13.3" Samsung NP900X3C with Ivy Bridge CPU

No no, I meant the Samsung S9 ... it's sold out at Bestbuy but available on Amazon. Though I'd really like to take advantage of Microsoft's offer!

 

Oh sorry. It's sold out at Best Buy already? That's surprising. But yeah I think it released yesterday.

 

Yeah at least that's what you see on the website ... maybe that's what they're having them show as before they actually get their stock, I don't know

 

That's what I'm thinking. They probably are going to release in store soon though.

 

This is wrong!!!!!!!!!

NP900X3C-A01US is Mineral Ash Black
NP900X3C-A02US is Titan Silver

They are not both Titan Silver, Best buy shows the 15" A02US models are titan silver, the 15" A01US are mineral ash black. Further, the A03US 15" is 8GB/256GB titan silver.

 

Well then apparently Ash Black and Titan Silver are the same color. We have never seen but one color in the US. I think that is true for the UK as well.

 

Yeah I'm a little confused with the colors too. :/ I don't remember seeing any color that represented silver for the Series 9. I've only seen that mineral ash black color that has a slight gray/blue hue to it.

 

This is the color I want. Call it whatever you wish.

 

I haven't seen that one until now. Interesting. I guess that must be the Titan Silver?

It looks very similar to the shade of my Samsung QX410.

 

I wish I knew the answer to that. I ordered Titan Silver from Amazon but got Black Ash. See Amazon.com: Samsung Series 9 NP900X4B-A02US 15-Inch Laptop (Titan Silver): Electronics

Samsung and their marketing people leave a lot to be desired when it comes to providing scrubbed data, pictures and accurate information.

 

I love this one. But... I'm seriously considering going with a Mac (my first) this time around. I'm looking forward to seeing what gets announced from Apple in the coming weeks.

 

I've never bought a Apple product, but even I'm wondering about the new Macbooks. For once, I think Apple will be leading in the area of high pixel density. If they do, I don't understand how Microsoft and Windows OEMs haven't gone past 1920 x 1080 on even the most premium laptops.

I realize there's a compatibility issue there, but I imagine Windows 8 should begin to support higher displays than that right? It's a drastic jump if it's true that Apple will support 2880 x 1800 without detrimental effects to their battery life and performance. The HiDPI indications found in OSX lead me to believe this could be true though.

Even if I decide to go with the Samsung Series 9 or Asus UX31A/UX32VD, I'd like to see the new Macbooks next week to just get a perspective on the whole industry and the full story behind it.

 

I got my 900x3c-A02 last weekend (Germany). If you got any questions or you'd like me to test some stuff, answer here or PM.

Cheers

 

Nice. Congrats. How do you like the screen? I've seen it in person and I was impressed. I noticed the hinge felt a little flimsy. That was my only gripe. How easy is it to swap the SSD? I'm guessing the RAM can't be swapped?

Thanks and congrats.

 

As much as I like this thing, Samsung is really getting old with their lame Korean roll out of this thing. Get your act together Samscum. Get the colors right, get the memory right, get the SSD right, if you get all that right then I can give you a pass on not getting the external video adapter right. When did this come out in retail, February? It's already 6 months old and they can't even get it together to sell it. When apple has something for sale, it's for sale and it's available.

Hopefully Lenovo will have their act together because I'm not buying a purple computer with 4GB ram and no displayport for $1300

 

The screen itself is great. I dont see how any normal user could complain as the it is super thin an light, also color and brightness are far above average! I love the matte display, you can use it in direct sunlight or light from behind and still your not gonna see a single reflection.

The hinge is not too lose, although i guess it could be a bit tighter. But then you'll no be able to open the notebook with one hand. Atleast i never had problems with the lid losing it's position.

Havent opened up the case yet (its possible, there are 4 screw at the bottom). Dunno if that'll affect warranty. BIOS shows that 2 RAM slots are used (2048 each). SSD should be easily exchangeable, i think i've read that somewhere.

Booting from USB was tricky. I had to disable the SSD in BIOS, else it would'nt even try booting from USB. Also make sure to plug in your USB device in the left port for booting (and eventually switch to right port just before starting the win7 install process at the "install now" screen, got and error else).

