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

So..just by having the resolution set to 3200 x 1800 means that I am in QHD+? From what I think you are saying is it is more a name Samsung has given their highest resolution and not an addition feature to engage?

Thanks

 

Thusfar, all testing published has shown that a X4 connection (XP941) can only be accomplished with a PCIe with the single M key, whereas both keys (as shown in your picture) have been used for SATA 3. Conversely, there has not been any examples of the two being able to switch, even though the connector is the standard M.2 connector (from which the M.2 got its name). Looking at the M.2 connector, it can be used in several situations, to include 3/4/5G-Wifi-BT, but the connection to the systemboard differs. Thusfar, there haven't been any examples of a X2 PCIe connection that can also accomodate a SATA connection, although the M.2 pictured (displaying M and B keys) should be able to accomodate both.

To clarify, M key means a single space in the M.2 male connector, whereas M and B keys speak to a double space.

 

I just did a software update and don't see the new version available to me. My touchpad driver is version 11.7.18.2. I am *really* hoping this new driver fixes my touchpad issues!

Thanks for mentioning this to me - I'll keep looking for the update. Is there any way to install it manually outside of the Samsung SW Update program?

Cheers,
Isaac

 

Thanks for clarifing Apparition. Wikipedia sites TheSSDReview as a source to their M.2 keying description in the Form Factor section.

Here is the pin locations and signal descriptions from Intel's 530 SATA M.2 SSD datasheet. Note there are several pin locations that are 'reserved' that could possibly be used for PCIe or USB or Wifi by the motherboard. The second notch on the SATA M.2 connector takes away 8 signals.



Knowing that Samsung does not view the B9+ SSD to be upgradable, my guess is that PCIe signals are not brought out to the M.2 connector.

 

QHD is just marketing speak, just like "Retina".
When you enable QHD, it does two things.
1. Resolution is set to 3200x1800
2. text scaling is set to 200%

This bumps up the resolution, and makes sure things like text boxes and desktop icons aren't too small to use.

 

Hey guys, guess I need your help.
How come my I5 module feels slow sometimes while surfing web?
I mean, pages like google+, 9gag, n4g, facebook etc feels slow, slow scrolling and stuff... I mean is the I5 module is so crap? or it is my personal problem?
What should I do?

 

FYI: Perhaps this is already been posted..... Amazon Prime is now showing 9 in stock of the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3G-K04US @ $1799. You could get it tomorrow!

 

I'm having a trouble entering BIOS mode.
Is it F2 key? I'm sure it's F2.

 

Does anyone else experience a freezing problem when doing regular tasks such as checking emails or surfing the internet? My mouse and laptop seem to freeze for a couple of seconds and there doesn't seem to be anything going on CPU wise for my laptop when it does. I've had 8.1 for awhile now but I do know that it was fine when I first got my laptop before I upgraded to 8.1.

 

Make sure you have gone into Intel graphics properties and selected power icon. Then in there set high performance on mains plugged in and when on battery everything to max battery life and detick panel refresh rate which can cause a weird flicker when resuming from screen saver on.
I don't have any glitches or slow performance with this setup, it just flies along.
I am on windows 8 with all updates installed.
Yes f2 for bios hold it down once unit reboots.
Good luck.

 

I don't have any issues with the touchpad after playing with its settings. Try playing with the ETDAniConf.exe to suit your needs. For one-finger / drag and drop/ I set 'release after finger lift.' That helps a lot. Most of my touchpad involves single and two finger taps to do everything, works great for me.

Is this on IE 11? IE 11 still has a lot of compatibility issues, especially google. Try adding compatibility view until MS or google fixes it.

F2, but if you have fast bios and fast startup options enabled, best thing is press F2 after a restart, not a shutdown. Those 'fast' settings bypass a lot of the BIOS options.

My K04 shipped with 8.1 and has been running great. No freezing issues yet.

With the latest/current intel graphics drivers, my panel refresh rate is enabled yet never seen a flicker. I believe flicking is no longer an issue with the latest intel drivers.

---

What I am waiting for from Samsung, if you are reading this.

1. Updates for better colors and controls of it. The color often changes depending on what is on display, even though I disabled as much of the display related settings available.

2. Lid open options to power on again like in Windows 7/BIOS from hibernate. PLEASE find a way for this.

 

^^
You may notice the flicker when screen saver goes on and then use the touchpad to wake ultrabook.
I had latest intel drivers still did it. Turned off the panel refresh rate and voila no more issues.

 

The other route to the BIOS is Charms > Change PC Settings > General > Advanced Startup (once you pass this point the computer effectively reboots so close everything first) then select the option about boot order which reboots into the BIOS setup.

John

 

1) Is anyone having issues where the top 2/3 of the touchpad stop responding? This happened to me twice now. A sleep/wake cycle fixed the issue.

2) Does three-finger side swipe work for moving backwards/forwards in your browser's page history?

