Samsung 9 Series laptop (ZX310 / 900X3A) unveiled

Hey guys. If you think the synaptics touchpad scrolling and gestures dont work well, try this program.

It was developed for the previous gen synaptics clickpad, but I think it will make the two finger scrolling work better (Pixel level scrolling and better recognition) as well as give you left/right/up/down 3 finger flick.

Plus 2 and 3 finger tap for right and middle click.

It worked wonders for the Envy crew and figure it might help you guys out also. Give it a try and maybe let me know because my friend is considering the Series 9.

envyTouchPad.exe

 

as for the lack of vga, there exists hdmi -> vga and usb -> vga dongles.
There were a few usb2.0 -> vga dongles that worked decently ... I'm sure with usb3.0, newer usb -> vga dongles will work flawlessly.

this is only a speculation though. a quick google search shows that the company "sumix" is looking to release a usb3.0 to vga adapter.

 

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1) As you noted, a micro USB dongle can easily fix any wifi shortcomings for about $15 (just checked on Amazon). I know this is not ideal, but for most people it would be rarely needed, just leave in in the bag for odd occasions where wifi signal is weak
2) Personally I never need this for my business purposes, so I don't see it as an issue at all. VGA is ancient technology, but USB to VGA dongles are available and seem to work well (I saw one for $45)
3) Win 7 Pro version is available, slightly different model number for $50 more, but apparently you went for the home version.

 

Got the Air Mini-Usb adapter, I would suggest downloading the drivers prior to installing it. It works well, but I walked around my house and saw some deadspots. My solutions is the Hawking hrwen wireless booster.

 

Bought mine a couple of days ago from local BB. Loving it so far. WiFi seems weak but not really an issue for me.

The laptop has the Broadcom BCM943225HMB chip which is single-band. I am wondering if it's possible to switch it out with BCM943224HMB (dual-band) and it it will positively affect WiFi performance.

 

Sure. But I didn't buy an ultraportable laptop just to carry a pack of additional devices around. VGA is legacy but unfortunately it is currently de facto standard in most places. My business is not to tell my customers to update their projectors, my job is to give them my presentation. In addition, we don't have the Pro model available here in Europe.

Anyway, my only point was that VGA, good Wifi and business OS should be included in the box if Samsung were serious about business customers.

 

Makes sense, but this is a direct MBA competitor, not really marketed as a true business machine. In fact, for business purposes it is not a valid competitor to the X220, which has all the connections you could want, including a dock.

Of course, you lose all the style points with the a Lenovo, which is a great machine but not good for entertainment (no HDMI, for example) and impressing in coffee shops. In fact, I also considered the X220, so I can see why you would go that route, but the issues you mentioned weren't priorities for me, while features such as a backlit keyboard were important.

The one missing feature (available on the X220) that I REALLY wanted on the Samsung was a fingerprint reader, but in the end decided to sacrifice that. The long life X220 battery slice would have been fantastic as well, for those long flights to the US and Europe...(FWIW, I live in Singapore, had the 9 series shipped from US to here).

 

ad 1: I ordered one of these USB dongles (with a big antenna) and I agree, I will throw it into my bag and will use it on those rare occasions (just one more item, considering that my bag already holds a bunch of gadgets, plus chargers, and even a Linksys WRT54GL router).

ad 3: I thought it would be great to have the XP mode available, just in case, until I read that it requires an additional 1 GB of RAM and an additional 15 GB of available hard disk space.

The thing about the A02 version I wonder about is WiMax. I don't understand the implications of not having. Is this something I will regret not having down the road? I will be using this laptop mostly in the US and the EU ....

 

I have XP mode installed on my Dell E6410 and use it occasionally for 64-bit incompatible programs. My XP mode uses about 6GB of HDD space (but the installed programs are quite small). 15GB of disk space is quite generous. Also, XP mode only needs the extra RAM when it is running.

John

 

vmware workstation is what I use and it's perfect for running any OS I want.

 

Hm, just recently purchase the Samsung 9 from Costco but have a weird problem. The screen seems to be adapting levels of brightness depending on the image thats displayed. For example, if a dark image is displayed, the screen automatically dims down the backlight, and if a white image is displayed, it increases. It almost seems to be doing this to get true "blacks" and minimize light bleed, but at the same time it gets extremely annoying. Its most noticeable if I have my brightness turned all the way down.

