New Sony Vaio - Blu-ray Forum

bilbravo · 10-20-2009, 06:11 PM

What with windows 7 coming out on Thursday, I checked out some local stores for a new laptop for my wife (and I will get some use out of it, but it is primarily hers).

I ran across this VAIO and it fits all her needs... costmetically pleasing, will play blu-ray and dvds (so she can watch stuff in the car/plane when we travel), as well as the 14" size.

From my point of view the computer is excellently speced, particularly for the price. However, I do not have much experience with Sony laptops or computers. Reviews seem good overall for their computers, but since this is new I cannot find anything about this model. To the point: I guess I'm looking for personal experience with their machines, if anyone cares to share.

This is the model in question, which I'm 99% sure I will pick up Thursday morning.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218119763906

The graphics adapter will be nice as well to play some decent games, but nothing spectacular.

Also, I can't seem to get a straight answer as to whether the Sony machines come with software to play Blu-rays, or if I'll need to shell out some cash for a program to play them.

atomik kinder · 10-20-2009, 09:29 PM

My main desktop is a Sony Vaio. I love it and have never had any problems with it until recently. Keep in mind this computer is now seven years old. My original hard drive was dying and causing it to run super slow. I got a new hard drive and it runs like a new machine. I have a newer Vaio desktop too. I haven't had a Sony notebook though, but their desktop computers have never let me down.

bilbravo · 10-21-2009, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atomik kinder

My main desktop is a Sony Vaio. I love it and have never had any problems with it until recently. Keep in mind this computer is now seven years old. My original hard drive was dying and causing it to run super slow. I got a new hard drive and it runs like a new machine. I have a newer Vaio desktop too. I haven't had a Sony notebook though, but their desktop computers have never let me down.

Don't worry, I know enough to realize a 7 year old hard drive dying is nothing to be concerned about!

Thanks for the feedback. Unless I find something in the next day or so that makes me think otherwise, I'm going to pick this up.

Now I just have to decide if I'm going to buy a warranty... always hit or miss!

Ski31 · 10-21-2009, 03:27 AM

My 1st laptop was Vaio. That one was awesome. Worked perfect...until my 4 year old son and 1 year old daughter thought it would be funny to rip out and break all the keys.
I then replaced it with a new Vaio laptop (since I loved the other)....have had it less than a year and have had to replace a corrupted hard drive...TWICE. I think next time I need a laptop, I will go with an HP

salsa5 · 10-21-2009, 06:33 AM

Sony Vaio is a great choice, buy it!

bilbravo · 10-21-2009, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ski31

My 1st laptop was Vaio. That one was awesome. Worked perfect...until my 4 year old son and 1 year old daughter thought it would be funny to rip out and break all the keys.
I then replaced it with a new Vaio laptop (since I loved the other)....have had it less than a year and have had to replace a corrupted hard drive...TWICE. I think next time I need a laptop, I will go with an HP

Have you had any trouble other than the hard drive? I know that's a bummer, but the hard drive doesn't concern me as much as things like screen/hinges/motherboard failures.

Quote:

Originally Posted by salsa5

Sony Vaio is a great choice, buy it!

Thanks for the input everyone, I think I'm gonna buy it.

Did any of you who have one buy the warranty from either Sony/Best Buy/etc? That's what I'm debating now. Warranty is 1/4 the cost of the hardware... that is steep!

MacDaddyOJack · 10-21-2009, 12:34 PM

I have a Vaio laptop that I got as a freshman in college. It is now about 6.5 years old and I still use it. However, I have had issues with it. I had to have the motherboard replaced 3 times!!! The hard drive was directly underneath it and the fan did not get the heat out well enough. It slowly baked the thing since I had my comp on for about 10 hours each day in college. However, after the third repair, they said that the fan is adequate when there is no dust inside the machine. They said to hit it with canned air once a month and it should be fine (thanks for telling me on the third repair!)

Turns out that they were right. My warranty was up after 4 years and I use the canned air regularly now. No problems at all since then. It's a pretty good idea to use canned air on most electronics so I think that if you do that, it should be fine. I'll certainly be considering another Vaio once this one is finally done.

Rup_Muk · 10-21-2009, 09:20 PM

I've had my Sony VAIO laptop for 3.5 years - and it has functioned well enough for me. Over time, there has been a couple of niggling issues - but nothing that I couldn't fix.

From reading your posts, I reckon you're going to be getting this unit. I'd be curious to learn about your initial experience. I may be in the market for one soon...

