Sony SA Series Discussion Sony's next new 13.3 laptop

Standard 1 year warranty is enough for me.....but I always sell my laptops after a year.

 

yeah I´m gonna use it in brazil so I don´t know if the warranty would work here, don´t think so.

 

ah ok - that makes sense.

 

-deleted- accident.

 

How did you buy it?

I am Brazilian too.

 

wondering the same thing

 

Will these memories work on the SA? About to order with 4gb and add another 4gb. Any recs outside of these two?

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model F3-10600CL9S-4GBSQ
Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory Model CM3X4GSD1066 G

 

Anyone else get an email telling you that the shipping date has been delayed?

This is becoming eerily similar to my SB order, which I ended up cancelling
(after 2 delays made the estimated shipping date over A MONTH late)

THEN they sent me another email saying they started Production of the order.

Interesting...

 

Actually i think you'll have warranty anywhere in American Continent. Since the warranty is Continental i think.. still if it isn't the VAIO SA and SB are supposed to have WorldWide Waranty, or so claims this:

http://support.vaio.sony.eu/computing/vaio/contacts/virs.pdf#page=3




More than 10-20 Sony reps say that the replacement of the HDD for an SSD won't void the warranty but what do they know?
Now the ACTUAL WARANTY if you do something like READING it, backs up the claim that it doesn't void the waranty, but really i didn't read it myself so to be sure just check it eheh

 

I ordered the 256gb ssd config with RAID 0. Until I read through this thread I had never heard of TRIM. Since I have little idea of the issue, I have some questions. Does anyone know if Sony might have it's own system that does that same thing (wikipedia article about TRIM indicated that some manufacturers have their own solution)? Is there is any reason why I should or shouldn't revise my order to get an HDD instead and upgrade to SSD myself? Might TRIM be updated to support RAID configurations? Is it really that big of a deal?

I'm hoping to get some insight on the issue to guide my decision. Some other bits of information that would be very helpful:

Will upgrading to SSD myself void the warranty?

Since there's no indication of the SSD/HDD dimensions, will finding a properly sized casing be difficult/impossible?

Is upgrading to SSD as simple as swapping the drives and using a recovery disk to install everything on the new drive? And does sony include a recovery disk?

The bottom line is that I don't care to spend more than an hour on an upgrade. Any more than that and I'm afraid that I would be in over my head, especially if the warranty would be voided. If the process is a hassle, then I'm ok spending the extra $$ for the convenience of having my laptop arrive installed with SSD.......... Unless the performance difference is really that big for TRIM vs. no TRIM. I've only noticed one or two users being concerned about the lack of TRIM, so any other thoughts/insights would be great... Especially concerning the actual difference in performance and whether or not Sony has it's own system that takes care of the issue. Again, $$ aren't a big concern here, just performance and convenience.

Thanks!

 

About warranty read the post before yours.

about the replacement read this:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...al-sony-sb-sa-sc-sd-series-owners-thread.html

HDD are 2,5'' and SSD are mostly all 2,5'' either so it's not a prooblem.

It is as easy as swaping the drives and you can create the recovery disk using the recovery partition that comes with the laptop,etc.

TRIM is what enables SSD's to maintain performance. without it they can fall to be even slower than 5400rpm HDD's. So i'd say yeah it's that important.

Sony does not offer any solution to the lack of TRIM. how could they?!

The SSD's are Samsung 470, or so is said, so you can check Anantech and compare a Intel 510/Intel 320/Crucial M4/OCZ Vertex3 etc to it. And you can learn a lot there about the matter. well you can learn everything about the matter there if you read enough...




Anyone with enough IQ and some knowledge about the whole SSD world would advise you to buy an Intel/Crucial/OCZ/etc SSD intead of the setup that Sony is selling. Remember that the number of persons that do one thing doesn't mean it's the best thing to chose, there are a lot of examples of that if not every example there is.

 

quick question - replacing the hdd with an SSD on a Vaio SA/SB...would be nearly as easy as upgrading the ram right? you just unscrew like 2 or 4 screws at the bottom case..slide it open...upgrade the ram and switch the hdd/ssd...and your done?

No need to remove keyboard...or unscrew like..20 screws on the laptop...or remove hinges...or anything that would take more than 10 minutes (Z series seems to be more complicated to upgrade i think).

Is this correct?

Lastly, wouldn't you need to have some special ssd caddy case holder thing..since i don't think it can just fit into where the hdd was....or will the ssd fit perfectly fine.

 

do you know how to read ?

yes, 4 screws, 2 minutes tops?!
http://www.docs.sony.com/release/989202617_VPCSB_series_HDD_CRU.pdf


No caddy. No. HDD and SSD are same size! HDD = SSD on the outside.

 

I'm just curious.

Does the BIOS in the VAIO SA series come with the option of running in AHCI mode? Or is it like a lot of the previous VAIO series where we'll have to hack the BIOS to enable that option?

 

I'm not hurt by the fact that the VPC-Z is temporarily replaced by the VAIO SA in terms of prices because I just bought my VAIO VPC-Z notebook (brand new, not refurb or used) about 3 weeks ago. I know it is very, very silly & stupid to pay more than $2,000 for the VPC-Z notebook at this point in time as it is already outdated & obsolete technology. However, I wanted a thin & light notebook with FHD (1920x1080) screen, dedicated GPU, & Blu-ray burner all built into the notebook, so I guess I just had to suck it up & pay good money for it as the upcoming VAIO Z series have the dedicated GPU & Blu-ray drive in an external "box thingy", which is not what I want.

