2013 Series 7 chronos / Ativ Book 8 15" owner's lounge (NP770Z5E / NP780Z5E / NP870Z5E / NP880Z5E)

Hey guys!
I upgraded my NP870Z5E to Windows 10 and I want to know which are the best drivers for it.
I think the first post is out of date and if someone can tell me where I can find those drivers I would be gratefull.
In some progams (ex. MATLAB) the text seems less sharp than it should.

Thanks in advance for some help.

PS: I've done all the Windows and SWupdate updates

 

I suspect that the less clear text is the result of Windows 10 display scaling. I've got a default 125% display scaling enabled but have disabled it for many of my programs. Find the executable program file, right click and select properties. Then, on the Compatibility tab, select Disable display scaling on high DPI settings. The text will be smaller, but sharper.

John

 

I think I saw a post on Lifehacker about the display scaling issue. They recommended a program which uses the old W8 scaling. Is this is a suitable fix?

 

Okay so follow up to my previous post....

I believe the AMD xxxxxxx has stopped responding yada yada is finally fixed. The key? Doing a completely CLEAN wipe of AMD drivers. Then, update the Intel HD graphics driver. Then finally, download and install the latest AMD driver.

I think part of what was going on previously was that I was installing new AMD drivers without doing any proper uninstalls, + I never updated my Intel drivers.

Fingers crossed, but so far, so very good.

 

Windows 10 just did an auto update of my intel hd graphics 4000 driver and I have lost my brightness control again. The "FeatureTestControl FFFF" regedit hack worked last time but this upgrade has wrecked it again. Should I roll back the driver?

Edit: I checked the registry again and one of the "FeatureTestControl" entries had gone back to F000. So changed that back to FFFF and bingo!! All good again.

I hope this helps someone else

 

So did anyone managed to fix the battery drain on Windows 10? Or are there people who experience no issues when compared to Windows 8.1? I'd like to have a silent laptop again, but it seems nothing has changed since the release of Windows 10.

 

Still having the same problem here, sitting on about 21W with screen brightness at just 20% and on Samsung optimized power settings. If anyone has either managed to solve this problem or has not experienced it since upgrading to Win 10 it would be great to share.

 

Same problem with 21-25W in idle

 

My laptop is using ~7W when in idle and plugged in and ~14W when unplugged. This seems kind of odd to me ?!. But I am happy with it. Screen brightness at 100% and silentmode: off (~3Ghz)


It is super silent when I choose "silentmode: auto" most of the time.

 

I have the Intel display drivers installed after Samsung offered them up a few weeks ago. Now Windows Update is offering up updated Intel display drivers (this is in Windows 10). Anybody update these? My biggest concern is having the switchable graphics broken. Recommendations or experiences? Usually I avoid Windows Update drivers but MS has gotten better at this in the past couple of years.

 

Ok, mine is higher on battery too according to Samsung settings but 14W sounds much more similar to what I was experiencing before the upgrade rather than the 21W I'm on now. Can I ask how you updated to Windows 10 (windows update or clean install) and also what driver versions you have installed for both the Intel and AMD graphics? Hopefully we can all get back to the same battery performance you're on.

 

Hi all,

I need some help here. Few days ago, my computer got a BSOD with an error THREAD STUCK in DEVICE DRIVER. After that, I can no longer boot up to windows start screen normally. Usually, I only got a black screen. My com is currently running in Windows 10 64 bit

I managed to boot up by disabling the driver for AMD HD8870M. I try updating the driver but no luck in getting the graphic card working again. Every time I used the graphic card for game, it gives me the same BSOD again.

Do anyone has any solution to this? I checked across different forum in AMD and here but no one seems to have solution. Is it because my graphic card has become faulty?

 

hey guys. having some serious issues with my keyboard. it types 2 letters at the same time. for example c will be ce, q is now q and tab so it leaves a space after q. its even happening on the num pad. have not spilled anything on it and it was fine this morning. re installed the driver and changed the language but none helped. i even popped out the c key and pressed down on the white nipple like thing and it still types ce. any ideas?
sorry for the grammar. using the touch keyboard is no fun.

 

It's more likely to be software than hardware. The latter tend to show as malfunctions rather than give error messages. Have you tried using a driver cleanup utility to remove all traces of the old driver before re-installing? Otherwise it may be necessary to reinstall Windows.

