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

I'm surprised they are delivering your laptop so fast with the 230M! As for the red, I remember it being close to a maroon red.

 

In France, the preconfigured Vaio CW cost 1.009€ = 1.500$
But i have chance to buy my laptop during a great offer => Free 3 Years warranty
P8700 - GT230M - 4Go - 500Go - White - Blu-Ray burner

 

Thanks I appreciate it...the main couple of things I'm wondering about it is how good/snugly it fits the keyboard and if the keys are made harder to push down, where it adversely effects your typing?

 

manks:
thanks for the reply!
after the pc updated itself a few times. now the speed problem has disappeared for now. It's super fast with many softwares working at the same time! so i now feel really pleased. the only thing remains is the stuck pixel. Amazon has said that they are willing to fully refund me because they are out of stock for an exchange! now what should i do: keept it with the suck pixel or go though all the hassel of refunding and looking to buy another one including the updating, dramas?

 

Hi, where did you see the free 3 years warranty?

I live in France, I'd like an English OS but the AZERTY keyboard . Is it possible to order it off the French website and call in for the English OS? How about using the supplied activation code to activate an English W7? Looked all over the web for info on this, never found a clear answer.

Regarding the whole VT thing on the processor, I understood Sony used to disable VT at the hardware level (correct me if I got this wrong). So the question is, will they do that if I buy a P8700 VAIO with W7 Home Premium? Or is just going to be a quick BIOS thing?

 

that would depend on how much you like your config and if you are getting the same config from some other website? If you are getting from some other website, then i would suggest you return it to amazon and order a new one from the other website... else just stay with the dead pixel and get the display replaced under warranty at a later time... The CW's with the desired configs are going out of stock...and people including me are praying we get our laptops from Sony...!!!

 

Color: Jet Black
CPU: P8700 @ 2.53Ghz
GPU: GT210M
HD: 500 GB
RAM: 4GB
DVD: Blu-Ray (read only)
Batt: Large Capacity
OS: Win 7 Professional

Purchased: 11/27/09.. 5 AM
Build email: 12/1/09.. 10.30 AM (with ship date of 12/4)
Shipping confirmation email: 12/1/09.. 8.30 PM
Est. arrival: Arrived few minutes ago.. but I am not there yet!

 

this is the one I got:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002S4CFWW/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
but mine was £655.41 from Aamazon directly.
Now the only problem is just the pixel. i heard that the manufactruer usually won't do anything to it unless it's something more than dead 7 pixels.
should i keep it? i hate going through all the installation and getting used to a new machine

 

hmmm...like i said...if you can order another one then return this one...i know getting used to a new PC is going to a hassle... its 1 dead pixel aint a big thing right now...but there is a possibility it may increase in the future...why take a chance...personally, if i had the time i would return it and get a new one just to mental peace...!!! its your choice...........

 

Thanks! i just went on sony's website and found that to buy exactly the same spec from the sony web or other internet sellers i need to pay around 60 pound more!
I think I will keep using it for a couple of weeks (before amazon refund deadline) then see if i still feel like returning.
btw are the higher specs make a big difference given that 2.13 GHz P7450already seems pretty good. would 2.53 Ghz Processor P8700 with 1066 MHz FSB have a big difference (and it's a 100 quid more expensive too)?

 

May I ask when you ordered it? =)

 

Just a thought, Even if the laptop is purchased from another vendor, Sony will support it under the 1 year warranty. Why not contact Sony and talk to them. I guess they'll replace your LCD screen for the dead pixel.

 

id fix that pixel

 

Lol, I know how you feel man. I've been "researching" this computer against others for a while, multiple tabs open, and this desktop is *crying* in misery. Sadly, my research led me to wait a bit. Last week, I had a CTO, P8700, free bluray and hd upgrade, and free gt230m upgrade avail thru sonystyle for $788(!) w/ student discount. Selecting the better gpu gave me a "shipping date unknown" message so I wasn't sure if the gt3230 was worth waiting for till after break. Just before I decided to pull the trigger, someone showed me an i7 HP and I locked up and missed out on the Sony sale.

