Official VAIO E Series Owners Thread

Just the standard one.

 

Also interested in this. Very close to pulling the trigger on getting a vaio, this is pretty important. Basically just going to be playing poker/watching movies/browsing/music/msn on it, hopefully all at the same time without problems. Is an icore3-5 and 4gb ram vaio good for this? Speed/looks/quality of the computer is all I'm looking for, and vaios are definitely the sexiest out there. Are they reliable tho?

Thanks.

 

What's wrong with poker? I never thought it's resources demanding. i3 350m is like i5 430, 2.2 GHz does the job, 4 GB DDR3 is also enough, but for a first time Starcraft 2 and Civilization 5 showed me message I ran out of memory (probably, because I turned off pagefile).

 

I'm not big on specs, pretty noobish when it comes to computers in general. I know playing 8+ tables at a time can sometimes slow down crappier computers. I'm not looking to game on it at all really (maybe a little cs 1.6 here and there) so is the i5 overkill? Can an i3 handle a bunch of poker tables/msn/browsing/music etc. just fine?

 

Right now I've got a few apps running:
- PerfectDisk
- Xivid Converter PS3
- Windows Live Mail
- CloneDrive
- Steam
- uTorrent
- Firefox

It works just brilliant. I can assure you it will work well. I have had F11 with i5 520M previously, I see the difference, but only in Windows booting or serious demanding games. Does that poker works in Java or Flash?

 

Does anyone have this laptop the sony vaio vpceb390x?

VPCEB390X | VAIO® EB390X Configure-to-Order | Sony | Sony Style USA

 

your requirements will be well met by the specification so dont worry about it. hey I run up to 3 photoshop windows, 30+firefox tabs, x264 transcoders, google sketchup, tv tuner software and top that all off with one window also running modern warfare 2, so....the eb's even with core i3 are very capable.

 

I undo all screws but I stopped after that. I thought I will break something



I didn't face like this with my dell so I want to know exactly how to unattach it safely.

 

Just slide it left and lift it out, remove the hdd from the bracket and attach your new hdd to it.

 

^
^


Thanks. I was not sliding it completely to left and trying to remove it lol

I appreciate it


Now 28% progress of restoring my system .....

 

I have few questions guys. I have bought Sony EB Laptop with following config


1. Core i3-370M
2. 15.4" FHD
3. ATI Raedon 1GB Gpu

I have mixed feelings after buying this. First thing is Not Good Sound and second thing is not a long battery time.

My question is Is It possible to disable or alteast Tweak ATI Catalyst Manager so that I can disable GPU while working so that i don't need any graphics. and to enable When i Need like watching movies n playing games.


and one more thing is I want to Install Clean Windows 7 Ultimate which i already own it. Please suggest me how to get drivers and all.. Please i want to avoid all the crappy software they have given by default. almost 1.5Gb RAM is used w/o any application is running. so i want to get rid off them. I am not newbie n this but this is my first laptop and mixed feelings. please guys help me

 

you cant do anything about the GPU- power utilization- in fact if you go to the ATI control center, you will note that under Graphics, Powerplay, ATI tunes down your graphics card in battery mode(can also be seen with GPU monitoring software. therefore, the only work around is to get a higher capacity battery. i forgot how to get the drivers for the vaio but I believe they are in a Vaio folder in program files, mythdat knows better about it. I'd copy everything in the Sony folder in program files, then run Vaio system restore/recovery in a clean install, then use it to install drivers/software if needed.

 

Just purchased an EB with i5-460M, 4GB RAM, 320GB (7,200) HDD, HD5470 (512MB) GPU and the 1080p screen in matte black

I see a few people asking for Spyder calibrated profiles for the 1080p EB screen, i'll be sure to post one up when I receive the laptop!

 

Can we use the Spyder profiles also for HD Ready screens? 1366x768?

 

what's this spyder profiles for FHD.. can anyone give me some relevant information

 

1. Create your SONY recovery DVDs if you have't already

2. Go to /Program Files/SONY (or Program Files x86, can't remember which) and find the "VAIO RECOVERY" folder. It will contain VAIORecv.exe. Copy this whole folder somewhere safe (eg a USB key). This will allow you to install drivers and software from the Recovery partition (or recovery DVDs if you choose not to keep the partition when you install windows). You can't install from the partition or DVDs without this folder or VAIO Care.

