Series 7 Chronos All Models: Push for SAMSUNG to implement "FIXED MODE" in BIOS

Am I right in saying that this laptop is a direct competitor of the macbook pro?

I think we should all start sending e-mails to Apple PR, I am sure they could get the word out pretty fast with the reach that they have.

How can Samsung compete with the MacPro if there GPU switching does not even work, not to mention poor screen (Samsung are a TV and panel maker known for screen quality) Poor touchpad, failing HD's and many other querks with said laptop.

The only thing the Chronos has going for it is its looks and price, but not really good value for money if considering the above.

 

My advice for those who have older or spare computers: Get a refund first. Specify that you are returning due to the broken graphics switching. If Samsung fixes the problem, then you can reconsider the laptop again.

Why? Let Samsung experience a huge volume of returns due to broken graphics switching. It is prudent to retrieve your spent money now because Ivy Bridge is launching very soon, which most indicate April/May launch. It could be earlier, but only Intel knows.

 

Ivy Bridge is not going to be much of a leap above Sandy Bridge. I wouldn't hold out just because of that

 

Of course if you really need a computer you can.

 

Samsung would do more damage to their brand if they bring out ivy bridge based series 7 laptops only 5 months after they launch their sandy bridge versions. If I were to make an educated guess their Ivy bridge versions will not come out before the Fall of 2012 (September or later). In the meantime I hope they fix the graphics switching problem with existing laptops by adopting an approach like the leshcat drivers without a hardware fix. Perhaps a large percentage of the Samsung S7 buyers don't care about the problem or can live with work arounds.

 

Can people take a chill pill and stop exaggerating that the graphics card is unusable, please.

 

I've been trying to make them, but some people just insist that the machine is broken and unusable, even tho it's overall just minor flaws. But I'm starting to give up on them.

If they rather argue and return their stuff for no real reason (for most), then it's their loss.

 

My biggest issue was that the graphics appeared to stop working completely, I have since fixed this and I must say that I love this laptop now. Looked for other options and none had could match the style and power of the Samsung.

 

Hello all, new member but have been lurking on this specific thread since it was created.

I called Samsung up yesterday and according to the representative, they can not refund me YET because they now have a fix for the issue. According to her, they are going to modify the actual motherboard and replace the graphics card.

Has anyone else tried calling?

I really don't want to send my laptop in AGAIN if it's going to be useless.

 

Graphics switching stopped working. Full time AMD card stuck at idle 2D clocks. Hot left palmrest due to this.

If Samsung had implemented a fixed mode BIOS the Series 7 likely cannot take the heat for full time AMD.

 

Wow, really? What country are you in? How would they replace system boards without a full recall? (Maybe they'd only do this for people who complained?)

 

Yeah, the rep even set me up for service but like I said, I don't want to send it in unless they are really going to address the issue.

I'm in the US, CA to be a bit more precise.

Has anyone else tried to call in recently? As in the past couple of days.

 

Will be interesting to hear if this is true and what will actually happend. And ofcourse what their "new" sollution is.

 

I just called the manager again, and she says no known fix yet and then no comment. jgranad, please keep us posted. Will this have something to do with the mid-Feb refresh of the Series 7?

 

Wow, so you mean they are aware of the AMD GPU overheating when used by applications?

Something tells me Samsung has been making a lot of calls to NVIDIA lately

 

They are inevitably - new gen with NVIDIA
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...t-ivy-bridge-nvidia-gpu-15-6-17-3-models.html

That is not to say that they are cutting off ties with AMD - this model would serve as a test case for their AMD switchable; whether they choose to fix.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...-notebooks-ultrabooks-amd-radeon-hd7550m.html

 

Thats what happened to me. I enabled power play, selected high performance on both and it worked

 

I have tried reloading the OS. Once I load any game or benchmark, sometimes even when nothing is being done, the system locks up and reboots. BSOD 0x116. The 6750M on my system is definitely going.

