13.3" Samsung NP900X3C with Ivy Bridge CPU

I agree, for a high tier product an 8GB option is necessary these days. Frankly it should be standard. But the samsung memory roadmap that was posted a few days ago indicates they will not be producing an 8GB DDP till Q2 2013. Perhaps another manufacturer will beat them to market (and they will use their DDP) or they could redesign the internals to allow for traditional modules. I doubt either will occur, they will probably wait till the haswell version. I think they are willing to lose a few power users for now, or assume they will migrate to the 15". I'm torn between settling for the S9 4GB or waiting for the XPS13 refresh with 8.

 

Does anyone know how scaling works with Ubuntu? Perhaps a question better left for the Ubuntu forums...

 

I would imagine the Samsung isn't much different than any other machine with the Intel HD 4000. Except for the fact is has a better screen than most.

Like our esteemed mod, I just couldn't settle for 4GB RAM. I really dig the NP900X3 otherwise. Assuming buyers will jump to the 15" for more memory isn't a totally flawed strategy. I just like the form factor of the 13.3" better.

It seems the XPS 14 Ultrabook is getting decent praise from the owners. If the XPS 13 comes out with a 1600x900 screen and 8GB of memory, I would consider it but with 1366x768 no thanks.

 

XPS 13, 1600x900, 8GB, Windows 8 - end of September my friend.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yeah, 4GB is a fail in my book. Still, after playing with this machine at a local Futureshop branch, I'm in love! I desperately crave for more RAM but this little wonder is so good in every other respect, I'm very tempted to pull the trigger.

 

So it got pushed up? Just gotta put W7 on there and it'll be perfect.

As an aside, does anyone have the S9 and an infinitv tuner (or other cablecard setup)? If so, are you able to view pay channels on the display?

 

There aren't really any scaling issues with applications under Ubuntu. This is mostly an issue under Windows because Microsoft had to maintain compatibility with older Windows applications that made implicit assumptions about screen resolution that are no longer true today.

Here is a screenshot of Ubuntu 12.04 with Chrome and the forum page without scaling:
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/newuploads/x3ful.png

Here is a screenshot with Chrome and the page scaled by 125% in Chrome:
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/newuploads/wogvn.png

(Scale the screenshots so they measure 13.3" on your screen to get the same size when viewing.)

So from my experience with Ubuntu on various systems (everything from 11" to 24" screens), the User Interface of the desktop environment is always scaled to the right size. I never had to manually adjust fonts because they were too small or large. It is only that many websites are too small and you have to adjust them in the browser. However, I assume this to be the case on Windows and Mac as well based on how most websites define their screen layout.

 

The Thinkpad X1 Carbon will have a 1600x900 screen, but I wonder what the chances of Lenovo putting a decent quality screen in it are?
As of late, they have not been into using better panels. Being a Thinkpad, it will undoubtedly support 8GB and likely have a better keyboard
than the S9, but the display would be the question mark.

 

According to the early reviews, Lenovo is actually putting a higher quality panel in the X1C. Apparently it isn't an IPS panel, but supposedly a good quality display.

Waiting like everyone else for final specs and pricing. That should be announced this month.

 

Yep. Can't wait to see the X1C in more detail. A high quality TN screen could win me over if a good 256GB SSD is offered. I've heard there are inventory listings of 256GB models even. Samsung JUST lost me on this bit. The S9 13" is a solid device from my experience with it otherwise.

Even the Zenbook Prime intrigues me with how good of a display it has. But quality issues buyers have been seeing has put me off. I'm still considering the Asus and Samsung, but at this point the Lenovo could win me over. I don't mind waiting another 1-2 months if it's the right laptop for me.

 

Can I upgrade the original specs to 8GB or 16GB and the ssd to 512GB?
Is it an easy process if I did it by myself or it is not douable?

 

For what? The Samsung NP900X3C RAM is not user upgradable.

 

is it 1600 standard memory? I will take it out and put 2 of 4GB.
unless it is in the motherboard, then i can't?
What about ssd?

I am about to buy one after 1 hour from now. If the RAM not upgradable even by me (I don't care about warranty) then I will not buy it.

 

The 2012 NP900X3 Series 9 13.3" machines have soldered memory and is limited to 4GB. We've been talking about it for months.

 

Many thanks.
In this case I shall waite for somthing else (i.e. Zenbook)

 

Hey guys,

I've been MIA for a while and haven't caught up over the 20 or so pages since my last post but just wanted to say I picked up the 256GB i7 version of the Ivy Bridge S9 available in Korea. My keyboard has both English and Korean keys on it and I had to upgrade Windows to Ultimate to switch the language to English but after one day's use it already feels great.

