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

Hello,

Does anyone know the difference between these Series 7 Models, the Microsoft Store has them both and they seem to be the same:

1. Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5A-S0AUS
Buy Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5A-S0AUS (15.6-Inch), lightweight, portable notebook PC, Intel Core-i7 processor - Microsoft Store Online

2. Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5A-S0BUS
Buy Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5A-S0BUS, 15.6 inch notebook PC, lightweight, Intel Core-i7 processor - Microsoft Store Online

 

Technically speaking, they are the same. Either one of them is fine.

 

Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5A-S0BUS,

This one is latest. speaker with sub-woofer.

Minor other changes, I don't remember them now. But S0BUS was better.

(Samsung has removed it from there website, previously it was there & I found these details on their official site).
Page Not Found - SAMSUNG

 

SSD prices are dropping in the UK, even a 256Gb seems affordable.
Is it really possible to replace the HDD without filing , sawing , soldering , replacing cables?
I would love to try it for speed...and is it possible to somehow move Windows, from an image maybe?
What should I look for in an SSD?
1. Does the silent mode slow down the computer in any way?
2. The internal SATA socket, is it SATA2 (3Gb/s) or SATA3 (6Gb/s) ?
Thanks
Thanks

 

It is really easy to replace HDD, but you need to be careful when remove the cover. It is tricky but when you got it, the step to replace HDD is very simple.

There is no real information on how silent mode will work. But there are 2 possibilities. One is that the proccessor will be lower down and one is that the fan will be cut down. I did not see any slow down on processor when using silent mode so maybe just the fan will be lower a little bit.

SATA interface is SATA3. This is kind of premium laptop and most newest laptop do have SATA3 as default.

 

silent mode limits the cpu to 800mhz. which is still plenty for office work.

if you want to check for yourself use cpu-z

 

Thank you!
As soon as I see a "cheap" SATA3 256Gb SSD:laugh: I'll give it a go...
As expected the "cheapies" are SATA2.

 

Thanks
I want my machine as fast as possible, so I'll switch off silent mode.
It's mostly on mains, and I seldom hear the fan anyway...

 

Pretty sure I read somewhere that the S7 only uses Sata/300, not 600...

 

That would be disappointing, as the 7 would not use the full 600 potential...
Anyone else found information?

 

I was looking for a way of finding out if my motherboard has a SATA3 port. I found this free program called HWiNFO.

Here's a screenshot of what it displays for my motherboard

Click

EDIT:

I tried getting this information from the on-line support centre, however they seem to only be dealing with software/windows related problems.
They gave me this number for the London support centre where they MAY be able to answer my question. 0330 7267864

 

I will see if I can find the info, but I am pretty sure it was in one of the threads in this area, prob about SSD or a general one.

 

Samsung apparently did not enable SATA 3 support in BIOS or used a SATA 2 HDD cable IIRC.

 

Here's another screen snippet from the program "SiSoftware Sandra"



As from what this shows, the motherboard supports SATA3.
What yknyong1 is interesting, My plan was to gen an SSD with the money from samsung's VAT cashback promo, now I am not sure if doing that would be as easy as i thought.

 

Not sure about this, but after I benchmarked my Crucial m4 SATA 3, the speed turned out to be correct. Approx 450 MB/s for sequencial reading.

 

I've done a search on this proprietary Samsung DisplayPort (or whatever it is) to VGA adapter like the links in the thread and 4/4 vendors had it on back order with 1month + lead time or they're charging north of $45 for the adapter.

Is anyone able to give an example of which HDMI to VGA dongle to use in this situation? I did a search, but came across enough cord types to make my head spin, not sure which apply to in this situation.

 

I've got this part on order.

John

 

So I guess it will be fine if i install an SSD on my laptop. As far as I understand, all series 7 have the same motherboard specs? Which model do you have and did you need to change the sata cable?

