Review: Sony Vaio SA

It sounds like if Intel doesn't have RAID TRIM its quite unlikely Sony (or Samsung, the VAIO SA I looked inside had a Samsung SSD) went out and wrote one.

True, I am only giving the Taiwan perspective. Where they call brown, gold.

I recant calling the CD an install CD. It was probably just a recovery CD, in which case it doesn't matter if its 32-bit windows, it can still do its limited job.

I defer to your specifics about the SSDs. I still think the Corsair F240 is worth a look, though it makes the Sony look even more expensive. I still find it strange that 7 weeks after this thread started there are so few reviews of the Sony (and its SSD, which is actually in some metrics faster than the Vertex 3). And I add that the SSD's in the Apple MacBook Airs seem cheap now (though I'd like to review their performance).

 

Now we know: the screen on the SA really is as bad as everyone has said based on eye-ball evaluation. Look at the pathetic test results:

EDIT: no offense to those who purchased an SA or SB. It is in all other respects an excellent lappy from design to materials to performance and weight. Those of us who are display "snobs" will find it a very difficult transition from a Z1. I frankly was hoping for better measurements (such as contrast in th 200-300:1 range, not 151:1 and color gamut that was more like 70% of the Z1, not under 50% as the charts illustrate. Seems this is just Sony's way of saying: "if you want an excellent 13" screen, you'll have to pay about $1,000 more and 'upgrade' to the Z21" even if the base laptop itself is actually a downgrade from the SA in every respect except the screen and a dubious weight benefit. Leave it to Sony. :/

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Sony-Vaio-VPC-SA2Z9E-B-i7-SSD-HD-6630M-Subotebook.58359.0.html

We assess a contrast of 151:1 with a black value of 1.9 cd/m². Higher contrasts deliver bright, vivid colors. Colors look dull and pallid on the Vaio SA. The Adobe RGB (t) and sRGB (t) color spectrums are failed by far (pictures 1 & 2). We place the "VAIO Premium display" of a Vaio Z13 next to it for comparison (AdobeRGB coverage). Picture 5 shows the comparison to a mainstream screen from a ThinkPad Edge for 400 euros (also 13.3 inch). Our Vaio SA1 only has a marginally larger color gamut, which is disappointing in the price range of over 2000 euros.
<dl class='csc-textpic-image csc-textpic-firstcol' style='width:127px;'><dt> </dt><dd class='csc-textpic-caption'>Sony Vaio SA2Z9E/B vs. AdobeRGB(t)
</dd></dl><dl class='csc-textpic-image' style='width:126px;'><dt> </dt><dd class='csc-textpic-caption'>Sony Vaio SA2Z9E/B vs. sRGB(t)
</dd></dl><dl class='csc-textpic-image csc-textpic-lastcol' style='width:127px;'><dt> </dt><dd class='csc-textpic-caption'>Sony Vaio SA2Z9E/B vs. Vaio Z13 FHD(t)
</dd></dl>
<dl class='csc-textpic-image csc-textpic-firstcol' style='width:127px;'><dt> </dt><dd class='csc-textpic-caption'>Sony Vaio SA2Z9E/B vs. Asus G74S 3D(t)
</dd></dl><dl class='csc-textpic-image' style='width:126px;'><dt> </dt><dd class='csc-textpic-caption'>Sony Vaio SA2Z9E/B vs. Lenovo TP Edge 13(t)
</dd></dl><dl class='csc-textpic-image csc-textpic-lastcol' style='width:127px;'><dt> </dt><dd class='csc-textpic-caption'>Sony Vaio SA2Z9E/B vs. Lenovo TP X220 IPS(t)</dd></dl>

276 cd/m² 286 cd/m² 276 cd/m² 272 cd/m² 287 cd/m² 279 cd/m² 282 cd/m² 283 cd/m² 291 cd/m²

Information Gossen Mavo-Monitor Maximum: 291 cd/m² Average: 281.3 cd/m² Brightness Distribution: 93 % Center on Battery: 287 cd/m² Black: 1.9 cd/m² Contrast: 151:1ICC File (X-Rite i1Display 2)

Distribution of brightness ​

 

Yeah, the SA is more like a poor man's Z1 , in a certain sense. Z2 is a bit harder to classify, as it's small enough to be a netbook, but also has too many elements of the Z1 to really be an Intel Ultrabook, either

 

@lovelaptops: the screen color quality is quite bad out of the box, however i've found that after playing with the color calibration a little (under control panel > color management) the result is drastically better, especially if you lower the gamma.

