TX/TXN series Owners Lounge

Great Find! Never knew those things were available, I ordered the microfiber cloth and the keyboard skin. btw, the taketen coupon still works!

Rep for you.

 

Glad I could help!

It's always good to spend a little bit of money to protect a $2k+ investment.

 

I also opened my TXN15P to change the thermal compund. I used Arctic Silver 5. But there is not any changes on my CPU temps. It still keeps around 55C- 60C during normal web browsing. I notice the CPU fan will turn off (or be more quiet) when it's 54C or below. My room temp is about 23C-26C, I live in South CA.

On my S56, I used NHC to reduce CPU voltage to 0.7XXXV, CUP temps kept around 46C- 49C during normal web browsing and the fan sound was off most of the time. On my TX, NHC does not help. Does anyone reduce the fan noise sucessufuly?

I also changed the wifi card. Before I did it, I wasn't able to connect to my school's wifi router because signal was too low. My S56 works, but why my TX doesn't? Then I found out other users had complained about TX's wifi ability. After searching on the web for an hour, I found a solution on a Chinese web site (I'm a Hong Konger). I just need to replace an Athero AR5424 wifi network card and it should be fine. I did so. And now, I'm able to connect to my school's wifi network. The signal bar is full compare to intel pro wireless which give me only 1 or none. I also uninstall SmartWi and install Wireless Switch Setting Utility since I don't use WWAN at all. It's more user friendly.

I want to add a Accident Damage Protection plan to my TXN15. I bought it on ebay and I don't have a reciept. It's a new sealed refurbished machine. Am I qualify to get that plan?

I'm actually thinking about to unplug the fan to make it fanless but I'm not sure if it will increase my machine's temps to a damage level or not.

 

Ouch I hate when you say that, now I really have to go back and talk to the sales about it and see if he will let me open the other computer and see which one is worse. Thanks for the tip though. btw, you said you have opened the TXN17 to reapply the ceramique, what's underneath where my hump is? according to the PDF you attached, it's nothing but a chipset. it should cause that hump.

 

Your hump is a lot worse than the slight one on my TX850 too.

You should print this thread and take it with you to back up your belief that the one you got is unacceptable.

Maybe it's not because of something underneath. Maybe the fit of the keyboard into the case is so tight that it bends at a weak point, which for some reason is always in that spot. I've never taken a laptop apart so I don't really know what I'm talking about... just speculating.

 

My old TX750P/B had the hump, but not large enough to complain about.
The hump on my new TXN15P is barely noticeable - you have to hold the laptop at the eye level, and only then you can see less than 0.5 mm raise near X, C, V buttons.
That means that the problem can be avoided or reduced in assembly process, so those who have a camel of laptops should definitely seek warranty repair.

 

Well, as I said. Value your money. I doubt that you are comfortable paying 2K+ for a piece of junk, so just take it back and demand an exchange. That would been the first thing I would do. As you've seen I returned the TXN27 the day I got it because I didn't like it. If it was for free, then I would've at least thought about keeping it, but not at that price tag

The chipset is underneath the hump, but again, that is a bit misleading, since the whole palmrest/keyboard has plastic touching everywhere.

I doubt it is a defect and would classify it as a bad assembly/lack of Qaulity control. Remember when I said that the TXN27's monitor reacted with pressure spots when I barely touched the right tip of the screen. This is a result of over-tightening the screws that are holding the package. It is prone to more damage and is less flexible. Same story with the hump. Someone had over-tightened some screws and the pressure buildup had created the hump.

At that price tag you should not be forced to send the laptop for repair.

Imagine your machine traveling in a generic box back and forth from San Diego and someone in the US opening it and 'fixing it'

The TXes are made in Japan and even though they are not perfect, I kinda don't like the idea of getting a Crysler-ed Sony a week after.

I had quite an experience repairing my T350's LCD 3 times in a year time...

 

Thanks man, that's interesting.