EDIT: Powerplay option went missing and repeated 0x116 in a row.

 

@ yknyong1: Looking at your sig, I see that you have had 4 DOAs on the series 7 and your current one is going as well...any plans to give up on the sammy ? But in all seriousness, that kind of a figure is reprehensible. I returned mine because I got really grumpy over the hinge loosening up, even though I could have lived with the gpu situation. But those figures would mean a serious lack of qc for the Singapore models, which I do find a little confusing.

BTW, how is your ENVY 15? Specifically, the orange/red issue. I was considering the envy as a replacement for the series 7, but I didn't want to waste more time buying and then sweating over the laptop only to return it.

 

The Series 7 is going back for a refund, if you take a look at the first page, Samsung has given up.

I just went to the HP concept store and tested the ENVY 15-3006TX A9Q58PA. The keyboard is not as good as on the Series 7. Key travel is shallower and feels like hitting your fingers abruptly against something, just like on my ENVY 14. I looked at the screen alone and cannot really tell the difference. When I compared the screen to the other models then it became obvious it is a prosperous orange colour (good way to celebrate the Chinese New Year). The screen ID was LGD0323, same screen used on the SONY VAIO SE. The screen is definitely the best screen in terms of contrast and viewing angle for the current laptops. I decided to buy and asked the salesperson to open one unit to check.

As expected of HP quality (or the lack of it), there was a dead pixel and fibre from the black paper they used to protect the screen was stuck in the speaker grill.

So I waited an hour for an second ENVY 15 to be transferred from the warehouse. To my dismay, this unit also had a dead pixel but now in the centre of the screen.

The high contrast made it very easily to see dead pixels.

It is noteworthy that both ENVY 15 units were quite dusty and had lots of yellow gunk stuck on its body where the ports are. Could be cleaned easily.

Hence the result: No holes in my pocket and the search for a replacement continues. The SONY VAIO SE looks good.

For reference, these are the units I tested. Same batch Factory build date 21 Dec 2011.
A9Q58PA#AB4
CNU1500S67
CNU1500RDV

 

Before my HD failed, My AMD GPU did not work at all. Each person has a different degree of problems. For some people the AMD does not work in only Open GL applications while others do not work at all.

We are also dealing with 2 GPU types here accross 2 models. I have the 14 inch model that uses the AMD HD6490.

I tried my AMD GPU in multiple applications, Open GL and apps that do not use Open GL, and guess what it did not work at all.

When I took my Laptop back to the shop, I demonstrated that the 2 display models also had GPU's that did not work at all on both Open GL Apps and apps without Open GL. I brought my HD with me with various software and games to make the point.

I dont think we are exaggerating, clearly this laptop has faults, and I dont expect this after spending 1000 euros.

 

Not sure what you mean, have anything new happend, or it's just the same stuff as usual?

To my knowledge the machine is still being sold anyway.

 

That happened to your laptop, not all the laptops Samsung are selling hence the exaggeration.

 

How can I get samsung to refund me what I paid? Every time I call they say that I need to send it in first, and then they will determine if it qualifies for a refund (the issues couldn't be fixed).

Those who have successfully gotten a refund, what exactly did you do? Say?


Thanks you all in advance.

 

Get it into a Samsung shop yourself and prove to them it is ins't working. They will not refund anything if you don't prove it's not working. The hard bit here is finding a Samsung shop - if you don't have such in your country, you'll have to send it to them or bring it to their service centre.

 

No. The GPU issues exist in all series 7 models with AMD Switchable Graphics and, as far as we know, Samsung admitted that there's something wrong with it.
So applying your logic - just because the OpenGL problem doesn't concern you, it doesn't mean its existence shouldn't be brought to attention. Especially that this model is advertised as a business notebook, it's safe to assume that the primary usage may be premiere, photosohp, scilab, 3d studio, autodesk, blender or some other app that utilizes OpenGL - there might not be many of them but some are the best of their kind and for those of us who cannot use them, the laptop is, without exaggeration, unusable. I won't comment on the fact that notebooks for half the price can do it with ease.