Dont forget to update your BIOS: made my batterylife way better, laptop will not even get warm while browsing and hence there is no fan activity. That'll prolly solve problems with booting from USB too.


Does anyone else here have their 900x3c already? I think one of my fans is not working correctly - and i'd like to confirm this issue before i RMA my device. It looks like the right fan is doing it's work nicely, but the second one kicks in way later. Thanks in advance

 

I agree they've left the 13" in the wind in this "refresh". Just swapped the new cpu. Problem is, every manufacturer is releasing a product that is hamstrung in 2-3 major areas, so it's difficult to get anything. I'll continue to bide my time, but October is as long as I can wait (don't want to get locked into W8). All I want is:
i7, 8GB, 256GB (or upgradable), 900-1080p, 13-14" thin bezel, 3lbs or less, no major engineering flaws.
I ask too much I know.

 

Thanks for the insight! Sounds like a great laptop. I'm glad you're happy with it. I'll give it another look.

 

Thanks for sharing!

I am really curious about the final weight of the machine - is there any way you can weigh it on a scale?

 

Where does the purple come from. My X3B is black with a hint of dark blue and, after a couple of months, this seems to be a very good colour without any finger print problems.

Until you have looked inside to see if there are two RAM slots I would assume that there is one soldered DDP RAM package as on the X3B. The SSD is 50mm mSATA. Finding 256GB parts in the retail market is currently difficult.

To boot from USB you should also disable the Samsung Fast Start, either in the BIOS or in Easy Settings.

Remember that the Sandy Bridge S9 was a stop-gap machine because Intel delayed Ivy Bridge. Our expectations in terms of the rest of the hardware have moved on.

John

 

I agree with you John. It seems they just wanted to get 'something' out in the consumer space to compete with the other Ultrabooks but did not offer a great deal of variety. I think we are already starting to see a broader set of options with a version aimed at business users (Windows Professional/TPM) and several different hardware configurations for the 15". Let's hope that trend continues with the 13" and we see an i7, 8GB, 256GB SSD in the near future.

 

Just got the new ivy bridge S9.
Everything seemed same as 900X3B, same design, same color, with the CPU upgrade... BUT.

The SSD is not Samsung. It's Sandisk. I wonder why. why. WHY?? SAMSUNG!?

(sigh)

 

I am wondering if Samsung uses two different drives and doesn't inform consumers, as I noticed in John's review of the 3b that his unit contained a Sandisk U100, while mine definitely contained a Samsung SSD..

 

The bundled SSD is the new lottery. We didn't mind what brand of HDD got included because performance, for a given speed, is in the same range. However, SSD performance does vary with different models. With Lenovo, Dell, etc who use components from different sources then one knows it is a lottery but why Samsung can't include only their SSDs is one of those mysteries. It's probably some deal between the companies.

John

 

NP900X3C announced today, somehow it is .01" thinner, not the .1" stated by the uneducated engadget people.... from .51" to .50"

A03US says signature image and titan silver, A01US says mineral ash black. If I order an A03US (which I won't with 4GB and 128GB), I better get Titan Silver.

 

Hey, i also got my 900x3c a few days ago too, and I am wondering if one of my fans is broken. When i run a CPU intensive task for a little while, the first fan (right) will kick in. The second fan starts spinning very much later, usually first when i run CPU + Graphics benchmark at once to get full load.

I am not sure, but the left fan seems to be stuck until enough voltage is applied for higher speed.

Does your notebook act the same, or do both fans start running the same time?

 

I believe one fan is on the CPU and the other just kicks in when things start getting hot!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I remember reading in a review of the np900x3b that the fans are independently controlled, so they're not always spinning at the same speeds. So, if that is correct, you're Samsung 900x is operating perfect .

 

Why would you expect Titan Silver? Only amazon lists that, and they incorrectly list it for all their S9 models

 

Samsung's site says Titan Silver on specs page for the NP900X3C-A03US.
http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP900X3C-A03US-specs

EDIT: Not that I believe it though as pictures still look like mineral ash to me.

 

Well...

What he said. And A01US and A02US say Mineral Ash Black. So, that means I better get Titan Silver if I ordered an A03US.

