Official VAIO SR Series Owners Thread

is there a way to make it so that when i open the lid, it comes back on from sleep without having to hit the power button? (most laptops are like this.. so im assuming this may be a power option??)

 

Hi guys,
I'm very interested in the SR series, the SR21M/S in particular (european model, so it seems).

Specs in short:
P8400 2,26GHz, 4096MB RAM, 320GB 5400rpm Serial ATA HD, DVD+/-RW DL, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 256MB VRAM, 13.3" WXGA, Vista Business

I've seen the SR19XN and liked it very much. I'm actually quite confused about all the different SR-models. The prices on sonystyle.de and models listed seem to change frequently. Furthermore, I can't find a review for the SR21M/S.

Is this the same model as the SR19XN, only with different specs?
I have the possibility to acquire the SR21M/S for 1170 euro (1475 US dollars) - is the price justified?
I read about the SR19 having extremely crappy sound - would this be true for the SR21M/S too?
I also read about the display being very glossy - is this true and if so, does it irritate/is it a problem in everday usage?
How long will the battery last with these specs?

Sorry for the big number of questions, but I simply couldn't find any information on the net. Thanks for your help!

 

Please list the specifications of all of these models...

Generally, second revision of notebooks have kinks and problems worked out, so presumably some things will be fixed, but the screen wont be less glossy and almost all 13.3 inch laptops have junky speakers...

Almost all laptops have super glossy screens... doesnt bother me and i used to have a matte screen thinkpad

 

SR21M/S:
P8400 2,26GHz, 4096MB RAM, 320GB 5400rpm Serial ATA HD, DVD+/-RW DL, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 256MB VRAM, 13.3" WXGA, Vista Business
Official Price: 1299 Euro / 1637 US dollar

SR29XN/S:
P8400 2,26GHz, 4096MB RAM, 250GB 5400rpm Serial ATA HD, DVD+/-RW DL, Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500MHD, 13.3" WXGA, Vista Business
Official Price: 1299 Euro / 1637 US dollar

SR29VN/S:
P8600 2,4GHz, 4096MB RAM, 320GB 5400rpm Serial ATA HD, DVD+/-RW DL, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 256MB VRAM, 13.3" WXGA, Vista Business
Official Price: 1499 Euro / 1890 US dollar

I don't get why the 21M and the 29XN are priced the same as the 21M has better hardware.

thebigpants27, could you post a picture of your SR in operation regarding the glossy screen?

 

that's because the 21M has the ATI card (a $100 upgrade in the US) and the 29XN doesn't.

well here's some pictures i took of my SR..
I had some very bright lights on when i was taking the pictures..
<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width='800' height='533' flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Flilaznboi8%2Falbumid%2F5247779002470059633%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>

 

Sort of random, but I'm about to install XP on my SR129E (the very first Newegg one) since I just noticed that Sony consolidated the drivers for my model. However, the drivers they posted have Intel WLAN drivers, whereas my laptop has an Atheros AR928X adapter, as listed by Device Manager. Could anybody help me find XP 32-bit drivers for this wireless adapter? I can't find them on any website that seems legit. Thanks in advance.

 

ccutlip, try the SR XP downgrade guide I posted earlier today. I know the Atheros.cz website looks shady, but I've used their drivers and everything works perfectly (I have the exact same model as you bought from newegg). The drivers are absolutely legit.

 

Does anybody have the arcsoft magic-i visual effects software that comes with the SR??
I don't have it anymore, and would love to get it back..
if you have it, I'd really appreciate it if you can upload it!
thanks!!

 

TonytheTiger: ah, thanks.. somehow I didn't see the different gpus..

 

You're welcome

well here's the link to my photo album..
you can go here if you can't see the pics i posted in my previous post
SR190CTO Pictures

 

Figured i'd post up since i've been reading this thread for a few weeks now and finally ordered my SR290 =)

- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53GHz)
- Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit
- 4 GB DDR2-SDRAM
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3470 with HDMI™ Output
- 160 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [5400 rpm] (ordered a seagate 320g 7200 rpm drive off ebay for about $60 to swap out when I get it)
- Blu-ray Disc™ Read and Write Drive

All for $2165.25 w/2 accessories and 3 year warranty +tax with the $300 off for 2 accessories and the discount for being a student. Now I just need to wait about 2 weeks before I get it =( hehe

 

How were you able to get the $300 of coupon to work? I am trying to order one right now with that coupon and it's telling me that it is "temporarily unavailable".

