Introducing The 2013 Series 7 Chronos with AMD HD8870M!

The 8870M model of the NP770Z5E (non-touch) is out in the UK with John Lewis, being sold from their website as well as brick n' mortar stores now. I ordered mine this morning.

Will do my best to keep track of the threads and answer any questions. Now to buy a case, mouse, and maybe a hybrid SSD/HDD!

 

glad it's finally widely available for the fellow forumers in the UK, i just checked up the price on john lewis' website, i see the price as 1100 UKpounds for the NON-touch, i converted it to USD and looks like alot of money for a non-touch version! Am i wrong that it seems kinda overpriced or is this the norm in the UK ?

 

That's including 20% tax, so the real price would be around 916 pounds, but in USD

 

i hear 8870 is now out in the UK at john lewis online store, nevertheless its a good buy i'm sure you can OC 8850 to reach 8870 performance levels!

 

Link to John Lewis
Buy Samsung NP770Z5E-S01 Laptop, Intel Core i7, 2.4GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB, 15.6", Metal online at John Lewis

1100 pounds! That would be a whopping ~$1700 inclusive of 25 pounds for shipping to US address, using current exchange rate!

On a side note, the image of the laptop in this website showed the keyboard keys to be elevated out of the frame, however I noticed that the keys on the Bestbuy cheaper version to be sunken in. The keys are sitting in the opening of the frame and you are actually pressing the keys further in UNDER the top frame....is this true for all or the particular display model that I looked at are overly-abused?

 

Yep...and the reason why the BB version looks so much promising in terms of budget ($1199), if you can live with the 8770 card. Even if the 8870 version gets released in US, I bet it'll be priced accordingly ...my speculation being in the $1399-$1500 mark. And by that time, we'll likely have Haswell and the new Nvidia chips to consider.

And the more reason why I'm seriously considering re-buying the open box Bestbuy version for $1049 (8770 card). That will keep my PC gaming needs sufficed till the new Xbox comes out end of this year or early next. Then I might be able to sell it and get something else (and more the reason to buy a touchscreen Win8 laptop right now as I feel these may maintain the value much better than non-touch screen laptops down the line).

 

Maybe ill pick one up when I'm over in the UK next week & just get a VAT refund. Any retailers there have the touchscreen version?

How big a deal would it be to get a US charger when I return stateside?

 

I hate the fact that it's gone from "The US will for sure get the 8870m version, but in time" to "IF the US gets the 8870m version".

No 8870m, no sale. I will never even consider this laptop is Samsung is stupid enough to not release that version in the US where the market is by far the biggest and where they would make by far the most money.

 

PCWorlds should have the touchscreen model in on the 20th at £1099.99.
SAMSUNG Series 7 Chronos 15.6" Touchscreen Laptop - Silver Deals | Pcworld

Don't get too hung up on English/European prices, laptops are always cheaper in the US.

 

I have the np770z5e 15" (8870M)

Please, i need drivers to manually adjust the keyboard backltight level. I dont want automatically changes made by the sensor. I want to adjust manually the light in the keyboard everytime.

How i can do this ??

thanks

 

yeah, but that one at john lewis is non-touch. I wanted the touch version, and so far I've been really happy with the i5 8850!

 

It's been awesome so far. I played about 1.5hrs of simcity with no hiccups (not even on the server side!) I also pumped all of everything up to high on CS:GO at 1080p and it was silky smooth. I'm not sure how to get fps to show in SimCity, but here's my WIE Scores and specs:


Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3230M CPU @ 2.60GHz 7.1
Memory (RAM) 12.0 GB 7.3
Graphics Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 5.6
Gaming graphics 7878 MB Total available graphics memory 6.7
Primary hard disk 145GB Free (215GB Total) 8.1
Windows 8

System
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Model 770Z5E/780Z5E/870Z5E/880Z5E
Total amount of system memory 12.0 GB RAM
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2

Storage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total size of hard disk(s) 215 GB
Disk partition (C 145 GB Free (215 GB Total)

Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter type Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Total available graphics memory 8134 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 2304 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 5830 MB
Display adapter driver version 9.17.10.2875
Primary monitor resolution 1920x1080
DirectX version DirectX 11 or better

 

What about the gpu performance on Linux?

