S580 Worries!! Please help!

I am in the market for a new laptop, and I have spent countless hours researching to say the least...

I have so wanted to say that I am definately getting the S580, but after reading that both the case and wrist wrest are still hot, I have no clue what to think anymore.

I had it nailed down to the Sony S580 and Compaq V2000Z , I want to have a nice, easy, light laptop with some power. I honestly prefer 12" or 13.3" than the Compaq 14" model.

Now I feel like I will be forced to once AGAIN consider an Asus or Averatec model (sob).

I considered Fujitsu, but their 13.3" model doesn't offer bluetooth, and I dont want to get the 12" tablet.. I have no use for tablets...

I was at the Sony Style store here in NYC, and of course verified that the bottom was running hot... not killer, but definately noticeable to say the least... I didn't notice the wrist, but then again, I wasnt checking for it.

I have never owned a Sony before, only done research. I don't want to buy a Dell because I have heard so much bad stuff about their Customer Service (reading reviews here AND CNET on 600m and 700m) that I think I am going to throw up. LOL.

I had one person tell me not to get Asus, and I was figuring that they would be an option. I am loosing my mind.

S580 or not? I need to get some sleep... PLEASE ADVISE!
Small, light, DVDRW, Pentium M or Turion, Bluetooth. Even at 14.1" the Compaq V2000z @ 5.3 / 5.4 lbs is lighter than many laptops, and I'd certainly enjoy it... but I am *trying* to go smaller if possible. Figure I *CAN* overlook the bottom side heat since I am just calculating how often it will *really* be on my lap isntead of a table, even when taking it out.... hrmmmmm

 

Why not simply get a laptop desk for your Sony? Lots of laptops have heating issues, so there are tons of different laptop desks of different types. Some are mainly for use for cooling your laptop while it's on your desktop, while others are designed as trays that go underneath your laptop while it's on your lap. You can read some reviews here.

 

I know about the Targus coolpad and Lap2Cool,etc... but this notebook is not a desktop replacement, and really to carry one of those pads along with you sortof defeats the point of getting a small laptop to reduce weight, lol

I am not so concerned with the fact that it is hot re: simply overheating, but merely like everyone else... is it really too hot on the wrist to simply avoid the purchase? I am willing to overlook the bottom of the unit if I feel that I can handle having my right wrist toasted. :-/ I am deep in thought.....

Edit : hey i just thought of something! I can just throw a wristband into my laptop case. LOL! how hysterical would that be! What a sporty laptop user!

 

The x32 I mentioned in the HP forum will offer better build quality. x32s use the older Dothan Pentium M which runs cooler and has better battery life.

 

Zazonz, I know what you're saying, but with the S580 apparently this is a case of the HD being directly under the right hand, not so much an issue with the processor... who wants to loose a hand because they were typing for a while ? lol.

 

That could be a valid concern. At first I almost didn't get the S580 because I've read a bunch about the S Series heat issues. Then I went to my local Fry's Electronics and tried out the S560 they have in stock just to see for myself how hot it would get. Although it got quite toasty under the unit, the wrist rest was still only lukewarm. The underside got warm enough that it would probably be uncomfortable sitting on bare skin, but I'm usually wearing either cargo shorts or long pants so that's not an issue for me.

As far ask laptop desks go...I decided to go with the Laptop Desk Ultralite, which is only 14 ounces and should fit easily in my laptop bag alongside the S580. It should help the Sony run cooler since the underside cooling ports won't be blocked by denim bluejeans on my lap.

In general, I'm not too worried about heating--Will have to see how it goes once I have an S580 of my own...

Good luck with whatever laptop you choose!

 

I've been looking into the s580 as well, but havent found any reviews of it that confirm it still runs hot, the same as the old s4. What reviews have you been reading? Thanks.

 

danie1d,
just sift and search through the postings here on the Sony forum, that's where I found the information. Other people have already purchased s5xx series models and made some notes on it. You may have to look back further than the 1st page of topics tho. Try the search function if you cant find them. Also try different keywords. S580, s570, S560, S480, S460 S470, etc etc etc...

 

I just got my s580 yesterday. A few things I noticed requarding the heat.

1) The right palm rest does get warm, but my no means hot or uncomfortable. Personally I don't find it any warmer than my old IBM T21 I was using.

2) The back right portion of the computer, on the bottom by the cpu, gets very warm. I think some people will find the heat unbearable. Again, if your used to warm laptops its not a big deal.

3) The exhausted warm air from the cpu blows directly on my hand when I am using an external mouse. After a bit I notice it and must admit its becomming quite annoying already.

Overall though I am absolutly amazed my this machine. Having some trouble configuring the shortcut keys after a fresh install, but thats a small issue. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

 

Hello. What video card do you have on the S580? Is it the nvidian 6400? I'm curious if anyone has had problems playing counterstrike on the S580.

 

S580 has an optional nVidia 6400 128MB dedicated if you get at least 512MB of RAM. I doubt there would be any problems playing Counterstrike as long as you pay for a decent CPU.

I ended up deciding on a Thinkpad T43, w/ ATI x300 64MB of RAM since I won't be doing any hardcore 3D gaming on the road. I have my desktop for that if I really need it.