13.3" Samsung NP900X3C with Ivy Bridge CPU

Update: I just set up the Elan touchpad to do the double finger tap as you suggested, that works. So I can live with that, thanks!

 

Two points:
1. SW Update took over from Update Plus which should offer its successor. There's a link to the new software on this page.
2. There's more discussion about tweaking the Elan pad in this thread.

John

 

John you are simply amazing, the way you go out of your way to continue providing guidance and tips, even though I was already accepting of my compromised solution, thanks a lot! I realise digging up links takes time and effort. All I can say is that this forum and more importantly the world are both better places with folks like you in it. Cheers

 

as a further update, I downloaded and installed SW Update (I had just today installed Update Plus as that's all I had found under my model on their website!) and it found a bunch of driver updates. So the Update Plus is not working right anymore, or they did not bother updating it's own database. Thanks again

 

I have broken the dc plugg on my ac adapter and want to buy a new one, but I cannot find the right size (1*3 mm) Has anyone managed fo find one? I´ve been looking at sites such as:
DC Power Plugs : DC Power Connectors : Maplin Electronics

Or i need to pay for a new adapter, the original BA44-00278A or MBA1308

 

One reason I have the sticky thread is that it makes it easy for me to find the answers.

There's no need to buy the official Samsung part. You will find the PSU I bought many months ago in this thread. It's still working. Just make sure the plug has the size noted in that thread.

John

 

Hello all,

I have a strange question. I've been using a 900x3c-a02us (1.7ghz, i5 Ivy) with a 240Gb Mushkin drive and I just purchased a 900x3d-a03us 1.9ghz, i7 ivy, 256gb Samsung SSD) because I got a great deal on it. The x3c had a fresh installation of W8 Pro installed and the x3d had Samsung's W8 Pro installed from the factory.

When I run the WEI everything on the x3d is faster except the RAM (the same) and Graphics (5.4 vs 4.5) and Gaming Graphics (6.3 vs 6.2). I confirmed they both have Intel 4000 chip sets with the same drivers.

Does anybody have any idea why this would be?

Patrick

 

Definitely faster CPU and probably faster SSD on the X3D. The graphics performance is very similar because it's probably the same clock speed on the GPU on both and the RAM is the other factor controlling the integrated graphics performance.

John

 

Hello John, I was hoping you would respond . You are always so helpful!

I'm still confused if they both have the same graphics card (intel 4000) and the same 4gb of RAM, why would one be rated 4.5 and the other 5.4. That seems like a pretty big difference. I can understand Gaming graphics being off by .1 (6.2 vs 6.3) but .9 seems like a lot considering there shouldn't (in theory) be any difference.

Thanks again for the response!

Patrick

 

I have to confess that I mis-read the 4.5 and 5.4. I agree that it's a significant difference. First I would re-run the whole WEI assessment. It can take more than one attempt to get it right. Then I would check the CPU specs. Perhaps the extra cache in the i7 boosts the graphics. My i5-3317 out-runs both (6.3 in both graphics) because of, I think, the extra RAM.

John

 

Guys,

I have moved to macbook pro and am considering selling my mint stock condition 900x3c-a02us (got end of november 2012) with original box accessories and in new condition..... Would people here be interested? should I place it in the classfied section?

This is a feeler before I list it.

Thanks for the feedback

 

Any selling activity should be in the Marketplace but you can update your post here with a link.

John

 

While waiting for the Haswell version of the Series 9, I'm trying to figure out how it will fit in my workspace. Assuming that the new version will have the same ports as this one...

I have a Dell u2412m monitor with VGA, DVI and DisplayPort connectors. What would be the best way to connect it to the Series 9? Some sort of a USB dongle? VGA? Does anyone connect their machine to a similar monitor?

 

Hi guys, a little help would be apprecitated. I am getting down to decision time and am thinking its down to 2 laptops Lenovo X1 carbon and the NP900X3C. I require Win 7 Pro. My tech support guys say I have two mission critical apps that are not yet compatible with Win 8. I was checking out newegg and the designation on the site is A02US. The samsung website has the A05US designation and only has Win8

Were there any other differences between the A02US version and the A05US version? So far the only difference I could see was the windows version, but wanted to make sure.

Any help would be appreciated

Kind Regards

 

Keep in mind if you buy a machine with W8 pro, you are entitled to downgrade rights, but I don't believe the A05 is pro. Appears A05 = A01 with W8.

 

My a02 mentined above comes with win 7 pro

 

Micro-HDMI (M) to HDMI (F) cable plus an HDMI to DVI cable / adapter looks to be the best route. Something like this.

Don't get a short micro-HDMI (M) to HDMI (F) dongle because it will block the adjacent ports.

John

 

I use HDMI® Micro Connector male to HDMI® Connector female - Black | HDMI Port Saver

 

The lid (metal on top of the screen) of my Series 9 is starting to warp a little (bell curve). Not sure if this is due to picking up with one hand on the left or right side of the notebook or opening from the notebook from the center.

