Question on the Sony Vaio SR

I know there is a Sony Vaio SR owners thread but i cannot seem to find what i am looking for in it. Is the newest Sony Vaio SR good for light gaming? I used to play World of Warcraft and wanted to know if i were to make a come back on that would this be able to hold up with the ATI 4570 512MB? I also plan on getting Diablo III when it comes out would this also be a game i would be able to play with no problems on the SR?

Two more questions. How is the heat when gaming? and can i hook the SR to my 32" HDTV with no problems? I know the computer doesn't put out 1080p but my TV is 1080p. Would it just downgrade to 720p on its own?

Thanks in advanced for the help. I have been looking into getting this laptop for some time now and plan to get it at the end of October. Just want to make sure it will be worth it.

 

I am still waiting on my SR, but I am confident that it will output at 1080p. I can't see why it wouldn't!?!

Diablo 3 is a hard one to answer because it isn't released and minimum specs haven't been announced. I have heard it will come out after Cataclysm, so it could be years yet. In that case you might be looking to buy a new SR (with a 5570 for all I know).

Wow should be fine, but I haven't got mine to try it out yet. From what I have read about the 4570 (the Dell has the same card in the studio) it should be good enough.

Sony are very good at dealing with heat issues. I have heard the 4570 gets warm under heavy gaming but not unbearable.

 

External resolution has NOTHING to do with internal resolution.

 

It plays WoW perfectly fine on high settings and I have had no heating issues while playing WoW and CSS. Like nuggetbro said D3 isn't out yet so the only thing safe to assume is that most of Blizzards game's are not graphic intensive so we can hope this wont be either.

The graphics card supports HD output via the HDMI cable and it looks great on my sony xbr6

 

There's not much heat with casual-moderate gamings but with intense games like AC, sure FYI, even with intense games, the heat will almost only comes from the left side, where the ATI's located.

 

Thanks guys!

grenwar or anyone else who has played wow with their SR could you post a video? Would like to see how good it looks on a 13.3" if you don't mind.

I figured that a smaller laptop like the SR would be great to bring with me everywhere and game on here and there. If i were to game for a longer period of time i would hook it up to my HDTV.

 

I checked on youtube.com for gaming videos but there are none.
If anyone could post one that would be great.

 

Just search for hd4570, not neccessarily SR

 

i was at blizzcon 09 and played d3 and sc2

seriously, sc2 and d3 are graphically nice but they don't look intensive at all. not a game where it has like view distances, just an overhead view. im putting my trust into the hd4570 to run both of these games cause i plan to get the SR very soon

i am pretty sure it would run perfectly fine, blizzard usually does that anyway

 

Yeah I am waiting to get my SR. I am going to get it once Windows 7 comes out.

The only thing that is bothering me now is that i have been reading threads that the keys squeak after awhile and the wifi isn't that good. People are losing connection with their SRs.

I REALLY want the SR though. The only games i want to play on the SR are BLIZZARD games. Diablo, Wow, SC.

 

I have had my SR for almost 3 weeks now. No Squeaking Keys and the wifi is fine. In fact WiFi is the only way I have connected to both my home and work networks and no problems thus far. The main issue I have had is the same as a lot of other people and that is some sort of battery drain issue although, mine doesn't seem to be as bad as other's.

 

just a word of advice. got this compared to my old hp laptop and i gotta say even wtih a dedicated video card the sony is much faster and most importantly a lot COOLER (physically). old hp was fried from the video card overheating. ridiculous, glad i got this new SR. works great for TF2, CS, SF4, etc...

 

Hey Updog, how's fps of SF4 on you SR. It seems weird to me. My fps has no change no matter if I do max setting or lower. It never goes up to 50 and is really steady on 40.

And another weird thing is when I was gaming on windows mode(1024*768). The CPU usage never goes up to 50%. No kidding, that means it is totally a GPU heavy game.

 

Not true, SR's screen is much better than 13.3 Apple pro. It is not glossy at all. The black is pure black, no any reflection. This is what I really like. Besides, SR is actully cheaper than its competitors like MB, dell 1330(well, this baby is much hotter -_-#), and Toshiba M after rebate or tradeUps program.

Why not? 4570 is powful enough to run most games out there with a decent setting. And no heating and noise issues whatsoever. It's designed for light gaming. For HD movie? give me a break, it's too wasted.

 

The Dell M1330?!? That is an older model. The SR series wasn't even introduced at the same time.

How is a 13" screen designed for gaming? The Sony Vaio series is the most expensive of all the brands. For what you get, that is. I was really interested in Sonys until they kept increasing the price (every new revision was a huge increase).

 

It seems good enough for light gaming. For heavy gaming i use my xbox 360. If i were to game more on the SR i would just hook it up to my 32" Sharp.

Thanks for all the info guys.
If I could get some Game play videos that would be great.

