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

What could I be doing wrong? Did I get a faulty unit? I bought it less than 24 hours ago.

60+ framerates?

 

Make sure your laptop isn't set to silent mode. Silent mode decreases the speed of the fans while underclocking the CPU and GPU. To access these settings, press Fn+F1 and turn off SIlent Mode. If that is not the case, then I am not sure as it should be able to run most games at a very good FPS.

 

Yeah I can run complex games like Battlefield Bad Company 2 at 60 fps on medium and portal 1/2 and TF2 fully maxed with 8x MSAA so you may be having issues with your laptop Kreidel. As Hoonmasta suggested, make sure you aren't using silent mode as it also caps your framerate at 30fps.

I'm unaware of the screen bleeding issue, my backlighting is even throughout the panel and none of the edges show any light gaps.

After running GPU-z or Afterburner to monitor what's going on. One more possibility is to go into Nvidia Control Panel and make sure its global setting is at "auto select graphics processor," as it may be using the integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics.

The best settings for your wifi are found by going to Device manager > Network Adapters > Intel Centrino Advanced 6235 > Properties > Advanced tab. From there, set 802.11n Channel width for 5.2 to Auto, Wireless Mode to 802.11b/g, Roaming Aggressiveness to Highest, and Transmit Power to Highest. That may help with your speed issues. However, this is a general problem with ALL Intel 6235 cards, not particularly this laptop.

 

can you guys confirm that NP700Z5C S03 has sata3 connection even though he comes with sata2 ?

 

I had the S01 and exchanged for the S02 (bought the S01 on 9/30, bought S02 on 10/26) because it was the same price for better specs. But for a savings of $300 I would say keep the S01. I havent noticed much of a difference in performance between the two. I would only exchange it if you have a need for a better video card, otherwise that's a heck of a system for $670. It was already the best deal in the store at $999, $680 is fantastic.

 

I have the S01 and have windows 8 on it plus the trial office 2013 and it has ran everything I have thrown at it except bio shock 2 but I will fix that when I get time. And at that price you would be crazy to take it back.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

 

The HDD SATA port is SATA III regardless of the fact that the hard drive is SATA II. No current hard drive can saturate a SATA II connection. Only a solid state can take advantage of SATA III. The SATA port in the ODD is SATA II.

 

So I just got the NP700Z5C-S02UB from Best Buy. The first one I got had a dead pixel so I went to exchange it but now the second one I have has a trackpad issue. I'm not sure if it's a hardware issue or software. Basically randomly the trackpad will get really bad and become almost unusable. The cursor speed decreases to a crawl (it hardly moves even if I move my finger across the trackpad quickly) and the click pad hardly works (I have to press down several times for it to even register). One-finger tapping doesn't work at all. Shutting down would fix the problem but not all the time and it comes back every 10 minutes or so. This happened on the original HDD with Windows 8 but I then replaced it with an SSD and put Windows 7 on it. I thought the problem had gone away but then I installed the P04ABJ bios and it came back. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it because with Windows 8 it was still on P03ABJ. Do you guys think I should exchange it again? I've tried installing the latest ELAN drivers but it doesn't help at all. Any help would be appreciated, I only have a few days left to exchange it.

EDIT: Alright so I've been using the laptop for a little over 30 minutes and the trackpad is fine. I'm guessing when the laptop idles for too long and I try to use it again something goes wrong and the trackpad goes to hell. Not sure what could be causing it.

 

Has anyone that installed windows 8 having wifi issues when waking the laptop from sleep? it will not connect to the wifi, and act like there isnt even a wifi card installed, a reboot fixes this, (sometimes the card has disabled itself, and has to be re-enabled) but sometimes it will hang on restart and then I have to force shut down by pressing and holding the power button. its only a minor issue but I would like to fix it!

 

Hi everybody,

I just purchased the UK variant of the NP700Z5C and unforunately I think mine has a defective screen.

I have attached an image, this vertical grey line appears on the far right of my screen, I thought updating drivers/ bios might sort it out but it even appears when the laptop is booting.

I'm hoping someone will tell me of an easy fix so I don't have to send it back

 

I'm not sure if this will work, but try going into task scheduler and disabling the WLANStartup service. Alternatively or additionally, try downloading the Driver only package from Intel designed specifically for Windows 8 64 bit http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=21999&lang=eng. Make sure you select the driver only package (without all the INtel ProSET junk) with the De64 ending 2nd from the top.

