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

I was testing the 700Z5C in the store, and yes the screen was very dull and blacks was dark-grey. But if you can live with that, the matte surface and HD+ resolution makes it decent to work with, but I won't recommend it for photo editing or watching movies. For gaming and regular work it's ok.

 

Sigh. Finally got a chance to play with it and WOW...

This has to be the worst screen ever...

This screen is exactly like the Dell XPS 14z. It's just horrible. I am just moving my head side to side and up and down and unbelievable.

I am going to test it some more but I will hold off on the SSD installation. So far, I am 90% sure I am returning this laptop. However, I will give it a few days...

Also, the this trackpad sucks! Even with a MacBook on Bootcamp, the trackpad with decent drivers is a millions better than the Samsung. Wth? I hope the Samsung NP700Z7C is much better...

Edit: I can say the 3rd Gen Intel i7 screams! This sucker is fast!

 

Hi all,

i just got my Samsung Series 7 Gamer...
I have been trying to install Diablo 3 and it has taken 30-45 min and it is still at 2%... Do i need to do something to speed this up?
It seems like this should not take this long.

 

Sounds like it locked up. I would cancel and restart your computer and redo it.

Also who dat!

 

WHO DAT!!

Thanks for the quick response... I restarted and tried again and no luck... it is still moving quite slow...

Not only that but a few things seem quite slow, loading webpages, multi tasking, etc..

Not sure what the problem is, maybe bad internet connection.

 

Weird. When I replied to you, I started my D3 installation and it's been done lol

Also anyone doing a clean installation of windows...

The newest Nvidia drivers do not work unless you use modded a inf file.

Learned the hard way uninstalling the old drivers and had to redl them...

 

Sigh. So far I love everything about this laptop but the trackpad and screen. The screen is the biggest issue here. I have my MacBook Air next to it wow does it put it to shame.

I haven't searched yet but how does the big brother 17" screen compare to the 15"? Is it much much better? I think I can handle the size. I just hate to pay $300 more for it though.

 

The screen is a lot better on the 17". The trackpad sucks just as much, I hate it too. Give me normal buttons below the trackpad please, not integrated buttons that ends up marking text etc when I just want to click!

 

Been playing D3 on it for about an hour and so far it's been great.

Temps are okay. Max about 82ish with max settings. I have to look up some tweaks. I think people said to set FPS to 60? I'll research it later though.

Temps for regular usage is great. Very cool. While gaming, the fan isn't too bad compared to an Alienware. Sigh this laptop is so perfect yet the screen/trackpad just trashes it. I need a full-time PC laptop now! Coming from a decked out desktop, I would like something for everyday usage. I guess I will keep looking...

 

From what I've read/watched, the Z7C definitely has an excellent FHD screen (as opposed to the dated Z5C TN panel), it seemed to match the likes of a Macbook Pro display. There is another thread dedicated to trackpad issues, so maybe that could help.

As for justifying the $300 increase, you could note several pros: the 1080p display, 2GB GDDR5 650M, 8GB RAM, and JBL speakers.

I'm sorry to hear that our fears of the Z5C screen are being confirmed. Even from watching video reviews I see the "dark grey" blacks, and mediocre viewing angles. The display should never be the bottleneck of a notebook pc.

Size is pretty important to me, otherwise I would also get the Z7C. I'm probably going to go with the Asus N56VZ-DS71.

 

I had the chance to play around with a display set Z5C. Entire palmrest is now metal and there are speaker holes now. The webcam has an additional small LED light beside. All these were not present on the Z5A.

And the screen is now a Samsung SEC0006 instead of the SEC314B. The blacks are slightly better with better contrast actually.

The trackpad is still the lousy Elan one which when I now use is clumsy compared to the one on MBP.

 

DAMNNNNN im about to buy this laptop!!!

im really not sure bettween this one and the asus n56-vz....
is it worth paying 200€ more for the samsung instead of the asus?

is the laptop realy that bad? and the viewing angles? does anyone know if theres anything new coming out until august?

 

Yes: the new XPS 15

 

but there are no prices and specs yet.... just rumors right?
but what about new processors and video cards.... these ones are just the first of ivy and kepler

 

That's quite interesting, the one I tried still had SEC314B. I hope the SEC0006 is an improved version.
The other changes I can confirm, still the new speaker holes didn't do much for sound quality improvements.

 

but at the end do you guys think you bought the right laptop? or its not worth the money? specially when the asus has better specs and is 200€ cheaper

 

Anyone?

 

I have the SEC0006 screen and it's not great...

 

will check the screen later today in singapore. ..
pc show 2012 is on now.
planning to get z5c, S$ 1988
Samsung Notebooks Series 7 Chronos NP700Z3A-S02SG, NP700Z5C-S01SG, Gamer NP700G7A-S02SG PC SHOW 2012 Price List Brochure Flyer Image

hope to see a better lcd panel ....

