Samsung ATIV Book 5 NP530U4E and NP540U4E

ATIV Book 5 formerly known as the Series 5 Ultra. It comes in 13.3 and 14 inch versions and uses improved materials (more aluminum all over) than previous model. The display is matte (530U4E) or glossy touchscreen (540U4E) and uses 1366 x 768 resolution. The audio is provided by new JBL speakers. Weighing only 1.75 kg and just 19.5 mm thick.

Click here to see more pictures with all the colors.​

The ATIV Book 5 will be available in ebony black, garnet red, and pebble blue. 24GB ExpressCache SSD + 500GB HDD will feature all versions, while AMD Radeon HD 8750M 2GB graphics only in 530U4E!


Currently available models;
- NP530U4E* --> 14" matte screen, Intel I5-3337U, AMD Radeon 8750M
- NP540U4E-K04 --> 13.3" touch screen, Intel i3-3217U
- NP540U4E-K01 --> 14" touch screen, Intel I5-3337U

*The NP530U4E model not yet available in the USA, but in Europa and East Asia.


Reviews; nomobile.ru, notebookcheck.com, notebookinfo.de, laptopmag.com

My quick reviews, guides:
- First Impressions,
- Energy efficiency contest compared to a different efficient system,
- How to disassembling the base plate to access HDD or to do maintenance works.



The Pros and Contras of the new ATIV Book 5:
( 530U4E and 540U4E)
Pros;

• Matte screen (530U4E),
• Backlit keyboard (540U4E),
• No CPU or GPU throttling during load,
• Low voltage Intel Ivy Bridge processors,
• AMD Radeon HD 8750M 2GB graphics in 530U4E!
• Low Power consumption; quiet and cool operation,
• Better looking with more aluminum use and colors,
• 2mm thinner and 100 grams lighter than previous model.

Cons;

• Only one USB 3.0 port,
• Glossy touchscreen (540U4E),
• No Backlit keyboard (530U4E),
• One system memory is soldered,
• Poorly done plastic cover of the SD card slot,
• Optical bay area disappeared (no option for 2nd HDD use),
• Missing mSata connector and high resolution matte screen,
• 7mm HDD space, which limits HDD upgrade-ability to 1TB*,
• Difficult disassembling the base plate (sensitive plastic hooks instead screws) to access HDD or to do maintenance works.

*Currently only WD has 1TB 7mm HDD (WD10SPCX).

 

Would these be the NP530U4E and NP570Z5E listed here?

John

 

Nice find, I'll use these info to update my first post. Yes NP530U4E look like the new Series 5 Ultra. The NP570Z5E seems a different new model, called; Series 5 Chronos.

I think AMD Radeon™ HD 8750M graphics card with 2GB Memory gonna be really strong in Ultrabook category . Actually I'm not sure if this NP530U4E can called as Ultrabook if it is using higher than 17W TDP Intel processor and such a high GPU? Probably more categories are coming...?

 

This is quite nice, I really do hope they have a FHD screen option!

 

Unlikely in the Series 5 -Samsung expect (want?) people to buy the more expensive Series 7 or 9 to get resolutions higher than HD.

John

 

that's a shame, the gpu on this one is much better than the 8570M on the 7 series

 

I've been hunting for reviews of it for days.
A shop nearby just got those and I might buy it relatively soon.
Overall what really scares me is the AMD gpu on this thing.

You can see the performance of the 8730m here:
AMD Radeon HD 8730M - NotebookCheck.net Tech

It is basically the lowest clocked 8750m with DDR3 memory (Exactly the same as the 530u4e).
It's not THAT bad but I have no faith in AMD recently and quite frankly I'm still considering the M5 ultra over this Series 5 cutie due to nVidia drivers and GDDR5 memory.
According to what I've seen they only come in 768p variety but it looks great.

 

Future games are probably more optimized to AMD Radeon, because next generation consoles are using AMD internal therefore I kind of happy for Radeon graphics in this Samsung. I assume power consumption figures are low too, otherwise they could not built in. The DDR3 memory combination is sad, wonder how much does it limit the performance of HD8750M?

If the performance really limited to HD8730M level, than here is review with Intel Core i5 17W + Radeon HD 8730M combination. The games are run above 20FPS in High settings which is very good, considering the power consumption is only 41,6W in Load average!

 

btw, Do you know anything that has the specs (size, weight, FHD, comparable GPU) within the other brands? I've been out of the notebook loop for so long can't keep up with all the new models now..

 

The asus UX32VD is probably the best contender so far. 13" with FHD and nvidia 620m
There's vaio s13p which is a tad thicker but 640m-le and a quad i7.
Those are the big ones that I know of.

