Samsung 2012 Series 7 Chronos (NP700Z3, NP700Z4 & NP700Z5 series) Owners Lounge

Thank you John,

I looked into the Event Viewer's System Log and these are the events that happen at the time of boot up from sleep (in order):

-One event at the Critical level, Source: Kernel-Power, With a description saying that "the system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly."

-2 events at the Information level, Source: Kernel-Power, With descriptions saying that the "ACPI thermal zone ACPI\ThermalZone\TZ00 has been enumerated."

-One event at the Warning level, Source: Kernel-PnP, With a description saying that "The driver \Driver\WUDFRd failed to load for the device ACPI\ACPI0008\5&15d725f4&0."

-The last event is at the Information level, Source: DriverFrameworks-UserMode, with a description saying that "The UMDF reflector was unable to complete startup because the WUDFPf service was not found. This service may be started later during boot, at which point Windows will attempt to start the device again."

All of my drivers are up to date, as well as my BIOS version (11FD). Any suggestions? Anybody else experience a problem like this?

 

Oh god... the dreaded Kernel-Power error. The other errors are unrelated to your problem i believe. I got this error all the time with my last laptop and never found out what the issue was. My laptop would just turn off at random. The problem is that event can literally mean anything so it is essentially useless. It could mean a problem with the power supply, ram, hard drive, drivers, etc... However, if your laptop was fine before you upgraded, it would seem logical that it is some sort of driver issue. Have you checked to see if any dump files are being made when it crashes? That is your best chance of narrowing down the issue.

I found this ... Resplendence Software - WhoCrashed, automatic crash dump analyzer ... Assuming the crash is producing .dmp files it might help you track down the issue.

 

Thanks for the reply,

So I ran the check and it said that "Crash dumps are enabled but no valid crash dumps have been found. It may be that there are problems which prevent crash dumps from being written out." I followed the link instructions and changed the crash dump settings for Statup and Recovery under the Advanced options tab under System Properties in the Control Panel. I changed it from "Kernel memory dump" to "small memory dump (256 KB)."

But it didn't work. It still won't wake up from sleep. Is it hopeless?? Am I condemned to be without Sleep mode on this beautiful machine for the rest of its natural life? =(

 

Hi guys, as owners would you recommend the Series 7 over the HP envy 15? The HP envy looks mighty impressive with the 1080 screen plus excellent audio but it's also crippled by a poor trackpad and a slightly inferior keyboard.

I'm really undecided on which one to buy and have been reading tons of stuff for these two models.

I have a few questions I hope you guys don't mind answering:

Is the screen better or on par with the MBP in terms of brightness, contrast, saturation and viewing angles? I know it has a higher resolution but I don't know about the rest.

Where's the cheapest place to get it online? Does samsung use promo codes like hp for discounts? The one available in my country is only i5 2.4ghz with 6gb ram, I'm looking to get the i7 8gb ram version (np700z5a-s01us) if I am not mistaken. I also noticed there are two keyboard layouts for this machine, one with the number pad and one without.

I mostly use my laptop for work and surfing, casual gamer at best. Most of the time my laptop is hooked up to my monitor because I don't like trackpads.

My old laptop was a 2007 macbook so this is my first windows notebook Will samsung or HP release updates to these units once windows 8 rolls out?

Thanks!

 

I wonder if something you have installed is causing the problem. Given that most S7 users don't have this problem, perhaps it is worth the effort of backing up your personal files and reinstalling Windows. First check that sleep works OK as supplied by Samsung, then apply all the Windows and Samsung updates and check again. If sleep is still working then use the Samsung Recovery Solution to back up your system. Finally gradually reinstall your own software while checking if sleep still works. If sleep gets broken then you can restart using your backup and skip what you think is the problem software.

John

 

I have owned an envy 17 and envy 13 which both have various quality and setup/driver issues. I just bought the samsung series 7 refurbished. I will never go back to hp now. This laptop is by far my favorite i have had over the last several years.

That said, the screen is not the best i have seen. My envy 13 with the radiance display was definitely better. That isn't to say samsung's screen is bad, it is just i have seen better.

Also, changing out the hard drive is a pain although not super difficult if you follow the guide here on the forums.

The cheapest way to buy is to get it refurbished like i did. Woot was selling it for $700 yesterday. Newegg sells it for like $780 i believe.

 

As soon as i received my Samsung, i didn't even turn it on before switching the hard drive and installing a fresh copy of windows. I used a Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1 disk, installed all the drivers, then installed all the updates and sleep works fine. Maybe you should try a fresh copy of windows in instead of an upgrade?