 

I got the S0A for U.S location and I used the old connector with new SSD. As far as I know, you can use any connector, the difference would be on the support of SATA 3 or SATA 2. SATA 3 would have theoritically up to 600 Mb/s read and SATA 2 would be 300 Mb/s. Make sure you enable AHCI to be able to use the SSD.

 

Yeah I know about AHCI, It would still work without that setting, but won't be as fast. I've got an SSD on my desktop machine, which I am just so happy with, that I wanted to get the same one for my laptop.
I am not sure if the connector i currently have is appropriate.
I did tried to find info about the the hard drive you model comes with. It seems to be the Hitachi Travelstar 7K750. Correct me if i'm wrong. And it has a SATA2 interface, so I'm guessing the connectors are capable of running SATA3, because you said you reach decent speeds with your SSD.

 

Nope it isn't Hitachi. Mine is Seagate, but it only SATA 2 interface. Most laptop hard drive would not be SATA 3, if you not custom build it. Since I used the current connector for the SSD, I guess you would be fine with it.

 

Wow, 12 usb ports!
But the port speeds seem awfully low for SATA3...
Anyway, I'll be ordering a 256Gb from Amazon today, should it disappoint I can always return it within a month.
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B005OK6VLS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF
I'll also order a bunch of cables along, should one of these do the trick? Please have a peek...
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B007NKQ8R4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A19NOEOZN6O94V

BTW: Anyone knows a good hdd/ssd benchmarking program?
Thanks for advice!

 

Haha. You cannot use those cable in laptop anyway. You need to buy the laptop version which combine power and SATA cable in one cable. However, you could use the old one and still get the most performance on those SSDs.

 

Thanks I found a spot in the US that sells 'em.
I chatted up a samsung rep who mentioned the following:
Amy: AA-AV1N12B/US is compatible with 7 series laptop and AA-AH1NAMB/US works with 9 series laptop.

(not sure if same applies to where you ordered them from, or if 7vs9 will really matter)

I ended up going with the AA-AV1N12B/US cable listed on amazon for $28+$5 ship.

 

Recently I have some problems with my usb ports. I have a wireless mouse with an usb ir receiver. Every few hours the mouse stops working and I noticed by the windows sound that the usb ports reset and a few moments later the mouse works again. I tried different drivers but all the same problem. I hope somebody can help me.

Thanks

 

Today I've replaced the HDD by a Samsung 256Gb SSD.
This wasn't too difficult, but going the Ghost route was very difficult and a bit confusing.
So I installed a fresh W7, and downloaded the necessary drivers and Samsung software, and things work fine.
CrystalDiskMark reports read 483 MB/s and write 401 MB/s.
So the infrastructure seems decidedly SATA-600.

A few strange problems though:
Clicking Easy Settings leads to a complete hang- hard reboot necessary.
Popup wants me to update the BIOS to 13FD, but never gets beyond uncompressing- a hard reboot is necessary.

What have I missed?

 

UEFI settings - disable...

 

As for Easy Settings, UEFI should be able to resolve that.

As for the BIOS, never ever using Easy Software because BIOS would be messed up if there is something that interrupt the process. Easy Software will download and silent install it, without letting us know what actually process. The BIOS updater is one safe way to do. However, in this case, the 13FD only pops up on the Easy Software and the updater can check up until 12FD. Another the way is to find the file from the server and download it. I discovered a way that we can be able to download whatever software or driver avaible from Easy Software without going to that application.

First make sure your folder option has enabled hidden files and folders. Then from Windows partition, go to ProgramData. In there, you will see a Samsung folder. After going to that folder, there are only 2 folder: one for Easy Display Manager and one for Easy Software Manager. Go to Software Manager. There are some XML files, but you need to worry about 2 files only: ADD_... and PATCH_.... Look for the file that has the date is newest. Although I did not look carefully on the folder, I believe the ADD_... is for software and PATCH_... is for driver. So if we want to download the BIOS, it should be in the PATCH_... file. Open that file and search for BIOS or the version, in this case it is 13FD. Then look down until you see the tag <FURL>...</FURL>. That should be the direct link to the server. Download from that link and extract the zip file, then run it.