 

Guess I'll wait until summer. Supposedly the integrated graphics in Haswell is supposed to be comparable to the 650m

 

No, that will not happen unfortunately. The most what we can hope from Haswell is 30% performance increase over HD4000 in 17W TDP category. That is still under Geforce 620M performance...

 

That indeed is unfortunate. What's up with all these 14" ultrabooks with nice video cards but low resolutions. Frustrating.

But on the other hand, if Haswell isn't that much of an increase, I can go ahead and get something sooner as my Dell is slowly dying and out of waranty

 

As you can see my first post, I'm also frustrated with this model, but from other approach I've never found a laptop with all the good features together. Therefore we have to look after a laptop which offer most of the goods together and this model with Radeon 8750M is one of the fastest 14" Ultrabook if not the fastest. It has excellent looking, build quality and probably I would not worry about the Haswell version, because you won't feel anything of better IGP near Radeon graphics.

 

Notebookcheck just reviewed this laptop with Radeon HD8750M. The GPU works with pretty high core clock (825 MHz), which manages 1918 points in 3DMark11. That is little higher what GT640M or GT730M can make. It does not get too hot and stays quiet. Overall very good laptop. So when will this machine available in the USA?

 

It may run that well but thats just 3DMark11 with a lot of help from GDDR5 memory and new drivers.
Still its decent but nowhere near 7750M performance. Even the 7730M with $hitty DDR3 memory (and older drivers most likely) performs the same, and way better at lower res and low quality in BF3. 7730m totally destroys the 8730M. 7730M is even faster in some games at any setting compared to 8750M, it just doesn't score that well in 3DMark11, so for me the 8750 is a massive downgrade.

 

The 7730M makes max 1691 3DMark11 points and consumes 32W. This 8750M makes 1918 points with DDR3 and consumes somewhere between 15-19W. So which one better? Note CPU part was bottlenecked with Single Channel Memory, with Dual Channel memory the CPU could feed better the GPU, I think even 2000 points real. The 7750M consumes 36W, good for 15'6" thick laptops, but not for a 14" Ultrabook...

 

Again, 3DMark11 is bad for comparing a GPU with DDR3 against a GDDR5. And also the scores for 7730M are outdated. when i ran 3D Mark in January with Catalysts 13.1 even with A10-4600M it scored P1760. The GPU score, which is more important was P1670. The GPU score of the GDDR5 8750M is 1796, while the DDR3 version is an extremely low 1534.
The issue I see with the 8700 series is the numbering BS. Not only is it newer generation than the 7730M but a GDDR5 version of the 8750M having a higher model number of 750 vs 730 has no excuse of whatsoever in underperforming 7730M in games.
Unacceptable AMD, get your marketing crap right!

 

thanks for the link! so its just a hair better than the Gigabyte U2442N!!
Review Gigabyte U2442N Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

if only the series 5 had better resolution options, it'd be perfect

 

Am I missed something or where do you see GDDR5 with 8750M? The GPU-z screenshoot in the test indicate just DDR3 .

Yes, this Samsung with a 1600X900 screen would be the perfect laptop . However I will still take it, because for overall I do not know better thin 14" laptop. That Gigabyte is tempting and have some good points over the Samsung, but the 70.5W max power consumption is scary... more than twice as high as this Samsung's.

 

Remember there were 2 different scores on Notebook Check. And there are 2 memory configurations available for the 8750m. And since the bottom scores are for the DDR3 version, the top ones have to be GDDR5 to justify the large gap. But I did see something interesting this time. It seems like they only ran the gaming tests with the DDR3 version. Beats me why they would do that but those scores may improve. The mane difference between the 7700 and 8700 series is that the 8700 have less shaders but much higher memory clocks.

 

I asked in their forum why is the performance difference, between the two identical GPU, the author wrote; different version drivers were pre-installed (9.3.5.0 vs. 9.1.1.0), but both use DDR3. Remember this GPU is GCN, drivers need to be optimized which difficult on a new architecture, probably we will see further enhancements. It is a great GPU, especially for what power it consumes . Hope when the Haswell version coming they will add to it GDDR5 .

 

In Europe this laptop available for almost 2 months now, but why did not came to USA yet? Are they going to wait till 1st of June and introduce with Haswell?

 

There are some models which never see the shores of the US.
Same was with the lenovo E320 with 6630m. US version was without a GPU and the stores never received the 6630m version.

 

I hope that will not happen, without the Radeon this laptop would loose its shine. I actually hope to USA will arrive with GDDR5 which would further increase the performance and with newer drivers 8750M could perform like a GT650M . Than hopefully in June the Haswell version will manage the prices down little.

