Samsung Chromebook 3: At First Glance
One of the most appealing aspects of a Chromebook is the ability to buy a good laptop at a reasonable price. When it comes to finding a decent deal, the Samsung Chromebook 3 is no exception.
The Samsung Chromebook 3 is a budget-friendly laptop with decent hardware configuration. Furthermore, this laptop illustrates how capable inexpensive laptops can be.
If you prefer a lightweight laptop over a tablet, I believe the Samsung Chromebook 3 is the right choice for you.
Samsung Chromebook 3: Design, Dimension and Weight
As one might expect from a low-cost laptop, Samsung built the Chromebook 3 entirely of plastic. However, this does not imply that it is poorly constructed; in fact, the build quality is quite good.
The textured “metallic black” looks elegant in any setting. A silky-smooth palm rest and a slightly rounded lip on the chassis keep your wrists comfortable.
Furthermore, the subtle texture around the display reduces reflections caused by the shiny bezel. The hinge is sturdy and flexible, allowing the screen to be tilted up to 180 degrees.
Furthermore, the Samsung Chromebook 3 is small enough to tuck under your arm and light enough to travel with. It’s small and light, making it ideal for use as a Chromebook on the go.
Also, to help with the Samsung Chromebook 3’s durability it features a water-resistant keyboard, so there’s no need to panic if you accidentally spill water on it.
Moving on, the keyboard occupies a significant portion of the laptop’s body. The keys are big, elevated, and curved.
The big and elevated keys are comfortable to type and ideal for individuals with long fingers and those who type fast.
However, the layout of the Samsung Chromebook 3’s keyboard is my major complaint. Samsung would have separated the power button and the rest of the keyboard by more space.
For example, because the Backspace key is so close to the power key, you may mistakenly shut down the system without intending to. Additionally, it would have been great if the power key had a light that indicated how long I need to press the button to turn the device on of off.
For instance, when I press the power button to turn the laptop off, say after 30 seconds the indicator should blink to alert me that if I continue pressing the button the laptop will go off.
Furthermore, a very snappy and silky touchpad sits beneath the keyboard. The touchpad on the Chromebook 3 is quite large for an 11-inch laptop, measuring 99.06 x 55.88 mm.
The touchpad’s material, like the palm rest, is cool and smooth. The touchpad is also very sensitive, I recommend lightly tapping the device’s surface to navigate it.
Additionally, both sides of the laptop provides a good range of ports.
A slim jack for the AC adaptor, a USB 2.0 port, a full-size HDMI port, and a microSD card slot are all found on the left side. A USB 3.0 port, as well as a combined audio and microphone jack, are located on the opposite side.
Above the Samsung Chromebook 3 screen, you will find an HD webcam. To enhance video chats, the HD webcam has live effects such as Vintage and Big Eyes, as well as a Multi-Shot option for the camera.
My test selfie, taken with the HD camera, appeared to be a little noisy. Details like the blue flowers on my blouse and the wrinkles on my black couch were vividly visible.
The Samsung Chromebook 3 is one of the smallest Chromebooks ever. It measures 288.8 x 204.2 x 17.78 mm and weighs 1152.13g.
In comparison, the Lenovo Chromebook C340 is significantly heavier than the Samsung Chromebook 3. It weighs 1960 g and measures 361.5 x 248.85 x 18.95 mm.
Finally, for a laptop at this price point, the Samsung Chromebook 3 boasts a superb build quality. As a result, in this review, I give it an eight out of 10.
Samsung Chromebook 3: Processor (CPU) Performance
When it comes to performance on a low-price Chromebook you should not expect a very fast speed. The Samsung Chromebook 3 ships with Intel Celeron N3060 processor.
The processor has a base frequency speed of 1.6GHz, a boost frequency of 2.48GHz, and a 2 MB L2 cache.
To be honest, this Intel Celeron N3060 processor isn’t the fastest. Chrome OS, on the other hand, is not as processor-hungry operating system like Windows OS.
Furthermore, one of the best things about Chrome OS laptops is that you don’t always need the most powerful processors to perform your computing task.
