Official Sony VAIO TT Series Owners Thread

hey everyone, the update package has come out from sony!
it says it prep it for upgrade from vista to win7, i havent tested it yet, or downloaded but im hoping it will have 'proper' drivers for win7 so all the buttons and functions work correctly. im my case the software eject and ambient light sensor.

anyway check it out
sony asia

:]

 

The TT lives on (for now). Sony NZ have announced two new TT4 models, the VGNTT46GGB (black) and VGNTT46GGW (white).

Specs are nothing new other than Win 7 Professional 64 bit. Everything else looks pretty well identical to previous models: 4GB RAM, Core 2 Duo Processor SU9600 (1.6GHz), 250GB HDD, DVD Writer. (No Blu-Ray or HDMI).

KJ

 

With the recent announcements of the TT being withdrawn from some markets, I decided to take the jump and replace my four-year old TX1 with a new TT27GD (incl Blu-Ray and HDMI) (The coming VAIO X had no appeal to me).

Have had it for a month now and can say what a delightful honey of a sub-notebook. I immediately did a fresh install of Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit, got all functions keys plus the volume and eject buttons working without problem using the Sony Vista device drivers. The only function not working is the ambient light sensor (not a major issue for me).

The out of the box lack of touch-pad sensitivity was annoying, but overcome by installing Toshiba's R600 Alps drivers (thanks for the links).

The wide-galmut screen took a bit of getting used to after the TX, but I'm completely happy with it now, realising colour rendition has brought many previous photos 'to life'. The semi-matt coating is a welcome improvement on the gloss coating of the TX. Plenty of reserve brightness.

Build quality compared to the TX is streets ahead. Fit and finish are excellent, and the keyboard design and feel much improved. The 'black graphite' case material seems very high in quality with a nice tactile feel, and it seems very good in resisting finger marks.

I hope the 'T' series, or something similar continue to live on. The TT is the perfect mobile media-centre and fits my variety of requirements perfectly.

KJ

 

Hi Kendallj,

Excellent comments, thanks for sharing. What is the battery life like?

Have you played any blu-ray movies on it? I would like to know whether the movie stutters at all. Thanks!

 

what version if win7 x64 did you use? ive tried with x64 RTM Ultimate but it always blue screens ]:

cheers

 

Battery life seems very good. I've not done any definitive testing but it seems at least as good as the TX. I watched a Blu-Ray movie (Wall-E) while running on battery and I had still had useful battery life left at the end. The visual quality of the Blu-Ray image on the TT screen is stunning even though it's effectively downscaled to 720p. No noticeable stuttering at all. Have not tried outputing 1080p via HDMI yet.

KJ

 

I used the standard Win 7 Ultimate 64bit RTM MSDN image downloaded via Microsoft Technet. No install problems whatsoever. What model TT do you have?

KJ

 

Did you try to download a new intel display driver to install on TT for ambient light sensor, mine is working after upgrade the display driver..

It's working both on x86, x64 Window 7 Ultimate

 

So, I think I have an dvd drive problem, but I am not sure. I can burn CDs fine, but its dvd that are not burning. I have tried three different disk from two different brands with different files and neither of them are working. What is odd is last week I was able to burn dvd, but today I could not. Again, I was able to burn a CD today fine. Any ideas, or ways to see if there really is an issue?

 

Hmmm, try reinstalling the driver?

Or reformatting your laptop to factory state. If both fail, then most likely it is a hardware issue.

 

I will try the drive. But any suggestions on where I can get the latest driver/firmware for the DVD drive(specially for windows 7)??

 

Cheers for that - I hadn't realised there were new drivers available. All working tickety-boo now.

 

I bought a TT. I should get it by the end of the week. It came without a HDMI port but one can be added and i have the parts. I was told that someone fitted it and it worked. I probably will get someone else to fit this for me. Now i have to sell my TX but i am prettty fond of that.
I am thinking about getting an SSD drive but as it is a second laptop i'm not sure if i will bother.

Edited to add:
This is the model but mine is just in white.
http://www.sonystyle.com.hk/ss/product/vaio/vgn_tt36gd_n_e.jsp
I'm also going to not attempt this upgrade job myself. Ram is upgradeable to 8GB. I will install W7.
I think i will go the SSD route as well and have that upgraded at the same time. Also, i need to buy a WWAN module. It comes with a US keyboard. If this is released in the UK i will get a UK keyboard. I paid a decent figure for this so i'm not that bothered about the keyboard.

