Sony Vaio G Series: Any Core Duo 2 coming?

Hello!

Does anybody know if there will be any update soon for the Sony Vaio G to be Code Duo 2 instead of the Solo ?

Also how does the Sony Vaio G with Solo & SSD compares to TZ Core Duo with SSD in performance?

Thanks

 

Anybody heard of " Sony Vaio G" USA release?

 

It doesn't look good when Sony USA has no 12" Laptop

 

Order it from overseas? http://conics.net/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=183

They will probably update it with a Duo in their next version. There's no telling when that would be, though.

 

Owning both the G (Core Solo 1.33 + 32GB SSD) and the SZ90, the performance is slower on some things, but I can tell you the G is the fastest ultraportable I've used even without the ULV Core Duo. I have 2GB in the G and I've run 3 VMWare virtual machines plus a few other things and I don't really notice any perf issues like I used to on my old Pentium-M 1.73 on the Sharp M4000.

 

I think the SSD drive is why you experience it to be the fastest.

For me i find it funny how many people believe they need Core Duo. First of all, few people actually utilize their CPU to a 100%, secondly few applications actually benefit from two cores.

But i must admit, i ordered Core 2 duo anyway

 

PhilFlow:

So you are saying that the performance for Sony G would be somehow equal to Sony TZ if both got 2GB Ram and SSD ?

 

if both are running at 1,2 Ghz performance will be very similar

unless you are using applications that max out CPU and these applications are written to benefit from core duo.

or in some multi tasking situations where you are using several cpu hungry apps core 2 duo will also be faster.

typical CPU hungry apps: games (no go for tz anyway), encoding, decoding, editing audio and video

 

For general applications (e.g. Office tasks), they would be close. It depends what you are specifically going to be using the notebook for.

 

Remember that the G has the Core Solo 1.33 vs. the Core 2 Duo 1.2 of the TZ. Not ton of difference in speed, but the extra core gives the TZ a tad more horsepower.

 

Well, i wont be playing games, neither encode decode or editing videos..

just writing programming code using dreamweaver and maybe 4 browsers open same time with few windows in every browser + MSN Chat!

And i am planning to get the Toshiba R500 but i like the Sony G too, so I dono which would be better for my needs.. maybe both would do perform the same in my case but i dono which is better in general.

R500 got 64SSD Vs 32SSD
but i wont need more than 20 - 25Giga anyways

So what else?

 

In this case Core Duo will not offer performance benefits over Core Solo.

If anything Core Solo might be more energy efficient, although I dont know if this is true.

Two things kept me off buying R500.
1 According to most reviews the screen is disappointing.
2 The design is not on the same level as Sony imo.

I went for TZ90 wich will be arriving in a couple of days.

 

I would say to go the VAIO G. I've worked with and sold a lot more Toshiba units than Sony's, but that's mainly because the Toshiba's were better bang for buck for the average user.

The R500 vs the G are about equal, in terms of value. However, I would prefer the build quality and screen of the G.

 

Although I've just ordered a TZ, i want a G series aswell!

 

The G series is about 500$ more over the R500 with 2GB Ram ? Where is the cheapest with 2GB & 32SSD ?

 

What are the prices of both and from where?

 

I found them with almost same price, but the Toshiba is considered much cheaper because its newer & it got Core Duo + 64SSD instead of 32SSD

Toshiba R500: http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?seg=HHO&poid=389712&coid=-33781 ($2999)

Sony G: http://conics.net/catalog/product_i...27}204{17}57{15}39{39}209{5}239{35}346{40}223 ($3,023)

With almost same configuration!

 

Honestly, and based on the reviews that I have read, I think the build quality and screen more than make up for it.

If you need/want to run XP, Conics have ran XP on the latest G model, so there must be drivers out there for it. I have not looked at OS options with the R500, so I can't comment on that.

Go with whichever you value most.

 

Folks, get the 1GB of RAM yourself. Getting it from the vendor is silly as they overcharge you.

