15" Series 9 NP900X4D discussion

Sit with black in the sunshine and you can cook the machine!

 

Yes, it is Sandisk U100, I checked it earlier and it weights 1.58kg. My guess it is because of magnessium body. I really like black version like X4C, but I was afraid of fingerprints on the case, but with X4D it is no problem, it just can not collect any fingerprint

Sorry, now I can not share any screen photos, but after display calibration I have a better view angles. Also display opens about 135-degree.

 

Ouch. I really can't believe they are doing this.

 

That's a real shame. How could Samsung do that on their flagship machine? I don't get it.

Ya know, I think it's time I consider other options. I really don't need a super-thin-and-light laptop. The 14" Samsung Series 5 (or something similar) really gives me all I need in a laptop computer.

Gotta give this some serious thought...

 

1366 x 768 ?

 

Not ideal, I know. But I use a 24" external monitor most of the time.

 

Please clarify if that is the 128GB or 256GB SSD. I presume the former.

Thanks. Then that's a reduction compared with 1.6tkg of the X4C.

John

 

128GB

In a heavy loads it gets very hot, especially backside. But after you turn off your app, it almost immediately turns the fan off and after that, gets cold. I am really impressed how it handles graphic apps, because I thought that integrated graphic card, can not do it.

My old HP, also was kind a hot pc and for heavy loads I always had to put something on my knees, to hold it.

Also can anyone suggest micro HDMI -> VGA, or VGA dongle? Maybe someone of you are using it? In a Samsung official website I saw one, but really do not want to pay ~40$ just for an adapter. Does simple mHDMI -> VGA which you can find in ebay can do that job?

 

I hear ya man. The hard drive thing is big but the screen washing out on me at big angles?!?!? Seriously? This is a $2000 machine! Many ultrabooks out there right now have 1080p PLS screens with all the glory. I am definitely abandoning the whole series 9 idea for now, and the whole ultrabook thing all together. No one seems to have everything i'd come to expect from an ultrabook right now, am seriously considering alternative options where i do not sacrifice performance for looks. Also giving this some serious thoughts...

 

In asia, X4D is actually priced about $250 lower than X4C with the same specs. But I really don't see the difference.
Samsung's got me totally confused.

 

See this thread for mHDMI-VGA. The VGA dongle should be the cheap option but, so far, seems to be priced higher than the HDMI device.

John

 

Ordered an X4D-A01UK - plan is to upgrade the SSD and just put up with the TN screen. I'll try to think of it as a feature - easy brightness control, just tilt the screen.

 

I'm possibly looking at getting one of these.
These model seems to use magnesium alloy rather than the aluminium-duralumin material used on the other Series 9 laptops.
How does this magnesium alloy fare compared to the duralumin material? (besides being lighter)

Also, is the ram and SSD replaceable for upgrades?
And how difficult is it? (if it is possible)
Thanbks in advance.

 

Toshiba have used magnesium alloy for many years (eg the R500). I don't know of any issues.

Both are replaceable but require unscrewing the back so, it appears, is officially not a user activity. The SSD is the mSATA format. More here.

John

 

I was wondering what the reasoning for Samsung using magnesium alloy in this particular model when a marketing trait of the other Series 9 models was the duralumin material (which is used in aircraft) used.
Magnesium alloy seems to be weaker and more cost-effective, but being a lighter material.
I wonder, is this a trait they plan to adopt for the 15" Series 9, or is this offered as a cheaper variation?

Also, could you link me to a guide on replacing the ram?
I'd like to check it out, though not really planning to attempt it.

 

Anyone know if there's BIOS support for Computrace in the Series 9? (and the X4D in particular?) Absolute Software | BIOS Compatibility doesn't list the series 9.

 

Carefully unscrew 10 screws (Philips screw size 0) from the base; carefully remove the base (there are plastic clips holding the edge together between the hinges, and lift off. You can then access the RAM.

I've seen no hint of this in the X4C BIOS and doubt if the X4D is different.

John

 

Great - thanks John. That would have scuppered my SSD upgrade plans.

