13.3" Samsung NP900X3C with Ivy Bridge CPU

On paper, Ivy Bridge gives better performance per Watt so it should use a little less power to accomplish a specific task. My guess is perhaps a 10% improvement in battery time. However, another 1/2 hour of run time wouldn't go amiss.

John

 

It's totally lame that the 13" has a $100 price difference for the exact same hardware, only difference is the OS (Win7 HomePremium vs Professional). I'm really hoping there will be more 13" models with higher end hardware, like a i7, 8gb, or 256gb SSD. At least the 15" S9 got different models with all different hardware specs.

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A01US

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A02US

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C-A03US

 

According to the Q&A section on the Samsung UK site, they say it's possible to upgrade the NP900x3B to 8GB - is anyone able to confirm this?

I expect (a) it would be difficult to do and (b) expensive, if there is only one memory slot?


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The link I posted previously for DDP memory mentioned BGA mounting, which means soldered.

I suspect the the Q&A was written by someone who thought that the X3B had the same memory arrangement as the X3A.

John

 

Bugger.


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You can save $30 if you get an "anytime upgrade" from Amazon. Or, better yet, soon you should be able to get the W8 pro upgrade for $15.

Microsoft to offer $15 Windows 8 upgrade, when you buy a Win7 PC -- Engadget

 

Yeah, that link does not bode well. Especially since there is no mention of 8GB modules, but I thought the S9 had ddr3 not ddr2? Not sure why they'd use a third party when they make memory, of course they didn't use their own SSD in all models.
Does anyone know whether the x4b uses the same modules, but perhaps twice as many? I can't find the details. I did find this from Sammy, but it's pretty old:

http://www.samsung.com/us/business/components/pdfs/SamsungPSG_july2010_final.pdf

 

It's quite possible that Samsung make their own DDP modules but haven't published any documentation. It's likely they are similar (ie a BGA mounting). Yes,the X3B has DDR3.

The X4B has a pair of standard SODIMM slots and they have been tested with 2 x 8GB modules.

John

 

Thanks. I wish they had put a SODIMM in the 13". Yeah, I know, space constraints, but I would've happily parted with a few mm's for this and a larger battery. Thinness yes, but at what cost? Bragging rights is not a performance spec.

 

I have been waiting for the IB S9 since the 2012 model was announced, but it looks like ASUS is indeed going to steal my heart with the new Zenbook Prime (check Laptopmag review). If the quotes prices rings true, you get a 13.3" machine with full 1080p IPS, i7, and a larger SSD for just a little more than what the i5 SB S9 retails for. 128 GB i5 configs (WITH FHD screen) for significantly less. ASUS is bringing their A-game.

I prefer the looks and profile of the S9 better, but at this point, the only way Samsung is going to get my money is if they can squeeze 8 gigs of RAM into the 13.3" model and ASUS can't. If ASUS ends up offering an 8 gig configuration, it's not even a decision.

 

Yea, you have to admit things are heating up. Competition is good.

 

Wow, that looks a good laptop!

 

Yeah, you're paying about a $500 premium for the S9 aesthetics. A little ridiculous, but it is a sleak machine with thin bezels (the main flaw in the ASUS for me). Not sure either of them will have an 8GB option at this point. It's the one corner every manufacturer seems to want to cut, probably saves them a cool $20 at most.

 

The uneven screen brightness throughout each section of this Samsung's PLS display doesn't score any points either. I was also waiting for the 8GB, intel HD 4000 + 256GB version, but if it's not being released this June, I'll just build a tower workstation .

 

What is your source of information? I haven't noticed this problem, nor has my camera. Is it worse than other notebook screens?

John

 

I think he might have read this from the one review your linked. They did mention about uneven screen brightness, but that's also the only time I've ever heard of this being mentioned.

 

it seems that the new asus is offering more bang for the buck and will be available with i7, 256gb and 1080p screen already in one month. so byebye s9 ivy?

 

Samsung will have to respond with a price decrease. They got out of the gate first with a compelling Sandy Bridge machine and asked for premium prices.

But the field is getting ready to get crowded so price, features and support is going to become more important.

Samsung is already losing on features and support for my needs. But the ASUS doesn't have a mini DP port either.

The Lenovo X1 Carbine is looking nice.

And there are rumors Dell is updating the XPS 13 Ultrabook screen along with some other machines

Timing unknown

 

Dell are releasing XPS 14 & XPS 15 next week. The XPS 13 won't be refreshed until October/November.


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I'm still loyal to the S9 IB model for the smaller footprint, thinness, and overall physical design. And there are no other notebooks with a smaller bezel, which I personally highly value. But I do agree the newer zenbook prime is better priced for the hardware offered.

