Official VAIO E Series Owners Thread

mklasse: Yep, 3,86 GB of usable RAM :/

Mythdat: That's good news I know I'll keep overclocking mine to 650 Mhz when playing demanding games.

dooper: I haven't felt any heat at all from the underside really. Like I said earlier, I have an Asus (A6ja) that you can't use in your lap while wearing shorts or boxers because it'll burn your legs. The EB isn't even close to that, even when gaming. I'd say it can get warm but not really hot, but I'll try it some more and see if I change my mind.

vvik75: I think Windows has settings for making text and icons bigger, so you shouldn't have any problems. I have the 1366x768 screen so I haven't tried it though.

 

Thanks a lot for the quick answer guys. Just for my better understanding:
If I have a 1920 x 1080 screen, I can do the following to display stuff in 1366 * 768 resolution:

1. I can lower down the resolution to 1366*768 using the display settings of Windows.
But then the picture will be worse like on the native 1366*768 screen. Could any of you post a screenshot to compare? I am afraid if the picture is worse, then it is not the perfect solution for me, cause I am mainly using the less resolution for everyday things.

2. Scale up windows to display menus and fonts bigger. Does that mean only to set the font size bigger on the Appearance settings? But then the icons and menus will still remain small, right? Do you know where can I find more examples on this with screenshots?

Still not sure if I should go for 1920 x 1080 screen, as I my current PC has 1366*768 and I am quite OK with it ...


Many thanks,
V.

 

Using not native resolution on notebook except for a bit of gaming is terrible idea. It'll look surely ugly. Also for work I would prefer to have more space. Do you have bad sight, that you would like to use lower res?

And they are talking about DPI scaling. You can see, how it looks in reality here.

btw, I'm using 1600x900 on 13.1" screen and 1366x768 on 11.1" screen right now and it's not too small at all. I didn't even adjust the DPI.

 

Maybe some new glasses needed vvik75?

 

Hi Guys,

no need new glasses , just having my final questions before ordering. Actually I never had a 1920 x 1080 resolution 15.5 screen and just worried a bit if that is a good choice or shoudl I stay with 1366*768. My budget allows any of them.

Thanks for the link Metsn, I think this is what I was looking for. So if the icons are small for my eyes, all I need to do is to use DPI scaling, right? Then the picture quality will not be worse and all my problems are gone.

Might be a stupid question then: why people are not buying then the higher resolution screen? Is this only because of money or are there any other disatvantages I should consider?

I am planning to order an EB one with i5 520 and and the Radeon 5650, the only question is now which screen to get. What do you think?

Many thanks again,
V.

 

What do you guys think about this?

 

I don't think it'll make much difference in battery life. It's true that everything can be made smaller, but you'll always end up with less space. You'll not easily scale pictures on the web pages, you'll have less space in PS, Word, ... You will see less from PDF file etc.

Also it seems that the low res screen is much worse quality that the fullHD. Also the low res screen is using CCFL backlight, while FullHD is LED. When I saw the low res screen in person, I felt like I didn't see such bad screen on Sony laptop for some time.

Except the budget, the reason for the low res screen can be gaming. You will not be able to play some games maxed out on FullHD.

 

Hey folks. For anyone who lives in the US, Officemax is offering the "bare bones" version of this laptop for $569.99 on March 7. However, I will pass on this deal after hearing about nuisances on the keyboard and the screen. For all who are interested, I recommend you to jump on this deal the moment it's available.

 

Thanks for the heads up!

 

Unfortunately it is only available in white.

 

ntrisKKT: What do you mean about the keyboard? I personally love the keyboard on this laptop.

 

hi,Iwant to know that:
is it possible to change wireless card from atheros to intel ultimate-n 6300 or advanced-n 6200?
on february i bought cw26,it was very good but mine had problem and service centre did not have any stock so they refund my money and I bought 3 days ago eb16fg.
My cw26fg had intel advanced-n ,It is faster than atheros .
And one more thing: Is it possible to change cpu to i5-520 because i saw in bios that it has an option to enable intel vt. (did they solder the cpu?)

