13.3" Samsung NP900X3C with Ivy Bridge CPU

Hey guys,

One of the rubber feet fell off, how do I put it back on?


Thanks

 

Glue. I pulled one of the feet of my X3B off thinking there might be a screw underneath (there wasn't) so I glued it on again. Probably with UHU.

John

 

deleted...

 

Just want to give a quick update on the USB 3.0 video adapter. Yes it worked, but there's a fatal problem. The mouse becomes so lagged on many browser (FF, Chrome, Opera, and IE). Considering the time we spend on browser everyday, this is a dealbreaker. The issue is likely caused by their driver and I don't know when they can solve that.

The adapter even works on the USB 3.0 hub, although occasionally the larger screen would disappear. So by far, there's really no good solution for connecting to 27'+ screen with 2560X1440 resolution

 

Which is precisely why I've been complaining about the lack of mini DisplayPort for the past year.

 

Once tweaked (in terms of drivers + settings) as best as possible, how does the NP900X3C's trackpad compare to a macbook one?

 

The Mac still rules. None of the PC trackpads I've ever used are as good or better. That said, the Samsung ELAN pad is pretty good when properly tweaked. Most people tweak it TOO much.

Here are my settings:

 

Yeah true, but I was more wanting to know if there are any issues that tweaking can't fix. Obviously the Mac trackpad still reigns. Thanks for the settings

Trying to decide between the MBA, this, and the UX31A.

 

If you x3c owners were to buy a notebook today, which one would it be?

 

I would still purchase the one I have, the NP900X3D-A02US. However, if you don't like the silver finish and want the ash black, I would get the NP900X3C-A01US.

If you are interested in the coming 1080p screen, I would hold off purchasing right now.

 

I'm in the market for a thin 13.3 Intel Core i5 3317U notebook. I saw a press release from Intel recently in which they predict a major drop in prices for ultrabooks in 2013. I'm guessing this will happen after the next generation Intel chips are released? I've been looking at the Samsung Series 9 and the Asus UX-31A and it appears that the Series 9 is the better bet. Now I'm just waiting for the price drop that was predicted by Intel.

 

Intel is full of crap. When they started the "ultrabook" program they said prices would be around $500. See any ultrabooks worth a darn at that price? Me either.

My suggestion is to make a short list of machines, a price you are willing to pay, and watch for a sale. I'm sure the current models will go on sale when the new models are ready for the retail channel. I just wouldn't count on the Series 9 prices dropping too low.

At least that's my opinion and I am frequently surprised.

 

We shouldn't overlook the $700 X3D with Sandybridge as discussed in this thread. That's about half the price of the X3B only a year ago. There are also some Samsung Series 5 which qualify as Ultrabooks and have more competitive pricing than most Series 9 models and still qualify as Ultrabooks. For me, the main drawback of the Series 5 is the lower resolution display.

John

 

Does it concern you that it appears Samsung created a cheaper version of the Series 9 and cut corners on finish, lid closure magnets, old chipsets, etc.?

I think they should have called it a Series 8 or something. Cutting corners in the "Premium" Series 9 line seems like brand suicide and causes confusion.

Imagine someone getting the NP900X3D-A01 thinking it's the premium model made by Samsung and seeing the issues in that video. Now they start telling friends and coworkers the Series 9 is so so. That doesn't represent the Series or Samsung well.

Now granted $700 is much better than $1450 in many peoples minds, but I really wonder what the future holds when Samsung does odd stuff like that.

 

I think we should get anyone who has bought the Sandy Bridge X3D to confirm if there are compromises other than the CPU/ chipset. Leaving out magnets, for example, means that there has to be a different part in the inventory, which complicates the logistics and probably offsets any savings.

I would also note that automobile manufacturers usually offer a range of versions of a model. The cheapest one is priced to get people into the show room where they discover that to get the features they want they have to move up the range and pay more. But getting them in the showroom door is half the challenge. I think Samsung is doing something similar.

John

 

Note the 3D is sold out at Newegg and Amazon lists having only 1 left and they bumped the price by $100 to $800.

 

The X3D at 699 is worth way more than a crap and the new generation MUST have touch screens and what they said was there would be a big drop in the existing generation of ultra books..and everything says they are correct.

