A couple more shots.
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Attached Files:
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By the way, the back is not plastic. It appears to be metal.
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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.. -
I too, am having problems turing the adaptive brightness off. I can turn it off and it remains off if the laptop is plugged in (on A/C power). However, when under battery power, the adaptive brightness is still on. I've double checked this setting under the battery power option and made sure that it's off and the selection is selected. -
Hi, can anyone tell me what the max output resolution is? I have a Dell u3011 at home and want to know if this can pump out the required 2560x1600 - can't seem to find this information anywhere...
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Click on Windows Icon to bring up the "Search programs and files" window and enter: Intel, which should find the Intel Control Center. Open the program and double click "Intel HD Graphics", select "Advanced Mode", then "Power", change "Power Source" to "On battery" and uncheck "Display Power Saving Technology", save and exit. -
what about sound in this notebook?
is it better than vaio z? i'm very dissapointed with vaio Z's extremely weak speakers -
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I have used the A03US and then the A02US for a couple of weeks now, and have the following observations:
1. No laptop is perfect, this one included. Laptops are all about compromise, e.g., weight versus power. If you want to find fault with this laptop, you will find it. Overall, I find its features to come closer to what I am looking for than anything else I have seen.
2. What am I looking for? Thin and light to carry with me. Not a Mac OS. Power to browse the web, word process, PowerPoint, edit photos and maybe watch a movie every now and then. A screen reasonably big and bright enough to see what I am doing. A battery that will last from point A to point B on a trip. The NP900X3A fits the bill.
3. I have not had much of a problem with WiFi reception, although I did notice once that the signal was affected by my contact with the frame of the laptop. I have a USB WiFi adaptor as back up, and frankly my company gives me a Verizon air card for trips.
4. The touchpad works okay for me. I must admit I am not a power user of the touchpad's extra features. Frankly again, I carry a mini bluetooth mouse and prefer it whenever I am doing much more than web browsing. Curiously, the A03US touchpad did accumulate dry skin off the finger tip (like an emory board), but the A02US does not- its touchpad surface is smoother.
5. I find the laptop speedy and responsive, and looks fantastic. Keyboard is comfortable and the backlighting is really helpful. It boots up incredibly fast and I love the deep sleep feature that comes back up in less than 5 seconds. In my experience, the battery is long lasting, well over 5 hours. On a recent work trip I worked on the laptop using work processing and with WiFi for well over 6 hours before plugging in the power adaptor.
6. Sure, the SSD drive size could be bigger, although I do not plan to store lots of data on the drive or install a ton of apps. I bought a cheap USB 3.0 external drive for storing everything I need. But I will love the opportunity to double the SSD size sometime down the road. I did install the extra 4 gb of RAM.
7. A couple of minor nits. First, you cannot leave the Micro SD card in the laptop, unless you leave open the pull-down flap covering the inputs. I don't think leaving it open is a good idea. Second, it does not appear you can turn off the laptop except through Windows shut down. Usually not a problem, but annoying if you have to boot up Windows just to turn off the power.
All in all I really like this laptop. -
Can someone with a fast micro sd benchmark the speed for me? I want to see what speed class to buy. Still waiting on my laptop.
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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?
The A02US model supports TPM and I can confirm it shows up in the BIOS. -
sorry about this but I cant find a comparison between the A02 vs A03. What is the difference?
Thanks and sorry if I am being dumb and this already covered off! -
The A02US is about $50 more, but comes with Windows 7 Pro, WiMaxx ready, and TPM. On some sites it reportedly has WiDi (Microsoft Wireless Display), but I believe that WiDi requires an Intel processor with Intel HD Graphics (whihc this laptop does) and Intel Centrino Wireless (which this laptop does not- it has Broadcom wireless), so I doubt WiDi is a possibility.
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thanks for that... so why would anybody buy the other model? -
Hi,
Does anyone know how the Kensington Lock Port on the right side at the back works?
What lock do you have to buy?
It does not look like a standard kensington lock will fit in either of the two small holes. -
It was available first
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anyone got it from tigerdirect? about to bite the bullet...
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I'm looking for a soft case for my baby- er... Samsung Series 9.
