Sonoma platform, what's the consensus?

[Wiktor]

So how is the Sonoma platform compared to previous Centrino platforms? I can't find any recent Media Accelerator 900 benchmarks (none at all actually, just the desktop Integrated version). I've read there are some problems with rendering, is it only with DX9 games, have they released drivers to fix that?
And the battery life - I would expect it to be improved, but have found some articles that say the opposite. How's that possible? (maybe uncomparable laptops tested...)

I hope someone with a Sonoma based laptop can help me here? If I'm buying a laptop now (inexpensive - low end, Celeron M) should I choose Sonoma or are there any reasons why I shouldn't (like noise levels or overheating etc.)

Seems everyone already got their Centrino laptops and there isn't much interest in the new platform Just my impression after some Googling today

 

[moretoys]

What are you looking to do with your laptop? Media Accelerator will not allow you to run any newer games smoothly, especially FPS.
I have a Sonoma 'hybred' in a toshiba PSM40C (canadian model). I say hybred because it does not have DDR2, the new high quality audio, or an open Express slot. The implementation of PCI Express, DDR2, integrated WIFI, available high quality audio and a 533 FSB were some of the new features implemented with the Sonoma.
I have used the older platform as well, and to me I don't see a huge difference. The only reason I bought what I did was because it came with a go 6600 card and a reasonable price.
I can't comment much on battery life. I get 2-3 hours depending on what I am doing. It has a 6 cell battery. I believe you may get better life with the Media Accelerator and a smaller screen, but an extra hour wasn't as valuable to me as being able to play games.

 

[cmp1223]

http://www20.tomshardware.com/mobile/20050119/index.html

Battery power is reduced, because the PCIe GPUs take more power and i believe I read the Pentium M can't speedstep down as much as it used to.

 

[Wiktor]

Concerning games: I'd like to be able to play some of the older titles, especially those using Quake3 engine (though i understand ET might be too much, right now I have a Radeon9000/64MB laptop and it plays ET well, not great but ok, I was hoping the new intel gfx card had similar performance but now I see that's not quite so).
And then maybe Warcraft3 and Diablo2.
Plus I will be doing some OpenGL programming so correct 3D rendering and no driver problems is a must!

So far my choice is the HP nx6110 laptop. I guess it doesn't have DDR2 either, not sure about what audio. Battery life seems to be excellent (4-4.5 hrs). My other choice was a Thinkpad R50e (14").

Battery power is reduced, because the PCIe GPUs take more power and i believe I read the Pentium M can't speedstep down as much as it used to.


EDIT: There's also the 533MHz FSB and Celeron M's don't throttle down to 800MHz but it will have to do

Thanks for input!

 

[fbrdphreak]

Personally, I don't think Sonoma is worth the money overall. If you're using it for just a DTR, then the extra performance is a plus.
Overall, Sonoma generates more heat and uses more power for a 5-10% max performance increase. The feature set is a lot better: DDR2, PCI-E, SATA, etc. but I personally can't justify it over the 400MHz FSB Dothans. They use less power, are very respectable in performance, and the only potential downside is about the best GPU you can get is a 9700, maybe 9800 if you're lucky.

In regards to the GMA900 graphics, you can check out GMA900 performance with DDR 333 memory in this review of the Sony FS550.
While its performance has increased greatly over the Intel Extreme 2, the GMA900 is still an extreme POS for a graphics card. It SHOULD run Quake 3

We also have a review on the Asus V6V, which you will see if you just go to the link in my sig. That is a Sonoma notebook with DDR2 mem and IIRC the X600 video card.
In the labs right now we've got the Acer 8103 w/X700, Thinkpad T43 w/X300, Dell 9300 w/6800, and one or two more that I can't think of in my tired stupor.
The Acer 8103 should be posted shortly, with the T43 following. Check LaptopLogic.com for all the latest updates on those

IMO, you don't really need DDR2. Yes, if you're going Sonoma you might as well go all the way, but right now DDR SODIMM's are dirt cheap so it will be very inexpensive to upgrade your memory.

Hope this helps!