Official Sony VAIO TT Series Owners Thread

do you know where I can find one?

 

The only place they are offered is on the Sony site for $1,031

If you want one, PM me. I hope this is not spam, I just will not be keeping my drive and I know a couple TT owners are in need of one.

 

Hi All,

Does anybody know maximal resolution external monitor in Vaio TT connected via:
VGA port
HDMI port?

 

It's at least 1920x1200, I can tell you that much... (through either port). I'd be very surprised if it supported 2560x1600, but I can't say definitively one way or another.

 

Thank You very much.

 

I should mention, you can even use the internal screen at full resolution (1366x768) while using an external screen at 1920x1200 (ie extended desktop mode).

 

Finally the U.S Sony website has a configurable TT where you can opt out of the SSD nonsense and still get the Premium Carbon Fiber case [TT290]. Still no 7200 RPM HHD though.

However does anyone know why you cannot buy an extended/accidental damage warranty for the TT290?

Also, am I the only one that thinks it is beyond stupid for Sony to only offer integrated WWAN if you use Verizon?

I have been using the integrated WWAN with my SZ – flawlessly - the world over for three years now with my Cingular/AT&T high-speed data account. No way am I going to switch to Verizon just because they are paying-off Sony to be their only integrated option.

 

What I am not able to understand is that the TT190 is more expensive than the TT290 by $270 even though the TT290 has a WWAN while the TT190 does NOT!

I know that it should cost some extra to install that secondary HDD instead of the DVD drive but $270 for 250GB HDD no way!

I converted to Macs since 07 and I have been trying to purchase this TT but I simply cannot take the fact to go back to Windows. Mac OS is totally different and way cooler and more enjoyable.

I would really appreciate it if you can tell me what limitations have you faced with your TT compared to a MacBook Air or other similar machines.

I know that some of you have used both TT and MBA and those would be of a big help since I am torn between my love to Sony products and my love to Macs and the Mac OS.

Lastly, would you go with the TT290 or the TT190? I do not mind to have the external DVD drive for the additional storage even though I will not need it for sure but SSDs rock. In addition, why did not Sony include 64-bit Vista?

 

Go to pages 59 and 60 of this thread. Ther are comments about TT and Macbook (Air).

 

I think the MacBook Air & the TT are pretty different machines.

Advantages of the MBA -
- MacOS
- slightly better CPU, better GPU
- can support 2560x1600 external display (I think TT is limited to 1920x1200)
- slightly better build quality
- bigger screen size, for almost the same weight
- full size keyboard

Advantages of the TT
- quite a bit smaller (more convenient for using on airplanes etc)
- longer battery life, and ability to use a spare battery or extended battery
- higher resolution screen
- integrated optical drive
- faster hard drive (5400rpm vs 4200rpm for MBA)
- more onboard ports, with no dongles required

I went for the TT because the size & battery life were more important for me than the MBA's attributes. Also having a 4200rpm drive turned me off, & I imagine it would be crazy hard to open the Air to upgrade to an SSD down the line.

As far as Windows vs Mac OS... I'm not a Mac user, so I can't speak to that, but if your laptop is primarily a secondary machine (which an ultraportable usually is), and you'll be spending 90% of your time with it browsing the web and using MS Office, does it really matter what OS you're using? If there's some Mac applications you absolutely need to have when on the road, well that's a different story, and that makes your decision an easy one.

 

On another topic, I have a weird problem -- my TT won't connect to my router in 802.11n mode, only g. I've checked the router and forced it to do n-only -- when I do that, the TT can't connect to it.

Looking on the TT, the only settings I can find are when I right-click "wireless network connection" in the Network Connections window. Under "Advanced" there's a property for "802.11n mode" and it's set to "Enable", so that looks fine. But then there's another property called "Wireless mode" and under that it has 6 options -- a only, b only, a and b, etc. -- but "n" isn't an option for any of them. I wonder if this might be the issue.

Any ideas? There's also the SmartWi connection utility, but that only shows me what mode I'm connected in, I don't see any settings that I can change there other than turning my wireless on or off.

 

Mr. T-Man, did you try turning off wireless security and see if you the TT can connect then? I had similar problem on prior PC, and when I updated my wireless security on the router to WPA2/AES my connectivity and speeds were greatly improved.

 

Thanks guys for the info. What I kind of want to know more of is the processor. Is it considered limited because it is a ULV compared to the regular C2D in the MBA?

