Samsung CHRONOS 700z

heffo500

What do you think of this laptop?

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/product/id/1156400

Its very appealing with the VAT back offer?

Jarren

I would prefer to get directly from Amazon tbh

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Series-Chronos-Windows-Premium/dp/B006ZU55Y0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334232899&sr=8-1

Free delivery on that but the main thing is to remember that they are superb company to deal with when the things are going wrong with a product.

Money refund straight away,no questions asked.

the Sol have very good pricing on their products however in a case of your product starting to malfunction ,they usually ask you to deal with manufacturer directly.

it's always good to spend a few quid more just for a peace of mind.

heffo500

Jarren wrote: »

I would prefer to get directly from Amazon tbh

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Series-Chronos-Windows-Premium/dp/B006ZU55Y0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334232899&sr=8-1

Free delivery on that but the main thing is to remember that they are superb company to deal with when the things are going wrong with a product.

Money refund straight away,no questions asked.

the Sol have very good pricing on their products however in a case of your product starting to malfunction ,they usually ask you to deal with manufacturer directly.

it's always good to spend a few quid more just for a peace of mind.

Thanks for the reply.

I don't mind dealing with manufacturer direct as I can buy a three year warranty from Samsung for only £50 reduced from £100 from SOL. Do you think that's worth buying?

I also read that Samsung laptops are as reliable as Toshiba laptops which I currently have.

heffo500

Any more thoughts about this laptop please?

Jarren

http://www.trustedreviews.com/samsung-series-7-chronos-700z5a_Laptop_review

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/370903/samsung-700z-chronos

I never owned a Samsung laptop before so I really can't comment about the build quality,reliability etc.

Certainly it's a good deal with Vat cash back.

I'd say go for it:)

Keith186

heffo500 wrote: »

Any more thoughts about this laptop please?

Here's a good in depth review I read before, I was close to buying one but ended up getting a NP900X3B instead.

It's a good powerful sleek machine, I've seen them instore. The screen isn't great for the cost of the laptop, it's HD+ but has a small viewing angle.

If you don't need all that power check out the NP900X3B (I was going to link to the Currys model but it's gone, was €1200 (€975 with vat back) there but it's £1200 in UK.
The Ivy Bridge NP900X3C will be along soon along with a 15" version if you want to consider any of them as will an Ivy Bridge 700z.

heffo500

Thanks for the reply Keith. That review was very comprehensive and had made me think I would not be disappointed if I bought this laptop.

I want a DVD drive built in tbh.

What do you of this sony or do you think I should stick with the Samsung?

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/15_16_inch/20097755/sony_vaio_s_series_vpc_se1j1e_i5_2430m_4gb_500gb/details.aspx

It has long battery life and its very light which I thought would be good for college aswell a full hd screen.

nujeebaby

I have had a samsung R560(cost €800 from dabs.ie) for the last 3 years, i've looked after it but still havent got around to wiping the drive. My battery lasts about 2-3 hours(no sign of it degrading), the reliability is pretty good for its age, I've never had any hardware problems. the performance is still pretty good. I'm holding off til the new ivy bridges and windows 8 to upgrade and I will def get another samsung.

Keith186

heffo500 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Keith. That review was very comprehensive and had made me think I would not be disappointed if I bought this laptop.

I want a DVD drive built in tbh.

What do you of this sony or do you think I should stick with the Samsung?

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/15_16_inch/20097755/sony_vaio_s_series_vpc_se1j1e_i5_2430m_4gb_500gb/details.aspx

It has long battery life and its very light which I thought would be good for college aswell a full hd screen.

Looks alright actually but I didn't see any reviews of it.
Full HD on a 13" would probably be really small. If it was between them two I'd go for the Samsung, sounds like you really like it plus it's only 2kg so it's not too bad to carry around but will be more productive for college work I reckon, it has a full numpad compared to the Sony.

heffo500

I'm glad to hear from people who say they are a reliable laptop.

Will there be a huge difference between the Intel i7 the Samsung has and the ivy bridge processors due to be released?

I will be ordering the Samsung next friday all going well and I will give an update about it on this.

Keith186

heffo500 wrote: »

I'm glad to hear from people who say they are a reliable laptop.

Will there be a huge difference between the Intel i7 the Samsung has and the ivy bridge processors due to be released?

I will be ordering the Samsung next friday all going well and I will give an update about it on this.

Supposed to run cooler with higher speeds and an updated HD4000 graphics card built in which is 20% better than the HD3000.

For the inevitable price difference I probably wouldn't bother waiting for it as I reckon the vat back offer will be over by the time they are available.