A new model number 540U4E just showed up, seems this model is the Radeon GPU less version. Wonder why this lower version gets the higher model number?

In France the 530U4E (Radeon version) available for 689€, which great price for what this thin laptop offer.

 

The nice purple blue version available for US from Ebay. It is pricey but free express shipping is included.

 

In all the colors so wonderful, I could not decide easily which one to buy, probably this purple blue.
It seems even European Amazon suffer from week supply; Out of inventory, more on the way... Samsung seriously underestimated the demands?

 

I also wonder why is this supply issue, why Samsung making us wait for so long? The Radeon HD 8750m overclock video just makes the waiting more impatient!!

 

The demand is certainly high for an affordable ultrabook with the fastest ultrabook graphics or the other reason I've posted in a different topic; AMD might cannot ship enough chips and therefore Samsung cannot build laptops. That makes more sense seeing the US version, which does not contain the Radeon GPU...

Nobody voting for glossy touch screen?

 

I have the 8750m version.

It has no backlit keyboard though.

It can play BF3 @ medium settings on 720p.
Consistent 30+ fps with 64 players but dips to 20+ and sometimes 15+ when multiple vehicles are on screen.

Other games such as Diablo 3, Dota 2 and Assassin's Creed run on max settings flawlessly (native reso).

It can get a bit warm though.
After an hour of gaming, the upper left corner of the keyboard is already warm to the touch.

The matte screen is a plus. I hate glossy screens.
Viewing angles are pretty bad though. I have to adjust the screen whenever I adjust my position, even at the slightest.

 

So I finally have this beauty and it does not disappoint! The building quality is excellent as I experienced with older Series 5 laptops. The aluminium gives premium feeling, also helping in heat dissipation. The best thing is it is very quiet, even if the fan is working doing it quietly.
I've found the screen also acceptable, much better than a big 15.6'' glossy 1366x! It has a 14" matte screen, so the low resolution is not feel as bad...
The stunning part is the internal hardware, a low voltage Intel ivy Bridge with a very effective AMD Radeon GPU, exactly as I suggested in my last Ultrabook review... It is the best combination what Samsung could have done; The CPU part is very fast, the GPU and its 2GB DDR3 memory very well overclock-able, and even than the GPU doesn't get warmer than 65C!
The negative point the Windows was full of bloatware and I had to spent more than two hours to uninstall everything. First I planned to make a clean Windows installation, but it did not let me to boot from Pendrive. Any solution on that?

Here is a quick benchmark;

3DMark 11 with stock clocks;​

GPU at 1000MHz, Mem at 1125MHz;​

Note current 13.6 b2 driver is not the best for 3DMark 11 results.

 

The used version in new condition of this laptop at amazon.de, cost only 576 EUR with 10% discount at checkout. If you are living in Europe it is an excellent deal, I've ordered my .

 

Thanks Atom for the update. Your 3DMark 11 score is very nice, how do you overclock the GPU? My msi afterburner stays blank after activating the unofficial mod.

 

Probably you have to do one extra step in the registry. Check pranktank's guide, that is include every necessary steps;

 

Thanks for both of you the overclocking slides are working now, I can adjust higher clocks. The power limit slide is still closed, any suggestion to fix that?

 

I do not know, that power limit tab is inactive for me as well. Hope someone will give help to fix that problem too!

 

If that slide is working for Radeon 8870M users, than should it be available for us, yes?

 

Yes, the power limit tab should work for us too. The 8750M built to the same architecture as the 8870M, so same functionality. Currently I do not know the solution, maybe a different driver or different version MSI afterburner needed.

 

In this laptop only the empty RAM slot can be accessed via a small maintenance cover, but what if we want replace the HDD or to do other maintenance works?
We need to remove the base plate, which sealed by screws and plastic hooks. The plastic hooks are displeasing, because they cause problems during the removal process and break easily. However if we have the necessary tools, than with little expert and patient possible to remove the plate without breaking anything!

All you need:
- Small Philips screwdriver (size 0),
- Guitar pick


Don't cause any damage, restore the hardware to the as-supplied condition and don't tell Samsung support that you have been inside otherwise they may consider that your warrant is void!

First remove the 9 screws



Stick the guitar pick in the front left side, run it until the first hook and pry up. You will hear and see the plastic hooks are out of their place. Continue with the front side, then halfway the sides, then the back side and finally the left and right back sides.​

Once you are done, you have access to everything;

Quite nice internal, the empty space front of the left fan could be ideal for mSata connectors.



And I was wondering why the cooling is so efficient. Twin cooler!



Remove the battery before you start messing with anything!