 

Any of you guys make recovery dvd's?

its like taking forever!

 

Thanks for the replies guys,

I think I'm going to go with a clean install of Windows Professional. Any opinions about OEM vs. retail? From what I understand the only differences in the prices are that an OEM install is tied to that specific motherboard and doesn't come with Microsoft tech support. Correct?

I am a poor college student and so I am leaning towards OEM, but do you guys have any tips/ warnings/ advice about things to be weary about before I do?

 

Yeah, just go for the OEM. I am a premium MSDN member and get 10 copies of every Microsoft product from my work but... if i had to buy it, i would buy OEM.

There isn't anything to be weary of. Just go for it! You can always start over if something gets screwed up.

 

Can anyone clarify the ambient normal temp for the Series 7. My laptop is brand new, but the temp in idle is not good. Right now, without running any intense graphic application, it hit 49-59 Celcius. With some application that throlling the CPU and GPU, it could hit up to 79 degrees. My house temp is a little bit hot, about 80 F or about 27 Celcius.
Also I notice that the CPU has been throlled a little bit and I don't know which program cause that. I did try to reinstall the new Windows without any crapware from Samsung, the issue is still there. One more thing: The battery meter in Windows showed that 98% pluged in without charging. I heard this one should be gone with battery calibration but my laptop is brand new (almost 3 days) so how could this happened?

 

The CPU temperature is controlled by the rules for fan operation. I have no worries about the idle temperature provided the fan is quiet under light load. I get annoyed by fans which still run frantically trying to get the CPU to cool to room temperature. Use HWiNFO to see what the temperature does when you pile on the load. The maximum temperature may get into the low 90s C but the fan speed should progressively increase so the temperature stabilises. Thermal throttling probably cuts in at 95C.

Normal battery management probably means that battery recharge won't restart until the charge drops by several %. This is to avoid unnessary top-up charges that add to the wear. HWiNFO should help you understand the battery behaviour.

John

 

I contacted Samsung and the guy that talked to me know nothing about the heat . He said one way to figure that out is to send to the service center to perform maintenaince. However, I don't have much choice on that. My laptop is only 3 days and I don't have any available laptop to use if I would send this one to them. My old laptop, the HDX 16t, never experienced this heat issue even with the old Nvidia GT 9600M. It would get hot eventually, but not when idling or doing some normal task. Apparently, without the cooling pad, I would get more heat. I saw some review about this laptop but they all said doing normal thing would not get the laptop heated to 50 or 60 degrees.

 

That's what mine as at when I am doing normal stuff on it, around 55 degrees or so, and I can hit even higher when gaming, up towards 90s, without any noticable throttling.

Ofcourse depends on which CPU you have. The i7 like I have runs hotter than the i5 that is in the cheaper/slower models, but I dont know how big the difference is since I don't own one.

If the reviews you read is with an i5 and you have an i7, then you cant really compare the numbers.

 

Well I have the i7. Right now I am doing a Windows Update and watching a video. The temperature bumps up to 80 easily. Of course not all the thread is throlled, but I noticed a third thread is usually throlled at max. Does this have anything to do with the switchable graphic because I updated the lastest version from Samsung and when watching video, switch to high performance cause the video lag.

 

Does anyone know which wifi card the NP700Z5A-S02US comes with? I assume the Broadcom, but can anyone say for sure? Also, why are there no drivers listed for this model on the Samsung support page, unlike most of the other models?: Support - Notebooks NP700Z5AH | Samsung Laptops

 

girl on podcast looks like she is using a 15" Samsung Series 7 Chronos

Engadget Podcast 285 - 03.15.2012 -- Engadget

 

It's the new S0AUS that have Intel wifi chip. I believe. The laptop does get really hot because it's thinness, it can't disperse the heat fast enough. Unless you want a really loud fan. I leave mine at Samsung Eco Mode, and average between 50-60 degrees at full load.

If your seriously worried, get a notebook table fan stand.

 

What about display type?
IPS?
Poor view angles as at S03?

 

Exactly... So how about S05?

 

The new Intel Wifi still suck in my opnion. As I updated to the driver from Samsung support web pages, then I brought my laptop to school. First it worked, but then, I moved to other room and the wifi just not connected, despite the school wifi is broadcasting for entire school area. Right now I just update to the newest from Intel, and I'll see if there would be any problem at all.

