The Samsung RC512-S02 ($1,199.99 list at Best Buy) desktop replacement laptop targets power user with its premium features and parts. It includes a Blu-ray drive, plenty of storage, and USB 3.0 ports. From a performance standpoint, there's nothing more powerful than a quad-core processor based on Intel's latest Sandy Bridge architecture. The RC512-S02 has that, 6GB of memory, and a nice 3D chip in the Nvidia GeForce GT 525M. Now if only it came with a bigger battery, I'd be overwhelmed with excitement.

Design

Laptops made of aluminum are all the rage these days, with the Dell XPS 15 (Sandy Bridge) ($1,785 direct, 4 stars) and Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Thunderbolt) ($2,199 direct, 4 stars) leading the way. Though the RC512-S02 isn't completely made of aluminum, it is used generously on the lid, palm rest, and keyboard area. There's also a strip of black plastic that Samsung added to the lid as well. The metal portion is a darker tint of gray than that of the Asus N53SV-A1Samsung RF510-S01US ($939.99 list, 3.5 stars) and Dell Inspiron 17R-2950MRB ($949.99 list, 4 stars). At 5.4 pounds, the RC512-S02 is as light as the MacBook Pro 15-inch (5.5 pounds) and a pound lighter than the Asus N53SV-A1 (6.4 pounds) and Dell XPS 15 (6.4 pounds).

The 15.6-inch screen wouldn't have been so plain had Samsung used a higher resolution, like the 1,920-by-1,080 (1080p) display found in the Dell XPS 15. Its standard 1,366-by-768 resolution matches the one used in many budget laptops. The chiclet-style keys are raised higher than those of the MacBook Pro and far better to type with than those of the Asus N53SV-A1. It doesn't have a backlit keyboard, though, like that of the Dell XPS 15 and MacBook Pro. The adjacent numeric keypad is a nice touch for number crunchers, even though the half-size keys are just asking for mistypes. You'll like the size of the touchpad, as well as the click-friendly chrome mouse buttons.

Features

The RC512-S02 has the kind of feature set that home theater enthusiasts would find irresistible. A Blu-ray drive, which plays back Blu-ray discs in full 1080p glory, is included. If you find that the resolution [screen size. The resolution is the same 1080p.] isn't adequate enough, the laptop's HDMI port will let you stream high-definition video content to an HDTV. Better yet, do it wirelessly with Intel's Wireless Display 2 (or WiDi2). You just need the latest Netgear Push2TV receiver to use the WiDi2. As for the other wireless devices in this laptop, the RC512-S02 includes 802.11n Wi-Fi and WiMAX.

If you shoot video often, the 750GB, 5,400rpm hard drive is the largest available for a laptop, though faster spinning ones (7,200rpm) can be found in the Dell XPS 15 and Asus N53SV-A1. Two of the four USB ports are USB 3.0, which, when used with a compatible peripheral, can transfer data at 10 times the speed of USB 2.0. The rest of the features, including HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, a multimedia card slot, and a webcam, are what you would expect from a laptop of this caliber. The sound coming from the stereo speakers sounded a bit tinny.

Best Buy also has an extended warranty program, which offers customers a extra year of protection beyond the one-year warranty of most system manufacturers. There are two plans in this extended warranty program. The standard plan ($119.99) covers the system against normal wear and tear, power surge damage, and includes a "No Lemon" guarantee in which Best Buy will simply replace the computer if it requires more than 4 repairs during the coverage period. Best Buy's advanced plan ($219.99) offers all this, and also covers the laptop against accidental damage from drops and spillsOther special offers can be found online or in stores, like discounts on printers, software, and tech support plans which are available with any new consumer PC purchased through Best Buy.

Performance
The 2GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM quad-core processor is part of Intel's second-generation Core i platform (Sandy Bridge). Samsung didn't skimp on memory either, equipping the system with 6GB of RAM. This combination helped the RC512-S02 zip through Handbrake, a video transcoding test, with a score of 2 minutes 8 seconds—right in line with the Asus N53SV-A1 and Dell XPS 15 (Sandy Bridge). Only the MacBook Pro 15-inch did better, finishing under 2 minutes. The same went for Cinebench and Adobe Photoshop CS5 tests: It hung in there with the Dell XPS 15 and Asus N53SV-A1, but fell short of the MacBook Pro.

If you're a hard-core gamer, the RC512-S02 has that base covered, too. It uses one of Nvidia's newest graphics chips—the GeForce GT 525M, which is slightly inferior to the chips found in its peers. Nevertheless, it can handle many of the latest 3D titles, including the most demanding ones like Crysis and Lost Planet 2. The 3D graphics chip found in the Dell XPS 15, MacBook Pro 15-inch, and Asus N53SV-A1 is marginally better. The RC512-S02 also leverages Nvidia's Optimus automatic graphics switching technology that switches back and forth between the Nvidia chip (for 3D games and high definition video) and the integrated Intel chipset (for battery savings). Graphics switching technologies, which can also be found in the MacBook Pro, Dell XPS 15, and Asus N53SV-A1, are used more frequently these days for battery preservation.

With the help of Optimus, the RC512-S02 lasted 5 hours 35 minutes in MobileMark 2007, a very respectable battery score given its small 48WH battery. The MacBook Pro 15-inch and Dell XPS 15 ship with bigger batteries (77.5WH and 87WH, respectively) to offset their more powerful parts; their MobileMark scores (4:40 and 6:58, respectively) reflect that. A bigger battery option would have been nice, like the XPS 15's 9-cell option. Alas, the 6-cell is the only one available for the RC512-S02.

Though I wouldn't call it the most powerful laptop in the world, the Samsung RC512-S02 does offer quad-core processing, decent graphics power, and a sample of some of the hottest laptop technologies in a desktop replacement laptop. That, or go with the Dell XPS 15 (Sandy Bridge) or the cream of the crop—the Editors' Choice Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Thunderbolt).

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS
Check out the test scores for the Samsung RC512-S02

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Samsung RC512-S02 with several other laptops side by side.