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

After google-translating I see:
"Above the display is a webcam installed, which is called Sony "Motion Eye" and offers 0.3 megapixels of resolution. However, there is no built-in microphone in Sony CW."

maybe a bad translation but the mic is on the left side of the webcam (although i didn't tested it yet) !

 

There is mic i tested in skype maybe in this model there isn't.

 

It's the same model number as mines (except I've got red) and it's definitely got a mic.

 

Off / Standby 0 / 0.6 Watt

these are measures done by the reviewer.

Still need to take out the battery ?

 

Hi All!

@Neil McRae - My laptop entered production on the 22/11/2009. It dispatched on Monday 30/11/2009, should have been delivered yesterday but I wasn't in so I got it today instead.

My laptop is finally here and I'm very impressed with it!

Specs are:
Core 2 Duo P8700
4GBs DDR3 RAM
nVidia GT 230M Graphics

I've already done a totally clean install of Windows 7 on a newly installed 7200 RPM drive. For those that are interested my WEI scores are now:

Processor - 6.2
Memory - 6.2
Graphics - 6.3
Gaming graphics - 6.3
Primary hard disk - 5.9

I've also done a 3DMark 06 test and got the following results:

Sony GT 230M Speeds:5809
Stock GT 230M Speeds: 6489

 

Witch tool did you used exactly to overclock gpu, ( version of software etc) i tried nvidia , but i don't know that it works properly.

 

Very informative site. I did a lot of browsing here before signing up.

I thought I would contribute a bit.

Bought this for wife's XMAS gift:

http://www.datavis.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?merfnbr=2003&prrfnbr=514333

Browse their entire Sony Notebook here:

http://www.datavis.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?merfnbr=2003&cgrfnbr=346120&page=0&sort=0

Only 829.00 U.S. dollar after 20.00 off coupon "DATAVIS20" with free shipping in USA. They only carry pre-configured system. But I figure, I will get the essentials first. CPU, HD, Memory, and operating system can be upgraded later.

If I spec out the same system from Sony, then they want to charge me 35.00 worth of shipping and 80.00 worth of local sales tax. The same spec from sony is well over 900.00

Also, if you want the CW with the 230M GPU (512mb memory) with more notebook color choices, then get it from these guys. It seems they have almost every color in stock.

I ordered it Monday night and got a tracking Wednesday afternoon. Much faster turn around estimate than from Sony direct. Will give you guys an update when package arrives.

Also, if you are outside U.S., these guys will ship internationally too!

I am not a regular customer of this company, but I have shopped from them before and had good luck with them. Online search for complaints and problems of datavis.com seems to be none existent.

BTW: They have 3 or 4 system choices with different spec. So, read carefully what's in the system.

Have a good one.

P

 

I just used the nVidia system tools, seems to be working ok. Just tested Red Alert 3 with graphics details set to high and it runs smooth as butter!

 

Personally I'd stick with the CW its a much better machine. You can always use BT speakers or plug some in.

 

Oww decisons, decisons.... How loud exactly is the CW laptop?.... I'd personaly prefer the CW over the NW..... but i've also found the HP DV3-2230ea quite nice aswell (see link below guys)..... All i want is a small portable laptop for music playing, watching dvds, facebook and bebo )...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/st...18243&category_oid=#productInformationSection

I'm probably going to go with the HP as ive heard the speakers on my mates and they are decent enough... just wondering what the experts on here (you guys) thought before i clicked 'buy' lolz

Chloe x

 

Personally, i would stay away from an HP machine. I know 3 people who own a HP laptops and all 3 of them had to have their machines replaced within the first 3-4 months of use. And do you know when HP replaces the machine...its when the machine has been sent 4 times for repairs. Just to clarify, all of these guys had different models and they are still not happy with HP.

I'm not trying to bash HP, but if you read online forums, there are many cases of frustated users online.