Honestly that's probably a defect and you should return it for another one. It's most likely a hardware issue, either with the display itself or the graphics adapters.

 

What is the "Last BIOS time" in the task manager in Windows 8 and why is it always zero for me?

 

What's the general consensus on the P04AAG bios? I don't plan on changing from P02 but I'd like to know anyway.

Also I've just received my new charger in the mail, so I'm happy to report a positive experience with Samsung's warranty center. It just required a little bit of talking.

 

Hi there guys and girls, I just received a batch of laptop screws but none fit as well as I want them to. I also dont want to ruin the laptop even further. Does anyone know the exact screw type the laptop uses??

 

Pleasantly surprised this morning to stumble on an extensive review of the NP700Z5C -- Italian version:

Google Translate

Of particular use to owners here are the internal pictures:

Google Translate

It was posted back in October, but is pretty extensive (probably more description than testing, though). If anyone finds it useful, maybe we can ask John to add it to the forum sticky list.

-Matt

 

Hi. I'm new to Notebook Review, but before I joined I spent some time reading many of the pages in this thread.

Very confused to find Samsung's product page about the series 7 laptops does not even list several of the models I've seen in stores. Perhaps some models are sold specifically through retail outlets like Best Buy, but it really has made me wonder why Samsung doesn't list them. When I'm on Samsung's series 7 product web page and click on the model NP700Z5C-S01US I get a page for a different model (NP700Z5CH).

I'd like to get one of these laptops primarily to edit HD video (using Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum) when I'm on the road. Have noted what seem to be a number of issues with the 15.6" series 7 models, although few seem to be totally disenchanted. I would like to get an NP700Z5C-S02UB and install Win 7 on it as I'm not convinced of Win 8's backward compatibility with some of me legacy software.

 

First off, WELCOME to the forum! Hope you like it here.

Second, don't be put off by Samsung -- my sense is they are not a great source of information (I remember when the S01UB came out, and the Samsung website said it had the 640m when in fact it was the 630m!). For some truly odd reason, if you run the SW Update utility (on any Samsung machine, I presume), and then choose the "Find Model" option, it gives you an astronomical number of models. I don't know whether you can totally assume, "OK, I've entered the right model, so whatever drivers/software it's giving me must be correct," but it's a great tool. Much, MUCH better than the website.

Finally, I would strongly recommend the S02UB. One caveat: I've spent the last few days installing (and reinstalling) Windows 7, and it is a bit temperamental. If you're OK with some trial and error and a few rounds of installing, you will be richly rewarded -- it is a remarkable machine and I can't say enough good things about it. (The only minor con I've spotted so far is mediocre wifi connections and throughput.) I would set aside whatever negative things you've read about here (just my 2 cents) and jump on it. In particular, it will have no problems whatsoever with your HD video editing (not speaking from direct experience, just my overall impression).

-Matt

 

@DrBill: You're right, Samsung can be lazy at times about updating their product pages, borrowing from one model to another.

That said, I just compared the spec pages for the NP700Z5C-S01US and S01UB models:

http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP700Z5C-S01US-specs

http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP700Z5C-S01UB-specs

Even though they have the same page title, they ARE indeed different pages, showing the different HDD and Graphics card between the two models. The exact model number is also listed in the spec table.

I have an older 14" NP700Z3A and love it. When the day comes I'll have to replace my old 18" HP HDX, I'll be looking to the 17" Series 7.

 

Thanks for the links. Its always nice to see a review of what I own (its identical to my NP700Z5C-S04US)

 

Hi,
- anyone know if np700z5c-s03 have tpm or other security chip, it comes with win 8 home 64b default
- where is label with win 8 serial number ?

 

The Windows key may be on the PSU (that's where it is on the Series 9).

John

 

Its weird but the Samsung site does not mention that my NP700Z5C-S04US has a TPM. I found it at the Microsoft Store before I purchased it.

 

Hey, all...
New to NBR, and I was really glad that SOMEONE was covering this laptop, as it seems I can't find much information. I picked up the S02UB at Best BUy (open box) the other day for $800. Sick price considering it didn't appear to have actually been USED (plastic sheets still attached etc).

