NP900X3A - Questions About Battery Life and a Possible Buying Advice

Hi there dear forum members.

I own of a Samsung Ultrabook - NP900X3A. I got it more than a year ago from someone who got it from Samsung.
I didn't use this laptop too much - but when I did, the battery was not as promised and was gone after a day or two of usage. I know that these new Lithium batteries are different generation of batteries and everything, but I was wondering if it's normal for such an expansive device to have a battery that goes bad so fast.

Is there anyone there who care suggest something to extend the battery life? I cal liberated it via the BIOS and I'm on Samsung's PowerSaver plan - anything that I miss?

And now to my other question - I'm going to graduate school and will need a strong, working laptop during the next couple of years. I saw that a new series came out for Samsung - the ATIV 9 one (Lite/Plus). Do you think that I should upgrade my current computer to one of those? Looking at the specs, not a lot is changed in the ATIV model. The only thing that I don't know is the battery (currently vs. a possible upgrade). Another thing that I don't terribly care for is the touchscreen+win8 combination which I believe increases the price of the ATIV 9.

 

I'm sure you will find some comments on the battery run time in the thread for the NP900X3A.

Getting the best out of the battery involves reducing the display brightness and making sure that there is no unnecessary CPU activity (like animated Flash adverts running in the web browser).

Also check the battery wear (listed under the battery properties in HWiNFO). Your notebook could be around 3 years old in which case battery wear could be substantial. In fact, Samsung made improved battery longevity a key selling point of the NP900X3B.

As for a newer notebook, you can check if the NP900X3G is available or maybe you can find a refurbished NP900X3E/F.

John

 

John,
Thank you for your answer. I went to the link but it has 102 pages to read from. My LCD back light is OFF, my keyboard back-light is OFF and I turn off the WiFi went idle. Yet, the battery sucks. Not sure if it's what it's supposed to be, or it mine stupid laptop.
Can you please be more specific how to check the battery wear?
Is it realistic to replace a battery or you would not suggest that?
Thanks John!!

 

I would start by checking the battery condition. Run HWiNFO and see your equivalent of this (which is for my NP900X4C).



The fully charged capacity is the current capacity of the battery.

You can then select Sensors in HWiNFO and look at the battery charge when you are using the battery (the value will be negative). I would expect this to be between 5W and 10W under light usage.

Approximately, the run time on battery is current capacity / drain rate.

It should be relatively easy to replace the battery. The challenge is to get the base off the notebook. The NP900X3B uses 10 Philips size 0 screws but I don't know about the NP900X3A.

John