The Samsung QX410 Thread

[John Ratsey]

Do you guys think Samsung will announce the successor to the QX410 at the upcoming CES?

It's quite likely that Samsung will reveal something. How quickly the new models will be available is another matter. Sandybridge will bring faster Intel graphics because the GPU is part of the CPU die. However, USB 3.0 requires a separate chip (and from what I've read, is currently only a few times faster than USB 2.0) while manufacturers seem to think that consumers want glossy 1366x 768 displays, even at 15.6" size.

John

[urbanglowcam]

I agree.

BTW Samsung support site was updated and now shows a more organized driver list with dates. So much more helpful since now we don't have to guess if they were updated.

[justinluck]

Well, I have a USB 3.0 card installed in my desktop PC. I can tell you from experience that it is MUCH faster than USB 2.0. I have a 2 TB Western Digital My Book Essential that I use to back up all my files and I cannot imagine dealing with USB 2.0 ever again for file transfers. I am too spoiled. It is like night and day. Even more interesting, I can attach USB 2.0 hard drives to the 3.0 ports and they will transfer at least 4x faster than when connected through my 2.0 motherboard ports.

Yeah, this 1366x768 nonsense is just crazy considering that most laptops sold three years ago (before the widescreen take over) had 1440x900. If not 1080p, where is the 1600x900? Perfect ratio, right?

[John Ratsey]

My comment on USB 3.0 performance is based on this thread regarding USB 3.0 in a Dell Precision workstation. However, even twice as fast as USB 2.0 is a worthwhile improvement (personally, I prefer eSATA for external storage).

Regarding displays, the most common resolution before 2010 was 1280 x 800 (16:10 aspect ratio). However, almost everything has moved to the wider 16:9 which is better for watching movies but worse for almost every other application. While the wider screens have equal or bigger diagonals (so people think they are bigger), the actual area (and manufacturing cost) is less. The photo here shows where the manufacturers are trying to lead us.

John

[geekwitch]

I'm on my second QX410 in less than a week and experiencing the same problem on this one as the one I returned yesterday.

Everything works fine and I have no complaints about the overall system, however after a certain point, the wireless adapter drops my network and stops working. I use the "troubleshoot" link and it comes back up, but within a few minutes starts dropping it again.

What will work is if I reboot the computer, I get a decent amount (30 minutes or so) of connectivity, but then it starts to fade out and goes away completely.

I have a home wireless network, and the signal is fine - my other computer next to this one has no access issues and I'm 10 feet from the router.

I'm suspicious about the setup, there's a preloaded "WiMax G4" wireless access app preloaded (for Clear wireless), and although I disabled it, I suspect it may somehow affect my adapter/wireless connection software.

Has anyone had problems like this? I'm going to take this computer back and buy another brand/model if this keeps up.

TIA

[John Ratsey]

1. What brand of wireless adaptor? Intel, Broadcom and Atheros are all listed in the driver downloads. Make sure you have the latest driver. The Samsung Update program isn't very good at finding the updates.

2. One of the Samsung QX410 downloads is the Samsung Easy Network Manager. Do you have it installed? If so, try uninstalling it. If not installed then give it a try.

3. Have a look at the power management settings for the wireless adaptor. Perhaps it it being too aggressive in reducing power.

John

[test123]

Ok, time to join the discussion.

For those that are having issues with accidentally touching the track pad while typing there is a solution. You can download a google app called "touchfreeze" that will freeze the track pad while typing then after typing you can move use the trackpad.

I am almost ready to pull the trigger on this laptop and took a cruise over to Best Buy to take a closer look. I have been researching this laptop for days and was ready to see it first hand.

It was the first laptop that I saw on the end table. Looks impressive in that aluminum case....however it looks like a 15.6 laptop even though it is suppose to be 14". There is a nice glass edge to edge with a 1" bevel at the bottom.

Can someone touch on this....when using the trackpad it does not seem as fluent as other pads. There is slight hesitation and delay. Maybe this the way MacBook Pro's work. You have to a very light touch. The right and left click buttons are stiff and you have to click in the bottom corners.

I switched between the Intel HD and NVIDIA displays to see if I could notice a difference but I did not. I am not sure if the colors were optimized but they seemed dull but that could be the BB app they run.

Is there a door on the bottom for memory and HD? I forgot to look at that.

What does the power options have to be set on to make the 3 sec powerless app to work correctly? When the top was shut the laptop went to sleep then opened the lid and the laptop was off.

So far I am not 100% convinced that this laptop is worth $825.

Thanks for all your input. Can some also shed some light on how this compares to other 14" brands.

Thanks!

[Unoriginalnj]

I had the same issues. Go to Samsung's website and reinstall the drivers for the Intel Wifi card. As soon as I did that I've had no more issues. Also, I have a Netgear N router (the squareish one that stands up). Defintiely update the drivers, you'll be fine.

[Unoriginalnj]

My above post is for "GEEKWITCH", I should have mentioned that.

[John Ratsey]

Is there a door on the bottom for memory and HD? I forgot to look at that.

Download and study the User Guide. Pages 84/ 85 show that the HDD and RAM are under a cover on the bottom. The User Guide may also answer some of your other questions.

John