Can you get into the BIOS and type in a password (don't save it) just to see what happens at that level? If , the problem is at the BIOS level then it's hardware for which my only connection is to remove / reconnect the keyboard cable (the keyboard is read as a matrix, not a connection for each key).

John

 

Thanks! ill give that a try when i get home. didn't think to check what happens at the BIOS level.

 

This sounds promising. Can you please share your installation steps and your driver configuration (mainly for both the integrated graphics and the external GPU)? It would be very helpful!

 

Hey guys.
I finally bought a SSD 850 EVO and now I want to install it without doing any mess, that's because I'm here to ask for your help. I don't know if the first page tutorials are up to date but I have some doubts.

1) I have W10 installed and some programs on the original HDD and, if it's possible, I would like to copy it like it is because it seems working fine. If this couldn't happen I don't care if I have to do a clean install but I don't know were I can find my original Windows key to do that.

2) I want to install Debian on dual-boot in a partition of 100Gb (I think it's enough, I don't want to install many things on them, it's just for some experiments and university works). I tried to install it on the HDD but I gave up.

I hope you can help me, I would be very grateful.

 

It seems to be an issue at the BIOS level. The enter key now reads as '\' so I was not able to make any selections in the BIOS. How would I go about reconnecting the keyboard cable? I've opened up my laptop a while ago to put in an ssd but that's about it.

 

Hi John,

1) I have tried using DDU and reinstall the latest driver from SW update. No luck with that. BSOD still happen when I try use the graphic cards for gaming.

2) I have also try reinstalling new windows 10. After doing that, I can boot into windows but the moment I try playing game then the BSOD appear.

No one else has any other issue with this new driver???

 

I wuld clone the existing SSD onto the new one. Samsung provide their Data Migration software for this but you may need to buy an adapter to temporarily connect the SSD to a USB port. Once you have the new SSD working and installed then you can try getting Linux onto it knowing that if things get messed up you can reclone from your original SSD. If you need to change the partitions then I recommend Minitool Partition Wizard.

So it's very likely a problem with the keyboard or its cable. You will need to get the bottom off the computer and probably remove the battery.The cable you are looking for is a ribbon cable (it may serve both the keyboard and touchpad) and the connector on the mainboard is normally a hinged flap which is lifted up to release the cable. Sometimes the contacts oxidize with time and removal / replacement will clean them.

Having the problem after reinstalling Windows is not encouraging but could well be caused by Windows 10 installing different versions of drivers than those used when you originally installed Windows 10. AMD switchable graphics frequently seems to be challenging to get set up correctly. I don't have first-hand experience and you will have to get guidance from other users of this notebook family.

John

 

I tried to use that software but it don't detect the SSD. My adapter it's not provided by Samsung, when I bought the SSD e also bought an external case to put my HDD so I can have an external HDD and I tried to use that, it's not the same thing?

 

There may still be a problem with the Samsung Data Migration software in Windows 10 when it comes to identifying the drive (at least there was when I switched mine over a couple of months ago but may have been patched since). Just use one of the free third party data migration programs you can get online instead. Think I used EaseUS if I remember correctly an that worked fine.

 

Does your BIOS have a 'secure boot' feature? If so, turn off secure boot. You might have to change the boot list options to Legacy (or BIOS) as apposed to UEFI. I installed the same SSD in my Book 8 that originally had Windows 8 that I had upgraded to Win8.1. The Samsung data migration SW worked well. The external enclosure you have should work ok, but that might be your problem. I used a Startech USB3.0 to SATA cable. I would have cloned the drive before I installed Win 10 if I was doing that at the same time as the SSD upgrade. I won't be upgrading my Book8 to Win 10 because it might screw with the 2 best features of this laptop; a big long lasting battery, and the ability to switch between a gaming GPU (HD 8770M) and on-CPU GPU (HD4000).

 

Hi guys, thank you for your help.

Finally I succeed cloning the original HDD with W10 and installing the SSD and it seems to be ok...

Now I'll try to install Debian in dual-boot, if someone have some tips about this point I'll be grateful.

P.S. All done and working.

 

My Crucial M4 SSD just died after the notebook was left on and the power drained and I am trying to revive it. However, this may be a good time to buy a new drive. Is the Samsung 850 EVO a good candidate? It's looking like the M4 has seen its last days. I've followed the instructions for reviving the device when it goes into some sort of self protect mode but no luck. Feedback on the replacement drive would be very much appreciated!

