NP900X3G - Successor to the ATIV Book 9 (not Lite or Plus) with Haswell

I think it's all painted aluminum.

I assume someone decided to save a little money on the manufacturing cost.

John

 

Ha ha. Yeah I was wondering if anyone else would see that. Picked it up last Friday and it arrived yesterday. Brand new, sealed box. So far so good. It came with W7 and SRS5. So far I've:
1. Saved original disc image with clonezilla
2. Switched out the SSD for my 250GB evo (I hate those damn tiny screws!)
3. Restored the image to the evo
4. Did an F4 reimage to test, works fine
5. Clean installed W8.1

I think most of the questions on this model have been answered previously in the thread, but let me know if there's any info I can provide. $975 doesn't seem like a bad price, not quite the deal I got on my X3B from the M$ store though. I'll be disappointed if I see it for cheaper or an AB9+ with 8GB hits the same price point. I think a thread dedicated to Samsung deals would be very cool though.

My S02 has black edges, unfortunately. I like the bare aluminum look on my X3B a lot better. Oh well, otherwise it's the same mineral ash blue-black that's pretty slick IMO.

 

Thanks for the info guys. Yeah I definitely like the aluminum look better, so I might just get the NP900X3E and save a few hundred dollars. If it wasn't for the 4gb ram I would've bought it in an instant.

 

Just seen a UK model advertised for £550 on Ebay. It's advertised as New (other). I'd be very tempted to buy it myself but it only has 4GB memory and 128GB SSD. Still seems like a good deal. Here is the link:

Samsung ATIV Book 9 13.3" Intel i5 1.6GHz up to 2.3GHz, 128GB 4 GB NP900X3G-K02 | eBay

 

I wasn't aware they had a 4GB X3G model. Samsung's page indicates it should have 8GB, but no telling if the seller is confused and really has an X3E/F. Never hurts to ask him to upload a photo of the bottom plate or Windows system properties.

Never mind. Upon closer inspection there is no X3G-K02UK that I can find (I saw K02HK).

 

The details under the listing show that the one on ebay is an NP9 40X3G-K01 US which has 4GB.

So pricing has to be compared to this.

John

 

Sorry it isn't the UK model on the Ebay listing. In the product description it states the model number is NP900X3G-K02IT. I guess it's Italian model.

 

Hi,

I'm about to purchase a 900x3g-K02SE (Swedish...) and have been going through this thread a bit. Interesting read! You all seem to think there are not a lot of these notebooks in circulation. Do you guys think there's reason to believe a new model is just around the corner? Not sure it would mean I put off the purchase, but would still be nice to know.

Best,

Jesper

 

Samsung seemed to have scaled back production either because of their rumoured withdrawal from making notebooks and/or their factory is too busy making other hardware.

If the X3G ticks the right boxes for you and is available then get it because you could be waiting a long time for any successor. The next Intel platform is Broadwell which is meant to be around for Christmas. However, manufacturers might wait until Windows 9 also arrives. Windows 8 and 8.1 caused Samsung a lot of headaches so, even if they continue with notebooks, I doubt if they will hurry to bring out anything new until Windows 9 is ready.

John

 

Thanks for a quick and informed answer. It ticks my boxes, will pick one up tomorrow

J

 

Hi all!

Has anyone already found a hardcase fitting the beast well?

Regards,
Max

 

For those still hesitating whether to get this notebook, here are my impressions after using it for the last few weeks, running Linux. I apologize in advance for the length of this post.

Background: I ordered it for my work (a research lab). We used to be a Thinkpad shop, but over the years have transitioned more and more towards Macs. Personally I hate reflective screens so that rules out all current Macs and most PC laptops. I used to use Thinkpads both at home (X201) and at work (most recently X220). Unfortunately, I found the current offering of Lenovo so compromised and uninspiring (X240 has a shrunk keyboard, single-channel DRAM, and at least in the US the FHD screen is only available with touch) that I decided to look elsewhere. I got a non-touch Sony Vaio Pro 11 for home earlier this year, and I like it, but since Sony stopped selling laptops in the mean time, when it came time to replace my work laptop, I ordered Samsung NP900X3G-S01US (i7 4500U, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD).

