Sony CW i3/i5/i7 Official Owners Thread

I had no issues. On the main sony forum page back one level there is a thread on Windows 7 clean install for the CW series. Just follow that.

 

I just got my CW and it far exceeded all my expectations. I'm happy that I didn't spend the extra money on th i5, because the i3 is plenty fast enough for all my needs. The nVidia m310 graphics are excellent, and I can get anywhere from 30-60 fps playing EVE Online.

Oh, and I really do like the Royal Indigo color - it's classy.

Cheers!

 

If you meant a DVD+R disc then yes I just copied the movie "funny people" with a Fujifilm 8x dvd+R disk. It worked fine.

 

Don't really feel like pushing it any higher right now. I know there is still room left though.
So here you go!

 

Hey ps2cho, fyi theres a new version of GPU-z also on mine the newer version .39 it show my gpu has ROPs at 8 where yours is 2 but could also be bc of newer version of software.

 

Just head out and buy yourself a microfiber cloth. I got a "Scotch-Brite" cloth from Target and it works excellent picking up dust and most of all getting rid of smudges/fingerprints. No problems for me since getting it.

 

DVD+R or DVD-R cause you have me confused. I've burned a few DVD+R's with no issues, haven't done a dual layer yet

edit: see you answered it yourself...nevermind

 

Glad I could help if u could plz send a link to that youtube vid? thnx

 

There's a few of them. The first 2 are by the same owner and looks glossy. The last one is an older CW, but still really glossy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OuLgEgsr0g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ammQoFKNlz0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_d2Fi6rJVg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqtFUTNQr3Y

There was another one I watched, but its actually a matte black version (nice, but not available here in US). Still for anyone who is overseas and can get it, here's the vid link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86TpZ_z22fA

Enjoy!

 

Best Buy offers the Matte black version of the CW. Its the one that is "Designed for Business" and its $899.

 

I got this comment from one of the videos from YouTube:
"I felt like I was watching a porno."

LOL!

This is a nice unit. I'm happy with it so far and I hope it lasts a good long while. I was so hesitant of pulling the trigger on it, but I finally decided to get it over the Lenovo Y550P.

I was very fortunate to have ordered mine before the first wave of it being out-of-stock!

 

Seems its only a i3, though, as opposed to the non-business model which is an i5?

 

yea finally got my black cw 26FG, any advise from pros?

 

Just got mine, few notes I want to make for those waiting for theres to come or looking at the model and wondering if they should order:

1. The screen is passable. It definitely doesnt have good vertical viewing angles though, be warned.
2. The battery is a little loose when fully locked in. Wasnt expecting that. Jiggles just a little, annoying.
3. The 330M is underclocked by default to 475 (from 575). It does use GDDR3 memory (which is the faster type - so thats good) but its underclocked by default. You need to overclock to really get the performance you expect.


I do like it though. I dont mean to come down on the notebook, I think im going to end up liking it. The screen has me down a bit though, and I also cant seem to get two finger scrolling to work. Ill try updating the synaptic drivers after a reformat. This computer has so much bloatware, its ugly.

 

I received mine yesterday, and have been running some performance benchmarks.. quite suprised actually..

3dmark06: 1280x800
It was over 6000 out of the box, and when I set the GPU to the nvidia settings on notebookcheck, it now scored a 7241!
I ran the street fighter 4 benchmark, full screen, all settings high, 1360x768, it scored a 9940, 75fps.

GTA IV:
1366x768, settings on medium and high, -- 35FPS in the benchmark! CPU usage was 86%, the lowest I've seen on a dual core laptop. Its very playable and looks great with no lag or choppyness at all.

The screen is fine, I dont find the angle to be that bad at all. You just cant look at it from a top down almost vertical perspective.

The speakers are normal for a laptop, no bass really but the volume didnt seem to be a proble, I was expecting to not be able to hear anything.. far from it. I turned it down to 3/4 in my living room and can hear it over my tv at least.

if only it got a little more battery life

 

OMG!!!

My CW will be here TODAY!!!

I just checked the status online looking to see if it had shipped yet. My comp was shipped yesterday (same day I ordered) and is Out For Delivery right now!!!

Woot!!

** swoons with giddiness **

EDIT: UPS just delivered! Impressions coming later....

 

Congrats to everyone who has been able to order and who has got there new laptop.

First of all, get a sleeve or vinyl protection for it ASAP. Mine got scratches on the lid within the week. Admittedly, I did have to put it in my backpack once or twice to keep it away from a drizzle.

