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iBorg · Nov 8, 2002, 11:13 PM

Sony Viao GRX600 Series, which is competitively priced with the new Ti's, includes a DVD-RW/CD-RW with the following specs:

"internal removable DVD-RW / CD-RW drive (CD-ROM read 24x max; CD-RW read 12x max; CD-R write 16x max; CD-RW write 10x max; DVD-ROM read 8x max; DVD-R/RW read 4x max; DVD-R/RW write 1x max)"

Thus, they only have 1x DVD-burning, also, although they support DVD-RW. While they burn CD's twice as fast, I'll take 8x4x24 CD speeds as a trade-off for the slimline slot-load form factor. I was more concerned about slower DVD-burning, but it looks like that's what current technology allows for laptop units for now.

What are the downfalls of this Sony Vaio?
1. 8.4 pounds (including battery and optical drive), and 1.8" thick
2. 512k level 2 cache, but no level 3
3. Radeon 7500 with 32 MB VRAM
4. Windoze XP <shudder!!!>

To Sony's credit, they sell this top-shelf unit for $2799, including P4 2.0 GHz, 512 MB ram, 16.1" UXGA screen, 60 GB HD, with 1 Firewire and 3 USB ports (but not USB2!)

All in all, I think the new Ti's are a phenomenal value, with top-shelf technology and form-factor, with a SuperDrive that holds its own against the competition, in a much more compact design!

iBorg

Eug · Nov 9, 2002, 02:00 AM

Some of your comparisons don't really make sense.

2. 512k level 2 cache, but no level 3

Simply put, they're designed differently. And the SLOWEST chip in those machines are 1.8 GHz.

3. Radeon 7500 with 32 MB VRAM

One should not use the term VRAM. Most people use that term for a specific outdated type of memory. Anyways, the Radeon 7500 on the Vaio will run 3D games faster than the Radeon 9000 on the TiBook.

But I do agree, the TiBook is much better overall.

xtro · Nov 9, 2002, 02:23 AM

Hey Eug, you do realize that it says "location" over there under your name, and not "from", right?

If you are in your mother's womb right now, you have problems man.

(sorry, but that has been bugging me)

Nebrie · Nov 9, 2002, 02:36 AM

Originally posted by xtro:
Hey Eug, you do realize that it says "location" over there under your name, and not "from", right?

If you are in your mother's womb right now, you have problems man.

(sorry, but that has been bugging me)

Location can mean where you are at the moment or where you are from.

Eug · Nov 9, 2002, 02:41 AM

Originally posted by xtro:
Hey Eug, you do realize that it says "location" over there under your name, and not "from", right?

If you are in your mother's womb right now, you have problems man.

(sorry, but that has been bugging me)

Wha? When did that change?

Anyways, I've added "Not", until I can think of something better.

iBorg · 03:39 AM

Originally posted by Eug:
One should not use the term VRAM. Most people use that term for a specific outdated type of memory.Anyways, the Radeon 7500 on the Vaio will run 3D games faster than the Radeon 9000 on the TiBook.

"VRAM" is incorrect? Then Toshiba's website describing their Satellite Pro is also, when they state:"NVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go graphics controller w/32MB DDR external VRAM..."

And as far as the Radeon 7500 on the Vaio - my point was that Apple is building the Ti with top-shelf video technology, while Sony is using yesteryear's chip that Apple has replaced!

iBorg

iBorg · Nov 9, 2002, 02:56 AM

And the SLOWEST chip in those machines are 1.8 GHz.

Uh, yeah - thus the end of my post: "To Sony's credit, they sell this top-shelf unit for $2799, including P4 2.0 GHz..."

iBorg

xtro · Nov 9, 2002, 03:01 AM

Originally posted by Nebrie:

Location can mean where you are at the moment or where you are from.

Yeah thanks for the heads up McFly. It was a joke.

You know, the

?

Eug · Nov 9, 2002, 07:59 AM

Originally posted by iBorg:

"VRAM" is incorrect? Then Toshiba's website describing their Satellite Pro is also, when they state:"NVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go graphics controller w/32MB DDR external VRAM..."

Well, to be fair, "video RAM" which is a generic term has sometimes been contracted to "VRAM". However, this is usually avoided nowadays because it is confused with a specific type of RAM called "VRAM", which actually also stands for "Video RAM". However, this "video RAM" the generic term and "Video RAM" the specific term are NOT the same thing and thus "VRAM" is no longer usually used.

The ATI on the TiBook has 64 MB of DDR SDRAM. The last time I saw a video card with VRAM was, I dunno, 10 years ago?

See here and here.

mikerally · Nov 9, 2002, 08:20 AM

Perhaps we should define a term that is a little more broad and not so specific - but is still able to make itself clear?

How about "Video Memory"?

e.g. The new Powerbook G4 comes equipped with the ATI Radeon Mobility 9000 Graphics Chipset with 64MB of DDR Video Memory, and 1GB of RAM.

Karim · Nov 9, 2002, 10:51 AM

How about we just use the term Vram when we're talking about video controller memory since everyone understands what it means already anyways. Comprendez?

seanyepez · Nov 9, 2002, 11:10 AM

Back to the original intent of his post, I do believe the new PowerBooks are an awesome deal, too.

iBorg · Nov 10, 2002, 08:22 PM

C/Net 9/30/02 reviewed the new (5 weeks ago, anyway) Toshiba SD-R6012 drive for notebooks, which "supports DVD-RW/CD-RW, and writes DVDs at 1X speeds and CDs at up to 16x speeds. It reads DVDs at 8X and CDs at 24X speeds."

So, DVD-R recording speed is the same as TiPB's SuperDrive, but has the added advantage of supporting DVD-RW, whereas the Ti's drive has to be "tricked" into it. Toshiba's 16x8x24x CD-RW is faster than TiPB's 8x4x24.

Considering the form-factor, I think Apple's given us the best available technology in this area - can't wait for mine to arrive!

iBorg

Art Vandelay · Nov 10, 2002, 09:35 PM

It's not the drive that needs to be tricked into writing DVD-RW, but Apple's software.

Eug · Nov 10, 2002, 09:42 PM

Originally posted by iBorg:
C/Net 9/30/02 reviewed the new (5 weeks ago, anyway) Toshiba SD-R6012 drive for notebooks, which "supports DVD-RW/CD-RW, and writes DVDs at 1X speeds and CDs at up to 16x speeds. It reads DVDs at 8X and CDs at 24X speeds."

So, DVD-R recording speed is the same as TiPB's SuperDrive, but has the added advantage of supporting DVD-RW, whereas the Ti's drive has to be "tricked" into it. Toshiba's 16x8x24x CD-RW is faster than TiPB's 8x4x24.

Like he said, it's just Apple's software. It will work fine with Toast. It would have been nice to have 16X CD-R support though. I wonder if Toshiba would ever create a slot load version.