Exterior: I really like how it looks. I've actually gotten "wows" from multiple colleagues, including Mac users (for what it's worth). I know people here have been complaining about the lack of silver accents, but coming from Thinkpads, I like this uniformity. I guess I wouldn't mind silver sides, but the silver frame around the touchpad would bother me. Also, the LEDs are nicely subtle, even the notoriously over-bright blue ones, with the single exception of the one on the power supply which is a little too bright for my taste.

Screen: The matte FHD screen was the main factor that swayed me to order this laptop. I worried about excessive backlight bleeding that people here have been complaining about so this was the first thing I checked after opening the box. In my bright office I couldn't see any, even at the maximum screen brightness, so that was a relief. I did see it with a much lower ambient light level at home, but it's minor and totally unobtrusive at my preferred brightness level (and I use black background, so I would notice it immediately)... The graininess of the matte coating is just right, especially compared to my Sony at home, where it's a little too grainy, giving a slightly "dirty" appearance to some colors. The color balance was rather too cool; I used a hardware calorimeter to calibrate it to the standard 6500K, which required blue and green levels to be lowered to 85%. I calibrated brightness to 80 nits, which required backlight level of 28% (23% before color calibration). At that backlight level, the screen exhibits a slight case of crushed blacks, which the calibrator also corrected. Overall though, quite good.

Power: Note that as I run Linux on this laptop, my experiences here may be quite different from those of Windows users. In general, it's good: the laptop idles at 5.5-6 Watt with WiFi on, Bluetooth off, and screen at 28%, giving over 7 hours of battery life. A year ago I would've been very happy with that. However, my Sony, which features very similar hardware (main differences: i5 vs i7, 11 vs 13 inch screen), idles at as little as 3.4-3.7W! Screen backlight seems to be a major factor here: the difference in power draw between screen off and screen at 28% is nearly 3W, and nearly 6.5W between screen off and 100% brightness (370 nits). For the Sony, these numbers are respectively 1.5W (40% brightness, 80 nits) and 2.5W (100% brightness, 350 nits). For completeness, on my old Thinkpad X220 with a 1366x768 IPS screen, they were 2.5W (73% brightness, 75 nits) and 4.6W (100% brightness, 300 nits). So Sony has clearly pulled some major trick here, although it is of course helped a little by having the smallest size screen; the result exhibited by Samsung screen is unimpressive, even compared to a 3-year old laptop. So screen brightness is the major power sink in this laptop and reducing it aggressively can lead to significant savings when needed.

Battery: It was at 102% of nominal capacity after the first charge; now, after 4 cycles, full charge is reported at 97% of nominal capacity. I hope this is merely a calibration issue, because at this depletion rate I can't imagine how it would last the 1500 cycles that Samsung brags about. One thing I liked about Thinkpads are the different sizes that external batteries come in, so I would normally use a small one good for 2-3h that made the system really portable, or if I attended a full-day meeting I would put in a big one good for 10 hours in which case I would not even bring a power supply with me. The 7h offered by Samsung is in this uncomfortable middle ground where it'll probably do in a pinch, but I guess I'll need to carry the power supply to full-day meetings just in case. Sony solves this problem by offering an optional external slate battery that can be attached to the bottom of the laptop, doubling the battery life; I wish Samsung had such option as well.

Linux: Works pretty well. I run a self-compiled Gentoo Linux (kernel 3.15.6), but I also booted an Ubuntu 14.04 Live USB with the same results. Note that while I removed Windows 7, I kept the BIOS MBR partitioning that came with it, which, unlike UEFI GPT, enables the use of the samsung-laptop module in Linux for controlling keyboard backlight, etc. Most things work just fine; so far I've identified three that do not: (1) Fn+F4 does not switch video output because it generates a weird sequence of "Super_L" (Windows) + "p" for some reason -- I did not find the root cause, but I was able to remap it to the expected "XF86Display" using the xbindkeys and xvkbd tools. (2) The microphone input does not switch to the jack after connecting a headset -- this one is pretty annoying and I haven't found a fix yet. (3) There is no in-kernel driver for the ambient light sensor (ACPI0008 device), although I've seen at least two out-of-kernel drivers as well as indications of ongoing efforts to merge something into the mainline. Personally I don't care as I hate automatic backlight adjustments and backlit keyboards have always seemed like a useless gimmick to me anyway (I realize I'm in a minority with this opinion .

