Samsung Q45 (12.1" widescreen)

I can't believe the price is still £749 on Laptops Direct in the 2 months since I bought mine!

 

Had mine about 2 weeks now. really impressed with it. i get about 4 hours battery out of it with min brightness wifi on most other things off running the pre installed vista.

amazed how light and small this thing is.. and how quickly you think a 15" laptop is huge.. my gf thinks that the screen is too small on mine. but i think its perfect.

nice little laptop for taking to college etc. (my longest college day is 3 1/2 hours long) so it lasts all day without a charge) but taking the charger isnt a problem as its only small

heres a few pics (took on my phone, sorry for the quality)

www.ste0803.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/LaptopPics.rar

 

If I look through this website (internet shop),
- Q45
- Q35
(complete list)

Q45 (8.060,00грн = 1612usd) is cheaper than Q35 (8.476,00 грн = 1695,20usd)?
Currency converter 1 USD = about 5 грн (грн is Ukraine currency Hrivna).

Does anybody know why Q45 is cheaper than Q35? Or perhaps Q35 has higher than should be?...

Thanks.

 

Market forces and the long term trend for computer prices to go down while the processing power etc goes up. As a result, the Q45 arrived at a price below the previous Q35.

John

 

i got a new samsung Q45 with 1024 MB ram (2*512). I wanted to upgrade to 2048 MB ram. I checked the mem slot and actually found only one of the slots fitted with a single 512 MB (as listed on the mem module). However, the BIOS shows 2-slots with 512 MB each. Is this normal? Does this mean a single module contains 2*512?

 

There are two RAM slots, but one is underneath the keyboard.

You have two options: (i) Gt 2 x 1GB and remove the keyboard to access the second slot (remove screws marked "K" on underside, then release the sprink-loaded latches around the edge of the keyboard which you can then lift out and flip over);or (ii) get 1 x 2GB and put in the slot on the bottom to have a total of 2.5GB.

Option (ii) is easier but more expensive, but leaves you with a 2GB module and the option to change the other 512MB module and have 3 or 4GB total. 2GB modules seem to be creeping up in price. Possible sources are ebuyer (£80); Micro Direct (£79 + del); play.com (£65); and this Transcend module at MemoryC (£58 + del) (it works fine - I bought one when it dropped below £100 in April, now tempted to get another at that price).

John

 

thanks John for the clear+quick response.

2 more questions though.
Is it okay to have non-symmetrical mem modules i.e 2GB+512MB?
There are variety of DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHZ 200-PIN modules with buffered, unbuffered etc. Which one of these suits Q45?

 

1. There's no problem with an asymmetric RAM configuration. There might be a few % reduction in bandwidth. Read more in this thread and this thread.

2. DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHZ 200-PIN SODIMM unbuffered (I don't recall meeting any buffered SODIMMs (SO means Small Outline - for notebooks)).

John

 

I would prefer the 1st option (2*1GB) as its a lot more cheaper. can u pls explain the procedure about accessing the second mem slot below the kbd?
There are 3 screws with kbd marked at the top and 1 at the bottom next to the memory slot.
once the screws are removed, should i flip over the laptop to have the keyboard facing upwards? It looks to me that the complete back cover should come off when i remove these 4 screws. Is that correct?
Should i then remove the latches that secure the keyboard? Is there is manual on this process somewhere?

 

OK: Keyboard removal.

Disconnect the mains and remove the battery. Then remove the screws marked "KBD" on the bottom (I think you've found those). Then put the notebook back the right way up and open to expose the keyboard. Look carefully around the edge of the keyboard and you should see some latches. The attached photo isfor the Q35 keyboard but the Q45 should be similar. There is one latch to the right of PgDn and another in front of the Windows key. If my memory is correct there are about three latches along the front side and a couple up each edge. The back edge may slot in. Anyway, start at the front edge with a very small flat-bladed screwdriver (or two) and push the latch away from the centre of the keyboard while lifting the keyboard slightly so it is clear of the latch. Once you have got the front and sides clear of the latches then (I think) it is a matter of lifting the front edge enough to be clear of the chassis and sliding the keyboard forwards enough so that the back edge is free. Then you flip the keyboard over. I'm sure it is a similar arrangement to the R20 keyboard (photo attached). Don't pull or twist the keyboard's ribbon cable.

Once you are under the keyboard you should find the RAM slot. Take a photo when you get there.

John

PS: BTW. The MemoryC Transcend 2GB is now down to £57 including delivery.

 

John, i have made some fotos of the kbd, can u have a look and let me know the latch points with reference to the keys? thanks.

 

OK. There's only two latches on the front edge - next to Ctrl and the right Windows key. I can see one on the right side next to PgDn. There will be a corresponding one on the left but I can't see it.

