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

I think the windows performance tool thingy often has a hard time detecting graphics cards. Are you using the 8770m? How is your performance in games?

 

WARNING: the latest bios update may create problems witth the keyboard. This weekend I installed the latest bios versión (dont exactly remember the version) and I was very pleased because finally I could control the backlight in the keyboard but recently I ve experienced some lag when writting in Word and the metro interface. These problems dont occur the whole time, though. Besides this problem, the fn+f1 is returning the sign ¿ and then the display the setting window. Also when streaming youtube I found some lag from time to time. I dont know if the bios update is the real reason of theses problems Im just warning what Im dealing with right now.

 

anyone knows if I can rollback the bios update?

 

Yes, the catalyst control center includes the driver, you can see the steps on how to update in the first post of the thread.

 

Replacing clutter question with random text. Mod feel free to delete this.

 

See this thread.

However, I would first try to be sure that the lag problems are due to the update. What, for example, is your normal CPU utilization in Task Manager? Also note that BIOS updates usually turn off the Fast BIOS mode (which speeds boot up) and the Battery Life Extender. The update may also change some other settings.

John

 

Hi guys! I recently pulled the trigger on this laptop this weekend and its due to arrive Thursday! I ordered a Samsung 250gb 840 series SSD and I'm reading that a fresh install is better on the SSD rather than mirroring it. Would you guys know how to install a fresh copy of windows since Samsung/Microsoft doesn't include an OS disk?

 

Has anyone had this problem? Or got any advice on what I can try? I try asking the Samsung service guys and they installed a different version of the driver (still an 11.7), with the same problem.

 

Thank you for checking it!! I was actually hoping that someone would do it, since I don't have the possibility to do it myself!

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

I've been there man, but now might be a good time to rethink your storage strategy!!

it has taken me a long time, but now i'm getting to a nice usable solution for my storage...I am a developer as well so perhaps my solution could work for you.
First of all, you need some sort of backup solution. period. I back everything up in triplicate, i'm that paranoid
For your code, you will want that under source control too, something like subversion.

So my setup....
I have this laptop with a 256GB drive. I keep practically no data on this machine. Most of this space on this drive is taken up with game installation files. that's the way it will stay. I implore you, keep very little data on this machine, and what is there should be viewed as temporary, as you are working on it.

I have a desktop with a 128 SSD as my main OS drive. i also have a large media HDD and data HDD in this machine. media drive contains (500 gigs of music, 1tb of video, 1 gb of books, 10 gb of pictures for example), and the other largish HDD for production files. Production files would be source code, art files, work documents, college projects. These drives are being synced to my NAS, which contains a mirror of these 2 drives.

So what's the advantage of this setup?
First is that the drives on the desktop are backed up. Cool. if it dies i can recall the data.
The other is that all my operating systems are separate from my data. This was handy for me last night, i had win 8 on my desktop and some legacy sofware would not work so i decided to revert to XP. this is a very simple process now as there is no need to migrate any data files. i overwrite the OS and he presto, all my data is intact on the other disks in the machine so i can start work straight away on this machine once i have installed neccesary production programs (keep a backup of these in a folder on your data drive too, as a developer you will always be reinstalling OS's).

also, I can work on the same project on either the laptop or the desktop, since they are both accessing the central NAS. this is handy if you live with someone who also used the machines, there's no need to wait for someone to finish using it before you can start your work.

My solution is not yet perfect, but it's very usable. So, start to think about Centralising your data and keep a backup offsite too. you don't need a lot of space in your laptop.

 

Hey guys, I hope I'm not out of place asking this here. I have a strong urge to buy this awesome machine (880z5e) but its still quite expensive in the Netherlands (EUR 1599) with a student discount its EUR 1399. Will I regret buying this machine now and not waiting for haswell (better successor or lower prices for this one).

Also I'm taking a holiday to Portugal in August, I think I saw someone posting that he bought the laptop for EUR 1185 over there. Might this be an option for me? I think they also use the QWERTY layout over there right?

 

Hello everyone
A few days ago I bought Ativ Book 8 (880z5e) and have a few questions.
After the purchase I installed all the updates via SWUpdate, then decided to download the latest AMD video card driver 13.6 beta2, but after installing all the games began to slow down. What version do I need to install to get the maximum performance in games? Or is it better to stay on a version of Samsung SWUpdate?

I also want to replace the hard drive on the ssd and I read how difficult to remove the back cover or break it, it really is? Do I lose my warranty for this? Or is it better to contact the service center?

