Series 7 Ultra NP730U3E / NP740U3E with AMD HD 8570M and optional 4G LTE

Ah I see, thanks for the clarification!

My god, I have to get used to this 1080p on a 13" display thing. Everything is so tiny! Looking at my 22" monitor at 1080p makes it feel like everything is gigantic now. I feel like my eyesight is going to get even worse now. But hey, I should get used to it.

ITT: ComradeNF talking to himself

 

Try using 125% display scaling.

FHD + 125% scaling will give similar font sizes to 1600 x 900.

John

 

Update 3: Day 3 and I absolutely love this laptop still. Since I've only told you guys the good things about it so far, I will also tell you guys my two gripes:

1. Samsung's stock drivers are horrible. The mousepad driver has issues, the graphics driver has issues, and the SATA driver has issues. I just downloaded Elantech and Intel drivers and deleted the old drivers and all my issues are gone. The stock touchpad driver causes serious jumpiness in my touchpad. The stock graphics driver makes my HDMI port not work at all. But installing new drivers corrects everything.

2. I feel like the engineer that designed the AC adapter input on this laptop was high on the job. Seriously, it is extremely loose and falls out so easily. If you turn the laptop upside down, gravity alone is enough to make the charger fall out of the laptop. If you are working with the unit on your lap and your leg brushes the cord, the charger will fall out. Sometimes I am just sitting here gaming (not even touching the laptop since I game on an external monitor and keyboard/mouse) and the charger decides to fall out on its own. Not a HUGE issue but it sure is annoying.

 

ComradeNF, I suspect your AC adapter isn't inserted fully into the computer. It's not loose, rather it's so hard to insert all the way you'd think you were breaking it.

 

When the AC adapter is plugged into my laptop there is about 1 mm of "metal" showing between aluminium laptop frame and the plastic of the AC adapter. I'm not sure if this is normal or not actually! I mean at least it charges so that is great.

Also, I didn't know my favorite Youtube reviewer was a member of NBR forums! Love your reviews Lisa! It was actually your review of this unit that made me want to purchase it.

 

Lisa is most likely spot on with this: Many of these Samsung units need a surprisingly firm push to fully insert the power plug into the socket. You may find the same is true for the audio connector. It loosens a bit after a while.

As for your drivers, it various which ones are better to get from Samsung (through SW Update) and which are better to get from the OEM. In the case of SW Update, do note that the latest drivers aren't always pushed automatically for every model. You often have to use the Find Model feature to look up the very latest models and download drivers from their list (using the Export feature). Recently, model NP880Z5E-X03CA has been a treasure trove for updated drivers.

Specifically regarding the Elan Touchpad, the thread linked below contains much of the useful discussion here about that, including driver discussions.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...hronos-np700z5a-trackpad-discussion-only.html

And specifically regarding AMD drivers, the Series 7 / Ativ Book 8 Owners Lounge thread (linked below) contains extensive discussion on that subject (including some advice on the opening post):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...unge-np770z5e-np780z5e-np870z5e-np880z5e.html

BTW, I have enjoyed your reports about this machine

 

Glad you enjoy the reviews! If a mm of metal is still showing, you haven't shoved it all the way in. It might feel like you're forcing it, but do indeed insert it until the metal no longer shows. It will break in and get easier with time.

 

Would love to see the 740U3E updated to Haswell. It's near perfection. Ultrabook form factor with great sound, discrete graphics and upgrade friendly. Any chance Samsung announces it at IFA?

 

Based on last year's practice of releasing new models with Sandy Bridge and then upgrading to Ivy Bridge we could reasonably expect to see a Haswell version of this notebook. Even if a Haswell version is shown at IFA there could be a delay in it reaching the shelves because Intel and notebook manufacturers want to clear more Ivy Bridge inventory before they have to discount the prices.

Consider whether it is worth the wait: Haswell's power efficiency improvements are most noticeable during very low usage, such as sleep, and most likely the CPUs which will be shipped first will be the slower ones.

