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My first day working on the NP355E5C and it's not as slow as I feared it would be. It has a low end AMD processor so I was worried it would be annoyingly slow to use. So far I've installed Windows updates and ClassicShell to make Windows 8 usable and performance has been ok.
The 5400rpm 500GB Hitachi hard drive with 8MB cache is a pretty standard part for inexpensive laptops and it's kinda slow. If this was my daily use computer I'd be tempted to upgrade it to an SSD drive.
I was surprised such an inexpensive PC has Realtek gigabit for wired ethernet and it has bluetooth in addition to two USB 3 ports and two USB 2 ports. That's better connectivity options than other low end laptops.
The screen is bright and clear. I'm not a touch typist but the keyboard is working well for me.
The trackpad has frequently quit tracking my finger until I lift off and put my finger back down. I've not found any setting in the control panel that helps.
Update 04mar13: I'd hoped I could find a way to add Windows7 but this laptop uses "Secure Boot" making it difficult and expensive to get Windows 7 installed. It looks like I would have to turn off Secure Boot then reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows7 from scratch with a retail Win 7 disk. It appears I would then loose the ability to use the provided Windows8 installation. Think I'm stuck with Win8. I'm using Classic Shell to help make Win8 more usable. That makes it pretty much like Win7 but still a little weird. On the upside, every program and tweak I use in Win7 is working in Win8 so that's cool.
I'm still having the problem where the trackpad stops responding until I lift my finger. I'm getting used to doing that but I hope someday a driver update will help with that issue.
Update 08jul13: Downgraded from 4 stars to 1 star. I've given up on this thing. The trackpad has never tracked right. I tried driver updates & setting changes but cannot get it to work smoothly. I have to use a mouse. Then one day the screen went solid white then solid black. I could only see the desktop when I plugged in an external monitor. I called Samsung and set up a warranty service return to get the screen fixed but after a few days and many reboots the screen started working again so I had to cancel the return. The screen has worked perfectly ever since but I no longer trust this laptop to be reliable for travel. This past week I noticed the CPU is always working at half speed, .8GHz instead of 1.7GHz. Turns out the power plan keeps reverting to the Power Saver plan after I set it to the Performance plan. I can't find a way to get the Performance power plan setting to stick.
I like Samsung, they make a lot of price/performance winning stuff. I wanted to like this laptop, but with the poorly performing trackpad, the unreliable screen, & the CPU speed issue, this laptop is just too frustrating.
UPDATE September 2013:
I've now sent this thing in for repair three times. First for blank screen, erratic trackpad, and camera not working. They fixed the screen and sent it back with the camera & trackpad problems. So I sent it in a second time and again they fixed only one problem, the camera, and sent it back to me. Now its in for service a third time and hopefully they'll fix the trackpad this time.
They are fixing the problems but its been a slow frustrating experience.
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It is taking us a bit of time to get used to the new Windows format; however, the machine is pretty quick. I'm not a techie, so specifics, i can't give. I got this computer primarily because my daughter loves to create animated videos with Windows Movie Maker while listening to a constant stream of music from Youtube and chatting with friends on Facebook. Works well for that.Best Deals for Samsung NP355E5C-A01US Laptop (1.7GHz AMD Dual Core E2-1800
I received my laptop promptly and am in love with it so far. The only thing I have to complain about is getting used to Windows 8! LOL but the laptop hasn't given my any problems so far. It isn't too heavy to carry. The sound is clear, and the display is bright and clear. I am in love with it at this point...ask me again in 6 months or a year. :)Honest reviews on Samsung NP355E5C-A01US Laptop (1.7GHz AMD Dual Core E2-1800
laptop is great except for the fact there is no touch screen for the windows8, otherwise its fine from the desktop icon.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung NP355E5C-A01US Laptop (1.7GHz AMD Dual Core E2-1800
works justt fine, it's a very nice pc... It feels fine, nice touch and works very good, and it have a low price
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