You have the discrete GPU for gaming and the HD3000 will run 1080 youtube videos fine. There were issues with switchable graphics not working properly but a BIOS update fixed that some time ago.

Presume you are buying from SoL but make sure you don't buy the Dixons version in PC World or Currys, they have a DX at the end of the model number and have inferior specs and are still pricey.

heffo500

Keith186 wrote: »

heffo500 wrote: »

I'm glad to hear from people who say they are a reliable laptop.

Will there be a huge difference between the Intel i7 the Samsung has and the ivy bridge processors due to be released?

I will be ordering the Samsung next friday all going well and I will give an update about it on this.

Supposed to run cooler with higher speeds and an updated HD4000 graphics card built in which is 20% better than the HD3000.

For the inevitable price difference I probably wouldn't bother waiting for it as I reckon the vat back offer will be over by the time they are available.

You have the discrete GPU for gaming and the HD3000 will run 1080 youtube videos fine. There were issues with switchable graphics not working properly but a BIOS update fixed that some time ago.

Presume you are buying from SoL but make sure you don't buy the Dixons version in PC World or Currys, they have a DX at the end of the model number and have inferior specs and are still pricey.

I don't play games on my laptop so I think the Intel HD3000 will suffice. I'm buying the one I've linked in my original post. I don't think its the Dixons one. Would you mind having a look yourself just so I'm sure it's the right one.

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Keith186

That one is grand heffo. When you get it check out the owners thread over at NBR.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/631237-samsung-series-7-chronos-np700z4-np700z5-series-owners-lounge.html

heffo500

I will. i can't wait to get it now.

heffo500

Thanks for the help. I got my laptop today and I'm delighted with it. I'm surprised how light it is and the quality, it really feels like a premium laptop.

Its so much lighter than my old Toshiba Satellite Pro, I actually wont mind bring it to college.

It is a beautiful looking machine too especially with the back lit keyboard.

Word of advice to anyone getting this laptop:

• It came with the vga adapter in the box which is £40 I think on amazon.
• I bought a Zeroshock Case thats was meant to fit a macbook pro but it is too big so dont get it.
• Save on laptops have the additional three warranty from Samsung for only for only £50 (half price) which I think is great value.
• The vat back offer was easy to apply for I should have it within 30 days (It says country of purchase so I duely pick UK as I got it from SOL but they actually mean your location because your bank details wont work if you pick UK)
• If buying an laptop from Save on Laptops make sure you don't use paypal because once they say youre address is unconfirmed they cancel the order and its not possible to get it confirmed either. So dont try with paypal as I did (they closed my account and made me set up a new one as the passport scan I sent them showed them I was underage when I set up my paypal account)
• Buy your laptop with a Visa Debit Card to avoid SOL sneaky 1.5% Credit Card/Paypal surcharge which you dont see till you nearly have completed check out.

I'll report back when I get a suitable case to fit.

heffo500

I found the perfect sleeve. It says it's for a MacBook Pro but its perfect for the samsung.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Prestigio-MacBook-Pro-15-4-Sleeve-Black-Leather-Style-/280837108789?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item4163323435

Joni23

Hi Heffo, thanks for the thread, mind if i ask how the Chronos is going for you since your last post? Any problems with it? Have you tried any games?

Im considering getting one though its a little out of my budget.

heffo500

Joni23 wrote: »

Hi Heffo, thanks for the thread, mind if i ask how the Chronos is going for you since your last post? Any problems with it? Have you tried any games?

Im considering getting one though its a little out of my budget.

It's going grand start up is very fast it's about 5 seconds from pressing the button to entering your password.

The touchpad is little unpredictable tbh but that's still at the default settings and I've read i play around with the settings it works perfect its a bit hard to get used to bigger pad with no actual buttons.

The screen seems fine to me but if looking down at it when not at the perfect angle, you won't see much.

The backlit keyboard is brilliant and the battery lasts just over 8 hrs when using it in the library.

I havent played games on mine and don't intend too I've a PS3 for that I don't even use that much. There is a review earlier in this thread that shows how well it performs playing the latest games.

Joni23

heffo500 wrote: »

It's going grand start up is very fast it's about 5 seconds from pressing the button to entering your password.

The touchpad is little unpredictable tbh but that's still at the default settings and I've read i play around with the settings it works perfect its a bit hard to get used to bigger pad with no actual buttons.

The screen seems fine to me but if looking down at it when not at the perfect angle, you won't see much.

The backlit keyboard is brilliant and the battery lasts just over 8 hrs when using it in the library.

I havent played games on mine and don't intend too I've a PS3 for that I don't even use that much. There is a review earlier in this thread that shows how well it performs playing the latest games.

Cheers Heffo, sounds like it might be worth stretching the budget for it.