Sony Vaio CB Official Owners' Thread

Where did u buy ur CB? I was bought it in hong kong just few weeks ago. N FYI vpccb17fg with i7 processor r still unavailable outside hk and india.Cmiiw

 

In some Asian markets they're offering the dual core i7 processor (not the quad core)

 

But, i've got the quad core i7 If it's just dual core the price should not be ridiculously high like that right?

 

^^ Open Device manager & see the number of processors displayed.

If it is four, then it is dual-core & eight is quad-core.

 

Does the Optical Disc drive burns both DVD+R/RW and DVD -R/RW . What about the playback can it read all formats of DVD. I searched the sony site but couldn't get much info on this.

 

Dude, u should check these before u posting

Mobile Processors

2620qm and upper are equipped with quad-core processor. My vpccb17fg is already equipped with 2620qm. So, it should be quad core. Not dual core

 

^^ Oh. Which country are you in ?

 

Should not be so high period. The quad cores are not much faster, in fact in some applications they can be slower than a dual core i5. Plus they use more power.

 

Me? Hong kong. and, you?

@nasanu

But, should be better quad core i7 for gaming than dual core i5 right?

 

anyone got pictures of what the large capacity battery looks like on the CB? Wanna see how big the "hump" is.

 

hrmmm im really questioning if the HD Radeon 6630M with 1 GB is actually running while im playing Rift even though I have it set as High performance in the controls but it doesn't seem like it due to the fps in game with low quailty it's giving me around 8-11fps

 

try to play resident evil 5 and counter strike source. Set the game onto high performance on the ccc and make the effects all set to high without using anti-alias. If the games run smoothly on 1080p, that means your hd6630 is running perfectly. or, u can check my benchmark videos that i have posted before on the previous pages

 

i think quad core is not available in CB series. so your i7 is not quad core if you "ridiculously pay high" on your CB, you might had a bad deal hahaha

is there a website for your CB model so we can check?

the i7 i've seen in hong kong are Intel® Core™ i7-2620M

Ok, can you screenshot your processor details for us

I might be wrong too..

 

Website?You can check it on the sony website asia pacific region.

About the screenshot,well i'll post the ss after i've already got my day-off maybe 2-3 days later. just stay tune

* btw, i say it ridiculous high because the price reach over than 10k hk$(include with 4 gb ram ddr-3). But, fyi this laptop has same price w/ lenovo y560p n better in res screen and support dedicated graphic *

1us$= 7.76 hk$. i spend 10200hk$ to get this laptop. not a bad deal, heh?

 

here is the sony site for asia pacific: C Series : VAIO Notebook : Sony Asia Pacific

CB models with i7processor uses Intel® Core™ i7-2620M. which is according to this link: Intel® Core? i7-2620M Processor (4M Cache, 2.70 GHz)with SPEC Code(s)SR03F, SR041 is a dual core

well, I might be wrong again

 

That's Sony. They show the i7 on the main page, then when you select where to buy and Thailand (here) you get only the i5 on the local page. We had that discussion on this thread a few days ago. Sony doesn't have any standardization at all. I'm not especially an apple fan but at lease if you buy a MBP, you can be sure it'll be the same wherever you are on the planet.

 

I had a similar issue in Starcraft 2, until I realized my computer was set on power saving mode. Changing to High Performance in power settings fixed the issue. Let me know if that fixes it.

Best,
Cassy

 

Also keep in mind that what you select will not take effect until you restart the game.

 

Wow... how could it be? --a. then,i will post some ss after i got day-off. Yeah about 2 - 3 days later.

* 2 cores? But, My vaio has 4 cores --a *

 

Yes. Two physical cores + 2 virtual cores = Total 4 threads.

In a Quad Core there are 4 physical cores + 4 virtual cores = Total 8 threads.

Your Vaio has a Dual Core Core i7 2620M CPU. Sony does not offer a quad core in any of its VAIO models except for the F series.
Hope that helped

 

Can someone PLEASE answer this?

Thanks.

 

Oh, man. I guess u are right.i recently just check it before going to work w/ cpu-z. it shows 2 cores not 4 cores --''

But, i still have some questions:

1. What is virtual core? Can u explain to me the detail info about this one?
2. Which one is better? i7 - 2620qm or intel core 2 quad first generation?
3. i was checking on intel website and i saw i7-2620qm in the quad-core processor list.So,which one is correct?

 

It is all correct. The i7 2620M that you have is dual core, anything with 'qm' on the end if quad core.

Personally I would not worry about it. The current quad cores are really not faster. Some applications that can take advantage of the extra cores do run faster on them, most applications turn out to run faster on the current dual core lineup.

 

Ok, I think we are pulling the trigger on the the CB; we just ordered the Envy 17 3D and NOT pleased. It froze on us 5 times in the first 6 days and is too big for our liking...so we are returning it.

Does anyone know if Sony ever puts out coupon codes? HP does it all the time, but I haven't seen any to apply for the Sony laptop....hoping I don't have to pay more for less of a laptop than my HP was, but it's looking like I may have to...

 

HP offers coupons all the time because their computers are not built to last more often than not. You get better reliability from Sony than you would from HP or Dell.

 

Ok, so I could expect to pay $1,300 for the Vaio CB with HD screen, 500GM 7200rpm HD, blu-ray burner and 6GB ram....

not quite as beefed up as the current HP, but it should be good enough for our daily use (web browsing, music, HD photos/video).

How is the battery life on the CB? The HP lasts a whole 2 hours. UGH.

 

I bought mine in Sony Style USA. It would be nice if they put the i7 processor to offer.

