Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D: Review

The Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D is a Ultrabook with Windows 8 operating systems that look very sophisticated and modern, but based on an Intel Sandy Bridge series, so not the most recently discovered technology. What may seem a questionable choice, especially considering the fact that the Samsung 9 series have always distinguished itself for the high profile of the laptops that compose it, is instead justified by what are the latest trends within the market.

The Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D is to be located at the lower end of the Ultrabook category, depending on the progressive diversification within the sector, a time characterized by competing solutions but similar to each other for hardware profile, design and end price, and today more differentiated, even within the range of the same manufacturer. The Samsung NP900X3D is the basic model of the Series 9, a compromise between specifications and costs which does not take away too much in terms of performance guaranteeing the full right with the little Ultrabook.

Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D: Design

That the Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D is an Ultrabook also tells its unique design, which puts him on a plane similar in appearance, and in some cases superior, to the direct competition, MacBook Air included. We are faced with a product that definitely knows how to capture attention at a glance, thanks to a slim and sleek metallic silver body made entirely of magnesium alloy.

The 13.3-inch screen allows you to enclose this notebook really, really small: 31.38 × 21.85 × 1.32 cm. Also it is a feather weight: 1.13 Kg This results in an extremely portable durable, portable and comfortable and very nice.

The study design is revealed also in the design of a hinge which ensures uniformity of thickness between the rear, typically higher, and the front, or in the positioning of the brand Samsung on one side with the lid or, to use a term photographic, on a third. Maintain a similar profile involves some sacrifice.

The Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D not only does not have an optical drive, which is hardly a novelty for an Ultrabook, but also offers a small number of ports, of which only three are in full size: 3.5mm and two USB, one of which are 3.0. The other a micro HDMI port for the monitor and an outlet wired LAN, but only the latter was included the adapter in the package.

The lower part is fixed by screws, so access to the internal components is only recommended when servicing. In correspondence of the front, to the side panels, are visible small holes for the stereo speakers while, in the upper part, are placed five ventilation grilles. Finally, on the one hand, here is the slot for memory cards 3-in-1 elegantly covered by a small door spring.

The touchpad, large, is devoid of buttons, but recognizes precisely the pressure on the lower-right side and is compatible with up to four fingers gesture. The surface of the pad, as well as of the entire chassis, internal and external, is resistant to fingerprints.

Although the Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D adopt Windows 8, it has a touch screen which would exploit the interface, but the touchpad acts as a good substitute. The panel 13.3 ” adopted is matte anti-glare type LED HD SuperBright (400 nit) with a resolution of 1,600 × 900 pixels.

Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D: Performance

We said in the opening, and we repeat now, the Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D take a processor out of step behind the times: the Intel Sandy Bridge goes back a few years ago and was also overcome by the latest Ivy Bridge. The CPU Core i5-2537M dual core is still adopted and its nominal frequency of 1.4 GHz can occasionally reach a clock speed of 2.3 GHz for more complex operations, thanks to the Turbo Boost 2.0, unless you active mode for energy saving.

It is therefore, a chipset powerful enough, which shows no uncertainties unless it claims too from it. It is also supported by 4 GB of DDR3 1333 MHz For this, the Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D gets along very well when it comes to performing common tasks, such as writing and navigation, but suffers in the face of more complex tasks. Video games, for example, are almost out of the question, unless we were satisfied of government several years ago.

To tell the truth, we noticed occasional uncertainty in the reproduction of movies at 1080p, and it is soon clear: always from the perspective of cost containment, Samsung has equipped this laptop’s integrated graphics card Intel HD 3000 instead of the most recent and performing HD 4000.

Windows 8 is extremely slim and fast by itself. Therefore, we will have no negative notes to report. Indeed, the adoption of an SSD makes it extremely fast system boot and wake from standby mode. To be precise, the Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D unit has 128 GB, half of which is already occupied by the operating system and the application, then the SD slot will prove very useful to anyone who enjoys collecting photos, music and videos.

Another compromise is represented by the audio industry, which does not shine, particularly for depth and fidelity of sound, a factor that will not please the lovers of music and film. If you intend to make only occasional use, the overall quality of the crates, 1.5 W is not so bad. The only obstacle is insurmountable objectively the distortion produced when you turn up the volume a lot.

Other features include modules Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, and the battery of four cells. Regarding the latter, the manufacturer guarantees seven hours and a half on average usage, but in our tests (power saving off, wireless web browsing, writing, listening to music and viewing some footage), the battery has given up after 5 hours scarce. For the rest, the Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D maintains temperatures in the media, especially noticeable in the rear, in correspondence of the fans, which incidentally are not noisy.

Conclusion

The purchase of a handset like the Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D be carefully considered because it is all too easy to fall in love at first sight, dazzled by the stylish design and thin profile, without carefully assessing whether what hide beneath this beauty is really what it does to his case. Its specifications are not among the most recent and therefore, not the most efficient, but instead of discussing the actual goodness of a processor and a graphics chipset outdated, one must consider the fact that they contribute toward the reduction of its final price list.

Of course, it is also true that the trade-offs do not end there: for example, the RAM is not expandable and the battery is not replaceable. It is a good-quality product, a low-end Ultrabook, but still an Ultrabook. The Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D will then follow its owner in a variety of situations of use, between work and home, never deface it. Indeed.