Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus - NP940X3G

No chance for that whatsoever. But if we are lucky the SSD is as upgradeable as in the Series 9 models.

 

no idea, i'll find out when I put it in... although I don't have a wireless ac router yet, but if it is detected properly and n works I am going to get one. I don't think the ram will be upgradable unless your really good with surface mount soldiering and can find the chips hahaha.

 

I think the previous Series 9 models use ball-grid array (BGA) ICs for the RAM chips - there is no way you are soldering these by hand.

 

I'm torn between the mba and waiting. I also can't find the ab9+ anywhere for U. S.

 

Any news on a Haswell version of the 15 inch Samsung series 9 ?

I am desperately waiting for it. Currently using a old Dell with 1366x768 screen, bad Intel IGP 460M and bad 2-hour battery life.

Currently really considering buying a NP900X4D for about 800 euro's, but the Haswell version (if/when released) will most likely be a much better choice.

I don't want the 13 inch version, way too small.

 

I have the router (Netgear R6300) but have been holding off on the card.

 

Microsoft store has it.

 

ntfs compression works pretty well, I compressed the grid 2 folder in steam and went from 9.97GB to 7.4GB, it is slightly slower launching initially but no difference when playing it. I think it might be good for apps / files that you don't use frequently and take up a lot of space. Also, 4k videos look AMAZING on this screen. When you guys get one check out this video on youtube with original resolution:

Barcelona in 4K resolution - Barcelona en 4K video - YouTube

Also, I hadn't used the onboard audio much before today, speakers are way clearer than I was expecting and since they kind of point out to each side, they give a wider stereo effect than I was expecting. I don't think i'll ever buy another laptop with a resolution below 3200x1800.

 

In addition the second generation S9 (until recently) also used Dual Die Package (DDP) RAM which runs as 2x2GB. Fortunately, from Kitejump's info it sounds like they have returned to these, probably necessary to power that screen res. And yes, there's no way you're upgrading yourself, you'd be hard pressed to find them let alone not destroy the board in the process. But the 8GB model should be available shortly, if you have $$$$.

 

sounds like a bunch of people are about to receive theirs.

 

Thanks. How's there refund policy though? Amazon usually gives me a complete refund for minor things and that's why I almost never use anyone else.

Edit: went to go watch elysium at the theater and a mac pro fall 2013 ad came up. The universe is trying to tell me something guys, or mac ads are just everywhere now a day.

 

Odd.

Tonight Amazon now says the AB9+ is " Available through 3rd party sellers only" and the one seller has it priced nearly $300 above list.
It almost appears that Amazon took it off their website because of all the inventory issues.

 

It's slightly off topic for this thread, but there is still zero info about the future of the 15". It might get dropped completely or might appear with a FHD display. It may also put on weight and thickness. There's speculation here and here. I suggest you post any further questions in the latter thread.

You can do a lot worse than get an X4D at a good price (but you probably need to budget for upgrading the SSD) then you can wait for Haswell prices to drop (if a new model appears) or skip Haswell completely. Given the 15" has a big battery, getting slightly longer run time from Haswell isn't a major issue. I decided to alleviate the uncertainty by replacing my 2012 X4C with the 2013 model with better specs.

John

 

What about the fan when you play that in full screen? Even with my MacBook Pro Retina 15" with i7 and 8GB of RAM the fan kicks in

 

I received mine today and have to say that I'm quite impressed. The screen, trackpad, touch screen, and overall design are awesome. The fan does kick in at times but not bothersome. Speakers are good too.

I've been looking for an ultrabook for the last 3-4 months. I bought the Acer S7 but had to return it as the trackpad was horrible. I bought the Sony Pro but also had to return it do to the wifi hanging up every 15 minutes. Also, both the S7 and Pro had sharp uncomfortable edges.

The Samaung AB 9 + totally blows competition away.

 

That's what i was hoping for. I am just worried about the CPU and Ram

 

How is the speed ? I think 4GB of Ram has given a few of us pause. How about the internet connection? Solid and stable?

 

Is the wifi range good? Also, how is the battery life like?

 

When I started it up this morning and it was cold, I looped through the video on the 4k setting, full screen, and watched the fan through the vent. The fan didn't spin up until the 2nd time through at 3:13, and when I switched back to this window to type my response, the fan turned off again. Playing more 4k videos after, it spins up but stays on the low setting. If I play a game like grid 2 or render a video it spins up to high and stays there.

 

Is the whole color gamut criticism from pcpro true?

 

not sure, I don't have any monitor calibrating tools, but it looks great to me. I am probably the wrong person to ask though, hopefully some other people will get theirs soon and they can chime in.