 

to me the notebookcheck screen opinion is nothing new, from what I´ve been reading I always knew the screen was of poor quality. Some guys got angry here defending SA, but now the numbers speaks for themselves.

 

I'm debating which latop to get and would appreciate advice.

What I've had

I'd use it to replace a Toshiba Portege R500-10U from 2007 that has just died. It was an awesome ultraportable in its day. 64GB SSD in 2007, with transflective screen, fingerprint recognition, Dual Core processor, just 780g in weight!

What I want to use the laptop for

Word Excel and Internet
Reading historical documents and books I've scanned in, with good power to zoom in and around the scans
Some web page editing. I use Expression Web and Design.
Civ V!
Some editing of sound files.
I don't mind a display being good only to the viewer, i.e. not for wide angles / others watching. Only I use the laptop
Optional - Some DVDs on train occasionally.
Optional - Occasionally, I do presentations and a monitor output socked can be useful for this

What conditions will I use the laptop in

On trains, so cannot be too large. My old ultraportable was 12.1". I suspect 13.3" is the most I'd be comfortable with to fit on the stand on the seat in front.

I also do 16 miles a day on the bike to and from the train, so SSD is a must as quite a few reverberations. And screen needs to be v robust. My old portege screen used to get damaged regularly with little done wrong. Fortunately Toshiba would keep on replacing it for me under their guarantee.

The options I have found

Sony Vaio SA - Medium heavy, first class spec for price with double RAM on offer at moment too, graphics card, WWAN for train, poor display, build quality not great (would it damage on the bike rides?)

MacBook Air - Light, poor spec with ulv processor and non upgradable 4GB RAM, good price, sturdy case good for bike and travel, 256GB SSD, cloud computing in a couple of months, but no DVD possibility, and my Office Pro 2010 and Expression Web and Design would be binned which is costly, unless I partioned a Windows 7 on part of the SSD, though this defeats the MAC object.

Sony Vaio Z - Awesome machine, robust carbon fibre, excellent screen, but how can they justify charging for all the features that already come on the SA, e.g. WWAN £100! an i7 processor £180! $GB to 8GB RAM £110! no internal DVD! no Graphics Card! An extra £410 to go from 128GB SSD to 256GB SSD that is free with the £1,350 MBA! Need around £1,800 to get a decent model.

Toshiba Portege R700 or R830 - Great budget machines if you don't get an SSD, I've used the R100 and the R500, but I need one. And the screen and chassis are no good for the cycle ride.

Samsung 9 Series - Mid strength robust (prob between the SA and the Air / Z?) Mid strength not great processor processor / only 4GB RAM but upgradeable, not customisable, great screen, good price.

--

So what should I go for. I am stuck. There is nothing that is my dream laptop! Any views / advice welcom.

 

I would look at the Lenovo x220.

 

Thanks Rachel.

Lenovo x220. Pros, 3yrs warranty, weight, battery life, converts to tablet, build quality. Cons, price with i5 processor (without which struggle with sound file editing and Civ 5), also I cannot cope without SSD due to 16 mile / day bike ride and it becomes way overpriced once even a 128GB SSD is included, no WWAN in price (though the latter is not a deal breaker).

The i5, 4GB Ram, 128GB SSD version is more expensive than the Sony Z21 btw.

Probably posted this on the wrong thread by the way. Just done now on which should I buy, though the SA and Mac were probably my top two choices so there was a reason for coming here in the first place.

 

Yes - agreed that the SA screen is not as good as the Z. I saw and played with the SA before I bought one. Happy with my SA.

 

10 char ....

 

Perhaps you would do well to be a bit less sensitive and copy the relevant portion of my post:

"no offense to those who purchased an SA or SB. It is in all other respects an excellent lappy from design to materials to performance and weight. Those of us who are display "snobs" will find it a very difficult transition from a Z1. I frankly was hoping for better measurements (such as contrast in th 200-300:1 range, not 151:1 and color gamut that was more like 70% of the Z1, not under 50% as the charts illustrate. Seems this is just Sony's way of saying: "if you want an excellent 13" screen, you'll have to pay about $1,000 more and 'upgrade' to the Z21" even if the base laptop itself is actually a downgrade from the SA in every respect except the screen and a dubious weight benefit. Leave it to Sony. :/

I'm sorry you took offense, but certainly meant none. It's Sony that annoys me, forcing you to spend over $2,000 to get a decent screen.