I want something thin. Not so much to prevent damages from drops, but to prevent scuff marks when it's jostled around in my bag. My laptop already developed some marks on the lid presumably from the constant rubbing of the zipper when I'm walking around.
Any recs?
Thanks! -
So I am wondering if you have come across any incompatibilities/glitches using ubuntu 11.04 and what they possibly were.
How about suspend? sound? skype?..... and anything that you would consider important to a Linux guy
looking forward to your response -
I wonder if the orginal Wi-Fi card can be replaced on the 900X3A?
I have a Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 / PCIe Half-Mini) i wish to use (yes, i also have the extra antenna).
Anyone who knows?
Thx
UPDATE: *SOLVED*
Check this post: http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/545538-samsung-9-series-laptop-zx310-900x3a-unveiled-80.html#post7441193 -
Currently in stock: 900X3A-A02: $1656.09: 20 in stock
Not in stock: 900X3A-A03: $1,608.32
Looks like Tigerdirect is a bit cheaper.
I was very happy with their service, packing, & shipping, very professional. I will definitely shop with them again. -
thanks drathaar, last night i found A02 in stock at amazon, let's hope it doesn't take too much time to arrive
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I have an issue with my 9 Series whereby the power plug (the jack that plugs into the laptop) is very loose. There is no "snap" that would typically occur when a charger is connected, and the connection is so loose that the jack can easily wiggle and become loose, thereby inadvertently disconnecting from power. The laptop is only a week old, so I am concerned it could get worse, although it is already troublesome. I have never had a laptop that has so much "play" in the connection to the power jack.
Anyone else have this issue? I am trying to determine if this is a defective unit, or just poor design. -
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Got mine today, and it's going back tomorrow. I guess I care about the wifi issues more than most-- my $475 Asus UL20A gets 100% signal strength and 20 mbps download speeds. The Samsung gets 30% and 5 mbps. In the same spot. And hours of tweaking router/card settings made not a bit of difference. I'm feeling a little crabby about it at the moment-- you'd think for that much money, they could make something that works out of the box.
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John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator
The poor WiFi under certain conditions seems to be one of the key drawbacks of this notebook. I had previously postulated that the metal lid may be the cause of the problem. However, I recently got my hands on a Toshiba R700 which also has an all-metal lid (and Intel 6200 wireless) and have tested it at the far end of my house. The signal strength is 3 to 4 bars, depending on orientation, whereas my Dell E4300 (which has a plastic section in the lid over the antenna) shows 4 bars so the metal lid shouldn't drop the signal strength by more than one bar.
Did anyone try a different WiFi card? Unfortunately, Samsung haven't provided a 3rd antenna so the Intel 6300 is not an option.
John -
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Anyone know which software or driver i have to install to get the FN keys working again?
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John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator
John -
Did any of the owners contact samsung regarding the WIFI issue? if yes / what was their feedback?
I was ready to purchase this great notebook but been getting more and more negative reviews about this issue - it also seems a hardware problem that cant be rectified through driver updates.
I would also assume that the fact that the wireless card is not Intel means that WIDI is not an option - please reconfirm.
I might just go with the Vaio SB... -
All I can say, and I think I speak for many here, is that I have had ZERO Wifi problems, and trust me I have been looking for them. I have used the laptop with multiple routers, in my Singapore home and my London home, at Starbucks and other coffee shops with no issues whatsoever. Speedtest.net shows similar speed as my previous Viao, and connection is more stable than my HP HDX. I just now ran another speedtest vs my wife's Macbook Air, and results were also similar (Series 9 was slightly faster, about 20 feet from router)
I have no problem streaming videos or any other high bandwidth task, in any room of my homes, although neither is huge (both are about 1000 sq ft condos). Thus, from a practical standpoint, I see no issue at all with the Wifi.
So, while I have no doubt that some are having problems, there could perhaps be specific issues that cause it (home size, router compatibility, etc.)...
Do I find the Wifi strength great? No, it is probably about average, but it is very stable and connects very quickly, unlike my high end HP.
For those in the US that are very concerned about the issue, probably the best idea would be to simply buy from Costco or another vendor that has a good return policy...I purchased mine from Costco and had it shipped to Singapore specifically because there is pretty much no such thing as a "return" there -- defective items must be repaired through manufacturer's warranty. -
Could this be because of a specific TYPE of signal? Rather than the receiver itself (b vs. g...etc.)