3) The free sleeve that comes with all of the orders placed on Samsung.com is definitely too big for the AB9+. In fact, the packaging only mentions the Series 7 Ultra on it. Weird.

EDIT: Oh, and apparently battery life is awesome as you can see in the pic.

 

1. No
2. Yes it works beautifully.
3. I use a sleeve instead works great

 

sorry double post..

 

They are on a few driver sites - if you search for the driver version you can find them.

 

Yes, I have been having this problem since I went to 8.1. The upper 2/3 of the touchpad go dead and I can move right-to-left okay, but up and down is awkward. I'm hoping the new touchpad drivers and/or Samsung update discussed earlier on this thread will solve things.

 

Hello,
I complained about laggy browsing with my I5 module. I want to ask again if the I5 4200U is so weak that it can't handle even web browsing?
Here is a video that explains it all. It happens with more sites by the way...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUYW2yx_E4U
You should see the second website(N4G 0:30).

What the hell can I do?

 

2. I can't get the three finger swipe to work. Where can I find the setting for that? I found the Elan driver but I can't choose three finger. I can only choose some settings for one and two fingers Can someone please help?

 

The touchpad installation package contains two control panels: (i) ETDSimpleUI_Win8.exe and (ii) ETDAniConf.exe. The former should be in the normal control panel and this includes the 3 finger swipe option. ETDAniConf.exe offers some different options (such as the reverse scroll setting) but doesn't explicitly offer a specific 3-finger swipe.

John

 

I've not seen that happen on mine however I rarely use the Metro version of IE. Are you running Windows 8 or 8.1 (IE10 or IE11)? I am running 8.1 with IE11 and on the desktop have not had a similar issue.

 

I just switched from a NP940X3G-K01US to a NP940X3G-K04US and I noticed in Samsung Settings under display, there is no longer the "screen scaling" option under general. This was useful to quickly change between FHD and QHD. Is it due to Windows 8.1?

 

Hey. It happens on both merto and non metro IE11... can you just enter N4G.com site and scroll while it is loading and tell me if it lags?

 

Hmmm I certainly don't suffer from this issue. Seems to be a buffer issue with ram. Has it always been like this since you bought it or did it just happen recently?

 

Go into mouse under control panel then touchpad tab then select 3button swipe voila instant 3 button back forward swipe accessibility with touchpad

 

Yes. It is the same on my K01US now. All screen scaling is handled through Windows now

 

Most of us no longer have 3-finger or 4-finger swipe options in the Control Panel settings anymore. It was removed with recent touchpad driver updates. If this is not the case for you, I would love to know what touchpad driver you have installed.

 

Interesting even more reason for me not to upgrade to win 8.1
I am running Win 8, and did windows update with recommended updates. I'll check the mouse driver later today and come back to you with details.
Also have not done samsung sw update since original install as I recall on the other machine I did it and lost scaling and noticed screen was brighter compared to other ativ book 9 plus exactly identical settings. So stick with the old samsung sw app

 

See my post not far up this thread.

A few hours ago SW Update offered me touchpad driver 11.7.19.9 for my X4C. It may be worth you trying it.

John

 

Thanks, John - I do use ETDAniConf.exe and you and I have had this exact conversation before I was just addressing the seemingly-conflicting information presented by another about the Control Panel settings.

Samsung Support did tell me a few weeks ago that they would be releasing a new touchpad driver for 8.1 support at about this time, so the one you mentioned might be that.

That explains your other previous comment about using Samsung Settings (Fn-F1) to change scaling - the new Samsung Settings interface does not manage this in Win8.1, as that is all easily done in Control Panel

 

Has anyone successfully upgraded to a wireless-ac card? kitejumping tried one and was about to try another but I don't think he ever reported back on the results. I would love to make this upgrade now.

 

OK, I tried this site on both my laptop and desktop using IE11 and Chrome. I can duplicate the problem only in IE11 running the site in non-compatibility mode so the issue is IE11, not the device. The N4G site is not optimized for IE11 (as arent many sites yet). To correct the issue you need to add that site to the list of sites for compatibility view. Once you do, it will load as you expect.

 

So it works! Thanks! Although I am a Google user(Android,Gmail;Drive,etc), I like the look and feel of IE with Windows 8.1. Pinch to zoom sucks in Chrome right now.. I hope they are working on Windows 8.1 optimized Chrome browser.
Thanks again.

 

The reason the first one didn't work was because it was the Intel 7260HMW card, which is a HMC (mini PCIe) form factor. Its sister product the Intel 7260NGW is the M.2 form factor card he went with and didn't report back on, so I assume it worked for him.

Intrigued enough to try it out and report back? Do you have an AC router to test it with?

 

I am happy to try it out - I was only waiting to hear back about his results (and for me to actually buy an AC router). I picked up an AC router today. I might try it out myself soon.

 

how does your 9+ perform on the AC router with its stock N card? is it a dual-band N card that can access the 5.0 GHz radio?

 

I found the option to enable 3-Finger swipe in the regular ETDSimpleUI.exe. I'm currently running 11.7.18.2.