The build quality of the G is really, really good. Much better than my SZ. It was made to be more like the Toughbook series.

Remember that the G is also a 4:3, not a widescreen. I like it, and in some ways, I like the screen better than the SZ. Since getting the G, my SZ has been powered up a handful of times mainly to get files off of it.

 

One thing that has put me off on the R500 is the poor screen as it has been reviewed here. I believe the reviewer commented on it being one of the worst screen he has seen.

 

But there is another person who said that his screen was fine and that there might be several screens floating around... Sounds strange but who knows!

 

Either that or some people are less critical than others.

I think the latter. I've seen negative opinions on R500's screen from several independent (afaik) reviews.

On Sony's TZ screen everyone seems to be very positive.

 

The Australia site states that it can survive a 90cm fall while turned off. That's got to say something for its quality.

 

The Japanese website have a good presentation on it: http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/Concept/Vision/index.html?product=typeG

Here's the Australian one, which is a little easier to understand: http://www.sony.com.au/vaio/category.jsp?id=34349

 

Here's some more specific links for you:

This is a translated page showing you some of the features: [click]

This is a page that will show you the types of test they performed on it: [click]

Based on what I've just read and seen, the VAIO G looks to be extremely well built. I am still surprised that they rate it to be able to fall 72cm while on and 90cm while off and still work (even with their disclaimer)!

 

lol. they dropped it from 90 cm's while running and it keeps running?

that is impressive and hilarious. i think i will try that at home.

 

if just any of them had " Express card" or " Webcam" as an extra feature, then it would make it easier for me

When was the G series first released? Don't Sony do a refresh every 6 months or something? or when could we expect any soon refresh?

 

Btw, you can see the screen in action clearly here:

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=6gKMchnIfWM

and here

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=MDiEuRJe3Rs

and here

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=a_3FVAIwkYI


What do you think of it?

...........

 

It's really your choice, smagdy. I've given you as much information as I have on the G, but I can't really comment on the R500 bar what I have read in reviews.

Go with whichever one suits your needs best.

 

Nanaki, thank you so much..

I really like both

But I am leaning towards the R500, but just wishing a new G round the corner, so its either New G or the R500 becomes available!

Why the R500 is out of stock every where i wish to know when its gonna be available... anybody knows?

 

From my understanding, the G is targeted more towards the business customer whose mains concerns are:

• Durability
• Weight
• Battery Life
• Performance
• Security

Of course you also get the perks that come with it being a Sony VAIO, namely great screen quality and a sexy design.

I am not that knowledgeable when it comes to power consumption, so does anyone know if a Core Solo 1.33 GHz would use less power than a Core Duo 1.2 GHz? If that is the case, then Sony may well have chosen the Solo to gain more battery life.

Here's a rough G vs R500 in the aforementioned categories:

Durability: G, by a long way
Weight: R500, marginally
Battery Life: G, with the extended battery
Performance: R500, marginally
Security: Fairly even, although, if I had to choose, I would say the G.

If you prefer the R500, then go for it.

 

Design: G
Sexyness: G

 

Really u think so ?

I feel R500 is more fresh and that G looks old somehow, thought i like how the G looks too but i dont feel like it has some lights here and there like new notebooks!

 

But its not available anywhere

 

well I haven't seen the R500 in real life yet. So I'm going by the pics.

What was the reason again you are not considering TZ? they look the best imo.

 

Just just screen size

I wouldnt think for a second if TZ was 12.1" or the G had TZ specs

 

I know what you mean, I am curious to find out if i will be satisfied with 11,1 inch.

I will find out soon. the great quality of the screen will satisfy me though.

And I've heard of a TZ owner that he is able to see his TZ screen in bright sun light. Now that is amazing imo.

 

TZ over the G and R500 all the way here. I'd consider the G, if it was widescreen.

 

Core Duo ULV got tdp of around 10w, core solo ULV around 5.5w, so core solo is definitely more efficient. On the intel roadmap there is also a core 2 solo at 1.2ghz (core solo is max 1.33ghz). So nothing really exciting on the core solo front. So unless you wait for the ulv 45nm version, which no news yet, now is as good as any to go for a Sony Vaio G.

