Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus - NP940X3G

They may have needed to redesign to accommodate the larger battery. I really hope they didn't go to one fan. The two fan design is very good at dissipating heat, though they didn't do it on the 15" because of the RAM slots as you suggest.

 

Looks like 9-26 for the i7 4500u version, although for an extra 400 dollars I think ill just deal with the 4gb ram version. I also need a laptop before 9-22 so wouldn't work out for me anyway. Hopefully, ill have a ab9+ before then or might end up with an s7 if it isn't out by then. If waiting though the ux301la looks pretty nice.

ShopBLT.com: Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus I7-4500u 8gb 128gb 13.3in Qhd Windows 8 3yr Warranty!

 

looks like the IFA has shown quite alot of new laptops that compete this! Yoga 2 Pro has same resolution as this.
And for cheaper too!
Nice to see competition so soon, looks like prices could get down

 

Are they seriously going to charge 400+ more for i7 and 4 more gb RAM?! They can't even add a 256gb SSD? Seriously seems like the laptop division at Samsung is more of a niche hobby versus something they actually give a crap about succeeding...

 

Let's see what amazon lists it at as these low-tier vendors tend to charge on the high side. It would be hard to stomach anything more than $200 (which is what this site charges to go to W8Pro btw). The 3yr warranty may be the other $200 though.

 

Lenovo idea pad yoga 2 3200x1800 screen res. Haswell processor, similar form factor to prior. 3lb weight. Releasing in October starting at 1099!!! No 3mo wait for price and availability! Samsung, are you paying attention? Your trump card just got yanked right out from under you and for a much more competitive price no less. Thoughts fellas?

 

Thank god, we needed some competition. I'm very interested in the Vaio Fit multi-filp.

 

I'm going to assume upgrading to i7 and 8gb of ram will put it at about the base price of the ab9+. Well I'm all for waiting several weeks then.

 

I have a feeling that all high PPI display laptops will be released at the same time, probably once they get green light from Microsoft.

 

Yoga 2 Pro has now gotten me excited, Samsung I will not be purchasing this pretentious 4gb vaporhardware for this ridiculous price.

 

It actually has a semi-reasonable price as well. It's ridiculous that Samsung/Acer/Sony are charging $1300 or $1400 for ultrabooks with the bare minimum specs.

 

The current Yoga's memory isn't soldered in (like the AB9+) and can hold 2 SSDs.

 

Way to go Sammy, turning this into a Yoga 2 Pro thread lol.

Seriously though, the specs u chose for the first release of your new line, the continued delays, and lack of any info have deterred several possible customers.

Now with Lenovo coming out with a comparable display and (supposedly) a lower price, you're bound to lose even more.
"Not to mention" the Zenbook probably getting more airtime the longer you wait.

I personally moved on to an S7 which I actually liked (except for placement of keys). Unfortunately, I got a lemon n it wouldn't turn on after 2 weeks. I was going to order a replacement but they're all sold out from the Microsoft Store (could've been you Sammy). Then I hear about the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, and still nothing new about the AB9+, so I'm going to hold out for the Y2P.

Having said all that, there's still no solid info from Samsung, so specs, pricing, and availability may come out and actually surprise/excite people. But in the meantime, I think you're losing consumers.

/rant

Sent from a different Galaxy using Tapatalk 2.

 

Unfortunately build issues are all too common with Acer (Asus as well), until that no longer happens they can't charge those premiums.

Not sure how bad the heat/fan (aka Sony kryptonite) issues are, but the Pro13 is on sale for $1330 for i7, 8GB. Seems like a much better deal than the AB9+, just saying...

 

Where did you see that sale? I don't know guys, now I am truly torn again. I was set on my decision to go with the AB9+ for 1200.00 but now with the Lenovo Yoga 2 pro announcement I just don't know. I really liked the feel of the original yoga initially, I just wasn't that impressed with the screen or the Ivy bridge processor. Now, the form factor looks improved and the screen is on par with the AB9+ on paper. Couple that with Samsung's persistent arrogance and overall snubbing of their collective noses at us throughout this whole process and you could make a case for driving my wife crazy (we are currently sharing her Macbook air 2013) and holding out a bit longer.

 

IFA is still ongoing and Asus has also revealed some info regarding their Zenbook Infinity. So, there may be a chance that Samsung will release more info regarding this laptop as well.

