Samsung 9 Series laptop (ZX310 / 900X3A) unveiled

Today I run speedtest.net on my iMac 27 and I got same speed as Sammy - 5Mbps or 8Mbps down. In the same time, my budget HP laptop reached 20Mbps down. iMac has bad speed but its signal bar is full - and that's why I assumed it has good speed and I didn't compare it with my Sammy.

I have also tried it with my MBP. It also had 5Mbitps.

So did I ask too much to Sammy? Weak wifi is a problem to all aluminum case laptops. My budget HP is a plastic one so it has strong signal.

And now I remember sometimes I couldn't stream 1080p on my iMac. I thought it was our router's problem, but now it seems iMac's problem.

Oh well, either you have weak signal, or you have a less appealing exterior. For lucky ones when the antena leaks out somehow, you can have both.

I don't think there are many with really good wifi reception (e.g. near 300MBps). Some of us who said their sammy had no wifi issue actually quoted speed like 5Mbps, 8Mbps. They didn't notice the issue because the laptop to compare with doesn't have strong wifi signal to begin with.

And BTW, sony announced their new VAIO SA series, which is almost an inch thick. Now I can say no one except Apple can beat Samsung on portability. Too bad I only want a Win 7 now. I may order the black diamond as suggested by previous post. It's on sale at $109 now ( ASUS RT-N56U 802.11a/b/g/n Dual Band Router $109.99 + FS Newegg - Slickdeals.net. Then I can use a Sammy (and all my other Mac products) properly.

 

If anyone who is putting 2 new sticks of ram in wants to sell (or donate ;-) ) the samsung 4gb stick, shoot me a pm.

 

Thanks for the responses - it would be interesting to compare it directly with the Air reception in a variety of settings. I've now found a shopping mall with a strong enough signal that I can actually stay online, but it sure is slow.

One of the things about being in HK is that you can walk into pretty much any computer store and directly compare the Air, Lenovos, Samsung and Sony. After doing that extensively this morning, I'd still like to keep the Sammy, but if it doesn't work out I'll get the X220 and put up with the smaller screen (unless the new Air features a matte screen). Portability for me is a function of weight vs power & screen size; I really don't care about a few tenths of an inch in thickness, or about having a metal body. (The Sony SA is a beautiful and very well built machine, but extremely expensive and with a keyboard I really dislike.)

I'm going to head over to the Samsung center here - apparently it's both sales and tech support - and see if they have others I can compare my wifi to. Depending on their response I may go shopping for an Intel card and a USB antenna.

A few questions:

For anyone who has tried both the 6300 and the 6230 cards: is their any significant difference between their performance in the Sammy? I only use bluetooth at home with a mouse, so using a dongle would be no problem (and a lot better than carrying around an antenna).

I also have a question about initial setup. My machine didn't require W7 validation, and didn't give me the partition setup option, so I'm wondering if it had already been used and returned to the store, though I did select the language. Did others go through these steps?

And finally, the touchpad: I can't find any utility for adjusting sensitivity etc. Is their something I'm missing? I'd like to try adjusting settings; mine sometimes executes a left click when I'm just resting my index finger on the 'button', but haven't clicked it. Doesn't happen on the right side, which is raised a bit higher as someone else reported. (I wish they just left two click buttons; I'd rather have functionality than the current aesthetic fashion.)

 

Great! 6230 comes with support for Widi, do you know if that also works?

 

Don't worry about it, the CPU rating seems to fluctuate for whatever reason - the WEI isn't a very reliable benchmark.

 

I suspect you're correct, and it appears to be with other machines as well.

I've tested some Toshiba's at work here and they get 12-15mb transfer speeds. I'll test the Mac's this afternoon when they get back in the office.

 

While I agree that WEI is not a reliable benchmark, my CPU rating is constantly 6.3

 

I guess any wise owner will stick with those sticks for a possible future warranty purposes.

 

Mine started off between 5.0 & 5.2, now it's constantly at 5.9.

Nothing change (this happened before my RAM upgrade).

 

I have to admit that the new touchpad drivers and/or settings do the thing: my old beloved method to select text by holding a LMB and moving the mouse cursor until the end of the selection doesn't glitch any more!

 

I find WEI reliable (and generally a decent indication if you're comparing different PCs). There are obviously better benchmarking tools.

On my 900X3A, my results are constant with Processor=6.3, Memory=5.9, Graphics=4.6; Gaming graphics=6.0, Primary hard disk=7.5. [This is with no tuning changes and no hardware changes (yet) -- all drivers and Windows patches for Win 7 Pro current.]

