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

Easy Settings (for Win7) does indeed have Fast Start, and I'd be surprised if it doesn't work on this model as well (though I don't have the model and haven't tried it).

If you're using Win8 (with any model) try using Settings version 2.0.x (such as 2.0.0.55 which can be found in SW Update under model NP880Z5E-X03CA); it still has Fast Start (at least on my older Series 7).

The newer 2.1.x and 2.2.x versions do not seem to have Fast Start -- but they may be necessary on Haswell models and/or Win8.1.

 

I thought Samsung has always only used their proprietary PLS panels for the Series 9/ATIV 9? It's never been a TN panel from my understanding. Or is that incorrect?

 

Folks...Stop. Please.
We fall in the muddle.
Link above is just description what "a-si" means without any other meaning and binding with NP900X3G-Screen.

P.S. Results of small battery test are already on the way.

 

I checked all the international sellers (as usual my country has been omitted) - and sadly the ones with QWERTY keyboard are usually terribly overpriced.

UK prices are abysmal.
Germany has 256GB SSD model for 1100 euro, but if you want the same with QWERTY (= UK, or directly from Korea), you have to pay like 1500 euro or more.

WHAT THE... I'm at loss here. If I only order one with standard keyboard from Germany (

So.. can you buy individual keys for 900X3C-900X3G (they should fit I think, as this has been the same keyboard for ages) somewhere?

That would be probably the cheapest option... to buy the German one and replace individual keys so that it fits QWERTY layout.

 

So...
There is results of my primitive non-scientific test of battery with light wifi usage.

Conditions:

1. Fully charged (after battery recalibration) laptop

2. Wifi on (without some extra settings; just "on")

3. Adaptive Brightness: disabled

4. Display Power Saving Technology @Intel HD Graphics Control Panel: off

5. Power plan: “Samsung Optimized” (but I disabled display/computer off after x minutes)

6 Brightness: 7 of 10 (~128 cd/m^2)

7. last version of Firefox with disabled cache:
network.http.use-cache = false
browser.cache.offline.enable =false

8. Some Firefox add-ons (Adblock Plus, BetterPrivacy, Ghostery, Flashblock and ReloadEvery)

9. ReloadEvery add-on reloaded 5 web pages at 5 different tabs:
yahoo.com - every 1 minute (this one was visible/active tab)
msn.com - every 2 minutes
edition.cnn.com - every 3 minutes
forum.notebookreview.com - every 5 Minutes
bbc.com - every 10 Minutes

10. Thunderbird portable that checked one mail account via pop3 every 2 minutes

11. Battery Eater Pro 2.7 over Firefox window with "reader test" which merely displays and scrolls cyclic through long text file.

11. BitDefender TotalSecurity as antivirus/firewall @background

Result:
4 hours took 62 % of battery.
I still have 38% and windows forecast says that it is enough for 2:50 hour of work like this.

 

Just wait until the NP900X3G is available in the US and order it with a true US keyboard. You cannot swap out all keys of a German keyboard to make it a US layout because some keys have different sizes.

 

I agree that Samsung's UK notebook pricing isn't usually very competitive.

You could get one of these and then swap the keys you need. I few people have succeeded in removing and replacing the keys so it can be done although the mechanism is quite fragile (so start by practising on some keys that don't matter).

While that seller is offering a complete keyboard, I would point out that the full keyboard swap isn't easy because it is fixed on the inside of the keyboard surround / palmrest unit and is not easy to change (which is why Samsung do the complete unit as a spare part). Bear in mind that you should have the capability to restore the computer to the as-supplied condition in case you need warranty service.

John

 

I calculated it carefully and it seems that I'd need around 1650$ to pull off such a stunt. It's still probably cheaper than whatever 900X3G with 256GB may cost if it ever comes to Poland (considering that 900X3E with 256GB SSD costs around 1750 bucks right now), but it's not something I'd drool about.

Thanks for pointing out the keyboard however, I couldn't find such a part online.

