New samsung series 7 with 8870m review / test

Bf 3 on high without Anti Alising with 41 fps? This is AMAZING

 

temperatures ? I recommand to use other drivers like the 13.3 beta, it will work way better than samsung drivers..

 

Awesome laptop and review! This thing is gorgeous, why anyone would get a MBP when you could get this instead is beyond me. If I ever go with a desktop as my main gaming machine, I will seriously consider getting one of these.

Not sure if you realized this yet, but if you play Far Cry 3 in dx9 mode the black boxed will disappear and the game looks just as good. Sometimes setting it to dx9 in the settings isn't enough, you have to make sure you are running off the dx9 .exe.

Congrats on the pickup, I'm sure it was worth the wait!

 

Is the screen a Samsung PLS screen? I have to assume it is, but I was wondering if there is any confirmation of that.

 

I was impresed too for such a thin laptop. Antisotropic filltering, anti aliasing, ambient occlusion were not on high as said in the first post.

I can't get hwinfo64 to recognize the right gpu yet. I can't install newer drivers yet .

Thanks man. Yes this laptop is definitely better in every way than a MBP for me. I love it!
Yeah I noticed that fixed it . But I wanted to test dx11 performance as well because dx9 mode is a lot less demanding it seems.
So 13.3 didn't fix that glitch either?

It should be. Viewing angles are awesome, so definitely not TN.

 

Hey Pranktank, I thought AMD and Samsung does not have a working driver for proper graphic switching on this new AMD 8 series gpu since it is premature, how are you able to force the AMD GPU to run the games?

 

I use the app "switchable graphics" that comes preloaded from amd. You can select any .exe and choose between high performance or energy efficient profile. It works. Minecraft was first running on the HD4000 while plugged in and it got less than 30fps. After using the app and setting the right profile for minecraft I got 90+ fps.

 

Nice. So I can do this with the best buy model NP780Z5E touchscreen with the 8770M gpu then because I see some of the owners complain about not being able to use the AMD gpu and only intel hd 4000 working on their games.

 

Thanks , ill be following this thread , also based on your conclusion , ill start collecting 2560x1440 wallpapers then

 

Prank anyway you can test arma 2?

 

Sorry to be obtuse but can someone tell me about this "ongoing " 2560x1440 thing? I missed something somewhere.

But I do like this notebook and thank you so much "prank" for spending so much time sharing with us.

I just started to get worried maybe we won't get this in the states? But maybe I am just panicking?

 

You're just panicking
It arrived in the states first(the 8770m version)
The 8870m is just starting to come out. It's not like it's been out the entire time the 8770m version has been out.
This is also samsung's flagship laptop, specifically the 16gb 8870m version. There's no way that they wouldn't release it in the US
I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see it just show up tmrw.

 

What's wrong with 1920x1080 wallpapers?

I wanted to play dayz for a while now so I'll see what I can do. Problem is I have a download limit during the week at my dorm and I only have about 10 gigs left. I'll have to go sit in the library for hours to finish the download.



Guys, please suggest settings you want me to test if you want to.

 

The screen's contrast and luminosity are awesome, but I noticed some remanence (a high contrast shape that stays on the screen for something like 10 minutes can leave an outline on the screen).. Do you confirm ?

As for the comparison with the MacbookPro : the case of the Samsung is very good, but not as good as a full alluminium body ; the screen on the MPB might be better. The MBP is also a little lighter. The magsafe connector is also a plus for the MBP.

Anyways, for the price, great laptop ! I replaced the HDD with an SSD in mine, and Windows 8 by Windows 7 and I couldn't be happier with my pickup

 

the touchpad is synaptics or elan or smth else?

 

I haven't noticed that reminence.
I agree that the unibody off the mbp is better and sturdier but I like the colour and smoothness of the chronos's aluminium much, much better.
A non-retina macbook pro is heavier or the same to me.

It's Elan.

