Official VAIO E Series Owners Thread

well in the past when I've tried playing around with speedfan, the AMD processor starts to creep up in temp, made it to about 55-56, the fans in this try hard to keep it below 50, I can see why AMD aren't so popular with notebooks, they're hot.

it goes quiet at idle but when I browse the web they spin up frequently.

 

I recently ordered an eb series and had a question about ram. I've read through a lot of this thread, but wanted an opinion on the ram I'm looking at. I'm assuming a lot of people in this thread have opted to upgrade ram themselves and saved a hundred+ dollars. These are the two ram options I'm looking at and I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts, for or against, or any better recommendations.

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBSQ
Newegg.com - CORSAIR 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9


(my build)
I'll be taking this laptop overseas with me and it will be a portable workstation for me, I'll be using a lot of 3d modeling programs, vray for rendering, and a lot of Adobe software especially photoshop, illustrator and indesign. (thus the need for 8gigs of ram)
Product: US-VPCEB390X-LBOM
Component: Large capacity battery
Component: 2GB (2GBx1) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
Component: ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650 GPU (1GB VRAM)
Component: Intel® Core™ i5-580M processor (2.66GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.33GHz
Component: 15.5" Full HD VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080)
Component: Matte Black
Component: Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit
Component: 500GB Hard Disk Drive (7200rpm)

 

Catalyst 10.12 is out with driver version 801. Release notes not available yet, though

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/920...e/10-12_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc_ocl.exe

 

Hey mythat,

Hope all is well - have you installed these yet? How are they? Have you noticed any major differences aside from the ui?

Thanks

 

Hi all.

I have a question concerning the switchable graphics. I got my EB today with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650. Now, how can I switch between the onboard and the dedicated card? Thanks!

 

Did you really think you could do that when you purchased it? Hmmm. My understanding was that the E-series was not configured for switchable graphics. I accepted that, since every design and price range involves compromise, and lack of switchable graphics made sense for me, since I rarely use battery power except as a temporary measure.

Then again, if there IS a way to configure switchable graphics, I'm VERY much interested....

 

Anyone ? I tried to search in google but without success

 

No UI changes yet - CCC2 is only part of the desktop release preview, as far as I know. They're running smooth, haven't noticed any major changes but no problems either.

As kidziti said - you can't, I'm afraid, the E-Series doesn't have switchable graphics as the Intel IGP is disabled. As far as I understand it, the laptop would have originally been conceived with switchable graphics in mind, but ATI were dragging their heels with support for it and NVIDIA Optimus systems beat them to market. So in the end it was pushed out without switchable GPUs. A few other laptops fell into this, like Dell's Studio 15 and 17, and Acer's 5940G, then ATI's switchable graphics finally arrived a few months later.

 

Just bought a VPCE B33FM/BJ for my wife.

And I'm competent, but not an extremely expert computer guys. So two questions:

1) Looking for a link to a "clean install" guide that would be pertinent to this computer. Some of the links I found in this thread are several years old and I'm worried about their applicability.

2) I'd like to expand the RAM. Could someone link to:
a) good expansion RAM to buy (on newegg or amazon)
b) a how-to related to expanding RAM

Any other tips or pointers would be helpful! Thanks.

 

1) How to optimize a semi-clean install

2) crucial.com - they have an online tool that will examine and recommend the best memory/configuration for your VAIO.

Cheers

 

Thanks! Two followups:
1) Is "How to Optimize Any Sony Vaio Semi-clean Install" still pertinent even though the last edit was in February, 2009.
2) What's the consensus on RAM expansion for VAIO's? Having read through more of this thread last night, I don't see it as something that most people are doing. Are most people finding 4GB's enough? It seems like expanding to 8GB would represent a good Performance increase for relatively low cost. But maybe not. What are people doing?

 

Hi, Scalp -

I see the last post to the thread as being 10-27-2010, 07:43 AM - in my book, that makes it a contemporary topic still.

When you ask "Are most people finding 4GB's enough?", I'd turn that question back to you and ask "Are YOU finding 4GB's enough?" A gamer might find 4 GB's insufficient, while a document worker may never realize the performance advantage over even 2 GB's. I have 4 GB, and can expand it obviously but see no need to unless I feel the laptop hitting the stops. At that point, I'd probably go ahead and double it, and in the meantime the prices for memory would have either stayed the same or decreased.

