Hi! I received this as a gift a little over a month ago, but I wanted to wait until I became fully accustomed to it before I published a review. I really don't have much to say regarding the technical specs or functions that hasn't already been said in previous reviews, so I thought I'll outline a few tips or considerations concerning this laptop.The GPU and Catalyst Control Center:
One of the primary differences between the original Series 7 Gamer and this new one (color notwithstanding) is the inclusion of an AMD Radeon HD 7870M graphics card. Note that I previously reviewed this as having the desktop version (an AMD Radeon HD 7870, no "M" qualifier) due to an error that was originally posted by Amazon and has long since been corrected. It should also be noted that the 7870M is not as powerful as its desktop counterpart; however, in the months since I originally posted this review, I've had the opportunity to test this laptop on a variety of new and recent games.
This laptop is capable of running many games at maximum or near-maximum settings with ease, such as Borderlands 2, Civilization V, Diablo 3, Mass Effect 3, and Skyrim. (For Skyrim players: it is also easy to run Skyrim with the extra High-Res texture packs installed alongside a dozen or so graphical improvement mods.) The recent Tomb Raider reboot is gorgeous, but the TressFX details on Lara Croft's hair and some of the weather or particle effects can unfortunately cause some slowdown. However, I find it perfectly smooth at medium-to-high settings. Bioshock Infinite also runs beautifully, though if I recall, I left a few settings turned down moderately, like AA and Anisotropic filtering. Most of the other settings were high or ultra, however.
I do want to apologize for not correcting my error for so long. I don't often think to log in to Amazon unless I'm planning to purchase something, but I still should have fixed my mistake so as not to be misleading.
That GPU output is one of my primary affections for this machine. However, as a long-time Nvidia user, I was slightly concerned to begin using an AMD card. Safe to say, I love this one as if it were my firstborn child. Like Nvidia, it includes a GPU management software, known as Catalyst Control Center.
Unlike Nvidia's card management software, however, Catalyst (hereafter referred to as C3) seems to be either hugely functional or hugely irritating, depending on how much of a power-user you are and how invested you are in managing it. Several of these options:
-PowerPlay. This can be enabled or disabled with one click. When enabled, your settings are separated between battery and plugged-in profiles. There are only two options for each: maximize performance or maximize battery life. By default, I believe both are set to logical choices (battery profile maximizes battery, plugged-in profile maximizes performance). However, I encountered an odd situation the other day where my plugged-in profile had been set to maximize battery life unbeknownst to me. This setting dramatically reduces GPU output and was killing my FPS in games. It's this simple setting change that I want to point out in case others encounter random or unexpected performance drops with this laptop.
-C3 also allows for the customization or override of program settings, to force VSync or other desirable graphics enhancements. However, another tricky setting lies here: The "Catalyst A.I." This is under the Gaming tab of C3, and is found next to "Texture Filtering Quality" and "Surface Format Optimization". Catalyst A.I., from what I understand, has been known to cause issues with some games in regards to framerate. However, it cannot be explicitly "disabled" (ignore Surface Format Optimization, as that is not the troublemaker) via a checkbox, and there's no information in C3 explaining all of this. Catalyst A.I. has three settings on a sliding bar. From L-R, Performance, Quality, and High Quality. Logically, one might assume that performance would disable Catalyst A.I. and free up the system's resources, yes? Unfortunately, no. To actually disable Catalyst A.I. and force better performance, stick the slider in the middle to Quality. Again, trying to save you a little bit of headache and frustrating Google searches here, because I discovered the hard way that it can place unexpected demands on the machine for no discernible graphics improvement.
Some other notes unrelated to the GPU and C3:
-The dial is useful. I wondered if I'd end up using the dial a whole lot or if I'd simply leave the laptop in gaming mode, but I use it quite frequently. After a month of ownership, it's still actually fun to switch into gaming mode and watch the keyboard lights switch to blue and red. However, one thing to note is that if you allow the gaming mode screensaver and effects to display (which they do, by default, but can be easily changed), the effect will sometimes lag or take a frustratingly long time to display if you're currently running other programs or switch to gaming mode while already in a game. This can usually be avoided by simply switching when you're actually ready to play a game and closing unneeded background processes (as any gamer knows to do, anyway).
-The power presets are all pretty much spot on. Switching the dial to power-saving mode can produce a modest 2.5-3.0 hour battery life with a relatively high brightness, PowerPlay set to "maximize battery", and constant internet usage. However, if you're like me and like to do offline tasks like writing or viewing movies or something, you can disconnect (turning off Wi-Fi via a setting or pressing the convenient Airplane Mode sensor/button on the top of the keyboard) and/or lower the brightness a bit. I've seen a battery life that could potentially reach 4.5-5.0 hours this way. Given the power of this beauty, that's impressive to me, if admittedly substandard for most laptops. Just keep this in mind when you buy a dedicated gaming laptop, or consider a potentially expensive but worthwhile investment in a high-capacity battery.
-DON'T BE INTIMIDATED BY WINDOWS 8. I cannot stress enough how wasteful it would be to miss out on a high-functioning, powerful laptop simply because you have heard bad things about the OS. Personally, I dislike most of Windows 8, but I appreciate a few tweaks and upgrades. It's designed for touchscreens, which is its primary failing, as this (and most) laptops do not have touch-sensitive monitors. However, the interface, while obtrusive sometimes and difficult to navigate if you're coming from Windows 7, is slick and modern. It doesn't take that long to learn it, either. There's the "App" View, which functions as the start menu (there's no traditional start menu), and the Desktop View, which is as it sounds. Both can be rapidly switched by merely pointing the mouse at the bottom left corner of the screen. I spend 99% of my time in Desktop View because it's more convenient, and frankly, Windows 8 apps are too unstable right now. I would love to use the Internet Explorer app over a regular browser -if it was stable and as fast as a browser. It's currently not. The Netflix app also fails to load regularly. But they're apps. They're broken right now, but could be remedied in the future. Until then, use a computer like a computer. Download your own browser. Ignore the apps, or remove them. Seriously, do not overlook this laptop solely for Windows 8.
-Future-proofing.
1. Dual USB 3.0 slots on the left side. I literally giggled when I transferred large files from a USB 3.0 external HDD to my laptop. I'm talking about 90 megabytes a second or higher transfer speeds. Gigabytes of data in under a minute. Consider that most movies run 2GB to even 10GB for high-def and you'll see how crucial that can be if you have an external storage device. A machine without USB 3.0 is going to piss you off at some point.
2. A Blu-Ray drive. From my research a month ago, it's surprisingly difficult to find a decent gaming laptop bundled with a BD Drive for under $2k. Seriously, go look. Most options included "build your own" laptops from Sony or HP wherein you could add a BD Drive for $50+, but those options were limited to, at best, a GeForce 660M GPU. That card is ranked 89th on that same chart I linked above. It would not be future-proofed for games.
3. a 120Hz screen. I'm a little surprised how little this is advertised. Look at this laptop's Amazon page and you won't find this mentioned anywhere. It mentions it's 3D-capable (and most displays need to be 120Hz to do so), but it doesn't mention the refresh rate anywhere. Guess what? It's 120Hz. That's in comparison to standard or even many high-def TV refresh rates of 60Hz. The higher rate means smoother, faster, better-looking images. It's also a small if significant selling point if anyone needs convincing about the merits of a gaming laptop.
4. 3D capability. I'm still researching this myself, since I currently lack the 3D glasses to test it, but it's clearly advertised as 3D-capable. Some tips I learned from a new friend here on Amazon under the questions page for this machine is that in order to display 3D, you need Bluetooth-enabled, Active shutter glasses, like the Samsung SSG-3100GB or Samsung SSG-3050GB. Infrared is not capable. Just keep it in mind.
Also, a minor disappointment: this laptop is bundled with PowerDVD 10. Supposedly, according to Cyberlink (the maker of PowerDVD), some versions of PowerDVD 10 can play 3D Blu-Ray videos. My version apparently cannot. I had to upgrade to PowerDVD 12, though if you upgrade before January 15th, I believe their New Years' Sale will still be in effect, and you can purchase PowerDVD 12 Ultra (the 3D enabled one) for $39.99 instead of its typical outlandish $99.99. I hope this doesn't appear to be "marketing" or anything, as I'm not affiliated with them. I'm just pointing a tip to enjoy this laptop to its fullest.
