2015 ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3K

ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3K is up for pre-order. Merry Christmas guys!

NP940X3K-K02US
ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3K-K02US 13.3-Inch Laptop (Mineral Ash Black)
$1699.99

Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus 13.3" Quad HD Touchscreen Ultrabook, Intel Core i7-5500U, Intel HD Graphics 5500, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Windows 8.1 - Mineral Ash Black
SKU: SSGNP9K02US
MFR: NP940X3K-K02US

Screen Size 13.3 inches
Max Screen Resolution 3200x1800 pixels
Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7
RAM 8 GB DDR3L SDRAM
Wireless Type 802.11 A/C
Number of USB 3.0 Ports 2
Brand Name Samsung
Series ATIV Book 9 Plus
Item model number NP940X3K-K02US
Operating System Windows 8.1
Item Weight 3.1 pounds
Item Dimensions L x W x H 12.58 x 8.78 x 0.54 inches
Color Mineral Ash Black
Processor Brand Intel
Flash Memory Size 256.0
Optical Drive Type No
Batteries: 1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)

Amazon.com : ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3K-K02US 13.3-Inch Laptop (Mineral Ash Black) : Computers & Accessories

NP940X3K-K03US
ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3K-K03US 13.3-Inch Laptop (Mineral Ash Black)
$1299.99

Amazon.com : ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3K-K03US 13.3-Inch Laptop (Mineral Ash Black) : Computers & Accessories



Other sites too...

Buy or Learn at Adorama

 

Here's an interesting snippet relating to the NP940X3K (and also the NP900X3K).

It seems that the design of chassis mounted antennae isn't straightforward.

John

 

For the upcoming NP940X3K, I am curious if there will be any screen improvements over the 2013 NP940X3G. I love the resolution of the 2013 NP940X3G, but prefer the colors (and matted finished) of my old NP900X3B.

 

These NP940X3K Broadwell i5/i7 models are now in stock on Amazon (links in OP).

Hopefully we'll see some new owners shortly.

 

Good find. Still I wish they would price these more competitively. A 4GB i-5 for $1300, come on.

 

Agreed, that i5 base model is overpriced by about $200, though pricing is a bit less through Amazon. The Microsoft Store is one of the better retailers for sales once they stock the model (and sometimes they even carry their own specific model with slightly better specs).

There's actually 4 different USA models of the NP940X3K, which are differentiated primarily by Win version and warranty period:

1. i5/4/128 with Win 8.1 + 1 year Warranty - $1299 MSRP

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP940X3K-K03US-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Mineral/dp/B00RBDB2G0

2. i7/8/256 with Win 8.1 + 1 year Warranty - $1699 MSRP

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP940X3K-K02US-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Mineral/dp/B00RBDB238

3. i5/ 8/128 with Win 8.1 Pro + 3 year Warranty - 1599 MSRP

http://www.samsung.com/us/business/computing/laptops/NP940X3K-S02US

4. i7/8/256 with Win 8.1 Pro + 3 year Warranty - $1899 MSRP

http://www.samsung.com/us/business/computing/laptops/NP940X3K-S01US

 

Does anyone own the K02US model? I need some feedback on the battery life of this model. I just recently purchased it but I'm getting nowhere near the 12.5 hours based on Samsung's spec sheet. I've only had the laptop for a week so I haven't installed many applications. I use the default Samung power profile. What I'm getting is about 4 - 5 hours top. Wondering if anyone else is getting comparable battery life. I have a small window to return this laptop for a full refund. I like the laptop, especially the size, but the highly-off-the-mark battery life I'm getting is making me feel really cheated given the price of this unit. To be honest, I'm not too hot on the extreme resolution -- some of my applications are not equipped to handle it.

 

What display brightness are you using? The backlight is one of the biggest power guzzlers. Samsung's measurement is probably for some simple task with a dim screen.

I suggest you run BatteryInfoView and check the battery drain while doing various tests. First, with the machine on idle after rebooting vary the display brightness and see the effect on the power consumption. Then the difference with WiFi turned on / off. Then open up a web browser and start using it. You should should see a minimum power drain or 4000mW or less (which would be in line with Samsung's claimed run time) but if the power drain increases to 8000mW then the battery run time will be down to around 6 hours.

