Is Sony coming with CULV models?

Haven't been keeping track of the latest rumors but is Sony coming with anything new in the thin and light market space?

 

Nope, afaik. The only current CULV lineup is G and T series.

 

I think Sony and Apple know what's good. When you start out underpowered, then a year or two later and the customer is wondering why in the flip their laptop is just running so slow, most really don't know what CULV was in the first place, they just know that "Manufacturer of Choice" was slow and that they're going with another company. Granted, if you specifically buy it because of CULV then you likely know how to keep it maintained, but...

 

I was really hoping for a CULV to be stuffed into the new X-series...but instead they just slapped on the atom processor =(

How good does sony keep a lid on their computer developments anyways? CES is just around the corner; there might be something good in store?

 

So, how does Vaio X, based on much slower (compared to CULV) Atom fit into that equation?

 

The vaio x IMO is a nice thought by sony and sure it looks nice, but I can honestly say that this is where they should have put their CULV SU3500 or so. Make it a 45nm CULV and I really don't think it would have put out any more heat than what's in it, plus it would have had roughly the same battery life, but with lots more horsepower than that atom. Even the pinetrail atoms aren't performing any better, they're just giving "slightly" improved battery life. Pair that with the Ion, and again battery power and heat go out the window. If you're looking for extreme battery I can't say there's anything better than CULV+4500mhd. It just seems to me that sony has a "performance" reputation, and that's why they're kinda stuttering on what to put into these ultrathins. I know they have the expertise to dissapate heat and they make their own batteries... soo...

 

An SU3500 along with the GMA 4500 use more than twice the power of the Atom and its chipset.

 

The CULV might use more power than the Atom, but its processing power/power usage is probably better. If the atom has to constantly run at full load to handle even simple tasks it won't get you better battery life than a CULV machine that can handle the same tasks more efficiently.

Do 3 lb 12" CULV machines have much worse battery life tthan similarly sized atom based netbooks? 3.7 lb 13" culv machines can get 10-12 hrs of battery life while still performing normal tasks, while atom based machines are not really full fledged laptops IMO.

 

I know, but a culv would not allow the X to be as thin as it is. And 11.6"/12.1" culv notebooks do not get 10-12 hours. The Acer 1810 gets around 8, the 1410 gets around 6, and the Asus UL20 gets around 6.

 

I dont know where it came from but i just bought a Sony Vaio CULV off the street today. Its got a SU7300 cpu, Intel GS45 Chipset, 4gb ddr3 13" screen. Anyone know if I can add a descreet graphics card? I know every other laptop with this setup runs the 4500mhd + a Nvidia card.

 

lol "off the street". which notebook are you taking about??

 

Fair points. But given a 14" CULV with 8 cell battery can get 10+ hrs, there is no reason why they could not make a 12" that gets similar battery life if they went with a 8 cell batter (instead of trying to stay right at 3lbs with a 4 or 6 cell.)

Per Laptopmag.com, looking at even the new Pinetrail results, the ASUS 1005PE-P gets 9 hrs of battery life with a 6 cell battery. But the 13.3 inch UL30a gets 10 hrs with an 8 cell battery with much larger screen.

I can't be sure, but this suggests that if a CULV was used in a netbook sized machine it would have competitive battery life under load to an atom based machine.

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/asus-ul30a.aspx?mode=benchmarks

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/asus-eee-pc-1005pe-p-seashell.aspx?mode=benchmarks

 

Are you in China? I read of some Sony knock offs called VIAC that look like Sony's without the same internals.

 

Exactly! Per-clock it's more WAYY more efficient than the ATOM and when not having to work as hard as the atom does to get things done, then speedstep kicks in and viola! Long battery life ensues.

 

Yes, Sony apparently is coming out with Celeron [oops, I mean Consumer] Ultra-Low Voltage models.

 

The TT had the SU9400 and SU9600 long before intel rebranded them as "culv".

 

that's exactly what i was looking for! any more info on this? i wonder when this will be available on the US website

 

Sony has been offering the TT like that through the config to order stores in the EU for months and the low end CULV processor has been available also. This was reported months ago on this forum. Clearly there was not enough demand in North America so they shelved it there.

It is not cheap though the low end TT. It retails at £1,039 and it comes without a dvd drive, no built in wwan and offers a 723 celeron processor. It is a bit of a rip off at those prices and specs and Sony could do better. That Slashgear story is not really reporting anything new.

WhiteFiredragon don't you already own a TT?