 

Maybe you didn't comprehend the context. I said "when they started". In other words, it is the typical marketing BS at the beginning of a program. It has not panned out.

There are a lot of us that DON'T want crappy touch screens.

Saying there will be a big drop in the existing generation is easy. There is a new generation coming. Duh.

Believe what you want. That is the beauty of the internet. There are plenty of cliffs for lemming to jump off.

Maybe we should start another thread in a different forum. This "discussion" has nothing to do with the NP900X3C and it has certainly never been anywhere near $500.

 

I think we ascertained that is Samsung doesn't take Intel ultrabook marketing money then they don't need to inflict touchscreens on them. The new Series 7 have both touch and non-touch versions. The former are thicker and heavier.

John

 

Price dropping here in Italy for the NP900X3C-A01IT, available starting from 749,00€

http://www.trovaprezzi.it

 

I picked up an X3D-A01 for my bro after I bricked his dell netbook. While I don't have it anymore, I can confirm it has the U100 SSD. Also, I didn't notice any issue with closing the lid like the youtube video. It did seem like it was easier than my X3B to open as the edges are smoother, but maybe they did something with the magnets as well? Really don't think you can beat the X3D at $699, but it was slightly inconvenient that they did not provide the W8 disc. I prefer my X3B in black with the samsung ssd, but I don't think there's too many left. I also should have switched power supplies with him so I could get the angled plug.

 

Oh boy, I experienced a BSOD on my X3C-A01 just browsing the web on Chrome. Think I should run Memtest or Prime95 and stress the notebook to weed out hardware instability or could this be a some kind of software issue?

 

BSODs are more likely to be caused by drivers than hardware. You can look in Event Viewer's System Log to see what happened prior to the BSOD. There might be some clues. Also, turn off the Automatic Restart in the Startup and Recovery Options in Advanced System Settings. This will give you an opportunity to write down the error code prior to restarting. You can Google that code and it might find some clues about the cause.

John

 

I'm gonna have to keep a close eye on the notebook, hopefully it was just a fluke. I've heard of people getting a BSOD coming from hibernation from Intel Rapid Start Technlogy. Thoght it wouldn't apply to me since I never hibernate my notebook. Perhaps just having the insatlled driver can cause a BSOD? Found this in the event log and tried Googling the error but not much info.



EDIT: Used BlueScreenView and it looks like an issue with hal.dll and ntoskrnl.exe

 

Hi,
First post here. I have a X3C (Original UK model), ever since I first got it I've had issues with the USB 3 port. Now with Windows 8 it seems to be even worse. If I attach a USB 3 external drive (powered via USB), the drive will disconnect and reconnect every now an again for no obvious reason. Does anyone else have this issue, or know how to fix it?

Thanks for the great thread!

Andy

 

Did you ever update the the USB 3.0 driver / firmware? The newest firmware 2.0.1.7 is available on the downloads page here but I prefer the previous firmware update 2.0.1.4 which is no longer posted by Samsung (but I have it) because it is the only version to support one of my flash drives.

John

 

Hi Yes I have the latest firmware and what I think are the latest windows 8 drivers...

 

Let's try the power management:
1. In your Power Plan check that Selective Suspend is disabled for the USB ports.
2. In Device Manager disable power management for the Renesas USB 3.0 host controller.

John

 

Hi all,

I'm in Canada and I'm currently looking to buy the NP900X3C-A02CA linked here. However it is a bit pricey at $1449.99, and sadly the A01CA version which would be cheaper with 128GB SSD is no longer being sold in Canada.

I'm going for the NP900X3C because I love the color, I hear it has a better finish than the X3D, I hear it has a better screen than the X4D/15" Series 9 models, and it has the specs I'm going for as an average non-gaming user. The only thing holding me back is the price tag. I would have gotten the 128GB model to save money, but nothing doing here. In the BestBuy Canada site there is the 15" X4D on sale for for $899 but it doesn't have the colour or finish I want, nor the better screen, so I'm quite torn.

Is there a chance that the NP900X3C-A02CA in FutureShop will drop in price soon? There's some rumblings of a new Series 9...I do like the blue finish.

 

Here in Italy the np900x3c-a01it have a dropped price in last week (750€ now)...
I think all actual serie9 will be renewed in about 4-5 month.. .