The first thing I thought was adaptive brightness, where the brightness levels auto adjust to ambient lighting levels. But I've turned this setting off completely, and it still does it.

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Has anyone found a solution to this issue? This only happens when you are not connected to power, but the changes are frequent and noticeable enough to drive me crazy. When watching videos at fullscreen, the screen brightness adjusts with the overall "color" of the scene at hand. This means that the screen brightness adjust several times a minute when watching any type of video. This is a definite deal-breaker if I cannot get this fixed.

 

I hope Samsung will create an update for this issue. Cannot believe this is a hardware problem. I tried disabling the Light Sensor, but that didn't help. I agree that this is a very annoying problem ...

 

I'm seriously considering this laptop but haven't found anything about the laptop support hardware virtualization or TPM. I believe it supports TPM since my company requires bitlocker but I was hoping to make sure. Hardware virtualization is also needed for running vmware images. Thanks!

 

The A02 version in the US has the TPM chip ...

 

Thanks. Anyone know about hardware virtualization?

 

i don't see this issue anymore after i formatted my ssd and installed win 64bit professional

 

I was thinking a reformat/clean install might fix it. Now I know for sure. Thanks!

Is everything else working 100% after the clean install? Also, did you just download all the drivers you need from Samsung's website?? Or did you back up and use the ones from the recovery partition?

 

hey guys this question is towards series 9 owners. I'm thinking of buying the 13 in for the use of watching hd movies/anime, surfing the net, and light gaming, would it be a good buy?

 

I don't know about gaming - which I don't do, but for watching movies and surfing the Web it is excellent. The screen is truly amazing!

 

Define 'Light Gaming'?

I'll be posting FPS for StarCraft 2 when my laptop arrives this weekend.

 

What's all your windows mark rating for the cpu?
I got only 5.2 but in many site they are getting 6.3 for their cpu mark. For other score its pretty in par +- 0.1-0.2 only.
Why is the cpu differance so high?

Here are some with 6.3
http://notebookspec.com/web/?p=68966&page=3

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Samsung-900X3A-Subnotebook.50378.0.html

 

little l4d, maplestory, and sc2. if those don't work then i still have my m11x.

@nagyg thanks, really considering it now haha

 

Left4Dead is confirmed to play smoothly even when configured at higher graphical settings.

 

I bought the netgear range extender for my house and the Series 9 is now on par with my wireless devices... its too bad how terrible it is with weak wifi

 

Not sure if this has already been posted, but here's a how-to for the 8G RAM upgrade. Requires some disassembly.

Upgrade RAM on the Samsung Series 9 Laptop | Hedonistica

 

I have been reading through a lot of the pages and it seems quite a few people are having issues with the wifi connections. I just purchased the Samsung 900X3A-A02 from Provantage for $1637 and now I'm worried .

I guess I'll know in a couple of days when it arrives. There is a lot of things I really like about the notebook, I'd hate to have to return it.

Anyone know if this ram would be ok http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231294
or should I go with Samsung brand? http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php...0438d10811d705dbef07613afdf98a0cb32318953b7f8

 

i bought mine (4gb) from superbiiz, they have a 15% coupon now.

 

Thanks for the info. RABBIT15 = 15% = $76.48 before tax for 8gb, nice.

 

anybody knows where i can get the international adapter plug for the power adapter. mine just came with the US version plug.

 

it is a power saving feature of intel hd graphics. you can turn it off from intel hd settings.

 

when are they coming out with the 11"?? I thought I saw April, no?

 

dynamism.com has an estimated ship date of April 27th, not sure of other sellers

 

looking forward to your post SZ-zer. If sc2 is playable on this thing then I will definitely consider purchasing one.

 

I have been in the market for an ultraportable for about 6 months. The only thing I every really considered was a Sony Z but decided against it for a couple of reasons, and I am glad I did. The 9 Series appears to be the machine for me, but I have a few questions I'd like input on.

Lack of 256 GB SSD. This is the reason I have not bought it yet. Samsung's pre-release documentation on their site indicated that there would be 128/256 GB SSD options with an optional i7 as well. I was extremely disappointed to see that the 13.3" launched with only the 128 GB drive. I could probably get by on the 128 GB drive for a while, but I want this thing to be useful through the 3 year warranty, and I'm going to need a 256 GB drive for that to happen. I would consider buying one now with the intent of swapping in a 256 down the road when they are cheaper, but I don't want to void the warranty by opening this thing up. Does anybody have any idea if a 256 GB version will ever be released? When? I'm baffled at how they didn't launch a 256 GB version given the MB Air has that option.