Rup

dk3dknight · 10-22-2009, 01:21 AM

Well if you do make the decision to get it you might wan to look at this.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...tegoryId=16154

That is sony's official store and that is the product page for the series.

They do allow you to do a little customizing such as more ram or more processing power or better drive, which is a advantage of going to best buy and buying a default system.

Just wanted to throw that out there.

bilbravo · 10-22-2009, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dk3dknight

Well if you do make the decision to get it you might wan to look at this.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...tegoryId=16154

That is sony's official store and that is the product page for the series.

They do allow you to do a little customizing such as more ram or more processing power or better drive, which is a advantage of going to best buy and buying a default system.

Just wanted to throw that out there.

Thanks. I did go to this page, but from what I could tell the system at best buy was about $100 cheaper in the same configuration. However, the Sony warranty is $100 cheaper. So it was 6 one, half dozen of the other. If I feel like we want more power, I may do that though.

I'll let you all know what I decide to do, a few others have mentioned they are in the market.

dk3dknight · 10-22-2009, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bilbravo

Thanks. I did go to this page, but from what I could tell the system at best buy was about $100 cheaper in the same configuration. However, the Sony warranty is $100 cheaper. So it was 6 one, half dozen of the other. If I feel like we want more power, I may do that though.

I'll let you all know what I decide to do, a few others have mentioned they are in the market.

Cool, I figured the customization options can be quite the temptress, particular to protect your investment for future requirements.

I have to say im shocked how far laptops have gone.. (in a good way)

Have a nice day!

LeAnn · 10-22-2009, 08:13 PM

I love my Vaio and would not hesitate to get another. I am not very kind to my PCs and really go through them rather quickly. I got my Vaio in 07 and it is still running like a champ. The image quality is great and it still loads and processes quickly. I am not sure if this is a problem on most laptops, but it does get rather hot after it is on for awhile, so if you have it raised a little, problem solved.
I also dropped it once on its own... didnt break or anything....
and they keys are really easy to pop back on if they accidentally get pulled off... or you get something stuck under there...

Paint quality is good. I have a white and silver one, and the paint isnt chipping or anything.

ollin · 10-22-2009, 08:37 PM

I ordered the Sony Vaio AW today. Price was pretty good. $1200 for 18.4 screen and blu-ray drive was enough for me to order the laptop.

bilbravo · 10-22-2009, 10:57 PM

I can give more details later if anyone is interested, but here is a quick "day one" review.

I got the CW17FX/W from Best Buy. It's basically the 13FX with some extra options (more ram, biggest hard drive, etc).

So far, a few things I'm impressed with:

-Screen quality is excellent
-Blu-ray looks good, even though the screen is essentially 720p
-Keyboard took a few minutes to get used to (spacing), but the keys are excellent to touch
-Weight is fine, size is great
-Setup was a snap
-This computer has a "web" feature which I've only seen in higher-end motherboards until now. If the computer is powered off, you can hit the "web" button and it will boot into a lightweight system and you can browse the web (limited, but nice if you just need to check some e-mail)

Now, there is one thing: I have a dead or stuck pixel. I've only ever owned one LCD screen with zero dead pixels, and that is my Samsung TV. However, the pixel is stuck black and it's in the lower right hand corner, I didn't even notice it the first 2 times through DeadPixelBuddy. I will attempt to unstick it, but unfortunately this is an issue with every display these days :-(

I'll post more later, right now I'm making my recovery discs.

edit:

I'm not entirely sure how "limited" this web feature really is at all. I am using it now, and it is very fast. I can also go to youtube and view videos, so it at least has a pretty recent version of flash. Very cool. It is an implementation of http://www.splashtop.com/splashtop_overview.php

DBlockAllDay · 10-23-2009, 12:22 AM

I have a VAIO desktop I purchased in '01 it still works but I don't use it since its slow. You could only upgrade to 512mb RAM. I purchased a VAIO laptop 2 years ago with the works including BD-burner, among other things (cost me over $2k) and it stopped working earlier this year. The graphics card messed up. The laptop used to heat up like an iron. It was mostly an Nvidia problem, Sony wanted to charge me $600 to fix it and a local pc shop $500. I ended buyin a macbook pro. They guy at the local pc shop told me a word of advice "in the future try to avoid Sony computers because the replacement parts cost too much". I just wanna take out the blu-ray drive to still use it but dont know how to. I'm still a Sony fanboy though

Kino-Chan fan · 10-26-2009, 04:56 AM

I would like to ask, is this the thread to speak of Sony Vaio desktops? Since there are somethings I need to talk of.

bilbravo · 10-26-2009, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kino-Chan fan

I would like to ask, is this the thread to speak of Sony Vaio desktops? Since there are somethings I need to talk of.