 

I've heard that the speakers for the NW are particularly terrible, so I don't recommend it as a better "upgrade" to the CW. If speaker quality/loudness in a 14 inch is quite important to you, I've read that Dell Studio 14z has really good sound, maybe check it out? Otherwise, keep a nice set of external speakers handy when in your room and just hook 'em up

 

You should try out the laptops at a store. and see how it is.
Everyone has their own preference. Especially speakers.

and raz. is HP that bad? aren't they one of the top few laptops? i always though the dv4 was pretty cool. and i hate you raz lol. hope you get your laptop by Sat! while mine will be next year haha. but really, Sony needs to get their info on when they will get more gt230s or order some more or do something. but they better not cancel orders or something. I want it at that price lol

 

Thanks for the insight benju, I guess it is all in the negotiating skills! The rep I spoke with was offering me their three year warranty (299!), which would then drop the price of the computer to 799, but I'm thinking that maybe I could do better than that. I mentionned to the rep about the credit card warranty extension, but he warned me to read the fine print, which I will investigate. Blu-ray is not that important to me, but I was hoping to get a system, with warranty, for below 1000 (before taxes). Taxes here in Quebec are close to 14%, so that is a big consideration.

Do you think I could play BB and Future Shop off each other to get the best deal? Does BB also negotiate?

Thanks for the cleaning tips, yeah it is not so much for the screen itself as for the palm rest and cover. I am a little picky about that, but am hoping I will get used to it, or maybe I'll just grab the white color!

 

The CW is whisper quiet, if not silent, in most uses but the speakers are pretty weak. Try them out in a store if you can but I wouldn't buy the CW for speaker use (well I wouldn't buy any laptop for speaker use but thats another point entirely).

 

Ha Ha Ha ...
Dont worry...urs will arrive by the next weekend for sure. Even though they say manufacturing time is 5-7 business days, i got my shipping alert on the very next day after it went into production.

On another note, I just stayed away from HP because one of the person i mentioned is a pretty close friend and i could see the frustation he had talking with the CSRs for hours to get his problem fixed..and they were all harware related, Wifi not working, volume buttons not working, webcam gave way after 2 months...he finally got fed up and got himself a Sony NW laptop. He's been happy since then

But like you said, everyone has their own preferences

 

If you buy hp not professional series or business class, your laptop will work for 2 years or less.

 

Well my wifes must be an exception then - DV4291ea still going strong after 4 years, Not one problem with it.

 

yes i would say that it would be sufficient enough for non gaming needs, 256MB G210m card is more than enough so dont worry about it.

The thing that upsets me the MOST is that earlier model computers from various manufacuters had really nice speakers, i know more than 4 people who had various SZ models, me(SZ4), uncle(SZ1 & SZ7), cousiin(SZ3), brother(SZ1) and all had extremely loud speakers, i would often just set it on my desk and play music while im doing stuff around the room or i could be watching movies in the front living room with the fam and it was more than enough for everyone to hear (4-6 people), even when i lent my laptop to my sister to use in the kitchen while cooking to listen to music and such everyone in my house talks alot and extremly loud and even then we can hear the music at a very loud volume over everyone else. My father-in-law has a HP DV28xx and his laptop is the same, we watch video's on youtube and everyone is the whole living room and hear it very loudly while doing there own things. Both my SZ4 and his DV28 are very loud without losing sound quality, cuz we have a desktop and my sisters always have music or vids playing on there and the tv is on at mid volume and i have music on or watching my own thing and people talking in the room and we have no problem hearing our laptops, i just wish laptops like the CW would have the same speaker types, by the way SZ has a "13 and DV28xx has a "14. earlier this year i was interested in the SR and i was looking everywhere online to see if it was possible to take my speakers out of my SZ and put them into the SR or any other laptop that i would buy, but the conclusion came out that each speaker is set to a diff watt and it might mess up the MB plus the connectors would be different.