TPM. I have not been able to find any official documentation to support that this thing has a TPM chip, but I have seen one user post here suggesting it does. Lack of TPM is not a deal breaker, but it's high on my list. Can somebody please confirm for me that the TPM actually shows up in the BIOS?

Weak WIFI. I have read the complains on the weak WIFI performance, which could be a fundamental flaw for a machine like this. Is there anybody that DOESN'T have issues with WIFI performance?

Drop-down ports. How solid are the moving parts here? Like any moving part on a laptop, I have a concerns over these becoming loose.

I just need a thin and light ultraportable with a SSD for everyday computing tasks. I'm looking to be sold on this, but the money has to be well spent.

 

has there been any gaming review yet for this laptop?

* i know people who bought this probably dont game at all, but hey, there's always somebody that just play games on these kind of notebook *

anyway, just wanted to see how the HD3000 in RL is compared to the benchmark

thanks

 

those that complain about the display driver still not turning off adaptive brightness go in display control settings:

samsung optimized (change plan settings)
then change advanced power settings
scroll down to display / enable adaptive brightness
make sure its off..

 

Awful. Ive only owned mine for two weeks now and the headphone jack is somewhat broken already. Sound only comes in through my left headphone unless I press down on the plug to find "the sweet spot" where it then comes in on both, up until I let go then goes back to one side. I was worried about this since day one of owning it as they felt very cheaply mounted, like snap on plastic accessories. I love everything else about this laptop, but this is a deal breaker and i'm gonna have to return it.

 

Lame - but this is what I figured. Guess I'm just going to have to hold out for something else. Given that I refuse to buy an Apple product, I can't even find something to settle on at this point.

 

Nevermind figured it out: Function + F1.

Does anyone know if there is an option to disable Fast Start?
The option to change "When I close the lid" is greyed out.

Thanks.

 

Has anyone used a USB Air Card with this laptop. The dummies at Samsung forgot to mention that when using the laptop on a flat surface, a flash drive bottoms out.

Anyone setup the Widi/Wimax yet? I was hoping that this might be an alternative to plugging in an aircard.

Thanks.

 

"Weak WIFI. I have read the complains on the weak WIFI performance, which could be a fundamental flaw for a machine like this. Is there anybody that DOESN'T have issues with WIFI performance?

Drop-down ports. How solid are the moving parts here? Like any moving part on a laptop, I have a concerns over these becoming loose."

I have had absolutely no problems with wifi, either at home or outside at wifi hotspots. Speed has been good in all situations thus far, although I have not yet had the chance to test it in hotels. Perhaps it is an issue for those living in very large homes with a weak router, but for most people I think the wifi would be fine...I was also concerned after I saw the comments here and was looking into buying a USB micro dongle, but it has not been necessary so far.

The drop down ports are made of plastic, but the overall feel is solid to me. Hard to say how they would hold up over a couple years use.

One issue that bothers me is the warranty, which states that the three year warranty period applies only if the laptop is used "exclusively" within the US, otherwise it's a one year warranty and servicing could take a long time. That is a load of crap for a laptop that is targeted to be highly mobile -- I travel internationally most of the time, but obviously any servicing would need to be done in the US otherwise the warranty period would drop to one year.

Another downside is the speakers, which sound tinny in comparison to the main competitor, the MBA (my wife has a new MBA, so I can compare directly). MBA also definitely feels more solidly built, without the plastic creaks sometimes occur on the Samsung.

The screen is good, but I would not call it fantastic. Contrast level is not as good as the MBA, but the brightness can go to eye-searing levels.

I had a tough time deciding between the Series 9 and MBA, and it came down to the MBA's dated processor and lack of a backlit keyboard...plus, not wanting to get sucked into Steve's World if I can avoid it. If the MBA is updated in June as rumoured, it may be a good alternative for many that are OS agnostic.

 

Stupid question: How do I play an HD movie on this laptop? I downloaded a movie from iTunes and it would not allow me to play the HD version saying the machine was not HDCP compliant.

 

I've had this for a week now and I'll share my thoughts :

First, someone asked how to disable fast start, Click FN F1 and control center will popup, you'll see it there.

I'll start by saying that I've used a Sony Z series for the last 2 years and thought it was one of the best laptops out there. I also have a Mac Book Air 13 that I use as well.

