Introducing The 2013 Series 7 Chronos with AMD HD8870M!

I'm still on 13.5b1. Can 13.5b3 be installed over that version or must I uninstall first and then install again?

By the way, I haven't had any problems with flickering in the windows "modern UI". I haven't installed the PX Profile List update offered by SW Update, I figured since I'm already installing things directly from AMD I might as well stay away from anything AMD related that SW Update offers.

 

I'm on 13.6 beta 2. Do you advise that I downgrade to 13.5 beta 3? Or just keep 13.6 beta 2 since it's the latest version? The performance isn't TOO bad; it's just a little worse than before.

 

I haven' tried 13.6 beta 2 yet so I don't know.

 

Is there any throttling issues with the 8870 still, I remember it being discussed when this first released. Also, where can I buy this (15 inch in US) ? All I find is the Ativ Book 6 (with 8770 and touchscreen) when I look for the Chronos. I cannot seem to find this 8870 version, which I believe is being called the Ativ Book 8.

 

The 8870m does not throttle in any way with the proper drivers. (And setting the +20% power limit, which can help too).

@alfling I did not find any options for that in the BIOS image . I'm sorry I forgot about uploading the right tools and links. I'll try to do it when I have more time.

 

Nevermind, thank you for your willingness!

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

it looks to me people are starting to give up on this samsung laptop.... by checking the thread i can see less and less people are replying or even see this thread now i think samsung need to learn from this

 

Reviews are starting to appear online Samsung ATIV Book 8 Review | Digital Trends Reviews

 

That reivew has the 8770M, not the 8870

 

This machine has nothing on the dell xps.
At least it's usable.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

Hey guys,I barely Installed any software on my NP780Z5E and my memory is already using 10gb out of 16gb as soon as I turn it on. Any softwares to optimize the memory or something? thanks.

 

Free memory may not be an indication whether something is right or wrong: If you have IntelliMemory installed, it uses free memory and CPU idle time to predictively load frequently accessed programs and files, thus speeding things up if you later load those programs or files. On PCs with lots of RAM (like yours) that can be a good use of memory that otherwise sits unproductive. But if you need that memory for a game or Photoshop or some other demanding app -- OR on machines with less RAM -- it can be counterproductive (although IntelliMemory in theory should release that memory if needed by other tasks).

That said, getting rid of bloatware and junk is always a good thing. I don't think there is a program that safely removes it for you. But you can use this post as guidance to which bloat to keep and which to lose (clue: lose most of it ) The post is based on an earlier model, but much of it is the same.

I also had a more recent discussion with pranktank in his Owners Lounge about this and the related subject of latencies (background code that monopolizes the CPU). See the discussion starting here -- also check some of the links in that post.

 

what you smoking?

 

I meant in terms of reliability. The xps is shockingly shockingly bad.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

This sounds great - however will the clone that is created by properly aligned on the SSD? I am surprised if Acronis can't find the Samsung recovery partition. However, if this works, i'd rather use a Samsung solution rather than an Acronis one. I'd appreciate your feedback about the SSD alignment issue though and thanks!

 

Mine does the same but I like it. This keeps any programs I use on deck so to speak. 6 gigs free is plenty in fact i cannot max my ram out running Photoshop cs6 illustrator cs6 and lightroom 4 all at the same time. I have tested both with and without intellememory and I find it runs faster with it than with out. I would not use it with 4 or even 8 gigs of ram but 16 leaves you more than enough memory to play with. Note I use a Samsung 840 pro 512gb ssd drive which is really fast but still not as fast as the ram at launching applications big or small.

 

I'm very close to purchasing the NP770Z7E-S01UB version of this laptop via samsung ( Series 7 17.3 ), but I'd really like to know for certain:

Is it possible to increase the ram? I"m having a really difficult time finding out for sure whether it is in fact possible to upgrade the ram, even though many/most specs and reviews for this laptop say that it has a maximum of 8G and that it's not expandable.

If it is expandable, then where should I purchase the new ram module?


THanks!

 

I tried to Copy Disk from Samsung Recovery but the program choked because the SSD is smaller than the source drive (though the source drive is practically empty). In spite of folks' bad luck with Acronis, I am now cloning the 1TB 5400rpm disk and all its partitions using Acronis TI 2013 and will report back.

 

resize the partition to match the ssd drive first before using samsung recovery. you will loose the f4 bootable recovery if you use Acronis to clone the entire drive. I used Samsung recovery to make a factory image on the ssd and then used Acronis to copy just my current c drive partition onto the ssd. This way it kept the boot recovery and kept my c drive and all my installed programs etc.

