Samsung, being a leader in many electronics markets, is not too known for their laptops. Surely, they make notebooks, but few other manufacturers are way bigger than them. But this doesn’t stop the company from putting out quality notebooks now and then. This kind of computer seems to be Samsung NP900X5N-L01US – despite it being a very new release the unit has already received positive response around Internet. Here is my take on it!
Performance
The Samsung NP900X5N-L01US does not suffer from bad performance, and definitely not in the processor section. It is occupied by Intel Core i7-7500U, a late 2016 Kaby Lake – 7th generation – dual core model. The clock speed on this processor is 2.7GHz, but it will be higher thanks to turbo taking the frequency to 3.5GHz. The i7-7500U is quite a mid-range processor compared to other units, it getting ~5300 points in the popular CPU Mark test.
There is a single drive in the laptop, a M.2 PCIe/NVMe SSD with 256GB storage capacity. Many questions have been asked about the possibility to upgrade it, and I answer yes, you can upgrade the drive. You probably need to remove many parts, like the laptop bottom for that, but surely changing the drive is possible if you know what you are doing.
The system has 8GB DDR4 RAM and it’s soldered in place. In another words, you can not upgrade the memory. However, in my opinion, this won’t affect most users as eight gigabytes is still plenty in 2017 – and will be for the next few years, if you ask me.
Gaming
This particular model, the Samsung NP900X5N-L01US, doesn’t come with a dedicated graphics card – only Intel HD 620 which is integrated on the processor. If you want the one with dedicated graphics (940MX), click the laptop photo above and choose another version on Amazon. Anyway, this version’s graphics engine isn’t too fast, the HD 620 being able to run most games on low to medium settings. For more demanding ones such as GTA 5, you’d need low settings and resolution to get around 30FPS. On the other hand, types like World of Warcraft and CS: Go run with better frames even on this rig.
Video
Ports and interfaces
Samsung NP900X5N-L01US has a pretty good selection of ports. The number of USB ports is four, with one being USB 2.0, two USB 3.0 and one USB Type-C. The last one supports up to 5Gbps transfer rates (a darn fast speed), 4K HDMI support with an adapter and also charging of the notebook. The laptop also has a full-sized, dedicated HDMI output if you don’t want to use adapters with the USB Type-C.
You won’t find an optical drive on this model, instead buy one that connects to USB if discs are a must for you. The notebook also has microSD card slot – you can use that for either expanding the local storage or transferring files a handy way.
The way of the wireless is excellent in this model. There is Intel 8260 WiFi adapter installed with support for 802.11ac 2×2 standard and Bluetooth 4.1. For sure, Ethernet port is nonexistent, but cheap USB to RJ-45 dongles are sold to help you in that!
Screen
Samsung NP900X5N-L01US has a neat 15.6″ screen with 1920×1080 resolution. People who bought this computer seem to like it for image sharpness and all. Because the panel type is IPS this hype can be understood – such panel often has good quality and colors. It should also be quite a bright screen, with normal luminance being 350 nits and outdoor mode of sweet 500 nits. Touch isn’t supported.
Miscellaneous benefits
Samsung NP900X5N-L01US uses a 6-cell 66Wh 5800mAh battery for the power when not plugged in. From what I can gather it lasts very long: users are talking about ten hours for web surfing, text editing and all. I think it’s an integrated battery but if it lasts this long, I see no good reasons to change it anyway.
The notebook body is made of aluminum, although some people say it looks like a plastic shell (it is not).
Good reasons to buy this?
The overall performance is great. It’s hard to throttle a 7th Generation Core i7 processor and a PCI-e based solid-state drive, what do you think?
There is USB Type-C port which has many functions, such as charging. In fact, because of the new technology you can charge the laptop faster than using the traditional power socket on most notebooks.
If you enjoy excellent battery life this laptop is for you. It will surely last a full day at office or school without being connected to power socket. And there will even be some juice left afterwards, I think.
Good reasons to skip this?
This exact model isn’t known for gaming performance. The integrated Intel HD 620 is only good for very lightweight gaming. Instead, choose the another version of this model (with GeForce 940MX) if you are a player!
Summing it up
Samsung NP900X5N-L01US is a premium ultrabook with high battery life, Kaby Lake processor and a fast solid-state drive. The screen also receives extra points as many users praise it for good colors and crispness. In fact, there are not too many blunders I could find. Other than being a bit pricey, this Samsung is everything a person after not only fast, but stylish, laptop would want. If that is you, why not check the Samsung out further?