 

I agree with it
More,since i set the maximum CPU state to 50% (you won't feel the difference in normal use) i gained at least one hour and half, maybe more, and the heat on battery is reduced. I recommend to do it on the power saving mode, so you can just switch profile if you need it

ps. yesterday, reading some slides with wifi off, at 79% of battery the forecasting was 14 hours. I know it's not a common usage, just to let you know

 

Hi there,

I just received mine and am very happy. Thank you all for the great information, which made the purchase decision easy

Has anybode succedded in making a clean install of Win 8.1. I have a bootable USB dirve with an ISO, but it does not recognized during boot up, unless I deactivate UEFI. But then it says during the install procedure when I have to chose the disc "not possible to install on this disc becuase it is of gpt partitioning style". It is a real hassle to do a clean install with an OEM key, it seems. I spent a lot of time, finding the ISO, undestanding the issues, and still I am not done ;-)

In principle I just want to reclaim hard disk space of the recovery partition and remove all the bloat ware. Is there another way than doing a clean install. I think neither microsoft nor samsung wants us to do this, otherwise it would not be so ridiciouls difficult.

Thank you in advance for every hint,

Bernd

 

I never had problem.First you need to secure erase ssd with parted magic then start installation process.

 

Hi Bernd, welcome to NBR. And congrats on your new laptop. Great machine you got there!

You should not disable UEFI at this point: It will most likely make your current WIndows installation on the SSD unbootable; and in order to proceed and install in non-UEFI mode (legacy BIOS, or so-called CSM mode) you would have to convert the SSD from its current GPT partition layout to classic MBR layout -- which will wipe everything on the SSD. As will the secure erase suggested by Unit Igor.

In order to boot a USB device you need to disable Fast Boot/Fast BIOS in BIOS settings (you probably already realized that). But you also need to make sure the USB is in FAT32 format, since UEFI does not support booting from NTFS. That is probably why you could only boot it by disabling UEFI.

Windows installation with UEFI/GPT is a bit more involved than in the good old XP and Win7 days. If you're not already familiar with that subject, I highly recommend you read up a bit first.

Check this discussion with LouisXIV from a few days ago (it's 4-5 posts). It includes links to procedures for backing up Recovery (traditional Acronis/Paragon/etc partition image backups do NOT work with Samsungs), which partitions can be deleted if you still want easy access to Recovery, and why preserving Recovery might be a good idea -- even for hardcore techies.

And as for trimming your current installation and saving space on the SSD, see my response here to Eiskalt form a few days ago.

 

Hi,

thx for the warm welcome and the help.

Dannemand, you already pointed to something that might explain, why I can not boot in UEFI: The tool I used for creating the USB (Microsoft win7 USB dowload tool) has reformatted my originally FAT formatted USB with NTFS without me noticing it. I will try to find another tool for making the USB bootable and retry. Maybe that already solves everything. And I will do the recommended reading

Cheers,
Bernd

 

A couple of hours later: Everything worked. System is up and running with a clean version of win 8.1. The only slight Problem I encountered, was that the wifi Drivers were not available. Luckily Bluetooth was, so I was able to tether my phone and install the Driver. After installing Samsungs SW-Update all exclamation and question markes in the Device Manager dissapeared, execpt one: I have a question mark of a device called "Battery Service" which is located under "other devices". Can someone tell me, what that device is doing? I can not automatically update the Drivers. Should the question mark worry me?

 

Good job!

I am surprised that WiFi wasn't supported out of the box by Win 8.1. That means users of these new models should download WiFi drivers (in SW Update or from Intel) and save them on a USB stick or memory card before installing Windows.

In addition to drivers, you want to install Settings from SW Update as well. It provides drivers and hooks for much of the hardware specific functionality, including Fn-keys, power management, keyboard backlight etc.

 

Any chance you could write up a brief outline of your steps? I know many users are curious about getting a clean W8.1 install.

 

Hey Eiskalt
I will try tonight make same test as you did with my 900X3C but I have two or three question.
What you mean by:4. Display Power Saving Technology @Intel HD Graphics Control Panel: off ??
I didn't find that option in my Intel HD control panel.Do you mean putting it in "Maximum Performance" and not in "Maximum battery life"?
Second question:does Battery Eater loads text document by it self or I have to load my text document?
And did you turn of Bluetooth?I know if it doesn't work it doesn't consume power but still I like to disable wireless option that I don't use.
Thanks in advance.

Few questions more for any owner.
Whats the thickness of this notebook?Is it same as 900X3C?
And does somebody have picture of notebook with open bottom?

P.S.i don't ask that you open for me notebook I just ask did I miss somebody's post with that kind of picture.But still ,Its not like I will not do it if somebody ask me ;-)

 

Hello Igor,

I did found it here:
Intel HD Graphics Control Panel -> Power -> On Battery -> Maximum Battery Life -> Display Power Saving Technology on/off
May be this option comes only with "haswell"?...

No, you should load one .txt file

Yes. I have disabled it.