Which is better to buy SSD, Samsung 840, or about Plextor M5 Pro?

Sorry for my bad english

 

So in the USA you CANNOT get the 8870 - only the 8770 from best buy correct?

 

hey Ruben1075, hope you like portugal
that 1185 price was in the FNAC online stores - it was one of those "subscriber days" (not sure if there is also FNAC in the Netherlands) which is already over.

I can point you to this site - cool site to have a general picture on how the prices go on a certain item -- Currently the best priced store is selling the 870Z5E (same as mine - no touchscreen) for €1179,9...you can then follow the links and see where the stores are located; if one of the best priced stores is located near to where you are vacationing, you can always pop in and buy it there (buy online and have it picked up at the store nearer you)

ps: to think that I payed €1285 not two months ago errr...

good luck with the search and have a pleasant stay here

 

I'm on tapatalk so I can't link, but in a different thread they were talking about how some of the international models don't have the 1080p display yet. I'd make sure of that before buying anything as it makes a pretty big difference.

 

Ruben1075, Sykton, didn't noticed these two doubts:

yes, portuguese keyboard is qwerty (just google portuguese keyboard layout)

yes the 870Z5E-X01PT has 1080p screen - it really is a great screen as a matter of fact, at least compared to the one on my old asus (colours really good, blacks really blacks, etc)

on a side note, this laptop does not support battery life extender, or BLE as the silver chronos 2013 does...its a stupid thing that they've changed the bios, but unfortunately, they did....
to make up for this, the internal slot has 8GB of RAM, meaning we have the user accessible slot free! (chronos 2013 - 770Z5E or 780Z5E are said to have both slots occupied by 4 + 4 GB)
ah, this laptop has the 8870, not the 8770

cheers

 

sorry guys a silly question I got the non touch matte version,the protective film on the back of the laptop is that for the screen,

 

No, peel it off and bin it - it's just to protect the aluminium when it's in the packaging.

 

So far, and as far as we know, correct.

 

woohoo! Just ordered the Samsung 840 Pro 512 GB!

Just to make sure, if I order it from Amazon I still get the 5 year warranty, right?

Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 512 SATA_6_0_gb Solid State Drive MZ-7PD512BW: Computers & Accessories

 

I checked the option updates in Windows Update and found a driver update for the Intel HD 4000 and lo and behold the brightness issue has been solved on my Samsung Series 7 Chronos 2013.

Just search Windows Update in the charms bar and once the updater comes up select the optional update for Intel HD 4000.

Now I can finally see the awesomeness that is Windows 8.1

Good Luck.

 

As I know, if the driver is not the one that provided by manufacturer, graphic performance couldn't be maximized.
and even it could affect other parts. so drivers given by Samsung strongly recommended.....

 

Nice you won't be disappointed, I already have a 256GB one in my desktop (which is plenty for me), which I use for web design and programming. My second 256GB one will come in on Friday, just an FYI the 512GB performs slightly better than the 256GB. When you get it you should register it with your Samsung.com account (Side note: the Ativ Book 8 is not on their website for registration, idk why).

Also be sure to install Disk Magician and get the firmware update through there, it also will help configure your system for your new SSD.

 

May I refer you to this thread. Check out those last few pages.

 

Anyone experience image retention on their Ativ Book 8? I know it's not physically possible to have a burn in with a PLS panel. The image (my browser window) when minimized and then a solid color (gray) is brought up you can see retention of the browser window. I'm hoping this problem subsides as the panel ages because I really don't want to have to end up returning this.

 

Ah, this old issue, I wondered how long it would be before this was revisited...

Yes, there is a Short-term image retention, this will stop/reduce as the screen ages, at least I haven't noticed on mine for a few months now.
The most common cause of this is having your screen too bright and on a static image for a very long time. The image retention will fade away very quickly (about 20-30 seconds) and is NOT permanent.

It seems to be a "feature" of the MVA panel Samsung have developed. If you check back to fairly early in this thread, there is a LOT of discussion about it, but most people discovered that dropping the brightness fixed the problem until the screen had aged. Of course if you're not using high brightness, or keeping the same image on the screen for a long time, then you may have a fault, but I doubt it.

 

Today found the image retention on my Ativ Book 8, is enough to leave 2 minutes desktop and on a gray background can be seen part of the interface, the brightness by 50%. Even on my plasma image retention does not appear so soon, very upset. If I leave the desktop or what ever program for a few hours, can damage the display?

 

hey guys,

People with the 870Z5E, do you notice that since latest bios upgrade (P02ADH.008.130604.SK) even if we force the CPU to full throttle all the time (min and max performance state to 100%), it downclocks to low values such as 1.5 GHz?!