More like a "Sony sux" thread (see above) and a "what do we need to do to tell you it's just about the screen, nada mas?

 

Quote: Originally Posted by sicilian_kan
I'm debating which latop to get and would appreciate advice.

So what should I go for. I am stuck. There is nothing that is my dream laptop! Any views / advice welcom.

Or you could get a refurbished Sony Z11 at the Outet Store (but wait for a 15% - 30% off coupon to return - they always do. Or get a new, refurbished or lightly used one from the NBR Marketplace or eBay, preferably with a wtty with some life on it.

IMO, nothing made today matches the z1 for portability, performance (discrete graphics,
ssds in RAID0, Core i5/i7 Standard Voltage - 1st gen, but so fast you won't notice the difference,) screen quality - nothing but the very expensive Z21 even remotely compares in the 13-14' category - and versatility (excellent cnnectivy including and Express Card Slot to add USB3 even an on board DVD drive, which can be removed for additional HDD/SSD storage) and even a backlit keyboard.

I agree the Lenovo X220 is an excellent competitor and you can buy one loaded for under $900, whereas the few new/refurbished Z1s around wll run you $1,200 - $1,700, depending on configuration, but the superb performance, extra features and all-around luxury qualities put this in a class by itself and Sony has unfortunately gone way off the formula with the Z21, which performs even better, but requires a separate dock to house a DVD drive and discrete graphics, so you have the privilege of paying $2,000 for a slightly lighter, thinner notebook with fewer features on the notebook itself.

The SA is fine too, except that it has a terrible display and costs as much or more as the last of the new Z1's or refurbished ones with plenty of warranty options.

 

I have received my SA. I will write a review about it after I have spent more time. But I will review the Docking Station:

Vaio SA Docking Station mini-review:

What the docking station misses:

1) External buttons for Power/ODD. You can´t turn the thing off other than by software. You can´t open the bluray drive without opening the screen and pressing the tray button.

2) Audio OUT: I want to use external speakers when I´m docked, which I can´t without manually connecting them to the notebook itself.

3) Don´t know why but the LAN port comes with some adhesive covering it from factory.


The rest is good.

 

This or the asus u36sd? The two laptops i really wanna get!

 

hard to say. Imagine the U36SD as a cheaper, lower end SC unit. Just do you want more, or less?

 

I just want someting thats ultra portability and durable n has the powert to do light gaming and able to play diablo 3 when it comes out.

 

This is my first post but I thought I'd try and help out everyone. I didn't see this anywhere.

If you purchase a kindle with ads, you get a amazon.com 20% off laptop code until tomorrow. You can combine this with the amazon buy a laptop get $200 off a PS3. This deal came from slickdeals.net not mine.

I got the base Sony Vaio SA $1152
Sony PS3 160gb $299

-$200 PS3 Promo
-$237.51 20% Promo on Laptops

Total 1014.90 no tax free shipping.

I'm going to sell the PS3

So I figure I'll be around $800 give or take.

Hope this helps someone.

 

why do you consider the asus a lower end version compared to sony sc? not even on the level of sa?

also can someone tell me more about the quality of the webcam? I read through all 70 pages of this thread and only saw someone compare the 1.3mp "hd" camera to the front facing camera on the iphone

 

I just received my Dock - same complaints, but the LAN ports are masked by a sticker with a telephone symbol on it (took me a second to decypher that actually... probably needed another coffee). Apparently Sony is worried that someone timetraveled from 1990 and recognizes that port as a (phone-)modem.
Not too sure why they put 2 LAN ports on the back, but no audio-out... but at least it works with and without the slate battery installed.

 

OK - time to stop trolling and give my own short review of the SA... as always, your milage may vary, so take this with a grain of salt.