Inviato dal mio SGS3 con Tapatalk 2

 

Hi John,
I've changed the power plan to disable the selective suspend. However in the device manager I don't see any option to change the power management. The driver I'm using for USB 3.0 is this one:
Version: 6.2.9200.16420
Vendor: Microsoft
Is there a better Windows 8 driver available for this device?

With just the above setting it still seems to disconnect every now and again...

Andy

 

I've got Windows 7 so things might look a little different but the last group in Device Manager's list is Universal Serial Bus Controllers. On that list is a Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller. I would expect Windows 8 to list something similar. The driver for that controller is Renesas.

John

 

Hi John,
Right I've managed to track down the power management options for Windows 8. They are in a tab in the properties page for the USB Root Hub (xHCI) device not for the Renesas USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller - 100 (Microsoft) device. I've disable the power management option and so far it is looking good!

Thanks for the help

Andy

 

Glad to hear you tracked it down. I presume that someone in Microsoft thought it a good idea to change the way things work.

Please give us an update after a few days.

John

 

i want to get a samsung 9 13.3 ASAP but amazon & newegg are out of stock, and the other vendors on amazon are down to a small number of units (such as 4), combined with the footage posted after CES 2013 this leads me to believe there must be a refresh coming out very soon.

any info on a date for this? it would be great to be able to buy it with a better SSD included by default!

 

The NP900X3E with FHD screen and bigger SSDs is arriving imminently in some markets. Here's the UK models. Note, however, it still only has 4GB RAM (which is a special DDP RAM package). Depending on your confidence in Windows' display scaling and the quality of your reading vision you may or may not want to wait for the new model to reach your area. If you are not keen on FHD then getting an existing model and upgrading the SSD yourself (see this thread) may be a less expensive route.

There is more discussion about the new Series 9s in this thread.

John

 

I have been following this thread for a while now. Originally, I wanted to get the Asus Zenbook, but the Samsung Series 9 seems to have almost no issues at all, better build quality and I think nicer design. I am 99% certain that I will get the Haswell version as soon as it comes out (if it has 8GB RAM and a no touchscreen option).

However, I read about the dual boot problems with Samsung. I do all my work in Linux so this would be a major issue for me. The article does not specifically mention the X3C. Does anyone here run Linux and did you have problems setting up dual boot? Is that an issue with Windows 8 and if so is anyone here affected? Thanks for the info.

 

Some people here have had problems and others have succeeded with dual boot. The successful way to the latter is to disable UEFI and Secure Boot. However, I would hope that Samsung are working on the problem: Having unbootable computers returned to be fixed is a cost they should be seeking to eliminate, never mind the bad PR associated with this issue.

John

 

If I were you, I would host windows when needed from a VM. That gets you out of dual boot. Second, unless you really need UEFI for Windows Secure Boot, BitLocker or Connected Standby, you can just run the machine set with the legacy BIOS.

So there are several ways around this while waiting for Samsung to correct it.

If you are going to wait for Haswell, the point is really moot anyway. They'd better have this resolved by then.

Everyone seems to want more than 4GB on the 13.3" Series 9. Anyone have any reason to believe it will happen? I'd personally like at least one SoDIMM slot like some of the ASUS machines. I'd be ok with 4GB soldered and an available slot. I'd also be happy with 8GB soldered.

 

I use Linux on my NP900X3C, see my blog for tips and info about it. As you'll notice i never mention UEFI or stuff like that - the default settings were without issues. I do not use dualboot, though, couldn't think of a reason to keep Windows eating disk space on there... The VM suggestion is a good one imho.

And yes, Win8 might need Secure Boot enabled and I'd recommend against enabling it until this is fixed ;-) I am currently running Linux 3.7.2 on the laptop (upcoming openSUSE 12.3 release) and it gives no issues but as far as I know the fix for this problem has not entered the Linux Kernel yet.

BTW as update on the blog - the new kernel improves power management again.

 

Thanks for all the tips and comments. I have to say that the Samsung sub-forum is one of the most helpful ones on NBR.

