anyone have the ATIV 9 spin?

Ive been looking at the ATIV 9 spin in bestbuy but two concerns I have for it are battery life and heat. Compared to the Yoga 900, the spin seems to feel hotter in tablet mode. Anyone have one and can comment on that? Also, more importantly, what has been real world battery life especially when compared to say the Yoga 900?

 

I can't speak to the yoga 900, but I have the Spin. I get about 4.5-5hr battery letting adaptive brightness do its thing. If I lower the brightness manually I can get 6.

As for heat, this machine runs a lot cooler than my old ativ 9 plus and never seems to get too hot to use in any mode comfortably.

 

Great, as you had an ativ 9 plus, could you kindly compare both machines in more detail? I am also thinking of going from 9 plus to 9 spin but don't know weather it would be worth while.

 

I was on the fence for awhile too. I purchased the spin from best buy with every intent of returning it within the 14 day window. Needless to say, I've decided to keep the spin and sell the older plus.

The three major improvements for me are the keyboard, screen, and ports. The keyboard keys have improved travel and are made from a softer feeling material which I much prefer. I also appreciate the extra USB port and micro sd slot. That said, the one thing that instantly sold me on the spin is the screen. It's likely the same panel as the older 9 plus, but there is a new anti-glare coating on the screen which is AWESOME. Sure, there is still glare as it is a glass screen, but it has a coating very similar to the MacBook pros.

I also find the spin to be comfortable to hold in tablet form. The yoga might win here due to the rubber material and reduced weight, but it is worlds better than all others I have held. (spectre x360, inspiron, etc)

The only real downside to the spin is the shorter battery life (30-60min~) but I do not find that to be a deal breaker for myself. All in all, the spin is a very solid laptop and a definite upgrade from older ATIV generations.

 

Thanks,
what about its weight and profile in comparison to plus? does it feel lighter and smaller? and how is its finish and color, and any comments on the track pad?

 

thanks for the review.

any chance you could post some photos of your screen with sunlight or lamp light directly hitting the screen?

also, in tablet mode, do the keys sink into the chassis creating a completely flat surface on your lap? or are they still exposed?

 

Picked one up today and was dismayed by the screen, its going back. Very muddy and greyish blacks. I dunno why they used such a crap panel. Contrast measures around 450:1. Would not recommend unless you are plugging into an external screen most or all of the time.

 

Hey all, it's been a while since I've been on the Samsung sub-forum since...well... it's been a while since Samsung released new laptops. I'm quite impressed with the ATIV Book 9 Spin-- sorta crushing on it, which doesn't happen often given how many lovely machines I have the pleasure of reviewing. If you're a Samsung Ultrabook sort of person, this one may check all the right boxes. Here's my written and video review: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Samsung-ATIV-Book-9-Spin.htm

 

Welcome back. I hope you will stay around and help answer any questions.

I see that Samsung have only one fan in this new product, compared to two in the classic 13.3" Series 9. It looks as if the battery has been made smaller than it could have been in favour of providing a pair of larger loudspeakers. I would prefer the extra battery time.

John

 

There's really no need for a second fan since there's no dedicated GPU. The singe fan works well because it runs quite cool- surprisingly so. It's mostly silent too.

Yes, the speaker modules are huge for a machine this size. The battery... well it would be nice if it ran longer. But Samsung seems to be going for super-thin and light and that means the battery module takes a hit. At least it's better than the upcoming Notebook 9 in that respect LOL.

 

I've got both an X3B and the X4C. The former has two fans which don't have to work very hard and consequently don't make much noise while the latter has only one fan and the noise gets quite noticeable. If, however, Samsung have put a better designed fan in this new notebook then one will be enough. I discovered the benefit when I got my current notebook (Dell E7450). It's got a dGPU (not that I need it) but a side effect is that they had to provide a better quality fan which looks as if it was actually designed to move air efficiently.

John

 

Hey guys! I have the Spin which I purchased a few months ago. I've been using it daily, along with the Dell XPS 15 9550 that I purchased in December. I am honestly still trying to decide which one I want to use as my main business machine. I've written a lot of comments about the Spin, over at ultrabook review: http://www.ultrabookreview.com/9207-samsung-ativ-book-9-spin-review/ and there is a video review on YouTube:
Also I have uploaded my own pics of the Spin screen, compared to the XPS 15 infinity display: http://imgur.com/a/6KhGn. BTW' The pics I shot in the link, are displaying the exact same 4K wallpaper on both the Spin and XPS 15.

One comment here claims that the display is horrible. That is completely false! The Spin screen can go much brighter than many @ 700 nits. It has a standard brightness control and also an Outdoor mode feature (Fn + F10 keys) which brings it up to 700 nits. The screen is the best I've ever used outdoors or in direct sunlight. The only issue I have with the Spin is the 5 to 6-hour battery life.

I owned the Skylake i7 Ash Silver HP Spectre x360 and the Yoga 900. The Spin, hands down, is an overall better machine than either of those. I owned them and returned them for the Spin for many reasons detailed in the above links.

