2013 Ativ Book 9 13.3" Ivy Bridge NP900X3E / NP900X3F

Nope, Battery Life Extender is missing. Boo. Another tidbit from the BIOS:

Total Memory 4096 MB
Slot 1 Memory 4096 MB
Slot 2 Memory Not Installed

I thought these only had one RAM slot?

 

What is real world battery life on these units?

Thanks.

 

I get about 6 hrs average with my usage. That's a lot of browsing, some youtube, some php developing, and sometimes even a game of dota 2 (lol yeah it's playable) on ~60% brightness (turned off adaptive brightness) and always on wifi, using a slightly tweaked balanced power plan. it does tend to get hot though when used consecutively, but it's not what you'd call burning hot )

 

Those are just virtual slots.
Slot 2 is only occupied in dual channel configurations.

 

How hard/easy is it to install Windows 7 onto the NP900X3F? I've tried Windows 8 for a few days now, and it's just not working out.

 

First give Start8 a try. It impressed me sufficiently to get my $4.99.

John

 

Hmm, it seems Start8 does indeed help alleviate some of the Windows 8 UI issues. Helpful as always, John, thanks :thumbsup:

 

Isn't the Start menu coming back with 8.1 anyway?

 

That would be a big negative. Start button coming back in 8.1 that takes you to the modern UI. Start menu, is not coming back.

 

The panel is the BOE05BE as stated in the first post. Here are some updates on the issue:

 

bug appears to be solved with current drivers.

 

It is very easy once you free your machine from Secure Boot, UEFI and GPT handcuffs, which is not easy if you don't understand those technologies.

I can confirm that Windows 7 runs smoothly with full functionality on X3E with Easy Settings from X3C and device drivers from their respective manufacturer.

 

I wrote to Samsung Support Germany that people on the interwebs want a 8GB in the X3E top model (and the Plus is no alternative for many due to glossy). I asked them politely they may send the request to the appropriate department.
I got an answer they would send the request directly to the dev department "in Korea" (quote). ^^ I doubt this will work, but at least that's the best response one could expect

edit: samsung support don't even get their spelling right in their sigs:
it says "Name Surname - Samsung Kundesupport", not KundeNsupport (like "Samsung cusomer service")...
lol

 

Easy Display Manager 3.2.7.4 from X3A fully supports all functions on the X3E. That however only on the 32bit version. Samsung doesn't seem to support XP x64 (see systemsetting.exe error above) .

 

i did a comparison.... seems to me there will be no better silent, matte options other than the X3E/X3F available on the Win 8.1 launch (the RTM leaked already, did you hear?), so I'll go with one of these despite the 4 GB limitation. (Will later see into what it takes to make the complete OS&software installation transferable to a new model. 4 GB will be enough for the next max. 2 years I guess)

credits: Oled, John, and many others!!!!









































































- marketed as black, but isn't it partially blue?

	NP900X3E-K01	900X3F K01	900X3F G01
Chassis	- said to be like 900X3C; btw. thinking of it, the black-darkblue-silver(?)-"color-design" seems a bit unstylish, don't you think?? (not as bad as the engraving in the AB9+ though ;P )	- touchpad now frameless - .3mm thicker; note: width and depth 100% identical. - 30g less - marketed as black, but isn't it, also, partially blue? - no silver (silver?) outer frame, but same dark color as chassis	dito
SD Card Reader	y	y	NO! (100% confirmed?!) (German site still claims yes in specs, however manual indeed says "optional" with both "SIM" *AND* "SD
WiFi	Intel 6235 Half Mini Card	Atheros 946x? German site says Intel® 802.11a/b/g/n (2 x 2)	dito
LTE	n	n	Y
processor	i7 (dual core! (sic))	i5 dual core, no model with i7 (which is also ~10% faster) available; will there ever be? ; effect of i5 (worse performance per watt, cf. cpuboss; -> more noise?)	dito
noise emissions	said to be quite silent	new chassis seems to have 2 fans also -> same emissions?	dito
SSD	256; is it correct there is a risk it not liteon (and not anything better than liteon)?; however user-exangeable; upscale model with 512 available	128 (!), no 256 available; however user-exchangeable	256; said to be liteon or better; user-exchangealbe
Centrino	said to have Centrino tech.: advantages apart from WiDi?	said to have no Centrino	dito
keyboard and touchpad (apart from being (non-)framed)	()	same as X3E?	same as X3E?
screen	1080p	1080p; identical to X3E?	dito
Fast Start	?	marketed as Fast Start	dito
OS options	(irrelevant, you could upgrade anyway)	dito	dito
other	reasons to go with this model?	dito	dito

 

Everything said on page #1 is true for all models if not stated otherwise.