Inviato dal mio GT-I9100 con Tapatalk 2

 

Why would you think there is a bigger demand in the US and how would you know how much profit they would make?

 

The larger consumer market in the US would be the assumption as to both the demand & higher earnings if sold there. The latter two would of course be conjecture as consumer tastes are finicky, but it is an educated hypothesis.

 

I'm not even sure in this case that it would be cheaper in the US. The cheapest it would be is $1199 (8770 model's price), more likely a bit more. Buying in the UK and getting the VAT refund when leaving would have the machine costing you about $1350. So worst case scenario you pay $150 more.

Either way Samsung needs a much better customer outreach/ PR department in its notebook department.

 

It is kind of sad you have to fly to the UK for a laptop but Samsung is really dragging their feet on bringing the 8870 out.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

 

LoL- I wouldnt actually recommend flying to the UK to buy this, I just happen to be going there end of next week & since the price (assuming it will eventually come out in the US) between getting it there or waiting most likely won't be much different so I may well pick it up across the pond.

 

I would like to contribute something to the discussion about the similarities and differences between the variants of Series 7 Chronos, Ativ Book 6, Ativ Book 8, etc.

There have been various links on this thread to pages on the fishingtree site which show a bunch of similar but not identical ads for these notebooks:

http://pci34.fishingtree.com/nike2/strategy/680Z5E/
http://pci34.fishingtree.com/nike2/strategy/780Z5E/
http://pci34.fishingtree.com/nike2/strategy/880Z5E/

However, if you take a look at the root url for that domain ( http://pci34.fishingtree.com). You see a table of the various models.

Also, if you simply go to http://www.fishingtree.com, you see wide variety of web ad content for a number of different (Korean) companies and products.

From this, I think we can infer the following:

a) Fishingtree is probably a major South Korean ad agency, and what we are looking is a web site where they post their ad campaign material where it can be previewed by their clients (ie Samsung) and downloaded by other media companies for when the ads are placed on other sites.

b) Notice in the table of different models that the notebook lines are grouped by "Project" and that the Series 5, Series 7, Ativ Book 6 and Ativ Book 8 are all part of the "Nike2" project. All of the Nike2 ads look very similar with some differences (black/white, not all have touch screen) What this probably means is that they share a fair bit of common design, engineering, and features, with a range of other specs (touch/non touch, 8770/8870, etc.) Unfortunately, those ads don't contain enough detailed specs to distill exactly what all of the similarities and differences are. So this doesn't really give us much new information to go on. But it might help us make some sense of all these variations to understand that they are all considered part of the "Nike 2" family.

 

You are right, it is an ad agency that does online advertising: Link. You can see on Samsung's website that the same ads are used for their products, for example Series 5 and Chronos 7. I wonder why the same company isn't making newer versions of the new Series 9 page.

Also, in 2012 the "Nike" project was the name for Series 7 Chronos. Does this mean that Samsung is moving away from the Series X business to ATIV Book X, sounds too much like Macbook.

Too much speculation, The wait is the worst part.

 

I just returned my super sexy Samsung Chronos 15" touchscreen with the 8770m video card. I took pictures of the inside when I had to replace the Samsung 840 Pro with the original stock Samsung 1TB 5400rpm drive. I will try to get these posted if anyone is interested. Bestbuy had no problem giving me a full refund for the computer.

Jason

 

I'm thinking about upgrading the slow 5400RPM hdd to this:
Amazon.com: 500GB - Samsung 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) with Desktop and Notebook Installation Kit 500 sata_6_0_gb 2.5-Inch MZ-7TD500KW: Electronics

Is it compatible? And how do you migrate? Is it as simple as just duplicating my HDD to the SSD, then installing the SSD and that's it?

 

Yes i really think you should pick it up from the UK and get a tax refund, if it's not out in the US (i doubt it will release in a week) by the time you travel.

 

for those of you considering touch (myself included ) , check this out :

Using Windows 8 on touchscreen laptops could be a pain in the shoulder | Technology | guardian.co.uk

according to new research, apparently it's really really bad for your health to use a touchscreen laptop, so consider the chronos matt non-touch version if you care about your health.