 

Does anyone think it is possible to replace the AB9+`s screen with a matte one, ideally that of the AB9? I've seen similar services for the Macbook Air. Will probably be difficult because of the difference in resolution, but perhaps there still is a way, by replacing cables etc..... just a thought. There is such a lack of matte notebooks nowadays, it might be worth offering this...
cf. e.g. Macbook Repairs | Macbook Upgrades
the new yoga 2 pro looks kind of cool. here's the comparison (I hope I've got it right) :
9+: 319.6 x 222.4 x 13.6mm, 1,39kg (sic)
yoga 2p: 330 x 220 x 15.5, 1,39kg (sic)
9 X3E: 313.8 x 218.5 x 12.9, 1.16kg
UX301: 325 x 226 x 15.5 mm, 1,38 kg (zenbook infinity)

 

I tried the Pro 13 out at the Microsoft store, and I found the build quality lacking. And yeah, the throttling issue seems to be pretty bad as well.

Well, it'll be shipping soon (hopefully, maybe) and at least you didn't get gouged. I ordered one at retail price and had to pay tax because I'm in California. Yikes. If I didn't have a giant balance on my Newegg gift card, I wouldn't have given it a second look.

 

Samsung is smoking some serious bud. 4GB, 128 SSD? $1400 plus tax. LMAO!!

 

NO reason to get a AB9+ unless you are a rez whoare but now everyone is coming out with beyond HD screens. Samsung doesn't allow us to build our own units. A damn shame....I've been going back and forth between a Vaio Pro 13 and S7. I may go ahead and get the S7 and "demo" it for 28 days. Hopefully we can get more information on the Yoga 2. Seems like it has some better configurations and the pricing, keyboard is unbeatable. I just wish Lenovo had a bit more style.

 

There is a flaw with the keyboard, the back space button is too small. I had the lenovo yoga 13 last year but the backspace button was too small and my finger would miss it an dot would drive me crazy! They made it slightly larger this year, but other than that it was a great keyboard.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Specs-wise, most of these ultrabooks are pretty comparable (all with some tradeoffs), but to be honest and superficial of me, I am waiting for the AB9+ purely because of style.

 

Good point. The AB9+ despite its unnecessary flaws has a form factor that exudes style. That is one critical point regarding the Yoga. It's functional, comfortable and well designed. It's just missing that panache that the Zenbook (probably will be stupid expensive as well but atleast they are smart enough to offer options such as 1080p)and AB9+ have. It is certainly not the design if the AB9+ that I take issue with. It's more Samsungs incredibly irritating business practices and the blatant shortcuts they seem to be taking with their "premium" line.

 

Nice to see that lenovo added a backlit keyboard on the yoga 2 and also a kb that disappears below the surface when you put it in tablet mode. At least that what it seems to say.

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro Hands-On « Ultrabook News and the Ultrabook Database

 

The kb doesn't disappear on the Y2P. That's the Thinkpad Yoga.

Sent from a different Galaxy using Tapatalk 2.

 

You can currently customize the Pro 13 for that on Sony.com

But Mixtli is probably right, after reading some reviews on amazon, there may be a reason they're on sale. Peoples say the fan can get very loud and many have had wifi issues (though the S9 was not without these either). Not sure about build quality, some people don't like the flex of carbon fiber and I think it has some pointy edges that don't feel good on your lap. Since unhappy customers are more likely to post, it might be worth checking the Pro's thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...l-vaio-pro-13-owners-lounge-svp13-2013-a.html

 

I agree this thread is a lot about design junkies, like myself. And computer anorexia junkies. Dito.

I think one could also argue the Plus looks somewhat Nineties (thinking of car design), and the Yoga2P much more modern (think "sleek industrial design"). I also think the 9+, like the 9, looks a bit "put together" with regards to the screen. The screen looks like it were a separate piece that was glued to the hinges. So I disagree about the critisim of the Yoga2P, I think the design is good, and the keyboard also has the advantage of dedicated pg up/down buttons. I don't think BS is too small. I used DEL all the time and it's smaller and in more distance. quoting myself, the yoga is also not mentionably worse spec wise:

Samsung 9+: 319.6 x 222.4 x 13.6mm, 1,39kg (sic)
Yoga 2p: 330 x 220 x 15.5, 1,39kg (sic) (here's the thread, a bit hard-to-find: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ideapad-essential/731070-yoga-2-pro-release-thread-3.html )
old yoga: 333.4 x 224.8 x 16.9, 1.55 kg (just for comparison) (quoting grisjuan: poor Realtek wireless card and loud fans.)
X1 Carbon. 331 x 226 x 18.85; 1.335 kg (just for comparison) (##! check http://forum.notebookreview.com/thinkpad-edge-x1-x100e-x120e-sl-l/728355-x1-carbon-successor-2.html for a deleted *leak* on a new X)
9 X3E: 313.8 x 218.5 x 12.9, 1.16kg
UX301: 325 x 226 x 15.5 mm, 1,38 kg (zenbook infinity; check out the video posted to this tread for design.)
Vaio Fit 13: 325.4 mm x 223.4 mm x 17.9 mm (14.3-17,9); ~1,2kg (I doubt they did something about SonyNoiseTM in the Fit... and the Fit's design... I don't know, I think the design suffers a lot from the flip idea.)
[wedged (zen, x1) or baroque (9, 9+) designs not accounted for.]
I find it interesting how the yoga2pro does NOT look slimmer than the old one, on these photos: Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro: Basically a Perfect Upgrade

What's bothering me a bit is the coarse plastic of the base unit, which looks good, but might not feel good. OTOH I hardly touch this anyway, as I just noticed. One should however keep an eye (ear) on noise emissions, see noise emission on Review Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 Ultrabook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews for critisicm of the old yoga. Should this be fixed, the yoga2p might be a very interesting alternative to the 9+, IMHO.

It seems to be getting more and more obvious, looking at IFA, that matte screens are getting very rare thanks to the touch-in-every-notebook idiocy. I wonder if there are very-high quality matte foils that are applied in a professional dust-free and micrometer-accurate setting, with no millimeter spare anywhere and no bubbleproblems /uneven problems etc. I found this (German): LCD Notebook Laptop Display Ersatzdisplay Originaldisplay von TDComponents

check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hr7hk-39ZI , interesting part staring 2:30 <- display foil tech.

I asked them about what they could to for the AB9+ , Yoga 2 Pro, and the Infinity. :thumbsup:

One problem seems to exist when the glass covering's distance to the display is too much, then a foil does not really help. Also, one review (German, http://www.aptgetupdate.de/2012/06/30/getestet-entspiegelungs-laminierung-von-tdcomponents/ ) mentioned they though s.th. was fine grainy, when in fact it was the foil that madeit look fine grainy. (they still gave a 9/10 rating). However, think of retina, such fine grain problems might get more problematic, in fact I wonder if matte displays actually exist for 1800p @13.3"

 

You're right, I forgot there are two different versions now.

 

considering the 'too pricey' discussion -- expect to pay some additional 200 USD/EUR for the touch-screen only (and added weight, for that matter..)
the Sony Vaio Pro 13 i5 Haswell matte sells in Poland for 3999 PLN (~930 EUR), while the version with the touch panel is listed for 700 PLN more (~ 1100 EUR total, some 170 EUR more), both with 128GB SSD

EDIT: just for comparison, the upgrade from the 128GB i5 IB version of the X3E to the 256/i7 version seems to be around 1050 PLN = ~245 EUR

both figures quite striking when compared with the pricing of Haswell models

 

FYI, there is an interview on youtube (t3n TV) where the reporter asks the (German-speaking) ASUS guy about availabilty, and the asus rep answers, definitely Q4, and adds, early Q4.

 

After all the delays on this B9+ I am now looking towards a super-speced UX301.. yes i know it will cost probably 2499 or maybe even more...... but I like options, i'll just spend as much as I can to get something descent that I like.

The i7-4558U is definately looking like a sweet CPU option, but I wonder how that will effect the possible options when configuring a laptop. I mean, this CPU ( i7-4558U /w Iris 5100) vs the 4400 on the other 15W parts is a big jump.. 2.8 GHz / 3.3 GHz turbo vs 1.6-1.8 GHz / 3 GHz turbo. I don't see why not it won't go in harmony with 8GB and 512GB SSD RAID0 but I wonder just how much more heat and how drastic the battery life would be affected by that particular spec.

Hopefully this isn't another tease that doesn't get released this year or at all. Wonder how bad any of these ultrabooks will throttle too. I bet all of them are going to get so darn warm.

 

I prefer the 15w cpu for battery life like in the 9B+. These are suppose to be ultraportables. A high voltage cpu will kill the battery life and increase heat.

 

Speaking of Lenovo. Why is nobody mentioning the X240? Weights about the same like AB9+ but comes with a lot of premium business features like WWAN, Smart Card, Finger Print Reader and will have customizable configurations. Oh and it sports a reasonable Full HD IPS panel.

 

Heat, and consequent fan noise, is likely to be the issue.

