Customer reviews from Samsung US
Samsung - Geek Squad Certified Refurbished Series 9 Ultrabook 13.3" Laptop - 4GB Memory - Mineral Ash Black
Average customer rating
3.7
(3 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 3 reviews
5 Stars
0
4 Stars
2
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
0
1 Star
0
100%of customers recommend this product.
(
2 out of
2)
Customer Reviews for Samsung - Geek Squad Certified Refurbished Series 9 Ultrabook 13.3" Laptop - 4GB Memory - Mineral Ash Black
Customer Rating
3
Great design but lacking in the hardware department...
on April 16, 2013
Posted by: CrazyMishka
from San Francisco, CA
Expertise:Expert
I've had mine for about a week now and really like the form factor, design, weight and build quality. One thing that continually bothers me is the amount of money I spent on something so lacking in hardware performance. I keep having second thoughts and wondering if I should return it and get a slightly cheaper, heavier, but more powerful model. There are a few major flaws I found with the Series 9. The memory is slow and soldered directly to the motherboard so it cannot be upgraded. The SSD it comes with is a bit small, not as fast as most, and has almost 20GB used by recovery partitions (~118GB is free after they are removed with a clean install). The touchpad can be finicky at times especially when there is load on the system. The keyboard is easy to use even with bigger hands but it is a bit loud. The power connector is tiny and feels a bit cheap compared to the rest of the laptop. It's also missing a display port for some reason. The speakers sound great but can be muffled when using the laptop on your lap. The only thing that makes up for all this bad is the design, weight, sleekness and the amazing screen.
Cons:
- A horrifying operating system with only the benefit of UEFI.
- Non-upgradable Memory (4GB is not enough these days especially with the slow memory that it is)
- No dedicated GPU (Would be nice even if it made the form factor slightly larger)
- No display port (Even my 1+ year old Dell has one)
- Useless LAN port (Why build this is when a USB adapter can be used or included. This is where the display port should have been)
- SSD is small and filled with recovery partitions (A clean Windows 8 install can fix this if you have a copy)
- No recovery disc(s) (Lame. Why does every computer company do this now?)
- Touchpad behavior inconsistent under load (sometimes even with no load)
- Loud keyboard
- Webcam does not work well in low light/florescent/CFL light
- Battery life is about 5-6 hours not anywhere near 9 hours like advertised
- Cheap tiny power connector
- A horrifying operating system with only the benefit of UEFI.
- Non-upgradable Memory (4GB is not enough these days especially with the slow memory that it is)
- No dedicated GPU (Would be nice even if it made the form factor slightly larger)
- No display port (Even my 1+ year old Dell has one)
- Useless LAN port (Why build this is when a USB adapter can be used or included. This is where the display port should have been)
- SSD is small and filled with recovery partitions (A clean Windows 8 install can fix this if you have a copy)
- No recovery disc(s) (Lame. Why does every computer company do this now?)
- Touchpad behavior inconsistent under load (sometimes even with no load)
- Loud keyboard
- Webcam does not work well in low light/florescent/CFL light
- Battery life is about 5-6 hours not anywhere near 9 hours like advertised
- Cheap tiny power connector
Pros:
- Full HD matte screen (Amazing and surprisingly bright with great viewability at almost any angle)
- Design
- Weight
- Keyboard works great even though it is small and loud
- Large touchpad without buttons
- Fast boot (less than 10 seconds from pressing the power button to login screen)
- Ultra fast sleep/wake fuctionality (takes about 3 seconds to wake after pressing the power button)
- Downloadable Samsung Update utility makes it easy to update/reinstall drivers/software after a clean install
- Full HD matte screen (Amazing and surprisingly bright with great viewability at almost any angle)
- Design
- Weight
- Keyboard works great even though it is small and loud
- Large touchpad without buttons
- Fast boot (less than 10 seconds from pressing the power button to login screen)
- Ultra fast sleep/wake fuctionality (takes about 3 seconds to wake after pressing the power button)
- Downloadable Samsung Update utility makes it easy to update/reinstall drivers/software after a clean install
I was planning on using this laptop for light mobile development work but I don't think it will cut it now that I have it and have played with it. If you are willing to spend the money on it would be more than powerful enough for browsing, watching videos, school work, office work, and some light gaming. Anything load more serious and it would definitely need more and faster RAM (at least 8GB), and at least a 256GB SSD.
NOTE: For those of you who like doing clean installs - F2 enters the bios settings, F10 displays the boot menu. You have to hammer them as soon as you turn it on. You also have to disable the fast bios option in the bios otherwise USB devices will not boot or show up in the boot menu.