EDIT: the M4 was finally redetected by the bios and I am now doing a full backup. Phew. I would love to hear folks experience with the 850 EVO and this series of notebooks. Thanks again!

 

I have no experience of the 850 EVO but would happily buy one since I've been using an 840 EVO since early 2014. It's now up to 7500 hours. One advantage compared to the M4 is lower idle poer consumption,

John

 

Thanks John! It's good to hear at the very least that there is nothing you know of that would suggest I should cancel the order. I tell you, it was a tough call to just get the 500GB model as opposed to the 1TB (for double the price on Amazon). However, I haven't come close to filling the 512MB M4.

 

It's good practice to leave part of the SSD unpartitioned so it has better capacity for garbage collection and wear levelling.

Samsung recommend 10% although more is considered better by some people (although it's probably only necessary if you are doing a lot of disk writing). You can create the empty space either in Disk Management or use Samsung's SSD Magician. The latter also offers Rapid Mode which appears to boost performance but is actually smoke-and-mirrors because it grabs some of the RAM to create a cache.

John

 

Damn - maybe I should have ordered the 1TB.

Edit: Okay - I cancelled the order while I had the chance and decided to get a Crucial BX100 1TB drive. Cheaper than the Samsung and decent reviews.

Edit 2: ... And changed the order again to a 1TB EVO 850. I'm so fickle. LOL

 

The 850 EVO SSD works just fine in the Book 8. I did NOT do a clean install. I cloned the HD using the Samsung data migration SW and a SATA to USB 3.0 cable, after removing some data files (movies) to make it fit on a 500GB drive. All the settings, apps, and drivers seem to work just like they did before. Now I use the original HD and the SATA to USB3 cable as a data drive. I didn't reformat it so I could put it back into the Book 8 and boot from it in case the SSD has any problems.

 

Thanks for the feedback! I plan to just clone it as well. I still have the USB to SATA cable that came with the M4 for that.

 

Another reason for not formatting the superseded drive is you can reclone it if Windows has any problems (much more likely than a hardware problem).

John

 

Hey guys!
I recently bought an Ativ Book 8 with the 8870M graphics. Installed all the latest drivers, but I can't play any games on it. Whenever I try playing something (dota 2, diablo 3, hearthstone) the games would eventually freeze, cause a black screen, then "alt-tab" me to the desktop, and go back. It's really annoying, and once it starts doing it, it does it every 20 seconds. I tried various drivers, settings, even switched between Windows 8.1 and 10, but the issue presists on both. The only difference is that I can't adjust the brightness with the keyboards on Windows 10. So loads of problems here, did anyone face any of these, or have a solution?

 

While on the subject of SSDs, will 250GB be enough? I am on a budget, but is it better for me to save up for a 500 or will I survive with a 250GB? I usually work at a desk 95% so keeping my HDD plugged in is not an issue. Most of my docs are on the cloud, only my movies etc. are on my hard drive. I game occasionaly and have 1 or 2 games on my laptop at a time only

 

How is it possible only using the browser (Mozilla Firefox) the power consumption be about 40W????

 

How much disk space are you using on the HDD now? I've got a 250GB in mine, but it is a secondary machine. My main workstation has several terabytes of storage (and 500GB of it is SSD), and I'm only using my laptop for fairly lightweight work. I do some gaming on it from time to time but even with a couple of games installed I've got 100GB free.

 

It's most likely a graphics driver problem. Read back through this thread for possible graphics drivers that may work plus the brightness fix.

Most likely it's running the dGPU but what power plan are you using?

John

 

Does anyone had any issues with their LAN connection? I'm not completely sure, but I believe that since Windows 10 I'm only able to connect with 100 mbit speed to networks. I've tried a lot of different drivers and also tried to force a gigabit connection, but it's only able to connect with 100 mbit speed. I've done some searching on this issue as well and a lot of people argue that it might be a bad cable, but I've never had any issues with my cabling before. To be sure I've tried 4 different cables and other switches, but nothing helped.

 

Definitely gigabit for me. That's weird.

 

Hi,

I have bought an second hand NP770Z5E , it comes with an ssd. I am hearing some irregular fan noise, maybe there is dirt inside them.
Anyone has done a termical mantenaince on cpu - gpu and fans, ¿any recommendation of procedure ? ¿could i try to clean the fans or i will have to replace them?

