Samsung Series 7 Lovers - Here's The NP700Z5C Ivy Bridge!

As I understand the main issue is the screen on this laptop. Bad viewing angles and gryish blacks. A matte display does in nature have less contrast and more grey black, so maybe this is a standard matte display? or is it even bad for being matte?
Also, which versions are out, NP700Z5C 01, 02...03? Do they all have the same screen? I can only find version 02 (if that is what it stands for?) in my country.

 

Yes I agree the screen is not going to blow you away at all with colors/brightness/clarity. I've kind of gotten used to it, and it was especially useful for this past week at the ocean when I was working around a lot of sunlight - I appreciated the matte non-reflection screen a lot during this time.

I'm still undecided if I will keep the laptop - I've had it a bit over a week, and may consider returning it if a new version is released in the next few weeks with a better screen.

 

There won't be a better version for a very very long time. The focus at Samsung is all about the smart phone market, their PC division is stretched very thin and their focus is all on the ultrabook segment. Don't expect any major 15" Chronos updates in the foreseeable future. This is pretty much it for 2012

 

In all honesty, I would just wait 7-10 days and see if the NP700Z5C-S02CA model with a better screen actually materializes.

NP700Z5C-S02CA - Canada : 700z5c I7-3615qm 3.3g 8gb 750gb 15.6in Bt W7hp - Product Details

This website claims it will have them in on 7/6, so it might be to your benefit to hold back for a bit

 

Samsung have massively increased their notebook production during the past 4 years. At present all their notebooks comes out of one Samsung factory in China although I recall reading that they planned to outsource some production. They may be appearing to be concentrating on ultrabooks but I suspect that segment is a small proportion of today production. I'm sure that the Series 7 is also a key segment.

Notwithstanding my comments above, I agree that it's unrealistic to expect significant changes in the product content during the next few months. If they can sell all they can make with the current specs then why waste the opportunity to sell a better version next year?

John

 

Has anyone done any 3dmark benchmarking? vantage? Notebookcheck only has info on the ddr3 memory version of the graphic card so the question is; how much better is the gddr5 version in this laptop?

 

Have you taken a look at the last few pages? I did reviews of several games. The GDDR5 version of the card is, at best, going to improve function at higher resolutions, so you won't see too terrible a bump in performance, though it definitely helps keep things at good speeds. I can run most games at high and sometimes lowering a setting or two is all it takes to boost games like Civ 5 to 40 - 60 frames average and Batman Arkham City to around 30-40 average (with areas in 55-60.

 

Okay thanks I think ill do that, do any of the versions currently available in the U.S. have 8Gb of Ram, I'm only seeing ones with 6Gb. Actually, if anyone could just link me to the series 7 with the best specs currently available in the U.S. that'd be great.

 

Pay zero attention to RAM numbers, they are the easiest to change and should not affect your purchase decision. a 4GB stick will cost as little as twenty bucks, or go for an 8GB stick for fifty bucks

 

does someone have the version with the GT650M ? The shop where I buy my laptops from has that option, and I have no idea whether the screen is better.

It's this model: Samsung Serie 7 700Z5C S02

 

I haven't seen any reference to a 650m in the 15"

 

Samsung P550 has Nvidia has 650M, but it's build quality doesn't compete Chronos one.

Reference
Samsung Chronos 7 with Ivy Bridge Hands on - YouTube

Note: Title is wrong. But you can hear from video that it's P550

 

Samsung - 15.6" Series 7 Laptop - 8GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive - Silver - NP700Z5C-S01UB

Looks like Best Buy got another model in, but this one has a 512mb DDR5 GT 630m. I wasn't aware this would exist.

 

samsung+serie+7+700z5c+s02

This one here has a 650M, confirmed by the store rep. Also, it advertises a 300nit screen, which would be way brighter than the January model one from what I gather. If I could only see one personally... hehe

 

Hey everyone, great thread as usual. I am currently stuck between this and the new S15 from Sony. Curious if anyone has done more extensive research than I have to compare them. To me I seem to be down to:

Sony is lighter/IPS 1080p screen
Samsung has a longer lasting battery (5 vs. 7-8 from what I have found/read)

Any thoughts? Thanks

 

That's pretty much it. Having touched both, I can def say that the Samsung build quality is superior. The Sony feels pretty easy to break... but yeah, it's lighter and has a way better screen. Performance wise, the Samsung is just better. Seriously, screen aside, the Samsung is just superior.

 

Thanks for your feedback. Does this hold true for you when consider the 999 version of each compared to each other, and the 1299 version of each? I should have asked that as well.