I purchased the VPCSA2SGX/T - or in human speak the 'Signature Edition'... yes, some people say the somewhat gold / metal part around the keyboard is ugly - I personally am neutral to it, but like the brownish lid. The specs are otherwise reasonably standard:
- Core I7 CPU
- 4GB RAM (up to 8GB expandable - just ordered that)
- 256 GB SSD (as 2 x 128GB RAID 0)
- GOBI WWAN
- Intel 6205 WiFi
- Bluetooth
- ships with slate battery in box
- Has some additional software like Vegas Platinum for NL Video editing

I was very much torn between this and the new Z2. What pushed me to the SA was (apart from instant availability) the fact that I have a discrete graphics chipset while on the road and the ability to use optical media. As I mostly do 'Office Work' and some photography (light - i'm not a professional, but like to dabble around a bit) this might seem like an irrational choice as the Z2 has the better display by a long shot. But after using the SA for 4 days, I'm still happy with my choice.

I had the chance to play with the Z2 for a few minutes (Working for a large software company, need I say more), and while the Z2 is a VERY, VERY nice machine, it does run a bit hot. Now I don't know if the owner of the Z2 turned off PMB and other hogs that Sony likes to install, but let's just say the active thermal management was noticable. And while thin, I'm spoiled with having a Sony Vaio X as a 'companion device' and it's nowhere near as thin as that... My very subjective impression was that the Z2 was a bit slimmer than the SA, but noticably thicker than the X. The manufacturing of the Z2 however seemed excellent (no flex when I picked it up, screen had better 'response' when opening and closing compared to the SA - but what's up with that enormous bezel on the Z2? anyways...)

The SA proved to be only marginally less expensive, but I do have the option to upgrade my memory, wireless card and SSD whereas with the Z2, I would be stuck with what I ordered (at least on the RAM - word is still out on SSD and wireless).

Back to useability on the SA - I turned off a lot of the Sony 'Services' and applications which made a noticable difference on battery life and noise. It's true that the fans can kick in and create a noise-level similar to a Concord at liftoff, especially in the "Speed" setting. However, doing "Office work", web browsing and light multimedia work (watching video, streaming etc.), they rarely if ever start spinning up, leaving me with an almost silent experience.

The screen is not great... is it as bad as people on this forum make it sound? I think not... it reminds me of my old SZ series but with a 1600 x 900 resolution which makes a huge difference to me (and was one of the main selling points - Working on 1280 x 800 just doesn't cut it).
Someone in this forum posted a color profile and that makes a difference... (thank you to the poster!) - the SA is still bound by a limited color spectrum of the screen, but for serious editing one can always connect it to an external monitor. And the resolution giving me additional workspace more than makes up for the not-perfect screen gamut.
Next the sound... some people said the speaker are horrendous and tiny... yes, I wouldn't want this to replace my TV or stereo... but I've used Skype on it and it's perfect for that...I had no issues with the volume (and I don't have teenage hearing anymore) - listening to music I'd use headphones or connect speakers.

Speed is good... I'm coming from an HP Elitebook Tablet (2740p) with SSD and the difference is marginal (SA being faster due to discrete graphics). I'm not playing games much, so I can't comment on framerates, but compared to the HP it's nice knowing that I could - albeit then using headphones to drown out the turbine noise coming from the fans...

Screen is 'light' around 70 - 90 degrees, but it stays in place and I didn't have any issues - I really like the fact that I can open the machine with one finger and don't have to fiddle with locks.

So in short: I don't think it's the best machine out there... but I am really missing manufacturers putting higher resolution screens into 13 and 14 inch formfactors, leaving the choice of those that do make them rather small. In this segment, I find the SA is a good choice... it's a compromise (and an expensive one at that), but it's a slim machine that makes it easy to work on (great keyboard) and allows me to take a long flight without worrying about the battery (I get about 5-6 hours on the standard one (in stamina off course) and about 10 - 12 with the attached battery in addition. This is with WiFi on (WWAN off), brightness reasonably high (probably around 65 - 75%) and work in Outlook, Powerpoint, browsing etc.
And yes, I'm still in my 'honeymoon' phase with the SA, but I really enjoy it as an overall 'package' - the individual components might not be ideal but overall it all just makes sense (1600 resolution, good keyboard, good battery, staying pretty cool, slim design yet having optical drive and discrete graphics).

Feel free to ask me if anything didn't make sense... (Given that this is the Sony forum, I can also help with my (first hand) opinion on the P-Series, X-Series and EC series)

 

also took me a second to decypher, and for a moment I thought there was no LAN in the dock (maybe because it lacks audio out).

