TX/TXN series Owners Lounge

Yeah I noticed that also....I didn't really know what it was for but even still when you put it on it looks a bit crooked. =P

Oh and yes rahulnirmal the Vista TX's do hiccup from time to time....the specs of the system just aren't there yet. My two cents..

 

eek, I hate that antenna.

Thanks for the info!

 

Oh, I see. Perfect... thanks!

 

Yes, you can remove the antenna and can get a small cap to cover up that ugly hole. But Islandboi, your TX already came with the cap? I haven't heard of any TXs coming with that cap.

And only TXs in North America come with the antenna and WWAN modem, all other TXs worldwide like in Asia and Europe don't have the antenna or modem.

 

Yes, my TXN27N came with the cap.

 

Mine did as well and so did the TXN15's and up...=)

 

Anyone that took the TX with the antenna and live in Europe? Does it work outside North America?
So you all agree that for the moment is better to take a TX with XP?

 

Oh, why are you exciting me like this??

Can't wait for an ULV Core Duo + SSD + 4GB of ram (why 3, when you can have 4?)

 

Notice I said 3 +.

 

Yeah man. No problem. At least I have a legitimate reason to wait before I get the TX...right before I go to law school...that's going to be one sweet notebook, even without the SSD.

 

You're gonna love it. Especially if it comes with any of the stuff I hope it will, once Santa Rosa becomes available.

 

I would like to say that ultraportables advance at technology at a considerably slower pace than other bigger laptops.

For instance, when the Vaio TX first launched last 2005, it had the Pentium M processor, GMA 900 graphics, etc. About 1.5 years later, its advanced to the Core Solo and GMA 950, advancing only slightly in power and battery life. Whereas in late 2005, notebooks had like 2.00 ghz Pentium M processors and now have 2.16 ghz Core 2 Duo processors, hi-def optical drives, etc.

I personally hope that Sony will come out with an entirely new design, the TX is nice, but I'm getting a bit tired of seeing the same chassis over 1.5 years.

 

What I personally hope for is a new Vaio ultraportable that looks like a scaled down version of the Vaio SZ, which means a 11 inch screen with a webcam and carbon fiber chassis. Hopefully they can then throw in a dual core ULV processor, a hybrid hard drive, Intel X3000 integrated graphics and perhaps a slightly thinner profile than the TX

 

Has anyone looked into Intel's X3000 graphics and how much improvement will that make compare to the GMA 950 in today's laptops?

 

My ideal TXN would be Core Duo ULV, Draft-N wifi, Web Camera, Sprint EVDO Rev A (Enabled) 2GB+ RAM and faster or hybrid HD. I really hope Sony gets the idea what we want in the Ultra Portable Notebook, Personally I can sacrifice a little battery power for the faster processor. Like you guys have said, this notebook sure is a bare min for Vista.

Btw, since I have returned the SZ because it doesn't have built in EVDO but rather Ancient EDGE, now I am still using my Aged to perfection VGN-S150 which runs on Centrino 1.6G, how does it compared to the ULV Core Solo 1.3G? I bet my Centrino still runs faster right? and does the TXN's graphics engine runs faster or slower then my ATI Mobility Radeon 9200? Because simply if TXN can out runs my Aged S150, then I see a reason to upgrade given the form factor are much smaller. but I am still hoping Sony would release the firmware for the EVDO A, I am kind of afraid that Sony did this on purpose so the next version of TXN would have the Rev A enabled to be a selling point. Sneaky Sony!

 

The TXN25, 27, and 29 have EVDO Rev. A cards. I'm using mine right now.

 

Sorry, are you guys really sure the newer TXN27 or 29 would not work with older TXN17's driver for the Windows XP? I really can't believe Sony would update their laptop just for the new OS. besides all the specs are the same, so what changed that make the XP driver incompatible? btw, does the Finger Print scanner worked on the Vista?

 

IsLNdboi, I know they have Rev A card inside, but I heard their firmware is still at Rev 0, so you don't get the benfit of Rev A. the shorter latency and faster upload speed and etc.

 

The TX graphics card (Intel GMA950) will not nearly match up to the Mobility Radeon 9200 in the S150. The upcoming GMA X3000 should be able to better the MR9200, but that will not be out until Q2 or 3.
In terms of speed of processor, they should be similar, if not the newer Core Solo should be faster (due to the internal micro-architecture of the chip).

 

The shipping TXN25s, 27s and 29s do have fully compatible RevA cards inside. The card is running at RevA speeds.

I can confirm this. Using 2wire, DSLReport's Speed Test and various other speed test sites, I get ~ 2668 kb/second (kilobits per second) and uploads of ~ 789 bk/second.

The SmartWi utility also shows "Sprint EVDO Rev.A".

 

The possibility that the TXN comes with a Core duo and a hybrid HD is an ipothesis ( and a wish of all of us ) or a fact? And in that case, we will have to wait a lot?

 

I too wish the SZ had built in Broadband capabilities. I'd rather not have to use a card.

 

Does the TXN15 have this as well?

