Official Vaio Y 13.3 Series Owners Lounge

I didn't say it was bad...

I simply went for the best, cause I had it laying around and cause I can...

Those 2 cards (original and intel 5300) are miles apart!

 

Correct.

A few years back when I first got my Vostro 1500, I paid a few extra clams to get 5300 instead of 5100. I thought it was normal to be getting a really long list of connections and being able to leech other connections at blazing fast speeds.

Now I'm using a G50VT with the 5100. It does the job, but I have no doubt the 5300 had better range and most likely faster download speeds.

 

Eh, I dunno. The 5300 is an awesome card. I swapped out the crappy Atheros card in my NC10 (I think the Y has the same Atheros card) for the 5300 and it was night and day. My Y is on the way and I'll give the included card a chance, but I'm prepared to swap it as well if it sucks.

I stream video from a home server over N, and the Atheros in my other machine was choppy...even for just SD video. The Intel is flawless. Probably wouldn't matter as much for just web browsing though.

 

When you guys take apart your Y-series, would any of you mind posting some disassembly pics and instructions?

Sony's manual (at least the one hosted within the Y-series) doesn't tell you.

 

Where can I get a Vaio Y cheap beside Sony website? I cant find it anywhere.

 

As far as I know only Sony Style sells the Y-series, I don't know of any retailer that does.

 

I just wonder when are the retail going to start selling it.

 

I'm personally awaiting a refresh. Sucks it may for Sony, the SU7300 became obsolete in just a few months after the Sony Y was released.

Now before you guys start bashing me for being specs-focused, remember, Sony isn't Apple. People don't buy Sony products purely out of blind loyalty nearly as often as people buy Apple logo-stamped products. Because Sony doesn't command such a zealous following, there's more pressure for Sony and other PC companies to shorten their product refresh cycles. I'm glad to see that ultraportables aren't just slightly enlargened versions of netbooks. They maintain low weight and have different components and bigger screens.

But with a widening gray line between laptops designed for performance and those designed for portability, I think there is very little wrong with us consumers demanding more bang for buck especially in these trying economic times! Technically I could go to school with a simple $250 netbook that uses last year's technology. But I refuse to do so. Why? My palms are a bit big for the netbook for me to type notes comfortably. I can reach the keys, but I find my hands cramped within the first 20 seconds of hardcore typing. On top of that, sluggish multitasking performance enrages me. My near-sightedness makes staring at 10" screens demanding.

When it boils down to stretching my dollar, I perceive a CULV for a little more money well worth the extra clams. Come May, I'll post a thread in the "What Laptop Should I Buy" section. I have a horrid feeling the Sony Y won't make my candidate list and that some other notebook with so-so build construction but with a CULV i5 like one of the newer Asuses will beat it out.

 

Well that post was filled with more vitriol then necessary. I agree though, CULV notebooks > netbooks. They serve the same purposes for a student or traveler, but with the bonus of a full-screen, keyboard, and more multitasking power.

With that said, I agree with waiting for a refresh if you're willing. I find the SU7300 to fit my needs just perfectly however and the sale price couldn't be argued with. I'm sure my Y-series can last me throughout college.

 

Nah. I wasn't critical of anyone in general. The overarching argument I made is that the pressure is higher than normal for Sony to refresh its line, even if it's kind of early!

 

I think we can expect them to refresh w/ the i5-520UM in May/June. That's their usual refresh month, from what I've seen others mention at least.

 

Then here's to hoping!

 

Does anyone know if the Y can extend the Windows desktop to an external monitor connected to the VGA port and an LCD TV connected via HDMI simultaneously so that the desktop is extended to all 3 screens with a different app on each screen?

 

doubt it

"MSI X-Slim X360 Notebook Powered by i5-520UM CPU Unveiled"

http://www.techspot.com/news/38171-msi-xslim-x360-is-under-1-thick-packs-ulv-core-i5.html

 

Great...but...at the end of the article:

In other words, it'll probably get released in 2010, but the exact month is unknown.

May/June sounds just about realistic for the CULV i5 release. It takes months for retailers to ink agreements with PC makers. MSI's offering sounds promising though I'd still like to hear from owners later on as well as read the reviews about build construction and the like.