Chloe, i would strongly suggest that you take a look at the laptop instore, you can take a usb or something that has ur songs and you can ask the store if you can try out a few songs to try the volume out. I did that at Micro Anvika. Instead of spending your times going around to each store to check if they have the CW instores, call them up before hand and find out so you can save a bit of time , if you have a Micro Anvika or Sony Store anywhere near in you Manchester then you should go check it out , i checked out my local PC world and Curry's but oddly they didnt have the CW instores but they say if you go to their other store in another city they have it on display there. x

If I were you i wouldnt chose the NW over the CW becuase as far as i know it has a bit less quality speakers than the CW. CW has moderate sound volume but as others have suggested i would strongly go for bluetooth speakers or something similar. Sony has some nice bluetooth speakers but if you want regular speakers i saw really nice Sony speaker system in Sony Style Store for only 60 quid just add on a bluetooth reciever
But for listening to music, watching dvds, fb, and bebo the the CW would be good just ask long as there isnt too much background noise around you, i would say its good enough for your tasks. hope this helps. x

check out my answer above to woodgypsy

 

Ordered a pre-built Royal Indigo model on Thanksgiving (11/26) as it had the GT230M at that time and had an estimated shipping of 11/30. The CTO with GT230M had 12/08 shipping estimate at that time.

Got a "shipping update" couple of days back to say that the estimated shipping date is now "12/02". It's 12/03 and no update till now. I will be leaving the country on 12/10 and thought I could get his before then.

Thankfully the Customer Care was not bad and I just used the Live Chat facility and canceled my order now. The agent said that the status they saw on their system was "getting delayed" or something to that effect. I thought they may have an issue with canceling after a week (since one of the FAQs said that all changes / cancellations have to happen within an hour of ordering), but thankfully they did not.

Planning to order again when I return - hopefully the manage to fill their stock up by then. It would suck to come back with the same old crappy HP X-(

 

Here is my input, the majority of laptop speakers are not very good either they have poor quality sound, or low volume levels. Personally I think it might be better to put a little less emphasis on laptop speaker/sound quality and a bit more on must haves such as overall build quality, reliability and other components that are a must (in my mind), such as liking the keyboard, the touchpad and the screen quality.

If you do decide to go with the CW, and you don't plan on doing much gaming on your laptop, you can go with the lower end CW which is priced at $719 (US SonyStyle) price range, but still get a choice of colors.

Also, if you are willing to consider a smaller screen (11.6") I'd suggest you consider the Acer AS1410 (SU2300 Dual Core CPU) ($399) or Acer AS1810T (SU7300 dual Core CPU) ($599). It under 1" thick, weighs only 3 lbs and gets really good battery life, on the 1810 over 8 hours, and has plenty of power for watching movies, listening to music, etc. Also it has a great keyboard (full size) and a great touchpad. And it does have an HDMI port also to connect to an external LCD.
Here is a NBR Owners thread on it:
Acer Aspire 1410 and 1810 Timeline (dual core) 11.6" Thread
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=424213

www.newegg.com sells both the AS1410 and the AS1810T, just make sure if you get the AS1410 that you get the one with the SU2300, the other 1410 models don't have dual core. But you might want to check the experience with the smaller screen in a store first to see if you can adjust.

As far as other brands of 13" and 14" laptops, I think Sony is one of the best, especially for the price and build quality. I purchased a Dell Studio 14z a couple of months ago and the speakers were just ok, couldn't get very high volume without the speakers crackling. I ended up returning it to Dell for other failed hardware issues. The reason I chose the CW, and I have done lots and lots of research, is because they seem to have great overall build quality, great internal components, nice size (I like 14"), stylish looking, great keyboard, great touchpad, no overheating issues (this is a big one lately with many Dells and Hps), and overall one of the best laptops for the money. So if you can find a work around for the sound issue, I think the CW is good choice.

This survey posted on Engadget recently gives some hard data on Laptop reliability scores. On a side note, I happen to work for HP and sad to say I'm not purchasing an HP laptop, even with my Employee discount...I was looking at the HP DM3, but decided against it because of overheating issues and I didn't like the touchpad at all.

Laptop reliability survey: ASUS and Toshiba win, HP fails
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/laptop-reliability-survey-asus-and-toshiba-win-hp-fails/

 

i have also hp special edition dv1000, gifted for my mother. 7 years almost. New laptos dv6,7,8 etc series is a big joke same as toshiba company making sh... laptops.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write that reply for me, its very kind of you I will check it out in Sony over the weekend i think like you suggested - do you think they'll let me play a usb with songs on it?, but at the moment i'm edging towards the HP i think... buy any chance do you guys know if HP plan to release their HP pavillion 14 inch laptops with windows 7 anytime soon??... cos i think i might wait for them if they are out anytime soon... as they are dedicated entertainment laptops yeah? And 14 inch one would be ideal really...

