newegg.com SR-129E

So now that its July 29, has everyone received their newegg Sony? There is nothing "shady" about it correct?

 

I believe at least three people on this forum have received their SRs from newegg. Shinyfalcon ambitioused and ccutlip

edit:make that four, duffyanneal

 

No, there's nothing shady about it. Yes, I know that Newegg is not an authorized dealer, but I doubt that will pose a problem. By the way, the hardware is almost impeccable, and the software will be as soon as I install a fresh copy of XP--there's too many "Offers from Sony" now.

 

>> By the way, the hardware is almost impeccable...

How so?

 

does it still come with the original sony warranty?

 

yes it does come with the warranty still.

by the way, Sony does direct business with newegg. SONYSTYLE, however, does not and that is why SONYSTYLE doesn't list them as authorized. Because why would SONYSTYLE list a company that sells their items cheaper as authorized?

I got this info. from two Sony Corp. business representatives.

 

is the discount only for a limited time only? how come newegg has the laptop in stock while the sony website is on preorder?

 

Well, it seems like a very durable computer and the design is great--glossy plastics get on my nerves, and I love that this notebook uses all matte materials (the sticker says it's magnesium alloy). The size is great, and the notbook actually runs very cool and quiet in my experience; the hard drive is basically the loudest part of the system. The screen is plenty bright for me, but it's not as blinding as I expected with LED backlighting--then again, I have no laptop to compare it with. I'm downloading Counter-Strike Source now, but hopefully it runs respectably. The VAIO software suite, though, is annoying, and hopefully XP and some additional RAM will help the notebook perform to its fullest.

One of my complaints, though, is battery life. I was considering waiting until the Lenovo X200 came out to decide on a laptop, and the thought that that notebook would last almost three times as long on a charge makes me cringe. By the way, does anyone know the model number of the extended battery compatable with the SR and where to get it cheap? Also, the first time I shut down the notebook, I shut the lid only to find that the "put the notebook to sleep when the lid is shut" script interrupts and overrides the shut down process, and the next time I turned it on I got a "Windows was not shut down properly" screen. That's so stupid! Anyways, other people need to order from Newegg so that it'll sell out and I won't think I should've waited.

 

ccutlip, is the battery life about 3.5 hours? or did you get less?
can someone post pictures of the laptop with the screen turned on?

 

I have a picture, but it's from an iPhone. The FW next to the SR.

 

According to sony the newegg Sr's are the first ones they built. So if anything is wrong with the screen etc. The Sr-129 owners will be the ones to report. The SR190 CTOs are just being built as I type. Duke what made you change your mind about newegg?

Im happy I ordered from sony style incase the Sr w/ HDMI comes out so I can get that w/o fees. Cpngrats to those that got their SR's i can't wait to get mine.

 

I canceled at first, then reverted the cancellation after I thought about it. Luckily, they hadn't sent it through yet. Anyway, I changed my mind about newegg because as you said, the first SR's that were built were sent to newegg to sell. If anything they forgot to add or change was on those (you're looking at a good week or more to catch anything) then the ones on sonystyle are likely to fix those minor minor issues. who knows, I just wanted to play safe.

Plus I'd rather have my laptop sent to authorized sony facilities to be repairs, where the parts are readily available. Whereas newegg extended warranties might take longer to get parts, to fix, ect... I am going to college and if anything should happen, I need my fixed laptop back ASAP.

Personally, I just am a paranoid person

BUT, Don't hold your breath for that HDMI. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY doubt they would add that. If they do, then God Bless Sony.

 

OK, I guess this is as good a place as any. Does anyone know where Sony hordes all of their 64-bit drivers. I decided to update to Vista Ultimate 64 after a failed install of OSX and a weird BSoD during an XP install, but Sony doesn't seem to consolidate drivers for 64-bit Vista and finding drivers by hand is getting infuriating. For example, how am I supposed to get drivers for the Intel 5100 WiFi card when even Intel's own site doesn't have any for it!? Also, ATI's 3400 series drivers don't seem to work, perhaps because I need the MOBILITY version? Ugh, I hate searching via a wired connection at 800x600 resolution .

 

800x600 resolution? why would you be doing that? is your SR not functioning? i guess it isnt from what you describe.

anyhow, I suggest chatting with tech support on that one.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/support-contacts.pl?

go down to VAIO and chat with them.

 

Usually, the best place to find drivers is to scour other manufacturers websites. I would suggest looking at Toshiba, Dell, Lenovo, and HP. As far as your BSOD while installing XP that is usually a sign that an AHCI driver is needed. You can pick up the latest copy of an Intel AHCI (SATA) driver from one of the manufacturers listed above. When you first boot up the XP install disk you'll see a bit of text about hitting F6 to install additional drivers (or something similar to that). Hit F6 and load the AHCI drivers via floppy or USB memory card. The rest of the install should be straight forward. If you bought your SR from Newegg the WiFi card is an Atheros AR928x not an Intel card (at least that is what I received).

 

Yes, I believe it's a Atheros AR928x, how is it?

 

I also got my SR from newegg, I got it only after Duffyanneal, but then again, i didn't make my own thread for it.

Anyways, no problems on my end so far.

 

WHy does the newegg site show a graphics card memory of 128mb, whereas ATI Radeon HD3470 has 256mb of memory? Do the newegg guys mean 128mb dedicated + 128 shared? is 3470 built that way?

 

From the Sony site:
With ATI® Radeon HD 3400 Series graphics with 128MB of dedicated video RAM, you'll experience the power of HD.