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

I currently have a 2009 Sony-FW series, real bulky and bad battery life (<20min) but I do really like the screen (16.4" 1600X900) and the system is great: very zippy and haven't had any problems what so ever till now. I really wanted a lighter, more portable laptop with better battery life, so I am now seriously considering the S series. I just don't want the new S series to seem like a downgrade (in terms of quality/screen/performance/battery life)

Does the battery life really live up to what is advertised? My VAIO-FW laptop battery deteriorated in less than a yr (now I get <20min). Is the S-series battery any good and any idea if it will last?[/QUOTE]

 

this is much better! it will help others

 

Whats the difference between SA, SB, SC and SD anyways? Best Buy offers the S series at a much lower price but with better specs than in Sony's website.

 

As of now I have seen specs for only SB and SC (see Vaio Canada website). I guess the SC version has the hybrid drive (?). I really do like the option of hybrid drive (has anyone compared the regular and hybrid drives?) and the best buy version's specs look amazing (esp with the free WiDi adapter). Dont really know about the SA and SD versions.

The Best Buy version also seems cheaper than the the version on the Sony website which is kinda weird. Has anyone else spotted any difference in specs?

 

Just received my SB. The build quality is good. There is no glaring defects I can detect so far. I opted for the extended battery and was able to use it during class and while studying at school 8:00am till 2:00pm and the extended battery had 33% life left. I did put the laptop to sleep during the passing periods and lunch.

After I got home I loaded StarCraft II and performance is really good at native res with a hybrid of medium/high settings in graphics using the Radeon. Interesting enough it is possible to play SCII with the Intel graphics on low.

I am a fan of high resolution displays, however the dot pitch on this is very nice, and would not want any thing smaller for this size. The LCD screen quality is not the worst, but not the best. Viewing angles are not a problem if you are in the right position, however if you move your head I notice color shift. This is quite a bit better than the HP Envy 14 that had color shift on any part of the screen that is not directly being looked at. However, the quality is good enough for me to enjoy the laptop very much. I am installing and testing more games (steam) as we speak!

The keyboard is very well laid out and is large enough to type as good as a desktop keyboard. I must give kudos to Sony for having hardware mouse buttons making this a very good track pad experience. If anyone has used a HP laptop with the 'button area + click' will appreciate how the SB's track pad works. There is scroll function using the edges of the track pad, however an option for two finger scrolling would be nice.

Software wise, I ordered Windows 7 Pro with 'Fresh Start' and I must say it is worth money. The essential utilities are included with the SB and the adobe software suite.

Overall, very good build quality, long battery life, and really light! Love it so far, I am purchasing a Intel ssd 320 300g as soon as I can find one in stock!

 

Thats is actually a pretty good deal! Better than what Sony offers.

 

Yeahh, they didn't delay mine! Just received the invoice and stuff. It's now in Frechen, Germany... so I guess it will be delivered on monday or tuesday (of course I hope tomorrow, but I don't think they're that fast!)

 

That is a very good deal. If you don't mind the differences in the look between the SB and SC then I would definitely go with that.

Very nice feature set: 500GB Hybrid HDD, Bluray ODD, plus the Netgear Push2TV (which is actually the newest model)

If you don't know the differences, it all basically lies in the way the deck looks. It has a bit different look to it. And obviously it is Silver with a black keyboard instead of Black or White. Some people with like it more and others wont but for the money you definitely cant go wrong with that.

Thanks for pointing that out, I'm sure quite a few will be happy to see that config at that price.

 

Another member just pointed this out, Silver with Black keyboard. It's the SC version but at a excellent price with a bunch of extras:

Best Buy Sony VAIO SC

 

so far from what i can see is:

1. hybrid drive (most likely seagate momentus xt)
2. silver color

otherwise is the same to me.

also that bestbuy package is pretty damn good.

 

For those that havn't seen what the SC looks like, check it out at the SonyStyle Canada website:

Sony VAIO SC

Like I mentioned before, different deck, different color, added specs (Bluray drive, Hybrid HDD)

 

so....

SC > SB?

it looks cheaper, but its probably because of the silver color

 

this is wat it says under features...but specs show 1366x768

 

It would most likely come down to if you want the bluray and if you would rather have a black, white, or a silver laptop. Its in the eyes of the beholder but I like the deck of the SB a bit better (a few more elegant lines IMO).

 

That would be pretty amazing but yea, it is 1366x768.

 

Thanks for the input.

Are you aware of any reviews for the SC model? The deck does look slightly different from what I saw in the Vaio Canada website. It doesn't look too bad either. I would be very interested to see an SB vs SC comparison, especially the effectiveness of the hybrid drive. Hardware wise I don't see any downside either. Also, the screen resolution is quoted as 1600X900 in the main page of the SC laptop (Canada website). Could this be possible? I would think that would be highly unlikely at this price point! Best Buy doesnt quote the resolution either.

 

how is the deck different i can't really see

 

Check out the pics on this page http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/567085-vaio-sc-2.html

The edges of the keyboard are shaped slightly differently in the two models

 

A review of the SC would be pretty pointless as it has the exact same internals as the SB. But that brings up another point, where the he11 are the reviews for the SB?!?!?

Even though I already have mine I still enjoy reading through the reviews, as sometimes they include tips and tricks. An example of this was a review linked to a few pages back that had a tip on how to get the speakers sounding better by enabling the Dolby engine.

 

I am assuming you got the 6630 in yours. Just wondering, how hot and loud is it when gaming? I'm interested in one of these, but I do game every once in a while and don't want my computer throttling or overheating.

 

Here ya go:

Notice how the deck around the keyboard area is different.

SC:



SB:

 

You say purple i say blue, please show as many pics and videos as you can since i ordered a blue one too!!

 

Yea, but it looks purple.. And on the Dutch product overview page2 of the SB it also says violet, but when picking the colour, it says blue... Of course I'll post some pics & perhaps a video. I think it'll probably be a bit lighter than I would've hoped for (more violet than a deep, dark purple). But at least it's something else than the standard black.

 

Figured I should post this here:

Just saw this, UK review posted today, haven't had a chance to read it yet:

Sony VAIO SB Review

4 out of 5 stars.

 

i hope its not too light or too purple/violet or i will have some major regrets... i'd love blue but would really hate violet, purple can be acceptable...

this wait is really killing me.. ordered on the 4th..

 

I honestly think there are different screen panels floating around. Cause mine is just fine, but I know others have complained.


EDIT: It looks like the preconfig options have a much better ship date now, ALL the models now have a 4/18 ship date now. Hopefully this means that their backorder's are starting to ease and we'll start seeing them available in stock soon.

 

SC is heavier than SB, 3.89 lbs vs 3.6 lbs. I wonder if the lid is not magnesium and that is why it is cheaper and heavier.

 

I just received my new camera in the mail today, a Sony Cybershot W330. Got it for right at $100. Figured I would take some better pictures of the SB with it.

Here ya go:

 

A few more plus one with a RGB wallpaper:

 

Its actually more expensive on the Sony Canada website.

 

OWNERS: what lies bellow and around the ODD?
since i'll using a caddy to get the HDD there, and being that the HDD does heat up the place i want to know what would be more affected.

 

Nothing, its the bottom of the case on bottom and the keyboard on top. Closest thing is the battery. The motherboard is on the other side of the fan on the other side of the laptop.

Take a look: VAIO SB Teardown PDF

 

That is great news!
wow that was enlightening.. MotherBoards really came a long way from back in the day..

 

Anyone know where to download the switchable graphics "driver"? I don't have that blue double arrow thing on my lower right corner anymore...

 

have you tried to install the driver from the amd site?

if yes, I love you.

if no, well here is something that will help you:

 

sweet thanks. Dude my fan is too loud still... returning this

 

have you downloaded the bios update?

 

mine gets pretty loud when under load, but its fine with me since atleast the temperature isnt reaching dangerous levels. but on casual use, its pretty quiet

 

That $ucks, mine only gets loud if I am doing something intensive for atleast 10 min. And then it only spools up for a minute before going back down. It really doesn't bother me as it is normal, and I'd rather have it spool up and be just as cool as it can be than have a 120* lap burner.

 

Opened mine and initial impressions are overall good:

+Very light and smaller than I expected.
+Screen is bright and even luminosity
+Horizontal viewing angles are great and no glare
+ after bios update HDD fan is silent when idle and not than loud when in use

- blacks are very bright and hence look slightly grey.
- colour saturation is miles away from screens like MacBooks - HOWEVER early feel is this is slightly offset by the perfect brightness evenly across screen and no glare.


Still downloading games for testing on this, slow Internet connection here so may be later. Running with no automated brightness, the Dolby audio enhancements and Bios update.

I plan to compare side by side against my old Inspiron 13Z tomorrow, as that was a late 2009 model at roughly half the price. I think this comes out as lighter, 4-10x more powerful, better quality screen and smaller - so will probably keep as 6630M should handle games well.

 

It is even worse in my country (no CTO in my country). If you want to get the 6630M, you have to buy the top-of-the-line model which is VPC-SB19GG, priced Rp18.999.000 (around US$2200).
It is priced that high because of the i7 and 256 GB SSD. But, on that price it still lacks Blu-Ray drive, sadly.

I'm thinking about cancel my order, and get the less-than-half-priced Acer TimelineX 3820TG instead. It has AMD Radeon HD6550M which is almost on par with HD6630M on the VAIO.

Spec (Sony VAIO VPC-SB19GG/Acer TimelineX 3820TG):
- Intel Core i7-2620M / Intel Core i5-480M
- AMD Radeon HD6630M / AMD Radeon HD6550M
- 4 GB RAM / 4 GB RAM
- 256 GB SSD / 640 GB HDD
- 6 hours advertised battery life / 8 hours advertised battery life
- 1.7kg with internal ODD / 1.8kg WITHOUT internal ODD
- Single fan with blocked air vent / DUAL fan
- Rp18.999.000 (around US$2200) / US$999

How do you all think? Should I cancel my order?

 

the difference is too great, get the 3820tg.

And according to the gaming figures posted here, the 6630m is 20-30% ahead of the 5650m.

You could also try to get the new 3830tg, it should be available indonesia. And the gt 540m is still slower than the 6630m

 

The 3820tg has a lot going for it power-wise:

Dual fans solution - no DVD so they use that space to cool GPU and CPU more effectively
Very overclockable - heard CPU OC'ed over 3 Ghz and GPU massively OC'ed
These make it the most powerful 720p 13" portable gaming solution you can find and reasonably cheap.

There's a large following in the Acer forums, the newer 3830 is less OC'able and only has one fan, but if you plan on using at stock clocks it offers same CPUs and Nvidia 540m GPU, which is more than enough to max out most 720p games.

 

The pages are so many, so if these were asked before sorry for duplication. I thinking getting an SB.

1. Is the hard drive easy to replace (with an ssd) in SB models?
2. Are there heat issues with normal usage (browsing, movies etc)?
3. What price difference is expected to be between SB and SA base models?
4. Battery life is what Sony tells?

 

I would go with the 3820tg as your prices their for the Sony are obviously super high.

One thing though, I own the SB and others that also do can say that the supposed hinge blocking thing is a non issue, and no it is not blocked. There is plenty of room for air to get out and the hinge is designed to dissipate heat (similar to the MBP). The thing is, this laptop runs cooler than my CULV laptop and nearly all the other laptops that I have owned.

 

1. Yes, 2 screws
2. No, runs super cool
3. $1000 from base to base
4. Yes, I get about 6.5 hrs with browsing and video watching

 

I'm expecting a difference (base to base) more like $500~600, if they offer it without SSD and other high-end stuff.

Omg, it was already in Amsterdam before 5 in the morning.. how can they do that so fast! That means it's just half an hour removed from me! At 20hrs yesterday it was still in Germany! Really hoping on receiving it today!

 

I am also thinking to return because of fan noise. In a quiet environment you can always here it, also with light webbrowsing and office and under load it boosts up pretty much. this is someway unacceptable for the price. I am still checking but I fear this won´t be made better by another bios update.

AFAIK I have latest bios, benny which version do you run? I have R1030H4.

This would be so annoying, a part from that i love the machine. I could live with the noise now still, but what is in half a year or later? Machines do get louder..

 

Not sure how laptop RAM works, is it pretty easy to upgrade these types of laptops in terms of memory?
Looking at importing, and anything I can do later will help reduce the tax to get it over.

 

Yes easy as pie (just remove the backplate and click it in the slot), and less expensive than ordering 8gb straight away.