That said, I deleted the samsung software update app, thinking I wouldn't need it. But it looks like my settings application is out of date, since it lacks a control option for the ambient light sensor. I want to change the settings (it's a little aggressive as is), but the settings app does not have a slider for the sensor.

SO I guess I have 2 questions:
1- does this slider actually exist for the S02UB?
2- Where can I download the software update app? (Samsung's website does not list the S02UB afaik.

Thanks!

 

unfortunately there isn't

 

I was researching this series and found Win XP drivers for it on the Samsung web site. I thought the i7 wouldn't run XP. Am I wrong? I use XP on my desktop due to all the legacy applications (some dating back 30 years) and some of the ones I need that run on XP apparently won't run on Win 7 or 8.

 

Yep, I can confirm there's a slider for keyboard and display brightness, plus a toggle to turn off the ambient light sensor. Are you running Win8 or Win7? Anyway, I'd suggest downloading BOTH Easy Software Manager and Easy Settings -- feel free to use the S01US or S01UB driver pages, should be fine. IIRC, once installed, both programs will update themselves several times, the former, in particular, becoming "SW Update."

Dr.Bill, forgive the awkward phrasing but: I can think of no reason XP wouldn't run on an i7, though I would defer to John and the other sages on this forum.

However, I'm a pretty big fan of Win7, and would strongly suspect you could run all your legacy software in Compatibility Mode. Maybe worth looking into?

-Matt

 

Thanks, Matt. I've heard that the incompatibility between XP and the i7 rests with the video subsystem or control chip. I checked on compatibility for many of my more recent legacy apps on the Microsoft web site and the information there said they would not run even under compatibility mode. Of course I hope that's incorrect!

 

I'm really tempted to work in a "Pong" joke here, but I just can't figure out how.

In the meantime, I'm surprised that some/many won't work under compatibility mode. I've had good luck with some older apps, but then again most are no more than a decade. However, if Microsoft says "no go" I'd take that pretty seriously.

-Matt

 

Instead of installing XP over 7, maybe try running XP inside VirtualBox instead? That's what I do for some company apps that require XP and IE6. Super easy and the best of both worlds. Those old apps rarely require much horsepower that Virtual Box cannot deliver.

 

This is weird. I have SW update, and it's updated, but I don't have these options (I've seen them reference elsewhere for other models of the 7). I have, down the left side of the easy settings app:General, boot management, power management, network, display, soundAlive and Input. In the display tab, all i have are presets for the screen color modes (standard, movie, etc).

IN fact, my settings app is version 2.0.0.21, whereas the one you linked was version 1.1.1.4

 

Thanks. I'll look into that as well as actually trest out some of my older apps on a Win 7 system to see if they do indeed run properly. Now allI have to do is buy the Win 7-based Samsung!

 

https://twitter.com/SamsungSupport
Was awesome.

Basically, on the S02UB, they put the light-sensor controls in the Windows setting menu, as opposed to in the Easy Settings app.
Charms Menu-- Settings-- Change PC settings--General--Screen: Adjust screen brightness automatically to OFF.

Again, this is for the Win 8 version: NP700Z5C-S02UB.

 

Why not try running Microsoft's own Windows XP mode? It's available for free download and since it's their own application it'll probably work with the least issue for your legacy programs.
Download Windows XP Mode

I'm not sure if it works for Windows 8 or if it has a different download.

Actually it's also there in Windows 7, under advanced power options on each setting and it's called "Adaptive Brightness." It's a little more difficult to get to then the Win 8 version, but both are good to know. Ever since I've actually disabled the light sensor within Windows 7, the Auto Brightness option in Easy Settings disappeared as well as Adaptive Brightness in Power Management. I thought that was neat.

 

Adaptive Brightness! That's awesome, I need to check that out. Thanks!

@Modred189, since I've downgraded the S02UB to Win7, I'm not sure how much help I can be. However, in the process of both playing with Win8 and then reinstalling Win7, I can confirm that depending on the driver configuration, Easy Settings can be fickle about what it displays. In the end, what got everything in the right place was (a) updating SW Update and Easy Settings to the latest versions (which sometimes involves looking at other models) and (b) several iterations of Windows Update (esp. updating .NET). Since you do have SW Update: do you have the "Find Model" option? That should be very helpful.

