Official VAIO SR Series Owners Thread

Yes I have, but I haven't noticed any difference though :/

Def! this laptop is amazingly fast and good looking

 

Thanks for answer Tony,
So I decided to buy new brand Sony Vaio SR 39

 

SR390 is a great laptop..its been a week since i got it..the mode switch option is too cool..my desktop is clean now...the graphics are also too good...

 

Hello,
Do you have battery drain problem like this?
Topic is here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=282258

 

hello all

Just got my SR390 CTO. Everything works great so far and am getting used to Vista.

One thing it's bothering me is wiggling / loose battery. Anyone else have this issue? I am hoping a new battery might fix?

 

I adjusted high performance profile for battery mode to the same option values as for AC mode.
But gaming and HD-video fps still is much less when power cable is disconnected. How to reach maximum performance on battery?

 

I think all SR models are like that

Go into advanced power settings and change minimum cpu state to 100%

 

Thanks Tony! I feel bad since I requested Sony send me a new battery

May be putting a thin foam tape might help with the jiggle.

 

Thanks, but not helpful.
I try to playing 720p@30fps quicktime file and when disconnect the power cable frame rate decreases to 20 fps.
All options are the same as for AC mode. CPU load 60%.
Have ATI 3470 hardware h.264 support? May some energy saving options of video card bring this effect?

 

ATI option in Canada is officially no longer available for the SR. Tried to order one today and was quite disappointed. Guy on the phone said no SR390 coming like in the US, next refresh isn't until summer.

 

I am extremely with the SR290. But I did a couple of upgrades:

1. Upgrade processor to P9600
2. 4 gig ram
3. OCZ v2 120 gig SSD

It doesn't matter whether I run Vista or WIndows 7, the performance is incredible, at least to me. After doing a few registry tweaks, both OS's boot up in less than 30 seconds. Vista take about 40 seconds to shutdown while Windows 7 shuts down in 5 to 10 seconds.
The first battery test lasted a little over 4.5 hours on Vista. I have not had a chance to test Windows 7 runtime yet. I could probably get a little more time, but again, I am happy. My Internet connection tethered to my PDA is fast as well. I am mostly on the road getting calls to fix something, so 90% is Internet. But I also needed a decent size screen for support and to burn CD"s. The best part is it cost me less than $2,000.

 

how did u replace the processor? was it simple? i would like a few tips on that as i will do it eventually. pictures would be nice too.

thanks!

 

Sorry, I didn't do it myself. I bought it through eBay by someone who does upgrades on new laptops. And it was an SR390 not an SR290.

 

it's unfortunate. i did notice a price reduction where the base model SR290 is going for $1199 Canadian (around $930 US) http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/se...ategoryId=100497&navigationPath=n32009n100299 i was expecting / hoping for an SR refresh equipped with a low-end ATI Mobility HD 4xxx in the March / April time frame. ideally, the SR would have a Mobility HD 4530.

 

hi guys, i want a new sony sr390 but i dont know if the large capacity battery extends the size of the laptop...i need to know that!!!
THANKS!!!

 

I think I have a dead/broken pixel. Whenever I'm on a white screen theres a dot that is a brighter white than all the others. any ideas?

 

it raises the laptop

 

there are pics of it here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3838556&postcount=554

 

It could be a stuck pixel. try googling it and you'll find some suggestions on possible fixes like massaging the screen.

 

Can anyone here please tell me what the fastest drop-in processor is that I would be able to upgrade my SR290 too? Right now I have the P8600. Thanks.

Also, does anyone know what brand SSD Sony is using in the Z?

 

hi
can i ask, how to format Vaio VGN-SR13GN?
i think my laptop has been infected by some virus.
i cannot open my control panel, thanks.

 

Create the recovery discs and boot from them.

 

probably the T9800

Samsung

 

Tony is correct. if you look at the list of Micro-FCPGA socket support cpu's, the T9800 is the highest.

http://processorfinder.intel.com/List.aspx?ProcFam=2643 (select Micro-FCPGA package type)

there is also the "extreme" line of mobile cpu's (and even a quad in there), but those are 45watt and probably not a good idea to put one in an SR.

 

for those with p series processor and uses rmclock for underclocking. what is the operating temperature of ur processor at idle and also the highest u have seen it go understress?

with my t series, it shows min of 36`C and up to 48`C on rmclock.

 

one more question as well... how do i proceed about exchanging a defective battery? my battery wont charge over 93% ever.... it would just go up and down around that area and charge forever.

