Sony Vaio CB Official Owners' Thread

I got the black model earlier in the week. When I chose to buy it I assumed that the purple look to the laptop would probably look bad but the performance would make up for it. Once it arrived I noticed that the purple tint is actually quite unnoticeable and is quite a sharp looking laptop.

As for the screen quality questions, I do not think you will be disappointed.

 

sigh.. still no updates from Sony about my ordered CB
estimated ship date is April 6... huhuhu,
it's been 16 days now since i placed the order.. so sad....

 

The white model looks cool man, really!... I always thought that purchasing something that you use and touch everyday with your hands is a bad idea because it gets yellowish after some time. But I think this time I'm going to play sure and go for the white, it looks really nice and i don't want to take risks with the black and its purple tone, i don't know if I will like that really... I just have to keep it clean, and be sure to use it with clean hands... but some real pictures of the black model would be much appreciated, i hpe somebody coul upload some, so we can compare...

Yeah pal, I've decided to go for the CB, the design is very important for me, and the cb is not a powerhorse but with top specs it could be a very good laptop.... And the heat issues on the XPS is something i don't want to experience... I know how it feels to spend a lot of money on something that brings you more problems to your life, I want to avoid that if I can...

 

I just came back from the Sony store and checked it out in black. The purple is BARELY noticeable. Just a small purple line going around the "vaio" logo and around the border of the screen from what i can see. The actual design on the lid is grey which looks very nice on black.

I compared it to the white and i find the black much more appealing. White is too shiny and looks a little feminine IMO.

 

Yeah exactly, mostly likely the people that will be disappointed are the ones that actually wanted purple on their laptop.

 

I'd call about that. I put my order in 4/7, and my estimated ship date was 4/14. Sure enough, it shipped on 4/14 and is due here 4/19. Can't wait!

 

you have your tracking number already?? good for you... they told me to wait for another week. my order is trapped in japan..

 

I wanted the white from the minute I saw it. It doesn't look feminine, it looks razor sharp. Every laptop is black. This thing looks awesome sitting on my desk. I'm sure the black looks good as well, but I wanted to go for something a little more striking.

I'll try and get my dSLR out later and take some side pictures. Need to go work out now. Until then, rest assured that the angles are good. I watched a BD on it the other night in my bed and it was fine.

 

Yep! It amused me that my Japanese computer was shipped from China. That's where they make everything!

I hope you hear about yours soon! Maybe you requested something I didn't? Weird...

 

Finally pulled the trigger and ordered tonight. Got the 1920x1080 screen upgrade as well as the 1GB Radeon w/ hybrid graphics upgrade. I'll upgrade RAM on my own. Should be shipping the 26th with free 2 day shipping. Education discount got me a 2 year warranty for $15, can't complain on that.

When it gets here, I'll post pictures, specs , comments, whatever anyone wants.

 

Thanks! i configured my order with the low specs only. Yep, it's kinda weird. Let us know when you get your CB share some pics . do you think the LCD screen is glossy too? or reflective?

 

Strange! I hope you hear that yours shipped soon. I will be happy to post pictures! I got the black, and I think we need some pics of that in this thread. (Still curious if ANYONE is getting the orange or green...)

 

haha! i ordered the Orange one!

 

Really? Awesome! You definitely have to post pictures then. I'm not judging...just saying, those are some REALLY bright colors!

Maybe the orange are so popular that they sold out, which is why yours is taking longer?

 

haha! ok i will post the pics. but i am also thinking if i can change it to black or white.. hmmm... and haha, based on most reviews i read, they dont like the poor oranges and greens. so i adopted one

 

Hi everyone!
I'm going tomorrow to the sony style shop to get mine.
For those who are concerned about the purple on the black, I can confirm that it is barely noticeable since I've been to the store I don't remember how many times to explore and use that laptop and to surf the net in the past couple of weeks. That's my kinda way to "test" the computer before I decide myself to go for it. I could even add that, (in my opinion) that little touch of purple gives the overlook a simple touch of class. I'll try to post some pics when I get it but in the meantime there are some pretty good shots on the website here...