Thanks again
Chloe x

 

also i had laptops : dell xps 1530 (don't remember exactly model) after half year broken thanks god sold after warranty. then acer not bad was. hp dv6000 broked motherboard went to warranty , sold cheaply. Then asus with t8300 and gpu 9700gt sold because big and bad quality build. Then bought gateway fx because of gpu but sold because build quality was awful and heated very, now sony cw small powerfull no heating problems build quality good not perfect and small . Well we will see if i change this one. i hope not

 

can anyone weight the CW with normal battery? As on sony website, its 5.3 pounds but on notebookcheck.com its said 5.04 pounds (2.29 kg)? any one can make sure of it? Thanks in advance.

 

There is rumor of the HP DM4 coming, but no release time frame given. The DM4 will probably be similar to the DM3/DV4, but will be the replacement for the current DV4, so I'm guessing it will probably have a 14" screen:

More notebooks coming soon: Envy 17, dm4, Compaq CQ32/CQ42/CQ62/CQ72, HP G42/G62/G72!
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=432884

 

I was gonna say what scottybgood said about the hp, but I had really bad experiences from Hp and i heard alot of bad stuff from HP owners, especially about overheating, fam had alot of Hp's of various model's and they have really bad heating control, its gets burning hot from the bottom and even the palmrests gets really hot to a point which it hard to keep your palms on, i was going for the DV3 before but saw and read alot of badddd reviews from users and had a bad instore experience too, mostly relating to the sound and sound board, screen and the gloss 0_o was really really bad. a little bit gloss like on the CW is okay and THANKFULLY unlike hp they made the trackpad nice and smooth. HP trackpads are sooooo glossy you cant control your fingers cuz they keep sliding all other the plan and it gets really greasy which is alot of trouble. Mind you this is my personal experience but a +1 for Sony is the multi touch trackpad on the CW, useful to some, doesnt really make a difference to rest., and the CW has a really sturdy keyboard compared to the HP as far as i compared. some of my mates have Hp's and they laptop feels like there is a think layer of oil on the palmrests, trackpad, and even the keyboard, guessing its due the the usual grime and dirt that are on our fingers from day to day things. just my 2 cents x

 

Whens the HP DM4 out then?

Chloe x

 

i personally would touch HP laptops.

 

i placed my order on 11/28 and here is what i get in response from Sony

specs are as follows

 

Speaking of personal experiences with HP, I cna wouch for it that some of their systems are really crappy. I have had two HP-tx tablets in the past 3 yrs. While the first one died 2-days before the 1st year, and had to get it repaired, it has been working absolutely great since then. But my second one had issues with its screen and had to get it replaced and was so frustrated with it that i finally sold it off because HP would only give me 65% refund based on their depreciation calculator. Both of mine were 12.1" AMD Turion x2 and there was so much heating that you could not keep it on your lap. There sound is great though, no distortion even at max volume.

But sound is not the only thing, i finally decided to switch to Sony after having a slight undecisive week looking between the Macbook pros and sony. And then i saw this one, checked it at the store, liked the way it feels, its features and above all, the deal i was getting online in addition to an educational discount.

BTW, if any of you are students in the US and have email ids ending in .edu you could actually get a Win7 professional upgrade for $29 through micrsoft. Here is the link :
http://windows7.digitalriver.com/se...=T-CCkAoBAiMAAANPuXAAAAAN&rests=1259878487101

 

Hey, Do you know what the component 4043 stands for....i have it in my specs as well but cannot figure out what it is.

 

Hi, this forum is really nice and i m quite sure i wanna buy the CW but I cant find any shops to buy the model with:

at least T6600 2,2 GHZ (is there a big difference between this one and the P 2,13 model?)
GeForce GT 230
Blu-Ray

BestBuy offers with Blu-ray but with G210 only... other shops with GT 230 but without Blu-Ray drive...
Can you give me an advice... i live in Germany and my mother will stay in San Francisco until the 14th of Dec.
Is there any chance to get this model by then?
on sonystyle.com its sold out...
i would really appreciate ur help...

