The 2012 Samsung Series 9 13.3" (NP900X3B)

We aim to please.

 

We're a sneaky bunch.

 

Looking for an update as to whether or not these have a TPM chip. Some of the Gen 1 models did....I believe the difference was if the model shipped with Windows 7 Professional it included TPM but I'm not positive if that was a consitent indicator throughout all skus.

Would someone who owns one of these mind checking if they have a TPM chip? Orb (Start) --> Run --> tpm.msc. It should be indicated under Status.

 

"Compatible TPM cannot be found"

 

UK variant TP900x3b-A01UK - No TPM found same response

 

Thanks for checking! I will try to hold out another month or so to see if they release a version with TPM.....otherwise will have to settle for the Dell.

 

My US version gives the same message but also says it needs to be turned on the bios. If you know what I'm looking for in the bios (sounds like you do), I'll be happy to check there.

 

I'm pretty sure none of the TPM models have shipped yet.

 

Thank you all for your info and advice in this thread. One thing I can add to the extended warranty discussion is to check your homeowner's insurance. You can add a rider for around 40-50 bucks a year to cover all your valuable property up to 10k value each. Most include theft and certain accidental damage issues, even when you are not in the home. It is not available with all companies, but it is worth checking out.

I just plunked down my chunk of change the other day and got this beautiful laptop (the 900X3B-A02US). After 48 hours of playing with it, I am in love...save for one dealbreaker: The trackpad. It registers a right click all the way to the mid-left side of the pad and the far left does not register taps or clicks at all most of the time. Just moving my finger across the pad when on the desktop will result in either a right click window opening or a selection box dragging across the screen. At times it locks up where the mouse will move but no clicks or taps register at all. I found that if I wait about 1-3 minutes it will register again.

I am returning it for a replacement in the hope that my machine is defective...but if the next one has the same issue I will be a unhappy camper. I tried updating the Elan driver, disabling all the fancy scroll/swipe options and used the system restore twice to no avail. Any advice you all have would be fabulous.

 

I just received mine an hour ago. I'm an official owner instead of a wannabee.

Exploration time...

 

Making a claim however will impact your rate so I'd avoid this option. much better to go third party

 

Nice. Congrats. Do tell.

 

Shelley,

I would like to pick your brain. Here you indicate you used the Samsung Recovery Software to create a DVD backup. Later in the thread you indicate you used Easy Software Manager to make the backup of the drivers and software. Did you use both or do you recall which you used?

I am in the process of creating a complete backup via Samsung Recovery Solution 5. It is creating a large DVD set which looks to be 4 DVD's in my case. It is doing a verify after it creates each DVD. It is doing both the LiveImaging and System Software Backup.

Is that what you did?

Thanks,

Thor

[UPDATE] I am answering my own question. It creates the factory disk set (4 disks) then creates the Easy Software Manager Disk (1 DVD) with the drivers and software.

 

Nice! So I guess we have confirmation the 'backdoor' link into Amazon works and they do have these in stock?

Amazon.com: Samsung Series 9 NP900X3B-A01US 13.3-Inch Laptop (Titan Silver): Explore similar items

 

Did. The link still works but now the price went up and it's no longer Amazon doing the shipping.

I think when I ordered there were only 5. I did overnight shipping for $29.

 

I have it in my cart right now directly from amazon, and price is still $1400. The reason why you see the price increased is because amazon is out of stock, and it defaults to the next amazon seller, which is the $1651 one. Since you can't directly click on the link to this notebook, you can't change the seller to amazon direct. I could check out right now from amazon, but it says "will ship in 3 -5 weeks."

 

Btw, does anyone know if there will a ivybridge refresh of this 13.3" model? I know the 15" model will have ivy bridge very soon, but no mentions of the 13.3" one.

 

Yes, all of the chipsets will move forward to Ivy Bridge. But I caution you, don't count on them showing up soon.

 

Google for "NP900X3C". Scandanavian etailers are listing them but, as with the 15" Ivy Bridge" we don't know when they will be available. My hypotheisis is that Ivy Bridge will be trickled out as Intel ramps up production so Samsung will be releasing them into the smaller and more profitable markets first.

John

 

When I ordered it said there were 2.

