New lightweight Samsung X360 (13.3")

Going for a SSD upgrade of mine, some questions:
Where can i find the best prices for SSD?
What read/Write speed is recommended?
What interface shall it be on the SSD drive?

 

If you don't care about size too much the 80gb Intel SSD X-25, is suppose to be pretty fast(not sure if they have the standard model the extreme model), reliable, and durable. But you going to pay like $310-420(depending on version) for it off amazon or newegg in the states.

There is also a 160gb starting around $575 for the standard model.

 

addee this thread is very helpful with lots of info about SSD drives.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=208242
Your laptop takes a 1.8 SATA drive.

 

stupid question: The "1.8" format, is the format of the docking casing or SSD mem?

Im thinking: Can i get an 1.8 SATA casing, and basically put any SSD-mem into that?

 

It is a 1.8" hard drive, you can get SSDs in the 1.8" format. I think the Intel X18-M is one of them (smaller cousin of the X25-M).

 

Not really answering the question, i know it is 1.8" format, but of what. The casing/docking bay or the actual SSD-mem comes in 1,8 format with SATA-connectors?

 

The casing. When referring to SSDs replacing regular hard drives, the convention is to use the 1.8"/2.5"/3.5" nomenclature, and when the SSD is PCI-E like on some netbooks, to say 30mm, 50mm, 70mm etc.

 

Waiting for Intel to make G2 of SSD series available. Meanwhile, the 7 in 1 card reader in the X360, what freaking adapter shall i use for ? Looked every where (it was not included in the standard package).

Have a lot of flash memories, but no one has an adapter that fits into the X360!

 

Will get my 128Gb SSD monday or tuesday. Will make some basic tests to compare the performance and post it here then.

 

Has the X360 a 9 cell battery option ?

 

In theory, yes.

At the back of the downloadable manual it says:

Battery (optional): 3 cell / 6 cell / 9 cell.

It is also mentioned here.

Finding one may be a challenge, but this page suggests that the battery may be the same as used on other Samsung notebooks.

John

 

Getting around 6h after going to SSD, instead of almost 5h.

BIG difference in overall speed. Extremely. Did not have time to benchmark the differences.

Paid €210 for the 128Gb SSD, only wish i had put it in there from the begining!

 

You have the SSD that comes with the Samsung ?

I just bought this "grade 2" Samsung SU9300 with SSD for 830 pound ... SWEET DEAL

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/FO_-..._Cosmetic_Damage_43266-1\NP-X360-/version.asp

 

Nope, had the HDD model, but was anoid over how slow it was on some things even with XP loaded. Bought my SSD from the aftermarket, but same as Samsung put in the SSD models from factory.

 

How much difference would there be in battery life with windows XP or 7 ?

 

Hi all. Did ANYONE manage to buy a configuration with 4gm of RAM? I could only find 3gb. I wanted to run 64 bit windows on it. I just got an x360-34P. CPU-Z says it goes up to 1.6ghz but I think that's a flaw, mine is a U9400, so that should be a 1.4ghz Core 2 Duo ULV. Has anyone confirmed that it does bump up to 1.6ghz with the BIOS performance options at high performance? There was a post earlier that also mentioned it went to 1.6ghz, but I'm not sure if that's true or CPU-Z is incorrect (It seems to detect the CPU, chipset and memory every other way. I also got the 128gb SSD. I opened it up and it is MLC. However running HDTune, I got speeds over 150mbs, low of 67 and burst of 70 something. The drive is bare, no cover - with chips exposed. The SATA connection is also different from any other laptop sata connector...weird. A standard laptop SATA drive won't fit. I sure wishthe bus was faster than 800mhz but I guess battery life is a priority in these notebooks over performance.

**edit - micro SATA 1.8" drives I believe have a different connector, so nevermind what I said about the connector being nonstandard (please correct me if this is wrong as it seems like a regular 2.5" SATA connector would be just fine (they are nearly the same length connectors so I don't get what the point is**

In any case, out of the box, there was a video promo of the x360. If someone has it, I would be greatful if you could send it to me. Gmail allows 25mb attachments...I think the video might be just around that size. Please let me know if anyone still has it. I know it is on YouTube but I want the hard copy in HD quality. Thanks!

 

laptopaddict that was quite a sweet deal. I posted in the deals section though a deal that Micro Anvika in the UK have going for this laptop. The 128GB SSD 3GB, SU9300 with dvd drive version is going for £799 brand new of course.

My mum could well do with this as i promised to buy her a computer but at £799 that is not the figure that i really had in mind to spend.
If that had built in wwan i would probably get that deal for myself.

About the 9 cell battery, if you look on the Samsung US page you will see that they list the part number for the extended 6 cell battery and the part number for a 9 cell battery. Laptopaddict already knows this , but this might be helpful for other owners/potential owners.
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/...ing&subtype=notebooks&model_cd=NP-X360-AA02US

 

Rachel,


I was lucky, didn't see any cosmetic damage...

Where is the deal section ?

What is the size of the SSD ?

 

The x360 came with one standard SSD drive, the drive is 128GB.

The tech bargains section just scroll down the list of forums and you will see it.
You could just go to the Micro Anvika website directly.
This is the link
http://www.microanvika.com/product.asp?PNO=SAM14560

 

Rachel,


1.8 " or 2.5 " SSD ?

 

It is a 1.8" SSD, bare chips with no cover. It is MLC but it is super fast, I got a steady 150mbps in HDTune, so don't bother upgrading your non SSD x360s with Intel SSDs, they're not worth it.

I got the the faster SU9400 version and I get easily over 8 hours mixed use on the standard included battery which I'm SUPER impressed with. I bought a second identical battery because of long distance flights and travel but found out I didn't even need it!

