Official VAIO SR Series Owners Thread

From all the reviews I've seen for all the new sony laptops the performence seems to go with FW ATI 3470 256mb > Z Nvidia 9300 256mb > SR ATI 3470 128 mb > Z Nvidia 9300m 128mb.

 

Hmmm, is it now? That is interesting. I guess in terms of DDR2, the 3470 would own the DDR2 version yeah. But GDDR3, yeah, I could see it working better.

I can't wait to see what benchmarks people get on their Z's when they get them finally. I guess I am wondering if the FW's 3470 can address all 256 mb of that dedicated VRam? Can it? I wish the SR had 256 mb. >:

Z was never an option for me though, as I couldn't save up enough money for one. xD

 

oh, the GPU in the SR is only 128mb? :| Not good...

 

Yeah....

Uhm, it's enough for what I do. I play Fiesta/Rose Online/etc Games like that.

You have to remember, it is Direct X 10.1 compatible though.

I just wonder if the 3470 in the FW can address all of that 256 mb Vram though. As the 3470 is only a 64 bit bus, it should only be able to address 128 mb fully anyway.

 

any SONY Sr users doesn't has battery drain problem ??

ILoveMoogles !! do you have battery drain problem while laptop is off?

 

Hmm screw the U330, the processor is not worth it, but the seemingly huge price drop in the T400 is interesting, i customized a quality t400 at $1200, that when i customized the same yesterday is was like $1600. Interesting

 

Here's what the GPU guide has to say about VRAM:

And

I think whatever amount of VRAM a laptop comes with, it's going to be limited by the ATI 3470's 64-bit bus. And quite honestly, if a game is demanding enough to *require* 256 MB VRAM, the 3470's probably not a good enough card to run it anyway. As far as cards go, it's top of the mid-range, but not anywhere near performance/high-end levels.

For wohsedis, where did you find the reviews that had the 9300M outperforming the ATI 3470? The 9300M also has a 64-bit memory, so if it's a slower card than the 3470, I can't see the added VRAM helping it out enough ot outperform the 3470.

In my personal opinion, if you're going for more gaming power, the SR is the one to get.

 

The HD3470 on the SR IS better than the 9300GS on the Z

9300 GS -- Core speed: 550
Memory speed: 700
3DMark06: 1500
Bus: 64

HD 3470 -- Core speed: 680
Memory speed: 800
3DMark06: 1933
Bus: 64

 

Here's ibm's sl400 with 9300m gs with 256

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4512

benchmarks from itmedia site.

http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/pcuser/articles/0807/24/news037.html

I found it interesting that despite the cpu difference they both got 2200 in 3dmark 06.

Of course we should take 3dmark06 scores with a grain of salt but these are the only things I can go by so far.

also the 9300m gs 128 mb does perform worst than the 3470 which was what I expected, but I didn't expect the 9300m gs 256mb to perform better than the 3470 128 mb. I was thinking that the 3470 at 128 mb was still better than the 256mb 9300 gs but I guess I was wrong

i really had a hard time deciding between the sr and z because i wanted the better of the 2 gpus but so far these benches tell me to pick the z with 256mb.

theres also some benches of the z's 9300m gs 256 mb here :
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2008/0730/hotrev369.htm

but they ran 3dmark 06 at 1024x768 which scored 2500

 

Huh, that's what I thought. I had read those synthetic benchmarks, and I think that's what I was drawing my conclusion on, really.

But I dunno about GDDR3, but I don't know if those are benches in GDDR3 or what? I can only assume, as the SR gets close to that score on 3dmark06.


And, no, I haven't seen any battery drain problems. My battery always has the same amount of charge as I left it. The stupid vista time counter isn't right... but I don't think it ever is.

 

you can see the drain problem when you remove you battery from AC adapter and turn it off while the battery is 100 % charged !!!

and after 8 or more hours start your laptop with battery ( without AC adapter )
and tell us please if it's battery still 100% or 94 % or what ??

please do this to see if my laptop has this problem or all Vaio sr the same

 

Honestly, I don't think it'll make a difference. I don't think it's the actual SR itself that is draining the battery. I don't think there are any extra components that are in it that would make me believe that it needs battery life when it is turned off. Anything that does has its own little batteries.

I think that the Vista software doesn't measure the power right for what settings and stuff that it is. And besides, most people get over 3 hours with ATI card on battery, and that's with Vista telling them they only had 2:40 left.

I really don't see any problem with mine, but then again, I'm a computer freak. I'm on any computer that I can use everyday. (I don't leave it alone for more than 8 hours, I only sleep for like.... 5 hours a day usually.)

 

it's ok 5 hours it's ok or 4 just i want to know if your battery still 100% while laptop is off or not !! because mine drain 1 % every hour while it's off !!
but please leave it without AC adapter and when you turn it on again turn it on without ac adapter too !! please please

 

If I use the AC adapter to turn it on, it always says 100% charge, but as soon as I unplug it, it goes down to about 95% charge, ALWAYS.

