Samsung 11.6 with Sandy Bridge I3, 4gb for $350 at Staples B&M

[Roland00Address]

Intel Core i3-2357M 1.30GHz
Intel HD3000
4GB DDR3
320GB Hard Drive
11.6" 1366x768 LED HD Display
WiFi N
Bluetooth V3.0
4-Cell 4000mAh Lithium Ion
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Weight: 2.84lbs

http://www.staples.com/Samsung-Serie...product_344162

It may become available again online, but currently it is sold out so B&M only.

This stomps all over zacate (AMD E Series cpu and gpu) The CPU is twice as fast, while the graphic card are roughly the same if the game is gpu bound, if the game is cpu bound the sandy bridge i3 will stomp it.

 

[Roland00Address]

Now anandtech reviewed a laptop with the 1.4ghz (instead of 1.3 ghz) version of the processor here. Note this laptop had a ssd inside of it but it is a a crappy ssd so if you take out the hard drive you can easily put a better ssd in there.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5088/toshiba-portege-z835-a-new-ultrabook-appears

You can easily get a 120ish gb ssd for about $130 so if you don't mind upgrading it yourself you can get a "ultrabook for about 500"

Compared to a "real" maded via an OEM ultrabook this is about 2.8lbs with a 4 cell battery vs the average ultrabook which is in the 2.4 to 3.0 lb range for a computer with a 3 cell to 8 cell battery (depending on brand). This is using the lowly i3 which does not have turbo boost ultrabooks in the 800 range also possess i3s.

If you pay 1000ish you can get an i5 ultrabook (usually i5 2467m) which is always at
1.6 ghz (23% faster than i3-2357m)
2.1 ghz max turbo if using 2 cores (61% faster than i3-2357m)
2.3 ghz max turbo if using 1 core (76% faster than i3-2357m)

 

[Pardus]

Stolen from SD.


Model: Samsung Series 3 Princeton Notebook 11.6" NP300U1A-A01US
Measures: 10.9 in x 1.04 in x 7.9 in , 2.84 lbs
CPU: Intel 2nd Gen Core i3 i3-2357M / 1.3 GHz = 1650/passmark vs AMD E-450 = 780/passmark
Battery: 4 Cell. Must be plugged into a wall every 4 hours
Memory: 1 DIMM Slot, 4GB Max<----You can have 8GB if you install 64-bit Win7
Ports: VGA, HDMI, RJ45, 4-in-1 (SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC) Multi Card Slot, 3 USB, Headphone/Mic
Has Bluetooth, 1.3 HD Camera, 3W Speakers

 

[Zap]

I think the battery life is more like 3 hours. It really isn't that great. Plus side is that you can buy extended batteries that get 5+ hours for around $50, but that's extra cost and the battery will stick out the bottom. Oh yeah, and it isn't thin enough to be an ultrabook.

Here is a pic of the bottom, with battery and memory cover removed.

Here is a picture of the bottom with the entire bottom removed, to access the 7mm thick HDD. It is a PITA to remove the entire bottom, but is doable.

Except for the lousy battery life, if you compare this to a netbook, this stomps all over any Atom/Bobcat/Zacate in performance, plus has better perceived quality than most (as in it "feels" like a more expensive unit).

$700 normal price? I'd pass. For $350 it's a steal as long as you can live with the battery life.

 

[frostedflakes]

Yeah even with the kind of underwhelming battery life, that's a heck of a deal.

 

[Zap]

Right, because you can add an SSD and double the battery life for as little as $140 or so. With the nice build quality, $350 base price is pretty hot.

 

[TwiceOver]

Very reasonable price. Highly doubt you'd double the battery life with an SSD though.

 

[frostedflakes]

I think he was saying extended battery + SSD to double the battery life for about $140.

 

[IamDavid]

Picked up 3 for my daughters Xmas. Seem pretty solid.

 

[kirbalo]

I picked up one for my daughter for Christmas also...

Anyone have a link to find the supposed extended battery for this unit???

I Googled, but can't seem to find anything.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[rsolomon]

http://www.staples.com/Samsung-Serie...product_344162

It may become available again online, but currently it is sold out so B&M only.

Local Staples guy says shows Discontinued in their computer, so not likely to come back. Add Coupon Code #51020 if you can for more awesomeness

Richard

 

[isekii]

trade in a laptop and i think the weekly ad said you get $100 back in a form of a gift card.

 

[rsolomon]

Here is a picture of the bottom with the entire bottom removed, to access the 7mm thick HDD. It is a PITA to remove the entire bottom, but is doable.

