The 2012 Samsung Series 9 13.3" (NP900X3B)

Make sure you turn off the Samsung Fast Boot in the BIOS (this skips checking for USB devices). Then press F10 at the BIOS screen to select the boot device.

I've not seen any problems. Perhaps Acronis automatically handles this in the background.

There is some discussion of the process in this thread.

John

 

thanks for the fast boot suggestion. I will try.

as for the dissassembly, I have tried to search on this thread, but if anyone comes across it, please give us a link.

 

Just bought the Series 9 13.3" 900X3C-A01 in Canada about 4 hours ago and I'm going to be returning it tomorrow. The backlit keyboard doesn't work. When I press Fn F9 and F10, I see the image pop up on the desktop and the green bars move left and right, but the keyboard light doesn't come on. I've looked through all the power options and nothing works. Any help would be appreciated although I've read that there is no fix for this. I even called Samsung and they told me it's a hardware problem and to return the laptop.

I'm still undecided if I'm going to be buying another one.

 

Did you do your tests in a room with poor lighting? IIRC, the keyboard backlight is controlled by the ambient light sensor which is near the top left corner of the keyboard. Also the backlighting isn't very bright, but is effective when needed.

John

 

Yup, I went into the bathroom and nothing. Can't explain it, however, I'll be getting a new again today and see if it has the same problem, but if it doesn't, who's to say that it'll stop working after 5 or 8 months of use? I mean, if it's shipped with it not working, then that doesn't bode well for the consumer.

Do I buy extended warranty from Samsung or Best Buy?

I think that if this is a known issue, why does Samsung continue to push this laptop out at this price? I paid 1300 with tax for this, I expect a machine to at least last a freakin day!!!

 

That's over-priced for the X3B. Or is yours an X3C (which has its own thread). I don't recall reports of hardware problems with the backlight. Hence my questions about the operating conditions. It depends on the ambient light sensor and is not very bright when on. There are also some controls in Easy Settings.

John

 

Oops, it is the x3c. My bad.

I don't know what the hell is going on. I've been messing with it this morning and nothing. I went through the easy settings and the setting for the backlight is set to automatically turn on when the ambient illumination decreases, but when I go into a black room, the keyboard does not illuminate.

 

Not forgetting that you also need to type on the keyboard. Otherwise it stays off.

John

 

I know this subject has come up from time to time in this and the 900X3C threads, but I would appreciate if someone would comment on the following;

1) Are there any differences between the 3B and the 3C other than the IB for SB swap? Any hardware changes, different options, upgradability, other mSATA drives used i4n the "which one will I get" lottery?

2) Taking into account the responses to my question 1), above, is there enough performance or battery life differences in the C vs. the B to make it worth the approximate $350 premium for the 3C vs. the 3B (note: my net cost for my 3B is $850 - $999 at the MS store and $150 in the bag for the free Xbox I don't need or want)?

3) Has anyone found anything - including switching to the 900X3C from the 3B - that silences the increasingly intolerable (cheap/loud/plastic-y-metallic-y) space bar on my 3B? I hate to sound so petty, but the advantage of having 30 days to decide means that you learn whether "minor annoyances" become virtual deal killers. I know I can always use a separate kb, but a major benefit of a model like this - impossibly thin and light, yet durable laptop, nothing extra needed - goes away if I have to bring and set up a separate keyboard.

I do love the S9 and am willing to put up with certain deficiencies vis a vis, say, my Sony Z2, because of the S9's unparalleled virtues.

Thanks for saving me yet another run through both S9 threads and Google hunts.

 

The only difference that I know of is the Ivy Bridge platform. B was a stop-gap solution because Intel delayed shipping IB. I've not seen comparative numbers for the difference in battery time but it's probably nearer 10% than 20%.

John

 

Yup.

FYI, I returned the unit and have not replaced it yet. I'm going to think about it for a few days and see what happens.

Quick question, I didn't see a security lock on the laptop so I did some digging and found out, much to my surprise, it doesn't have one. I'm not sure I can still buy it and use it at university and in my dorm.

 

Yes, the X3C has a poorer SSD than the US X3B. I don't know if the X3C is worth the difference, but I think you can get one for about $1050 with the MS store's 20% discount. I've pegged the absolute max for the X3B's battery life at 7 hours. I think the X3C might give up to an extra hour. I don't notice a particularly offending sound from my space bar. In my book, the S9 is the best ultralight available right now. I wish it had 8GB but I'm making do.

 

Thanks for the added info. I guess you can always upgrade the mSATA SSD but what is it with this 4GB limit thing?? As for me, I'm comparing the X3B/C to my Sony Z2, that gets 10 hrs with a slice battery and is faster in every respect than the S9s. I just love the design of the S9s so much and I don't really need more power than even the SB version gives. And it is still $200 less since I got the free X box with my 3B.

But that spacebar, it's really making me wonder if this is a smart move...I mean, it sounds like a kid's typewriter from the 1970s....

 

The RAM is a special Dual Die Package which I believe operates as 2x2GB. It is soldered and a samsung roadmap shows the 8GB version will not be available till next summer. For now, the X3B will do nicely for me, but I may look to upgrade to haswell+8GB next year. I would also like a 512GB msata, but not until they hit about $250.

