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    Samsung Series 3 Chromebook Review Discussion

    Discussion in 'Notebook News and Reviews' started by Ted Needleman, Dec 26, 2012.

  1. Ted Needleman

    Ted Needleman Notebook Enthusiast NBR Reviewer

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    Last edited by a moderator: May 7, 2015
    Ted Needleman, Dec 26, 2012
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  2. PacManRevis

    PacManRevis Newbie

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    nice laptop.......
     
    PacManRevis, Dec 26, 2012
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  3. TSE

    TSE Notebook Deity

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    I absolutely love the hardware for the price. It's basically an 11" MacBook Air for 1/4 of the price.

    I am not sold on Chrome OS, however. With the limited storage, you must depend on the online storage, and that goes away after 2 years, making this a disposable notebook. I don't think Linux is installable on the Samsung Chromebooks due to a locked bootloader? Correct me if I'm wrong.
     
    TSE, Dec 26, 2012
    #3
  4. smallmj

    smallmj Newbie

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    Phoronix posted benchmarks last month looking at the Chromebook running Ubuntu. It beat Intel Atoms handily in most tests, as well as a Quad core Tegra 3. It couldn't touch an i3 of course.
    It sounds like the bootloader is unlocked but driver support is limited.

    Have a look here:
    [Phoronix] ARM Cortex-A15 vs. NVIDIA Tegra 3 vs. Intel x86 Review
     
    smallmj, Dec 26, 2012
    #4
  5. REMF

    REMF Notebook Consultant

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    "This is a dual core low-end ARM-based processor with about the same computing power as one of Intel's dual core Atom CPUs. Considering that many of today's tablets sport an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core CPU, the Exynos 5200 isn't particularly impressive."

    Ahem, this is not entirely accurate.

    The Exynos might be low-end compared to a x86 laptop (on a par with an atom), but it is the current rock-star of the ARM SoC world.

    It uses a 32nm fabrication process, much more advanced than the 40nm tegra3.

    It uses Cortex A15 ARM CPU cores, much more powerful than the A9 cores in tegra3.

    It uses a quad-core T604 GPU from ARM, much more powerful (and advanced) than the 12 ropey shader units in tegra3.

    It runs at 1.7GHz when most tegra3 devices sport the lower end SKU that operates at 1.3GHz.

    The fact that it has only two cores when tegra3 has four is of little importance by way of comparison, not least because mobile operating systems and application software are so poorly threaded.
     
    REMF, Dec 27, 2012
    #5