 

NO the exaggeration was that the GPU was not working at all, not the switching between the gpu and igpu

 

I got the impression you argued that the card being unusable is an exaggeration. Regardless, how does that make a difference? Am I supposed to start playing directx games because my card is not compatible with photoshop?

 

I asked today when a new BIOS-fix should be out. The answer:
"We working at it and it should be very soon".
/Sweden.

 

there is some hope left, then! =)

 

There is always some hope left until there has been an official announcement that they are abandoning it.

 

Allot of people are unaware of this problem, as it is not something that you really notice unless you look or specifically need the extra grunt of the dedicated GPU.

The Laptop is actually my GF's, we bought it as she did not want to buy into the whole Apple thing and it was also a little cheaper. She never even knew the Laptop had dual graphics and would have been none the wiser if it was not for me. Her main reason for choosing the laptop was that it had a backlit keyboard and was "pretty". It was only me that realised that the Laptop had this GPU fault as I am a little more tech savvy then most consumers like many posting within this thread.

How many others like my Girlfriend picked this laptop because it is nice, and don't even realise that this problem exists? People like my GF very likely out number the very techy consumer for these kind of purchases.

It is also alarming that the 2 display models had the same problem. I do not think this is an exaggeration, its a case of the more tech savvy consumers who purchased this laptop realising the GPU does not work, while the majority like my GF marvel at the back lit keyboard while they use the laptop to watch movies and update there Facebook page.

It is clear in my mind that all series 7 laptops have AMD GPU problems of varying degrees, some partially work and some don't work at all. For me after extensive testing of my own 14 inch model, and a 14 inch model and 15 inch model in the store all 3 had AMD GPU's that did not work at all. That to me is not an exaggeration but solid proof that this problem is not isolated to only a few series 7 laptops.

Samsung have had our Laptop for 3 weeks, to me it looks like they can't fix it. After another week by law I am entitled to my money back if they can not fix or offer me a replacement model without this problem.

 

What is exaggerated is how much the GPU problem actually matters. For most it isn't even noticable.

For me this laptop is awesome, and before you start with more of your "tech savvy" drivel, I've been using computers since 1977, earned my living on them since 1983, and I got the competence to repair computers (and have done it as work), and I mean actual repair, not switching components in a broken machine.

Sure there is an issue with OpenGL and switchable graphics, but does it really matter to most? No! That is why alot of the posts here are exaggerated, because its their problems, not the masses problems.

There will always be people complaining for the sake of it, even if the actual functionality doesn't matter to them...

 

I agree, it would have made no difference to my girlfriend and very likely many others that use the series 7 laptop. But at least for us, the GPU problem caused BSOD while watching videos every 10-20 mins or so, so this GPU problem extended to other areas so did become a problem that was more than noticeable. I did plan to casually play games on this laptop so would have affected me.

Like some have said, it is principle I guess. When you pay for something you expect to precisely get what you pay for and you expect the manufacturer to resolve an issue no matter how big or small it is.

I think people on this forum would be making far less of a fuss if Samsung quickly acknowledged this problem, and communicated with us consumers who have purchased the product. That is where allot of the drama stems from in these situations. After all nobody likes to be ignored/ fobbed off or made out to be stupid.

Now a days as a consumer, to be heard we often have to behave like toddlers if we want to get noticed. Its time companies either learnt or were willing to connect with customers as we see many situations like we have here across the net. The same happened with my Dell XPS 13 which had a very faulty GPU /poor heat sink. Big song and dance across many forums and very little comms from Dell.

 

I use stock drivers and JW Player and I don't have any problems with YouTube videos. As for local videos I use both VLC and KMPlayer depending on what I am watching, still no problems.