The S9 certainly can't compete with the performance of the Z, just a matter of whether you need the horsepower. If you do, you might hold on to the Z and get the S9 next year. I'm thinking the haswell ulv's will be very impressive.

 

i had both the xb and xc. The difference in battery life was at least 20% if not more, but depends on use. It is why i decided to return the xb. The difference for me was about $240.

I did a battery test and this is what I got..ymmv

After both fully charged, i used both machine for light web surfing, just to see what the battery reading would be under balanced plan.

On xb it was about 3.5 hrs and on xc it was5.5 to 6 hrs. This of course is not quite accurate.

Then i did a video rundown.

On balanced plan with wifi on (forgot to turn it off), brightness at 2 bars
xb was 4:10 hrs
xc was 5:40 hrs

Same video now on power saver plan with wifi off, brightness at 2 bars
xb was about 5 hours
xc was at least 6:30, probably more

The way I figured it, i will most likely run the laptop at Battery Saver mode, which means it charges to 80%. 80% of what I get with x is decent. 80% of what i get at xb is not tolerable.

 

Thanks for the hard numbers. I stand corrected. I find your X3B's run time lower than I would have expected from my own measurements. Did you happen to check the actual battery capacity of each. My X3B came with 3% wear (ie less than the rated capacity) whereas my X 4C currently has 2% more capacity than design. Such variations contribute to differences in run time (but nowhere near the 20% you observed).

John

 

I was afraid of that. I've actually done similar benchmarking on my X3B and those numbers are about what I see. I think I could get ~5 hours watching a dvd iso with wifi off, low brightness. A bit dissappointing but I guess IVB delivers, probably the gpu. It's strange I have yet to see anyone do a rock solid investigation on sandy vs ivy but this anecdotal evidence is starting to sway me. Well, I'll just have to full charge it when I fly and bring a book

 

How / where can we get a 20% discount at the MS store? Is it in person only, or can it be done online or on the phone?

Thanks.

 

It is in store only but i believe the promotion expired Aug 19th or so.

 

Anybody had this problem? I closed my X3B lid for likes 3 hours. Opened the lid up to use the laptop again, and now the touchpad doesn't work. Tried Fn + F5 to turn touchpad Off. Then I did it again to turn it On and still doesnt work. Any ideas?

 

I've got a similar problem with my X4C. My usual fix is to close the computer, wait a minute and then open it again. I suspect a driver issue.

John

 

Lol thanks. It works, love the benefits of instant wake-up :thumbsup:

 

I have the same requirement, I got the X3B when it first arrived in the UK and it has the U100 SSD that is pretty bad to put it mildly.

When youy say M4, what part number did you use, because I understand the U100 is a gumstick form factor, and I need to order the right disk so it will fit?

Thanks

Dec

 

See this thread for the SSD upgrade. Part No. CT256M4SSD3 but there seems to be a shortage at the moment.

John

 

The Crucial mSATA 256GB storage device is available on RAM Memory Upgrade: Dell, Mac, Apple, HP, Compaq. USB drives, SSD at Crucial.com and Newegg.com - Computer Parts, Laptops, Electronics, HDTVs, Digital Cameras and More!. They appear to be in stock here in the USA.

 

They need to send some of that stock across the pond. When I checked Crucial UK a few hours ago it said out of stock and most of the UK etailers show the part as on back-order. I was responding to someone who appears to be in UK. I was lucky to notice and grab one when they first showed up.

John

 

Thanks for the part number John, the thread is already 203 pages long and I'm new to the forum, when I search I seem to find the thread but not the page, and I've spent hours reading already..

170 STG for this 256SSD if I can find one, figured it would be almost twice that!

Just for the record, I have the NP900X3B, and it's my second one, the first would not boot from USB. This one has no touchpad issue, no fan noise, but the SSD is slower than a 5400 spinning disk, I regularly get 7MB/sec when copying files, the same file copies to my desktop at 35MB/sec.

I see talk of 400 and 500, I'm getting a fraction of that, with a WEI of 7.5

If I try to do two things at once like download and watch a video off the disk, the video freezes untill the download completes.

I've updated BIOS, I have AHCI on, I'm just hoping the U100 is particularly bad.

It takes 38 seconds to boot to the login page, and maybe another 20 to log in.

As far as SSD goes, I'm not impressed with it at all...

 

The mSATA upgrade thread isn't that long.

Your observed behaviour does seem exceptionally bad, even for the U100. Mine ran smoothly most of the time. Can you run Crystal DiskMark and post the result. My result is here.

John

 

So I'm seeing a ton of discussion over SSDs over the 10 pages I've skimmed over.

I'm assuming there is a lottery for the SS9's SSD selection just like with the Zenbook Prime UX31A. Is that true? If so, which different models of SSDs is Samsung using?

I'm really not wanting to immerse myself in a $1,000+ game of roulette as it would be very frustrating.

 

The Sandisk U100 predominates in the 128GB size although some people received Samsung's own SSD. A Liteon SSD (a good performer) predominates in the 256GB size although someone recently reported getting a 256GB Sandisk U100.

