13.3" Samsung NP900X3C with Ivy Bridge CPU

EDIT: I know chrome is notoriously bad for this sort of thing but on my old dell m1530 laptop it worked much smoother than this.

ps this shop has the new samsung 256gb in stock https://www.insight.com/search/ppp.web?materialId=NP900X3C-A04US&psrid=21338223 only 7 left though!

 

Yep, nom nom. Posted last page.

 

I just pulled the trigger and bought this baby.

What should I do when setting up my new laptop? I know I'll have to go through all the Windows update, but what else should I update?

Its been a while since getting a new laptop. Any help is much appreciated =)

 

Hey I'm in Shanghai and am considering a trek to HongKong to pick one of these up - can you put up any info of which store you picked it up from? Did they keep it in stock or did you have to wait for them to get one in?

Cheers

 

are you sure this is because of chrome? can you check in task manager what other processes are running and consuming CPU power?? since it is a new computer, it might be the windows indexing that runs and uses CPU power until it's done.

 

hello jakobsladderz
I bought mine 3 weeks ago: Ivy bridge i7 3517U, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD liteon LMT-256M3M. I made a crystalDiskMark test and it was confirmed on this website in earlier posts that the speed is very high.

 

He was asking where you bought it.

 

The website was freezing up. I could not continue my post. I will edit my post as soon as it works again.

 

When I try to edit my previous post, there is no reaction to mouse or keyboard. So here is a continuation.
Three weeks ago, there was only the spec available which I described. Standard price everywhere was 13780HKD and I paid 13000HKD cash.
At that time, some shops were running low on stock as the S9 was just introduced and selling like hotcake. I bought mine in a small shop and they had 3 on stock.
When I was shopping around, I saw the S9 in the Fortress shopping chain, and in some smaller shops. There is also a dedicated Samsung shop in the Times Square shopping center (floor 7 or 8).
Warranty is international, but for service, it has to be returned to a Samsung Hong Kong service center.
Before you come to Hong Kong, I can check the situation again if you want.

(glad I could finish this post without problem)

 

Does anyone notice, how hot the laptop gets when you are running something intensive on it, say Diablo 3. The heat is quite unbearable. Perhaps upgrading to 8gb RAM would help?

 

What are the settings of your power profile? Is the CPU running at full speed when on mains power (HWiNFO will show you what is happening). You need a performance on demand setting which lets the CPU slow down when it is not busy (the Samsung Optimized profile is a good place to start).

John

 

Remove windows and put on a proper OS - Linux, that is - should fix quite a few issues like bloatware, performance and security problems ;-)

Note that your chrome issues could easily be - well, Chrome issues. They do releases what, weekly these days? And you don't notice its upgrades so maybe, next month, the problem is suddenly fixed...

 

i think 8 gb ram and 256gb ssd are basically necessary.. i'm going to upgrade the hdd myself, don't want an i7 processor because it will kill the battery life (same with extra ram but i think that's worth it - shame i can't upgrade that myself).

 

That is interesting, my X3C does not do this when charging. The fans on mine rarely come on ... and even when they do ... they are very quiet. I have noticed that the actual PSU gets extremely hot when charging and then cools down once the battery is topped off. But the actual computer does not get much hotter and my fans don't kick on.

Sure.

That is really disappointing. The more I read/hear about Windows 8, the less I want it.

It might not be a bad idea to get a fresh install of Windows. I bought my X3C at the Microsoft Store which comes with the Microsoft Signature image (aka NO BLOATWARE). I use chrome 90% of the time and haven't encountered any of these issues. Chrome definitely has its problems with certain sites, but I haven't seen any kind of random cpu spikes, etc.

In my opinion, the SSD upgrade is necessary because of the horrible performance of the u100. I love having the extra 120 GB, but it would have been a tougher decision if the X3C came with a decent 128 GB SSD. My X3C is so much smoother since I upgraded to the 256 GB Crucial M4. I know many people don't think its a big deal, but for me it was huge.

 

I found the i7 processor and 256GB of the 13.3'' version from Samsung NP900X3C A02AE Ultrabook | Buy Samsung NP900X3C A02AE Ultrabook in Dubai UAE

I'm buying it!

