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

Ah, Windows 8. In that case, all bets are off, though I'd guess that a lot of Win 7 64bit drivers will work fine. With Win 8 available around October, I'm sure if any hardware needs new drivers they'll be ready before long.

Can't really comment on throttling -- hopefully someone else can chime in!

-Matt

 

tank you
so normal gt 640m boost speed.
710Mhz vs 835Mhz of the gt 650 ddr5, not to shabby.

Matt, notebook check doesn´t list the boost speed and 710 Mhz is the normal boost speed for a gt 640m ddr3 so no overclock or underclock.
It should be possible to substantially overclock the graphic card as long as the temperature allow it

 

Ivy Bridge series has Sub-Woofer.
4W Stereo Speaker (2W x 2) with Subwoofer

Specs - Series 7 Notebooks NP700Z5CH | Samsung Laptops

@Matt: How much battery life you are getting with WIFI? Sorry, if it has been already asked. I couldn't find.

 

Sorry, I don't have much battery use to go on so far, but I can tell you when I unplug and browse, Win 7 typically estimates 6+ hours of battery. I have a gut feeling it will actually do better than that. When I get a chance I'll try and do some more real-world testing.

EDIT: read several Best Buy reviews of the S01UB this morning, which reinforced all the positives. Some of the lower ratings seemed a bit odd though (e.g., one guy with wifi problems). Seems that the 6-hour mark for battery life was mentioned by several owners.

-Matt

 

First of all, let me thank everyone for your posts, really gave me a clear idea of what this lap is all about

I was hoping those who already own this can help me out with these questions:

1) Will the 1 GB DDR5 Graphics be enough? I will play Skyrim and some FPS games. I could choose the 17" version with the 2GB Graphics but the laptop is too large IMO for a student

I will also be using FL Studio and recording live music

2) Don't laugh; are there 12GB single RAMs on the market? This ones got 4GB on board, and a single slot right? So if I can get a 12GB one (if it exists ) I could get up to 16GB in total. I don't mind the cost, but is there a maximum memory limitation? Or is the only option getting an 8GB one?

3) How good is the webcam? I'm going overseas and will be skyping frequently

Thanks in advance guys

 

Hey guys,

I just got the S01 from Newegg a couple of days ago and I must say I'm really liking it. I haven't really done anything on it because I plan on getting an SSD soon.

The screen isn't the best, but isn't abysmal so I can deal with it. The colors and contrast isn't the main problem for me, but the viewing angles are pretty bad on this.

I also have the issue with the right side of the touchpad being sunken down. (if it is even an issue at all). I might wait a bit and see if I want to return for another one. I mainly use single tap for left click and two finger tap for right clicks, so not a big issue for me. However, I do want a defective free laptop if I paid over 1k.

The bottom can be warm on the top middle portion with normal browsing. The palmrest stays nice and cool. The keyboard area also stays cool. Slightly warm near the top near the F7 to F9 buttons. Haven't gamed so I don't know how hot it will get.

Definitely worth getting!

 

1) Yes. You might not be able to max everything but you can definitely get smooth frames on reasonably high settings.

2) AFAIK no there isn't.

3) Webcam is like any normal webcam, but it should be fine for skype.

 

1) with Graphics cards, you are looking more for clock speed (among other specs) than total memory size, so 1 gb vs 2 gb won't really make much difference at all

2. As far as I know, the largest Ram stick is 8gb (double checked on Newegg), and honestly I seriously doubt you would ever need more than 12 gb, unless you plan to video edit while gaming and having 30 web pages open.

3. the webcam isn't too bad, not as good as a $80 external cam, but not bad. The mic really sucks however, you will have to get something external (and USB since there is no mic input)

 

Thanks kDrum and sgtsloth, I've added reputation points; the least I could do on a forum

2) Thing is I'm looking to buy and upgrade the hell out of this so it can last at least 3-4 years, when I'll be on a student budget overseas; hence I'm looking for the highest RAM possible for my initial payment

3) I didn't notice the missing mic input. So there's just one slot right? Would a headphone with a mic work with just one plug?

