Samsung 15" Series 9 NP900X4B thread

OK - I got off the phone with the Rep - they had a very limited number in stock.
My order failed the address verification - which is why I got the cancellation email - strange as I order from them every week but the Rep sorted it out.
Mine is now in packaging also - she said that the in-stock items will be shipped out today.

 

^ If it's being packaged/shipped, looks like the review was wrong then, saying it'll be available at the end of April. Was there official word by samsung when these are released?

 

Once I have the actual correct laptop in my hand then I know the review was wrong . . I was once sent the wrong laptop when I ordered on release day (received an older model) - so until I physically have it I am always skeptical.

Assuming it arrives OK - What photo's do people want ?
I can compare it to any of the laptops in my signature - so let me know.

 

I would be interested to know how the screen compares with the other notebooks. We know that it isn't Samsung's PLS panel but is it still well above average?

Some of the reviews have mentioned very dim keyboard backlighting so it will be interesting to hear how you find that aspect.

John

 

I have a couple of laptops with backlit keys (Envy 15, Dell XPS 13 and 14z) so I can take a few shots next to each for comparison.

Chris

 

I would be interested in seeing it on top of or underneath as the case may be your xps 13 and 14 respectively. Also, if you could provide some feedback on the keyboard travel, relative to those as well, or relative to any experience you had with the previous series 9.

Thanks a lot.

How many times have you hit refresh on the status page today?

 

On the 13.3" it is very dim (keyboard backlighting). Glow-in-the-dark is a good description. But every time I really needed it it was fine. In a dark hospital room, bedroom or den it works well.

 

I just got a product availability alert from buy.com for the 15" SB system. It was actually for abt.com when I checked.

This does however seem to signify Samsung is moving forward with Sandy Bridge based 15" Series 9 systems.

BUMMER !!!

 

Since I'm still kinda interested in the Dell XPS 13 I'd love to hear your overall thoughts on how you feel the two compare.

Thanks.

 

NP900X4B-A02US - Samsung Series 9 Titan Silver Laptop Computer at Abt

 

I came across this thread searching this laptop on google, cannot seem to find it in stock anywhere, is the domain you supplied a reputable one? Thanks!

 

I bought my 13.3" 2012 Series9 from them, was shipped fast, arrived in perfect condition. No complaints from myself with ABT.com, I would actually recommend them.

 

If you buy from ABT.com, there is a 15 day return window, 15% restocking fee, and you pay return shipping.

You had better make sure you really want it.

 

It's now in stock and ready to ship at 4 different place in the US, so it looks like end of April release was wrong. All places has no tax in California except for newegg. I believe amazon has the best return policy of all of them.

amazon
newegg
abt
J&R

 

Wow, I did not know that. Glad I liked it enough to keep it then! Good info for potential buyers.
+rep

 

Well...mine has arrived.
I must say I am impressed with the size and weight for a 15" laptop.
I have to leave early for a meeting so will not be able to do much tonight other than charge it - but will take it with me tomorrow and give initial impressions.
Tomorrow pm I will take and post pics comparing to my other lappies.

 

Congrats.

Any general/overall thoughts on this machine vs the Dell Ultrabook would be appreciated.

Enjoy!

 

I have been eagerly awaiting this notebook since they CES announcement.

I had originally had it pre-ordered from J&R, but the February 27th ship date promised by Samsung came and went. I was a bit upset, so I contacted one of the VPs at Samsung directly, and he was very nice and said it was delayed (obviously).

I ordered mine today from NewEgg. It was $1449 with free shipping and no tax. I ordered it from NewEgg because I've done a lot of business with them before, and J&R would have had to charge me sales tax since I live in New York City.

So it's coming Tuesday and I can't wait – I'll have a full report as well as un unboxing video and demonstration of how it works with programs such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking (which is how I'm typing this, by the way).

Then I'll have a heavy MacBook Pro with relatively puny 13" screen for sale!

 

Yeah this notebook looks very nice. I can't decide between the 15" or 13" model. I'm leaning towards the 13" model for the superior screen, and thinner bezel. It makes no sense why similar models uses different quality screens.

 

Hi,
Is this machine capable of running some heavier applications like 3d CAD (SolidWorks or similar)?

Any news/speculation when the promised 256GB SSD will come? just wait and see?

Does it look like it can use localized keyboards, I'm from Sweden so we have a special keyboard layout with 3 extra characters.