Also, sometimes the touch pad scrolling isn't the smoothest in IE, it might be some kind of software issue though because the touch screen is always extremely responsive and scrolls slightly smoother than the two finger touch scrolling. It is by far the smoothest two finger scrolling I have ever used in windows, but the touch screen is slightly smoother. The difference would be best described in a video, but I don't think you could notice it unless viewing the video at 60fps as it really is a minor thing. The two finger touch is great and extremely responsive, but if your moving at a steady medium pace across the touch pad and across the screen, the way it is animated is slightly smoother on the touch screen.

 

Could anyone test their GPU on those shiny new AB9+ by running 3D Mark 11? Here is the link to the free download:
Download 3DMark 11 - MajorGeeks

Also, found a fresh review of this laptop:
http://laptops.reviewed.com/content/samsung-ativ-book-9-plus-review

 

I have a AB9 (NP900x3e-a01us) side-by-side with the AB9+ (NP940x3g-k01us), and I have a couple of comments about the comparison. I'll have more when I have more time with the new machine, but I'm off to go see Ohio State play Cal very soon.

The AB9+ has the trackpad centered side-to-side on the palmrest, while the AB9 is lined up with the spacebar, so much of the AB9+ trackpad is also under the right ALT key. I will evaluate this over time.
I think both USB ports in the AB9+ are USB3, but I have not confirmed.
The power jack on the AB9+ is very wobbly for some reason, and it is very tight and secure on the AB9
The AB9+ power supply is a bit longer and noticeably heaver than that on the AB9.
The AB9+ hinge is reversed from the AB9. On the AB9, the hinge endpoints on the outside are attached to the screen, while on the AB9+, they are on the base.
The hinge on the AB9+ has a strange feel to it, not solid and tight like the AB9. But I do like the AB9+ opening all the way up and the locking point at 120 deg or so makes for almost no screen wobble when using touch.
The SAMSUNG lettering on the outside of the lid is much larger on the AB9+. At first glance, I like the more understated look on the AB9.
The brightness sensor on the AB9+ is in the camera, as with the MBA. On the AB9, it is on the base, next to the power led.
The SD card slot is on the left with the AB9+ and on the right with the AB9.
The pads on the bottom side of the base are larger and elongated on the AB9+, while they are just round on the AB9.
The overall weight difference is noticeable, but only marginally for me so far.

After more use, I will be back with more thoughts and some pics.

 

Why does this review sound like a commercial w/ just a few negative comments thrown in to try and make us believe it is legit?

 

Those of you that already have your AB9+, have you found anything to contradict in this review. I am receiving mine on Monday so I will reserve judgement. At 1200.00 bucks though I feel that I made a very wise choice and I can't wait to open up this bad boy.

 

Maybe the reviewer was a bit enthusiastic? Haha it sure sold me on getting one though. If only I had my money when it dropped to 1200

 

Generic VGA video card benchmark result - Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4200U CPU @ 1.60GHz,SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. NP940X3G-K01US

ran the test while on battery but don't think that would matter.

 

Thank you, 890 points is actually the highest score i have seen for a Haswell generation integrated GPU and confirms the dual-channel usage.
Scores from other machines for comparision:

Ativ Book 9 900X3E with i7: 600 points
Vaio Pro 13 with 8GB RAM (dual-channel): 826 points
Vaio Pro 13 with 4GB RAM (singe-channel): 636 points
MacBook Pro 13 with Retina (i5): 620 points

 

Seems very impressive, but still concerned about the RAM and SSD...

 

Interesting, so this beats the MBP Pro 13 Retina i5 in 3dmark. Thanks for posting those other scores, the 3dmark report didn't really list much to compare with.

 

refer to Amazon:Is 4GB the Max Capacity or could it be expanded to 8GB?
the RAM is onboard (soldered), so whichever model you buy can't be upgraded. I don't know yet, but it's possible that the SSD might be possible to upgrade though.

damn...........

 

Its like that with 99% of all ultrabooks (minimize the size)

 

I can confirm some of these 3DMark scores:

AB9+ NP940X3G-K01US (i5 Haswell) = 908
AB9 NP900X3E-A02US (i7 Ivy Bridge) = 608

 

I like what I am reading and almost bought my AB9+ this morning....got to the last "purchase now" screen and thought I would pose one more question:

Is there any reason to wait to buy the AB9+ until Windows 8.1 is officially released and perhaps even factory loaded into the computer?

Thoughts?

