13.3" Samsung NP900X3C with Ivy Bridge CPU

I think this will be the 1000th post in this thread, on page 100.

So time to celebrate and congratulate for a very lively, informative and interesting thread.

With special thanks too to John for his strong and professional support.

 

Virtual champagne for everyone!!! :wink:

 

So I checked other sites for reviews / benchmarks, specifically regarding Frames per Second for video games, but could not find any data specific to this laptop.

Does anyone have Diablo 3 / StarCraft 2 loaded on their new 9003XC? I'm hoping to see what the FPS is for medium settings.

Thanks!

 

It hurts me to see it sell at this price, knowing I just bought the 900X3B a few months ago for almost full retail price ($1375). I resisted buying it for 2 months because I heard the ivybridge model was just around the corner, but I couldn't wait any longer and caved. A few months later, it's on sale for $800 .

Hmm maybe I can pull amazon's legs to take the return or credit back the difference.

If you can't find any results for this specific notebook, then google similar notebooks with i5 or i7 low voltage ivybridge processors. And also note that HD4000 on desktop processors have higher performance than HD4000 for mobile processors. It might be playable on low settings, but you might have problems during large battles. And would it even be enjoyable to game on a 13" notebook?

 

Look at the gaming results for the HD4000 graphics at Notebookcheck. However, I would note that the graphics on the 17W CPUs may not be quite as fast as on the 35W parts.

John

 

The Crucial m4 256GB and the MyDigital Smart (not BP) just became available to me, with the MyDigital being about $80 more. I'm wondering if anyone here has an idea whether or not the MyDigital is worth the extra money? Will I ever notice the difference?

 

As promised, a comparison review between the Asus UX31a and Samsung S9.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/678534-asus-ux31a-vs-samsung-s9-comparison-review.html#post8726967

 

Is the 2012 version of MacBook Air comparable to the Samsung Series 9 w/ HD 4000 (In terms of gaming performance)? Macbook Air (June 2012 / Intel HD 4000) Gaming Demo - YouTube

Or would one be better than the other?

 

Did you read what I wrote?!?

I didn't even saw the price for it, cause I'm not even from US... and probably this won't come to my country...

 

Many thanks. I had to pick this up, unbelievable deal. Was going to spend twice as much when an i7+8GB came along, but screw it I'm tired of waiting. This will get me by to haswell.

 

I'm thinking along the same lines. I was seriously considering going with the 15" version for a crazy $1800.

I only have 2 potential problems with the 13" model. (1) I prefer having dedicated Home and End keys. And (2) I'm concerned that 1600x900 might be too much on a 13.3" screen for my eyes.

With that in mind, what DPI are you guys using for this laptop? 100%? 125%? Something else? Please let me know.

Lastly: anyone know how long this deal is good for?

Thanks guys.

 

Am I missing something obvious or is Microsoft Store out of stock now? I can't seem to find a "Buy" or "Add to Cart" button on that link. That was a fantastic deal. The other bonus with purchasing from Microsoft Store is the Signature image with no bloatware.

 

You aren't missing something. They likely ran out of stock. That is hardly surprising at this point.

 

Compared my review of the m4, which includes results in my X4C, with the review of the SMART in an X4C here. So far, the m4 is behaving well and I'm not sure I would want to pay the extra $50.

John

 

what are the chances that they will get more stock in?

this is a phenomenal deal... I am sorry to have missed it.

referring to:


$800 Buy Samsung Series 9 900X3B-A02, 13.3 inch notebook PC, Intel Core i5 processor, sleek design, HDMI - Microsoft Store Online
(coupon code SUMMERPC2)

 

I'd say slim to none. They were likely just flushing the Sandy Bridge inventory.

 

I picked up one of the B versions on clearance from the MS store and noticed that the new C versions claim a 9hr battery life, v 7 on the B version. Seemed strange to me given the specs on battery are similar on both models. The only difference I saw was the sandy bridge v ivy bridge.

The engadget review claims that the new C has real world run time of 7 hours. Is IB really that much more efficient than SB? The limited B reviews i found touted anywhere from 4-6 hours of use. Any comments/real world experience/benchmarks would be appreciated

Also, other than the processor/video driver jump, any other differences btw the B and the C?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

9 hours would be impressive considering that the X4C, with 50% larger battery is only good for 10 hours of light usage. It has a bigger display to illuminate but is otherwise the same.

John

 

No way is the difference more than 30 minutes. That engadget test is very questionable.

