samsung notebook 9 pro upgrades?

Hi, I really like the looks of the new Notebook 9 Pro.
15.6" 4k screen
skilake quad core core i7
8gb ram 256gb ssd
slim and sexy.
But I have one question has anybody upgraded the SSD in this model? 256gb is way too small.
Thanks, Jeff

 

The review here mentions a Liteon CV1 SSD which appears to be the M.2 2280 format with SATA interface but it would be prudent to check what is in the notebook before ordering a replacement. 1TB is now available in this format - I recently put the reasonably priced Sandisk X400 into my Dell E5570.

Assuming that Samsung have followed the previous practice for this family then the base of the computer is reasonably easy to remove (use a good quality Philips size 0 screwdriver) and access the SSD.

One reservation I would have about the Book 9 Pro is the battery capacity (I haven't found the exact value anywhere but it doesn't appear to be generous). I would also be concerned about the ability to keep cool under sustained load. The bottom air vent shown on page 11 of the User Manual is small considering there is a quad core CPU and dGPU inside.

John

 

Hi John, Thanks for the info! I was thinking about that 1tb sandisk. Mobile tech review said the bottom of the notebook 9 pro was easy to remove. Just phillips screws and no annoying plastic clips. They also said it stays pretty cool the hotest spot during gaming is the center of the bottom at 106 degrees. Thanks, Jeff

 

John is correct as always, it's an M.2 (2280 size, which is the common standard) SATA3 SSD. Any capacity will work (I threw a 500 gig Samsung EVO 850 in for testing and it worked fine). Don't get a PCIe M.2 SSD, as far as I can tell, the Samsung doesn't support PCIe.

The laptop, at least ours with all Samsung updates, does not run hot at all. And I've made it play CIV V for 2-3 hours at a time

 

Correction: Often correct, but sometimes I am wrong and am willing to be corrected.

Anyway, something you might know is the battery capacity in Watt-hours which I can't find written down anywhere.

John

 

John: The battery is 57 Whr. Samsung's been doing some magic with their recent "Notebook" brand notebooks. Battery life is similar to my XPS 15 4K with big battery. The GTX 950M does consume considerably less power, which may help.

 

That's not too bad. Had this notebook been available on my side of The Pond I might have closely considered it in spite of the QHD display because it weighs 0.7 lbs / 0.33kg less than the Dell E5570 which I have just bought. However, the latter (from Dell Outlet) was much lighter on the wallet and includes an 84Whr battery. The 15" Notebook 9 with a proper sized battery would have been ideal. The hardware gets more power efficient but the batteries keep shrinking so all day operation away from a power socket remains a challenge.

John

 

Any details on the audio quality of the 9 pro?

 

The Notebook 9 Pro actually has a 4K display, not QHD.

 

Whichever it is, there are far too many pixels for any Windows software which doesn't scale nicely and then turning off scaling results in impossibly small text (I'm currently on 15.6" FHD with 125% scaling).

John

 

Hi Worzyl, The notebook 9 pro has four 2-watt speakers. Mobile Tech Review said it has the best sound they've experienced from a laptop.
Jeff

 

I'm looking into this laptop and was curious about the usb c port. I know it uses the alpine ridge controller but tb3 isn't supported? So what's the benefit of it since you won't be able to use future egpu and docks? Doesn't it make it less futureproof with no tb3 support?



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for the reply.
Four, two watt speakers. That must be producing some serious base and makes me wonder if they are placed underneath the laptop.

 

They face downward, toward the table. I think you can see those grilles in a photo in my written review.

 

Just read the review. A few questions regarding the audio;

1) What was the bass like? Does it feel bassy?
2) Did it pick up finer instruments when playing classical/Jazz sounds?
3) How loud does the audio go before it starts to distort?
4) With the speakers being at the bottom; when lifting the laptop, does the sound quality change?

Thank you for the review. The dell comparison was informative.

 

Folks, please post questions pertaining to my written reviews on that review's page. I'm much better at answering questions on our own site than the various forums I visit when time allows. The answered questions also function as an extension of the review, and are helpful to others who read that review. Thx, Lisa.