 

Don't know about where you live, but here the Sony has a crappy GT640 LE that's likely a Fermi rebrand. If it's the Kepler one it's better, but still at least 10% below the GT640M.

Don't expect to play many games at 1920x1080 with that.

Also, are Vaios reliable already? Last ones I've seen looked like they were made to last 2 years only, lots of cooling problems and cheap thermal adhesive inside.

 

I just received my NP700Z5C-S01US from Amazon last night and have been putting it through its paces.

One problem that I've noticed is that I can't get the GPU to fold. When I run GPU-Z it thinks CUDA is disabled:

http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/12/06/29/2vu.png

Is anyone else seeing this? Are there better GPU drivers floating around out there then the one's available on Samsung's US website? Or, more directly, is anyone successfully folding with this machine yet?

 

I take it that this laptop supports sata III ssd HD which I would wanna put in?

 

The 720gb disk that ships with the NP700Z5C-1US is a SATA II drive but the laptop supports SATA III. I have a SATA III agility 3 SSD in there and it's running SATA III.

 

How is the wifi performance for everyone? I'm having trouble but I'm not sure it isn't my router.
Going to hook up my old WRT54G today to see how it goes but wanted to see how it is for other folks.

 

Yes. Even if you customize the S15 to a 1299$ price mark, the Samsung will still outperform it. You might be able to have the same CPU in the S15 than the Chronos, but don't forget the video card... 640m LE (gimped at PCI-E x8, 28.8GB/s memory bandwidth) vs full speed 640m (@ PCI-E x16, 64GB/s memory bandwidth). They are just not comparable!
Sources:
- 640m LE: Sony VAIO S Series - Tests et discussions - Page : 148 - Ultraportable - Ordinateurs portables - FORUM HardWare.fr
- 640m: http://i.imgur.com/fiads.png

The Sony also suffer from a SATA III issue (each time you reboot it seems to randomly set to SATA II or SATA III speed!!!) and a keyboard ghosting issue. You cannot press let's say Shift+W+E at the same time when you play games. Oh and while the screen is better than the Samsung, it has a poor red color reproduction (appears orange). Even the RAM is clocked lower on the Sony 1333MHz vs 1600MHz).

Another thing to keep in mind, if you add the battery sheet, both will weight about the same and the Sony will ends up thicker...

I'm not saying the Sony is not a good laptop, I considered it myself, but the all the issues I mentioned turned me off.

The Samsung issues are pretty much: below average screen and mediocre microphone. I can deal with that! Especially with the incredible build quality.

 

Also worth mentioning that the best CPU the VAIO can get is the 35W 3612QM at 2.1Ghz, as opposed to the Samsung's 45W 3615QM at 2.3Ghz. The Vaio also has 1.35V ram in there, not sure about the Samsung, but I doubt it since it's 1600mHz. Yet the Samsung gets better battery life still. I'm betting the Samsung's got some magic in there built in as well.

 

Does anybody have a review of it? I can't seem to find one for the 15" anywhere, although I found the 17"

It seems that they fixed the screen, keyboard, and trackpad in the S7 17" update... did they fix any of that in the 15"? I was considering the Vizio laptop, Dell XPS, and almost bought the Vizio, but I just discovered this guy ^.^

IF this has been said in the thread I apologize - I just found this thread and I'll catch up on it, but I need to read it all which will take some time, so I'm posting first

Edit: Reading the last couple pages, it seems the screen is disappointing, any ideas about the keyboard/trackpad?

Also: You can install drivers directly from Nvidia right? If you have driver problems, just go to Nvidia's website and get fresh ones from there, they're usually MUCH more up to date than any manufacturer's website. Assuming Samsung allows you to do that.

A normal Kepler 640M LE performs ~20% slower than a normal 640M (assuming same RAM type) due to the lower clocks.

However, for S15 vs SS7, the Sony does NOT allow you to install fresh drivers from what I hear. That can leave you stuck with 6month-several year old drivers, because Sony sucks at updating their website. This can have huge performance issues for games. Hoping it's not the same for everyone here.

For 640M GDDR5 gaming:



That IS a 2gb version of the 640M, but I don't think it should make that much of a difference as far as gaming is concerned.

 

Haven't seen any formal reviews from anybody yet.

The screen is only disappointing if you make a big deal out of it or if you go back and forth between a retina macbook pro and the Z5C. I almost convinced myself to return it when it win7 was re-installing last night - color gradients on the side, bleh viewing angles, etc. etc. but in actual use I don't see any problems. This is obviously subjective but for me the matte screen is huge and goes a long way towards the other problems. Black levels are not great and viewing angles are poor but if I have the screen adjusted properly I never notice any issues at all; it subjectively feels like a 'good' screen. Of course, YMMV.