 

Interesting info! thanks for that.

When is Core 2 solo going to be released?

 

I think anyone getting the G will like it. Honestly, it's been my favorite notebook to date. Nice combo of size, weight, power, and sexiness. The limited edition brown color is very nice and distinctive

 

What kind of warranty do you get? We get only 1 year in Singapore, which is not quite good, compared to many others like Lenovo, Toshiba, Fujitsu who offer 3 years standard.

 

See below .. which will explain why waiting for Santa Rosa or Core2 Duo versions of Sony Vaio G (if it ever happens) will probably see a drop in battery life.

Also Core 2 versus Core supposedly have a 20% better performance at best at a given clock rate. So given that the Core 2 Solo will be 1.2GHz .. that would be very roughly equivalent to a 1.44GHz Core .. So compare that to a current Core Solo at 1.33GHz, that's only 8% better performance at best with the same battery life. Not something very exciting.

Only in the second half of 2008, Intel will offer Low Voltage (LV) and Ultra-Low Voltage (ULV) version of Penryn processors.... So for the next 1 year or so, there won't be anything dramatically different in the Ultraportable area.

http://laptoping.com/intel-core-2-solo-ulv-celeron-m-500-523.html

Intel Core 2 Solo processors, the single-core ULV (ultra low voltage) CPUs for thin and light laptops, will arrive in Q3 2007, HKEPC reports.

“Since single core has a better power consumption than dual core, Intel decided to make Core 2 Solo ULV for the need Sub-Note market,” the report says.

The new Core 2 Solo ULV includes U2200 model, running at 1.2 GHz with 1MB L2 cache and 533MHz front-side bus, and U2100 at 1.06 GHz with 1MB L2 and 533MHz FSB. The new CPUs are set to replace U1500 and U1400. The U2200 and U2100 have power consumption at 5W only and support 64-bit software, the HKEPC reports.

Although the new ULV processors will arrive after the Intel’s new Santa Rosa laptop platform launch in first half of 2007, the Core 2 Solo ULV CPUs are made for use with refreshed current Napa platform. The Core 2 Solo ULVs would be released for current Napa’s Socket M interface instead of Santa Rosa’s Socket P.

“The reason is as simple as that 945GM Napa chipset has half power consumption (7W TDP) than 965GM Santa Rosa (14W TDP),” HKEPC says.

 

But why does the Core 2 Solo ULV only have 1mb of L2 cache??

 

Since mine comes from Japan and was the ltd edition, it was 3 years standard. I also bought the wide warranty to cover accidental damage.

 

Exactly. And remember, especially in an ultraportable, your bottlenecks will generally be memory and hard disk speed way before processor. The SSD is really the way to go in an ultraportable laptop as your main storage, and a 7200rpm as your secondary/external.

 

I agree

That's quite debatable, 7200 rpm for secondary is not that interesting because the OS is not on it, and it makes the powerconsumption go up.

It really depends on the applications you use if a seconday 7200 rpm makes sense.

 

Any expert can answer me this ?

Which would be faster or perform better in general, my desktop or the Sony G?

Desktop: (Shuttle)
- AMD 64 4000+ (2.4GHz)
- Kingston 1GB RAM (1x1024MB) DDR
- Maxtor DiamondMax 120GB SATA 7200RPM

Notebook: (Sony Vaio G)
- Intel Core Solo U1500 1.33GHz
- 2GB RAM
- SSD 32GB

Thanks

 

smagdy, it will depend on what kind of applications you will be using.

 

Well, this is what I will use it for!

Web development, all these programs are always open same time...
- Dreamweaver
- FTP program
- At least 4 browsers with several windows in each browser
- Online radio streaming!
- MSN Chatting
- Antivirus (Bitdefender)
- Sometime Microsoft Virtual PC
- Rarely some simple Photoshop tasks

Also will be using wireless internet (WiFi)