13.3" Samsung NP900X3C with Ivy Bridge CPU

As Ivy Bridge release gets close, more references to the Samsung NP900X3C are appearing and it is now on the Samsung website:

The CPU listed everywhere is the i5-3317M, which is only one step faster that the i5-2467M in the NP900X3B, but maybe the better power efficient of the new CPU will enable it to run at its maximum TurboBoost speed under multi-threaded load (my i5-2467M seems to not exceed 2GHz under sustained load). The Intel HD 4000 graphics are also expected to be faster than the HD 3000.

The specs also show that the RAM is 1600MHz and the WiFi is an Intel 6235 which supports Bluetooth 4.

Externally, I would expect the NP900X3C to look the same as the B version.

John

 

its good that they have specced up some areas of the series 9, however to my mind its still completely restricted by the 4gb of RAM and also in many ways i cannot understand why samsung aren't putting their new 256Gb 830 drive into the mix as well.

i know we can bat around over and over about the cost effectiveness etc, but end of the day this is the flagship model for samsung laptops, to my mind even more so than the 15", and as such surely it deserves the very best components they can throw at it. its a premium showcase of what samsung can do and to know they are holding back is a bit poor show eh wot!

 

I agree. Very odd.

 

I agree that there should be the 8GB + 256GB (also i7 CPU and Windows 7 Pro) version on offer so that customers have a bit more choice.

John

 

personally i can happily make do with i5 and i usually upgrade straight to my ultimate anyway on a new laptop as i roll back old one to whatever it should be for sale

however, again on a flagship model, those options would seem logical to me and warrant the decidedly high price point, which basically your paying for a slick design for. there are others that are similar in footprint and weight, if not slimmer and lighter, as such its the shiny sexy design thats costing the big premium.

 

An 8gb memory with 256gb SSD model will eventually get released. There was a NP900X3B model that came with a i7 and 256gb SSD, and I don't think it was even listed on Samsung's website.

 

There's NT900X3B-A74 that has 256GB SSD and i7-2637M with 4GB RAM. however it's only released in Korea as far as I know.
NT900X3B-A74 - ?? | SAMSUNG

 

That's the one that has been spotted on ebay for an exorbitant price.

John

 

wow. $2899 is a lot. It's around $2000 in Korea right now. including leather case.

 

as above, the specced up super special models are rediculously priced, i mean dont get me wrong i know power costs money etc but nearly 3000 dollars is twice the price of the 'standard' model and basically as i have said before, the cost isnt wrapped up in the internals, its the engineering costs of the chassis, so theres no way it should be twice the price for one of that spec. memory is cheap (even to solder the chips to a board, the chips themselves are dirt cheap) cpu's are cheap and a step from i5 to i7 mobile is like $50 jump. the only pricey bit is the mSATA at 256gb and even that isnt over $1000!!!

 

I could do without 256GB I suppose, as long as it's upgradable. Crucial's going to release a 256GB msata soon, there'll probably be several more in the next few months. However, I can't deal with 4GB of RAM that's soldered to the board, it's a deal breaker. Way too easy to fill up 4GB, just leave firefox open for awhile! And an i7 with slightly better battery life (IVB = 6+ hrs I hope) would be nice...

 

If you want an Ultrabook, you had better get used to the idea that 4GB of RAM is in the spec. I think many of the small 13" machines will be sealed case designs and no user upgradable parts.

