Next Samsung Series 9 Release

The Sony photo seems to have a browning tint probably caused by fluorescent lighting.

John

 

Samsung Series 9 Premium with Intel Core i7 and 1080p display available now for $1,400

$1399 MSRP for the base model with 1080p screen. And the PR_page only mentions it as 300nit :/

 

?

The scenery on the Sony seems pretty natural to me. White fog in the valley, while on the Samsung it's green-bluish.

 

The Plug and Play ID (display model) for the FHD display in the X3E is BOE05BE

James

 

These were indeed taken in an office with FL lighting and the two different types of screen seem to react differently to this in the photos - I therefore wouldn't pay too much attention to the colour comparison in the pictures - it was more to illustrate how the colour is consistent regardless of viewing angle on the new PLS display.

I also haven't adjusted any settings yet or calibrated it, so that could also be a factor.

James

 

1. Note that the forum autocorrect automatically changes PR to "Google Page Ranking", so it's best to insert a space or other format trick.
2. Perhaps someone should go over to Engadget and comment that the new model has single channel RAM, but soldered and non-upgradeable.

Thanks for checking.

That's a previously unknown manufacturer code, probably one of these.

John

 

I see you used color tags to get around it. Nicely done

As for commenting on Engadget... Almost as bad as trying to get through YouTube comments

 

I asked the admin for this site to fix that a long time ago. So far it hasn't been fixed.

 

People are surely getting sick of my pimping this model, but the newly released Samsung Series 7 Ultra (not to be confused with Chronos) equals or exceeds the 9 in every aspect except styling. It has the same internals except that the Series 7 can be expanded to 16GB dual channel RAM and any size mSATA SSD. It comes with a FHD IPS display that is the same one as in the Asus Zenbook Primes, has a touchscreen standard and has excellent audio, about on par with the Series 9 but louder to my ears. Oh, did I mention it's priced at $999 at Best Buy with a 128GB Samsung 840 mSATA SSD and I think 4GB dual channel RAM but that can be expanded to 16GB fairly inexpensively. It has 3 USB ports (only one is USB3) and full sized ethernet and HDMI ports. The keyboard is about on par with the Series 9's (equally shallow and equally dim backlighting) but a better trackpad. I'm not sure how Samsung hopes to avoid cannibalization with this likely lower margin machine. The 7 is not nearly as classy looking as the 9 and is almost 1 lb heavier, but it's still a classy looking all metal machine. I would probably choose the 7 over the 9 even for the same price, but at nearly $400 less, it's a complete no brainer IMO.

 

I agree that it's an option for anyone who doesn't want / can't afford the lightest and thinnest notebook. Anyone who is interested should see this thread. Note that there are effectively 4 different basic options: With / without dedicated GPU and with / without touchscreen. The models with dGPU have one SODIMM slot plus some on-board RAM whereas no dGPU gives two SODIMM slots. Touchscreen adds some thickness and weight (not yet quantified by a comparative review) and the touchscreen version appears to have the antennae behind a plastic panel along the top of the display.

John

 

Well done, John, as usual.

 

I still can't believe they did this. Obviously a cost-cutting measure (or else they ran out of DDP). But if you're going to kludge in some regular RAM why not solder 8GB and bump the price $100. Lame.

 

Interesting that BestBuy is advertising NP900X3E-A as coming soon for $1049. Unfortunately there are no details at all yet other than the usual 4GB/128GB. Maybe an i3..we will see.

SAMSUNG COMPUTER Series 9 Ultrabook 13.3" Laptop 4GB Memory 128GB Solid State Drive NP900X3E-A - Best Buy

 

prob coming with an i5 instead of an i7. can't think of any other possible difference

 

Let's hope they don't skimp on the screen like so many manufacturers like to do...

Mr. Mysterious

 

I have faith that Samsung will maintain the same matte PLS screen with muted Colour Gamut

 

Are there any changes made to the battery solution in the new E version or is the following quote also valid for the C version?

