The 2012 Samsung Series 9 13.3" (NP900X3B)

This would a good time to start a separate NP900X3C thread.

John

 

ai, then i can whinge about still no more than 4Gb ram by the looks of it :-(

 

Please go and whinge in the new thread I have just started. I agree that 4GB RAM seems restrictive these days. Perhaps Samsung want you to buy the 15" version in order to get 8GB.

John

 

Wow very nice.... Will keep an eye out. If it releases anywhere near my 30 day window seems like a no brainer?

 

At the moment it looks like Samsung are first releases the "C" version in those markets which didn't get the "B" version. eg Scandinavia, Hungary and perhaps New Zealand.

John

 

Well, it may be the same sound card, but different amplifier and speakers. Wait til you have both and compare sound. I didn't get to do this in the store, so I have based my comments about audio differences on reviews.

 

The speakers may be different but I think that's all. And maybe the way that the audio was tuned for the 13" chassis didn't carry over very well to the 15". Reviewers can have different expectations so it will be interesting what Thors,Hammer thinks when he can play both models alongside each other.

John

 

We're all looking forward to it!

 

900X3B-A74 is available on ebay for a cool US $2,899

i7 2637M, 4GB, 256SSD

NEW SAMSUNG Sereis 9 NT900X3B-A74 13.3" Laptop Core i7 2637M 1.7GHz 4G 256GB SSD | eBay

 

more like uncool $2899

 

Does anyone know if there are any sleeves or cases (preferably a sleeve) that is a good fit for the new 13.3" 9 series (900X3B)?

 

And still only 4GB RAM. I don't think many will sell at that price.

I've got one of these on order. The dimensions look about right.

John

 

Why buy a small/thin laptop, and then get a HUGE case? that's made to fit the macbook PRO.

 

I think I'll wait and see what a Crucial 256GB mSATA SSD goes for. I'm thinking it won't be a penny more than $1500.

 

I don't think think the notebook thickness is a big worry - the sleeve will squash down. It's the length and width that matter. Perhaps I've mis-judged the material but it looks thinner than the neoprene sleeve that I've already got.

John

 

I spent like 2 hours searching and reading reviews for the best sleeve, and currently there is no sleeve designed specifically for this notebook. You best bet is to look for something that fits the 13" macbook air very snug. There were a few candidates, but this one I saw reviews saying it's too tight for the mac air, and since the S9 is a tad smaller than the mac air, it should be a perfect fit. I personally have not ordered this yet, nor have the S9, but when I order the S9 ivy bridge model, I'll be getting this sleeve at the same time.

Speck Products MacBook Air / Ultrabook 13-Inch TrimSleeve Black (SPK-A0293)

All the other sleeves I saw that fits this notebook looked too ugly and cheap.

 

FYI, my eldest has the 13.3" in Hawaii at the moment. I'm not sure if I'll get it back anytime soon. It will definitely be gone for a minimum of 10 more days and I think he might buy the machine and take it to Alaska next.

I don't really need it for first impressions of the 15" anyway. The 15" will sell itself in the first 24 hours, or not.

My machine is on the truck for delivery today but that is usually late in the afternoon.

 

Yes, that is the link I bought it from. I sent an email to the specific store I bought it from and he wasn't that helpful but said that it was lighter than the color shown in the stock pictures. That lead me to believe that it may be a lot lighter. All of the reviews I've seen, though they are of the 15 inch Series 9, are much darker than the stock photos. Samsung Series 9 review (15-inch, 2012) | The Verge

 

so... this thread is too long.

i have the a01 and a02 - i've opened up the a02 and talked to samsung a bunch of times about the RAM. see my blog posts at Puzzles that probably don't need to be solved

i just picked up the a01 from bestbuy (the first series 9 2012 to come to a michigan store, and now they're out) and will report the difference - unless someone can tell me? so far i cant find any (same color, specs + OS)

-Will

 

Actually there IS a sleeve made just for this laptop. It is from Samsung but only included free in Korean models. It's annoying that it's not even sold separately.
Related photo at the end: D'TALKER

 

If that sleeve is anything similar to this sleeve by Samsung for the Series 9 2011, I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND. I purchased one and returned it last year. The quality is poor, and the protection is non-existence.

Amazon.com: Pouch, 13 Inch, Black, AMOR13 Series 9: Computers & Accessories

 

Aside from quality or no protection, that sleeve will be too loose for the newer S9. It looks like it was designed for the older S9, which is larger than the current one, so that sleeve won't have a snug fit.

 

Can't wait for your assesment! Will you post it all in the 4B thread?

 

It may be sensible to use the largest, fastest SD card for storage of media files and anything that doesn't benefit from the I/O speed of the SSD. The SXDC cards are, I believe, around $1/GB and available at up to 128GB - if this notebook's slot can handle that much SD capacity. If I'm wrong on price (too low) then get 32 or 64GB for now and upgrade to 128 when costs come down, which they are faster on USB flash memory than on mSATA SSDs. A lot of Sony Z2 owners have been wrestling with this issue all year and the SD cards really take up the slack. Sony even doubles the SD card storage by insisting on also having it's "magic jack" proprietary SD slot, so double the storage.