Awesome pics, Zap, thanks! Any tips on removing the bottom? Did you check that CPU to see if it's socketed??? I know I'm dreaming but those i5-2467m and i7-2617m both are also 17W TDP

EDIT: Odd that Crucial shows their 9.5mm SSD will fit....anyone tried this?

Richard "I think I got the last one in CO"

 

[Zap]

I think he was saying extended battery + SSD to double the battery life for about $140.

Yes, that. $60-70 for 60GB SSD, $60-80 for extended life battery.

Awesome pics, Zap, thanks! Any tips on removing the bottom? Did you check that CPU to see if it's socketed??? I know I'm dreaming but those i5-2467m and i7-2617m both are also 17W TDP

EDIT: Odd that Crucial shows their 9.5mm SSD will fit....anyone tried this?

You need to pop the edges after removing some screws (I think some are underneath the rubber feet). There are plastic clips every inch or two all around, plus the VGA port sticks through a hole so you have to take off the other side first.

If you leave out the rubber spacer on the HDD/SSD, you can squeeze in a 9.5mm drive but you will create a bulge. People have done this.

CULV CPUs are usually soldered on.

 

[Pardus]

Bestbuy has this laptop with a slightly bigger screen and better cpu
Samsung - Series 3 Laptop / Intel® Core™ i5 Processor / 12.5" Display / 4GB Memory - Black

 

[Roland00Address]

Awesome pics, Zap, thanks! Any tips on removing the bottom? Did you check that CPU to see if it's socketed??? I know I'm dreaming but those i5-2467m and i7-2617m both are also 17W TDP

If you go to intel's ark and type i3 2357m in you will see that all versions of this cpu are bga, bga is another way to say soldered in.

 

[cytoSiN]

Bestbuy has this laptop with a slightly bigger screen and better cpu
Samsung - Series 3 Laptop / Intel® Core™ i5 Processor / 12.5" Display / 4GB Memory - Black

For an additional $230...

 

[AkumaX]

I got this lappy the 1st time (Oct/Nov?) and yes, the battery life does suck...

I was also sad to find out (after taking it apart) that it really only does have 1 dimm slot :/

Certain SSD's will fit, preferably the ones where you can take apart the case so you can fit in the 7mm internal hdd (vs 9.5mm w/ external casing). The Intel 320 series does this, and I think the Kingston V100 also and Samsung 470 (and probably others)

You can get any SSD, but just know that the actual port itself is SATA3 (6gbs), so if you get a SATA3 you could see 500mb/s read/write speeds

 

[rsolomon]

You need to pop the edges after removing some screws (I think some are underneath the rubber feet). There are plastic clips every inch or two all around, plus the VGA port sticks through a hole so you have to take off the other side first.

Sweet, thanks! Any links to extended batteries? I'm saddened to see all the lousy battery life reports - my 6-cell Dell i7-2620m can do something like 5hrs

Richard

 

[Pardus]

For an additional $230...

Yes for an additional $230. Bigger screen and better cpu costs more obviously.

 

[rsolomon]

Yes for an additional $230. Bigger screen and better cpu costs more obviously.

Agreed, but for whatever reason, I too read your initial posting as if the Best Buy unit were *also* $350 - which is much hotter than the $580ish price IMO.

Besides the push into the almost $600 class, I would want more pixels in the 12.5" screen than the 11.6" screen to justify the cost adder. i5 worth something, but not that much to me. The 11.6" unit is appealing for the sub-$300 price (assuming you could apply the "even more awesomeness" coupon) and the tiny size - going bigger for close to double the money breaks that appeal for me. YMMV of course.

Richard

 

[Zap]

You can get any SSD, but just know that the actual port itself is SATA3 (6gbs), so if you get a SATA3 you could see 500mb/s read/write speeds

That's good to know. I'm only using an Intel G2 so no super duper speeds for me... other than being much faster than the stock Hitachi HDD.

Any links to extended batteries?

I think it uses the same batteries as the Samsung N300 or N310.

 

[AkumaX]

This battery was $47, before the 11.6" got popular..

http://www.buy.com/prod/new-laptop-b...223410359.html

I was gonna go w/ a G2 or 320 series, but got a good deal on a SATA3 drive

 

[Lucifer Lost]

Local Staples guy says shows Discontinued in their computer, so not likely to come back. Add Coupon Code #51020 if you can for more awesomeness

Richard

The 51020 coupon seems to have expired on the 17th? Is there a newer one?