 

The problem is that you are listening to someone that doesn't know what they are talking about. If you want to understand more about scaling improvements in Windows 8, read the article at Scaling to different screens - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

To say nothing changed is utter rubbish.

 

I think this was aimed at me, and edpowers got caught in the crossfire, sorry!

Anyhow, not being a Windows 8 developer, I have had very limited exposure to Windows 8. The scaling adjustment works, on paper, like Windows 7 where you can set 125%, 150% or a custom scaling.

The article indicates that Windows 8 can handle scaling better if the app is written properly. It is great to know that major applications will likely look good when scaled. However, almost all current apps will not.

That is what drove me nuts when I tried a new Zenbook - at 1920x1080 I had to scale Windows 7, and a lot of the scaling looked fine, but much of it did not.
Browser searchbars, menu sizing, odd-ball text sizes - anyone who has used scaling in Windows 7 has seen these.

That Windows 8 has the potential for these issues to not exist is great, but it will take some time.

If you are like me, and have tons of apps from the past few years that work fine in Windows 7 @ 100% and expect them to scale in Windows 8, they probably will not.
You are going to have to wait for the "Windows 8 compatible" version, and read the docs to see that they have supported new scaling standards.

Thanks for the article, Thors. Hammer, but, perhaps you could post that I was incorrect, instead of saying "to say nothing changed is utter rubbish."

 

What I dislike is this pervasive attitude on the grid that people seem to have towards bashing products that they don't have direct experience with. I see it on all products and platforms. Windows 8 certainly isn't immune to it and apparently neither is Mountain Lion and the new Macs.

My comment was more directed at the edpowers remark, not yours. It was a contributing factor though.

I run Windows 7 at 150% on a 27" Dell all day long. It's awesome. The native resolution of this LCD panel is 2560x1440 and at 100% DPI it would drive me nuts by the time I finish my coffee. 125% is ok. 150% DPI rocks.

So using High DPI is a requirement. I have run Windows 7 and 8 at 200% DPI on the MacBook Pro Retina I had. It was also fantastic. The environment, pictures, font hinting, etc. were all very nice and it will continue to improve. Windows 8 and Mountain Lion haven't even shipped yet so there will be bug fixes and improvements.

I need to go see the Zenbook Prime for myself. You definitely have me curious.

Sorry I came off as too harsh but the whole "I heard" thing bugs me. I would much rather see direct experience like yours.

 

According to Samsung, the A04US should be available (soon) at Best Buy Business.

For Canadians interested in the A04US (maybe it's just me?), I did some leg work to find oot aboot shipping costs. I used my Vancouver address for quotations:

PC Connection

1,723.41 base cost + 44.36 UPS shipping = 1,767.77 USD
After conversion = 1,800.30 CAD
12% BC sales tax = 2,022.47 CAD

I also asked if they could verify if the SSD was Sandisk or not. No firm answer, yet.​

Insight

Useless.
Emailed their US address (it's a US-only model) and they suggested I call the Canadian office number.
I asked if there was an email I could use instead: "Unfortunately there is none." What??
Called Canadian number: nice guy, but (as predicted) he can't get it for me.
Emailing US guy once more asking if they ship to Canada at all. (Verdict: They do not.)
​

>>>If anyone has received an NP900X3C-A04US, can you please let us know what model your SSD is?<<<

 

Can anyone else provide some direct comparisons between the displays of the 900X3C and the UX31A (with more emphasis on viewing angles, contrast, and colors than on resolution)? And/or perhaps between the 900X3C and the Envy 14 Spectre? Please and thank you!

 

^I'll buy the UX31a soon, and I'll compare the 2 when I get the chance.

Does anyone know if upgrading to the M4 Crucial 256gb SSD improve the performance? Also, wouldn't that void the warranty if you change the SSD? Unless, you just swap back in the stock SSD.

 

Even if Insight and PC Connection were good e-tailers (I have not ordered from them, but from their reviews, very few people are happy with them)...

You are likely never going to find an online merchant who would be willing to open a sealed product, and fire a unit up so that they could see device manager and tell you which SSD is in a notebook - never going to happen.

I know that there was going to be a Microsoft Store opening in Toronto, and they carry the A03US here (yes, I know that is like 3,000 miles east of you) and they do returns within 14 days here.