 

This is for Ninja2000:

How is the battery life on yours now your running 2 HDDs?

My caddy is due to arrive in the post soon to replace my DVD bay, Im out of room on my SSD and im sick of carrying an extra usb hdd around.

 

im trying to figure that out too..i was thinking it was a color number or something but i have 4040 so i guess not..

 

Here are some places, all of these have GT230m GPU...

http://www.jr.com/sony/pe/SON_VPCCW18FXB/ (Black)

http://www.jr.com/sony/pe/SON_VPCCW18FXR/ (Red)

http://www.jr.com/sony/pe/SON_VPCCW18FXP/ (Pink)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117970&cm_re=vaio_cw-_-34-117-970-_-Product (Black)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117966&cm_re=vaio_cw-_-34-117-966-_-Product (Black)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117967&cm_re=vaio_cw-_-34-117-967-_-Product (White)

 

thanx, but all these models dont have blu-ray.

how long did it take from the day u ordered from sonystyle.com and the day the notebook arrived?

 

I just called sony style support. They said my order is in the system but the video card and blue ray player are all on back order and they do not have an eta for them. Which of course SUCKS!

 

how long are u suppose to charge the sony vaio cw when you first receive it with a brand new battery

 

Maybe you could just buy a Blu-Ray player to add to it later...

 

did they say when they'll have an eta? =(

 

No she didn't know. So that told me they have no idea when their coming in :-(

 

dang this sucks, i really thought id get mine before winter break

 

I ordered the CW on Nov 26th and it is scheduled to be delivered on Dec 8th.

 

its funny how we all get the same email at the same day. lol. Been waiting for a reply from email for days from sony but phone is fast so its all good. But was the email from christine?

 

I checked my fedex tracking and my estimated delivery date has been shifted to 8th. Damn, this sucks...i was expecting it to come in this weekend.

 

On another note, those who are looking to buy accessories for their CW, i would suggest to not to order them with the laptop. My friend ordered an NW and he got a 20% coupon for Sony Accessories. This can be combined with other offers like the 7% student discount. So you can get it a bit cheaper ordering it a bit later.
Enjoy....

 

UK is offering the CW with the Multi-touch pad? I just check out the SonyUK and it says that the CW is muliti-touch. ? anyone knows?

 

Greetings,

Since the gt230 GPUs are on backorder, I was wondering if anyone knows for sure, if we can upgrade the GPU later. I was thinking of getting the CW now, then change the GPU with the gt230 when it comes in or some better card.

 

Hey aglaranna, no problem at all for the help. This laptop can be pricey and in Ontario we pay 13% taxes, so any little bit will help. Which model were u looking to get ? I don't understand how the warranty at $299 drops the price of the laptop to $799 ? I'm assuming your going for the VPCcw13 model (t6600, 320gb, n, etc..). At bestbuy.ca and futureshop.ca, the laptop is priced at $899, with a three year warranty (carry in) at $299. Did the associate say if you got the warranty that they would knock the price off the laptop? I have a TD green visa, which has purchase extended warranty when the full price of the item is charged to my credit card. I know that in Quebec the rules may be different, as you find Quebec having different rules and regulations than the rest of Canada (never understood why though). You can definetely use BB and fshop against one another. Remember though fshop is commissioned based, so i believe you have a better shot at getting the price reduced there more b/c your taking it from their cut from the sale. Whereas at BB, they aren't commissioned based, so its harder to budge with them unless u know someone. I got the extended warranty for peace of mind, but it did set me back. These stores make most of their profit off the sale of the warranty service, rather than the actual notebook, as was told by a friend of mine. Use that as leverage, that they need to help you get the price down, and that you would meet them half way by getting the extended warranty. If you got them to reduce the price by $100, I think u've done a good job right there, and I don't think they will budge any more though. Make sure you confirm though, what the selling price is, or if they are adjusting the price of the warranty to give you the discount. May be you can get some accessories thrown in. Best of luck, and who knows what specials boxing day might bring. Keep me posted !