Introducing The 2013 Series 7 Chronos with AMD HD8870M!

To be honest, the CPU throttling was not noticeable (infact this alfling digging into the data is the only way I`d have known). The GPU down to 300MHz seems to happen when it isn`t being used, either during the menu or just left the game in normal Windows otherwise I am sure that would be seen by me.

 

Throttling on GPU at 300MHz? Have you notice that he has stopped to game and GPU usage was 0???

 

Amazon.de started to ship 770Z5E-S01 (matte). Status changed to shipping soon, estimated arrival 15-19 march.

I do some proper testing when it arrives and is free of dead pixels, so i can keep it
Have all the tools needed to measure power consumption etc.

 

LOL, true, I filtered to see how many times it was at 300 MHz and missed the usage. Even better, then.

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

The game of your test it not a most demanding game, CPU usage is always under 20% and GPU usage is most of the time under 64%, even in some place GPU usage has reached 100%.
There is not throttling in this game, but this doesn't mean that in others games there will not be.

 

Just looking on Steam - how would the new Tomb Raider game be as a demanding test of GPU? Or can you recommend any thing better from Steam? I have some credit which I've just bought for this purpose (was told in the store that Crysis 3 was available on Steam, so bought some credit to buy it with, to find out that it's not on steam, only older versions - not worried about a refund, might as well use the credit now!)!

FWIW, running Planetside 2 for about 20 minutes, I hit 71°C I did record with HWInfo, but would prefer to do a longer test.

 

Just ordered mine should be here on Wednesday. Also ordered a 840 pro 256GB drive.

Sent from Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

Agonizing choices...

So I was pretty set on getting the chronos (I'm in the UK so it would be the Currys version) but now I'm starting to wonder whether for my requirements the series 7 ultra is a better bet. Here's what I'm thinking:

Re the graphics card - I'm not a gamer so I don't need the 8870. I use photoshop, will do some bsic hd video editing when I get round to it... and might play/plug it into the tv to watch films/tv in hd. I'm assuming the dedicated graphics (HD8550m) will be fine for these?

Re storage - I had initially preferred the chronos for the 1TB (most of the time I use my laptop as a desktop replacement and have tons of photos etc) and I don't like the idea of having to have an external drive plugged in all the time, but I think I could get a NAS which prob makes more sense in this day and age anyway.

Re keyboard - I'm currently using a very old thinkpad (T60) and am obsessive about lenovo keyboards (really not mad on chiclet style but what can you do). Was worried that the ultra would have no travel but, the chronos isn't great on that front and looking at the utube vids, the keys look similar in this regard.

In both cases when at home it would sit on my desk most of the time and i'd plug into an external monitor for ergonomic reasons (possibly also a keyboard if i cant get used to the travel). With the ultra I get the portability bonus obviously.

I guess what it comes down to for me is the processor. Is the core i7 3537u 2.0 ghz going to seem really slow. in terms of usage other than outlined above (and obvious stuff like browsing with like 20 chrome tabs open) i do some programming to process large data files (from fmri machines) which can get fairly heavy at times. also not sure what the max ram u can get on the ultra is.

what do people think?

(and has anyone seen anything in terms of availability of the ultra)

 

Yes! Get Tomb Raider! I really want this game as well, it looks amazing. Plus the graphics are stellar so it'll be awesome to see how it performs on the 8870m! Don't forget to turn on those HairFX

 

Given all you've said here, are you sure that a samsung is the right choice for you? You can get a powerful lenovo or Asus, HP or similar which might fit your requirements much better (of course they don't look so good, but it should be function over form really when it comes to laptops!)

 

Sorry but I'm not a gamer so I cannot answer to your questions about games, before to see logs.
It wouldn't be easier to download Crysis2 from "unofficial ways" to perform several test and after erase it.
I don't want to push anyone to spend his money only to purpose test.

There is a specif thread for Ultra version I suggest to ask there.

 

Don't get me wrong, I will still play and enjoy the game, so its not wasted money just for the test, I just might as well get a game that will do the job. I'm not much of a PC gamer either, but mainly because I've never had a PC up to the job before - not since my first PC which was an, at that time, top of the range 486DX2 66, with Turbo button - ah those were the days Crysis 2 is cheap on steam, so maybe I will buy that too - don't believe in pirating, prefer to pay for my stuff!

