ULV processors in TZ series

Apologies for another pre-sales query from a potential TZ buyer-to-be...

I've read mixed reviews of the performance of the TZ series. These range from 'nippy' and 'adequate for most road warrior tasks' to 'slow' and 'so slow it seemed broken'.

As someone with not a huge amount of experience of mobile CPUs... could you guys help me put the U7600 CPU performance in context please?

Specifically, I'm used to using a Pentium M 1.6GHz in my Samsung lappy. I know it's not the fastest, but works adequately for what I do most (streaming standard res divxs and music, browsing, a little bit of Photoshop). Would the U7600 (1.2GHz) seem faster to me than my current one?

My current desktop is also adequate for my (admittedly basic!) desktop computing needs, it's an AMD Athlon64 3000+. I'm assuming that'll be quicker than the U7600?

Thanks muchly for your help!

 

Shoot...my D430's single core processor is as fast as a P-M 1.6GHz. A dual core 1.2GHz U7600 ought to outperform it.

 

Take it from me who has used several Intel ULV processors, they are quite nippier than they look and the U7600 would be able to perform all the tasks you have listed fine.

The real bottleneck in performance is the slow HDD, unless you get the higher end models with SSD instead.

 

I'm sure you will find it faster. The single core 1.33GHz U1500 in my Sony G11 is similar in performance to a 1.6GHz Pentium M (it was faster in SuperPi but slower in wPrime). However, the U7600 has two cores so most of the time it will be faster, and operation smoother, than with a single core CPU.

John

 

Thanks chaps! One more hurdle passed. Now I just need to wait for the new credit card to arrive.

Re: SSD vs 4200rpm HDD... I would love to have the SSD but the price premium (about £500/$1000) is too great for me to bear I think, even though it's much less than the retail cost of a 1.8" 64GB SSD. I've seen the video of the HDD vs SSD bootup times and although I could see a clear difference, it didn't strike me as a must have.
I'm hoping that over the life of the laptop (hopefully, for me, about 4-5 years), SSDs will become much cheaper just like everything always does in this industry (if they're popular, anyway).
By 2011, I could envisage 128GB SSDs (1.8" with ZIF connector of course) being less than £250, at which point I'd definitely upgrade to one!

 

The ULV processors are perfectly fine for the basic tasks you mentioned. The hard disks are indeed a bottleneck, but still usable. There are already 120GB 5400rpm 1.8" ZIF hard drives, but it doesn't seem like there are any significant performance improvements. Problem in sourcing them aftermarket too.

 

Dunno much about AMDs....but the U7600 would definitely outperform the Pentium M in every aspect....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...2Merom-2M.22_.28ultra-low-voltage.2C_65_nm.29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o....22Banias.22_.28standard-voltage.2C_130_nm.29

Compare the 2 processors from the above links the U7600 has

more cache....

and being a dual core....more speed too....

operates at a lower voltage....

will keep ur notebook cooler...

will increase the battery life as well....

and is 4 years younger to the pentium m so its bound to be better....!!

The U7600 has kinda 2 models the SLA2U which has a clock speed of 1.2gig http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLA2U and the SLV3W which has clock speed of 1.33gig http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLV3W

Comparing the U7600 with this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Athlon_64_microprocessors I would presume that the U7600 (2MB cache) is even faster than the AMD (512kb cache)....

 

I have the U7600 model, with an SSD, and by the sound of it, have very similar task patterns as you. Though, if you can get 4-5 years from a laptop, you're doing better than i am. Regardless, even without the SSD, I would guess you'll find this latop performs quite adequately. But make no mistake - its made to be really portable and have very good battery life. if you don't carry it around a lot (like through airports/train stations, etc), and wouldn't mind something just a tad heavier, then take a peek at the Sony SZ series. those perform very well, but still have a fairly small footprint, so they can be portable --- they're just not uber light like the TZ. just a thought...