 

Nah, someone will get it right in the next round, but maybe not the S9. The toshiba and the S5 can already go to 8GB. You're right though, the dirty secret behind ultrabooks is that they're not meant to be upgradable. I have a 4-yr old dell xps 420 that still runs like a top for what I do. Even $500 laptops have acheived a level of performance that is satisfactory to 90% of users. So how do you keep people upgrading? Design a luxury product that looks cool, but delivers the bare minimum performance. Solder everything to the board, so when people run out of space or bog down their computer with too much bloatware, or kill the battery, they have to upgrade. I think the battery is the big one. Even if your needs are satisfied by an i5 and 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD and you know how to reinstall windows, you still wear out that battery that can't be replaced in 3 years!
However, manufacturers aren't stupid. Someone is going to say, yeah intel your spec sounds good and all, but I'm going to make something a little better and go after the power users. They may only be ~10%, but they are willing to pay $1500 as oppossed to $700, so I'll get a bigger margin. And I'm no longer competing with 50 other $700 machines in a race to the bottom dollar. I just think it's shortsighted of samsung to not even bother to have one board with the i5 4GB and one with the i7 8GB. But maybe they will or maybe Sony will get it right. After all, if I didn't want to make these choices, I'd get a mac!

 

So far I have found it for sale in Europe, in Hungary, many shops have it already. But it will have European plug +HU keyboard I suspect Any other countries have it available already?

SAMSUNG NP900X3C-A01HU Alumínium

http://www.notebookzone.hu/mid.php?l=SAMSUNG+NP900X3C-A01HU+Alumínium&mid=1&lkod=142&skod=12262

 

They may be listing it but I would be very surprised if it is in stock. They have also been listed in Scandanavia for several weeks. There are no drivers for the NP900X3C on the Samsung download site and past performance suggests that they go on the download site once the model starts production (which could be imminent given Ivy Bridge's official launch at around the end of this month).

I suspect that the UK will not see the NP900X3C for a couple of months. Samsung and the retailers will want to clear out the B version first (and there are still stocks of the A around). However, it may be that UK will see the 15" NP900X4C soon after launch.

John

 

I have emailed 4 Hungarian retailers who list it asking if its available for sale. Let`s see what they come back with.

I phoned Samsung UK yesterday and asked about Ivy Bridge model and they knew nothing, no idea whatsoever.

15" version is listed in Irish shops already for around 1800 Euros.

Any idea where to get NT900X3B-A74 in Europe?

 

That's no suprise if you are referring to the 13". Wait until the current models are sold out.

It's also been listed by some mainland UK etailers such as Insight for several weeks at ~£1250.

NT is a Korean model prefix. What are you wanting?: The i7 CPU or the 256GB SSD, or both. It seems to have only 4GB RAM (which is non-expandable). We might see both features in a few months time, but not soon.

John

 

I want Ivy Bridge i5 or Sandy Bridge i7. 4GB ram is enough for me, my Adamo has 4GB - never been short for memory. SSD - don`t care, will be getting top mSATA 256GB from US anyway, so will sell the one from Samsung on eBay once I get it. Also I want 1,600 x 900 screen.

 

Anyone knows if Samsung is planning a 11.6" version of S9 as well? Hopefully with a full HD screen like Asus is planning with UX21.

 

I'm sure the X3C will reach UK but it could be 2 or 3 months away. Amazon UK is expecting another box of X3Bs on 25th which I read as a sure sign that the X3C won't be following a couple of weeks later (too much risk of lots of returns).

Samsung's global download site has entries for various Ivy Bridge models but only lists NP900X1A and NP900X1B but no C (which appears to indicate Ivy Bridge for the other S9 sizes).

John

 

now there's official one in Canada
NP900X3C - OVERVIEW | SAMSUNG

according to some web-stores X3C is in 3-4 weeks ..

 

i found a promotion in NZ for pre-order. i think one can logically conclude that the product will be released very shortly after may 31st, the end date for the pre-order promotion. here is an excerpt from
http://www.samsung.com/nz/promotions/pdf/Series_9_Online_Redemption_Form.pdf
"
To claim your Samsung Omnia W Smartphone at RRP $699.00 NZD (“Bonus Gift” , pre-order a Samsung Series 9
Notebook model number NP900X3C-A02AU (“Participating Product” between 9:00 am NZST on 16.04.2012 and 6:00
pm NZST on 31.05.2012 (“Promotional Period” .
"

 

No 17W IVB till June, still time to put 8gb in samsung

 

Am I blind or I cannot see price? Pre-order and pay in full - but how much?