3. Install windows, install drivers using the VAIO Recovery folder you copied and recovery partition or DVD.

Or,

Just download all the drivers from Sony support. Still create the Recovery DVDs and copy the VAIO Recovery folder, though. It's the only easy way to get value software such as WinDVD BD or restore your system to factory state if you don't keep the recovery partition.

 

Finally I finish my installation with all update crap (I hate when I turn on a new system because all the updates necessary). I make it with the original programs because I want the Photoshop elements as replacement for photoshop (I have a new policy to not use cracked programs if I have the alternative )

Removing many programs which I don't want. Install office 2010 H&S. Install Kaspersky IS. K-lite Codec pack. Winrar. utorrent. and of course Firefox

 

Ok so decided to cancel the order for this one and got a custom one instead from Sony Style: i3 370m ATi 5470 512mb full HD screen 4GB Memory standard HDD.
Just a bit annoyed that only a few weeks ago i could've got an i5 450 from the same website for cheaper (£630 i think) but paying £690 for this one because of the premium price on the new processor.
Regardless, good decision to get custom one instead of the play.com one?

 

to summarise: play.com has blue ray which i dont really need but doesnt have full HD screen and has i3 350m whereas custom one had standard dvd player/writer but full HD 1080 screen and processor is 13 370m. also HDD is smaller on sony style at 320gb (500gb on play.com) but not too bothered about that

 

strictly speaking. there's no big difference between Core i3 and Core i5 Except Turbo boost technology which is mostly used for less time when you are ultimate multi tasker.

 

i have a vpc-ea2s1e and i'm not happy with the battery.
it's a VGP-BPS22 , 3500 mAh battery.
i've looked and found this one on ebay : link

it's from honk kong, what do u think about these batteries? are there any known problems ? in europe a battery from sonystyle, that's 5000mAh it's pretty expensive, around 200euros

 

I wouldnt risk that.

 

ok cool. I do tend to multi task a lot with several windows open but currently running a dual core so should still expect to see a big difference from this upgrade to an i3.

 

Ordered a VPCEB3X5E today, white (non glossy) i5-460m, 4GB, HD5650 1GB, [email protected]", 320@7200.
Estimated shipping date: between 8th and 15th oct.

 

WinDVD seems to not be working. What utility do I use to reinstall it?

edit - nevermind, I just put in the recovery disk and used the autorun feature. It just loads Vaio Care and lists the programs to reinstall. My issue was I did a clean install of W7 Professional and didn't have any Sony software

 

Unfortunately I think it might arrive a bit later than that. I ordered same spec as you (except with i3 370m) on 27 Sept and was originally given an est shipping date between 28 Sept and 5 Oct (which I thought sounded a bit optimistic!). I then got a further email saying my laptop was "in production" and was given an updated shipping date of 8 to 13 Oct. Hope your estimate is right.

General question - would people go for a i5 430m (2.26ghz) with turbo boost over an i3 370m (2.4ghz)? Other than the turbo boost is there any advantage to the former..?

Anyway, looking forward to my nice new laptop arriving because I'm sick of my crappy Acer 5920!!

 

I don't think there is any, feature wise. Actually, it seems the 370m might be faster in some benchmarks.
370m vs. 430m

 

oh, come on, this is just like HP saying that refilling your Ink Cartridges yourself can damage your printer, thats just trash. When the guys in Honk Kong make these batteries, I think they would have the common sense to actually run a few dead simple tests on the batteries at the least. If the batteries were that useless then, the manufacturer would not be able to supply to any sellers- because the sellers dont want them. The fact of the matter is, that these batteries may have something like shorter life spans but all the same, you are paying less. In fact you'd never know, sony could be making their batteries at the same factory. I'm gonna get one soon.

 

Don't be so sure, there were reports of cheap (and not so cheap too actually) batteries taking fire in the past. At least when using the official stuff you are covered.

 

Dude, get real. They will make any crap as long as a few suckers buy them, they won't be interested in refunding your money and they won't be interested when it knackers your laptop!

see here: Dodgy AC Adapter

 

Is the stock 1366x768 led backlight?

 

No it is not

 

The 1366 x 768 screens are LED lit. Visit Sony.com and click on an e-series with 1366 x 768 display. They are LED lit in the specs. Here is an example:

VPCEB3BFX/L | VAIO® EB Series Laptop | Sony | Sony Style USA

 

Does anyone know what is the best color to choose for sony laptop? I'm looking at the sony vpceb390x. The default is gunmetal black. It cost $50 to change the color and they have

Purple violet
Iridescent Blue
Caribbean Green
Coconut White
Lava Black
Hibiscus Pink

Now looking at those color upgrades, i will not get purple, green, blue nor pink. Those colors look so fruity.