I'm thinking about calling Vaio Link in the UK to see if they will sell me the wwan base board part number A-1599-659-A and the FFC 183578811. I prefer to buy one with the sim card slot instead of having to go down the soldering route.

p.s coldmack, the SP processors have a 25W TDP.

 

Am interested in upgrading TT190 to W7Ultimate-64bit.

Has anyone tried 8 gig RAM yet in older TT model??

Coldmack? Did you ever figure it out?

 

I upgraded to Ultimate 32. I didn't think there is enough RAM for 64.

It was a pain, had to uninstall a number of applications, and now the Sprint WAN (SmartWi) doesn't work - not clear if they can even issue a new driver for it. Not clear it's worth the trouble.

 

So, I got off with Sony support and they said its a windows 7 error and that I need to reinstall windows 7 again. They are saying since I can burn a CD and not a DVD that th optical drive is fine. Some of this sounds a little off to me, is this right?

 

Good luck with that procedure. I personally find it absolutely ridiculous that Sony would offer their lower end TT models without an HDMI port, whereas I can get a $400 11.6" notebook with it. Come on Sony, don't cheap out by removing that important feature!

 

Give it a go. If it still doesn't work then it is definitely a hardware issue. Keep us posted

Congrats Rachel! I am really tempted by the TT too but the price is as expensive as the Z where I am.

Can you tell me whether I would need any special parts to install an SSD drive? Or is it simply a plug in and go process? Thanks.

 

Im also interested to add HDMI, which part do i need and do you have the part numbers? mine was also equipped with modem and i removed the modem because i just builtin the wwan board.

 

vinh, the part number for the HDMI connector is CNX-418 A-1599-655-A.

How did your wwan upgrade go?

heavenly wild, these drives take 1.8 Microsata HD's. They can also take uSata drives. Samsung mainly sell these and these are better to use for RAID. The Intel 1.8 X18-M is a Microsata drive. Unless your going for RAID you shouldn't need anything else. I think that there may possibly be different versions of the Samsung drive going on some benchmarks that i have seen.

There has been some development in the market because now you can get 1.8 SSD Microsata drives from Photofast, Kingspec etc.

I need to research what will be the best drive for me. Power consumption is a must and is my top priority. I also want a drive that has decent balanced performance. Samsung usually dominant in this area but i will look at what is out there to make my choice.

 

So I am about to order a TT93 from conics.net with Windows 7 pre-installed. I've opted for 2x128 GB SSD's and the 1.6 GHz processor, so performace should be better than my current TZ. My only concern is it says the drives are "RAID 0" and I am pretty cluless, if anyone could explain that to me I'd really appreciate it. I feel so stupid haha.

P.S Is the "Silky black" color the same as the matte black casing that has almost a slghtly rough texture that was displayed in the stores for the TT?

 

i just bought a tt230nb from the bookstore. they were on clearance. i'm no apple fanboy, but i am a mac user. i just bought this because after lugging around the 15 inch macbook for 5 days, my shoulders were about to give out. so far, i'm pleased with the form factor and the looks, less than happy with vista business. it just seems to crawl. i'm planning on doing a clean install of vista 64-bit enterprise. i've been reading that if you go from 32-bit to 64-bit, one needs to do a fresh install. that means i have to install all the drivers, right?

does anyone have win 7 64bit running on a tt with 3gb of ram on u9300? how is it? should i go to 4gb ram? will that make a huge difference? i must say the 120gb 4500 rpm drive is painfully slow. i want to get a ssd, but where? do people have suggestions for retailers or brands that i should go for? stay away from?

btw, raid means that the 2x128gb ssd will be treated as one drive of 256gb.

i'm ready to get excited with TT.

jun

 

I have Win 7 32bit running with 4gb of ram on the SU9300 cpu and it runs just perfectly fine, and a little better than Vista imo.

 

Rachel, the WWAN went fine. hardest part was to put in the antenna's in the screen and route the cables through the hinge.

So i only need one part for the hdmi? how did your hdmi upgrade go, where do i need to connect the hdmi?

 

vinh, this is the part.

It also going to be matched to be the same colour as my laptop. I was told that someone bought that part of him and fitted it into their laptop and it worked. I'm not acually going to see that part in person. I didn't get this part sent to me. It is best to send a message to that person and i'm sure they will help you.

