Samsung X65 (15.4" widescreen)

One of the forum members noticed a mention of the X65 at t his French site. It says:

In other words a T7500 CPU, 2GB RAM, 160GB SATA HDD GFG 8600M CPU, 15.4" 1680 x 1050 display, dual layer LightScribe ODD, abgn wireless and HDMI. The weight is about the same as the present X60 series.

The specification is quite high, presumably to set it apart from the R70.

A check at the Samsung download site revealed that some files were posted on 27 April, so this computer can't be far away. Take a look at the quick guide for more details.

I see a black keyboard. Samsung seem to have learnt that the silver paint on the X60 keyboard doesn't survive very well. The port layout is almost the same as the X60/X60 plus except for the HDMI port near the back on the right side. The underside looks the same as the X60 series except for more ventilation holes. I wonder how hot this will run?

I now understand why Samsung seems to have been neglecting the X60 plus.

John

 

The quick guide also shows the Docking Station Connector, another thing the R70 doesn´t seem to have.

Here´s a X65 picture from the CEBIT (website is asia-based and tends to be slow sometimes)
http://tech.reesun.com/notebook/01/2007/0319/content_522_2.htm

 

The X65 is a refresh of the X60 series, which also has a docking station connector.

I would expect the X65 to come in at 50% to 100% more expensive than the R70.

John

 

The official Korean Samsung site is presenting the new beauties
(i´m talking about the notebooks...):
http://www.samsung.co.kr/news/biz_view.jsp?contentid=115841&category1id=19&category2id=19

There are also details about R70 / Q45 / M60 / Q70 and P55
I didn´t get all sorted out as the site is in Korean language

 

The same pictures and more are here, with words in English.

However, the specs summary table is useful.

John

 

Ah, more pics of the X65, thanks.
It´s really the X60 reloaded. I like its black keyboard.

Now my buying decision lies between a future R70/R71 with CPU and display specs of the already presented X65 and the new X65 itself. As my budget would also cover the presumably more expensive X65 its just a matter of details. (and time, i hope that superior R70s and the X65 will be purchasable in june)
Anyhow i would do a review about the purchased laptop here on notebookreview.com as this site (special thanks to John Ratsey!) helped a lot during my buying decision process.

 

My Q35 came with a black keyboard, which was new at that time (I understand that some Q35s still have the keyboard). Yes the black looks much better. Also, the silver keyboard is just paint and is more vulnerable to wear. I have just started to chip a hole in my space bar while a friend of mine, who bought an X60 last September, has chipped holes through the paint in several places. However, I have just checked my old X60 (March 2006) and the keyboard on that still has no damage so maybe Samsung have had a quality control problem with the silver paint. The black keyboard is black plastic so it won't get damaged in the same way although the lettering may eventually wear off.

Contact Andrew if you have a review to submit and PM me if you need any guidance.

John

 

Official Santa Rosa News from Samsung Germany:
http://presse.samsung.de/press_meldung.asp?id=1625&page=1&jahr=2007&kategorie=Alle&suchwort= (In German)

Specs for P55 Pro, X65 Pro, M60 Pro, R70, Q45:
http://presse.samsung.de/upload/dokumente/200705014_TD-Intel_Santa_Rosa.pdf (In German)

X65 will be available in May at a starting price of 1499 Euro.
I suppose this is will be a "low budget" version compared to the price level of the X60´s. They didn´t mention any specific models, but HDD sizes will be 120 GB, 160 GB and 200 GB ! Also XP Pro is an option (see PDF)

If you don´t understand German:
Nothing new really, but it´s said that "the Samsungs new Santa Rosa Notebooks will feature Intels Turbo Memory". No further details on that...

P55 will come out in June (1699 Euro in Germany)
M60: June (1899 Euro)
Q45: May (1499 Euro)

 

Thanks for this information. The other new models (except for the Q70) are also mentioned.

If I understand correctly, they say that the X65's battery life is up to 5 hours. They don't say whether that is using an optional 9 cell battery. However, I would assume that the X65 could get past 3 hours on the standard battery. Battery life has been one of the disappointments of the X60 plus because Samsung / ATI haven't sorted out the PowerPlay for the X1700.