Devices plugged into to USB, Bluetooth and Flash running in a web browser can all cause a significant reduction in the battery run time.

John

 

Appreciate the advice on BatteryInfoView. At your suggestion, I downloaded and ran it on the Book 9 Plus (K02US). The battery wear level is especially concerning since I've read it should be at 99% given it's brand new. The charge/discharge value was taken when I was trying to attach a screenshot to this post so it's a bit high. Where it sits with Chrome, Notepad++, and Windows Explorer running while idle is between 6k - 8k milliwatts. The screen brightness is about 40%. I turned off the Bluetooth yesterday evening and did notice an immediate improvement. I haven't not tried turning wireless off yet.

Battery Wear Level 94.5%
Charge/Discharge Rate -15,413 milliwatts

FYI, I contacted Amazon yesterday about this issue to see if they have any options for me. First thing they presented was a full refund option which I was quite surprised at given I believed there would have been some restocking / inventory fee involved. The second option was a $150 credit towards the purchase of a new battery or any service necessary. Option two would be so much more tempting if I could at least figure out how to extend the battery life without having to compromise too much on performance.

Again, the battery wear level is a bit of a concern to me. After the battery drops to critical levels I'll recharge and see if that number changes. How reliable is the value provided by BatteryInfoView? Not sure.

 

As a follow up, I've stopped a number of services that were running in the background. I uninstalled Norton Internet Security but it's running Defender now. Nothing I've done seemed to have done much. Now, I'm thinking it may be related to the battery. Thoughts?

 

Chrome is a wildcard, but you should see idle <5W at low brightness. 5% battery wear is high, but you may need to charge to 100%, discharge completely (use battery calib in bios) and charge to 100% to reset it. New batteries can be had for ~$150 from samsungparts.com and the installation is not difficult.

 

Just exchange it for a new one or get a refund, no sense in fussing with it at this phase where you still have options.

 

The last few Samsung notebooks I've used have had batteries which started off with a fully charged capacity more than the design so 5% wear is unusual but only accounts for 1/2 hour of the theoretical run time shortfall.

The real challenge is to get the 6000 to 8000 mW power drain down to 4000 to 4500 mW. That will need minimum display brightness and limited CPU usage. The only ways that any notebook can give impressive run times on battery and under load are to either have enormous batteries or very dim displays or CPUs that are unable to use much power when under load. For the rest of us the challenge is to manage the power usage to balance performance and run time. What you are doing in the web browser can make a significant difference.

John

 

Calibration through the bios can increase the reported battery capacity by at least as much as 7%, mine went from 94% to 101%! Also, I've found Batt Info View to be fairly accurate but like most calibration utilities it worked better after a few cycles.

 

I ended up shipping it back to the seller (Amazon.com). As one poster put it, I didn't feel like "fussing" with it any longer. I was having second thoughts on this make / model which was why I opted for a return versus an exchange. Several days later, I decided to give it another go and hope that the one I received was a battery lemon, so I just placed an order for a new unit yesterday. Got the fingers crossed.

 

$500 cheaper and I'd gobble up that i7/8GB/256GB in a heartbeat.

 

It could be a matter of luck of the draw, but I've owned over 20 ultra portable laptops over the past 5 years - only the "best of the best" and while I've loved most there is a solidity and consistency on which no mfr really approaches Samsung . Best way I can put it is that these machines not only maintain their initial tight build and good performance better than any brand I've focused on (includes Thinkpad, MacBook, Sony and, well, none else in the running in ultra portable class - stretched to 15" for Ultrabooks - count, though Ive owned Dells and HPs that don't count! Kinda lost control of that sentence but point is my 3 Samsung 9 Series units - all bought used or refurb - are so rock solid and dependable electronically for me that they are the ones I will hang onto years into the future when technology has rendered them relics to use for basic tasks, which comprise over 80% of what I do anyway. Plus the combination of their awesome durability and rapid depreciation (only more than average because they start out so overpriced IMO and after 9-18 mos their resale value seems to equalize based on configuration, no brand premium for a used Ativ Book, so Wingnut's goal is likely to be met and the moral is: try to keep your money in your pocket until you can buy these for around 40% off if new and 50-55% of used/refurbed.