 

Hey Pranktank, I received this laptop a few days ago and I am wondering which graphics driver you are using as for some reason or another, I cannot achieve such high fps in the same games.

I have the NP770z5e-S01DE with an 8870m GPU and I'm currently using the graphics driver provided by Samsung.

Thanks in advance, Sbeanie

 

I failed to install newer drivers so I'm still on the samsung drivers as well. How big is the difference?

Edit: just ran 3Dmark11 a bit overclocked. If I overclock it more the system seems to throttle. It then scores lower. Check first post for result.

 

Well, running Minecraft using JRE 1.7 x64 on max settings gives me an average of 40fps. So about half.

 

Are you sure you configured the 8870 to run it?

 

May sound stupid, but how?

 

not stupid Took me a while to find it too. Press windows button and look for the switchable graphics app. Than you can search for any program and set a profile for it.

 

Hmm, that didn't seem to help. :/

Edit: Nevermind, I found the source of the problem:

I found that Silent Mode throttles the GPU in order to keep the temperature at a low level so the fan does not have to race. After turning it off, my fps shot up to around 90FPS on top of a tree. That's much better

 

I was just about to ask you that . Many users seemed to have that problem. I added it to the FAQ in the owner's thread .

 

Yea, I guess it's very easy to miss

 

Can't comment on the wobbliness of the non touchscreen, but I can say the touchscreen version isn't wobbly at all. The hinge is firm and using the touch screen feels surprisingly natural and easy. I find I'm using the touchscreen more and more. I never would have thought that a touchscreen could be so useful, especially in applications like excel.

 

Ditto, touchscreen doesn't shift during normal use. You have to apply quite a bit of force to make it move. I've reverted to touch for loads of features now. The only annoyance i have is that I quite often touch the screen during a "thinking process" as I'm planning stuff out and deciding on layout or working through things in my head - now when I do that on this laptop, i keep moving objects without wanting to - and you can't turn touch off very easily! Not complaining, it's just a personal "dammit, got to stop doing that!" moment every time, I know I will adjust.

 

first you have to start a game which is selected in switchable graphics with high performance. When it has started the amd GPU is active, then run hwinfo64, it then will recognize the AMD GPU and shows the temps of the gpu.
We´ll have to wait untill samsung is publishing a new video driver. On the AMD site there is no 8000m driver to find.

@sasuke: i played TombRaider, Hitman Abs and Crysis 3 with the 8870m on 1980x1080. Temps were 84-87(CPU) and 79-81(GPU), ambient temp was 25.

great thread prank! And sorry for disturbing, cause I have the 7E not 5E, but hardware is the same. So it should be compareable.

EDIT:
to answer the throttling questions. I did the same test as notebookcheck had done, furmark and prime for 15 minutes. CPU max 94, GPU max 84, NO THROTTLING

 

Thanks. It is not working for me like you said. I did exactly that.

Btw I bought myself a great mouse so i can test a lot more and better after my work for uni.

 

version: 4.15-1888?
sensors only?

 

Yu that version, no not sensors only. I'll try that now. I'm sorry if I'm being a noob .

Edit: Sensors only fixed it. God I'm a noob at this .

 

if i look at #1 i have to deny!

 

Lol you're being too kind.


When I went for the mouse today I looked at some other laptops. Almost any screen looked worse, except a bit brighter. I once again really noticed how crazy thin and well specced this laptop is. Any other 15" laptop there looked like a thick, plastic, cheap computer with horrible specs at around €200 less compared to the chronos.

 

Hi pranktank,

As I see you really like this notebook of yours, thank you for the review!!
A few questions, if you don't mind.
How old was your old notebook? Why did you choose this? Is it better than a mac? Do you still like the matel chassis after a few days? Isn't it irratating after using it for hours?

I think I am going to buy this notebook too but I like to make sure before buying something.

Thanks!!

 

Why should it? I really love its case.

