Any netbooks faster than my Sony TZ?

Hi,

Anyone happen to know from personal experience whether a current netbook would take my 2007-vintage Sony TZ (about the same specs as this one) for a ride in terms of processing and graphics power? I realize the TZ's screen and overall coolness factor is probably unmatched, but wonder if Atoms have caught up to the U7600 CPU in my TZ in the three years since I bought my laptop.

Best,
KJ

 

Atoms? Not a chance. The SU's though, definitely. There are small 11" or so laptops that are faster than a TZ.

 

Much appreciated. It's been awhile since I've dipped back into the laptop market: can you give an example of those 11" SU laptops you mentioned?

I'm trying to decide whether to extend the exorbitant accidental damage handling warranty that I used every single year (yep, three times) because of a cracked screen frame, or buy a netbook. Looks like I should pay up for an extension ($275 for 1yr or $37y for 2yrs!) rather than shift the dollars to a netbook, and save to upgrade to a "real" laptop ....

 

Here's one.

http://www.buy.com/prod/acer-aspire...2-duo-su7300-1-3-4gb/q/loc/101/212985106.html

Why oh why are you paying that much for accidental damage? You can get a PAP from any insurance company. Premium is $1 per $100 of coverage. So for a TZ worth $800 or so, the coverage would be $8/year. Some companies have a minimum of $5000 or so of coverage so it would be $50/year but then you could cover a bunch of other things with the excess.

 

I acutally don't think its worth buying an insurance for a laptop, since they prices are dropping so fast.
Just use it until you trash it again and then buy another one.

 

It's nasty, isn't it? Unfortunately, to extend a Sony ADH warranty costs that much after the original has expired (which only cost ~$300 for three years when I originally bought the TZ), and I was under the impression Sony's own ADH warranty was the only "express" service that could get my laptop fixed and back to me in a short amount of time (about 10 days). I never really thought about a simple personal insurance policy with a rider for the laptop, as I always wanted the laptop fixed rather than replaced.

With PAP or a rider on homeowner's insurance, what conditions need to be satisfied to be reimbursed for accidental damage? I don't even know whether accidents are covered ....

 

Sony came out with the Sony TT in 2008 and it was phased out towards the end of 2009. They come with SU processors and x4500 graphics which is two generations on from the 950 that the TZ uses. If you're keen on the design you still might able to pick one up now.

I own one with a SU9600 and it's a great notebook.

 

The TZ is more than perfect for my needs.I work most of the time outdoors(construction) and the form factor and lightweight of this equipment is fantastic(screen is awesome).What I use it for:

-Skype (get in touch with customers/main office) - WWAN SPRINT
-Check work orders/inventory
-Emails
-Internet
-Twitter
-Watch videos (since went Vista > W7 can watch 720P without hang ups.
-Listen to my radio stations/music

Yes after the TZ the TT was a much better option as far as SONY goes.

-Besides my C:128GBSSD upgrading D:250GB HDD > 128GBSSD KINGSTON V+
-Unfortunately RAM can't b upgraded from max 2GB (well...) I am happy that's what matters.

 

If I were in a position to buying a laptop today, or my current VGN-Z decides to bork up on me again (it's darn close...), I'd spend some extra time tracking down a new TZ.

Apart from the LCD Panel shorting recall a few years back, the TZ is, from what I read, one reliable machine. Granted the screen is flimsy (more so than the Z mind you), but you care for it right and the TZ will pay you back with a long usage life.

If I remember right, there were 3x generations worth of TZs. Get the 3rd gen with the fastest CPU, invest in a 256GB ZIF (PATA) SSD, and be happy ^_^

 

They already own a TZ with a U7600 1.2 processor with what seems to be a 32GB SSD and it is not powerful enough for them because of the graphics card and processor. Going for one with a 1.33 processor is hardly going to make any difference.


Edited to add:
Some other options if you can go up to 12.1

You could look at the Lenovo x201
Or possibly the Fujistu P770

 

Argh... Geez; just made a fool of myself there.

To answer the OP's original question. No; no netbook with an ATOM CPU is able to take on the TZ. Heck, the TZ comes with Vista by default. Albeit doesn't run great with it, but it's still usable (try sticking Vista Business into a netbook and you'll get an idea...).