When I start it up on the battery, it always ends up at about 93%, 3% being for the boot, and 5% for that battery adjustment which isn't correct.

 

Perhaps it's some defective batteries and some 3rd party batteries will solve this issue. But I doubt it, as this has been reported on Sony laptops for a long time across all models.

 

that what I need !! thank you very much !! it's a problem coz all other laptops have vista and they don't take that much ( 1 or 2 %) in one night !! and if you let your laptop for 4 days without AC adapter and try to turn it on with battery it will not turn on and it need AC adapter to turn on coz the battery is 0% after 4 days !!! this not problem ??

 

I wouldn't know if it does that, but I wouldn't think that it should lose a full charge in 4 days. I would expect more like, two weeks+ as estimation, might be longer.

But seriously, I don't think that it is much of a problem. I have a feeling that most of the SR owners are going to be using their laptops frequently enough to not really see any kind of a non-use discharge problem.

 

alright, so i was able to compare the sr and the z side by side at the sonystyle store... imo, the sr was a nicer looking laptop. the z was more compact, but didn't really feel any more sturdy. IF i were basing my purchase on aesthetics alone, i'd go with the all-black SR... for what it's worth

that said, considering price and total package, i'm probably going to get an all black SR.

 

I called sony Support !! they told me !! it's a problem and they don't know about it !!

and they will send me a new battery !!

hope it's will be just a battery problem !!

and they told me that i have to send my laptop if the new battery has the same problem !!

and i'm sure after 4 or 5 days you can't use your battery without AC adapter and you can check !!

on night (7 hours )!! my battery from 100% to 93 % and then i shut it down again

after 8 hours ,, turn on my laptop without AC adapter !! the battery was 87 %
!!!

 

Hmm, I dunno about that. I mean, this whole battery thing has happened on OTHER laptops in the past from Sony.

I think it's just unknown for the model. I really don't think it's the laptop though.

Honestly though, it doesn't matter to me. I play games most of the time, so I need to be by an outlet anyway. I keep a good eye on the percentage too, so I know when it's time to plug in the lappy or not.

 

has anyone done a clean install yet? i want to do one on my SR to be, but never done one before....

 

Well, the 3dMark scores for the Z with 9300M GS 256 MB also have a 2.8 GHz CPU and as far as I know, none has been done with that CPU on the 3470, so they're not useable for direct comparison.

The Lenovo SL400 review is better for comparison.

The two SR reviews I've found had 2019 & 2042 as their 3DMarks with the 2.26GHz CPU, and 2 GB RAM and the ATI 3470 with 128 MB. The Lenovo SL400 with 2.26 GHz CPU and 2 GB RAM got 2,211 3DMarks with the 9300M GS.

So, it looks like there is a bit of an improvement (~200 3DMarks) on the 9300M with 256 MB VRAM vs. the ATI 3470 with 128 MB VRAM.

A note on the Z's performance, though - if the same CPU were used, the Z's higher resolution (1600x900) would likely mean the card doesn't perform as well on it as it would on the Lenovo SL400.

 

The silver SR looks really beautiful (I dare say more beautiful than the Z and black SR). And it's cheaper in the US. Not too sure if I like the white keys though, but white keys probably stay cleaner/newer than black keys. Wasn't there originally a silver SR model with black keys?

 

How come we don't get this SR model in the States?

 

Both the Lenovo and Z590 ran the 3dmark at 1280x800 so to me it doesn't seem like the cpu effected the scores much since they both ranged in the ~2200 area, but I could be wrong. There isn't a break down of scores for the SL400 so it's harder to tell.

The Z also had raid ssd vs the 5400 rpm hd of the Lenovo. Don't know if these had any effect on the score.

The PCmark scores show the difference in the different cpus between Lenovo and the Sony but the 3dmark doesn't show that much difference.

I would like to see a 2.8ghz with an ATI 3470 score to be more conclusive but no one has one yet.

 

Ah, that's the one I got over here in Asia. Silver with black keys. I thought you guys at the US would be the same, but it's white keys instead?

 

Yeah, it's white keys here. Bummer. What is the palmrest made of on the silver SR? Is it also plastic, or is it aluminum?

 

ive really been checking out the SR and think im going to be ordering this pretty soon

http://i36.tinypic.com/1zel7as.jpg

 

i saw them last nite... plastic.

 

Huh - we only have silver bodues/black keys here. I'd prever white keys - better to type in the nite.

 

I've actually been looking at that very same setup.

 

dannywong, howd you get so much discount??

 

isn't that the student discount promo they're running right now?

 

Wow that's pretty pathetic. I bought my SR on the 16th last month.. didnt get it till Aug 4. And 12 days later I could have gotten it for 200+ dollars less...wow.

Anyway,...

How the hell did he get that price? I configured it with a TWO year warranty and it still came out more expensive. Is that USA?