 

Question... I have a TXN27 with vista... and sprint EVDO coverage. Has anyone tried to download and install the new connection manger from Novatel that you can get from sprint. It is listed as good for the S720, USB720, EX720 etc, but it doesn't list the ES720 which I think is what is embedded in my sony. I am guessing that it will work. I downloaded and it says it wants to flash upgrade the modem firmware when I try and run it. I already have RevA coverage, but I was really hoping to activate the GPS chip rumored to be in the thing.

If any one gets this working I would love to know about it.

 

Hello, I was wondering if you guys could answer a few questions for me.

I'm getting ready to go to college an am looking for a nice computer to lug around between classes and home and my dorm and such. My current HP Pavilion zd8000 is a desktop replace and just isn't going to cut it.

I've been looking at a nice custom HP dv2000t but I saw the TX Vaio and feel in love with its size and style.

My questions are basically
1] Is the screen small to the point of being uncomfortable to read? I am thinking of getting an external monitor for in-dorm use.
2]Is the solo processor too weak to do web surfing, and a bit of photoshop? I know PS is more RAM intensive but processor still counts.
3]Is it worth that huge price tag? The HP dv2000and their small convertible laptop are more than a grand less expensive.

EDIT: Would I be better served in buying a ASUS S6F? It's more powerful and cheaper, but a bit heavier, less battery life, and the build quality doesn't look as good.

 

Ultimately, its up to you if the screen is too small or not, its very subjective, some will find it too small, some will find it perfect, I am the latter, its the perfect size for me, I have no problem reading on it, it is just a pure joy to use.

No, its definately not worth the huge price tag if you ask me. I would definately check out its competitors, the Asus S6F/S6Fm, Asus U1F, upcoming Averatec 1500 and Fujitsu Lifebook P7230 as far as I know. All of these are significantly cheaper than the TX though the TX has them all beat in battery life though. If the TX was cheaper, I would consider it, but otherwise, no way in heck especially with all the other competitors out there.

I myself am interested in the Averatec 1500, it will have a 1.06 ghz Core Duo processor, 1 gig of ram, 120 gig 5400 rpm hard drive, dvd burner, vista and will retail for around $1300. Its a great price for what you get and it may not have amenities like bluetooth, LED backlighting, as good battery life, etc. but the price is pretty good.

The Core Solo processor is perfect for web surfing and some photoshop, I don't think you'll find too much lag, the only problem may be the 4200 rpm hard drive.

Ultimately, I may just wait, there may be a refresh to the TX or a whole new model from Sony coming up soon with the release of Santa Rosa, I dunno. I do know that the Japanese version of the Fujitsu Lifebook P7230 has just been announced with a core duo processor and will be coming in Japan later this month, most likely Sony will announce something too?

If you can find a TX for cheaper somewhere else I would get it, but no way would I pay the MSRP for it, not worth it. You can get all the other competitors I listed for cheaper.

 

In a nutshell...

For me, screen size is perfect. It's also a beautiful, bright, clear screen.
Notebook size and weight is ideal (again... for me)
Battery life is essential to me and the TX can't be beat.
Processor is fast enough for me (mostly word processing and movie watching) but I don't use it to web surf so can't comment on that.
Price is premium, but I thought it was worth it. I have no regrets.
(I personally would not buy one with Vista, however)

 

If you'll be using an external monitor you'll probably be fine... but you should really use the TX at a store to make sure you'll be okay when you don't have the external monitor connected.

I looked very seriously at the TX. I went back to several stores several times. I almost bought one -- but ultimately decided the screen size and extra-high resolution made text just slightly too small for me. I realized that what is best for me is a 12.1" screen with 1280x800 resolution, so I ended up ordering a Dell D420. It should be arriving today.

 

Well, I think that the increased cost is supported by a better build quality. The biggest concern right now is performance. I can get faster equipment out of ASUS but the battery life drops considerably. I've seen some people say ts fine for word processing and others say its horrible. I've seen videos of a UX UMPC with vista and it seemed fine, so why would this be any different?

 

The UX series are equipped with SSDs.

 

In North America, only the UX390N has a SSD drive, 32 gigs to be exact, the rest all have regular hard drives and the UX390N is also black color whereas the rest are silver colored, I think all black UXs have SSDs worldwide.