The i5 has a highest clock frequency but the i7 kicks i5 in terms of multithreading (run various precesses at the same time and not afecting performance).

Oh! and as far as I know, all i7 processors are quad core, correct me if I'm wrong. I think that if some CB's are being offered with i7 in some regions, we could upgrade our i5 processor to i7.

 

You should take a look at this if you plan to buy a HP...
The Most Reliable Laptop Survey

 

1. Through hyper threading, one core simulates 2 cores. So, basically if you have 2 cores with hyper threading, it simulates 4 cores total.
2. Going off of current benchmarks, pretty much any i7 or i5 would beat the first gen intel core 2 quads. Even the two core i7s and i5s.

More cores does not always equate to a better processor.

3. i7-2620qm is a quad core (8 simulated cores). i7-2620m is a dual core (4 simulated cores).

Not many laptops have quad cores out of concerns for power.

A lot of the i5s and i7s on laptops are just dual cores with hyper threading... so they're simulated quad cores. The desktop versions are definitely superior though - Quad cores with hyper threading (so 8 simulated cores).

Battery life is decent. 4 hours on power saver. ~2.5 (maybe 3) on high performance, depending on what you're doing.

Best,
Cassy

 

At first glance, that ram seems fine for this model. Looks like it'd be about the same as the stock ram.

NON-ECC isn't that important at the consumer level. But you can read more about it here: Do I need ECC or non-ECC Memory?

 

Thanks for the reply.

So basically it says NON-ECC memory runs faster, so I guess its a good thing i got NON-ECC memory.

I installed the memory and it seems to be running fine now. Looking at its specs it should be running at the same speed as the stock memory, although I'd like to be sure.

 

Just placed my order! Upgraded to a Blu-Ray writer, WiDi, 6GB Ram, 500 GB 7200rpm HD, and most importantly the hi-def screen.

Keeping my Envy 17 3D for another week, then sending it back. Hopefully my 2nd attempt at a new laptop will work out much better

 

So,my vpccb17fg should be quad-core right because it's using i7-2620qm?--a

--- edited ---

Woops.... It is 2620m. Not qm. Looks i must doing some surgical for my eyes

 

I think my location is mentioned in every post of mine. But specially for you, I'm in India.

And that is why I asked you to check Device Manager.

 

Wrong. There are quad-core i5s (only for desktops, btw) & dual-core i7s as mentioned above.

 

Hey guys, I got my CB last week and it has been great so far, once you remove the bloat it runs very fast. I have noticed though that the cooling fan runs constantly at a pretty high speed. At idle the cpu's are around 36-38 degrees which seems normal, but the fan never winds down. Compared to my wife's new EB, mine sounds like a turbine.

Does this sound like a defective fan, or heat sensor? I've checked out SpeedFan to see if it was controllable but the fan is not even recognized. I cant seem to find any monitor that tells me the fan rpms? Most articles mention dust, bios, but nothing for a brand new computer... Has anyone had this problem?

Thanks

__
Specs:
US-VPCCB190X-LBOM
i5-2410M, 4GB, 320GB, Home Premium, Black

 

That sounds a bit weird. On my CB, I can't even hear it. The fan runs but it's not noticeable unless I put my ear to it, and I have very good hearing.

 

Does anyone of you know when (if) the CB series hits Europe?
I would like to buy it but I don't want to spend time by waiting for Godot.
Thanks to anyone who can answer.

 

I've been waiting for it too but have no idea when it is coming or whether it will be launched at all. CB is available everywhere else but not in Europe! Weird.

 

Do you guys also get good quality pictures/video from the webcam?
i dont see the exmor feature on the user's manual.. hmmm. what's that exmor thingy?

 

what are you using to test it?

 

Well, I called tech support about my fan constantly running on high, and the gentleman I talked to was rather pleasant and easy to speak to. He set up an onsite repair to come to my home and replace the fan. A complete laptop replacement would have been the best scenario, but I guess this will do. At least I don't have to ship it somewhere and be without it for a month+. Just hope the guy isnt a psycho or a dumba$$

Oh well first casualty... I guess Im the CB martyr for the rest of you

 

Here in Latin America the CB is unavaible too, here the sony styles just offer CA laptops with very bad specs (here we can't order or customize laptops online) and high price... Because of that I had to order mine in Sony Style USA and ask a friend to bring me the laptop when he comes to Ecuador... I still have to wait two long weeks to get my CB, and the fact that he received my laptop a week ago makes the wait longer... But it will be worth the wait, I know it... Yo should consider to get yours the same way....

 

Well, if Sony can't offer CB in a major market like Europe I'll be looking towards the competition. I can't bother with the hassle of getting it from another country.

 

Is that enough for someone who is not a gamer?

Processor : AMD Radeon™ HD 6490M
Technology : Hybrid Graphics
Video RAM : 512MB dedicated

 

Anyone got a solution for games and programs not recognizing the Radeon graphic card?

 

can you give me an example of games/programs that you're having issues with..

 

yeah, the website Can you run it, which is a web used to check if the machine is good enough for specific games, the program just don't recognize the Radeon graphic card.

 

Last contact I had with Sony's support, they said that their engineers were going to run tests on the model to see if they could reproduce the issue. The support tech said he would get back to me if they found any solution. That was about 5 days ago.

Best,
Cassy

 

well that graphic card problem is a serious let down... Do you think they will solve the problem quickly?.... It is a driver problem right? Every owner of this laptop have tihis issue? If the answer is yes, then I'm sure its a driver problem, nothing that an update can't solve...