Notebook Hunter

The Samsung R590-JS02AU for $1,399 is unfortunately uncompetitive in the current market; for comparison, a new Samsung allrounder with a Sandy Bridge processor and a much faster graphics card can be found for $1,199.

It has a first generation Intel Core i5-450M processor that while decent pales in comparison to the newer Sandy Bridge Intel Core i7s found in notebooks that cost less than this one. The 4GB of RAM is respectable, but ultimately it's an average spec only. For gaming the R590 has an NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics card that can run StarCraft 2 on medium settings, a poor showing given that the graphics cards in newer and more affordable alternatives can manage high settings or even better.

A 640GB hard drive is good, but it doesn't really change the fact that this allrounder is surpassed by the alternatives. It has a 15.6in (1,366x768 resolution) screen that does work well with productivity applications and games. Portability is roughly average, because the R590 weighs 2.6kg and is otherwise physically what you'd expect given the screen size; it measures 379.8mm wide, 255.5mm deep and 36.7mm thick.