Jos, your blog seems quite helpful, I saw some pretty good tips there. I guess if Samsung doesn't manage to fix the UEFI/Secure Boot problems with the Haswell model, I can always disable them since I don't really need them. The Linux Kernel should be updated by then too...

With regards to the 8GB RAM, as far as I know the soldered parts will be available sometime in late Q2 so I believe (hope) that Samsung will use the parts in the Haswell refresh. I think it will be a big mistake for them not to because right now that's what's holding back customers like me (I care more about the 8GB RAM than even the Haswell CPU). The fact that those parts were simply not available at the time made Samsung limit the RAM to 4GB and they probably don't want to use slots so we just have to wait until they start using the new parts.

John, you mentioned in other threads that usually Samsung's new models are released in Q1 with the current Intel platform and are then upgraded to the new Intel platform when it becomes available. You also said that the chassis development is no longer tied to Intel production. Do you think that this will be the case with the 13" Series 9? The new X3E version seems to be using the same chassis, but with a FHD screen and an option for a bigger SSD. Do you think that it's possible to reuse the same chassis for the Haswell model, but just add the new 8GB soldered RAM modules? Do we have any info on the type of SSD that is used in the X3E or the quality of the screen? My ideal system would have the X3C chassis, the same great non-touch screen (don't really care about FHD as long as the brightness and contrast are good), Haswell, 8GB RAM and an option for a good 512Gb SSD from the factory. Fingers crossed that Samsung will listen...

 

You've raised a valid point about my hypothesis (which was written more in the context of the Series 7). There seems to be very little visible change in the X3E compared to the X3B/C/D format other than the FHD display (which not all of us are keen on). So is it a matter of Samsung sticking with what they consider a good design or will they make other changes when the Haswell model arrives? Perhaps it is the latter. Maybe we will discover that the X3E is sold alongside the C and D which usefully broadens the options for the purchasers and there is a bigger rework when Haswell arrives (the development staff can work on the Series 9 once the other ranges are going out of the factory). Personally, DisplayPort and improved WiFi are the two issues I can think of.

I presume that once an 8GB DDP package is available it will be physically similar to the 4GB package and would need the same space on board. I'm a little surprised that a company the size of Samsung hasn't addressed this already. An NP900X3E with 512GB is already announced and is, on paper, available. So that's not a technical problem. By mid-year Micron / Crucial's 512GB mSATA should also be available.

John

 

I am shocked that Samsung is still keeping the price over $1,000 on the NP900X3C. Comparable machines can be had for less dough. Like women, I guess people still pay a premium for “pretty”. Samsung would be wise to lower the price with the Surface coming out this week and next generation Intel chips just around the corner. I know the Surface is an entirely different animal but it will have an impact on the laptop market (and yes I am a bitter college student on a budget)

 

What machines do you consider comparable?

 

Then get the budget version of the NP900X3D. It has been seen as low as $700.

John

 

Will we have to wait until the X3E gets reviewed or someone purchases one and posts up until we know who the 256/512GB SSD's are made by, or has anyone found that out yet?

 

Booting Linux instead of Windows 8 bricks some Samsung laptops | Ars Technica

 

Hey folks, been a while since I've been here, basically because my S9 is doing fine ... except now the trackpad seems to need a recalibration. The right click function doesn't work right (or rather only rarely does what it's supposed to which bring up alternate shortcuts rather than treating it as a left click). How does one recalibrate or reset the trackpad, make it so the lower right clicks are recognised again?

2nd Q: is there a way to search just this thread? I did a broader search and didn't get anything on this issue. I went backwards several pages to see if anyone else answered this, but not recently, even though I suspect it's not an uncommon occurrence. Thanks

 

Is that a right click on the mechanical button on the pad or the two-finger tap? Have you got a newer driver using SW Update?

Do a google for "site: Samsung Notebook Forum <your search phrase>". That will limit the search results to this forum.

John

 

Thanks John for both suggestions. I just tried running "Samsung Update Plus" (I couldn't find SW Update on my laptop and so downloaded this, which I presume is the same) and it said all drivers up to date. My problem is the integrated trackpad that does not have distinct L and R click buttons, so to do R-click I normally click the furthest lower right corner, but recently that won't work. I recall my old Dell had some sort of trackpad calibration software, but I couldn't find it on the Samsung. Any other suggestions?