 

Thanks tmorrow24. I'm finding it hard finalising my decision over a new laptop for exactly the kind of reasons you mention. My last lappy ended up staying at home most of the time because although it was thin and light it was still a bit too big to pop inside a messenger bag etc... so I think I need something *small*.

It's definitely true that there's a big premium to be paid for the ultra-small and ultra-featured TZ series. Someone else here pointed out that I could get far better 'bang for buck' with something like the Samsung Q45.

If I opened up my shortlist to the SZ (or Q45), I'd definitely find it hard to resist the Lenovo Thinkpad X300. I have a special respect for Thinkpads based on past experience with them.

I have a Toshiba Satellite Pro u300 for work and although it's portable enough, again it's just a bit too big/heavy to be portable without knowing you're carrying it. The Thinkpad has a similar footprint to my u300, although it's significantly thinner and weight-wise it's closer to the TZ (200g heavier though).

TZ = 277 x 198 x 24-31 mm, 1.24kg

x300 = 317 x 236 x 22 mm, 1.45kg

u300 = 310 x 227 x 30-34 mm, 1.8kg

Hmm... this decision isn't getting any easier!

Does anyone have any thoughts on these choices?

 

Hey InfyMcGirk, just wondering if there is a compelling reason that your planning on getting it now. Do you have a timeframe (like a last date) for purchase. Reason is the Montevina chioset is just around the corner. Should mean older TZ's getting sold off cheap or much better performance from the newer model. Also I see your quoting in Sterling, are you from the UK. Just wondering as you may have other alternatives buying from Japan as you know how much Sony screw us Eurozone techies over compared to the rest of the world. If you can afford to ditch the internal DVD drive and replace it with a Japanese 2.5" HDD version running at 5400rpm this should result in much snappier performance all round while keeping the 1.8" SSD slot free for adding a drive later. Sorry if I'm confusing you more.

 

For me the goal was set as "smallest laptop which runs Windows with free hard drive space more than 50Gb", that's why I bought Sony TZ. I didn't even consider buying 13.3" this time.
I owned Sony SZ, the complaints that I had were: ECO screen is too dark (buy with X-Bright screen or whatever it's called), keyboard is soft.
I saw X300 in the store and I didn't like it's screen as well as how it looks in general.

 

I kinda have a timeframe, yup... my birthday in July! I'm asking the missus and my folks to make donations to the cause, so I really need to get something sorted around early July or they'll worry that I've frittered the cash or summat.

I've been following the Montevina story and I'm still not 100% convinced it'll be worth the wait. My understanding is that Sony could just about have had time to include Santa Rosa in the current generation of TZs... but decided to pass on it because the increase of performance would have been traded off against battery life and the latter was deemed preferable.
The delay in releasing Montevina also surely means that we'll be waiting a good few months - possibly September/October - before the new models ship in any quantity and then there's the extra time to allow for European distributors to be given any stock after the US and AP markets have had their fill?
It's a bit annoying that the timings are awkward for me... if Montevina was landing in June then I'd probably wait but I don't want to be waiting until past August to get my new lappy.

Re: buying from other markets, I'm well aware that we get totally screwed here in the UK. Not just by Sony but by pretty much every company on the planet and even our own government. Hence the stiff upper lip and all that.
But I'm still not sure it's a good idea to buy from another market where Sony are concerned because they don't have proper worldwide support set up... and I don't want to be farting around sending my laptop on a round trip to Japan if it ever needs something replacing.
If the decision was just based on cost alone, I'd consider ordering from Japan or the US, but the support thing bothers me a bit.
(It's the same with Canon's DSLR camera bodies... although funnily enough not with their lenses, which include worldwide warranties - go figure!)

The point about the HDD is an interesting one... but I need the optical drive. One of the tasks I specifically have in mind for this new laptop is taking DVD-RAM discs from my PVR and authoring DVDs from them to burn onto normal DVDRs for archiving favourite bits of telly. It's something I currently do on my desktop but it's the kind of time consuming mindless activity that I'd like to do while sat on the sofa watching other favourite bits of telly with the lass...