 

Thanks for the review. My wife's SB has a shockingly bad screen, given how much we paid for her machine. I was planning to buy an SA, but given that you say that the screen quality (viewing angles etc) is about the same as the SA, there is no way in hell I am going to buy one. I don't know what Sony was thinking with these screens, but I wish we'd bought her a last-generation Vaio Z at this point.

 

i have read here that there is a color calibration profile in one of the threads that improves the screen quality greatly. i haven't tried it myself, as my SA is being built as of now, but those who have say that the screen has improved a lot. give it a try...

 

here it is: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/584506-review-sony-vaio-sa-51.html#post7656502

 

anybody else tried it yet? Does it improve the viewing experience?

 

Improved mine for sure. Been using it since July.

 

FYI, the price of the SA on MS store was dropped to 1099/1069 for students, with a free Xbox.

j.

 

The price did drop to $1069, but no xbox to go with it. Either way, good find! I'm torn between buying the Vaio Sa, or saving $350 and going with the Portege R835..What do y'all think?

 

i tried the VAIO SC and the Protege R835 both at Best Buy and didn't like the Protege one bit. the keyboard sucks and the build quality is inferior. granted, both could be Best Buy-exclusive models, but even then my choice was clear. for me, the SA with a higher resolution display, better build quality, better (and backlit) keyboard, dedicated GPU, Blu-ray player, and 7200rpm HDD is a clear winner, and i was more than willing to pay more for it for all the extra benefits.

besides, if you don't need the Blu-ray player and the 7200rpm HDD, you can buy the SA from Microsoft store (but don't select the student-exclusive price, get the regular-priced one) and then you can use your .edu email address (if you have one, of course) to get a promotional code for a free Xbox 360, then sell the Xbox 360 on eBay/craigslist and make about $150-$200 out of that. besides, the SA comes with a free sheet battery.

 

After using the calibration profile, the screen looks a little more darker, with better colors. But it still looks washed out overall.

You need to call and order through phone to get it at $1069 with free xbox. The online code will not work. I did a price match this morning for mine. I'm getting a $100 refund.

 

thanks for the response.. gonna go with a Z

 

I just received my "900$" vaio SA from MS store and I have to say I am extremely happy with it. Sure, it's huge compared to anything I owned, but it's very nicely built, still perfectly thin and light.

But I really wanted to comment on some of the things I read here, which scared me while I waited for its arrival. Firs of all, the hinge thing: design-wise, I was a huge fan of the round book hinge of many vaios, and I am sad to see it go on this year's models. But anyone who things this hinge is loose is not using it properly. It clearly tightens past the 90deg mark, and at 100-120 angle, it is nice and stiff. The wobble is the flex of the materials, which is virtually impossible to eliminate, but the hinge itself does not play when you shake it (and let's just say you HDD is going to suffer before your hinge if you do that). More importantly, I do not understand at all people claiming to use their screen at a 90degree angle!!! Unless you are sitting in a bucket seat on the ground, the only reason to have the 90 degree angle would be if your eyes were dead center with the screen, putting your chin roughly on the touchpad....for typing, with elbows at keyboard level, i don't see how your eyes could not be well above the screen, even if you're not the tallest person. Otherwise, no wonder the screen looks washed out...Which brings me to the second point. I am currently comparing this screen, with a macbook pro, and with my otherwise absolutely gorgeous vaio TZ screen from a few years back. I still think the latter is a kind of gold standard. it's bright, while not blinding, and it's blacks are wonderful. Well, the SA's screen has nothing to be ashamed of, right out of the box. The semi-matte finish helps with some glare, and is probably responsible for most of the impression of dullness some have. After all, matte does mean it both absorbs more light, and diffuses what is reflected. But this is a pretty good screen IMHO. viewing angles could improve, but again, i find it impossible to imagine that one does not adjust one's screen to one's eyes' position on a laptop this size, at all times....

so, my first impressions are of mixed excitement and relief, and overall I am quite happy.

cheers,

j.

ps: i tried the spyder profile, and it made things worse in terms of color accuracy and overall brightness. All screens are indeed different, and it is also possible that the MS store played with some settings. Either way, I have a spyder and will calibrate soon.