John

 

Hey everyone! Greetings from Russia
I'm using this laptop for a week and I'm very impressed though I have some problems. The first one: I have a terrible performance in Chrome, Firefox and other browser despite IE10. In IE I have a smooth scroll, but in other it's far not smooth. I tried to install the latest Intell HD4000 drivers but I couldn't adjust my screen brightness after installation. What can you suggest?
Moreover, fan is very noisy. I mean, when I disable a quite mode in Samsung Setting my fan becomes very noisy.

What other drivers you can suggest me to improve battery life/performance? Feel free to PM me

 

What kind of battery life are you guys getting while streaming? Notebookcheck claimed they got 6 hours and 45 minutes, but I only get 4 hours of battery life streaming Netflix at 25% brightness.

 

Try to use Samsung's graphic and Wi-Fi driver. I usually get about 6 hours (I guess more) watching Youtube videos.

 

I'm using all stock drivers. Get exactly 4 hours watching Netflix movies. Going to try Youtube right now while I am at the gym, will post results.

 

Just got back from the gym. After exactly 60 minutes, the battery had drained 22% while streaming a 720p video on Youtube at 25% brightness with the keyboard backlight off. Adaptive brightness is not an issue as it is completely turned off.

My battery is calibrated (did so a few day ago) and I am using stock Samsung drivers.

Also, I checked in HWinfo and my battery wear is at 0%.

Sound is muted.

Anyone know what the issue could be?

 

Do you have any background processes? I only have Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 and some Intel and Elan (that go with drivers) apps running. Everything else I try to close.
And yesterday I was watching football match between LivFC and Aston Villa and my battery dropped from 81% to 53% in a 2 hours.

 

Just driver software, Steam, and Spotify. I'm now testing a 720p MP4 file to see how the battery life is with the same conditions I specified before. Except now airplane mode is on so wifi is off.

Can this really be a driver issue with the graphics or WLAN driver? I've never heard of a driver draining your battery.

Also I tested refreshing a Web page and the battery life is great, it's 6-7 hours when refreshing a flash heavy page every 10 seconds

Sent from my SGH-I747

 

Turns out I get 6-7 hours while watching movies with wifi off as well. It's just streaming that I get four hours of battery life. Could this be a wifi driver issue?

Sent from my SGH-I747

 

Heavy WiFi traffic is bound to have some effect on battery life, particularly if you tweaked your WiFi settings to maximize WiFi performance. Under Wireless Adapter Settings in your power profiles, you may have chosen Maximum Performance for both Plugged in and On Battery -- which is often necessary to get the Intel 6235 WiFi adapter to perform well and to avoid disconnects -- but it DOES increase power consumption.

You can try and reduce the On Battery setting and see if you still get sufficient WiFi performance. On my PC, I keep it on Low Power Saving (the next-to-highest setting); if I drop it lower than that, I start getting disconnects.



You can also try and enable Silent Mode Fn-F11 (which will slow down the CPU) and see if you can still play movies smoothly. This should save some power too.

Make sure you update both the Samsung Optimized and Power Saver profiles -- the latter is used when Silent and Eco Modes are in effect.

Check the following threads for more info on these topics:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/727499-wifi-remedies-samsung-laptops.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/729139-settings-easy-settings-what-you-need-know.html

Finally, trimming unnecessary fat from your installation can also help save battery. But I seem to recall you did a clean install, right? So it's probably already lean.

 

Doesn't Youtube run using Flash? Flash used a bit of a power guzzler. Right-click on a running Youtube video and try the effect on battery power consumption of changing the hardware acceleration setting.

Most normal videos are encoded using H.264 and the Intel GPU has a built-in H.264 decoder to play videos with relatively low power consumption.

John

 

I am getting Horrible Speedtest.net results on wifi.

Speedtest.net by Ookla - My Results

My Alienware M11x is getting 25Mbps down and my Samsung Book 7 is getting .9 to 5Mbps on each test. I have tried different performance profiles and nothing improves the connection. Is there something that I can do? Are other people getting the same results?