Pros: Built-in speakers, Bright display, Durable, Realistic color, Lightweight, high resolution screen, great build quality, fast boot, fast sleep/wake, driver/software utility is easy to use
Cons: Did not meet expectations, non-upgradable ram, small ssd drive, no recovery disc, too much space used by recovery partitions, web cam does not work well in low light, no dedicated gpu, no display port, windows 8, expensive for the hardware, touchpad is fidgety and inconsistent
Features
1
Performance
1
Design
5
Value
1
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
Very lightweight, has great potential, some issues with drivers
on July 31, 2013
Posted by: LifeGuy
from Naples, FL
Expertise:Expert
I love how light this laptop is. I always wanted a windows machine as lightweight as the Macbook Air, and now I found it.
PRO's: - featherweight, it has bluetooth, works pretty fast.
PRO's: - featherweight, it has bluetooth, works pretty fast.
CON's: - loses WiFi often (still didn't find a solution to this), bluetooth drivers were not correctly installed - an update fixed this; The touchpad had some issues that were resolved after an update. Battery lasts only about 3 hours.
Overall, I would still recommend this! We travel a lot and love that I don't have to carry a heavy laptop.
Pros: Built-in speakers, Bright display, Durable, Realistic color, Lightweight
Cons: bluetooth and wifi issues, battery life
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4
Performance
3
Design
5
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
NO PRODUCT REGISTRATION FOR THIS MODEL!?!?
on October 15, 2013
Posted by: NavySubmariner
from Virginia Beach, VA
Expertise:Intermediate
ONLY 4 STARS UNTIL PRODUCT CAN BE REGISTERED. WILL CHANGE TO 5 STARS ONCE REGISTRATION IS COMPLETE!
Purchased this product after having the Surface Pro for less than 24 hours! I won't even begin to mention the issues of the Surface Pro. Too many to list.
The Series 9 (NP900X3E-A02US) is perfect! In fact, I will start with the cons first, and get those out of the way!
CONS:
1. REGISTRATION. No Product Registration Support? Unless I am blind, model does not come up when searching on Samsung's website. Perhaps they can reply to this review and tell me how to properly register this product!
2. SCREEN BRIGHTNESS. I was totally disappointed at the screen brightness right out of the box. That seems to be the major issue everyone has had. However, this is just a default setting, which I didn't know, and was about to return this product. Deep in the settings, you need to turn off the Adaptive Display Feature! Once the Adaptive Display is disabled, the screen is flawless and bright. In fact, it is too bright, and I have to turn it down to 50%, which is still brighter than the default Adaptive Display setting!!
3. BATTERY. Battery is estimated to last 9hours…depending on use. After I fully charged and unplugged the power cord, it stated I had 5 hours of use left. It could be because I had the backlit keyboard turned on to the highest setting, and I didn’t have the Adaptive Display turned on. Perhaps I just need to change my power consumption habits! Not a deal breaker, since I am always accessible to a power outlet. But could be a major “CON” for those who depend on longer battery life.
4. WINDOWS 8. Not really made for a non-touch computer! I am happy using just the desktop mode. Even that, without a start menu button is frustrating in itself, however, SAMSUNG T O THE RESCUE!! Samsung has their own system icon panel that can be either shown at all times or hidden (and appears when your curser is pointed to the very bottom of the screen). The Samsung system panel includes the “Start” menu button! However, it is rumored that Windows 8.1 will resurface the “Start” menu button.
PROS:
1. DISPLAY! Once I turned off the Adaptive Display, it truly is AMAZIN! Very bright, crisp, clear! I love the matte finish on the display…bye-bye reflective mirror!
2. SOUND: Great sound. May not have deep bass, but the sound is rich and clear. Even on the highest setting, it does not distort. I keep my setting on the 3D surround setting, and it is working flawlessly.
3. KEYBOARD. Perfect. The backlighting is even and bright! Feedbacks on pressing keys are good, with barely any sound. Track pad is responsive, and FAST. Settings may need to be changed to slow down the pointer on screen. However, this is by far the best touchpad I have used.
4. FAN. VERY QUIET! Reminds me of a hybrid car, don’t even know it’s on while in park! The unit is warm but does not get hot, unlike the Surface Pro!
5. INTEL i7! Very fast computing. Have not experienced any lags between programs and switching from the tablet style interface to the desktop interface. The 4GB RAM has not been in issue. There are some who are wanting 8GB’s, but unless you are a serious gamer or programmer, you will not need it.
7. SIZE. THIN! Unbelievable thin! Just a half inch thick and is the perfect companion for your backpack!
Pros: Built-in speakers, Bright display, Durable, Realistic color, Lightweight
Cons: windows 8, battery, lack support for product registeration
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US