 

According to Kingston's memory checker, that model has a MAX of 8GB; Memory Search | Kingston

 

I just have a very hard time believing that. I think they based it on Samsung's web site spec sheet for the NP770Z7E-S01UB but without further inspecting.

Almost all previous Series 7 models had 4GB on the motherboard and 4GB in a SODIMM socket. You can replace that SODIMM with an 8GB for a max of 12GB. It should still run asymmetric dual channel.

I don't know for a fact that this is true of the NP770Z7E as well. But I just cannot see why Samsung would limit the 2013 generation over previous generations when it comes to RAM upgrades.

 

Just re-read the Kingston page. The way they've detailed the bank schema makes it look like 4GB is soldered, and you can only add upto 4GB, but then further up there's mention of a removable 8GB.
Maybe Kingston avoid saying you can use different sized RAM modules (soldered and removable).
Like you said, its hard to believe a 2013 (even a 2012) laptop wouldn't take more than a 4GB module.

 

An 8GB module will work fine. This model being sold with 16GB (8GB on board and 8GB in the slot).

John

 

Like you, I am convinced that all these new Series 7 models support 16GB. But I didn't want to use Futureshop's 16GB NP780Z5E as proof since the question was about an NP770Z7E. The 17 inch model is somewhat different (chassis, Optical drive etc). But heck, it's closer to the Z7C, which supports 16GB anyway...

I wish we could trust those Samsung Spec pages.

 

Samsung's specs about supported RAM have a long track record of being wrong, going back to the days when the notebooks typically shipped with 2 x 512 MB modules and we were told that the maximum supported RAM was 2 x 1GB. However, the chipset supported 2GB modules and, when they became affordable, they worked fine (one just encountered the RAM limitations of 32 bit Windows). So I just check what the memory controller can support and rely on Samsung's more positive track record of not imposing lower RAM limits in the BIOS (or whitelisting components such as WiFi cards).

John

 

Thank you, John. I noticed before in other posts that you went with the memory controller's maximum and expected that to be supported, regardless of Samsung's claims. With the history you describe, I now understand why. I'll keep that in mind.

 

Hi,

I've seen users who had problems with image retention.
This problem affects all models?

I have this problem with my Samsung 770Z5E-S01FR.
I can return it to SAV, or it is useless?

Sincerely,

Silrox

 

This will depend on whether or not you feel a "defect" like this is acceptable or not.
For the high price, and the fact that LCD "technology" is supposed to be more resilient than (plasma for example) - I could not live with the defect.
I returned mine.
I have a plasma television - in which the "technology" is notorious for having image retention problems.
Even after watching 3 hours of a letterboxed movie - it does NOT suffer from image retention.
The LCD panel on this laptop, however, suffered from image retention after only 15 minutes.
THAT is absolutely UN-acceptable in my book.

When the ATIV Book 8 comes out here in Canada, I'll give it another try - but if the panel has the same image retention issue - I will say goodbye to Samsung forever - and spend my hard-earned cash on a different high-end laptop.

 

Thank you for your answer,

It is not acceptable for me too, but if this defect is on every model, it's useless to return in after sale service, they will give me the same model.

This defect does not affect all products ?


Silrox

 

Welcome to the forum, Silrox.

The image retention issue is a new one for the 2013 models. Previous generations had some other screen issues (contrast and viewing angles) but I have not heard about this one until the 2013 models. Also, I believe it is only the 15.6 inch series 7 models (NP770/780/880Z5E). I don't think I've seen it mentioned for the 17 inch NP770Z7E, nor the Series 9.

There is some debate whether it is a problem on all units, as many users say they do not have the issue. It could also be that some users are more sensitive to it than others. I am not arguing one way or the other, only reporting what I've seen from following these threads. My own older model doesn't have this issue at all.

We're expecting a refresh from Samsung later this month, and I suppose it's possible they might address it. And if so, maybe a warranty claim at that time could yield an improved LCD. That's complete speculation, though

 

ATIV Book 8 is coming soon to the UK as NP880Z5E-X02UK and will cost over £1400 with the same spec as the Chronos 7, how nice.

First review of the new black version.

Samsung ATIV Book 8 review: deluxe powerhouse | Hardware.Info United Kingdom

 

I may be wrong, but I haven't read any complain about image retention for AT LEAST one month... Do I remember correctly? If it's the case, maybe there was just a number of flawed displays at the beginning...