Anyway, this is for everyone, but especially you Sir_Dudley; Reading through the dozens of pages here, I've noticed questions from Film students haven't really been answered directly. To keep it simple, I wanted the P8700cpu and believed it powerful enough to handle some moderate editing. Now I'm only seeing the P7450 online, exactly like Sir_Dudley's config. Paired with the coveted GT230m, is this powerful enough for editing something like a short film?

Basically, is the P7450 worth jumping on now while its still avail? I stopped into a Sony Style Store* the other day and was told there wasn't really a chance that Sony'd be restocking the sold out items (b-ray, gt230). I don't wanna wait, literally, for nothing... I'm hoping to make a purchase, like, today so I might get it before break (and I'll know where to ship).

*(I tried not to literally laugh out loud when the manager pulled out "the magic binder of discounts" at my suggestion to find a something for one of the CWs available... No luck though.)

oxengad, where'd you find/buy your model?

 

Hi,
It's to late, ( check the attachment )
sorry

About change OS langage, it's only available for Windows 7 ultimate and enterprise :s
http://windows7center.com/tutorials...tall-windows-7-beta-language-packs-mui-packs/

Maybe you can call Sony ?!

 

haha yeah man, researching is horrible and the sonystyle website (usa one) was soooo mean to this computer im using. The flash or something. It like blows it up.

Well from what I hear since I don't get my CW till next Friday. The P8700 is not much diff from the P7450. Mostly if you want the XP thingy. But who knows. P8700 sounds like its way powerful lol but im also stuck with the P7450 but you can always upgrade the CPU.

I would really hope it be powerful enough for ya but i believe the video card would do alot of work since it has 512 of memory and wouldnt really touch the cpu much unless i dunno lol

And you haven't missed such a great deal from Sony. I got a better deal for 799.00 for the P7450 with the gt230. no blu-ray though but i plan to just buy a drive and replace it or go steal raziel2001's blu-ray haha

ps. i think i have read all the pages in this forum atleast twice. amazing. i would of thought this computer would of blown up by now.

 

I' am ordered it November 11.26

 

oh alright =)
i havent gotten ANY email from Sony yet, but my hopes are high and i know i'm going to get it!
and for p7450 vs p8700 - in my opinion - i'd go for a p8700 because the price difference is not too much on the sony website. but for me - i purchased a T6600 because its not too far away from the P7450 perormance wise because the T6600 has a higher ghz but 1mb l2 cache less, which I think doesn't lower the performance too much. Also, because the T6600 is a lot cheaper than the P7450.
But that's just my opinion

 

True that, if you are ordering from Sony and getting a CTO. then of course get the p8700 over the p7450, its pocket change

but then im very happy i dont have to deal with sonystyle anymore and there longness but im only bitter to them because they canceled my order lol

 

OUCH! That was a kingly offer! Ya, I'm aware of the MUI Packs thing, thanks for the info though. Will probably call Sony if I place an order. Main question now is the W7 activation code/language relation. Anyone know anything concrete about that? The fact that I'm looking at a preconfigured PC makes it unlikely Sony will offer me a non-French OS.

 

my procesor is T9600 2.8 l2 cash 6mb its really nicw

 

Well, I woke up this morning and started up my CW to find it completely dead. Was fine when I shut it down last night, now I get "missing operating system" and a black screen after the Vaio logo startup. Ran chkdsk, restored the entire system, reinstalled Windows, all to no avail. Just got off the phone with Sony support and they're sending me some kind of Windows emergency recovery disk or something that they claim will fix the problem, I'm still skeptical. I'm pretty computer literate, I've built and configured dozens if not hundreds of systems, I've never seen a problem like this before. I suppose it could just be bad luck, a fluke or something, but what are the odds this would happen within 5 days of receiving the system? I haven't even booted it 3 times yet.

A nagging feeling tells me it's the cheap hard drive that's the problem, that seems like where they cut corners. If their magical emergency recovery disk doesn't work, I guess I'll just install a new hdd and see if that fixes the problem.

Anybody else seen this problem on their CW, or am I just lucky?