 

I`ve checked the screen ID of the Spanish version and it's the same as other ones...

I want to install an SSD drive insted of the 1TB HDD that comes with it. What kind of SSD (dimension, etc) should I ask for?

Thank you!

 

this may be a dumb question but how do you check what screen you have. I got mine yesterday but im having to send it back because mine has a grey line all the way down the right edge of the screen vertically.

Also i notice my NP700z3a screen was/is much brighter than my np700z5c so im thinking i got a defective screen! can anyone else confirm that the screens between the np700z3 and z5 would be the same?

 

ok nevermind found it! It has the SEC0006

but i noticed that on my np700z3a it has the SECffff

 

You can try $1899. The Z5A I bargained and bought for only $1850.

 

First spotting of NP700Z5C- S02US at best buy:

Samsung - 15.6" Laptop - 8GB Memory - 750GB Hard Drive - Silver - NP700Z5C-S02US

GPU: 640M, 1GB DDR[?]
RAM: 8GB
HDD: 750GB 7200 rpm
OS: Win 7 Home

no specs on the display

 

Does Samsung make a 14" version with the i7 Ivy?

 

I just wanted to take a couple minutes to express my thanks to those who contributed to this thread. It is full of the type of information a person needs to make an informed decision on a laptop purchase.

When I started out, I was infatuated with the new Ivy Series 7 lineup. After reading through this, and reading what others have experienced, I reluctantly had to look elsewhere at this price point. As many others have already echoed, it makes no sense that a high-end screen manufacturer would stick that terrible screen on a power-themed laptop (I experienced it at a store demo, and blech!).

So, I went an entirely different direction and ended up ordering an MSI, replacing a 2010 Samsung r480 (not just a solid laptop, but most solid computer I've ever owned hands-down).

So again, thank you all.

You and I are alike - it is frustrating that manufacturers (in general) only put the high-power stuff in the larger models. Just because we like smaller screens doesn't mean we don't want the processing capabilities.

 

Which MSI did you end up getting?

 

Amazon has it too now
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Series-NP700Z5C-S01US-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B0083S3OWW

Any review on screen & sound quality? Look like 15" still don't have JBL.

 

It's a GE60 0ND-042US, but it's on back order. I'm in line, but wasn't given an estimated date of when it will be in stock again.

 

I have mine next monday!

 

I got my Series 7 today from Futureshop! yay, I even got a free XBox that came with it. It has the standard Canadian configuration with 1TB 5400 rpm harddrive and 8 gigs of RAM. My first impression is that it's fast. However, the screen is not as good as on my old Dell XPS 1530. It's pretty good, but doesn't have the "wow factor" that my old Dell has. I don't mind "grey" blacks cause I don't generally stare at a black screen anyway. However, I still prefer my old Dell's screen. I will keep this laptop cause I don't see anything else that I like on the market. Initially, I was deciding between this and new sony SE 2012 series. But their screen just cant display reds... at all...

Btw, this is my first non-Dell laptop ever. My family have had 5 Dells over the years.

 

Maybe you guys should check out the new Gigabyte U2442? Sounds like something for you guys. It looks like the samsung 7 chronos

Specs:
14 inch, 1.59kg, 128gb SSD + 750gb HDD, GeForce GT640M, i7 Ivy.

Gigabyte shows off 14-inch U2440/U2442 Ultrabooks and Carbon X11 notebook - Notebookcheck.net News

The U2442V version has the ivy i7. According to the site I just linked, it's expected to hit the European market in July.

I was considering buying the NP700Z5C, but after reading so much about how bad the screen was I figured I'd just wait for the Gigabyte one. Besides, I think it might be worth the wait considering I'll be getting NP700Z5C specs but with a smaller screen. And 128gb SSD.

 

I am officially returning my laptop

The screen is just unbearable. Also, I'm not sure whoever said the 17" is much better, it's not.

It has the same horrible viewing angles. Contrast just sucks...

White is not white. Blue is not blue...

Check for yourself. Go to Facebook. All the blue's look purpleish.

Oh well. Best of luck to all the owners.

 

I had to play with screen settings before make it look nice. I really don't mind how it looks now. I used "easy settings" software that's provided by Samsung, and selected "Sharp" option under the screen settings. It made things much better.

 

I have both the np700z3a-s06us and np700z5c-s01us and found that using the windows color calibration really help me get the screen to more accurate colors and turning off the samsung color options! Give it a try under the control panel. I do have to say tho, the Np700z3a has a brighter screen overall than my 700z5c! Extremely satisfied with both computers!

 

Just If anyone wants to see why i kept mine!