Just my $0.02.

 

" A gamer might find 4 GB's insufficient, while a document worker may never realize the performance advantage over even 2 GB's."

This is funny. A gamer will almost always find it sufficient whereas a document worker might absolutely see the benefit (excel.)

I agree with your post though.

 

I dont even find 6GB enough because I am always in situations where I have Adobe Premiere and Sony Vegas editing 1080p videos and an x264 conversion also running- my RAM usage goes to 88%....but on idle without pagefile, ita at 55%

 

Hi guys, I need your help here.

I want to install some linux distro ( Fedora, Arch or Ubuntu) as the primary OS instead of Windows 7 so I've been thinking of totally nuking Windows 7 out of the laptop.

So here is some questions:

1 - If I dont want to use Windows any more, can I give the serial key to someone else? And if I can, how can this guy install Windows 7 when I dont have any Windows 7 DVD?
2 - I really like splashtop, so if I remove windows 7 from the laptop, am I still able to use the quick web feature ?

I'm looking forward to your answers.

 

Hello,
I have a problem with my one month old Vaio EB. The network connection is not working, it just says limited connectivity, no internet access. On the icon in windows taskbar there is a yellow attention mark. It's the same thing through wired and wireless, and I've even tried a separate usb wifi dongle - same problem. Internet is working fine wth other pc:s in the same network. In the splashtop quickboot browser internet works fine.

I have also tried setting the ip manually, removed the lan and wlan-cards drivers and reinstalled them, and disabling/enabling them. But nothing of this has helped, I also don't think I have Bonjour service installed, that is presented as a common problem sometimes. I think I got this problem after my adsl modem was rebooted. I also had the same problem earlier and just did a factory reset to windows, but I would now really like to find a solution to this.

Ideas, anyone?

EDIT: nevermind, I got it working. McAfee was blocking the connection for some reason, edited its settings a bit and now it works.

 

G'day all.

Right, I have my Vaio and my SSD all ready to go. I'm going to make the recovery discs tomorrow and then, hopefully, get my SSD in and going.

I've just had a look around in the startling simple Vaio BIOS and I can't see any mention of IDE/AHCI settings as I want to ensure it's set to AHCI before installing Win7. Any ideas why I can't see it/will it be there when I put the SSD in?

 

It's enabled, don't worry, you don't need to set anything

 

My solution for cleaning up a new PC (VAIO or not) is very simple. Find out/google the description of every tray app. Disable/uninstall the ones you don't need. Use msconfig or similar utility to examine the service that start. Google each name and see if you need it. Scan through the list of running processes and disable the ones you don't need. This will take about an hour of your time. Also make sure to make OS restore discs.

 

1. You can't do it legally. The copy of the OS that comes with OEM computers is meant to be used only on those computers. Technically, you may try using the key on other systems.


I used to be big on Linux a long time ago, but now I rarely use it. So, instead of nuking windows, I restored the system to factory setup. When you do this, you have a chance to repartition the hard drive. I made 50GB partition for Windows 7, 50GB for Fedora Core, the rest is the D drive space, where I put my Windows 7 user account. The Linux boot manager takes care of OS selection on start up.

 

Excellent, exactly what I wanted to hear .

 

Actually, I dont care much about the legal issue, in my country, you can get a copy of Windows 7 ultimate everywhere for less than half a dollar. I just want to give my Windows 7 to my sister, she doesnt know much about computer and is about to go to Europe, so with a genuine Windows she will probably encounter less problems.

So the remaining question is that, how can I give the OS to my sister when I dont have any "legal" DVD of Windows ( I can get the illegal very easily) ?

And after removing Windows, am I still able to use the quick web feature?

 

Yayy got my machine finally !

Over the weekend, I blew away the factory Win 7 Home and installed Win 7 Professional x64 with the Sony essential drivers only. Loving my new machine.

 

Unfortunately we do here - discussing piracy isn't allowed on this forum.

Yes, you can install it from the recovery DVDs.

 

Woop, got my E-Series and SSD all running.