That said, there are some new dual-core Atoms being rolled out by manufacturers. I have not had the opportunity to play with one as of yet, but considering their gradual intergration of nVidia ION platforms (better than the VGN-Z's 9300GM in terms of graphical performance), I'd say you'll start seeing netbooks meeting and surpassing the TZ by Christmas time this year.

 

the Intel Atom D525 @ 1.80GHz is faster

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11540412&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&e
Cat=BC|84|90366|56670|78129&N=4045270&Mo=57&No=51&Nr=P_CatalogName:
BC&cat=78129&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&hierPath=84*90366*56670*78129*&topnav=

 

Wow. You're right. Here are the passmarks. It smokes the U7600 by over 1%.

Intel Atom D525 @ 1.80GHz 709
Intel Core2 Duo U7600 @ 1.20GHz 701

 

What about power consumption?

 

The D525 is not a netbook CPU. It has a TDP of 13W and I believe intended for small desktop apps like HTPCs. The U7600 is 10W. To answer your question, no current netbooks have a CPU that's faster than your TZ's U7600. Though netbooks have sata HDDs and newer graphics so will be faster in other areas. CULV notebooks do however have newer ULV CPUs, sata drives and graphics so will be faster in all areas. Eg CULV systems below, as well as the one-gen older Acer 1410/1810T, Asus UL20A, Lenovo U150, MSI U200:

$560 11.6" Acer 1830T i3-330UM 3GB 250GB W7HP
$600 12" Asus UL20FT i3-330UM 2GB 320GB W7HP

There are also newer gen ultraportables that are significantly faster:

$780 13" Toshiba R705 i3-370M 2.4 4GB 500GB W7HP 3.2lbs with optical drive
$800 12" Lenovo x201i i3-370M 2.4 2GB 160GB W7P

Or one-gen older ebay 12" Lenovo_X200, Dell_E4200 or HP_2530P. E4200 is 1.1kgs(!!) and came factory delivered with a 64GB or 128GB SSD.

If you did want to keep the TZ, could overclock it, likely up to a stable 1.5Ghz and consider investing in a new 1.8" ZIF SSD. My 2510P has a U7600 running at 1.6Ghz, a ZIF SSD, benchmarks here. Win7 runs very well. TZ might get bogged down a bit by it's GMA950 IGP.

Your TZ may also have an option to swap out the optical drive for a 2.5" sata SSD or HDD.

 

You specified "netbooks" i don't know if this means you want to keep your budget to netbook prices.
Clearly the Fujistu P770, Lenovo 12.1 x201s models are clearly not in the typical netbook price category.
Another one to possibly consider would be the 10.1" Panasonic Let's Note J9. It doesn't come with a webcam. I'm not sure if that would be a problem for you. You probably could import it through Conics.
[Hands-On] Panasonic introduces fabulous business oriented compact Let?s Note J9 Akihabara News
They also carry 12.1" models.

If you do want to spend less and keep in the 12.1< market and want the latest specs then probably the current Acer 11.6 notebook UM models are your best bet.

The Sony Z is of course something that should be possibly considered. It weighs about 3lbs and with it being 13.1 it is still pretty portable.

 

Well.... Lenovo deeply discounts it's laptops. The X61 got blown out for $400. The X200 was $600 last week, which is what one of my netbooks cost me. So if the OP is patient, he can get a X201 for netbook prices when the X202 comes out. They won't be TZ sized though.

 

The CF-J9 with the Core i3 is pretty affordable compared to even what a TT/TZ was ...

((( Conics ))) Panasonic Toughbook CF-J9 L [Core i3 2.4GHz 370M] CF-J9NYABHR >> conics.net

 

The new 11.6" MacBook Air certainly looks interesting. This is now the best i think that there is out there in the <11.6" market.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air?mco=MTM3NjY1OTU

The 11.6 models come with C2D ULV processors the U9400 and U9600. It however does come with a 3200M integrated graphics card which performs above the 310M dedicated card. I'm not sure how the Intel card compares when it comes to power consumption.

Will Sony now respond?

It looks nice but and a big but for me is that the battery life looks to be way too short. I can get over 10hrs (probably about 11hrs) over wifi with decent brightness at 30%. Superb battery life is a must for me when it comes to ultaportables when you're out on the road or overseas. It also doesn't come with WWAN which is necessary for me. I also like having a built in bluray drive. No doubt those that need a good screen and would like a bit more graphics power will be tempted by the 11.6 MBA.