I can't see the scratches except when there is bright light on it and I look at an angle. Either way, I feel bad that I couldn't keep this thing looking mint.

 

Ok.... The GPU in this system has so much room to it its ridiculous.

I currently have my memory clocked at 1090 (from a stock of 680). Thats a 62% overclock and the system is running completely solid. I actually ran out of room to go higher as the slider cant go further.

Ill have core results in a few...

EDIT:

The core truly maxes out at 636/1399 (though perfectly stable at those clocks)
The memory is limited to 1090 based purely on software.

Core: 636 (475 stock)
Shaders: 1399 (1040 stock)
Memory: 1090 (680 stock)

Pretty good overclock considering.

 

Whats up all,

Got my Sony Vaio (Icy White) VPCCW26FXW (PCG-61411L) about 3 weeks ago. Ordered it from BestBuy.com on Sun, Jan. 31st and it arrived Thursday Feb 4th - I did pay for the 2nd tier shipping which cost $24.99. All total I my charge was like $996.

So far I am absolutely in love with this laptop. Getting the Nvidia 330M and the i5 520 was what made me buy this laptop instead of saving for a Mac Book Pro. I have been totally amazed at this machines ability to run games like COD4 Modern Warfare 2, Borderlands, Dragon Age Origins, and Crysis. My last laptop was an HP ZD8000 with a gigantic 19" widescreen, billed as a "desktop replacement" when I bought it '05, and it could not hold a match this my new Vaio even on its best day.

I recently downloaded and burned the Kalway DVD and I am getting ready to attempt to hackintosh my Vaio. Has anyone else here installed Snow Leopard on there CW series with any success? Reading this thread, I can see there are more than a few really intelligent people here, which makes me feel good about my purchase. Still cant believe I got this thing for under a grand!

I would love to hear from anyone who has attempted to hackintosh their Vaio, successfully or otherwise. I am planning to dual boot Win7 and OSX, and I'm not really interested in running OSX as a virtual machine if I can avoid doing so.

-Vicious

 

Hmm... it seems that the screen has a very odd effect. For whatever reason it seems as though there is a very fine checkerboard effect that occurs. Hard to explain. Imagine a very fine grid overlayed over the entire screen. Bright colors drowns in out, but on a white or light screen it is very obvious.

 

What is your 3dmark score at those clocks. Keep HWMonitor in the background while you do it and let us know what your score and max temperatures are. I would be surprised if you aren't pushing high 70's at those clocks.

 

Lmao omg what a small world, that was me who made that comment ! Check the vid!

 

I installed Ubuntu but the wireless driver on it for the Atheros doesn't seem to work to well. Anybody have better luck? Also, my Atheros does not connect at more than 54mbps on an N router. My Imac does do so. Anybody getting better speeds?

 

After lurking a while, thought I'd post up. Ordered my new baby, a CW27FX/L this week, right when BB got a fresh batch in stock. UPS says delivery scheduled for Wednesday (3/3) and can't wait!

So that means my 2-month-old CW17FX/W is FS ;-)

 

any clue OCing the i5?

 

I dunno, the i5 generates a lot of horsepower to begin with, why sacrifice battery life? The GPU, on the other hand.....me thinks could benefit from "OC-ing" at least to nominal levels.

 

Ill pass on 3dmark. I hate the software and dont wanna spend the 2 hours downloading it. After an hour of playing Bioshock the GPU maxxed out at 62.

I actually had to lower the core to 625. Source games would lock up at 636.

 

So I got my CW thru BB and love it so far. I had to call Sony tech support yesterday for a simple question but some how never got an answer to it. I am hoping that some some one here could help me out.

As per in the info listed on Sony's CW website in detailed specs it says that the computer comes pre loaded with Sony's click to disc, movie story and Vaio media streaming.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...specifications

some how I was not able to find it on my computer in programs, so I called tech support and their response was that this computer does not have the above mentioned software installed (even though their website says other wise). I did not buy this explanation and started looking around in c and found the programs installed on c in the folder sony>creations but some how they dont show up in programs. I dont know whats the deal with this but I used click to disc on my old Vaio and transferred videos from my mini dv camcorder and was looking forward to do the same on my cw.

any ideas on why I can not access these programs even though they are installed and do you guys have the same issue?

 

It sounds to me like Sony has yet to update those apps to run on 64bit OS...but I could be wrong. I cant seem to find the apps you mention on my system, and it is full of sony bloatware.