5. As noted by another reviewer, there are extra RAM slots. The 8GB can be upgrade to 16GB easily.
6. Somewhat misleadingly, this laptop is labeled as having 1TB of storage. It does, but that is divided into two 500GB hard drives (and an additional SSD that is used as an express cache to speed up the system's boot process). The upside to this is that one 500GB HDD could be removed and replaced, as several other reviewers noted and did, with a moderate capacity SSD to further enhance the system and OS speed, and raise the Windows Experience Index. This also aids in future-proofing the computer.
Known Issues:
-I've experienced the "lock-up on restart" issue many times. The computer shuts down and starts up fine, but frequently freezes when a simple restart is initiated. The only solution I've seen is to force shutdown by holding the power button. Extremely frustrating if minor bug.
-It seems to take a long time to ramp up for certain games. When switching to gaming mode and launching Diablo III, I frequently experience a moderate period of graphical lag as the system adjusts its speed to handle the game. Other games, Skyrim for example, I can launch and run perfectly as you would expect. It may be worth noting as well that I use several graphical enhancement mods with Skyrim and can still achieve fantastic framerates.
-Support is pretty slim right now due to how brand new this yellow spinoff model is. This will improve as more updates and such are released in time.
In conclusion:
This was a gift for me, but I was the one who picked it out. The night prior, I spent 5-6 hours delving into various companies' websites, Amazon's Black Friday deals, GPU benchmark and research info, and so forth. 6 hours of research to ensure I was able to find a laptop that would not only play today's games perfectly, but have the necessary technology to last for at least 3 years. This one has, by and large, the absolute best graphics card you will find on any current laptop under the $2,000 mark. I wasn't willing to look at laptops over that mark, but from memory I think an Alienware that ran $2,100-$2,200 was the closest competitor. Considering this laptop can be had for ~$700 less than that, I think it's remarkably potent. I genuinely would like to receive a message from anyone who believes they've found an all-around more powerful gaming laptop for under $2,000 within the next few months.
If you can't do that, buy this one.
I've tested the gaming performance by installing Medal of Honor-Warfighter and on high-quality and at 1080p it is as smooth and pretty as my gaming desktop. I was originally thinking that 8gb of memory was a little weak requiring a quick upgrade. I'm happy to say that after using this machine that there's no bottleneck whatsoever that I can see. The keyboard is backlit beautifully and is really easy to see in a dark room. In "gaming mode" I like how the WASD keys light up red. These same four buttons also are indented on top so you can feel them without looking. Nice product, Samsung.
UPDATE:
Almost 3 months in and I still love the machine. The only downside at all is Samsung's proprietary software that is amateurish at best. The software update program is a joke; the Bluetooth driver update fails install every time as does the Samsung recovery program. A major annoyance is that after deleting all Norton software from the machine the update utility is constantly reminding me to update the Norton software. Luckily, Samsung doesn't control the Microsoft updates to Windows 8 or there'd be a major fiasco! Minor annoyances and overall still satisfied.
Buy Samsung Series 7 Gamer NP700G7C-T01US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Yellow) Now
This review is for the NP700G7C T01(YELLOW) model.I was searching for a computer to replace my Samsung NP-RC512-S02, I was really just browsing to see what was out there and had not even set my mind on buying another pc until I ran across this beauty. I consider myself a laptop enthusiast, i absolutely love great laptops. For the purpose of this review I will also reference and compare it to the Samsung NP700G7C-S01 and S02 Gamer(Black) models and Toshiba Qosmio X875-Q7380.
First I will write the positives about this laptop:
++ Aesthetic This laptop is absolutely gorgeous, better looking than the photos. The top is shiny and sparkly, I really don't know what material is used in producing these laptops other than the hard plastic and brushed aluminum used to create the bottom half of the item. Normally I would not factor in how a system looks too much as a part of the decision making for buying one but this laptop is stunningly nice. The 1080p display is also amazing, I have a Samsung 46" LED TV because I believe they make the best display and they certainly carried the quality over into their laptops.