With this processor, the Samsung Chromebook 3 delivers a solid performance in everyday computing operations. It handles web browsing, video streaming, and other everyday tasks excellently.
The laptop is capable of working with Google’s suite of applications, such as Google Docs and Gmail, as well as browsing the web. All these fundamental features are what customers buying a a Chromebook needs.
Fortunately, the Samsung Chromebook 3 provides them for everyday computing and multimedia use.
However, if you need to do a lot of number crunching on a large spreadsheet, the performance will be a problem. That doesn’t mean it can’t handle spreadsheets, but don’t expect it to perform well with a spreadsheet with thousands of rows.
To evaluate the processor performance of Samsung Chromebook 3 I carried out Cinebench R15 synthetic benchmark test.
In a single-core Cinebench R15 processor test, the Samsung Chromebook 3 scored 38 points. In the multi-core test, it scored 72.5 points.
Furthermore, when compared to the ASUS Chromebook C423NA, the laptop performs poorly. In the single-core test, the ASUS Chromebook C423NA received 50 points, and in the multi-core test, it scored 103 points.
As a result, in this review, I give the Samsung Chromebook 3 a six.
Samsung Chromebook 3: Memory (RAM) Performance
The Samsung Chromebook 3 comes with 2GB of RAM. It can take a maximum RAM capacity of 4GB. 4GB of RAM is insufficient when compared to a standard Windows PC.
Chromebooks, on the other hand, are designed to be less processor and memory hungry, as I previously stated. This explains why Chromebooks are far less expensive than a typical Windows PC.
It’s worth mentioning that the memory on the Samsung Chromebook 3 isn’t expandable. The memory isn’t expandable because it only comes with a single RAM slot, soldered to the computer’s motherboard.
The Samsung Chromebook 3 isn’t exceptionally slow, but its RAM performance isn’t particularly fast either. With seven Chrome browser tabs open, this laptop looked brilliant in a RAM performance test.
Unfortunately, the laptop began to slow down when I opened multiple apps at the same time. Its performance became even worse when I switched between online pages and running programs.
Furthermore, after 15 minutes of streaming an HD video, the bottom of the laptop began to get a little warm. Its bottom reached a blistering 105 degrees Fahrenheit, well over our comfortable temperature of 95 degrees.
The insulating plastic chassis, on the other hand, kept it cool on my lap. At 81 and 91 degrees, respectively, the touchpad and keyboard were substantially cooler.
However, this laptop’s overall productivity was decent for a low-cost Chromebook. As a result, it scores a seven out of ten for average multitasking performance in this review.
Samsung Chromebook 3: Storage Option and Performance
The Samsung Chromebook 3 has eMMC storage, which is a type of flash memory. It’s important to note that these types of storage are often smaller than a hard drive or an SSD.
Furthermore, just like its memory, the storage is soldered directly to the computer’s motherboard. The implication is that you won’t be able to expand the storage capacity.
The storage is limited to 16GB and, as previously stated, cannot be upgraded. Because the Chromebook’s storage capacity is limited to 16GB, you shouldn’t expect to be able to store a lot on it.
However, Chromebooks are designed so that you can save your files on Google Drive, and not on a local storage.
If you buy this Samsung laptop, you’ll get an additional 100GB of free cloud storage on Google Drive for the next two years. However, because this offer isn’t preloaded on the device, you’ll have to claim it on Google’s Chromebook Offers web page.
Moreover, if you need more storage to save files locally, Samsung offers a Micro SD slot on the laptop.
As we always do in our laptop reviews, to evaluate the storage performance of Samsung Chromebook 3, I ran a CrystalDiskMark benchmark test.
On the CrystalDiskMark test, the Samsung Chromebook 3 achieved a sequential read speed of 525 MBps. It also delivered a sequential write speed of 111 MBps.
In comparison to the Lenovo Chromebook C340, the Samsung Chromebook 3 performs poorly. In the same benchmark test, the Lenovo Chromebook C340 scored a sequential read speed of 1069 MBps and a sequential write speed of 130 MBps.
