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

Ok I have the SB in my possession.

First impression on the screen is that its not too bad. Black levels aren't great and its not 1080p but for a 13in screen its not terrible like Ive been hearing. I am very satisfied by how bright the screen gets.

Love the white + silver color combo. Also there is relatively little bloatware which I was really surprised by.

Will post more later with maybe some pics since there dont seem to be to many imaged of the white ones out there.

 

I didn't get fresh start and I noticed there was minimal bloatware as well. I was figuring it was going to be loaded down, but I planned on using my SSD anyway.

 

Rachel helped us out with putting some important info on the first post of the thread. Is there any other info anyone wants to include there as well?

I know that the "clean install" that is described there is missing quite a bit of info and steps, maybe someone can complete that.

 

to all sony canada sb cto buyers:

as an update to my last post, the order status has changed to "your VAIO is being built" new ship date is Apr 15 (i know it doesnt make sense). sony phone rep said that my vaio is scheduled to ship today (friday) out of china and i would not receive further updates but an email from fedex with my tracking number. i guess there's still a few hours left in the business day here (although it's already 3am in china)

 

Yeah, thats a bit over the top for my wallet. 7200 rpm is plenty fast for me and I dont have to mess with reinstalling windows.

Found something Im not fond of. The strange grippy plastic on the odd panel and parts of the laptop cover. I detest it. Also The stickers are awful. Anyone remove them? Do they leave a residue?

 

@officer_hardass
My status has been in the "your VAIO is being built" phase with April 15 ship date since April 8.

The rep I spoke to on Tuesday also said it was going to ship Friday (today), but without any updates, or charges on my CC, it is not looking good.

 

Ha, yea remove the stickers! That was the first thing I did. Shouldn't leave any residue.

 

I am thinking about returning mine as well. I don't think I can live with the yellow, dull display this Vaio SB has. I would rather boot into Windows on my Macbook Pro and enjoy a nice, bright display with good color. The difference is remarkable.

 

Yellow.... haven't heard that one before, that sucks.

 

So today's "deal of the day" is:

Asus BluRay Combo External ODD

For those of us that are going to be replacing our ODD with a HDD tray, you can have this to be able to watch movies or install programs on cd's, dvd's, and bluray discs. Obviously the plus for this will be the fact that it plays bluray discs.

It's $69.99 after MIR + $5 shipping. So $95 up front and you'll get $20 back in the mail. I havn't seen a external BluRay player for this cheap, pretty good deal for those that have a bunch of Bluray movies.

 

Can you get an enclosure for your CD drive that you take out of your laptop?

 

Yep! Like I mentioned, if you want Bluray, this is the way to go. External enclosures work if you want to keep it at DVD and CD.

 

So is there a second SATA connector and power on the SB's motherboard for the second HD?

 

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Actually it was benny90 who was worried about the assist feature after recovery partition removal and I explained that the Vaio Care program was on the windows partition and I guess I forgot to mention, that the assist button launches Vaio Care and so the assist feature would still work properly after deletion of the recovery partition.

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I would to like add that if you have the ability to clone partitions (cable/adapter), you can copy your parttions, from one drive to another and still have a working system.

Also you don't actually have to have recovery discs (USB key) to do this, as its the windows 7 installation program that does the fixing. So instead you can use a windows 7 installation disc (USB key) to perform the boot repair.


*** But I recommend that you DO create the RECOVERY DISCS. ***


Use the partitioning/cloning software of your choice.

Copy the system reserved (100mb) partition to the start of the drive.

Then copy your windows partition.
(you may have to shrink this partition before copying depending on the amount of space you have available and the software you use)

Then you use a windows 7 (USB or DVD) or your vaio recovery disc to fix things so you can boot.


Probably faster than using recovery discs (USB key) to recreate your system.

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Good to see, things worked out well for gsainc and benny90.

 

Yeah I checked yesterday and it had changed to 'Your Vaio is being built' with the April 15 ship date, but I checked again this morning and it now says 'Payment processed' and says that I have been charged, so I'm hoping now that it'll get here before I leave next week haha. I'm pretty confident though that most of them are going to be shipping in the next few days, most of the Canadian CTOs are starting to trickle through.

 

Yes the connector used by the DVD (ODD) is a SATA connector.

Usually people use hard drive caddies to replace their DVD.

Hard drive caddies use the DVD connector.

They are enclosures built to mimic the size and shape of slim DVD with an adapter, so you can place a hard drive in the DVD bay easily.



In short, quick and easy way to replace your DVD with a hard drive.

 

Yes, as area306 mentioned above, the ODD uses a SATA connector to connect to the system. Do note however, that the ODD SATA connector is a SATA II connection, unlike the HDD SATA connection which is a SATA III. So if you have a drive that takes advantage of SATA III, put it in the original HDD area and your other hard drive in the ODD HDD tray.

 

I ordered a BD-rom in my SB so if I can grab an enclosure for that its probably easier - do you know where I can find one?

 

Google is the easiest way to. There are quite a few of them out there. Ebay probably has a ton as well, just be sure to get the proper size to fit the drive.

 

Hey I was thinking of ordering a CTO VPC-SB190S model vaio, but I have a question for any Canadians that ordered it.

Did it come with a bilingual keyboard or just an english one? The bilingual keyboards make me want to stab myself.

 

According to at least one member in Canada that got his, it was A English keyboard. He mentioned it some pages back if you take a look.

 

As mentioned before I went ahead and ordered a Crucial M4 128GB SSD. Got it for $230 shipped, not bad for a brand new SATA III SSD.

I will be selling my Corsair SSD. Nothing wrong with it, but as always my obsessive need for the latest and greatest got to me and I could not pass up the price I got it for. Ugh.. it sure is an expensive obsession..

What swayed me into going with the Crucial is the small difference in price for what I will be selling the Corsair SSD for and what I got the Crucial SSD for (<$50).

 

Not really sure what I'm looking for - is it the same enclosure as for a HDD or is it something different?

 

Yes, US keyboard - NOT bilingual.

 

on eBay:
the keywords "slim DVD enclosure" will bring up a whole bunch of them

here's a random link: (I just picked the first one I saw that said blu ray)

Slim SATA DVD RW Bluray External USB Enclosure Case 9D on eBay.ca (item 350240495313 end time 07-May-11 13:28:16 EDT)

 

THANK YOU!

well it does look blue to me, almost just blue... i don't get it why people say it's so purple.. is it very different live than in the pics? i hope not too much as i'm loving those pic's colors ^^

 

Awesome! thanks

 

No update on shipping of my Canadian SB today, as was promised. I don't know what Sony is doing...

 

anyone know if i can get 2 finger scrolling on an SB alps trackpad??

thnx

 

What are you looking for exactly when comparing SSDs? I found this one for pretty cheap but no clue if its good:

Kingston 64GB SSDNow V100 SATA2, 2.5" Solid State Drive (SV100S2/64GZ) | Canada Computers

manufacturer site: Kingston Technology Company - Solid State Drives - SSDNow V100

 

Stay away from the V series, they are prone to failure. The V+ is the better way to go if you want to stick with Kingston.

 

Just picked up an SC at Best Buys. Usually prefer to have a backup laptop just in case my Z1 fails on me. Not impressed with screen res. (knew this already), but considering the price tag of $949.00, should be expected. Did not want to spend over 1k on an emergency notebook. Surprisingly, am not bothered by the screen bezel, just don't like this hinge - not flushed. The two-tone gray and silver combination is very nice.

 

Thanks! Any update on HDD caddys being available?

 

I'm still looking for peoples benchmarks across games, and 3DMark 11, for the Vaio SB with 6630. Would be much appreciated

But compared to what? Compared to high quality Vaio/Apple notebooks? Or compared to standard 500-1200 USD Laptops with Glossy coating?

I'm asking because there is a difference between the expectations of a average joe, who goes down into a store and buys a Laptop and cant tell much difference between any screens, and hardcore laptop enthusiasts who are used to 2500-4000 USD quality laptops with super high rez displays!



Saying it's abysmal, when I am reading it makes it sound like it can't show black at all. that watching a movie on the screen or playing a game would be pointless because everything would look screwed up. Or is it absymal compared to Vaio Z?

 

+1!

+1 again. In my case I'd like to know how it compares to the glossy screens in the lenovo e420s or acer 4830tg (not out in us though) or any other portable laptop with discrete gfx. I want a matt screen for use in sunny places. If the contrast is massively worse than other laptops in the same price range, would the glossy screens actually be better?

 

Canada CTO order update:
Payment is now processed, which from what I understand means it has been shipped. (Order placed April 6th)

 

For those that have their SB's/SC's, what exactly is that indicator LED to the right of the Battery LED? Second, does the Battery LED change from Amber to Green to indicate a 100% charge.

Also, I noticed this morning after a full charge last night, that it remained at 100% full charge, no leaks whatsoever.

Thanks for your replies.

 

Mine came with the English one - thank goodness.

I had already replaced the bilingual one on my Acer Timeline with an English one - but no need to on my Sony.

 

I've been trying to utilize the "web" button on my SB to intiate "quick web access" in lieu of full power on and invokation of Windows.

The message I get is "Quick Web Access is not installed on your system, or the installation is incomplete .... please use the Quick Web Access Installer to install it"

I did re-install the quick web access software from my recovery disks - but I'm still getting the same message.

Where can I find and execute the "Quick Web Access installer" ?

 

Concerning the display, it is worse than the cheap Asus N81 that I just sold. It appears yellow and dull in comparison. It does not even touch the Macbook Pro 13" or 15" (the Macbook Pro 13" is cheaper than my SB configuration but doesn't have USB 3 or a dedicated graphics card. Games look dull or gray in color. It could be the graphics drivers which Sony provided, which are very limited in options compared to the actual AMD drivers. If Sony would update the drivers, possibly color adjustments could be made to improve the display. As they stand, you can only adjust the color for video (movies, etc.). I would say that a glossy screen might improve the blacks, but as they stand on my screen, they are washed out and gray, especially in games. With exception of the display, this is a very nice computer. If I could, I would just replace the screen with a better one, but I don't want to void the warranty.

 

Don't really see a reason for them to offer an update when most of our screens are just fine, and definitely not yellow tinted. Looks like you got a cr@ppy screen, maybe try and download a screen configuration utility to mess with the colors, to decrease the 'yellow tint'. So your saying that the blacks are gray, so text on this page is gray, hmmm.

 

While I don't have the SB/SC I can say the battery LED on my Z is amber when charging and green when it's full.

 

the light next to the battery is HDD activity.

and in case, once the battery is charging it will be orange/amber, and when fully charged, no light will be present

 

Hi, I am new to this forum, and I am quite interested in getting this laptop

Just a quick question/suggestion for the people with screen colour issues:
Does the laptop come with the Catalyst Control Centre installed? If yes, then have you tried tweaking the colours on that?

 

mine came fine out of the box. i would suggest to people with yellow tints to try resotring to default or to exchange it.

 

After using this for a few days, I don't really see any problem with the screen. Definitely no yellowish tints on whites and honestly the blacks are pretty black. I'm sure if I put this side by side with a mac or an x220 it wouldn't be as good, but the colours and contrast are fine IMO. The only major problem with the screen is the vertical viewing angle, which if you have it at the wrong angle, could distort the colours, and make the blacks grey. Takes a bit of tilting to find the optimal level of colours, but this screen is still way better than the T61 used to have, so no complaints here.

 

Exactly, like I mentioned before, the screen actually needs a bit of tilt to it to be at the optimal viewing angle, tilted back a little from straight up. Colors are perfect on mine and most others. The people that are having complaints are either not looking at it at the proper angle, have some settings that are not correct, or simply got a bad screen.

 

Basically if your display sucks... you're doing it wrong

The few nitpicks I do have with this so far though are the trackpad which is pretty counter intuitive IMO, without edgemotion, two finger scroll, 2 finger left click and I tried updating my driver but it still seems somewhat inaccurate. The only other complaint that really comes to mind is that the HDD is actually quite loud. I've heard other people complain about fan noise, but I'm convinced my HDD is actually much louder than my fan (running on stamina/haven't spent much time on speed). Is this true for anyone else or do I maybe have a faulty hard drive? I'm thinking of replacing it with an M4 when it comes in stock anyways though, so no big issues there.

I'm still VERY happy with the battery life on this though. I haven't been using it that much, but I'm still trying to drain my first charge on both the laptop and the slice (I got it 3 days ago).

 

Ha. you dont have edgemotion on your trackpad?

Which HDD do you have? I know the 320GB ones $uck. My M4 is on it's way and should be here on Wednesday. Currently have a Corsair Nova SSD. My 500GB Momentus XT Hybrid was somewhat loud but quite a bit better than the stock 320. After upgrading to an SSD it's quite an amazing transformation. It's like the computer isn't even on, dead silent. And battery life is much better as well.

 

Hey, Forumnewb here. Can anyone comment on their battery life with the i7/6630 configuration? I'm pretty drawn to this laptop due to the portability and performance.

Thanks!