 

The SR is fine for most modern games. Don't expect to play Crysis or other gpu hogs at full detail. Same goes for brand new games down the road. BTW, the 4570 in the SR uses GDDR3 and spec clocks, wheras many other laptops makers use DDR3 or DDR2 memory and reduced clock speed. So you definitely get the most out of the card, and there is only one other laptop in the 13" form factor that can outperform the SR, and it's not even available in America.

I've had my SR for a bit over a month now, and have played WoW, TF2, L4D, CoD5, and numerous indie games on it, and absolutely no issues. Can play with decent frames in high detail, as long as AA is disabled. I have been VERY impressed with the screen. It is semi-glossy, so you get a bit of reflection, but not nearly as bad as most laptops these days. The contrast on mine has been fine, and the viewing angles are SUPERB. Almost 100% when tilted towards you, and only when tilted quite a bit away will you see any color distortion.

Basically, the SR is exactly what you could expect from the specs and the price. NO 13" laptop is going to be killer for games, or future proof. But for most modern games, and absolutely for older games, there will be no issue at all. Sure you pay a price premium, but it's not as stiff as Apple, and you actually get what you pay for.

 

Do any Sony Vaio series have eSATA ports? Some don't even have HDMI ports. I guess some people don't mind overspending on overpriced, over-hyped hardware.

 

From what i can see on the Sonystyle website is that all of the Vaio's have HDMI ports. The older models didn't.

From what i can see this is the BEST 13.3 inch laptop out there. The reason why i want the SR is because it's small, light weight, and powerful enough to play games here and there.

Apples are just over rated and WAY over priced.

 

In Canada, the SR is $1500! No eSATA and only choice of 1200x800 display! That is a good deal?!? :-/

 

"kept increasing the price"? Please, this is totally wrong. I got my sony S five years ago. I spend $1800 for that. And the build quality of SR seems not terribly reduced. And the last generation SZ is also much more expensive. Do you really think $900 bucks for SR is too pricy? Plus, I got another 300 after I send my old one back to SONY.

BTW, SR has HDMI. You can hook up a biger screen if you want.

 

1200X800 is just a miss marking. All SR are standard 1280x800.

Sorry, that's true this price is not fair. You just have to drive to US or ask a friend here to take one for you. Or you can get a LG P310 at future shop which is trully 13.3 game killer. Much more powful than any 13.3 or even dell 15 inch line.

For eSata, since majority of us still use the physical HDD, it won't show its advantages in a short future.

 

DDR3? How come the Sony site says DD2 when I make my own? Seriously considering this laptop since the Asus u80v vanished.

 

Hah. It's $2300 (~USD 2000) best price retail in Australia.

 

It's only $1,300.00 when i build it.

I look forward to getting it once windows 7 drops.

 

RAM on SR is DD2
the GPU is GDDR3 VRAM
just wanted to clear this up for you
big let down for alot even me that it doesnt have DDR3 RAM but i heard that its not that much difference, especially with a GDDR3 VRAM 512MB dedicated Graphics card

 

Thank you, I am really close to buying this thing since the u80v is not there. How is Sony about warranty and help? Or do you get none of that for free. Sorry for the thread high jack.

 

In Canada, laptops are generally quite a bit more expensive than in the US. And not every laptop has esata. And what's wrong with that resolution? It's a freakin 13" screen!

If you don't want to buy a Sony, that's your call. But you don't need to sit here and troll with false information.

 

What info have I given which you consider false?

Good point about the screen res and the 13" size. I give you that. I just consider Sonys expensive and not much in the way of features (omits a lot of ports and maintains high price, imho).

 

Find something else then.

 

Sony prices their computers right for what you get.

 

I too am waiting for windows 7 to come out and may get the Sony SR. (was looking at the thinkpad t400s and the macbook pro 13.3 inch)

Don't want to hijack this thread but I have similar concerns like the OP.

1) I don't game but I want to make sure that the sony is quiet and doesn't get warm if I put i on my lap or use it on my bed.

2) Also i worry about the wireless issues and the key squeek issues that I have been hearing/reading.

 

Hey, has anyone had a chance to get some video while gaming? If so please post it would like to see how the SR does when gaming.

I cannot wait till the end of October to get my SR!

 

Google or youtube any videos of a laptop with a 4570.

 

To all the people saying they're waiting for Windows 7 before buying, you know that if you buy now, you get a free upgrade when it comes out, right?

 

i just got mine over this past weekend. LOVE IT! the screen is so nice, the build and keyboard is so nice. and it runs very cool. the laptop is such a beast at games too, have to say its the best 13 inch all around.

 

I believe that everyone is aware you get a free upgrade for windows 7 if they get it now. I am just waiting to see if Sony drops any other new laptops by then. If not the SR is the one I am getting.