 

The Display Power Saving Technology has been around for a while. I get to it through the Intel graphics control panel:



John

 

Ok thanks guys i find it .What document you suggest.Something like motherboard manual in pdf.

 

Argh, the restock date on More Computers has now changed to unknown - it was supposed to be today! It would be great to actually get some concrete information about the availability of this laptop in the UK!

 

I don't know man ,but I suggest you to call main import company for UK and ask them nicely what's happening. I did same thing here in Croatia and Slovenia and they told me its finished with Samsung notebooks from 01.01.2014. When I ask WHY?? They said to me:Samsung wanted that way.
This is like that human nightmare ,that we all dreaming sometimes: You running toward one point but there is no way you will get there.
I don't know why best notebook manufacturer doing this.I don't know how much other laptop manufacturers selling units but I strongly believe(except Lenovo) its nothing more then Samsung but they still don't want to stop doing it.
I did a big research on this forum before I bought my 900X3C.Only thing that I say is ,Samsung is the best when it comes to Windows notebook and I admire Lenovo users for patient they have with faulty notebooks.I saw not one time ,but more times on this forum people returning 3 times and they are still in love with Lenovo Thinkpads.I just don't get that love.
I will buy this summer two more for black days,probably German 900X3G and 900X4C or D if I find it in Slovenia.

 

Bump.

Did nobody sneak a peek inside? Come on, there are big EVOs out there too. Everybody off the bottom plates!

 

So,after one hour of this scenario my notebook 900x3c was on 77%.So we got at minimum 2,5 hours more life with 900x3g.
2 hours because of Haswelll and half hour because of Samsung SSD that is power efficient.
The biggest question for me now is ,does this notebook WiFi have half mini card ? There is no way I am going back to usb 3g dongle ,not in a hundred years ,over my dead body,i would rather die etc...

 

Come on guys please,can somebody please open bottom cover.Dont make me beg you.I need to order this notebook and I cant do that before I see is it PCIe Half Mini Card or M.2 (NGFF)
I opened my 900X3C at least 15 times .It cant be easier then it is.There is no hooks ,so there is no possibility to damage notebook.Only 10 screws to unscrew and then putt little finger or fingernail in SD card slot and pull up.There is no resistance like with my Asus X501A which has hooks.

 

The screws are VERY easy to strip however and costly to replace.

 

Yep. Been there. Done that.
iirc I paid about 20 Euro for 2 screws - in some countries they are very hard to get.
You need a perfectly fitting philips screwdriver and be very careful with screws that have a very tight fit.

 

ooookeeeeyyyy ,I don't know what screws are on 900x3g but screws on 900X3C are great.I removed bottom till now about 15 times and I didn't even scratched screws.But who knows maybe its about screwdriver.I am using screwdriver that I got in package with touchscreen to replace it on my Samsung galaxy ace.
But anyway thanks I will order it from amazon.de and return it if I see it got M.2 wifi

 

Now updated to 4th March.

Someone must think that the product is on the way from the factory.

John

 

I had the 900x3f which seems to have the same magnesium chassis like the 900x3g. Some screws were easy to remove without any problems, but 2-3 screws were really tough. Maybe the old aluminium chassis of the 900x3c was different - or you were just lucky.

 

first LG Z940 review at LG UltraPC (Model 13Z940) laptop Review - PC World Business - Notebooks, PCs & Printers - PC World Business , i7-4500U, 8GB, 256GB, <1kg, mini bezel, no fans under base, glossy FHD screen, silver option available.

 

The LG is an interesting maschine, but overall the 900X3G is the better package to me.

150 g less weight, slightly faster write rate of the SSD, 2 x USB 3.0 and 1 x full size HDMI do not justify a glossy screen, an inadequate cooling system and too short battery life to me.
Apart from hard spec facts, I think the looks of the Samsung are a lot more appealing.

 

Dear Luis,

I definitely agree. I have just gave a look to that review, and the samsung x3g outperforms the LG everywhere.
By the way, in Italy the i5 model seems to be out of stock and no more in production. A reseller specialist told me that it is going to be replaced by the i7-based model, same 8Gb RAM and SSD size of the i5.
Perhaps she will be able to reserve to me one of the last i5-based models in stock, I would prefer that over the i7 as I think the latter has increased power consumption.