 

Based on reviews that I read from owners, they mentioned about the slight flexing of the keyboard and how their hands would occasionally slip off their keyboard whilst typing. No owner I've seen was thrilled about the screen either.

 

Thanks for your great help. Final question. I would definitely like to use the neotebook for gaming too (30-40% of the time).

I seen a couple of gamer notebooks with 15,5 screen, but some of them (ASUS G60J) has 1366x768 low res screen, some of them (MSI GT640) has hi res. 1680x1050. So I did not get the answer ....

I heard that some gamers like the low res. screen to run games in max native resoltuion. So where is the truth now? What happens if I have the
1920 x 1080 screen? Can I still run games in lower esolution for a better performance? Or this will cause worse quality at the end?

MAny thanks,
V.

PS: this is what I found at the review of G60J, so which one is better now????


"Asus has equipped the G60J with a 16 inch display and a resolution of 1366x768 pixels (HD). This comes as no surprise as this is the current trend. However, the user must ask the question: Would it not be advantageous for me to have a gaming machine with a higher native resolution? One reason why a higher native resolution would be better would be that it would allow a better overview of the open windows, and thus allow the user to work more efficiently. Windows 7 can work better with the restricted desktop space than Vista, but WSXGA or WUXGA users will not be satisfied by just that.
Users who enjoy playing games would argue that a higher native resolution would actually do more harm than good on a gaming machine. This is because there is a trade-off between resolution and graphics details. Higher resolution usually means worse graphics details and slower performance in-game. So most gamers prefer setting the resolution lower and enjoying good graphics details and faster performance."

 

That's surely true. It's always the best to play game on native resolution. It's also nice to play it maxed out. In that case lower resolution is better, because this is not real gaming machine and it'll not be able to run some new games on FullHD. You'll be able to lower the res in the game, but the quality will be worse than on native screen with lower resolution. For everything except gaming I would prefer high res though.

 

Thanks Metsn,

you were great help. As this model is not really a "game power" one, I think I will then go for the lower res screen, that would be then fine for all the purposes. I am watching movies anyway on a flatscreen TV, so that would be fine too.

Cheers,
V.

 

I'm interested to know about this also, for future option to upgrade (tho it might be very hard to get mobile processors).
That said, isn't Intel VT is standard on all Core ix chips? It's not exclusive to Core i5 and i7 only is it?

If you don't play games so much and can live playing game not in the screen's native resolution, then maybe you should opt for the FullHD version. Like metsn has mentioned, the screen is better and it has LED backlighting (and you said budget is not an issue right?)
But if you play game a lot and expect to play them in the screen native resolution (especially power-hungry games), then maybe it's better to get the lower resolution version.
Sorry to confuse you even more

 

In the meanwhile I called my good friend. He suggested the same as you. If I play games only one or two days a week (like counter strike source) then I will not really recognize that the full HD screen looks worse when playing in 1366x768 . He said if you watch it from a couple of centimeters then you will see a bit, otherwise you will not. Same story like watching flat screen TVs from very short distance versus normal distance.

Soooo then I think I am going for the full HD screen.

Do you agree guys?

 

Definitely agree

And I'm quite sure you'll be able to play Counter Strike Source in native fullhd resolution

 

I haven't felt anything like that on the keyboard, like I said I love it. It is true however that the screen is only standard for this price range and not as good as Sonys more expensive X-black.

 

Agreed re: the keyboard, I think it's fantastic. Zero flex anywhere, not even around the optical drive.

Zero complaints about the screen either (I have the HD version). Sure it's not quite as good as the X-black, but that's in a 'premium' laptop, the EB is a mainstream laptop.

 

Haha, indeed! I think the 5650 will manage CS:S.

 

Thanks guys.

 

I just got back from Sony Style where they finally have the EBs on display, and that's complete BS about the keyboard flex. It's solid as a rock, as most scrabble keyboards will be. You'd have to be drunk for you fingers to "slip off the keyboard." That's simply comical and borders on intentional misinformation -- I wouldn't trust anything those "owners" had to report.

