Should I wait for Santa Rosa (Centrino Pro)?

I've been postponing buying the SZ for few months because of few minor reasons. At first, it was core2duo, then the option of having upgraded fiber screen cover. Now it's the Vista.

I'm not technically inclined but it seems that the Intel is about to introduce Santa Rosa which is officially named Centrino Pro. I read few articles saying that the proc will have newly designed socket that would prevent upgrading from Core2duo. Not to mention, it will be coming out with new chipset for the board, 802.11n wifi and the whole new memory thang. It seems that there are a lot more shebang that I couldn't comprehend yet.
Do you think that there will be a whole new SZ model (or even with new designation) coming out in June from Sony? Possibly with new housing design and the keybed, blue-ray, WIFI n, stronger and brighter screen, less static on the palm rest... the things many of the users have complained in the past. This Centrino Pro seems to be more like Revolutionay than evolutionary opportunity move for PC makers. As for me, if it's gonna be a huge change, I'd rather wait till June.

 

If you can wait, wait.

Yes, there seems to be "refresh" to the Sony line, but its only because Vista is being preloaded. The model numbers are changing as well.

 

If you don't need a new notebook right now, in my opinion Santa Rosa is worth waiting for. But if you do need one, then the current chipset is more than adequate for the life of your new notebook. You really have nothing to lose either way.

And as gautam3 has mentioned, the current lineup of "new" Sony's seem to mainly switchovers to Vista. Apparently there are also some very minor component changes as well on some of the models.

 

Thank you all. I was tired of waiting and was about to buy one, but the Centrino Pro makes a good excuse for Sony to come out with the completely redesign notebook. In this case I can definitely wait for that new change.

 

I wouldn't wait since your not technically inclined the marginal performance boost won't be all that noticeable.

 

Or wait for Santa Rosa to come out and buy a core 2 duo. Might be cheaper heh.

 

Well I might not be technically inclined but I do know what depreciation can do to a PC. I figure this summer will be an unusually critical period for PC because of the impending change in the OS and the proc change as well. Not to mention the wifi protocol seem to be moving away from the old ones and transforming to a new 802.11n standard.

 

I think the release of Santa Rosa -Based laptop doesnt mean the previous models will obsolete immediately, it may take 3-5 years for merom processor to be matured.
On the orther hand, just wonder how many people would take full advantage of 802.11n standard, as it would depend on IT infrastructure in different countries.

 

That's true from a very long perspective. However, real-world boost processing power boost/better battery life won't be probably that significant (I wish it were though). Despite the impression which the industry want to make on us customers, this is a long slow step-by-step process. Do you remember last year's comaprisons of old single core centrinos with core duo in other than multitheard apps?
Vista won't be the "golden standard" as XP SP2 is now, at least 1-2 years from now. PC review mag had nice comparisons of XP and vista in some basic tasks recently. Results are mixed. At least Vista won't swallow much more processing power by itself. The reason for upgrade is basicaly driven by general consensus between OEMs i.e. driver support etc but not that we, end users, are in strong need for a new OS! Is there any app you plan to run on your laptop which is not supported by win 2000? If yes wait for Vista
You will be also able to get 802.11n card for any empty slot you will have in your laptop pretty soon too.
My feeling is that you don't need a new laptop now. Otherwise you would just go and buy what fits best to your needs and taste. If you just have money to spent wait for SR platform. But be aware of new productus in pipeline looming at that time. If you really want to squeeze max power for less money than do what BaNZ nailed! Get a discounted core2duo later. The most effective solution at that time.

 

Do you plan to play games on your computer? Although it's yet unproven, there are currently widespread rumours of DX10 GPUs being released on notebooks even before Santa Rosa. Meaning, chances are, you'd have a true "next-gen" notebook if you decided to wait. More than worth it if you ask me.

 

The performance boost from one generation to the next is typically not that big. When Santa Rosa gets here, the buzz will shift from that to the next big thing like quad core CPUs. It sort of a vicious cycle. If you need you should buy.

 

802.11n worth the wait imo.

 

IMO, the only thing worth waiting for would be a DX10 GPU. Performance between Napa and Santa Rosa will be imperceptible outside of benchmarks and nil in gaming.

 

Should the FSB 800 give any significant faster performance?

 

802.11n's ratification keeps getting pushed back further and further from what I see. I'm sure it will eventually be finalized and accepted by the IEEE, but the general public will be slow to adopt it--as with any other new technology. Not everybody feels the urge to buy the latest and the greatest all the time--especially when what they already have is sufficient for what they do.