 

I find the discrepancies strange, considering I did a fresh reload with all the latest drivers, you would've thought I'd be getting a 6.3 on the CPU too.

But, I'm not going to cry about it. Everything works great for me and I'm happy.

 

Has anyone found a definitive solution to this problem, its driving me crazy! I've tried all the suggestions here (except upgrading to Windows7 Professional) but nothing works. Even covering up the light sensor doesn't stop changes in brightness according to what's displayed on the screen. If you've found a solution please, please let me in on it!

Dave

 

There's a power supply on eBay for $19.99 for the Series 9 that has the correct output specs. Unfortunately, I've already ordered the expensive OEM one from Samsung.

 

I agree the Samsung price is excessive, but the design and weight of the OEM version is vastly superior (at least in my opinion) for portability and travel. Most of my other laptop power supplies are literally bricks in size and weight.

I have an ASUS netbook whose power supply is light in weight, but still has the less advantegeous traditional two piece design.

 

Just picked mine up, and immediately noticed this (even when adaptive brightness was off) And it only happens on battery power.

Here is what I found. Right click on desktop, click on graphics properties.
Under power menu, go to power source "on battery" and uncheck "display power saving technology". I haven't noticed the problem since.

 

It's also the same weight as my 11.6 Acer power supply with similar wattage. The main weight advantage is in the lack of the extra cord, but you do give up flexibility and length without it.

For those interested, the standard power cord from my Acer fit the Samsung adaptor as soon as I shaved off a little plastic from the head, and of course it still fits the Acer perfectly.

 

My visit to the Samsung center was interesting and left me with a good feeling about their service, but finally wasn't very useful. The CS guy was friendly and understanding, and seemed willing to spend as much time with me as I wanted. He took the notebook to the tech guy, who spent about 5 minutes with it and said it seemed to be working normally for that model. I suspect he just connected to their wifi, looked at the number of bars and opened a few web pages he was familiar with. I checked Speedtest, and got ca. 3.7 download connected to their wifi, which of course is adequate. Unfortunately I didn't bring the Acer with me to demonstrate its superior performance, but they didn't doubt what I was saying.

Neither of them had any problem with the idea that the model itself had very poor wifi (possible culprits being the thinness [?] and the metal); their only real concern was whether mine might be defective. They said I could leave it for a week and they would run tests on the components to see if anything was wrong. I probably would have done that, but I'm leaving too soon.

Incidentally, it sells for US $1875 here, compared to the Air 13 at $1250, so I doubt they sell many - though Lenovos actually seem to be the most popular computer.

 

You can't really claim that your laptop is defective.

You're using the word defective in two different ways here. You could be saying:

1. The 9 series laptop that I have is a defective piece. Here we are saying that it is defective in comparison to the other pieces (other 9 series laptops) being sold. Something is wrong with this particular piece.

2. The 9 series is a defective laptop. Here we are not saying that an individual piece is defective in comparison to the other pieces but we are saying that the model itself (9 series) is a defective model. Possibly, in comparison to other models (Apple, etc.)

If you are calling the laptop defective in the second sense (2), I don't think you are entitled to anything from Samsung. They will tell you that "the product is functioning as it is supposed to be functioning."

 

You are absolutely wrong in this assumption and we saw it here many times but we can use the case of the M1330 as the perfect example. The company didnt have a clue that their GPU was getting so hot that it was wreaking havoc in the systems which resulted in things such as the copper mod. At the end of the day it was recognized and many taken care of.

It is not un common for companies to push a product out with exactly this and the mistake is a logical one when testing is in a static environment in a factory where the problem cannot be seen. The problem is the same with all. In my case, I tried a different router which boost my speeds to the max but my other 3 laptops (Acer/IBM/M1330) all perform much better when I pull the distances further.

I took the bottom off while doing a speedtest and showed Sammy how the reception increased and then I even slowly placed it back on and it decreased dramatically. I don't think there is anyone here that cannot do the same given the right testing characteristics. I can state that I cannot do this with the other 3 laptops.

In any case, the fact that a company will not acknowledge it also is very common because to acknowledge without complete testing is negligent. They are testing and watching the response as companies always do because they need to figure out exactly how much this is observed and then assist the cost ratio to correct.

 

Well, it seems like it would really depend on where one is taking the laptop.

If you show the defect to the design engineer who designed the laptop (or some sufficiently high-up official in Samsung) he might be willing to agree that the series is defective.

But if you take it to your local Samsung service center, they don't have the authority to do that. All they can tell you is that your device is functioning as it is supposed to be. You might be able to show them that the speed decreases as you put the lid on slowly but they can't do anything about it.

