Sony SE Owners' Thread

The 3G modem is PCIe, so it definately goes right there. The PCIe connector there has pins that carry the SIM signals from the PCIe modem to the "to sim" connector.

I wonder about the features of that slot though. Does it support just USB? PCIe signalling? SATA signalling?

 

Does the manual say what the possible display types are?

 

Hey Guys,

Can anyone that went with the i7 processor over the i5 comment on the battery life? I'm about to order, and Sony is telling me there will be no effect on the battery life when I upgrade. I'm finding that hard to believe.

Thanks!

 

I currently get around 7 hours with both the internal battery and the extra battery on my i7 just browsing the web on fixed LAN

I haven't had it long enough to see how long it lasts on wifi

 

That's a really complex question. If both processors are going 100% for no reason, the will probably use power. However, if they are completing a task, the i7 will complete it faster dropping back to idle using less power.

I think at idle, or in low power states, the probably use the same amount of power. So if the switch is on stamina, I think you'll get the same results from both.

 

I don't have the the service manual of the SE series, because they are actually confidential and not leaked yet. The other manuals lists only the displays you have as option for those special notebooks. Try

Code:

"SERVICE MANUAL" ext:pdf

or this

Code:

"Sony confidential" ext:pdf

in google

Does someone has a dump of the original BIOS? We could make a diff of the decompressed BIOS images. Maybe we find out how to re-enable SATA III mode for SATA port 0. The DVD drive is connected to port 4, thus it it limited to SATA II by the chipset. Only port 0 and port 1 have hardware SATA III support.

 

2 hours 1/2 with my i5 : web browsing, wifi, automatic brightness
Very disappointed with the autonomy of this laptop.

 

You are doing it wrong.

 

2.30 ??

 

I got 2 hours from 100% to 40% (standard) battery when wifi is on and screen is at half brightness in Stamina mode. I guess about almost 4 hours on standard battery.

I have the sheet battery, but have not opened it out of the box yet. Expect that number to double, to around 7-8 hours with both batteries.

to guicara: you must have not used Stamina mode and removed the bloatware, no?

 

Finally ordered my vaio. The free i7 upgrade+sheet battery was way to good to pass on. Says shipping date is dec 8 tho.... GOD THE WAIT IS KILLING ME.

 

I dumped the originally shipped BIOS, it and my attempt to get the advanced menu working can be downloaded here

 

Hello,

I've just ordered (this morning ) my Sony SE and I've chosen everything "up" (core i7, 8 GB) except SSD. I'll buy a SSD disk (at least 256 GB) where prices will be less... high.

But I have a question about SSD because I did not understand what you said about SATA III. Is there a SATA III problem with the Sony SE ?

Thank you and sorry (again) for my bad English .

David.

 

Congratulations

The problem is that the current BIOS only supports SATA II, so the SSDs run a little slower, but still faster than an HDD

 

Thank you

If I understand, the problem only concerns the BIOS ? Hardware is OK ?
So, we just have to wait for a... good BIOS ?

David.

 

I have this in black and it attracts a lot of the oils from my hands/palms. What is the best way to keep it clean, or should I just give up? lol

I absolutely love this laptop. I have a cooler so the heat is not an issue. I also ordered additional RAM and look forward to installing it. I have the i5 configuration from the Microsoft Store. Photoshop/illustrator is a breeze even on i5/4gb.

 

I previously had the Samsung Series 7, and even thought it was an i7/6gb, the Vaio feels much snappier. And this keyboard is incredible. I prefer it to the Samsung and my old trusty Toshibas.

 

Correct! SATA 3 was enabled in a previos BIOS version, but in the most recent versions are SATA2. Hopefully they'll fix the root cause of the problem (hopefully not hardware related) so that the laptop can run on full speed SATA3.

I have i7, 8gb RAM version. I installed an SSD myself and did a clean install. From pushing the power button til i have a chrome loaded its aprox ~13sec.

As mentioned earlier in this thread: enabling dolby will enhance the sound quality, I did a clean install and are not able to find the same settings with this option as advised earlier in the thread. Are there any similar setting in a standard windows, or did i miss any driver/software?

 

I would assume the BIOS forces SATA II because the hardware has issues with SATA III. It may be one of the tradeoffs of the flex connector. I have no actual insight into the problem though, it could be the other end of the spectrum, where its perfectly capable, but they want to segment their product line.

 

Thanks for the tip! It actually "lowered" the fan noise. But:

This is true, because the game I was playing feels a little laggy at times. But the temperature while gaming on Stamina mode has been lowered from 80C to 66C. I guess this is an okay compromise for longer CPU life.


EDIT: if someone is able to crack the real original BIOS with SATAIII (earlier than 2084, i think 2080) and able to downgrade to that version, I would love to know how to do it.

 

Same here! Ordered mine Monday. Ship date also Dec. 8 (sheet battery shipped yesterday).

 

Haha my sheet battery should be here tomorrow. I guess I'll have to play with that for a week till my laptop arrives...