 

LG Z940 vs. Samsung ATIV 9 X3G:

(I added some more information, now including the link to the Korean full specs page. Relevant are posts #1, #13 and #14.)

http://forum.notebookreview.com/lg/...11-6-win-8-1-tablet-slider-w-keyboards-2.html

Why do I prefer the LG? (I'm referring to the x3e, not x3g, because I only tested the e version)
- ATIV Book 9 X3E's fan was on all the time. Not loud, but on. Audible in a calm room, a kind of annoying hiss. Since the Z935 got good reviews on its silent mode, and the Z940 also has one, it can't get worse.
- Keyboard can't get worse than X3E's, and is said to be easy to press down, unlike the X3E, which I did not like (too much force).
- Touchpad of the LG reviewed as smooth and fine, can't be worse than X3E which I had problems with (driver didn't allow swiping across full screen in one quick movement, surface got sticky very quickly after initially being smooth).
- Fans of X3E could not breathe because I use this on my lap and in bed or on pillows etc. a lot.
- Chassis of X3E is great, but the design of the LG is at least en par, esp. the silver version. If your laptop is going to be thrown around a lot, the x3e is likely to be the better choice. I take care of my stuff so it's not an issue.
- only problem remaining: glossy screen and perhaps worse battery life. Since I'm indoors most of the time, it will not be that bad. It's not optimal of course. (And I don't need super-long battery.)
- I prefer 12,5" and 11,6" devices the ATIV 9 was the largest I would accept. I very much like the dimensions of the LG therefore. It will fit in very small bags, almost like a tablet, yet being 13,3".
- I think the sc card does not protrude in the LG (micro SD). It doesn't protrude in the ATIV much either, but it does a bit.
- I don't need back-lighting because I never work in fully dark environments (bad for the eyes). Even little light always suffices to view the keys, never understood the back-light hype.
- Worst thing that could happen is that I will have a matte foil professionally installed, but I had a glossy zenbook infinity here and it was ok in the house. Exception: don't get a glossy screen if you happen to work in a way where white is not the major color in most situations. Browsing, Writing, Excel, etc is all fine, watching movies is also fine when in relatively dark room.

 

matthias, great you found a notebook you like!
Honestly, I strongly believe everybody should buy the products that best suit their needs.
There is no such thing as a perfect notebook for every context of use.

Regarding your points in favor of the LG:

Have you set your X3E to silent mode just like the reviewer did with the Z935?

What do you dislike about the X3E's keyboard apart from the force needed to press the keys?
Besides the force and the short stroke which is common to all slim notebooks I can't think of what not to like.

I do agree, air vents on the bottom of the chassis aren't ideal, but where to let go of the hot air instead?
Aren't you afraid the continous heat might do damage to the display?

 

I see you are still hunting for that elusive perfect ultrabook. Don't let it become an obsession.

 

I am king of googling:

So this notebook dont work for me,I am back to 900X4C
Can you believe what they are ready to do?Soldered wifi,its like we are buying notebook but its still theirs ,we cant touch it ,we cant modded.I am surprised they still didn't soldered msata SSD.

 

Did you plan to exchange the WiFi modul?
While I agree it's a shame manufacturers of all kinds of goods seal their products so they can only be repaired by specialists for absurd sums, I don't see why it's that much of a deal in a WiFi modul.
It's not like you would upgrade it like you would with RAM or a SSD?

 

Does anyone know how much and when the i5 128gb np900x3g will probably retail for in Australia?

I currently have the option of purchasing one of the last np900x3f in australia for around $1050, but have put it off in favor of waiting for the new one. But based on previous trends, I have a feeling that the x3g will take it's sweet time to arrive in australia (possibly april) and will start at around $1800 for the base model. Frankly I think that a +1 hour battery life and 8gb ram wouldn't be enough to warrant a 70% increase in price along with the delayed arrival. I only would use the laptop for office and internet browsing and was thinking of buying an external battery power packs (like the ANKER astro pro2) for more juice.

Also can the hard drive be replaced in either the np900x3f or the np900x3g? I have a 250GB evo ssd that I would like to shove in the laptop.

Alternatively, would there be any other good contenders? Most important requirements would be the fullHD (or >) matte screen, 6+ hour battery life, thin and light and it should not break the bank (Australia is usually alot more expensive than other countries).

