General Questions
[goto=sonytr]What is the Sony TR?[/goto]
[goto=diffmodels]What are the different TR models?[/goto]
[goto=centrino]What is Centrino?[/goto]
[goto=pentiumm]How does the Pentium M differ from the Pentium 4?[/goto]
[goto=enterbios]How do I get into the BIOS?[/goto]
[goto=bootmenu]How do I boot off a CD or floppy?[/goto]
[goto=usbfloppy]Can I boot from a USB floppy drive?[/goto]
[goto=reviews]Where can I find some websites about or reviews of the TR?[/goto]
[goto=restoredisks]Should I make restore disks?[/goto]
[goto=fncombo]What are all of the Fn combinations?[/goto]
Hardware
[goto=harddisktype]Why is the hard disk 1.8” and not 2.5”?[/goto]
[goto=wirelessantenna]How well does the wireless antenna work?[/goto]
[goto=usbports]Does the TR have two USB 2.0 ports?[/goto]
[goto=fan]How loud is the fan?[/goto]
[goto=tvout]How do I get TV out?[/goto]
[goto=batterylife]How long does the regular battery last?[/goto]
Performance
[goto=cpuperformance]Is 900Mhz, 1Ghz or 1.1Ghz enough?[/goto]
[goto=videocapture]Is the hard disk fast enough for DV video capture?[/goto]
[goto=development]Can the TR be used for development?[/goto]
[goto=gaming]Can I play games on my TR?[/goto]
Upgrades
[goto=upgradecpu]Can I upgrade my TR’s CPU?[/goto]
[goto=upgradememory]How do you upgrade the memory?[/goto]
[goto=upgradehd]Can the TR’s hard disk be upgraded?[/goto]
[goto=upgradewifi]Can the wireless chipset be upgraded?[/goto]
[goto=upgradebt]Is it possible to add Bluetooth to my TR?[/goto]
[goto=upgradevideo]Can I upgrade the video card in my TR?[/goto]
[goto=upgradeoptical]Can I upgrade my DVD/CDRW drive?[/goto]
Maintenance
[goto=cleanscreen]How do I clean the screen?[/goto]
[goto=cleankb]How do I clean the keyboard?[/goto]
[goto=protecttr]How do I protect my Sony TR?[/goto]
[goto=wheredrivers]Where can I find drivers for my TR?[/goto]
[goto=batterycare]How can I prolong my battery’s life?[/goto]
General
What is the Sony TR?[anchor]sonytr[/anchor]
The Sony TR-series is Sony’s latest entry into the ultraportable arena. In the past, Sony has marketed two main products in this arena, the C1 Picturebook series and the SR ultraportable series. In both cases, you had sub 2-3lb systems that had unique designs, light weight, and decent performance. The introduction of the Intel Pentium M and Centrino brand wireless has allowed Sony to take the best of the C1 and SR products along with terrific battery life and created a new product line dubbed the TR, the Talented Mobile Companion. Sony has managed to blend a groundbreaking screen, a DVD/CDRW drive, stellar performance, true long lasting battery life, a integrated VGA web cam/camera with microphone, built-in 802.11a/b/g wireless (varies by country and model), Bluetooth (varies by country) and pleasing aesthetics in a 3.06 lb. package.
What are the different TR models?[anchor]diffmodels[/anchor]
There are quite a few different models depending on the country as different markets have different needs and trends.
Over a products manufacture cycle, some of the specifications may change. Case in point, some of the TR1 models come with an updated higher spec DVD/CDRW optical drive.
What is Centrino?[anchor]centrino[/anchor]
Centrino is a brand created by Intel to push wireless technology into the mainstream. It is neither a CPU nor a wireless card. Rather, it’s a set of technologies designed to work together to enable long running mobile computing. The technologies that make up the Centrino brand include the Pentium M CPU (currently Banias and Dothan), the Intel 855 supporting chipset, and the new Intel PRO/Wireless solutions (currently 2100B and 2200BG). In order for a product to gain the Centrino label (and free marketing money from Intel), product MUST have all three of the aforementioned technologies. Because Intel is behind in providing a full range of wireless products, many vendors will opt to use a 3rd party wireless chipset. Sony generally uses Atheros products as they tend to be good performers will all of the latest technologies available. These notebook models are not allowed to use the Centrino label and will normally ship with a Pentium M sticker.
How does the Pentium M differ from the Pentium 4?[anchor]pentiumm[/anchor]
The Pentium M is one of Intel’s latest CPU designs. It was designed from the ground up for mobile computing. Conversely, the Pentium 4 is a desktop chip that was never meant to be mobile. In many ways, the Pentium M takes some of the best elements from the Pentium III and Pentium 4 designs while adding new techniques to enable longer battery life. Because of this hybrid design, the Pentium M is faster than both the Pentium III and Pentium 4 at the same clock speed. This is often called having a higher IPC rating with IPC meaning Instructions Per Clock. In simple terms, that means the Pentium M can get more work done in same amount of time as the Pentium 4.
