Official VAIO SR Series Owners Thread

So it seems like the smart chip in my battery is retarded or windows 7 is just retarded at estimating battery life. I ran my system from 100% to 5, with full brightness and got almost 5.5 hours. (which is good, considering its the large capacity battery) So doing this, i assumed windows would be like, "Oh this battery lasts this long obviously..." but nooo, its frustrating to have a non reliable battery timer.

Also can someone post the link to the rebate info?

 

Anyone?

 

So what is the advantage to having VT enabled?

 

virtual windows xp mode in win7

 

Hi, I installed windows 7 (enterprise trial as i dont want to have to use vista) onto my new SR41M today but i cant seem to find a driver to make the fn keys work?
Also a few of the drivers on the sony site don't seem to have installers with them (like the HDD protection driver) so how can i install them? Thanks

 

You need to install the Sony Notebook Utilities driver. If it doesnt install you need to extract the installer and install the components individually. This will get your fn keys to work again and i believe it also has the battery software along with the hdd protection suite (thanks for remind me cause i never reinstalled that)

 

WHat kind of temperatures are you guys getting with coretemp on your SRs?

 

well, i use everest, but on low, its around 48, medium is at 54-55, high 60-62. It should be lower though, wont summer is over, since i dont turn on the A/C. and its like 88*F in the living room always, since the sun shines right on the wall i m located.

 

So I got the fn keys working somehow,
could someone tell me how to install the Sony HDD Protection Driver on this page http://support.vaio.sony.eu/computing/vaio/downloads/preinstalled/index.aspx?l=en_GB&m=VGN-SR41M_S
manually, its just a 32kb file and barely contains any files

 

THanks. Since mine's in cooler environment it makes sense that it's a bit lower. ALso, it seems my vaio's around average. I was just concerned that the fan was making too much noise after my last overheat. How loud (I know this is difficult to answer) is most poeple's sr? MIne makes a constant hum.

 

well i cant really hear my fan, unless i put my ear right next to the vent.

 

In a completely quiet room (eg library or bedroom at night), I can clearly hear this annoying whiny hum from the laptop, I haven't had a purely silent laptop yet

 

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum so here goes.

I bought a Vaio CS320 from Best Buy last week. I loved the keyboard and the design, but I returned it because the battery life was awful.

I've been trying to read through as many of these 322 pages as I could (plus some other topics) and ordered an SR 490 a few days ago from Sony because I like what I've read and that it's just a 13" display (I need something portable).

This laptop is primarily for school use (word documents, pdf files, web surfing), but I'm also going to use it entertainment when I travel (music/movies), and probably some light gaming.

Specs will be:
CPU - P7350
Memory - 4GB
HDD - 320gb (7200rpm)
GPU - ATI HD 4570

Now I have a couple questions for anyone who can help me, based on their experiences with this laptop.

1.) What kind of battery life am I looking at with these specs/intended usage? I saw on an earlier page Tony said he was getting 3.5+ hours with the ATI card, but I don't remember if he had the 7200rpm HDD or not. I also don't think he said if he was undervolting it or not or what applications he was running.

2.) Are these specs overkill? As I said my primary use will be in the classroom so I need some decent battery life when a plug-in isn't available. I also like to travel though so I need it to again have battery life and the ability to entertain myself. Then as a lesser component I like to play a lot of games. I have a desktop to be my primary system, but if there could be instances where I'm gone for the night or something and feel like playing something.

3.) As far as undervolting goes. Does anyone have, or is their a good place to find, a good set of voltage for this computer without running through all of those test?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

1) In my experience, 3.5 hours would definitely be the maximum you'd get out of your configuration (I have an SR with the older ATI 3470 card). I'd say 3 hours is a more realistic estimate for mixed usage (internet, document editing, occasional web video). As a student, I can say that this has been limiting for me and the biggest "con" I'd associate with my purchase.

