2013 Ativ Book 9 Plus owner's lounge (NP940X3G)

I got my Ativ Book 9 Plus yesterday. I noticed when I was using the battery, the colours on the screen became darker. I have tried changing the power plan and the graphics settings but it's still the same. I have also reinstalled the graphics driver.

The colours are still dark when increasing the brightness. Adaptive brightness is set to off. When I plug in the power cable, the colours look fine. I thought it might be the Display Power Saving Technology which was turning down the backlight but there is no difference when I disabled it.

I would be grateful if someone can help me out. Thanks

 

Yes, just keep it plugged in. It will automatically stop charging to avoid damaging the battery. If you continuously charge and discharge, you will just wear the battery with unnecessarily charge cycles.

Previous Samsung models had a feature called Battery Life Extender which (when enabled) would cap charging at 80%, and thereby minimize wear on the battery and maintain a high capacity longer. They stopped providing that feature in new models starting earlier this year, claiming that new Smart Charging technology has replaced it to do a better job.

 

This is not a direct response to the touchpad gesture brought up here, more sort of a "service message" for those new to the forum or to Samsung laptops: Although some owners dislike the Elan touchpads and/or have problems making them behave right, many others love them (myself included). But discussions about and tweaking of them is a never ending saga around here.

Most of the useful information here about touchpads is gathered in the thread linked below:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...hronos-np700z5a-trackpad-discussion-only.html

Note that there is a secret control panel called ETDAniConf that provides far more options and gestures than the standard control panel. See this post for details. I just checked the Elan driver version 11.7.15.3 provided by SW Update for the AB9+, and it still has ETDAniConf.

I realize this will be old news to some of you here

 

There are other settings you should check.

Go to Windows Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Edit Plan Settings, you might have the max screen brightness while on battery at a lower level than the max screen brightness while plugged in.

Then. press Fn-F1 to bring up Samsung settings. Select "Display" on the side and "Screen Brightness" at the top. You can disable auto brightness which allows you to set the brightness values you want, which can be brighter than with auto brightness enabled.

 

I have set Battery and Plugged In brightness to 50% and auto brightness is disabled. But when using battery, the colours appear darker. When increasing brightness in battery mode, the brightness increases but the colours still appear dark and less vibrant compared to when it was plugged in.

The colours were fine (batttery and plugged in) straight after reinstalling the graphics driver but the problem came back after restarting.

 

A question for AB9+ owners: How much RAM does the integrated GPU actually take for itself? Can you change the size of this allocation in the BIOS?

 

Is the Display Color setting changing in the Samsung Settings App?

 

The display colour doesn't change on its own when using battery or plugged in. I wonder if anyone else experiences dim colours when using the battery.

I just reinstalled the graphics driver and not restart or shutdown to prevent the problem from coming back. I guess something is loaded to make the colours change when in battery mode after the restart from installing the driver. Would be a pain if I need to restart after an update or program installation.

 

Make sure you have disabled adaptive brightness while on battery in settings and adjusted max screen brightness to its highest value (under various power plan option such as high performance, Samsung optimized or balanced) while on battery. This worked for me.

 

Strange, I still can't get it to work after doing disabling adaptive brightness and setting the max brightness for all the power plans.
I found the difference in colour is most noticeable when looking at orange and yellow, such as the Amazon and Google logo.

On another forum, someone else is also experiencing the same problem. He made an image to show the problem.

 

If anyone is interested, using moninfo, mine shows the display to be manufactured by SDC, which I assume is Samsung Display Corporation, and I believe model number SDC424A

 

Mine shows the same.

Monitor
Windows description...... Generic PnP Monitor
Manufacturer............. SDC
Plug and Play ID......... SDC424A
Data string.............. LTN133YL01C01
Serial number............ n/a
Manufacture date......... 2013, ISO week 0
Filter driver............ None

 

A couple of things:
1. After over two days of considerable use, I have not seen my fairly common "flicker" problem since we found a potential driver conflict and I uninstalled the display mirroring driver (I wish I knew how it got there in the first place).

2. I acknowledge that I am a horrible typer, but I keep finding on this machine that every now and then when I look away from the screen momentarily while typing text, I will manage to somehow make the curser jump to a new location, and when I look back up I find that I am typing into the wrong line. I have never seen this happen on my AB9, nor on any of my past laptops, at least not as routinely as this occurs now. I also cannot intentionally recreate it, so I don't know if I am accidentally tapping the touchpad or what, but I can't make it happen when I am trying to. If I disable the touchpad and type away, it seemingly never happens. Anyone else experience anything like this?

 

I'm had the cursor jump on a few occasions when I'm typing.

 

As did I.... a two finger typer.... I just chocked it up to dragging my palm across something I shouldn't have.

BTW...My AB9+ is packed up and ready to go back to the MS store. I have pre-ordered the 8GB/256 version via Amazon....so I will be without for awhile as there is no delivery date as of yet. ( I am hoping by mid-October)

 

There is a reason why the touchpad is usually centered below the space bar, i don't get why Samsung changed that.

 

Mine just say Samsung.