I'm pretty sure that before upgrading the bios in this power setting (high performance), the cores would always stay at least >2 or 2.4 GHz..

Any thoughts?

 

I guess I was trying to run the wrong version before. 3D Mark 11 worked, but the scores for both high performance and power-saving mode were about the same, and both really low. In high-performance, I got a score of 758, with a graphics score of 660 and a physics score of 6080. In power saving mode, the score was 705 with 612 for graphics and 4940 for physics. Both scores were reported for the Intel HD card, not the AMD card. The frame rates during all the graphics tests never went above 8. That's not normal, is it?

I'll post some screen shots as soon as I figure out how to get them into this post. Thanks again for your help!

 

No it is impossible to burn in on these types of panels.

@damouk

I saw it mentioned that this laptop used a PLS panel (which would make sense since Samsung developed/owns the technology), if it uses a VA panel that's fine too as I have a S-PVA panel monitor for my desktop (which would explain why the display look so similar).

 

Guys
Any one fix the mouse random jumping issues?

 

Just to give an update- this solution worked for me. Thanks a lot damouk for a detailed explanation and cure to a very annoying problem!

 

But it is very annoying, I bought this laptop for work and if this effect disappears after aging panel I do not know what to do. I'm thinking about returning to the shop.
Where else can read about it?

 

Does anyone know where I can get spare replacement parts for the np780z5e-s01ub or s02ca? I sorta cracked the front plastic housing of the hinge and it creaks everytime I open the hinge. Nothing else is broken though, only that plastic cover.

 

The 2013 Chronos 7 is definitely MVA, which is basically a variant of PLS/IPS. There's no reason to suspect the screen would be changed for the ATIV.

Don't return it, you would really regret it. Make sure you're not on 100% brightness, which is the biggest cause of leaving an image on the screen, and make sure not to leave the screen on a static image for too long, plus "Screensavers" are still valid with modern technology, or you can make it turn off the screen after a few minutes - both are designed to reduce image retention and the latter will save power and money!

If you can't reduce the brightness/turn on a screensaver/turn the screen off, the image is not permanent, and a minute or two of normal use will make it disappear. I've had my Chronos since March, and I never get image retention anymore.

For more information, look back early in this thread, where there's some discussion, or in the Chronos Mega-thread, around here.

In general, all IPS/PLS panels and their variants have some image retention, some more than others and to varying degrees over the life of the panel. The slight image retention issue is far outweighed by the quality and viewing angle of the screen.

 

So I'm having a problem with an external monitor. Whenever I plug my 8807ZE into my external monitor, everything display wise seems to slow down. For example as I'm typing this the letters appearing on the screen is delayed, windows take longer to extend and contract and move around, my auto-hiding task bar appearing slower and jittery. Switching tabs in Chrome also takes longer, and whenever I do I get this black bar underneath the tab. And it doesn't just happen to windows on the external monitor, it happens to windows on it and on my laptop screen. If I unplug the HDMI from the laptop, it doesn't fix the problem. The second I put the HDMI in my computer it's stuck in slo-mo until I restart.

EDIT: I could fix it by putting the computer to sleep and then waking it up. A lot easier than having to reboot, but I'd still like to know a fix.

 

Thank damuk
Brightness is usually 50-80%, is used screensaver, but I need to work on that screen would show 2-3 hours without turning off the display (lots of static) and I fear that over time, this effect becomes stronger.

Earlier this effect I've only seen on a plasma TV and was very surprised and upset when I saw it on the LCD panel of a laptop.

Thanks for your advice, guys. I will think until 14 days left

 

This is my only gripe with this laptop right now, and it drives me crazy. Are only a few people having this problem? Or is it widespread, but everyone is just living with it?

 

FWIW, I've had the laptop for about 3 and half months and have never noticed image retention, but I did set up a screen-saver/turn off the screen. I realized that while using the laptop, I rarely have a still image on the screen for more than 5 minutes anyway, and if I'm not using it then I might as well turn the screen off.

Some have it some don't, I have it sometimes, but the latest BIOS update improved it a lot (for me at least), it hasn't happened in a long time now.

 

Thanks, I'll try the bios update. I hadn't gotten around to it yet.

 

Alyster - I agree with you.
Brightness settings have nothing to do with this defect.
Setting your brightness lower will only make it harder to see - but it is still there.
Perhaps in setting the brightness lower, most users won't notice it - and as a result - won't think the defect is there.