This option card is it a worldwide one or an EU one? I've seen some for sale in Hong Kong but that is a worldwide card. I don't want any problems so i better go for the exact same card.

My laptop should be completed with the upgrades in a couple of weeks at the latest.

Getting to the HD is not hard and if i want to go the RAID route i will do this in the future. However, doing the HDMI and wwan upgrade i don't feel so confident so someone else is doing it for me.

If you look here though you can see that the hdmi goes right at the top left hand corner under some other parts.
http://kunkoku.livedoor.biz/archives/51534770.html

Edited to add:
I'm still going for an SSD but just not RAID right now.

 

Hi Vaio TT users.
nice to meet you. Great forum. Great tips.

Google a lot for answers but no sucess - any nice tutorial to get OSX on my TT?
im lovin WM7 but i would to be able to run OSX.
btw : karmic koala installed smoothly ans runs great too...
see u later
tks

 

Hi rmatos74, welcome to the forums. It is against the forum rules to allow discussion about installing OSX on non Mac hardware. If you click on the clickable link in my post it will direct you where this is stated.

 

So, I took my Vaio to the local Sony Store today, and told them what is up. They didn't even look at to make sure its failing. They just took my word for it. Found it a bit odd, but they said I should get it back in 8 days, which is average I guess.

As a side note, I did play with the Vaio X, its effing crazy. It felt like it was fake that's how light it was. It made the Vaio P feel fat. They keyboard was very nice, touch pad was not bad, a bit on the smaller side, but alright. The screen is just as good as the TT. I compared it to my TT and notice that Sony could have either made the TT a bit smaller, or give it a 11.3in or something like that. The X would have been perfect if it was at least running a core 2 solo and had HDMI port.

 

Sorry Rachel — all my fault

 

So i got my TT today and it is very cute. I will get to use it for a day or two and then send it away to have the upgrades done. I have also got hold of a EU wwan board and i have the FFC, it wasn't easy getting hold of one. Now i just need to get hold of a WWAN module.

My thoughts on the laptop, well it is super cute..really. The two tone colour effect looks really nice. The screen looks great too. Colour reproduction is a little different, it will take a little bit of getting used to. It was a little bigger than i imagined but that is ok and i'm used to it now. It is really light, it feels no heavier than my TX. It is definetly much more quiet than my TX. I would have prefered if Sony put the power input at the back as opposed to the side. My trackpad is also perfect. The TT also does not seem to have that problem of the keys marking the display.

I've also bought a PM800 SSD HD for my TT. I will do a battery test when i get my SSD installed.

It is a good idea for me to upgrade, i think what may happen in time is that i will start using my TT more than i use my SZ.

I've attached a small picture.

 

Does anybody have problem with psqltray.exe process on Vaio TT. Few times per day this process (it is UPEK tryicon software) taking about 40-50% of my CPU resources.
Today I found on UPEK web site newer driver for fingerprint reader and all seems be better but not good. Still today have at least one situation when psqltay.exe take 40% CPU.
Does any body have similar problem?

 

No problem here (TT27GD - Win 7 Ultimate 64bit).

I'm using the latest Protector Suite 2009 downloaded from:

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VGNTT299P&upd_id=4991&os_id=49

KJ

 

Quite possibly 'off' advice. I'm an IT tech working with networks with quite a large number of laptops, and the inability to burn DVD's while still being able to burn CD's I've seen a couple of times. The drives were replaced under extended warranty contracts, end result the problem was fixed. Worth pushing the point past front line support with Sony I would suggest.

KJ

 

Strange, on my country (Polish) Sony site is even newer version 5.9.2.5747 your is 5.9.2.5578 but problem still exist. Maby I should try install your version?

 

Hey guys do you think in the current notebook market the TT is still worth buying over some of the 11 inch Dual Core netbooks?

 

Could you mention some brands and models?

At the excessively high price, my TT purchase was definitely a 'Luxury Audi' choice - In truth a luxury car does nothing much for me but a luxury sub-notebook that conforms to high design values and performance parameters is indeed desirable kit and therefore something I'm prepared to pay a premium for. However it's becoming increasing clear the TT is now way overpriced for what it offers - other brands are catching up and in time will probably offer comparable specs and packaging (including built-in Blu-Ray and HDMI) for considerably less $$. They may not have the refined design values of the TT, but the premium one pays for the VAIO needs to be in proportion to the new competition emerging the form-factor into the mainstream.

