Galaxy Book3 Ultra is Samsung’s answer to arch-rival MacBook Pro (9/10, Recommend wired). Like Apple’s most powerful laptops, this new Ultra is classy, packs a lot of power, and comes with a hefty price tag.
This device is not a Samsung home product; Its limitation is that it is predictable. But if you’re looking for a MacBook Pro-like device that opens up the world of gaming for you, it’s well worth your consideration.
Extremely high specs
The Ultra shouldn’t surprise you if you’re familiar with the Galaxy Book series. Samsung didn’t take the risk—it’s still the same, but bigger, with the same metal body and refined styling. The thicker device has a 16-inch 3K Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, a bright and rich display that offers the added benefit of a 120 Hz refresh rate.
Don’t let the large screen fool you—it’s an incredibly portable machine that’s more comfortable than its 16-inch MacBook Pro rival. They’re similar in size, but the Ultra is almost a pound lighter than Apple’s version of the M2 Max, at 3.9 pounds (1.8 kg). In addition to needing a bag big enough to stow away, this is definitely a laptop that can be moved between work and home.
Thankfully, portability doesn’t lead to a lack of power—the combination of an Intel Core i9-13900H chip and an Nvidia RTX card makes for a powerful combination. My $3,000 review model has an RTX 4070, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The cheapest version costs $2,200 (£2,449), with an RTX 4050, i7-13700H, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Oddly enough, you won’t be able to choose the 32GB RAM model in the UK, which limits you to just 16GB.
Those are some steep prices, but the top-spec model I’m testing is $500 less than the 32GB of unified storage and a 16-inch MacBook Pro 1TB M2 Max SSD, and $200 less. la compared with the equivalent sample Razer Blade 16″ configuration – although the latter comes with a better processor.
Creative games and games
Photo: Samsung
The performance of the Galaxy Book3 Ultra is solid, if not impressive. For gamers, titles that focus on quality and detail are very good, with killer creed comfortably hit 60fps at Ultra settings on this 3K monitor. Same for border zone 3, with 3K Low or QHD Medium settings hitting 60 frames per second. IN top legendwhere fps is the most important, you’ll have to go down to the Low QHD setting to get the most out of this 120 Hz panel.
A surprising result is that this machine is surpassed by one of the few major titles running on macOS: Shadow of Tomb Raider. The 16-inch MacBook Pro M2 Max managed 120 frames per second on the QHD Ultra setting compared to 74 frames per second on the Samsung. Those who consider this a gaming device can certainly get more value elsewhere if classy design and portability are not a priority.
For advertising, the picture is more rosy. Samsung’s highest-spec Ultra falls behind the MacBook Pro only when comparing their performance in Adobe Premiere Pro. This laptop is more than capable of being a tool for creatives doing demanding editing work, but it lacks the capabilities of the M2 Max and, importantly, unlike our machine. Apple, it needs to be powered on to reach its full potential. Using this laptop when unplugged will see a significant drop in performance.