++ Graphics I have owned 2 desktop and about 8 laptops prior to this one (I still have the Samsung NP-RC512-S02 model) and not a single one of them have had ATI Radeon graphics. Normally I am very comfortable with NVidia because I have used them for so long and know their what to expect..that said, the display on this laptop is the BEST I have ever seen! I have only installed a few of my PC games on here and have ran them all at Max settings. This computer handles them with absolutely no problems at all.
Game settings and FPS:
Age of Empires 3 on high setting ran @ 65 FPS
Starcraft 2 on high settings ran @ 108 FPS. (Vertical sync off)
World of Warcraft MOP on high setting ran @ 108 FPS.
Resident Evil 5 on high setting ran @ 70 FPS.
(I will update this later when I have finished playing more games that I can monitor FPS at high setting, SC2 is one of my favorite games to benchmark a system on.)
++ Performance i7 @ 2.40Ghz to -> 3.40Ghz in turbo, I shouldn't really even have to say anything here, its awesome. I use my laptop for everyday use as well as gaming and converting videos to upload to the web. When I play games my pc is always the first to load. Converting videos are way quicker than on my other laptop as-well. And the express cache technology is very nice for speeding up load times and boot times, but I still plan to replace the main storage with an SSD.
++ Sound Normally I would expect a crap sound system with a great laptop, for some reason manufacturers always slack in one area, but this isn't the area on this laptop. My friend has a laptop with Dre Beats built in, and while her laptop has a louder sound, mines are much more acoustic and clear.
++ Turbo-cooling fans This is easily the biggest reason (out of several) I bought this laptop over the Toshiba Qosmio X875-Q7380, actually it might be the biggest reason I bought the laptop period. When the laptop is set to gaming mode the 2 turbo-cooling fans keep your laptop running cool. I have my laptop placed upon a cooling pad but decided to run several games in gaming mode without using the cooling fan to see how it performs. It never once got very hot like most laptops normally do (of course most standard laptops aren't made for gaming). I have to really give Samsung credit for this turbo-cooling feature. One of my biggest annoyances with common laptops is how hot graphic cards run during games or how hot hard drives get with moving data. This laptop has never come anywhere close to getting that warm. I am absolutely elated at how well this feature works. And because of it I plan to buy another one of these to gift to my gf in several months. Also, unlike the Toshiba Qosmio X875-Q7380 which has the heat vents on the right side of the laptop where most people would have their right hand and their mouse, this one has dual heat vents on both ends at the back of the laptop. When I run my hands across the vents I actually feel cool air coming out.
++ Other positives
Backlit keyboard is very nice, white LED backlit in balance mode and blue led backlit in gaming mode with red back lights for the WASD keys.
Quality AC adapter. It fits securely into the laptop, I don't imaging this will be one of those that will eventually start slipping out of the laptop ect. I have had problems with crappy adapters on certain laptops in the past.
Now as far as negatives go, I have none for this laptop. But I would have preferred to have it come with Windows 7 instead of Windows 8 because now I have to downgrade and unfortunately Samsung's website does not have the right drivers for this model on their website. I know this because their display driver for this yellow model is an NVidia on their website. (NVidia graphics are in the other NP700G7C model laptops, but not this one) And all the drivers for this model on their website are Windows 7 drivers. I had a talk with a tech for about an hour explaining to him that the drivers were incorrect. I believe he sent it up to another department after finally realize what I was telling him and now Samsung has an Alert for Windows 8 drivers but still no ATI Radeon driver so I am convinced they still haven't paid enough attention to the difference in the yellow gamer model.
Edit: I installed WIN 7 Home, but even if you go to AMD's website you can't get the video card driver (it will say your hardware is not compatible), you have to go here and download Samsung Easy Software Manager then use this model and select windows 8 for the AMD graphics driver:Final Comments:
If you are on the fence about this laptop, let me be the first to tell you, the grass is green here, very green. Considering Amazon is selling this baby for just $1299 (20% off still!) Its a no brainier for any enthusiasts. When I first got the laptop the first thing I did was flip it over and see what potential upgrades I could do. The 2 HDDs are nice and carefully mounted and there is 2 empty ram slots for 1600MHz DDR3 ram. Which means the other 2 ram are already 4GBs sticks as this laptop comes with 8gbs. Why pay almost $1800 for the S01 or S02 model, just because they have 8GB more ram, 500GB more harddrive space and NVidia graphics instead of ATI? Hah, you can buy genuine new samsung 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz kit for $55 on Samsung's site or $40 elsewhere. And you can buy 1 Terabyte drives on amazon for $50. So another $100 will bring this laptop to 16GB ram and 1.5TB hdd just as easy, and personally after seeing how the ATI performs, I will always consider them if and when I purchase a system in the future. Hope this review helps anyone considering this wonderful machine!