 

Option GTM671W wifi+3g card.I cant live without it any more .I am fisherman so wifi is irrelevant for me.What would probably happened in the end i will buy one more 900X3C and put it in a closet for days without Samsung notebooks in stores.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...-np900x3c-ivy-bridge-cpu-255.html#post9555651

You need msata SSD for this notebook you cant put 2.5" SSD in it.
And Samsung power charger connector is not standard i think

 

@Louis: Yes, I did several long tests with silent mode enabled and simple web browsing, silent mode did not have any effect on the hiss. It's said to be better in the plus version. Umsure if the Haswell version is better, but I guess the heat in the Ivy version was minimal as well, just stupid fan management that they are unlikely to have changed in the X3G, if they didn't change it in the X3F (or by driver update in the X3E, which they obviously never did). -- [ Re keyboard: The X3E's keyboard was the main reason for me to send it back, because of the loud noise it makes when typing fast. The problem is that one has to use a bit of force to type fast, in order to press down the relatively hard rubber things underneath the keys. This force then generates very loud typing noise, annoying other people in the same room as well as myself (in case you wondered: I am people, too .This comes from the fact that the keys hit the plastic base underneath, plus they rattle (have too much play), at least on the X3E. ] Keyboard was the deciding factor why I didn't keep it, would have tolerated the other stuff.

@Matthias -> It's been an obsession long since. The pattern can get even worse when applied to women, thanks. The X3E is a beautiful laptop, and I should have kept it, I am going to keep this in mind as a metaphor for the social realm. Danke

 

I had the 900x3f for a couple of weeks, and in silent mode it was completely silent. This was accomplished by reducing to CPU frequency.
However, this is simply done by choosing the Windows power save power profile when activating silent mode. If you changed the profile to something else while still in silent mode, this new profile will be used for silent mode forever until you change it back to power save.
If think you changed this setting, to be honest, that implenentation is overly complicated...

 

Actually, Silent mode not ONLY changes to the Power Saver profile, it also locks the CPU down to a low speed -- no matter the Max CPU speed specified in the power profile and the current CPU load. I didn't realize this when I first got my Samsung, until John pointed it out. I assume it is still true with the Haswell models.

This post has more about Samsung Power Management. Samsung likes to do things their own way, not the standard Windows way...

 

Oh, no. Terrible find! Looks like my fears have come true:

If it's indeed true that's a deal breaker! Does anyone have a photo proof?

 

Were you using Win 7 or 8?
In the short time I tested the 900X3G under 8.1 with silent mode activated and some minor changes to the Win power profile, the fans remained turned off entirely.
I have been a member of a community aimed at cooling desktop pcs with minimal noise for several years, therefore I am too very pedantic about it.
What confuses me is that our experiences have been so contrary.
Maybe both Microsoft with 8.1 and Samsung with their drivers for the new OS have solved the problem?

 

Are you sure? I'm not 100% sure, but I think I saw the frequency not being locked down when selecting the balanced or performance profile even with silent mode active. I remember that I had set silent and non silent mode to the balanced profile an wondered why there was no difference, but maybe I'm mixing something up in my memories... Or it depends on the settings version.
As I don't have that device anymore, I can't check.

Edit: I think, selecting the powersave profile manually without using silent mode also locked it down to in my case 800mhz

 

Samsung have fiddled with the fan rules for the 13.3" Series / Book 9 over the past two years since the X3B arrived. The fan rules on the X3B gave very quiet operation because both fans shared the work. I think on one of the later models (perhaps the noisy one being compared with here) they set it so one fan ran quite quickly before the next one started (and that behaviour could have been changed in a BIOS update).

Given that the Haswell platform used in the X3G has a slightly lower power rating then fan activity will be further reduced.

It wouldn't surprise me if the WiFi module is soldered. It is on the Book 9 Lite. More than 99% of potential owners won't notice or object provided the supplied WiFi works properly. You are the rare person who wants to change the module.

I don't think soldered SSDs are imminent. They are the remaining component that can be changed during final production to create versions with different specifications.

John

 

What I tested was setting Min and Max Processor State=100% in the Power Saver profile and switching to System cooling policy=Active -- and I still couldn't get my CPU above 800Mhz regardless of load. That is what convinced me that Silent Mode does more than just switch the profile.

But again, it could be different on the Haswell models.

 

Maybe for now I'm the only one. But have a look down the road. Users have stated here they are looking for a machine for the next 5 years. Now they will be stuck with the same technology.
Check the 34 page! 7260 thread in the networking forum to see how popular upgrades are.

The recent trend just destroys user upgradability.
M.2 is a just nightmare with countless configurations: 3 different sockets, heaps of different card sizes, double sided or not...
And now soldered...

Take it or leave it!

Don't be too sure. CPUs are soldered too

 

Maybe he just had a bad unit, as he is the only one complaining.

I can confirm this for linux. Silent mode only affects the fans, not the CPU frequency.
(tested on X3E predecessor)