samsung RV511-ao1 & sf510

Does anyone have the rv511?? I found a couple reviews and the 100 reviews on bestbuy and it has very good reviews for a great price. Wish it was not so plain but i really do like it. Does anyone have this laptop and are there better choices to go with in this price range.


Also i would have to save up a little more for this but i really like the look of the sf510. Does anyone have this and can you tell me what you think about it hard to find a lot of reviews. Have read that it had mousepad problems dont know if that has been fixed yet

 

I have the RV511 see my signature, do you want to ask any questions?

 

Im not much of a computer wiz but i do need a computer for everyday use and school. Do you think this is the best laptop in that price range?? What are the pros and cons you have found with the laptop?

 

The build quality of the RV511 is not a good as more expensive Samsung notebooks, the case has more than usual amount of flex in it, to replace the keyboard you need to replace the entire top of the notebook, not certain when Samsung started doing this.

Now my RV511 runs cool and quiet even at 100% cpu usage and the intel hd graphics is fine for me as i only play older games, like battlefield 2 and Freespace2 , the sound quality is about average for an notebook.

The display is nice, with plenty of colour and no dead pixels that i have found.

But the RV511 is defenetly built cheaper, but at only £400 , it`s half the price of my last Samsung an R590 and i am quit happy with it for now.

 

So if you had choice between that and a dell inspiron 15r what would you go with now that you have had the samsung for a while.


Yea after reading that fixing a samsung laptop is pretty tough and that you pretty much have to go to samsung to get it fixed is definitely a downfall to me.

 

I have had over 10 laptops in about 2 years, sony, acer, toshiba, hp and a few samsungs`s but no dell`s and i have to say Samsung is the brand i recommend to everybody.

 

What about the toshiba laptops, what do you think about them?? I really like the A665-s5170 that i looked at when i went to bestbuy. It is priced well and got pretty good reviews for the most part.

 

I too am looking at the Samsung RV711, the price seems really good compared with the RC710. I know build quality is part of the reason though. The only downside is case quality and the fact that the paint work looks like it could be easily scratched, which is making me look more at the RC710 and Inspiron 17R. The Inspiron comes with better sound and 2nd gen intel chips which Samsung are really slow to be using but I hear Samsung's are really quite which is a massive bonus.

 

Toshiba went through a bad patch a few years ago and had some serious quality quality problems. However, they sorted themselves out. I have an R700 on my desk at this moment. It's an impressive bit of hardware (mainly magnesium alloy) but isn't typical of the mainstream consumer notebooks.

If you are in any doubt about what to buy then it's good discipline to make a table listing the features of each notebook to help identify the differences. Then make a judgement about which best fits your requirements.

John

 

Just getting back to these Samsung RV511's for a sec.

Has anyone else found they run so hot they just about burn a hole through your jeans?

This is only my 3rd laptop, i tend to hang on to them till they die. But none of my others and none of the rest of the famblies ones run anywhere near this hot. Its hot and by hot i mean you have to take it off your lap. As in sweat, hot, pain, ouch! Just short of burns, sort of hot. Not warm. Hot.:tongue:

I just wanted to check this isn't their normal running temp before I have to deal with a warranty claim...uuugggghhhh.... but common sence tells me this couldn't possibly be right.

 

Samsung notebooks usually have good cooling systems. A program such as HWiNFO32 will show you the CPU temperature (and a lot more). Is the fan running OK and blowing out lots of hot air?

John

 

Hi John

um...at the risk of sounding like a doodle, it has a fan? I can't hear it running if it does have one. It doesn't seem to actually 'blow' any hot air out, just emit heat.

I've been paying a bit more attention to it since i posted and it is considerably worse if its on my lap, so I guess i'm blocking its vents. I bought one of those fan lap tables for it which helps a lot, but its a pain, its noisy and cumbersom & my clothes get caught in the fan and stop it.

I'll probably just have to live with it. It is why they stopped calling them laptops after all Seems a bit dumb to me though. Your lap is the perfect table for a portable device. You'd think their smart people would overcome the overheating issues.

 

If you can't hear the fan running or feel any hot air being blown out when the computer is as hot as you say then the either it is broken or disconnected. What CPU core temperatures are you getting? Normally, it is a case of the fan blowing frantically but not shifting enough heat.

John

 

I went into a store to test the Samsung RV511. I was mainly happy with the laptop but the keyboard and the flex was a little too much for me. I don't know if it was because it was a demo version, but the black shiny plastic that the keyboard sits on flexed a lot which is going to be annoying as it catches the light. If I do get this laptop, I'm going to have to live with this.

Strange that the keyboard flexes when the R780/580 doesn't. I would of thought that Samsung had experience in this area. They could of added some pillars inside the case to hold up the keyboard area.

 

Have had the rv511-ao1 for a few weeks and am so far very pleased with it. I had one of the gnarly Toshibas someone mentioned a couple posts back - try overheating so bad that the plastic shell holding the keyboard together warped to the shape of my left palm.
Moving on, very pleased thus far. The heat seems more than manageable, especially since I prop mine up on a stand to circulate air beneath. The display is plenty bright. I am not a gamer, but I do run several programs at once with no probs - photoshop, word, multiple browsers, music, etc.
Question for anyone using this model: an recommendations on some sort of keyboard cover? The chicklets don't have too much room for things to go under, but pug hair is pretty resourceful at getting in nooks and cranies. Rec's on screen covers, something that might cover the mousing keys to dim noise, etc - any good accessories - would be much appreciated. Thx

 

Have you had any issues with keyboard flex?

 

I cannot say that I have - perhaps I am not that heavy-handed a typist. What DOES fell somewhat fragile to me - compared to my last notebook - is the relatively bendability of the frame when the lid's closed. I actually might try to find a hard cover for this thing - one wrong move feel's like it will snap the whole thing in half. But then, it's bigger than the 13" I'm used to, and I travel with it a lot.

 

Thanks for the reply, I have actually noticed the new RV520 with the Sandy bridge i3-2310m is soon to be available. The RV720 seems on the way as well.

Now I'm ready to buy

 

I did have that exact same problem. Within 2 months of purchase, the electrical cord had melted through and the computer was damaged beyond repair.