If you read the whole thread you will see that those specs which differ from the official samsung information have all been confirmed by actual owners of the device. Except for the SD / SIM slot, as we don't have any owners yet.. Just compare the pictures of X3E & X3F-G and make your own conclusion.

# Chassis
I prefer the all black style of the X3F too

# CPU
i5 only is one reason for the X3F to be cheaper I guess

# NOISE
CPU / Cooling system is the same, so I can't see no reason for Samsung to change the fan settings. I love the twin fan / heatsink design. In idle / low operation only one fan is active btw.
My X3E-A i7 doesn't throttle at all while noise is clearly noticable but not disturbing.

Full CPU load: 2900 Mhz CPU / GPU 350 Mhz @ 81°C
Full CPU + GPU load: 2000 Mhz CPU / 850 Mhz GPU (1000 Mhz peak) @ 76°C
Full GPU load only: 1800 Mhz CPU / 1050 Mhz GPU @ 71°C

# SSD
I myself have the Samsung, but there is nothing wrong with the Lite On to my best knowledge. No Idea what the manufacturer of the 256GB version is

# Centrino
is the combination of Intel CPU & WiFi. As the X3F has no Intel WiFi it means it doesn't have Centrino. I believe this and the lack of i7 are the reason for the X3F to be cheaper.

# Touchpad & keyboard
no idea if changed

# panel
same for all models

# Fast start
Can't comment, not using it

I did go for the X3E-A, it has the advantage of still having the Battery Life Extender. Otherwise I'd choose X3F

 

As a general note:
Don't plain believe what Samsung is telling you. The specs page of the NP900X3E-A03UK eg lists a i7-3517U, but it came with i7-3537U device assembled 07/2013

 

can anyone explain why this 512gb version doesn't come in 8gb or ram? I was going to go with the 256gb version of the ativ book 9 plus with 8gb of ram, but then I came across this here.

I think I would hdd space over ram, I'll be using it mainly for 1080p+ tv/movies.

any thought or recommendations? or could I possibly get the 256gb version and upgrade the hdd?


great read so far here :>

cheers

 

is it correct that the chassis, both on x3e and x3f, and any other series 9/ativ 9 mixes black and navy? seems like the screen bezel has a differen color than the screen hinge and other parts of the laptop. just curious.
exept the the D version (full silver one), of course.

btw i was just checking with the asus ux21A (11.6") as a contender, but then I read that it is almost as large as the samsung because the asus has a big bezel. and I read the screen is semi-matte, not full matte. just quoting, don't take my word for this.

also, total chaos at samsung. i compared identical model numbers (e.g. NP900X3E-K01) at samsung switzerland, austria, and germany, and depending on the country extension (ch, de, at), the same model would be listed as either 8 pro or 8 basic, and even with differend sdd capacities. add to that oleds observation that the cpu model was different from advertised, and you get an idea. i hate this, btw.

would s.b. please tell how the sd slot's cover behaves? is it a separate thing that can be completely removed, or does it open like a "door turned by (90°), or is it attached somehow with a flexible rubber thing...? can one leave an sd in there 24/7 for continuous backup purposes? how much does a card stick out?
thank you!

EDIT: i just found people claiming there is not *SD* reader, but only a MICRO SD reader, and even with the micro sd, the lid would not close. is this correct?

EDIT2: i found this: http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=14193 <- shows a standard sd inserted, afaics, and it doesn't stick out that bad.
and this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROoyZ5La2kU <- shows a micro sd inserted, afaics

-> changes in design?

 

Only Samsung can, but likely won't.

1080p movies will be perfect on this machine as it matches the panels native resolution. You won't have any scaling drawbacks.

You possibly can. Storage however comes as a SSD not HDD and those 480GB / 512GB models are a) hard to come by and b) ridiculously expensive. For more info see the upgrade thread linked on page #1

 

The lower part of the bezel as well as the hinge is made of plastic (the latter houses the antennas). That's about it regarding color differences

The trailing number is a country specific configuration indicator. A "03DE" can be entirely different from a "03CH"

Its has a flap down spring mechanism

It's a full size SD Card Reader.

