TX850 right for me??? 802.11a, XP, no WAN.

I replacing an old picturebook that has served me well, but has been so resource bound for the past few years that I never use it.

I think I've settled on the VGN-TX850P/B.
I've been eyeing the TR, TX and now TXN series, but not too closely. So please people set me straight if I'm over looking something.

I need 802.11a, not b, not g, not n. 2.4gHz is too noisy at my house and only 5ghz works. Do any of the new TXNs support A? Has anyone used A on a TX? That's not a typo on Sony's spec sheet I hope.

I don't want any WAN built in. Locks be to a single provider. I'll use my phone over bluetooth thanks.

I'd prefer the option of staying with XP for now and upgrading to Vista at my descresion if ever. Looks like I can get the best of both worlds now by getting a TX850 with XP and the free upgrade to Vista that they are now offering.

I would really like the 100GB drive of the new TXNs, but perhaps I'll wait a year or so and put in a 120GB.

Does anyone know about putting in a 2GB module for 2.5GB rather than saying at 1.5GB? I heard this is possible, but the modules are like $600.

Is there anything I'm overlooking?

If not, should I buy from the little New York/ New Jersey shops and pay no tax in CA and get the lowest price? Or pay hundreds more from a known brand, most places won't take returns on a laptop without a massive restocking fee anyway. What's the worst fear about he cheap places? Can I get a greymarket that Sony won't warranty?

Anyone bought from ecom electronics, or amuras?

 

Yes, the TX850 has 802.11a capability (it has an Intel 3945ABG card). The TXN1x's seem to only have an Intel 3945BG card for some reason though.

 

The only thing I can figure is 802.11a is popular in corporate environments and the TX850P/B is sold only through business rather than retail channels.
More heavy handed, we know what you want more than you do, Sony marketing.

 

Well, I just ordered one. Should get it on friday. I've never bought a laptop sight unseen, I'm a bit nervous. It only had 1GB of RAM, I had assumed it was 1.5GB right up until reading the fine print. Oh well. Perhaps I'll try a 2GB SODIMM and see if I can get 2.5GB on there.

 

Keep us posted. I do wish you luck. And I hope you love your 850 as much as I love mine!

 

Slightly OT:

From where did you ordered it ?

Does anybody know any good site/shop where can I buy refurbished/second hand TX 6xx/7xx/8xx ?
Thanks !

 

Ecom electronics. Supposedly new. $1670ish. No tax to California, free shipping (I upgraded to 2 day for about $45). They gave me the hard sell (but politely) to try to get me to add extras. Who can blame them, the price is great, their margins are probably very slim. I caved in and ordered a 4 year service plan. I hope that wasn't a mistake. Anyone ever heard or or better yet filed a successful claim with CPS (Consumer priority service)??? Supposedly covers the screen and harddrive from any dammage (except willful) for 4 years. I got a spot on my picturebook screen after about 6 months from it being strapped to a rack on the back of my bike. Amuras also has a good price. I just checked various price searchers.

I've been waiting for years for the right deal on a TX series. I hope this works out. I'll certainly report back.

 

Sorry for shouting.

This is my third day with my TX850P/B and I'm just about all moved in, everything installed. It's a joy to use. I'm replacing an ancient Picturebook C1MW, the added usability is amazing. I will miss the tiny size of the picturebook, but I know I will LOVE this still trim machine. So much faster and what I needed a bag full of ad ons for the picturebook are built in on the TX850. All seemless. 802.11A networking with much better range/signal than my old pcmcia card, fast easy connectivity to my Garmin GPS and Nikon DSLR, a huge wad of pro graphics apps that at a glance seem to work quite nicely. I sure wouldn't mind more pixels, but I'm used to dual 1600x1200 at work, much better screen than the picturebook anway. The one thing I haven't got working yet is bluetooth syncing and dial up networking with my Treo 650 (sprint). Oh, and my PCMCIA compact flash adapter card performs poorly. Has anyone had trouble with low PCMCIA bandwidth? It was pretty fast on the picturebook, but very slow on the tx850. Way slower (8 x slower) than usb connection to the camera.

No problems with Ecom, delivered sealed, perfect shape, on time. Who knows if the warranty was worth it. I may not know unless I have a chance to make a claim.