Sony SA Series Discussion Sony's next new 13.3 laptop

In Canada CTO orders are FINAL sales

No returns.

 

I love my current Z. If it had a more powerful GPU I would be in heaven. I'd also like something that doesn't feel like its going to break if you look at it sideways.

 

In that case I'll probably wait.

 

what processors are u guys thinking of upgrading to?

Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor (2.30GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.90GHz

Intel® Core™ i5 2520M processor (2.50GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.20GHz [add $50.00]

Intel® Core™ i7-2620M processor (2.70GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.40GHz [add $250.00]

is it worth going up to the 2520m? or even going to the i7?

 

I'd personally get the i5 2520M...$50 is worth the 5-7% performance increase to me - however, tbh it won't be that noticeable....the i7-2620M (which is a dualcore, not a quadcore "QM") would add another 5-7% performance on top of that....but for an extra $200...no way...

get the 2410M or 2520M..the i7 is totally not worth it.

random question - does anyone know which SSD brand/model Sony uses in its Vaio SA/SB? and which OEM SSD do you guys recommend? I'm thinking of cancelling me original order from sony and buying the OCZ Vertex 3 240gb, Intel 510 240gb , or Crucial's m4 SSD from online instead. I think the Vaio SA should have a SATA III 6gbs connection for it....

 

Yea the i7 is basically $150 more than the 2520 for one extra MB of Lvl 3 Cache. That's the only difference from i5 > i7. 3MB > 4MB.

I'd rather save the $200 from upgrading to the i7 and use that for an SSD.

 

only the i7 2620m raise the cache memory, the i5 2520m only raises the clocks

 

I havent bought the SB because I need a 1600 x 900 screen, don`t care that much about the CF casing... If they really will discriminate EU I think dying isnt enough, they should suffer!

 

For professional use, the I5-2520m CPU is a mandatory upgrade since the 2410M lacks the AES instructions. For gaming, the 2410M is probably sufficient. The problem is that the SB is not easily overclockable so, for CPU intensive gaming like BFBC2 OR B3, the extra power of the I7 might be worth the extra $ if you have the extra bucks and you want max performance ($250 is a lot of money and would buy a nice SSD). In all, the I5-520M seems like a decent upgrade for the $. I would probably go with that. Depends on your use.

Bronsky

 

On the sony uk website in chat they gave me a different response about the SA.
"We do not have an official release date for the S-series in the US as that is still being disputed with EU regulations regarding power usage and such."

No clear answer my only suggesion woudl be for anyone here in Europe to call sony or go ont the chat on the website to convince them that there is demand in Europe for a laptop with a decent screen.

 

Humm I didn´t know about AES, now i´m even happier I´ve spent the extra 50 bucks

 

Im looking to buy the SA for like college use, and some gaming, and alot of music, i hope i could run BF3 on it, and guild wars, other than that i play casual games like CS and L4D. Knowing BF3 might be insane to run, u think the upgrade to the i7 is worth it? Im not a big HIGH-ULTRA graphics fan, so running games on low to med is fine ( I normaly config game settingings to get higher FPS anyways by having a factor of 4 times higher than the stock provided)

 

i really don't think $200 justifies the minor performance increase...so no i personally, don't think its worth it...the increase wouldn't even be noticeable imo.

 

If I get a OEM SSD and upgrade the Vaio SA myself...i just have to install the image recovery backup (which I would have to create beforehand from the HDD)....is that it? Also, i think i need to make sure BIOS is set to AHCI mode. I just don't want to search the internet for drivers ..Hopefully there are no warranty void seals on the HDD.

Lastly, can someone verify that larger SDD drives performance better than smaller SDD drives? I think i read somewhere that SDD performances better with more free space...just wanted to check that. I'm trying to decide on how big a drive i need....thinking 160gb - 250gb.

 

I agree. Use the 200 USD for SSD.

 

i´m starting to think that the chassis is the same between vaio SB and SA. I believe sony was first decided to build the SA with lighter materials but because of the tsunami they had to rethink it. So what they did is make the SA with the same chassis or at least with the same materials and then they dropped a little of the battery power/weight to make it seems lighter than SB. So the only difference between SB and SA is the screen. If Sony put a low quality screen in SA with just more resolution (1600x900) people would not buy SA, because most were waiting for a 1.45kg beast, not 1.65kg. So I believe the SA screen quality will be very good, to differentiate it from SB.

 

I'm going from a VGN-Z to an SA series. I hope I like the form factor. I went to bestbuy today to look at the SB series to see how I liked it, I def did not like the silver color. Another thing that was annoying was the ridiculous amount of bezel around the screen.

 

The I5-2520M is a good compromise. I have a last gen I5-540M and run it at stock speeds when gaming. It is more than adequate (The only 2 games played on my Acer are BFBC2 and MOH). The only thing I typically OC when I game, is the GPU. For $50, it's an affordable power gain.

