Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus - NP940X3G

For wPrime first try the right click >Run as Administrator. If that doesn't work then try version 1.57.

I've just checked my temperatures running a Youtube video along with everything else that's already open and the temperature in my NP900X4C rose from 51C to 57C while the video was playing. However, your computer might have to work harder given that there are four times as many pixels on the display. However, you also have twice as many cooling fans.

Right-click on the video while it is running, select Settings and make sure that the Hardware Acceleration is enabled.

John

 

When playing the video the temperature for my laptop is around 50. The laptop has been on for almost two hours, I have been browsing and been on Skype for about 40minutes. The average temperature is 49.

What I have understood by monitoring HWinfo is that while temperature is lower than 60 everything is good. once it goes higher than 60 the fans start working on high speed and that's when it gets crazy sometimes.

What's the noise of your fan when they are working on high speed? are they easily audible from a distance such as 10feet?

 

Those temperatures look OK, perhaps unnecessarily low.

The single fan on my NP900X4C only becomes very noticeable once the CPU temperature exceeds 70C and it is audible, but not noisy once the temperature exceeds 60C. Running wPrime with 1 thread results in a stable temperature just below 70C.

It seems that Samsung have become excessively conservative with the fan rules for your notebook with the fans running too fast once the 60C trigger point has been passed. This is fixable in a BIOS update. Which BIOS version are you running?

John

 

The bios version is "American Megatrends Inc. P03ACJ.111.140123.dg" and the date is 01/23/2014.

 

Run the BIOS Update program from here to check if that is the latest.

If it is up-to-date then I think you need to report your problem to Samsung support. The basic problem is excessive fan noise once the CPU temperature exceeds 60C.

John

 

I think there's really something wrong with my laptop. In the afternoon I had some IE tab open and I was on Skype. CPU usage was around 35-40% but the temperature was around 78. I'm thinking what will happen if I do something heavy with CPU usage of around 70-80%. I have to return this one too.

 

I agree. There's something wrong, probably with the cooling system. Perhaps one fan not working or badly fitted heat sink.

Let Samsung fix it.

John

 

Anyone update Windows 8.1 Update 1 yet? If so, did you encounter any problems with laptop afterwards?

 

Unless I am very mistaken, the NP940X3G still has yellow issue even after the patch from Samsung. This symptom is observable whether you are on battery or plugged in.

If you set the screen brightness to anything other than max, the yellow is okay. However, if you set the brightness to MAX (without adaptive brightness control) then the yellow turns into mustard.

This has been driving me crazy because I sometimes need max brightness to have the laptop visible outside.

Does anyone else also notice this issue and have a solution?

Thanks in advance!

 

This is interesting. I do not see a version after P03ACJ from SW Update but when I use your software, it suggests that the latest version is P09ABE. I am not sure whether it is safe to upgrade to P09ABE when it was not shown up on SW Update and I cannot find much information about it.

Is it safe to update?


EDIT: on further review, it seems that P09ABE is actually older version than P03ACJ that you can get from SW Update. I strongly advise not to use BIOS Update program linked above. However, correct me if I am wrong.

 

Can someone provide me with a list of all the known issues to consider before deciding to pull the trigger on a ATIV Book 9 Plus ?

I've been reading for weeks about every best rated ultrabook on the market and I find it's a matter of finding the one that sucks the least as opposed to finding the best one...

I've read all the problems about Dell's XPS 13 whining coil and heating, Sony's Viao Pro 13 fan noise and chassis flex, Lenovo's Yoga 2 Pro screen scaling, colors, wireless card and more. Some things goes for every laptop that I try to read about, either the keyboard, the trackpad, the wirelesssscard, the fan, the battery etc...

I haven't been able to find a clear list regarding the Samsung. What should I be aware of before buying one $$$ ?

 

I don't really have problems with this laptop. Probably one of the better choices out there. But the only thing that pisses me off is the keyboard. It is way to shallow with very little tactile feedback. For this reason, if I were to buy another ultrabook, I would buy the Thinkpad X1 Carbon 2014. Good keyboard, 14" screen, resolution, and lighter(?). AB9+ is a good choice as well.. that keyboard though...

 

From what I read, the keyboard on the X1 Carbon seems to be its weakness, no 6th physical row for the F keys. Here's the keyboard description on Lenovo's website :

5-row with Trackpoint (Island style, Under mount) plus Adaptive backlit Keyboard keys

Also, you're not getting a FHD screen let alone a QHD.

Can't find any good discounts on the X1 either...

 

The new BIOS should have the same last 3 letters in the name as the old one which normally don't change during the production of a particular model (there are exceptions - Windows 7 NP900C4Cs have P**AAC while Windows 8 NP900X4Cs have P**ABK). It seems that the BIOS Update program occasionally finds the wrong newer BIOS. This is what it offered me on 1st April:



I then ran it again and I came back with the answer I expected. I would hope that the BIOS updater would abort when it realised that the version code was wrong.

If you value slimness and light weight over QHD touchscreen then also consider the NP900X3G (which has its own thread here). However, the slimness means the keyboard has limited travel.

John

 

Can anyone with an 8GB model run CPU-Z and see if it's running in single or dual channel mode?

Edit: NM, found here she says its dual-channel ( http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Samsung-ATIV-Book-9-Plus.htm)

 

Anyone know of a good skin for these? I see a few slim cases, but all of them require taking the laptop out in order to use it.

 

Does anyone know where I can get the yellow fix? I found the link in this thread but it doesn't work anymore.

 

See My NP940X3G Is Displaying Yellow Incorrectly, How Can I Fix This? : Notebooks | Samsung

John

 

John,

The link takes me to the Samsung website, but when I go to the downloads for the Ativ book 9 Plus, the only download is for the SW updates. Am I looking in the wrong place or do you think Samsung took it down?

 

I guess if you are using the NP940X3G then the small blue text near the top left of the screen which says DelLCMPatch.zip and links to http://www.samsung.com/us/system/support/faq/2013/12/19/DelLCMPatch.zip is so small that it's impossible to see. It's small on my 15" 1600 x 900 screen.

John

 

I have a new X1 Carbon that replaced the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus. The X1C keyboard to me is better then the Samsung unless the adaptive function row on the X1C is an issue for someone (not for me, not be big function key user). The travel distance and overall feel of the X1C keyboard is much better to me and I can type faster on it.

Concerning the screen, the Samsung does have a higher res screen and better colors but the 2560x1440 (WQHD) on the higher end X1C models is still pretty good. Since the resolution is not quite as high as the Samsung it also works better with apps that don't do well with increased DPI settings.

 

Does anyone have a copy of the original Samsung ATIV Book 9+ wallpaper?

I think it kind of this and it says Samsung ATIV Book on the bottom right or something like that - I saw a stranger with it the other day!

You can actually see it in the forum in one of the attachments here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/733030-2013-ativ-book-9-plus-owner-s-lounge-np940x3g-101.html

For some reason, mine didn't come with one!

Thanks!

 

If you're talking about the one in post #1006, that's the Desktop wallpaper. You need to click on the Desktop Tile on your Windows 8 to get there.

 

Yes, I know.

However, when I try to personalize it, I don't have that particular Wallpaper. Hence, I was curious if someone has the stock one saved somewhere?

 

If I look up NP940X3G-K01US in SW Update, I see Pure Essence theme under Win8 drivers and Samsung theme under Win8.1 drivers. Maybe the wallpaper you are looking for is in one of those. I haven't checked it myself, it is just suggestion.

 

Thanks so much! That worked!

I got another question...is it normal for this computer to sleep by itself? What I mean is, I will be using it and if I sometimes move it the wrong way (i.e. lift it up etc.), it will go to sleep immediately. This is already my 2nd ATIV Book 9 Plus (I returned one and got a new one) and both of them encountered the same problem.

Thanks!

 

Great, thanks for the update.

It sounds like it is sensing movement, similar to the shock sensor in some laptops with HDDs -- but why have such a feature in a ultrabook? Hopefully other owners can chime in if they experience the same, but I don't think I have heard of it.

Thread closed

To avoid the confusion of competing threads for the Ativ Book 9 Plus, and to make sure members get the maximum exposure for their posts, we're closing this thread and referring to the Owners Lounge thread linked below, which has more consistent activity. Please continue discussion and post new questions there. Thank you!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/733030-2013-ativ-book-9-plus-owner-s-lounge-np940x3g.html