 

The PC shipments in Asia was around 28 mill. the EMEA region around 23 mil, and the US around 14 mil in the first quarter of 2013 according to IDC. This perhaps explains while Samsung launched their lineup in those regions first. In terms of profit, we can just speculate.

 

Interesting, but mostly alarmist speculative stuff... By that logic, typing on a keyboard is bad for you. If you do any repetitive motions, they can be hazardous to your health.

 

Your comparing continents with hundreds of millions of more customers with a country, the US. Shipments will naturally be higher.

 

The keyboard backlight has a mind of its own as discussed in this thread and several others such as here.

They all have SATA connectors so compatibility is not a problem and several people have done the swap. An alternative is the new Crucial M500 which is getting good reviews and is giving more GB per $.

Some people have successfully migrated their system by using Samsung Recovery Solution 6, saving everything to external storage and then restoring onto the new drive. Try pressing F4 at the BIOS screen to see what is offered. I'm not sure if all the cloning programs have fully got to grips with the idiosyncrasies of Windows 8 and UEFI. You don't want to end up with a bricked notebook.

John

 

It is quite simple, if you go with samsung's 840 series just know that it is a different technology than the samsung 840 pro series. As far as the data migration goes it is a breeze. The Samsung drive comes with a cd containing data migration software which works well with windows 8. I have used it on two HP Touchsmart XT 15-1400 laptops (before returning both due to faulty hardware) and also the Samsung 15" Series 7 Touchscreen 8770m. You shouldn't run the risk of bricking your laptop as you are never deleting anything on the original drive, but in case you do run into the issue listed in the post above I did find this

If something goes wrong in the process you should just be able to put the original drive back in your laptop and be back up and running and since the laptop is already open it wouldn't be to hard to reset BIOS if you absolutely had to.

*** Argument in favor of the Samsung 840 series.. Power consumption on this drive is wicked low, the data migration software is extremely simple, all the parts are manufactured and assembled by Samsung, no one else has this kind of internal capability.

Step1. Install data migration software on your laptop BEFORE replacing the hard drive
Step2. Connect new SSD to external hard drive enclosure or external hd connector.
Step3. Run the software, it will ask you one or two questions then click "Go".

The software will run and migrate all your data, resize your partitions and do all the work for you, after this it will tell you to just replace your existing hard drive. If all goes well when you boot up your computer with the new ssd it should be as though you didn't change anything (other than your system running extremely fast... I tend to do the HDD and the SSD replacement and turn on the computer before I put the cover back on because that process does take a while and I want to mitigate as much risk as possible in scuffing up the bottom of my laptop.

For the opening of the laptop, I really suggest you do yourself a favor and get some prying tools, this is what I purchased and it really helped to ease the entire process.

7 in 1 Tool Set (Plastic Prying Tools-green, Suction Cup, Pick, Screwdriver) for Iphone 2g 3g, Nokia, Htc, Ect - Amazon.com

Jason

 

Don't forget the baggage fee as no airport in the UK lets you carry on anything bigger than a candy bar.

 

Well, Best Buy recently announced a Samsung "store within a store" concept is coming, so assuming that such an arrangement includes PCs as well as phones, that will make Samsung stand out from the other vendors.

 

I get shoulder pain from computer use. I deal with it by switching between numerous input methods - RH vertical mouse, LH standard mouse, and Contour RollerMouse on my work machine, TouchPad and Touch Screen on my Best Buy Chronos, so that I'm not repeating the same motion all day. I use the Touch Screen more when the laptop is on my lap, with the screen tilted back as much as possible to avoid the "gorilla arm" described in the linked article.

The article is correct that stretched arm postures and unsupported arms contribute to fatigue and nerve/muscle pain & damage.

I know this is primarily a gaming board populated mostly by "I'm indestructible" 18-29 year olds , but take it from someone who turns 50 in a couple of months - ergonomics and repetitive stress are to be taken seriously.