It is also interesting to see that a WSXGA+ display is listed as an R70 option. It would also be good to see WXGA+ (1440 x 900) as an option.

John

 

http://www.mobilewhack.com/samsung-x65-notebook/

digital wool

how high tech is that! those welsh sheep farmers have been up to some tricks!

and im abit dubios as to "old painting image quality" and a grass HDTV

 

Is the digital wool connected to the grass HD TV?

To be honest, these translation engines can give some entertaining results. A few months back when the T2060 came out and I was searching for information, something about it on an Asian website translated as "eunuch". Given that the CPU has got half its cache chopped off, perhaps that was what the original wording meant.

John

 

Just a quick remark: the silver paint on my X60 is still as new (after a year) although the "A", "D" "S" and "W" keys are heavily used (hint hint: games).
So it MUST be a quality check problem with the other models.

 

I agree there is a quality problem. The keyboard on my original X60 (March 2006) is fine. It's still in the house but I'm not the user any more. I now have a hole in the paint on the spacebar of my X60 plus (Nov 06). A friend who bought an X60 in Sept 06 on my recommendation has a keyboard which is several years old.

I will need to start a discussion with Samsung about replacing keyboards.

But I think the black keyboard (as on my Q35 but not all Q35s) look much better.

John

 

I am glad that the X65 will have a black keyboard....
My girlfriends brother owns a R40 (low budget version) with a black keyboard and its really of good quality. No signs of damage or bad material so far.
Even though i expect X65´s keyboard to be better as it will cost twice the price of a R40

 

While reviewing the R20 I noted that the keyboard felt better than the X60 plus. I think the latter's keyboard has less travel because they wanted to make the notebook thinner and they don't want to have the keys making marks on the display when the computer is closed and being carried (I have seen this happen on some notebooks).

John

 

if the advertised 5 hours of operation is real I would consider replacing my X60. Otherwise - definitely not.

 

Guess what!

A complete pack of released software for the X65, including a new version of AV Station. I wonder if this new release will be able to handle ID3v2.4 and formats like QuickTime...

Check here:
http://www.samsung.com/download/Mod...ecode=1102&model=NT-X65&filetype=SW&language=

 

All those files were posted nearly 4 weeks ago (27-28 April). The X65 can't be far away! Will Samsung swap me my X60 plus without PowerPlay for one of these?

I'm downloading the User Manual to see if there is anything additional to what we already know.

There must be considerable shared effort in driver development with the big push using the Santa Rosa + Nvidia for a whole range of models.

I am still puzzled why, if you want a Samsung + Express Card, then decision making is reduced to choosing one from the R20 range.

Update:

I have browsed through the user manual. The X65 is very similar to the X60 / plus with the addition of an HDMI port and the deletion of the hardware wireless switch. The multimedia and volume control buttons to the right of the keyboard have also gone.

The specs page is attached but I don't think there is anything that we didn't know already.

John

 

what do you make of the changes then?

bit odd the top model might not have an express card, but i guess if i have to ask what an express card is (and i do) then chances are it means squat to me whether it has one or not.

am i also seeing no "robson" turbo memory>?

 

what do you make of the changes then?

bit odd the top model might not have an express card, but i guess if i have to ask what an express card is (and i do) then chances are it means squat to me whether it has one or not.

am i also seeing no "robson" turbo memory>?

 

Overall, the X65 is a good step forwards in what is already a good design. Essentially, a well build but light 15.4" model.

Express card is the successor to the PC card and is faster. However, parts to use the new slot have been slow to arrive and it is quite likely that, if you get an X65, you will never want to put anything in the slot except the remote control which will most likely come with the computer (and would not fit in the new slot).

Robson: Yes, there is no mention of this feature. Perhaps Samsung have not yet figured out how to make it work. Read this Anandtech review. I wouldn't be surprised if features like that get added during a model refresh towards the end of the year.

John

 

The missing volume control buttons is quite a disadvantage. I got soo used to them. I assume you can do the same with the Fn+some keys but that is not even half as convenient.

 

Yes, Fn+ <- and Fn + -> are on my X60 plus keyboard and have the same effect. As long as the "value engineering" results in the cost going down then we could live without the separate keys.

