Any new models on the horizon? (VAIO summer refresh)

I'm not sure, I'm not really following Z at the moment. I think it's mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

cronny posted this in the SR series owners thread, the new SR refreshed-preorder.


http://redirectingat.com/?id=525X832&url=http://www.jr.com/sony/pe/SON_VGNSR430JB/

 

Well it looks like the Z is going to be the same with same old graphics, maybe up to 8gb ram and colours. Now i might go with the SR, decent graphics.

 

Yeah I notice the Z or the TT not getting a graphics update for the price(and refurbished is not going down in price) I am now looking at Samsung and others again. Come on sony just give a nice GPU upgrade on both these devices you know you want to.

 

The Z is perfect with optional carbon fibre, blu ray, hi res screen, decent processor and ram, hdmi ect, its just that geforce 9300gs Its one of the best in the market right now, i bet they cant change the graphics because of something to do with the speed and stamina parts, maybe they are waitng for the next gen intel graphics.

 

^
I think that now it is likely to be a heat thing why Sony have stuck with this card now. People complain that the Z already gets pretty hot in speed mode.
It would never get the 4570 because of size limits and having an optical drive in place.
The G105M is a higher clocked 9300GS and also runs a bit hotter as well 13W/14W. From what i've seen it doesn't seem like that much of an upgrade over the 9300GS.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/review/2009/05/19/Samsung-Q320---13-4in-Laptop/p5
I think that is the best that they could go with though is the G105M at least for now anyway.

 

"I bet they can't change the graphics because of something to do with the speed and stamina..." You're absolutely right. The only thing allowing the Z to run the way it does is specifically because of the 9300G. The card itself is the 2 cards in one and was built from the ground up for the purpose its serving in the Z. The only upgrade the Z could get while maintaining its functionality as a Z would be if a newer version of the 9300 came out. Which as far as i know, there isn't anything. (Possibly the card in the new Macbook Pro Pro's, seriously, they messed up their naming).

I forgot to add that 2 nights ago I stumbled onto a site that allowed you to compare mobile graphics cards (was linked from notebookreview thread for GPU's) and from whats out there, Sony actually does have one of the better cards in its Z. I've been planning on purchasing one for over a month now, and then heard about the summer refresh. I personally dont care about the colors, but 8GB of ram sounds nice. And for the video card? I play WOW, raiding and everything, and wanted a decent portable that could at least run the game. From the stats on the 9300 compared to other cards (like the 9400m) the Z actually isn't all that bad. Honestly, for its size and battery life, its absolutely amazing!

 

I don't understand why two cards are needed in the first place. For example, the ATI Mobility HD 3470 in the FW (and I presume every other ATI Mobility card, I don't know about Nvidia though) underclocks itself when on battery and I know this because when I play a game, my fps drops by about 20 fps (testing UT2K4).

I mean, 2 cards just complicates things and I find it really more of a marketing gimmick.

 

Do you know how much power the underclocked 3470 uses vs. the GMA 4500? The 4500 will likely be less.

 

Well obviously the 3470 is likely to be programmed to downclock to a certain frequency but I'm sure it can be done even further.

The point is, graphics card manufacturer can certainly tweak the mobile graphics chip and offer certain options in their own respective Control Centers to conserve even more battery without the need for a second video card.

Surely that should be easier to do than shoving in 2 video card ships, especially in a compact laptop.

 

nobody is looking forward to the new fw series？

 

Dears

have a look at the Sony Asia site, look in the various areas they have teh specs of all the "NEW" notebooks... The product numbers might be different but this is whats coming to a store near you ... here in the middle east we should have them in the next 3 weeks ... you guys ... next month

? http://www.sony-asia.com/productcategory/it-personal-computer

 

Because your SR get 3.5 hours when the GPU is downclocked. That's not enough for Z. Z gets about 5.5 hours on Intel 4500.

So the power consumption of Intel 4500 is much lower than a down clocked 3470, that's why it needs two cards.

Lots of people are. Check the beginning of this thread.

Actually now the FW has 4650 it's getting more attention than ever here in the Netherlands.