 

Office depot has the TXN17P/B for 1699. Credit to fatwallet.

 

^ it comes with xp too

 

Does anyone know if the TZ will come with the GMA 950 graphics or GMA X3000 graphics?

 

Not always. The new HP 2510p ultraportable also uses U7500/U7600 and is equipped with GMA X3100.

http://google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnotebookitalia.it%2Ftutti-i-nuovi-hp-compaq-basati-su-santa-rosa-2500p-6910p-8510p-8510w-8710p-e.html&langpair=it%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8
Near the bottom of the page.

 

just sold my TXN15 (running xp) and looking for a TX25N/B.
any TXN user ?

just heard its working so slow ... and have many cons and problems !!
- slow processor
- slow hard drive
- vista s***s !
- long time to boot-up !!

i know there's many other options out there , like SZ series but unfortunately hanged with TX and cant switch on to another model !!
can I downgrade to xp ? drviers works !!? for bluetooth , fingerprint , AV mode .. ? anyone tried before?

 

install XP and you will be fine.

drivers are at ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/os

 

your link doesnt work !!
have you tried it ?

 

works just fine.

your drivers are here:

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/os/XPDOWNGRADE/TX5

 

2nd link works fine. thanks.
have you tried it in your TXN ?

other views ?
also i thought about deleting many pre-installed softwares on vista to increase the speed , does it work ?
in addition , can I install a new vista on it ? (CD)

 

i had a TX15 and TXN27 and never kept the original partition. as for the new vista. with the TXN's and the core solo, you will be better off with XP

 

my TXN15 worked just fine, i wanted to upgrade it to TX25N casue for vista!
but seems i was wrong !!
is vista really working slow on TXN25 or 27 ??

 

I had a TXN15P loved it and got my TZ150 after I sold it I wished I could have kept both but seeing that I am a poor college student I couldn't justify it. Perhaps one day I will buy another one nothing could touch it on battery life

 

vista is bad with everything

It is the Windows ME Repeated...

 

yes its battery life is damn great !!!

I hate vista ... it just made me thinking of getting a Mac after 6,7 years.
Microsft sacrificed everything for just a better graphic, but still there's many holes and drawbacks in vista. it just kills the free memory for nothing !!
down with Vista and microsoft marketing strategies!!! :down:

 

the claim about the battery is not entirely true. If you run XP on the TZ and optimize your install you will get 5+ hours on the SSD+DVD and 4+ hours on the SSD+HDD model. This is to par with the TX/TXNs.

 

ummmmmm not really the txn has alot more battery life considering it using only a core solo which uses a lower power the than the core 2 duo in the TZ. I am using xp on my TZ at the moment considering I wrote the guide to downgrade the TZ to xp. Battery life is the only thing not improved upon from the TXN to the TZ

 

Well,

I beg to differ. I haven't seen your guide since I've always followed the little Clean XP install provided by Sony, although it is unfair to compare TXes battery @ 7200mAh with TZes @ 5800mAh.

Get the large one for the TZ and you will forget what charging means. The VGP-BPX11 is about 8700mAh.

Best case scenario, the battery life of the TX is 10-15% more than the TZ.
I had both models side by side during my transition....

 

TXN battery life is really wonderful !!
i treid a TZ of my buddy .. but didnt like it at all !! ... stick to my TXN.

 

Are you speaking about the battery? Can you expain better why you didn't like the TZ in confront of the TXN?

 

first of all the black TZ is not cup of my tea !! .. it reminds me a model of ASUS in this size ( i prefer the white version) , also TXN keypad is really more tactile and easier to press !!
this time multimedia keys located in front of the case in TZ, its harder to press in comparison with TX music keys in the hinge.
the battery life is really decent ... i believe that TXN cant run vista properly but who cares !!?
you know it doesnt worth to pay 400-500$ over TXN only for a Core-Duo processor!!