Component Details Subscore Base score
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3615QM CPU @ 2.30GHz 7.6
Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB 7.6
Graphics Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 7.0
Gaming graphics 1696 MB Total available graphics memory 7.0
Primary hard disk 19GB Free (64GB Total) 7.9
Windows 7 Home Premium

System
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Model 700Z5C-S01US
Total amount of system memory 8.00 GB RAM (upgraded with Vengeance 4gb)
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 4

Storage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corsair Force GT 240GB
Total size of hard disk(s) 201 GB
Disk partition (C 19 GB Free (64 GB Total)
Media drive (D CD/DVD
Disk partition (E 137 GB Free (137 GB Total)

Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter type Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Total available graphics memory 1696 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 64 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 1632 MB
Display adapter driver version 8.17.12.9555
Primary monitor resolution 1600x900
DirectX version DirectX 10

Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Adapter Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Network Adapter Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Network Adapter Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6235
Network Adapter Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter
Network Adapter Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter

 

So I just pulled the trigger on NP700Z5C. I'll receive it within a week but I was wondering if the screen really is as bad as some make it to be on the new Ivy Bridge version or are they just uncalibrated? Is it possible to replace it with an IPS display bought off the internet?

 

Ok I don't know about an IPS but this is what I'm trying PART NUMBER AUO B156HW01 V.4 FullHd display, should have it installed tomorrow or Wednesday I will post a thread if all goes well!

Also calibration through windows 7 is essential to get the most out of the factory display! It's not the worst display I have seen.

 

Lol...

The GPU/SSD will do that to any laptop

 

So still makes me happy!

 

Wish I was as brave as you! Well, coming from a user of beast desktops with liquid cooling and dual gpu configurations, this is my first laptop so I'm trying to not break it in the first couple of months. Definitely let me know when you've finished with the replacment, I'm waiting eagerly for the results. I don't really know that much about screen replacements, should any 16:9 15.6" display work as a replacement or how am I supposed to sort out the uncompatible ones?

 

I did something bad today. For the first time in my life, I felt lust for an...an...an... Apple product.

Forgive me?

But that new MacBook Pro high resolution model (I'm not going to use that other "R" word) looks mighty tasty, if only I could figure out how to get rid of the Apple logo and totally remove OS X from it.

 

Removing OSX is easy, covering the logo equally as easy, but I'd love to know how you intend to add a second trackpad button

 

Hi all i just got my series 7 today. I will post more detailed review in coming days but first impressions are a) nothing has changed and as always us model didnt come with vga dongle b) the screen is still disappointment, why cant samsung make this ips? i noticed that new sony s model is coming with ips option why not this? it really is the only thing missing from beign perfect laptop.

 

Well, I NEVER use a trackpad on a notebook. Hate them. Turn them off ASAP, and usually disable them in Device Manager as well, so there's no accidental enabling. So the lack of a button doesn't confront me.

 

agreed, wish they'd taken the opportunity to ditch the optical drive too.

 

I feel you bro. I've never ever thought of buying an Apple product. I've actually made fun of the owners of Macs. This new retina MBP begs me to make an exception and I will. I just cancelled the order for the Ivy Bridge Chronos 15.6" and I will buy a base configuration retina MBP from Asia for a 100€ cheaper price (1536€ for the retina MBP vs 1612€ for NP700Z5C with 240GB ssd) I'd be getting the Chronos 15.6" from my home country. See you guys in the Apple section!

 

Ok so I gave up on getting a Samsung because I really wanted to get a 14" i7 Ivy and there was no such thing in sight for the Chronos. Ended up buying an IdeaPad Y480. Hopefully Samsung has more options in a year and a half when I'll be in the market again

 

I've been lurking this thread for quite some time but your comment MADE me create my account. On a totally unrelated side note, it's weird how everybody's been ignoring your comments BlakeRoss.

Back on topic....you gave up on the Samsung because you wanted an i7 in the 14" form factor?! The 15" Chronos is the same depth as the y480 (9.4"), and only .6" wider. Basically the same processor (3615>3610 but only for integrated graphics), under an inch thick, MUCH better battery life, higher res screen, etc. Did you notice that the y480 has the 640m LE graphics card? It's the same specs as the 640m in the Samsung, but with I think a 125mhz underclock. On top of that, they're all essentially the same price as the Samsung. Was it really worth it?

P.S. I don't mean to sound mean whatsoever, I'm just honestly confused.

 

well you're certainly making a good case. The IdeaPad was a pretty good deal, I ordered the i7 with 1TB drive & 32GB SSD and blue-ray for $999. What really moved my opinion in the past week was going to Best Buy and testing out a 15" chronos. It seemed large & heavy compared to my current E6400, and the screen was really bad

I didn't realize the size difference was so slight between the Y480 and the Ivy Chronos. I will reconsider, not sure if I could cancel the order though without the restocking fee if I wanted to. Decisions decisions... (leaning towards keeping the Y480 order)