Thus if I'm to get snappier performance, I'm going to have to either wait for the next models to be released or get an SSD. Getting a SSD is tempting but means I have to buy from Sony Style because the top models are 'exclusive' to them... adding yet more Sony eurozone screwing on to the cost. Grrr!

This is all Sony's fault for producing such a mighty fine and utterly drool worthy ultraportable! The TZ is so tasty it's even convinced me to almost forgive them for the XCD DRM debacle...

 

Thanks for the tip. I read this in a review of the X300 but these things can be a one-off so I'm very interested that you also mentioned the screen was unimpressive...
Whereas pretty much everyone, reviewer and consumer, agrees the TZ screen is gorgeous.

 

Rather than look at dimensions, it may help to compare the volumes. When those small differences in dimensions get multiplied by each other then the result is much bigger (10% larger in each dimension is 33% more volume).

Also, to add to the confusion, another possibility may be the Zepto Notus. This is designed for all day operation on battery although the 800MHz CPU is best described as adequate. Watch out for a review in the next week or so.

John

 

If you can justify it - go SSD. I didn't think i'd love mine as much as i do - or just the laptop in general, never mind the ssd for a moment. but i do! while i can only count on what is posted in this forum, i choose to believe the SSD plays a huge part in my battery life (which is outstanding) and somewhat less heat from previous laptops, as well as performance increases. Things like Word, Outlook, Excel, etc open so fast its ridiculous. and, i haven't even tried a semi or clean install of Vista. just deleted as much bloatware as i could. i imagine a clean install would net me even faster bootups, etc.
From the rest of your posts, i'm thinking you are going to love the TZ, and never experience any buyer's remorse. i know i haven't.
one last thing: i got mine, sealed new, from Ebay. it saved me A LOT of $$$ and was the only way for me to justify the SSD. it might be worth watching for awhile to see if something pops up there. I got the premium carbon fiber too...which looks very nice!

Good luck and happy shopping!

 

I think the TZ with SSD is the best solution for portability and speed. I have the 32GB SSD version, so this will not apply to 64GB buyers, but I've run out of space (Vista folder is 14GB).

The other issue I have is that video play can be jerky, but other than that I love my TZ. There is simply no better computer on the market. And the screen is to die for.

 

My bank manager is going to love you guys... I'm starting to think the 64GB SSD is a good idea!

ubercool - can you expand on that point about video play being jerky, please? That sounds a bit worrying to me. For instance, are you sure it's the TZ and not, say, your wireless connection causing the jerkiness?
Played from local disk, I've had stuttering previously on my PCs at home but only with stupidly-high-res HD files which anyway would need scaling down to fit the TZ screen... so I'll be looking at standard res videos only I think.
Wireless can cause problems too but not usually with an average, medium bitrate avi or similar.

 

I've never had jerkiness playing back video on my ssd tz with one exception, sometimes when I watch 720p HD video it does skip sometimes, but is still very watchable. I was using VLC however so maybe I should try using mplayer or something else.

To add to this thread, get the TZ with SSD, you won't be disappointed. I paid a pretty penny for mine last year when they first dropped in Japan, and I was a little worried about what Apple might bring the the table because I like osx, but they didn't bring a true subnote out, and I've yet to see anything that can beat the tz in the breadth of features to size ratio except the newer tz's

 

Ditto - i've never experienced jerkiess either and i watch a lot of video via Itunes or Amazon unbox or Cinemanow on trains/planes. Only problem i did experience was low volume. i think i remedied with some tweaking of the audio controls. a nice pair of noise cancelling headphones would also do the trick. But no doubt - this thing is great for watching videos! maybe the SSD is bonus in this dept as well. the 4200rpm HD might skip?? i'm talking about of my technical level here though, so just a thought....

 

I've ripped regular DVDs to ISO files on my TZ180 (4200rpm HDD), and mounted them with Alcohol 52%, and I've had zero issues with jerkiness. So the 4200rpm HDD is more than adequate for DVD video.

