Initial Impressions Of New TX850

In a nutshell... I LOVE my new TX850!!

I purchased it from CostCentral.com, which was the first time I ever dealt with that company. I called beforehand to make sure they had them in stock and that they were not grey market. The gentleman (Eric) was very polite on the phone and gave me all the info I requested. I placed the order the next day (online) and it shipped later that same day and arrived on my doorstep in two more. My experience with CostCentral was very postive and I would deal with them again.

The notebook was in pristine condition, clearly brand new and previously untouched.

I have only had the chance to play with it for a few hours. After today, I will have a three-day weekend and plan to use it a lot more. So what I post here are first-impressions only.

Construction: It seems very well built. The screen is SO thin! I feel like I have to be real, REAL careful with it (although I'm kind of a wus with new stuff anyway). I had read a report that one person found that within a short period of time, the keys started hitting the screen when it was closed and that they were rubbing marks onto the screen. Looking from the sides, I can barely see daylight all the way through, however the screen is so thin that it does seem like it could flex depending on pressure exerted on top of it. I can imagine that if one is not careful in how he/she carries the notebook (i.e. kind of squeezes it while carrying it) or allows things to sit or bang on top of it, this could possibly happen. This is something I will definitely keep an eye on.

Screen: Like I said, very thin. But VERY beautiful! Nice, crisp, clear... no dead/hot pixels. Just gorgeous.

Battery Life: When I first checked the battery life after charging, I was a tad disappointed to see it read at something like 5 hours. However, I then started tweaking things... power management and so forth and got it up to 8 hours (this after it had been running a while, mind you). I've turned it on to type for a couple of hours since then and it has yet to go below 5 hours. I hope to run it down, recharge it and check the full battery life since making the power management changes. Stay tuned...

Weight: This little thing is so light, it's truly amazing. I struggled with the thought of paying $2K for a machine and considered cheaper notebooks. But none could TOUCH the battery life of this little gem, which was a very important feature. Plus, most other ones were about a pound and a half heavier. I know that doesn't sound like much but when you are only dealing with a few pounds to begin with, an extra pound is A LOT! I hefted a 4.5# Toshiba in a store and it felt like a cinderblock! I knew then that the paying the extra money for the TX850 was going to be worth it. And so far, it has.

Fan: There have been complaints about fan noise. I will pay closer attention to this in the coming days but as of right now, I don't know what they are talking about. I have to admit that the only thing I've done while on battery is word processing and with that the fan has not felt the need to be running. I did construct a little slant board for it... for two reasons... one is that I like the keyboard to be at a slight slant and secondly, to allow the notebook to breathe and circulate air easily. If this forum allows photos, I'll post a pic of it. If not, I'll post one elsewhere and provide the link.

Keyboard: I was a little bit afraid that the smaller-than-standard size keyboard would be difficult to adjust to, however, I find I have adapted easily and can type quickly and accurately. They keys are very responsive and feel quite good beneath my fingers.

I think that about covers everything for now. If I missed anything or you want to ask anything about it, please do. To sum up, I am *very* happy with the TX850.

 

Great review!

Did you ever try any of the other TX models (650, 670, 750, 770, etc.)? I know the hardware specs are almost identical. I'm wondering if the 850 is noticeably more responsive than the previous.

 

What are you using for a case? I have found a portable DVD player case fits my Sony T250 very well and it has thick reinforced plastic on the sides that offer great protection. Yet I can feel free to carry it anywhere with a shouder strap; perfect for my needs. You will need some practical protection if the screen is as thin as you say.

 

Great machine. My friend also got one but to be honest I wouldn't upgrade from my T250. He also upgraded from a T250 and said the increased performance (core solo, 1GB of ram) is minimal.

Just be careful of how you hold the laptop with your hand. These little beauties are prone to screen-cracking because of the razor-thin LCDs.

 

First a little update:

Boot-Up: I attempted to time the boot-up of my new TX850 and compare it with my other computers running XP (although they are running the Home Edition). The method was kind of crude... time started with I pushed the power on button and stopped when the hour-glass turned into an arrow on the desktop.

TX850 = 58 seconds (XP Pro)
P4 2.4GHz desktop w/ 1G RAM = 65 seconds (XP Home)
P4 3GHz laptop w/ 1G RAM = 43 seconds (XP Home)

I'm still amazed and extremely pleased at the battery life this computer has. The highest I've seen so far is 9:13 at 98%
With a fully charged battery, I watched a 2hr DVD. Afterward, the battery life read 5:20 at 65%. Wow! (My other laptop - a Compaq Presario R3000 - can't even make it through a 2hr DVD on battery... it dies after about 1hr 55 min., although it can handle word processing for about 3 hours before croaking)

Watching a DVD on battery: Again, the screen is beautiful. No stuttering whatsoever and no ghosting with movement on screen. The speakers are kind of lame but adequate. Some nice headphones would help. The fan does go on and off constantly, which is kind of annoying. I'd almost rather have it on all the time if it needs to be on at all. Every once in a while, the DVD drive would spin up... I assume to load the next portion into RAM?

I get the feeling the TX850 is very quick. I have spent most of the time thus far *removing* software (bloatware and other junk I don't want/need), and have only installed one program. That installation went very quick... much quicker than I remember it taking on my other two computers (the P4's). Something I will continue to observe to see if it was just a fluke.

Now to your questions...

jumpup - The only other TX model I've had access to was the TX750 at CompUSA. As a matter of fact, I bought it, but returned it without ever opening it after doing a little bit more research and a little more soul-searching. In the store, all I did was type on it so I have no first-hand knowledge as to how it's responsiveness compares to the 850. However, what I read was that the core solo in the 850 was noticably faster than the processor in the 750. The 850 also has double the RAM, which I'm sure helps tremendously. Those two stats, plus the fact that the battery life was so much higher (7.5-11 hours on the 850 vs. 5-7.5 for the 750) clinched it for me. It ended up only costing me $100 more and I feel it was well worth it and am very happy with my decision.

buddy1065 - I have not found a case yet. I've heard others report finding really nice cases meant for portable DVD players that fit the TX well, but I have yet to find one that I like. I want one that offers good protection but is not overly bulky. I've checked Best Buy, Circuit City and Office Max so far. Hopefully I'll make it out to CompUSA and Office Depot sometime this week.

 

hihi Fotogrfr

there is a TX case at portableone.com

http://laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=VGPCKTX2&Category_Code=STX

I think you can get it from sonystyle too. I saw it in person and it looks quiet nice... but i personally not a big fan of leather stuff.

Small laptop without a case is very scary especially with cell phones, keys, pens, books all in your bag.... becareful....

 

Thanks, Ch28Kid, but I can't buy something like that sight-unseen. I'm pretty picky about such things and will have to see it and its features (or lack thereof) before I plunk down the cash. I'm counting on finding something locally and I think a portable DVD case will be my best bet. I do appreciate your input though... thanks again.