I had the series 7 Chronos - which had the image retention issue.
Since this is an LCD panel, any image retention is an UN-acceptable defect.
I returned mine to the store - very disappointed.
Similar to you, I also have two Plasma TVs, and neither of them has ANY image retention - even after 2-3 hours of watching a letterboxed movie.
Seeing image retention in an LCD screen on a PC is outrageous.
A pc is "supposed" to have static windows that stay on the screen all the time - that is the very nature of "windows" !

I am saddened that the ATIV generation of this laptop still suffers from this blatant defect.

For those who do not see it, or do not care (ie, it does not bother you) - great - Enjoy !
For me, however - this is a defect that I can not live with - especially given the price of the laptop.

 

Should I bother getting a replacement (I still have until the 4th)? I assume that most if not all laptops suffer from this defect, if multiple people already reported it?

 

Check through the stock at samsungparts.com.

John

 

Hello all. I've been considering this laptop for a long time now but I have a few specific gaming related questions I was hoping someone could answer.

The only game I'm really playing these days is Guild Wars 2 and I'm really curious how this laptop handles it. Member Darshine mentioned that he too bought this laptop as a Guild Wars 2 machine, but I didn't see him post any impressions of the gaming experience.

Thanks.

 

Hey guys, I'm thinking of purchasing this laptop ( Buy Samsung NP770Z5E-S02UK Laptop, Intel Core i5, 2.6GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB, 15.6", Silver online at John Lewis) for college next year and to play some games on, would you reccomend it? Cheers!

 

Hi John, just as a matter of interest, not because I need anything yet, is there a UK equivalent to samsungparts.com?

 

I remember John has previously recommended using samsungparts.com to look up exact part numbers, then search for those on local sites with better pricing (including eBay). If used for that purpose, it shouldn't matter that samsungparts.com are overseas, since you only use it for the lookup.

 

Please see here for a wikipedia article on Image retention (which it appears should be hereafter known as Image Persistence), which explains the reason LCD panels OF ALL TYPES still get some kind of temporary burn-in appearance.

Please note that IceManKent's comments around his Plasma screens is irrelevant because Plasma is a totally different technology to LCD and does not suffer the same types of Image persistence (but there's no way you could mount a plasma in a laptop!)

Brightness of the screen DOES have an impact on the chances of LCD type screens having image persistence. Brightness in itself doesn't cause it, but is compounded by leaving a static image on the screen for some time. Reducing the brightness to 80-90% GREATLY reduces the chances of experiencing any Image Persistence.

MVA and similar later variants of LCD screens appear to be slightly more prone to this than some of the older LCD panels, largely because of the need to squeeze wider viewing angles, greater contrast and higher resolutions out of modern screens - the higher the pixel density (screen resolution) squeezed into a smaller panel, the greater the chance of this happening (see Apple's retina Macbook as a good example, that too has the same issue). For this reason, you're more likely to notice the Image Persistence if you're coming from a lower resolution/older laptop.

Ergo, this is NOT technically an LCD defect on this laptop, but is inherent in the technology. And while it may be "UN-acceptable" to some, chances are if you switch to a different modern laptop, you could well experience the same types of situation (or worse, you could have orange-gate!). I'd still recommend sticking with the laptop, I've found the Image Persistence has stopped since I've owned it, though I also never have the brightness above 80% unless I'm in bright sunshine (personally, it hurts my eyes at 100% under normal indoor conditions!), and I now make sure the screen turns off after 10 minutes of not being used (on mains, and 2 minutes on battery - which could explain why I can get 9+ hours out of the battery, even with quite high usage!)

 

Highly recommended as a work/Uni/College laptop for working/browsing/general use, but check that it is up to playing the games you want. The S02UK model has a Core i5 processor and a lower-spec graphics card than it's grown up brothers with the Core i7 and the 8870GPU.

They have, however, now reduced the price of the Chronos models, as they've re-branded Chronos to ATIV, meaning you can get a good deal on essentially the same machine! Also note that the NP7 70Z5E models do not have touchscreen (the NP7 80Z5E does in the UK), so if you're expecting to have that after reading these forums, it's not available on the John Lewis machines.

 

Hey, thank for the reply! I'm not too bothered about touch screens so not that fussed about that

I'd be playing games like minecraft, counter strike and games like that with a few others. So it shouldn't need to be the most impressive computer for gaming but I thought it looked like it could handle quite a bit and by research it should be able to handle counter strike and MC on high settings so I'm good with that

Overall would you reccomend I buy this?

Cheers.