Other than that, how important is a TPM chip to you, do you plan to use one for encryption?

If not, I really think that moving up to an i7 is not going to buy you much over an i5, especially in a ULV CPU that is not a true quad-core, and running 4GB of RAM, am I not correct?

Bottom line...I think your best deal would still be to get an A01, or an A03 if you need a TPM chip, and swap the SSD for a 256GB fast one, and either toss the Sandisk in a drawer until the warranty expires, or put it in a mSATA to SATA adapter and use it as a drive in a desktop PC or put it in an external box with USB 3.0.

If you are simply wanting the A04 for the i7 vs the i5 I think you are fooling yourself as to the difference in capability between the two, and you may get less battery life with the i7.

 

I asked them to ask Samsung, not necessarily to open a box. Besides, it doesn't hurt to ask. Also, you'll noticed that I've asked anyone here who receives an A04US to check as well.

Unlike the Asus Zenbook Prime, swapping out the hard drive does affect warranty, even if you keep it on-hand. I've had a couple of bad eggs in my history, even with good manufacturers - I'm willing to pay the extra to have the work done for me. I want the package, not the parts, and look - there it is.

I'm heading to Toronto in a couple of months (I'm from there), but still - I want the A04. Battery life is already going to be affected with my use of Ubuntu, so I'm never expecting to get 7 or so hours - I'm happy with three or more.

That being said, cheers for making me think about my purchase. I'm still swayable, and always am glad to hear more options. I'm heading to the Samsung store (oooo!) near here on the weekend. I know they won't carry the A04US, but I'm hoping I can get a good chat with one of the reps.

 

Asking them to ask Samsung makes the most sense.
I did notice that you asked anyone receiving an A04 to check and reply and that also makes great sense,
unless they have a "lottery" on the 256GB drive, and one customer may get a different SSD from another, which is always a risk.

Also, I did not know that swapping a hard drive on a Series 9 would affect
warranty. If so, I am VERY happy to know that, because my primary option
now was to keep the A01US that I have and do that very thing!!
Is there particular text on Samsung's site that you are referring to regarding such warranty voiding?
If so, I would greatly appreciate your posting a link to it.

I would never try to sway anyone away from a decision that they have made and are happy with.
I have enough trouble deciding on computers and parts myself!

 

What about this place:
Samsung NP900X3C-A04US - SERIES 9 13.3IN NOTEBOOK I7 3517U 1.9G 4GB RAM 4GB DDR3 256GSSD 13.3 LED HD 400N They say they only ship to US, but you could use a forwarding company.

 

If you get the Sandisk U100 then there is a noticeable improvement under certain conditions from replacing it for a better SSD. The U100 caused my X3B to temporarily freeze if I loaded a program which caused Windows to need to dump some RAM into the swap file. However, under light usage any difference will be minimal. The other benefit is having a decent amount of storage space.

I am of the opinion that provided one restores the computer to the as-supplied condition and have not caused any damage while swapping the SSDs then the warranty will not be affected.

The chances of anyone in Samsung outside the factory knowing which SSD is used is small. The label on the box only shows the size, not the model.

John

 

Hi, guys. I have a few questions, if that's OK...

1. I saw on a review on Amazon that a fellow had repeated problems with quality control on the NP900X3C, though eventually he received one in good working order. Have people typically found that the first one is just fine, so far? For me, dead/stuck pixels or bad backlight bleed tend to be a deal-killer, especially if the display is supposed to be good, so I'm mainly wondering about that.

2. How is Samsung's support, overall, in terms of repair and general warranty service? I'd be coming from Dell, with whom I've generally had a good experience. The Asus UX31A looks attractive, but I have found the user reports (on NBR) about Asus' support to be discouraging, so I am wondering about the situation with Samsung.

3. Have people generally found their X3Cs to be quiet in day-to-day tasks (word processing, browsing, maybe some basic video watching, that sort of thing)? Notebookcheck's review of the X3 B indicated that it was quiet, but I wasn't sure about the X3C. Also, user experience can vary from official reviews; so, I thought I'd ask.