John

 

its not really a big deal to be honest. i always have my speakers on a decent volume and just adjust by the sliders in WMP/VLC or by combo of them and the overall slider in the system tray....

its much better to do it that way, especially if you have a wireless mouse or somekind of remote to do it for you. means no getting out of bed to adjust stuff.

so do samsung sell docking stations? a good dock is another thing im after i plan to pretty much have my dell 2005fpw + wireless KB/M + some decent speakers (probably creatives gigaworks T20's) + big wide mouse pad + xbox 360 all on my desk to use like a normal desktop where the port replication will come in handy with my many USB stuffs.

then just being able to pluck the laptop off the dock and stuff it in a bag to take on campus would be just golden

 

The X60 / plus came with an infra-red remote control. It is also listed as an option for the X65 and it remains to be seen whether the national Samsung sales people include it in thier models. It includes basic go / stop /volume up /down functions. I've only used it with PowerPoint.

Yes, the Samsung X series has a docking station. Not cheap, but they never are. I would expect the same one to work with the X65, although there is a separate HDMI port on the computer. I don't know if the docking station comes with its own PSU. I doubt it.

John

 

thats not too bad, the asus one is more expensive i think, but by the looks of it its also a better one as its a lot bigger.

the whole laptop (v1 series) sits atop it and elevates it nicely so you can get a comfortable screen position. it also charges the laptop too so you can leave the PSU in your bag.

this one just looks like a bar that the back of the laptop rests on

 

Warning: Yesterday I have downloaded the new Bluetooth driver (meant for X65) version 6.0 thinking it would work also with my X60. I could not figure out though, because the drivers are VISTA ONLY. This is a big disadvantage for me, because lately I have read a couple of vista reviews which completely convinced me not to move to VISTA at all (not even in the distant future). I will either stick with XP, or move to LINUX, which is known to be working with the X60 Linux on an X60 Studentbook. Hint, hint: you can even watch HD-DVD on linux in full, uncrippled quality, unlike in VISTA, even if you don't have a full HDCP compliant setup (audo + video). Just to make you aware: Vista won't let you listen to protected HD-DVD audio through an S/P-DIF...

Those, who want to know more about Vista's highly annoying (and in my opinion work limiting) security features read this:
A Cost analysis of Windows Vista's Content Protection

In addition I recommend looking up "tilt bits" on google in relation with Windows Vista.

 

Why did you download these drivers in the first place ? If you have XP installed it´s no wonder that Vista drivers won´t work.

I don´t want to defend Vista but there is no need to warn people about it. This topic is about the X65 and not Vista. Besides you will find a bunch of warnings about XP on the net as well. And there is not just one Linux, there are several distributions. Discussions about the best OS often get an idealstic touch and don´t end in anything. Decide for yourself.

According to their press release Samsung Germany will ship the X65 also with XP Pro.

 

yeah there is alot of noise about vista in this regard...im not really a movie freak mind, i wont be paying to buy HD-DVD stuff or bother donloading it...its just not worth it....mybe once or twice to try out my mates new 50inch samsung plasma HDTV. but the novelty will wear off.

im still undecied between vista and OS X if im honest.... i know vista is the way to go regarding the plethora of engineering software i have but OSX is really freakin sweet to use.

 

I am yet to be convinced that Vista provides any advantages for me. The one feature that was promised that I wanted was the proper handling of display size / resolution / dpi and it isn't there. I like high resolution displays for the extra clarity, not because everything is too small to read. At the moment my Q35 is dual boot XP / Vista and the X60 plus may go the same way once the 250GB HDD I have on order shows up. And for good measure I plan to add Linux. Or maybe I'll just add Linux and leave Vista for the Q35 (which does have a set of Vista software and drivers).

At present Vista has features I do not like (like the UAC) but I haven't yet found anything I like that is not already in XP.

The X65's primary market is the business sector (although it should also be a respectable medium quality lightweight gaming machine) and, as such, needs to have XP Pro as an option. While companies may already be evaluating Vista, the general opinion is to not consider migrating to Vista until after SP1 is released (said to be towards the end of this year).

Yes, we are sidetracking away from the main topic of the X65 but, for this computer, operating system options is an important consideration.