Bronsky

 

So after a ridiculous amount of calling and sorting things out with Sony about the refurb Z i bought, I was able to get a sweet deal on the new SA model.

I got the SA with the specs below for $1211.99 pre tax. (Corporate EPP Discount 5% + Another 5% Discount for Shipping bad Refurb Model + Another 5% Discount for accidentally canceling my order because of Credit Card decline)

$1211.99 + NJ Tax (7%) and im paying about $1300.

Id still prefer the VPCZ series, but I cannot stand that ridiculous fan noise. It wasnt present in my VGN-Z. I could have gone another few years with my VGN-Z but the stupid wireless and audio died.

I really hope i like the form factor of the SA. It def larger than my VGN Z, and the amount of bezel surrounding the screen is ridiculous.

 

Did anyone here bought a pre-config with a shipping date of 06/03?

 

I'm still waiting on a review for the screen. Is the GPU in the SA overclockable 15-30% while maintaining safe temps? Any news on the cooling? Throttling? If the Z is 100% going to have an external video card I may consider getting the SA. I need to get some info on both before making an informed decision.

 

that's why i went with Vaio SA...i don't want a dock for a laptop..I have a desktop already.

I just need 3 things answered as soon as someone is able to do a review (1) display quality (2) possible heat issues (3) chassis material (I have a feeling it will be same as SB..which is ok, but not premium quality)

 

I went again to SonyStyle at south coast plaza yesterday, SA was still not there. They are expecting to get it in 2 weeks which I think is ridiculous. Seriously Apple is selling well for a reason. I'm really sick and tired of pc manufacturers. There are no review units, no display units, how are they expecting people to buy their stuff ? Of course people will switch to Apple. The day Apple can run windows properly and offers black exterior color, I'm switching as well.

 

Do you live in USA? If so, why dont you buy online and then if the screen is bad or if you dislike it just return it. Great USA freedom.

 

its actually up to each OEM, lenovo charges 15% restocking fee as Sony, while HP gives you 30 days to try it out, if you are not satisfied, you can return no questions asked

why do you think its not premium?

 

Is it going to be a full on docking station? That doesn't sound portable at all! I was under the impression it'd be some little cigarette box size device that plugs into the machine.

 

try dvd sized thing, a mobile gpu is bit larger than a cigarette box

 

Macbooks can run Windows fine, even Linux if you take some time. For Windows you have to get Apple's Bootcamp drivers. And you don't have to install Windows through Bootcamp. You can simply partition the drive yourself and boot installation CDs or USBs, like you would on any other PC. Then you download Bootcamp drivers and install them and that's it.
My main issue with 13" Macbooks is low resolution. Screen is great, but resolution is below today's standards. And keyboard can be a pain to type on (e.g. 2 keys to press at the same time to get delete functionality). A lot of Macbooks are hot like ovens, but I don't know if they solved this yet or not. Probably not since they still have a single air vent that's partially blocked by the display.

Any news on SA release in Europe?

 

Might want to define professional use.

If the implication is the standard out of the box, e-mail, Word, Excel, Office type software that most would consider "professional" work etc...you won't notice one iota of difference among any of the cpus. Period.

Now if it's something else, I'm all ears.

It's unreal how the marketing machine has people pushing for the envelope using software that a 5 year old machine would obliterate is beyond me but it's incessant, especially on this board.

 

The SA hasn't really launched yet. Have some patients.

 

Funny thing: German Sonystyle Shop has less and less options to build an individual SB and tells people in chat it is "end of life" and that "approx. in a month" there will be a new S-Series. But no more info on why or what it will be.

I got told this myself and also another user on another forum.

 

When I was on the UK Chat they said that the current promotional cycle ending today and that they have new stock and options from then.

Sony really handle these things poorly, rather than provide clear information they leave people in the dark I guess in the hope that they just buy something now.

In the end if any other manufacturer had bother to come up with an alternative, such as the toshiba r-835 with a decent screen they woudl have lost a lot of sales.

My worst fear now is that the new macbook air will tick all these boxes apart from being a mac and that woudl leave a difficult choice.

 

Most professional use (as opposed to personal or student) includes the handling, analysis and transmission of client information or trade secrets and includes the need to protect the confidentiality of that information. It typically goes far beyond the use of basic microsoft office functions. In the US, all medical communications related in any way to client information (including email) are governed by HIPA and AES encryption is mandatory. It is likewise the standard for those using mil-spec communication parameters (engineers or contractors). Lawyers and accountants typically encrypt their client data with AES protocols as well. Etc. Other companies use bitlocker or other encryption software on anything that moves, like mobile devices that can be left in an airport, etc. It is a fact of life in the professional world.