VPCCB15FH : C Series : VAIO Notebook & Computer : Sony Thailand

 

thanks! All CB models in the US are i5, i saw some CB models in Asia with i7 processor. why is that??

 

I haven't seen any CB with i7 here in Thailand. There is the new series S with i7 sandy bridge but not in the C series here.

 

In India, the model is VPCCB12FG & comes with FHD screen, 4gigs RAM, 500GB 7200rpm HDD with 1GB HD 6630M GPU at a great VFM price of 53,000 INR (about USD 1200).

I'm dying to try out this model.

A review which might help: The Sony Vaio CB15 Review

 

Hong Kong and Singapore offers CB series with Intel® Core™ i7-2620M processors (which uses same sockets as Intel® Core™ i5-2410M).
i wonder if my i5 can be upgraded to i7.
all CB Models have i5 processors, here is the list of the i7 processors that support the same sockets as i5:

Intel® Core™ i7-2620M (Sockets Supported: FCBGA1023, PPGA988)
Intel® Core™ i7-2657M (Sockets Supported: FCBGA1023)
Intel® Core™ i7-2649M (Sockets Supported: FCBGA1023)
Intel® Core™ i7-2629M (Sockets Supported: FCBGA1023)

Intel® Core™ i5-2410M (Sockets Supported: FCBGA1023, PPGA988)

The CB model i saw from Asia models with i7 is the Intel® Core™ i7-2620M.
Does it mean we can upgrade our i5 later on?
What do you think guys?

 

What the hell is going on with the blue tone in those pictures?? I saw it in black and the purple is BARELY noticeable. Its mostly gray on black which happens to look very nice IMO. Definitely the best looking out of all the colors.

The blue on that guy's C series looks very noticeable and nothing like i saw it in the store.

 

Strange pics indeed. Nothing like what i've seen.

 

If you've read the review, the blue tone is seen only when light falls on the lid at some specific angles.

 

I don't know what kind of lighting they had for these pics because the one I used several times at the shop was kind of black and grey with a touch of purple around the edge and around the touchpad. The pictures on this page I think give a better idea.
VPCCB15FH : C Series : VAIO Notebook & Computer : Sony Thailand

BTW: What do you think of that link bar that sony is adding on top of the screen? Do ypu think it could be useful or are you gonna get rid of it?

 

Anyone with a black model willing to post pictures? Also, anyone know if there will be a cnet review one of these days?

 

Benchmark Ranking - Intel Core i5-2410M @ 2.30GHz
PassMark CPU Lookup

 

Well, I decided to go for the black CB after all... I'm placing my order today with this specs:

Blu-ray Disc™ Player / Burner
High capacity battery
AMD Radeon™ HD 6630M (1GB VRAM) hybrid graphics with Intel® Wireless Display technology
4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333
Intel® Core™ i5-2540M processor (2.60GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.30GHz
320GB Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm)
Black
15.5" Full HD VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080)

$1285.99 after taxes and it comes with a free Bloggie Touch Camera

 

Good decision. I'm going to get mine tomorrow at the Sony Style Shop. I will take the specs prepared by sony as it is. It's almost the same as yours except that I don't have the Blue-Ray Disc, and I'll get a 500GB Hard Drive Disc.

 

I'll take/post some tomorrow, if you can wait till then.

 

I don't care much of the color. The laptop has great specs & VFM pricing. That's enough reason to get it.

 

i7 2620M is still a dual core processor, not a quad core

 

Yup, it is. but with higher frequency and cache memory. i think quad core processors are recommended to extreme gamers or to those who need extreme processing
if you are this kind of user? it's not recommended for you

 

I apologize for the quality in advance:

 

Here's a video of the white one:

YouTube - Quick Look At The Latest Sony VAIO C Series 2011 White 15.5 i5

 

thanks for the pics of the black! i'm leaning towards that one but still might get the white...also, does anyone know anything about student discounts? thanks

 

Ordering from the education store gives you 10% off if you buy an extended warranty. With 10% and the cheapest extended warranty, I think you save about 6 dollars from what you'd normally pay without one.... haha, but it essentially amounts to a free 2 year warranty.

