Samsung Series 7 Laptops - 14" Model (NP700Z3)

Please use this thread to discuss the 14" model.

Series 7 Info: http://www.samsung.com/us/article/series-7-notebook-style-speed-and-power
NP700Z3AH Specs: http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP700Z3A-S01US-features

 

Just Got done chatting with someone at bestbuy...Just tried to clear up some things but didn't help too much.

Welcome!
Please wait while we contact the next available agent...All Bestbuy.com chats are recorded for quality purposes.
You have been connected to Tiffany.
Tiffany: Hello! Thank you for choosing Best Buy! My name is Tiffany, and I will be happy to assist you today.

If you like, you can choose to email a copy of this chat to yourself for your records by selecting the “email” icon to the right of this window.
Customer: Hi I have a question about the Samsung Series 7 Laptop with the 15.6 inch display
Tiffany: Can you please provide me with the SKU or model number for that item?
Customer: 3495331
Tiffany: How can I help you with that?
Customer: Well I want to know why people are complaining about some issue regarding this laptop. For number 1, why did bestbuy make this version a skimped down version of the real series 7
Customer: No backlight keyboard
Customer: No Express Cache
Customer: and apparently the screen is worse quality
Tiffany: I am not sure. This laptop is made by Samsung in which is sold through BestBuy.
Tiffany: This model was is rated 4.6 out of 5.
Tiffany: What is the model number to the laptop you are comparing it to?
Customer: One second, I will look up the one on the actual samsung website
Customer: NP700Z5AH
Customer: Unfortunately, ofcourse not your fault, but it seems as if bestbuy is fooling people in to purchasing this laptop because of the lower price.
Customer: And there is not one mention of the lacking specs on bestbuy's page.
Customer: For instance, in the video that samsung themselves give, they showcase specifically a backlight keyboard
Customer: and also express cache technology
Tiffany: These are two different models so it is likely that the features and the specs will not be exactly the same.
Customer: Well its just weird. Especially since the main marketing ploy of these series 7 chronos laptops was the express cache technology
Tiffany: NP700Z5AH is also an upgraded version of NP700Z5B-W01UB
Customer: Via the Samsung Unveiling
Customer: oh ok, and is that online as well?
Customer: and do you know if the screen is indead different than the laptop on samsungs website?
Tiffany: BestBuy does not carry model NP700Z5AH.
Customer: ok. Well i understand that much. My only question now is if the screen is a different technology?
Customer: it says nothing about the 300 nit superbright display technology so I'm curious
Customer: to see if that is different
Tiffany: These models have the same screen.
Customer: Oh ok. I see, well beside from the express cache and the backlit keyboard, can you tell me exactly every feature that is different? Because even some people are saying that the bottom is plastic in the bb model but not in the other model
Tiffany: I am not sure of every feature that is different but these are both Series 7 laptops so they are designed the same besides the few upgrades that the NP700Z5AH has.
Tiffany: Now as far as the Specs, the processor, memory and graphic card is better in the NP700Z5AH model.
Tiffany: It also has the 2.0 and 3.0 USB ports that NP700Z5B-W01UB doesn't have.
Customer: ok...any thing else? Everything is the same hardware wise?
Customer: as in the aluminum build?
Tiffany: They are designed the same
Customer: The main reason I'm asking is because I took a look at the series 7 14 inch too. For some reason on bestbuy's page the thickness is advertised as .9'' where on samsungs it's .93'', and that's definately a difference in hardware
Customer: Samsung - Laptop / Intel® Core™ i5 Processor / 14" Display / 6GB Memory - Silver - NP700Z3A-S01US
Customer: Series 7 14" Notebook | Samsung NP700Z3AH
Tiffany: Are you speaking of the measurements.
Customer: yes
Customer: as in height
Customer: or thickness
Customer: Maybe bestbuy's number is just off?
Tiffany: No they are not off. Best Buy always round their measurements for everything.
Customer: Not to be a stick in the mud but you certainly do not for "everything". I'll give u an example. Samsung - Laptop / Intel® Core™ i3 Processor / 15.6" Display / 4GB Memory / 640GB Hard Drive - RV520-W01US but I believe I understand, and i received some great clarification. I just wonder why everyone with this laptop complains when the go see it on how bad the screen is. Would you have any clue?
Tiffany: I am not sure but you can place your comment and rate that item here:
The agent is sending you to Samsung - Series 7 Laptop / Intel® Core™ i7 Processor / 15.6" Display - Silver - NP700Z5B-W01UB.
Agent is typing a message...