And where can you test your connection speed? People post 5mbps ...etc. How do you find out? -
If you go to speedtest.net, or internet frog, you can check your internet connection speed, it will show downloads and uploads mbps. These are the tests I was running on two different laptops (Samsung and Asus) side by side, getting markedly different results. I started testing because I noticed that it was taking considerably longer for pages to load, and for me to download files. I had the connection issues at home and at work, so two different routers.
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@Series9 owners
How come my lower tray - battery plugged-in icon displays; not charging at 80% or should i say it stops at 80% charging?
Hope F/W updates should fix this thing. WIFI signal is almost the some with my old HP Pavilion notebook. -
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I still wandering why all the series 9 i test in the shop is getting 6.3 for cpu rating from windows while i getting only 5.2-5.4. anyone know why? What score are you all getting in the processor rating?
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As for Wi-Fi, I see no significant difference in the page loads at the farthest point from my router. (I go from 5 bars to 2-3 bars.) Maybe it is because I only have a g router, however. I also changed a couple of settings in the Samsung's wi-fi configuration. -
- I too, am getting around a 5.2 on my CPU. I wonder how others get 6.3? Perhaps the 5.2 is only off of 1 CPU? Or it's not "turbo boosted"?
- What settings did you change on your laptop for the WIFI? My only knowledge is the "on / off" button. -
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Fixing slow WIFI speed.
I may have found the solution to the Samsung Series 9 'weak' WIFI signal problem. I have replicated the experiment, and this solution works for me.
But first, what I tested:
- I thought this could have been a 'firewall' or 'anti-virus' issue. Turing these functions off did not work.
- I thought this was a problem with the distance from the wireless router. The speed is the same (for me) at 1 foot and 30 feet.
- Thought this was a problem with my ISP, but the speeds varied immensely when i was connected via LAN vs. WIFI.
Baseline:
Connected to LAN, my upload and download speeds were the same at 6 MBPS (using both Speedtest.net and internetfrog.com). With WIFI, my download speed dropped to 1 MBPS at 1 foot and 30 feet.
SOLUTION:
After much tweaking, I found out that if I set my router (NETGEAR) to accept ONLY the 'g' signal (and disable the a / b signals), the WIFI speed normalized (went from 1 mbps to 6 mbps).
Turning back the a / b signals in my router resulted in very slow signal. Throughout the test, I always had 5 bars. My frequency was set to '1'.
Try this solution. I'm back to downloading youtube videos / movies at regular high speedsGimme reps if it works!
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I am still waiting my my 11.6 and I plan to switching over to an Intel 6200 wifi card. -
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i have an ASUS RT-N16 wireless N router with custom TOMATO firmware and till now have no issues with WIFI yet.
i think it might be a combination of lot of things which is causing the wifi issue, will be really difficult to pinpoint where the real issue is till someone replaces the inbuilt wifi card to something else. -
nr2007 - I suspect that the weakness has to do with interference with a / b signals. If you just have 'N', you probably have just bypassed all the problems here.
It would be interesting to see what signals owners use and whether or not they have problems, since it seems to affect a certain population -
Laptop Internal Aerial Antenna U.Fl plug connector -Electrically Isolated -easy installation no need to open the Base or LCD OxfordTEC.co.uk
I ordered it for my wifi upgrade (Intel 6300) on my M11x and it works great! I now get up to 450Mbps in short range with my new Linksys router (E4200).
The nice thing about this cable is that "The WAEISO3 antennae is flexible enough to be installed inside the mini-pci slot (in contrast to the antennae leads that go installed behind the LCD screen, NO Laptop DISASSEMBLY required with this type."
Go for it... -
For anyone who's interested, here is a pic where the bottom of the laptop is removed: http://blog.thecompanyofhedonists.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/guts-full.jpg
More here: Upgrade RAM on the Samsung Series 9 Laptop | Hedonistica
Pretty much info in the pics for upgraders...
I looks like the Intel Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 / PCIe Half-Mini) with an additional antenna should'nt be a upgrade-problem on the 900X3A...
Samsung 9 Series laptop (ZX310 / 900X3A) unveiled
Discussion in 'Samsung' started by SoundsGood, Jan 5, 2011.