I ended up paying $2100 for the luxury of the extra memory and faster processor. I'm not to tech savy so didn't want to have to deal with unscrewing the bottom and possibly voiding the warranty while doing it so paying up the premium for getting it all pre-sorted was my preference.

It's a pretty silent notebook and can barely feel it my lap right now. My only complaint so far would be that sometimes the trackpad often registers my one-finger-click as a two-finger-click and as a consequence I end up right-clicking alot.

 

Problem with Lenovo is that the screen is most likely going to suck. They simply can't get it right it seems. the x230 has a nice ips panel but lacks resolution. The X1 is supposed to have a 900p panel but will have poor color gamut and viewing angles. Only their 15" systems have one decent panel - 95% gamut TN 1080p. I wouldn't hold my breath for the carbon X1.

Extra memory? How much RAM do you have???

 

4Gb. Korean version A74 with i7 still has 4Gb ram.

 

No miracles then... too bad. This laptop would be 10x more attractive if it had 8gb ram.

 

Hello ranger288
Seems expensive. Paid $1675 here in Hong Kong for same, and no hassle with "special" keyboards and Windows Upgrades.
Can you pls check what brand and type SSD is installed? Mine is a Lite-On LMT-256M3M.
As you said, it is silent. Have not used the touchpad enough to find problems, as I mostly use a separate mouse.

 

For those craving more ram: realize that, after the screen, an idling laptop loses most battery due to ram. And 8GB uses twice as much as 4GB. In other words, you pay for the extra 4GB with lowered battery life - and for an 13.3" this laptop is already low on battery (both with idle power usage quite high and a smaller battery).

I personally am fine with the memory - compiling and such doesn't fit on this thing anyway. The bigger SSD is now available in Europe - at least I saw it in
Swiss on-line stores. When I travel to Taiwan later this year I hope I can pick one of these S9's up to replace my seriously aged Vaio TZ ;-)

 

Well I'm currently using the 15" with 8GB, and I wouldn't buy this model in a year, I almost shudder to purchase one now without miniDP

 

Can you link to the swiss online stores you refer to? What is the model name on these?

 

Does this laptop use embedded displayport or lvds for the panel interface? I assume the former?

 

I realize that. Problem is, I need more RAM as I do virtualization and am on the go 70-80% time

 

The effect on your battery life is nearly negligible. I would guess at most 10 minutes of a full charge. I can't imagine a situation where you would have a laptop idling on battery with the screen off for >12 hours. Either plug it in or hibernate. I for one, would certainly take the hit for 8GB.

 

I don't know what the hit is - from a conversation I had with a techie here (at a tech conf) I got the impression it's certainly more than that but I personally wouldn't know and he was more of a mobile phone engineer, so things might be very different there.

About what swiss store:
here
(tip: found it with google ;-) )

 

Even if it did have a noticeable impact on power consumption (which is highly debatable), Samsung should at least give consumers the option with another higher spec'd model. I'm fine with 4 GB as well, but it doesn't mean everybody else should be fine with 4.

 

I think that a SODIMM can draw at least 2W when under load (active read / write) but I suspect that the power consumption is much less when idle. I can get my NP900X4C down to about 5W under maximum power saving which is shared between the CPU, display, RAM, SSD and the various other chips.

A related question is what voltage is your RAM operating at? Ivy Bridge supports lower voltage RAM but it seems that Samsung put standard 1.5V modules in my X4C. 1.35V should reduce the RAM power consumption by around 20% (ie proportional to V squared).

John

 

I am running a battery test on my new MacBook Air right now. It has 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD (Samsung). It's coming up on the 2 hour mark and is presently at 86% battery life remaining.

 

I wouldn't consider 8GB of RAM high-speced, but I do consider 4GB of RAM as low budget. What computer today doesn't come with 4GB of RAM? High-speced today would be 16GB of RAM, which I would also likely pay for but wouldn't rule something out like if it only packed a measly $18 worth of 4GB RAM http://www.pricewatch.com/gallery/system_memory/so-dimm_ddr3_4gb

Series 9 with 4GB of RAM is like a Lamborghini with a Toyota Camry engine.

 

I've just placed the order for the 900X3C. After 8 years with different IBM / Lenovo X Series notebooks I'm quite anxious to see if the samsung can replace my x200s. The biggest question is if I can get accustomed to using a trackpad instead of a trackpoint.

I still got one question regarding battery management options. I've already learned from this thread that there is the posibility to limit charging to 80% in order to keep battery health.

On my thinkpad I have this option too. But there is also a setting that allows me to define at which percentage, loading should start. This way I can define that battery is loaded to 80% an loading starts only if the battery % drops below 20%.

