Samsung 15" Series 9 NP900X4C with Ivy Bridge CPU

Like I said, if you order the Samsung NP900X4C-A03US you will get a laptop with the specs I listed.

Exactly.

 

I7 processor?

 

Yes. See the specs at the BestBuy.com site. They are correct.

Samsung - 15" Series 9 Ultrabook Laptop - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive - Ash Black - NP900X4C-A03US

 

. Thanks! I had been checking the best buy site pretty consistently so its great to see it show up there with the specs we were expecting. It must be getting close. Thanks again

 

Close to what? Some people have reported buying one from Best Buy already, I believe. Amazon is shipping them, too.

 

Best Buy said they had no idea when they would get them in and I've had a preorder with Amazon for a good while. Someone may have bought one at Best Buy or Amazon but I'm not having a lot of luck here in NC. I'm hoping it won't be too much longer though. If you know of people that already purchased it then I obviously didn't get in line quick enough.

 

Yeah, they were gone quickly. I had put in the order for mine to Amazon in May, when the laptop was briefly available for preorder for a few days, apparently by accident. However, Amazon didn't cancel my order, and shipped beginning of June.

 

Be careful about ordering from Amazon at this point. You might a returned item that's been repackaged.

 

I ordered my a03us from amazon on June 10. It still hasn't shipped and shows an estimated date of July 10-18. Some of you got yours really soon after your order. Idk how, I just home mine comes (and with the correct a03us specs)

 

I canceled my order with Amazon when it became clear it wasn't going to get shipped any time soon. Plus my concerns about the screen posted earlier have only increased with the passage of time. I may hold out till we see what gets released for the holiday season. Given the improvement Samsung made with the Ivy Bridge chips, I think it's a reasonable bet they'll release an improved version with a better screen later this year. I can live without one till then.

 

I need one before college starts. I'll update if this thing actually ships

 

yes i must have disabled it in bios when i was switching things around to boot from USB the other day. at the time i think i thought i was disabling network boot b/c I agree it is odd to have a switch for lan in general in BIOS

 

yes, the hibernation partition takes up sooo much space - but, John will probably know this (I think it's in another thread), I believe it is necessary for the quick boot to function properly

you could always upgrade the SSD yourself - mydigitaldiscount.com has a 256gB sata iii with similar speeds (480/360 read/write) for a couple hundred bucks (probably decently cheaper than upgrading to A03)

or you could pick up a dockbox with the notebookreview 20% discount

 

So did you find a switch in the BIOS and change it?

Yes, the hibernation partition is an essential part of the Intel Rapid Start. I think it is mapped to the RAM.

John

 

Whats everyone's opinion on the battery life? When I got it and charged it to 80% it said about 5 hrs of battery, is that normal?

 

I was going to buy this notebook until i saw it in person at a store. Everything is perfect about the notebook except the screen. The viewing angle is so bad on it that it was a deal breaker for me.

 

can anyone point me to the right place to buy the 15", i-7, 256gb NP900X4C that is mineral ash black? I prefer purchasing from amazon but they seem to only be selling Titan Silver even though the tag after NP900X4C seems to indicate that it'll be black? Thanks in advance

 

Are you in a hurry? At the moment the retail channel doesn't appear to have the 256GB 15" model. A couple of lucky folks here have them, but saying the inventory is constrained is a huge understatement right now.

Regarding colors, until recently only the Mineral Ash Black was shipping here in the USA. That appears to be changing with the NP900X4D but so far it hasn't arrived in retail. CDW.com has a listing for the Silver model. Who knows when they'll actually show up.

 

I was keen on purchasing it soon because I wanted to get it as a gift for my father as a semi-late father's day present but I am more concerned of having the proper security of a solid purchase than rushing into an $1800 purchase. Thanks for your replies!

On a side note, does anyone know which 3.0 docking station would be the best with one of these?

 

The 128GB SSD models are in BestBuy stores across the USA. You could always upgrade the RAM and mSATA SSD later.

I have no idea what to recommend for a dock. Sorry.

My KVM switch uses USB 2.0 for the shared keyboard and mouse. The video side of my KVM is VGA since it's still the lowest common denominator for most machines. That gets any machine in the KVM array a 24" 1920x1200 Ultrasharp LCD. If the notebook supports it, I can also connect it to another Dell U2711 via Displayport.

So my dock solution is a KVM switch. It's natural for me because it always has four machines of some variety connected.

 

As far as I know the ones that Amazon sells are all mineral ash black. Mine was, even though it said "titan silver".