 

That chat is unnecessary as you're pretty much bullying the bestbuy rep for thing that are out of her control. As someone who's worked in the customer service department before at Bestbuy, these reps are only given the information that the store gives them. Bestbuy stocks a ton of different laptops and other electronics, so reps aren't trained to have in-depth knowledge of each specific model.

In order to get the info you want, you'd have to talk to Bestbuy's Samsung supply rep directly on how they marketed the laptop to Bestbuy.

 

dont be mean to the poor reps =P

 

I don't see where he was being mean.

 

I did not bully the sales rep. I got the information I needed and got out. Just because I was specific and stern does not indicate that I was "bullying" anyone. I deal with people on a daily basis as a real estate developer, and unfortunately on paper this conversation sounds much worse than if it were to be spoken aloud. And keep in mind I was in a rush as it is since my breaks at work are hard to come by.

Now what is "unnecessary" is for you to even insinuate the idea that I was bullying the sales rep.

"Reps aren't trained to have in-depth Knowledge"

Of course not. Just like at the WalMart I used to manage when I was younger, the reps most of the time had no clue what was going on with activities performed behind the scenes. But from my own experiences, there are always a few that may (at a level that almost makes you think they are preparing a large burglary). Having said that, yesterday I was speaking with a rep that actually had one of these Series 7 Computers and as soon as I could get a chance to have a solid conversation with him, the call dropped. So I decided to give chat a shot. I remember a long time ago, a sales rep I chatted with online at CDW told me to wait on one of the Sony laptops because a black version was coming out soon with a 4650 Graphics card. My point is that you never assume.

Long story short, its not always safe to assume the usual, specifically regarding whether a sales rep from the retail company (or any company for that matter) does not know anything regarding your product of interest.

Did not mean to write so much, but I never will let someone tell me that I essentially don't know what I'm talking about in an indirect manner...

 

My apologies if I offended you.

But I'm sure you know that text =/= speaking. If I was the rep on the other side of the convo (and I have been back in high school when I worked there), I wouldn't be as inclined to help you out because your tone was a tad condescending.

Granted yes, some reps have more info than is normal, but on the large, little-to-none of them have the knowledge that the average user of NBR has. I had co-workers back at Bestbuy who didn't know the difference between DDR2 & DDR3 RAM. Most of the time all they know is the info on the box (it's rare that you have a rep that keeps up with tech news and would even know about the Samsung Unveiling)

I understand that you were trying to get as much info as you could, but that rep in particular didn't have any. It's actually best to end the live chat once you get a basic idea that the rep isn't familiar with the product and try again and get a different rep. As somebody who's worked in the exact position (Bestbuy CS rep), that would've been your best call.

But not to derail the topic, Samsung's 15.6" variant (the higher end model) just yesterday went through the FCC, whereas the bestbuy model was already on shelves way beforehand. This leads me to believe that the higher-end models, both 14" and 15"+, are (hopefully) significantly different (hopefully for the better)

 

Did you not read the name of this thread?
Re: Samsung Series 7 Laptops - 14" Model (NP700Z3..)

 

Both comptonsurvivor and I have both talked about the 14".

 

just reposting the store links (some functional for pre-order, some not) from the other thread:

Tiger direct-
Samsung NP700Z3A-S01US Series 7 Notebook PC - Intel Core i5-2430M 2.4GHz, 6GB DDR3, 750GB HDD, DVDRW, Backlit Keyboard, AMD Radeon HD 6490M, 14" Display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

amazon-
700Z3A-S01US

macmall (though it lists the resolution as 1366x768 for some reason) ($1249)
700Z3A-S01US

 

PC superstore

http://www.pcsuperstore.com/products/11469539-Samsung-NP700Z3AS01US.html

 

Not sure if this was posted yet but here's the BestBuy link (says "Sold Out Online"):

Samsung - Laptop / Intel® Core™ i5 Processor / 14" Display / 6GB Memory - Silver - NP700Z3A-S01US

 

If the 14'' wont be as good as it is on paper, what do you think about the SONY VAIO S 13.3 premium (with i5-2430M) ?

Customize 13.3" Laptop | VAIO S Series Configure-to-Order | VPCSA390X CTO | Sony USA

 

That says nothing about express cache, and says Optical Drive Not included........weird. Does say backlit keyboard but not sure if it has the lower quality display or not

 

Nice looking laptop with mediocre screen, something like ~150:1 contrast.

I hope Samsung has a better screen.

 

you are talking about the 1366 x 768 screen, the 1600 x 900 or both ?

Cant find reviews about this laptop, is it a new model ?


About the Samaung 14'' , im from Israel and im going to be in NY this Oct. for 2 weeks, and for now there are no news about the 14'' model release date
and I don't want to wait for the last min to get bad reviews about the new samsung 7 14'' .

I was with such an expectation for Oct. 2nt to have enough time to read all the reviews and make up my mind befor Ill land in NY, but Samsung ed up all my plan

Samsung offers 3 years warranty, or just 3rd side suppliers ?
I saw that the 9 series have 3 years from samsung but the 7 come with only 1.

 

Vaio SA with 1600x900 screen
Tests Berichte auf notebookjournal.de

The 1366 x 768 screen is probably worse.

 

But you can clearly see the slot drive in the second alternate image.

 

The 1600x900 wasn't much better, contrast ration and viewing angles were at most 10% better when I saw them side by side. I really hope the woes that are being posted are about the Best Buy model and not every model, because that would be a real shame.

 

Hello,

Is it possible to change the i5 to i7 CPU, once the 14 inch version is released? Thanks.

 

I see that most of the S7 fans are after the big one...
Cant wait for the 14'' model to come out, any news about this model comming to the market ?

 

Because the 14" have a crappy graphic card.

 

Yea if you're going to get a 6490M level graphics card there are better options. Especially if the screen is as mediocre as people are saying. Then again the express cache and thin bezel might be worth it for some people.

 

I'm waiting for reviews to come out..
I'm not a gamer, maybe some video/photo editing for fun...
So I dont care much about the graphic card, yeah I want one but its OK if its not the best.

my 2nd choice is the SONY VAIO SA 13.3'' , but im still reading reviews about it, And im open for other suggesition...


And about this express cache, why I need it ?
Its just for the fast restart ?


The more you read the more you get confused

 

Well from what I've read the Express Cache is good because you get some of the speed of an SSD but are still able to have the large space of HDD. It supposedly speeds up loading your programs in addition to booting faster.

I'm looking to upgrade from a 3+ year old XPS M1530. I was looking at the SA as well and it's a pretty good choice imo. Reports say the screen quality is mediocre but I'm not sure how it would compare to my 1530. I think the SA is the most powerful 13.3 incher you can get with decent resolution.

If you want good screen quality you might want to look at the SE. It's 15.5" so is obviously a bit bigger than the SA and Series 7 14 but it's even lighter than the Series 7 and has a better GPU (6630, same as the SA). In fact the SA and SE are pretty much the same apart from the size and screen. The SE also has a numberpad.

Right now I'm leaning toward the SE because of the weight and screen. I want a strong graphics card but I'm not sure if the tradeoff of weight and screen quality is worth it. I'm waiting for reviews before I decide between it and the Series 7 15. Heck, I might even end up going for the SA again.

 

Thank you Sadiki.

Im looking for a portable laptop, the 15+ are too big.
This is why im looking after the 13.3''

What about noise and head from the vaio ?

Alot of people here say crappy graphic card and such....
well I have a 3+ years laptop and it was just fine,it was my 1st one
and it was so easy to buy, but now with all the reviews and opinions it getting very hard to make up one's mind

as for the boot time, I dont know if its that important, most of the time the laptop is in sleep mode and not completely off, so if it going to take a few more sec to get it started from sleep mode, its fine by me.

but I do like the color and design of this new 7.

 

If you're not a serious gamer and don't have a need for a high end GPU, the 6490 should do you fine. The whole launch of the Series 7 has been a bit mysterious - supplying the low end only model to Best Buy, delaying the launch of the better 15s and the 14. I've still read enough good things about the 14 (remember, form factor of a 13) that I would weight before putting money down for an SA. Just my opinion.

 

J&R

700Z3A-SO1


ProVantage

700Z3A-S01

 

Looks pretty nice. Too bad it's not a tad lighter.

 

Any news about the release date ?

 

Wow this thread is really interesting every time I reload it

 

This is the smart thread, why talk about something we know nothing about?
After the release we can talk.

Im waiting just as you, and know nothing about this model so I have nothing to say.
If its the screen,heat,noise... all will be revealed soon (I hope) so why guess ?
on the other thread many of them just throwing things in the air and its not doing nothing but confusing others.