 

Yes, there are.

 

just bought the 15" series 9 from the windows store, got rid of my ASUS UX32VD. Quite pleased with the Samsung, just wish the screen was improved, but i suspect the next version will address. Quick question, noticed there is no hard drive light that comes on when its being accessed, is this true?

 

Yes. It's true. If you want the activity light then there a a selection of free programs that can give you an icon in the notification area.

John

 

I just bought one of these.
Disappointing that the laptop came with 1 dead subpixel (I expected a perfect panel for that price )
Also the laptop case they threw in was a generic one that fits this laptop poorly, with lots of excess space for it to move about.

Just wondering, what bloatware and stuff do you guys recommend to remove on this laptop?
A windows clean install seems particularly troublesome for me.

 

I've been checking this thread and about 16 different websites for the past week hoping to find one of the NP900X4D-A02US models in stock somewhere in the US. I noticed two had sold on eBay recently so I've been checking eBay over and over. Well, turns out as of 8/6/12 7:46PM Central a seller (Beach Audio) just posted a listing with 7 of them available. I just bought 1 so that leaves 6. Anyways, I don't have any affiliation with them I just thought someone else might find this information useful. I'm really hoping the SSD is a Samsung model and hopefully the 400 nits screen is an improvement over the last 340nits model. I haven't seen the 340nits display but I've read you guys complaining about it. Fingers crossed!

 

Which 340-nits display? The NP900X4C has a 400-nits display. It's nice and bright, but viewing angles are so-so. I have seen god-awful numbers on the contrast ratio (like 120:1), but the display on my X4C does have decent blacks, so I just don't believe those numbers. I wonder if John Ratsey's Spyder reports on the contrast ratio? In any case, the X4D has the exact same display as the X4C.

 

The one that virtually every series 9 notebook comes with except the last two SKUs. I didn't buy the x4c because ive seen it listed as having the 340 in some places and the 400 in others, so I was unsure of which it actually came with. I know for sure all models before the x4c had the 340 though. Google NP900X4C 340-nits and you'll pull up a ton of listings that say it has the 340, same thing if you search for 400-nits.

 

A clean windows install shouldn't take very long at all, under 30 minutes maybe faster. I actually find the process quite enjoyable and it's one of the things I look forward to doing when I get a new pre built machine. I'd highly recommend doing it now, as it will be much more of a hassle to do down the road.

 

No need to Google anything: My NP900X4C says 400 nits right on the box.

 

Unfortunately when shopping online you rarely get to see the box, I only had product descriptions to read. Do all X4c SKUs have 400 nits or only some of them? I believe there is an a01, a02 and a03 correct? My x4d a02 is out for delivery today so I'll get some pictures up later and let you guys know which ssd it has.

 

So i just purchased this laptop NP900X4D-A02US and so far I am a little disappointed, it comes loaded with a bunch of junk and the samsung easy setting dont work very well. This laptop is fast but very flimsy especially the connector , it feels like it is going to snap everytime i plug it in to charge. Also My WiFi is not working at all and is malfunctional after going thru test with samsung they said they will get a tier 2 technician to contact me, which means more and more waiting. Then if that doesn't work, which i already know it isn't. They are gonna make me send it back for repair which will then take 2 weeks. So far I am a disappointed and not enjoying this.

 

I've been using my series 9 for about a month now and it's been great so far except for two things.

1. The Aluminum body scratches fairly easily. I lug mine around in a backpack that has a special slot with hard back for laptops and use it only in the office. I don't bring it around anywhere at all after that and I now have one deep scratch about 2mm and a 1 inch light scratch at the bottom. Apparently they're not as tough as the MBP's

2. Wifi is really really weak...I'd say 75% of what I was getting with my old macbook and macbook pro at a certain distance from the router.

 

Rather than reading random product descriptions of third-party sellers, you could have just read the specs that Sasmung gives on their website. And, yes, of course all of the X4Cs are 400 nits.

 

In my experience, the Samsung website is just as prone to error as other sites.