Edit: I ordered another 8GBs for just $40 and got them the day before Christmas and popped them right into the 2 empty slots(installed in about 5 mins now my system has 16GBs RAM), also I installed a 120GB SSD drive and Windows 7 home. Finding the correct drivers for this machine on Win7 takes more searching unless you get SW update from Samsung and use search model. This machine went from being amazing to just being insane. Windows index score gives it a 7.4 now thanks to the SSD upgrade, the PC boots in less than 6 seconds from a cold start and Chrome and other programs launch and run very fast. I can't stress it enough, with the money you save getting this over the S01 or S02 model, the upgrades are a great addition. I plan to get one of the 2 Terabyte HDD off Amazon for the secondary drive soon. I am still very impressed the most with how cool this system is, the turbo-cooling feature is just amazing for people who will use their PCs very often for task heavy processes.
Read Best Reviews of Samsung Series 7 Gamer NP700G7C-T01US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Yellow) Here
I have been buying computers since the VIC-20 in the early eighties and I am also a Project Coordinator in IT (I coordinate the Developers, Vendors, Customers, and Hardware Guru's). I only state this information so you know the choice of purchasing this laptop is not a hit and miss situation for me, it was a very well thought out and researched process to include some of the countries top developers and IT people.I am purchasing this Samsung laptop on Friday and I know I am getting what I expect out of this laptop because I know how to do the proper research. I have learned how to do that by trial and error since the 80's. First you have to realize what a fanboy and a fanboy website is. You have to take into consideration what you will be doing with your computer whenever you buy and you have to be able to identify reviews from a fanboy when you come across one.
With that said, and after I have surfed the internet for 2 months, This Samsung Gamer laptop is going to be the biggest bang for your buck in the year 2012-mid 2013. Why? Because gaming computers and consoles are getting ready for a substantial change as we head into the Unreal Engine 4.0 and Next Gen gaming by mid 2014. So, that means a laptop like this one is going to be perfectly good with it's memory and graphics card for a good 3 years yet as it takes awhile for game programmers to get the ball rolling when the Unreal Engine is released and all the other designers follow suite. So, longevity should be a KEY factor when you decide to purchase a computer. The second KEY factor associated with that knowledge and research is price. This one is middle of the road. All the other laptops available heading into 2013 are overpriced. This one has the middle of the road graphics card that is going to get you through for the next 3 years and put you in a spot where you will get beautiful games up on your screen. No video cards more powerful than the AMD Radeon 7870M or Nvidia GTX 675M is going to make a difference except in your wallet. The way games are being designed and the power they are able to put into them is coming to a close in the industry. If anyone tells you different it's because they spent that extra money on the latest and greatest graphics card and want to justify the price, or they are being paid royalties in one form or another by the two video card companies to promote their products. Believe me, I have spent countless hours in discussions over these kind of issues and anything above those two graphics cards I just mentioned will bottle neck...meaning you can't get the full power. Graphics Card companies have been doing that since the beginning of time for Graphics Cards. ALWAYS go middle of the road. Too far forward or too far back you will always have a piece of equipment you can't get the full potential from. You can have all the horsepower in the world in your car that you want, but the fact remains the speed limit is 70. Break that limit very much and you will be jailed or crash and burn. Well, video cards are no different. They make fast video cards but the processor, memory, and chipset ALL work in conjunction with each other and they WILL hold up the full power of that Video Card as the four different industries never have and never will advance at the same rate in technology. This is why AMD bought out ATI and Nvidia then had to follow suite to keep up a stance in the industry. Both video card companies are now in the industry for chipsets and processors to get around this bottle neck issue that has been beating on them since the 90's. Though they still have bottle neck issues at the memory side. I have owned a laptop and a desktop computer that was all AMD and used both for over 7 years. But I think the days of technology stretching that far is over as hardware/software companies now compete with cell phones and tablets.