More importantly, the Pentium M does all of this while only consuming a maximum of 30W compared to the over 100W needed to power a Pentium 4. The Pentium M has SpeedStep technology that allows it to dynamically change it’s frequency (or clock speed) in order to lower power requirements.
Due to the success of the Pentium M design, Intel has cancelled any further design updates to the Pentium 4 and will be using the Pentium M architecture as the basis of future mobile and desktop designs.
How do I get into the BIOS?[anchor]enterbios[/anchor]
Once you see the Sony boot logo (if you have that enabled) press and hold down F2 to enter the BIOS.
How do I boot of a CD or floppy[anchor]bootmenu[/anchor]
You can change the boot order within the BIOS or you can hold down the ESC key when you see the Sony boot logo. It will then pop-up a prompt for you to choose which device you want to boot first.
Can I boot from a USB floppy drive?[anchor]usbfloppy[/anchor]
Yes, you can boot from a USB floppy. You must make sure that your system BIOS is configured to boot off of the floppy device before the hard disk. Generally, this is set by default although you may want to check your settings if it’s not working.
Where can I find some websites about or reviews of the TR?[anchor]reviews[/anchor]
See this thread at http://www.siliconpopculture.com/sonytr/viewtopic.php?t=60 for links to known reviews of the TR-series notebooks.
Should I make restore disks?[anchor]restoredisks[/anchor]
The first thing you should do is make the restore disks whether it be on multiple CDs or a DVD. It doesn’t take as long as most people think and you’re saving yourself a lot of hassle in the future. Yes, it would have been nice if Sony provided the discs for you but many other manufacturers don’t either so this isn’t an uncommon practice. So, even though you think you don’t need them please do so as not doing so is irresponsible and you’ll regret it later.
What are all of the Fn combinations?[anchor]fncombo[/anchor]
There are a variety of combinations you can use to control functions on your TR-series notebook. The following is a list of known Fn key combinations.
Fn + Esc = Sleep/Standby
Fn + F3 = Mute
Fn + F4 = Volume
Fn + F5 = Screen Brightness
Fn + F7 = LCD/VGA out
Fn + F12 = Hibernate
Fn + Num Lock = Scroll Lock
Fn + Insert = Pause
Fn + Delete = Break
Fn + Up Arrow = Page Up
Fn + Down Arrow = Page Down
Fn + Left Arrow = Home
Fn + Right Arrow = End
Fn + B = Bass Boost Toggle
Fn + E = Eject CD
Fn + F = Panel Fit (only if enabled in the BIOS)
Fn + Keypad = Temporarily Enables/Disables Num Lock feature
Hardware
Why is the hard disk 1.8” and not 2.5”?[anchor]harddisktype[/anchor]
While it would be nice for the TR to use a 2.5” hard disk for easier upgrading, Sony opted to use 1.8” hard disk because the 1.8” drive offers the similar performance as a standard 2.5” hard disk but requires far less power enabling the TR to achieve greater battery life.
How well does the wireless antenna work?[anchor]wirelessantenna[/anchor]
The wireless solution in your TR will vary depending on the country you’re in. The TR uses wireless solutions based on Atheros multi-band solutions (802.11a/b/g) and
Intel’s PRO/Wireless (802.11b or 802.11b/g) solutions. Models with the Intel solution are carry the Centrino label while models with the Atheros solution have a generic Pentium M label.
Generally speaking, the built-in antenna is pretty strong and definitely much stronger than an PC Card based wireless cards.Athough not installed by default, you can install Intel’s PRO/Wireless software which offers many more security and performance options for the wireless antenna.
The control panel offers more security options and gives you the ability to change the strength of the antenna signal in order to conserve battery life.
Does the TR have two USB 2.0 ports?[anchor]usbports[/anchor]
Contrary to some discussion, both ports on the TR-series are USB 2.0; however, there seems to be reports that they have different currents. System diagnostics show that all of the ports provide 500mA. Generally speaking, the USB port on the left side of the notebook has a stronger current and can possibly power more devices (if you’re using a non-powered hub).
How loud is the fan?[anchor]fan[/anchor]
Generally, the fan is whisper quiet depending on how heavily the system is being used. You can adjust the settings of the fan using the included Intel Performance Balancer installed on the system. You can adjust the slider to minimize the fan speed and noise. Doing so alters the performance of the CPU; however, in most cases, you probably won’t notice too much. On the max setting, the fan is still whisper quiet.
How do I get TV out?[anchor]tvout[/anchor]
The TR-series does not have a native TV-out port so you will need to purchase an add-on accessory. There are a variety of adapters available. Some convert the VGA port to composite or s-video out while there are some products that provide TV-out via the USB port.
How long does the battery last?[anchor]batterylife[/anchor]
It can vary depending on the kind of tasks you run. Because there is no perfect battery test that represents most people’s usage then you might want to check out this review that shows you best case and worst case scenarios. It covers the standard and enhanced batteries and gives you pictures and information about the batteries and the weight difference.