 

indeed. also samsung sent me product datasheets for the 900X4C and 900X4D and the latter datasheet praised the wonderful aluminum ash black finish

anyway guys, got the 900X4D yesterday, looks beautiful but I have issues with the trackpad: after booting it the scrolling and right mouse button don't work for several minutes (i have installed the latest touchpad driver via easy software manager). also when i click by tapping the sinsitivity is bad, you have to tap very hard. i think I remember reading something about the trackpad in the 900X4C-threads so I'll head over there and look for the solution today.

also several of the samsung programs (easy settings, fast boot etc.) need admin rights to start so after i created a standard user every time after boot it asks for the admin password 4 times. in the guest account the Fn-controls (for keyboard illumination / brightness etc.) don't work at all.

if you're interested i'll post some pics so you can check out the color and the screen. i've also made a short unboxing vid.

 

Ah yes... Unfortunately, the configuration of much of Samsung's software and Samsung-customized drivers is badly screwed up, and only partially Windows-compatible. You can fix some of the obvious issues by running some of the startup programs as Scheduled Tasks, with user login as the trigger, which allows you to run them under an administrative account. But as I recall I still had weird issues, with the trackpad in particular. Sometimes gestures, and even a simple right-click, would not be available after startup, and I had to reboot to get the thing to work. I ended up giving up on the idea of using a standard user like I do on every other machine I own. While I feel that's somewhat acceptable for this particular machine, the fact that Samsung is unable to properly configure a Windows machine, decades after proper user rights management became mandatory with the introduction of Windows NT-based OS', does not speak well for them...

 

How can I trust the Samsung website specs to be accurate when I can't even trust Samsung to include their own SSD drive in their flagship model? Joking aside, Samsung frequently makes errors on their spec listings.

After only 1 day, I'm returning the NP900X4D-A02US

Maybe if had come with a Samsung SSD I would keep it, but having a 256GB Sandisk U100 is the straw that broke the camels back. Here are the reasons why I'm returning it

• Flagship model as of 8/9/12 and it includes sub-par Sandisk U100 256GB SSD. I heard of these drives being included on the 128GB model, but I also read many reports of the 256GB model being a Samsung drive. Mine wasn't.
  
• Magnesium Mystic Silver looks like cheap plastic. As a previous ZenBook and MacBook owner I've got to say this chassis does not feel premium. It looks and feels like thin plastic. It doesn't look like sexy metal the way the ZenBook and to a lesser extent the MacBook do.
  
• Display. It's crap, just like other forum members said it would be. It's ironic that Samsung is known for their high quality displays and blazing fast SSD drives, yet on their flagship notebook they include a crap TN panel with poor viewing angles and a subpar Sandisk SSD drive.
  
• Lack of display port. I want to drive an external 2560x1440 monitor with this thing, but from what I understand it's not possible with the microHDMI or VGA port. Of course I knew it didn't have display port when I bought it, but I didn't realize I couldn't drive the higher resolution over microHDMI. I haven't verified 100% that it isn't possible, but from what I've read you need display port or dual link DVI to make it happen.
  
  I just can't believe no one is making a thin and light laptop in the 15" size with a high quality display and SSD. You'd think there would at least be 1 on the market, but apparently there isn't. To get an IPS display you have to go down to 13.3, which is too small for me. I guess from here I'll have to consider the Lenovo X1 Carbon, which is smaller than I'd like but has the rest of the specs I want.
  

 

I feel you, we are in the same boat I was like wow almost 2 grand for this thing wth its supposed to be the elite model with the 256GB but it looks and feels like it worth $900 instead of the almost $2k i spent

 

Hmm, too bad. In all honesty, I have never quite understood the point of the X4D versus the X4C models: Slightly different material, different color, so what?

