Samsung Series 7 DP700A3D-A01US Review

Pros

• The best styling we’ve ever seen in an AIO
• 23″ 1080p high brightness touchscreen
• Futuristic gesture controls
• HDMI in and out, USB 3.0, Bluetooth
• Wireless keyboard and mouse included

Cons

• 5400 RPM hard drive hurts overall performance

The Geek’s Take

All-in-ones are All-the-rage these days. They’re efficient, take up less space, and can often be found cheaper than a comparable desktop/monitor combination. Our research indicates that with the DP700A3D-A01US, Samsung has created an All-in-one that hits that marks you’re looking to hit, avoids any major missteps, and looks AMAZING doing it. Yes, it’s  a little more expensive than All-in-ones from Dell and HP, but if aesthetics are a buying factor for you (and they should be with an AIO), the Samsung DP700A3D-A01US is well deserving of your hard earned cash. This is our Editors’ Choice in the high end AIO category.

Full Review

Performance

Our primary concern when we first saw the Samsung DP700A3D-A01US, was if this would be the classic “form over function” product we so often see in the world of tech but those concerns were allayed pretty quickly. The Samsung DP700A3D-A01US features a 3rd gen  i5-3470T, a hyperthreaded dual core, low power processor with more than enough juice for all but the most hardware hungry applications. 6GB of RAM means that multitasking will be smooth and fluid with an overall snappiness factor that you’ll notice right away. And a 1TB hard drive leaves you plenty of room for all of your videos, pictures, and program installs.

The Samsung DP700A3D-A01US features a dynamo display with a 1920x1080p resolution (just like your HDTV) to match the impressive list of internal components.  Our research shows that customers rave about the clarity and brightness of the display, no surprise for a company known for their displays like Samsung. The touchscreen is an added bonus, especially when used with the installed Windows 8, although we suspect you’ll find yourself just using the mouse more than not.

The only real negative we’ve found from a performance perspective is the 5400 RPM rotation speed of the hard drive.  The slower hard drive rotation will cause programs to launch slightly slower and access to data to be a little sluggish compared to a 7200 RPM drive you might find in a standard desktop. Since the hardware cost difference between a 5400 and 7200 drive is only about $10, we do wish that Samsung had sprung for the upgrade, especially for a product at this pricepoint. Hardly a deal breaker, but disappointing nonetheless.

Design

The Samsung DP700A3D-A01US looks GREAT… like Tony the Tiger GRRRREAT. With its futuristic-looking stand, tiny bezel, and thin design, the Samsung DP700A3D-A01US is simply the best looking All-in-one that we’ve seen to date, resembling a high end HDTV like Samsung’s own gesture enabled Smart TVs. We won’t embarrass ourselves by going on and on over this AIO’s looks though – we’ll let these pics speak for themselves. And believe it or not, the Samsung DP700A3D-A01US is so much more than just a pretty face, packing a host of connectivity and boasting the hefty I/O listed below.

• 1 rechargeable USB 3.0 port
• 1 standard USB 3.0 port
• 3 standard USB 2.0 ports
• 2 HDMI ports with one input and one output
• 3-in-1 (SD/SDHC/SDXC)
• RJ45 (Ethernet)
• Microphone and headphone jacks

Warranty and Support

The Samsung Series 7 DP700A3D-A01US comes with a standard 1-year parts and labor warranty that includes access to an extensive online knowledgebase and email/phone support. We don’t have direct experience with Samsung support , but PCMag has rated them highly in the past with Reader’s Choice awards two of the past three years, mainly based on the overall reliabilty of their products. As with most tech companies, Samsung does teir and farm out their support, so be prepared for possible language barriers and some frustration if you do have to contact them. Unfortunately though, that does come with the territory in the tech world.

Value

Yes, we know, the Samsung DP700A3D-A01US is a little more expensive than other touchscreen All-in-ones from the likes of Dell and HP, but our research shows that this is a definite “get what you pay for” situation. Samsung’s Series 7 products in general, and the Samsung DP700A3D-A01US specifically, have been rated much more highly for overall performance and reliability, not just by yours truly, but by other professionals like PCMag and consumers on Amazon. The specs and design really speak for themselves, in our opinion. And when you consider the fact that a decent desktop and touchscreen monitor combination will cost you around $1000 anyway, the $999 pricepoint of the DP700A3D-A01US starts to be a little less scary. Honestly, $1000 is not an unreasonable price for an All-in-one – just check out the price of some iMacs if you don’t believe us.

Summary

The  Samsung Series 7 DP700A3D-A01US brings home the bacon and fries it up in the pan. It features solid specs, a crisp, bright 23″ display deserved of the Samsung name, and looks amazing doing it. We have some slight concerns about the rotation speed of the hard drive, but not enough to keep it from becoming our Editors’ Choice in this category. It’s the All-in-one we’d buy, and the one you should too.