EDIT: His plan isnt accidental damage covered.

 

I think you have to get at least 3 year warranty to get that discount

 

There's a couple things I forgot to do when ordering that you potential buyers should remember or consider, in order to not be stupid like myself:

1. First is to double check all the specs before pressing purchase--I ended up not getting the free upgrade to MS Office because of this. I called right away to correct it, but once the order is in, you can't change anything, not even the address.

2. I saw the $150 credit option when paying by Sony credit card and disregarded it because it seemed like a hassle. But after buying, I tried out the Sony card option and got approved right away, only to close the confirmation window and lose my account number. From other threads I've seen, the credit is applied within a couple weeks to the card, and you can then cancel the card. Note that a hard credit check is likely done, but only temporarily reduces your credit score by five points or so.

If I would have taken advantage of the above two options, the total price would have been $1240, including 3 year accident coverage (last weekend was a tax free holiday where I live)! So I'd say now is as good time as any to buy an SR. Just don't screw up like me.

note: the specs were integrated graphics, basic ram and hard drive upgrades, no other software.

 

And I chose the SR over...

1. The Dell M1330 because the 1330 looks a bit weird with those black bars on the top and bottom, and anecdotally has poor build quality.
2. I also chose it over the HP dv4 and dv5, because the dv series has a touchpad that is grabby if your fingers are at all moist, and the entire computer attracts fingerprints.
3. And I actually considered a Macbook running Windows, because I really like simply designed laptops, but the mac wouldn't offer accident protection and is more difficult to get used to for a longtime PC user.
4. The Dell Latitude e6400 and upcoming e4300 were the closest competition. The only reason I didn't get one of those is because I didn't want another black computer after having a couple the past few years. But they look excellent, have US-based customer service bundled, and are about the same price as the SR.

For other people who are choosing between a 14 or 13 inch laptop, there was one other thing I did that was useful. I went to Best Buy three different times and immersed myself in comparing the two screen sizes, trying to emulate as best as possible my usual usage (i.e. sitting at a chair and typing in word, listening to music, and browsing the web for hours which isn't possible at the best buy). This became embarassing after a bit, and I just went with the 13 inch because people seem to like it well enough for usual tasks. But during my stint at Best Buy is when I noticed that the black bars on the 1330 got on my nerves after a while, and that the bling bling look of the HP did as well.

Oh yeah, as someone else mentioned, the SR is $100 less than the listed price when you actually start customizing it.

 

To get that discount on the SR, you have to grab 2 items off their accessory page as well as a warranty. It basically adds up to $300 worth of free stuff and you pay the extra.

So you could get a mouse, neo-prene bags and a 3 years basic warranty for under the $300 limit($292 iirc). If you bump it up to the accident one, it pushes over the $300 limit and you pay the difference. So with the above image, you'd end up paying an extra $70-80(plus tax) to go 'up' to the 2 year plan with ADH care.

 

hey duke, have you posted a review of the sr? if not, what are your impressions of it now that you've had it a little while?

 

I looked at an SR today in SonyStyle store, the screen flex was huge!

the display model had a permanent lean/sag, the screen was bent basically, worrying!

 

Wow thats pretty, reminds me of the air. Wish we had that color combo in the states.

 

Just ordered the SR!!! 2.26Ghz, 3Gb RAM from PortableOne. This forum really helped. Though it was way above my budget, I just couldnt help it. Was thinking about it since 15th July, the day it was launched!

 

has anyone tried to do a clean install and got an error message using the intel graphics driver from sony's website? where do i get the correct driver? It tells me that it is only compatible with vista, and thats what im using...

 

My SR *finally* got back to me!

Question now is, what programs/bloatware do I get rid of? 80 processes when first booting up is... kind of ridiculous. I vaguely remember seeing a list of programs and functions somewhere in this forum, but I can't seem to recall it.

 

I haven't made a review. I posted my impressions here in this thread someplace... Sorry I'm REALLY tired right now lol.

In a nutshell:

Pros: Everything about it except..

Cons: Flex in right palm rest (minor issue)

ATI card solution only ghets 3.5 or less hours on battery. i wish it was like 5 hours oh well my fault i should have gotten integrated

wish the screen went SLIGHTLY brighter... no biggie though

SPEAKERS SUCK. PERIOD. Headphone output is great though.

DVD drive is somewhat noisy

 

thats the one i looked at yesterday in the shop, but i still think i'd prefer the black

 

me too, prefer black. by the way, I don't see screenflex as a problem Z, SZ and TZ have it too. big time. the sony led screens are flexible.

 

anyone with the aussie sr16 know what speed the ddr2 ram is??? is it 667 or 800. also i gather you get additional free 1 gb stick - is this 667 or 800.

thanks

 

Do Portable One SRs have 667Mhz RAM? I hope its 800mhz, cuz its not mentioned anywhere in their config.

 

SR memory runs at 800Mhz, no matter where you buy it.