 

I suggest to watch the review of Chronos 17" in gaming performance section, I presume that games with low fps could be a most demanding game, so Crysis3 seems one on these, but could be even a driver issue, we already know that beta driver there are improvements specific for Crysis3, Tomb Rider 2013 doesn't seem a demanding game, but we can't say it for sure, maybe it's optimized to work with AMD GPU.

 

A good game that has been a classical benchmark because uses dx11 and tesselation and is cheap Metro 2030. Another excellent game, one of the best FPS series imo, is STALKER: Call of Pripyat. This last one is a PC exclusive and not even available for consoles. A real PC game which is cheap and amazing. Another game that you can use to benchmark is The Witcher 2 enhanced edition which is also cheap and extremely fun.

 

Tomb Raider is great. Long and probably demanding. Graphics are stunning as well. I'd say go for it if you liked Far Cry 3 or have played any Uncharted.

 

Ah, the days of the turbo button, I remember those... my first PC (not first computer though) was a 386dx that I built myself, I still remember the ram costing $170 per MB (not GB) and I put 4mb in. Damn that machine was pricy.

 

This thread gets like 20 new pages a day. I'm just going to ask again, any updates on the 8870m version in the USA? It is a brand new week after all.

 

Nope
Trust me, once there's an update those 20 new pages will be people arguing about things related to it being in North America.

 

Tomb Raider has been, is and will be a horrid console port and FC3, although great and fun, is a console-port horrible optimized for PC. Uncharted isn't even available on PC.....

Anyway, to the guy asking for the games. Here is my profile on Steam:

Steam Community :: ID :: Pope Benedict

Add me if you wanna know more for benchmarks and gaming related information. Maybe some online fraggin' too

 

Re uncharted I think he was saying that if you like uncharted you'll like tomb raider

 

Do you think it is worth it waiting for the 8870m version or just getting the 8770m version now and sticking in an SSD?

 

This guy on Youtube had a problem with sleep as well after installing a SSD. He restarted and tested sleep after reinstalling each driver and he thinks he found the problem.

Start @ 18minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAL_weYeF6w&list=UUzQZ5dguy4vErYkAW9nJumQ&index=1

 

I'm doing both, kind of.
It's definitely worth waiting for the 8870m version for a few reasons IMO
1) the obvious one, much better GPU
2) more ram(higher end version will come with 16gb)
3) official support. Sure, the 8770m version is out, but with limited support, poor drivers, etc. Samsung wants the chronos to be it's flagship 15" laptop, so chances are that when it is actually released(which should be soon) it'll come with proper driver support, etc.

I just really wanted to try it out, and given that I'm in the US for two weeks I thought this was a great opportunity to do so.

 

Sorry for the double post but I wanted this separate as people generally don't read till the end of long posts!
I'm getting my 8770m version on Wednesday, any requests for a mini review? And if so, what should cover? Send me a pm with what you want as it's much easier to keep track of than people just posting in this thread

 

@damouk or anyone with a UK/EU Chronos..
What's the maximum headphone volume like? I have a HP Envy 15 from the US and the volume at 50% gets almost too loud.
I ask because if I were to get this laptop I'd like to know whether I'd be able to use my higher impedance headphones without the need for an external amp, as I'm not sure whether current UK laptops are affected by that pesky EU volume limit law.

Thanks in advance!

 

Arguing? More like screaming in joy!

 

Arguing over who's screaming louder?
Idk this communities ability to argue is quite fantastic lol

 

Well I do know that i'll depart this forum once I get the laptop, except to share my experiences and benchmarks and any possible problems shortly after launch.

 

I keep asking myself the same question and I have the 8770m version. I really like the machine, great performance, gorgeous screen, ive upgraded it with an SSD and it flies.

My only gripes are the 12gb max on this model and that I don't know what price the 8870m model will be at when it comes in at amazon. If it would cost me more to get the 8870m model i'm happy with what I have, but considering I spent about $100 on tax and if the 8870m model comes in at amazon with no tax and free shipping (2nd day since im a prime member) costing $1300 or less then its the better deal.

Right now, I'm 17 days into a 30 day return period (i got mine before best buy went back to 14 day returns) so i'm waiting to see what the 8870m model is priced at when its available. If it comes in at $1500+ or something ill be fine with the 8770m model. lol.