 

I don't think so. You'll probably want the latest drivers when you do update, but it should be straight forward. I'm sure others on the thread will be able to provide tips if need be. Some people may have already tried the RTM, I'm going to wait till Oct to give W8 another shot. Now if they were to include the W8.1 media, that might be useful, but it doesn't look like the AB9+ comes with reinstall media? I really hate this policy.

 

I'm surprised. The main target with Haswell was to be more power efficient, am I wrong? At least in the MacBooks the i5 Ivy Bridge and the i5 Haswell had about the same performance, but the Haswell did a better job with the battery.
And here the i5 should perform better than the (previous) i7? That would be great!

 

excuse my ignorance...but is a higher score better or worse?

 

Higher is better for the PCMark and 3DMark benchmarks.

John

 

I doubt that's true. I think there are more ultrabooks that can be upgraded, than can't.

 

I hope so. Any news?

But when the 4 GB model is selling good they have no need to upgrade.

I will write them again.

 

The main reason for the performance difference you see in these examples is the usage of dual-channel RAM for the integrated CPU not the newer CPU generation.

 

There is roughly a 0% chance that this has upgradeable ram.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 4

 

Well, my Amazon Delivery Estimate has now inexplicably changed to September 19th with one day shipping instead of the 17th. I am pretty angry with Samsung for the delays but way more angry with Amazon considering how long ago I preordered it and others who preordered more than 10 days later are already receiving their orders. Good for those who are getting it and I am happy for them, but that is simply poor business practice to leave early preorders unfulfilled. I am absolutely opening this up as soon as I get it but I guess it is going to be a few extra days before I can post any pictures for you guys.

 

Thanks.
What's your opinion, will 4GB of RAM be enough?
I'm not talking about gaming, but like 2 chrome windows with each about 20 tabs open, plus outlook and a video with vlc (not fullscreen).

 

Thank you, I think that's an important question for buyers of 4GB systems in general (add an AntiVirus to these programs). More precisely, does anyone notice *slowdown* (while browsing, in particular) in this scenario, attributed to RAM becoming scarce.
This, btw., is also a great question for Series 9 (not plus) owners. Any feedback appreciated.
On my current 2 GB system, I have seen this pattern in Chrome:
45 tabs: "Chrome still quite usable, noticeable but very minor impact on system performance." ;
60 tabs: "*Chrome no longer productively usable, very strong impact on overall system performance*"
FYI, I monitored latencies in
(a) website loading (9 points)
(b) typing in notepad (3 points)
(c) mouse movement hick-ups (3 pt)
(d) impact on operating in Windows Explorer (3)
(e) switching of browser tabs (latency till active) (3)
(f) pagedown in website: latency (3)
(g) scrolling by pressing cursror on scroll bar "block", then moving (3)

(I made sure that 2 yt tabs were always loaded (but video not running), for best typical representation, and only AdBlock was active as extension.)
->Testing Chrome, Opera 17, Opera 12, Firefox:
Results for 60 tabs:
Chrome almost unusably slow.
Opera 12 simply doesn't load web pages any more, in many instances, but is still quick. Still unusable because of the former.
Firefox and Opera 17 both show OK perfomance, all in all a tie between these two.
Results for 45 tabs: All browsers perform fine, no huge differences. Opera 17 wins, FF close second, then Chrome and Opera 12. (However, one does notice the impact of 45 tabs. FF uses least RAM. (I did a MemInfo "memo defrag" and waited one minute, then measured).))
Opera 12 (Presto) seems very fast with fewer than 30 tabs, possibly fastest. <- I did not measure this impression so far, though. However, due to lack of maintenance, website errors become more and more frequent, so there's no real gain no matter what.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-ATIV-13-3-inch-Touchscreen-Notebook/dp/B00DM6E62W

7 in stock in Amazon uk

got a feeling this is going to go quick but at £1299 I still won't fork out for a 4GB RAM 128GB SSD....

 

I just noticed that as well. Usual UK pricing: Priced in Pounds the same as priced in dollars in the USA.

John

 

Is there any reason why people in the UK couldn't purchase the laptop from Amazon's US site for much cheaper? I once used Amazon's UK site to buy a book that was only sold in UK, and it worked perfectly (though shipping was somewhat expensive).

 

Unless I am not looking at the right listing..Amazon no longer is selling the AB9+...only through third party sellers at a much higher price.

I ordered mine through the MS Store yesterday @ $1399

 

I tested 40 tabs in Firefox + Outlook + VLC video playback (720p) on my current 4 GB laptop and everything worked fine. Actually, it didn't even surpass more than 2.6 GB usage according to the task manager, so you are good to go.