 

The TXN I used to have did have some good points -

- Easier to keep clean (no piano black finish around the keys)
- Screen bezel around the lcd is thinner so it looks nicer imho
- I liked the dedicated volume and mute buttons
- Placement of the hdd light was better

 

Yeah, why did they remove the volume and mute buttons? Quite useful on the TX.
Another knock against it is it only has one accessible ram slot total, whereas the TXs had an accessible ram slot and some ram soldered onto the motherboard so you could go up to 2.5gb of ram in the TX vs 2gb in the TZ.

Now I'm making the TZ sound bad.


The TZ is available in white, though its much rarer than the black models, though easier to find in Asia.

 

yes its available in white and its pricey too !!

 

I was quite convinced to pull the trigger on a TZ, but you make me think back.
Is always a question of price, and in my opinion the TZ is overpriced for what you take. The TX is very similar design and costs much less, but of course is less powerfull with the Core Solo and the slow 4200 rpm HD.

 

yes TZ is really overpriced ... and doesnt offer the best features !!

 

I was going to buy a TZ for $1800 + Tax (which was on sale at sony store around september-october) but then after comparing to the TX, the only major advantages were:

- Webcam
- Styling
- Dual Core processor

I had waited for two years for the successor of the TX as I thought the core duo would provide a major boost, but instead found out that it uses more power than the core solo and reduces battery life. Since the webcam wasn't that important to me, I got a mint conidition TX instead for $1200 at that time and I'm very happy with my decision! For an ultraportable user, the small increase in performance is definitely not worth that huge price difference.

 

Exactly, same things I'm thinking. What model do you have? Is it too slow with the 4200 rpm HD?
Is it better to buy a TXN with Vista or a TX15 that is older? Any ideas where can I buy a TX except e-bay?

 

I have the TX750 (which was cheaper than the TXN). It has 1gb ram and is not slow at all for normal use (web browsing/office tasks/research). However, the HD is noticeably slow when using hard drive intensive tasks (unrarring large rar collections, etc...).

I think TXN is better because it has better battery life (11 hrs max vs. 7 hrs max.), but price will be ~$1500-1600 i believe.

 

Thanks for your answer imagine.

Any users of TXN have had issues as fan noise, slow HD...etc?

Anyone knows any good deal for purchasing this lappy?

 

I've got a TX and would have to agree with you. I didn't realize the volume/mute buttons were eliminated. I use them multiple times, every day.

I love my TX. I use it all the time and carry it everywhere. I'm especially fond of the gps navigation software I installed on it.

I got a refurbished, floor model, on sale, so I saved a ton.

 

Interesting. What model do you have?

Can you tell me more about issues like fan noise,screen, and the hard drive? I suppose you have XP on it
Also from where did you purchased it?

 

I think a lot of depends which models of the TX series are we are speaking about. I have heard that the latest TXN25,27,29 have as SONY says a lot of issues. Vista doesn't run smoothly, fan noise..etc. But I have read in this forum that the TXN15 with XP is much better from the first models.
Of course, I wouldn't consider even a TX if it wasn't around 1000$-1200$. In my opinion the extra 1k that you will spend for a TZ with the lowest specs (without SSD), are not worth it. The main difference is the ULV Core 2 Duo instead of the Core Solo. But always, one takes an ultraportable for battey life and general portability and not for the performance. For sure, TZ is a better machine, but I'm also sure that for basics things the TX will run just fine.

 

ok guys, i recieved my TXN25N yesterday, the battery life is still great ...
the only thing that made me nervous is many unregistered preinstalled softwares !!!
its no that slow i thoguht ... i'll post a mini review through upcoming days.

 

Sorry for the delayed response. For some reason, I'm not receiving e-mail notifications of new posts.

I have the white/off-white TXN25N.

I don't remember ever being bothered by fan noise from this machine. Maybe others are in much quieter environments than I.

The screen has never given me a single second of concern as far as color depth, richness, etc. I wonder if |SONY| got a bad unit or if s/he just has a much, MUCH higher standards.

The hard drive does the job. I haven't had any issues with it, but then, again, any time the machine is slow, I blame Vista.

It came with and still has Vista Business. I wanted XP because I'm not Vista enthusiast, but they wanted me to pay more for an XP machine. I couldn't justify that, so I got this one.

A Sony Style factory store in Destin, Florida.