 

Well Wolf does bring up a valid point. If Sony(well any company running a dual gfx setup like this) instead makes stamina mode underclock the nvidia gpu a solid amount where power consumption and performance is about equal to 4500hd igp, instead of having both. This in turn it could save cost for both Sony and even the consumer, not to mention possible allow the machine to be lighter and possibly thinner(?).

 

Hmmm, in term of the screen, is there any difference between these 2 FW models:
http://www.sony-asia.com/product/Co..._en_AP_i&models=VGN-FW45MJ&models=VGN-FW25M/B

The description at the top of both notebooks said that the screen is Clear Bright LCD Lite but the description at the table of each notebooks said differently.

The VGN-FW45MJ/B said that the screen is Clear Bright LCD [Rich Colour] and the VGN-FW25M/B said that the screen is Clear Bright LCD Lite. Does it mean that the screen is actually different? Does rich colour equals Hi-Color for FW US Models?

 

as far as I know that point does not exist.

4500 consumes less power than Nvidia 9300, no matter how far you down clock the Nvidia.

 

I am looking forward to buy one but if and only if Sony offers HiColor Screen at 1600x900. Because of my personal preference, I don't like Full HD screen at 1920x1080 or ECO screen at 1600x900. So far, Sony US has not said whether or not they will offer it.

 

Also, take account for the fact that SR's battery only has 4800mAH compared to the Z's 5400mAH. This gives the Z the extra edge. If the SR had the same capacity as the Z, i am pretty sure the SR can get 4.5-5 hrs easy; therefore 1 hour less than Z.

But lets be honest, a 13.3-inch with a pretty decent dedicated video card that can last for 3-4.5 hrs is pretty amazing to me.

 

I thought the Z has a 5200mAh battery, that makes it a 7% difference. But let's say it is 5400mAh which would make it 11% more capacity than SR.

11% percent more battery capacity would give the SR 3 hours and 53 minutes battery life.

As you can see the Intel 4500 consumes a whole lot less power than a down clocked 3470. When it comes to power consumption, Intel's 4500 is one of the most efficient solutions. That's why it's being used so often in ultra portables.

 

What about the slightly better intel 4700HD? Why is that not being used instead of the 4500hd? Also dont you think intel did on purpose so manufacture can favor their integrated gpu more over an integrated solution from either ATI or nvidia?

 

The 4700 is a slightly higher clocked 4500 and clocking higher is not good for power consumption.

But look at it this way: What applications can not be run with Intel 4500?
It's only games (and some video editing or 3d rendering.)

And for people who want to play games Intel 4700 sucks. Even Nvidia 9300 sucks. Even the newer G 105 sucks for gaming.

So I can understand Sony. Z is a business device which gets the best battery life, SR with 4570 gets the gaming power.

It will be interesting to see if Lenovo updates the U330 with hybrid Ati 4570 though.

 

So quick answer is that the 25 model is a few release's old..
the 20's and 10's series were the first out the door the 30's series was the refresh 3 months ago the 40's are the latest we only have 1 Screen type here which according to the Sony guys are the equivalent to the highest spec in the US. that the way they do things in this part of the world...

 

because of the size of the font？I wanna buy one for my first year in college,the features like big screen,good video card seem could give me a good multimedia experience.is there any picture i can see about the real size of font in FULL HD screen?

 

It will look like this.

Just kidding. A picture won't really work because the picture will be scaled.

You'll have to see it in real life. If you go to a shop you can also look for other 16.4" displays with 1920*1080. Like Acer, Dell and HP.

 

im fine withIntel HD4500, its still playing the games i wanted at pretty fps rate lol.
about the gpu update on Z, if you guys read on Z dev interview, they even mention they have to sacrifice the cooling system to make Z sits inbetween of SZ and TZ. the nvidia 9300 is already generates heat at red sign (~ 100c) running peak. i dont think upgrade to slight powerful gpu will be good, unless sony redesign the cooling system of Z again. :/

and also, they need to keep updating their drivers for nvidia instead of relying on stock/old driver for quite long.. this is what sony lacks usually lolz.

ps: im happy choosing Z as my current VAIO, as its suits my needs for mobility and to act as main pc (i dont have desktop, and moving alot, so yea Z is the best for this situation). im not an hardcore gamer either and i have console for gaming. im just a little upset on driver support update by sony though.