 

But it's really interesting to note that the reception slows down and speeds up based on the lid being open or closed.

Does this suggest that the defect does not lie in the network adapter?

 

You are right. I swapped mine to Intel 6230 but speed was unchanged. Removing the back cover I found the speed doubled.

 

Wow. This really contradicts most of the information that I gathered from the first 100 pages or so of this thread.

Phil1980 and a bunch of other members all reported increased wifi reception by switching the network adapter to Intel 6300 / 6230 / 6200.

 

Because their laptops are not defective. And that's why I returned mine yet I will try another.

There're also some with good reception (20Mbps) with stock wifi adaptor.

 

So, in your laptop, with the back cover removed, is there any difference between the broadcom and intel adapters?

 

Not much difference because both exceeded my data limit (20Mbps down/5 up).

6230 has a good bluetooth range though, with back cover on.

With back cover on, mine couldn't reach 20Mbps 3 feet away from the router. It's always half the speed, occasionally reached 15Mbps. I'd say it's unstable. I don't know why, but I guessed it's to do with how the antena is connected to the body. I'm sure some are doing well in their original state. I saw a perfect sample in store. Speed was 20Mbps on speedtest.net.

 

Hi eSanto,

I've tried that but it makes absolutely no difference on my laptop! Not wishing to be funny but are you sure that works and you're on battery power ?

Try setting your screen brightness to a single bar using Fn+F2 (to minimise battery drain) then set your desktop to a dark image, if it's not already. Then open an application with a large proportion of white window, e.g. Windows Explorer. Don't you see the backlight change when you then minimise and then restore the Explorer window?

Cheers
Dave

 

Actually I wasn't claiming or saying anything; I went in hope of finding out the answer to precisely that question, whether it's a problem with my unit or the Series 9 in general. I hoped to compare to one or several units myself, but still haven't been able to do that. If mine is defective, I'll replace it or get it fixed, but if the notebook just has weak wifi, then it's a matter of deciding whether that's a compromise you can live with it.

I suspect AndroidDeer is correct, that some units are indeed defective owing to a problem with the antenna connections, but that the Series 9 in general has weaker wifi than other notebooks.

fwiw, in today's wifi cafe I was getting consistent speeds of 18 Mbs download and upload, which I'm definitely happy with. But I didn't have anything else to compare it to, and what that means about my particular unit I don't know.

 

Here I go again. I am sure that the wireless information is going to slow the sales of what I consider a great computer notebook for traveling. So far I have taken wireless connection tests ( using speakeasy speed tests) at my home, public library and senior center the speeds were fine for me. I live in the foothills of Northern Calif. so our speeds are mostly 3mbps so when I read about 15 or 20 mbps it does not apply to us. Because I have found this computer to have most all the features I want and also realizing that somewhere when we travel I might have wireless range problems I bought a Alfa wireless adapter with 2 antennas for $30 & boy the range is great. I don't have to change cards or back covers & with my performance I might not ever have to use it. I have read in this thread about this unit being such a costly investment but come on there are lots of notebooks in the $3000 dollar range that I could buy if I wanted to but the features are not to me as appealing as this sammy. Just my 2 cents worth jimjoh

 

Have you visited the Intel graphics Control Panel? There are two power conservation options which may cause the effect you are describing. See below:



John

 

OK, I opened my NP900X1A-A01US (11.6") yesterday.
- Replaced the wifi card with Intel 6230 (easy)
- Upgraded from 64GB to 128GB SSD (easy)
- Memory is NOT VISIBLE! I even removed the battery (easy), to see if it is underneath but it is not. The memory is either impossible to get to or onboard :-(. At the moment, memory is indeed not upgradeable.

Windows Recovery Help...
- The Samsung came with a Windows Recovery DVD. Everything loads fine but when I start the Windows install process, I get generic no device drivers were found. How do I got about? Any ideas?

"A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing. If you have a driver floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB flash drive, please insert it now.

Note: If the Windows installation media is in the CD/DVD drive, you can safely remove it for this step"


"No device drivers were found. Make sure that the installation media contains the correct drivers, and then click OK."

I get this when booting from DVD drive or bootable usb, also tried both usb ports just in case it was USB 3.0 issue.

OK, giving up for now on reinstalling from DVD/USB. I just did a recovery with Acronis True Image (I made an image when I first bought the laptop). All up and running.