 

These applications will run, subject to the limitations of the Intel HD4000 GPU. Small models will render quickly but large models will take much longer. The Ivy Bridge version of the Series 9 ('C' suffix) will have the HD 4000 graphics which promises further speed improvement.

We have to wait and see. It's very frustrating since Samsung make them and are selling to others.

Google for 'NP900X4C'. It looks as if there will be a Scandanavian version, such as here. Is the number of physical keys on a Swedish keyboard more than the UK keyboard, which has one more key than the US keyboard?

John

 

I'm really curious how this machine would handle VMWARE... Maybe two WinXP images running at the same time?

 

I would expect it to perform as well as any other Core i machine where the CPU speed is locked down to 2GHz and has 8GB RAM. (Based on my initial observations of the NP900X3B in which the i5 2467M can handle sustained running at 2GHz but rarely reaches its nominal maximum speed of 2.3GHz).

John

 

I though US and UK keyboard was the same, shame on me.
The Swedish/Finnish keyboard are mostly different in the area between the 'P', 'L' and Enter/Return keys. But since we add three extra letters all the special characters are assigned differently to the alternative keys (accessed by Shift/Ctrl/ALt Gr).
The return/enter key is "two keys tall", there are two keys to the right of the 'P' and three keys to the right of the 'L'.

 

This is the UK keyboard on my 13" Series 9.



The 15" version should be similar but has a set of navigation keys down the right side. (It doesn't show clearly in the photo but the 13" navigation keys have arrows in white and the words are in blue - to be used together with the Fn key).

John

 

Hi John,

Since its not really graphics related, would you expect much of a performance boost with Ivy, again related to VMWARE?

 

It's very much guesswork at this stage. The IB i5 3317M (which had been shown on an NP900X4C entry) is listed by notebookcheck as 1.7-2.6GHz, so it ought to be around 10% to 15% faster than the i5 2467M. There are faster 17W parts but Samsung isn't, at the moment, offering them to us.

Whether even 20% CPU speed difference is noticeable outside of benchmarks is debateable. A fast SSD and good memory sub-system are other critical factors. Overall, these Ultrabooks are at least as fast as a good notebook of 2 to 3 years ago.

John

 

This is only half related, but as I prepare to buy this laptop, can someone advise me on whether the squaretrade insurance is worth it?

I have read they can nitpick, but also that the reports seem to say if their laptop breaks, they send you the original cost, but does that mean your coverage does not carry on to the next laptop you buy with it like most warranties, or does it just end?

Thanks to anyone who knows.
Sean

 

Sean,

I'm not totally sure what you are implying and asking. Are you saying squaretrade will fix your machine but pass some cost on to you?

The last question seems to ask if the warranty sticks with a particular machine model and serial number, or is it time based and can be used for multiple machines? I think you have to submit a sales receipt for a machine purchase and the warranty is only good for that machine.

 

I was probably just unclear. I have read that some people have had issues getting some issues resolved through them.

Secondly yes. If you have a manufacturer's warranty then you they replace your machine, but you still have the remainder of your warranty, as often people may need to replace it again in that however many year period. I am wondering if with squaretrade if it is this way, or is it just if you have an issue, they send you the cost, and that is it. I hope that was clearer. Thanks!

 

I will investigate because it's certainly something I need to check into anyway.

 

Here is an interesting twist from newgg:

"Deactivated. This item is currently out of stock and it may or may not be restocked."

 

Engadget's review of the Series 9 15"

I would say that this looks pretty good! Has anyone gotten their hands on one yet?

 

Beat me to it. I think this means we refresh Engadget too much while procrastinating.

A few people had them arrive last week, but I would not want to tear them away from using it until they are ready

 

In my personal experience Thors.Hammer is correct.

 

OK - Sorry I couldn't post over the weekend but was busy due to Easter.

The S9 15 inch is a very nice machine - I have to say that it s one of the most impressive machines I have used in a while, this will probably become my daily work laptop as the performance is pretty sweet compared to most of the other ultrabooks I have used.

I was asked to compare the backlit keyboard ...attached are some pics so that you can see how it compares to the XPS 13.
I find the back-lighting to be very subtle and subdued - with an almost "green" tint to it as opposed to the stark white of the XPS 13.

Here is the link to the photo's :
https://picasaweb.google.com/114189...authkey=Gv1sRgCMmWrpL14e779wE&feat=directlink

 

Initial Impressions on the S9 15".