I do agree that the screen was nothing special, but not disappointing for a budget laptop. I found it to be sharp and colorful, and my primary criticism is that the viewing angles should be at least a little better.

Overall though, I was impressed with the build and quality of the EB. I'm definitely getting a gunmetal black one when they become available. Sony's release of this laptop and all it's colors sure has been a Charlie Foxtrot.

 

Where are people seeing this option for the "HD version" of the screen? I've messed with the configurations on the US Sony Style site and haven't found that option.

 

JR.com is selling the EB with the 1920 x 1080 screen along with the 1366 x 768 screen.

Here are some of the Full HD versions :

http://www.jr.com/product/productCompare.jsp ( Link expired, must go to direct site. )

 

Ahh, thanks. Wow, that's a ridiculous price difference. Not worth the extra $200 for a 15 inch screen in my opinion.

 

What do you mean $200.00 extra ? The same Sony Style configuration that you must CTO to get the same specifications as the JR.com model cost $920.00 before tax. I don't see where there is a $200.00 difference, unless of course you were hoping for the stripped down budget model without Blu ray, discrete graphics card, etc. but with the Full HD screen.

 

That's exactly what I was hoping for.

 

I have a question:
I saw that after I shut down my notebook(eb16),next day after I turn it on the battery led become on and after I enter the windows it show me 97% of charge remaining and it become charging.Is it normal?
What is the problem??

 

So 3% of battery drain over night? That's perfectly normal, at least for Sony notebooks

 

If they will offer different paint jobs (I hate gloss) I might consider one, but I guess that won't happen here in Belgium, we always get stuck with ugly colours (we never had a black sony vaio sr for example, and now they released the S version, which is only available in black, but not in silver -_-').

 

Don't you have the matte silver lid in Belgium? I saw them in many countries in Europe. The palmrest is glossy though...

 

Hello t everyone, I will be hapy to see some photoes of owners Sony VAIO E-series , especially black or brown.
tnx

 

The model came filled with annoying pre-installed software and I'm going to do a clean-install of Win7 64-bit. Is there anything I need to know before I do this? The model is VPCEB1S1E/BJ.

 

Make sure you have your drivers on a stick or on a cd or look it up on the sony website.

 

hi
There is no driver for e series on sony-asia web sites.I found in sonystyle us's web sites original driver for eb16fx that is same as eb16fg .even there is driver for windows xp .
but i want to know that this driver is for xp 64bit or 32bit?bcus I coud not find any thing about that.

 

Is it possible to change wireless adaptor?

 

You know you can edit one post right?

It's usually written for which version the driver is, but most of utilities are for both 32/64 bit. Btw, why do you want to install XP, obsolete and not supported OS? Also if you're trying to install x64 version, it's possible you'll have many problems with new drivers. Do you use some old software, which doesn't work well under Win7?

And yes, in case of most of Sony laptops it's possible to change wireless adapter, but if you'll do it by yourself, you'll lose warranty.

 

Hi Guys,

I walked in to a department store and tested the difference of standard vs full HD screen ... the difference is obvious, so ... I ordered my full HD one today at https://www.sonystyle.co.uk !

Thanks for your help again!
V.

 

Good choice, welcome to the club!

 

I've placed an order for one today.
They received a batch of E-series yesterday and the top of the line version has been sold but the display unit. So I've placed an order for a new one that will arrive on wednesday.
It's the EB17FG model with Core i3-330M/4Gb/500Gb/ATI Radeon 5650/Bluray/Full-HD.
Can't wait!

 

Just received my EB17FX/B a few days ago. I usually would never preorder a brand new line of laptop, but with the way the CW seems to have been received and it sharing lot of hardware with the EB series, I went for it.

Now the original install, a recovery effort and 2 clean install attempts later I'm close to RMA'ing. The sad part is that I can't be sure whether its hardware-related or not. Maybe I'm just hoping it isn't hardware because I do really like the thing.