John

 

im no business user, but at the same time i have no experience with vista...i do know im a bit sick of xp mind...i dunno why, it does pretty much everything i ask, but its just meh.

thats my main drive to try OS X really, i have had a good play and i like it... i just dont know if i could put up with boot camp/parallels. and then theres the quandry apple have left potential buyers in.

delaying leopard was a crushing blow for me, with leopard not out untill at least october that makes it all but too late. ill be back in my 3rd year at uni by then.... i need a machine before.

i could always pay to upgrade...it might be worth it given whats going to be featured in leopard, but as it stands now the MBP line needs a good refresh.

i hope to god they stuff a 1680x1050 res in their 15.4 MBP it should have one considering the price. 17inch should pack 1920x1200 like everyone elses top end does. infact the only good thing the MBP's had was the fact you could spec the fastest 2.33Ghz C2D...not many laptops had that.

but yes...we are side tracking.... significantly

 

The question of what is the right display resolution for different panel sizes is not irrelevant.

If the operating systems could handle size / resolution / dpi properly then one wouldn't automatically get everything shrinking when the resolution increases.

For my eyes 1680 x 1050 at 15.4" and 96dpi is a little small so I have to increase the dpi and accept that there are some formatting problems. 1920x1200 at 17" would be impossible for me, but 1680 x 1050 would be fine and 1440 x 900 a little low.

Samsung should offer more choice on resolution. I know they make the panels. Zepto offer a 14" model with a very good Samsung 1440 x 900 panel.

John

 

1. I have downloaded because I wanted to see what's new (or if it's compatible, then upgrade).
2. It was good I have downloaded, because this way I could figure out that even if they PLAN to ship it with XP, the drivers are not yet ready (not published at least)

 

come on samsung! i have monies with your name on it.....get this thing out the door!

 

I 2nd that! It seems everything is delayed... Or I am just too impatient

 

I read a rumour (maybe it was somewhere on this forum) that the Q70 was delayed because of shortage of GPUs. This could also be a constraint on the shipping of some of the other models.

John

 

and so the route of the paper launch characteristics lead back to the usual suspects. GPU makers.

im a regular on AT video forums and thats quite possibly the one thing almost all users can agree on. we are quite sick of NV and ATi paper launching products.

NV had one good run, getting g70 out en masse instantly but they are slipping back into their old ways.

ATi really are an abomination...after months of "its ready now and its great, we are just waiting so we can do a top to bottom DX10 launch" only to end up with a further delayed and not that spectacular hi end card and a rest of the range that simply doesnt exist yet, they must have the least consumer confidence of all.

they said time and again about waiting for a top to bottom launch, with availability, and all that came were a trickly of r600's and no mid or low range to be seen. i honestly do not hold out any hope to see laptops with mobile R6x0 series.

 

Don't forget that the GPU companies don't have the same level of resources as Intel when it comes to ramping up production quickly. People are expecting new GPUs along with the new Intel chipset.

I agree that ATI aren't doing so well. The AMD takeover at a time when AMD fortunes were taking a dive cannot have helped. I will think more favourably about them when I get PowerPlay working on my X60 plus and get sight of the missing hour of battery time.

Provided I have the choice in the hardware configuration, I will take the Intel GPU in my next machine. Unfortunately, the notebook manufacturers may assume that if I want a good high-res display then I will want a dedicated GPU.

Anyway, getting back towards the topic, Samsung have done better than most manufacturers in getting the new hardware to the retailers. Both the R70 and Q45 are here. It looks like the Q70 is having a soft launch in Europe so there is a good chance that the X65 will be next to arrive. I recall the Samsung Germany website said the end of May, so maybe in a couple of weeks?

Who is currently shipping notebooks with the 8600 GPU?

John

 

lol! you really do hate the fact that power play isnt functioning on x60plus. its a function you keep referencing about in threads.i have learnt to live with the battery life disapointment for the x60plus..i really hope that the x65 would boost a much better battery life duration with the hopefully added power play if it is going to be ati's gpu if not the geforce should be of better performance . also i wish there would be a change in specs(for the pc card slot to express) like when we all thought the x60plus had a radeon x1600 but was actually x1700..