I'm not sure if Sony will continue with this range outside of Asia. The fact that it is config to order only in the EU doesn't make it look so promising.

 

According to Endgadget there is a new T series:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/31/sony-vaio-t-makes-a-comeback-and-this-time-its-a-culv-with-maj/

 

Same crap casing. Will pass.

 

No, that does not look new to me. It looks like they have just noticed that you can still get the TT in some parts of the world. It is late to just notice this. As i wrote before you can still get a TT configured with W7 in some parts of the EU now and it has been this way for months. It was not discontinued everywhere in the world, it never went away and was upgraded with W7. New models would feature an Arrandale ULV processor.
Like with the G series you can get this in Japan but not anywhere else anymore.

 

I live in the bay area. I think someone grabbed it out of RND. I doesnt even have a model number. I paid $300 for it. Is that a good deal?

 

..........

 

Yep they have been available the whole time here in dubai (asia) here a link even still available with Vista

http://www.sony-asia.com/product/CompareProducts.action?site=hp_en_AP_i&models=VGN-TT47GG&models=VGN-TT46SG&models=VGN-TT36MD&models=VGN-TT35GN&models=VGN-TT27GD

So no real change even in the news from engadget..

 

CULV @1.6 Ghz would blow any Atom away performance-wise.

Btw, Sony has a long tradition of using the ULV versions of Intel CPUs (TX had Core Duo ULV, TZ had Core 2 Duo ULV, TT has latest incarnations now called CULV)

CULV's of a decent performance have a TDP of 10W - which is quite low - dual core ATOMs with SpeedStep features are ~5.5W. We must not forget that CULV CPU would spend much less time in higher P-states as well, which might lead to very comparable battery life to a typical Atom spec.

And, I really don't see the reasy why CULV X would be any bigger than Menlow-generation Atom (I don't count Pineview with embedded graphics die in the CPU package) - CULV Core 2 CPUs come in SFF (Small Form Factor) with BGA packaging - the only space increase would be for the heatsink alone, but 5W extra is nothing extraordinary to deal with - Sony has been dealing with much bigger TDPs in surprisingly small spaces...

If Vaio X would come with 1.6 GHz CULV - I'd be among the first to buy it ASAP - throw in a good SSD, and that is one mean portable machine that could be actually useful for most desktop tasks.

 

IMO no higher end machine should ever have an Atom processor. I can understand not being able to fit a P or T series processor in an ultra thin machine. But you can put in a CULV and get 2-3X the processor power (more with over clocking 33%) with very little sacrifices in terms of heat, size or battery life.

 

As far as I know even a CULV Celeron @ 1.2Ghz blows away every Atom.

 

You are forgetting 12W for the GMA 4500 chipset, and what dual core Atom is there that has speedstep? The only dual core Atoms are the N330 and D510, neither of which have speedstep.

 

They had a CULV in the VAIO U, using one on VAIO X should be easy

 

The U? Or did you mean the UX?

 

Actually both, although one wasn't technically labeled CULV. The Core 2 Solo that was in the UX was the ULV model.

 

Sony-style sites have been updated.
Vaio TT models have disappeared from european sony-style sites now.

It's hard to guess what will be next move. Maybe the "new" models are for Asia only or maybe they will come back to US & Europe later. Are there sony insiders on this forum ?

There is a strange detail on engadget post : it is said that the battery life is around 11h with standard battery. The specs on sony style asia say 6h that's a big difference.

 

Is Sony coming with CULV models?

Yes they are

http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/87016/sony-vaio-vpc-y11s1e-s.html

Credits to Spacecowboy for finding it.

 

The high end CTO model is currently gone from the UK config store, it states that this model is no longer available. You can still get the low end model but for may be for how long?
https://www.sonystyle.co.uk/SonyStyle/VAIO-Laptop-PCs/TT-Series-11-1/

May be Sony will refresh this line with ULV Arrandale processors or may be they might discontinue it.
These new processors and platform is meant to use less heat. The GS45 is 12w but 7-8w in automatic low power mode. The processor is 10w. Arrandale combined with chipset is 18w but it is 32nm as opposed to 45nm.

Speeds go up to 2.33 in turbo mode. Owing a TT like i do with a 1.6 I don't know if they would just drop a 2.33 in there without any design changes.

Edited to add:
UPDATE
I see that the TT high end models are now available again.

 

Just as side note - isn't the Y series a Vaio CULV?

 

That depends on the UX model. Two of them use a Dragonball-Z+HHE CPU

 

For an answer to that question looks at post # 33

 

Ups. True. Its been "out" (as in: On the website with a price) for about 2 weeks minimum now...