 

Has anybody found any web stores in Australia where Ivy bridge version has come up?

 

When are the standard voltage IB chips expected to land

 

This year.

 

may would be nice...just sayin..

 

The rumor is IVB quad cores will be released this week. Dual cores to follow in June. Supplies will probably be tight for some time, apple is expected to update their macair line and get priority for the chips

 

What are your sources?

Quad cores won't be included in these ultrabook specs. Specifically, the NP900X3C already has the processor spec posted, so it definitely won't have a IV quad core.

 

I read the same thing. Performance Ivy Bridge first. Not necessarily Ultrabooks, though.

 

Google "ivy bridge refresh". Of course the quad cores will not be for ultrabooks. Though there may finally be a 35W QC that works in a 1" laptop, perhaps even the sony s or z3?
So June is the estimate for the X3C's 17W Dual Core, for now. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if stocks are very tight for some time as Apple will most likely be hogging the same chips (as well as the 256GB samsung ssds) for their macair/macbook refresh. If you're thinking of upgrading you may want to pull the trigger now (if you can't wait that long) or wait till windows 8 Q3-Q4. Intel says there may be 100 "ultrabook" type laptops released this year. I'm going to wait and see, so far every one has a major flaw or two or three.

 

This BBC report is one source.

John

 

But is the BBC reputable?

All kidding aside, now that Intel has done their part and released the chipset, we'll have to wait for Samsung and others to disclose their models and timing. I would sure like to know when the new 13.3" and 15" are arriving at USA shores.

 

I think Samsung are waiting for Intel to give them enough chips. Drivers and Software for both the X3C and X4C are posted on the Samsung website. A browse through the X3C / X4C manual reveals no significant differences from the B series except for a page about connecting to 2 external displays.

John

 

When the X3C start selling will it have a higher price than the X3B?
I'm assuming Samsungs current VAT Cashback promotion is to get rid of the Sandy Bridge Ultrabooks so I guess we wont see better deals for the X3B than this one right? If we were to see a price decrease before the Ivy Bridge laptops it's this VAT Cashback....
I really need the S9 now but I will feel slightly regretful for not waiting for Ivy Bridge so I want to get the best deal for the Sandy Bridge S9.

 

Nice analysis 45cvi. And while I'm at it, welcome to NBR! I see you are a "newb tho clearly only to this forum/blog; you have clearly been around (shown by earlier post #13 on this thread). Can't ever have too many thoughtful people in the conversation.

One thing I haven't seen in detail that you usually do at this pt in the cycle is some IB demos running benchmarks. My interests include: 3DMark06 and pcMark7 scores for HD 4000 vs HD3000, fps comparisons for direct11x games as well, battery life for comparable IB vs SB dual core i5/i7, more of the same for quad core IBvs SB. I haven't found any on notebookcheck or anandtech as have seen at this pt of other Intel cycles. Kinda need more than anecdotal info to decide whether to look for SB "clearance" sales or wait for IB equipped versions to arrive.

Also taking from go45cvi - with all the UBs expected to roll out and, finally, reasonable expectations of sub-15" FHD. Hi briteness/contrast wide color gamut matte IPS or comparable displays on"affordable" notebooks and UBs, it may be that the display improvements, thin/light designs and true all day computing will eclipse both the CPU changes and Windows 8. Good time to keep your powder dry if you can...

 

well this is interesting...
looks like the 3c 13" can be upgraded to 8gb

http://www.pcafrance.com/images_spaw/NP900X3C_A01FR.pdf

 

They advertise a 7 hour battery life, its the same as X3B before it came out so maybe there is not much difference...

 

Based on this PDF file, it looks like the 900X3C may have different port locations or changes to the current 900X3B.