 

well...thanks...but,i can see that easily...if that's real...i'm on it...
i'll check it out

 

No lol it was a joke! Yes go see for your self in real life.

 

So theres not many options for Sony to upgrade the graphics in the Z. Maybe they can do what the macbook pros do, or they could ditch the speed and stamina and put one nice decent graphics card.

 

LG has fitted a 9600GT in the LG P310 so it is possible. They had to ditch the optical drive though to have enough room for cooling I guess.

And several 13" laptops with ATI 4570 are coming out now, with optical drives. If 4570 can work in a hybrid solution it would be nice for Z.

 

I dont mind not having an optical drive as long as its included, loads of vendors are doing this such as hp, lg. I would love a 4570 in a Z and an external blu-ray, dvd cd drive.

 

An external drive is pretty good idea, pending they keep it slim, uses one USB port, and we get a better graphics in a device that is a little thinner. But, knowing Sony they probably would make it an option instead of standard like the Samsung X360(in every place, but North America they get the external standard, while we have to pay extra for it).

 

I want a new FW !!!!

 

Because I don't want to get into trouble, all I can say is there will be a new Sony Vaio TT. If you currently look at Intel website you will see what the TT could get. It's new to the TT, but not to Sony.

 

Now with that said why can Sony add some decent gfx to the TT. If LG can do it with their 10.6in X100 and P100, bot of which have the same cpu as the TT, why can't Sony?

 

Can you give us just a little bit more info?

Should I look at Intel's business website or play?

 

Wimax like the new Japansese P?

 

Wimax would make sense. Pretty boring though...

Or maybe it's Intel's SSD. I'm checking sony.co.jp now what else it could be.

Edit: Sony.co.jp is showing SU9600 1.6GHz and 2x256GB SSD in RAID. And Celeron 723! The new 1.2GHz CULV CPU. I think that's it.

Maybe this will mean a very cheap TT!

 

Yeah, but the Celeron 723 is really not that good performance wise, just look at the base Acer Timeline numbers. Then couple that with the 4500hd it performance wont be that good. Event the Acer comes with the 9400. At least on the plus side it will have better battery life. Also, it maybe cheaper at lets say 1100usd, but that still a good amount more than the larger Lenvo u350 coming out, the MSI U200, or the Acer Timeline using the same chip, heck it still more than those models using the Core 2 Solo cpu.

Has Sony used that Celeron or C2S cpu before?

edit: oopps didn't realize they are using the Celeron CPU in the base TT right now.

 

Wow if it is the Celeron it will be news to me. Lets hope not they add that.

 

I have seen benchmarks of the Acer with SU3500 but not with Celeron 723. Have you?

On paper it's not very promising I agree, but I'd like to see benchmarks.

 

Well here is a cnet review of the MSI X340 which is using the C2S cpu, which is suppose to better than the Celeron. http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/msi-x340-black/4505-3121_7-33664904.html they have some benchmark comparisons against the Dell Adamo and a few other machines using the C2D low voltage cpu.

 

Interesting I would have though the Celeron cpu would a little faster than the C2S. Well I got to ask my sources of Celeron will come world wide in the TT. Hmm btw you guys are looking to deep into the update. sony also offers one of the updates in other countries in its other models too.

 

The Celeron 723

45nm
10W TDP (same as dual cores)
no Speed Step

 

So would it better than the C2S or no?

 

Celeron is worse than the Core 2 Solo. Core 2 Solo will perform better and get better battery life thanks to Speed Step (which throttles down the processor when the extra power is not needed). For example, my Dell Inspiron 9100 uses an old Pentium 4, and it is always at 2.8GHz no matter what because it has no Speed Step.

 

Yeah! They already have them in Europe, where's ours. Are they waiting waiting for this current promo to clear out the old ones?

Cheers,

 

Did not know what was called speed step thank you jay.

 

agree with you,sony,update the new fw!!!

 

just be patient you will get what you ask for. Specially a better TT, Z, and CS line.

 

Anyone have a close date to when we can see the refresh in N/A for Sony Vaio FW? All i need is for them to update the video card and speaker which i hear are not that loud and i'm sold(as long as they don't raise the price ridiculously.)