Samsung Series 9 Premium Ultrabook and ATIV Smart PC Pro Now Available
"
The Series 9 Premium also employs PowerPlus charging technology which along with the device's 4-cell Lithium-Polyester battery can help extend the product's lifespan by up to three times of a conventional battery. Samsung backs up this claim as well with a three-year limited warranty.
"

 

Go back up this forum a little and you will see some X3E screen photos.

The display code is BOE05BE, which is not one of the better known manufacturers.

Some of the X3B batteries suffered premature excess wear and have been replaced under warranty. No one has reported battery wear problems with the X3C / X3D. I recently ran a battery calibration on my X4C (now > 9 months) which has the same battery claims and it reports 0% wear. However, I normally have the Samsung Battery Life Extender (which limits the charge to 80%) enabled.

John

 

It is the i5 as shown here but still no mention on the screen..still that's $350 less.

np900x3e - Best Buy

 

I'm not so sure about that. I remember BOE being one of the suppliers for thinkpad flexview screens which were one of the best you could buy at the time.

 

@shannon and other 900X3E owners

Is the OS installed in UEFI mode and does it make use of secure boot? Can you disable UEFI & secure boot in the BIOS?

How is this handled in earlier versions?

 

The NP900X3D-A02US I have came with UEFI and Secure Boot enabled with Windows 8 Pro.

 

BOE, a division of Hyndai, acquired Hydis, in 2003, the patent holder and highly esteemed mfr (in the '90s and '00s) of "AFFS/AFFS+" (Advanced Fringe Field Screen) technology (considered by some to be superior to IPS - see this description) and also this discussion in TPCR, sister site to NBR.) Hydis/AFFS panels were used in the "good old days" of Tablet PCs in the best Thinkpad and HP models. They became known as BOE-Hydis displays after the 2003 acquisition and were much coveted for viewing angles, contrast and off-the-charts brightness capability (like up to 800 nit!). Though there was some dispute as to their color characteristics, they were the choice of artists - again, "in the day," can't speak for now. I didn't see Hydis in any of the model links supplied above but the model designations may stick to "BOE". Still, we're talking a potentially serious player here, even if not one of the larger display mfrs by volume. I'd have to guess that Samsung's sourcing their newest FHD IPS touchscreen from BOE suggests they are possibly set to become major players again. Possible even that Samsung is considering acquiring BOE from Hyundai.

Speculation, with a few facts, is so much fun

 

True, definitely true. But! Judging by how coveted they're going to be (I have 400nit X3C, and it actually hurts my eyes!), I'm going to think about just how much more expensive these panels are going to make laptops. If they do come out with such screens, I wouldn't be surprised to see a basic model with such a screen starting at $2000.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Thanks, any settings in the BIOS to deactivate them?

 

I like this informed speculation based on some research. It would be very interesting to make a side-by-side comparison of this panel with that used in the new 13.3" Series 7.

A couple of presses of Fn+F2 should fix that problem. I find that 6/8 brightness is plenty enough brightness unless sitting in the sunshine (and on that basis I suspect that lower brightness of the new Series 9 displays is still more than enough for normal indoor use). 200 nit brightness, on the other hand, is inexcusable on new notebooks.

John

 

Do you have a Samsung Series 9 or are you still just asking questions for a potential purchase? These questions have been asked and answered many times on this forum and others.

The answer is absolutely yes, there are settings that can can disable such things.

However, most people are inexperienced in such matters and don't understand the ramifications thus painting themselves into a corner. You should not make these types of changes without a good backup. After you make a change, a clean OS install will be required.

 

If I had one I doubt I would ask that question. What's wrong with still just asking questions?

The 900X3E has just been released, can you point me to that information regarding that specific model? I apologize for the appendix asking how it is handled in earlier versions.

UEFI and Secure Boot? Are you referring to the 900X3E? Is Win 8 installed in UEFI mode and makes use of Secure Boot?

Wikipedia article on Hardware restrictions states that:
"Certified Windows 8 hardware... would require hardware manufacturers to enable secure boot on Windows 8 devices, and that x86/64 devices must provide the option to turn it off"

I can't seem to find if the 900X3E is indeed Windows 8 certified.

