Official Sony Vaio CW Core 2 Duo Series Owner's Thread

CW is now Officially available starting today so I thought I'd make this thread for Owner and owner's to-be
The CW series comes in various color options as follows:

* Fiery Red — Energetic and sexy.
* Poppy Pink — Beauty and fashion.
* Royal Indigo
* Icy White — Clean and serene.
* Jet Black — Cool and sophisticated.
Specs for the CW are:
- several Intel Core Duo processors (from T4300 with 2Ghz Up to 2.80GHz (T9600Ghz[up to P8700 with 2.53GHz in UK])
- upto 8GB of DDR3 RAM
- some optical drive choices (standard DVDRW, Blu-ray read only, blu-ray read/write),
- up to 500GB HDD
- 2 graphics card choices - NVidia G210M (256MB VRAM) or Nvidia G230M (512MB VRAM) GDDR3 with HDMI output
- Screen: 14" 16:9 ratio 1366 x 768 WXGA X-Black LED Backlit Screen
- 5.3 pounds in weight
- WiFi Intel 5100 802.11b/g/n
- Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional
- Multi-touch trackpad
- Motion Eye Webcam
- External switches/Buttons: Instant Web, Display Off, and Vaio Buttons; Wireless Switch
- 3 2.0 USB Ports
- Bluetooth
Glossy Palmrests and Screen Lid

UK Sony Store CW Series

Sony Store US CW Series

Added Nov 9th '09 - For those who are interested in the Threads but dont want to go through the headache of going through ALL the pages, I will be listing here important post links and 1st Impressions so its easier for everyone to go through this thread without spending all day going through 30+ pages.

Confusion about this laptop that have been solved:
1. CW Series comes with DDR3 RAM not DDR2, there was a misprint when this laptop was 1st announced, some shops and Sony themselves have'nt as of yet updated their site and changed the error, but it has been confirmed this laptop has DDR3 RAM.
2.If anyone is planning to use VT Technology They will need to get Win7 Pro and P8700 CPU and up for VT to be enabled. VT is available on this laptop despite Sony's Statement on their Vaio line earlier this year. If you have the required hardware and Win7 Pro then this option is disabled by default, you will have to enable this option by going into BIOS.
3. This laptop does indeed have HDMI port which outputs both AUDIO and VIDEO, if you have having problems please check that you have your Home Cinema System and HD TV set properly, as audio will not be outputted if Home cinema system is attached to TV by RCA cables, HDMI or similar connection is needed if you want your laptop to recognize your AUDIO and VIDEO both. Otherwise the only option left is to connect Audio directly to the CW.
4. At this moment it is unsure why some CW model's have the Atheros WIFI and other the Intel WIFI card. CTO orders include Intel cards, and some models offered at retails stories such as BB and other stores include the Atheroes wifi, until we figure out which models include what we are unsure to say which pre-config models include the Atheros wifi card.
5. The GPU is indeed GT 210M 256MB VRAM GDDR3 and GT 230M 512MB VRAM GDDR3
6.

Owner's First Impressions and Full Reviews
1.Full on Review's and Video's
a. Introduction Video at Sony launch
2.Owner's First Impressions, Owner review's, and tests.
a. Barrok - CPU: T6600 GPU: G210M , MBP heat comparison
b. Senor Mortgage -3D Mark06 test and battery test CPU: P7450 GPU: GT 230M


Questions & Answers
1. What are the different options offered by Sony UK and Sony US and how do they differ?
A: Answer
2. How are the speakers on the CW?
A: Barrok , Senor Mortgage , corteen
3.Can the Graphics on the CW be upgrade?
A: No
4. Since I have the Atheros or Intel 5100 Wifi card, am i able to upgrade this?
A: Yes you are able to upgrade but be warned that there is no simple compartment door under the laptop that gives you easy access to the wifi card. If one really wants to change their WIFI card then that means they will have to open up the laptop and figure out where it is, it might as well be under the palmrest area. Once someone is brave enough to open up their laptop, I will make sure that I add on a how to guide for everyone else.
5. Are the colours truly what they show up on Sony Style?
A: Answer from electrobuzz
6. This laptop has Blue-ray but no HD screen?
A: Forever Melody

 

ah, so Sony have launched the girlie laptop range - ooooh I'll get a pink on to match my nails

YES I am being funny (or attempting to be) actually looks like a nice range.

 

Guess I'll pop the CW owner cherry here. Just bought mine from Microcenter this morning. $899 for the jet black model with a p7450 CPU, 230m GPU, and regular CD drive (the Bestbuy model is white, has the t600 and 210m, but comes with bluray and was $100 cheaper). Due to having to set up a new family computer also purchased today, I haven't had much chance to really play with this beast yet.

And what a sexy beast it is. The pictures online do not due this model justice and it is much thinner feeling that the online pictures indicate. It definitely isn't the ugly step child some thought it looked like when it was first announced. The screen quality is stunning as well, though not quite as bright as I was expecting. I'll post more later as I buy some games and a new mouse to test the gaming capabilities of this machine.

 

When you get a chance, I would like to know about battery life and heat output. If this thing gets 4-4.5 hours while web surfing and doesn't go over 75C under stress, I am buying it immediately.

 

Do you know if the 230m has GDDR3? Also could you post some 3d mark Vantage benchmark?

Thanks a lot!!

 

Does multi-touch trackpad means it recognize gestures (like apple MBP)?

If so, have anyone tried it and how does it feel compared to apple trackpad?

 

Yes as according to Sony's own site, the NVidia 230m is 512MB GDDR3 VRam

I cant remember where but i read or saw somewhere that it does use same gestures as the apple mbp. but im not really sure, ill see if i can find out what type of gestures it uses and get back to you

 

width='425' height='344'><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/R_d2Fi6rJVg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/R_d2Fi6rJVg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width='425' height='344'></embed></object>

http://www.youtube.com/v/R_d2Fi6rJV...xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1

 

I don't know anything about screen and 16:9 ratio.

How does the 16:9 ratio 1366 x 768 WXGA X-Black LED Backlit Screen compare with a standard 1280x800 WXGA screen? I heard the guy in the video saying that it was a non-HD screen. How does that affect the quality of the image.

 

well if you ever watched a movie on a 1280x800 you've noticed the black bars on the top and bottom thats because your screen is a 16:10 ratio, with 16:9 ratio(true widescreen) those black bars arent there anymore, you can seen this comparison to find out the difference...Green is like 1280x800(16:10 ratio) and blue is for example the res on the CW 16:9 ratio

 

Hi, just joined the forum. I ordered a new cw from sonystyle as soon as it became available. Specs below:
Jet Black
2.53 ghz Processor
4 gig of ram
250 gig hdd
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT230M GPU (512MB VRAM
Blu-ray playback

The only thing I see as a problem is the HDD, 5400 rpm. I figured there would be an option for at least a 7200 rpm drive.
Can anyone with the computer already confirm if the HDD is swappable or not?
Either way I am pretty excited for my new machine to arrive. I received an email today saying that it was being built. Any idea how long it takes for them to build one?

Thanks again!

 

what are the specs of the Large Capacity Battery. Is it a 9 cells battery that will stick out of the laptop or just a standard battery with a higher performance?

 

anyone know how i can contact sony and find out why they are releasing different specced modells for uk and us?

 

I just called sonystyle UK to ask exactly that.

They have no information (and no idea) why the UK options differ from the US options. I took a closer look and the differences are :-

Processor - best processor option in UK is P8700 (2.53GHz), best processor option in USA is T9600 (2.8 GHz) - expensive though,$200 more than the P8700.

Hard Drive - UK options are 320GB and 500 GB. In the USA you can also opt for a 250GB or 400GB hard drive.

RAM - UK options are 3GB or 4GB. In the USA you can also opt for either 6GB or 8GB. Again, at a cost, 8GB is $350 more than 4GB.

Sony UK have obviously decided to limit their options, perhaps to prevent CW cannabilising sales of higher priced / higher spec models in the Vaio range?

Anyway - I think that the top spec UK version of CW is more than enough for my requirements. Think I'll buy one this weekend, although I'd prefer to do so via a Sonystyle store to get the 2 year warranty vs 1 year online.

 

this notebook have ddr2 or ddr3 ram ?
in italy
sonystyle.com say DDR3 but 99% computer shop says DDR2

i wrote to sonystyle support and it says preconfigured in shop have ddr2 and only configurable model in online sonystyle shop have ddr3... but i found a shop with ddr3 model ( confirmed it have ddr3 ) ...so what's wrong ? description error or exist two differents configurations ?

 

The one that I bought from Best Buy here in the US has the DDR3 Ram.

 

i think all model have DDR3
but when support of sonystyle.it write me of existence different model ...
what can i think ? ;-)

 

Everywhere I've read it is specified as DDR3 RAM.

 

Question re HDMI on the Vaio CW - if I was to connect the CW to a HD TV to watch blu-ray movies, does the HDMI port provide both video and audio output to the TV? Or is there another audio port to connect to the TV or a home cinema set-up?

 

http://www.unieuro.it/informatica/n...Rm.html?JumpTo=OfferList&omnitureEvar3=search

http://compraonline.mediaworld.it/w...&productId=2065322&langId=-1&category_rn=1504

click SCHEDA TECNICA or SPECIFICHE TENICHE ...

 

hdmi port both audio and video

 

Excellent - thanks.

 

Hi... Any review about this laptop??? the Bad + Possitive?

 

For people in the UK interested in the CW.

There appears to be a single model available via retail stores - Sony stores and John Lewis @ £699 with a 2year warranty at both - specified as follows:-

P7450 processor 2.1GHz
4GB DDR3 RAM
320GB hard drive
Standard optical DVD drive
Nvidia graphics 512MB

Which isn't bad. However, if you want anything different ie. better processor, blu-ray drive, bigger hard drive, then the only option is via Sonystyle online it would appear, who only offer a 1 year warranty (but you can pay £69 for an extra year).

So, online purchase it is for me then as I want blu-ray.

 

Picked mine up last night from Best Buy. Went to get the FW series but it looked so "old school." The CW series (I reckon cause its new) looked much more fresh and new school.

I liked that it came with a 500gb hard drive (this will be used for photos, itunes etc) and the bluray drive (we got tons of blurays for the PS3 and I can't watch any traveling because I didn't have a laptop with a drive).

The laptop seems pretty fast. It doesn't come with a windows 7 disk, or even a backup disk which is lame. They partition off 30gb or so for a "recovery partition" which then you can use their recovery software to create a backup dvd (i think it takes 3 dvd's).

It does come with a bunch of stupid software. Trial Office.. Microsoft Works with advertisements (really? wth is that) and a bunch of Sony software that appears to be borderline worthless.

I am coming from a first gen intel MacBook Pro. The LED screen definitely doesn't have the viewing angle the Macbook Pro had but straight on it looks good. Also the "multi-touch keypad" isn't nearly as good as the MBP. MPB almost always knows what you are trying to do while the Sony can be difficult to scroll up and down with at times. The sony does have this sweet feature were if you do a circle with your finger it will keep scrolling. I would say the Sony is about 80% as good as the MBP on this feature.

Now don't get me wrong this PC for the price seems pretty wicked. Not sure how BestBuy does it but this same PC built on Sonys website or from Amazon or Newegg is alot more expensive. So far I really enjoy it. Even though the keyboard doesn't have backlit lighting the key spacing is awesome and I am a ton more accurate in my typing than with the MPB.

Not sure if this is a good indictation.. but I charged the laptop, put it in balanced mode and unplugged it. Windows said I had a 99% charge left with 2 hours and 37 minutes. Far cry from 4 hours.. but I have yet to run it down. Maybe it will be closer, I don't know. My 15" MPB would get a little over 3 hours with wifi so I am hoping this smaller PC will do as good or better.

 

Just a note. I ran 3Dmark 06 on my laptop last night (but fell asleep LOL). Reran it this morning. I didn't full close the programs(avira backround protection was on, though not a actual scan of course) or touch the CPU/GPU. Got a 5659 score on 1280*768 (default setting on the free version). The CPU (p7450) seemed to really bottleneck the test than the GPU (230m).

As far as battery life goes, I too got the 2 35ish estimate but it does drain slower than that. Browsing the web(no video but had gamecast of the ACLS game on) and taking notes in class yesterday, I used the laptop for about 2 hours 20 mins or so and the battery meter read that I still had a hour left on the battery at about 40% screen brightness and power saver mode. I guesstimate that I would have gotten about 3h15-3h30 of battery of that thing.

I tried to find out if the GPU is DDR2 or DDR3 but I don't know how to find out/what to look for. I've never benchedmarked a laptop so any other tips would be appreciated. I might dabble in undervolting so I'll try to measure temps under load. I ordered a gaming mouse but thats a week away at least so I might hold of on gaming, though if I find an old mouse lying around I might give it a shot.

 

Some tools to help you see cpu/graphics info are CPU-Z and GPU-Z. One weird thing about the CPU Memory, its ddr3-8500 which means it can be a 1066 speed. But for some reason the laptop is running it at 800 speeds. Bios doesn't let you change it either

 

Any opinions on the speaker sound quality? I've been looking at the FW and NW series, and now the CW as well as viable options. I have issues sometimes when I'm, say, watching a show on my current laptop and people are talking in the kitchen, it's hard to hear it. If the speakers are decent enough, I'm definitely going with the CW over other models.

 

Speakers appeared to be very quiet but then again I won't use them much nor did I try them much when I popped in the bluray. I can check em out later tonight and post up.

 

I've only listened on speaker briefs (usually use my headphones). All I can say is that they are laptop speakers. The quality is ok at best, which is given for laptops. The volume actually goes pretty high IMO for a non premium speaker. On max, I could hear it well from outside my room, with the door closed, fans and purifier running and with the tv on in the other room. But that may not work given the loudness of your guests.

 

When trying a blu-ray disc out I also found the speakers to be very quiet.
With the volume maxed it was hard to hear some of the conversations in the movie.

It is a shame as this is the only issue I have with the CW so far - I am installing games at the moment (Left 4 Dead, FEAR 2 etc) and will post how they run later.

 

Mmm, sounds like it could be an issue. I think I'll try to go into Best Buy or something to check out the sound quality/loudness for myself. If the speakers aren't up to snuff, it looks like I'm gonna be going with the FW instead, as the speakers are actually pretty good for a laptop. I just liked that the CW had the portability, LED screen, DDR3 ram, and the 230M and is quite stylish. Oh well, thanks for your opinions!

 

Here is a thought. Bestbuy charges 15% restocking fee UNLESS you return it and upgrade. You could always get the CW, test it and see what you think and if you don't like it return it and avoid the 15% by upgrading to the FW.

FW just looked too old for me, even though it had great features.

 

I'm about to order a CW but thought I'd ask if anyone is aware of any Sony discount codes or vouchers in the UK that may reduce the price? ;-)

 

Oh one thing I forgot to mention when comparing my macbook pro with my sony CW. The CW was on for 5 hours straight and almost the whole case was still cool, only the back left corner was even remotely warm and it was still competely fine.

My macbook pro after 20 minutes was hotter than hell. My wife is pregnant right now and I am suprised I was still able to produce after all those hours with the MBP frying my pants off.

 

nice!
btw u got the normal battery right?

 

i got the bestbuy setup, so normal battery with the g210M i think is the GPU, with a T6600 cpu. 5400 RPM drive.

 

Barrok, that's a good idea, I wasn't even aware of that type of upgrade policy, I just knew there was a restocking fee. Does that work if they carry the FW online only?

I'm interested to see how the 210M graphics card performs as well, as I'm looking to be able to at least play Modern Warfare 2 on it...

 

Hmm, as far as online I am not sure. It was either the FW or Dell XPS 16 that they sell (which btw, is almost 300 cheaper to buy from them than from dell configured that way). If I didnt like the CW i was going to see if i could "upgrade" to the dell, even though its online only.

Worth asking them and post the answer if you get one!

 

I'm getting ready to order a CW from SonyStyle and am wondering if I should upgrade the processor to the P7450 vs. the T6600. The thing is, I can use a student discount on the three pre-configured models (which all have T6600), but if I customize the configuration, then the discount doesn't apply. Therefore, instead of costing me an extra 50 dollars to upgrade to the P7450, it will actually cost me closer to 90 dollars.

Just heard the P7450 runs a little cooler and faster because of the increased front bus speed???

ARGH!?! Is it worth it? lol. Too many options >_<

 

Honestly what do you plan on doing with it?The T6600 played my blurays just fine, no stuttering. HD movies are always pretty killer on a system.

If you are doing intense gaming or video editing you might as well get a desktop cause even the upgraded cpu/video card aren't going to turn your laptop into a machine that can handle either of those much.

So if you are just websurfing or using Microsoft Office a T6600 should serve you fine.

 

Some light gaming, but nothing intense at all. (Sims 3 maybe, hehe)

I had just planned on getting it with the P7450, and then found out about the discount so it just threw me for a loop on my ideal config.

Thanks for the advice! ^^

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=426630

No its not. I actually made a thread about this exact question earlier in the week. Basically both processors are identical performance wise. The p7450 is slightly more power efficient but insignificantly so.

 

Any official review out for the sony CW?

 

Interesting stuff. I was planning on going for the P8700 processor (2.53GHz) in my CW which is a significant price hike. It's the top processor available on the CW in the UK. My principle being that I'd like to keep the CW for a few years so I was planning to buy the best processor / RAM / GPU that I could rather than regret not doing so in a couple of years time.

 

Picked up the Best Buy version last night and just fired it up. So far I love the size, weight, screen and speed. Haven't gotten to try much yet like Blu-ray or heavy video, but so far so good. My only gripe is the wireless card. I upgraded to simultaneous dual band N for the faster 5GHz and this doesn't support that frequency. My 2 year old Dell has this and is getting over 150 Mbps, with this i'm connected at 64 Mpbs. Debating on getting a USB or seeing if I can replace it internally. Other than that, so far so good though. Such a great deal for the price, priced out the same config on Sony's site and it was $120 more.

 

p7540 not have VT , p8700 yes ( VT virtual tecnology - vmware ,virtualbox , etc etc )

 

I buy this computer today, in france, the specs was 2,13ghz, 4gb ram ddr2, i ask if it was really ddr2 or ddr3, they didn't know.
So at home, i ran cpuz, i the ram is really ddr3, there are not ddr2 ram with this computer.

sorry for my english

 

One thing I have noticed is that Sony UK and US have the atheros wireless card which really sucks. When I found out about this I was really disappointed but then I realized that it might be due to the NVidia GPU but it still came with a Centrino 2 sticker instead of a Core 2 Duo sticker. Then I saw In a different thread where someone from Canada posted his config And it shows an intel 5100 N wifi card. I don't understand why Sony US and UK can't offer an Intel wifi card

 

Why do you say it "really sucks" ? I'm completely out of touch with PC components, so I've never heard of Atheros until just now. What kind of issues are you talking about? Bad enough that somebody would want to replace the card if they bought a CW? Thanks.