4. Anything I should be aware of generally with this model as a major caveat? (that is, apart from price, perhaps)

Thank you guys for your help ^_^

 

1. Perhaps that guy did get a bad display, but the 13.3" PLS panel is among the best.

2. Samsung's support is slowly improving but is a long way behind Dell. The technical knowledge of the support people suggests that they use standard scripts. They would learn more if they read these forums. Warranty repair services are contracted out to third parties whose quality is variable.

3. The X3C uses the same twin fan arrangement as the X3B so the noise (or lack thereof) should be similar. My X4C is much noisier.

4. Be aware that the 4GB RAM is soldered and is non-upgradable. Also, Samsung have been shipping a lot of their Series 9 with a 128GB Sandisk U100 SSD which is fast when the road is clear but struggles when there's lots of competing traffic. Whether this, or the limited storage space, will affect you depends on your usage pattern.

John

 

We have them here in Israel for over a week now, saw them at the store!

 

I'm using core temp and it says that the cpu is running at 798 MHz. I've tried samsung optimized and energy saving profile but the fan is still running constantly. The fan is running even if there is no active application and the notebook is resting on a table and doing nothing for the last hour. As soon as I unplug the psu I've got silence. Samsung software manager says that everything except usb 3.0 driver is up to date.

 

Thanks. There's definitely abnormal behaviour.

1. Is the BIOS up to date? Run the BIOS updater program and it will check.

2. What are the CPU core temperature and power consumption (HWiNFO > Sensors will show that if Coretemp doesn't). Do those values change between mains and battery operation?

3. Does the processes tab in Task Manager show any noticeable changes in CPU usage when switching between mains and battery operation.

John

 

This U100 SSD appears to be the biggest gripe about the Series 9. You said that they've been shipping "a lot of their Series 9" with this SSD. Does that mean some come with a different model SSD?

I'm trying to decide between the Series 9 13", Asus UX31A, and Vizio CT14. Really the only knocks I've seen against the Samsung are 1) the price (higher than competitors for same specs), and 2) the SSD. All this talk of how bad the U100 is has made me wary of choosing the Series 9. Is there a potential to purchase a Series 9 that doesn't have the U100, or do they all have it?

Also, for someone who will be using the computer primarily for web browsing and Microsoft Office applications, how much will I notice the poor performance of the U100 relative to competitors' offerings?

 

Probably not much (unless you have a lot of experience with SSDs). It still boots up very fast. I'd be more concerned about the available space, but perhaps you won't be putting much media on. It's also a routine upgrade if you choose. Most people on here complain because it was a bit of a bait and switch on samsungs part to swap these in while they sell their own model to other manufacturers.
I think there's a 99% chance that you will get the sandisk if you go for 128GB.

 

Thanks for the insight. I don't currently see any Series 9 offered with capacities higher than 128 GB. Is there any talk of them offering a 256 GB anytime soon or not?

I don't need to buy until close to the end of August, so I'd be interested to know if there are rumors/confirmations of 1) Samsung switching out the Sandisk drives for their own in later Series 9 production runs/shipments, or 2) Samsung adding a 256 GB option soon.

Any thoughts on the Series 9 vs. the CT14 or UX31A?

 

You are unlikely to notice any input-output traffic jams under such usage. The basic speed is good.

Agreed. All the 128GB Series 9s seem to be shipping with the U100 at the moment. However, there can't be an infinite supply of the U100 and Sandisk have launched something better.

Yes. The 256GB versions such as this are arriving. To date, the 256GB SSDs shipped in the NP900X4C are either Samsung or Liteon (which also has good reports).

John

 

I think that you are correct.

As far as I know, that is also the essence of the USA law, and there, of course are laws governing product warranties from country to country.
As for USA law, I don't think you even need the original, as long as your warranty claim does not involve the SSD itself.

If Samsung was trying to circumvent any SSD swapping, they would have to put a "Warranty Void if Label Removed" or something like that.

That's why I was asking if there was any special text regarding opening the case posted on their site.

Probably a bit of a long trip from Canada for her, but yes, I did know that they were in other countries!

 

Thanks very much for the answer.

Holy cow, $1700? That's astonishing. I hadn't seen that model yet, thanks for pointing it out. I can't believe the price though, nor that they still saddled it with only 4 GB.

