Sony VAIO TZ Review Discussion

Thats weird because when I ran the video, it was pretty smooth without any hiccups. nice video btw.

 

hmm ok.. maybe my vista was mis configured or something..

maybe when vista sp1 comes out, i'll give it another shot.

 

maybe its because you're using a 5400rpm drive and I'm using an SSD drive.

 

Do you see any slowdowns when you output to both the lcd and external monitor and run a video on the lcd? When I do that, firefox slows down quite a bit.

 

Has anyone taken a stab at installing Linux on one of these machines.. I'm assuming it would be a bit of a nightmare, but has anyone actually tried it?

I'm looking at picking up one of these Vaios to replace my Ferrari 3400 for business travel. I got the Ferrari a couple years ago for mobile gaming.. Don't play games anymore, but I use it now for mobile CAD.. Still going to use it for that, but it's a royal PITA to lug around all the time when I just need e-mail and office tools on the go... Especially now that battery life is less than 1 hour, and this laptop gets uncomfortably, unbelievably hot...

 

Not that I am aware of, Roko.

 

Just dug this up... People are working on it.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=514292

 

As I'm not a Linux user, what's the real gain of using it on these notebooks?

Cheers though. I have it bookmarked for future reference.

 

Real gain depends on your usage, I suppose. I'm not an avid linux user myself, I just like playing around with it now and then. Some open source embedded development tools are readily available for Linux, while not so much for windows. (Flip side of the coin is that all my "real" CAD programs run on windows.... But then again, I have a hefty desktop computer to run the more CPU intensive programs..)

I'm not really sure how much faster or slower a Linux distro would be than Vista or XP on this laptop for running office, web, and media programs...

 

No, I haven't. and the only monitor I have is a 32" HDTV but with the exact same resolution as the TZ. But I don't doubt when you say that it gets very laggy when output to a higher res screen running Vista. Its just that Vista is SUCH a resource hog and the TZ only has an integrated video chip.

I'm happy with the current performance of Vista for what I do with it, actually, very surprised that it runs as smooth as it does. I would warn those that want the 4200rpm drive running Vista on this machine, all have negative things to say. But Vista is most definitely NOT at a point where I'd want to run it on my desktop, it doesn't even support SLI which I have ATM.

I do believe Sony did a great job on the TZ, I also believe many people bought or are buying this are extremely attracted to its design as one of the main reasons for the purchase, because lets face it, there are better spec'ed ultraportables out there with somewhat similar battery life, fantastic keyboard (X60/s comes to mind) at almost half the cost.

 

That explains why you didn't see any jumpiness with the hd flash video. I forget to mention that I was playing it on my external monitor at 1280x1024.

I use my tz as a desktop replacement and sole computer, so when I'm in my office, I connect it to an external monitor and BT keyboard, mouse. Works well at least with xp. I find that when running under xp, performance is quit snappy even if the CPU is throttled down to 800mhz.

When running XP, I find it just as fast as my previous dell m1210 with 2.0ghz c2d and nvidia 7400 discrete graphics card when doing non-gaming apps.

 

BTW: the pictures in this auction look very familiar... at first glance I thought Outrigger is selling his TZ.

http://cgi.ebay.de/Sony-Vaio-VGN-TZ190N-B-TZ-TZ190-Laptop-New-Sealed_W0QQitemZ190138870811

 

That seller colpic is using Outtrigger's pics.

 

Report the auction!

 

Ok - so I just bought my TZ from Sony.com and have turned it on twice and am not happy with what I am seeing. Both the CPUs are running at 100% and the notebook is super hot... could anyone explain to me why this is happening - if it continues I'll have no choice but to return it

 

Try posting your issue in the Sony section, you'll get more help and insights.

In the mean time, what are the specs you ordered? I'm assuming this is from Sony US?

 

hey outrigger, is your ebay sn duboilee? Because either its you selling your tz or he's stolen your pics http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Vaio-TZ-TZ...yZ140084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

lol you changed the pictures =D

 

why are you selling your tz outrigger?

 

The pics are stolen.

 

I'm not selling anything. they're just copied from the review section. those are not my auctions.

 

what i just really want to know is if the solid state drive and the .14 ghz difference is worth 500 dollars....

 

Hello everyone! I am a new member and I just register only for posting into this thread. I am from Greece and I am the first onwer of a TZ17GN notebook. My mom and dad went to Hong Kong for vacations, and as there look around for new tech staff they found this notebook. I just want to tell you this: With Standard configuration the prize for a TZ11GN in Greece is 2800 Euros... My father bought TZ17GN in Honk Kong (Made in Japan) for 1600 Euros !!!! 2800 - 1600 = 1200 and not comparing the same model but a lower - with a - higher
Thats All... I have nothing else to say!

 

I think you can buy SSD separately much cheaper now.

 

how is it? do you like it? fast?

 

No, your TZ is not mis-configured. That video is jumpy on my TZ too, and I also have an SSD model.

Totally worth the money. If you read the beginning of this thread you'd see that the SSD is as fast as a 10,000rpm hard drive...

 

Hi Outrigger,

Did you tell us the actual battery life you are getting over normal business app usage of the notebook? I did see the stated 18 hours that we "should divide by two", but wondering how this has turned for you now you've used your notebook for a while.

Thanks again,
Nick

 

I'm using the standard (medium) battery and its pretty much what I have stated. with using office apps and just internet surfing with bluetooth off, screen set to half bright, I get between 5.5 to 6 hrs of usage before reaching critical.

 

I was really valuing your comparison until that line about the nipplestick.. :-D.. I didn't want to read another word because that line said it all.. which is that "you have no clue on what you are talking". I can bet that all you did was just walk into a shop and tried that nipplestick or borrowed a friends thinkpad and played around with it... own an IBM and that nipplestick will grow on you to a point where you will buy another IBM just for it IMO I can't even remember the time I last used the touchpad.. easily a year or so.

Another major benifit of the thinkpad is its thinkvantage utilities.... again it is something you have to use to actually understand.

 

This is incorrect. If you want to compare apples with apples you should compare the weight of the ThinkPad X61s with the smallest battery as you did for the Vaio TZ. The weight of the X61s with the smallest battery (4-cell slim) is 1.24 kg/2.73 lbs - not even remotely close to the 1.7 kg that you mention.
Even with the biggest battery (8-cell) it only weighs 1.5 kg/3.3 lbs - still quite a lot less than 1.7 kg.

In addition, Asus do in fact have ultraportables which are in the same weight class - i.e. the U1F. It lacks a built-in DVD drive, but if you are looking for portability and lightness as you mention, then the Asus U1F with its 1.1 kg should be comparable to the Vaio TZ.

Hence maybe you did not look thoroughly enough when browsing the product portfolios of ASUS/IBM (or rather Lenovo).