Overall, I'm a big fan of the Samsung but there is one major issue that will probably make me return it back to Costco.

The screen is nice, style, backlit keyboard is great, it's fast and wakes up quick. I haven't tried any games on it and mostly use it for work/email/web.

Yes, the wifi is weaker than average. Also, the lack of 5ghz N is a major oversight in my opinion. I can't imagine how bad the 5ghz N range would be with the already subpar wifi reception.

Laptop doesnt get too hot.

Battery life seems to be fine. I haven't really done any tests or kept track actual time but it's better than my Sony Z and not as good as the MBA.

There's no power indicator LED on the outside. When the screen is closed, you dont know the power status. I left my laptop on all night (on battery) because I forgot to put it to sleep and didnt know it was left on.

The edges of the laptop are sharp. I really didnt like that on the MBA as it bothered my palms since I rest my hands on the edge. Its fine for typing but if I'm surfing the web and using the trackpad extensively, it uncomfortable.

My last point, the trackpad has been TERRIBLE!!!! There are times I want to throw this laptop across the room because it's so finicky. I'll try to explain. First, I consider the MBA to have the best trackpad hardware and software I've seen to date. My Sony Z was nothing fancy but it worked fine. The Sammy is either too sensitive or too unresponsive. When I click the bottom for a left click, it will often move the mouse cursor so I'll click the wrong or click on nothing. There are also times when it just doesnt respond, I'll be scrolling and it'll just stop for a split second. Then there are times when I'll try to select a paragraph and it'll just stop selecting as i highlight(as if i released the left clikc button). The two finger scroll works ok but isn't smooth like the MBA. I could go on with my issues but wont. I've played with the settings and still cant find a way to make it work. At this point, I just want a normal trackpad. I really hope that there is a driver update that makes this work better for me. I realize that many of you may not have a single problem but it's been a PITA for me.

Bottom Line: I'll keep this if they release an update, otherwise I'll return in and buy the new Sony Z.

Questions: Can someone confirm that this does NOT have Widi? I bought the netgear tv adapter but havent opened it yet since it seems that it doesnt have it. Someone mentioned that the A02 version might have it? Can someone confirm?

 

Isn't the wifi 802.11bg/n 2x2(MIMO) should have 5ghz N.

 

I've owned this laptop for two weeks now. I had the wifi issues many people talk about here but that went away after the first couple of days.

Any idea where I can get a sleeve for this? Do sleeves made for the 13" MBA fit the 9 series?

 

I bought this sleeve Amazon.com: COM-MLA13-BLK: Manila-13 Leather Laptop Sleeve - for MacBook Air 13" and MacbookPro 13" by Civilian Lab: Electronics
It got a lot of positive reviews and i think it fit very well to the computer

 

or buy this lenovo x1

 

This is my first attempt of a "Review" (It's more of a disorganized train of thoughts and feelings regarding the Samsung Series 9). I've never followed or understood the benchmark numbers. I mean, what does a 3DMark06 score of 4,412 mean to you? It doesn't to me . So no numbers / benchmarks. I'll also be comparing this laptop to my old Sony Vaio Z, although it's really not a fair comparison. Now, without further delay....

Samsung Series 9
128 SSD
i5-2537M processor
4 gig of RAM
Windows 7 Home Premium

I had it for a few days now, and here are my thoughts.

CHASIS:
WOW. If there is one word to describe the chasis, it's Sexy. I mean, it's the best looking machine out there (even when compared to the Sony Vaio line). The external case is solid. Beautiful brushed metal texture. Yes, it is prone to fingerprints, however. After a few days, there are now blurry smudges across the palm rest and cover that are quite apparent. In my opinion, most back colored laptops will have this problem.

Now, let me address the "cheap plastic" that some people pointed out. Personally, I like the plastic. It adds a nice contrast to the brushed metal. I wouldn't even use the word 'plastic', even though it is. It's more like the 'Metallic Black' seen on a black BMW. Tiny sparkley particles can be seen. It doesn't make the laptop feel cheap at all. The only part that seems 'cheap' is the power button. Looks like a paperclip melted onto the chasis. It would have perfered if it was an actual button. There is a small to moderate amount of give towards the center of the keyboard that is NOT apparent when typing normally. But if you press down hard, it does give.

Now the chasis is amazingly slim. The curves are beautiful... kind of makes it look aerodynamic. When placed side by side to my Vaio, the Vaio looks like a brick. I really, really like the exposed metal edges.