As for the Sony Y getting a refresh, who knows? It got released in January, so I don't expect a refresh to happen next week, lol. I admit I'm demanding in what I want, but I'm realistic!

 

Just got mine. First thing I noticed is that the C: partition has all of the HDD space ... 285GB of it, so I will have to reformat the whole thing.

 

Well, frankly I'm a little disappointed. The vertical angles could be better, and the laptop seems a little sluggish, but maybe it's the fault of all of the Sony crapware installed. Also the battery is quite loose, so loose that when you shake the laptop or touch the battery it makes a noise. Nothing a peace of paper won't fix, but hey $900 for this?

 

Sorry to hear that. Is a refund in order? It IS using a SU7300 processor.

 

Yes I know it is using the SU7300 chip. I previously had the ASUS UL30Vt, and it was waaay more snappier, but that's maybe because I did a clean install.

 

I'm not sure what you're using it for or whether a clean install will make a difference. Regardless, I'm probably best off exploring further options and waiting the next 3-4 months for further releases.

The MSI X360 is a really promising candidate. You should check it out in Google news. The specs are sweet! i5 processor, 500gb HD, 4gb DDR3, super thin, ligher than Sony Y. That speaks volumes!

 

Hmmm... that MSI X360 sounds pretty darn good...

 

The only negative I can see the MSI getting is the materials used for its construction. A while back, I said I would be permissive of plastics only if keyboard flex was minimal. I'll have to make an exception to some extent if I find the weight and build construction are up to par.

EDIT: By "build construction" I simply mean how the parts are arranged together to create rigidity. I'm not ragging on plastic by any means, but I'm a bigger fan of aluminum and magnesium.

 

@Esseti, you have the loose battery issue too?

Strange, as I said for my VAIO the battery has fit in perfectly. I can't feel or hear it wobbling a bit if I tried shaking it. As for performance being sluggish, what are you trying to do with it?

I didn't do a clean install and all of my apps have started up quickly and web-browsing has been going at a great pace too. I never felt any lack of performance.

 

Yes it does rattle around, maybe I'll make a video of it if I get a chance. And what am I doing about the laptop? I think of re-selling it because I'm a little disappointed by it's hardware, battery aside. It's just not as snappy as my the ASUS UL30Vt that I previously had (for 2 days).

 

That leaves me bummed out. Unless Sony refreshes the Y with the new i5 ULV processors, it's down to paying $1,100 for the 13" MBP refresh in April or the MSI x360.

 

That's really too bad, but I understand.

As I said, I haven't experience any performance issues on my end for my Y-series.

@ Zeth, I'm not too sure if performance speed would be better with the i5-520UM but that's only because of the lower clock speed.

What kind of things do you intend to use the Y-series for?

 

Taking notes, research, watching movies. I plan to also use it as a portable media player for taking to friends' houses. I'm really anal about multitasking speeds.

 

zeth006 if you're not so anal about screen quality, ASUS UL30Vt is your best bet right now. It's cheaper and way more faster (for a CULV, ~400mhz +nVidia GPU). I got this Sony because I thought that it would have a better display, unfortunately it isn't much better if at all.

 

I've got one question for more advanced Y users. When I'll format drive C:, will Windows begin to automatically installing after the boot from the recovery partition, just like when you first run your new laptop? Or will there be a boot failure? If not, is there a way to setup it up so it would look like it has never been powered up?

 

Depends...my Asus G50VT has terrible viewing angles, but I was hoping for something that's a little better. I'm not prioritizing the screen quality for now.

But the main thing that's driving me away from Asus' thin and portable notebook line is the tons of areas of flex. I've heard that judging from all the thin/light notebooks released in recent years, they haven't done anything to solve the flex issues.


I've learned life you get what you pay for. I still prioritize build quality. I don't want a notebook's poorly constructed plastic casing and chassis to create a high risk for damaging the internal motherboard and its parts. The MSI X340 has been out for a long time and the X360 looks like it'll get released soon, within 1-3 months. If it comes out to be $800 or more, I'm definitely settling for A MBP 13 or a refreshed Sony Y barring other sudden product releases.