 

Cool, that XPS 14 sounds very interesting. 3lbs. 1600x900. Discrete. SATA drive. Long battery life. This could be the one (cross fingers), just gotta swap out that 4GB and HD.

Mystery Dell XPS 14 Laptop Packs High-End Features in Ultrabook Form | PCWorld

 

That dells looks super thick to be an ultrabook.

 

The Dells they are showing are not the Ultrabooks, they are the current (=old) models.

 

Since few days Amazon has removed both the models of NP900X3C from their website. Guess this could mean a delay in release date
Hoping Samsung announces a 8GB Ram and 256GB SSD model.

 

+ Intel i7 cpu + Intel HD 4000 graphics

 

Well, you'll definitely get the graphics and probably the i7 (for a premium).

 

doesn't mean anything. Until they are actually for sale the listing means nothing. Even pre-orders sometimes vanish for no apparent reason from Amazon.

 

A few days of project work with my X3B has made me realise that 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD is a serious limitation for me - I spend a lot of time with an external HDD connected and Windows has run out of RAM on several occasions whereupon everything stops which something gets dumped to the swap file. So I agree that Samsung needs to improve the hardware specification to be able to appeal to the power user.

John

 

ULV processors don't appeal to power users so I expect the RAM and disk specs are about right for the product's position in the market.

I've ruled out any laptop with ULV processors now. I've turned my sights to the forthcoming Dell XPS 15 due next week.


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Right, I think I'm okay with 4GB about 90% of the time. But, they are certainly instances where I will need/want more. I also want some future-proofing and you don't want to be paging a SSD as much as you can help it. RAM is probably the cheapest spec sheet boost they could make here as well. I disagree with the notion the ULV processors are too slow. These processors can give very good performance for most tasks, especially in turbo. And there are many tasks that are not necessarily CPU bound, but can be RAM hungry. This is not an entry level $800 system geared towards the general public (the S5 is, ironically I think this can have a RAM upgrade). Samsung needs to recognize their clientele (i.e. the power users) and offer options appropriate to them. The aesthetics alone do not seal the deal for me.

 

Where have you seen the specification and pictures for the Dell XPS 15?

 

I haven't. But I have some very good contacts...


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A Core i5 ULV @ 1.6 GHz benchmarks slower than a standard Core i3 at 2.4 GHz. I have this Core i3 at work and it's barely any quicker than my 3 year old Core 2 Duo 2.53GHz at home, meaning a new ULV will be roughly the same.

If I'm spending £1K+ on a new laptop, I want a significant performance boost on all fronts otherwise I'm just paying for a new aesthetic.

Ultrabooks (and the S9) are competing with the Mac Air. What we really want is a premium build and high spec to compete with the Mac Book Pro 13/15 - and ULV processors don't compete on that front.


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Then I guess you'll be taking the Dell discussion to the Dell forum since it is off topic for a NP900X3C.

 

The i7 ULV will cruise at 2.8GHz which will be fast enough to keep me happy. In fact, if something takes minutes to run then whether it takes 10 minutes or 14minutes doesn't make much difference.

What I liked a few days ago was that I was able to do some serious processing on my X9B while running on battery without the charge level dropping like a lead balloon.

John

 

Why doesn't Samsung have the option to let you configure your own laptop!!???!
Like Sony or Apple...

 

No, they don't. But the 2Ghz i7 ulv (3667) would meet my needs just fine. Otherwise I would be looking for something with the 3612QM. If you want that performance under 3lbs, the Z is your only option (and not a cheap one). Of course, haswell should have some truly impressive low-power chips, but who can wait that long!

 

Or Dell or Lenovo, to add two more.

Perhaps when Samsung outsources assembly and can pass the built-to-order headache to someone else. A related headache is having to hold more inventory to cater for uncertain demand.

John

 

Seems like it wouldn't be too difficult for Samsung to have two boards: an i5 +4GB and an i7 +8GB. To this add 128GB/256GB SSD options since these are modular. That would be a reasonable amount of customization. I really hate that manufacturers have moved towards a one-size-fits-all model. I suppose it cuts down assembly costs, but it's risky with a specialty product like the S9.

 

Right, I'm going to back-track here and take back some of what I said earlier. After actually analysing my usage, 4GB is certainly adequate for what I do. Even with two instances of Visual Studio 2010, SQL Studio 2012, MS Word 2010, MS Excel 2010 and Google Chrome (with 15 tabs) all running, I had still only used 43% of my installed 4GB of RAM.

Also, having seen a Samsung Series 9 (2nd Gen) in real life for the first time today, I really like it - and the screen just blows you away. In fact the only thing I could fault was the keyboard - which I found a little too shallow, but maybe that's because I'm used to the superb keyboard on my Dell Latitude - and I think I could live with it.