Before buying my TT, I had a good look at netbooks and even seriously considered a Lenovo S12 with the nVidia ION graphics. In the end, the TT still offered a more compelling package. When it comes time to replace the TT, I hope Sony still have something worth considering.

KJ

 

So somehow i'm thinking that this laptop i have bought does not have an LED display. If Sony is using CCFL displays in some TT models in Asia then that is pretty bad.
Owners and others describe the display as matte. Well this display looks nothing like matte to me. It is glossy and i can see my reflection clearly in the display.
I like the display but i don't like to be using CCFL displays in 2009.
If this is the case then i don't know how long i will hold onto this laptop.
In the description for this laptop the display is described as.

11.1" wide (WXGA: 1366 x 768) TFT colour display (Clear Tough LCD [Rich Colour]) TT36GD.
It retailed for the same price that the TT4 models that are described in some parts of Asia as having a premium LED display.

http://www.sony.com.vn/productcategory/it-pc-series-tt?site=hp_en_VN_i#IT+PC+Series+TT

I put the display into google and the display in some hits come up as a LG display. Some reviews mentioned that it was a 11.6 Sony LED display. it has the same display which is mentioned in the review below, a SNY05FA. I've used a 11.6 Acer and the screen did not look like this to me. It also looked bigger.
http://translate.google.co.uk/trans...0CAgQ7gEwAA&prev=/search?q=sny05fa+11.6&hl=en

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=sny05fa+11.6&=&aq=f&oq=

Go on break me the bad news lol. If not then like i said i think it may be a matter of months that i keep this laptop. LED displays do have a slight advantage battery life wise. Even though i love the looks there are some things i cannot put up with.

The battery has a good rating of 59whr which is good.

heavenly wild, i think a TT is worth it over these cheaper ultraportables, a lot will here will think so or otherwise of course they would not have purchased it. Those notebooks are ok but they are not for me. They don't look as good to me and i like the fact that you can get a docking port for the TT and a built in drive. I also like the fact that some models come with a 1.6 ULV processor.

 

Rachel, my guess is Sony have moved to a different LCD model/supplier for the newer TT releases. I'm sorry to hear they have gone back to a glossy coating - I do prefer the matt on my TT to the gloss of my TX.

I would doubt the TT screen bezel would be thick enough for CCFL backlight(s) to fit, but I could be wrong. One easy way to tell - CCFL backlights typically take 1-2 minutes to reach full brightness from cold, whereas LED's are instant full brightness. Hope that helps.

Kendall

 

Hi Rachel and Kendallj,

Thanks for your comments and feedback Well, I saw an Acer 4810 the other night with ULV 1.3GHz processor, up to 4GB DDR3 RAM, 250GB hard drive and even an HDMI port for 1/3 of the TT price. It played HD videos well and there was no lag.

After seeing that, I really thought the TT is definitely "the Audi" of notebooks - to quote you there kendallj.

Rachel, seriously the new TT has gone to a glossy screen like the SR? That was one of the features I liked about it, the matte screen.

 

Thanks Kendallj, i like the display. What you said about the thinness of the display makes sense. I hope that Sony just advertised it wrong, it wouldn't be the first.
I see now that part i gave is an error code and several other Sony models have that reference number.

If others have bought the latest TT4 in Asia is your display matte or glossy?
I've seen the Acer display and that is super glossy, this is not as glossy as that but it is not matte or can be described as matte like. I think i'm seeing things in the correct colour with this display so things look a tiny bit different and better.

The display is really nice. I was suspecting that i had a CCFL as well because of the battery life. My battery at 100% was estimating about 7hrs battery life in power saver and 30% brightness with wifi on. I figured out now that what was causing this was my CPU settings. Sony changed the way you can undervolt your CPU. I never saw this in the power management so i thought it never had these settings. Mine was running on full throttle before in power saver. Now i put it in silent mode with the same brightness setting and i got over 10hrs battery life on the indicator with Aero on. This is amazing.
This is better than my TX in Vista. The TX excels in XP.


Also, what makes it seem thicker is the battery and the grippers that Sony has used on the base of the notebook. This is good as it gives the notebook a nice tilt.

