Official Sony SB/SA/SC/SD Series Owners' Thread

just ordered the WD 500gb scorpio black sata3
coming on friday

 

Not to run you away from it, but I put a 500GB (sata2) WD black drive in my MBP and it added a lot of vibration and hum to the computer. I am really dissatisfied with it coming from the stock 200GB Fujitsu it had in it. I am a picky person when it comes to computer noise.

 

i had a black in my thinkpad and it was SUPER quiet and always cool.

 

Same here. The 320gb 7200rpm Fujitsu HDD I had before was also the quietest notebook drive I ever had. The rest of the bunch that came after(Samsung, Hitachi 500/7200) seemed noisier.

 

Maybe my 2008 MBP just doesn't contain the noise nicely lol. I used to hear the fans at the default 2000RPM being very quiet. Now I can't tell a difference until the fans are around 3000RPM before there is a noticible pitch change due to the HDD rotation sound.

I really want to get an SSD since I love the one in my desktop. Just trying to convince myself I need a new laptop and this SB is looking REALLY nice after reading this thread. Been staring at the buy button for the past week, but can't seem to take the plunge.

 

My thoughts exactly when I started using mine. Congrats!

What software are you using to clone? Might do the cloning on my 7200 and see what happens.

 

Most hard drive company's actually offer free cloning software which I didn't know. But I used the Seagate DiscWizard (free download at Seagate.com) which is just a rebranded Acronis TrueImage and everything went down without a hitch.

Update: Currently have all the hardware plus Windows 7 Pro and Office 2010 Pro installed. Right now making recovery media, which actually requires 4 DVDR's.. Also got rid of the crapware, which was actually only Norton.

The WEI for memory went from 5.9 to 7.4 when I added the 4GB stick. Hard drive only went up to 5.9 from 5.7. But it's not like the WEI really counts for much of anything, just numbers.

I'll post up first impressions and some pics a little later once I have everything installed and have played with it a bit, but right off the bat I'm definitely happy I went with White, it looks sweet.

 

Can anyone comment on two-finger scrolling with this new SB? Also, do they offer more than two-finger gestures?

I saw many pages back there was someone who disliked 2 finger scrolling, but was wondering if anyone else has tried it. I have used a Mac for the past 3 years and the intertia scrolling along with all the gestures like 3 finger swipe back and forward when browsing is awesome. I'm just getting into more Windows based programming (.net stuff) and not a fan of Windows on my MBP with all these little quirks here and there.

 

i dno't think so with the ALPS, with the synaptic on other models i know you can enable it.

 

I havn't had too much time to play with it but I know it isn't enabled straight from the factory. I am so used to my HP's two finger scroll, I found myself trying to do it on the SB and nothing. I'll see what options are available and report back, have to wait for this recovery media to finish burning.

 

@ benny90

where's the pix? lol

 

I would greatly appreciate it. I do a lot of tech work fixing laptops and I find my self constantly using gestures the laptops don't work which totally frustrates me. I would probably have to get a mouse to carry with me if I got the Vaio :/ and preferably a nice bluetooth one that has a back button for the browser lol. I just would prefer everything to be on the trackpad.

Edit: While your making those recovery media and playing around with yours, hows the overall system noise?

 

Here's a couple to hold you over till I get a chance to take some good ones lol.

I'll have some good ones up shortly.

 

/wipes off some drool

Argh...must...buy...

 

Will check out Seagate. Thanks!

You can cut down the recovery media to 2 with DL discs. As for Norton, I've been trying their Internet Security 30-day offer and it seems to be good so far. No slowdowns and seems to block trojans and suspect websites just fine. Will probably use ESET Smart Security when this runs out though since I already bought it on a sale. Hopefully this is good choice.

What HD brand did yours come with? Mine came with Hitachi 5400 and under WEI it's already 5.9 but you're right, it's only numbers.

Wish it was easy to swap case colors like some cellphones. White would have worked just as well for me.

 

And here ya go:


Not the best pics, but I'm getting in my new one on Friday so I'll reshoot then.

 

More pics:

 

One more set:

 

Your white SB is absolutely gorgeous!

 

I opted for the black, but i like the two tone-ness of the white color against the aluminum.

 

I'm really leaning on getting a black one right now. I dig your white one, but it's not for me.

I'm looking at getting the black CTO with the i5- 2520M $50 upgrade, W7 Pro, and the slice battery.

Anyone think the i7 + 6630M is worth the extra like 300 dollars? I don't think I'd ever use the i7's potential, but the 6630 sounds nice. WTB 6630M with i5...

I also would be buying a 4GB chip (crucial?) and most likely an Intel 320 160GB SSD.

 

get the black one. after seeing it in personi didn't like how it looked.

and for 300 i dno't think its worth it

 

hello all,
Just came from an AW M11X to a new Sony SB series.
This is a US version as others are showing other variations from UK, asia, etc.

I ordered a CTO, i7, 4gb, 6630M, 500gb, black
ordered with - Fresh start.
Received today and was able to go home for lunch to check it out.

I will take some pics and post if you some of you would like me too.
I love the "Fresh Start" no nonsense sony software, just nice and clean.

When I opened it up, battery was completely dead, no charge at all.
First start up took only about 5 - 10 minutes initially and i was up and running. I was in "SPEED" mode, but was unable to find out where it shows AMD was running and not INTEL HD.

I did some light surfing and fan came on a bit, but came on gradually and softly. I might need to update with the new bios as I am not sure if they did the update for me. I will post a better review, if you all would like, when I get home from work. But I love the screen, keyboard, feel and weight.
Now I need to check its performance. I did examine the back, there is very little space to dissipate the heat, but there is room, it is not fully blocked.

All in all, won't return it yet, still have 30 days to review this thing of any defects or problems.

 

Yea, I actually like Norton, just don't like paying for it lol. I just use Security Essentials from Microsoft, fast, light and of course free.

I saw that, but unfortunately I don't have any DL discs. I'll have to pick some up.

Mine came with a Hitachi 320GB HDD.

 

Yea it's not meant for everyone, it's pretty much you either love it or hate it. I obviously love it and think it looks really good. Tired of black laptops.

 

Hey Benny, did your laptop come with windows 7 dvds?

 

I actually don't see any two finger scroll just looking at it, might be buried in a folder somewhere. It's an Alps controller.

It does have the "circular scrolling" though, which I really like and actually like more than the 2 finger scroll. For those that don't know what it is, basically you just scroll like normal on the right side of the trackpad, but when you reach the bottom you can keep you finger and move clockwise in a circle to continue scrolling through a page. It's really quick to and is good for sites like this where you have to scroll a lot.

 

Nope, no Win 7 DVD's. But your supposed to make the backup discs once you get it, which will have 7 on it. Like all manufactures now there is no clean disc included. I believe you can order one for a little extra when you order your laptop though.

 

Sweet, thanks.

Nice pictures by the way. I heard that if you install a new harddrive it voids the warranty... can anyone confirm this?

 

Hehe, no it won't void your warranty.

 

nice pix benny90!

where did you get that desk with the built in cable trough from? ikea?

 

When I called sony up Monday, (called twice to verify it with two different reps) they said it voids the warranty to change the HDD, but not adding RAM. I am not sure if they mean its void if I leave a different drive in there when I send it back or not.

I have always used a different drive in my MBP and always swapped it to stock before taking it to Apple and never had an issue. I assume Sony is the same way. Honestly, how are they going to know lol...

 

They are morons lol. But yea, if I sent it in I would probably just switch it back just in case.

 

I wasn't too sure about the keyboard, but I absolutely love it. Perfect feedback and no flex.

EDIT: Also, this thing is super light, WAY lighter than the MacBook Pro and my DV4 it is replacing.

 

What Macbook Pro do you have? I am using the non-unibody 15.4" from early 2008 (4.1 model i believe) and I just slugged it in my backpack and really wish it was lighter lol. I'm also trying to figure out if the 6470 video card is good enough for me. I currently have the 8600M GT and not finding much to compare them. I assume it's a little faster than what I got.

 

it is, if you want to game you should go for the 6630m

 

It was a MacBook Pro 13 2011, I returned it yesterday in anticipation for getting this one. Looking back, I probably should have kept it so I could do an in depth comparison. But I can tell you, the difference in the weight is pretty substantial! The SB honestly feels like if you took out the huge battery of the MBP and carried it around like that.

 

On the screen, I really have no idea what people are complaining about?! The colors look just fine to me. I sat it right next to my DV4, which obviously isn't the best screen ever but is definitely good enough and the SB looked better than that. I'm not sure if this is right but I it sounds like it might be, they probably used a different screen in their early "preproduction" SB's. Like the ones they have at the stores and probably that one from the the review from notebookcheck a few pages back.

I mean honestly, I'm not sure what else it could be because the colors look just fine in my eyes.

 

Did you just do a fresh install when you replaced your HDD with the Momentus XT from the backup disc? From what I've seen, even uninstalling Norton will still keep some of the remenents on there. It's almost as bad as a Trojan virus. And hogs as much resources too. If you have a clean 7 disc, i'd probably use that instead.

 

Did a HDD clone, got rid of all the remnants of Norton that I could find, uninstalled it then searched the hard drive and deleted everything. That was actually the only software that I had to remove. Everything else is fine.

 

One negative would be the fan noise before I installed the updated BIOS. It would get really loud after just browsing around the desktop. After that though it seems much quieter and doesn't seem to spool up really loud like it did.

The deck is nice and rigid, the only time it will flex is when you push down hard and really want it to. One point that notebook review did get right was that under the ODD there is some flex, but honestly that has to be expected with a notebook this thin and light. And it's definitely not as bad as an Asus bottom. The tray on the other hand is rock solid. I definitely noticed that when making the recovery discs.

Con: The vertical viewing angle isn't the best and can wash out the colors if not set right. A small adjustment fixes that and it is very similar to my DM4 viewing angle so it's not too bad. It need to be a little leaned back and not straight on. I can see someone saying that the colors are washed out by not having it leaned back a little.

 

what did you do for your screen settings?

 

How does the fan noise compare to the MBP and the DV4?

 

if its enough to distract me from listening to justin beiber and ke$ha in FLAC. i'm returning it.

 

Mm I really love the exterior of the white one, but inside (not inside the laptop, but when opened) I really hate the silver plastic keys/look there .

 

Well said lmao.

Do they offer a return policy on those CTO's? I know a lot of places won't let you return custom built stuff.

 

lol the fan noise is very quiet now. Before the bios update it sounded like a jet. Well maybe not that loud but it was pretty annoying. After the update though I actually don't even notice it, it is very quiet.

The pics actually make it look way more silver than it actually is. When I saw some other pics of the inside I wasn't too sure about it too. But, the silver is actually very light in color and looks good with the white exterior. It doesn't shine like it looks in the pics with the flash and it looks very nice.

Yes, they offer returns, also no restocking fees which is nice. If you have any issues with the laptop they will also pay for the return shipping.

 

Here in the Netherlands you can only return it when you didn't order any custom engraving option with it.

@benny90, It's true that the palmrests and keyboard surrounding don't look that silver in real life, I've also seen it at a local store. But the keys did still look quite plasticy in my opinion.

 

that white one is awesome!

 

Yea, they don't offer returns on engraved ones here either but do on the CTO's.