The two drop down ports on the side tastefully conceals the ports when not in use. Like other users, the extra 'moving parts' does make me worry about it breaking off or not closing after some use. But until someone's ports actually falls off and describes the amount of force applied or mechanism of damage, I cannot comment on its realiability. They do feel like solid components.

PERFORMANCE:
Very fast. I think with the combination of an SSD drive and a CPU capable of up to 2.0ghz, this machine is second to none. It is true that the computer boots up from sleep in about 4 sec. It is true that the a cold startup takes only 22 secs (timed it myself). Everything is "nippy". Starting Microsoft Word and Excel is a snap. Even when compared to my old Sony Vaio Z (spinning harddrive), everything seems a lot brisker. Again, it's probably because of the SSD.

Now - StarCraft 2. I only play SC2. No Call of Duty, Crysis...etc. So I only have FPS for StarCraft 2.

The game is unplayable with Medium Shaders. Don't even try. I tried... and also tried to convince myself that i was possible, but no. :-(. With medium settings / shaders, the multiplayer game started at 15 FPS.

On the lowest settings (everything on low), the game IS *mostly* playable in the native resolution.

Let me explain.
On 1v1, the game starts at 40-50 FPS.
After a few building are constructed and you have a few units, the game drops to 35-40 FPS.
During mid game, the game hovers around 30 FPS.
When a big battle occurs, the game stalls on an average of 20-25 FPS. The lowest I've seen was 17 FPS.

Now, I would argue that during a 30 minute game, the average FPS only dips below 25 FPS (my threshold of playability) towards the late game when big battles occur. The lag is noticable. However, I would say this only happens in 5 to 10 minutes of the game.

With 4v4, the game starts at 35-40 FPS.
After the early game (from mid-game onwards), the FPS hovers in the 20s-30 FPS.
Any type of battle dips the FPS to around 20s.

So is the game playable? Yes, for the most part. 4v4 is a little laggy for me since ALL scirmishes have perceptable lag. 1v1 works well (again, lag is only perceivable at the end during BIG battles). I tried playing at a lower resolution, but FPS were comparable.

Other:
Battery - Comfortable 5 hours. However, this is with the brightness near the lower end. The screen is just WAAAY too bright at a coffee shop. I mean, you turn the baby all the way up, you're just asking for unwanted attention. So on the power save mode, with low brightness, WIFI, and music in the background, you can easily exceed 5 hours.

WIFI - Word has it that the WIFI reception is weak. Yes, it's true. When compared to my Vaio Z, the Z has a lot more wifi hot spots it picks up than the Samsung Series 9. I don't have the luxury of testing the speed at 100 feet like some of you (wish'd i had an apartment that large). Download speeds are comparable in a 500 feet apartment to my Vaio Z. The only time I see this weak reception to be a problem is if you need to pick up signal in an Airport, where the signal varies a lot, or at Starbucks. But at home, it's fine in an average home. (Does everyone have huge homes here?!)

MOUSE / TRACK PAD - The only CON. I hate the mouse pad. Don't get me wrong, the functionality and size are perfect. I love how you can use three fingers to close all windows immediately (allows me to close my windows before the boss walks in). The zooming function is 'o.k.'. Still not used to it. I sometimes inadvertently 'zoom' when i have two fingures on it (clicking and highlighting texts). BUT, THE TEXTURE TAKES OFF DRY SKIN ON YOUR FINGERS! So everytime i use the track pad, bits and pieces of my skin would come off, albeit, a very, very small amount. But then, I'll feel little particles on it. VERY anoying. Brushing them away is only temporary. Perhaps I just have dry skin? Maybe i rub too hard.

KEYBOARD BACKLIGHT - Sexy. Just enough light. I can work on my computer at night in bed.

i'll add more later perhaps. Any questions or things you want me to point out?

 

It is unfortunate that people are complaining about the clickpad, but that's acceptable. The issue really isn't the hardware, it's the trackpad drivers that Synaptics provides.

Why do I know this?

The scrolling is 100% better on linux distros vs windows. It's disappointing that the experience of a laptop like this is marred by Windows/Synaptics drivers.

Anyway, if anyone is tech savvy enough and doesn't NEED Windows, I would suggest moving to a user-friendly linux distro, or perhaps even doing an iATKOS install. (no guarantee's that an iATKOS install works. I've been meaning to try this, but haven't had the time.)

 

Anybody want to see the inside of an A02US model?