 

As a future proof feature, ExpressCard is a nice replacement though I am wondering what is the real usage benefit of it. Technically, it is a PCI vs PCIe improvement(bandwidth) with some power saving features.

However, what would be the scenario where one would need an ExpressCard which cannot be served well by USB 2.0 or CardBus ? At the moment, I can think of HDTV tuner(would it saturate CardBus or USB 2.0?) as CardBus can go to about 33MBps even in byte mode and 4x of that in DWORD mode. Another may be HD-DVD/Blue Ray external device but given my experience, only a very small percentage of notebook use this kind of external device.

The problem with ExpressCard is that there aren't that many device on the market now for it so even though it is supposed to be cheaper to make, it seems to be more expensive than cardbus because of the small base.

 

My annoyance is not just poor battery life but also the greater heat and fan activity when running on mains power. It is a shame, because it spoils an otherwise excellent product.

The only interesting Express Card product I have seen is the Asus external GPU.

If the X65 has Express Card then they would have to redesign or leave out the remote control.

I have got some old PC Cards (including a SCSI card) so I am quite happy for the old format to carry on.

John

 

Indeed. The other thing I really like to see is C3 on main(for all notebook and even desktop), for the same reason.

In fact, I applause for Samsung's stick to CardBus decision, for the same reason. Other than the GPU card you mentioned, there isn't that many device that I can think of which requires the bandwidth of PCIe, especially for a notebook setup. And I believe more and more notebook will have HDMI/DVI(and Display Port) that would address the desire of addon GPU.

 

as you re aware technically, the express card is better than cardbus but i do agree that there is neither many device/peripherals in the market nor notebooks that support it yet. I only think it would be good to make the notebook completely futureproof and also because i am interested in creative's X-fi soundcard for notebooks which is an express card..as for the hd dvd/blu ray drives, thats because its all new technology and it would be a while before it becomes a standard on pcs and notebooks.

Oh! i do agree...the amount of heat it dissipates during main power and also the fan is very exasperating...it drives me nuts because i am constantly checking the notebook's temperature when i run some of my heavy duty softwares and i try as much as possible to keep it ventilated..its is really a shame althought i thought the heat was extremely useful during the winter..lol!

 

Samsung Korea has the X65 on their website:
Specs:
http://www.sec.co.kr/PCS.svl?CMD=LastGenGoodsPage_001&GOODS_NO=145924&dispNo=001078&COMU=&curDepth=2&EVNT_NO=&dispNoMall=001002015&COMM_001=0000100003&SHP=&EXP_TP=2

(in Korean - I´m not sure if the website works with session id´s)

 

Looks good. They kept the PCMCIA card and the remote. Just changed to a Santa Rosa CPU and a 8600M GS with 256MB. Only other change I can see is the 7.1 Audio. Did the x60 have that too?

No mention of Turbo Memory (Robson) or even a hybrid hard disk. It is not Centrino Pro either I think, so I guess it wont have VT bios support.

On this page: http://www.sec.co.kr/PCS.svl?CMD=La...l=001002015&COMM_001=0000100003&SHP=&EXP_TP=1
There are some pictuers. What is up with that last pictuer? IT shows drops of Ag on the keyboard. Is the keyborad covered with silver or something like that?

Oh and it has a HDMI port. I guess that means no more TV out.

 

The Ag drops symbolize the silver nano antibacterial keyboard (R70 also has it)

This is only one version of the X65, according to informations from Samsung Germany there will be different models with various specs.

 

Correct - the SVHS port has gone. I did not previously attach the overview from the manual. It is now attached.

John

 

Also note, the remote control features a security locking device so you can use it as a Security Dongle almost, looks nice but is listed in the official training literature as a Factory Option (in fact, I counted 7 features listed as Factory options).

Also, the magnesium casing is very, very nice and looks quite hardy, much nicer than the Aura's.

 

how does this security/remote control dongle work? The laptop cant be used unless I unlock it with the remote?

 

In terms of usability, how does a TFT connected via HMDI-out differs over a TFT connected via DVI-out? Is there actually any difference at all?

Is there any word on an official or semi-official realease date for the x64-series?