My WEI is:

Processor: 6.9
RAM: 5.9
Graphics: 6.7
Gaming Graphics: 6.7
Primary Hard Disk: 7.7

Is that roughly what everyone else is getting? My specs are:

VPCEA3C5E
i5-460
4GM RAM
HD5650
Vertex 2E 240GB

Can any more performance be squeezed out of the GFX? After installing the SSD and drivers, I allowed Windows to install my ATI Driver; is it worth updating to the 10.x driver?

 

Hi Jason,

Hope all is well. Congrats on getting your machine. Glad your enjoying it!

As you can see from my signature I have a very similar machine to yourself and just wanted to find out if its defo worth getting rid of the factory installed windows 7. Have you seen a massive difference in speed and performace? Hows your startup / boot time?

Also which method did you use to upgrade your windows and sony essential drivers.

Many thanks

 

I'm unsure what version number the windows driver is but when it comes to video cards installing the windows driver maybe isnt the best, I'm using the newest 10.12 and everythings running great. Don't get me wrong your WEI number is correct for the 5650 but that doesnt mean your getting the best performance in games with the windows driver.

Ati Mobility 10.12 64bit drivers

Otherwise your index figures look right, the specs in my sig give me:

Processor: 6.8
RAM: 6.8
Graphics: 6.7
Gaming Graphics: 6.7
Primary Hard Disk: 7.5

 

Hi,
What's the general consensus on the E-series, specifically the EB ones?

Is there a lot of wifi card options?

Or just Intel cards? If so, which ones and how many?

 

Ta for that. How would I go about rolling back/removing the Windows driver? I've heard a lot of horror stories about installing GFX drivers over the top of existing ones. Or can I, in this case, just install the 10.12 driver over the Windows one?

 

I usually uninstall the Ati software from the control panel menu, delete any Ati folders on the C:\ drive and in Program Files (and x86 one) then use a program called Driver Sweeper to finish off the rest, reboot and then install new drivers.

However I guess with it being a windows update install things might not work like that, I would go ahead and install the 10.12 over the top then if you have issues you at least have the folders in place to do a full removal as mentioned, theres also some way to delete the default ati drivers so it doesnt auto install on reboot as I have done it to mine but will need to search for how to do that.

Update: you can find good removal procedures HERE including how to delete the default windows driver, the guide is from someone who makes modified ati drivers but I wouldnt recommend using them I'm sure his desktop versions might be good but I've never had a good experience with his mobility ones, so official 10.12 I say.

 

I just got my EB laptop. I got the Push2TV adapter; it's connected with my LG HD TV. The laptop sits on a table about 8 ft from it.
The problem is I keep getting colorful stripes that streak across the screen every few seconds. It's very annoying. I tried changing the resolution, but that didn't help.
Anyone else have this problem? now how to fix it? Please help!

 

Why in the world do you have this Push2TV?? Doesn't the EB already come with a HDMI port?? It seems like you may have been misinformed but you should take that thing back to where you bought it and get your money back. Unless you have an older HDTV that doesn't have an HDMI port, I see no need for you to have that box.

 

Hello there,

To be honest, I haven't seen a huge difference. One of the reasons I need to have 7 Pro is that I do programming and need the extra features (II7, etc). I was able to get Win 7 Pro from school for free so I am lucky to have it.

My bootup time has improved though. I usually remove most items from startup like Adobe updater, java updater, etc etc in the msconfig utility (you can go into start menu and type that in Run).

One thing, the Win 7 pro version I have is not an upgrade but full retail. I am able to do a fresh install without a hassle.

I also installed all the drivers from the Sony site for the memory stick ports, Intel chips, ATI card, webcam, Alps touchpad, etc.

The only Sony "software" I installed was the VAIO Control Center and "shared library" driver in order to get the FN keys to work.

It takes a little time but definitely worth it. Let me know if you have anymore questions because I know there are not many on here with the EC.

 

How else are you supposed to get your laptop display onto your HDTV wirelessly? I know I can just plug the HDMI cable from my laptop to my TV (which has 4 HDMI ports). But I want to do it without the wires!
BTW, downloaded an update from sony for the graphics accelerator thing. Still having the problem.

 

OK, just fixed it. Incase anyone else gets the same problem. Well, I didn't fix it, Sony did. With remote access, the tech support girl reinstalled the wireless driver. Intel has an update. Anyway, it works perfect now.

 

Really chuffed with my E-Series now I've got everything up and running again.

The screen is really nice, though I'm still getting used to 1600x900 rather than 1680x1050 (thinner!).