 

Hi CW owners,

Today I tried to install an internal TV tuner card. Turns out I couldn't find a free mini PCI-E slot inside, so it's a failed project. In the process I took these photos of my naked VPCCW27FX:

 

yo ppmz:

thanks for these pics man. looks like it would be relatively easy to replace the aetheros wireless card, which i am thinking about doing.... will depend on whether or not my hackintosh installer recognizes it or not!

 

Yes it would, but some things to consider:

* You need a half size card.
* Some cards are USB, some are PCI-e. I've heard of laptops with mini PCI-e slots that _don't_ have both wired up! You'll need to find a PCI-e one.
* The Wireless ON/OFF switch might stop working.

 

Here's an interesting question: anybody tried booting a Linux distro from either Memory Stick or SD card? I poked around the BIOS, and all we have is an option for "external." Generally, USB devices would work, but I've never tried booting from a card reader slot.

Just wondering, before I run out and spend $50 for a flash card........

 

It's very easy to replace the Atheros card. I upgraded to the Intel 6200, popped in a blu-ray drive and an SSD in 15 minutes. Everything works just fine, including the wireless on/off switch.

 

I'm looking to buy a cw but am unsure if the bestbuy indigo is suited to such a manly man as myself (you all know it), after reading rumors its more purple than it appears. I was wondering if anyone knew what the sony serials were about on the clearence website... does Graphics Card: C50874815 mean customized to 330M 512? Is Display : C50874811 an upgraded 1600:900 screen? I wish sony could have more specific labels... Jeeez... Serial #s

 

does anybody know if the intel 6250 wireless card is compatible and where to buy it and also if their is a 12 cell battery available for the cw coz i can only find a 9 cell battery?

 

SonyStyle CTO model says VPCCW290X, however BestBuy says VPCCW27FX. My understanding is SonyStyle should also have GT330M (1600 x 900) instead of GT310M (1366 x 768). I'm looking for a CTO instead of pre-built. I understand pre-built has GT310M, but how about CTO?

Can any one confirm?

 

hello

can anyone with expertise advise me on what programs to keep and which ones to uninstall. i have the VPC CW27FX from bestbuy and im not sure which are bloatware and which should be kept.

Thanks

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one to have seen this. Is anyone else experiencing this effect? Also, how are the keyboard keys for you guys, nice and firm or loose and clackity? I'm really considering returning the laptop for these two reasons.

 

Hi guys,

Sorry for repeating my message but I'm hoping someone can help me out with my concern...

My brother received my laptop a few days ago and when he tested it, everything teseted okay. But he noticed one thing: he said the computer would emit a tiny, high-pitched sound at times. He's guessing it's the fan making the tiny noise. Is this normal?

Somehow, I think I read someone commenting on the same thing somewhere in this thread and I tried to read back to find it but I can't seem to find it...

I hope someone can help me out here. Thanks in advance!

 

WOW! I oced my cw
clock-625
mem-800
shader-1375
i got a 3dmark 06 of 7525, with all stock sony bloatware running! Only uninstall the evernote and some crap.

 

can some one clarify this but why does the cw have to kinds of 9 cell batteries for the cw? which one is it? here are the choises VGP-BPL21 and VGP-BPL13 which one should i use

 

Sonystyle doesn't have the 330M or the 1600x900 options. The CTO models only have a 310M and a 1366x768 resolution. Some pre-built models have a 330M and a 1600x900.

I don't notice any high pitches sounds.

 

That is really wierd. Anyway Thank you for the clarification

 

What's the best online retailer to buy the 330M version of the CW series from? In terms of price, I live in Canada so the 330m version isn't available here.

 

I think the only option for us is JR.com, it's 1050 + 75 USD to ship, 1125 USD or around 1175 CDN, it's still better than the comp. in stores. It ships UPS Worldwide Express so no brokarage fees.

 

Yeah JR is great.

 

JR?!?!?! I have been looking EVERYWHERE for the Bestbuy spec CW and here it is on JR.com...ships to Canada!!!!!

Is this correct? Upon checkout, there is $0 for tax on the computer or even across the border? The only price added is the shipping for $66. I don't pay any tax?

Subtotal: $1,119.00

Shipping: $66.53

"Shipping charges do not include any duties or GST. Brokerage fees are included for UPS Worldwide, but not for UPS Ground. If you have any questions about these fees"
-The $66 IS UPS worldwide.....so I won't be paying anymore duty/local tax??

If I am charged with all the additional duty tax, how much will it be?

 

Tax for us I think is like 13%, so thats $145 added on :/ for a grand total of $1264.47

 

Would that be US dollars so currency converted?
Something about JR just confuses me. It's not like other US retailers.

Can any Canadian who ordered from JR please mention the process?