That may be all. It's a case of loosening the latches you can see and then checking if anything else is holding the keyboard. The top edge of the keyboard has some tabs which slot in.

John

 

i managed to get the spring-loaded latches on the front edge but i think the latches on the sides (next to pgdn and the one on the other side) are fixed ones. I couldnt find a way to get the kbd off these latches.

 

It is possible that the side latches are fixed. In this case you need two small screwdrivers to slightly raise the front middle of the keyboard and lever one side clear of its latch. The keyboard will bend slightly, but this is not a problem. One you have done one side, repeat for the other.

John

 

I couldnt get the keyboard off on my own. i will try to get help from someone who has experience in servicing laptops. Thanks lot for your help and time.

 

I sometimes have some problems with the integrated webcam (device manager comes up as Vega USB 2.0 Webcam). I thought I could update the driver but I can't find anything for this camera online.
Problem comes up as 'device being used by another program'

I have to reboot to get it to work, which is a bit annoying.

Thanks for any advice.

 

and what about x64 version of software? I found drivers but I couldn't find x64 Samsung easy..... programs

 

Hi,

I have just received my new Q45, and so far I'm very impressed, the overall build quality is very good and i cant see any major annoyances. I wasn't too keen on the boltware and the samsung restore point crap, but at least it didnt have AOL connect now and google desktop on.

I dont like the location of the caps / number light as i cover it with my arm when i type so its inconvenient for me, but its only a minor problem. And lack of keyboard shortcut for blutooth is also short sighted. The feel of the plastic is surprisingly nice but the rough touchpad is a bit ott.

I only paid £550 for the 160GB top spec one from ebay, so it is really a bargain.

thanks for the useful info on this site

 

I'm really sick of Vista! What a load of rubbish.

I noticed the download centre has drivers for XP and Vista so it must be able to put vista on the Q45.

My question is:

Is it possible to download an XP Q45 restore disc and use it on a Q45 initially set up with Vista? If so that would be much much easier than doing a manual install and getting all the drivers to work.

 

I don't think you will be able to legally download a specific Samsung XP Q45 restore image. You could ask Samsung whether they can supply one. However, it is not really much extra work to use a standard XP installer then load the drivers and other software. That way you know you are loading the latest versions.

Alternatively, you can tweak Vista to disable most of the annoying features. Having done that I am reasonably happy with it although I have XP as a backup in case I need to use a couple of applications which refuse to work with Vista.

John

 

Review of a (possibly) new version of the Q45 at notebookcheck. Has an 8400GS video card with 256mb of memory and a 200gb 5,400 rpm hard drive (everything else same as luke's review.

Doesn't seem to be too much of a better hit (roughly 30 mins comparing idle/basic task time), but a (probably) much improved graphics performance.

 

Hi

I'm considering an XP install on my Q45 to replace vista.

Am I right in thinking that if I wipe the drive completely (including the hidden partition) then I won't be able to use the restore disc?

Would a better alternative to leave the hidden partition and install XP on the visible partition? XP isn't going to be here for ever so I'll ultimately need to go back to Vista.

Thanks for any advice if you have already done this!

 

I'm sure it's safe to delete the recovery partition if you need the space. As far as I know you can reinstall everything using your Vista recovery DVD and the driver / software disc. It will just take a bit longer than loading a pre-configured image from the recovery partition. The discs can also be used if you install a new HDD.

John

 

Hey guys,

thanks for all the information in this thread. I´m thinking about buying a Q45, but I certainly want it with Windows XP. John Ratsey wrote there might be a version for companies, that comes with WinXP (around page 17,18). Is there such a version?

Or do I need to buy a Q45 with Vista, de-install it and install WinXP? Thanks.

 

Seek and ye shall find: NP-Q45T001/SUK.

John

 

Thank you, John.

This seems to be a UK-only configuration. Can´t find it in German shops.

A few of you guys did install Windows XP on a Q45, didn´t you? Does it work fine etc.?

 

OK. Not UK. Notebook.de lists only Q45s with Vista, but show XP as an extra cost option. It's a bit surprising that Samsung Germany does not provide an XP option although I know that Samsung UK is trying to get established in the business sector, which means XP. It may be worthwhile asking notebook.de whether the Q45 with XP is available with XP without the extra cost.

A full set of XP drivers and software for the Q45 is available at the Samsung global download site.

John

 

On page 27 a few guys suggest that getting XP only for a slightly better battery life isn´t worth the efforts.

I´ll try Vista first and disable all the useless features (like you suggested, John). Let´s see what will be the result.
But overall Vista is not slowing down the whole Q45, is it?

 

There's a long Vista tweaks thread which gives good guidance on reducing Vista's excess baggage.