 

please share your calibration profile with us as well

 

i just received my VAIO SA as well, and i completely agree. for me, the quality of the screen is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. nor is the hinge really a problem, either. the stiffness of the hinge does vary, but it is pretty apparent to me (this is my feeling anyway) that it is by design in order to allow for one handed opening of the screen. i don't feel it will affect me in any way whether i have it on my desk or on my lap, it is plenty stable enough (i.e. no wobble) in those instances. i'll give the naysayers that the monitor does flex more than a macbook air, but the palm rests are rock solid and build quality is otherwise great, imho.

my only complaint is that backlight bleed on the bottom part of my screen is fairly horrendous. sides and top are much less obvious. anyone else experiencing this (jmuffat, et al)? if i have a dark background it is pretty bad. not bad enough to make me want to return it, but it's my one complaint about an otherwise happy purchase.

 

How were you able to get the XBOX with the student discount as well? I called Microsoft and spoke with someone, and she said it was either the student discount, or the xbox...

 

first of all, thanks a lot for the files. i have applied them and like the color representations much better with the new profile. i prefer the factory whitepoint version better, though.

i have one question: i have applied these profiles on SPEED mode (with Radeon HD 6630M in control), and i have disabled the two Intel processes you've mentioned, so with the AMD GPU, things are fine. but when i launch Intel Graphics and Media from Control Panel, it'll reset the color profiles back (as expected). currently, in Color Management from Control Panel, Device is set to "Display: 1. Generic PnP Monitor - AMD Radeon(TM) HD 6630M" with one of the profiles set as default. do you think it's possible to avoid this calibration profile switching behavior if i load these profiles for the Intel IGP in STAMINA mode as well, so when it takes control of the graphics, it'll keep using my prefered profile?

EDIT:
just tried that and it doesn't work! maybe i'm doing something stupid...
adding the color profiles for the Intel GPU and changing the switch from SPEED to STAMINA to SPEED reverts the color profile back to the factory setting every time. but a notification about Windows color calibration would pop up in the taskbar each time i switched GPUs but disappear fast, and i couldn't read anything!

 

I guess it's a YMMV sort of deal. I've tried with 2 different reps, but apparently I'm not persuasive enough.
Oh well... I've got a Thinkpad W520 on the way instead. A different machine, but I was torn between portability and decent graphics (Sony) vs. 50% better graphics, quality FHD screen, quad core CPU, and only ~1 lb extra (Sony w/ slice).

 

Can anyone who has received their customised SA recently comment on the heat and the fan noise please? I have read that some SAs are getting really hot even when using the internet explorer but have been told by Sony that they have tweaked some things in the latest manufactured SAs.

 

I own an SB but it has SA internals. I will say that most of the time its nearly silent (unless youre in a really quiet place). But some websites that employ lots of flash (facebook games for example) will cause the fan to operate at what I imagine to be max speed. Can be quite loud.

 

I just did a spyder 2 calibration, and the chosen profile gives significantly different results to the posted profile. It's now warmer, and better contrast on my screen, while the posted one was quite a bit off in grey scale luminance, whitepoint and gamma. Again, all screens are different, but if someone wants to try it, i attach it.

bleeding. I was just looking at my screen during the greyscale calibration, and the uniformity is excellent, with very little bleed, I think.

price. I did not use the student discount, since when I purchased it, it was 1199/1169. However, overnight, it switched to 1099/1069, so i called them up. The rep was puzzled, but acknowldged the prices, and offered the refund of the difference. Right after this "incident' what appear to be the correct current prices were updated: 1069 for students without xbox, and 1199 (NOT 1099) for everybody else or student+xbox. In the end, it sounds like I did get lucky, but others appear to have as well. of course, it does mean that the "cost" of the xbox in the current scheme is not very advantageous- on some laptops it's 70$, on others it's 200$....

heat. it warms up, for sure, but not so much in stamina mode. the fan kicks into high gear when it clearly feels it has been suffocating on a bed, or is doing something requiring more processing power. otherwise very quiet.

so, I agree, YMMV. but i continue to be very pleased with my purchase. the screen ends up looking very nice right now.

cheers

j.

 

just to be sure, here is the profile I am currently using with the stamina mode. It seems to be good also with the speed mode, but I am still learning what the software does when dealing with the hybrid system. In any case, you need to add it as your default profile in both situations separately(stamina and speed).