I made this mainly about a laptop I was considering for purchase (and ended up getting). I don't know that there is a specific thread for Vaios.

bilbravo · 11-05-2009, 04:53 PM

I thought I'd come back and offer some more insight about this computer, as a few people seemed interested.

After 2 weeks of use, I like the laptop even more than I did day 1. The dead pixel wasn't at all... there was a piece of dirt on the screen. Doh!

This machine says 4 hours of battery life but we get about 2 hours 45 minutes (using the internet/playing music simultanteously). Not bad at all considering what a workhorse it is.

I downloaded Portal from my stream account and it plays perfectly. All settings on high or medium. Also World of Warcraft plays fine on this machine. So as far as gaming goes, it is mid-range and does decently. Probably isn't going to play anything new though, at least not on decent settings.

The machine does not get hot whatsoever. It also makes very little noise. The hard drive is a bit loud, but only noticeable in a silent room.

Final word is, great machine, especially for the price.

10-20-2009, 06:11 PM	#1
bilbravo Expert Member Member since:Oct 2007 Location:MD, USA Blu-ray collection:28	New Sony Vaio What with windows 7 coming out on Thursday, I checked out some local stores for a new laptop for my wife (and I will get some use out of it, but it is primarily hers). I ran across this VAIO and it fits all her needs... costmetically pleasing, will play blu-ray and dvds (so she can watch stuff in the car/plane when we travel), as well as the 14" size. From my point of view the computer is excellently speced, particularly for the price. However, I do not have much experience with Sony laptops or computers. Reviews seem good overall for their computers, but since this is new I cannot find anything about this model. To the point: I guess I'm looking for personal experience with their machines, if anyone cares to share. This is the model in question, which I'm 99% sure I will pick up Thursday morning. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218119763906 The graphics adapter will be nice as well to play some decent games, but nothing spectacular. Also, I can't seem to get a straight answer as to whether the Sony machines come with software to play Blu-rays, or if I'll need to shell out some cash for a program to play them.

10-22-2009, 10:57 PM	#14
bilbravo Expert Member Member since:Oct 2007 Location:MD, USA Blu-ray collection:28	I can give more details later if anyone is interested, but here is a quick "day one" review. I got the CW17FX/W from Best Buy. It's basically the 13FX with some extra options (more ram, biggest hard drive, etc). So far, a few things I'm impressed with: -Screen quality is excellent -Blu-ray looks good, even though the screen is essentially 720p -Keyboard took a few minutes to get used to (spacing), but the keys are excellent to touch -Weight is fine, size is great -Setup was a snap -This computer has a "web" feature which I've only seen in higher-end motherboards until now. If the computer is powered off, you can hit the "web" button and it will boot into a lightweight system and you can browse the web (limited, but nice if you just need to check some e-mail) Now, there is one thing: I have a dead or stuck pixel. I've only ever owned one LCD screen with zero dead pixels, and that is my Samsung TV. However, the pixel is stuck black and it's in the lower right hand corner, I didn't even notice it the first 2 times through DeadPixelBuddy. I will attempt to unstick it, but unfortunately this is an issue with every display these days :-( I'll post more later, right now I'm making my recovery discs. edit: I'm not entirely sure how "limited" this web feature really is at all. I am using it now, and it is very fast. I can also go to youtube and view videos, so it at least has a pretty recent version of flash. Very cool. It is an implementation of http://www.splashtop.com/splashtop_overview.php Last edited by bilbravo; 10-22-2009 at 11:33 PM.

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10-20-2009, 09:29 PM	#2
atomik kinder Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Omaha NE 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:-	My main desktop is a Sony Vaio. I love it and have never had any problems with it until recently. Keep in mind this computer is now seven years old. My original hard drive was dying and causing it to run super slow. I got a new hard drive and it runs like a new machine. I have a newer Vaio desktop too. I haven't had a Sony notebook though, but their desktop computers have never let me down.

10-21-2009, 03:27 AM	#4
Ski31 Active Member Member since:May 2009 Location:Oceanside, CA Home Theater Gallery:11 Blu-ray collection:173	My 1st laptop was Vaio. That one was awesome. Worked perfect...until my 4 year old son and 1 year old daughter thought it would be funny to rip out and break all the keys. I then replaced it with a new Vaio laptop (since I loved the other)....have had it less than a year and have had to replace a corrupted hard drive...TWICE. I think next time I need a laptop, I will go with an HP

10-21-2009, 06:33 AM	#5
salsa5 Member Member since:Oct 2009	Sony Vaio is a great choice, buy it!

