CONFIRMED: Samsung starts shipping Sandy Bridge for Windows 8 launch

As incredible as it seems, Samsung is pulling an interesting stunt here in the USA. There is a new 13.3" Series 9 SKU that is now available for pre-order on a bunch of USA sites including TigerDirect.com, CompUSA.com, Frys.com and NewEgg.com. The model number is NP900X3D-A01US and it is a Sandy Bridge based machine. In fact, it's identical to the NP900X3B-A01US with the exception of the chassis color and it comes with Windows 8.

They are selling the model at $999 USD which is a good price but it seems underhanded to be selling the old chipset at this point.

 

They also have Ivy Bridge in different models like the 7 gamer series................

 

Unless there's a -up in the specs (not unknown for the Samsung marketing people).

However, given the pricing I suspect that it is Sandy Bridge inside (and perhaps the Sandisk U100 SSD) which gives people the benefit of the X3 series at below $1,000. If you want the Ivy Bridge version of the X3D then there's the option of paying a lot more money and getting the NP900X3D-A02US (i5 + 128GB) or the NP900X3D-A03US (which has i7 +256GB).

John

 

I would have to ask aren't you better off with a 3C then upgrade to Win8 if you so desire? IE; Amazon.com: Samsung Series 9 900X3C - 13.3" - Core i7 3517U: Electronics

 

No, not underhanded. Most people will care less whether it's ivy or sandy. Those that do won't buy it. They have to use the inventory somehow.

 

Actually not same specs. NP900X3B-A01US has the 1.6 GHz i5-2467M chip vs. NP900X3D-A01US with the 2537M 1.4GHz.

 

But nonetheless plenty fast enough for the average user who wants more versatility than a tablet can offer without adding too much weight. It looks like a good marketing move to have a version of the Series 9 that competes on price.

John

 

But I want a Silver Ivy Bridge at that price.

By the way, you may have noticed Samsung didn't change the screen on the 15" like I hoped.

 

Wow, this is quite confusing. NCIX.com, a retailer in Canada has the NP900X3D-A03CA model listed for pre-order with a i5-3317UM processor, 4GB Ram and a 128GB SSD.(Silver with Win8). I kind of wonder if some sites had gotten earlier garbage specs from elsewhere. If the Canadian "A03" version had the i7 w/ 256gb ssd for the price listed, I would be punching that pre-order button repeatedly!!! It would also be game over for the Apple MacBook.

 

I'm sure it will happen, but perhaps not this year.

Is there a commercial incentive to do this? There's not much competition in that size in between the 14" and 15.6". Anyway, I hope that the 15" PLS panel will eventually appear. It will give me a reason to replace my X4C but it might as well wait for Haswell (and / or Samsung UK to learn that there are faster 17W CPUs than the 3317UM).

John