 

are you adding in extended warranty too? I know that was part of the deal. You also need to pick 2 accessories at the end of setting up the computer.

 

Hi all
I ran CPU-Z
and it says that my RAM are running at 400MHz instead of 800MHz??!
can somebody run CPU-Z and see if yours is running at 400MHz too?
thanks

 

Hi Tony. Just want to ask if your SR has an HDMI output. I noticed that in your previous post, you mentioned that SRs with ATI gpus have one. Mine doesn't. Many thanks!

 

Only the new refreshed SRs have it (the SR290 models)
Mine doesn't have it either

 

Oh, got it wrong then. Again, thanks!

 

You're welcome
and welcome to NBR!

 

So I was messing with Vista's services with the goal of making start up faster...and ended up making it take about twice as long to boot. So, I finally got fed up and downgraded to XP. I think I'll stay this way till Windows 7 comes out. It now takes me ~40 seconds to boot with 23 processes at startup.

 

Can anyone tell the difference between the SR's LED screen and other VAIO LCD screens? That's the whole point we SR owners paid an extra $300~$500 for.

 

Holy Crap! 23?
Lol I miss the XP days..

 

Umm what are you talking about AFAIK all SRs have LED screen..
and the screen wasn't really a selling point for the SR.. since sony put a ECO screen in it.. instead of a highcolor or a duraview.

 

I know the SRs use LED screens, I just wanted to know if anyone can tell the difference between a LED screen and a LCD screen.

 

This is kinda late, but thanks for Tony for the welcome.

 

I think you might be confusing LED with OLED?

The LED backlit screens in SR series still use an LCD panel, it's just that instead of using a fluorescent lamp (CCFL) as backlight, they use LEDs. LEDs are more power efficient than CCFLs. So LED screens tend to be brighter for the same battery life (or long battery for roughly equivalent brightness).

 

hi SR owners.

I have a simple question. How durable is the screen? could it hold up under the intense pressure of books being squashed against it, jammed pack trains with people squashing you (and your carry ons), how scratch resistant is the lid..etc

 

Eh, well it is extremely thin and flexes pretty noticeably when open (i.e. I can see it bend if I try to open/close the lid from one side), so I'm not sure if it'll take "intense pressure" without bending into the keyboard. In reality, though, I don't really see people on trains being able to break it without trying.

As for scratch resistance, it's held up pretty well--it's painted metal, as I found out when I scraped it against my drywall, but it seems pretty durable, since that scrape is it's only mar. Hope that helps.

OK, now for a question of my own: My wireless is acting up in XP. It often hangs on "Acquiring Network Address," and will occassionally just randomly stop loading internet pages even though it still says it's "Connected." Anybody recognize this issue and have a fix?

 

you're welcome
i hope you're enjoying it!

Well it's flexible to protect the screen... like another forum member said before.. if you drop something hard and something soft to the floor, what breaks first?
I have been abusing my laptop for 2 months now, I just throw it in my backpack with a lot of books in it, and it's still holding up just fine. But I don't know about how it will hold up on the train though...

Have you tried turning off the A mode for the wireless card?? just leave it on B/G/N and leave the A off..

 

Wait, how do you turn certain bands of the wireless card off? Would I do it through the device manager in XP, or what? My router is set to broadcast n-only and other networks I need to connect to are g-only, so any help with turning the other bands on the card off would be appreciated!

 

Yeah go to device manager
right quick on the wireless card
go to properties
and then go to the advanced tab

 

hey everyone

i need some help here. i just returned my new macbook alu..the unibody is really awesome but the display is certainly NOT. to be honest it s*cks

i think i'll give the sony sr a try (display should be better) but i'm confused..why can't i order a black one? the german and uk sony shop has non listed

well nonetheless i decided i'll buy this one:

Notebook SR29XN/S Core2 Duo 2,26GHz 4GB RAM 250GB 13,3" LCD

i don't want to play, i just want good battery life! but on the german sony shop the Notebook VGN-SR21M/S with ati gpu says 4 hours battery life and the sr29xn with X4500MHD only 3.5 hours.
this should be vice versa, right?..

Edit:

oh no, seems like only the Notebook VGN-SR21M/S Core2 Duo 2,26GHz 4GB RAM 320GB 13,3" LCD (ati) is available right now

i still could buy the Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN 13,3" C2D P8400, 3GB, 160GB, Vista Busi & XPPro for 1109€ ...the sr21 and sr29 are both at 1299€..need advise

 

illian, funny you bring up the display as a weak point. I actually seem to find the sony dispalys quite weak.