The inexperienced user would probably only show interest in UEFI after bricking the device using it.

 

Yeah, I agree with you. After my Toshiba (the most recent laptop, an R835) I found that the colors weren't so good, the screen was glossy, and the maximum brightness it could manage was 250 nits! I switched over to Samsung, and about 90% of the time I use the very lowest brightness setting...that's good enough for me I was saying that when I'm in pitch black darkness, and I try to use the full juice 400 nits, my eyes feel like they're being scraped out lol. But still, the colors look amazing through all that pain.

edit: Back on topic. They're going to come out with a Haswell refresh, that much is obvious. But if they were going to change something, puh-lease change the touchpad. It's way too sensitive for pretty much everything, and sometimes my "tap-to-click" gestures don't always register. And also, please go back to 2 physical separated buttons for the left and right buttons! I'm going to be using a dedicated mouse and a mouse pad for this machine, but that's a small sacrifice for everything it does

Mr. Mysterious

 

Did you try the sensitivity control in the touchpad driver control panel?

Personally, I like the embedded buttons because they increase the effective area of the pad for pointing purposes.

John

 

I changed the pointer speed settings, and that's made it a little better. I'll look into the settings once more and get back to you.

edit: Well, there are no "sensitivity" settings. Just various kinds of speeds for different aspects of the mouse/touchpad.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Are you seeing the control panel shown in this post? Click on the "Advance" button to get the Sensitivity control. (You might want to read more of that thread which is for the same pad).

John

 

Agreed - re: side by side comparison. Since BOE is such a large manufacturer, it is unlikely that it would use a Hydis derivative, especially since it has been promoted as "IPS" where the Hydis is "AFFS." This said, the comparison will be interesting and it is possible that BOE could have done some R&D and effectively utilized some of the Hydis technology. (Note: Hydis screens were sometimes marketed as IPS.)

I'm still confused about this Best Buy listing showing the 9000X3E "coming soon" for $1,049. It's starting to get annoying how BB is getting exclusives (eg, Asus UX31A Touch, Samsung 7 Ultra - IGP and touch version only, but there are no other US retailers selling the S7 Ultra at all. Wonder if: the BB "coming soon" listing has a misprint in the model # (perhaps it is like the 9000X3D, using a slower SB cpu when the C was long out with the IB.) Or, alternatively, BB may be getting a huge price break for their exclusivity period as it appears as if the S7Ultra, at $999 even with the IGP is well below market. (I haven't followed the price of that model outside the US to see if it is comparable - ie, $999 Euro including VAT.) Worth watching the BB site once the 900X3E is for sale to see if it is a watered-down model, such as the early Asus UX31A's were (check eBay listings, note the Asus' w/"RC" suffix sell for several hundred less than with DB/DH suffixes where "RC" models were also BB exclusives?) Guess this is uninteresting to the majority on this thread, who appear to be non-US-based.

 

Whoops, I spoke too soon. Thanks!

Mr. Mysterious

 

speaking of series 7 ultra, check out these videos:

Angelika Schlächter - YouTube

this version comes with a matte 1080p screen but it's only availabe in germany. Given that the 1080p touch version of the series 7 ultra costs $1000, a matte non touch version should be even cheaper.
Here is the german site:
Samsung Serie 7 Ultra 730U3E S04 - ÜBERSICHT | SAMSUNG

 

Unfortunately there is still little information on the updated series 9. I've just come across a review on a serbian site:

Test: Samsung Series 9 Full HD - Benchmark

Although it doesn't give much technical details (at least what Google translate tells me), they report decreased battery life compared to the earlier models. They do not mention whether the comparison is done with similar display brightness levels or if the old tests were done on windows 7 which could influence the results.

As expected the display is not as bright as the 1600x900 pixel version, but anything above 300 is good in my view.

Their test model came with a 128GB LiteOn SSD which is quite slow. James here reported much better numbers with the Samsung 512GB version.

I'm still deciding between this and the non-touch ux31a which does have its fair share of problems.

 

I would not buy a 13.3" notebook with a 1920x1080 resolution without seeing it personally first. That is a really high resolution in a small space.