(Brag post: Of course, we Z1 owners have a DVD bay that can hold any 2.5" SSD or HDD so storage is never an issue. No, it's not as thin or sleek as the 900X3B, but it weights 3 lbs, 8GB RAM is essentially free (user installed) and it has 3 USB2 and 1 USB3 port (via ExpressCard), a blu ray burner when you want/need it and 13" screens to-die-for - no better than the new 3B though but nothing else close - legacy ports not requiring dongles and....the WORST audio of any laptop made in the last 15 years - except for the Z2, whose speakers sound worse than the sound of earphones not in your ears!!! End of brag )

 

or if you're crazy, you can permanently install some memory into the SD slot

Puzzles that probably don't need to be solved: upgrade the np900x3b by hacking the SD slot

 

i've run into this issue before while installing windows on tablets and such.

i never write down the solution - but usually figure it out again after 5-10 mins (or less).

if i recall correctly, this is usually fixed by

1. use a different USB port
2. use the SD slot instead
3. unplug other things that you don't need from the other ports (try a hub if you need a keyboard)
4. try a different memory card
5. in BIOS: switch to ide, disable as many devices as you can

 

oh silly people. why don't you have an abundant supply of microHDMI->regular? they are like $1....

meritline dot com...

don't you need them for your cellphone, anyway?? what's the dealio!

 

I have both the A01 and A02 on-hand. I wrote up the differences here:
Puzzles that probably don't need to be solved: Samsung Series 9 2012: A01 vs. A02 Elucidated

Basically, there are none, except slight variations in pre-installed bloat.

HTH,

Will

 

Just be aware that the SD card will stick out from the side of the computer unless you can find a 3/4 length card.

John

 

The A02 as far as I've seen, is a specific configuration for sale in Microsoft stores as a Microsoft Signature Edition PC.

 

shame to see the 13" is not as light as i hoped, its 100g heavier than the toshiba z830 i have :-( i thought this thing was sposed to be 'THE' lightest on the market??

 

That Z830 is crazy light. Feels like one of those fake "prop" laptops you find in model homes.

 

John- do 3/4 length cards exist?

 

thanks bud - that coincides with the differences i've discovered - do you know anything more? any specifics?

 

I think that Toshiba use magnesium alloy for the chassis. I've got both the R500 and R700 and they both suffer from a very noisy fan. The NP900X3B doesn't have that problem.

Not that I know of! There would be nothing to catch hold when pulling a card from the slot. So, while an SD card are an option for storage expansion, sensibly one would remove it from the slot when packing up the computer.

John

 

agreed, the R700 fan is noisey

the Z830 now its had the BIOS flash is invariably completely silent, the fan is off 98% of the time, but i will admit that when it does kick in for updates etc or if i game, its bloody awful!!lol!

 

What's the benefit of using a micro sd with adapter over a hacked sd card?

Is it just so you can use it in another device again?

 

Question about the lid on the B: Is it the same as the A? (i.e. plate, not shell)

 

Can you please explain further? I'm not planning to pull the lid apart to see how it is made.

John

 

You don't need to pull the lid off. I just want to know if it's a sheet attached to the plastic bezel as with the A. A shell would be a curved sheet at the edges.

 

It seems to be a flat plate, with the shiny metal strip around the edge.



I can't see how it is fixed together but it seems to be quite robust.

John

 

This question is a long shot, but is anyone using theirs with WHS v1? I can't get it to automatically wake up from sleep mode in order to do the overnight backup.

With my Samsung X360, this worked perfectly as long as I left the laptop lid open and plugged in to the mains while in Sleep mode.

 

Hmmm. Seems to be thicker than last year maybe? That would help.

 

Insight UK is listing the leather case for the 13" S9. However, anyone ordering it might have to wait a few days:



John

 

Eventually someone will tear down the entire machine. I am curious to know what is on the other side of the motherboard if anything. I would also like a look at what is under the silver mesh where the RAM is supposed to be soldered.

If someone spots a support training area with videos and pics, please let me know.

 

So I just got my new s9 in the mail and wow.. the trackpad is basically unusable! Seriously, even after the driver update, I can't go to point to something without it trying to highlight something, it will register a click in the middle of a drag, etc. It's awful!

I thought I would be able to handle it better than most since I have the previous series 9 but this is by far the worst experience I've ever had on a laptop before!
I read in reviews that the trackpad was wonky but I really wasn't expecting this.

To top it off, the touchPad settings aren't nearly as customizable as the settings on the original S9.

Is anyone seeing this issue as badly as I am? Is there something I'm missing?

 

Ok so I know I said I'd hold out until the ivy bridge version of this S9 came out before buying, but I just couldn't resist it anymore. I just pulled the trigger while it had $25 off. So excited to receive it, I can't wait . I also ordered the notebook sleeve I mentioned a few days ago. It seems like that one was the best fit so far. I wish samsung would have the official S9 sleeve available to buy in the US. Both newegg and amazon is currently the cheapest, and in stock right now. Both my sleeve and S9 was from amazon for no tax, here are the two links:

Samsung Series 9 NP900X3B-A01US 13.3-Inch Laptop (Titan Silver)

Speck Products MacBook Air / Ultrabook 13-Inch TrimSleeve Black (SPK-A0293)

When I get mine, I'll be doing a mini review of all aspects of the S9. I'll also take mine apart for pics of the motherboard, memory, SSD, or other inner components like I do with all my computer stuff

 

I would make sure your driver actually updated. The ELAN driver at Support - Series 9 Notebooks NP900X3B | Samsung Laptops is a pain to get installed and updated. Once installed and tweaked it works well for me.

 

The touchpad works well for me, after playing with the settings, especially the "Drag and drop" change to "release after finger lift," no more dragg clicking!

 

Yep. I had trouble the first time but got it installed to the latest. And then installed it again after I did a complete restore. still sucked.

I messed with every setting available and did think that the "Release after finger lift" would do the trick but it didnt. the only thing that sort of helped was to slow the pointer down as slow as it would go, and even then I would still get the drag click.

I think I just may return it and get a refund. While it's a worthy upgrade in my eyes, my 2011 Series 9 is still kicking and looks brand new. I may as well wait it out and see how much the price drops when the Ivy Bridge version comes out.