- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Sony VAIO S Series
- Apple MacBook Air 4th Gen
- ASUS Zenbook UX31E
- HP Envy 14 Spectre
- Acer Aspire S S3-951
- 13.3"
- Core i7 1.5 GHz Single core
- 8 GB DDR3
- 128 GB SSD
Released May, 2011
Rated 80% by by c|net (Mar, 2011)The screen has a maximum resolution of 1,366x768 pixels, but its brightness and viewable angles surpass many other laptops we've seen.
- 15.6"
- Core i5 2.2 GHz Quad core
- 6 GB DDR3-1333
- 750 GB HDD
Released October, 2011
Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Apr, 2013)Whilst this considerable size will be a drawback for some, those looking for a 15-inch device are likely to be nonplussed, with the added size and weight meaning an expansive and vibrant 15.6-inch Full HD touchscreen display could be thrown into the mix.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the SAMSUNG Series 9 900X3A compared to the SAMSUNG Series 7 Chronos
GHz1.5
Intel Core i7 2617M
Rated 80% by by c|net (Mar, 2011)For all that you could love about a MacBook Air, nearly the same could be said for the sleek, black Series 9, a 13-inch laptop packed with exceptional design and undeniable geek appeal.
2.2 GHz
Intel Core i5 580M
by LaptopMag (Jan, 2012)Though its quad-core Core i7 CPU and Radeon 6750 GPU help it outperform the $1,249 HP Envy 15, we prefer the Envy for its brighter 1080p screen, better Beats audio and snazzier design.
screen size
13.3"
15.6"
Series 9 900X3A by thierry (Sep, 2011)As a small disappointment and while plenty bright, the screen is not quite as sharp as LCDs screen by any standards.
Series 7 Chronos by LaptopMag (Jun, 2012)Read on to find how in charge this large-screen laptop really is.
screen resolution
Series 9 900X3A by c|net (Mar, 2011)The matte glass surface feels great and is amply sized for multifinger gestures.
Series 7 Chronos by c|net (Jan, 2013)The 15.6-inch display has a full 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution, which is what we'd expect from a modern multimedia laptop.
cpu speed
| 0 GHz | 2.2 GHz | 3 GHz |
Series 9 900X3A by c|net (Mar, 2011)The 13-inch Series 9 has a second-generation Intel Core i5 CPU, but it's not the same processor that we've seen on recent fast mainstream laptops.
Series 7 Chronos by LaptopMag (Jun, 2012)A closer competitor is the HP Envy 17, whose second-gen 2.2-GHz Core i7-2670QM processor paced that notebook to a score of 2,790.
processor
Series 9 900X3A by c|net (Mar, 2011)Weighing 2.9 pounds and packing a 1.4 GHz second-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD drive, it's got some of the best performance-per-pound that we've ever seen.
Series 7 Chronos by c|net (Jan, 2013)Samsung calls the Series 7 Chronos a multimedia powerhouse, with quad-core Intel Core i-series CPUs, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage, plus discrete AMD Radeon HD 8870 graphics.
memory
| 0 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB |
Series 7 Chronos by Surfer (Mar, 2012)And psssst, most of the spec listings for this laptop say 6GB of RAM - it really has 8GB.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Series 7 Chronos
| Much faster internal storage | 0.1 ms (SSD) | vs | 10 ms (HDD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100x faster random access time; faster boot times and shorter application load times | |||
| Significantly lighter | 1,310 g | vs | 2,700 g |
| 2.1x lighter | |||
| More RAM | 8 GB | vs | 6 GB |
| More than 30% more RAM; run more applications and have more browser tabs open without slowing down the system | |||
| More l3 cache | 4 MB (Intel Core i7 2617M) | vs | 3 MB (Intel Core i5 580M) |
| More than 30% more l3 cache; more data can be stored in the l3 cache for quick access later | |||
Advantages compared to the Series 9 900X3A
| Much more storage capacity | 750 GB | vs | 128 GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around 6x more storage capacity | |||
| More cores | Quad core | vs | Single core |
| 3 more cores; run more applications at once | |||
| Much bigger screen | 15.6" | vs | 13.3" |
| Around 20% bigger screen | |||
| Much faster RAM | DDR3-1333 | vs | DDR3 |
| Around 70% faster RAM; data is transferred to/from RAM more quickly | |||
| Much faster turbo speed | 3.33 GHz (Intel Core i5 580M) | vs | 2.6 GHz (Intel Core i7 2617M) |
| Around 30% faster turbo speed; gain a temporary speed boost for computation-intensive applications | |||
| Has a memory card reader | MMC, SD, SDHC, SDXC | vs | None |
| Read and write data from a camera or phone memory card | |||
| Significantly faster processor | 2.2 GHz | vs | 1.5 GHz |
| Around 50% faster processor; run computation-intensive applications, such as photo editing, faster | |||
| Higher resolution screen | 1600 x 900 | vs | 1366 x 768 |
| Around 40% higher resolution screen | |||
| Marginally newer | Oct, 2011 | vs | May, 2011 |
| Release date 4 months later | |||
| Better CPU benchmark score | 30.47 | vs | 26.49 |
| More than 10% better benchmark score; the CPU performs better in various benchmark tests and will likely perform better in real-world applications | |||
| Slightly better cinebench r10 32Bit | 7,699.7 (Intel Core i5 580M) | vs | 6,690 (Intel Core i7 2617M) |
| Around 20% better cinebench r10 32Bit | |||
Reviews Word on the street
SAMSUNG Series 9 900X3A | SAMSUNG Series 7 Chronos | ||
 |   | 
| |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Rated by 131 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by thierry (Sep, 2011) Rated 100% by by Ciapi (Jul, 2011) | Rated by 5 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by C.-Kanzenbach (Jan, 2012) Rated 100% by by C.-Kanzenbach (Jan, 2012) Rated 100% by by C.-Kanzenbach (Jan, 2012) | |
Competition What else you should consider
 | 3 | ASUS Zenbook UX31E 4-way tie: Really fast internal storage |
 | 5 | Acer Aspire S S3-951 2-way tie: OK l3 cache |