 

I've had my X3C since June, but I've recently (maybe a month or two ago) had a crazy touchpad problem appear.

Basically if the laptop is on a flat surface like a desk or a coffee table, the touchpad goes nuts and jumps around selecting things and moving stuff. However, if I pick the laptop up or place it in my lap, touchpad function returns to normal. Even if I just lift the front 2 feet off the desk, that will usually cause the touchpad to stop behaving erratically.

Any idea why this might be?

[edit: driver version 11.7.5.5]

 

Electrical grounding?

 

Not sure what you mean by that. What should I do to fix it?

 

I've seen similar reports. It seems in some cases it was due to the owner using an after market AC adapter. Because it seemed to be an electrical condition, I wondered if other components on the circuit might be causing the line to have a ground fault issue.

I really don't know.

Does it occur on battery and AC power?

 

A new BIOS file P06AAC is available for this laptop.......wonder if it gets rid of the UEFI brick bug????

 

I'm running P06AAC since last night, not noticed anything major except I have a new shutdown sound and when I open my lid my laptop used to boot automatically, now I have to press the power button. Any ideas how to change it back to that setting?

 

Go into (Easy) Settings and see if there is an option under the Lid Open action. The BIOS updates reset some settings (I have to remember to re-enable the Battery Life Extender).

BTW, this P06AAC is also offered for the X4C (and, I would expect, the X3D and X4D).

John

 

Cheers John. I'm sure that option was there in Easy Settings, but they seem to have taken it away in Settings

 

Battery saver is still present on my X3D with Settings.

 

Its the "Lid open action" I'm after.

 

I am using the stock AC adapter. The issue occurs on both battery and AC power.

 

If the problem happens on battery then it points to a problem with the pad or its driver.

Perhaps the first course of action would be to boot Windows in Safe Mode (which should only use some basic driver) and see if the problem still occurs. If it does then I would be blaming the hardware. If the problem disappears in safe mode then it's a driver issue.

John

 

Guys, sorry I was unable to read all 204 pages in the discussion, so could anyone please tell me if there is any information about SS9 13.3 with 8 Gb of RAM ( release date or any other confirmed information) ?

 

Nothing official. A samsung memory roadmap indicates 8GB DDP will be available Q2-Q3. I'd be surprised if those didn't end up in the S9 Haswell refresh. But perhaps only in the exorbitantly priced i7/512GB model?

 

I just got this laptop yesterday. I am fine with the 128GB for my programs and all. But I still need some more GBs for movies and music. This made me look for a solution, which would be: A. an external HDD or B. a 128GB 10MB/s write, 20MB/s read SDXC card. Both have their cons and pro's, thats why I got some questions

- Does an external HDD suck up much of my battery?
- Does iTunes lagg if its used with a slow SDXC card?
- What solution have you guys found for storage?
- How much storage is left on a 128GB SDXC card?
- Does the half centimetre the SDXC sticks out makes it prone to losing?

I really hope the SDXC card makes for a good solution. I don't got the money for a new msata drive. The SDXC card would cost me 65euro's, I bought this beautifull notebook at just 1000euro's, while its normally 1300 here, in the Netherlands.

Thanks for helping me out!

 

The SD card slot is a relatively slow USB device but it is still more than fast enough to stream audio or video. A 2 hour 2GB video represents a transfer rate of less than 0.3 MB/s so speed isn't a critical factor for playback. However, writing the video file to the card will take several minutes.

You can avoid the card from sticking out if you use a micro SD card with the Nifty MiniDrive.

John

 

Thanks John!

I saw you posting the Nifty Drive Kickstarter somewhere earlier in this topic. However its not what i'm searching for. Micro-SD cards without 128GB would be worthless to me. And if a 128GB micro-SD would show up anytime soon (didn't see one in my quick search) I guess the premium you would need to pay for them will be large.

The USB device being slow isn't that bad, but it does make buying faster SDXC cards irrelevant, doesn't it? Howver, it being an USB card does give me some more questions:
- It does support 128GB, right?
And my other question still stands:
- Will a slow 20MB/s read card lagg programs like iTunes,or any other library like app which shows 60GB of content of the SDXC at a time?

Anyway thanks allready for your time and help John!

 

1. Samsung's specs say the slot supports SDXC and the SDXC specs say "up to 2TB". So, on paper 128GB should work. However, I haven't personally tried anything bigger than 32GB.

2. I don't know how iTunes works but I would expect it has measures to handle this type of storage (as used in phones and tablets) efficiently by, for example, creating a database and only updating for any changes.

John

 

Thank you John!

Well, then I am going to try it. I will report back to you guys when I've got it and if its an good solution for the memory capacity shortage. Don't expect my report soon though, my student budget is totally empty for the coming 1,5 months because of this notebook.

 

I would make sure the itunes folder (where the library index is stored) stays on the SSD. I believe you can configure itunes to search for music in multiple locations. You could probably also use a symbolic link to the SDXC card.