Performance
Is 900Mhz, 1Ghz or 1.1Ghz enough?[anchor]cpuperformance[/anchor]
This is a touchy subject because it depends on what kind of performance you’re used to and what kinds of applications you’re typically run. The Pentium M architecture is one of Intel’s finest acheivements in recent memory. It takes some of the better technologies from the Pentium III and Pentium 4 lines along with great power management to create a chip that has a high IPC (Instructions Per Clock) rating. In fact, the Pentium M’s IPC rating is higher than the Pentium 4’s IPC rating meaning that the Pentium M can perform more instructions than a Pentium 4 every clock cycle. As many independent benchmarks have discovered, a Pentium M chip is equivalent to a Pentium 4 chip that runs 700-800Mhz faster in most operations. So, imagine that a 900Mhz Pentium M is equivalent to a 1.7Ghz Pentium 4 chip. So, if you’re running mostly office applications and typical consumer level applications, you will find the TR series more than adequate for you needs. In fact, the system has enough performance to easily run more demanding applications like DivX encoders, Adobe Photoshop, and video editing applications.
Is the hard disk fast enough for DV video capture?[anchor]videocapture[/anchor]
Yes.
Can the TR be used for development?[anchor]development[/anchor]
Given the fact that you can install 1GB of memory and you have a fairly fast processor, then the answer is a resounding yes. Compilations of code are memory intensive operations and when you run out of memory then the programs are forced to swap to disk causing a major slowdown. Unless your projects exceed the 1GB amount of memory then you should be ok. Also, you should be fine with 30-40GB of storage space unless you’re running very very large projects. Most other laptops have the same amount of storage space so this shouldn’t be a limiting factor.
Can I play games on my TR?[anchor]gaming[/anchor]
It depends. The TR’s built-in graphics chipset, the Intel Extreme Graphics 2 (Montara) is equivalent to GeForce 1/2 levels of performance. I have compiled some performance figures with a TR1 (900Mhz model). You can view that thread at http://www.siliconpopculture.com/sonytr/viewtopic.php?t=34. Generally speaking, many DirectX 8 and under games will run pretty well with a decent amount of visual effects enabled. DirectX 8.1 or 9.0 games that require hardware T&L (transform and lighting) may work but might be slow. The Intel graphics chipset does not have a hardware T&L unit.
Upgrades
Can I upgrade my TR’s CPU?[anchor]upgradecpu[/anchor]
No.
How do you upgrade the memory?[anchor]upgradememory[/anchor]
The Sony TR series use 172-pin microDIMMs (µDIMM). They are DDR-SDRAM PC2100 (266Mhz) with a CAS latency of 2.5 clocks.
Installation is actually pretty easy to do. Please refer to this thread at http://www.siliconpopculture.com/sonytr/viewtopic.php?p=267#267 for some pictures on the steps.
Can the TR’s hard disk be upgraded?[anchor]upgradehd[/anchor]
Technically, it is possible; however, 1.8” hard disks are not readily available on the market as there are only two main manufacturers (Toshiba and Hitachi) who are making them and while both use a standard pin configuration they are physically different and the Hitachi drive has the pin configuration on the long side of the drive. Therefore, if one upgrades, they will need to upgrade to the same brand because the other brand requires a different mounting bracket and cable.
Can the wireless chipset be upgraded?[anchor]upgradewifi[/anchor]
Yes, it’s possible to upgrade the wireless chipset inside of the TR as long as the new device is a Type IIIB (3B) miniPCI card format. You can see a successful installation here . Most Japanese customers and owners of the TR2AP3(US) won’t need to do this as they already support higher speed wireless standards.
Is it possible to add Bluetooth to my TR?[anchor]upgradebt[/anchor]
Yes.
Can I upgrade the video card in my TR?[anchor]upgradevideo[/anchor]
No. Coming soon.
Can I upgrade my DVD/CDRW drive?[anchor]upgradeoptical[/anchor]
Yes. Coming soon.
Maintenance
How do I clean the screen?[anchor]cleanscreen[/anchor]
Most people prefer to use screen cleaning products from Klearscreen . Using a soft lint free cloth and compressed air are also popular options as well. Never ever use an ammonia based solvent to clean your screen as that will affect the AR coating on your TR’s screen.
Additionally, you may want to at least pickup Sony’s PCGA-CG10 which is a cleaning cloth designed for VAIO Notebook screens. It’s soft and with a dab of water it does the trick.
How do I clean the keyboard?[anchor]cleankb[/anchor]
How do I protect my Sony TR?[anchor]protecttr[/anchor]
There are a variety of ways to protect your Sony TR notebook. The first is getting a good case for it. This is generally a matter of preference and there is no real right or wrong way to protect it. Refer to the Gear forum at http://www.siliconpopculture.com/sonytr/viewforum.php?f=10 for threads relating to case recommendations.
Another way to protect your Sony TR is to get an enhanced warranty on it. Sony sells a variety of service plans through distributors like CompUSA, CDW, and Best Buy. A good thread on this can be found at http://www.siliconpopculture.com/sonytr/viewtopic.php?t=61.
Where can I find drivers for my TR?[anchor]wheredrivers[/anchor]
It depends on what version and what region you’re in. The following chart will provide the most up-to-date locations.
[Coming Soon]
How can I prolong my battery’s life?[anchor]batterycare[/anchor]
[Coming Soon]