I use my notebooks 95% of the time with the psu plugged in so this setting is good to keep battery health. Is there an option for a lower limit on the samsung too?

 

Great post. I own both the 2012 MBA and the NO900X3C, so I thought I'd add my 2 cents.

The 1/2 inch smaller footprint on the X3C may not seem like much, but it is actually noticeable when I'm sitting in Coach class. I do notice the weight difference, but both are very light. One huge advantage to the MBA is the power adapter AND the mag-safe connector. I'm glad I have a 2 year protection plan on my X3C because I'm just waiting for the little power plug to snap off the mobo. I have this X3C because that happened to my 20 month old Sony Z1 (Microsoft Store gave me a full store credit for the X3C). In fact, in the last 10 years, I've had the power port break on 2 Fujitsus, 1 Toshiba and 1 Sony.

I agree on the resolution ... pretty much the same. But its definitely worth noting that these are two very different displays. The X3C's viewing angles are fantastic, but the colors are a bit washed out compared to the MBA. I love the matte no-glare of the X3C, but I also love the punchy contrast and colors of the MBA. They are both very good, just very different. I do love the slim bezel on the X3C vs. fat bezel on MBA (why can't they fit a 14" in there?)

I use OS X on my MBA, so I can't speak to boot times, but they both boot up super fast with their native OS.

I completely agree on the keyboards and trackpads. The keyboards feel VERY similar to me. Both are about as good as one can expect in such a slim laptop. Both are very solid with virtually no flex. Once I got used to the limited key travel, I was fine with either.

This is where I have to disagree. I have noticed a big difference between SSD performance in the MBA and the X3C. I ordered a Crucial M4 to replace the U100 (should arrive today.) If I didn't have the option to replace the SSD, this thing would be going back to the MS Store. My X3C chokes fairly often when I try to do multiple things at once with the SSD. I have never noticed a single choking incident with the MBA or my 2010 Sony Z1 for that matter.

The MBA definitely has the edge on battery life, especially in OS X, but the Samsung is much quieter in my experience so far. I can't believe how quiet this thing is. The fans rarely even kick on, and when they do, they aren't very loud. The MBA is significantly louder than the X3C in my experience.

Both are solid laptops. The Samsung is a bit more expensive, especially considering you have to swap out the SSD to get equivalent performance that comes standard with the MBA. And of course, the 4GB memory limitation on the X3C is a legit deal breaker for a lot of people (not for me). But overall, I like both of them. If I could only have one and money were no object, I'd take the X3C over the MBA. But I'm glad I have both.

 

How are you liking the Air? I'm sure I'm not the only one here torn between a Series 9 and a MacBook Air.

 

Nothing so clever is offered (yet). The Samsung will do a top-up charge once the battery drops below 77%.

If you look inside you should find that the power socket is not soldered on the board but is separately mounted in the chassis (which is why it may feel slightly loose). Most likely to break first is the thin power plug but this looks slightly less fragile on my X4C's PSU where the power tip has changed to L-shaped compared to the straight plug previously provided.

You can try using my calibrated display profile that I posted in the X3B thread.

ThSandisk U100 chokes on multiple I/O. You will find the m4 to be much better in this respect.

The two fan arrangement is the positive outcome of the single soldered RAM module. The X4C has only one fan and it gets much noisier if the CPU gets loaded.

John

 

I had a Sandy Bridge based Air and liked it very much. I sold it earlier this year knowing all of the Ultrabooks were coming and didn't want to tie the money up.

The Ivy Bridge based Air is much better. The extra 4GB of RAM is exactly what I needed. I can now allocate a significant amount of RAM to a Windows VM under Fusion. USB 3.0 is also great. The Thunderbolt port drives any of my LCD panels at their native resolution.

My battery test has been running 7 hours and the battery still has 27% remaining. That beats the MacBook Pro Retina test I did by a wide margin.

In short, the Air is still the one to beat.

The real question I'm struggling with is the Retina. I sold the one I bought to a friend. I am in the queue for another one but it's still going to be at least three more weeks. I can afford to keep both but I might want the X1 Carbon, Surface RT, Surface Pro, etc. This year is going to blow through my technology budget by about 200% if I do everything.

So something from the Apple clan probably needs to be cancelled, returned, or sold later.

It's a good problem to have.

And to wrap on the Samsung, I really wanted one for my collection but Samsung made some decisions I decided went against what I really want in a machine at that price point. The 13.3" needs 8GB of memory for me to be happy. The 15" just needs a higher quality screen. After using the 13.3" PLS, I am not going to compromise on that.

 

Jesus, and I thought I spend a lot of money on computers!