At full CPU load my newer X4C with i7 CPU is noticeably hotter and noisier (it gets to over 90C and starts to throttle) than the old X4C with the slower i5 CPU. Both CPUs have the same nominal 17W power rating but the i7 evidently goes beyond the power envelope while the i5 sits comfortably inside (and struggles to get past 80C). I dread to think about the fan noise arising from CPU with higher power rating in a thin chassis (although if my X4C's fan can almost handle 17W then two could nearly handle 35W).

John

 

so would you say the increase in speed in every tasks justifies the added heat and fan noise for you or would you rather stay with the i5 in your laptop? (leaving the question of price and SSD aside)

 

That's a very good question! Ignoring the relatively minor throttling, the sustained CPU speed boost (from 2.4GHz to 2.9GHz) of about 20% is difficult to notice without running benchmarks. One doesn't notice whether a piece of processing finishes in 4 minutes instead of 5 minutes. Perhaps I should try disabling turboboost and let the i7 cruise at a cooler 2.5GHz. (Just tried reducing the maximum processor state but it made no difference and I can't see an option in the BIOS either).

I had expected that the i7 would run faster but without the extra heat being a 6 months younger CPU where the production process should be improved. That's the way it was a few CPU generations back. However, I'm wondering whether Intel now fix the speed according to the price paid. The i7 CPU came along with the 512GB SSD that I needed. It seems to be a mixed blessing.

John

 

You may want to contact Samsung for a warranty repair. Perhaps the thermal compound wasn't applied correctly or it's just a defective cpu/cooling unit. Regardless, these ulvs can still churn out some heat, as evidenced by the Pro 13.

 

That's a good point about repasting the CPU. I've got some thermal compound at home and I'll remount the heatsink next time I have the back off. Maybe my assumption about the CPU using more power is wrong (HWiNFO gives some info about CPU power consumption but I've never understood how it gets that info).

Anyway, we've gone a lot off-topic for this thread except for the general issue that a potent CPU in a thin chassis can give potential cooling problems. The twin fan arrange of many of the 13" Series 9s could handle this.

John

 

Heads up, NP940X3G-K01US is listed for $1235 again on Amazon. I am still holding out for the 8GB, but those who are happy with 4GB shoudl probably bite now.


Amazon.com: Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3G-K01US 13.3-Inch Laptop: Electronics

 

That's more like it. Meanwhile, Newegg has 'em out of stock. Hopefully, this doesn't affect my preorder as I'm gonna be pissed if they don't ship mine on time.

 

I'm wondering if this is going to be a permanent price drop to compete with the yoga pro 2. Too bad I'm waiting on a refund otherwise I just might of pre-ordered it.

 

Alot of new videos of the AB9+ on youtube from IFA, and all of them have that awful text on the palmrest. Komplett.se have removed the computer from their site, but I have not heard a word about my pre-order. I´m thonking about bailing out, and maybe wait to get more on how/if you can remove the text. AND I´m getting the new Note 10.1, so I will be able to get my gatget-fix anyway!

 

They don't bill you until it's shipped.

 

It went down again in the last 10 minutes:

$1,199.83

 

Man I wish Samsung would actually upgrade all their ativ book 9 lineup and put in the new Haswell processor, that's the main reason that I'm holding out and not buying any of the current Ativ Book 9 laptops.

 

In this youtube video at 0m30s you can see this particular B9+ has a Toshiba SSD. The model number appears to be THNSNH128G8NT.

The Toshiba storage website has no hits for this, but google finds many non-English websites that may have info. Can anyone make sense of the google hits for this SSD model number?

 

Seems like they are feeling the heat from Lenovo which offers the exact same specs but at a much lower price! This will teach Samsung not to overcharge for their laptops with base-model specs!

 

Not to be rude, but that conclusion makes absolutely no sense. Amazon does this all the time with all their products.

 

Woah they lowered the price again on amazon! Maybe this is a good sign that they'll actually have them in stock 2 days from now! Instead of being like the amazon uk fiasco

Oh and toshiba SSD? Aren't those slower than samsung SSDs? http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/25/psa-apple-using-slower-ssds-in-some-macbook-air-models-video/ hmmm

 

SSDs have moved on a bit since 2011.

However, I should point out that the 128GB Samsung mSATA SSD (left) is slower than the 512GB Samsung mSATA SSD (right) so you need to compare SSDs of the same capacity.

View attachment 101630

The Book 9+ uses an M.2 format SSD but I would expect the performance to be similar.

John