 

Try one, by all means, before you buy, and make sure you're ok with the screen and keyboard. They're not for everyone.

CPU performance will not be an issue; the 1.2 ghz dual core on my TZ195 feels something like 10x faster than the 1.2 ghz Pentium M on my last laptop subjectively. An SSD drive will solve the HD bottleneck; highly recommended.

The screen is fabulously sharp and incredibly bright, but it's SMALL. You'd better have good eyes. The keyboard is a bit cramped for fast touch typing. Make sure you're cool with these things before buying.

 

The cpu isnt the bottleneck. Like others have said the slow 4200 rpm hd and also the old integrated graphic chip are.

I'm running xp instead of vista and even then certain HD videos played using a flash player are still jerky.

I usually buy a new laptop every 2 or 3 years. I've had my tz for about a year now and I plan to keep it another year but the new thinkpad x200 looks mighty tempting.

 

The TZ is not all that slow.
I have the TZ250 w/ 1.6 and 2 gig of memory.
I have camtasia video of me opening up various files and programs on youtube. (crappy video)
As you can see it is not that slow, I had over 10 apps running and the lag was not bad.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lPRj7SqEIM

 

Great video Duckfart,

I liked how you keep your desktop too. I agree the TZ is not slow at all if you know how to manage the Vista.

 

1.6? You mean you managed to overclock your processor to 1.6ghz from 1.2ghz? How is it, any side effects like much extra heat, things glitching. I read from the TZ overclocking thread here that those who overclock their TZ after a certain point, the wireless card becomes disabled.

 

If you guys are interested in portable-notebooks, word is that Sony is going to announce a low-cost notebook in competition with the Asus Eee and MSI Wind etc. Sony will be offering a VIA 1.6Ghz. Its too bad they won't be using an Intel CPU. I guess that's reserved for the TZ series, in competition with the Macbook, X300 etc. They probably want to keep the cost down.

 

I noticed you were using a dock instead of the quicklaunch bar. I was just wondering how you use windows. What happens if you need to grab something on the desktop? Well I see you have nothing on your desktop so you problem dont use it. But what if you got 10 apps running and you need to launch another app from the dock? Do you minimize the 10 apps first to reveal your desktop and dock?

I was just wondering. Cause your vista looks really neat.

 

Sorry, I did not overclock. I have the factory TZ250 whisch is 1.2GHZ not 1.6 wrong info.

 

Sony should take the lead in the competition by offering a 2Ghz Intel processor in their TZ series and couple it with an advanced graphics cell derived from the PSP!

 

I can add as many apps I want to on the Dock,then make the icon smaller.
Dock is not seen but when my cursor is placed on top, the dock appears for me to click.
What ever else I need I have it in the start up.
99.9% of the time I use word,excel,outlook and internet.I have show desktop icon on the dock as well, I just changed the Icon.

 

Having a dock like that is nice, especially when you're using a couple of programs frequently. Still, I prefer having desktop icons instead. Still cool though.

 

I've not seen these before, where can I get a dock like the one in your video, I assume it's some kind of software?

 

It's Object Dock and it is free.

 

Thanks!

 

The Montevina ULV processors will be coming in the Fall. Let's hope that Sony refreshes their TZ series lineup with a 2Ghz Montevina processor, coupled with a Blu-ray player, 4 GB of DDR3 Ram, and a 128GB SSD. Goodbye Apple! Hello Sony!

 

The ULV Montevina processors will be 1.2 and 1.4ghz. You want 2.0ghz, you'll have to go to a bigger size notebook.

I'm sure they will have 128gb SSDs as the Toshiba R500 has that option, extremely expensive though, I think $4000 and up.

 

I'm hoping that Sony at least announces their new models soon, so I know how long a wait I might have. I'd really like to have a new lappy by end August but if I know for sure the new model is only weeks away I might be able to...