Other: I wish that the laptop had a docking station option, and full-size Ethernet and VGA ports (the latter is unfortunately still critical when presenting at conferences, so now I have to order that silly dongle). I would prefer miniDP over microHDMI, and why the hell one of the USB ports is still a 2.0 is beyond me. A better keyboard wouldn't hurt. But with all that, of course, it would be a Thinkpad. Given the form factor, I think Samsung did a pretty good job.

OK, that's it. Once again, apologies for the length. I do hope that at least some of this can be of use to others.

 

There's no need to apologise for the length. Your post is very helpful.

I hope some of the owners with Windows will add some further observations on the minimum power consumption.

It's also good to know that you got Linux running nicely. What BIOS / UEFI settings did you use? People have been cautious about putting Linux on Samsung notebooks after the various bricking problems that occurred when the Windows 8 versions were first shipped.

John

 

Yeah, I've heard about that. My understanding is that this was the case when using the "samsung-laptop" kernel module in UEFI mode.

As I wrote, I kept the old-fashioned MBR partitioning that the SSD came with, so none of that would've affected me. Besides, I believe Samsung fixed that problem in a newer version of the firmware that ships with the current systems, and newer versions of the Linux kernel disable the samsung-laptop module in UEFI mode. I didn't need to tweak any BIOS boot settings since the laptop came with mixed boot mode enabled and secure boot disabled.

 

Yes, that was absolutely a great post. Thanks a lot for sharing.

The X3G would have been delivered from Samsung in UEFI/GPT mode ( SecureBoot enabled and OS Mode Selection=UEFI OS in BIOS and a GPT partitioned SSD). All Win8.x computers are delivered that way. If you installed Linux in BIOS/MBR mode, you (or someone) must have converted the SSD to MBR and changed to BIOS mode ( OS Mode Selection=CSM OS in BIOS).

Could it be that Linux installed in UEFI mode after all? My impression from other reports here is that they updated the Linux modules that caused the bricking, and Samsung improved their firmware, so it is no longer an issue. Like you reported as well.

 

I see where the confusion comes from. X3G models in the US are delivered with Windows 7 installed (and a DVD with Windows 8). There was a post earlier in this thread detailing this, but given that the thread is 67 pages long, no wonder it slipped your mind.

 

Of course, yes. It just slipped my mind. Thank you!

 

Is the keyboard layout for the US version same as x3e and/or x3f models? I'm having trouble finding a good TPU keyboard cover made for the x3g model, so I was thinking of ordering for one of the two other models.

 

I should mention that I also have backlight bleeding on the bottom edges of the screen. However, it is only noticeable when booting up the computer. Since I don't see it while I'm watching movies or playing games, it doesn't bother me at all.

 

Same here. A little disappointing since my X3B had none. But I have yet to see it on anything other than boot, even when watching movies with dark scenes. Another issue is the wifi doesn't always reconnect when I wake from sleep. Could be the router. Once I reboot it connects fine.

 

Perhaps it's the wrong thread to mention this, but I suspect at least some of you bought the np900x3g model due to its matte screen. Well apparently Asus have announced a new Zenbook model (with Broadwell chip) that will also have a matte screen. Reassuring to know that matte laptop screens aren't yet consigned to history.

IFA 2014: Asus announces Zenbook UX305 ultrabook and the EeeBook X205 laptop - Tech2

 

Saw that. The black model looks very similar to the S9 (with fatter bezels). It may be the closest thing to a broadwell successor to the 900X3* series.

ASUS' slim metallic Zenbook gets a super sharp 13.3-inch screen

 

There are conflicting reports on whether it has a touchscreen or not. Assuming that it does, it begs the question whether it is actually matte...

 

I would go with engadget, it looks like they actually played with the demo, rather than posting the press release. Of course, they have been known to get their facts wrong. Still the booth has the following text: "Crisp, vibrant and stunningly detailed 3200x1800 QHD+ IPS Display". No mention of touch.

But it's not clear how matte it is, some of the pics show a good amount of reflection. Though trade shows tend to be lit up. As well all know, the 900X3* series has the best matte displays on the market but I think the AB9+ isn't too reflective. You always have to put up with some amount of gloss on a touch screen. OEMs always used to add a lot of gloss to make crappy tn panels more vibrant, fortunately IPS doesn't need that treatment.