The second video shows X3A with an entirely different chassis.
If you don't like things sticking out try a MicroSD card adapter like the Nifty MiniDrive. But If you don't mind you could also use an additional USB MicroSD Card reader like this one or a tiny USB flash drive like SanDisk Cruzer Fit

 

Hi guys,

i recently bought a Ativ book 9 NP900X3E model.

When i run assessment windows experience index, it gives only 3.6 for my CPU... is it normal?

P.S i can feel the computer sluggish opening my visual studio or SQL. By the way previously i was using series 9 15 inch and i used the same software's without any sluggishness. Only thing different from my 15 inch was 8gb RAM and this only is 4gb RAM.

Thanks

 

Did you enable either Silent Mode or Eco Mode? If so, disable them since either locks the CPU down to minimum speed.And make sure you are using the Samsung Optimized Power Plan.

If IntelliMemory is installed then uninstall it. It is a caching program that doesn't bring benefits with an SSD and only 4GB RAM. It can cause delays having to vacate RAM when other programs need it.

Use HWiNFO to check that the CPU speed is operating throughout the specified range.

John

 

Hi John,

Thanks for the comments, Will try and let you update.

Thank you for the help (as usual)

 

Hi John,

Yes i have intellimemory installled, will try to uninstall and see.

Can i also check how to identify whether i am on silent or Eco mode. Function and F11 doesn't give any indication.

 

The easiest way to check if Silent Mode is enabled is to click the battery icon in the taskbar tray: If the Power Saver profile is selected, you're in Silent Mode (unless you selected it manually).



Or you can open Settings (Fn-F1) and check there.

 

Hmm. Stupid Samsung could have at least provided a SDXC _mini_ reader in the LTE (G01) version. I don't like having to choose the "lesser evil" (external LTE or external reader).....

I will have a data plan in my smartphone, but I don't like the idea of tethering (drains the battery, radiation while phoning at the same time (?), tethering via BT might be better, but slower; general hassle, etc.)

fumbling around with an additional device like...
NEU 4G LTE Huawei E589u-12 MIFI Wifi Router Modem 100Mbit (original Huawei ohne Branding) TS-9 Antennenanschluss: Amazon.de: Elektronik
... (i already have a similiar one with umts, even lighter) doesn't seem ideal either (another battery to keep track of).
And UMTS sticks are ugly and huge.

-> So there's a point for getting the LTE model to have connections covered.

I don't currently have a need for >64GB of sd( (or micro sc) space (and 128 GB microSDs will be coming sooner or later, should I ever have).

(I need an SD slot primiarily as backup solutions (permanent backup every minute of worked-on documents etc. via SecondCopy, with added profiles so I have backups in a manner like this: 1min-2-3-...24-25min; 30min-40-50-3h50-4h; 30min-60-...12h30m; 1h30min-3h-4h30min-...-1,5days; 1day, 2day...25days; 2days, 4 days, ... infinite days.(the latter is not second copy but a whole system image with incremental backups (macrium) every 2 days).

(One point is also that I like to quickly put SD cards into my purse when I go away from my computer, so when my laptop is unattended (in car, in appartment), I have a full backup in case the laptop gets stolen. Every-second-day-image backups are kept at the flat and at a secret place near the house.)

The problem is USB microSD card readers tend to have bad reviews / tend to be of bad quality, and they currently support only low transfer rates.
At least some are explicitly mentioned to support XC, but write speeds up to 6MB/s only:

Adaptateur USB - Micro SD - MicroControleur Hobby
Micro SD SDHC SDXC Mini Cardreader USB 2.0 Hi-Speed Card Reader Kartenlesegerät | eBay
Wholesale USB 2.0 Micro SDXC Card Reader, Micro SD Card Reader,TF Card Reader , By FedEx, Free shipping, $1.78/Piece | DHgate

Do you think these readers can cause damage to the card? Or that all that can happen is the readers thermselves go bad? I am also thinking of the card getting hot in there when imaging is done? Might not get hotter than in normal micro sd readers (i.e., SD card sized readers for regular SD slots), though.

Sandisk have announced microSDXCs with up to 50MB/s write. I wonder when manufactureres will provide decent microSD readers like the above that can tackle that speed, and are reliable.

