Sony TX anyone ?

Hi all,

I'm currently considering an ultra-portable - specifically the TX1HP (European version).

There's a new review over at trustedreviews.com which generated mixed feelings on my side - they reported "bad" light bleeding/leakage at the screen base.
They also complained about the noise level.

However, it seems as if they tested a pre-prod sample so I'm wondering whether these flaws also made it into production.
There's no such things as a perfect notebook but at least screen quality is a priority in my book.

Any feedback from actual users out there ?

Thx!

Klaus

 

Hiya,

In normal usage, the light leakage isn't bad. If I look down at the task bar, I can kind of notice different "strips" of darker vs lighter light, but again, this is only if I'm looking for it.

For the fan noise, it's louder than the previous T1/2/3xx series. Can't say how it compares to an S, however, as I don't have one or have used one of those much.

Screen is awesome--crazy thin and 1366x768 is good, IMO.

 

which TX do u have? post pics!.. if you have one with the cingulair wan antenna, take a pic with the antenna off. how many user accessible RAM slots are in the bottom? which screen is brighter.. the T or TX's? thanks

 

TX651P. The no antenna version. One user slot for RAM.

Didn't you ask this question in another forum?

Sorry haven't had a chance to take pics so only these two:




TX's screen is *warmer* and slighty brighter. The eye isn't very good at detecting increases in brightness--e.g. 2x brighter flashlight the eye will not detect it as being 2x brighter.

 

Thanks! May I dig a little further regarding the screen ?
How far do these "strips" pollute into the screen ? An inch ? Less ? More ?
And how even is the illumination accross the rest of the screen ?

Thanks a lot

Klaus

 

Sure Klaus. Just for you I booted up my computer again.

The strips are less than 1/8 of an inch. They are more like a bank of LEDs spaced out. You can almost see a "grid" of one level. So like a faint block, darker space, another faint block. If you are familiar with LED lighting at all the grids almost remind me of square Lux I/III Luxeon star-size LEDs though I have no idea what Sony is actually using for their LEDs.

With the taskbar locked you can kind of see the difference in lighting if you look at it, though it's less than 1/2 the height of the taskbar. Honestly, it's not a big deal and I'm generally picky. On my Dell X1 (matte screen) it has a bit of light bleed and the LED bleed on the Sony is very similar.

With a black backround I can't see it. With a white background I can kind of see it. If I took a picture my camera wouldn't capture the gradient differences.

Hope that helps. Please keep in mind that this a sample size of one. The screen is fantastic and everyone that has played with it so far has commented on how aweomse the screen is.

For me, the thin screen + other improvements makes the TX worthwhile. Though the previous T series seems to be sturdier and has a more "clicky" keyboard.

Hope that helps. If you have more questions please ask!

 

That was helpful, yes! My other alternative would have been the Dell X1 and if this one isn't really better regarding light leakage then I'll surely prefer the glossy screen of the TX.

Any clues what kind of memory is required for the RAM expansion slot ? Are micro-DIMMs required or does it take the common 200pin SO-DDR2 type ? The question has not been answered in the other TX thread as far as I can see. The on-line manual doesn't give a hint unfortunately.

cheers

Klaus

 

I'm looking hard at the Tx as well. Worried about the fan noise, though. I've read that they've changed production already to correct this and that the TXs that were purchased from the Sony business site had the fan problem. Where did you buy yours, Pro? I have a T250 and love the size -going to pass it on to my better half if I buy a TX. Also, Pro, could you tell me what version of the Intel Wireless adaptor the TX has? I have a Colubris wireless AP that isn't compatible with the T250's adapter. Thanks!

 

Intel 2200BG
Driver date: 4/29/2005
Version: 9.0.2.25

Believe it or not, I bought the TX used, haha. The previous owner decided to keep his T250. It was purchased online at PCNation. I'm selling my T250 and keeping the TX.

He hated the fan noise. I'm living with it bc I like how it's lighter than the T250 and is slightly smaller (yes, every bit of weight savings count--YMMV).

The fan is kind of stupid in that in normal surfing/use it does come on and off intermittently. But then so did the T250. Depends on your level of noise tolerance I guess. When I first got the T250 I thought the fan was loud (I normally use my X1 which is fanless haha). I'm fine with it though as I'm usually either listening to music or watching a movie. And I love the screen ratio + lid as well.

Where have people been posting about the Sony Business Site purchases?

 

what other forum?? just trying to stimulate conversation about this amazing lappy cuz there are no posts about it. i was going to order the 651 until i disocovered (and now confirmed) that is has a 1GB limit. thank you for posting the comparison pics. im 100% sure im getting the tx but with 1.5GB and without the cingulair WAN.

 

btw.. is the memory slot on the bottom empty or filled? Zskylar just confirmed that the tx651 does support 1.5GB.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=27296&page=3

 

I saw the posting on the siliconepopculture site about fan noise

 

Thanks for the feedback. Would love to hear what other impressions you've had so far using this beauty. I've got a VISA card just itching to be spent, but am hesitant to put the order before actually holding one in my hands (kind of like online dating

 

Sorry, forgot to mention that this was for prolepsis:

 

Hehe, sure np. What would you like to know?

Keep in mind that I bought mine from a user who bought the TX right away, so this is just one sample size.

I love it. Has some tradeoffs, but it might be specific just to mine?

Pros
- nice screen/bright
- small
- light
- 16:9 ratio is awesome for watching movies

Cons
- left palmrest has a slight bit of play—if you push it down the plastic squeaks/flexes
- fan does turn on and off a lot—if I’m doing something more CPU intensive then it stays on all the time, which is fine
- it doesn’t “feel” super sturdy, when compared to my IBM and Dell (Lattitude)

Observations
- keyboard is less “clicky” than the T2/3xx series
- T250PS feels more sturdy but is also bigger (I knew this issue going in)
- Battery sticks out less on the TX series because it’s “deeper” in the laptop; this also means that the battery doesn’t stay as cool, though neither battery gets hot (only warm)

As long as you know what your priorities are, and what the compromises are, you will probably be happy. I have no regrets on my end.