 

I would open it first as it could just be clogged with dirt. These machines did come out in 2013, so you never know what type of room or surface the previous owner was using it on. I have the same machine as yours and it's a pain to open, but I followed this tutorial carefully:

 

I have the same problem, tried installing different drivers, rolling back drivers and even booting live Ubuntu. Seems to be hardware related problem.

 

I've contacted the Dutch Samsung Support about the increased energy usage with Windows 10. I didn't expect anything from them of course, but their recommendation was to check the task manager if there were any processes going on. If this was not the case, I should contact Microsoft about upcoming driver updates and roll back to Windows 8.1 to solve this issue for the time being......

Well that means don't expect anything from Samsung to fix this issue.

 

I'll be contacting them again, I won't accept that such an expensive laptop already lost OS support in about 2 years. Hopefully Samsung or someone else has a fix for this issue. I've already tried different driver combinations, but I don't have all the time in the world to keep trying different stuff.

 

Does anyone have any idea if this will be able to run Fallout 4 on the min settings @ 1080p?

 

I have never tried a game on mine but if you scroll down this link, it has some fps and resolution information on various games running on the 8870M version of these machines:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Samsung-Series-7-Chronos-770Z5E-S01DE-Notebook.91341.0.html

 

We'll know for sure next week The limiting factor will be the GPU, obviously. Now Bethesda names both the AMD 7870 and the GeForce GTX 550 Ti desktop cards as references for the min settings. We still don't know what framerates and resolution settings are the basis for such estimates, but considering the GeForce, it even seems to be slower than the 8870M, while the 7870 desktop model is significantly (about 30% or more) faster. Futuremark 3DMark states the following GPU scores:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti - 2500
AMD Radeon HD 7870 - 8270
AMD Radeon HD 8870M - 2870

Now Futuremark is not really about game performance, but to me Bethesda obviously has quite some range in their bottom line GPU specs, with the 7870 being more than 3 times as fast as the NVidia 'min' GPU. GPUBoss sees both the 8870M and the NVidia Card more or less on par. So there's still some hope

HTH,
-- Chris.

 

Did anyone else lose control of their brightness after Windows 10 updated drivers to the newest version of Microsoft's WHQL? I can't revert anymore because I thought that simple installation of AMD drivers will fix the problem but it sadly didn't.

EDIT: found fix which worked for me, posting here if it happens to anyone else - I found a way to install latest Intel HD Graphics. Just download driver from Intel's website and install that on your PC. after that open RegEdit and search "FeatureTestControl" and change value to 0xF048. Then restart your PC and brightness controls works fine.

 

Wouldn't the desktop card still be faster than a notebook graphics card, in similar way that a dual core desktop would still be faster than a quad core notebook variant, because of how the chips are designed to cater for heat etc?

 

Possibly yes. Still, the Nvidia card is a design from 2011, whereas the 8870M is from 2013. For a notebook chip, the 8870M is rather decent still, I can play Armored Warfare open beta (2015, based on CryEngine 3) in full HD with mixed medium/high details at about 40fps or more. Thats not too bad. At home, where I got an i5 + HD 7870 OC (moderately overclocked by Sapphire), i get 60fps plus and that (desktop) card generally plays on another level. I dont have any real world tests at hand, but GPUBoss sees both the 8870M and the 550 Ti at roughly the same level, with the 8870M even being slightly faster:

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-HD-8870M-vs-GeForce-GTX-550-Ti

I dont know how the 8870M will perform with the new Fallout engine, though. I got Fallout 3 and Fallout NV and both run smoothlessly on max details, but both are old by now, ofc. I dont have Skyrim which Bethesda took as the basis for Fallout 4, but here is a benchmark from late 2011:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Benchmarks.66057.0.html

According to that, the 8870M seems to be fast enough to run it at around 30fps on full HD with Ultra (!) preset. Its all just guessing, but I expect Fallout 4 to be playable on min or medium settings at least.

A possible pitfall, ofc, could be the fact that Bethesda recently announced they might add NVidia GameWorks effects to Fallout 4. That would possibly let AMD cards fall behind because of (unnecessary for most parts) extreme tesselation, but who knows.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read...ges-the-performance-on-nvidia-hardware/036660

Lets hope for the best
HTH,
-- Chris.