On my vaio X, I have these two types of cards in the reader (officially a sdHc reader, but it reads and writes xc with not issues), see the transfer rates when transfering a 630MB file from one to the other, and back:
- Sony Memory Stick PRO 32GB (sold at amazon as Sony MS Pro HG Duo HX High Speed 32GB Speicherstick)
- Sandisk Extreme Class 10 128GB (sold at amazon as SanDisk SDSDX-128G-X46 Extreme 128GB SDXC-Speicherkarte (45MB/s)


within ssd (same partition): 0:25 25 MB/s (0:30 different partition (might be margin of error, just 1 trial each))
from MS to ssd: 0:35 -> 18 MB/s
from SD to ssd: 0:40 -> 15 MB/s
from ssd to SD: 0:55 -> 11,5MB/s
from SD to MS: 1:20 -> 8 MB/s
from ssd to MS: 1:20
from MS to SD: 1:30 -> 7 MB/s
within SD: 1:40 -> 6 MB/s
within MS: 2:00 -> 5 MB/s

I wouldn't be surprise if the abovementioned reader is a bit quicker than 6MB/s. But still, the lack of a reader ist tstupid.

Will probably go with the LTE G version nonetheless. Lesser evil.

Aaah idea: I'll order the reader and see how it goes, first. ^^

 

Hi John,

i have uninstalled the intellimemory and ran the assessment again. What i noticed is when i start the assessment, system automatically changes my power profile as High Performance.

i have set the Minimum processor state and Maximum processor state as 100 and tried rerunning the assessment and monitored through HWinfo, when system was Assessing CPU Performance, both core clock speed stayed as 798 MHz only. It never shot up to 2000+ MHz as it suppose to.

Can enlighten me what else should i do to make it run faster.

I know this is a fast computer and i still amazed how it can be crippled down my a piece of software like this.

Thanks

 

Buy a good USB card reader (check if there is a USB 3.0 version) and see what speed you get. I don't know if Samsung upgraded the SD card slot hardware in recent models but those in my X3B and X4C are slower than an old external reader.

Your best backup solution would be a couple of USB 3.0 flash drives. The performance of these varies but speeds are better than the USB 2.0 devices.

If the CPU is stuck on 800MHz in High Performance mode then the next place I would look is in the BIOS to ensure that SpeedStep (or whatever it is called these days) is enabled. I presume you have already looked in Settings (Fn+F1) to ensure that both Silent Mode and Eco Mode are turned off.

Also run a CPU benchmark such as wPrime while checking the speed in HWiNFO.

John

 

That and the fact that the modem only supports dual band 3G / triple band 4G according to support. That is just half the bands their current Galaxy phone supports (quad band 3G / hexa band 4G).

I decided against the G and plan on doing a 3G / WiFi combo card mod instead.

 

Hi Oled!
How confident are you the mod will work? When will you be doing it? Will it be easy enough for a layperson to do this?

I've sent an email to samsung asking about the bands of the modem (DE (German) version).

 

I don't think it'll be easy. You won't need any electronic skills, but there is a chance this won't work because of the very little space or that parts don't play nicely together.

You will need to place additional antennas / cables and a SIM card holder / extension cord and cut an opening in the chassis. The only place this will work is the plastic covered back where the air vents / WiFi antennas are located. You have to modify that housing in hope not to interfere too much with the cooling system or current WiFi reception.

Here is a picture provided by John about what you have to deal with: The width is less than the lenght of a standard SIM card.

I won't get the parts before October unfortunately.


The information I got about the modem frequencies are from Samsung. Let's see if they tell you something different

 

oh,

I guess that sums it up

 

hmm. if you always use the same sim card, you could leave the card within the chasis without having to cut a hole into it, couldn't you? To exchange a card once or twice, or even more often, a year, opening the chassis seems more than accomplishable to me? October sounds great!
I found a micro sim reader that seems to have at least mediocre, i.e. not bad, reviews, which is this one:
http://www.amazon.de/Hama-microSD-microSDHC-K-2in1-USB/dp/B001VASORY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Cheap World's Smallest MicroSD TransFlash TF SD/SDHC USB 2.0 Card Reader Keychain <- seems like the same; review might be partly fake, not sure. just suspiciously many good reviews.

they all seem to die soon: it works s.th. like this: the "good ones" (kingston) die after ~12 months, but stick out to much -- the mediocre ones die after 8 months and fit OK, and the bad ones also fit OK but may actually harm your card and also tend to self-disassemble, and die after 4 months. so pick your choice. I guess buying three mediocre ones seems like the way to go. these don't officially support scXc but I guess it will work nonetheless.