Oh and also I was wondering if any of you fine gentlemen (or ladies) could be kind enough to write out an in-depth "to-do list" of sorts for new owners. Like any/which bloatware programs to remove and how to update graphic drivers/bios and all that jazz. I understand it's alot to ask but would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

+1

I got my SE 2 days ago, during exams though ;_; but I'm loving it so far.

I'm not really a tech expert or anything but some things I have gathered online or from my short experience:

-Install TwoFingerScroll: I found the two finger scrolling (and flick) movements were not consistently recorded when enabled on Synaptics

-Enable Dolby Audio for sound

-Remove Vaio bloatware: I kept- care, control center, easyconnect, update & smartnetwork

-Install Firewall, Anti-virus/spyware

-Create recovery discs.

Those are the only things that come to mind right now but I'm in the middle of an all-nighter so....

If anyone has any more things "to-do" that they'd be willing to share, please do.

 

^ i think Windows 7's internal firewall is good enough, so i can't really suggest another firewall. as for an anti-virus, i would go with Microsoft Security Essentials; it's lightweight and not intrusive and does its job really well.

 

I've had many people suggest MSE as an antivirus but I don't find it as lightweight as claimed.

I guess maybe on older machines it's heavier... so I'm still looking for a good free AV... currently using Panda Cloud.

@hennick:

Did you use Regedit to enable two-finger scrolling in the Synaptics driver? I used to use twofingerscroll but it was not stable in the Chrome browser (since Chrome has its own 2-finger support). I enabled the Synaptics one (based on a post somewhere in this thread) and it's much better than twofingerscroll.

 

Has anyone tried Battlefield 3 on a SE with the 6630 video card option?

I'm not expecting amazing results but do you think it would be playable at low/medium settings? Is there a demo or something I could download to test the performance?

Trying to decide if I should get the PC version or PS3 version with the lower player count...

Thanks in advance!

(Also, if you're buying online from the Canadian Sony store, use the promo code "SONYVIP" for 100$ off.)

 

Yeah, I did the same thing as suggested in the post you mentioned but I prefer twofingerscroll. Maybe because I use firefox?

 

@hennick
Just wondering when did you order your se?

 

i play Battlefield 3 on my VAIO SA (which has the same GPU as SE). i have overclocked it to 725MHz/945MHz/903mV and have all the game settings on HIGH, MSAA off, and FXAA on. it is very playable, and i enjoy it greatly. the maximum GPU temperature is 90C (it just reaches that temperature but never stays) with the average being around 85C and that's for a 13" laptop; it will definitely be less than that for the 15" SE.

 

@BigNerd (and of course others who are willing to contribute )

I saw your video with the Sony SE & MBA at your blog. Firstly, thanks for publishing. Nice to see the differences between those two - really different - machines.

Here in Holland, there's also an offer with a free battery slice due the 5th of december. I am in search of a portable device with the most difficult requirements: great screen, easy to carry around in a bag, high-res, best peformance possible, more than average battery life and max 14 inch, windows 7, 1500 euro's. Sounds familar? ;-) Where can I sign up for the group? But the Sony offer on the SE seems interesting and the machine meets almost my requirements.

But..I am having some problems with the screen and dimensions of the laptop. Actually, I am looking for some real life 'benchmarks' and experiences about working with this laptop on..well..your lap. When you commute a lot, wil the SE be a working solution or are you going to have some problems in this area? And what do you think of the portability in general?

My background: I own a Asus 12 inch EEE netbook, which is coming short in performance. I use my iPad for short internetbrowsing sessions and I'll be buying a Transformer Prime. Furthermore, I have a high performance desktop, so I'am not looking for a 100%l desktop replacement. I am in search for a notebook which I can use for multitasking and photo-editing. I am not really an Apple enthusiast, but I am looking @ a MBA because of its portability and somewhat better resolution (where I'll be installing W7 if it comes so far..). But this actually seems a too big of compromise for me.. And in a earlier stage I dismissed the XPS 15 because of it's bulkiness, after I had seen it in real life.

Since BigNerd owns both devices, I am really intrested in some insights..

Thanks anyways for all the great information I have read so far in this topic.

 

@Xolo:

From my experience, bootcamping Win7 onto my MBA wasn't ideal. First, it took a while to do so because I didn't want to buy a SuperDrive so doing the USB drive imaging, install etc was a bit tedious. Second, Win7 running on the MBA was a bit wonky, battery life wasn't as good and the touchpad drivers kept dropping off so I would have to reboot periodically.

The SE is great... it's thin and light... but the 15.5" form factor will be bigger than the 12" Asus you're used to. The main reason I got it was the 1080p screen resolution... not many notebooks < 17" has that in the US... esp at the $1000 price point. My only qualm is the battery life isn't "all day".

I'm actually selling my MBA... while I enjoyed the experience of OSX (had to because I stopped using Win7 due to my issues), I prefer the Win platform and with all the ultrabooks coming out... I get the portability/thinness/battery life of the MBA at a lower cost. Now if only they could do the trackpad like Apple does.