 

best buy will have the 14 inch model too(as the 15.6 inch version) but it is not available yet NP700Z3A-S01US

 

No optical drive ??? nothing about Ex catch
yes for backlit

 

Yeah when??? January? What ever happened to October 2? Best buy will have a watered down version, they surely won't let it have more features than the 15.6". Samsung is pulling a bait and switch, kind of like car companies that show you a European version that has all kinds of stuff you can't get on the car here, and btw that model costs 3x as much.

 

@ microsoft store

Microsoft Store Online - Samsung Series 7 Notebook (14.0-Inch)

 

That is the NP700Z3A-S01US 14" - look at "model number" this is the watered down model, like the 15.6" Best Buy had early. Not the "Chronos" 7 series everyone has been drooling over and as seen on Samsung's website. People seem to be REALLY confused on this.

What I (we) want is the 14" NP700Z3AH this is the true 7 series chronos model with backlit keyboard, etc. Correct me if I am wrong someone. Samsung is borderline deceptive with this IMO. The other model does not have some of the features the "Chronos" one does as seen on the Samsung website. There are some unhappy reviews on Best Buy already for the 15".

I have not seen the NP700Z3AH on sale anywhere yet.


A review @ bestbuy http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung...95331&id=1218406257887#tabbed-customerreviews

Maybe I'm confused. I see sites listing the non-Chronos model but with features like the backlit keyboard?

 

I think you are mixing them up.

Best buy is selling a version named: NP700Z5B

Both NP700Z3A and NP700Z3AH are same thing. Also, check out the link on Samsungs homepage:
Features and Specifications - Series 7 14" Notebook | Samsung Office

The page says NP700Z3AH, but the link says NP700Z3A-S01US.

Also here in Sweden we are getting a model called NP700Z3A-S01SE which is identical to the specs on the Samsung link.

So guessing S01 is some sort of revision, and US/SE is the country its made for, considering the keyboard etc.

 

so no I7 for the 14?

 

From what I've seen, the 14" will only come with I5-2430M, but that might ofcourse change since it haven't been released yet.

Not sure how much better a mobile I7 really is than a I5. The specs are very simillar, but I guess the mobile I7 still has hyperthreading and that would be a benefit for some?

 

Hmm, thanks. Maybe you are right. Still, I see reviews on Amazon for the NP700Z3A-S01US where people complain about watered down specs as compared to "Chronos." Perhaps the reviewer got one of the lesser 15" models like Best Buy has and is posting his review based on that 15" model under the 14" section.

See here:

Amazon.com: Samsung NP700Z3A-S01US 14-Inch Laptop: Computers & Accessories

There is certainly a 15.6" model with lesser specs that BB is selling and its caught some people off guard and pissed them off.

Update: After looking into it closer, I think what we have here is a moron reviewing the 14" (which isnt even out yet) based on his experience with the crappier 15.6" that doesn't have the backlit keyboard or the 1GB graphics card and is currently only available at Best Buy and has the model number NP700Z5B. It caused me some confusion myself. I need to stop reading the comment reviews I guess.

 

Both i5 and i7 processors have hyperthreading, but the i5 is dual core and i7 is quad core.

 

The normal mobile I7 are not quad. But there are quads aswell. If its I7-xxxxQM it's a quad, and if it's a I7-xxxxM its dual.

And weird that the I5 mobile would have hyperthreading when the desktop version of I5, like I5-2500K etc does not have hyperthreading. But it's possible.

Computer part companies like to mess with peoples brains when it comes to part numbers...

 

Well, I was talking specifically about the differences between the i5 and i7 that are supposedly spec'd for the Samsung Series 7, i7-2675QM and i5-2430M. I didn't think you were talking in general about the processors.

 

Ah, I didn't think you were talking about those in the Samsung specifically.

 

Notebookcheck has a comprehensive list of mobile CPUs with benchmark results. Dual core i7s tend to have more cache and slightly higher clock speeds than the i5 CPUs. Go see for yourself.

John

 

Why does this model have only one dimm slot???
How about the onboard RAM??

 

The specs here (supplied RAM = 6GB, max RAM = 8GB) suggests two modules. It is possible that 4GB is soldered onto the main board but could be in a slot that is not user-accessible.

John

 

Thanks John,
and how about dual channel in this case???

 

This is according to Rep on Facebook

Model Maxscreen 14" (body 13") is planned to be released early December in the US