I found it funny how trusted (sic) reviews, who did a review on the 9plus, missed the fact of exaclty how annoying the fan in the vaio 13 really is. they noticed the problem and mentioned the tendency, but claimed it would be ok in day-to-day life, vastly underestimating the effect. So I would't trust their verdict on the samsung 9 plus noise level, nevertheless I expect it to be on par with the 9 series/AB9. The reviewer claims the AB9plus has two fans - as opposed to what [xy] once said (one fan). I found it interesting that, if there are two fans, they are ,unlike the AB9, not symmetrical. I have been wondering if the symm. positioning on the ab9 actually such that they both will precicely be blocked by both legs when the notebook is sitting on one's lap....

Back to storage/SD:
- Check out the very small and good-looking 32GB USB 3.0 drive in *comments* of this article: The First USB 3.0 Flash Drive That's Small Enough To Lose ( see Hongkong)
- The usb sdxd reader i linked in an earlier post seems identical to one named "goobay" (seriously), and it received very bad reviews on German amazon.
- I also found this:
Memory Expandable Combo Kit - CR8700: Amazon.de: Elektronik
- the Elego usb sdxc reader also has bad reviews (and is not all that small)
- This: World's Smallest USB Stick Fits Flush to Your Computer | TechHive .. is somewhat dated, but seems the smallest you can get. Up to 16 GB. Claims to be 4MB/s write which is not really bad IMHO. one could actually make it even smaller (!) by shortening one end of the plasic. 16 GB limitation so, and extremely hard to find.
- (I have also been wondering if it would be possible to mod one of the USB ports of the X3F so they would sit deeper in the chassis, so could would function for removable flash storage primarily.)
- Which bands did they tell you the G01 modem would support? Which country's Samsung customer service did you ask? Shouldn't the lack of bands only be a problem when travelling USA <-> Europe, provided they have different modem versions for Europe <-> USA? I just checked List of LTE networks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and it seems LTE bands 3,7,20 are relevant for Europe. Moreover, shouldn't tethering be an option in those cases where the modem doesn't work? Of course, bluetooth tethering, which is less stressful to the phone (and the notebook), doesn't seem to work on every phone (with some, only if you root them, afaicr, but i might be wrong).

(Re backup, connection to the cloud for backup, or sufficiently fast connection to the cloud, cannot be taken for granted so one does need a local permanent backup solution that one can take with you when the notebook is left unattended (or if the ssd fails).)

Actually, given all these options (bluetooth tethering, wlan tethering, USB tethering, LTE mod, USB socket mod, various very small USB sticks and USB microSD readers, nifty microdrive and competitors, huawei portable LTE hotspot), one could also quite convincingly argue that we are talking about problems that might be slightly indicative of OCPD, like almost any thread in this forum.

 

So guys, I'm looking seriously into buying an Ativ Book 9 but Samsung's naming conventions - and their various configurations - are putting me off a bit.

Here's the thing: in Brazil Samsung sells the NP900X3F-KD01BR, and it's that "D" in the product code that's making me uneasy. I remember that in 2012 Samsung sold an NP900X3D model that was a low-cost, lower-quality version of the 9 Series, and I'm afraid that "KD" code may mean the version sold in Brazil is inferior to the K01 laptop sold elsewhere.

Prices seem on a par with what's on offer in the US (keeping in mind tech items in Brazil cost 2-3 times what they cost in North America).

Does anyone know anything about this K "D" business? Should I be worried?

BTW I'm not interested in the ultra-high-res "G" model for now (Ativ Book 9 Plus). I'd love Haswell battery life but that model's thicker and heavier *and* glossier than what I have in mind.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

Hello Navegador, welcome to NBR.

The "D" in the last letter of the main model number (NP900X3 D) simply designates the generation of this model: It's Series 9 (NP 900), 13 inch (X 3D), fourth generation (X3 D). Before that were NP900X3 A, NP900X3 B, NP900X3 C.

It does NOT designate a generally cheaper model, but rather reflects updates to newer chipsets/CPUs or other mainboard changes, and sometimes also changes to screen and ports. Letters "E" and up are 2013 models.

The letters and numbers after the dash (KD01BR in the model you mention) are unique for each country, usually signifying different HDD/SSD size, RAM, CPU speed -- and GPU speed on some models. But they all have the same chassis and mainboard as other NP900X3D models. There are no rules (that I can tell) for these country specific sub-model codes. You have to compare the specs for each individual model number, including the sub-model.