Edited to add:

In fact battery is predicted at over 12hrs with Aero turned of. i just checked. If i get 1-2 hours less doing websurfing in FF with a flashblock and non script then that is pretty amazing and beats Sony's projected battery life by far.

 

Hi Rachel,

How do you find the TT performance in terms of using CPU demanding applications such as Photoshop or any other application you have used?

It is a really nice machine. I am tossing up between the TT and the Z at the moment. I notice the lower end of the TT4 series has no HDMI - that is a bit naughty of Sony as I am sure all the previous TTs had HDMI connectors.

 

heavenly wild, i've not installed anything yet because I'm upgrading my HD to an SSD. I'm still getting the HD as i like without all the Sony bloatware, there was an insane amount of it.
I'm going to just back this up and then transfer my info to my new drive and i will take it from there.
It feels fast though even with the standard 250GB HD.
I doubt one is more expensive than the other HDMI V Modem. I mentioned i'm getting one added in. May be some people still have a need for one?
If i don't use built in wireless then i would tend to use ethernet.

Edited to add:
I found this about the clear type tough rich colour. I must admit the description did confuse me. I've not seen these displays before being refered to in this manner. This one is glossy though.
http://www.sony.com.sg/microsite/vaio/products/vaio_tt/tough_lcd.html

What do other TT3GD owners think?

 

Wait are you getting 10-12 hours on the standard battery or extended because that is at least 3 hours better than what I get. Maybe if did some undervolting that would help me get at least 10 hours?

 

Hi Rachel

I'm interested in your comments re the display coating on your TT3. While I've described the coating on my TT27GD/X as 'matt', it's not really 'matt' in the way I see on the HP business laptops I look after in my job - my TT coating is really more a 'satin' and is capable of reflecting a distinctive light source or bright window behind me, although definitely diffused. Now my TX was most definitely 'glossy' but not as glossy as I'd seen on other brands around the time the TX was new.

 

Hi Heavenly

I take your point - I've just taken a look at the specs for the new Acer Aspire 1820PT complete with touch screen. Only slightly larger than the TT but of course no optical drive. Still, not a bad package with 1.3Ghz dual-core ULV and as you say 1/3 the price of a TT. Thanks for bringing the new Acer series to my attention - I know this will interest some of the people I work with.

KJ

 

Coldmack, I put it in silent mode and my battery life shot up. I didn't do any undervolting as such. In silent mode and using power saver or even balanced battery life is very good. Of course if you download etc you won't get that kind of battery life.

When i surf on battery i always turn AERO of. Go to the performance tab and then the visual effects settings and select the best performance option. Doing this and what i mentioned above should boost your battery life. Of course you can also turn the dvd drive off which is what i did also.

With these settings and 30% brightness i am looking at least around 10hrs surfing in FF with a flashblock and noscript...it should be more. With these settings my SZ projected me 6hrs 45 mins at first and i ended up with 6hrs 05 in my first run down test.

kendallj, this display doesn't seem any different to me than my TX or SZ in terms of it being glossy or not. I find it hard to tell a difference. I have only used it at home so far though.

 

I don't think I have the option silent mode or for that matter seen that option listed. However, I do use a lower power mode when on battery and if I remember or really need the extra battery life I do turn off the optical drive. Where do you see this silent mode, so I can enable it when I get my TT back?

 

I forgot the other question you asked me, i have the standard battery that is rated at 59whr.
To alter the thermal settings you need to use the control centre to change it, it is listed under power management.

 

kendallj,

No problems mate. There are so many ULV netbook / notebooks out there that it makes one very confused when choosing one to buy for "on the go" purposes.

I wish Sony could actually lower their prices now that the US dollar has fallen dramatically. The only valid reason for not going for the Acer Aspire 1810 would be YouTube HD video playback. TT can handle all HD videos well from what I have read.

SU9xxx is 25% faster than SU4xxx?

 

i'm very confused about the storage specs of this vaio! from reading some of the posts, it seems like these notebooks use a 1.8" form factor right? how come some of the lower cost models come with only 120gb or 160gb hard drives? i didn't know hard drives come in 1.8" form factor. also, how come some of them are listed as SATA and some of them are ultra ATA (aka IDE right?)?

all i want to do is upgrade it with an intel SSD and i don't know whether to get the x18-m or x25-m. i'm trying to look up info on the TT, but not all the information match up