In addition, how does the VGA on the TT compare to the x3100? I know that the nVidia 9400 in the MBA is way better but I have used the x3100 before and I know its limitations so I would like to know how it compares to the one on the TT. I am assuming Sony didn't upgrade it to save battery.

 

One more thing, how is the heat on the TT? Does it ever feel hot to the touch?

 

Two new TT models have been leaked, the TT250N/B and TT280N/B on Amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VGN-TT250N-11-1-Inch-Processor-Business/dp/B001O0DQ60

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O0DQ6K/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&s=pc

Of note is the new SU9600 1.6ghz processor and 250gb 1.8" hard drive option in the TT280N/B.

 

That TT280 has been on Amazon and many other sellers for a long time but SonyStyle keep denying that the SU9600 is coming to the TT which is not making me happy since they should tell us. Even Intel's website doesn't have the SU9600 yet, and I think it is coming on April.

 

Oops, sorry. I haven't been on the scene since I built my desktop two weeks ago instead of getting a new laptop. Maybe I should post on desktopreview.com from now on.

 

Its okay

 

Thanks, that was good advice. I think I *was* on WPA2 already, but either way -- I switched security off & then on, & now it seems to work. (I also changed some other settings, like the frequency range to "auto" on both the laptop and router).

I did notice an issue with the SmartWi connection manager though -- it says I'm connected through 802.11abg even though I know I'm on n (the router is set to n-only, & I'm connected at over 100mbps)

 

The TT gets a little bit hot underneath on the left side, where the processor presumably is, but not a lot -- it doesn't feel uncomfortable on your lap, doesn't feel like it's going to melt the computer, or anything like that. & the fan is generally very quiet, if there's any bit of ambient noise around I barely know it's there.

Re the graphics, I'm not sure I understand your question. VGA out at even 1920x1200 looks surprisingly decent, & DVI or HDMI out looks perfect. All the Vista aero graphics work fine. I don't use any graphically demanding applications, like games, so I cant comment on what that's like.

 

Thanks a lot MrT or shall I call you T

 

what is the difference between the SU processors vs. the older U processors?

 

No problem!

Anyway, to summarize, I've had my TT for like 3 weeks now and so far I've been very satisfied with my purchase.

Again, I haven't tried anything super-demanding with it -- but for general day to day use (web browsing, Word, Excel, remote desktop connections to other machines, reading PDFs, playing AVIs... all with multiple windows or apps open at a time) it's been fine -- I have no patience for sluggishness, and it only rarely feels sluggish... And when it does, it seems to be due to disk activity, which makes me think that putting an SSD in there (which I plan on doing when they get cheaper) will fix that. I've also shut off some Vista background services, like indexing, which also seems to have made a difference.

I do wish I had the forthcoming 1.6ghz cpu in my machine, that's a 33% improvement, although then again I only paid US$1,550 (since they havent adjusted prices in Canada yet to reflect the exchange rate).

 

I don't know if I want the faster 1.6 GHz cpu as it will most likely generate more heat, and consume more battery power. But 1.6 GHz sounds nice, like a normal laptop (my 6 yr old Dell has a single 1.6 Ghz).

 

I concur. I've had mine for around the same amount of time, and I've been watching 1080p .mkv's, basic PC stuff, word processing/office stuff, and have no problems, looks great, and the battery lasts for ever! I used it for a PowerPoint presentation last night (hooked up to a 720p projector) and the display was great.

I find the keyboard/touch pad are taking some getting used to, but a minor quibble.

At this point, I don't know that I would use a higher clock speed.

 

For those who have had a chance to see the white ones, how do they look compared to the premium carbon (nice shiny ones for other regions) in reality?

Do they get dirty? lol

 

Thanks MrT and Gutprober for your feedback.

Since you have used the machines for quite sometime now, do you happen to know the difference between the 1.2 vs. 1.4?

 

I only have experience with the 1.4.

 

I mentioned this before the TT was even released the SU9600 was inevitable ... the 250GB is a Toshiba, 8mm height I believe... you can pretty much predict what happens now in terms of technology... , obvious the next TZ (TT) would have bluray I knew this last april when Panasonic unvelied their 9..5MM Blu Ray Drive as well as them obviously using the X4500 graphics.. what is the make and model of the 3G card in the TT?, I think you all should push sony to enable voice on their HSDPA cards, card probably supports it but they need to implement it in software, like the Sierra Wireless Watcher..