It's very snappy and responsive, more so now I have my SSD setup correctly, boot time with various programs/AV is roughly 30 seconds until usable which is great.

Furthermore, the keyboard is very sturdy and satisfying and the smooth, perspex wrist mounts are very comfortable. Also, my FN keys for volume and mute seem to work without any Sony software whatsoever which is a bonus!

 

Hi all.
I have the vaio eb with an i5 580 and for a certain application I would like to disable hyperthreading in the BIOS. However, there was no option in the BIOS to do this and I did not find any BIOS update, that would allow me to do that.

Has anybody tried to disable hyperthreading or knows where the option in the bios is?

 

Hi all, I've been reading through this entire thread and have found it very useful. I have ordered an EB (I'm from UK) with the following specs:
-i3-370M 2.40GHz
-English (QWERTY)
-White
-320 GB Serial ATA (5400 rpm)- changing to an SSD
-4 GB 1066MHz DDR3-SDRAM
-Blu-ray Disc(TM) player
-39.4 cm LCD, 1920x1080, webcam
-ATI MobilityRadeon HD5650 1GB
costs £659.02

I got an email saying the laptop has been built and will be shipped out to a warehouse then dispached. The original delivery estimate was 20 - 25 dec so cant wait!

Anyways on to my question. Does the EB series come with an LED screen? The 14 and 17" model showed LED screens but not the 15" one I ordered. Its not a deal breaker for me but i just want to confirm.
I'll probably have lots of more questions once it arrives as this is my first laptop Thanks to all the helpful people!

EDIT: I also plan to use the radeon bios editor to flash the 3D clocks to the correct speed of 650MHz as per here: http://www.amd.com/uk/products/notebook/graphics/ati-mobility-hd-5700/Pages/hd-5650-specs.aspx
and also install win 7 ultimate (for encryption)

 

I'd think twice about flashing the bios straight to those speeds, remember the Vaio isnt simply downclocked, its undervolted, so the best thing you can do is use a software method to overclock like MSI Afterburner or AMD GPU Clock Tool.

At the very least use them first to test wether your card will handle 650mhz as every card is different, then once you know its fine if you really would prefer it changed at bios level you have at least verified it can handle it.

 

Ok thanks, I'll be sure to test stability before flashing. 1 more question, does the i3 370m support virtualisation? and do you know if the screen is LED or LCD?

 

Temi_D

I had this dilema before I ordered mine and spoke to a number of Sony Customer service reps.

I can cofirm that the UK EB - 15" laptop does not come with LED backlighting. Its infact CCFL backlit but what I have heard it that there is no difference in quality.

Hope that helps.

 

You can't flash with RBE anyway, the VAIO doens't have an individual GPU BIOS, it's embedded in the main system BIOS. You need to hex edit if you want to perma-clock it, but it really isn't worth the risk/hassle.

 

Aww man! I was hoping to flash it so I wouldnt need the gpu clock tool running anytime I wanna overclock. btw has anyone tried to use eyefinity on it?

 

I would like to think that the 15" is also LCD. It just wouldn't make sense for Sony to keep using the older fluorescent lighting technology anymore. LED is simply the lighting being used BEHIND the LCD screen. All laptops are LCD regardless.

 

Hi i just got my vaio ea today and there are a few things i need help with

How do you check what harddrive speed you have

how do you overclock the graphics card (hd 5650 1gb) (I tried AMD GPU clock tool but it says no devices found)

how can you check which blu-ray drive you have (I ordered the writer, i know its blu-ray but i dont know whether its just a reader or writer)

also the fan is fairly loud (c3/c6 is enabled i already checked)
I read in an earlier post that the latest bios driver makes the fan loud, any idea on how to downgrade the bios?

 

You need a certain version to work with the 5650, THIS one should work fine.

I use the latest bios and my fan is still nice and quiet unless I'm gaming, I have an EB series tho.

 

Go to my computer, right-click either you hard drive or blu ray drive, click properties, the click hardware. It will show you the manufacturer and model number of all your drives. Then google them to find the specs

 

oh thats great thanks it says BD-RW which is right

 

This works great, thanks very much

 

Also ive noticed everytime i resume from sleep the colours go washed out then i have to go into catalyst control and reactivate ATI color controls, is thee anyway they can just stay activated?