 

i just called Sony today because my order is super delay! i placed the order March 28, but until now, still no update.. so sad... and frustrating..

HERE'S MY CONFIGURATION (LOW SPECS CONFIG):
Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor (2.30GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.90GHz
AMD Radeon™ HD 6630M (1GB VRAM) hybrid graphics with Intel® Wireless Display technology
15.5" Full HD VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080)
High capacity battery
4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333 -- will upgrade in the future
320GB Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm) -- i'll upgrade to SSD in the future)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
NEON ORANGE - (i think im the only one who ordered this color in this Thread)
CD/DVD Player / Burner
(i dont need blueray for now, my HD movies are on my external hard drive)

$934.91 (with 10%) discount.
They said they will credit me another $40 for the inconvenience...
Well, why not... it's still a good deal, im not in a hurry anyway, hehehe. I can wait until end of April.

So my Total price is: $894.91 (not bad)

 

Got my computer today (one day early!) and figured I'd post some unboxing and first impressions. Picture quality isn't great, because lighting wasn't great, but oh well.

It comes in a nice box:


Everything in the box (computer, power cord, various quick install and backup papers):


And finally, opened and powering on. The backlit keyboard comes on, and it looked glorious. Couldn't capture that well in the picture.


First impressions:
The black laptop definitely has a purple tint in the right light. I saw it right away, and it looks very cool. Gives it an almost metallic look. Definitely subtle and more of a positive than negative.

The laptop feels solid. It opens and closes solidly. It feels like all one piece, which is a major plus in my book. The keyboard is fantastic. However, the setup is odd. Adding the numeric keypad means you're offset to the left when typing and using the mouse. It's not bad, just unusual, and it's something I'll have to get used to. The backlighting to the keyboard is really beautiful when it comes on.

I like the placement of the ports and power connection. But because the connection is a right angle, it always pulls down and gets in the way when it's on your lap. Another minor inconvenience to get used to.

The screen looks very nice. Have yet to watch a movie with it, but at normal viewing angles, it's quite impressive. I don't notice any shortfalls with the viewing angles. If you open it far or close it too far, you can't see it well, or from the sides at extreme angles, but why would you look at your computer at those angles anyway?

It's taken a few hours to update Windows 7, Adobe Acrobat, and the VAIO updates. Uninstalled Norton Security and the Bing Bar, but not sure what else will be considered bloatware, so I'm creating recovery discs (4 DVDs) from this point. The VAIO bar across the top is pretty cool. Have to play with it and see if it's configurable. Most of it is filled with VAIO software that probably isn't too important.

So far, I'm enamored with it. A few things to get used to, but that's true for any computer. It's beautiful, and I'm eager to get it all backed up and ready to go!

My configuration:
* Blu-ray Disc™ Player
* High capacity battery
* AMD Radeon™ HD 6470M (512MB VRAM) dedicated graphics
* No Fresh Start
* Norton Internet Security™ 2011 (30 Day Trial)
* Sony® Imagination Studio™ Suite
* 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333
* Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor (2.30GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.90GHz
* 500GB Hard Drive (7200rpm)
* Microsoft® Office 2010 Starter (Click More Info for details.)
* Black
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* 15.5" Full HD VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080)

 

First impressions:
The black laptop definitely has a purple tint in the right light. I saw it right away, and it looks very cool. Gives it an almost metallic look. Definitely subtle and more of a positive than negative.

The laptop feels solid. It opens and closes solidly. It feels like all one piece, which is a major plus in my book. The keyboard is fantastic. However, the setup is odd. Adding the numeric keypad means you're offset to the left when typing and using the mouse. It's not bad, just unusual, and it's something I'll have to get used to. The backlighting to the keyboard is really beautiful when it comes on.

I like the placement of the ports and power connection. But because the connection is a right angle, it always pulls down and gets in the way when it's on your lap. Another minor inconvenience to get used to.

The screen looks very nice. Have yet to watch a movie with it, but at normal viewing angles, it's quite impressive. I don't notice any shortfalls with the viewing angles. If you open it far or close it too far, you can't see it well, or from the sides at extreme angles, but why would you look at your computer at those angles anyway?