Translation of gobbledygook above: me likey these very much, plan to keep long time, advise buying after unreasonable price premiumvwears off with age or use, neither of which will diminish the innate wonderfukness of these products.

 

Since our word filter didn't catch that humorous typo in the last line, I too will let it stand

 

...and I can't bring myself to edit it, but tell me if I must. (I guess it's the lack of the preceding "c" that left it untouched - maybe it's got a lousy keyboard after all, if it's so easy for a master typist such as mysekf to clearly type an "l" and the machine responds with the adjacent letter, lol )

 

I say let's leave it for its entertainment value. You've invented a wonderful word there

Of course back on topic now...

 

While on the subject of the relative timelessness of these notebooks, my NP900X3B is a month away from its 3rd birthday but still looks and feels like new (in some ways better than new - it now has a higher capacity battery (the original - part of what seems to have been a bad batch - was replaced under warranty) and it now has a 512GB SSD which is somewhat better than the original 128GB Sandisk U100. The only significant drawback is the fixed 4GB RAM.

John

 

Or just hold out for Microsoft Store to drop cost. Last years i5/8GB/128GB is $1099 now at Microsoft Store. I bought mine there for $900 over the holidays. I'm glad I did. One awesome laptop, really. Piece of cake to install a 512GB Transcend M.2 SSD.

 

I'm curious John, how often, and in which applications, do you find the 4GB is a significant gating factor in getting your work done or, to put it another way, which apps do you not even attempt to do on your NP900X3B?

Pardon me, as I'm not that bright; why would you buy another if you already got such a great deal on an awesome machine and upgraded it to 512GB? I can't see there being much benefit to having the Broadwell silicon or going from an i5 to an i7. On the other hand, if you are thinking of acquiring a second system, that's something I tend to do when I find one of these "timeless" models that can serve you well for years. I still have three Sony Z models though it's time to retire one or two of them; still more comfortable and versatile than anything I've had since and nearly as powerful - and with many more features - as any Ultrabook made today, 5 years later.

 

This is a really great post and absolutely the truth.

I was a longtime IBM ThinkPad user and when my last ThinkPad died, I decided I wanted a stylistic change and was not happy with Lenovo's takeover of ThinkPad. Not being an Apple fan (but appreciative of their build quality), Samsung's 9 series was the natural next step for me.

I was in the market when the ATIV 9 Haswell NP900X3G was about to be released (a non-touch 1080p matte screen, my top requirement) and I was pretty much dead set on getting that model. However, I started looking at the secondary market just to get an idea of re-sale value and basically stumbled upon on an incredible deal that I couldn't pass-up for a used ATIV 9 i7 Ivy Bridge model that was still under warranty.

So it made buying used a very easy decision, as I ended up spending $1,200 less than what I would've had I bought the new i7 Haswell version. The depreciation on these Samsung 9's is way over-stated and they really should hold their re-sale value much better (like Macs do), but for some reason don't. I think that's due to the fact that Samsung doesn't market their laptops and the common consumer is still unaware of their existence. It's really bizarre, especially since Samsung has such an enormous presence in the mobile and television markets, but I suppose it helps notebook fans like ourselves find great deals when needed.

The only hope I have going forward is that Samsung continues to make laptops until my next upgrade. While I have no reason (or functional need) to upgrade now, I might do so sometime next year if Skylake + Windows 10 delivers on its promises. We could see some interesting design innovation in notebooks at that time and I hope Samsung plays a role in that. And then I could just re-sell my current ATIV 9 and likely recoup all of what I spent on it as the second owner.

 

Sometimes I need to run GIS software and a big project can need more than 4GB RAM. Loading up a virtual machine in order to run a 32-bit application can also use a significant chunk of RAM. However, these less common uses excluded, 4GB is fine.