 

Samsung puted a promo picture on Facebook displaying the Chronos 7, only to pull it out afterworks.. At this point I am not sure if they even know what they are doing... All evidence are telling us that Samsung is going all in with the ATIV Book branding and yet their promo actions are causing more confusion...

The clock is ticking, for a computer that announced back in January almost 5 months ago, the new Intel 4th Generation processors are just around the corner and along with it, major announcements are expected around June with refreshed products based on it from all major manufactures.

Imaging after all this waiting to finally get your ATIV Book 8 sometime in May and by June a refresh version is being announce???

 

That's interesting, didn't realize that.

///

I'm starting to look at the 17" 8870m Best Buy version a little more intently. Any opinions on the larger version?

 

As mentioned the only solution to this right now is to cover the sensor with tape. I have just rang samsung and explained the issue to someone who at least sounded competent and is going to pass this up the chain. He says they will call me back within 5 working days to let me know whats happening.

Also told them the latest driver update for the wifi card is a pile of bollocks and needed to revert to the old driver, didn't push this too far tho as thats more of an intel issue and the laptop is fine on the old driver.

 

Did you per any chance ask about gpu drivers?

 

Ill have to ditch the bulky box & whatnot before I get on the plane anyways so I don't get whacked with any customs fees on arrival back to the US.
Though I still haven't sold myself on the idea completely as I foresee problems if the notebook happened to be a lemon

 

No I didn't ask about GPU drivers, didn't occur to me. I guess the guy on the phone would know about as much as me anyhow. I think AMD if more likely to have the info on this one.

 

i follow Samsung Notebooks on Facebook, and they are always posting stuff about the Chronos 7. never any concrete details about availability or price.... but photos!

 

Eh...as we mentioned previously, Samsung's controlling GPU driver updates on the Chronos. Or whatever we're calling it these days. It's a valid question to ask them.

nwhidden: BUT AREN'T THE PHOTOS SO PRETTY?! :thumbsup:

 

Haha "superlegitman" buying smuggled goods!!
Man, only if I had known like 2 weeks back, I am leaving for London next week
Out of curiosity, is it gonna be loaded in Chinese version of Win8 or English? I found that the Chinese bloatware is a pain to get rid off!

 

So in the UK there are only the:
Non touch NP770Z5E-S01 8870 i7 for £1100 John lewis
Non touch NP770Z5E-S02UK 8570 i5 for £900 John lewis

Touch NP780Z5E i5 8850 for £1000 Currys

Does anyone know about the touchscreen i7 8870?
It's currently sold out at currys, someone said it will be back in a "few weeks" couple of pages back.
Is that the case or are they available elsewhere?

I cant wait to play minesweeper on its touchscreen!

 

The date given by PCWorlds is the 20th, so we'll have to wait and see then.

 

According to the article it should be ok if you:

1. Don't use the touchscreen too often or
2. Position the notebook close enough to keep your elbows on the table or your side

 

ATIV Book 5, 6, 7 and 8 are now Certified Products by Skype.
Another proof/leak of the new ATIV Book line.
https://dev.skype.com/certification/certified-devices

Also basic benchmarks are starting to randomly appear here and there on the web, for the ATIV Book 8 models 870Z5E and 880Z5E:
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. 770Z5E/780Z5E/870Z5E/880Z5E - Geekbench Browser

 

That's because the series 7 chronos' ID is 770Z5E/780Z5E/870Z5E/880Z5E and not just 770Z5E or 780Z5E

 

It's also Been certified by Skype for months
Canada computers just told me that the ETA is end of april(16gb 8870m)

 

Thanks for clarifying that.

For which one? Chronos 7 or ATIV Book 8?
Its nice that at least have some mention to 16GB version. Hopefully a retail option with TouchScreen, AMD 8870, 16GB and SSD will be available out of the box.

 

Hey Troy - thinking of picking up the i5 version this weekend from Currys - how are you finding it in general? Does the slow harddrive become noticeable at all?

 

Hi,
I also have the ghosting issue on my 770Z5E (AUO 9003 Display). After a minute or so there is ghosting visible on a darker background, like the Windows 8 start menu. I'm not sure whether this is a "normal" issue with IPS displays or if it is a bug. Should I send the Notebook back? Does everybody have this problem?