Actually, never had a BSOD on this machine since I got it 2 months ago, and I use it a lot every day. (It's my main work machine.)

Also gaming works great on it. Sure OpenGL is an issue, but yet again, this does NOT affect most people. Unless you really really want to play Rage or Minecraft, it dosen't really affect you. All other games (DirectX games) works just fine.

Witcher 1 & 2 on High, Skyrim on High, WoT on High, EQ2 on Extreme, Portal 1 & 2 on Max, all other Source Engine games on Max and a bunch of others. No problems what so ever.

So, in the end the only actual problem people seem to have is playing videos for some, but it seems to be few that has that problem since it works for most, me included. And also for people who want to play Rage and/or Mindcraft.

For everyone else, this laptop works great, so saying that it generally is a bad laptop is an exaggeration by far...

 

Were these HD videos, were you on battery? Did you have hardware acceleration enabled? And did you use high performance mode for plugin-container.exe?

You are entitled to your own opinion about the laptop. If you are okay with not fully operational components, then that's fine, it's your choice. But frankly, I don't understand why would you care that we have different opinions. Nobody says that this notebook is bad for you, neither should you say that it is good for us. So please, stop.

I have friends in my line of work who aren't really good with computers but are excellent photoshopers/3D designers so I don't know why the fact that you, me or anyone else is tech savvy should matter at all. It's not about knowing how to soldier SMD, it's about how you use your computer. I, for one, don't play games much but I do use Photoshop. I could argue that there may be a lot of people like me but I'm afraid nobody has or evel will have the statistics to say which problems are masses problems. Most important of all, even if only a small percentage of people experiences a problem doesn't mean it should be ignored. That kind of attitude is exactly why we have sh**ty half-baked software and hardware released in the first place.

I can understand them because powerful GPU is a major selling point, not some small feature they can ignore. Some people are not okay with hidden flaws because they expect everything to work just like it does on any other computer.
And you never actually know when it will matter to you until some nifty OpenGL program or an eye candy game is released that your high-end notebook can't handle.

 

Please guys, all I wanted to be corrected is the exaggeration that the Gpu was not working AT ALL on all series 7. Not that openGL is not working or that the switching is crap. That is all.

 

dp3000, there is a reason why GPU not working at all was brought up. For several people, the GPU is either stuck on the Intel HD or AMD GPU and switching will not occur. For example, the last set I had was stuck on the AMD 6750M at 100/41 clocks and will BSOD 0x116 intermittently.

That may be a minority, but the issue is real for several units Samsung has produced.

 

Make sure to set power play option in catalyst to maximum performance when plugged in. Not sure if it is the same problem people are having but it solved my performance issue in games. As before, it would max out at 300/81, now it runs at full speed.

 

Are all series 7 laptops without OpenGL support? I'm considering buying one this one:

NP700Z5A-S03

But with all of these problems, I'm definitely thinking twice. Do the newer models have any fixes in place?

Thanks in advance!

 

um not having OpenGL IS A BIG DEAL for some of us and hence why we're on this forum trying to find ways to pressure samsung to do something. Those of us that work on scientific computing apps require OpenGL for 3D and OpenCL for high performance parallel computation. There are also lots of 3d games and apps out there that are written with GL rather than DX. In my case, I also can't have accelerated graphics in any of my virtual machines. It's also a blow to OpenGL and makes it look bad performance-wise compared to DirectX helping Microsoft further destroy the only truly open and crossplatform high performance graphics library out there.

I know for some folks it's not a big deal...those same folks also likely didn't need to spend so much money on a computer with an i7, 6-8 gbs of ram, and 512mb-1 gb high performance graphics card just to use gmail, facebook, word, and youtube. If you're satisfied, no need to post on this forum...go enjoy your shiny new laptop.

 

After a 3 week wait got my Chronos 14 back.

As you all know I initially returned the Laptop after the AMD card not working (At All) and additionally to the AMD problem, also the hard drive failed.