 

Woow, That's good to hear, from the other forums, they were saying their unit was Rev 0. IsLNdbOi, is there a way I can verify this when I go down to the SonyStyle store and check before I buy? because the SonyStyle store here doesn't have a return policy, or maybe restock charges.

Yeah, because I have to worry about carrying an extra card and also worry about the card that's sticking out get knocked over and stuff. and I am almost certain Sony is going to carry Sprint's broadband card to SZ as well.. hmm. maybe I should wait for that huh..

 

Any idea when that might happen?

 

To tell whether it has EVDO Rev.A, you have to look at the SmartWi utility on the sidebar. It should say "EVDO Rev.A". The only way to really know though is to be able to test it using 2Wire, or DSLReport's speed test.

 

Anyone knows if to the TX27 is possible add more RAM? It has 2 GB.
The TX supports the dual mode channel or is ok to put different sicks?

 

Nope. 2GB is the max you can have. 1GB of that is soldered to the motherboard so it's not removable. The other 1GB is removable, but you can't put anything more than 1GB in the slot anyway (you can, but the motherboard won't support it). The TXN does not support dual channel so you don't have to worry about that. Read post #: 38 of this thread.

 

Hey guys, will Photoshop work okay with a TX? Or does it need a more powerful computer to run smoothly?

 

From what i read in this forum regarding TX, the more wise choice is or to wait for a new model or at least dont take the latest version with Vista because is slow.
And me that i thought that i found the perfect laptop
So, i think i'm going to wait..or i will take TX with XP. The TX17 seems also interesting.

 

i doubt you'll see santa rosa in the tx anytime soon

if anything look for an ulv c2d

 

I believe we'll see a Santa Rosa based TX within the next six months.

 

My laptop has a Pentium4 CPU 3.06 GHZ, 448MB RAM, graphic card VGA standard. And i installed lately Vista Ultimate...
TX will be faster than this?

 

How well does Vista Ultimate run on that laptop? I don't think the TX could run Vista Ultimate any faster than Vista Business that's on it.

 

No, i ment the Core Solo 1.33 GHz is it faster than Pentium4 3.06Ghz?
How it runs Ultimate the old Toshiba with Pentium i don't know..is a miracle! But i cant run Aero because it tells me that needs at least 1 GB Ram ( i have 448 MB ) and another grachic card!

 

In past week you've been asking similar questions multiple times in different threads. That's one week you could have been trying out a TXN.

 

Yes i know, because i want to take several experiences. I am in Europe and Sony store here doesn't have the return policy. So once you buy something you must keep it. If it was like the States i would take it for few days to see if i like it and if not i give it back..If it was like that i wouldnt ask of course so many questions in different threads. But since is NOT like that i will ask and who wants rispond.

 

Can anyone tell me any site where i can see reviews of Sony Vaio? Except Cnet.com...

I would like to see by experts what they think about Vista on the TXN27.

 

I just played with a TXN25 with Vista at BestBuy. I hate to say it, but it seemed pretty slow to me.

 

It is very slow. I can't justify paying that much money for something like the current TXNs. They really have to put at least a core duo and a faster hard drive in there.

 

Very few ultraportables use 2.5" drives which can go up to 7200rpm. Sony has used 1.8" for quite awhile.

So until SSDs that are 64GB and above become affordable, you're going to be stuck with the 1.8" 4200rpm drives. And as I said in the other thread, I'm not sure how much more horsepower a ULV CD 1.06 or 1.2 is going to get you over the ULV CS 1.33 other than some better multitasking. If you need power, the TX isn't for you.

 

Most of the times i do web surfing, office work and downloading music and movies from limewire and azureus. Do you think is ok for me the TX?

 

Unless the drive can't keep up with how fast you're downloading, it should be fine. Most laptops have either 4200rpm or 5400rpm drives as standard. 7200rpm is usually more of a higher end option on more powerful notebooks.

 

I would say absolutely, should be fine. I have tried that with a TX and it was just fine, the hard drive was not as much of a bottleneck as one may think.

 

actually my VGN-S150 used to run a 4200RPM drive, and I have upgraded to 7200RPM, I do noticed the speed difference and the noise, however the speed difference in real life isn't much. so like rahulnirmal said, it really isn't as slow as one might think. but hopefully with 2GB of memory will reduce the access of HD so you don't let the HD constantly accessing and seeking for data.

 

Ok, good!

So the big question ( they are also discussing about it in the other thread SZvs TX ) is which TX is better? The latest one that quite everyone says is slow with Vista or the TX17 with XP? I think the best is to wait to see more reviews about the TXN27.
If i could play with it just a little like you people do in the States..but here in Europe they keep the laptops locked behind a glass.. Or you buy it or nothing!
Appreciate your help and the patience with all my questions. lillapika

 

If you are really bent on XP, just get the new version (better specs overall) and load XP on it.

 

I have heard that especially with Sony, its quite difficult to remove Vista on a Vista loaded machine and replace it with XP?

 

Really? That's curious. Because it should be the same with all computers. The TX has a built in optical drive, so I don't see how there can be an issue with this.

 

I read that somewhere too. I think the only "safe" way to use XP on a new Vaio is to buy the last series that was released with XP. I've heard that they're virtually the same as the new ones anyway.