I think you can expect (but I can't promise) the same SSD to be used in one production batch, ie same notebook version in same country shipped at the same time. So if you hear of someone getting a non-Sandisk SSD then your chances of doing OK in the lottery are improved if you get the same version from the same source.

Sooner or later the stock of the U100 must be exhausted. Sandisk now produce a better SSD.

John

 

Very good info. Thanks so much for the reply.

It's a shame that they are raiding the leftover bin for such a crucial performance component of semi-cutting edge machines. I suppose it cuts costs though so I wouldn't expect it any other way.

Are the U100s really that bad? I have seen more complaints about them in the UX31A threads than in this thread for some reason.

 

Is there any way to upgrade to a warranty beyond 1 year with any Samsung laptop?

 

Which country are you? For UK, I bought one of these.

John

 

I'm in the USA.

 

This page suggests that extended warranties are available. I also understand that some versions (maybe those with Windows 7 Pro) of the Series 9 come with a 3 year warranty. Otherwise 3rd party warranties are available and may give less hassle over whether a problem is a manufacturing defect or as a result of usage.

John

 

Sounds like that's definitely a question for Samsung support. I can't say I've seen much about it online.

 

Sorry, I didn't realise you were linking to a different thread, I though you litteraly meant "See this thread, ie the one I posted in"

Thanks.

I will run some benchmarks, but like has been said may times in "this thread" the benchmarks are less usefull than real world use, and in the real world it's been woefull...

 

I got fed up with my 34% battery wear and contacted samsung via their web site and "my samsung" where I'd registered the product.

Their initial response to the query regarding my 900X3B bought in March with battery at 34% wear and only 5 old months was a statement on how I should look after the battery and keep the contacts clean.....well all I can say is that this response didn't go down to well and I promptly thanked them for that useless info and asked what they would do as their product was not fit for the purpose and expectation for which I’d bought...Someone else then helpfully replied apologising for the problem and stating they'd raised a service order for a replacement battery.

Received today one AA-PBXN4AR DC7.4V ~ 40Wh (5440mAh) to replace AA-PBXN6AR DC11.1V~40Wh

on firing up..(noted it was dead until I powered up with mains attached) new battery was at 40% Charge with 1% Wear (HWMon ) Battery care showing 0.74%.

Regards
Gary

 

I suspect there was some embarrassment for the person who followed the standard script without appreciating that the battery is internal. Did they let you change the battery or did you sent the notebook in for service. There's an isolating device at the battery connector which can be used to disconnect the battery by poking something through the hole on the bottom of the computer. It automatically reconnects when the mains power is plugged in - mentioned in the manual somewhere.

John

 

Did you guys see this:

Samsung smuggles new Series 9 prototype into IFA: 2,560 x 1,440 on a matte display (hands-on) -- Engadget

I wonder when this is going to be available...

 

Ahh...totally oblivious to the isolating device..but working as normal...Yes received no instruction or anything...just sent me the battery for me to install !!

What would you recommend ref going forward and the battery charging...I don't want to wear this bad boy out..not sure whether it was just a dodgy battery from the start or that the 6 cell batts are not very good ??

Should I use the bios 80% charge limit ??

Thanks for the advice..

Regards
G

 

Presumably the second support person realised that he was dealing with someone who know a little about computers. I hope they sent you a label for returning the old battery.

I would recommend that you enable the battery life extender unless you need the extra run time from a full battery. I'm using it on my Series 9s and currently have no increase in wear since new.

John

 

1440P!!!

Samsung smuggles new Series 9 prototype into IFA: 2,560 x 1,440 on a matte display (hands-on) -- Engadget

 

Holy cow. It sure invites a parade of questions. For instance, what are they doing for the 15" Series 9?

 

Cheers John,

T'will follow your sage advice and go with the extender option...very many thanks...and no! no return label or like for the redundant battery.

Kind Regards
Gary

 

I've been called 'sage' previously (about 3/4 of the way down this page).

So get it in to a battery recycling place. The Lithium is worth something to someone.

John

 

If you register your S9 at Samsung's USA site, they give you an additional 3 months of warranty. No big deal, but....

I buy my notebooks with AMEX, which gives an additional year!

 

Have used laptop today down to about 25% and recharged to bios saver of 80% and battery wear now showing 0%

G

 

After you register the S9 at the Samsung USA site, does it show when the warranty expires? I registered mine a couple of weeks ago and did get an email saying extending warranty by 3 months but I would like confirm the expiration date. Thanks.

 

Sorry if this has been discussed already, but after spending 40 minutes on the phone with Samsung, who was NO help whatsoever, and after searching this huge thread, I'm still not sure of the answer to my question.

I'm trying to find out if the SSD in the series 9 is user replaceable. I'm debating between the Lenovo X1 Carbon (i7, 4gb, 256gb) and the Series 9 (i7, 4gb, 256gb). The SSD in the X1 Carbon is a proprietary size and although it is replaceable, it's not readily available. Although I may not want to replace the 256GB drive immediately, I'm sure I will in the future. I'd rather get a laptop with a replaceable SSD if possible.

thanks,
Bert