John

 

I would like to point out that Chrome is a major battery drain for laptops. More information here: https://randomascii.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/windows-timer-resolution-megawatts-wasted/

 

That's a two year old article. Find something more recent

 

Hi, Im new here and apologize in advance if this question doesn't belong here, but would be grateful if someone answered. Can I upgrade the SSD on the Ativ Book 9 plus NP940X3K-K02US ??? This is the newer laptop with the Broadwell chip. It comes with a 256gb. I would like to upgrade to 500gb. According to Samsung (via chat on their website) they say no, however on the Crucial website ( http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/np940x3k-k02us/CT6978125 ) it says its compatible. Any thoughts??? Thank you in advance.

 

Crucial are correct that an M.2 2280 SATA SSD of the type you have linked to will work fine in the Book 9+.

Samsung's position is that since a user needs to remove the bottom of the computer then the SSD is not a replaceable part because of the risk of unintended damage. However, this hasn't prevented those who are reasonably adept with a screwdriver from changing their SSD (it is important to have the correct size of screwdriver for the small screws on the base).

John

 

John...one more question if I may please. Just like the hardrive, can the RAM also be upgraded? Thank you, DENNY/DENVER CO.

 

I'm 99% sure that the RAM is soldered, as on all the X3 models from the X3B onwards. These notebooks have two fans, which helps keeping them quiet, but leaves no space for normal RAM slots.

John

 

Hi

I wanted to add my experience regarding battery wear , I have had an x3b, x3e and now an 940x3G, I have noticed that battery wear figure increases significantly when cold temperatures arrive, Back into summers , and it reduces, and this has been consistent with all 3 units.

Generally even a new perfectly fine battery of a brand new laptop would increase its wear within a few charge discharge cycles up to 15% if OAT around are below plus 10C. My new X3G arrived in winters and battery wear increased to 14% within a week, now in summers , it has gradually reduced to 4.3%.

Max battery capacity is directly proportional to the surrounding temperatures. Battery info bar must also take this in to account somehow, so that people don't get upset seeing a high figure in cold temperatures and do not un necessarily end up returning their units.

 

Just received my new Samusng Ativ Book 9 Plus (NP940X3K-K02US) in the mail. Its still charging and haven't turned it on yet. My question is this: Both of the USB ports are black and not blue as I have seen on the Samsung website or any other websites for that matter. Does that mean there not 3.0? This concerns and worries me a bit why my usb is black and not blue. Anyone please reply? Thank you...

 

I would be very suprised if they are shipping a 2015 notebook without USB 3.0. It's possible that if the notebook has only USB 3.0 then someone decided that there was no need to use the blue tabs which were useful to be able to tell the difference between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. This used to matter when the BIOS didn't properly support USB 3.0.

However, the only way to be 100% sure what USB you have is to (i) look in Device Manager and (ii) check the read speed of a removable drive. If it's faster than about 30 MBytes/sec (the effective upper limit of USB 2.0) then you have USB 3.0.

John

 

John, thank you sir! You sure seem to know your stuff. I will check in the device manager later today when I get home. I will also post some pics just for the heck of it. This 2015 model looks NICE! So glad I finally have a computer of my own (top of the line at that) and don't have to share it with the family. The wife and kids all have the "family computer" Apple imac to use, but this Ativ 9 Plus is all mine I'm new to Windows so it's a learning curve for me. Thank you again kindly for the advice.

 

I hope that your findings don't disprove my theory. I hope that your Device Manager shows something similar to this (details for my Dell E7440).

In fact, looking closely at my E7440's ports I see that they have black, not blue, tabs although they are all USB 3.0. However, they also have SS (= SuperSpeed=USB 3.0) in small print next to the ports.

John

 

I have the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus. It should look like this in Device Manager. Also, both my USB 3.0 ports are blue.

Edit: Mine is the 2014 version.

 

So it took me a while to find the Device Manager (I'm new to Windows) this is what I found for the USB. I imagine this means that both my black USB ports are 3.0?

 

I am not sure why the USB ports are black on yours. It is a bit strange to me.

I have since posted a video of the 2015 version. Your ATIV Book 9 Plus seems to have black USB 3.0 ports.

 

ehosey2, I just purchased my Book9Plus couple days ago. It's the newest model with the i7 Broadwell. Perhaps the newest laptop USB ports are just being manufactured this way???