I'm getting Windows Update not being able to run with a service is not running error (even though it, BITS and every other service required is plainly started).
And this is even after a clean install with only a few basic drivers (chipset, SATA, graphics) installed. Or after a recovery using the OEM system as shipped (I've been clean installing onto another 2.5" HDD and swapping) Both HDDs can't be bad and in fact both test out fine with HD Tune.

I get Windows Search service terminated errors (on the OEM setup).
I get SFC errors on either setups.
Other odd problems like corrupted folder association so I can't open folders with Win Explorer and WiFi drops about 10-20 times a day.

And IDK if its just me, but it seems like nearly every driver I download from Sony's site installs with a digital signature problem. And I can't believe even Sony would upload a mess of drivers meant for an x64 system that weren't signed.

All this points me to some kind of data or drive corruption, but as I said, both the original Samsung 500GB and the Seagate 640GB test out good. Mem tests out fine, leaving me with SATA controller or some other hardware problem.

Now here's my question (and hopefully my saving grace , are the SATA drivers on Sony's site for EB series the same corrupt ones mentioned in this thread, second post? The version is 9.5.4.1001

Please let the SATA drivers be corrupt and not the controller be bad (or any other unpleasant possibility).

 

Hey Mythdat,

How long did you have to wait between ordering and dispatch?

I ordered on 28th Feb, and I have an estimated delivery of 22nd-26th March. Just wondering if you had a similar long-range estimate, and whether it ended up arriving long before?

Hope you're enjoying the new laptop.

Cheers
Oli

 

I ordered on Feb 10th, and it dispatched on the 26th. Their estimate told me it would be dispatched between 26th and 3rd, so it was pretty accurate. When I ordered it did say 3-4 weeks, though - so it came before that, at least.

 

My laptop is on the way too. It has left the factory and on its way to the distribution center.....come to daddy. Not more than a few more days I hope. My fingers are itchy

 

Shame, I was going to order one of these badboys for home use as it's the closest thing I can find to the Vaio FZ series...

Customised one on SonyStyle UK,

Intel i5 2.40GHz (520M)
6GB RAM
ATi Mobility RaedonHD 5650 1GB Dedicated Memory
320GB (5,200 rpm)
Vaio Display Plus HD1080 1920 x 1080
Brown

Then I add a Blu-Ray writer and it says it's out of stock

If I phone them tommorow and let them know my situation surely I can pay now and then they send out the configured model to me when the part comes in?

Anyone else in love with the Brown??

 

Are all the wristpads glossy? I'm in the uk and need to get one before April I want the higher video card but it says it's going to take 4-5 weeks ,any one recieved it earlier?

Also does anyone know what the return policy in Sony centers are for laptops ?

 

Yer I'm pretty sure all the wrist pads are glossy, how are people finding this? I hear the premium F series model has the same kind of style but they are made of hard rubber and emulate a leather look, I think that would have been a nice little touch to have one these laptops.

Also yes I have seen some posters that have had their laptop a couple of weeks before the website suggests, it's only a few pages back if you want a look

 

I have been looking at this 2 new models from Sony and cant seem to decide on which one to buy.


Here's the link to Sony SG website showing the comparison.Note that this are configurations of the notebook for Singapore market as I'm buying there.

http://www.sony.com.sg/product/Compa...dels=VPCCW25FG

I will list the pros and cons of each model based on my needs and opinion.

CW
Pros:Lighter
LED backlight
Longer battery life

Cons:Cost $100 more
3GB Ram

E
Pros:Bigger screen size
Better video card
$100 cheaper
4GB Ram

Cons:No Led backlight(According to the comparison sheet)
Heavier
1366 x 768 Low resolution for a 15'
Shorter battery life


I will be using the notebook for school and at home.I do play games like L4d2 and BFBC2.The ati 5470 on the E series is comparable to what desktop gpu?

Im leaning towards the E series as it is cheaper and has 4gb of ram and better gpu but the screen resolution doesnt look good on paper.I know its a new model but can those who have it give me a review on it?Would also like to know the viewing angles etc.

Lastly how does the laptop construction and build quality compare to other notebooks?Are they at least comparable to the higher end Sony models?