About the heat, I agree that because it is thin so that the laptop could not reduce fast enough. But you said full load at 50-60 is impossible to me right now . Not sure those numbers are correct, but most the time, just some tabs in Chrome with Visual Studio opened and some other mirror apps, the temp could hit 60-69. But then, my range is about 45-69, as 45-50 is about idling and 60-69 as doing something but not full load. Sometimes it can even hit 70-80 as I ran Windows Update or some intensive application installers. Those numbers came from the i7 core, and I don't see the core ultilize the resource too much, only 10-25% overall, but for some thread, it could be 50-60%. I could open the laptop to reapply the thermal paste but I don't want to do with the new one, so I might just live with it for a couple months to see if it is the design cause this issue. In fact, cooling pad not help much . I used the NZXT Cryo LX, which could reduce the heat 5-10 degrees but compare to the cheap Targus I have also, it is still in the same range. By the way, the heat you can feel most is near the of the keyboard. Samsung should design some ventilation from that area as I knew the fan is in that area. My old HP had the vent near that area .

 

As far as I know, only the 13.3" Series 9 has a PLS (Samsung's equivalent of IPS) panel. Even the 15" version of the Series 9 doesn't have a PLS panel (but the few examples seen so far suggest that it is above average).

To some extent, display quality is subjective and depends on what the viewer is used to. The screen on my Lenovo T420s looks OK until I put it next to my Dell E6410.

John

 

I still think that Intel is better, but I wonder if the case has anything to do with reception. I don't really use much intensive applications except play Starcraft 2 every now and then.

 

Is there any way to adjust the fan so that it only kicks in when the laptop reaches a certain temperature? I know there is such a program for Thinkpads, but for Samsung?

I come from an old laptop whose fan was a veritable jet engine so I don't know how much noise is considered normal these days. Now I can hear actual sounds around me besides the fan but it is still slightly annoying and the silent mode doesn't really make that much of a difference.

 

Just wanted to let you guys know there is an issue with the ASMedia ASM104x USB 3.0 Host Controller Driver used in the Samsung 7 Series and DisplayLink-Technology uses in Docking Stations like the Toshiba Dynadock U3.

You can read about it here:

DisplayLink Software Won't Install - DisplayLink Forum

 

Use Easy Setting and set silent mode. However, I think the software has the bug. Eventually, after I set that mode then close the program, I open it again and the setting is not saved despite other settings are still remaining.

 

How does the series 7 fare when playing games like COD3? You think it can handle diablo 3 nicely?

 

COD3 or FPS will be fine as long as they are not the same hardware requirement like BF 3. Most games is running just fine with some med settings. Now you asked about D3. I'll give it a chance and see what happend, but I warn you, Blizz games is not about graphic, they are intense CPU usage like SC2. However, justify from what I have played from D3 Beta, it might be changed because my desktop with GTX 560 Ti can see some FPS lagging with ultra settings or even I low the settings down a little bit, sometimes it did lag too. But it is just beta so for the final, it should be differently.

 

I can play SC2 on high settings but it get really really high. It might work if you got a notebook cooler.
I played Diablo 3 beta, it works pretty well on lowest settings.

 

Anyone know if there will be an ivybridge refresh of this exact same notebook?

 

I just connected mine to a 27" external monitor and an external keyboard and mouse for use at home. I ran into an unexpected problem however. When the laptop goes into sleep mode, there is no way to wake it except to open the laptop lid. The problem is that I keep the laptop under the desk and also when I open the lid, the display changes back to the built-in monitor instead of the external monitor.

Does anyone know of a way around this, like perhaps a hot-key that I can press on the external keyboard? I've tried the escape key, enter key and just about every other key. Is there a setting in bios to add a wake-on-demand key or is there third-party software that would be helpful.

 

I am sure this is possible, but it might even be a bios related issue, since many bioses like to have all "wake up on" items off as default.

I don't know exactly how the S7 works here, nor what the bios looks like concerning this either, and I can't check it atm, but if no one else have any feedback I'll try to get into it later tonight.

 

There is an option for it in the bios. I also use my laptop with an external monitor and keyboard and ran into the same problem.

 

Hi guys. I have a NP700Z5A and need more RAM. 1. Can this laptop be upgraded to either 12gb or 16gb? 2. If so who is the manufacturer of the current RAM and what is the spec? e.g. PC3-10600/DDR3-1333 or PC3-12800/DDR3-1600 etc. Thank you in advance!

 

Trying to beat some record in crossposting?

I was about to answer you, but I'll just let you know that the info is in one of all the threads you already asked the same question in, so feel free to browse.