It's taken a few hours to update Windows 7, Adobe Acrobat, and the VAIO updates. Uninstalled Norton Security and the Bing Bar, but not sure what else will be considered bloatware, so I'm creating recovery discs (4 DVDs) from this point. The VAIO bar across the top is pretty cool. Have to play with it and see if it's configurable. Most of it is filled with VAIO software that probably isn't too important.

So far, I'm enamored with it. A few things to get used to, but that's true for any computer. It's beautiful, and I'm eager to get it all backed up and ready to go!

My configuration:
* Blu-ray Disc™ Player
* High capacity battery
* AMD Radeon™ HD 6470M (512MB VRAM) dedicated graphics
* No Fresh Start
* Norton Internet Security™ 2011 (30 Day Trial)
* Sony® Imagination Studio™ Suite
* 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333
* Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor (2.30GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.90GHz
* 500GB Hard Drive (7200rpm)
* Microsoft® Office 2010 Starter (Click More Info for details.)
* Black
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* 15.5" Full HD VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080)[/QUOTE]



this is fantastic sir thanks.. i hope no one boo me when i post my neon orange hehehe

 

Another observation: This computer is FAST. I downloaded, installed, and opened iTunes in the time it took iTunes to merely open on my old computer.

I am having a bit of trouble adjusting to the high resolution (and therefore tiny text). Figuring out how to increase the size (in programs that support that) without decreasing the resolution.

 

For those who have it in there hands i'm wondering how the vents are and if the fans are loud when its idle to normally surfing on the internet on your lap. If possible could someone post the temperatures of the CPU idle and while playing a game ? thank you in advance.

 

Just increase the DPI to a suitable size in the display settings.

 

Congrats on your purchase and Thanks for the impressions!
Can the keyboard backlight be manually adjusted or is it all automatic?
Have you tested the battery life in power saver mode?
Is switching between dedicated and integrated graphics easy?

 

If you go to >>Control Panel>>Display you can change the DPI of the text to 125% or 150% without affecting the resolution.

 

Will have to play with it a bit to test this, but so far, I'm pleasantly pleased by the coolness of the fan. During normal surfing last night, the fan kicked in (couldn't really hear it) and felt nice and cool on my lap as opposed to the computer feeling hot. Will have to test it with a processor-intensive game and let you know.

 

Thanks! Will do that. I knew there was an option somewhere. I definitely have to tweak all the usual settings.

 

Awesome ! i hate laptops that get hot on your lap within seconds. I think i'll be pulling the trigger today and ordering it.

 

well its too late now, since I already ordered, but how "glossy" is the screen??

 

FYI, its seems like the ordering page is sorta messed up today. 8GB ram is cheaper than 4GB (by $20). Windows 7 Pro is no cost upgrade, and so is getting Office 2010 Professional.

Here is my order summary.

Product: US-VPCCB190X-LBOM
Component: Blu-ray Disc™ Player
Component: High capacity battery
Component: AMD Radeon™ HD 6630M (1GB VRAM) hybrid graphics with Intel® Wireless Display technology
Component: Fresh Start
Component: No additional AntiVirus Software
Component: Sony® Imagination Studio™ Suite
Component: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333
Component: Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor (2.30GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.90GHz
Component: 500GB Hard Drive (7200rpm)
Component: Microsoft® Office 2010 Professional
Component: White
Component: Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit
Component: 15.5" Full HD VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080)
Description: VPCCB190X Configure-to-Order
Ship Method: Expedited
Estimated Ship Date: 04/28/2011
Extended Service Plan: 2 Year Express Ship Service Plan for Laptops
Subtotal: $1,106.73


Its a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I couldn't pass up all those upgrades for so little... Only thing I'm worried about is the screen and whether it is too glossy/reflective. Also sorta pissed I couldn't get the free Bloggie camera, sales rep said you couldn't get it and the warranty discount.

 

Fairly glossy. Definitely reflective. Nothing too troublesome, but I imagine if you used it in bright light (outside, backlit), it might be annoying.