Centrino Pro has some nice upgrades, but if you need a notebook now it's not worth giving up the productivity of a current-gen notebook to wait for it.

 

Here are few links I got the ideas from.
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20060307corp_b.htm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/16/intel_centrino_roadmap/
http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/20/intels-santa-rosa-platform-officially-dubbed-centrino-pro/

I'm a part gamer (though getting little too old), a part semi pro-audio hobbiest, run Excel sheets and of course I download terabytes of movies off internet. I don't manipulate photoshop like those professonals do. Lastly I love to go to cafe and stare at the screen for a few hours sipping coffee. So I'd like my pc to be overall top performer. As much as I'd like to buy one and forget about the rest of the worries, I'm still afraid that Sony will introduce something quite new and refreshing by this summer. Arggg.

 

There is always something new on the horizon. You will never be on top for very long--even if you buy top of the line. There's no use trying to have the latest and the greatest.

Current technology is already more powerful than most users need. It will continue to advance.

 

Yes ... only if Sony designs a motherboard to support it. The SZ technically supports a 667MHz FSB, but is crippled at 533MHz, so you're not getting the full bandwidth and speed of memory that you can support.

 

the prices might not go down much like before, from a pentium m to a core duo, and if it does, it will take awhile in the summer. This phase is much like from a pentium m dothan to a sonoma.

 

Just go and buy it...

There is always something better that's gonna come out in 2-3 months...There is no point of waiting for some upgrade..u can wait forever. If u want a laptop - just go and buy it...if u don't want a laptop - don't buy it. It's as simple as that.

 

This is the response I thought of from the moment I read your first post ---- one will always be waiting for something, right?

 

Wait, wait & wait.......u getting nowhere like me lol.......

But what Chris said is true, there is always something new & no end in waiting game.

Just want to know, will all market adopt 802.11n when it release?

 

I'd like to know too. Bluetooth is a must for any notebook nowaway. So as the finger print scanner that became a big storm for the notebook industry, not to mention SATA hd and the WLAN.

Apple came out with the magnatic power adapter connector. I'm sure Sony will pay attention to that.

 

Dont think the finger print scanner is a MUST for all notebook, may be for office users "yes". For home use, what the point of using one? Just give u headache if it is faulty & u have to send in for repair just for a small problem lol.....

 

My point of view:

if i'm you, i'll just go ahead and buy one. Don't forget what a notebook built for, it meant to be portable at first place.

like when the c2d came out, it actually consume more power thus result a lower battery life, but if i'm not wrong it's the first centrino that support 64bit right? Now you have the full requirement to run a 64bit vista. So why wait for a more power consuming proc?

ok, i never read about the centrino pro, so if it can save more power, then you have to wait (Aren't the c2d claimed to be more battery friendly than core duo? It actually doesn't right?). I really doubt the centrino pro will be more battery friendly than c2d, though.

I think the combination of what currently offering really balanced up between power and battery life, the only reason to wait is for the price drop, but you got free upgrade to vista now, why not?

i'm not sure about the dx10, i'm not hardcore gamer so i don't care about it, but it's just me.

and, regarding the wifi n, have you found out that you actually need to buy a pre n wifi card lately? If yes, you gotta wait, but i doubt it. IMO it's the router that make the differences, not the receiver. Unless you have some 100mbits at home...

my 2 cents...

 

I agree if you keep waiting you'll never buy anything, new stuff all the time. But currently, core 2 duo's T7200 and up are pretty fast, if you need a laptop now i suggest thats what you get, but if you'd rather wait a few months and dont need anything new now, get the centrino pro, but i'm currently happy with the current core 2 duo.

 

with this free upgrade thing to vista.... if i buy now the core 2 duo price will be high, and the OS (xp) price be low (then upgrade for free), but if i wait the core 2 duo price will be lower and then i will have to pay more for the OS (vista) right? so will the price overall be better now or later. (personally i would like the flash memory thing in the santa rosa but i would have no problem with a core 2 duo)

 

I have a feeling that Sony will come out with completely redesigned SZ replacement series with Centrino Pro and of course Vista installed by this summer. That's what got me so uneasy about buying any SZ now not because of the slow performance in comparison to supposedly newer upcoming notebook. SZ design was in my opinion a breakthrough for notebook design (eg. super thin screen). Imagine what they could come up with the next gen SZ? Even thinner notebook? Arggg...

 

Well, there u go. Wait,wait,wait.........again lol
Anotehr 5-6 months for you to wait for Centrino Pro with the new redesign SZ "IF" Sony decide to do so.

 

It could be very expensive, especially if the new models are equipped with new hard drive (flash).