I had the screen flickering a few times the first days, but have not seen it for 10 days now.

My biggest problem is still the browser. IE10 in metro is bad. Alot of bugs and problems. No adblocker and generaly slow. Touch stops working all the time in tab after tab, and when you load a page, scroling with the trackpad starts working 2 seconds after the whole page is loaded.

Chrome and Firefox works but not very good. I want to use touch, and IE is made for that. Just MS that can´t get it right is my guess.

 

Has anyone bought a case / sleeve yet? What fits well?

Got an AB9+ on Saturday and enjoying getting used to it.

No screen flicker but have had the cursor jumping - this was only when plugged into the power and the battery had very low power. It seems to have gone away.

 

See my recent post in the Accessories thread, with pictures, here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/659271-series-9-accessories-18.html#post9389997

Since that case is made for Macbook Airs, I think just about anything thet fits a MBA will fit an AB9+. I have heard stories of Samsung owners taking their 9's into an Apple Store and trying their cases. If you don't mind spending more money, I am sure you can find nice options there.

 

Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus review

I've had mine for 3 weeks, and have to say I agree with the general consensus among the owners. I’m really happy with the laptop, but disappointed in some of the software shortcomings.

I’ve resigned myself to 1080p until a few of my must-haves update their software for high res optimization.

 

Since I had the laptop, I have experienced the screen colour go dark when I'm using it on battery. The problem was fixed when I disabled Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery in the Device Manager.



Edit: The colour is ok now but it makes the battery icon disappear

 

Thanks. Will check out some MBA sleeves.

 

Why not just go to the step above and 2048x1152. AFAIK, there is no distortion and 100% scaling is the perfect size for me...

I'm happy except for two points:

1. In Windows 8.1 RTM, I can't put the computer to sleep/hibernate. If I do, I have to force it off or wait for it to BSOD (see posting in the other B9P thread).
2. Hard drive size. After getting rid of the recovery partition, compressing the drive, I was able to get all my stuff in (AutoCAD, Office, ArcGIS, Visual Studio, Visio, Engineering Apps, IntelliJ IDEA) with around 80 GB to spare.

 

Thanks for the link to the review. Overall very positive. I certainly haven't noticed any issues with speed of use but I am a bit concerned about the write times of the SSD especially as they compare to the S7 and Vaio pro. I guess I don't understand going with a relatively inferior Toshiba SSD when you are a frontline manufacturer of SSD's. I certainly don't see how that could be a cost cutting decision on Samsung's part as I can't imagine that they would charge themselves too much for their own SSD's. Thoughts?

 

The toshiba drive is hardly slow. Also, it is absolutely critical for a system manufacturer to have multiple suppliers on key components on their system.

 

Funny about the Toshiba drive. On my AB9 Samsung dropped a liteon 256 ssd and its crazy fast. Even faster then their own Samsung SSD. I wonder what Samsung will choose to put in the 256 SSD i7 AB9 plus when it ships?

Opps sorry I posted here.. forgot I was in the owners lounge.

 

With all due respect, I believe you are missing my point. I simply do not understand the choice to use a SSD with write times significantly lower than your direct competitors. Seems like skimping which shouldn't be the case on a premium device that is released after the aforementioned S7/Vaio pro. I truthfully don't care whom makes the SSD, I just expect it to be topof the line when I purchase top of the line hardware at a premium price.

 

The Toshiba SSD might be faster than Samsung's own. Here are the results for the Samsung 128GB (left) and 512GB (right) mSATA SSDs.



Note that the 128GB has much worse sequential and 512k write performance than the higher capacity version.

I would expect their M.2 format SSDs to use the same chips (rearranged to fit the different board) and give very similar performance. Perhaps someone can post a result for the Samsung M.2 SSD to prove me wrong.

John

 

So I had my AB9+ for almost 1+ week and from the start I have had one small tiny problem, the Samsung SW update recommend me to update the ALS Tunning, however I can not update it, I get error message all the time, the message is: Installation Failed(-10). Anyone with any idea how I can solved this problem?

TIA!

 

I got a -10 error message when updating the BIOS. This was because I didn't have the power plugged in. Were you on battery or AC?

 

I got an -8 error message when updating the BIOS. Any tips on fixing that? I was plugged in.

Also, has anyone successfully gotten rid of the SideSync/HomeSync embossing?

 

I spoke too soon and the flicker problem has happened twice in as many days for me now. Has anyone made any progress on this issue?

 

It is generally safer to use the BIOS Updater utility standalone to save the actual BIOS update file, then run that file As Administrator. Close all apps before running it, including anti-virus and others in the taskbar tray.

See John's thread here for general BIOS Update advice.

For extra safety, you can disable WiFi before running the BIOS update file you downloaded, to make sure no software updates start running while the BIOS is flashing. Windows Update, Adobe Flash/Reader, Java... these and others have all proven impeccable at picking the worst possible moment to begin downloading updates

 

I was able to update the bios with no problems. Any idea what they changed in the new update? I couldn't find a change log.

 

Well, I was plugged in, the BIOS update I downloaded with no problem and it installed fine. By the way, I tried to google ALS Tunning, but I couldn't find any information at all about what that is.

