SONY VAIO SZ6 with SANTA ROSA IS HERE!!!

I am back in this freaking confusion.
I have xps m1330, thinkpad T61 (14") and vaio sz 6 in mind.
I am a very mobile user and would play few games.

Which one would you suggest?
I really need you guys help.

BTW, what is the difference between sz640 and sz680 other than black casing for 680? Any difference in weight in particular?

thanks!

 

sz640 does not have the premium LED screen
sz680 does have the premium LED screen. It also weighs a bit less.

 

Thanks!
What do you think would be a better looking keyboard on 680, silver or black?

Any suggestions on from where to order? sonystyle.com or amazon or any other?

Thank you!

 

I've both a T61 and an SZ (4 series). Size wise, you will feel a big difference with the SZ.. although 14.1" and 13.3" isnt too far apart.. the difference in weight between the two are very very noticeable. .. but the T61's keyboard is much nicer. After using the SZ for a while, I think I can say I'll be sticking with the 13.3" form factor for some time to come, its a great size.

 

How does SZ6 compare to ASUS W7S? they are very comparable...

same screen size...
both have the new Santa Rosa config
about same weight...W7S is slightly heavier...

 

My beef with the 680 is that it appears to come only with Vista Business; I want Home Premium

Other than that, the SZ6 is starting to look like a very good alternative should Dell start yanking me with my 1330 order. The SZ doesn't QUITE have all the bells and whistles, but it IS cheaper.

 

So, then let me ask this...can u take advantage of duo processor by using a 32 bit OS?

Hocam bu arada sen nerde yasiyorsun, ne is yapiyorsun...ben bostonda ogrenciyim...

 

howz the battery life with 680, any idea? with standard battery?

 

Could someone post some hi-res shots of the SZ6?

 

Can anybody verify the following picture of sz-650 posted on the sonystyle...
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665199951
I thought the palm rest of 650 will be black just as 680s. So, is this a mistake or I was mistaken...
Thx

 

The picture is mistaken. It also incorrectly states that the 650 comes with WWAN.

 

sz650 palm rest and keyboard black..and no wwan

 

there is no advantage or disadvantage.
because I got no 64bit software..all my programs 32bit.
so I think (for this year) it is not compulsory

 

The GeForce 8400 in the VAIO only has 64MB of VRAM whereas I believe the one in the M1330 has 128MB. As far as I know this means that the VAIO probably doesn't handle gaming quite as well. If the few games you do play are older that isn't too graphically intensive such as BF2142, WoW or Titan's Quest you'd probably be OK with the VAIO. If, on the other hand, you're hoping to play games like F.E.A.R and Bioshock you'd probably find yourself turning graphical settings down more on the VAIO than on the M1330 at the same resolutions.

Someone who owns both laptops could probably confirm whether my speculation is true.

 

They need to just do away with all of the silver keyboard/palmrest options so we don't have to worry about accidently getting silver lol.

 

Do you guys prefer silver or black keyboard on premium models? I know it is just a matter of taste but I just wanted to ask...

 

I think it should be black.
because rest of the notebook is black..

as u said it is just a matter of taste but silver is not a good choice

 

yes, did u cheack your mail adress?

 

I just completed my order for the SZ 680 through Sony Style today. You can get a better deal over the phone.

I looked at Portable One that a few people had mentioned earlier in the thread. To do the much sought after 200 GB 7200 RPM hard drive upgrade, it was actually a little bit more than Sony Style.

 

Always Always black... that silver seems so much cheaper to me.

 

Can someone post some temperature readings of the CPU, GPU (both), and HDD with model (Any of the SZ6 series, but preferably SZ650NC)?

Also, are the non-premium and premium models' screen able to withstand, when closed, inside a backpack with textbooks?

 

Man, I dint know that. I thought hybrid graphics with NVidia GeForce Go 8400M means 128mb. Also, on sonystyle, they dont mention anything about graphics and display...

 

Portable one as they can check for light leakage a common problem, and remove the bloatware for you

 

No, what they mean by hybrid is that it also has an intel X3100 gfx card that you can switch between with the Nvidia. This theoretically translates to using less battery power when the Intel gfx is selected.

 

So you guys think m1330 is more a gaming machine than sz6? And yeah for games like fear.

 

Do LED screens can have color leakage?

 

http://www.acsestore.com/sovanovgt72g2.html

sz680 is listed as $1660

Is this right?

 

I have a couple of questions reagarding SZ640 CTO, which is customizable version from Sonystyle. It is ~$1700 with T7500, but does not have the Carbon fiber feature. Does that mean the LCD is not LED backlight?
Also, without the carbon fiber, is it going to be too fragile or too heavy?
Thank you.

 

bilee,

As far as i learned, sz640 doesnt have LED.
Carbon fiber makes the notebook lite. And I dont think it will be any more fragile than the standard one.