Buy it! It's the best notebook on the Market

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I'm wondering, if my keyboard Background lighting is defective? This is brightest setting:



But in the dark everything is ok:



Handschriftlich von meinem Note 2 gesendet

 

That doesn't look as if the backlight is on. Put the computer in a very dark room and see what happens (note that you'll also need to touch the keyboard to make sure the time-out isn't having an effect).

John

 

It was on Maximum brightness. Also added a photo of it (exaxtly same brightness in a dark room). Then everything looks fine.

Handschriftlich von meinem Note 2 gesendet

 

Yeah, the backlit keyboard is abysmal unless you are actually in a dark room.

 

Okay, so I'm not the only one with this "problem". Possibly this is better so, since it would be harder to see the difference between the not intensive white light and the grey keyboard keys then.

p.s. I'm super happy with the purchase and voted it 5 stars on Amazon

 

I absolutely love this laptop and I would never trade it for any mac. The smooth metal case is awesome and a joy to use. I also really don't like mac OS for a single bit.

Btw I brought this laptop to college today and got multiple compliments while there were plenty of (retina) macbook pros . People were asking me whether it was an ultrabook too. Using it in college all day without ever needing a charger is pretty sweet too.

 

if there are any would-be potential purchasers of this laptop lurking around this thread, my advice is, DO IT.

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS LAPTOP IS UNREAL! Apart from the backlighting - which should either be off, or on full brightness.

The back is an absolute pain in the **** to remove though, I've ended up with some cheeky blood underneath my nails. But I don't blame the laptop for that, I just desperately wanted to fit it with an SSD as the HDD really was holding it back.

SCREEN - 10/10. The apparent graininess is a COMPLETE NON-ISSUE. Like other owners have said (I think it was damouk especially?), EVERY TOUCH SCREEN DEVICE HAS THIS. DO NOT LET IT STOP YOU FROM GETTING THIS BEAUTIFUL MACHINE.

I kind of wish I was more of a gamer so I could regularly push the processor and GPU, but alas, the only game I play is football manager. I wanted a high end CPU/GPU because of the 3D rendering I'll be doing once I get back to the UK.

 

There are two possible issues: (i) The ambient light sensor only enabling the backlight under low light conditions and (ii) the backlight itself being dim.

We had an issue a month or two back with the keyboard backlighting on some of the other notebooks when a Samsung update did it's best to prevent the backlighting being on in moderate to bright ambient lighting and/or the backlight control Fn keys to not work. On my Series 9 I sometimes have to go into (Easy) Settings and set the backlight brightness to minimum in order to re-activate the keys which then turn the lighting on. I have also put a small piece of black electrical tape over the light sensor in an attempt to encourage it to think it is in darkness.

John

 

Has anyone tried Bioshock Infinite on this laptop yet? If so, can you please post some FPS results for the various video settings?

I really want this darn thing to hurry up and arrive in the US...

 

Guys, can anyone help me find a place online where I can order the 2gb 8870m version (the best graphics card one?) from anywhere. I'm in the US.
Thanks guys

 

We will quite happily help you find it in the US - once it's available. For now you have 2 options - Best Buy, or best wait

 

Of course, here's my thread

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/713468-gaming-performance-new-series-7-chronos-8870m.html

 

Is this coming to the US for sure? Will there be also models with 16GB Ram and SSD (also for the 17" version) available in the US? Any ETA?

 

Well, the non-touchscreen 17" has arrived in the US (Samsung website), so I'm hoping the 15.6" models aren't far behind.

I'm currently "testing" the Best Buy model with the 8770M, and it's an absolutely incredible machine. Sadly, this one is getting returned this week (they shortened the BB return window to just 14 days... DOH!), so I really hope we don't have to wait much longer for the newer one...

 

would you say that this laptop is decent for gaming? I was going to buy an MSI gt70 but the bulkiness was a real turnoff for me because im going to be taking this laptop to college next year, but i wanted something that is decent with games as well as very light and portable. What do you think?