 

I need some advice. Right now I bought both the MacBook Pro Retina 13" (128GB) model and then I found out that the Samsung was on sale for 250 $ off! so I went and bought that. its the NP900X3C A02 (4GB Ram, 256GB SSD)

Honestly I can't decide between the two, But the price difference is substantial because of the sale on the Samsung (about $445 less than the MacBook) The reason also for the big difference is I purchased Apple Care - but I got an educational discount on the entire package but did not get an extended warranty for the Samsung.

I need the machine for software development (right now only Windows Phone and Windows 8) so I will run Windows in VMWare on the Mac until BootCamp updates with the drivers for Windows 8. Doing this is less than Ideal but it works.

Overall after comparing the two I think the MacBook has the following Pros

- excellent build quality
- more full sized ports, extra USB 3 port
- faster CPU
- 8 GB memory
- a bit nicer keyboard (keys like the space bar aren't as noisy as the Samsung)
- media keys for playing music
- the display seems a bit more neutral in colour (the Samsung has a warmer tone to it)
- I can have dual operating system, in case I want to develop for Mac OS
- 3 year warranty

The Samsung has the following Pros
- also excellent build quality
- lighter more compact build
- longer battery life,
- larger SSD
- Windows 8 runs directly , not in a VM
- much cheaper (by $445)
- brighter display

The Cons for each are as follows

MacBook Pro Cons
- a bit heavier
- much more expensive (for me to match the SSD size of 256GB will cost an extra $200 bringing the difference to $645)
- must run Windows in Virtual Machine like VMWare Fusion until we get updated BootCamp drivers for Windows 8

Samsung Cons
- only 4GB memory (not really a big deal as I tested it and I'm able to run everything I need)
- no media keys on the keyboard
- slower processor
- fewer less common ports (like the micro HDMI vs full HDMI on the MacBook)
- only 1 USB 3
- only 1 year warranty (by choice, I didn't want the BestBuy extra warranty)

Anyway to be honest I like both machines, I had my heart set on the Samsung way before I even considered the MacBook, however I also like the Macbook now that I've used it for a few days. I don't know which would you guys pick.

 

The NP900X3C-A02US doesn't normally come with a 256GB SSD. Where did you buy that? I would like to look at the specs and price.

Personally if I was doing development and even considering iOS for the next three years, I would probably go with the Mac.

 

What is the likelihood of you wanting to develop for Mac OS? Setting up a VM on the Samsung with only 4GB RAM might be a tight squeeze.

Also, what model SSD is in the Samsung?

John

 

the model is NP900X3C-A02CA

 

Your right I could only run one virtual machine at a time depending how much memory I allocated, maybe two. After I build my apps for windows phone/ windows8 I definitely need to port them to ios, and android. but I could also buy a used mac mini later.

I wish the Samsung came with 8 GB of RAM,

How do I check the model of SSD it has? Device manager ?

 

You are not alone. Samsung chose to forgo more RAM in favour of providing two fans.

Device Manager will give a model number which you can put into Google for more details. If the SSD is 256GB then most are Liteon (a good performer) or Samsung.

John

 

Does anyone else get a faint clicking noise from the fan thats located on the bottom side of the laptop (right side)?

Its such a minor inconvenience to send it back to Samsung for repair, but definitely aggravating when you're in a quiet room and you hear a faint "click, click, click" every so often.

 

the model of mine is

LITEONIT LMT-256M3M

 

I just upgraded my BIOS and opening my lid still turns on the power, but I lost hibernate for some reason:

Edit: I shutdown and rebooted, then I was able to enable hibernation, but now opening the lid doesn't wake from hibernation anymore, only from sleep mode.

Edit: Ok I tried once again to enable IRST and it's still not working. So the only result of this BIOS update seems to be that the lid doesn't power on from hibernate anymore.

Where can I get the previous BIOS if I want to downgrade?

 

Can anyone help me? I spilled water on my laptop keyboard recently and wanted to get around to replacing it since some keys do no work. However, I cannot for the life of me find an OEM replacement keyboard for sale. Would my best bet be sending it to Samsung and having them deal with it? if so, how much do you think it would cost?

Thanks

 

Hello Everyone!

Looking for help: bought Sam 900x3c recently, got win 8 pre installed. I hate it - its slow, its very uncomfortable... Im using VMware and on my old Sony Vail Z series with 4Gig of DDR everything was super smooth - could run 2 VMs at a time. This time its a pain.

I really would like to downgrade to Win7, and have already creatred bootable USB to do so and tested it on another notebook. But for some reason I cannot use it on Samsung - I've switched off fast boot option, made necessary changes in BIOS to make sure that my flash drive is number 1 to boot from. Still - no effect.

What am I doing wrong? In the beginning I was able to boot from same flash with Ubuntu distrib, but didnt like the soft...

Please please please your advides - This win 8 is killing me.