Samsung Series 9 Notebook Review Comment Thread

[SKYMTL]

Earlier this year Samsung introduced their new Series 9 notebooks which strive for industrial design excellence while sparing no costs. In layman’s terms this means Samsung has tried to shoe horn leading edge technology into a beautiful, yet razor thin enclosure without sacrificing performance. There is however a single stumbling point: an astronomical price tag.

Read more here: Samsung Series 9 NP900X3A Notebook Review

[frontier204]

Nice review, Sky!
Wow if that sticks that is a crazy price...

It has quite a few similarities with my Samsung QX411 (add +0.7" on the screen size, an ODD, a little on the weight, and deduct over half in price). I don't know what Samsung is doing with those little covers for the USB 3.0 - I always plug the mouse into the left side of the notebook to use the mouse on the right without obstruction, so I wish I could just remove them.
Although I don't like the idea of having a proprietary connector, I think Samsung shows that the RJ45 jack needs a modern replacement. Without a grounded exterior jack, I always wonder if by plugging in an RJ45 if I'll end up completing a circuit or discharging static electricity into my NIC...

I assume you're not allowed to take the lappy apart? Ever since I bought my Sammy laptop I've wondered where the intake for the cooling system is. All those little tiny vents seem too small to get any decent amount of air through.

[SKYMTL]

The crazy price has stuck....but ONLY for us Canadians. The Europeans, Americans, etc. ALL have less expensive Series 9 options, some of which hit the sub-$1200 mark.

I am allowed to take it apart but I think it is pretty clear where the intake / exhaust is. Intake on bottom, then the fan pushes the hot air to the upper right hand corner where it is blown out right next to the lid hinge.

[JD]

Originally Posted by frontier204

Ever since I bought my Sammy laptop I've wondered where the intake for the cooling system is. All those little tiny vents seem too small to get any decent amount of air through.

Your QX411 is likely identical to my QX412 and I tore it apart :)
Samsung QX412
It basically pulls air in over the hard drive bay and then exhausts it out the back.

And I totally agree, the 9-series has lack luster specs and the wireless issues are the most concerning, especially at the price they are asking. ULV CPU, no dedicated graphics and low-resolution screen. Definitely doesn't warrant it's $2000 price tag. Even at $1200 it's a bit of a stretch. The "ultrabook" platform that Intel is pushing for Q4 will introduce many other competitors at the sub-$1000 price point (claims Intel).

Likewise though, I know SKY said the Vaio Z was a better option, I would respectfully disagree. The current gen Z is a stepdown from previous Z's IMO. Going the external route for graphics is just silly. What's the point of having a laptop if you need to plug it into a power outlet and carry a clunky external station in order to fully use it's power? Sony's S-series is likely a more in-line competitor as it still offers the 1600x900 matte screen and dedicated graphics.

The ASUS U36 is definitely a competitor though and I was going to get that over my QX412, but for $200 more I got a 128GB SSD, faster i5 2520M (with more virtualization support since I use VMware fairly extensively) and 2GB more RAM, it was hard to beat. Plus the ASUS wasn't in stock. Sure, the QX412 is thicker/heavier but I wanted performance.

[SKYMTL]

Originally Posted by JD

Likewise though, I know SKY said the Vaio Z was a better option, I would respectfully disagree. The current gen Z is a stepdown from previous Z's IMO. Going the external route for graphics is just silly. What's the point of having a laptop if you need to plug it into a power outlet and carry a clunky external station in order to fully use it's power? Sony's S-series is likely a more in-line competitor as it still offers the 1600x900 matte screen and dedicated graphics.

Then we'll agree to disagree. I am a mobility junky and I can tell you that Sony has done the perfect thing. I personally don't give a damn about high performance when I am running off the battery or if I am on a business trip. What I need is something that gives me long battery life and the ability to work on basic applications and that's exactly what the CPU + IGP on Sandy Bridge accomplishes. When I get home, I may use the dock but otherwise? Likely not.

To give you an example, I have a Vaio Z 1290 with the switchable NVIDIA GPU. Since I've had the laptop, guess how many times I've actually switched it to the discrete card? Never. That's right, never.

For the market this notebook is targeted at, the new Z is an absolutely perfect fit while the Series 9 tries to compete ($2300, remember?) but really doesn't.

[JD]

Fair enough, I suppose we have different priorities when looking at laptops. I want to have the ability to do some light gaming on battery power should I want to while at school

[Andy]

Great review! I too tend to agree that this has it's place ... especially for someone who spends time on planes and needs basic office applications. I fly a lot and while I like the fact that I can play Borderlands on the plane, carrying around a 15" laptop becomes kind of a pain.

But ... as mentioned the price in Canada is insane ... Personally I would have a hard time spending $1000 on it ... regardless of the size and portability. Now ... if you could buy it barebones without the ram and hdd for cheap i'd be all over it .. but that certainly isn't happening.

[SKYMTL]

I've been looking over the specs from some other manufacturers and believe it or not, I think they have their models tailored to the Canadian economy. They know the US can't afford shit right now so they release more affordable solutions down there while Canada only gets the higher end models. It just boggles my mind...

[grinder]

Good review! The Laptop looks sexy on the outside, but suffers an identity crisis when you open the lid. Shame.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by grinder

Good review! The Laptop looks sexy on the outside, but suffers an identity crisis when you open the lid. Shame.

Good way of putting it that's for sure...