Q320 proves to be a useable mobile companion.

Samsung Q320
Samsung Q320
Please share our article, every link counts!
Samsung Q320
In Review: Samsung Q320

Specifications

Samsung Q320
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce G 105M - 256 MB VRAM, Core: 640 MHz, Memory: 702 MHz, GDDR3, ForceWare 179.60
Memory
3 GB 
, Samsung DDR2-800, 1x 1GB + 1x 2GB
Display
13.40 inch 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixel, WXGA, LED backlight, Chi Mei Optoelectronics CMO1317 / N134B6-L01, glossy: yes
Mainboard
Intel PM45
Storage
250 GB - 5400 rpm, 250 GB 
, 5400 rpm, Hitachi HTS543225L9A300
Soundcard
Realtek ALC272
Connections
1 Express Card 34mm, 2 USB 2.0, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 eSata, Audio Connections: Audio-in, Audio-out, Card Reader: 3-in-1 (SD, SDHC, MMC)
Networking
Marvell Yukon 88E8057 (10MBit/s), Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
Optical drive
TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-T633A
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 37 x 326 x 228 ( = 1.46 x 12.83 x 8.98 in)
Battery
48 Wh Lithium-Ion, Samsung 4400mAh, 11.1 V, 6 cells
Operating System
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32 Bit
Additional features
1.3MPx webcam
Weight
2.185 kg ( = 77.07 oz / 4.82 pounds), Power Supply: 450 g ( = 15.87 oz / 0.99 pounds)
Price
900 Euro

 

Samsung Q320 proves to be a nice little notebook with quality.
Samsung Q320 proves to be a nice little notebook with quality.
We found the periodic rise and fall of the fan noise quite disturbing, even if it's not readable in the noise diagram.
We found the periodic rise and fall of the fan noise quite disturbing, even if it's not readable in the noise diagram.
In return, it can heat up decently in places under load.
In return, it can heat up decently in places under load.
The Q320's bottom side doesn't heat up much under load.
The Q320's bottom side doesn't heat up much under load.
It resembles the look of Vaio notebook, in a sense.
It resembles the look of Vaio notebook, in a sense.
The contour of the Samsung Q320 looks slim.
The contour of the Samsung Q320 looks slim.
The status display along the front edge would look good - at least after removing the ugly stickers.
The status display along the front edge would look good - at least after removing the ugly stickers.
The reflective display doesn't leave a good impression due to pallid colors.
The reflective display doesn't leave a good impression due to pallid colors.
This doesn't deflect and allows for a comfortable typing experience.
This doesn't deflect and allows for a comfortable typing experience.
The Q320 has been equipped with one of the best keyboards in comparison to other notebooks of the same category.
The Q320 has been equipped with one of the best keyboards in comparison to other notebooks of the same category.
The slot-loading drive contributes to the case stability.
The slot-loading drive contributes to the case stability.
The base unit's feel convinces not least because of the use of quality materials.
The base unit's feel convinces not least because of the use of quality materials.
Sophisticated details add to this impression.
Sophisticated details add to this impression.
The restricted opening angle has a detrimental effect.
The restricted opening angle has a detrimental effect.
...and a high-gloss display lid.
...and a high-gloss display lid.
And that despite a reflective display...
And that despite a reflective display...
In view of the dedicated GPU, the battery life is good.
In view of the dedicated GPU, the battery life is good.

Similar notebooks

Devices from a different Manufacturer and/or with a different CPU

Review Dell Inspiron 13z Notebook
GeForce G 105M, Core 2 Duo SU7300

Devices with Same Screen Size and/or Weight

Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 13 review: Subnotebook with efficient Alder Lake i5
Iris Xe G7 80EUs, Alder Lake-P i5-1240P, 13.30", 0.885 kg
Samsung Galaxy Book S Laptop Review: Lakefield with initial problems
UHD Graphics G7 (Lakefield GT2 64 EU), Lakefield i5-L16G7, 13.30", 0.94 kg
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3 Review: Subnotebook with QLED display
UHD Graphics 620, Comet Lake i5-10210U, 13.30", 0.97 kg
Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X3N (i5-7200U, FHD) Laptop Review
HD Graphics 620, Kaby Lake i5-7200U, 13.30", 0.817 kg
Samsung Chromebook 2 (XE500C12) Notebook Review
HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Celeron N2840, 11.60", 1.2 kg
Review Samsung ATIV Book 9 900X3G-K01DE Notebook
HD Graphics 4400, Core i5 4200U, 13.30", 1.12 kg

Links

Pros

+Stable case and display lid
+Quality material with a pleasant feel
+Aesthetic design
+Fantastic keyboard
+Good loudspeakers
+Numerous interfaces
 

Cons

-Fan regulation in idle mode or under low load
-Weak colors and viewing angles
-Reflective display
-High-gloss display lid
-Restricted opening angle
Sylwester Cyba, 2009-08-22 (Update: 2013-06- 6)