 

Unless you have to have the 512GB or 1080p for some reason, you're better off with an X3C/X3D. If you need 8GB I would wait till haswell, or go with another oem, but probably not asus.

 

Unless you have to have the 512GB or 1080p for some reason, you're better off with an X3C/X3D. Pixels aren't everything and you may pay a slight battery penalty. Also 512GB SSDs should hit the aftermarket soon. If you need 8GB I would wait till haswell, or go with another oem, but probably not asus.

 

Thanks for the links. I'm surprised that they do not mention the ability to add RAM up to 16GB as the US Touch/IGP only, Best Buy exclusive model has. Could it be they limit accessibility when the d-gpu is present, perhaps complicating ventilation/fan mountings? Would be too bad, as that upgradeability is one of the real differentiators of the S7 Ultra as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps Haswell with IGP will be sufficient to come close to the AMD 8570 gpu (admittedly fairly weak) and yet retain the user serviceability.

Ditto. That or look into the Series 7 Ultra with Haswell, see above.

 

I just picked up a NP900X3E-A02US.
I don't see anything in the firmware indicating that it is UEFI BIOS, or, if it is UEFI,
that it can be turned off. Is it?

Can Windows 8 be removed from this model and Windows 7 installed?

I previously had a NP900X3B model and removed the recovery partition. Can this be
done just the same on a NP900X3E?

Thanks!

 

@aamsel: UEFI should be selectable in your BIOS under SecureBoot.

As for downgrading to Win7, there are gotchas to consider, though it is doable on most models: Check the ongoing discussion in the thread linked below:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/716600-just-checking-downgrading-np900x3d-windows-7-a.html

Specifically, member k_laurent2 posted in that thread last night, that X3E doesn't have Win7 drivers from Samsung. I checked in SW Update, and indeed, it didn't list Windows 7 drives. So careful before you proceed.

Personally I would not rush deleting that recovery partition before making backups AND making sure that the new installation is working right.

 

Thanks for the UEFI info!
I was aware that Samsung does not post Win7 drivers for this model, just figured I could make drivers for older models work ok, but perhaps not?
I will make backups before I delete the partition, but I have plenty of Win8 licenses, so no real worries there.

 

OK, cool. Just know that image backups of Recovery partitions have been known to NOT work after they're restored (F4 is lost). So if you ever need to get back to factory (for Samsung service or to sell the PC) it can be difficult. The thread I linked has some discussion and some further links you may want to study.

I cannot say whether Win7 drivers for other/older models will work on this one. I would think so, but you may want to wait for others to confirm that.

 

Or you could be the first person to answer the questions authoritatively.

 

OK then: I hereby declare, authoritatively, that Win7 drivers for older and/or different versions of X3? models DO -- or DO NOT -- work on the X3E.

How's that?

Update: I get it now. Thor was quoting me but addressing aamsel. Sorry for being so slow

 

Until someone produces evidence that Samsung have changed something in the X3E other than the display, I will believe that the X3C / X3D Windows 7 drivers will work. Samsung won't bother to offer Win 7 X3E drivers unless they sell a Win 7 version of the X3E.

John

 

I go along with this.
So, if I am not concerned with the restore function, rip Win8 off my X3E and install Win7,
then install the SW Update Utility, will it recognize my X3E and give me Win7 drivers, or will I have to
download and install them manually? If they have to be done manually, will they install ok, or will there be
messages stating that the model is not valid for the driver, or such?

 

1. Watch out for SecureBoot and UEFI if changing the OS.

2. Unless Samsung have put win 7 X3E drivers into their database you will have to get x3C or X3D Win 7 drivers using SW Update.

John

 

I don't think SW Update will recognize your X3E properly in Win7. I would find the drivers you need now, before you re-install, using the Find Model feature in SW Update, then Export and save them locally. That should make it easier.

Also make sure you download and save the latest Wi-Fi driver from downloadcenter.intel.com before you wipe -- Win7 doesn't have your Wi-Fi built-in. Get the Driver Only version, the latest one should be called Wireless_15.6.1_Ds64.