 

Hello. My first post. Bought the notebook yesterday. I am rather impressed with it.
A question if I may? I have read various reviews etc and some write the body is all alloy while others write different parts are alloy and some plastic like the wrist rest?
What is alloy on this notebook? To be honest it makes no difference to me its just I like to know, lol.

I must admit I don´t know a lot about notebooks even though I have owned several over the past 15 years or so. I usually go for either Toshiba or Asus though I have owned a Sony (VERY good) and the Apple note book.

How do Samsung rate in the world of note books? As far as mobile phones go they are my prefered brand owning the galaxy Note and the Galaxy S111,I like the quality and they appear, touch wood, very reliable.
Any known build issues with this notebook. I have not read the entire thread its rather long lol

Nice to be here.

Ryland

Edit. I have just tried to back read a few pages here. WOW some of you guys are so knowledgeable. I fear I am going to be rather a pain in the butt on such a forum. I dont even know the difference between an Ivy bridge and Ban bridge nor what I have bought! Sorry to be a nuisance I do want to learn.
Will it be okay to ask questions? The jargon you use in relation to computers is like another language to me.
I do love technology but.....You are leagues above my head here.

 

@souldavidsoul:

Highest possible ram on this laptop is 12GB. However, if you are looking for a lot of RAM. You should take a look at Asus or other thick & dull machines etc. You will be able to get 32GB

There is a combo headphone/microphone jack. You can use dedicated mic but you need some headphone microphone combo jack.
Amazon.com: headphone microphone combo jack adapter

 

Ryland, welcome to the forum and congrats on your new computer! You've definitely come to the right place: a good forum should be diverse and open to all levels of skill/knowledge. We're here to learn and share our experiences so don't hesitate to ask a question if there's something you want to better understand!

Regarding your question about build materials, my sense is the lid and keyboard areas are alloy, while the bottom shell is plastic. I just read a review at Best Buy today that noted the area in the front of the wristpad is where the two materials meet -- there are jokes about it "cutting your wrists" but it's true, that area could be smoother.

As far as processors: after Intel and AMD began to produce processors in the 2-3GHz range, they changed their marketing strategy, lowering the speeds a bit, and putting multiple processors in one computer (the era of multiple cores!). At first the terminology was hopelessly confusing...dual-core, Core 2 Duo, etc. So a new naming convention was devised by Intel: the Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7. This is a bit of an oversimplification that blurs the difference between laptops and desktops, but typically the i3 has 2 processors, the i5 has 2 processors plus multithreading (better parallel use of the 2 cores) and the i7 has 4 processors plus multithreading. Another feature in the i5 and i7 is Turboboost, which allows the CPU to briefly run at a higher speed when needed.

I don't remember the name of the first generation of Core i processors, but the code name for the second generation was Sandy Bridge, and the third generation (which was released a month or two ago) is Ivy Bridge (or SB and IB). The main improvement in each generation is size: the processors have gotten smaller, supposedly needing less power and generating less heat (though heat is still an open question with the new IB CPU). If you want to dig a little deeper into the topic, here is a great place to start.

Hope your weekend is going well, and you enjoy your time on the forum!

-Matt

 

Matt missed GPU in Ivy Bridge which is far better than Sandy Bridge one. But if you have discrete, you don't need to care about it

CPU performance in Ivy Bridge is just about 8-10% more than Sandy Bridge, but graphics performance is about 50% more than in Sandy Bridge.

 

Oh wow you're totally right -- I forgot about the on-board GPU!

UPDATE: currently running Samsung's "Recovery Solution" to take the laptop back to factory condition. ...and it's DONE! Only took 8 minutes to return to stock (that recovery partition is handy). ( NOTE: not sure if I did it correctly, but the recovery utility "forced" a restart which initiates the Win 7 initialization process -- there wasn't a shut-off option after recovering, and it warned against turning it off during initialization.)

-Matt

 

@Matt

Can you run this pings & post results?

ping 192.168.1.1 -t
ping 192.168.1.1 -l 65500 -t

& please check it from different distances from wifi router. Thank You

 

Ack, I just finished boxing it up.

HOWEVER, after reading about the wifi trouble on the 17" thread, I DID run a few ping tests yesterday! What I got (at about 20m and through one floor) was 0.5ms for 64 bytes, and 6ms for 64000 bytes.