Anyway, to cut a long story short - the Series 9 is now back in contention. I have two remaining dilemmas which you guys may be able to help with...

1) Although 4GB is adequate now, I do wonder whether or not this will be adequate in the future (eg: 2-3 years). That said, considering I replace my laptop every 3 years maybe this isn't an issue anyway...

2) The NP900x3B can currently be had for £999 (with the 20% VAT rebate offer, expires 6th June). At such a discount, is it worth buying now or waiting for Ivy Bridge and paying the full £1,200? Essentially, is IB worth £200 more than SB?

I also still have one eye on the forthcoming Dell models, but they won't be released until after the VAT rebate on the S9 has expired. I'm also wondering whether the 15" model might be better for me, given my software development usage? Although with the same resolution you don't really gain anything with the bigger screen.

Decisions, decisions...

 

I think a lot of us have similar interests. 4GB is fine for surfing the web and reading email, but power users (devs, virt jockeys, it pros, photographers, video editors) want more disk and ram expansion.

The NP900X4B will expand to 16GB of RAM. Throw in a 256GB mSATA drive and you have a great start. The PLS screen is holding a few people back so Samsung had better deliver one if they don't want to lose people to other OEMs.

Lots of stuff coming from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Apple and others. I'm sure Samsung is not going to sit on the sidelines.

 

I'm going to wait at least until I see what everyone comes up with the next few weeks. But I don't have to deal with VAT pressures either. If you have a mind to upgrade to W8, you may also want to hold off till they start the $15 rebate program. Otherwise, it could very well be the X3C is exactly the same as the X3B with a slightly better chipset (a little faster, and maybe an extra 20 mins battery life). I need a little more juice than the X3B, so if there's not a spec bump, it's off my list. Already, I have trouble justifying it as it is expensive and has relatively poor battery life (the 13", 15" is very good). Just the killer style is hard to resist...

 

I've decided that the X3B isn't ideal for my long term needs because of the RAM and SSD capacity limits. The latter will be fixable when larger mSATA SSDs reach the retail chain but the former is a permanent obstacle. I've been using 6GB RAM for the past year and didn't realise what difference -2GB can make.

Anyway, I'll make do with the X3B until an X4C with the right spec passes my way. The one thing that could confuse my shopping plans is if I have to choose between an X3C with i7 + 8GB + 256GB + PLS panel and an X4B with the same hardware but no PLS panel.

But if the X3B with its current specs meets your needs then the VAT cashback makes it attractive.

John

 

John,

I'm in the same boat as you and the only reason I'm not buying the NP900x3B is because it lacks 8GB memory, i7 cpu, and 256GB SSD. The light weight, smaller-than-mba13-size and PLS displays are all pro's for me too. USB 3.0 speeds work great for External SSD Drive Data backups and I much prefer it to usb 2.0 as well.

However, for the CAD Engineerig work I'm involved in, 4GB is insufficient. Ala, 4GB simply does not work for some tasks, whereas 8GB works fine. So, I guess I'll keep waiting until Samsung delivers these upgrades it promised us at these computer Expos..

 

I'm beginning to see listings for Samsung NP900X4C-a03us which details 256GB SSD; 8 GB DDR3 RAM; Intel i7 - 3517U - 1.9 GHz CPU; 15" SuperBright Plus widescreen display, 1366x768 HD LED backlit Display, 400 nits Brightness in various locations in US. No one has it in stock. No reviews.

 

Where are you seeing these?

 

No no no.... Please be a typo. All those specs are perfect, except 1366x768 - tell me it's a mistake..?!


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This was not a typo, I also posted the 3 different NP900X4C models in earlier posts. They were listed on amazon and available for preorder, but now amazon took all the IB revisions off. Screen res was 1600x900, not 1366x768. They won't ever downgrade in newer revisions.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...g-np900x3c-ivy-bridge-cpu-16.html#post8535276

 

After seeing a Dell XPS ultrabook at Bestbuy today, I think the lack of displayport on the samsung is going to kill it for me, even if it comes with 8Gb and 256gb.

I don't like the dell because of the display or rubbery keyboard, BUT the machine is as beautiful as the Samsung and it packs displayport.

 

I'm hoping the new XPS 14 is even better, should have a higher-res display and displayport if that's your thing, but probably the same keyboard. I just need it to support 8GB and I'm good. I think the XPS 13 actually has a smaller footprint than the S9, but is 0.5lb heavier, still looks pretty good. A few QC issues I think.

Dang, my local BB sucks, all they have are the Toshiba and ASUS ultrabooks and the X3A.