 

256GB Crucial M4 2.5" SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive SSD (CT256M4SSD2) $180 or less + Free Shipping - Buy.com Deals, Coupons and Promos

Thoughts on this one?

 

Yes. It will not work inside the chassis of a Series 9 notebook. It is not a mSATA form factor.

 

Right - I figured that 9 hours was questionable. Even on the B version, when I asked the MS employee about the rated 7 hours, she laughed and unequivocally stated that 4-5 hours was a better estimate. I should have asked her the same question about the C w/ Ivy Bridge, but forgot.

I just wonder (a) how Samsung was able to rate the C at 9 hours. Again, is IB THAT much more efficient?; and (b) how much better the C is over the B in terms of battery life and overall performance. I understand that the C has Ivy Bridge with the better graphics card. However, the MS store sells the C for $1299, whereas the B was $799 on clearance. My cheap self had a hard enough time justifying an $800 purchase; no way I could justify a $1,300 one!

However, was just interested in seeing whether anyone here has had experience with both the B and C who could chime in. Thanks again.

 

I have yet to see any reports where any Ivy Bridge model shattered a battery life record of a Sandy Bridge machine. It appears they are pretty similar but you are getting more processing power (CPU and GPU).

 

Thanks, I appreciate your input. My B should be arriving on Monday, so I am looking forward to my new laptop. The Wifi on my Acer Timeline is driving me nuts (Intel 5100).

 

My NP900X3B should be arriving next Wednesday.

 

Been reading this thread for a while. Wanted to say thanks for all the informative posts!

For me it came down to the 2012 models of zenbook prime, MacBook air and series 9. After much research, decided to go with np900x3c. It just feels perfect for my needs. So far everything is looking great, though it's only been a couple of days. Paid $1100 for it before taxes which I think is pretty good for the model.

 

Hey -

I am about to go for the 900X3C-A01US on Amazon. It's $1299 - but there's a $100 discount that ends tonight for a total of $1200.

Where did you get it for $1100?

Thanks

 

I just got a X3B unit from MS Store yesterday.
Sorry to say, the keyboard is not as good as the C models.
Feels even more hard plastic, and even less throw to it.
I hope yours is, for some reason different.

The hard drive in it was a 128GB Samsung MZMPC128HBFU-000,
which is the good PM 830 mSATA, but don't think I am going to
be happy with the keyboard.

 

What form factor is the SSD in the Series 9?

 

I just got it from futureshop (Vancouver). The guy helping me just offered to take $100 off from the $1200 sale price when I told him I'm interested in the 3 year protection plan. I'm still unsure if I need the plan ($349 for 3 yrs). I'm good with my gadgets and they usually last. Might just drop it. Any opinions if a protection plan is needed for it? It's built pretty solidly.

 

mSATA. See here and here. The correct Crucial part has "SSD3" at the end of the part number.

John

 

I bought my X3C on Friday at the Microsoft Store in Seattle. They have a promotion going on where you would get 20% off your purchase over $1000. They also had 15% and 10% discount too on lower purchases.

Anyways I've been eyeing this laptop and the Asus UX31A, unfortunately I went through 2 UX31A (1 from BB and the other from Amazon) before I decided to go for the X3C. Only reason I went with the Asus first was because it was cheaper. Returned them due to the backlight bleed and the possibility that it could get even worse over time.

However, I was lucky to have just walked into the MS store and told of the discount because it came to about $1100 after taxes which is almost that same as the Asus. Overall I'm satisfied with this laptop and will be keeping it!

 

I thought I was a bit crazy thinking the keyboard was better on the C. Strange they made such a significant change, in such a short amount of time in something that was supposed to be just an ivy-bridge upgrade; and an SSD downgrade Damn you Samsung...

 

If you bought it with a Visa card, chances are you would be eligible to have an extended warranty of up to one year.

 

Oh Visa does that? I had no idea. I used Mastercard though.

Samsung US website shows 3yr warranty for the x3c. But I guess in Canada it's only 1yr.

 

How is the Series 9 battery life? Seems to be some conflicting reports. Some reviews say it is subpar for an ultrabook. Some say it has the best battery life among Windows ultrabooks.

So how is it? Considering the watt hours on the battery I would guess that it has less battery life than my UX31A. But I am still considering it because I am not totally satisfied with my UX31A. The 1600x900 resolution seems more ideal. Maybe better viewing angles (not that the 1080p IPS is bad). Lighter and thinner seems good to me. And the fact that the Series 9 design isn't a MacBook Air knock off is pretty cool. Series 9 is the most visually appealing ultrabook out there, IMO. Another point for the Series 9 would be the standard mSATA connector.