Blu-Ray. Search all you want on the internet and come back here showing me a beast like this laptop that has it, for under $1400. (Christmas 2012 Amazon had this on sale for $1300.00)
Samsung did an excellent job at providing you with the proper software to get the best quality from movies via great software that grabs updates from the Samsung Website automatically. Excellent video on this laptop over quite a few other laptops specifically designed to address movie quality.
3D. Would MUCH rather utilize 3D over the new retina display. I happen to already own IR 3D equipment with transmitter for my HD 3D TV, so if you like 3D Movies, especially Blu-Ray 3D movies as much as I do, this is the creme of the crop when traveling with your laptop and watching movies at night in the hotel. The ability to transmit the screen to a TV is also a huge plus in this arena. You can do that quite nicely for 70 bucks by purchasing the Belkin ScreenCast TV Adapter for Intel Wireless Display. Yes, Amazon sells that too, but this method will not make an ordinary HDTV 3D compatible, you must transmit to a 3D TV to be able to see your movie or game in 3D. This laptop also has more than enough memory to handle Adobe Products for creating Graphics and Video as I like to do myself as a Freelance Technical Writer, which also means it handles 3D games and movies without problems. You will need 3D Glasses that are a 3D Active Signal and Bluetooth 4.0 Technology. Two very important issues for you to know so take note of that. Radio Signal (RF), Infrared (IR), and Passive 3D Glasses will not work on this model. I ordered the following glasses which you can purchase here at Amazon: Samsung SSG-3100GB 3D Active Glasses Black (Only Compatible with 2011 3D TVs) and these glasses would not work either. They are advertised here on Amazon as Bluetooth but the RF Signal is locked in at a 2.4 Ghz frequency, which means they are specific to only certain devices made by Samsung and not universal for Next Generation Bluetooth 4.0 as this laptop is equipped with. While Bluetooth 4.0 is backward compatible with older devices, when it comes to 3D Glasses they take on a whole different world of compatibility apart from other Bluetooth Devices. At the moment, the only pair I can find that will work are from Samsung only and they cost $176.00 including shipping. I am doing research on this issue and will update this review when completed. That part number is BA67-00370A and it is available only on the Samsung Parts Website at the time of this writing, which is samsungparts.com. Please note that is J&J Parts out of New Jersey which is an authorized dealer in Samsung parts. Shipping is slow and expensive for fast. (Hint Amazon.com!)
In addition to the glasses, you will need one of the following software TriDef 3D Portal or CyberLink PowerDVD 12. This laptop comes with a free version of PowerDVD 10 and does not support 3D. You may upgrade at the time of this writing to version 12 for 40 dollars, you also get more than just PowerDVD with that upgrade, it's actually their Ultimate Bundle. The movie or game must also be in full screen mode as 3D does not work if the software is in window mode. Tidbit: I use PowerDVD 12 because it has an app for iPhone and Android that is a remote control app and you can control the software from your cell phone, which comes in very handy during presentations.
Windows 8. I love it but you know, ever since Windows XP I have really not been concerned with Windows. I have been using a program from a Software Company called Stardock for years. It changes the look and feel of any Microsoft Operating System and they have done it again with Start8/Decor8. That link I am not able to post as the Amazon rules won't allow it, but you can simply Google Search Start8 and Decor8 and it will show up. Just make sure you are on Stardocks website. If you don't like that to customize Windows XP-8, I have saved my favorite Developer Kit for last. Google Search "Rainmeter". Rainmeter.net has brought me hours of great customization to any Windows Operating System and it really gives Windows 8 a complete makeover in desktop mode. Warning, you either must be able to understand light scripting or willing to learn. There are skins available you can run without too much customizing, but to get the full power from Rainmeter you will want to customize your OS to your liking and personal use. Very hard to explain this program, just go to rainmeter.net and do FULL research on it before you download it if this is something that intrigues you. It really is cool having your custom "look" to your Operating System and makes people wonder, "what the heck" when they see. I've dazzled many people with it and made OS X (Mac) users very jealous. I strongly suggest you go to the Forums on the website and find "Show Your Desktop" thread. From there you can see what people are doing with this program to change how Windows 7/8 looks and works. The integration with Xbox Live Media is a HUGE plus and there are some very nice apps available like ESPN, Netflix, Google...etc.
