Duffy,

Thanks for that mini-review…the cooling issue will kill it for me…my old N505VE (celeron) had a super noisy fan, when I went to my R505GCP, the fan is pretty much dead silent on the rare occasion that it even comes on…so given your findings, unless someone else (or you) determine it’s got something else going on that’s causing the heat up, I’ll have to pass on it…

There are some good deals on the T160/T170 on ebay and I still haven’t given up on the VGN-S w/ the 13.3” screen yet…

I had high hopes for the TX, but if it’s got heat issues, slower drive, slower processor, I may have to opt for the S w/ an extended battery…all larger than I wanted…

Chris

hylton you may want to watch out for the S series (if fan noise is an issue).  The S series (past couple of years) have been noisy machines as well.  The new S-5xx series is supposed to be less noisy and run cooler.  I tried one out a couple of weeks ago.  The machine was less noisy not because the fan ran less, but because the fan blades were designed to make less noise.  So the fan noise was still there.  The palm rest was supposed to run cooler, but my sweating right palm can attest that was a bunch of bull.  So the S went back to Sony.  As sad as it may sound I wish that I could find a nice carbon fiber X505 (built 1-2 years ago) for a good price.  Seems that Sony no longer has the ability to manufacture a machine that looks nice and performs well without making a bunch of noise.

hmmmm…that bites too, was pretty decided a few weeks ago that the S would be (other than battery life) a perfect unit for me, that’s too bad about the heat issue…but that somewhat explains the crappy battery life specs on the S3XX and newer…the S1XX and S2XX offered better battery life from what I’ve read…wonder if those early S models ran that much cooler/quieter ? ? ?

maybe i’m finally gonna have to drop my VAIO addiction completely and buy something else…alienware, HP, Dell, ThinkPad…

The new ThinkPad R60t looks pretty cool, 4.5 lbs, 14” wxga screen…

Oh well, I’ll keep reading and researching, I basically don’t know what I want now…that’s good, it’ll save me money…maybe I’ll just buy a K-JAM and give up on the perfect sub-notebook…

Chris

I hear ya.  I am currently using a Dell X1 which is a really nice machine.  I was hoping the TX would work out.  I guess I’m stuck with the X1 until I can find a subnotebook with a) two speakers, b) a PC card slot, c) someone spent more than 5 minutes designing the cooling system.

There are alot of pics on the web.  Here are some links to pics I found while waiting for the TX to arrive. 

http://m.linktone.com/report/pdjj/1400145511.shtml

http://www.sundigi.com/article/product/productpage.asp?ga_id=8618

Yea, I’ve also been giving serious consideration to a more ‘disposable’ solution, just wait for one of those $750 off $1500 deals from Dell and snap up a 700m w/ extended battery…totally decked out it’d be under $1200, and that’s quite a deal…yea, it’s overall a cheaper unit, but for that price, use it for a year or two and toss it…

I’ve always been a VAIO notebook fan, and I’ve always been willing to pay the premium price, but not sure there is a good VAIO product for my current needs/wants…

Will also have to check out the Fujitsu mentioned above…thanks for the tip…

Chris

Duffy,

Could you please post some benchmarks? I became the bad guy by saying that there is no significant hardware difference between the T and the TX. I consider myself a Sony whore, although Sony have dropped the ball with this model.

At the end I am not right… The pros list could be way shorter than the cons…

Yeah, I was totally disappointed by the P7000 due to the over enthusiastic fan (see a pattern?) and the retarded , and . keys that are not full size.  I did see pictures of the new Fujitsu but how long are we going to have to wait to get it? 

Let me fire (literally) up the TX and run a couple of benches.  What do you want to see?  I’ll run a couple but I not going to run 3DMark.  I don’t want to d/l that massive file.

[quote author=“duffy”]Yeah, I was totally disappointed by the P7000 due to the over enthusiastic fan (see a pattern?) and the retarded , and . keys that are not full size.  I did see pictures of the new Fujitsu but how long are we going to have to wait to get it? 

Let me fire (literally) up the TX and run a couple of benches.  What do you want to see?  I’ll run a couple but I not going to run 3DMark.  I don’t want to d/l that massive file.

You can do the regular Sisoft Sandra Stuff. It is relatively quick and painless.

I was litteraly reborn, when I moved away from the TR and its keyboard. I know tha everyone who hasn’t touched a T thinks that the TR and maybe the TX has a better keyboard than the T, but believe me the T wins over with 100 points over the TR. I guess you can tell us about the TX.