P/s: Make sure you run Easy Software first to let it check for new update, then just follow that guide. Also, make sure that you know your version is older that the version that Easy Software notify, so you won't install the wrong version after that.

 

Will try that, spincel, thanks.

Tried disabling UEFI in the BIOS, but after the Samsung screen I'm only getting a flickering screen.
Which is strange, because when using the HDD the setting was DISABLED.
Could a bad BIOS result in Easy Setting hanging?

So I cannot start EASY SETTINGS.
I think there are some parts I cannot do without?

I've set power in CONFIG to "high performance".
But the FN-brightness buttons don't work anymore.
Tried SAMSUNG BALANCED, still no button function...

 

Is your version up to date? You might want to remove that version and reinstall it again. Then if not up to date, try update to new one. Also, try to reupdate BIOS. Since the need for Easy Setting is mostly for EC, if you have SSD, then I would say ignore that. Easy Setting mostly reconfig its own configuration for your system and those configs are so bad.

 

The link is http://orcaservice.samsungmobile.com/ITEM/Software/ORCA-00001P/ORCA00001P05.ZIP but at best I land on a short page in Korean with just a Google link.

Haven't got a clue how to reflash the BIOS: maybe yknyong1 is right and I should disable UEFI, but after that I only see a greyish flashing screen now...why could that be?
I enabled UEFI again.
Is there another way to reflash the BIOS?
Googled for above file and 13FD bios - nothing...
BTW- some online checking software reports 10FD, but the machine says 13FD...

What could I miss from Easysettings? I remember a Silent Mode but maybe there's another way to control the fan?

Is the 2.2GHz overclocking mode always active?

Help greatly appreciated!

 

This should be a correct link:

Code:

http://orcaservice.samsungmobile.com/ITEM/Software/ORCA-00001P/ORCA-00001P05.ZIP

You miss the -sign. The download speed might be a little bit slow than your connection.

About the fan, Silent Mode can just lower down the clock speed to lower down the fan. Other than that, there is no manual way to control the fan. Seem like the case for desktop. You cannot control the fan without any hardware modification like fan controller.

The Turbo Boost will boost only when some application requires more power, kind of the switchable graphic. But this should work always. Mostly you notice that when you in game.

 

after you disabled UEFI you have to reinstall Windows.

without easy settings you can not control the keyboard backlight

 

@ultrah
Sh*t, isn't there another way?
Before installing W7 I enabled UEFI and now I can't get rid of it...

@spincel
Tks for the correction, still hangs at extraction, suppose this is the only way to flash?

Well, keys are lit OK which is what I want...

New problem:
Eject and brightness keys don't work anymore.

Just to try I removed Express Cache, wonder how to get it back- or doesn't it really matter with a 256GB SSD?

Anyone?

 

You better reinstall Windows again, so that there is no problem inside it at all. We only need to install the Easy Settings, however, we don't need to actually open it to use it because the software will implement itself as a service to control the backlit, wifi, and other stuff. If you want to modify something, then open the Easy Setting. About the EC, with SSD, I used it for pagefile because my SSD is 128. In your case, 256 is a big one, so you could just ignore or if you want to use it for something else, format it as NTFS.

 

Just ordered a refurb Series 7, along with a Vetex4 and an Intel 6200 to put in it. Looking forward to something much lighter: this Asus is a nice machine but just too heavy and bulky to schlep around all the time. This just looks like a better machine than the HP Envy or the Dell XPS15z (especially the latter).

One question: does she come with the machine?

 

any one know the model # of the LCD/LED screen in the NP700Z5B?
i want to do an ebay check on the screen cost before taking it to a local repair.

i didn;t want to start taking mine apart since i didn;t see any screws...

[also, this suck you can't search threads for info/words! is there a trick?]

 

Evening all. Quick message to introduce myself, unfortunately I won't be here long unless someone can point out that I'm being a complete idiot.

Received my Shiny new Series 7 Notebook today (NP700Z5A-A01UK)

First impressions were Wow!

However I will be returning as I purchased on the understanding that it had a dedicated Radeon 6750 graphics chip. But it does not.

The product description states that It should be installed with the Radeon card but Device manager is Saying Intel HD3000.

Nothing in the BIOS settings that even slightly relate to graphic options.

Catalyst Drivers not installed, no switches, or any other indication that the machine has anything but the I5 chip integrated solution.

It's a major shame because I was really looking forward to owning it. My Laptop is about 5 years old now and is sure showing it's age.

So just a quick heads up really, that some of these aren't being shipped with dedicated graphics solutions.

I've done a little research and Samsung themselves don't recognise that particular product code (NP700Z5A-A01UK) So I have no idea what's going on.

What I ordered was certainly not cheaper than any other Series 7 I looked into.

Anyway, hopefully someone may find this useful, or even better, someone might be able to tell me I'm an idiot and I'm missing something.

Spent a good 90mins researching the forum for a similar post but didn't manage to find anything.

Thanks

Keiran

 

I'm not very familiar with the UK models, where'd you buy it from, is there a product listing page? If they advertised it as having dedicated graphics you should definitely take it up with them.

 

I bought it through a company I have a business account with. They've said they will accept the return no problem. Still I was looking forward to owning it. It's a very good looking piece of kit.

 

So don't settle for a return, tell them you'll exchange this for the right model that you ordered that has the ATI graphics!

 

Something is either missing from the Windows installation or the ATI chip might be broken, but I don't think there is any S7 without an ATI chip anywhere, so if nothing else you should be able to return it and get a working one.

 

hi guys.
Please, do you know where i can buy the 700z4a (15.0 inch model) NP700Z4A - OVERVIEW | SAMSUNG

Is it out of production or something?

 

Hi Keiran. Did you order it from PC World.
I had a look at it tonight and fell in love with it especially with the vat off, but after checking some reviews and your post i amy well hold off.


Have you ran any games on it yet? Is it okay.

I have also noticed that there are 8GB SSD + The 750 GB Hard drive on reviews but no mention of SSD in Pc World.

Let me know.
Cheers
Jed.

 

Don't trust the website that advertise or sell those laptop. Before buying any laptop, you should do a quick search on them to see if they have any reliable information. The reliable source should be the support page of the laptop brands most of the time.

About that model, there is no VGA for AMD listed in its support page, so that means there is no AMD card in that one. You better call the retailer and told them that you need to exchange for the model that has AMD card. This is false advertisement and if they don't want to go to court, they need to exchange for you.

 

the 700z4a was announced by samsung but never produced.

 

I did a quick search for that product code and most sites that I checked don't list the Radeon in the specifications, e.g.:

Samsung 700z CHRONOS NP700Z5A-A01UK
Information on Samsung NP700Z5A-A01UK ? Product properties and detail - PriceRunner UK

While others do, e.g.:

Chronos NP700Z5A-A01UK at idealo.co.uk

Maybe check the relevant web-page of the vendor you purchased from. If it doesn't state the Radeon card as being installed, it's not false advertising.

Are you sure it wasn't cheaper than other models that always include the dedicated GPU?

 

NP700Z5A- SxxUK has dedicated card.
NP700Z5A- AxxUK has no dedicated card.

Naming scheme, people.

 

So, this is is false advertising then?

Chronos NP700Z5A-A01UK at idealo.co.uk

 

I didn't get it from Pc World. I'm sure the one that I had delivered didn't have the SSD either.

I didn't test anything on it as I was returning. It was collected today so i'm still in the market.

Thanks for all the relies though guys.