Make sure you buy 7mm thick HDD or SSD, otherwise won’t fit! Western Digital has 7mm HDDs up to 1TB.
​

After replacing the HDD, you can go further repasting the CPU and GPU with high quality thermal compound;

The motherboard need to be completely removed, then unscrew 6 screws to detach the heat sink.



Let’s clean up this mess with clean alcohol!



After cleaning, you can apply high quality thermal compound. I could decrease temperatures by more than 5C using IC diamond!​

Well, your notebook is in dozens of pieces by now. Reversing the steps should get you back to a fully assembled improved notebook. I hope you found this guide useful!

 

I would rephrase that along the lines of "Don't cause any damage, restore the hardware to the as-supplied condition and don't tell Samsung support that you have been inside otherwise they may consider that your warrant is void".

Samsung don't want users going inside their computers because of the risk of damage but we have no reports of warranty service being denied to people who have been inside but not caused any damage. Make sure the screwdriver is good quality - ones with big handles (as in the photo or even bigger) provide better control and the tip is probably Philips 0 (that's the size on my Series 9).

John

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I made the necessary corrections . About screw driver size I'm not sure in numbers, but I had to use one smaller that worked with my HP or Dell laptops. However if you say so it is Philips 0.

 

I'm saying it's probably a Philips size 0 but it might be a size 1 if the screws are bigger than the small screws used on the Series 9 base. It's up to each person to make sure that they have a screwdriver that's a snug fit for the screw. It's very easy to mess up the grooves if the wrong size is used. It's best to get a handle with interchangeable tips. I use one of these.

John

 

Thanks for opening up the laptop, even just seeing the internal layout very useful. I will also do the HDD upgrade, gonna need something bigger than 500GB.

 

Disassembled my 530U4E-K01RU to check it's actual content and to estimate a possible upgrade. Broke one hook near the card reader
My device inside differs from Atom Ant's:
1. Only one fan

2. The built-in memory module is ADATA 4GB 1600MHz CL11

3. The HDD is Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E380 (same junk)

4. And, to my disappointment, single-band (2.4GHz) wifi module Atheros AR9485 (combined with AR3012 into AR5B225)


After reassembling, I have two questions:
1. Is there any sense to install SATA-III (6Gb/s) SSD? There is no marks near the HDD connection, either it is SATA-II or SATA-III.
2.1. Atom Ant, which wifi+bt combo do you have installed? Intel?
2.2. Is there any sense to install dual-band (2.4/5GHz) wifi with only two antennas?

 

Thanks for posting those pictures, much appreciated! Very interesting the internal components and layout is so much different as in my Radeon 8750M version. Seems your battery is smaller, different brand HDD and Wifi, weaker cooling system, but both system memory modules are socketed.

Answering your questions;

1. Sata III supported, but make sure you are gonna buy 7mm SSD. Although I do not find SSD upgrade as important, because the 24GB SSD Cache does pretty good job,
2. My wifi and bluetooth is Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235,
3. Probably no, I feel my wifi plenty fast enough in every situation.

 

It's just a HDD over it. Without it, the battery is visually the same.

They say, SSD vs HDD+SSD cache is still much of an improvement. For me, W8 loading time is more than anticipated from a modern notebook for €650.

Your wifi card is dual-band, if I'm not mistaken. I have a dual-band router at home and 5GHz is almost empty, while 2.4GHz is rather crowded. On the other hand, my measurement showed equal results for an old dual-band Intel 4965AGN (ASUS A8Sr), operating at 5GHz (40MHz band), and a single-band AR9485, operating at 2.4GHz (20MHz band). It took about a minute to transfer 350 Mb file in every direction, which means about 50Mbits speed.

 

Interesting, it seemed to me the HDD eating up some battery space. Although it is shame Samsung did not packed the internal fully, even a 2nd HDD could fit above your HDD.

SSD certainly the fastest solution and if storage capacity is not important or you have money for the 1TB Samsung 840 EVO SSD than go ahead .

 

I'm sorry for the confusing photo. It's just the HDD flipped the way it's label can be seen. This part of the inside is same as yours.

I keep everything on my home NAS (that's why a wifi speed is so important to me) and on my old laptop there was only about 70 Gb of used space, including Windows XP installation. So even 128 + 24 Gb combo is enough.

BTW, does somebody know, if there is any method to change a share of video memory? It should be in BIOS, but that's not the case.

 

Ha ha, that confused me or I did not check the picture enough carefully... That NAS setup is interesting and now I understand why you need so fast wifi card. Although I'm not so good in these wifi questions, so hopefully a more wifi adapter expert will answer your question.

 

Very nice scores, the overclocked performance about level with Nvidia 750M here at AnandTech. My questions are do you experience any GPU or CPU throttling when you play games? Enduro working good? GPU utilization? How are your temperatures?