 

I believe there is a bug in the Easy Settings app that is shipping on the drive of the machine. My machine was doing the same thing until I downloaded the newer version from the samsung.com downloads area and flipped all the fast boot settings and such to on, rebooted, flipped them all off, then rebooted.

 

Sorry to reply late. I think I bolloxed up the names of these different Samsung programs in my posts. What I did was, used Recovery Software to make a backup. Then Easy Software Manager to restore. In my case, I ONLY backed up the drivers and Samsung software, which is an option in Samsung Recovery Software, because I wanted to do a clean Windows install anyway. This is an option in Samsung Recovery Software, but I can't remember where I found it. Creates only one DVD. Then, from that dvd, which launches with Easy Software Manager, I installed all the drivers and Samsung programs. I'm bothering to say this because, for me, I couldn't get the touchpad drivers to install correctly when I applied them myself. The only way I could get it to work was to use Easy Software Manager from the recovery DVD that I had created.

Sounds like some of you have already gotten the A02 version. I'm curious about what the differences could be. It's not clear at all on Samsung's website. Is there some way we could put our heads together and try to figure it out?

 

Could anyone provide a picture that more clearly shows the ram soldered to the board? I'm trying to figure out if it would be possible to remove and replace if One felt brave enough, but the pictures previously shown aren't very clear. Thanks!

 

Yes, we did the disk creation slightly differently. I created the driver disk you created, but I also backed up the entire environment to DVD as well.

What are you referring to when you say A02?

 

When they say the S9 costs $1399 does that include taxes?

 

No, unless you purchase from somewhere like Amazon and you do not pay taxes in your state through Amazon.

 

I really hope Best Buy gets this in stock soon because I've been to two CompUSA's and they are inept to say the least. One had 10 in stock the other had 5 in stock, neither of them would put one on display until the old generation sells out. This is after them trying to tell me that the ones are display is all there is or that they are the same. One even had the new item tag for $1399 on the old model which is on sale for $999 and nobody in the store could understand the difference.

Those stores are an absolute dump I can't see why anybody would spend money there.

 

Order it from Best Buy. Overnight is about $15.... don't like it? You've got 30days to *return it to the store*.

 

I convinced the local CompUSA to open a box but I swore after that I would never go in another CompUSA store. Why are they still in business?

 

Retail electronics stores are on their way out. Even Best Buy admitted that most people use them to try stuff out, then they buy it online for less.

 

Just a question for current owners, how are you guys charging your new S9? Any specific cycles? I've ran mine 100%-0% two or three times already just from regular school use. I'm a little worried about premature battery wear. Also anyone else find the battery charges almost ridiculously fast? I'm going to time it and see but, its scary fast.

 

Yeah, except that I'm not buying without 8GB memory and 256GB SSD.

I just wanted to see one and have something to think about until I get one.

Samsung will never sell anything if they can't get them into stores, by the time they are out and available Costco will have them and they will be on their way out, just like the Series 7 that Costco and Walmart both have.

 

From above: "I just plunked down my chunk of change the other day and got this beautiful laptop (the 900X3B-A02US)"

My model is 900XB-A01US. Samsung has had both models on their website since it went live. The descriptions are nearly identical, except for different wording about the trackpad. So it appears Samsung has already upgraded/refreshed/altered the release model, and I'm curious to figure out what they changed. (Earlier in this thread, somebody speculated that it might be ivy bridge, but clearly that's not the case...)

As for charging cycles: I am running battery care, which reports 40071 mWh designed capacity, and only 38850 mWh current capacity. The wear level out of the box, was 3%, which really surprised me. After I calibrated the battery (running to 0 then charging, you can do it from the bios) it was 3.05%. Post-calibration number has held steady, so I'm assuming that was how the computer arrived.

I have been doing much reading about batteries, and there are some people out in the world who claim that when they cap their charges at 80%, they dramatically reduce their wear level (only a few percent after several years), so I am trying that method. I have also read that it doesn't hurt to keep newer li-ion batteries plugged in most of the time, so when I'm near my desk I plug in, in an effort to keep the discharge cycles down.

For those who know, does this designed capacity seem small to you? I thought we had a 6 cell battery, and on my old laptop, six cells report a designed capacity of ~56k mWh.