How do ppl here with the SR find the screen?

I currently have a Vaio SZ (last yrs model) and despite the cost i find the screen quality extremely poor - basically dark and not as vibrant relative to cheaper base hp, compaq models.

 

I'm coming from a Toshiba Satellite laptop, and I find my SR's screen a substantial improvement. Most especially, it doesn't turn into a mirror the minute any sunlight streams into the room. I also really like the contrast and the color vibrancy, and don't see it as any poorer than most other laptops I see in stores. I think the SR's screen is supposed to be an improvement on the SZ's screen, but I'm not sure how much.

Mine is a Toshiba Matsushi*ta screen, LTD133EWZ. If you're interested, I can post pictures of my screen? If you know of any tests for screen quality, I could do that too if you're interested.

 

@Lattice

oh that would be awesome

i would really appreciate it!
(btw. do you have the ati or intel gpu, maybe you could help me with the battery life as well )

@jimmyb

well take a look at the new macbook display:

img91.imageshack.us/img91/9287/p1000791vx3.jpg

forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=587739&page=18 (first pic)

pics say more than words

 

Sounds good. I'll post some pictures tomorrow because I won't be home until later tonight, and I'd like to show the laptop with sunlight as well.

I have the ATI GPU. Are you interested in battery life? I don't run the most optimized setup for battery life since I'm mostly plugged in, but I could test it out for you as-is.

 

i'm interested in battery life..but i'm not sure what to chosse: ati or intel. if the battery life is a lot better with intel then i'll stick with intel.

thanks again lattice

@everyone else:

what is the black color like on the display? is it real black or more blue/grey?

 

thanks guys. pics would be very helpful.

illian, that pic is terrible haha. now i see what you mean.
Lattice, no idea about any color/screen quality tests. Does anyone else here knows of any? and thanks for offering to post some pics

 

Well, I googled and saw some tests that Anandtech did, but it seems to require extra hardware on top of software (which makes sense, the laptop itself can't tell if it's not displaying colors accurately!), so that's a no-go. I'll try to post pics of the laptop with various backgrounds/images, though, including the full black background!

 

that would be great Lattice. A picture with a plain white background would be nice to see.

Ill try taking a pic of my vaio SZ and compare them with the ones you take. My vaio right now has a huge yellow tint to all colors, particularly white, making it extremly hard to focus and read on - to the point im thinking of throwing it in the garbage. I hope the SR is better.

 

Has anyone tried doing the semi clean install on a 290? don't know if there are any differences but when you do it through the recovery discs I have no idea when to stop it so it doesn't install all the junk. Any ideas? I stopped it when it was somewhere on disc 3 and there is nothing on my computer and everything seems to be working but I do have a ! over network controller. Any ideas when I should stop it? I'm trying to find a 64 bit vista I can use to do a clean install but wanted to try this out first.

Thanks

 

that's not gonna work out... lol
different cameras different white balance different back lighting... etc etc..

 

Yeah, Tony's right. The camera itself makes a world of difference. I can't find my beloved Canon camera, so I had to make do with my crappy Kodak DX4530. Pictures are not the greatest. It's a "for dummies" camera, so I can barely adjust any settings at all. =( Anyway, I've attached the pics I've taken. I wish I could describe how much better the screen looks in real life. Note: The blurriness in the three scenery (autumn, flower, and island) desktops are due to the fact that the wallpaper itself is stretched for the widescreen display, not because of the screen itself.

 

Your pictures look kinda pale :/

here's 2 more i took a long time ago..

 

I weep for my Canon camera which seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Your pictures are much better and definitely closer to what my display looks like in terms of color, though!

 

I used a Canon

 

thx so much for the pictures

how is the viewing angle?

how much battery life can i gain with the intel integrated??

 

The colors distort a bit when moving from vertical/horizontal more than 40-50 degrees, but it doesn't affect visibility much for me prsonally. (For example, the area under your username turns pink when I change the viewing angle vertically and it changes green-ishly when I change the horizontal viewing angle).

 

sounds better. when i changed the viewing angle just a bit on my macbook the black turned to grey at the bottom and to blue at the top...really bad!

 

I've heard people getting over 5 hours of battery life with the intel igp

 

wow nice!! how much battery life are you getting?

thx in advance