 

re the 1.2 vs. the 1.4, do the math... 1.4 / 1.2 = 17% faster (though I didn't check to see if the cache sizes are the same). Now as to how perceptible a difference that is (& specifically how much less battery life you get), I don't know...

 

I have the 1.2Ghz version and must honestly say that in 'real world' terms and usage you are not going to to notice the difference, unless of course you have your notebook purely for benchmarking purposes and will sniffle at the thought of a 2 percent difference (for example)...

Why am I saying this you ask? Because I am comparing its 'real world' performance with my Vostro (both are in my sig) which has the Intel T5870 2.0GHz CPU with 4G of DDR2 memory. Now comparing the two (both are running Vista Business 32bit) there is not much difference in performance - my boot times on the TT are now a few seconds faster as well. Opening and closing apps is the same, and browsing, Office etc etc (I only play a couple of games on my Vostro - none on the TT, except Mahjong..lol). So for 'real world' (there is that wording again) usage I don't really think you would notice the nano second difference between a 1.2GHz and a 1.4GHz CPU...

I cant obviously comment on battery life comparisons and anything else TT specific between the two types, but comparing my 1.2GHz TT CPU to my 2.0GHz CPU on the Vostro - not to much difference...remembering that the tasks I have referred to are not exactly CPU demanding tasks - definately not using the TT to encode a DVD - plays them just fine though, and happily runs Photoshop CS2 with no 'performance hit'...

I think that people get a bit too hung up on minute numerical details when it comes to computers and their 'real world' performance (and tend to base opinions on what they have read on the internet rather than their own honest experience), as opposed to a benchmarking application - but who wants to play with SuperPi all day anyways, I have better things to use my laptops for...lol

 

In Europe, the TT comes with an Option GTM series PCI Express mini card.
(I'll need to check in device manager for the exact version)

I've been meaning to try installing the Option 'Globe Trotter' software to see if this enables voice calls, but haven't had time until now..

For reference, the Option software can be downloaded here:
http://www.option.com/en/support/software-download/

 

Thanks boys and girls

I asked about the difference between 1.2 vs. 1.4 after seeing this:

http://ark.intel.com/cpu.aspx?groupId=36695
http://ark.intel.com/cpu.aspx?groupId=36697

It shows that the 1.4 has Intel® Stable Image Platform Program (Intel® SIPP) while the 1.2 doesn't. This made me think that there might be other changes.

I am not asking for the 0.2 difference in CPU speed, but rather the structure and feature of both CPUs.

If I am not mistaken, some people here in this thread reported that the 1.4 PLAYS (not sure) NOT renders (which is a fact) videos better than the 1.2.

Here in the US, the 1.2 is on sale now since the 1.4 is the new standard. I do not know what is going on with the 1.6 (any of you heard any issues facing its production?)

In general, what is the difference between these ULV CPUs compared to the regular ones used on the MBA for example? Besides the low voltage consumption and less heat emission, performance wise. I heard that they have less performance but I do not know how much less.

Thanks again

 

i was hoping we would have seen an low end nvidia GPU guess not.....oh well the X4500 should do well for most buyers.

 

Does anybody using docking station for Vaio TT? If yes I have few questions. Imagine we have docking station with connected external display (1600 x 900 maby more), external keyboard, mouse, wired LAN, external HD and DC.

1) If I put Vaio TT in suspension mode to docking station and wake up Vaio will be all desktop hardware connected to docking station correctly recognized or need I restart Vista?

2) What about screen resolution? Will it switch to external screen resolution automatically after putting Vaio in docking station or need I go to screen setting and doing it manualy?

3) Do I need open lid to start computer after putting to docking station?

4) Is docking station for Vaio TT and TZ the same?

I have never used docking station

 

1) yes, no need to restart vista
2) yes, most of the time (see below)
3) yes, I don't think it works with the lid closed. Even if it did it would probably be a bad idea to run it that way, from the perspective of dissipating heat.
4) I don't know for sure, but very unlikely that they're the same

The docking station works great. I'm running an external 1920x1200 screen and using the TT internal display as a secondary screen for email etc. The only issue I've had is that sometimes it gets confused with the screen resolutions. It's usually okay if you boot the vaio in the dock to begin with, or if you put the vaio into sleep/hibernation, then put it in the dock, & then wake it up. Where it seems to have a problem is if you put it in the dock while it's awake. Even then everything else works, it's just that you often have to manually reconfigure the resolution settings.