Router: Asus RT-N12
Firmware: DD-WRT v24-sp2
Intel Driver version: 15.1.1.1

-Matt

 

Questions are always welcome most people love to talk about tech. I know a ton about laptops and tech, but nothing about the samsung, so I asked questions.

I and tons of other people here would probably gladly talk all day about technological stuffz!

 

@Matt.
Oh, I have DV7 (Sandy Bridge). My router is at ground floor while I am getting 3ms at 3rd floor. I cannot come no where never router as in my Uni, workplace, home etc router is about 30-50 meters away from me

This wifi might be a deal breaker for me

@kDrum. Sharing is caring . Love to help people as much as possible.

 

Hi Matt,

Many thanks for the kind reply. Thanks to the other members also.

How recent is my notebook? Here is the specification;

700Z5C-SO1
i7 3615QM
Nvidia GT640M IGB hybrid
8GB memory. DDR3-1600
1TB HDD
Ivy bridge 2.3Ghz boosted to 3.3Ghz
Cache 6MB
15`6" LEDHDplus 1600X900

CPU I understand. What is a GPU?

I have been making use of the notebook all day. I find the keyboard very good. Screen viewing angle is rather strange. I dont think I have ever owned a portable with such a poor angle of view. Just an inch or so and part of the screen definition disappears. I am still trying to find my way around the Samsung. Do I take it the screen is not full HDMI? My Sony from 4 years back was and also had bluray rather than DVD.
In some small ways the Sony had a nicer screen. No where near as fast.

I find my Asus TF300T transformer faster or as fast as this and that surprised me.

I paid 930.00euro for the Samsung and note on the German Amazon site it sells for 1600euro? Heck of a difference. Amazon UK doesnt appear to sell this model?
Again thank you for the kind reply.

Ryland

 

Hey Ryland welcome to the forums. Luckily you did get the newest Series 7 available so you're all set there. I'ts very recent, only came out a few weeks ago. A GPU is the graphics processing unit, it's what handles all your games, images, videos, etc. What you see on screen. On the Samsung, you've got two of them.

One is the Nvidia GT 640M which is a separate card inside the laptop, and another is integrated on the CPU, making it a GPU + CPU. That one's the Intel HD 4000 graphics. It's basically there to save power when the Nvidia card is not needed.

 

Hi everyone, I recently bought the NP700Z5C-S01CA for 1299. Could someone please tell me which US model this is equivalent to? Also, shouldn't I have express cache on this machine? The start up times are not great thus far. Any advice and comments would be great. Thanks.

(sorry the formatting copied strangely from the site. Generally the spec listed is for the parameter above it, not the one it is directly on top of)

Display

Screen Size

15.6 Inches
Native Screen Resolution

1600 x 900
LED Backlit Display

Yes
Processor

Processor Type

Intel Core i7-3615QM
Processor Cores

4
Processor Speed

2.3 GHz
Processor Cache

6 MB
Storage & Memory

Hard Drive Capacity

1 TB
Hard Drive Speed (Revolutions Per Minute)

5400 rpm
RAM Size

8 GB
RAM Type

DDR3 SDRAM
RAM Speed

1600 MHz
RAM Slots

1 (0 Available)
Optical Drive

Super Multi Dual Layer
Built-in Memory Card Reader

Yes
Memory Card Reader - Compatible Memory Type

SD; SDHC; SDXC; MMC
Graphics

Graphics Chipset

Nvidia GeForce GT 640M
Video Memory Configuration

Dedicated
Dedicated Video Memory Size

1 GB
Wireless Display (WiDi) Capable

Yes
Audio

Speaker Wattage

4 W
Integrated Microphone

Yes
Microphone Input

Yes
Digital Audio Output

No
Hardware Volume Control

No
Inputs & Outputs

Webcam

Yes
Keyboard Language

Bilingual
Numeric Keypad

Yes
Backlit Keyboard

Yes
Type of Pointing Device

TouchPad
Number of Touchpad Buttons

2
Type of Modem

Not Applicable
USB 2.0 Ports

1
USB 3.0 Ports

2
VGA Output

Yes
HDMI Output

No
HDCP Compliant

Yes
IEEE 1394 Input/Output

No
eSATA Port

No
ExpressCard/34 Input

No
ExpressCard/54 Input

No
IR Receiver

No
Other Input or Output Ports

None
Networking

Ethernet Port

10/100/1000
Integrated Wi-Fi

802.11 b/g/n
Integrated Bluetooth

Yes - 4.0
Power

Approximate Battery Life

Information Not Available
Battery Type

Lithium Polymer
Battery - Number of Cells

Information Not Available
Battery - Capacity

Information Not Available
Energy Star Qualified

Yes
Software

Pre-loaded Operating System

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Operating System Language

Bilingual
Loaded Software

Easy Partition Manager; Microsoft Office Starter 2010; WildTangent Game Console; CyberLink YouCam
Physical Features

Colour

Titan Silver
Laptop Thickness (closed)

2.39 cm
Laptop Depth

23.85 cm
Laptop Width

36.21 cm
Laptop Weight (including battery)

2.29 kg
Warranty Labour

1 Year(s)
Warranty Parts

1 Year(s)
WebID

10202712

 

It sounds like the same as the S02/3 US version. (The one with 8gb ram)

What do you mean by boot times bad? To an SSD user, they might be bad, but an old 5400RPM hdd user would find them much faster.

 

Hi crackertime! Like kDrum, I thought your specs sounded like the S02US or S03US, but I double-checked Amazon and didn't find an exact match (both list 750GB HDDs) -- in fact the listings (third-party sellers) were very skimpy. The closest match at Samsung is the S01UB, which is available here at Best Buy for $999. HOWEVER, new owners are reporting that while the HDD and RAM match the Samsung specs, the video card is the 630m (512MB), which is clearly listed by Best Buy but doesn't match what Samsung lists.

Have you run something like GPU-Z to confirm your graphics card -- it might be worth a look!

EDIT: I checked boot times and came up with 25 seconds from start to login prompt, using ExpressCache and the "boot accelerator".

-Matt

 

Hi Matt thanks I will give that a shot.

Re: Bootup speed, I do use an SSD in my desktop, however I had the Sony S15 prior to this one, also with a 5400 rpm hard drive, and the total boot time, to the point where everything had started up and was ready to go was about 1.5 minutes, whereas with this it is about 3. It gets to the desktop quickly, but once everything is all loaded and ready to go it has been a while. Thanks.

 

Just a few corrections, as Sandy Bridge isn't the 2nd generation of Core i microprocessors, but the 3rd. 1st was Nehalem, 2nd Westmere, 3rd Sandy Bridge and now Ivy Bridge. It's curious that the codenames for the CPUs differed from the uArch codename until Sandy Bridge (ex. Nehalem uArch had Bloomfield and Lynnfield codenames).

Also, the numbers after the "Core i" part are mostly meaningless, though some can be useful, like the K at the end that denotes an unlocked multiplier, the M at the end denoting a mobile-destined model (read: usually a laptop CPU) (and well, these 2 were actually characters, not numbers, lol), and the i3\5\7 part that gives an estimate on the supposed CPU power \ number of features. The Sandy Bridge numbers are 2XXX while Ivy Bridge are 3XXX (ok, on these ones it's actually useful).

If anyone wants to check any Intel CPU full spec \ features just put the code number (ex. "i7-2600K") into your favorite search engine and open the Intel ark page (starts with ark.intel.com) that'll probably come up as the first hit.


And Ryland, forums are for idea trading \ experience sharing. Even experienced people sometimes do ask silly questions, so as long as you don't go overly OT I'm sure people here will answer your questions in a timely and respectful manner.

 

I'm looking at that laptop as well since I have gift cards from the Windows Phone Challenge (not sure if they have the laptop in store). I'm also looking at the Sandy Bridge version as well. Here are the links: Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge. I read that the Sandy Bridge one had some troubles with the switchable graphics. Do you guys think the Ivy Bridge one is worth the extra $250? I am planning to do some CAD work and probably play games like Diablo 3.

 

Awesome, thanks for spotting that!

-Matt

 

Sandy bridge version had AMD graphics, so in short, yes, it had trouble with switching. Ivy Bridge version is not like that.

 

It had problems switching because of Samsung's poor hardware support, not because of AMD. I've got an Acer Timeline from 2009 with a C2D + ATI 4330M (it was still ATI then) and it switches just fine (in Windows).

See if the MBPs from last year have trouble switching, or Dell Vostros 3550, for instance. Hint: they don't.

NVidia's switching tech is easier to implement (for OEMs) and even then we saw some posts from people having trouble switching.

I'm not sure how bug free the tech is right now, but in the past it wasn't uncommon to see people having troubles with GPU switching, be it from AMD or NVidia.

PS: For the easiest time with this tech, get a MBP or an AMD APU, those are the most guaranteed to work since there's native support from the manufacturer.
I doubt many people (if at all) will choose a laptop because the GPU switching works better though, lol

 

I seem to be having an issue with dimming and brightening movie playback when on battery power. I've turned off auto-brightness, and the problem persists, any idea what could be causing the problem?

I use VLC Player.

EDIT:
Turns out the problem was “Intel Display Power Saving Technology“, turned it off, and haven't noticed any problems.

 

Does anyone know if i will be able to put a 9mm crucial M4 into this laptop?

thank you!

 

The specs listed in the first post indicate yes because includes a 1TB HDD and that is only available in 9.5mm thickness.

John

 

I couldn't agree less. 4GB is the bare minimum to have Windows Vista / Windows 7 work properly and be stable, then you have all your applications on top of that. If you're streaming video on multiple browser tabs, the memory cache will accumulate very quickly and 6GB just barely keeps you flying. If you're using any sort of adobe product you'll need 8GB, but to be safe I would never buy a computer that supported less than 12GB. 16GB would be ideal for me, but then again I have a full SQL Server Database running and about 20-30 applications running at any one time

 

Hey everyone, yesterday I got about 5 hours on battery, which is better than the 3:45 I got from the S15 I returned. It is still less than I expected, when you consider that the monitor was off while I pushed to my TV. I was editing text in word and surfing the whole time. Watched maybe one episode of a tv show, and a few youtube videos, but otherwise just working. Hope that is somewhat helpful.

 

Thanks John, but my NP700Z5C-S01US comes with a 750GB HDD so maybe I'm out of luck? I also am wondering about RAM, i know 1 stick is SO, but can i use anything in the other port as long as it's the same clock speed?

 

I have NEVER run into RAM problems, and I have never owned more than 4GB RAM. A very specific niche of people will need more than 6gb, but for anything less than professional work, 4GB is plenty. Windows 7-8 uses 500-1gb RAM, depending on your total RAM (it might be a tiny higher than that at max) my system resources uses around 800 MB. Games take up 2GB, and that still leaves over a gig for internet. Very few people do more than internet, skype, a game open, and a video open.

I don't know why a normal user would need multiple videos at the same time. Although I've loaded 3 videos into youtube to buffer, and still don't hit issues. While I realize that you can exceed 4-6GB RAM, a very very very very small number of users run 20-30 applications like you do. I'm not being demeaning, but most people don't need that much power

DAMNIT Amazon. Raised the SS7 back to 1099. I know it was being discounted, but pisses me off because I could have ordered it two days ago for the discount.

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Now Amazon charges sales tax? Since when? This sucks. I just added 150$ to my order And just to Texas. This sucks

 

No offense taken, I realize that I'm not a typical computer user. But from experience, 4GB is just not enough for Vista or 7 in order to avoid slowdowns. And if you use Photoshop or Illustrator, or any sort of video editing software, you just can never have enough RAM

 

No worries! (Well, I can't help with the sales tax, though...) Hang in there -- I'll bet you $10 it's down to $999 by the end of July. That's only about 2 weeks away! And if you buy now and the price does drop again, remember they were correcting prices 2 (or 3?) weeks past purchase date.