 

An anti-glare finish does cause some diffusion of the display image and manufacturer's descriptions such as "clear view" usually mean no anti-glare treatment. Samsung got the finish right on most of the Series 9s but there is a bit of "sparkle" evident on the AUO panel of my new Dell E7440 (which in other respects is an excellent display with good viewing angles and contrast).

John

 

Picked up one of these recently and like it for the most part... I've been a Thinkpad user for decades but the recent debacle with the clickpad design drove me away... hopefully this machine will be as reliable and long lasting as my old Thinkpads have been...

I'm wondering what users do as far as docking this thing goes... its sort of strange that they market this to business users and have a dock for one of their other business machines but nothing for this one... do any of the USB docks work well or are there other solutions?

Andrew

 

Agreed, the lack of docking functionality these days is frustrating. Say what you will about apple, but thunderbolt is great technology that only they are utilizing. When PC OEMs omit a proprietary docking port we are left with less satisfying USB3 substitutes that don't charge the laptop.

Amazon.com: Plugable UD-3900 USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Universal Docking Station with Dual Video Outputs for Windows 8.1, 8, 7, XP (HDMI up to 2560x1440* and DVI / VGA to 2048x1152 / 1920x1200, Gigabit Ethernet, Audio, 2 USB 3.0 Ports, 4 USB 2.0 Ports, 20W

Supposedly USB3.1 will provide an even better experience, but that doesn't help us samsung users.

Welcome to the X3G club!

 

Docking ports on the bottom don't fit nicely with the thin notebooks. From what I can see the X1 Carbon has to make to with a USB 3.0 solution. While my Dell E7440 has a docking port connector it's right at the back edge of the chassis so the computer doesn't sit properly in the dock.

John

 

That's true. The X1C has a specialized port (one link) that does supply power. The Surface 3 has a dock, because they are able to put the port on the side. I'm happy to plug in one cable, but 3-4 is a pain and clutters up a desk.

 

I actually had the wifi issues you speak of at first, but I no longer have it. I did update the drivers including the Wireless LAN driver, but I'm sure you've already tried that.

 

Seems to be working ok after trying the fix below:

 

Is this notebook discontinued? It was the best product on the market with only the keyboard as weakness......

Sad for everyone who couldn't get one.

 

You might still be able to get it in the USA but Samsung has stopped importing notebooks into Europe. See this thread.

I've still got my old NP900X3B.

John

 

Keyboard's not great, but I've gotten used to it. Depends what country you are in, but I would move quick.

 

Haha I am one of the lucky ones,who could get an 900x3g. I was the one who uploaded the internal pictures 5 months ago. ;D

Seriously this notebook is fantastic and nothing on the market beats it. After almost half an year I have nothing but praise for it.

Stunning brilliant mat screen, lightest weight, snappy and fast, beautiful design. There is nothing like this elsewhere. Only keyboard sucks haha, but still has backlight ;D

Samsung should definitely keep this series going!

 

I agree the 900X3G is a great machine and I too am happy with my purchase.

For it's weaknesses the keyboard definitely is a downside.
I did not have problems with it in the begining, but now that half a year has passed, some keys tend to not react properly or get slightly stuck in the framing.
It's not terribly bad and normally those keys will return working properly if you push them several times and with a little more force than usual, but I must admit I am a bit worried it might become worse in the future.
Other machines are better in this regard.

Also the coating of the case is not very durable.
I use my laptop a lot and carry it around holding it with one hand around the front edge of the bottom part.
Around this edge the coating is mostly gone and the metals unique color shines through.
It's only cosmetics, but if you use a coating it should withstand daily use.
If this can not be achieved, I would have prefered a brushed metal finish.

Two more details I would love to incorporate are a different power connector as well as freedom of additional software.
I find the magnetic power connectors of Macbooks a joy to use, especially if you try to plug in the notebook in the dark.
With the Samsung I am always afraid to scratch the case or bend the connector's nose.
As for software I would love to be able to configure and update my system without the need of Settings and SW Update, but I guess this will always remain a dream of a sucker of simplicity.