If you have any questions, let me know.

 

One quick questions here. Is anyone having problems with uneven rubber feet? One of these on my Spin notebook doesn't touch the table resulting in a wobbly base.

 

Anyone notice screen bleeding on the bottom right corner?

 

No, mine has no screen leaks.

 

I meant the screen bleed is only noticeable in a very dark room when booting up with the samsung logo on. There is a huge screen bleed at the bottom right of the panel. Its not obvious during normal usage.

 

I double checked. I don't think I have that screen bleed you mentioned. How about the rubber feet? Are they level on your unit?

 

Thanks for checking. I guess mine is one of those unfortunate screen. Well I think I can live with it as its only on the start up screen

 

Nope my rubberfeet is all even. No wobbling issue.

 

I just upgraded the spin 9 to 1TB Sandisk SSD. I bought it from Amazon for $260 here..

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SD8SN...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

And the enclosure here:

http://www.amazon.com/ZTC-Enclosure...Number=1&filterByStar=positive#R1BTJ9JV36WNV9

Step 1: Insert the Sandisk SSD at angle to the ZTC enclosure. It's quite a tight fit but I use it temporary for cloning. Insert it to the USB port.

Step 2: Windows will not recognize the new SSD, it will not show up in my computer as an external drive, its ok, but importantly the blue light of the ZTC enclosure is on. No worries keep going.

Step 3: Open Samsung recovery app. The Samsung app will be able to recognize the Sandisk SSD.

Step 4: Select recover to current setting (meaning clone everything including the boot drive). Copy will start. Don't worry if the transfer bar is moving at 0% .. Its working..

Step 5 : Once its done, shut down PC and unscrew the back panel of your laptop and unscrew the SSD protective board. Its a long rectangular shape with 2 screws at each corner.

Step 6: Once screw remove, lift the board up with your finger by the little triangle. The board has 2 connector at both end. Lift it up and it will pop off.

Step 7: You should be able to see the LIteon SSD now, Unscrew at end of the SSD and pull the SSD out in a sliding fashion to your left (DO NOT PULL UP)

Step 8: Attached the new clone SSD. and screw back everything

Step 9. Power up and it will run check disk automatically. It should say 100% complete with no issue. All data and software will be intact. DO note that some software will recognize this a new latop, since there is a hardware change. Outlook will reload again if you are running Exchange.

Step 10: Make yourself a coffee.. Its done.

 

I know everybody know this but change the Cache to fix at 2000mb and get a noticeable performance boost in opening and closing apps. If you like to have smooth scrolling like IPAD buttery sliding in outlook 2013 (default is jerky and not smooth at all). Check the Visual effect to smooth scroll list box.

For changing cache: go to Control Panel\System and Security\System under advance and virtual memory, uncheck automatic manage by window and check custom and punch in the window recommended number (1906) on mine

For smooth scrolling in outlook, go to Control Panel\System and Security\System under visual effect smooth scroll list box.

 

My spin 9 has a rattling noise fan. Here is the fix.

Step 1 remove the back panel and unscrew all the screws on the fan.

Step 2: Lift up the fan (don't worry the fan and heatsink are separate

Step 3: Notice there are 2 black stick foam on top of the copper bar (yellow color), remove the foam and cut half of it away

Step 4: Stick the other half on to the outlet of the fan where the wind comes out.. the part where it connect to the copper bar. By placing a foam, in between the fan outlet and the copper bar, it effectively stop the fan from touching the copper bar. It also stabilize the fan.

Step 5 put back the fan and make sure the the gap between the fan and the yellow bar is separated by the foam sticker.

Step 6: Screw back everything and run some intensive apps. You should hardly hear the fan spinning now. In intensive gaming mode, you will hear wind whoosing by the vent instead of fan spinning sound.\

Step 7: congrats, the spin 9 is as quiet as a surface pro 4 now. Almost inaudible when fan is moving.

Another note, use Adguard software, you will notice that the fan spin less as it blocks all ads pop up from browser. The ads cause the fan to spin like crazy. Another way is to disable flash in Edge or Chrome. Fan don't spin now even with 10 tabs on with 1 tab streaming 4K video.

 

For those who is still deciding on the Spin 9 or Dell XPS 13 touch or Lenovo 900. Go for Spin 9 and heres why?

I find the PLS panel has a better contrast than both the 2 even though the XPS score better in the contrast ratio. In real life, comparing side by side, the spin 9 screen's black are deeper black and color pops out like my external Samsung monitor counter to the actual benchmark. The screen is also matt which means I am seeing the image like real life instead of behind a glass with reflection (common to most notebook). I will even say I prefer the screen more than the Surface pro 4 (which is noted as one of the best out there). I feel the PLS screen look more OLED than IPS.. 2nd of all the it has the brightest screen if you turn on the insane outdoor mode. Its really bright.