/A

 

I am looking for a good quality sleeve. I purchased the easyacc mentioned in an earlier post and although the fit is decent I am returning it - It looks and feels cheap - there was a cut mark on mine. Also it is more bulky then I imagined. Can anyone recommend a neoprene sleeve that fits right. Will this work? Amazon.com: Acme Made Skinny Sleeve for 13-Inch MacBook Air, Matte Black (AM00918): Computers & Accessories I like the look.

Thank you

 

I'm sorry you didn't like the easyAcc - I could understand someone saying it looks and feels cheap, but I can't see how it could be considered bulky in any way, other than the simple fact that it has a flap on one edge. Even still, I often carry it along with a few thin file folders and people don't even realize it's a laptop. Anyway, if you want to spend money, I would make my same suggestion as I made earlier - go to an Apple store with your AB9+ and try some sleeves out. Or you could probably buy anything that fits the Macbook Air - it may not fit perfectly, but close enough. That ACME sleeve is made down the street from me in here SF and they made great products. I looked at that one myself, but ultimately decided I didn't want to pay $40-50 for neoprene, especially when I found the easyACC for $14.

For reference:

AB9+: 12.6" x 8.8" x 0.54"
MBA: 12.8" x 8.94"x 0.11"-0.68"
Acer Aspire S7: 12.7" x 8.8" x 0.51"
Sony Viao Pro 13: 12.7" x 8.5" x 0.68"

 

Well, unfortunately, I had a flicker experience earlier today, though it had been a long 5 days since the last time. I am also having some other strange screen issues - a few times the past few days, I noticed the color fluctuating a bit at fast intervals; also I had the screen jump to full brightness and I lost the red in my display, I think, so it was washed out. I had to put it to sleep and wake it again for it to correct itself. Strange issues.

I'm about to return my AB9 and planning to keep the AB9+, but the better keyboard and touchpad layout on the AB9 and the fact that I am having screen issues is making that decision hard. Plus the weight and feel of the AB9 is better because the screen is lighter, but I also like touchscreen. I wish I could keep both!

 

I'm still getting colour problems with my laptop. I've been using batch files to disable the graphic driver when I shutdown/restart and enable it on login which I described more in the following link Laptop colors darken when unplugged [not brightness] - Page 2

This makes the colours ok when running on battery but it's inconvenient to keep doing this.

Were you running plugged in or on battery when the colour/flicker issues occured?
Also, which screen resolution are you running on?

 

I don't think the anomolies I have experienced recently are aligned with the issues you are experiencing. I also don't know if the things I see are while plugged in, but today's instances were while on battery, for what it's worth.

 

I ordered this: Samsung 13.3" Ultrabook Leather Pouch (Blue) AA-BS8N13L/US

Hasn't arrived yet, will let you know how it is when it's delivered tomorrow.

 

Hey.

I have the exact same problem. Did you find a solution to it?

 

Hello people i have one question.
"Engadget" said this notebook doesn't have good keyboard,they said exactly this: "Type too quickly and you might have to go back and re-type a letter that didn't register the first time around."
NBR doesn't said anything concrete and NBC saying all Samsung series 9 have great keyboard.
So question is,whom to believe?
I am still in process of buying ultrabook i even drop obligatory WWAN in it,but i need 100% best keyboard because sometimes i need to answer 40 mails per day and i dont have patience for going back and retyping everything again
I have ASUS X501A and that is chip laptop.I have a lot of unregistered space typing(you need to hit center)but i never had unregistered letter.
Thank you in advance.

 

I had the Acer S7 and couldn't type on it.( sent it back) I got the AB9+ and it was comfortable and easy to type. Night and day for me. Unfortunately I think it is a personal opinion and probably you will never get a definitive answer until you either own one or try it yourself at a store. The good news is that most places have a 30 day return policy. Plenty of time to see if it works for you.

 

At first it was a little different from what I was used to (macbook), and I would miss a key here and there. After a few days, I got used to it, and it's perfectly good.

 

It is a good keyboard - the difference between this AB9+ and the previous Series 9 keyboards is that the AB9+ is much shallower, so there is less key travel. All series 9's do have good keyboards, but the change does make it a litte easier to mistype as compared to the earlier version. The change was necessary to make room for the touchscreen panel.

 

Please do let us know - it will be interesting as that sleeve was designed to accommodate a slightly larger series 7 laptop, which is 12.76" x 8.82" x 0.74", while the AB9+ is 12.6" x 8.8" x 0.54"

 

I really enjoyed the keyboard on the S9 full HD model. I do notice the reduced travel on my 9 Plus. It's still very usable (and I've typed thousands of words in a week writing reviews on it). But it's not a standout great keyboard. It's certainly better than the Acer Aspire S7 Haswell with improved keyboard, and better than the Vaio Duo 13.

 

That keyboard difference could be significant for any buyers that are split between the AB9+ or the AB9/S9. Both are seriously hot machines, but if the AB9's keyboard is a bit better because of the larger travel, that might sway some in its direction. Thanks for sharing (all).

 

thank you all.