 

Yes (but the price is not as much as sonystyle .com).
Sonystyle France propose an option Blu-Ray burner, (so i take this option )

sorry for my bad english

 

My CW shipped today at 1:30 PM EST!! Three days earlier than expected!

 

@Unpassable:

When did you put your order? What's your spec?

 

There's a section to enter a promotion code while placing an order, any idea where to get those? Does Sony France offer student discounts?

 

I ordered on Thanksgiving evening.

Specs:


* 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
* Blu-ray Disc™ playback
* Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)
* No additional Video Editing Software
* NVIDIA® GeForce® GT230M GPU (512MB VRAM)
* Icy White
* Genuine Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit
* 320GB Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm)


Estimated shipping date WAS 12/8/09.

 

How do you go and live chat with any Sony rep.. I want to confirm whether my order is still in shape or not.. I hope it will and I get my CW soon... I ordered it on Black Friday 27th 11AM EST.. so hoping it stays there... I should've ordered it on 25th or 26th when the shipping dates are reasonable.. I couldn't do it in anticipation of more offers from Sony.. Stupid me.. its already a great deal (with student discount).. should've pulled it and bought it on 26th...

I dont know what to buy if it gets cancelled.. I really want a laptop with Nvidia card as I need to use CUDA.. Cany anybody tell me some budget laptops under $1000 with a good Nvidia card like GT230M.. preferably Sony, Dell, HP. I dont think Dell has any but in HP those quad editions are there but I wouldn't buy a i7 laptop anytime soon. I really hope the order wont get cancelled (ya.. jet black here too ). Probably I would buy this again with extra 50 for GT230m and no bluray this time. The $100 off coupon cant be used again to buy another CW right?? only for other models??

 

if you look around you will be able to find sony CW's with the gt230 for cheaper than what Sony has it for.

and yes, you can use the 100 dollar coupon on another cw

 

Thanks for reassuring reply. I would still buy this laptop again and again even if sonystyle acts like a jerk..cause its a really a nice laptop with good balance between style and performance. I guess the 100off coupon and student discount wont be stackable but the price would remain the same. I hope they get their GT230's soon.

Not a conspiracy theory, it seems to me that nvidia is the culprit here. I dont think nvidia has proper inventory management.. thats why you see lot of companies getting rid of nvidia cards in their laptops.. Right now in Dell the noly one that offers nvidia cards are studio 14z with 9400M and Alienware M15X with 240M and 260M (they are giving 260M for free now - 1499 for an Alienware I would buy it in a snap but given the weight of it, I dont know.. have it carry my laptop in school a lot). HP only has nvidia in quad edition laptops and Sony had it only in CW series. nvidia if you dont do better than this,, then your boat will be bought by Intel

 

I'm pretty sure you can use the student discount with the 100 dollar off coupon. but the problem with the GT230s is Sony themselves don't even know when they will order or get more of them. That's the problem because I think they are going to focus on the new. and put these laptops are such good prices.

and yes SonyStyle.com is great for blu-ray. I really am going to regret not having one but there was no option anyways. and SonyStyle aren't really jerks but just weird for canceling on orders instead of making them backorders or giving a better coupon then 100 dollars. but I don't blame them. They really don't know when they are going to order more GT230s. Why make people wait when you can just make them angry now haha

and yes purple's are cool for their GT230's hehe.

 

I think for a while Sony was sending a card worth 100 free music downloads. Are they still offering this?

 

Just spoke to Sony Style customer service on the phone about my CW order that I placed on 11/29/09 around 5:00pm. It is still be processed and NOT being cancelled. The estimated ship date still has not changed for 12/22/09. This is the icy white CW190CTO with the P8700 processor, Win 7 Home Premium, 4GB of RAM, the GT230M graphics card, and the Blu-ray disk playback. Also configured with the extended battery. I received a call reference number from the Sony Style representative. So everything seems good to go. BTW, this is with Sony Style U.S.A.

 

This site alone gives my pc gas. Sony's site had my computer looking at me like, "...Really. Are you serious."

Right now, I'm looking at the same config CW as yours but for 899 and found a $20 coupon mentioned on this site. Is there anything better out there? ...I've looked. Much to my pc's dismay.