And BTW, the pics show two USB 3.0 ports on the right side for the Series 9 13", so either Samsung doesn't have pictures of the Titan Silver because that would be impossible since they show a picture with two USB 3.0, meaning I better get Titan Silver, or I better get two USB 3.0 ports on that side in the color that the picture shows.

 

The 13" does not have two USB ports on either side. If someone manages to get a silver model instead of Mineral Ash Black, please let us know. I would love that color but I don't think you can get it in the USA.

 

That picture you see in the gallery is the 15" S9 model, not the 13". Just look at the keyboard, you'll see an extra row of keys on the right side, which is exactly what the 15" has. I got excited about the pics too last month, but realized they just posted pictures wrong. So by bets are that you'll get one USB ports on each side, and it'll most likely be dark mineral ash color.

 

Are any of the new NP900X3C TPM enabled yet? I can't seem to find anything on it. I saw in the 15" thread that some users were reporting finding a TPM chip..

 

Yes. The A02 model that comes with Windows 7 Pro comes with the TPM chip (I'm told). If I end up buying one, that is what I will order.

 

Didn't say it did. I said the pictures from Samsung show it that way, meaning they are showing the 15". So if they are showing the 15" then we can assume the color is also wrong.

So if I order an A03US that the specs say has a color of Titan Silver, and it is Mineral Ash Black, I will be returning it. I am waiting to see what the A04US brings though.

 

Then you might as well not order. Where are you ordering A03 anyway? I though that was a store.microsoft.com only SKU.

Where do you see NP900X3C-A04US? I am not seeing that in google or bing searches.

 

Has anyone done a Geek Bench benchmark on this NP900X3C and compared it to the NP900x3B? I'm also curious about WEI scores if anyone has those too..

 

I received my A02 and can confirm is does indeed have a TPM chip.

 

Awesome. I am jealous.

When you get a moment could you post your WEI score results? Thanks!

 

There is one odd thing i've noticed with my 900x3c:

If the laptop gets a little warm, the fan starts spinning on lowest speed. Now, if the bottom of the notebook is covered up (like in bed, or your legs) so that the fans will have a hard time getting some air in: instead of running permanently - they will stop and go all the time. It is a peridodic on-off-on-off... happening about once per second. Kinda like the fan is exausted because it's not getting any air and needs half a second break.

This "on and off" permanent noise will get on your nerves soon. Is it the same for you or just my device acting strange? I've never had this behaviour on any other laptop.

Also note that this wont happen on medium or fast fan speeds.

Cheers

 

Silent Mode in Easy Settings (General page) has an option to either keep the fan spinning or use the on-off that you are seeing. Give it a try.

John

 

Don't cover the vents.

 

Highly recommended - Logitech - Comfort Lapdesk N500

 

Agreed, had one a couple of years now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

To the folks who have received 900X3C models, can you please weigh your unit on a scale to confirm actual weight?

 

A01US weighed in at 2.62. Also, color listed on the box was mineral ash black. Not titan silver as listed on Amazon.

A couple of gripes so far:

• The trackpad is a little loud (compared to a Macbook Pro and a Lenovo T61)
• Battery life could be better
• Speaker quality isn't great at loud volumes (sound gets a bit distorted -- almost like a vibration)
• Keyboard backlight is not quite bright enough

 

Dang it......I knew there was something I forgot to do before I blew away the original config!

This system has been reimaged with a corporate build including an enterprise security suite (full disk encryption, AV, DLP, firewall, IPS, etc.) I also tweaked some of the BIOS/power settings a bit. Given all of these changes I'm not sure how applicable you will find these results but here they are anyway.

FWIW - my NP900X3C-A02US shipped with a SanDisk U100.

 

I think you've understood me wrong. If you hold the laptop up in the air the fans run the whole time. If you put it on your legs (covering up the fans, which is hard to prevent) they will stop and go all the time about once per second. Even in silent mode.

Can get annoying fast. Just wanted to let you guys know, because every other laptop i had does not have this fan problem. Even if covered up they will still run at the same speed instead of stop and go!

I think i am getting such a laptop-pad-thing. Seems a good idea

 

That would be the logical next step.

Funny how the NP900X4C-A03US has 8GB and 256GB. I would get that but not if it has the same resolution as a 13".