 

In case you're looking to upgrade to 256GB:

MyDigitalSSD SMART 256GB mSATA SSD Review - Top Performance Unmatched Capacity Killer Price - The SSD Review

 

Better Yet...

Samsung Series 9 15" NP900X4C Ivy Bridge Ultrabook Overview and SSD Performance Analysis - The SSD Review

 

Hi all,

Has anyone tested the maximum resolution supported via the mini-VGA output? I ask as I connected my HDTV via the dongle and I was shown options up to 2560x1440 (which naturally my TV doesn't support), so I'm wondering if the HD4000 provides more than 1920x1080 as the max or if there was just something odd going on.

And has anyone tried to run the laptop screen plus 2 monitors as seen in the Intel demo ( Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics Demoed on 3 Screens - YouTube), I don't have access to multiple monitors to test on.

Thanks.

 

So what do you guys think? I bought the 128 GB a few days ago but with the release of a 256 gb new model A03 do you think there is a differnt in buying the 256 and ugprading myself or waiting to buy the new one. besdies hard drive and windows home versus windows professional -- any other differences between the two machines?

 

I think the 256GB version also comes with an i7 3517U CPU which is a bit faster.

John

 

Yep, boy so hard to not return this one i just bought a few days ago knowing this one is around the corner.

 

Hi there,

Sorry to bring the display topic up again, but I am reading different thoughts on it, and I'd like to known what you think of the colour rendering, the contrast and the viewing angles.

I know that angles are much worse than the 13" counterpart, what about contrast and colours? I've heard people mentioning a contrast value of 170:1, while other panels (Asus UX31A) reach more than 1000:1. Is it really so bad? Are the reduced viewing angles unbearable? Can anybody comment on the difference between the 15" and the 13" display in terms of colours, contrast, crispness and so on? I had a chance to look at the 13" and it was amazing, hence, if the 15" performs closely (apart from the viewing angles), I'll be more than happy.

By the way, I am not a photographer, I qualify as a user that cares having a good quality screen, not the ultimate screen. How does the screen compare with an average laptop panel with similar resolution? For example, I was quite ok with my T420s, which people reported as having a bad screen, tought I thought the vertical viewing angle coulkd have been improved, and it was a little annoying to adjust the panel position when watching a movie. John, if I remember correctly, you also had the Lenovo one. Have you had a chance to see the 15" screen and compare it to the T420s' one?

Sorry for all these questions, but this laptop will cost me a premium amount of money, and I do not want to regret such an expense.

Thanks a lot for any kind of feedback, this thread has been of incredible value for deciding what to get as my next toy.
Alessandro

 

I haven't seen the X4 (I'm working on it but want the i7 CPU and 256GB SSD which is in short supply). However, from what I have read the display, while disappointing for a premium notebook, is above average for a TN panel. If you were happy with the T420s display then you should be happy with the X4. Thors.Hammer took some photos of an X4B alongside the X3B. Perhaps those, combined with the X3B vs T420s photos in my X3B review, can provide an X4B vs T420s comparison.

John

 

Thanks John, and thanks Thors for the pics in the other thread. God those screens look different, I am now tempted again by the 13", but that 4 Gb RAM limit is a major source of pain. Why Samsung, why did you save on the screen on one model, and on the RAM on the other?

 

Why Samsung found it necessary to put two fans, so no room for two RAM slots, in the 13" is a mystery to me. The 4GB RAM is a special DDP module that is configured as dual channel RAM and I don't know if 8GB versions are available.

John

 

You would think their strategy of making a gajillion different phones with every spec combo imaginable would carry over to their laptops. Nope.

 

It is kind of preposterous. They were so. darn. close.

I did notice that for my use the x3b still got hot, even with the two fans... so I don't question that choice as much as some others (non pls in 15", SD slot being only half... )

Also, if anyone is curious what the screen looks like on the np900x4c compared to the np900x3b, I took about 20-30 photos.

See them here (second post):
Eyes on Mobile Tech

 

Yes, it boggles the mind.

 

The Samsung UK site was showing the NP900X4X with the 3317U 1.7Ghz processor and Intel HD 4000 graphics card and 8GB DDR3 1600 Mhz for sale on 8th of May 2012, but they took it off their site for some reason.

There are a few UK online retailers who are offering the above machine with a slightly different specification:
i5, not i7
HD 3000, not HD 4000
DDR3 1333Mhz, not DDR3 1600Mhz

The Samsung Korean site is currently showing another model number NT900X4C-A78 with 256GB SSD with the Intel HD 4000 graphic card and i7 3517U and DDR3 1600Mhz.
It looks like the 256 GB SSD hard drive is around the corner for the rest of the world.