 

thanks for sharing your profile

does your SA keep your default profile when you switch graphics? i've added a profile for both Intel and AMD GPUs but whenever i use the switch to STAMINA or SPEED, it reverts back to the old factory calibration profile.
could you elaborate on how you changed the settings so that your machine keeps its color profile after the switch?

 

yes, it does. make sure that you uncheck "use my settings". To avoid confusion, the ONLY profile I have loaded in the "device" tab is the spyder one, thus set as default. In advanced tab, i have spyder as windows color system default (first drop down menu). But anyway "use windows display calibration" is unchecked. In "change system defaults" the same applies to all tabs. Finally, make sure that these settings look the same befor and after the hardware switch, since otherwise one of the two "devices" is not even available in the drop down menu (otherwise you could set both of them here). Have a feeling something in there is redundant, but it works just fine.

 

Looks like VAIO SA has come down in price a little since I last looked.

Since then Acer announced a 14" at the same weight range as this 13" and it seems as though this weight range can fit a 14" screen with other makes like Lenovo, Acer and probably more to come.

I wonder when the Ivy Bridges models will come out. Hopefully they should be more competitive with lighter weights, more powerful and more battery life.

 

I don´t understand, do I need to install both .zip profiles or just the first one?

 

sorry, just the second one. Although they might be the same, but i don't want you to take chances.

 

Thank for the color profile jmuffat! I'll try yours out and see if I can feel any difference from the other one I've been using.

As the fan noise, I think it's pretty good at being silent for most of the times. At idle, the temperature is early 40C, surfing web raises the temperature around 50C. When using AMD graphics, the temperature is a little higher than 50C for both idle and internet. As a preventive measure, I use a notebook cooler so the notebook's fan does less work. The backspace key area is where it gets hot on the surface, but with the notebook cooler, it stays cool. I'm not going to play any games using AMD graphics because the sound is like a jet taking off.

I guess I was also one of the lucky ones that bought the SA with xbox for $1169, and then when the price dropped $100, called and did a price match. They refunded me $116.90, I don't know where the extra $16.90 came from. So in the end, I paid $1052 for the SA and the xbox. Great deal I think.

I also bought a keyskin from ebay for $9.99. The seller claims it's a genuine, but doesn't come with a box. Sony sells the key skin for $25 or $30. Mine fits perfectly, and I can see the keyboard backlight too. It kind of mushes the key's feeling, but I want it to stay clean.


Edit:
I tried the new profile, it looked better than the other two on my screen, actually a little darker. I ended up removing all the profiles and use none.

The two previous profiles made the screen look yellow, while the 'factory-default' one from the two is a little better than the other. The new profile that 'jmuffat' posted made it look darker when looking at photos of woods (lots of green and blue).

I'm just going to forget about all the colors and not think about it too much.

 

sorry but the colors looks yellowed with this profile, so I reverted back to the other spider posted profile, the factory defacult one (there's one which is 65k)

 

no problem, it works for me. As pointed out, there are different screens out there. But by and large, 6500k is fairly warm color space, with greys that may look like they have a red/yellow cast to anyone who has been looking at un-calibrated devices for a while. As a general rule, default profiles are very blue/green, since these are the parts of the spectrum we see the most, and they provide more "pop" on some images (blue skies, ocean, grean grass, white snow etc..). But flesh tones, which are for me the gold standard, look a little, well, dead...

in the end, nothing replaces calibrating your own screen with a spec device, but starting off with calibrating software is not a bad idea. good luck!

 

I went to the Sony store yesterday, and felt the differences of the hinge on several SB and some SA.

Four of the SB they had were evenly stiff all the way from close to open, and open to close.

Some SA were really loose when closing from 100 degree to 80 degree, some were more stiff. My SA is a little loose too when closing. What scares me is that if I pick it up and hold my laptop at an angle, the screen collapses almost up to 45 degree on it's own, then stops. It scares me a little that it might slam the keyboard, but it doesn't. I think this is a feature, but can't say for sure.


I also tried Z2, screen felt almost like a stiff vinyl fabric, or cardboard which flexes really easily but well built. Hinge felt very securing and durable. It was amazingly light, but the keyboard felt horrible.