2) No, I don't think they're overkill. Your P-series processor will help battery life a little bit (vs. T-series), and 2GHz is probably a perfect speed. 4GB of memory is pretty much standard these days, and 7200 rpm drives won't impact battery life very much. As for the graphics card, you'll get dramatically better battery life with the cheaper integrated graphics, but obviously it'll be up to you to determine whether you want to sacrifice gaming--Intel's graphics are pretty much useless for "modern" games (but will be fine for older things like Half-Life 2 or maaaybe WoW).

Hope that helps.

 

Anyone got an answer to this?
Also when plugged in, my SR41M/S always says "95% plugged in, charging" rather than going to 100% then running off AC power, is this normal? (Running W7 RTM Trial)

 

Thanks for the response ccutlip. Do you have an estimate of how much more battery the intel chipset gives? Are we talking an extra 2+ hours or something less?

I guess I should also ask, as a student if you had to do it over again would you go with the integrated chip or stick with the dedicated card?

 

I might have gone with the IGP, since I am not doing anything graphically intensive at all. I don't know how much Win7 interface stresses the GPU, but I'd like my extra battery power. The problem is I don't know for sure how much extra time I actually get out of it.

 

I really doubt you can get extra half an hours by using IGP. ATI card will run at very low clock and mem speed when battery is in use. If you have a larger budge, Z is better choice which gets much more battery power.

 

hey guys, im a very probable owner of an SR46 and ill be using it mainly in the uk as a student. ill be buying in malysia tho. my question is how is the customer service for sony there in the uk? somebody in this forum told me that they repair sony vaois only in overseas n not in the uk.im asking because i really dont want to lose it for more than a few weeks if anythin goes wrong. anybody know anything bout this? thank you

heres da spec http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...Id=8198552921644570898&parentCategoryId=16154

 

Is it possible to upgrade the memory in vaio sr to 1066 ddr2? Not even sure if it exists, just ive always heard best to have same speed memory as bus in processor.

 

I remember Sony quoting 4-6 hours of battery life when I bought mine. As I said before 3.5 hours was probably the max I could get, but I remember other users saying they got somewhere around 5 hours with the integrated graphics. And yes, I wish I could have gotten the Intel graphics, as a student, but I bought mine way back when there was only one option, the SR129E. I always play 360 for my gaming needs, and the X4500 is more than enough for everything but gaming.Maybe users of more recent models could elaborate?

 

Hello guys. I have bought mine VAIO VGN-SR130N before a week ago and I have noticed that the sound of the laptop is so bad. I have tried to return it back but from the store refuse my request.

So could you please explain me what to do with this sound? My speakers are buzzing when I put the volume on max and it drives me crazy on a laptop for 1100 EUR....................Tried to change drivers - nothing happened. So is there any fix that I can make to bring these speakers working well?

 

Yeah I would buy the Z if i could afford it, but $1200 on the SR is already pushing it.

 

I had the exact same specs as you did and I barely got 2 hours out of mine on balanced setting and wi-fi on. It was frustrating to bring to school, so I returned it.

You may have have a diff. experience though, good luck.

 

Did you ever try it on the battery saver settings to see how much life you would get, or play with any other settings that may effect battery life?

 

I did. I used every possible save battery power setting, and this was with wi-fi on. The battery icon when fully charged never showed completely full for some reason. And the icon just seemed to skip jump down instead of flowing naturally down.

It was not as advertised; 3.5+ hrs., which was why I wanted it in the first place.

I think if I were you I would seriously consider the Toshiba E105-s1602. People and reviews are easily getting 5-6 hours on it and it comes w/ a backlit keyboard...all for around 800 bucks.

Specs - Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (2 GHz) ; RAM installed: 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM ; Hard drive size: 500 GB

 

Here is what I got yesterday. With wifi on and constantly downloading documents, I got 2 hours and 50 minutes. My setting under win 7 is 7 bars of light, CPU locked at 1.2G, and ATI power saving on, and bluetooth off.

I think you can easily go over three hours with wifi off.