All perfect now except the top 2/3 of the touchpad becoming non-responsive randomly.

 

Looking back at Kitejumping's pictures I noticed that the Wireless N version of the card has the same part number! Be careful when trying to order the AC version!

The Wireless N 7260 does support 5Ghz and 2.4GHz, at 2 spatial streams (2x2).

 

If anyone else is interested, I purchased this keyboard protector (ordered from China)

SAMSUNG ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3G-K01US Nano Silver Keyboard Skin Protector

It was $15.99 when I bought it a few weeks ago, but, unfortunately, it seems they have increased the price to $25.99. I'm not sure it is worth that amount, but someone might still be interested.

It did not quite fit inside the recessed outline of the AB9+ keyboard, so I trimmed the edges with a paper-cutter (probably not as well as I could have but I was not being very careful or patient with it) and rounded the corners with scissors. It seems to fit the keys fairly well, though I do think it might be a little more loose than it probably could be. That said, I don't think this is the same product they sell to fit the older Book 9's, as I do not think this would fit the higher-profile keys on those models, but I wish I still had my AB9 to try it. I am going to try to affix more double-sided tape to see if I can tighten it up a bit.

Otherwise, I do like the feel and I like that it does not show oil the way the bare keys could without this protector. Mostly, I like that I don't worry about tiny particles slipping underneath the keys -not that I am all that obsessive, but it's a simple measure. It also doesn't look half bad.

 

Here is my mouse touchpad driver which enables me to access three button swipe in win 8.
Driver version etdware x64 11.7.15.3

Hope this helps someone.

 

First, thanks for all answers regarding the trackpad. I found it. Just opened the ETDSimpleUI.exe

But I'm having another "problem". I have the i7 version and I think the fans make a lot of noise, so I'd checked the temp. of the CPU and I can easily get it up to 70 C or 158 F runnning the cpu at 100 % @3000 Mhz when web surfing at some heavy sites and therefore it is making a lot of noise. If I use Silent mode it is slient but a bit slow when scrolling because it clocks down @796 Mhz and the temp is cool.

So now I used Advanced Power setting and under Cooling and CPU speed, I changed the value in max. cpu speed to 75 % @1796 Mhz where I can keep it cool at about 50 C @122 F that makes it totally quite.

So I'm a bit interested in hearing other peoples temp of the CPU on the i7? Could it be that the i5 version runs cooler?

 

yeah my i5 runs at 37-40C idle and have yet to push hard to see max temps.

 

Thank you for your reply.
I will try to wait for i7 version then. Unless it is alot expensive than i5 version i will buy it

 

My i7 fan started running recently. I don't push the machine to warrant the amount of fan I was getting. A google thread produced an interesting answer and I validated it by checking the task manager while the fan was running. It turns out that if you use the
"Magnifier" feature it evidently takes up a lot of cpu....and engages the fan.... if you " end the task" like I did the cpu reduces greatly and the fan shuts down. Use the magnifier sparingly.

 

My experience with the i5 and i7 versions of the NP900X4C suggests that the i7 does run hotter. In the old days Intel had to screen the chips to find out what speed they were capable of running at within the design power envelope. I suspect they now just lock the speed to match the price. so, while your i7 runs within the design power, the i5 uses even less power.

However, I am surprised about the very noticeable fan noise at 70C (or is it 71C - that's the trigger for the fan speed change on the older Series 9s). AFAIK the X3G uses the twin fan arrangement of the previous 13" Series 9s. This should keep everything quiet without significant noise, even at full load (my relatively old Sandy Bridge NP900X3B is commendably quiet). I wonder whether Samsung need to do some more work on the fan rules in the BIOS. Perhaps they forgot about there being two fans and are working on the rules of >60C = slow fan; >70C = fast fan; and >80C = frantic fan (that's what I see on my X4C) when the rules should be: >60C = 1 slow fan; >70C = 2 slow fans; and >80C = 2 fast fans.

John

 

Hi John,

Thanks for your comment I could had been at 71C I don't know for sure. Tomorrow (CET) I could try and see when it really kicks

I cant comment on the BIOS rules but perhaps you are right

 

Hi David4455,

Thanks for your answer I cound't find the magnifier in my task manager, and I dont think I use it!? I use a resolution of 3200x1800 with 200% zoom but I dont think thats the magnifier...

 

Anybody found a Kensington lock that fits? "Kensington MicroSaver Ultrabook Laptop Keyed Lock with Security Slot Adapter (K64994AM) " is too big for the slot.

 

Hi folks! I recently came into ownership of one of the K04 ultrabooks and one of the first things I want to do is install Windows 7 because I'm used to Windows 7. Before I do so I wanted to know where would I find the Windows 8.1 and relevant drivers for the K04 if I wish to restore the laptop to it's original state. Seeing how Samsung didn't include software nor media with the product and I can't find it on their website, I was hoping someone can help me out. Thank you!