 

A new owner of SR here, SR290JTQ specifically. Bought it for over $1200 and Im a happy customer. Here are some of my first impressions and experiences.
First of all, boy, people were not kidding when they said sony puts A LOT junk on the laptop. The first 4 hours were spent creating recovery discs and cleaning up the computer. I deleted all the sony crap since i definitely wont use, and cleaned the registry off the stupid AOL crap. Poor buyers who just want a laptop but have little understanding of computers. With all that junk computer felt very sluggish and and shutdown/boot up times were pretty long.
The build quality is very solid, except in a few areas. My old hp dv5t was a finger print magnet, so im really liking the texture on this laptop. But there are few areas where it doesnt feel like a $1200 laptop especially from sony. One is being plastic cover that covers internet cable jacks, it feels cheap and it keeps falling out, if it keeps doing that im just going to glue it in since i use wireless. Other is the battery. It doesnt go perfectly in. It keeps sliding out a little bit, and feels wobbly. So im a bit disappointed in the build quality, my a lot cheaper hp laptop felt very solid with no wobbling parts.
The best part is the LED backlit screen. It is so bright, thin, and beautiful that im in aw. Didnt try watching any movies yet, but the uninstall screen looked very nice while i was uninstalling all the junk.
But overall im satisfied, there are minor annoyances but ill try to ignore them.
I have a few questions though. Is this a dual video card laptop, one integrated and one ati dedicated, if so how do i switch between them? I know it has the ati dedicated card, but im not sure if there is an integrated for better battery life.
Other thing is it possible to delete the recovery partition and merge it with the main hard drive, without reinstalling the whole OS?
Thanks.

 

Hey guys, first post here. I just ordered a refurb Vaio VGN-SR290 from the Sony Outlet and it's set to be delivered on Monday. Here are the specs:

Processor : Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53GHz)
Graphics : ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3470 with HDMI™ Output
Color : Night Black
Display : 13.3" WXGA (XBRITE-ECO™ technology)
Security : Trusted Platform Module / Biometric Fingerprint Sensor
Wireless_Local_Area_Network : Wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
Camera : MOTION EYE® Camera
Memory : 4 GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)
Hard_Drive : 320 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
Optical_Disc_Drive : Blu-ray Disc™ Read and Write Drive
Battery : Extended Battery
Operating_System : Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit

I am very interested in wiping this thing clean and starting fresh. I've never used Vista so I'm a bit nervous. I have the XP Pro disc from my current machine to fall back on, but hopefully that won't be necessary.

Oh, and I also ordered a 10ft HDMI from NewEgg to fire up that Blu-Ray.

Anyway, look forward to chatting with you guys in the future. Haven't poked around much but this seems to be a great community and thread. Cheers!

 

The SR does not have dual video or hybrid graphics. you have the ATI, so its a dedicated HD3470 256mb ( link). At first glance I thought the SR had dual because of the "mode" switched they advertise and because its so similar to the "Z", but it doesn't. Im pretty sure you can remove the recovery partition, but make sure to burn the recovery disks as soon as possible before you do anything else. there is a sony utility installed that will do that. It might be easier to burn the recovery disks, then do a clean install without all the bloatware.

Dont worry about vista, its not as bad as the hype its gets. some things are nicer like the media center, desktop gadgets, icon sizing, photo files have the actual picture as the icon, and some of the GUI is nicer. you can always kill unneeded processes and services and do some tweaking if your worried about performance. you have the "T9400" cpu which has 10w more draw than the "P" series so your battery life may be a bit less, but since you have a better cpu and 6mb cache it should perform pretty well.

make sure you guys sign up the the rebate to get your goodies.

 

I have a P series and the temperatures were usually in the low 30s - 31-33/34. Never seen it hit 40

 

Thanks S.Prime!

I would have preferred the Penryn chip but for the deal I got I couldn't pass it up.

What is this rebate? Do purchases from the Sony Outlet Qualify?

 

Congratulations OhDima on the purchase.

Like S. Prime, I say you don't have to switch to XP. Vista's ok, and since you've got Home Premium, that's a good version. If you can get the Business or Ultimate versions though, so much the better.

 

I second that

 

Thanks guys. But yeah what is that rebate thing? I tried to fill out the form, but it says its for business, im just a poor student, can i still get those rebates?
Thanks.
\Edit: heh, nm i threw away the shipping box, so no rebates for me, but i dont mind.
Also trying to install Windows 7, will report how it runs. Expecting it to run a lot smoother especially without the sony's crap on it.

 

What is a good way to stick the rubber feet besides taping it one of my rubber feet is coming off?

 

liquid crazy glue. just a dot underneath and re-attach.

 

Yes you can still qualify for the rebate.

 

Well, so far so good. I really love this thing, and the only problem I've found so far is the "battery drain" issue that no one seems to be able to solve. That's a pretty minor issue, though.

There is also a TON of Sony software on this thing. I've taken a lot of it off but have left most of the media stuff. I hate to ask a question that has probably been asked before but is there a thread on this forum that has a step by step for removing that bloatware? I'd like to keep the drivers I need because I do like some of the features (ie. the quicklaunch buttons). Thanks!

 

does anyone know how to disable the beep noise that occurs when you adjust the volume? it gets very annoying.. like when you increase the volume, the first increase will make beep noise.