 

Funny you mention that. I see the amount of money people spend on cars, houses, motorcycles, boats, women, drugs, etc. and think I am rather frugal compared to them.

 

I spend most of my money eating out, I'm a lazy slob and can't cook for ****

 

Gotcha. Thanks for the update -- and enjoy your laptop collection!

 

Driver for webcamera

I made a new Windows 7 Home Premium install on my X3C.
The Samsung Easy Software Manager does not offer a driver for the internal camera (web camera).
However, the Samsung support website lists a XP driver.
Do I have to install the XP driver or is the necessary camera driver incorporated in another driver?

 

The webcam is a Cyberlink Youcam. There should be a Cyberlink Youcam software package on the drivers and software backup disc that you make using Samsung Recovery Solution. Installing that package provides the webcam driver and a control panel. Because the Youcam software is a paid-for product it is not available on the Samsung download site.

John

 

hello John
Thanks for the reply. I am not a specialist and have some trouble understanding what you mean.
I made a clean windows installation, with a C: partition for programs, D: for data and a hibernation partition (using your procedure from your other thread. great!). So I do not have a partition for a Samsung recovery solution. But I have a "system recovery media" DVD. Can I find the Cyberlink Youcam software package or driver on the DVD? If not where can I find it? On somebody elses notebook?

 

It's not on the Windows disc but would be on another disc if you had made it before deleting the recovery partition. Unfortunately, Samsung have not been prominent enough about the need for users to make this backup media, perhaps on the assumption that people clever enough to delete the backup partition would first make a backup of the contents.

Send me a pm with your email address and I'll send you a copy of the Cyberlink package.

John

 

Well, if you're ok with the glossy and mediocre screen on the MBA - then yes, 8gb RAM makes it count. For me, the SS9's panel is miles ahead of the competition. Technically, the new Zenbook Prime has a better res and the Sony Z higher gamut, but the glossiness and poor gamut is what's killing it for me in Apple products.

At this point, I'd rather switch to a bulkier X230 and have a lower res but no compromise on the rest of the components, not to mention the upgradeability to up to 16GB RAM and over 1TB storage.

I'll probably consider ultrabooks when they get more RAM + good quality screen.

 

I don't disagree with the praise for the 13.3" PLS panel. It is awesome. But the total package has to be considered and the MBA screen is no slouch.

• The Sony Z is an overpriced piece of <bleep>.
• The Zenbook Prime is hamstrung at 4GB of RAM.
• The X220 and X230 are ugly and thick. I already have a posse of ThinkPads.

I know you dislike the Macs. There are a lot of people that don't and also don't agree with your screen assessment.

Did you read AnandTech - The next-gen MacBook Pro with Retina Display Review ? Do you also disagree with Anand's assessment?

 

Hi John, I sent you a PM. I love the SS9 but Samsung tainted the experience with hard to get software and an incomplete backup solution. Ridiculous. The Zenbook Prime's AI Backup restored the partitions and everything before I sent it back. They need to get their business in order and maybe work on a better naming convention for the model variations as well!

 

I didn't check out the full capabilities of Samsung Recovery Solution but did make a backup of the drivers and software. It's worth investing in a better backup package such as Acronis TrueImage (which I also use for cloning).

John

 

The screen is great but it is glossy even though they claim 75% glare reduction. It's as glossy as the MBA's and in my book it's unacceptable. They should at least have offered a matte option at an increased cost.
The screen is good for anything but it's still lacking the gamut, IMHO. Also, with it's extra scaling, it requires a more powerful GPU. I don't think the HD4000 can really handle it, even the 650M is struggling at some points.

rMBP is an interesting machine but that's it. It's 15" and being a 2kg slate is out of the equation for me. I need a powerful upgradeable ultraportable, which I could use while holding it in one hand and typing with the other. SS9 would be a great fit if it had 8GB RAM.

 

Its really helpful to follow you guys in this discussion. Thanx for for all the efforts in comparing the S9 to other laptops.

I also didnt like the rMBP. The resolution ist just too much to use it properly yet. And the screen is glossy.

For the S9: I bet that before Xmas there will be 8GB, 256GB versions available. Next year hopefully thunderbolt and/or displayport. I will just wait for the 8GB version. Still a shame that they dont use their own SSDs. So far all my Samsung products were superb (X30 laptop, NC10 netbook, Wave mobile phone) while my apple products pretty much annoyed me - yeah I bought the heavily overprized first version Ipod nano that broke the next day, and I didnt believe that it is not possible to drag n drop stuff. For the MBA Lion increased fan noise and they do not allow installing Snow Leopard.....so Samsung: Help me Obiwankenobi you arey last hope