 

Visa usually does, but you need to check the terms of your specific card. You never know - your mastercard might too. With a phone call?

Interesting about the warranty though..! I'm in Canada but purchased the US model from Amazon for the keyboard. I need to verify this... If so, woo hoo!

EDIT: everywhere I see it says just one year warranty for both US and Canadian models.

 

I guess it's worth checking with MasterCard. Thanks!

Hmmm.. the np900x3a on Samsung website says 3yr warranty but you're right, x3c says 1 year. Wonder why...

What's the difference between the keyboards? I'm actually happy with mine. I type with my fingers rested on the keyboard. And this one is good for that.

 

Are you comparing to a brand new out-of-box X3C or a store model? I would think perhaps there is some break-in to the keyboard.

 

This is very surprising, I thought physically the B and C are exactly the same. You're saying the keyboard change is one of the key differences? What do you mean by "less throw"? The key travel distance is more shallow than the C revision? This is the first time I heard someone report this.

 

I haven't used a C model so I won't know the difference and don't care much. The B models I've tested were fine.

 

After following this thread for a while, it doesn't sound like anyone's having problems with their Series 9s except for the poor performance of the U100 SSD (which isn't a problem or defect, it's just a subpar component). This compares quite favorably to the Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A, the thread for which is 3 times as long and filled with people reporting problems of backlight bleed, random shutdowns, touchpad driver issues, fan cycling problems, and various other quality control problems. A number of people on there went through 3 faulty units before giving up on it. That definitely took the UX31A off the radar for me.

So have owners found there to be any comparable quality issues on the Series 9?

 

I don't know why people are so uptight about the ssd. I think it's one of those tests and numbers thing. For me, if there was one thing, I'd want a better battery life.

 

Brand new out-of-box X3C and X3B both.
They were different.
Of course, it is possible that there is more than 1 manufacturer for keyboards for either/or model.

I have no idea.

I said less throw (travel) but I could be wrong.
The new B I got seemed like shinier plastic, harder to press than the new C I saw, similar to how hard it is to press the new SONY Z keyboard.

As I said above, always possible that the keyboards came from different manufacturers, or could have simply been a sample-to-sample variation, which is also common in such components.

Not a huge difference overall.

No, it is not just a "tests and numbers thing", the one really important score on any SSD benchmark, if you look at nothing else, are the 4K scores, and the U100 is really, really, really slow. It has fine sequential read speed, so Windows will boot up quickly and many programs will also load rapidly. Now, if that is all you care about, then you may be fine with a U100. In the 4K scores, it is bettered by my 3+ year-old INTEL X25-M's by a lot, and that is not good.

Yes, you are correct to a certain degree that there is no SSD that seems to get the best test score in every single category. That just does not happen for whatever reason. The 4K scores matter the most for "real world" use.

 

So 4 posts and 24 hours ago your were thanking people for the informative thread. Now you have decided people that want the best components for their dollars are uptight. Excellent start.

 

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7708315/CDM.jpg


I grant you that different things are important to different people, but at some point the numbers become noticeable and for me <1MB/s was quite noticeable. Stuttering and lag was the result, and the SSD was the bottleneck.

 

I've recently ordered the NP900X3C-A02UK from insight

I would like to upgrade the ssd to 256gb and ram to 8GB. I found the other thread in the forum regarding the ssd upgrade and which model to buy, but still looking to find which exam ram model to should buy. Could anyone advise?

 

Soldered, not upgradable.

 

The thing about the SSD is samsung pulled a bait in switch by at first offering their own superior model and then swapping in the sandisk in order to:
1. save a few bucks (can't be more than $20)
2. free up stock to sell to OTHER manufacturers
3. because <10% of users will notice
I just think it's a low rent move considering they are asking a premium price (~$200 more than competitors) for what is supposed to be a top of the line (and high margin) product. Now an average user can get by with the sandisk, but again this is not a bargain bin notebook. I just don't think apple or even dell/hp would pull this shell game.

As you can see, this is a bit of a sore spot for people on this well-crafted machine. It's frustrating to see something so close to perfection with correctable flaws.

As far as battery life, you can only ask so much in a sub 3lb notebook, this one is average at worst.

 

Hmm these ssd read/write numbers look worse than what I've seen on some reviews before. I thought all x3c machines had the same ssd. Or is it that different batch of machines have different ssd in them?

I do agree with you go45cvi. Samsung should've kept their standards there.