 

I really recommend doing full OS reinstall, fumblerooski if you know how to. I did the same thing you did, by trying to uninstall all the bloatware. Even after spending several hours on it, computer still felt sluggish and just "heavy". So I just did full reinstall, and put windows 7 just for the heck of it. It runs very smooth, the start up time is considerably faster, and so is shut down time. I bet a fresh install of vista would be the same. After reinstalling the OS i went to http://esupport.sony.com to get all the drivers I needed, and the laptop works perfectly fine. I knew i wouldnt be using any of the sony's crap, so reformat was a safe bet for me.
Just dont forget to make recovery discs, just in case you dont like your new OS.

 

you can change or disable that, its a .wav file located at:

c:/program files (x86)/sony/vaio event service/pi.wav (x86 if your running 64bit OS)

you could probably rename that file, or what I did was rename it then replace it with something nicer.

c:/windows/media/windows_default.wav (copied then renamed to pi.wav and placed in that sony directory above).

 

thanks so much! i just renamed it and left it at that. hopefully that wont screw anything up

 

Hi guys,

I've been thinking of buying a laptop for quite some time and now I think I'm going to go with the SR290. Should I wait it out for the "refreshed" version or should I purchase it now? How much do you think the price will compare to it right now?

I'm sort of disappointed that Sony Style Canada removed the ATi graphics card option...I occasionally play games, do you think the default video card will work well? I'm thinking of choosing this setup:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz)
Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with Intel® Clear Video Technology
3 GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx1 + 1GBx1)
250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [5400 rpm]

Moreover, do you guys think this should be the right time...or should I just wait patiently? Many thanks .

Edit-

If I purchase the extended battery option, would I get two sets of batteries? Or would I just get one?

 

well you couldve have just right clicked on the sound icon on the taskbar and go to playback devices... go into the settings for the sound card and mute the sound...

 

Are the SR390 drivers (eg video driver, and some other ones) compatible with older models (eg SR290)? Currnet display driver has been giving me some problems with an extra monitor. Also, has anyone been able to enable a Stereo Mix option in Vista?

 

im getting this weird error message everytime i reboot my computer. Something like Sony SA Survey has stopped working. Anyone know what it is?
Btw is it relatively easy for a somewhat noob to install xp on this machine?

 

Wait for the refresh or the SR390 series... (I believe they are now available..)
Cheers!

 

In a similar situation as one of the recent posters. I'm in the market for a new laptop with a 13-14" display. I've looked at some others (Dell XPS 13, HP DV3510nr, Macbook) but have not been too impressed either with features, aesthetics, or build quality. So, I've now been looking at the Vaio SR. Specifically, an SR 290 refurb. It wasn't quite clear to me what the advantages of ordering the SR390 would be. I'm also trying to keep around $1K or so. So a couple of questions:

1. How are the general experiences with the Sony Outlet Refurbs?
2. SR 290 vs SR 390? I'm not a gamer. Biggest processing challenge will most likely be running photoshop CS3.
3. Any other recommendations based on the specs below?
4. From reading multiple pages of this thread, it seems people are pretty pleased with this notebook. Any particlular issues?

Thanks for any comments/advice.

Specs I'm considering are below:

VGN-SR290

REFURBISHED - VGN-SR290 Configure-to-Order


Features:

Graphics : Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with Intel® Clear Video Technology
Color : Titanium Gray
Display : 13.3" WXGA (XBRITE-ECO™ technology)
Security : Trusted Platform Module / Biometric Fingerprint Sensor
Wireless_Local_Area_Network : Wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
Camera : MOTION EYE® Camera
Processor : Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz)
Memory : 4 GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)
Hard_Drive : 250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
Optical_Disc_Drive : DVD±R DL / DVD±RW / DVD-RAM Drive
Battery : Standard Battery
Operating_System : Microsoft® Windows Vista® Ultimate 64-bit with Windows XP Professional downgrade disc
Engraving : No Engraving
Software_Optimization : No Fresh Start™
Base_Unit : VGN-SR290(3405)
Pre-installed_Software : Microsoft® Works
Software2 : Works w\SBT / FA08-IRX4620
Video_Software : Video Standard
Finance_Software : QuickBooks Simple Start
AntiVirus_Software : Windows® Live OneCare 90-Day Trial
Graphics_Card : Int\64OS / FA08-IRX4620
Optical_2 : SuperMulti\64bit / FA08-IRX4620
Optical_3 : SuperMulti\Blk / FA08-IRX4620
DLNA_Label : Black DLNA / FA08-IRX4620
Memory_2 : C50865074 4GB-800mhz
Software_bundle : C50865365 XPP Recovery

 

I just got a similar 290 refurb a couple of weeks ago (specs posted a few pages earlier). I am really happy with it, but they didn't send a Windows Vista Disc and I've been meaning to call Sony about that.

The quality is outstanding...can't tell from new. I wouldn't hesitate.

 

I got a refurb and Sony didn't give me a Windows disc. I did create the recovery discs but I'm not sure I can do a fresh install from those. There appears to be about 32gb of unavailable HD space for some reason (phantom partition?)...I'd love to get that back. I gotta put some more time and research into this.