At least those are the general rules. That said, I have not seen other models with the KD01xx sub-model code. I guess it cannot be ruled out that Samsung's Brazilian Marketing department ordered a special batch for sale there.

Maybe others will have specific info on that model.

 

Thanks Dannemand. Maybe I should try this thing out in a real shop before buying, instead of purchasing online straight away.

Still, I'd read in more than one place that the "D" model was a Series 9 "lite" as opposed to more "premium" versions. It was also much cheaper than "C". Then again it could've been a different product code with a D in it. Like I said, Samsung naming conventions are confusing.

Was there ever a cheaper Series 9? (before this AB9 Lite I mean)

 

Yes, whenever possible, trying it out in a store is always the best thing.

Other than the AB9 Lite, which came out this summer, I am not aware that there was a Lite version of the Series 9. The AB9 Lite has its own thread, linked below. But it sounds like you already know about that.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...wered-ativ-book-9-lite-np905s3g-np915s3g.html

 

Looking in SW Update's database I see that there is am NP900X3A-AD1BR, NP900X3B-AD1BR, NP900X3B-AD1BR and NP900X3D-AD1BR so it seems that someone likes having the D in the sub-model code.

John

 

Are you referring to the NP900X3D-A01? This was a S9 released last year coinciding with W8. Notably, while they were already shipping ivy S9s, this model used a sandy bridge platform modified to support uefi and other W8 features. It included that same screen as the X3B, X3C, but a silver chassis and a much lower price point, I purchased one for $699. Some people reported they received units with poor build quality, the hinge may be a little loose. I still thought it a very good deal at that price point. Anyway, I don't think I'd be too concerned about that X3F model, just make sure you have a return window.

 

(I think I'm being on-topic because the G01 lacks an sd reader)
check out this interesting usb drive which features 8GB on board + micro sd card reader in one:
Buy Mini-USB Stick | 3-year product guarantee

 

Right. I went to check the Ativ 9 at my local Fnac today. It had a coarser and (apparently) thicker chassis than a leftover "B" model they had there on closeout (I would've been tempted, but "B" is Sandy Bridge-based).

What put me on guard though was the bottom plate label. It had NP900X3F-KD01BR printed in a large font, but "Model: NP900X3D" in small print. So I think this is actually a rebadged "D" model - the same magnesium (not aluminium) chassis would explain the difference in surface texture and lack of polished sides/edges, plus it'd be easy for them to replace the original screen with a 1920x1080 unit. Maybe Samsung had some leftover "D" chassis around? I did take a quick photo with my phone, but it came out blurry and I wasn't too comfortable photographing inside the store.

Does anyone here own a NP900X3F? Can you please check the bottom plate for all model numbers, codes etc. and report back? Thanks!

 

So did the one you saw have the shiny metal edges? This is absent on the "F" chassis.

John

 

No shiny.

I checked Newegg - they have good product photos - and the US version has "Model: NP900X3F" in small print. So I guess Brazil gets stuck with "D" versions with updated screens.

 

Hmm. Thanks a lot for these observations, Navegador!
It should be easy to find out if the X3F has a magnesium chassis underneath its "coarse" finish. (How bad is the finish, btw?) One could ask Samsung about the metal type used. I think I will ask Samsung Austria so Samsung Germany doesn't get annoyed with my questions
The finish on top of old X3D model chassis would explain the extra 0.3mm (which could however also be explained by different plastic "plugs" at the bottom, or that those who take the measurements for some reason re-measure the F series and 0.3mm was simpliy within the margin of error.)
I doubt, however, that this has s.th. to do with Brazil. If anything, then, so it seems, *all* X3F models are based on the D chassis... (they all have the extra 0.3 mm and the suspicious lack of the silver frame. I wonder if the both the X3D and the C3F lack a framed touchpad.)
Question is, what does this entail? Does the D model chassis have disadvantages other than being magnesium? Could the coarse finish not be intentional, but actually a pill that they had to swallow in order to make alloy chassis black, because a different, less coarse finish would not have stayed on the magnesium? Time for a conspiracy theory. All speculation!

And here's the answer of Samsung Germany:
- they confirmed the G model lacked an SD slot (surprise), and they would remove the wrong info from the specs. (I'd say chances are 50:50 they actually will )
- they have sent me the LTE bands:
- Band3(1800MHz)
- Band7(2600MHz)
- Band20(800MHz)

-> If you don't leave Europe, this is absolutely sufficient, as far as I can see. Unless telecom companies plan on extending used bands. I think I have heard about s.th. the like, but I'm not sure.