 

Thank you MrT-Man for your complete answer

Best wishes

 

I do not have a docking station for TT, but I used docking stations of other laptops, toshiba, Compaq. With the Compaq (I no longer have it, and it was 10 years ago), I would slide the laptop into the docking station with the lid closed, and the external monitor sits on top of the docking station. So, it was truly a convertible laptop/desktop setup. I doubt if the TT docking station can do that. Maybe if you configure the "lid action" to just turn off the LCD, then you may close it while working with external, but I am speculating here.

 

Ok, that actually works. The catch is that you can't wake up the TT from sleep unless the lid is open. But once you wake it up, you can then close the lid & it'll stay awake and continue to drive the external monitor.

Still, I'm paranoid to use it this way for fear that it'll overheat or something.

 

ok heat aside, is there a need to have it on sleep mode, since it is on the dock? I guess not, since ac power is there.

 

Nope they change them just so slightly between series so the TZ dock won't work.

 

Hi,

I saw a reply related to using Adobe CS3 and CS4 but has anyone installed either and used on a TT? I'm going to utilize dreamweaver, flash, fireworks, and photoshop. maybe a little of premiere, but i'm not going to author dvd's or go nuts with video editing on encore or anything. I also want to use sony acid pro from time to time as i do some music production. i leave all the heavy duty stuff to the desktop but sometimes on the road i like to create and edit using acid pro.

anybody know how any of these programs will run on the TT290 (mine has the 4GB ram and 128 SSD drive)? Both CS4 and acid pro 7 require processors of around 2Ghz and the TT is 1.4Ghz. How much will this machine struggle and is it even worth trying to do these things on the machine?

thank you in advance

 

If the spec call for 2 GHz, you will be wasting your time with TT.

 

I am in almost same place. Done order for TT21 (in Poland it is 1.4 GHz and 128 GB SSD) and wondering how on it will working Adobe Web Premium CS4. Currently I am using Adobe Web Premium CS3 and Lightroom 2 on 1.06 GHz TZ (it is my main computer) and it is working surprisingly well, Adobe Premier Elements 4 working without any hang too. I was making some research in web on others forums and found message from person who is using TT 1.2 GHz with regular HD and he wrote Photoshop CS4 working same as CS3 on his TT. Of course OpenGL settings in Photoshop CS4 are grayed out.

 

Hi, I'm going to buy a Vaio TT290 but, before buying, I have some doubts to clarify. I’m not a software expert, so I ask help to you!

My previous laptop was a HP TX1000 and Vista was really, really slow on it. For the TT 290 is possible to choose between Vista Home Premium 64-bit and Vista Business 32-bit + XP Professional downgrade disc. I was gonna opt for the Vista Business 32 + XP because of my previous problems with Vista on the HP but than I red the info above and I got really disappointed: I want my new laptop with ALL its features working.
Do you have any idea if Sony finally has released the missing drivers for the TT series?
If not, which of the two Vista does work better on the Vaio TT 290 (I mean is faster and I don’t have to wait 5 minutes every time I turn on my Vaio), Vista Home Premium 64-bit or Vista Business 32-bit???
Thanks a lot.

 

Read my post #672 on how to get rid of all the bloatware in TT Vista Business.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=344005&page=68

 

Thanks for your answer. So, you advise me to get the TT with Vista Business 32-bit (leave Vista and go through this process) instead to get the TT with Vista Home Premium 64-bit?

Sorry for my bad English, it's not my first language...

 

Sorry, I think you can go for Vista Home Premium 64, but you do not need to use XP, since you can get rid of the Sony bloatware easily so it would not slow you down. You can follow my guide and use it on 64 bit Vista. I imagine it will be about the same procedures.

 

Thanks for your help, TZ300. Ok, I think I'm gonna get the Vaio with Vista Home Premium 64bit.
Could be a problem that this Vaio model has just 3giga of RAM or it's fine with the Vista 64bit? Will it be fast enough?
Thanks again.

 

What is the reason to buy Vaio TT with Vista 64-bit? In my opinion it is better idea to buy Vaio TT with Vista 32-bit now and after releasing Windows 7 switch to 64-bit if 64-bit is really needed.