My first tweak is to set the Visual Effects to best performance + smooth screen fonts. Then there are things like turning off indexing. Vista's built-in power management is at least as good as XP's so all you need to do is to make sure that anything which uses significant power gets turned off.

I've even got Vista performing adequately on my Sony G11 (U1500 CPU) now it has 2GB RAM, so Vista is not inherently bad news.

John

 

Alright, thanks. I´m getting a Q45 Derora with 1GB Ram, so I´ll have to disable a few things

 

Btw: The Danyal has 1,6GHz, but 2GB Ram. Is this the better deal compared to the Derora? The price would be the same (roughly). I imagine Vista would be slower on a Derora.
Thank you.

 

I was going to comment that Vista won't run well with 1GB. My own preference would be to get Q45 with the faster CPU and then drop in an extra 2GB RAM module. Vista will use the spare RAM to prefetch the files it thinks you will be likely to use. This module will be OK (I've got two) and is a good price, unless you know of something even cheaper.

John

 

Ok, last question

If I´ll get the Derora, I still have the issue regarding the RAM slot underneath the keyboard. So can I just buy this 2GB RAM module and put it into the slot, which is easier to access? Then I would have one 2GB RAM module and one 512MB RAM module (under the keyboard). Is this going to work properly? Thank you so much!

 

2.5GB will run fine. It might be covered in this thread, but I've tried that combination and there's no significant RAM bandwidth loss compared to having two identical modules. However, using a single RAM module does reduce the bandwidth.

Getting under the keyboard isn't very difficult but I can understand your reluctance to immediately do it on a new computer.

John

 

Then 2.5GB for a Q45 Derora will be the solution. Thanks for your great help!

 

Or would the Q45 Dalia with the T7250 CPU be worth the little extra money? Maybe not, unless you are doing sustained CPU-intensive tasks where the 10% extra speed might show.

John

 

Hm... I don´t think so. I will need the Q45 for Internet, Office, a few Adventure games.

 

Well, actually there is NO "little extra money"

The Dalia is at about 990 Euro as is the Derora. Should I go for the Dalia?

 

If there's no price difference and the other specs are the same then I would get the one with the faster CPU. This will give some benefit in normal use while, if you want to maximise battery time, you would lock either CPU down to the same minimum speed.

John

 

There is just one more difference regarding the graphics:

Alia: Intel Graphic Media Accelerator X3100 (according to Google this one works quite well with games like HL2:E1 or FEAR - so reasonable for me)

Derora:Intel® GMA X3000

 

What I just found: http://review.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2007/07/09/2007070900403.html

LOTS of pictures and performance tests.

 

As far as I know the Intel X3000 and the X3100 are the same. Perhaps the X3000 is the series, so we might see an X3200 in the future.

That's a nice review you found with plenty of pictures (it took a while to download). I presume you have been through the NBR Q45 review.

John

 

Hello,

I just installed 2x2GB RAM into my Q45 DALIA.
The BIOS shows that everything is fine, 4096 MB RAM is installed.

But when I look at the Vista System overview, it shows only 3062 MB RAM?
What went wrong? I have Vista Ultimate installed (dropped the pre-installed Home Premium)

Thanks in advance!

 

This would seem to be a Windows issue rather than a machine problem. Google "Vista 4gb ram", and you'll see a lot of people have this problem.

HTH
Neil

 

Its a limitation of running a 32-bit version of Windows. As Neil pointed out, give "Vista 4GB RAM" or "Vista 32-bit 4GB RAM" a google and you'll get some help.

Alternatively, there is some additional info here

 

The next version of Intel's intergrated graphics will come with Montevina. It will be the X4500.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20071016PD216.html

 

Alright, found that on Google.
Rather disappointing.... Even though I think the difference between 3 and 4 GB is not so visible, having only 75% of what you paid for makes little Timmy sad....

 

Just another question, I just ordered a second battery for the Q45 Dalia, but I saw that Samsung offers also an external battery with 8 cells. I tried to find some info in the internet about it, for example how good the battery life is and also how it is charged (especially if you can charge it together with the Q45 with only one power adaptor).

Anyone?

 

I don't think you'll be able to charge two batteries through one Q45. I would imagine the power draw is really only enough to accommodate one battery and you'll just need to swap the batteries onto the laptop or purchase some sort of dock for charging. The battery that comes with the Q45 should be 6 cell as standard. Could you post where an 8 cell battery is listed? I've been thinking of one for my Q35 and all I can come across are more 6 cell batteries!

Thanks, Luke

 

It is listed on the German Samsung website under product description for the Q45, at the bottom under "Zubehoer" (Accessoires), direct link should be:
http://notebook.samsung.de/article.asp?artid=AA7FFBF9-A8C6-46E7-8A45-04FAD4906AB7&show=acces


It is called "Power Battery Pack", the serial number is AA-PL0UC8B/E