-Matt

 

If you just want to find out what your Win8 key is, use this guide

 

Hello all. This is my first post. I have read a lot in this thread, and decided to post because i have three questions.

To begin i just picked up a np700z5c-s02ub for $800 brand new. Is there anything in particular i should know about it? (Quirks, etc.)

A. I plan on installing a crucial m4 ssd. Will the disc cloning software that comes with the m4 copy the recovery partition as well? And will the recovery work in the future if needed?

B. I'm toying with the idea of downgrading to win7. Will i encounter any problems if i do this?
(Driver incompatibility, etc.) If i do downgrade, i want to do it after i clone to the ssd, so i will have the win8 recovery partition if i want to go back to win8. After cloning to the ssd will the recovery partition still work correctly after having downgraded to win7?

Thanks in advance guys and gals!

EDIT: i am also looking into upgrading to 12gb of RAM. What speed should i be looking for to match the speed of what is installed on the board?

Also would it be worth the money to upgrade to 12gb, or would i even notice the difference?

 

Dunno about the SSD, but in regards to the ram, are you doing anything that will bump into the limits of the ram you have? If so, increase the ram amount. Just don't expect much of a performance increase from the ram SPEED increase.

 

Sorry for not responding sooner -- I think my green monster was scratching its head over that $800 price tag -- please explain!!!

But now that I've gathered myself: I followed the S02UB downgrade path, and while it took a few tries, I ended up with a perfect machine. My personal theory is that the S01US, S01UB, and S02UB are for all intents and purposes the same machine, overlooking minor differences like i7 core speeds and a bit more or less RAM. (Oh, the S01UB has the NVIDIA 630m, but still...)

I hesitate advising on the SSD though, as I am not-so-experienced in that domain. My novice view, based on cloning stories I've read, is that a clean install is much preferred. Another, related (and possibly ignorant) comment: I have a gut feeling the recovery partition (I think there are actually two Samsung_REC partitions) may be configured to only work under nearly-stock conditions, i.e., original drive, original OS, etc. I ran into problems once I downgraded to 7, while running on the stock drive (and leaving the recovery partitions untouched). I'd bet $10 that if you cloned to the SSD, plunked it in, and ran recovery, it wouldn't work. In that case, of course, as long as you kept the HDD handy and in a virgin state you should be able to recover with that.

-Matt

 

@newcastle, yjgfikl, gadgetrants:

Maybe this is what you were all saying, but just to make sure: WLANStartup is an Easy Settings module, not part of the WiFi driver. To the best of my knowledge, its purpose is to "repair" the WiFi connection by toggling the adapter off/on shortly after every user login (same as Device Manager disable/enable).

The reason to do this is because some of that PROset junk can accidentally cause a "condition" where the adapter always boots in an off state, and the WiFi won't connect. It's still a mystery to me why that would be the case, but it happens (on SOME installations only) if the adapter has ever been disabled manually and later re-enabled -- a legitimate thing to do. There may also be other circumstances that trigger it. In that case, WLANStartup gets it going again by toggling it after each login.

I have never seen this condition occur with the Driver Only version of the Intel driver package (the Ds64 ones). I am currently using Wireless_15.3.1_Ds64 which works great. Thus you can disable WLANStartup in Task Scheduler, and save yourself the brief interruption in network connection that it may cause when it toggles the adapter.

Re newcastle's situation: Yes, I agree, you need to completely uninstall the previous driver and everything PROset in order to repair this condition. Even that doesn't always fix it. The adapter must be gone completely from the list of Network Adapters in the registry (HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}) before the new Ds64 driver is installed.

In case you wonder if I ever get out much: That's why I'm sometimes gone from this forum for a few weeks

 

Thanks for the response! I actually found it brand new unopened for $850 on eBay and talked the guy down to $800 shipped!!! It arrives tomorrow. I'm leaning against the ram upgrade because i don't often multitask. Correct me if i am wrong, but i don't believe my model comes with expresscashe option. So I'm hoping if i install the ssd and do a clean install of windows 7 i shouldn't run into too many issues.