BTW, My home internet connection is 100Mbps.

 

If you haven't seen this thread about WiFi remedies, please read it and try the various suggestions.

John

 

Hi,

I have a brand new Samsung Ativ Book 7 (NP740U3E-K01UB). It is a US-only version and it comes with a glossy touchscreen and the Intel HD4000 GPU (no AMD).

Does anyone have the same model? Do you get the option to boot from the SSD when in CSM Mode? If yes, which BIOS version are you running? I am on P05ABW and I can only boot from USB devices when in CSM mode. (I would like to install linux and, to get the everything working, it is recommended to install it in bios (CSM) mode, but I would also like to keep my Win 8 in dual boot config)

Last but not least: does anyone have a link to the P04ABW bios so I can try to downgrade? I've already read the sticky post, the BIOS is not in the Google cached list and I can't try every date/time combination from the Samsung website

Thanks!
Vins

 

Hello Vins, welcome to NBR. And congrats on that lovely new laptop!

Your disk is partitioned using the new GPT partition layout (as opposed to the classic old MBR layout). GPT disks can ONLY be read by an UEFI OS running in UEFI mode. You will NOT be able to read that disk in CSM mode without first converting it to MBR -- which will lose everything on the disk, including your Windows installation, any data, and your Recovery.

Be careful about this: Messing with UEFI/CSM mode (and particularly making disk changes with some 3rd party tools) is one of the most common ways that new owners get their PCs messed up, often in ways that cannot be easily fixed. You probably want to read a little first. The following Microsoft articles are great background:

Understanding Disk Partitions
Windows and GPT FAQ

I highly recommend that you boot Recovery (F4) and create a so-called Bootable Factory Image backup on a 32GB USB stick, before you start installing anything or changing partitions. This USB stick will be a self-contained bootable Recovery that you can use to restore your disk to factory state, should you ever need to do so. It also works as Win8 install media (which you may not otherwise have). Before making this backup (or before using it) you should change OS Mode Selection back to UEFI OS.

The following Samsung support page describes the steps. Note that you really DO need a 32GB stick, even if the factory image itself is less than 16GB. This is because the backup also includes Recovery software (that's the bootable part).

Create A Factory Image

All that aside, you should be able to install Linux in UEFI mode. We DID have some serious problems with last year's models (see the sticky thread here), but we haven't heard any such reports from this year's models. No guarantees, though

There is more Series 7 Linux discussion in the thread linked below:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/723676-linux-series-7-2013-ativ-book-8-a.html

If you DO want to convert your disk to MBR (after creating that Bootable Factory Image backup) you can use the steps at the end of this Win7 install guide.

Keep us posted on your progress

 

That's a very detailed and informative reply! thanks!

Few more things I'd like to point out regarding my current setup:

- I have a dual boot setup with Archlinux and Windows 8, both working fine in UEFI mode

- the samsung-laptop module under linux doesn't work anymore under any recent linux distributions when in UEFI mode. This by design, as stated by the maintainer, to prevent issues with the serious problems you mentioned in your post. This means that in linux uefi mode there is no keyboard backlight/fan speed control support. It is currently recommended to install linux in BIOS/Legacy mode on recent Samsung laptops

- I can boot in both UEFI mode and Legacy mode from a USB key (Arch install image). If in CSM only mode I get the option to boot from a USB key, even if it is GPT-partitioned and it has no OS installed. That is why I was assuming that it was possible to boot from the internal SSD device as well in BIOS mode

- I am familiar with GPT/MBR partition schemes and there seems to be ways to install the GRUB bootloader on GPT disks by creating a special Boot Partition. I've done that, no luck.

Bottom line is: I am curious to see if people with same laptop model (maybe different BIOS version) see the option of booting from the SSD (in the F10 Boot Menu) when in CSM only mode.