 

John,

Thanks for the suggestion. I've unchecked the 'Display Power Saving Technology' option with no effect. Your screenshot shows an option to select 'Automatic Display Brightness' which I don't have. What version of Intel HD driver are you using ?

Dave

 

Did you see both side of the motherboard? On my HP envy13 1GB of ram is on the board and the ram slot in on the side of the motherboard that the keyboard is on and not on the bottom side of the motherboard.

Maybe the reason ram is not upgradable is because there is no slot and ram is built into the board. Oh well wish I could had upgrade to 4gb.

 

Heeeelllooooo! What laptop do you have? The memory is the simplest to get at.

 

It is the 11.6 version, memory is not exposed... I unscreweed everything I could. I think it is onboard. I will confirm with cpuz once I can get the sytem backup up.

 

Wow it could be on board which would mean no upgrade!!! What a loss!

 

That's on a Lenovo T420s. It's possible that the options shown on the Intel control panel depend on the features enabled in the BIOS.

I would suggest that we start a new thread for the 11.6" model in order to reduce the potential for confusion and help get all the discussion into one place.

John

 

any news on the 256gb model? or any way to upgrade the current one's hdd? 128gb just seems really small to me, not to mention recovery probably takes a chunk out of it.

 

The service manual seems to suggest that the unit can use a 1.8" SSD drive, which already comes in a 256 GB size. The manual indicates that a different ribbon cable would have to used. Not sure about how the unit would be bolted down.

 

Series9User

Did you get the service manual in PDF format? On the SamsungParts website I can only find paper or CD options. I'm in the UK so waiting for a week+, not to mention the extra cost of shipping, I'd rather download it (no problem paying though from a legitimate website)

Dave

 

Please help with bluetooth!

I installed Intel Centrino 6230. WiFi is working but I can't get bluetooth working. It finds the bluetooth but gets the "!" and error code 43.

I went back through most of the posts but I couldn't find mention of anyone installing the driver software from Intel. Was that not necessary? There are two:
1. Intel® PROSet/Wireless Bluetooth Software for Windows 7 64-Bit
2. Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for Windows 7 64-Bit

Thanks!

 

I spent about an hour and I guess my biggest mistake was forgetting to remove all the broadcam software and drivers before swapping the card with the Intel 6230.

The only solution to get bluetooth working was to remove the broadcom & Intel drivers/software except fort the video card and installing the file from the link below.

http://devid.info/download/20672/16

I know it's for HP but it actually installed the Intel 6230 wifi and bluetooth. I do get (3) bluetooth devices with exclamation but bluetooth works now. I'm not going to waste time trying to figure it out as I have tried every driver available from Intel without results and I have no need for bluetooth. Maybe it's related to the old broadcam drivers and because I didn't take the time to clean the registry to remove old entries.

 

@latinracer, Thanks for what you'd done with the Intel Centrino 6230 install. Really want to have a working Bluetooth solution.

I have now tried uninstalling Intel Bluetooth, Intel Wireless, and Broadcom Wireless. Rebooted. Then installed Intel Wireless (which works), and Intel Bluetooth (which does not).

I have done many tests (just using speedtest.net) with the Intel Centrino vs. Broadcom wireless. I have found that the WiFi range (based on my distant router) AND strength of each WiFi signal are pretty much the same! With the back of the notebook off, they both perform slightly better.

So I have two questions out there:
1. How to get Bluetooth working 100% on Intel Centrino 6230?
2. I know there's been many posts on it but how are people seeing any difference between the Broadcom and the Centrino 6230?

Thanks

 

Bought the CD, which is PDF, but is very large- lots of high res photos and diagrams

 

Turkishmafia,

I've already tried that but it makes no difference I feel like throwing this laptop at the wall! £1000+ laptop and it suffers from a basic issue like this. Wish I'd checked it out at the shop running on batteries. Looks like its going back...

Dave

 

Decisions...Decisions... I leave for Computex (15 hour flight) at 7pm tonight. Do I return the system before I leave in hopes of a more successful next round or keep it to which my time expires for the return while in Taipei next week?

Hate this one....Love the laptop.

 

Seems that the constantly changing screen brightness is an Intel HD driver issue. I've seen that same issue reported by Lenovo T410 users in another forum (it apparently uses the Intel HD chip). It seems that Lenovo acknowledged the issue and updated the driver to fix it.

I might get lucky then...

 

Dave,

I know it doesn't really help you but I tried what turkishmafia had said (about how turning 'adaptive brightness' off and that seemed to work for me too. I have been running on battery for a while, running many different programs, opening dark and light images, etc. and nothing in my brightness (i.e. no adaptive brightness) is changing.