 

If the game you play requires a 128mb dedicated graphics card, then the M1330 will handle the game better than the SZ.

 

Xoail, I just looked up the spec from Sonystyle for the SZ640, and it says it has the white LED for the display. Thank you for the reply anyway. I am thinking of cancelling my M1330 which has ESD of 9/6. Any good review for SZ6 ?

 

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Sony-Vaio-SZ650.htm

 

whats the difference between T7250 and T7300?
Here http://www.acsestore.com/sovanovgt72g2.html sz680 is available for 1660...
I would like to buy one if its a good store.

Thanks!

 

T7250 is 2GHz and 2mb L2 cahce
T7300 is 2GHz and 4mb L2 cache

 

I called up sony to place my order and they stated that the sz640 has the led screen -- but it doesn't show this when you compare the models on sonystyle.

I dont know how much the guy knew about the sz6 -- he quoted the sz680 as being 3.72 lbs and the sz640 as being 4.0lbs

On sonystyle when you compare the sz640n/b and sz650n/c:

- the sz640 doesn't list an led screen

- the sz640 is 0.05lb heavier (4.0 v 3.95)

- Lastly, there is a difference in estimated battery life (2.5-4 on the sz640 with standard and 3-6 on the sz650 with standard)

It seems like sony doesn't really have its specs in order -- but if the weight #s are right and the sz640 does have the LED screen -- is the carbon fiber casing really worth $150? (the diff between an identically spec'd sz640 and sz680 cto)

 

Jayayess1190,

I downloaded the VGN-SZ680 just now. There it is mentioned as T7250, T7300 and beyond has 4MB L2 cache.
Am I missing something?

 

They are wrong, the T7250 only has 2mb L2 Cache. It is meant to replace the T7100.

 

Thank you! That is interesting because the review says SZ640 does not have LED backlight. I am confused now.

 

The Sz640 does not have LED backlight. It is customizable and is 4lbs vs. the SZ650 which is 3.95lbs. Also, the SZ6's with WWAN antenna's are 4lbs too.

 

are you sure it doesn't have led backlighting?

as i said -- sony reps told me it did

if it doesn't -- that justifies the 150 price difference

 

Please check out the spec for the sz640 from Sonystyle. I attached it. It says it has LED. still confused.

 

The sz440, 340, 240, and 140 didn't have LED screens, so I doubt the 640 does.

 

By using a 32 bit OS on Core 2 Duo processor, actually we are not fully utilizing the processing capacity of the core 2 duo chip. However, due to the increase in the L2 Cache from 2MB to 4 MB, our speed should be more on the Core 2 duo processor than Core duo processor, even if we are using a 32 bit OS on a 64 bit chip.

Above is my understanding of the benefit of buying a Core 2 duo processor rather than a Core Duo one.

Can somebody kindly confırm/improve the above explanation?

 

definitely no backlight.

models "50" and higher have the led.

 

What about the spec from Sonystyle? It says it has LED backlight. Is it a mistake by Sony?

 

yes, they are wrong.

 

bilee,

May be you can call sony and ask the rep to confirm this via email. In that way you are safe even if it turns out its not LED.

my 2 cents.

 

My SZ50 arrived yesterday and I spent a lot of time getting rid of the bloatware. It was as bad as I had imagined. Anyways, I got a Windows Experience Index score of 3.6 with the Nvidia card selected and a 3.5 with the Intel. It's quite speedy doing normal tasks but the gaming performance is slightly underwhelming but I wasn't expecting a powerhouse anyways. I suspect that I've yet to discover more ways to get more performance out of my VAIO, however.

It's form factor is perfect and the screen is wonderful. There is some light leakage along the edges but it's not so bad that I notice during usage. So far I'm happy with the hardware but rather disappointed with Sony. Whoever put all of the bloatware on these must've felt like they were defacing art. Anyways I hope Monster Maxx and others continue to have luck making the transition back to XP because I suspect the performance will be that much better.

 

Thanks Magnus,

I am looking forward to an sz for myself but currently waiting for credit to reflect on my card (recently canceled m1330 after being shipped, dint like the build). I've heard people who ordered from p1 were able to get bloatware removed and light leakage checked before shipping.

Where did you buy from? And how much did it take to arrive?

Thanks.

 

I just bought the sz680 from a sonystyle store yesterday. The guys there were ten times better than the people I talked to on telesales, and even they weren't given any information from SONY re: LED status on the sz640. One guy was a "Vaio specialist" (whatever that means) and looked up the info on an internal database and told me the sz640 does NOT have an led screen (though he didn't seem too sure initially)

BTW -- the back to school promotion was pretty sweet -- I got the 680 for 1800+tax with a 3 year accidental warranty, case and mouse

I wish they had some sz650s in stock -- those were instant 200 off on top of that.

does anyone know if the silver keyboards are quieter than the black ones?