Thanks for the recommendation regarding the Bootable Factory image backup. That's something I didn't consider (even if I have done a GPT partition backup and cloned the recovery partition to another PC. The USB key would be much more easier to recover from)

 

Got it, thank you for the update. And apologies for posting such basic advice for you, you clearly know what you're doing. I am always trying to prevent train wrecks because I know they tend to end up in this forum

I have to say I'll be surprised if there is ANY way that you can boot and run an UEFI Win8 installation on a GPT partitioned disk while being in CSM mode -- regardless of BIOS version. At most I would expect that you can see the Protective MBR in the GPT table, which is there specifically to protect the integrity of the GPT disk from legacy (CSM) apps.

Please keep us posted if you find that. Probably most relevant to post it in that Linux thread I linked. (I just updated that link because the thread was renamed after being merged with another Linux thread).

 

No worries about the basic advice, my initial post was very generic

You are right, Windows 8 won't boot in CSM mode, but if keep laptop in "UEFI and CSM OS" I can boot both Windows 8 and a USB key in legacy mode.

I'll see what I can find in the linux thread.

Thanks again!
Vins

 

That's true, as long as you boot from USB, you can do that. If you find a way to boot a legacy OS from the internal disk while in UEFI & CSM mode, I will be very interested to hear it. It would have to perform an in-flight brain transplant on itself after the initial boot from the GPT disk, but maybe there is a way.

 

I'll keep you posted. But I've just checked the BIOS of a Samsung Series 9 and I do see the Hard drive (SATA: XXXX) in the boot priority options beside the "Windows Boot Manager" option.

In my BIOS I don't get the "SATA: DEVICE_NAME" boot option, noly the list of the EFI bootloaders. So I guess it is a problem with Samsung Bios (that is why I am looking for an older version) or maybe with the SSD firmware (I have a LiteOn model).

 

I still don't understand how people are getting 6-7 hours of battery life on this laptop while streaming video. I have tried every single possible combination of wifi and graphics drivers the past 3 days and the most I ever got was 5 hours and 20 minutes of battery life with the intel GPU driver (latest directly from intel) and the stock Windows 8 wifi driver.

This is while streaming a 720 Youtube video with headphones plugged in and volume at 10%. Brightness was at 25%. I found that the best battery life occured when I used Internet Explorer, and the worst was Google Chrome (Opera came second, Firefox came third).

I forgot to mention all background apps were closed. Only the browser and necessary drivers were running.

Can someone tell me exactly what drivers they are using to get 6-7 hours of battery life when streaming video?

 

Just got this laptop for my wife. Looks great and performs well.
However the auto dim feature on the screen is annoying, I'm sitting here in room, lights turned off, only TV turned on, and laptop keeps adjusting brightness every minute depending on TV's brightness in the room.
Is there a way to turn off auto dim on brightness and to turn of backlight keyboard manually ?

 

Go to Bios (press F2 while starting), then select Advanced and there you can turn the brightness off.

 

I think you'd better not too much worry about breaking it. recommend you to insert input fully inside the port.

 

Also see the Adaptive Brightness thread.

My own fix is to put some tape over the ambient light sensor.

John

 

Don't you think that my way is much easier?

 

Yes, provided the option in the BIOS to disable the sensor is there. Perhaps it is an addition on the new models - there's no BIOS ALS option on my X4C.

John

 

That's a nice machine, I am sure your wife will love it.

If you check the thread that John linked, you'll see that lots of owners of different Samsung models have struggled with the Adaptive Brightness feature and found different solutions. As described in this post, there are no less than FIVE different places where you can (and should) disable Adaptive Brightness in order to make sure it is defeated. One of them is indeed BIOS/UEFI firmware, as indicated by ilyuha1108. However, not all models have this setting -- and even among those who do, many users have found they still need to change the other settings as well.