After being very vocal, clear and detailed with my description of the problem while also showing within the Mediaworld Store that both display models (14 and 15) had the same GPU problem as my Laptop has, Mediaworld tech staff spoke with Samsung directly and sent my laptop away for Samsung to investigate.

After checking the repair paperwork it appears that they have only replaced the faulty HD. I have a clean install of Windows 7, so everything back to default.

Just finished a round of testing with numerous programs and guess what....The AMD GPU does not work at all! lol

It looks like they either did not bother to fix. could be many reasons, poor coms, not bothered or just thought that I am stupid and would not notice.

Upon collection, as I could not test the laptop in store, I made it very clear that if the GPU was not fixed that I would return the next day for a refund. Mediaworld kindly agreed.

So I guess I will be shopping for another laptop. Its a shame as I really like the Samsung despite its faults. Samsung are you listening? 1 of many more to come I am afraid. If Samsung would of had offered a solution somewhere down the road with a little communication to its customers, I would be happy to keep the laptop and wait for it to happen. oh well. Bad comms can be costly!!

I will let you guys know how I get on.

 

What did you test it with? I tried AMD System Monitor and it worked fine with some DirectX game. GPU Temp has also shown Radeon's temperature only when it was switched on.

That's a very good and awfully sad point

 

Download GPUZ GPU-Z - Download.com Set all of the programs that you wish to test too "high performance" and then check via GPUZ if the AMD GPU is under load.

Additionally download Performance test 30 day trial. PassMark Performance Test download page

During the GPU 3D test, look in the top left hand corner and it will show you what GPU is being used when running the 3D test. Prior to using the software also make sure that via AMD Control centre that pt.exe (performance test program) is set to "High Performance". Also Set your power options to high performance via windows control panel and also via AMD Control centre and keep your Laptop plugged in.

Do not trust what the fact that AMD Control centre allows you to set apps to high performance. You have to look deeper to see hwat is really happening.


Many modern games will detect that you have 2 GPU's and will give you the option to use either. I have tested today with deus ex and the AMD card does not even appear as a selectable option, despite setting deus ex to "high Performance" also.

I have also used AMD system monitor previously, but for some reason tonight I can not get on there site to download it.

 

Hi Marcin! I am having the same issue with my NP700Z5A (the noise thing, quoted above). (I also bought it in Poland a month ago, and left the country shortly thereafter.) So did you get the issue resolved? What was the problem? Ill be very grateful for any info, as the issue is really bugging me..

 

Well I'm afraid my HDD has eventually failed (wouldn't even spin up)
Don't lose hope though, mine has also been clicking loudly so I'm not sure if these two issues are related. Maybe this irregular noise is just how this particular HDD sounds. I'll be able to tell you more when Samsung replaces it with a new one. Pozdrawiam!

 

Thanks a lot for the answer Marcin! (even if the news is disheartening I'm still hoping that maybe it is the fan in my case (in fact this laptop does have multiple fans).. Pozdro!

 

What if you want to play RAGE/Photoshop using the integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics, instead of switching to the AMD GPU. Can you still do this without issue?

 

For years Photoshop has been entirely CPU-based, only some recent features are implemented using hardware acceleration - so even without OpenGL, the program would run but not as smoothly as it could. Thankfully, it recognizes the integrated graphics (but only after you install leshcat drivers IIRC) so you can still use OpenGL acceleration, it isn't much but it's better than no acceleration at all.

As far as any new games are concerned, I doubt they would perform well on integrated graphics in 1600x900. I'm sorry. I read that Leshcat drivers are specifically made for RAGE though, so the Radeon will probably kick in. There's a thread somewhere here "games that run and those that don't", check it out.

 

So just to be clear, OpenGL applications and games will work on the Series 7 Chronos using the integrated Intel HD graphics, albeit a bit slowly like any other notebook with integrated HD 3000 graphics?