-Matt

 

Haha, newegg doesn't charge sales tax, so I bought it there. Maybe I'd lose out on a potential refund from Amazon if the price drops, but I already saved 70$ by getting it from Newegg, so there'd have to be a big price drop. I just wish I could have done the free 2 day shipping trial at Newegg, as its faster and cheaper than the standard stuff, but alas, no credit card for poor college me, just a debit

 

newegg, good move! I'm glad you did that -- you'll never know how close I was to offering to buy it for you (IL) and have it delivered as a gift.

Keep us posted! Unboxing video...?

EDIT: WAITWAITWAIT...you bought the S0--ONE--US??? You mean you didn't dish out another $100 for 2 more GB of essential RAM in the S02US:

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Nike NP700Z5C-S02US Notebook Intel Core i7 3615QM(2.30GHz) 15.6" 8GB Memory DDR3 1600 750GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M

...sorry...couldn't help tease you and Blake about the RAM...

-Matt

 

Just got my NP700Z5C-SO4US and am loving it so far, but i'm looking into putting a Samsung 830 in it, which by John's post above i'm assuming fits, and I was wondering if anyone could tell me how or point me in the direction of how to back up everything i need. Mainly worried about drivers and I downloaded borderlands (10gb) and I really don't want to have to download again.

My other question was if anyone knows of a good enclosure to put my hdd in once i take it out.

Also if any of you have any questions about the S04 or my series 7 id be happy to try and help you out.

 

The S01US can be had on the amazon marketplace for $999 with $9 shipping, no tax. It's worth buying this and spending $30 for another stick of ram and another $160-190 for a 256GB m4/830 series. Same price as the S02US but you get an SSD instead of a 750GB hdd. I plan on putting the 750gb hdd in my desktop so i dont have to spend another $80 on a drive for storage.

 

Haha

I have a friend in Missouri - if all else failed, I could have had him ship it, but thank you! XD

I'm not really one for videos, but I'll definitely post my thoughts when I get it, if anybody else feels they need them

 

How come anytime I try to search this thread i get:

Could not find phrase 'invalid_search_query'.

?

 

Tax depends on the state you live in. Unfortunately for me, I got taxed, so I went to Newegg, XD

Umm, the only 999$ model I see on Amazon is the sandy bridge model. Make sure you're aware of that if you order it.

 

Hey - it's not amazon, it's the amazon marketplace..aka a 3rd party seller. Mine is the S01US ivy bridge/640m/6gb/750gb model. Total was $1008, no tax, $8 shipping. Tax is only charged in Indiana for this seller. And he sold out too, pretty quickly as well, so i'm not sure when he'll be getting more.

 

I have an s01 and I just upgraded to the 830 yesterday. It fits perfectly, and it was a lot easier to install than I thought (ZIF connectors make me freak out). Most of your questions (hard drive caddy, disassembling) can be found in the threads listed here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...0z3-np700z4-np700z5-series-owners-lounge.html

For me, I went against conventional wisdom and cloned my drive instead of a fresh install. The only issue was there is a recovery partition that is useful to week for emergencies, but it takes up a whooping 23gb on your hard drive. I assume you will get the 256 gb version, which means it is 10% of your drive. NOT GOOD. So I just cloned the recovery partition to an external hard drive (using Easeus total backup, free program). Then I deleted it, cloned the rest over to the 830 and installed it, works great. Power button to home screen takes 7 seconds!

 

Hey everyone, sorry if I missed an answer to this, but has the expresscache been dropped in the IB models?

Also, on an unrelated note, I am having trouble installing COD MW3 on this laptop. It keeps stopping in the same place each time. I had the same copy installed on the S15 a week ago so I am somewhat confused. Not sure if this is really something anyone could help with without seeing the process though.

 

thanks for the opinion, and yes I agree with u and stick to SS7.. and would think over spending the extra on SSD rather.

however, a little disagree on RAM issue. the other one provides you with two slot which enables u to have 16GB [so it is not just a matter of having extra 2GB]. and sometimes 6GB is just not enough [IMO] .. as i have got problems in Development environment specially with virtual machines plus other dev tools...

 

hey, have you already got it in hands or waiting to be delivered?
I also found it but avoided because I had a bad experience with BB's $999 dollar one. so i thought maybe this seller is selling the same as best buy's model. M

Make sure u get the one with NIVIDIA 640m 1GB.