Sound: This laptop certainly has reviews where people like the sound, and I do as well, but if you are not satisfied I own the Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB Audio System with THX SB1095 and you can get that for 55 bucks. That bad boy will take the crappiest sounding laptop and turn it into an audio beast. I can make the windows shake in the house with that....from a laptop! Know that I also own a Harmon Kardon Stereo to make that happen though. Even still, this device makes headphones rock. Another set of headphones that I really like and are hard to beat even from $300-$500 sets; they are the Ear Force X11 Amplified Stereo Headset with Chat Manufacturer Refurbished and are equipped with 40mm drivers. A HUGE plus from any headset.
Lastly; store demo. I can not stress enough how important it is to get your hands on a live demo of a computer whether it be from a friend or in a store like Best Buy or Costco....unless, maybe the laptop has been well documented in reviews, on sites like Amazon; as well as this laptop has. This particular laptop has some of the best reviews and info posted of any laptop on Amazon.com.
Good luck in whatever choice you may make in the near future for a Gamer Laptop. But with this one, you can most definitely Frag The Weak and Hurdle The Dead. This is most surely the best laptop for a writer/designer/gamer/developer and have no doubt this will bring me lots of fun on my business travels and spare time at home for quite a few years to come. If not, trust me, you will hear back from me on this issue as I do update my reviews if I find anything bogus with the product.
Update 01.A
A) I ordered this computer on the Friday I mentioned in my early review. Standby for more information as I shipped it next day and it will be here on Saturday....and yes, I have that much faith in Amazon and know it will be here.
B) Plugged in my Mamba 2012 Elite Ergonomic Wireless Gaming Mouse and my Zalman ZM-RS6F-USB Virtual 5.1-Channel USB Stereo Headphones tonight, some equipment I had left over from an old Frag Box I used; to attend LAN Parties. The Zalmans are pretty good and give most $200 gaming headsets a run for their money. They are hard to beat even today. I bought them for like $90 but you can catch them on sale for $30 here on Amazon in the USB version (Which I prefer Audio jacks over USB). The sound on this laptop rocks as it is with a good set of headphones like these. But like I pointed out above, once you get the Sound Blaster USB Audio and Drivers installed with all its software, it REALLY turns this laptop into an Audio Beast that will make ALL Audiophiles like me happy campers (Dude! Skrillex? LMAO...OMG Bra).
C) Video Card is awesome with no hick-ups on my games after putting in some serious hours online. Only had the laptop for a few days on this report though. For all the gamers who already have this machine...GAME ON ! OMG it's better than I even thought.
1c) Black Ops II is insane with all video settings maxed out! I spent way too much time online last night with this game. 10:30pm-5:00am. Get the Razer Game Booster for an even better experience. Google it.
D) The Touchpad has a sensor feature on it similar to Xbox 360 Power Switch. You move your hand over the interactive Touchpad and it wakes up the computer. You can set the sensitivity on this. I think it's cool but an even better option you have in the settings is that you can set the Touchpad to completely shut down when you have a USB device plugged in. This allows you to stay in typing fields better and not jump the cursor all over the screen. Pretty cool.
E) Another option I like is you can set the power brick to only charge the laptop battery to 80%. What this does is allow you to have a better battery life from your laptop battery. It's never a good idea to leave your laptop fully charged and plugged into the wall all the time, but with this feature, you can do that without harming the battery. If you know you need a 100% from your battery, simply change the setting about 1-2 hours at the minimum before required use is expected.
F) Finding the correct 3D Glasses to pair with this laptop is a real pain! I have notified Amazon of this problem and hopefully they are working to change this issue.
G) Late update: As with the case any time a new roll out of an Operating System takes place, it's a good idea to keep the older one around for a year or two. Old IT trick. If I forgot anything in this review, please forgive me. I am so far advanced with computer stuff it's sometimes hard for me to revert back to the basics and I forget things that are basic at times. 2 Golden rules of computing, keep your older versions handy of ANY software, backup frequently.