Keyboard feels the same as the earlier version - I poked around one in best buy - and I have no complaints with it. Keys may be too widely spaced for people with small hands but that's not a problem for me. Trackpad is very functional for me and feels good under the fingers, very smooth. I don't drag my palms on it while typing like with other laptops and multi-touch gestures work fine. I've heard some complaints about the trackpad being offset left but I like where its located. Maybe because I'm a lefty?

Tried that. I CANNOT install Nvidia reference drivers - they refuse to install and inform me that I have to take manufacturer modified drivers. I haven't had to play with custom laptop drivers in literally 5 or 6 years but didn't there used to be hacked drivers you could download for notebooks where manufacturers had abandoned support?

 

Umm from what I recall you can modify the .inf files or something along those lines to get it to work. But it's a bit of a hassle for me, I don't want to open up notepad every time there's a driver update. If that's the case, that's really sad, and I don't understand why companies do this. If they know they won't keep up to date drivers, why force us to only install from them? >.> Crap drivers might be a dealbreaker for me though >.<

Also: anybody noticed wifi issues?

Edit: Spoke with a rep:

Rep: If the drivers are directly listed for your device, you can download them from the Nvidia website.
Me: So, I should be able to download drivers from them?
Me: Or do you mean if they are directly listed on the Samsung website?
Rep: All the latest drivers will be listed on the Samsung website.
Rep: However, if you find the latest driver on the manufacturer's website you can also download them from them.

It seems you SHOULD be able to directly install Nvidia's drivers. Try talking to their tech support and seeing if they can help you out? Or do other people have this issue as well?

 

Pro-tip: The reps are idiots, so don't take what they say as fact. I talked with one that told me my z5c's RAM was capped at 8gb at 1333. Well, it actually can take up 12gb and it is clocked at 1600.

I honestly have no issues with the keyboard and trackpad, both work solid for me. The trackpad isn't as good as a Macbook, but you also not spending in excess of $2,200. No wifi issues to speak of. Screen is my only real issue with my Chronos, is the screen (not bad, just wont make your jaw drop) and the lack of dedicated buttons, otherwise it is near perfect for me.

 

Thanks very much, that was a great breakdown I really appreciate it. I have an S15 right now, but I have 2 weeks to return it. I may take it for a spin here then return it and try the samsung and make my choice. The sheet battery is a little tempting since it really puts the battery life through the roof, but also one more thing to carry around. I will say, the Sony feels so light that it almost feels a little flimsy. The screen is definitely nice. Guess I will keep testing this thing out.

Oh, and also, do these still come with the expresscache that the SB models had? Thanks.

 

Wait what? You didn't disagree with what he told me, and what he said SHOULD be helpful... he says driver installation shouldn't be an issue. Are you disagreeing... or what? XD I can't tell exactly what you're getting at; I wasn't really complaining about the rep.

Also, tech support is usually a bit better than sales reps. I've had very good interactions with plenty of sales reps. That said, some reps aren't very good like you said. But I'm not really sure where you're feeling the need to give that particular tip, I don't think it really applies to the situation Other than the bit of marketing/required auto replies they give at least.

Now, if you're trying to say his info is wrong, and you CAN'T install drivers from Nvidia, that would be something else.

Edit: Yes they have expresscache.

 

Hey guys I am new here. I just returned the 17" version because of a problem with the graphics card and now I am considering the 15" ivy bridge . The 17" has known heat and noise issues, but it has way better sound and display quality when compared to the z5c.
But does the z5 also get warm around the wasd area? And is it noisy when on a heavy task?

 

not at all, the 15 inch chronos I have is very quiet, I never hear it. It also doesn't get hot, luke warm at the most during heavy performance, and only on the botton

 

That however, is heavily dependent on how humid your environment is and what kind of surface you're playing on. Playing on a flat table (wooden, ceramic, etc) in a cool room will get you HOURS of gameplay without so much as a annoyed hand from heat. If it's humid and about average temperature, you can expect some minor heat, but the heat is very reasonable for such a thin laptop and it's never been excessive. I literally just spent all night last night playing Civilization V (an awkwardly taxing game) in a humid room with a plastic cover on a felt-like surface (not ideal) and it only got warm/hot near the vents and at the center of the laptop (significantly cooler on the keyboard than at the vent). I would definitely not worry about heat issues as long as you have some sort of airflow being allowed or you're using the laptop correctly.