 

Best here means maximal performance, meaning utilizing the memory bandwidth to its maximum capacity, and it's unlikely that you will be ever do that unless you are running simulations and other stuff that is definitely not everyday use. The SR290 I had came with DDR2800 2gb, so when I was looking for a 4gb kit, the cheaper one was DDR2667, and that runs perfectly fine. I'm not sure if it runs DDR21066, though. If the laptop doesn't, it'll just run the memory at a lower speed.

I have to say warranty. Is there no buzzing on a lower volume at all, or is it just less loud?

 

How is the heat on the SR when gaming?

 

after two hours gaming, the GPU is about 72 C Celsius. left hand side got pretty warm. but nothing hot

 

Is that a good temp?

 

Anything below 85c or 90c is fine. Beyond than, would harm the notebook.

 

I am thinking of selling my SR and get a Vaio NW (big) and a netbook (small).

No more in betweens (Vaio SR).

Whats your thought?

 

depends on what you need, i tried netbook but their too weak, the SR is close enough to a netbook with tons of power and graphics

 

anyone know if they are selling an extended battery for the new SR or if there are any decent replica extended batteries out there?

BTW my mobility pack is still awaiting shipment. apparently they're on back order for a while which sucks and will get worse with the back to school submissions. no mention of the status online of course.... hope that helps people. i guess you just gotta continue waiting.

 

no buzzing at lower volume, just on max or near max. and i have noticed that only the left speaker is buzzing, so what's you can recommend me? service on 10 days laptop? hellllll.......................

anyone else with the same problem?

 

Well, I had a problem with my keyboard on day one; many keys made a squeaking noise if I push on then, so I had to send it in to replace a keyboard.

On some laptops, like my Dell 600m, there's an intrinsic background static that I can hear if there is no sound playing through my headphones, and it was just poor circuit design, I guess, by Dell. So maybe something is wrong in your laptop, and it's there at low volume, but you just don't hear it until you turn the volume up extremely high. I'm not sure what a buzzing noise sounds like, but I have an SR290, and it is not making these noises right now, though I usually do not turn the volume all the way up.

 

I like the NW actually, the only downside for me is the processor speed. However i still love the SR more.

 

love my sr, so powerful for games and so light and small. love it. just disappointed about the speakers but thats okay

 

do you have also problem with buzzing sound coming from the speakers when the volume is on max? because i am really annoyed of that......

also bought mine with 4 GB of RAM, but I can only see 2 GB on my Vista Business - 32 bit. Read in google that I have to put command in cmd, done and nothing again. Anyone with a suggestion here?

Thanks again for the help.

 

install a 64 bit os

 

cannot use more ram on 32 bit? i heard that 32 bit vista supports up-to 4 gb

 

Of course, the built-in speakers are going to make a buzzing sound if you set the volume at max. I wouldn't recommend doing that because prolong usage of the speakers at max. volume will very quickly damage the speakers.

 

Nope that's 64 bit, 32 can only support around 3.0-3.2, around there.

 

I keep trying to ask this but it gets pushed off the latest page...

Which driver are you guys for HDD protection in windows 7? I cant get mine to work, im using a Sony SR41M/S (in the UK)

 

well i just used the vista drivers, vista drivers and win 7 drivers are basically the same.

 

I believe a 32-bit system can address up to 4gb of memory (2^32), but when talking about memory, you have video memory and other system memory that take up a good chunk, thus the remaining amount you can address is the 3-3.5gb. You can't get around this unless you move to a 64-bit OS.

 

I tried to use the vista drivers provided but on the website they give a 32kb zip file for my model that has no installer and didn't do anything

 

hmm interesting, i downloaded straight from my sony support site.

 

Hey guys, I just found another downside of SR. That is, you can never make it run at the full speed under the battery power. I tried both xp and win7. At XP, CPU can run at full speed when gaming. However, the game playing is really laggy even the powerplay of ATI had been turned off. At win 7, the cpu speed is locked at 1.2G no matter what power setting I use.

Anyone noticed that?