 

I ordered my NP900X4X-A01IT (Italy) today:
i7-3517U 1.9 GHz - 8Gb DDR3 1600
256 SSD
Intel HD 4000

The guy of the retail told me that right now there are a very few of this machine (he told 80 in all Europe, but this seems a bit strange to me).
I'm going to play with it the next week....

 

Note that the 3317U is an i5, not i7 (details here) and, so far, Samsung haven't offered a higher spec version of the X4 in UK. The specs of the NP900X4C-A01UK are here. Anything with an IvyBridge CPU also has the Intel HD4000 graphics (built into the CPU). An NP900X4D-A01UK is also expected but the current specs suggest it has the same internal hardware as the X4C-A01UK.

John

 

Wow, been following this thread for a while now and really keen on this machine (Saving my pennys for it). But now I've seen those screen comparison pics between the 13" and 15".

Samsung pull your finger out and fix it because your not getting my money until you do!

You know what has to be done and I know I'm happy to pay a little extra for a better screen, COME ON!!!!!

 

I'd like to remind everyone that pictures do not capture the essence of each display. The 15" panel is better in person. But so is the PLS panel.

 

I agree, people really should critically evaluate what their needs are, versus what would be nice to have. For myself, I was, and am, critical of the screen in this laptop, but at the end of the day I need this machine as a tool for conferences and meetings, and it's mostly black text (or a few basic colors) on a white background that's important. I don't use this for creative photoshopping, movies, or gaming, so for me personally, even though I would love a better screen, the machine is perfectly fine as is. By the way, the screen isn't all bad at all: It is an above-average screen overall, and fonts are very sharp and crisp, which, again, is more important for me than accurate color at odd angles.

On the other hand, the very good performance, the almost unreal fast wake-up and boot times, large SSD and RAM are crucial features, and the 15" Series 9 has them all.

 

Has anyone tried to run a USB external display adapter with this thing? If so, how did she handle?

I'm still trying to make peace with the lack of a DisplayPort by exploring alternatives. There is just something unsavory about analog/VGA . . .

 

Thanks for this useful summary of your findings.

John

 

I also would like to know this. There are some USB 3.0 options out there that apparently work ok. Not for gaming, just coding or working on multiple VMs/remote sessions.

 

What screen resolution do you need? The Micro HDMI and Micro VGA should both go to at least 1920x1080. Someone needs to test it, but they should both work at the same time.

 

I've actually been looking at Samsung's C23A750X as a wireless docking option. Maybe they're a bit old these days, but I've been very pleased with my PX2370's in personal use, this monitor should eliminate the need for dongles, and I have seen it a few places for a reasonable price.

That said, you never can tell how well these things will work or how fast they'll be. I've heard some pretty bad things about WiDi, and I remember some of those wireless HDMI adapters would lose signal or artifact like crazy. However, I believe this dock allows for a cabled connection as a backup/for better performance.

Plus, no idea how much something like this would stress the resources on an Ultrabook. I can't say I have any experience with wireless display technologies.

 

hmm.. that bestbuy link doesn't work anymore. it says page not found.

 

Considering the supply is slim to none, it isn't surprising BestBuy disabled the item.

 

I still love this machine regardless of some small aspects which could be improved, however I would like to do a little gaming once and while with the likes of battlefield 3 or something of that calibar. I would like to know that a £1300 machine could handle something like that on medium settings for example but I came across this today-

Samsung Series 9 2012 (15″ Review « Ultrabook News and the Ultrabook Database
(Theres a video further down the page)

There seems to be quite poor performance on the more demanding games from the i5 processor model.

My question is has anyone with the ivy bridge i7 (1.9ghz) model any idea of how much better, if at all, this version of the machine performs with demanding games? I know integrated graphics is never going to deliver 60fps but 25-30fps on medium settings for demanding games is really all I need for occasional gaming.

I have been keeping a close eye on the ultrabook market with dedicated gpu's but none have appealed to me at the moment by matching the style or build quality of the series 9.

If anyone has experience with the i7 ivy bridge series 9 on the gaming side of things I am very keen to hear how you've got on.

Thanks in advance

 

where is the most reliable place to purchase a new one of these? I know amazon sometimes gives out reboxed previously returned products and I'd really prefer having a brand new one to buy. Bestbuy doesn't even have them in stock

 

Is this really true?