Q70 Graphics Card Change/Error?

[Caspar_Esq.]

according to this review (http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3806)

"the nVidia control panel reports the GPU as the 8400M G with 128MB of dedicated memory and not the 8400M GS as suggested by some sources."

Well thats a bit odd because according to Samsung's website (http://www.samsung.com/uk/products/m...Specifications)
it is indeed a GS, and I even called them to check.

Has Samsung changed the card since this review, or is the reviewer mistaken? Anybody know? Its quite significant really, not just in terms of possible errors but because the two cards are of a very different quality.

[John Ratsey]

I think it is more likely that Samsung UK have got their specs wrong but there is a small possibility that the GPU has been upgraded without spreading the word. Samsung Germany think the Q70 still has the 8400M G.

You could buy one to find out what is inside. If it isn't the GS then you send it back.

I'm also going to move this thread to the Samsung forum where it is more likely to be noticed by someone who can clarify.

John

[Caspar_Esq.]

It wouldn't be the first time a manufacturer has got their own specs wrong, but really its a bit unnacceptable if this is the case. Somebody sue them over trades descriptions!

Hopefully someone can clarify this, as you say considering their official information is variable, the only way to know is to buy one.

[John Ratsey]

I think my Q70 review contains a hint of uncertainty about what would be in the box. It took several weeks to find out what type the missing wireless card should have been.

Late last year we who bought the X60plus discovered that it contained the X1700 and not the X1600. It took Samsung UK several weeks to agree that this change. However, they never agreed that the HDD was 120GB and not the advertised 100GB. Hindsight says that we would have been better of with the X1600.

So past experience suggests that Samsung UK can get the specs wrong. However, they are normally behind everyone else. It is possible that the Q70 specs have changed (perhaps Nvidia have stopped producing the 8400M G) and this time Samsung UK is one step ahead.

John

[John Ratsey]

I've made a couple of checks and it seems that the Q70s which people have recently got have the 8400M G. However, the possibility that Samsung have upgraded the GPU without telling the retailers cannot be discounted. This would be a rare occasion when the specs on the website are more up-to-date than the product currently shipping.

John

[Caspar_Esq.]

Doesn't look to hopeful though does it? If they are known for getting things wrong, this just may well be another case of the same.

Even if you were able to confirm that the card was not as advertised after purchase, how would you get them to admit that? Or do anything about it?

This is lame because I was banking on the Q70 being the next best alternative to the M1330 which I can't wait so long for...

[John Ratsey]

You are entitled to return purchases under the distance selling legislation if you are not satisfied. You may find that the Q70 is good enough for your needs. The other possible contender in this slot is the Rizeon S37S or Z37S which is an Asus barebones. However, that notebook has also got the 8400M G. You would need to check with Rizeon about the eta. There have been delays.

Or you can wait for the M1330. The official delay on the Dell website is now 3 weeks and the backlog seems to have largely been cleared.

John

[virago]

I recently bought a Samsung Q70 with UK specs. I can confirm it does indeed have the NVIDIA 8400M G graphics card in it, and not the NVIDIA 8400M GS, as previously advertised and published in the specs both on Laptop Direct's site and on Samsung UK's site. (Samsung have updated their site to show the correct specs; Laptops Direct were STILL showing the wrong information on 20/10/07 - Virago)

On reading John Ratsey's review of the Q70 I realised that I had the M card in my Q70. I contacted Samsung Tech support about this, having first tried to email Laptops Direct, with no response.

Samsung Tech Support were very helpful throughout. They initially suggested updating the driver for the NVidia 8400M GPU to the latest version which has just appeared on the SamsungPC.com site, and also updating the Bios to the latest version. I did this and it still reported as the G card.

Samsung UK then confirmed that my Q70 did have the wrong GPU in it, and they would treat it as DOA. Samsung said if Laptops Direct contacted them, they would provide the DOA number to them.

I then attempted to telephone Laptops Direct Customer Support at about 4.50 pm, and got a recorded message saying they were too busy to take any more calls that day, and the message hung up. On the Laptops Direct website it says that Customer Support is open until 5.30 pm - in fact, it had effectively closed before 5.00 pm.

I telephoned LD Customer Support again first thing the following morning, and eventually got through to someone who said I should have got a number from Samsung. I wasn't allowed to give any more details to LD Support on the phone - the girl said she would send me an email with a link, which would take me to a 'Returns Form' page, which I should complete. I did this, submitted it, but heard nothing from Laptops Direct for another 2 days, not even an automatic acknowledgement email.

In fact, the Q70 runs perfectly well for my purposes with the basic G card - I don't game much at present, but wanted to be able to use it for Second Life - it is fine for this, in fact better than my desktop Dell 4550.

The G possibly has some advantages over the GS in that it may run cooler and help the battery to last a bit longer, but the reduced functionality means it is not as fast as the GS (it has 8 streaming processors, rather than 16).

I have also read that the G and GS are in fact identical cards, but the G had 8 of the streaming processors switched off.

When are Laptops Direct going to change the information on their website, if all the UK Q70's (System Model: NP-Q70AV02/SUK) do come with the G card and not the GS card?

I really didn't want all the hassle of sending back the Q70 to Laptops Direct, so I decided to keep it. They got the Q70 to me pretty fast, but their aftercare customer support leaves a lot to be desired.

[John Ratsey]

Whilst Laptops Direct may have supplied the computer in good faith, they should fully cooperate in taking back the computer because it is not compliant with the published specifications. I believe this cooperation should include arranging collection and then promptly giving a full refund.

I would allow them another day to respond including giving details of the collection arrangements (at their expense). Otherwise you may wish to pass the correspondence to watchdog 'at' pcpro.co.uk who is always on the lookout for customer service problems.

As already discussed in this thread, I suspect that Samsung UK have been giving out the wrong information about the GPU. It is disappointing that they have not taken prompt action to correct this information.

John

[virago]

Laptops Direct have now agreed (04/10/07) to collect my Q70, but there are a long list of conditions, including: 'Software or warranties must not have been registered...'

I bought Microsoft Office Basic and Samsung Fastguard Extended (extra 2 year) warranty from Laptops Direct, and I have used and registered both of them. I am waiting to see what Laptops Direct's response is about these. If I return the Q70 and don't buy another Samsung, the warranty will not be of any use to me. The OEM software I'm not sure about - can I re-use the Product Key for this on my next new laptop, or will there be problems with Microsoft when I try to use it again?

Virago