Would you guys suggest the coconut white, lava black or just save $50 with the gunmetal black? For some reason, i think the gunmetal black is not really good looking since paying $50 gets you lava black and i feel the look of that might be superior.

I have it tough to choose, white or black laptop for this sony?

 

Does anyone know what is the best color to choose for sony laptop? I'm looking at the sony vpceb390x. The default is gunmetal black. It cost $50 to change the color and they have

Purple violet
Iridescent Blue
Caribbean Green
Coconut White
Lava Black
Hibiscus Pink

Now looking at those color upgrades, i will not get purple, green, blue nor pink. Those colors look so fruity.

Would you guys suggest the coconut white, lava black or just save $50 with the gunmetal black? For some reason, i think the gunmetal black is not really good looking since paying $50 gets you lava black and i feel the look of that might be superior.

I have it tough to choose, white or black laptop for this sony?

 

I would stay with gunmetal black if I were you.

 

I have the lava black on my EA and I would go with gunmetal black if it's available at the store (which I bought from). Lava Black mean Glossy Black which make fingerprints appear on it easily. I am trying to find a suitable skin to cover it

 

you paid $50 to upgrade it to lava black right?

 

I have the white EA series. The keyboard is white, but the rest of the area is a little grey-ish white (like the silver ipod classic colour).

I initially wanted to go with the black colour, but after I looked at it in store model and saw how identifiable dust and stuff were to the eye, I changed my mind. This white colour shows the dust and etc less I think to the eye. And the area of the touchpad doesnt look as cheap with the white one in my opinion.

 

hey jun85. When you saw the store model of black, do you know what kind of black it was? Was it matte black, gunmetal black or lava black?

I think the store model you saw must be lava black because someone mentioned they have that one and you can leave fingerprints on it easily.

Do you like your white one a lot even though its a bit greyish?

 

I dont exactly know what the colour was. It was this one though .

Sony VAIO 14" Intel Core i3-530M Laptop (VPCEA22FXB) - Black - English - Future Shop

Looked like a dark charcoal type of colour. Didnt really catch my attention and I know I woudnt be able to be happy with it so.

But yes, I do like my white one. Im glad it has the grey-ish type colour. Im happy that I didnt choose the black one. If you go look at the model in the store, you'll notice the cheap plastic type quality along the area of the touchpad, but with the white one (nothing different in terms of the material), the cheapness looks less, and more of a clean look. And I guess the lid shows less of fingerprints, although its probably there,...its just less distinguishable b/ of the white-ish grey colour.

But this is with the 14'. I might of had a different opinion about the black if I was looking at the 15'. Even though its probably the same colour with the EA and EB, the physical shape of the 14' with black looked odd, but didnt think that way about the 15'. The 15' was nice, but wasnt really practical for me, so I went with the 14'.

Hope that helped

 

hey i googled it as well. That laptop is the matte black. I'm assuming the matte black is same for both the 14 and 15' laptops?

 

I didn't paid anything. It was a pre-configured model. They had pink and lava black in the store at the time. So, I make my decision to get black. (I liked the white when I saw but it was i3 model )

 

This link shows the glossy color (Lava Black)

I think this photo is more related to the Gunmetal color



It's color goes to dark gray more

 

Got another network issue!

I've just had fibre broadband installed and the PC downstairs maxes out at around 35MB (wired) where as my laptop maxes at around 24MB through wi-fi. I have enabled wireless N on the card and the router has N turned on by default (BT Home Hub 2.0).

Something that is intriguing though is that when I look at the connection properties it says the network speed is 65mbps, aint it meant to be something like 150mbps for N? afaik the drivers are up to date.

Any help appriciated.

 

Make sure your channel bandwidth is set to 40mhz or Auto rather than 20mhz.

 

I have looked almost everywhere on the router but cannot find this setting.

 

On your wifi adapter's settings, not the router

 

I also looked there, these are the options I am presented with:

802.11b Preamble
AdHoc 11n
Network Address
Receive Buffers
Scan Valid Interval
Transmit Buffers

 

would you guys suggest the matte black or lava black then? someone mentions the matte black has a cheap looking shiny palm rest that is plastic.