One bad thing about this laptop is that running x64 operating systems is a pain, because then you cannot use any of the hotkeys on the laptop (the hotkeys are software rather than hardware controlled - brightness, volume, Wifi, etc). I was really dissappointed with this as I wanted to run Vista Ultimate x64 and eventually Win7 x64. However Samsung's drivers for their hotkeys don't work on Vista x64. I thought that 32 bit apps would all work on Vista x64...so that really confuses me!! Samsung support stated they wont work, and have no plans to release 64 bit versions of the software. I might give it another try when I have time - there's really got to be a way to do it.

Other than that - this laptop is simply awesome. It is a bit deceiving how thin it is because it really is thicker than you think. The wedge shape and all the tapering make it LOOK thin, but in reality it is just as thick as or a bit thicker than say the Thinkpad X300/301 and Sony TZ. The reason for this is the battery, the wedge gets thicker towards the end to accomodate the battery - but that's fine with me because I get 8 hours on it no problem with productivity work and 6+ hours watching movies or doing gaming (Age of Empires 3, Half life 2, Counterstrike, Unreal Tournament 3 all run at the highest settings - basically games that are about 4 years old or so can run at just about the highest settings).

Oh and to set the record straight it doesn't come with the optical drive (at least mine didn't and I don't think any do at least in the US)

 

In the UK I got it with optical drive

 

I got Easy Display manager 2.3.9.2 (64bit version) to work with Win7, but the 64bit battery manager has some problems (There's no task bar icon so I can't control anything).

 

Thank you for your feedback channelv, I also found this lappy is totally awesome and planned to upgrade my HDD by the Crucial 1.8 SSD, I just can't recall reading somewhere about the X360 SSD power supply is not enough to kick in regular SSD. Do you have any fact about this, can you kindly check your SSD power consumption level ? Thanks

 

If you tell me how to check SSD power consumption...

 

Thanks Laptopaddict. I actually found the information. It's on newegg PQI review page by user tartanbear:
"Pros: 1.8" form factor, micro sata interface, fits in your ultralight notebook perfectly, very lightweight, (fast?)

Cons: This drive will not work on many ultralight notebooks as most provides only 3.3V operating voltage. As far as I know, this drive will not work on Samsung X360 and Sony TT. Although I was not able to test how much power it really draws on idle, the stated 0.5W power draw on idle is slightly more than what my current Toshiba 120GB draws. If the stated idle power draw is accurate, it may not then increase your battery life (that is if it actually power up on your notebook)."

 

How does Win7 work with this laptop? Have people successfully upgraded from Vista to Win7 pro?

 

I went from stock Vista business to 7 Ultimate, it works perfectly. Boot faster, app loads faster.

 

Better battery life ?

 

I haven't checked on that but I assume so, it's totally worthy even with almost 4 hours waiting for the upgrading.

 

Anyone experience problem with low sound output? Both over speakers but also headset if it does not come with its own "booster".

Almost useless. And how the can they place the speaker downwards?!!? Sitting in lap or any soft surface will block the sound completely.

 

Anyone got feedback on this? Hate it.

 

Where do US owners get their battery? I need to replace mine and have no idea where to buy one.

Is there a light weight, standard, and long battery option with the x360?

 

What is the part number on the battery?

This page suggests that it is the AA-PB4NC6B which is shared with some other Samsung notebooks. And, while that ebay page refers to a 9 cell with that model number, I would expect the 9 cell to be AA-PB4NC9B.

John

 

Hi vnuh,

I have my X360 with windows XP until last week.
Then I've installed Windows 7 PRO.

Everything goes fine!
This notebook is now more more FAST!!!

REGARDS,
Ana

 

this notebook is awesome!I will use an ssd as soon as possible,can anyone please tell me why when I try to view a video with Classic Cinema Player I get error direct3d not found ecc...anche then the video starts?
what do I need to download or to enable?I already installed the lasted driver from the Samsung site(win7)

 

Has anyone managed to get the hdmi port to work with sound? I'm able to view a picture but cannot achieve audio. Thoughts?

 

Non on XP. Have not tested on Vista/W7.

 

Update: I actually did get sound to work (after Samsung support told me it wouldn't work), but only intermittently. It would work sometimes if I unplugged and then reattached the hdmi cable. Less than ideal of course. Looking forward to a dependable solution...

 

It always works when you have the HDMI cable plugged in prior to powering up, if the machine is already on and you plug/unplug its hit or miss. FYI

 

Link doesn't work anymore, do you know where to find the 9 cell ?

 

Google for AA-PB4NC9B.

John

 

Will this battery fit the X-360 ?

Battery: samsung AA-PL2NC9B AA-PL2NC9B/E fit model SAMSUNG NP R45,R60,R65,X60,X65 in UK

 

This site lists the PL2NC9B/E as an option for the X360. So it might fit. However, this site shows the PB2N*** as being the appropriate part. You may want to ask the supplier if they think it will fit the X360 and will give you a refund (less shipping cost) if it won't fit.

John

 

I recently bought the nine-cell directly from Samsung, and it fits fine. The product ID is: AA-PL2NC9B

 

Thanks for the confirmation of a battery part number which is known to work.

John

 

Does anyone know what the changelog is (fixes, etc.) for the latest 09LM bios on the Samsung website from May 2010? I googled and searched but couldn't find any information as to what was changed/updated.

 

Does anyone have any of the older bios filse they could make available. I think the old bios from circa the end of 2008 was bugged and the machine actually run 1.6 GHz max. I'd like to put it back honestly.

 

Samsungpc.com used to have different BIOS versions. However, I'm not sure if that site includes the X360.

I would also note that even if you find an older BIOS, you cannot easily downgrade the BIOS and have to follow the procedure described here.

John

 

Thanks. I found bios v. 05. I might try it later.