Overlooked your post.

 

Yeah I started this thread 29th of december last year, when there was no sign of the Y series.

 

Yep the Y is there. Sony surprised some people by bringing out a CULV in the 13.3 form factor. It would be nice if it had the latest ULV processors and graphics card but may be that would be reserved for a high end model or may be it will get it in time, who knows.

Some people are still looking for and hoping for a TT replacement in what is a sub 12 in form factor. The Y series is not really a replacement for the TT.

 

As of now, it looks like the true CULV options are the Y or getting a G or TT from Japan. The X, which in the past would have had a CULV, isn't going to get it and since mum is the word on a T replacement, I'm guessing the X is it for the time being.

I would be surprised if Sony stays out of the 11/12" notebook with a CULV market forever, but outside of Japan, no one seems to care much.

 

On a related note, I wonder how long it would take for Sony to start offering core i UM processors on the regular models (F, CW, S, Z, etc).

If the Z with a core i M processor can reach up to 7.5 hours with a regular battery (as specified on the US site), the 10W difference between M and UM could lenghten it to a very nice 8 to 8.5 hours, while maintaining a nice performance.

 

I ranted about the dearth of high-end on another thread. I'm not talking about high-end in terms of throwing uber SSD's etc in there - I'm talking about pushing the design envelope. The TT was not pushing it - in so many ways it was a regression. Even the X doesn't push it enough - we all know an Atom system can be made crazy small on a half-decent budget if you throw away a worthwhile battery. The Z is probably the only product in Sony's inventory which still does really push envelopes while offering mainstream usability and performance.

I'm all for a TT-class machine again, but it's going to have to be a G11 weight, minimum 8 real hour runtime, an i ULV and above all, a goodbye to the cheap-feeling, indifferent-looking 'carbon fauxbre' in any substantial part of the externals - I've had enough of it.

 

The UM processors are significantly slower than the M processors. And the TT/G are the only ones that may get them. You should hope Sony puts in the LM versions, they use only 25W, aka only 7W more than a UM yet still retain almost as much power as a full M.

 

Has there been any news on having the i5 520UM processor in the Y-series yet. I'm hoping by this summer they'll have the Y-series with a CULV processor. That's what is holding me back from getting it in April, I want to future proof myself as best as possible.

 

The problem with the Y is that it weighs more than the Z. What's the point?

Sony at this point really doesn't have a traditional ultraportable in their line for the most part. The TT and G are arguably on the way out despite their recent refreshes. Sony also does some introductions/refreshes in late spring/early summer, so there's the possibility Sony may do that.

My worry is that deep down I really do think they're going to have glorified netbooks (i.e. the X) and then the Z for the forseeable future. Although they have had a T in the line and maybe they're doing another redesign right now.

 

Um

Saving $800+ dollars would be the point. I want a ULV because they're perfect for me, the student who wants a good sized screen, keyboard, doesn't game and has no need for an optical drive.

I think ULV's have a future in the market, they're certainly better than any netbook which is best as a companion computer or for note taking. But I want a computer for music playback and my own entertainment. ULVs fit the needs of students the most I'd say.

 

Clearly you don't understand where I'm coming from. If you do a search around here, you'll see pretty quickly all I buy pretty much is ultraportables from Japan lol

ULVs will be around, but Sony's direction right now is a big question mark. The TT and G are stuck with older technology and not available everywhere, and in the current lineup which is widely available, there's a big gulf between everything and the Z.

The whole point of an ultraportable is to have something small and light - as in under 3lbs. That's Sony's hallmark - U, T, G, old X (not the new one). The Y is not a traditional Sony ultraportable in any sense of the word as someone who has owned a lot of Sony stuff over the years.

For what it's worth, if you're getting a Y, consider getting it from Japan as they have a few more options (no surprise).

I agree with the others who are lamenting the lack of a higher end, high quality ultraportable. As I've said, my hope is they are doing a T redesign/refresh which they'll announce at some point. It'd be a shame to see Sony lose a market they've been a strong player in.

 

In time, maybe, but I doubt that you are going to see Y with any Core i ULV in May. Sony is only offering SU9400 as the top of line CPU right now for Y, so it is obvious that they are not trying push for the performance limit with Y. Unless Intel all of sudden do a complete stop on making CULV CPUs, Sony will probably just go up one step to SU9600 in May if enough people buy SU9400 and still want more power.

 

My mistake, I indeed meant the LM versions. Anyone got thoughts on when these could be expected?