 

On Samsung's website the NP940X3K-K02US, which is the 2015 Broadwell version with the Core I7, 256GB SSD shows the USB 3.0 ports as blue. It seems Samsung has not updated their pics to reflect the actual color of the USB ports. At the 4:24 mark of this video, you will see the USB 3.0 ports are black.

 

You've definitely got a USB 3.0 controller and it's very probable that the ports are USB 3.0 as claimed by Samsung.

However, I wonder why manufacturers have dropped using the blue tabs. It can't be a significant cost saving.

John

 

Can someone please upload the original touchpad driver? Or at least tell me the name/version etc.

I tried to install Elan touchpad drivers like I did on my last gen Ativ 9 Plus but it didn't work. Now I'm stuck with a standard touchpad without any customization options.

I've tried the SW Update and there aren't any options for the touchpad. And I've tried the most recent Synaptics driver and it installs but there is no way to change 2 finger tap etc.

Thanks!

 

Have you tried running the battery calibrator in the BIOS? I've found that it is calibration more than heat or even use that causes the appearance of more wear than there actually is. Each time I've noticed my capacity drop by more than 5% it went back up near 100% - even hit 105% once! - after running that calibration routine.

Also, while we're on the subject of the model, I want to mention that more and more mfrs are dropping the blue color convention for USB 3.0 ports when all of them are at that standard.

 

Are you running Windows 7 or 8.1? SW Update is only listing Windows 7 drivers / software for any of the NP940X3K versions in spite of Samsung shipping these notebooks with Windows 8.1. Probably something is broken in SW Update but it may be a while before Samsung wake up to this.

The alternative is to make a backup set of files using Samsung Recovery Solution (if you haven't done this already). That backup should include the original drivers and software provided with the computer as shipped.

John

 

Hi:

This is my first post. So, my apology if I post this in the wrong section.

I decided to get the 2015 Ativ Book 9 Plus and am deciding either I will go to HK specifically to buy the NP940X3K-K01 in the unboxing VDO above, or order NP940X3K-K02US from the U.S. (I am in Asia).
Since Windows 10 will be out in a few days, is there any possibilities for Samsung to repackage this model to come with Windows 10 straight out of the box? If so, what would be the sensible timeline to expect i.e. end of August 2015?

[I'm just a regular user and, therefore, do not want to mess with missing/incompatible drivers if I were to upgrade to Windows 10 myself. (I previously owned Series 9 900X4CA01 and several top of the line Sony All-in-Ones. Upgrading Windows on them have never been an easy task. )]

Any thought on this would greatly be appreciated. Thanks all in advance.

NIK

 

Your concerns are sensible. While early indications are the W10 upgrade shouldn't cause many problems, it would be preferable to have the installation and drivers out of the way on a new machine. The problem is, we don't know how much interest samsung has in the laptop market. They haven't released a new model in months and have discontinued models in europe and other regions completely. So there could be a W10 model in August, not until skylake, some other time. I would wait a week or so and see what user experiences are like in the W10 thread. Surely someone will try on this most popular model. I will try at some point, but would like to wait till the official drivers and settings programs for W10 are available.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/windows-10-on-samsung-notebooks.778806/

 

Your comment is greatly appreciated.
Can't wait to read the W10 Update on Ativ Book 9 and looking forward to Samsung's prompt response on this.
Fingers crossed!

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

Just got my 2015 Series 9 13.3 plus laptop. It came with Windows 8.1. I updated it to Windows 10 using Windows update. No problems at all. Samsung's software update tool ran after the upgrade and offered some new driver updates.

I did install all available Windows updates before I did the Windows 10 upgrade. There were approximately 147 of them. I also upgraded everything in the Samsung software tool as well, including a bios update.

Works great,

 

Thank you very much for a fantastic news, StuR!
I checked with Samsung HK and they confirmed that there is no chance for Samsung to repackage this and sell with Windows 10 out of the box.
So I'm going to HK to buy this model with Windows 8.1 in the next 2 weeks.
I hope to be able to upgrade to Windows 10 with no problem like you did. The only difference is that I don't know how to update Bios!!
Any further advice or guidance for a novice would greatly be appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.