 

can anyone confirm if the turbo boost mode is working properly on this device? I mean, does it reach 2.3-2.5Ghz when necessary? It got me thinking a bit after review of Series 5 ultrabook here Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook Review (13.3″ NP530) Ultrabook News and the Ultrabook Database

thx
borys

ps. im sorry if topic was already covered on previous pages

 

CPU-Z is a good utility to verify current clock speed:
CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

 

TGIF!

Need some help with recovery... for the unit I am taking back, I backed up the recovery partition using EaseUS. I backed it up to an external NAS. I recovered it to an unallocated partition so I could factory restore before I return the unit, but Samsung Recovery says the recovery isn't in the right location/not there.

Now I've got an A:\ drive as my recovery, how can I get it to see this or can I back this up to a set of bootable DVD's? Maybe i'm worrying too much and should just take it back as is.... something is wrong with the hinge, anyway.

 

For those that have reinstalled Windows 7 as a fresh install, have you noticed any changes in the speed or amount of SSD space available? I've done it often with my other computers to clear them of bloat, but didn't know if there was really a tangible benefit. Thanks for any insight.

 

It reaches the stated spec of 2.3 if needed. See attached pic. The specs are at Intel Processor Specifications

 

I have mine currently set at the SLOWEST possible boot time and it still reaches the desktop from a complete power off state (no hibernaton or help) in 15 seconds and lights the WIFI card.

As for disk space, I nuked the factory partitions and clean installed to a single 119GB partition, revised restore point use, turned off hibernation, reset the pagefile thresholds, etc.

The tangible benefit for me is the recovery of nearly 30GB of precious SSD storage from the factory design.

 

So I take it you didn't create the 4 DVD factory image when you received the machine?

 

I didn't... I backed up the partition. Oh well, I just did a fresh install of Windows 7 and let it be. Not like they will resell it anyway with the hinge issue.

I left my factory partitions alone on my new system. If I need the extra space I can back it up then and do whats necessary.... Good to go!

 

JR has them in stock now I think, and can be check-out with Amazon...

Samsung NP900X3B-A01US Series 9 13.3" Notebook PC - Titan Silver in PC Notebook Computers | JR.com

 

One thing is for sure, you don't have to spend a ton of money to use the HDMI out with existing stuff you might have.

I picked up some odds and ends at Fry's this afternoon.

I am currently typing this from my KVM switch keyboard and mouse (USB), and the video is coming out the micro HDMI port and being displayed on my Dell U2711 at 1920x1080.

The micro HDMI to HDMI male 6' cable was $9.99 USD. I have a 6" version coming from monoprice.com for $4.04.

I also bought a female HDMI coupler so I could tie into existing HDMI cables easily. The coupler is also $9.99 which is way too much. I have one coming from monoprice.com for $2.06.

Another purchase and test was a HDMI to DVI adapter. That worked too, but it seems limited on resolution compared to HDMI all the way through. Probably cheap engineering or signal bandwidth. This adapter was $12.99. I'll probably seek a cheaper version from one of the internet sites.

And last and most expensive is the Accell HDMI to VGA gizmo. It cost $55 and includes a power supply if needed, HDMI cable, and adapter. I'm not sure I'm even going to open the package on it.

I might order some other VGA solutions I see for less money.

I don't think I'll even bother screwing with DisplayPort since HDMI works well enough and it is the choke point at 1920x1080. I really wish this machine had mini DP like the MacBook Air or the HP Envy 14.

 

Hi, do you guys know of any cheap mini-hdmi to vga connectors? I do lots of presentations using my schools projector which probably has only vga and no hdmi ports. A direct link will be great!

 

^ebay, my friend.

 

Hello all, I removed a bunch of bloatware, disabled some start up programs and services and now my laptop takes about 9 seconds to boot up. Did I remove something or do something that would make it take so long?

 

Are you joking or trolling? 9 seconds? What will you do with all of that lost time?

 

I'm wondering if maybe he meant to say 9 minutes ??

 

If you got rid of the "Intel Rapid Start Technology" it will boot a bit slower but 9seconds is still very quick ha. I wouldn't be upset with that.

 

I think (hope) he's wondering what he got rid of that was previously making it take a lot longer. 9 seconds is pretty fast. This is the only interpretation I could come up with that made sense.