Bronsky

Sry for the OT. Anybody getting theirs soon?

 

My problem exactly. The SA isn't for sale in Europe and the Z is going to be very expansive with Raid0 SSD's so I'am looking at the macbook air refresh as an alternative because I need a higher resolution then 1366x768 and a better battery life then my current home laptop a Z13. This laptop is going to replace my aging TT as on the road laptop.

 

well..i guess because i would expect a higher price on the SA compared to the SB and also because i don't remember seeing it advertised anywhere on the Sony Vaio SA page or selection screen. i could be wrong tho.

 

If the MBP 13-15" models came with an express card slot i probably would buy it as my next notebook. I use wwan a lot and i don't like using usb dongles, mifi's or tethering to my phone.
An express card slot is the next best option to built in wwan.
I've even started looking over the last gen MBP that came with an express card slot.
My TT will serve as my ultraportable for some time and i have no thoughts on replacing it.
If the SA doesn't come to the EU i could import it but i'm not sure if i would.
The MBP would be perfect, i could use both operating systems and as i own a HD camcorder use iMovie.

It seems that my SZ7 might make it to four years old.

 

@Rachel: it does come for sure, question is only when. And in Germany it seems the SB will be discontinued and maybe replaced by SA or coming with new options like higher screen res. All the Sony Rep. told is that a new S-Series will come within a month.

But see here preconfiged SA:

Sony Vaio VPC-SA2Z9E/B | Skinflint Price Comparison EU

 

poma i've seen all of those. What with models possibly getting pulled/not released on time. A forum member was told that it wasn't being sold in the EU and then another was told there was issues with regulations. We cannot really base anything of this. I do hope though that it is sold in the EU but i guess we just need to wait and see. I did consider being a possiblity if they might want to push the Z more in the EU.

edited to add:
Sony has listed the specs here for the SA2Z
http://support.vaio.sony.eu/computing/vaio/specifications/index.aspx?m=VPCSA2Z9E_BI&l=en_GB
It seems that model will not serve western europe.

 

hmmm...maybe a dumb question but since Sony Vaio SA comes with a bluray player...will it be able to burn DVDs to create the recovery disk?? I'm not sure if the bluray player is also a dvd burner or not...I know its not a blu ray burner...

if i cant burn DVDs....than what is the best way to make a recovery disk?

 

It's a Blu Ray player and a DVD/CD burner, so you should be able to burn the recovery DVD

 

awesome. thanks.

 

I'm thinking of getting the Vaio SA, but HD space is more important than having a SSD. Can anyone confirm (or deny) whether these will use standard-size HDs so that I can upgrade the internal to a standard 2.5" SATA 750GB 7200rpm drive?

Taking it one step further, (and major kudos if anyone knows the answer) I'm particularly intrigued by the option that the upgraded model offers featuring raided SSDs. Did they manage to cram two drive bays in that model? If so, would I be able to swap out one with the 750GB HD while keeping a 128GB SSD for the OS?

 

yes those are standard 9.5mm height 2.5'' drives

no you wont be able to cram a HDD and a SSD in there. A SSD is pretty thin without the housing, so now you know how they do it

what you could try to do is to find out if the intel 310 can be fit in a pcie slot

 

what people do is remove the optical drive and install a 2nd HD in there with some special "candy".

 

Thanks! Great idea on the intel 310. As long as I can get the larger HD, which was my primary concern, the option to upgrade to an SSD down the road would be great.

Do you have any additional info on this? I could do without the CD drive, as I have an external I can connect for the 1x/month I actually use one.

 

for SA I don´t think there´s a how-to yet, but for vaio Z there´s plenty of info in this forum.

What I will do is replace the original 7200rpm HD in my SA with a Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid drive (SSD + HDD). Boot time and app lunching is close to SSD, while mantaining a huge capacity. There´s 750GB version also. The 500gb is now only 99 USD in newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148591

 

any caddy will do, just slap the ODD faceplate on it, and you are done

 

I had considered the Seagate Hybrid drive, but didn't see a 750GB option (I still don't see it on seagate's site) so had ruled it out. If a 750GB model is coming out soon, I think that'll be the most straightforward route to go, but I'm glad to know of the CD-bay or PCI-E drives are options

I think I'll go in for the pre-order, now my biggest decision is whether to use Sony or Squaretrade as the better option for extended warranty+accidental damage coverage...

Thanks for all the feedback. This board continues to be a wonderful resource.

 

hummm, I would suck up the extra days for the cheaper cto, then to have to pay more with little benefit

 

ATM it looks like a 1-day and $20 price difference between the CTO (VPCSA290X) and ready-to-ship VPCSA2CFX/SI model. Both offer the same warranty. CTO is tempting for the option to upgrade to Win7 Pro and get "Fresh Start". Is there something else I'm missing?