 

fair warning I think this is going to be the trend for the so called ultrabooks, to have separate pieces when you need the power.

People seen to forget that while batteries last more today, they dont provide enough power to keep the notebook running full speed,for example a mbp 15'' will use more than 95w under heavy load.

so the concept of ultrabook makes quite sense

 

Does the SA throttle like the other sandy bridge machines? Is the screen quality of the SA better than the crap SB? I know its probably been said, but this thread is extremely long!

 

Unlike previous VAIO SA and SB have AHCI mode that auto-enables it self.

And Why would that be? maybe the crap posts.

 

Is it true the SA doesn't have carbon fiber and that the screen quality is the same as the SB, minus the higher res?

 

Does this take the standard large battery or is the sheet battery the only option for more life?

 

Few questions, sorry if these have been asked:

New SA series announced a few days ago:

1. Do they offer a SATA 3 connection?
2. The hard drive is easily swappable, as is the non-embedded RAM, correct?
3. What is the difference between Jet Black and Black?

Thanks in advance

 

Sorry - had too double check. =P

because i say some videos/read else were that it was much harder to do.

 

screen quality is still in question...we wont know for a while, no one has it yet / no reviews.

 

1. yes i believe so
2. yup
3. im pretty sure its the same thing.

 

no it dont throttle, and dont generalize poor engineering with sandy bridge. Models that we know that throttle:

timeline X
X220 (sometimes, not all cpus and not even the same cpus)
and thats it, as far as I recall

who knows about the quality of the screen

and yes the thread is long and its getting annoying to answer the same questions over and over

 

you're wrong, sony SB do throttle under load.

 

Items:
1
Order Status:
Your VAIO is being built
Estimated Ship Date:
06/14/2011

 

i think i might be missing the consensus of the meaning of the term "throttle" cause if its just scaling back the clock speed then yes most of CPUs do. but then i'm guessing it means something else.

 

anyone know if the ssd trim in raid issue can be fixed in the future with updated software/drivers...or does the issue reside somewhere else that cannot be easily updated.

 

show me please

 

i just got an email today with Estimated Ship Date of 6/13/2011

I placed order on 5/31/11 - when did you?

 

How this delay work, did you get info that notebook was in production and then they told you it was going to delay?

 

I ordered mine on 5/25 and it still shows it is scheduled to ship on 6/9. I hope I don't get a delayed shipping email!

 

you will be one of the first to receive, so 6/9 is the screen review day

 

I'd love to test if you tell me how

 

Probably closer to the 14th since it ships on the 9th.

Pre-configs are set to ship tomorrow though so hopefully we can get a screen review before the 14th.

 

where can you find a pre-configured? I only found CTO

EDIT: nevermind, found it, only i7 ready-to-ship. Did anyone here buy one?

 

13.3" Core i7 Laptop | VAIO S Series Laptop | VPCSA2CFX/SI | Sony USA

 

I was a bit rude, sorry about that.
Based on reviews (notebookcheck if I remember well), and user reports (a french forum, maybe this one too) but, you know, I'm too lazy to search again

I don't own one myself, you can monitor cpu freq. using many tools, just run a demanding game for an hour and check the logs.

Would love to be wrong, that said.

 

run furmark, and see if the cpu throttles (i.e. runs at lower clock speeds than its advertised, off course turbo clocks are not to be expected)

the 3830tg runs usually at 1.2ghz when throttled, and its equipped with a i5 2410m (clocks are 2.3ghz)

 

Throttlestop is a great way to monitor throttling. Have it log to file and play a game for an hour. In the log, there will be two columns labeled "CMod" and "Chip". If, at any time in your log, you see any number below 100 in either column, it means your CPU is throttling. Mine was throttling badly in my Alienware because the stock CPU thermal paste job was atrocious. I had my machine repasted a few days ago and it dropped the CPU temps over 25 degrees C and now there is no more throttling!

 

I just cancelled my original order for an SA with 256gb SSD RAID O and replaced it with one with the cheapest HDD. I'll be receiving an intel 510 SSD in time to swap out the disks when my SA arrives!

Other specs: Core i7, 4gb ram

The unfortunate downside is that my ship date is now 6/14 (previously it was 6/9)

Thanks for the guidance regarding SSDs and TRIM

 

My ship date got bumped to 6/13. Bugger all. Hopefully it gets out the door early. I ordered on 5/30 I believe. Looking forward to replacing my little M11r1 with something even lighter with MORE powah!

 

Wait, so you shouldn't get an SSD in the SA? I have SSD's in my Z and they're great! What's wrong with SSD in SA's?

 

As I understand it, the Z used a single SSD making it able to use trim. The new SA is doing a raid making it unable to us trim which will cause a performance degradation of the SSD's over time to the point they perform worse than a 5400rpm drive.

The solution here is to buy a SA with the base hard drive and then put in a single SSD yourself thus enabling trim on the newly installed SSD.

 

My Z uses 2 64gig SSD's Raid 0'd.

 

yeah that negates trim and when full the performance degrades even more

 

What about the material? I know the SA is a bit thinner, but is the material the CF, or did they make it the same as the SB?

 

Even with performance degradation, SSD's are still much faster than HDD's, right? Plus - I read that sony uses their own proprietary trim system that works for raided SSD's. The Z uses dual SSD's and is immensely popular.

 

there´s no reason for not paying 20 USD more and get the 500gb 7200rpm HD over the 5400rpm regular one.