 

If we didn't have 2598240 threads on the same subject we wouldn't have such problems. Right now this forum is a complete mess and I understand why he would post his question in several threads.

 

I bet he searched and dug the disassembly threads, then stumbled on the owners thread last. And cross posted. I have answered the questions in the two threads btw.

 

So what do you propose? Merge similar threads and hope that the resulting jumble of posts will still make sense. I remember the peaceful old days when only 10 threads has posts from the past week. It's got somewhat busier recently.

It did take some searching to find three potentially relevant threads to post the question in but a little more searching would have revealed the answer. Personally, I'm fairly tolerant on newbies provided they learn quickly - we've all been there.

John

 

Mainly due to the lack of subforums for Samsung. Samsung is currently going full force into the notebook market.

In just 4 months we have seen the Series 3, 5, 7, and 9 launch with so many variants and so many issues that need to be raised and ironed out so much so that the forum is at least 5x busier.

Time for a Series subforum, John... Kindly raise it with lead mod???

 

I tried searching this thread for "upgrade ram" and got 0 result.
I tried searching this forum for " "Series 7" upgrade ram" and got 3 results, all about other computers.
The search function on notebookreview simply sucks; granted, it's not your fault, but it's hardly usable as it is. I remember reading somewhere that typing "inurl: notebookreview [search terms]" in Google was more reliable than the built in search...

 

The search function is quite broken for NBR vBulletin. It is well documented in the Feedback forum.

 

No matter which thread he posted in, it would be moved to the top and he would most likely get a fast reply. No need to post the exact same thing in 3 simillar threads tbh.

But yes, forums could use a bit of restructuring.

 

The mods have debated this for various other forums. It's never that easy because of many common issues, particularly hardware / software configuration (eg Easy Settings). Therefore I don't think sub-forums will help and it might hinder (because people will focus on the sub-forum for their particular model).

There is a Vbulletin upgrate in the pipeline but with Google continuously re-indexing this forum then it's difficult to beat Google. "site:forum.notebookreview.com [a few key words] is what usually works for me.

What I am thinking of providing is a sticky index at the top with links to the most important threads.

John

 

Does anyone know if the 14" variant sold in the US, mainly the NP700Z3A-S03US model has a TPM chip?

 

SAMSUNG Series 7 NP700Z5A- S0AUS vs. Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5AH NP700Z5A- S09US:

1. Display quiality [view angles, contrast, gamut etc]. Comparing to previous Chronos7 models [S03, S04 etc] - is there any significant view improvement? Can anybody please download pictures of screen working?

2. Keyboard diference: no additional numeric panel on S0AUS. So how it feels like?

3. Any problems with graphic switching?

4. Any other problems?


Other words, which is better in terms of quality?


P.S.
And one more thing: I reallly do not need i7 [its getting too hot on this tiny laptop] but HDD with 7200rpm makes sense. But U can change HDD anytime but U cant change screen... At least so easily as HDD....

 

1. Display is all the same across the Series 7. There is no exception unless Samsung decide to change it for new model, but I doubt about it.
2. I think you mistake. S0A has numpad but S09 does not have. About the feel, it is very good for chicklet keyboard, although the most annoying thing is the spacebar.
3. Switchable graphic works well with the lastest updates. You need to find 8.940 or 8.950 to get AMD works in GPU-application.
4. The last problem should be Wifi. Because of the thin chassis, the reception is a little bit bad. With Broadcom, it is much worst. However, you can change the wifi card to Intel and has more reliable driver and more reception than Broadcom. But those models, especially the S0A, do come with Intel.

Generally, they are the same. Same chassis and mostly the same hardware. The different between models are HDD, CPU, GPU, and RAM.

 

About the keyboard... This is a very good keyboard with zero ghosting. Good key travel too.

 

Did you guy receive the new touchpad driver? I believe the version is 10.7.13.1. I have updated mine and let me tell you, it's fantastic. The driver fixed jumping cursor even with low sensitive. Also, clickpad now working again. Overall, the driver is pretty stable than previous.

 

Cool, so that's another issue checked off. I think the only real "permanent" issues left are the limited range wifi antenna and non-full-HD display. Surely there must be a way to add a better antenna if you crack open the display cover?

 

Well, technically, we can put whatever wifi card into the slot. However, the driver is a bit challenge. To find a suitable driver for that, you have to borrow from other laptop makers because these cards are not sold for customer, but sold in Ebay or from OEMs to replace the old one.