They also told me the SD card would stick out by 1-2 mm from the chassis (presumably looking from the top, i.e. actually protuding the chassis in terms of its overall width. ....Breadth? Width? Hmmm.....

Navegador, the x3d, to my knowledge, has sandy bridge (2...., not 3.....), so you could easily tell if "Brazil gets old recoloured D models".
--
Edit: PS. Could s.b. please comment on these questions:

- is battery user-replaceable in the x3e and x3f? (opening the chassis, of course)
- do x3f-k AND -g definitely both have the same wifi (=wlan)? is this proven to be without connectivity problems?
- what's the current state of the x3e wifi (wlan) connectivity problems? is there a fix (sorry, too lazy to do a read-up)?

 

The finish, well, it doesn't look as well 'formed' as the aluminium version. Edges aren´t crisp, they have a more curved, less precise feel. That also applies to the edges of the keypad, which in the demo unit I tried had a couple of irregularities (very small indentations, if you know what I mean). The whole thing doesn't look and feel 'precision-cut' like an Apple laptop or indeed the aluminium series 9 Samsungs. I'm struggling for (English) words to describe it, hope you got what I meant.

I Googled it in Portuguese instead of English and got the answer: the "F"s, or at least -KD01BR, are indeed made of magnesium. It's all over the press coverage of the Brazilian launch event (back in July if I remember correctly). Samsung's website omits this information but theymust've told the press, everyone reported it (as a major advantage no less). I'm struggling to find their press release though, Samsung hasn't updated press releases on their Brazilian website since July 2012.

Well, in strictly practical terms it doesn't mean anything, I think magnesium's just as resistant as aluminium and makes the chassis maybe even a little bit lighter - a point that appears repeatedly in the press. The difference in thickness is irrelevant too. However, the choice of material - or maybe the choice of this partcular chassis - does affect the laptop's 'feel'. The finish just isn't on a par with its aluminium counterparts from Samsung itself. There were a few rough edges, especially around the trackpad.

Also, there's a visual impact in the lack of polished (shiny) metal edges, and that's made worse by the irregular finish around the 'pad. All in all, the Ativ 9 "F" doesn't feel 'premium' enough to justify its hefty price... premium!

Ivy Bridge (3337) Core i5 for our model. I think they simply rebadged their leftover stock of "D" chassis and fitted the newer components, called this hybrid the "KD01" and shipped it to a market where consumers don't care that much about fit and finish. With exceptions, I guess. ;-)

Then again, that's probably true of all "F"s. Maybe someone at Samsung just forgot to update the bottom plate stamp file for KD01BR, and we get "Model: NP900X3D" because of this oversight.

 

seriously, I doubt the x3f's sent to brazil are different from any other x3f in other countries, given others (not from Brazil, IIRC) have also noted the finish is coarse. Seems like a case for actually investigating in real life. "Calls for closer investigation, as John's avatar points out."
Thank you for your comments!

 

Yes, like I said it's probable that it's just an oversight. They're probably re-using the magnesium chassis to cut costs, and it's the same everywhere.

I just didn't find it very nice, especially for the price!

Moving on: is anyone running Ubuntu 13.04 on their Ativ Books? Does everything work? Does it look good on 1920x1080? (sorry I'm just too lazy to do in-depth research on this - like using Google )

 

You could

see my post on page #2

99.99% fake reviews imho
It appears like all brands use the same crappy manufacturer.

Whether or not they actually got hold of an item. Just don't trust trustedreviews.com too much. It's sort of the yellow press of reviews. Be a little patient until notebookcheck.com/net, mobiletechreview.com, anandtech.com or the folks here from nbr get hold on the device. Or search for some independent blogs.

- yes
- yes (according to the screenshot I've seen from the G model and what skygunnerblue
wrote) / see what insane wrote
- I haven't played around with WiFi yet. The thread is pretty quiet in that regard

read the whole thread. It's not that long and a lot of your questions have been answered already.

 

If you did, the first hit would have brought you to https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SamsungSeries9

For X3E & X3F you need kernel ≥ 3.10 because of a graphics bug. I stumbled upon someone saying linux 3.11 ( linux for workgroups ) brings some new improvements. I can't recall what it was though