Sony S170

Yep. It's here! And it's much cheaper than I originally thought. Upgrade from a MR 9200 to a MR 9700 for a measly 90 bucks!

There are other things on here that I found interesting.

- Double battery capacity
- 5400 rpm hard drive
- Up to a 755 processor although you only want to go to a 735

I'd still call Sony on that quirk with the keyboard, but other than that, this looks great!

I'm still gonna wait for the PCI Express laptops to come out, but this is as good as it gets for now when it comes to an ultraportable.

--------------------
Compaq Presario 2800T
Pentium 4-M 1.6 GHz - 15" UXGA
512 MB RAM - 40 GB (5400 rpm)
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 64 MB
Pretty good for 2002 isn't it?

 

Yeah, it was cheaper than I expected too, but too bad only the 32mb version of the 9700 is available. I'll wait to see how much more the s90 is before I make a decision. And wow, I didn't know they were already developing pci express laptops. I'll probably consider getting one when the technology matures a little and things get cheaper.

 

Mmm...I wonder if the video RAM for 9700 is really 32 MB or it's a typo? Sonystyle specs tend to have this kind of little error more often than other sites (like putting the specs of a DVD-ROM/CD-RW in a model with DVD burner[xx(]).

Also, I can't find any info about the specs of the DVD burner. Anyone notice it buried somewhere?

 

One big problem with Radeon 9700 32Mb version is that it has 64bit memory interface. Not only you get half the memory, but you also get half the throughput. And for 3D it is a really big deal.
And to think I almost placed my order...

 

Probably a typo. I don't even think a 32 MB version of the 9700 exists. Only comes in 64, 128, and 256.

I think the 32 MB refers to the 9200, not the 9700. They wouldn't cripple the model if the same thing is offered in Europe.

--------------------
Compaq Presario 2800T
Pentium 4-M 1.6 GHz - 15" UXGA
512 MB RAM - 40 GB (5400 rpm)
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 64 MB
Pretty good for 2002 isn't it?

 

I ordered mine this morning with overnight shipping and tax that come to over $3300. Got the 9700 and bluetooth with DVD- what more could you want?

 

Wow! $3300? How did you configure you laptop?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by RickReno

 

I ordered the two chip 512 memory, XP Pro, 9700 graphics, DVD burner, and the fast 80 gig HD. The extended warantee was an additional $200 then with tax and overnight shipping ($75) I was just over $3300. I know the price will come down with some coupon in the future but I couldn't wait any longer. I had a Sony TR and found after a week of use it was just too small for any real useage- the keyboard was tiny and I couldn't type on it. I have been waiting to purchase this size lappy with everything on it for over two months- the xbrite screen is the only choice in laptops, I considered others but the quality of the xbrite and the outstanding battery life makes it a NObriner.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by RickReno

 

I really want to get this laptop, especially now with the 9700 video chip.

Questions:

1) Can I put in a hard drive by myself? I think $250 for an 80gb 5400rpm drive is horribly expensive (when you factor in the original hard drive it comes with, the 5400rpm drive actually costs like $350!) It's a normal laptop drive, right? Or is it smaller?

2) Is the double capacity battery heavier?

 

From what I understand the extended battery is bigger and sticks-out makeing the footprint bigger- although I haven't seen one so I can't be certain. The live sales help couldn't tell me and have been a source of "bad" information for me on past purchases. In fact live sales help on the sony site told me the S series with windows Pro wouldn't be shipping until September, and them the next day it was available for order. Crazy.