Considering a TZ150...a few questions

I'm seriously considering putting in an order for a TZ150n/b, but have a few questions for current owners. My main concern at this point is the slow performance that everyone seems to be complaining about. At the moment I have an SZ120p/b, which I've been more than satisfied with as far as performance is concerned.

With all the bloatware removed(clean Vista install followed by necessary drivers), and RAM upgraded to 2gb, would performance be noticeably worse than my sz120? I don't really do too much major multitasking, most of the time I have itunes open with a few IE windows. I don't really need major graphics performance, but I do plan on maybe getting a TV-tuner later on to do some recording--not much of a gamer at all. My main reason for wanting the TZ is because I'm a student and the size makes a difference.

The 11.1" screen isn't a concern for me as I don't think it's THAT much smaller than the 13" on the SZ. I plan on getting the docking station for it and hooking it up to my 23" LCD while at home. The lack of DVI or HDMI on the notebook or docking station are a turn off. How is the quality of the VGA-out when hooked up to an LCD screen? Would it be noticeably worse than the DVI-D output on the SZ docking station?

I would appreciate some quick advice as I'm looking to purchase within the next 24 hours...thanks!

 

Personally, I wouldn't consider TZ a full function laptop due to today's performance standard. You might find TZ inadequate when using it as your only computer.

Sony designed the TZ for people who are always on the move and need to be constantly connected. This crowd usually have one computer at their office and another one at their home. So, there is no need for DVI or docking station for TZ because its not intend to be used on a desk. The ability of connect to an external monitor is also limited by Intel 945M chipset (1600x1200 or below).

TZ is a great communication tool; web, email, IM, skype, outlook server sync all those stuffs. But its not mean to be a muti-purpose home computer. You will have a hard time to do any of the following; recode / decode video (blueray video playback, record TV, family video editing) plus everything else that require decent CPU / Video power. But you should be fine with Office 2007.

There is some difference between 11.1" and standard 13" screen due to how TZ solution works. I can't seem to ajust the LCD resolution to anything lower than the native 1366x768. It doesn't allow display adaptor to rescale when you set a lower resolution. For example, if you change the resolution to 800x600, instead of magnify everything and stretch it to fit on the screen it only crop a 800x600 area and around it is black. Its probably due to video driver only read monitor scale instead allow display adaptor rescale.

 

I'm also a student and bought the TZ for the very reason's you were considering it. I struggled between the TZ and the SZ. My previous laptop compared to the SZ in almost every dimension and spec (T4010 Fujitsu Lifebook). I decided on the TZ and don't regret it at all. After a semi clean install, everything seems to work perfectly, and while its a tad slower than the SZ I used for a bit, after I reformatted, it preforms more than up to par with the rest of the newer computers. Its incredibly light and when using it under a full load and high performance I still have 4+ hours of battery life. When I set it to battery saver I get a lot more, and that was a major feature for me since the Lifebook had dual batterys and got 7+ hours. I can charge it all night and go to class all day and not need to plug it in. Its thin and light enough to get lost amongst my books. And its incredibly easy to use. I highly recommend it.

As for resolution, I use the VGA to output to DVI, on my projector at home and its fantastic. Great for an impromptu movie saved on my hd.

 

Thanks for the replies. v12spd, you just solidified my decision to go with the TZ. I went and saw the notebook at Fry's the other day and I have to say that this is one of the hottest looking notebooks on the market right now--I can't believe how light it is. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it didn't seem nearly as slow as everyone on the forum makes it out to be--even with all that bloatware on there!

So now I just have to go through the agonizing process of waiting for a good bid on ebay. I've seen the TZ150's go at around $1600~$1700 mostly, which is quite a bit better than the cheapest internet price($1824 I believe on ecomelectronics). Anyone know of better prices outside ebay?

BTW, what's your output setup? I'm not sure what you meant by having VGA output to DVI. I was under the impression that that's not possible without a converter(which are expensive and don't really work well).

 

Yeah, I spent a solid few months searching and settling on the TZ. Its incredibly sexy in person, pictures dont do it justice. Once you get rid of the bloatware, its more than usable.

I bought mine from ecom and I really cant do anything but sing their praises. I even ordered a T170, they were out of stock, they gave me a free upgrade to a T150 with 2gb of ram. AND they sent me the 1gb stick from the computer for free for my trouble. Had it in my hands in less than 24 hours for 2139. I was going to shoot as low as I could pricewise but my older notebook began to show its age, and I needed a new computer asap. It was worth every penny. Everyone, Macbook Pro owners inclusive get jealous of how gorgeous it is. I'll be very happy with this, until they upgrade the lineup again, that is. I want to get the case I posted in this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=188511

My output setup is a VGA to M1DA (DVI) cable to my IN72 projector. I bought that and a few other cables from Monoprice.com for cheaper than you can get retail. Cost me about 14 dollars shipped. No converter necessary. Right now I'm working on getting it to output to a regular TV through a VGA to Composite cable.

 

I played with a couple of TZ models at a SonyStyle store yesterday, man they are amazing looking machines. The display is incredibly beautiful! I went into task manager and they were running 86 processes! They really scream for a bloatware cleanout. That said bringing up IE and Microsoft Works were pretty quick none the less so for what these machines are intended for I think they would certainly be fast enough.