If you check all five places, you should have it under control

 

hello people

i have this machine since a month, and am very happy.

yesterday i updated the intel HD4000 driver and i cant find a way to control de bright of the screen. always 100%.
tried uninstalling the driver and all works fine again.
what can i do??

ty, nice discussion here

 

Did you get the updated HD4000 driver from SW Update (Samsung) or from somewhere else? Based on discussions in the 2013 Series 7 / Ativ Book 8 Ownlers Lounge, I believe you need to use the driver from SW Update in order for Brightness control to work properly.

I could be wrong, though; I don't have this model myself.

 

Thanks all, will try the five fixes to tr and stop it.

On another topic, never had win8, wife neither.
Is there a quick post somewhere in the 75 pages of this thread that list all the updates/deletes you should do when getting this laptop ?

 

Try this post, and particularly, click the links in steps (1) and (2). That should give some guidance.

 

mmm that must be the problem, i tried directly from intel, version: 15.31.9.64.3165
SW update version: 9.17.10.2875

that was because i tried the intel version

 

Just got a brand new mSATA SSD so I completely reinstalled Windows 8 and all necessary drivers from SW Update.

I STILL cannot get more than 4 hours of battery life while watching Netflix movies... As mentioned before I am running the power saver config. Display is at 25% brightness, and all drivers are completely stock. HWinfo shows 0% battery wear.

How exactly are people getting 6-7 hours of battery life while streaming videos? Even Notebookcheck claimed they got over 6 hours while streaming, but it is impossible for me to get over 4 hours, even after completely reinstalling and using stock drivers.

Can someone let me know what their battery life is like when streaming videos as well so I can compare the values? I'm seriously starting to think this could be a hardware issue.

So far, I've gotten 4 hours in Netflix and 4.5 hours in Youtube (using Google Chrome for both) with brightness at 25% and all stock drivers.

 

Did you check the effect of enabling / disabling hardware acceleration of the video player?

How strong is the WiFi signal? A weak signal will push up the power requirements both for the adapter and for error correction.

John

 

No, I can try that right now. But still I am aware of members here who have stock systems that are getting 6+ hours of battery life while streaming.

Laptop is on a desk a meter high and the router is right underneath it so that shouldn't be an issue.

Will try the hardware acceleration thing you just described and report back.

 

@ComradeNF: I notice you've been at this battery issue for awhile now. Are you able to make a factory restore and test battery with that?

I mean, if battery life is significantly below specs on a fairly new PC (as I recall this is), using pure factory installation -- you should have a good case for a replacement from Samsung or the store.

 

I was wondering who has upgraded their memory, what is the max amount (16GB?) and do you have any advice for some good high performance stuff?

Also, is Mem and HDD the only thing we can upgrade? How about video card and nic?

BTW, I have a NP740U3E-K01UB. Thanks in advance for any help.


EDIT* Will this mem work for my system? http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Venge...&qid=1377719104&sr=8-4&keywords=laptop+memory

 

I actually did restore to factory settings and got the same battery life: 6 hours while looping a webpage at 25% brightness, 4 hours while streaming videos.

If anyone has the time, could you guys perform these two tests on your units and let me know how it goes? I'd really appreciate it.

Test 1: Refresh Overclock.net - An Overclocking Community every 15 seconds at 25% brightness in your browser. You can use a refresh tool in Google Chrome or Firefox, there are lots available in the add on section. Do this for an hour and see what % battery you lose. I lost 17% battery in one hour during this test.

Test 2: Play any 720p Youtube video at 25% brightness. Do this for an hour and see what % battery you lose. I lost 25% battery in one hour during this test.

I'd really appreciate it if someone could do these tests as well so we could compare battery life and see if my unit actually has any flaws!

 

Got it! Unfortunately I cannot help you with the test, as I have a different model. Hopefully others can.

How much Wear is on your battery (as displayed in HWiNFO after a calibration cycle)?

 

After a calibration cycle I have 0% wear on the battery. I mean the unit is pretty much brand new, I don't think the battery has any defects!

Hopefully someone that has this same unit could give me a hand!

 

^ Cool, got it!