Considering SR, owners have any problems?

Hello - I am currently leaning towards picking up a SR290 online. I was wondering if anyone has had any common problems with the laptop?

I configured a system as follows:

* DVD±R DL / DVD±RW / DVD-RAM Drive
* 160 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [5400 rpm]
* Standard Battery
* MOTION EYE® Camera
* Trusted Platform Module / Biometric Fingerprint Sensor
* ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3470 with HDMI™ Output
* Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz)
* Wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
* 13.3" WXGA (XBRITE-ECO™ technology)
* Night Black
* Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit
* 2 GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 1GBx2)

I had previously picked up a Lenovo T61, and the screen was really bad; there were these faint horizontal lines across the screen. I had sent it in for repair twice and they sent it back to me saying they couldn't replicate the problem, so I gave up, and handed it off to my uncle.

I was also considering the new E4300, because I wanted something small/light, but the price was too high. This SR one is around 4.2lb, so hopefully that's light enough. But my main concern is with the screen, since the last one was a disaster. I'm using a Dell 600m right now, and the screen looks nice (compared to the T61, ugh). I read that battery life is around 3.5hrs for this, which is good enough, and not much problems with heat. With my 600m, the area under the memory and wifi card heat up a great deal, which burns if I touch it. Just wanted to see if there are any other problems.

Actually one more question - if I wait until after Christmas, do you think the price will drop even more on this particular laptop? It's $400 off right now, so that's why I'm looking at it.

Thanks,
- Eli

 

the battery drain problem ( u can search about it in this form )

and it has a problem with screen brightness that prevent u to control the brightness after connect\disconnect from external screen !!

btw , the laptop is great machine in performance and build quality !!

 

the two problems you mentioned occur in other VAIOs too..

 

Are these problems that affect all laptops, or just a minority population?

 

the battery drain problem was GREATLY exaggerated.. all laptops have a little battery drainage when turned off

and the second problem seems to be a tiny bug in the driver.. there's always a easy work around (restart the service)

 

Ah, can you point me to where I can read up on this? The only solution I saw when browsing the forum was to use some Vista control panel object to adjust the brightness. I'm likely to reformat it down to XP, so hopefully the workaround works in XP, too?

 

To be honest I use an external monitor and I have never had this problem...

But if it does happen, just type in "service.msc" into Run or the Vista Search Bar in Start menu..
scroll down the list and find "VAIO EVENT SERVICE"
restart that service then it will work again

 

The real weight of E4300 with 6 cell is 1.800 kg, while the SR is 1.890 kg. Not much difference.

SR has a much better screen.
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/inspection/dell-latitude-e4300-724

 

I bought my g/f an SR for going back to school and she has been using it for a while. The only problem i have found with it is the battery drain problem and it really isn't "over exaggerated." For a battery to lost that much percentage overnight is ridiculous. So you end up having to take the battery out if you know you aren't going to be using it for a while.

I haven't had the screen issue; before i bought my vaio Z, we used her SR via the VGA port to hook up to my Panny plasma which has a pc input and i didn't have any issues.

All in all, it's a great laptop with a fantastic screen and great performance/weight ratio.

 

The SR is a phenomenal laptop with an excellent build quality, and i am coming from owning two thinkpads and having close family members own apples and the like...

Every notebook in the market(not exaggerating... all of them.) have some issue in some department, much like with all electronic/mechanical equipment, even the best of the best laptops may have some flaw somewhere...

Vaios are considered the most reliable by consumer reports(lowest failure rate) and you can find many people that have had their vaios for 3,4, even 5 years! Yes, it's true, sony does not have the propaghanda B.S. of apple(many apple owners PRETEND like their machines dont have issues and then proceed to act so shocked when their precious new macbook/pro has some issue...).

Anyways, i digress, the SR is a great bang for you buck laptop! That being said, if portability is your thing and you have an extra 300 bucks, go buy a Z! If sheer computing power(with portability is your thing)... then buy the SR. Head to head, the SR290 squashes the new Z in power. But the Z has a nicer screen(Dual lamp), its a bit smaller, and it weighs like 3 lbs.

If i could do it all over again, i would choose the SR... more powerful GPU option, more powerful CPU option, and an excellent pricepoint.

 

I hope so. I owned an older Vaio a long time ago, it was nice, but it was using a desktop P4 processor or something, so the fan would always spin loud and make lots of annoying noises; hopefully these recent Vaios are better. But, I'm going to go check both the SR and Z at the store. If the Z dropped in price down to around $1150 within ~20-30 days, I may pick it up. I need something light because I want to carry this to class, but not something so small I have to kill my eyes trying to read it. Right now I'm on a 14.1" dell so I'll be dropping down to 13.3" screen.

 

Both are very light, the SR is like 4.2lbs and the Z is like 3.4lbs... but trust me...both are very light...and coming from a 14.1lbs dell(presumably in the 5-6lb variety) these will both be quiet light... so that shouldnt be a concern, and if you only have 1150... i dont recommend a Z...because it will never be that cheap...in fact, 1150 is relatively low end SR config... my suggestion for 1150 would be:

2.0Ghz T5800, 4GB of Ram, and the 3470 Radeon... that's 1194 BEFORE a student discount... call sonystyle sales to get a better deal... and ask about the student discount(this is new...)

 

1150-1200 is after the $400 off promotion they're having at the moment wonder if they will add a student discount on top of this, too.

 

Yeah you can add the student discount on top of the other discounts.. I've heard people buying a brand new SR for around 700-800 dollars..

 

I wanna know which companies are offering a big employee discount; see if anyone of my friends' parents work there

Hey, if I walk into a Sony Store, will they give me the above discount + student discount + their own discount? lol