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

I have it. It's just only visible when displaying black and white high contrast things on high brightness for a relatively long time. It's only visible on a dark grey screen. So I very rarely can actually see it. I have an early version of the model, so it could be a first batch problem like you said.

For now, the problem is just too rare to bother me. If it gets worse, I will try to send it to samsung for them to repair it though.

 

Bestbuy has the ativ book 8 on their site, exact same specs as their s01ub for the series 7 chronos however.
The pictures are grey, but description states ash black, so the pictures are an error.

 

Yes - and the specs are all wrong too (bestbuy.COM).
They show the 3rd gen Intel processor still.

I find it odd that they would come out with the ATIVs before the upcoming launch, anyway.

BTW, I found it odd that here in Canada, we got the new-ish Chronos the way we did - via Futureshop - as it was done without any advertisement or fanfare. Maybe that release was just a market "test" before the real deal got introduced.

All I know is that the second the ativ-8 is available in Canada, I'll be picking one up and testing it for image retention.
For me, that was the deal-breaker - so if the new ativ-8 does not suffer that defect, I will keep it this time.

 

Interesting article about the Haswell processors and overclocking: http://arstechnica.com/information-...ers-must-pay-toll-to-play-on-haswell-highway/

 

There is a little hardware difference between Chronos and Ativ Book 8, Ativ Book 8 has 8GB soldered and free expansion slot, while Chronos has 4GB soldered and 4GB in expansion slot, but this is not a good reason to increase the price of 100€... (Even in Italy Samsung rebranding led to an increase in the price)

I hope that with Haswell update, Samsung can find the place to put a single mSATA connector....
The Gigabyte P35K in the same form factor has 2 mSATA connector + standard 2.5" bay + 2.5" bay swappable for HDD or ODD and battery is not so smaller than Samsung, in fact it's 75Wh vs 90Wh in Ativ 8.

 

Ativ Book 8 on the UK website
http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/flagship/NP880Z5E-X02UK/index.html

It's worth looking for urls here
http://www.samsung.com/uk/sitemap.xml

 

The way Samsung release their laptops amazes me. I still can't get a UK version of the 17" Chronos and the Ativ Book 8 is already available in Australia and a few places around Europe. Why can't they just release them everywhere? If the Ativ doesn't come to the UK pretty quickly after release, Samsung will lose me as a customer as I won't wait too long and there are plenty of different options on the way too.

 

wait, don't forget that in most places, ativ book isn't already available and supposedly, it's haswell version is to be anounced tomorrow..!! and in the countries where indeed was launched, this was about a month ago, top!
indeed, samsung's marketing strategy surronding chronos7/ativ book or whatever name they come up next, puzzles me...

 

To me some of the decisions Samsung took for these high-end laptops (Chronos and Ativ) are incredible: very limited out of the box SSD options and very limited high-end video connections, with no UHD options for the 15,6" versions. I've been excited and looking forward for some revisions on these laptops at least with the arrival of Haswell but it seems I'll be hanging on to my 3 year old Dell Studio which actually has a DisplayPort connector and can handle the full resolution of my 27" inch monitor.

Sorry if I am rather off-topic but I was really hoping this connection issue would be solved at least for Ativ.

It's even more frustrating as I see Samsung's competitors are not addressing my needs either.

 

Check this thread over the last two days. That's the 17 inch NP770Z7E though.

 

I know, but it has a lower quality screen and half the battery life which I think is way too much to compromise for a bloody DP or mDP in 2013, especially since we're not talking about entry-level machines.

 

Sure, I understand. I just wanted to make sure you were aware that the Z7E has DisplayPort. As for the Z5E, others have reported 2560 x 1440 working through HDMI, but apparently only up to 41Hz. Presumably a pixel clock limitation in the HD4000, since HDMI goes way higher.

 

Why cant I buy this Laptop anymore!! NOT ONE LAPTOP SAMSUNG SELLS OFFERS GREAT BATTERY LIFE AND Radeon 8870m GRAPHICS!!! Features - Series 7 Notebooks NP770Z7E | Samsung Laptops

 

Anyone know what time the event is tomorrow?

 

7:00 P.M. BST (London)/ 2:00 P.M. EDT

 

19:00 BST
Samsung notebook has been posting teasers on their Facebook page so we are definitely going to see a notebook, hopefully its ativ book 8 with haswell and ssd

 

haswell ativ book 8 w/ 8870 for under $1300 please!!!

 

Did this laptop ever made it to the US?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus