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

Hi guys ! i m from pondicherry, INDIA !
Just got my new vaio CW blue color ! really awesome laptop ! Looks beautiful !! Excellent perfomance and battery life !!
Win 7 ROCKS !!
Dota and FIFA 10 work perfectly on all settings HIGH ! 230M is better than most think it is !! I am gona try batman and prototype tomorrow ! will say how it runs !
I am in love wit my blue beauty !!

 

I jus hav to mention one thing though - The battery compartment is a bit loose !!

 

Hey.. how much did u pay for it in INR including tax and all? Which model did u buy? This one - VPCCW16FG ?

Am from india too. Cochin !

 

Congrats! Whats the price you got for CW? Also can you post the configuration?

 

Hey mikejcw, i got my CW just this week from futureshop as well. I've spent weeks looking into reviews (this thread is awesome), and of all the laptops i've seen, this by far is the best. I don't know if u checked out bestbuy in the US, its cheaper even with the conversion. I was debating to buy one there, but I wanted to get the extended warranty. What did you think of the 500 GB model with blu-ray ? Thats the one I got, but I got them to lower the price from $1050 to $950, but then I got another $50 off via a gift card promotion for another product. They lowered the price, because i got the extended warranty (my dell died on me after 2.5 yrs, and if I got the extended warranty, then I wouldn't be in this situation).

specs: vpccw17, t6600, 4gb, 500GB, atheros n wireless (my old dell has the intel 4965 n card, can this be switched?), blu-ray playback, g210 (256mb), Jet black.

My review: love the specs, cool to the touch and very quiet. I don't game at all, just office, web and video watching. I too (like Nalooti) would like to do a clean install but not so sure about the process. The cw is very sleek and awesome to look at, but the fingerprints are so visible, that I find myself wiping it constantly (once I get my first scratch, then i'm sure to stop caring about its appearance, lol). I do have an issue with the AC adapter as sony, didn't make the connection from the wire that goes into the wall socket to the 2nd half of the wire (with the black vaio square shaped thing, that goes into the back of the computer (it doesn't hold it firmly in place - sorry for the lack of technical terms).

All in all, a very good laptop. At the store i got it from (futureshop), they have a price protection policy in place until Jan 3, so I can sleep well knowing I can get the difference should it go down in price.

 

Hello again and a question to CW owners, am so interessed on it... but i want to know how good the screen quality is playing a normal DVD (I don,t mention Blu-ray cause it,s OK viewing on almost any screen due to the high res.) thi is very important for me. Anybody can compare VAIO CW with ACER ASPIRE 5672 in terms of screen resolution and SD video quality and upscaling. Of course i want to hear Sony is far superior...but some people(including a german review) rates rather low the screen and i can,t and i want not believe this. Plese advice. Thank you all.

 

Bummer deal dude, looks like you're not having too good of luck so far, hopefully it will get better. As far as build quality, the only build quality I have to compare thing with is most Dell computers, so I'll probably be happy when I finally get a CW one day soon.

 

Yeah I hope so too. I just spent 2 hours trying to get it out...apparently there was a tiny piece of metal sticking out that was blocking it from coming out. I had to completely destroy the nano receiver in order to get it out...the USB port still works though so that's good. But now you can tell that I messed with it, cause obviously sticking tools in there for 2 hours scratched up the border a bit. My laptop's 3 freaking days old!!

 

I while back I read in the Studio 14z Owners forum about someone putting a small folded piece of paper in the battery track to fix the looseness. Maybe that would work with the CW.

 

Ouch. Yeah, USB ports on CW seem to be very stiff. After reading your post, I tried to pull out my nano receiver, and it worked fine for me, fortunately.

About the screen, it is good if you look from the front, slightly below (by tilting screen backward). However, it has limited "sweet spot".

Also, sounds seem to skip sometimes while playing on Foobar2000. Installing the newest realtek driver greatly reduced its frequency, but it still happens from time to time. It does not happen with WMP.

Another annoyance - If you have headphone with a relatively large jack (say, my ATH-AD900), DVD tray will stuck on it when you try to eject - it is annoying that I have to remove headphone each time I try to access DVD. Fortunately, I don't use DVD often.

Some good things.
Touchpad has the great surface. Multifinger is almost useless, but circular scroll works very well.
It seems to stay cool and quiet even when running 3D apps.
My battery does not wobble. Also, I can only find flex on the area on top of DVD player.
I really like the keyboard.

 

I'm planning on selling my MacBook while it's still got some life left in it and picking up a CW.

At the moment though it seems I can't customise one on Sony.co.uk. If I call my nearest Sony shop will they be able to order me in one with the spec I would like?

Also, is it just me or do Sony not seem to be selling the all black model in the UK?


Also is it worth upgrading the processor if I plan on doing a little bit of gaming with it? I heard that the 2.13Ghz proc may be a bit of a bottleneck for the 230m?


To anyone with a MacBook - how big is it physically in comparison? I'm wondering on whether or not to keep my MacBook case.

 

FYI for Canadian folks, just found these coupons, not too much of a discount, but better than nothing...

$15 off $150 or more at Sony Canada - coupon code: CJQ4PBFF15 valid thru 12/31.

$50 off $500 or more at Sony Style Canada - coupon code: CJQ4PBFF50

 

any update on coupons or deals?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H5QicR_X-k

New video if anyone cares : ]

 

Hey Scotty, guess what. Remember I got the Asus G60 gaming laptop?

1) overheat, idle at 85C (video card)

ok fine..went to exchange one which temperature idle 58 to 60 which is ok for that monster but

2) #6 key doesnt work &$^@%@%!#@^@^&@^@

 

Okay a few pages ago i said i would add information from this thread overalll to the 1st Page/post so it would be easier for new comers to navigate without having to spend lengthy time to go through all the threads, and so people wont having to ask the same questions that have already been answered many times. so I will list common questions and confusions that have been solved regarding this laptop and 1st impressions from owners and things. If i have made any mistake please let me know asap so i can change it up, if anyone wants to help out they are more than welcome to. I have been really busy so i didnt get the chance to do so, I am still really busy but I will try to find time in the next few days to complete everything up. By the way i have set up my account to show 50 posts per page so its easier for me to navigate this thread, and at the moment this thread has reached 11 Pages. Thanks Everyone for contributing to this thread.
EDIT: Please check out the 1st post in this thread to let me know if there are any mistakes at all

 

Hey, the customise option on sony.co.uk has been down for a few days now, if it were up and running, however there was a special free cpu upgrade offer on the CW
Also, with the custoise option you can choose to have the black colour without extra charge
I think i'll ring sonystyle uk (the site where you can customise the CW) this evening and find out what the issue is with customisation

 

Ok guys, I'm a fellow CW owner. I got mine at BBY, it's the cw17fx... But earlier today I was trying out the video card in this AWESOME notebook, just to see what it was capable of pushing. It offers pretty darn decent performance for it's price. I was able to run with great frame rates! :

Borderlands - High Settings, Bloom, and Ambient Occlusion all on
Spore - ALL High Settings
COD World at War - Mostly High with HDR on.
Oblivion - ALL High (not extra, haven't tried it yet)

But I hit a snag. In Nvidia's reference sheets for the G210m, it shows the GPU having 512mb of GDDR3, now we only have 256. So in essence the vendor ID is correct for the hardware, but the SubSys ID is Sony specific, and isn't supported in driver downloads from Nvidia. So, I guess I'm going to have to rely on Sony to keep the "forceware" flowing for performance updates in the Drivers.

 

Hey XGX you have the bestbuy CW with 256mb GT 210M right? that's the one with 16 stream processors. You were able to play COD world at war at full 1366 x 768 with no lag?

 

Here is a short review of the CW from CNET in the UK:
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39030093,49304170,00.htm

 

My framerate was hovering at about 20fps. Not too aweful bad! (esp for $799)

Edit: But yes you're correct, it has 16 STR Processors.

 

That's surprising, i would have expected it to run ok at 1280 x 720 or lower resolution with only 16 stream processor, must have been the DDR 3 that helped. Had you bought the GT 230 with 48 stream processor, all detail might be able to be cranked up higher or faster FPS~

 

I got back from a party where we pretty much played L4D 2 demo for 6 hours straight with a break about every 3 hours. We played with full res at mostly high settings, maybe a few on medium. It ran pretty well and I decided to stop playing after 3 hours because it felt a little hot. I checked the temperature and the GPU was at about 50 degrees so I stopped playing until it was at about 37 degrees (celsius). Overall, the laptop ran great.

Specs were
2.2 GHZ T6600
Nvidia GT 300M
4 GB RAM

 

50C is nothing! lol...my Asus G60 with GTX 260M idles hotter than that, your card is fine..and GT 300M? or did you mean GT 230M?....did you play with 1366 x 768 on the 14.1 inches or u had an external TV? I wonder how demanding is L4D

 

Hey who needs the #6 key anyways!! So are you thinking you might take the Asus back and get another one or get a CW? Is the verdict still out?

 

I still want the G60 but after 1 idle at 85C and 2nd one with broken number key im kinda discouraged. Stilll want the G60 but seriously considering CW now. Also the CW confirmed with 5% discount. top end pre made 919 one with T6600, blue ray drive, GT 230 is now 899 - 5% discount to roughly 850 + tax, but in CA tax is nearly 10% sucks.!

for me gaming laptop is something I always wanted and liked, not a necessity since i have my powerful gaming desktop. Having both Asus and gaming desktop will cause me to neglect another one but that's what want is about. However, I consciously know I dont need Asus gaming laptop and CW is the strongest contender. But want is a want which is the Asus, so I'm not sure what to do now!

 

Dude, 50 is pretty normal. Don't worry until it gets around 80, even 100 still shouldn't damage the CPU/GPU. I don't believe that you can force this laptop to produce that amount of heat though.

Check CPU with CPUz, you can see that in idle mode it uses about 3/4 of normal power and throttles down to half of the speed (at least P series does that), so you should expect 50+ C when it switches to full speed&power.

 

? Where have you found this reference sheet? Nvidia officially says up to 1GB:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_g210m_us.html

Notebook check reports maximum of 512MB:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-G-210M.17638.0.html

And Sony definitely says it is 256MB version, there is no option to pick 210M with more then 256MB. This one of the thighs you check _before_ you buy, right?

You can, you just can't download drivers from Nvidia page when using their automatic update thingie. You will get a warning that you may loose any functionality added by manufacturer, like power control options, etc.

 

1st thing to do after receiving this laptop is to make the recovery DVDs?

 

Hey guys. I'm new around these parts. I was looking at buying this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+...hite/9528996.p?id=1218119763906&skuId=9528996

Any opinions on it? I was also looking at the NW series Sony's which are 15.5" displays...I thought that the CW at 14 would fit my needs better. I like the power to size ratio of the CW. Is it worth the price difference over the NWs? Also, it looks somewhat thick in the back. Is it that bad in person? Thanks.

 

Hi, welcome!, 1st off the back is not bad at all and you dont notice it at all when you see it in person, for some reason the pictures make it look bigger then it actually is so dont worry about that
My personal opinion is that its worth getting over the NW, since its a bit more sleek looking, smaller size and has a good graphics card if your into a bit of extra graphical things, Photoshop, CAD, or web designing, some light-mid gaming, then yeah go for it, CW is for you

 

i know! I'm hoping that there will be a big discount for this thanksgiving!

I'm going to be using it for school, my programming classes, and also for photoshop.

 

Hi, welcome to the CW forum...[Warning, I'm kinda long winded! ] I'd like to offer my opinion...btw the Bestbuy URL didn't work for me, but I assume it is the White CW T6600 with the G210m video card right? I have personally been looking for quite some time for a new Win 7 laptop, and the CW, to me offers the best available of everything I'm looking for.

Here is a list of Specs for the NW and CW I assume you've been looking at on Bestbuy.com:

Sony - VAIO Laptop with Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor - White
Model: VGN-NW270F/W | SKU: 9568318
Price: $699.00
Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T6600
4GB PC2-6400 DDR2 memory
Blu-ray Disc-enabled DVD±RW/CD-RW drive
15.5" LCD widescreen display
320GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)
Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
Weighs 6 lbs. and measures just 1.2" thin
Up to 4 hours of battery life

Sony - VAIO Laptop with Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor - White
Model: VPC-CW17FX/W | SKU: 9528996
Price: $799
Intel® Core™2 Duo mobile processor T6600
4GB PC2-6400 DDR3 memory
Blu-ray Disc-enabled DVD±RW/CD-RW drive
14" LED-backlit widescreen display
500GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)
NVIDIA GeForce G210M GPU
Weighs 5.3 lbs. and measures just 1.5" thin
Up to 4 hours of battery life

Here are some reasons I'd go for the CW over the NW. I think the $100 difference would be well worth it:

1. At a Best Buy Store I checked out the NW the other day and while it looks nice, it seemed to not have as good of build quality as the CW. Namely if you push down on the flat surfaces on the palm rest there is lots of movement, kinda like they forgot to fill in the hollow places below the surface.

2. The video/graphics card in the NW is Integrated (4500MHD) which doesn't provide much power for Graphics display. The CW (the Best Buy model) has the G210m, which is a dedicated (discrete) graphics card which is definitely superior. You could play some of the newest PC video games with this card (might have to lower some of the settings to medium), but with the 4500MHD almost none of the newest games will be playable. I don't know what types of software you would be running on your laptop. If you would only be watching movies, browsing the web and working in MS office, the integrated Graphics is fine. But personally I always like to have more power available if it doesn't cost much more, just in case I need it.

3. I personally like a 14" screen size the best, 13" is too small for me, and 15" makes the whole laptop measurements too big. Plus the CW weighs less than the NW and also has a more rounded off front edge which I think is more comfortable to your wrists. Both the CW and NW have 1366 x 768 screen resolution, but this resolution will look better on a 14" screen versus a 15". Many folks say that a 15" laptop screen needs better resolution than 1366 x 768.

4. Appearance: Personally I like the look of the CW better. Even the wedge shape you mentioned, I think looks great, not too big in the back, and the slope actually might be a bit better for typing on, more like a Desktop keyboard.

The VERY BEST CW available can only be had if you hand pick your components through the CW Customize/CTO option on sonystyle.com. One reason this method is best is because you can configure it with the GT230m graphics card, which is a very powerful card, a pretty good boost over the G210. (The benchmark ranking is as follows: the GT230m is #41, the G210m is #80, and Intel 4500MHD is #134 ( http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html). For just $50 more ($849.00) you can get nearly the same CW as the best buy one, but with the better graphics card. Plus you have choice of their "Vaio Signature" color, with is Indigo (purple), which is not available in stores, I don't think it is even available at a SonyStyle store. They also have this better CW (w/ GT230 and purple color) preconfigured as well:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666002706

Hope that helps

 

It's DDR3 is 1066mhz rated but for some reason it's only running at 800. It may have to do with the processor FSB (t6600) only being 800mhz. Now the intel P-series processors have 1066mhz FSB so it might be fully enabled in those models.

 

Just a general question to anyone who's used sonystyle: Whats the confidentiality like with orders placed over the phone?
I'm a bit wary that the person on the other end could just jott down my card details and then have easy access to my account!
I'm having trouble customising and ordering my CW over the net and so a phone order seems the only way to go.
Anyone with any experience of this?
Any help/guidance would be much appreciated

 

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

If you search there for "T6600 P7450" with the "or" operator on you can see the difference between the processors. The P7450 (2.13GHz) is what is as standard on the European models and I was a bit concerned about it but it appears that there's actually very little difference between the two processors.

 

I certainly don't mind the long winded post. The more information the merrier. I'm not sure why that link didn't work for you as it does for me but yes, it's the white CW with the T6600 and G210m.

I really appreciate the insight. I'm going to go and check both out in person. I think I'm going to spend the extra 100 on the CW though. Would you mind answering three questions for me?

What's the battery life like for you? Can I use the HDMI out into a 1080 TV and watch Blu-Ray media on the TV? And, how hot does the bottom of the machine get under load?

Thanks!

 

The main difference I know of between these two processors is that the P7450 draws 25w while the T6600 is 35w, therefore you might get better battery life. The only upgrade that would be worth it to me though is moving up to the P8700, because the power jump is more significant, but also it supports Virtualization, when the other two don't. This allows you to run Windows XP Mode/Virtual PC.
P8700: http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37006

 

Yes. What I found strange was that in the UK the FW comes with the T6600 as standard and they actually charge £50 (~£80) for the P7450 which is why I looked into it.

 

I am actually waiting for a Black Friday discount (hopefully) till I purchase mine...here are some thoughts from some other folks on this thread that will hopefully answer your questions:

 

The P7450 has nearly the same performance, but uses less power, so conserving more battery life with similar performance is always good, which is likely worth $50 to most people. I just don't know if you would notice the difference too much, I'm thinking like maybe 15 minutes extra battery life, but that is just a guess...someone out there might have actually tested it. Performance wise I think you would notice more of a difference with the P8700.

 

I have the T6600 and I'm getting similar battery life to what everybody with the P series seem to be getting. I would say that you wouldn't get more than 10-15 minutes longer battery life out of the P series compared to the T.

 

One thing I noticed for CW CTO, the ship date increases by one week as soon as you select the GT230 GPU. With the 230 if one places order today it will ship on 11/24 th . what a bummer

 

Here is a CW with a GT230 with a P7450...it says it ships in one to two business days. The have it in 3 colors:

http://www.jr.com/product/productListing.jsp?Ntt=VPCCW18FX

 

Are u order the CW in UK? I have order one CW in UK sonystyle with the 230, but the staff told me that you will recieve in 2-3 weeks, because the laptop need to make from japan and ship to UK.

And now i dont have any receive from e-mail about my laptop, i wounder when it will dispatch.....?

 

In real world performance, the difference is probably less than that. From what I understand, Intel is very savvy with their marketing. They list all processessors about 25w as 35w regardless of the actually max. For example, the the t6600 need 25w, the p7450 may only need 26w(made up value) but because its about 25, its listed under 35w, which makes it sound much less efficent than the p series.

 

Question to all CW users, did anyone of you guys clean install win7?
I am thinking about to doing it, but wonder if anyone encounters any problems at all.
Do I just need to back up some software?
Thanks in advance

 

Build recovery DVDs before doing anything to your CW's OS.

 

For those who want to have multi-finger scroll. 14.0.9.5 driver here will unlock it on your CW (and other laptops, presumably).
http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/15103-latest-synaptics-touchpad-drivers/

Actually, I always prefer "wedge" shape over "flat" shape (such as MBP). IMO, the slope gives keyboard better angle to type. Although "flat" laptop may look better from side, you do not look at your laptop from its side, when you are using it.

Sony has all drivers up on their esupport site, so I don't think you will have any problems doing clean install. That being said, because I got it with fresh start, I do not see any reason to do clean install - I am not sure about those who got it without fresh start, however.

 

Just a heads up to all those in the UK. Sonystyle UK is up and running again for the customisable CWs!!! There is still a free upgrade offer, this time its the graphics card (from the G210 to the GT 230m), This essentially means you could get the exact same specs as those in the retail stores (in black even!) for £50 less! What a bargain.