Overall, the Samsung Chromebook 3 had decent file storage options for its affordable price, but its storage speed was inadequate. As a result, in this review, I give it a six for storage options and performance.
Samsung Chromebook 3: Graphic Card Performance
The Samsung Chromebook 3 Intel HD Graphics 400 comes with graphics card. As expected, this isn’t a high-end graphics card.
Unfortunately, the graphics cards lack a dedicated VRAM. This means that the graphics card and the CPU share the same internal memory.
The Intel HD Graphics 400 also features a 320 MHz base frequency and has a boost frequency of 600 MHz.
This laptop may not be the ideal choice if you require a laptop for graphic design or high-end gaming. This isn’t a big deal, though, because it’s a budget device, so you can’t have everything.
When it comes to Android apps, you’ll be able to use the vast majority of them. However, more demanding apps, such as games with advanced graphic may not work well.
To give you an idea, the laptop can play simple games like Pac-Man and Pocket World 3D without lags or interruptions.
In a test, the laptop handled several casual web-based games, such as Cut the Rope, thanks to its integrated Intel HD Graphics 400. However, in the middle of a game, the 3D first-person shooter Web Quake, the laptop begins to slow down.
To further determine the Graphics performance, I conducted the WebGL Aquarium graphics test. Based on this test, the laptop rendered 2,000 fish in the tank at 23fps. All of its similar competitors performed far worse.
For example, the Lenovo Ideapad 100S-14, only managed 7 fps.
As a result, in this review, I’ll rate the laptop a seven because it outperformed similar laptops.
Samsung Chromebook 3: Battery Life and Performance
The Chromebook 3’s battery, according to Samsung, may last up to 11 hours. However, the battery lasted closer to 8-9 hours when I used it for heavy-duty tasks like continuous video streaming.
Generally, though how long the battery lasts depends on use. You may find that the laptop’s battery may get close to the advertised 11 hour mark if you use it for less intensive tasks.
It is worth mentioning that this laptop can get a full charge in around two hours of charging. This is a great feature as you can recharge as quickly as possible – particularly useful if you are always on the move!
This is not surprising, given that most Chromebooks have long battery life. Nonetheless, the Samsung Chromebook 3’s battery life is quite impressive.
To put its battery performance in perspective, it outperformed the Dell Inspiron 14 3000, which lasts only 9 hours.
In conclusion, I will rate the Samsung Chromebook 3 a nine in this review for its long battery life.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Samsung Chromebook 3 is an excellent laptop for school and entertainment, particularly for younger children and frequent travelers.
The Samsung Chromebook 3 does not have a touchscreen, but it does include additional Cloud Drive storage, improved performance, and a keyboard.
Yes, Microsoft Word can be used on a Chromebook. You can install Microsoft Office app from the Google Play Store.
Yes, you can stream Netflix from the Netflix website or the Netflix app. You can install the Netflix app from the Google Play Store on your Chromebook.
Some Chromebooks may have microSD cards, while others may not. Fortunately, the Samsung Chromebook 3 has a microSD card slot.
The major difference between Samsung Chromebook 3 and 4 is that while Chromebook 3 has 16GB of eMMC flash storage, Chromebook 4 can take up to 64 GB.
A DVD or CD player is not included with any Chromebooks. You may connect an external DVD drive to the Chromebook via a USB port.
Conclusion
The Samsung Chromebook 3 combines a low price and a lightweight design with enough performance and efficiency for daily use.
If you’re looking for an excellent budget laptop, the Samsung Chromebook 3 is a great choice. It’s extremely reasonably priced for a laptop, and it’ll be difficult not to be impressed when you consider the price.
However, I will not recommend Samsung Chromebook 3 as your main laptop. It will be excellent as a second laptop, especially if you need a laptop travel companion.
One downside may be its Chrome OS. For most users coming from Windows, using a Chrome OS may require some learning.
If you’re willing to give Chrome OS a shot, this Samsung laptop is an excellent option.
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