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Basil
20th Jul 2007, 18:26
Intend buying PORTABLE laptop.
Vaio TZ seems best bet for size and weight.
Not particularly loyal to PC so had a look at MacBook but it's bigger and twice the weight. Mac can spec a HDD twice the Sony and 802.11n (if it works)
Can anyone comment on pros & cons whilst I'm making up my mind?
:confused::confused::confused:

Saab Dastard
20th Jul 2007, 23:29
Basil, I assume you are aware that 802.11n is as yet unratified, and anyone selling such kit is taking large liberties!

If performance, weight and battery life are an issue, start looking at solid-state drives - 32GB flash SSD drives (PATA) are now available, costing about £350, but are way faster than conventional HDDs, weigh less (for a comparable capacity) and use less power. Expect about a 15-20% performance boost, plus about 10% longer battery life.

AFAIK, 64GB SSD drives with SATA interface are slated for early next year, or even sooner.

SD

Keef
21st Jul 2007, 00:14
Prices of the 64GB ones are scary (well, the one I saw advertised was!).

Basil
21st Jul 2007, 14:57
Thank you all for your valued input.
This is interesting:
Review: Solid-state drives versus hard disk drives (http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9027098)

I presume one could always install a SSD at some time in the future?

Saab Dastard
21st Jul 2007, 21:15
I presume one could always install a SSD at some time in the future?

Yes, but there is no guarantee that the screwholes to fix the original HDD in its tray will match up to the positions of the screw holes in the SSD! Unbelievable but true!

SD

Basil
21st Jul 2007, 22:24
no guarantee that the screwholes to fix the original HDD in its tray will match up
Damn you! Wretched manipulators of vulgar vinyl! :ugh:

OTOH, if the guarantee's run out; soddit just drill some new holes :)

pba_target
22nd Jul 2007, 15:05
Hahah good work! As the proud owner of a TX and an SZ series vaio, whilst my brother who I see once in a while is a mac habitual with a macbook, all I can say is, he gets jealous, and I don't....

Seriously though, the TX is a great piece of kit if you want uber small and light, whilst the SZ is still so small and light that people comment on it, but is significantly more usable over a long period of time (eg as a primary computer, for dvd watching, spreadsheets etc etc.) The keyboard on the SZ is also a little nicer than the TX and the performance of the SZ is noticeably better (although that's not to say the TX is exactly slow!) Connections/peripherals wise they're roughly the same, although IIRC (I don't have it with me) the TX doesn't have an SD card reader, although I might be mis-remembering.

Both good bits of kit, and the SZ is comparable to the macbook, although (in my opinion) better looking, whilst the TX is light years ahead in the portability stakes.