Whoops that last post was from me.  I posted the results from the TX and forgot to sign in.

[quote author=“Anonymous”]Sandra benchmarks:

CPU Arithmetic:
Drystone: 5108
Whetstone: 1654/2120

CPU Multimedia:
Integer: 11357
FP: 12523

Memory Bandwidth:
Int: 2195
Float: 2179

Cache and Memory Benchmark:
Combined: 3529 MB/s

Sony TX
Pentium M 1.2GHz
1.5 GB RAM
60 GB HD

Here is the T benches:

CPU Arithmetic:
Drystone: 5092
Whetstone: 1652/2104

CPU Multimedia:
Integer: 11292
FP: 12483

Memory Bandwidth:
Int: 2028
Float: 2022

Cache and Memory Benchmark:
Combined: 3247 MB/s

Sony T350
Pentium M 1.2GHz
1.0 GB RAM
60 GB HD

I guess some of you can continue to brag about the DDR2, 915 and how improved are the TXs over the Ts…. The TX doesn’t have HD audio and the InstantOn drains the battery fairly quickly, since it in performance mode all the time. The extended battery makes it a tank, and the SD is not that big a deal. I am not sure about the GMA900, but to sum it up, 80 pixels, shiny case and 100g less for yet another $2500. You can argue as much as you want, but my point is not that I have a T, rather that SONY have dropped the ball and all the new models are a ripoff. It is not so different technology. My argument was that sony needs to do something about this nonsense. Shinier case doesn’t do it for me to upgrade every year. If it was dual-core or had bluerey, it would’ve been a different story.

[quote author=“Anonymous”]god Gilbert, get over it. the more you whine the more insecure you look.

btw, i am a different “Guest”, but i agree with what the others say about you.

and to the hands-on TXer’s, the unrealistic nitpickers, i could nitpick *any* PC and make it sound bad. until i see multiple impressions, by many people/websites (so that i know u didnt get a bad unit, or arent some kind of Sony flamer) i take anything you all say with a grain of salt.

I will persoanally write a review once someone in my department gets once. They are pretty much as brainwashed as you are, so I give it maximum 2-3 more weeks until they purchase one. The bad part is that they are spending the department budget on stupid upgrades and just want to buy something shinier. You can continue to be delusional, I don’t mind it. I have my own opinion and it differs from yours, well, can’t help it.

Wow, this looks like what I have been waiting for! a TR lookalike.  Has anyone compared it to a TR (not a T) or are they the same outside of buck ugly black parts.  I like the idea of having the GMA 900, that’s enough reason for me to upgrade, since I spent rupees on a game that needs directx9.  Now I gotta find a job so I can afford the TX.  ITS REALLY PRICEY!

so is the bottom line that the only problems may be a noisy fan?

jigs

update: I just read this: http://reviews.cnet.com/4864-3121_7-31516598.html?messageSiteID=7&messageID=1441900&tag=uolst&cval=1441900&ctype=msgid

Is it true, no mic?  Not that they were ever any good, but how do you get sound in now?  the reviewer above had a point about emergency use.  that’s happened to me kinda, i was traveling and forgot my wifes atm pin number and had to Skype her while sitting in Bangkok Starbucks, and there was no way that I could figure out Thai phone system and my latte was more bhat then i had. A real lifesaver!  And since the TR speakers are so lousy,  no one ever heard the number.  I could hardly hear the number. BTW, are the TX speakers any better?  I am sick of lugging around portable speakers…

indeed, a let down that the t series has no built in mic. on the tr1 it was necessary for me to plug in the earbuds from my ipod to be able to use the built in mic from the tr1. otherwise there was too much distortion. now i have to carry around a mini headset from mantra all the time. in that sense it is a downgrade but not necessarily a reason to completely write of the tx or t for that matter.

One of the reasons Sony stopped putting in the built-in microphone is that they’re now championing the use of a Bluetooth wireless headset with your TX with Skype…at least they’re heavily promoting this in Japan. The newer Bluetooth is allegedly 2.0 and supports the headset profile out of the box.

http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Style-a/Special/Skype/index.html ( for japanese challenged )

So, it’s kind of a cool or useless feature depending on the kind of user you are.

I like the one comment that someone posted who said if you shouldn’t be worried about the price of a BT Headset if you’re the kind of person who would buy a Sony notebook in the first place…how true!  :wink: