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

Thanks for your reply. Ok the edge scrolling works fine but what about the two finger scrolling. Is that possible on the Sony SB? Could you please try that out? Is it responsive?

 

It does multi touch; two finger scrolling I think and there was a bunch of other gestures like pinch to zoom etc (i.e. massively zoom whenever you're mousing around with the touchpad and accidentally brush the touchpad with another finger or hand! Great!). I have all the multi touch rubbish disabled.

I'm not on the Vaio atm but will be later. I could test it out, but given how much I hate multi touch touchpads I would have no real point of reference beyond 'it works'. If it's that important to you you will probably have to wait to try one out for real.

 

I just got the SB laptop, and I'm experiencing a ton of fan noise when running Windows Update. Is anyone else?

 

been checking out my SB as well, unfortunately, not having any luck with the wireless connection...guess I thought i'd have less issue connecting to my Cisco router than this, awfully surprised at the moment

 

uninstalled Intel Wifi Link 1000 software & reinstalled from Intel's website...now it's working Odd that the version preinstalled from Sony was v14.0 and Intel's latest downloadable was v13.5.0

note- the adapter doesn't support wireless N @ 5GHz

 

Heard there was a bios update for this.

This is the reason I never buy the 1st models of something. Always bugs and glitches.

A bios link was posted but it wasn't an official Sony site in the other thread which came from China. So check the VAIO Chinese website for the bios update if its not on your countries website.

Known issue. Issues like these are bios/firmware related, not hardware related.

 

noise isn't that bad. But it gets high when playing games, still its more silent than my other laptop. The laptop is very quiet when running on the hd 3000 and in normal use. The laptop gets hotter when using the gpu, but still very acceptable.

 

Just waiting for SA to come out with the fixed bugs and glitches.

 

strange question how much was the shipped weight? for the people without the slice battery, and the size also if possible

 

don't know, the laptop is 1,66kg now with a SSD. Hopefully ill get my odd caddy soon so i can put a 500g in there. 80gb is not enough for a laptop.

 

it should be in the box, if you didnt throw it away, Im asking this because I would import it, otherwise I would need to pay USD 4000 for a notebook that should be 1/3 of it

thanks for the reply!

 

i got the sheet battery

 

mine is showing 3lbs 6oz on my pet scale; this is for the basic SB model

packing slip shows 6.6lbs, came within a box of 20in x 14.5in x 6in

 

thanks! that was what I thought! I took the weight and the packaging of the u36 to get the fees from the usps

 

I don't know if this was touched on for sure after you got it, but does the sticker on the bottom say Made in China, Made in Japan, or something else?

 

Says made in china on mine.

 

Thanks for pictures and feedback nutral.
Couple of questions though, is fan on while you're on this forum? And how long do you think standard battery will last, while web surfing with wi-fi? (reading forums, news, some youtube videos).

Also, how long does it take to recharge standard battery from 0 to 100%?

 

Why is the VPCSB11FX still not listed on the US support site? :/ I was hoping for the BIOS update to fix the loud fan.

 

I just picked up a sony vaio sb (the 999.99 model) at a sony style store. First thing I must say is that it is a very nice laptop. I don't have to worry about fingerprints or any dirt marks since the surface is the same as the matte finish of the slim ps3. Another thing is it looked slimmer than I expected and lighter too. This laptop is very comparable to the macbook pro in terms of appearance and weight. I think it may be lighter than the macbook pro 13 inch. So far so good. Although, I have to wonder how much heat the other models will have since it has the amd radeon 6630M graphics card instead of the 6470.

 

SB Owners, what are your impressions of that hinge? Is it fairly flushed? Or does it noticeably stick out? What is it made of? Shiny plastic? Thanks.

 

Same. <10char>

 

I was planning to buy the Asus U36 and then saw the Vaio SB coming. So been waiting and I got word that it will be launching in Indonesia (where I am right now) on 5th of April. I hate buying something in Indonesia due to the limitations on warranty. None of the products have any international warranty except acer. Sony support mentioned that I cannot get warranty outside Indonesia if i purchase a laptop from Indonesia and I have to pay for any repairs for a vaio i purchased outside Indonesia. This stopped me from flying to Malaysia last week and buy the SB from there. I got an Asus ROG G51J with GTS360M which heats up to 105 degrees after 4 months of use. Guess the thermal paste has dried out and need to change em. Also it makes way tooo much of noise from the fan. Funny enuf most resellers are not ready to boot up the machine and show me how it looks and feels while working and its a mess. I wish Dell had sales in this country.

So I am looking for some real serious help from you folks regarding noise levels and heat from Vaio SB series. If things are looking good, I can buy it in 9 days time. How noisy is the fan? And how hot does it get when you are running a Bluray 1080p over hdmi to a lcd tv? I hope to hear some critical observations on these 2 factors since my left palm is getting grilled on a daily basis from my ASUS and dont want to end up in same condition once again in my life.

thanks to ya all in advance

 

Running video won't make the laptop very hot. its mostly games on the integrated gpu that will make it warm, but still its not above 37 degrees in my experience. Maybe wait for a review from notebookcheck with their stress test on heat.

If you use the integrated gpu it won't get hot and even the dedicated won't get hot until you use both the cpu and gpu (like in games)

 

I played games on my asus for the first one month and stopped after my wife came back home after her exams. So its mostly playing bak HD to our sony tv. And first time i noticed machine crashing was while playing bak HD. Heated up abt 105 and booom. it went dead. My processor still remains at a decent 60 degree C but graphics card heats up even when am using only firefox. This probably getting me all paranoid abt the new machines.

 

That won't happen.

i have noticed that having the screen opened and then running a full stress test and furmark on the 6630M will make the cpu throttle at around 90 degrees. If you use an external screen it won't be a problem and in normal use it won't either. Still it's sony's fault for having the outtake at the same place as the hinge that kind of blocks it. If they would have put the outtake on the right side instead of the middle it would be a lot better.

 

Apparently notebookcheck has already announced the SB review: Video-Preview: Sony Vaio VPC-SB1 (13" Non Glare) im Test - Notebookcheck.com News

So within the next 5 days the review should be online

 

I love notebookcheck, they do the most thorough, scientific laptop reviews on the internet. I can't wait to hear what they have to say about the wifi chip in the SA/B.

 

I strongly disagree with this, in all basis, in any way possible, and in every other dimension available for travel that is or not comfortable to be in.

Their reviews arent that through, this is one of the points that led me to the notebook which I type now, basically their build quality section is lacking.

The cpu performance is mostly dictated by benchmarks, that as always accomplish nothing but bragging rights, even if bragging about something was right, this is foolish, real work should be done and measured

They dont have an unique package or a set of benchmarks that differentiate they from every other site, anandtech has it, and that makes it one of the few reliable places, with different and real life results.

They lack someone with a proper understanding of english, basically I just view the site in german and google translate the thing, the result is fairly the same.

They tend to favor some vendors and manufacturers, fair example is their gpu list that tends in favor to nvidia

Im tired of battery eater results, just use the @#$#@ (seriously god%$# is a heavy curse word?) thing and give me the results

So yeah while I do visit the thing, I dont trust a single penny on what is written.

 

Caved in and bought the SB11FX/B. It's a nice laptop and looks well-built. White looks great but the silver interface isn't so appealing to me. Light enough for me. Currently creating recovery media and also noted fan noise while updating. So far so good though. Will see if fan noise gets annoying.
One thing I noted which could affect cooling as already mentioned by some is the lcd hinge blocking the exhaust at the rear when the lid is open. Other than that, I don't see any problems. Screen quality is at least on par with the old SR I used to have contrast wise. Got the last unit in stock.

 

Oddly the SB arrived in my country and I just went to a Sony Center to see it. It looks rather well built and nice.
I asked the rep about the hinge covering the exhaust and he said that he was told that vent is only for the graphics card, the rest transfers the heat above (?!). I don't know exactly how this would work or if he was just making it up.
Anyway i'll try to buy one with better specs (and way cheaper) from Germany or Netherlands, here it's waaayyyy more expensive.

Beaups are you still around? Any news about the price difference from SB to SA with the same config but with hi-res screen and "carbon fiber"?

BTW: I'm not so sure I would pick carbon fiber instead of this current material (magnesium / aluminium). This looks less prone to scratches than the "carbon fiber" Z.

 

Sorry, I can't edit my previous post...
Can you guys that already have the VPCSB please run this little app and post the results from the real time tab:
EnTech Taiwan | Utilities | Monitor Asset Manager

I am asking for this because this way we could exactly identify the LCD panel used in the units.

Thanks!

 

I don't have the app nor VAIO SB but I can say this is what is almost most likely inside the unit:

AUO TN Film B133XW01 V1 1366x768 8ms 400:1 220 90/50 262k (6-bit) 49% W-LED Matte

If someone runs the app, I am almost sure this is the one which will show up.

There aren't many makers of 13.3" Notebook PC panels right now in matte and AUO has been spotted on the back of the units in Youtube VIDEOs.

The SA with 1600x900 resolution will have different panels. There is not much variation on panels right now so the AUO is pretty much what the best of the lot are.

 

@Nutral:

since you bought a pre-configured model, did yours come with fingerprint sensor.
When they initially came online on sony's USA website, the specs showed it had fingerprint sensor, but now its not there.( 13.3" Thin Light Laptop | VAIO® SB Series Laptop | VPCSB11FX/B | Sony USA)


So just wanted to clear out if it was put on the web by mistake

 

It was offered initially but it didn't say TPM module.
Spoke to Sony in Chat forum on this. They said none of the models include Fingerprint reader now.

They said to speak to technical support which I didn't when I pursued it further saying that specs initially said it did.

Sony can configure it with Fingerprint, Fingerprint and TPM or without. Sony obviously decided to remove this without notice.

I myself wanted Fingerprint with TPM and was also waiting for the VAIO SA.

The reviews that came in for this system did include the fingerprint on those units from what I have saw and the Youtube videos I saw had the fingerprint but no TPM.

Without fingerprint reader and TPM, I am not interested in these units so its a dealbreaker for me. Don't know if the VAIO SA will have them or not and I won't buy unless I eyeballed the display unit in the store and saw how it was configured or bought it online where it said fingerprint reader and TPM or the like.

 

I ordered it on 14th March..probably the first batch of VPCSB1AGX/B. still not shipped though. Do you think, mine will have fingerprint reader?

 

I dont think your model has a fingerprint reader

VPCSB1AGX/B
13.3" Core i7 Laptop | VAIO® S Series Laptop | VPCSB1AGX/B | Sony USA

if it is there, its not written on the specs

 

Yeah kinda wierd that Sony left the fingerprint reader out. Maybe it was one of the parts in short supply.

Btw, I noticed the computer boots up faster under stamina mode compared to speed. Video is also noticeably smoother. On speed mode, the video appears a bit jerky. Also windows don't close/open as smooth. Anyone having the same issues? I think the AMD driver isn't optimized yet. Gonna stick with Stamina in every scenario except maybe gameplay.

 

Drivers could be tricky since Sony has opted out of AMD's graphics drivers program. If you try to install reference notebook drivers directly from AMD's website, you'll get an error. I'm not sure what workarounds exist.

 

I have a cto not preconfigured and i took the fingerprint option and that came with tpm. I have it in my bios so i did get it. Btw all the drivers used are online so you can easily reinstall the pc, like i am going to do. Having a 12gb recovery part on a 73 gb ssd is a waste.

I installed drivers from amd and the graphics switch still works.

 

If any owner here could do a 3dmark06 run we would greatly appreciate it, we want to know if it has been underclocked in comparison to the Vaio CB's score of 6446.

 

I see it is not listed now, bu when I had ordered it was still there, lets see if it actually comes with fingerprint reader.

 

I would only want the adobe bundle from all the crap that came with the laptop, aside that ''wipe the rebel scum!''

a vantage run is much more indicative, if that serves for anything

didnt know that Im glad that this is dubios, since AMD drivers still install and work, without it I wouldnt have some added features from the catalyst and so forth, not that drivers usually make a huge leap of performance for gpus.

 

I went to AMD's website for the drivers under HD6xxxM and it wouldn't go through with the install, saying it's not compatible. Will have to wait on Sony for a fix on this.

 

Tons of pics and videos of the SB. Definitely worth checking out.
????? ?????SONY VAIO SB18 - Mobile01

http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=258&t=2079254&last=26845684

http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=258&t=2077288&last=26844943

http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=258&t=2075303&last=26839639

http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=258&t=2076803&last=26827547

Silver/white SB:
http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=258&t=2075207&last=26844160

 

did you use this one: Driver de exibição do AMD Catalyst?

the amd drivers page for mobile is different from the desktop version. btw when the 11.3 is launched its really going to support the 6000 series the current offers little support there is also the beta 11.4 that can be found here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...ds/562830-ati-catalyst-11-4-preview-good.html

which according to people provide better performance, something around 5~10%

 

Thanks to all for taking the time to provide their impressions throughout this thread.

Any definitive word on heat or LCD quality?

Sure wish the SA would hurry itself up already.

 

i already put up pics in this thread earlier
https://picasaweb.google.com/117558...?authkey=Gv1sRgCN6zjIWcr4ndUQ&feat=directlink

LCD is typical, low vertical viewing angles but for the rest fine. Very bright and the colors are ok for a tn panel. very low banding and the brightness gets adjusted automatically, its usually set lower than the max. In total darkness the max brightness will make your eyes bleed.

 

Are there any software tools for safely overclocking the AMD 6630M 1GB?

 

yep!

you just got see which ones work:

ati tray tools
msi afterburner

how to oc the card is more important, you need to raise the clocks by small increments of 10.

usually in midrange cards, specially with low output memory it makes more sense to overclock the memory more than the core itself.

btw do it at your own risk, and since you are new to all this, you are not allowed to raise the voltages, this is the way to kill your gpu, voltage overclock is only for people with a little knowledge on the subject. Aside that overclocking without raising too much the temps, is safe.

An addendum, when the computer locks, go back 25 and you found the sweet spot.

 

Review (sorry if its been posted before):

Sony Sony VAIO SB Series (VPCSB16FG) - reviews - Notebooks - All Purpose - PC World Australia