Now, after you have read all that. With the money you saved, go get ya' some Pizza. See below for a new section I am adding to this review, while I eat me some Pizza.
Top Tech Tips For Samsung Series 7 Gamer: (You can Google these apps)
1) Install Belarc Advisor
2) Install Mr. Tech Systray
3) Install LoJack
4) Install Nortons 360
5) Get you an app from Google Play Market or iTunes App Store to see your laptop webcam from your phone (Usually 5 bucks)
Want Samsung Series 7 Gamer NP700G7C-T01US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Yellow) Discount?
This is a sweet ride. For reference, my previous laptop (lost in a fire) was the ASUS G50v, a great system for the price. And then there was this house fire, see...I have to start by pointing out how nice the keyboard feels. Yes, the down arrow (#2) is a bit funky, but the rest is very definite and doesn't feel as "laptoppy" as I have been used to. Precise, but also a reasonably deep throw and no key cap edges grabbing my fingers. Looks great too, but I don't do as much late night gaming as I used to. The light level is adjustable, which is nice.
Video card isn't the full 7900M series card you're dreaming of, but it plays games just fine. The 7000 M series are all downclocked 6000 series desktop chips so get used to it, you're not getting the raw performance anyway. Just accept 'pretty good' performance and enjoy it. It's good enough. The 120Hz refresh rate means you can play your games with vsync on and honestly that makes even a 40Hz refresh rate game look great. Really it does. And it makes 3D possible, [updated] but ONLY if you play on an external HDMI monitor. I just got off the phone with Samsung and you can not play Stereo 3D games on the computer itself. This is not available as an upgrade, also. So if you're really excited about the possibility of playing stereo 3D games, you might want to be excited about a different computer.
Disposes of heat beautifully.
1 Terabyte of hard drive? Yes, you get it, but it's two 500G disks. So if you were hoping to add an SSD drive, plan on pulling one of the hard drives. Not a deal, but I got my hopes up. Don't. :)
Windows 8 isn't as bad as you think. Sometimes it's annoying, but it lets me run my games. When it stops doing that, it's going in the trash bin.
It looks great. It's like a 50's vacuum cleaner from space. And that's a good thing. My geek friends are jealous.
Hardcore overclocking gamers will be sad to see that there are very few options in the BIOS, and the AMD video options are limited. I don't even know which video card I'm using right now as I type this--I know the integrated graphics are present. But I guess I just don't care. Frankly, the Samsung apps are reasonably unintrusive, and I think their preset "blended performance" "gaming" etc presets are adequate so I'm not messing with it. CPU is hardly the bottleneck for modern gaming anyway. Still I do miss the fine grained control.
But in the end Samsung has made a good set of hardware control apps that are low overhead, sensible, and give me the feeling that they're choosing good settings for my use modes, so I'm actually happy with the out-of-the-box presets. It's a really nice box at a great price. And it's orange. Buy one now before they go back to selling dark grey laptops.
Samsung has made a great system here. Wondering if this is a one-off system, or if they're planning to be a major player in laptop gaming systems?
[Edit]
I can't leave without saying how much I love the trackpad. Sure, when I game I use a mouse, but it's a HUGE touchpad with a very predictable set of buttons and, get this, you can a) toggle the touchpad off with a dedicated function combination and b) configure the touchpad (and windows key) to automatically turn off in the "game mode" preset. Seriously it's a nice package. Somebody at Samsung actually plays games for fun on their own products. That's the only conclusion I can come to. Let's hope that person keeps gaming and gets promoted.
[orange edit]
I have a navel orange here, and this computer is pretty much exactly the same color. It's not so much yellow as ORANGE. In fact, the top is also a metallic finish. It looks pretty amazing, but if you expect it to be more yellowish like in the pictures you'll be surprised. So if you want to preview the color, take a picture of a navel orange, and photoshop that color into the picture. :)
[pro audio edit]
If you disable the drivers for the wifi and pull out the battery, DPC latency stays in the green, making this suitable for low latency pro audio. You can leave the battery in if you use larger I/O buffers (just for DAW recording). The wifi drivers are a problem, so plan on disabling that. (Used in combination with a focusrite 18i6 in the USB2 ports.)
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