Samsung 300E5A-A01 review

Performance comes courtesy of an Intel Core i3-2330M processor running at 2.2GHz. It supports Hyper-threading, but not Turbo Boost, so this will be the maximum clock speed no matter what application you run. In our multimedia benchmarks, the 300E5A achieved a respectable 43 overall, which makes the laptop more suited to standard Windows tasks than serious number-crunching.

When you’re not pushing the laptop to the limit, you shouldn’t have to worry about running out of battery – the 300E5A lasted over six and a half hours in our light-use test.

This is mainly due to Intel’s integrated graphics, which use less power than a dedicated card. It’s fine for playing high definition video – we had no trouble running 720p files on the laptop and could also watch 1080p content on an external display. However, we couldn’t play games smoothly – it could only manage 13.5 fps in Dirt 3, so you’ll have to either stick to old games or lower the resolution.

Based solely on looks, the 300E5A looks like great value for £400 – it’s stylish yet understated and has everything you could want from an entry-level all-rounder. It’s not quite perfect – performance is only average, and most games are out of the question, but if you just want a basic machine that can handle most everyday tasks, it’s a good buy.