I'm a little baffled here. The Vizio CT14 has the same resolution display (though glossy and not matte like the Series 9), same processor, same 256 GB capacity, same 4 GB of RAM, and an extra year of warranty coverage (when purchased from Vizio or MSFT Store). All for $1,199 compared to $1,700 for a comparable Series 9.

What could possibly justify the $500 price difference?

 

About $150 more for a 256GB SSD, about a $200 more expensive CPU, TPM chip, Office Pro vs Home Premium. It all adds up.

I saw the Vizio's at a Microsoft Store this week.
I won't call them "cheap" but they do feel a little that way.
They are definitely a "budget" model compared to a S9 or even an ASUS.
They are at Walmart, that tells me enough.

Seriously, the Vizio is a huge step down in quality, from my perception anyhow.

 

What you're comparing is the A01 to the A04 when you're saying "$150 more for a 256GB SSD, about a $200 more expensive CPU". I'm comparing the Vizio to the Series 9 - both have the same 256 GB capacity (they may be different models) but the same i7-3517U processor.

I of course understand that the price difference between the A01 Series 9 and the A04 Series 9 is driven by the increase in specs. What I'm asking about is the price difference of $500 between the A04 Series 9 and the CT14-A2, which has the same specs as the A04.

Obvious differences are that the Series 9's display is matte while the CT14's is glossy, and the CT14's keyboard is not backlit. There's also a difference in design. I personally have tried both and like them each very much. The Vizio's design doesn't impress me as much as the Series 9, but it's still a great design and style in my opinion.

But does the arguably better external styling of the Series 9 justify paying $500 more for about the same guts?

 

Allow $100 extra for the Samsung PLS display (it's worth that $100 extra). Also Samsung could be trying to emulate Apple and make 30% profit.

John

 

Absent from the discussion is margin. How much is Samsung and Vizio making on those respective units?

Vizio is new to the game and may be loss leading to capture share.

 

I definitely don't doubt an extra amount for the Samsung screen.

It's pricing like this though that explains exactly why ultrabooks have failed so miserably in the marketplace, particularly when compared to the Macbook Air: MacBook win, ultrabook fail: Numbers not good, says analyst | Business Tech - CNET News. The selling point of PCs for a long time has been a lower price for the same specs when compared to Macs. However, the Series 9 starts at $1,299 with essentially the same specs as the Air (the Samsung has a slightly higher-res screen but the Air has a better processor).

Not going to draw a lot of customers away from Macs when your computers are priced even higher.

Loss leading would be to sell one product at a loss in order to stimulate profitable sales elsewhere. I think what you're getting at is more that Vizio is selling at or below cost, or using predatory pricing.

I'm sure Vizio's margins look thinner than Samsung's on these laptops, but I doubt Vizio is using predatory pricing. That would mean that their long-term plan is to either 1) raise their prices later, or 2) hold prices flat while production/input costs fall. They'd be hurt by taking either course of action.

Vizio has always had a reputation for high-quality products (though not the best) at low prices relative to competition. Vizio's stated they spent 2+ years in development of these laptops, and I think they spent that time getting to the same place they are on their televisions - being able to produce a high quality product at a low price. I may be wrong on this, but I don't think Vizio's taken a predatory pricing strategy in its other categories like televisions.

I like the Samsung's design a lot, probably a little better than the Vizio, I just don't see myself able to justify paying $500 more than the Vizio to have a Series 9 spec'd the same. Particularly if the bulk of that extra $500 is going simply toward extra margin at Samsung and not toward the hardware.

 

First of all, the article mixes data. The IDC numbers for "MacBooks" include more than just the MacBook Air. The comparison that should have been made was MacBook Air sales numbers to all other "Ultrabooks". I wonder if the Samsung Series 9 unit sales are in the IDC Ultrabook numbers.

The point is pretty clear though. Air sales are high. Probably 3:1 or more over all other Ultrabooks. Why?

Features?
Quality?
Price?
All of the above?

Or like selling a game console at cost and trying to make a profit on game sales.

Vizio is establishing a beachhead. I don't know what their cost is, nor their motivations. But cost figures into the final price somehow.