If you don't mind me asking, why did it take you a few tries to downgrade? What issues did you encounter and do you think it had anything to do with your model having the expresscashe option? Everything i have read about my model points to it not having that option.

Also did you have any driver issues?

Thanks in advance!!

EDIT: i had planned on cloning and then using the one that came out as an external, but now based on your response i will probably leave the one coming out virgin, and just spending some extra money on a larger ssd for a clean win7 install.

 

Ahhh, eBay, that makes sense! You got a great deal, congrats! RE: ExpressCache, if it's the S02UB you got yourself 8GB of iSSD. I'm actually finding that it doesn't make a huge difference in startup time with Win7, but since you're installing an SSD it won't matter much (you can just format it and use it as extra or cache space).

Reason why "it took a few tries" is a bit of a long story, but basically I learned by trial-and-error not to rush the process of installing Samsung drivers/utilities and Windows updates. For example: I initially installed an older version of SW Update and Easy Settings, and all was good. However, when SW Update updated both programs, Easy Settings failed to load. Why? I'd ignored the small warning from SW Update to "make sure .NET was fully updated." On a normal machine, it would have been, but because I had just installed Win7, that particular update hadn't arrived yet. So on the final attempt to install, after installing the essential drivers (e.g., chipset, Intel and NVIDIA graphics, wifi driver -- driver ONLY, not the PROset suite -- and SW Update and Easy Settings), I then let Windows update roll through its multiple waves of fixes, patches, etc. Once everything was working as expected I went back to SW Update and installed the other drivers/utilities (e.g., touchpad, USB 3.0, etc.).

A minor caveat: I also noticed through the update process that for quite a while, CPU idled at 15% and the fan was on almost all the time. The culprit was "System Idle Process," which sorted itself out by installing the Intel Rapid Storage Technology app (IIRC). After that the machine idles near 0% with low-40 temps.

Has your machine arrived yet (did I miss that)? I've had mine for a month (not counting the S01US I owned for 2 weeks) and absolutely love it. I'm extremely happy with my decision. I hope yours "checks all the boxes" for you too!

EDIT: another minor debacle I ran into is that I could NOT get SP1 to download and install. I finally did a manual download from Microsoft, and it installed with no problems. I wonder whether first installing the Windows Hotfix patches provided by Samsung created any issues...?

-Matt

 

It arrives tomorrow and I'm stoked about it! Lol... downgrading now has me worried because it seems like a very daunting process. I have been out of the PC game and owned a Mac for so long all of this seems like a language I've never heard before lol... i dont even know what expresscache is ... i feel incredibly dumb at the moment, but after i order my ssd i will refer to your suggestions and cross my fingers!... would you say it was worth the hassle to have win7 on this machine? Because i read and bookmarked what seemed to be a very simple way to install win8 on the new ssd. I wish this awesome machine would have came with win7 and the option to upgrade if desired.

 

From what i have gathered, i need to install win7, then essential DRIVERS only, then let windows do all its updates, THEN install all the samsung related programs and "frills"

And by frills i mean SW Update and Easy Settings (which i dont even know what those things are) lol

 

I think the one issue that can really cause a headache is UEFI vs. BIOS, which basically means: once you've got your install media (DVD or thumb drive) ready you have to decide whether to use UEFI ( unified extensible firmware interface) or BIOS ( basic input output system). In plain English, each is the system that runs when you start, and hands off the initial boot process to the operating system. I'm the wrong guy to explain the pros and cons of each, but for someone new to Windows the better/simpler choice would be to boot your machine into the Setup system (press F2 right after starting) and then turn off UEFI -- however, doing so is not totally straightforward, so post back here if you want step-by-step instructions on how. In other words, doing an install using Legacy BIOS is quite a bit easier than doing it through UEFI. (That was another part of why it took me a few tries.)

BUT keep in mind: if you pull the HDD and do the install on the SSD, you can pretty much do the Win7 install as many times as you need until it works. That may sound annoying or daunting, but maybe you can approach the task by thinking, "The first try is just practice!" and then repeat once you've got all the steps down. Set aside Saturday or Sunday and you should be good!

-Matt

 

Sounds good. Dannemand has recommended doing the Hotfixes early (to protect against virus issues) which is good advice, but I haven't figured out if my problems installing SP1 were related to doing that.

-Matt