The good thing about the MBA was the 1440x900 resolution... most of the PC ubooks only do 1366x768... the ASUS Zenbooks are better with 1600x900 but it seems their first iteration is plagued with issues (there are multiple threads here at NBR detailing them).

If I were you... you might want to see how the Prime works out (I also own the orignal TF+KBDock) but I'm ruling it out to get a ubook instead (plus I prefer a smaller tablet form factor). If the Prime isn't enough... by then maybe ASUS has worked out the problems with the UX31 and then you will get the size you need and a higher res screen.

Good luck.

 

I ordered it on the 18th of November and got it on the 29th. I got it from Sony Canada though and the sheet battery came in the same box as the laptop.

 

Wow, thanks! Makes the decision a lot easier.

 

Thanks hennick!
Seriously the wait is killer. Makes me wish I would've just bought something at best buy or something (not really haha)

 

Do beware, however, darxide_sorcerer's and I's beloved Vaio SAs run at 1600x900 resolution, where the SE runs a neat 1920x1080.

 

Which means if you want to run BF3 smoothly, you'll have to drop the resolution to 1366x768 for playability.

 

^ oh yes! i forgot to mention the resolution i play at. it is 1366x768 outputted to my HDTV (which has that native resolution). but lowering the settings to MEDIUM allows you to play at higher resolutions...

 

I got into the Battlefield series with the first Vietnam game and was happily playing it at 800 x 600 (or something) for 2 years. The laptop I have now has a max res of 1280 x 1024 I think...

Even having to lower the res to 1366 x 768 is an upgrade for me at this point.

Thanks for all the help

 

After waiting for one month, i finally managed to get my hands on a brand new Vaio SE.
It's been more than 3 years since i last bought a laptop, am i supposed to keep it plugged in a number of hours, this first time i fully charge it ?

 

I got my keyboard skin in yesterday (VGP-KBL10/B). My first impressions are much better than my expectations. I've tested out keyboard skins on other sony laptops and it really impeeds your typing ability. However, due to the thin low travel keyboard on the SE, they keyboard skin has very little negative effect. One could say that the slightly softer more gripping feel even has its advantages.

 

We have an Advanced Menu now

The BIOS files for SE and SA series are exactly the same! SATA III is not unlocked yet, but camiloml will check it.

http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-Request-Camilo-Sony-Vaio-SA-series-R2085H4-Advanced-Menu-Sata-3-Plz

 

It looks like the advance menu only allows you to disable features...is there anything you can get with the modified BIOS that you can't get with the normal BIOS?

 

You can control fan speed, throttle temperature, disable LPM, etc.

 

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum but I'll be receiving my Sony Vaio SE in a week, it's the first laptop I've ever purchased

Anyway, I hear that there is a major cooling and noise problem at maximum load. I want my Vaio to last three years at least, but I'll be running the CPU and GPU at load a lot and that will probably affect the overall life of my laptop. I was wondering if there were any cooling solutions to keep the temperatures at manageable levels, I don't really mind the noise. I'll mainly be outputting to an external monitor so I'm worried that if the Vaio can't handle itself I'd have to return it for a Samsung Series 7 and I really don't want to do that, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

I don't think I see these features in the modded BIOS.

VaioGrave, heat levels are acceptable with "Silent Mode" fan profile on. Got a max of 66C, but 80C when on "Performance Mode" on HD3000 gaming. These profiles are found in Vaio Control Centre. I guess the CPU state is limited to lower the temperature range. I will see how the dedicated GPU is running with "Silent Mode" on. After some testing, max is 68C with GPU on.

 

Check the Thermal option in Advance tab.

 

Hmm yeah, but I'd rather not have the CPU throttled and I'll be using the 6630. I fear anything above 70C because that's the highest I ever go on my desktop. Anyway to keep temps at below 70C what about a cooling pad? Will that help?
I bought a sheet battery so I'm not sure how they'll interact, of course I won't need the sheet battery if I'm just outputting it stationary.

 

Hello,

I have a question about Sony's SSD : do you know what model it is ? And is it a "great" SSD ? In France, there is a promotion : 256 Go (2x128) for 270 €...

Thank you.

 

Saw one at Fry's last night. Was impressed with the specifications, style and price, so ordered the jet black one from Amazon with free sheet battery @ $880.
Have OCS Vertex 3 128GB that I will install, but 4GB ram and probably buy the HD caddy to instill my hybrid 500GB Seagate.

Have a question for Windows installation. I am planning to do fresh installation then install the drivers and software from Sony's website. What features and goodies I will be losing by doing that?

 

Hum, no one seems to be very enthusiast about Sony's SSD
And I don't understand why they put 2 SSD of 128 instead of 1 of 256

So, I think it is a better idea no to buy it but, instead, to change my HDD later with a... true SSD...

It is the last day of the promotion so I was ready to change my configuration, but, finally, I think I won't...