I'm just glad my X4C-A03US did come with the Samsung SSD. One of the big advantages is that this is probably the fastest-booting/resuming UltraBook on the market. Boots in less than half the best times I have seen reported from the Lenovo X1 Carbon, for example, and is roughly twice as fast in file transfer tests as well. Really the only fly in the ointment for that X4C-A03US is the somewhat mediocre screen. On the other hand, that screen isn't as bad as it's sometimes made out to be. I have seen people report god-awful contrast ratios, when in reality the contrast of my screen at least looks quite alright. Blacks are black, and not gray.

 

My problem with the screen is the terrible viewing angles. I thought I found a replacement in the X1 Carbon but apparently that's not IPS either, just a higher quality TN panel. Can someone please tell me of an ultrabook that is 14" or larger and has an IPS display and a decent SSD drive?

 

Do any of the 13.3" Series 9 Ivy Bridge notebooks have IPS or PLS displays? If so, which SKUs? Thank you

 

From initial reports, the viewing angles on this one seem to be good, but YMMV, as they say.

All of them have PLS displays.

 

That's the first report of the 256GB U100 I've seen. That's particularly annoying since Sandisk do make a decent 256GB SSD as seen here.

My X4C's panel looks good (after calibration) except when put alongside my X3B's IPS panel. It's much better than the notoriously poor display in the T420s / T420.

John

 

Could you please post the pictures and the video?

 

The Samsung Series 9 hotkeys and other functions won't work right away after boot. I never looked into exactly why, but I think it has something to do with the fantastic boot times and delaying service starts. A boot trace would confirm that, but it's an advanced troubleshooting skill and not for the faint of heart.

Regarding admin rights, there is nothing you can really do about that (that I am aware of). Samsung utilities make under the covers changes that require deep security permissions. This will continue to annoy enterprise admins until the machine and software take the admin model into account.

Finally, please send us a link to your video. We love hardware p0rn.

 

You can fiddle with the priority for booting of services by going to the Boot Management page of Easy Settings, clicking on the Advanced button of Boot Optimization and then clicking on Settings. However, don't ask me how it all works. I would also note that right mouse-click functionality used to be missing until the entire boot process had finished but something in one of the updates seems to have fixed that.

John

 

Can anyone confirm if MS Office Starter is included with the X4D?

Also, I assume the other key difference to the X4C (apart from the magnesium casing) is that it has Windows Professional as opposed to Home Premium?

 

Finally bit the bullet and purchased an X4D-A02US today. I chose it over ux32vd because of all the apparent QC issues with ASUS. The Series 9 was an original contender when I started shopping for notebooks about 6 mo ago but I absolutely HATED the mineral ash black color. Stupid reason to pick a laptop but if I am going to be looking at it every day for the next 3 years I might as well like the color. A couple of questions though to get me started.
1. I haven't seen a whole lot of information on the warranty that is/is not provided.
2. Is there any bloatware that is horrible? The Zenbook apparently came with a bunch of terrible bloatware.

I guess that is all for now I will stay up with this thread for news and updates. I am upgrading from a 4 year old xps15.

 

Can't comment on Office Starter but regarding differences, the X4D seems to have a 3 yr warranty vs 1 YR for X4C. I am considering the X4D but I usually buy a third party extended warranty with additional accidental damage protection plan and the price of those doesn't seem to be reduced vs. X4C to reflect additional coverage period of X4D warranty.

 

Hi All,

I am planning to buy X4D-A01US soon... Would actually anyone then recommend this one? Is the display really that bad? Can anyone else confirm that shallow key press and the cheap plastic look of the model?

BTW.Can someone tell how long it lasts on full brightness display on standard web surfing?

 

The keys are very shallow due to the limited thikness but are very usable.

You can work it out from this graph and my X4C review which gave 8 hours at half brightness:

Half brightness gives about 7.5W average power consumption on light web browsing. Full brightness adds about 3.5W to the half brightness power consumption = 11W. Assume 55Whr (Windows shuts down before the battery is empty) so 55/11 = 5 hours.

John

 

So I'm debating between getting the X4B in sale for 1099 or the X4C for 1399. Is there anyway to tell if the C comes with a Samsung SSD? Because honestly I'd probably rather have a better ssd with a worse processor for 300 less than the other day around.