 

And if you are curious how loose is the battery, I've made a video. You have to pump up your volume probably, because my iPhone 3G isn't an ideal recording device
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9exV1BJJvLI

 

Just saw it. Yeah, rattles a lot more than necessary. The fact that others are reporting it too shows it was badly designed. Doubt it's a quality control issue as much as an engineering/design issue.

 

How do we tell whether it is a engineer/design issue and not quality control? As I said on my Y-series the battery fits in snugly, not even the slightest bit of movement.

I'm still trying to find Sony's recovery partition, when I check in "My Computer" I only see the C: drive and not the D: Recovery partition.

I know its there but I think Sony did something to make it not visible. As to reset your Y-series to make it seem like New, I think what you need to do is boot from the Recovery Partition or discs, after that is completed shut off the computer when it goes back to that first start screen.

Not too sure.

 

Is there a full review of the Vaio Y?

Can this Y play 720p or 1080p on the HDTV with no problem?

 

Plenty. Using Google will bring up plenty of results.

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/sony-vaio-y-series.aspx

http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/review-sony-vaio-y-series-laptop-vpcy115fxbi-20100226/


Think it should play 720p easily, not sure about 1080p. Guessing you can as long as you don't skip around.

 

When is Sony going to put the Y for sale at other online store nd retail store? What are they holding up? I guess they think people are buying it now on their site?

 

Probably because they can't keep them in stock online. It's hard to find one at the Sony store also - the $999 was in @ my local Sony store here in Austin, but we want the $799 version and they did not have any.

And I remember you from my Treocentral days!

 

Sony hides their recovery partition - the only way to access it is via their recovery program.

 

They had two sales so far, I don't know when they'll have another one.

 

Which is exactly why starting May, I'm going to obsessively check the Vaio website for any discounts and updates. I'll also be scouring the news and NBR articles for any word on further i5-equipped slim notebooks that are 13-14." Bad news is that Intel's facing a major shortage of i3/i5/i7 notebook processors, which might also explain Apple's Macbook line refresh. I'm also told Acer's been buying up those CPUs in bulk batches, straining the supply line for Intel.


Judging from all this, I may have to look into buying my notebook as late as June or even early July.

 

Just got my Y this morning and so far so good. NZ only has the silver version so that's what I ended up with.



Initial impressions are, there doesn't seem to be any sign of a loose battery. Took the battery out and placed it back in several times, the locking mechanism seems very solid so no problems there.

The palm rest area is textured and has a nice feel to it compared to glossy palmrests.



Another thing I noticed though is a LOT of sony applications. Will definitely be replacing the Win7 Home Premium x64 install with a spare license of Win7 Pro x64 that I have, with a clean install.

Overall it's a really nice laptop, even though I've only had it for a few hours. Will be testing battery life of it later on.

 

What Sony applications did you notice?

I only saw three of Sony's, their transfer support, update center, and control manager, and the only third party software I recall is Evernote's.

Very little crapware/bloatware but I'm sure it differs by region. Also glad to see somebody that didn't have the battery case issue.

 

I see that it has Vaio Control Center, Update Center, Vaio Smart Network. Now that you mention it, there doesn't seem to be too many background processes related to Sony.

However there are quite a lot of pre-installed applications. Did you uninstall the Mcafee security tool and the Norton online backup?

 

I did uninstall the Norton Online Backup and rather than McAfee they had Norton as the AV software.

 

I,m Going to Sell my FW21E to get this one i need it for school, i only use internet,Watch HD movies, and School stuf.

 

Does anyone with a Y, or a Vaio in general know if I can use the power button while the lid is closed?

I want to be able to power up the laptop while the lid is still closed etc. Is this possible?

 

I never tried, I'm not sure if you can.

 

If not, just make it a hair open. I think this is a Window setting.

 

I just read through this entire series of postings, and am rather intrigued by the Sony Y. I used to have my heart set on the Asus UL30 / UL30 VT, but the VT really has more than I need and I'm deterred by the questions about build quality, trackpad, and screen quality.

I currently am leaning towards the Thinkpad Edge 13, which seems very comparable to the Sony Y (minus the express card slot). I would be curious for some owners thoughts and if they considered the Edge. Thank you.

 

I did a search on this thread for "TPM" and "bitlocker" but turned up no hits. My question is, does the Y series have TPM built in so that you can use bitlocker disk encryption?