Build :
The laptop feels very solid and well constructed, in many ways it is reminiscent in feel to the MacBook Air - in fact this is what a 15" MacBook Air should be.
The only thing I didn't like initially is the shallowness of the keyboard, but I am getting used to it and now it doesn't bother me at all. As stated in an earlier post the back-light on the keys is subdued and very subtle with an almost green tint. I think it looks much better than the blaring brightness of the XPS 13 back-lighting.

Use:
I have owned a UX31 (Best Buy Version), Acer S9, Lenovo U300s.
In use this seems to be the fastest and most responsive "Ultrabook" I have tried, I even installed SWTOR and find it to be playable except when in Major Cities - but that's to be expected. Battery life is very good and playing the same video files it outlasted the XPS 13 by over an hour - with mid level brightness and WiFi on I managed over 6 hours of use out of this.

I also had one of the early 13" S9's when they first came out - and was plagued by wireless problems which made me return it very quickly - I am happy t report that this is NOT the case with this one. The wireless works great - has the same connectivity as my other laptops and doesn't drop signals.

Also I find that this stays very cool - I can use this on my lap for surfing and watching videos with no problems at all - very little warmth is felt.

I am going to continue playing around with it later today - will take some more pictures and test out the wireless at work. If there is anything else you want feedback on just let me know and I will try to accommodate.

 

I have one, and I love it!
Like most people do, I'll tell you my negatives...
The viewing angles really are disappointing for a top of the line unit.
Also, Damn the click pad is loud. CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.

 

I am finding the Trackpad click isn't as loud as the one on the XPS 13.
Did you do any screen calibration or adjustment ? I find the viewing angles are OK - not bad but nothing to write home about. Again comparing to the other "ultrabooks" i have used recently it has a much better screen.

 

Thanks to both of you for reporting back, we really appreciate it.

corteen: If you have a minute would you mind putting the S9 on or under each of your laptops so we can see the size differences more visually? Thanks, and thanks for addressing the keyboard and back lighting. When I read someone say the keyboard was shallow, but much better than the Zenbook, I breathed a sigh of relief, as I actually like the Zenbook keyboard, so I think I am all set to buy one.

 

No I haven't tried anything yet to try and adjust it. The head on quality looks pretty good to me, I just think I remember my old laptop being a bit better on the angles. The old one was an HP HDX 16, and I haven't been able to compare because that one already went to my parents.
I have to admit, I've never seen another ultrabook in person before. I really should swing by a Best Buy to see how the others compare.

 

corteen, what are your general / overall thoughts about this Sammy vs that Dell?

Thanks...

 

That's what I figured. Better than most, but just not as good as it's little brother.

 

Been using mine since the weekend at work and I like it quite a bit. I loaded 7 Pro 64-bit on it.

The only issue I have is that the Micro HDMI port won't output via a Micro HDMI to DVI cable. We have the 13.3 inch Series 9 in our office that will however running Windows 7 32 bit. There are a lot of threads on Intel's site about the HD 3000 graphics not doing this with 64 bit Windows 7.

For now I am using just the VGA adapter, but the signal is not all that great.

Does anyone know what kind of port the vga port is on the other side next to the USB 3.0 ports? It looks like a Mini HDMI port, but I have nothing to confirm this with.

 

For traveling - I like the Dell's size . . it is pretty small and robust.
For performance, screen, usability I like the Samsung, it is a far better machine.

If I had to choose to keep only 1 - I would keep the Samsung, without any hesitation.

I am going to take some pictures of the Samsung vs the XPS tonight and will post them as soon as done.

 

To answer your last question first, that's a proprietary mini VGA port created by Samsung. Good luck finding a dongle for it. They don't exist. It is actually listed on the Samsung site but I'll be darned if I can find one actually for sale.

As for the Micro HDMI connection, what connector are you using? My micro HDMI to HDMI connection works quite well on the 13.3". I spent $13 on a micro HDMI male to HDMI female adapter, HDMI coupler, and HDMI cable. 1080p with no hassle on my Dell LCD panel.

The mini VGA port should have been mini DisplayPort.

 

Can one of the NP900X4B owners check the weight of their new baby? The weight increase from 13.3" to 15" is more than I would have expected for the increase in size, but maybe they have to put more metal into the chassis in order to maintain the same strength.

John

 

Here's a bit of good news I posted in the 13.3" thread.

Micron Technology, Inc. - Micron Announces mSATA Solid-State Drive for Ultrathin Laptops

Micron RealSSD C400 mSATA SSD Review | StorageReview.com - Storage Reviews

 

My NP900X4B shipped. It should be here tomorrow or the next day.

 

Awesome. We're all eager to hear your comparison report!