Edited to add:
Lol i forgot about the M11X that heavyweight 11.6 ultraportable. But for those that prize mobility and require a more discreet looking ultraportable the MBA seems to be out in front.

 

Rachael, you beat me to it.

 

That Apple does look very nice, and that's a first for me with Apple products.
Though I saw the specs and thought...

An Intel Core 2 Duo and a 320m? On something that small and an Apple, renown for heat management issues...? Though granted, you ain't gonna be doing anything intensive on something that small, but heck, I don't see how this new Air is going to be different to the one it's replacing in regards to cooking eggs on the underside...

I'd wait for a month AFTER release, if you plan on going the Apple route. Might pay to read user reviews, as I don't see that machine performing too well on the heat-management front, especially with that 320m (no matter how crappy it is).

 

It's an integrated card and is 40nm although it is pretty powerful all things considered. Nvidia may have improved on power management compared to the 65nm 9400M.
The SU 10w processors compared to the 17w SL should help as well. Although this is about the 11.6 model which is more of a replacement to the TZ.

 

I played with a Mac Air 11" yesterday over Best Buy.I didn't like the screen quality(sharpness).

 

Thank you all for your kind assistance, and apologies for the late reply. Some color on why I was asking about netbooks:

- My TZ's screen breaks once a year at various points: twice at the hinge (once up half the frame until the glass panel itself was about to fall out!), once right in the midpoint of the frame at the edges. The trackpad also got a loose and unresponsive. As this is the last time I can send in my TZ to be repaired -- the last three year's of ADH coverage has actually great in this respect -- I'm going to have to be very careful with the laptop going forward, which unfortunately is emphatically not how I use my equipment.

- While Win 7 runs very well on my TZ (195N/XC), as others have pointed out the GMA graphics are slow. I'm not sure if it's the CPU or graphics card at fault, but I can't quite get Hulu or 720p+ movies to run 100% smoothly so I can't even retire the TZ to a life as a HT set-top box. I'll look into overclocking to see if I can make Hulu can run a bit smoother.

All this means that at some point in the near future I'll have to look into buying a replacement for the TZ. Given how much I spent for the TZ ($4k including the ADH coverage, which as you know now I've had to use annually) I am a bit loathe to spend too much this time around. Plus now that I have an iPad my casual use of the TZ has dropped significantly (I still use it for more hard-core browsing and especially for work). However I still want the lightweight form factor, hence my initial interest in netbooks. From everyone's comments it looks like I'll have to cough up a bit more dough, which is OK. Thanks again for all that info, I'll report back here with what I buy.

As for Mac ... it's been years since I've owned a Mac, though I must say the Macbook Air 11" looks nice. I remember when the original Air came out and my first thought was: my TZ is lighter, smaller, and has longer battery life, ha! But this time around they finally made a laptop *smaller* than the TZ and now definitively faster, which tips the scales in Apple's favor a little.

But to be honest what I really want is Sony to bring back something like the TT with its much-improved screen hinge. I'm willing to reach deep into my pocket if I know something doesn't have a finite lifespan like my TZ.

 

I think you'd be surprised.

Apple MacBook Air 2010 Review: Heat, Battery Life and Conclusion

 

@Shurcool
115'F is around 45'C and that page says 'worryingly' hot? Jeez... My VGN-Z's nVidia idles at 60'C. Though granted, that's quite an achievement for something as powerful and small.

@Alberio
Sony first distinguished themselves in the laptop market with that green-LED-on-the-side design. It started with the B series if I remember correct (back in 2003?) That's what I think gives it that genuine Japanese look and feel, which is what won me over to the VAIO lineup (that plus it was the smallest and most powerful machine for my budget at the time).

I too would like something like the TZ reintroduced into the market. Everyone falls for the petite form-factor, weight, and functionality (at the time that is). We may get lucky as Apple may reignite some competition in that very sector.

...maybe a TZ with nVidia loaded on..?

 

The review talked about vent and case temperature and 115F is pretty damn hot. The current VPC-Z only gets to 105F vent temperature and we all know how much more performance the new Z has when compared to MBA. Your 60C nVidia is GPU core temperature, that would always be much hotter than the vent temperature.

And the green led power button started with X505 in 2002.