On the 900X3B, the left side has power plug, USB 3.0, mHDMI, and mLAN port. The left side has USB 2.0, headphone, mVGA, and Microphone.

From these very faint pics, it looks like the 900X3C has on the left side the power, (maybe) mHDMI, headphone, and one other small smaller port I can't make out (maybe mLAN). The right side looks like it has 2 USB port, and one other smaller port I can't make out either (perhaps mVGA). So that's total of 3 USB ports, but specs on that PDF file says there are only 1 USB 3.0 and 1 USB 2.0.

 

to me it looks like there are 3 usb ports, 1 on left and 2 on right in that pdf and they've moved the headphone jack to the left to accomodate the extra usb on the right!

 

Sounds like they're using pics of the 15" 900X4.

 

I agree. You can download the X3C / X4C user guide from the Samsung download site and it shows that the physical appearance is identical to the X3C / X4C.

Regarding the upgradeable RAM indicated by that French source, the document also says no RAM slots. I interpret the 8GB as being a manufacturing option. However, it is possible that Samsung may cash in on the better efficiency of the Ivy Bridge CPU to remove one fan (in which case a RAM slot would be possible), but using only one fan would either result in more fan noise or throttling of the maximum CPU speed.

John

 

By my measurements, the left hinge appears to be about 0.005 mm longer, suggesting that the display may be a bit heavier, possibly a PLS 1.0001 rather than the original PLS.

I have never seen such astute observations from two faint pictures and an abbreviated spec sheet. The Sony forum has nothing on you guys!

 

Yes, I know, I'm quoting myself, but I guess I answered my own question. See laptopmag.com's Ivy Bridge benchmark comparisons to Sandy Bridge, where all of the comparisons I sought in my post, above, are completed, but only on a quad core mobile cpu/gpu, the i7-3620.

Overall conclusions from this test:

1) The cpu and itegrated gpu performance promises (15% and 30% improvement, respectively) are met or exceeded.

2) Some Dirext11x games, like World of Warcraft, can be played, using HD4000, at 47 fps on "good" settings and 29 fps at "high" settings at native display setting of FHD, 1920 x 1080. Other examples showed frame rates roughly doubling at 1366x768 resolution - eg, Batman: Arhkham City 51 fps vs. 25 @FHD.

3) Major disappointment: no improvement in battery live vs. SB quad core cpu. Article in laptopmag says dual core i5 and i7 should show better relative battery life

Second set of benchmarks; just found on notebookcheck.net

 

also if you look at the ports list on the pdf it's clear they are the same as the 3b (so yes, the pic is probably of the 4c)

bc it has a dash next to memory slots i think your assumption is correct that it is 4gB non-upgradeable but a future model/variant will use an 8gb preinstalled module instead.

should i return the 3b, what do you guys think?

it looks like the 4c will have a 400 nit screen - i'm thinking that may be the best bet (4c), so i can have 8gb ram + good screen

 

A PLS screen is a requirement for my purchase. If they do that and there's still only a $100 difference between the 15" and and the 13.3", the 15" becomes the no brainer in my book. You get another USB port, two SoDIMM slots and better battery life.

Unfortunately we are all in "speculation mode" until someone gets their hands on the new machines and can confirm all of this.

 

Not to mention a screen PPI that my eyes can handle... and dedicated Home and End keys, for extra credit. Throw in a 256GB SSD and we've got the same book.

 

I disagree, if you look closely at the ports on the left side of the X4C and X3C they are in a different order, on the X4C it goes power/USB/Headphone/Micro HDMI/WAN/Microphone and on the X3C from the .pdf file in this thread it looks to be power/USB/WAN??/Headphone/Micro HDMI/Microphone

so theres a definate difference to my eyes...............

 

I think there was a coordination failure between brain and fingers in my previous post. What I intended to say was that the port layouts on the X3C / X4C appear to be identical to the X3B / X4B.

John