 

Off topic but taxes are so low in the US compared to most of Canada
In Ontario it's 13% sales tax, so even if the laptop was $1300, tax would be$169!

 

is already expensive up there and they add %13? damn lol

 

Tech costs the same in Canada as in the us, at most $50 difference but normally the same.
And yea, 13% tax but we do have free health care, etc. lol

 

! Taxes here in Arizona are only 8.3%!

 

Yep, that's why I like to buy stuff in the US!
If only the 8870m 16gb version came out before the 25th of March. On amazon there's no tax right?

 

I think we're down too 6% or 7% here in Florida.

 

6%
My 8770m version has a "security deposit" of 1271, so tax is $72, or 6% of 1199

 

Usually there isn't. I think it depends on state.

Amazon.com Help: About Sales Tax on Items Sold by Amazon.com

 

Great, Florida's not on the list!

 

Wow...looks like Arizona is now on that list. I think that was part of some new law passed, because of the massive amount of sales made on Amazon. Never had taxes on Amazon until now. Oh well, still getting it regardless haha. Too bad it's nowhere in sight for the US.

Honestly I think we're at the point where we aren't getting sh*t here in the US until that Best Buy deal ends. Screw them for doing that, honestly. Keeping everyone else in the US from getting the model we ACTUALLY care about? I mean what kind of business is that? I hate stuff like that. Everyone knows the US should have this laptop first, just like most other products.

 

Nothings free, you pay for it one way or another.

 

I'd take that. It was $99 and change in tax on $1199 for me. came to $1299 and change for my total.

 

I dont think that you're right.
A bestbuy exclusive deal wouldn't affect release in other countries, yet it still hasn't been officially released anywhere. It's available in the UK but only as of less than a week ago and on very limited release.

I think that the laptop'll come out soon, but not due to bestbuy exclusivity. I think bestbuy's simply selling it is simply filling in the block of time where it isn't official out, rather than creating the block.

Either way doesn't matter. Hopefully It'll be out soon. My guess is it'll surface this Wednesday. Not sure why though lol

 

8870 version here, but I have updated every driver and windows update and sleep works perfectly.

When I first got this, I did infact see the update for the graphics and following advice here, avoided it, but I think it might have either been removed or installed automatically, as its not listed as available anymore.

 

So you can close and open the lid without pressing the power button and it will go to sleep rather than shutting down/crashing?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

I think losing 16 GB of harddrive space is worth have a smooth software OS without bugs and crashes and game resolution issues. I will recommend going back to the samsung recovery windows 8 installation.

 

So what graphics driver are you on right now?

 

I'm still waiting to see available in Italy the NP770Z5E, but about the videocard I'm already disappointed that on the AMD official site, when you have to choose which graphic card you have, the 88XXM series doesn't even appear !!!
Blame as usual, on AMD for his support and driver never up to date

 

A little patience, it will come. This graphics card isn't supposed to be out yet.

I'm losing my patience myself too though. Costumer service still did not reply my emails! :banghead:

 

If this was Nvidia, you could download drivers few weeks before release.
Most new GPU releases by Nvidia are discovered by driver mining !

Fact ist, they sell devices with 8870M since 3-4 weeks (17 inch chronos) and still no proper support.
That's the nr.1 reason why AMD dropped in market share way behind Nvidia and will drop even further if "support decisions" are left in their hands.

Samsung also does strange stuff like smartphone UIs (touchwizz), driver updates over Samsung tools only. Then (soon) the day comes when they have to drop support for those 43902340 devices they make and stop developing that update software. Then your stuck and have to wait for community fixes.

I really wish HP or Dell would make such high quality devices but somehow Dell has no taste for design and both lack in displays / battery. Dunno what's so hard to make a perfect notebook. Intel had to force them with ultrabook specs to get away from those 5kg 100mm thick beasts.

 

Hi everyone.

I've been lurking around for the past few weeks waiting to buy this laptop. I'm getting de BestBuy model soon. I've bought it and will get it soon (I don't live in the US).
Since I need to get it shipped, I'm interested in the size of the box. So if anyone can give me the measurements of the box (preferably in metric), I'd appreciate it.

Also, I'd like to thank the early adopters for all the useful information