Yeah, when I was able to build a CTO, the P8700 was the one I was shooting for. But now, I can't get the GT230 (unless I like indigo). The options I'm seeing online (for 899) are, at best, with the P7450...

Ummmm...

So, what coupon is this?

 

Also purchased on Nov. 27. They said my CW is still on track to arrive by Dec. 15, and those users who had their orders cancelled should have already been notified.

I was told it was simply due to them not knowing when they would get more chips from Nvidia, and the CW's would again be for order in the near/somewhat future, but due to the uncertainty over how long/short that would be, the orders were cancelled rather than backordered.

Most likely it's easier on the back end there, allowing users to either A) wait and reorder or B) buy a different system elsewhere.

 

That is what I was told by a rep as well.

 

It sounds like it'll take longer than a month then... And, what about the blu-ray players?

 

the 100 dollars off coupon was from sony canceling on you. So if someone wants a coupon, I still got mine lol.

and I did price matching on several websites and got it dropped from 899.99 to 799.99

 

It'll take longer than a month for the people who had their orders cancelled and want to wait for sony to restock.

The people who ordered before the 28th can still receive their laptops since they ordered another batch of 230Ms for that group.

 

The rep didn't mention anything about running out of blu-ray players though.

 

That's pretty nice. You don't need to wait weeks now

 

Thanks The Northern Forest. Excited to be joining the family next week haha

yes that is a great plus. not waiting forever. would of been nice if sony could of told me last week and i would of had this laptop by now but still. cant really complain anymore cause of the prices. i just hope jr.com doesnt cancel my order out of no where like sony did lol. even though they said they had 2 left in stock at jr.com. so i bought it over the phone and next day i check the website, its off the website so yeah. but i'm pretty sure JR has their online ordering system a lot better than sony does lol

 

I don't know, i bought my laptop at an official retailer Vaio (same price, and no problem ).

 

Oh, the coupon's to be used on their site, I take it? Like, for another computer?

I'm guessing timing was on your side when you found your sale. I'm getting 879 at best right now. ...And thats limited in number.

EDIT: Yeah, JR was one of the places I was looking at. Must've missed it, the 899 P7450's gone now.

 

yeah the sony coupon of 100 dollars off any any sony vaio besides one. but the CW is included.

and timing. not really. You have to just call around and price check and match them all and milk them for it. I def. know that 879 is not the best price for the vpccw18fx but is a good price. I think anything under 900 is good. including tax and shipping.

edit: (updated for DocDavid): Check other websites. Like MicroCenter and NewEgg and stuff. Just places with no tax or something and see if they can price match. and yeah i guess JR has no more black ones but does have red and pink haha or you should do that deal that had 20 dollars off of 899.99. thats not bad either. Just imagine you could be getting this laptop by next week. Way nice.

 

Lol, yeah. My computer's trying. She really is.

 

And thanx for the shopping tips too, btw.

 

no problem, sonystyle had me in a vice but luckily found a way out of the sadness but yeah i had to disable like every single plug in and addon in firefox just to get it to run decent smooth so i dont kill myself lol

Good luck on your search and hopefully you get off of that comp soon. Some computers are just meant to be retired forever.

Edit: Updated again: haha yeah maybe I just got lucky with JR.com but I think it might just be the sales rep cause when I first ordered the guy only lowered it by 40 dollars and I was like is that the most you can go? And he's like yeah it really is. so I ordered it but then called again this morning and talked to someone else and got it lowered down and somehow she forwarded me to the same guy again cause I had a question and it just seemed kinda funny since yesterday he said 40 was the lowest he could go and she just made it go even lower

JR.com has won a customer. In my book.

 

Lol, so I just got off the phone with Datavision. I'd asked if they had any coupons or discounts avail for the vpccw18fx and was told there were none. Now, I'm not much of a bargainer (person-to-person), but I asked twice. No mention of the $20 coupon mentioned on this site a few pages back...

 

So, Sir, my predictions were right, u would be getting ur laptop by next weekend. Although the source has changed the laptop hasnt