 

I think the primary reason is it's the established player. This article ( NPD: Apple grabbed 91% share of premium computer market in June – MacDailyNews - Welcome Home) states that in 2009, Apple had 91% of the premium computer market, defined as computers priced above $1,000. That's astonishing, when you think about how relatively little market share (12%) Apple has of the overall computer market.

It seems that when people think premium computers, they think Apple. I think the majority of people I know would automatically default to Apple when buying a computer over $1,000. I'm currently shopping for a PC between $1000 and $1500 and when I tell people that, the most common response is "Why not get a Mac?" It seems many people just associate the high end of the computer market with Apple.

That, coupled with the fact that the Macbook Air essentially invented the Thin and Light / Ultrabook category from scratch, and only now are PC makers catching up. So if someone wants a computer like that, they'll naturally gravitate toward or at least consider strongly the Air since it was the first to market and easily has the best reviews of its competitors across tech sites.

That's exactly what loss leading is, or taking a loss on printers to make profit on ink cartridges. Problem is, I don't see that applying here. I don't see any incentive for Vizio to loss lead on their laptops - where would they be trying to funnel sales and profits? Their TVs?

I don't think Vizio's taking a loss, I just think they're operating on lower margins and counting on more sales, unlike the competitors (like potentially Samsung with the Series 9) who may be pricing higher to get a higher margin at the expense of units sold.

 

Hey dudes, sorry for the late reply. I'm afraid swapping the SSD *would* invalidate warranty, as per the response below. As John says, maybe you can restore the SSD without them noticing and be absolutely fine, but strictly it's not allowed.

https://twitter.com/chicgeek/status/223859121332559872

For anyone who has updated their SSD, how difficult was it mechanically? Other than the SSD itself, do you think you could swap without any evidence of tampering?

 

I didn't think it was difficult. One thing is for sure, I would never send a machine to them with my mSATA drive and data. I don't like their policy. Thanks for finding it.

 

Your Twitter link refers to memory upgrades and clearly says:

"For example,

If you upgraded the memory, and you have a problem with your Wireless LAN that requires service, Samsung will service your notebook under warranty.
If you upgraded the memory, and you have a problem with the memory that requires service, Samsung will not service your notebook under warranty."

It is like I said:

If you swap out the original SSD and damage it, you will void the warranty on it, same as they say above "if you upgrade the memory, and you have a problem with the memory", then you are SOL, and rightfully so.

But if you swap your SSD for a larger, faster one, and your screen goes dead, or or memory goes bad, or your motherboard has errors and there is no indication to them that swapping the SSD out caused those other problems then they will fix it.

I don't see what the problem could possibly be, unless you destroy the machine while you have it open???

It seems clear that what I and John Ratsey stated is true.
As I said, there are federal laws in the USA and other countries relating to manufacturers warranties of all types.
A manufacturer can't just decide to create their own policies for warranties in violation of these laws.

I remember back a long time ago when you used to get a warranty card with electronics that said something like:
"send this card in within 14 days to validate warranty".
That was sort of "wishful thinking" by many manufacturers to make consumers think that if they didn't send in the
card that they would not have a valid warranty.
Again, that was unlawful, and you could ignore it and you would have a fully valid warranty.

 

It also says:

Important: Upgrading the memory on the X360 or 9 Series (NP900*) Laptops voids the warranty, because you must open the notebook to access the memory.​

Implying opening the case at all invalidates warranty. I also found that page pretty unhelpful, too, but she does say in tweet, "Yes, it would void the warranty."

Edit:
I think she sent me the wrong link, but I found the official statement nearby:

Important: If you upgrade the hard drive on the X360, NF310 and Series 9 laptops you void the manufacturer’s warranty on the computer because you must open the notebook to access the hard drive.
From SAMSUNG US​

 

Wow.
If that is true, and they can actually enforce it legally
(which I do NOT know) I would not do business with them at all.
There may be other manufacturers who state the same, but you can
open an Air and any other laptop that I am aware of without voiding warranty. My understanding is that they can not invalidate warranty for opening a device, where no other damage is caused by the simple opening.
If there are no stickers or seals (John R. should know), then I don't know how they could know that it has been opened?

 

Their warranty and support is lame as it is. This policy is ridiculous.