The Surface pro 4 I7 540 Iris benchmark completely blew the spin out of the water. However my testing reveal that in real life, I hardly feel any differences at all. I measure the opening and closing of the apps to be the same, the touch screen is very responsive with no lag, Edge browser speed feels the same. Outlook 2013 touch mode is buttery smooth (when smooth scroll is turn on). The wake up is as fast as surface pro 4 I7 and its faster than Dell XPS 13. The Lenovo biggest let down is the screen, even though its PLS, its black is washed out. It looks cheap.

Spin 9 runs the coolest.. and I do prefer the Spin 9 aluminum sleek look than all of the above. It feels high end and the screen.. my goodness is beautiful, deep black, color pop and resolution so high, I cannot see a dot pixel no matter how close I look at the screen.. like looking at paper printout.

Best of all, it cost me $1489 after all the upgrading.

 

Rexibaby987 and others who installed Sandisk x400 1TB m.2 sata ssd drive, what are the actual speeds like? Please post results of SSD benchmark tests, the read and write speeds!

 

I've put that SSD in my Dell E5570.



John

 

And the EVO msata is $80 more currently. Samsung tax.

 

I confirm that I used the Sandisk X400 m.2 sata SSD 1TB drive. Samsung recovery software works flawlessly to migrate the entire old SSD including the recovery partition! And it only takes about 10-15 minutes!

Questions:
- Did anyone manage to find a security lock of some kind to use on this laptop? Kensington lock doesn't seem to fit!
- What is a good reliable and fast USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet adapter with USB hub?

 

Any started seeing BSD (Blue Screen of Death) since the latest Samsung update a few days ago? I've had several BSD's since the update, something that had never happened before.

 

id go for the yoga, the battery life shouldn't be to much of a worry because it last surprising long and is definitely consistent. It is just like any other average spin coating device, surprisingly good!

 

I had the Yoga 900 and hated it. It is VERY cheaply made and feels just as much. I had a few of them as I returned them one after another for various reasons. 2 units had lint under the paint on both the top and bottom of the unit.

See my review here: http://www.ultrabookreview.com/9207-samsung-ativ-book-9-spin-review

And also: http://www.ultrabookreview.com/9112-lenovo-yoga-hp-spectre/

 

Update: Just to let Spin owners know: Upon allowing the latest Samsung updates, I am now seeing BSD's (Blue Screen of Death) for the first time on the Spin. Since the Spin is no longer my primary machine (Spectre x360 15-inch is now), I went ahead and did a full system reset (even a restore date would have been enough or simply rolling back the driver updates). This time, I skipped the Samsung update Graphics Driver 20.19.15.4483 and Wireless LAN Driver 12.0.0.262. I'm not sure which one is causing the BSD's but I'm pretty sure it is one of the two, probably the Graphics Driver. I have not made any other changes nor had there been any Windows updates around the same time as when the BSD's started.

Confirmed: the latest Samsung update Graphics Driver 20.19.15.4483 is causing BSD's and blank screens for some users. I highly recommend skipping this update or rolling back if you already installed it, until Samsung or Intel release another update.

I posted the below on another forum:

"Hello and you are welcome. I have confirmed the issue based upon my usage. After a full system factory reset, I installed all of the apps I had on the unit before and let Windows do its updates as well as did all of the Samsung updates other than the Graphics Driver 20.19.15.4483 and Wireless LAN Driver 12.0.0.262. Ran it all day and had no problems. Then I installed the Wireless LAN Driver 12.0.0.262 and had no problems after about 6 hours of letting the system run, play videos, etc. Then after installing Graphics Driver 20.19.15.4483 and letting the system sit for a while, the screensaver kicked in and then BSD and then the system restarted.

I had BSD's on the XPS until I found a NVIDIA driver update that fixed the problem. I'm sure that Samsung or Intel will release an update soon that will take care of this problem. Samsung has been very good with pushing out updates to the Spin via the included Samsung update app and so I can't be too upset over this.

Most users probably had no problems before the update but for me I had an issue because anytime I use the Spin, I have it connected to a Dell 24" 4K display via HDMI. Upon waking from sleep, the Spin will forget my settings and show the display on both the Spin and on the Dell monitor even though I have set Windows to only use the 2nd display (external monitor). The new update had fixed that issue but now that I'm back to the older driver, that issue has returned."

 

can anyone confirm that a 256 gb micro sd is compatible with spin and works?

 

Yes, I do. When computer starts up, you can see it.

But it became annoying when I changed my default wallpaper with darker background. It’s at bottom left and it's more clear when brightness is above 50%.

Samsung service told me to ship it for repairs but I’m not sure. After doing some online research regarding this issue, it seems that there is no guarantee that replaced screen won't have similar issue.

Anyone knows how to add picture ?

 

I have 200gb-SanDisk micro sd and it works fine. I assume 256gb should be fine as well. There was quite price between 200 gb and 256 gb micro sd cards in Amazon when I bought it.

 

I really like Ativ book 9 spin. Should I buy now, or wait for the next generation spin.