 

Thanks for the help

 

Man why can't there be a professional review... I need to decide between this and the Vizio notebook! D:

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/101180665836820834485/DropBox?authuser=0&feat=directlink
there's some changes done to this version.
(i had the sandy bridge too)
the changes that you will know right away is the top panel (keyboard)
series 7 logo on the left side ************************ power button right side. (***** reflects speaker hole or vent holes)
i could say that the screen is much brighter than the sandy bridge.
currently doing a fresh install and will let you know. (will take pic too)

 

Elf do you play games? Could you run some benchmarks and submit some info and GPU-Z screenshot? Also, how are heat, noise, and the supposed wifi issue?

 

gpu, cpu-z screenshot

kdrum,
i don't have any game installed right now.
which game are you instrested in?

after fresh install
wei score
processor 7.6
memory 7.6
graphics 7.0
game graphics 7.0
hard drive 5.9

all driver from samsung recovery

 

I would LOVE to see you benchmark starcraft II if you play it. That's my main game. If you have Diablo III that would help as well. It might be easier for you to tell me what games you're capable of benchmarking, that might help. I can take data from other games and use it, but SC2/D3 would probably be the easiest.

Thank you for GPU-Z

 

3dmark11
P1950 3dmarks
graphics score 1758
physics score 6509
combined score 1588

i think my graphic card is crazy??
on the 3dmark11 report
gt 640m
memory 1024mb
core clock 405mhz <--- low ???
memory clock 2000mhz <--- too high? 1000mhz ?)
driver 8.17.12.9555

can't run 3dmark dx 10
keep saying device removed.
any thought???

 

3dmark06
13295 3dmarks
sm2.0score 5123
hdr/sm3.0 score 5533
cpu score 5261

 

3dmarks vantage
p8750 3dmarks
graphics score 7467
cpu score 18066

 

Hey Kdrum keep in mind that the Samsung has the Vizio beat in almost every category except the screen and SSD cache (The i7 Vizio has 32gb and the Samsung has 8gb). The Samsung has a faster GPU as the Vizio has the 640m LE version, and the Sammy's also got better battery life. The biggest thing for me is that it unfortunately doesn't have a disk drive and number pad which automatically counts it out. The Vizios are definitely sweet, but the Series 7 is still unmatched performance/features-wise.

Also, have you checked out the Sony S15? Same specs as the Vizio, but it has a disk drive. (Of course there's the new Dell XPS 15 as well, but it's far too expensive.)

 

@Elf4U:

Can you please share your views about

1. Sound
2. Screen Quality, viewing angles (photos will be highly appreciated)
3. Battery Life
4. Graphics Performance.

I am currently stuck between 15" & 17" model.

 

Also interested in Screen quality.
How is it comparing to Sandy model?

 

My very first post in this forum, because no one picked up on this. The S02 could indeed have an improved screen. Found another big german online-store - Cyberport.de

They have listed both versions, S02 and S03. The specs are almost the same, but S02 costs 180 Euros more.

Unfortunately i couldn't find any user reviews.

 

Personally I like the design of the Vizio a bit more, but a good screen is really nice for me, I went from my IPS monitor to sitting on my bed with me crap laptop and I have to admit it sucked.

For me, I don't really need a number pad, I already live without one with my mech keyboard, so I've pretty much accustomed to not having one, and this way the keyboard is centered on the screen.

I just wish reviews would come out, I don't really NEED the extra performance of the Samsung, I'm fine with a dual core and the 640M LE, because it already satisfies my needs. If Samsung released a 950$ version with a dual core and 640M LE I'd jump on it probably. I'm just kind of worried about heat and noise, supposedly Vizio actually got that right, but there are no reviews out, and iirc the old S7 chronos had heat/noise issues, and I don't know if they'll have fixed it. Although subjectively I guess people have reported that it's better.

I still wanna know if y'all can install reference drivers from Nvidia directly, I saw somebody on this forum say they couldn't, but a tech support rep said they could. Anybody wanna be the tiebreaker for me?

 

The old and the new chronos 7 (15") do not have heat issue.

 

That S02 should have the 650M, else I don't get the 180€ price difference for the same specs :x. You could mail them about that, asking the differences since I think there's some mistake in there

 

1. sound is pretty good, i currently have the sony vaio z (2011) and compare to that this laptop is a lot better. volume is decent too.
2. i been watching some movie with this and the viewing angle is not that bad. if i compare this to the sandy bridge, its more brighter and viewing angle is better. (i had sandy bridge too. one thing to note is that i don't have that much of blueish color on the laptop.?? maybe its because of the nvidia???)
3. i haven't tested the battery life on this laptop, so i will get back to you.
4. currently installing starcraft 2 and i will let you know.

i will try to take some more pictures and upload it.