Apart from the keyboard issues I think those are minor weaknesses which I am willing to take, looking at all those sacrifces I would have to make in a different machine.
A friend of mine is interested in an Asus UX303LN, which too is a great machine but can't compete with the design, lightness and build quality of the Samsung in my opinion.

 

I had this problem with a few keys early on and found it helped to run a very small screwdriver around the edge of any sticky keys to smooth any rough edges between the keys and the holes and also help the keys sit in the middle of the holes.

I've not had any problems with the paint on my older Series 9s but it's possible that Samsung tried to save a few cents on the painting of the new models.

John

 

Frankly I wish they hadn't painted the edges to match. The bare aluminum look on my X3B was a little sleeker I think. Another defect on this model is the light bleed, fortunately I only notice on boot up. Still my X3B had no such issue. But with so few OEMs left, I think these last Samsung ultrabooks have the fewest caveats. Certainly tough to find anything lighter with a keyboard at 2.5lbs.

 

How am I able to boot via USB stick?
I am unfamiliar with the Samsung BIOS, which I entered through F2 on boot up, and don't want to crash the system.
Is there another F-Key to enter boot selection?

 

Fast BIOS/Fast Boot=disabled (enabled=no booting external devices)

SecureBoot=disabled (enabled=only certified boot sources like Win8.x, SRS)

Boot Priority (USB first - OR just press F10 at boot to temporarily select boot source)

Because your computer runs in UEFI mode ( OS Mode Selection=UEFI OS, all Win8 computers do unless you changed it) the USB stick must be formatted using GPT/FAT32. Microsoft's ISO/USB tool creates XP/Win7 style NTFS sticks that do NOT work with UEFI. Use Rufus instead (Google it) or create it manually using this guide in our Windows forum.

I do not remember any reports of this model bricking, like some of the late 2012/early 2013 models. I don't think you have to worry about that.

 

Thanks for the help!

Am trying to have a look at Ubuntu 14.04 as I might want to change 14.10 now that I am less dependend on software that is only available on Windows.

 

Got it. There were indeed many bricking problems in late 2012/early 2013 from users installing Linux in UEFI mode, but I have to believe they must have solved that (Samsung as well as Linux) since those reports mostly died out. And even the kind of semi-bricking that we still get (being unable to enter BIOS with F2) is on models from that time.

Have fun

 

I have not installed one of them but the live versions worked perfectly when sticking to your explanation. Thanks!

Ubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME and Xubuntu look great.
I can't help it but a few years after I last had a look still think Kubuntu and Lubuntu look like ugly/cheap windows.

 

Is it possible to remove upgrade the storage on this one?

I couldn't find this information anywhere. To me is very important, because here, in Brazil, they only sell the 128 GB one.

 

Yes, the SSD is removable. I'm 99.9% sure it uses the mSATA format and the internal layout of the notebook is very similar to the older X3B, X3C etc in which case this thread is relevant.

John

 

Thanks!

This kind of machine is a bit pricey, here, in Brazil (even with the full plastic chassi). So it is very difficult to find out precise information regarding the hardware in foruns and hardware sites.


But now I'm confident, so I'll buy it.

 

Um, the NP900X3G (Ativ Book 9) does not have a plastic chassis, it is aluminum. You may be refering to the Ativ Book 9 Lite (NP905S3G / NP915S3G), which is an inferior model, probably not recommended to buy except at a very low price. In fact, you would be better off with a used NP900X3B/C/D/E/F over the Lite, unless you must absolutely have a touch screen. In which case, Lenovo Yoga is a better option.

And yes, for the record, the NP900X3G does use msata unlike the AB9+ (m.2 sata). I have a 250GB Samsung EVO in mine, I think this is the only msata worth considering.

 

1. I would note that the Book 9 Lite also uses an mSATA SSD.

2. For those with the EVO SSD then see this.

John

 

You are right, I was under the impression that the brazilian version of NP900X3G would be made of plastic.

Very happy that this machine let you change the SSD. It is the perfect option for me right now: thin, light, good battery life and no touch non-sense. The only let down was the standard 128 GB.

 

Yeah just wanted to give you a head's up as the model numbers are similar. It's a solid machine, I'm surprised you were able to find one in the wild. :thumbsup: Samsung never even bothered to announce this one.