10-21-2009, 12:34 PM	#7
MacDaddyOJack Blu-ray Guru Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Richmond, VA PSNetwork: MacDaddyOJack Trophy Level: 12(4%) Home Theater Gallery:12 Blu-ray collection:71 Blu-ray reviews:23 Trading Score:4	I have a Vaio laptop that I got as a freshman in college. It is now about 6.5 years old and I still use it. However, I have had issues with it. I had to have the motherboard replaced 3 times!!! The hard drive was directly underneath it and the fan did not get the heat out well enough. It slowly baked the thing since I had my comp on for about 10 hours each day in college. However, after the third repair, they said that the fan is adequate when there is no dust inside the machine. They said to hit it with canned air once a month and it should be fine (thanks for telling me on the third repair!) Turns out that they were right. My warranty was up after 4 years and I use the canned air regularly now. No problems at all since then. It's a pretty good idea to use canned air on most electronics so I think that if you do that, it should be fine. I'll certainly be considering another Vaio once this one is finally done.

10-21-2009, 09:20 PM	#8
Rup_Muk Expert Member Member since:Jan 2007 Blu-ray collection:136 Blu-ray reviews:24 Trading Score:8	I've had my Sony VAIO laptop for 3.5 years - and it has functioned well enough for me. Over time, there has been a couple of niggling issues - but nothing that I couldn't fix. From reading your posts, I reckon you're going to be getting this unit. I'd be curious to learn about your initial experience. I may be in the market for one soon... Rup

10-22-2009, 01:21 AM	#9
dk3dknight Blu-ray Ninja Member since:May 2007 Location:Arlington, Texas PSNetwork: dk3dknight PostCount: 0001 Blu-ray collection:44 Blu-ray reviews: 2	Well if you do make the decision to get it you might wan to look at this. http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...tegoryId=16154 That is sony's official store and that is the product page for the series. They do allow you to do a little customizing such as more ram or more processing power or better drive, which is a advantage of going to best buy and buying a default system. Just wanted to throw that out there.

10-22-2009, 08:13 PM	#12
LeAnn Blu-ray Samurai Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Aug 2009 Home Theater Gallery:48 Blu-ray collection:303 Trading Score:9	I love my Vaio and would not hesitate to get another. I am not very kind to my PCs and really go through them rather quickly. I got my Vaio in 07 and it is still running like a champ. The image quality is great and it still loads and processes quickly. I am not sure if this is a problem on most laptops, but it does get rather hot after it is on for awhile, so if you have it raised a little, problem solved. I also dropped it once on its own... didnt break or anything.... and they keys are really easy to pop back on if they accidentally get pulled off... or you get something stuck under there... Paint quality is good. I have a white and silver one, and the paint isnt chipping or anything.

10-22-2009, 08:37 PM	#13
ollin Junior Member Member since:Mar 2008 Blu-ray collection:32	I ordered the Sony Vaio AW today. Price was pretty good. $1200 for 18.4 screen and blu-ray drive was enough for me to order the laptop.

10-23-2009, 12:22 AM	#15
DBlockAllDay Active Member Member since:Feb 2008 Trading Score:9	I have a VAIO desktop I purchased in '01 it still works but I don't use it since its slow. You could only upgrade to 512mb RAM. I purchased a VAIO laptop 2 years ago with the works including BD-burner, among other things (cost me over $2k) and it stopped working earlier this year. The graphics card messed up. The laptop used to heat up like an iron. It was mostly an Nvidia problem, Sony wanted to charge me $600 to fix it and a local pc shop $500. I ended buyin a macbook pro. They guy at the local pc shop told me a word of advice "in the future try to avoid Sony computers because the replacement parts cost too much". I just wanna take out the blu-ray drive to still use it but dont know how to. I'm still a Sony fanboy though

10-26-2009, 04:56 AM	#16
Kino-Chan fan Active Member Member since:Oct 2009 Blu-ray collection:22 Trading Score:2	I would like to ask, is this the thread to speak of Sony Vaio desktops? Since there are somethings I need to talk of.

11-05-2009, 04:53 PM	#18
bilbravo Expert Member Member since:Oct 2007 Location:MD, USA Blu-ray collection:28	I thought I'd come back and offer some more insight about this computer, as a few people seemed interested. After 2 weeks of use, I like the laptop even more than I did day 1. The dead pixel wasn't at all... there was a piece of dirt on the screen. Doh! This machine says 4 hours of battery life but we get about 2 hours 45 minutes (using the internet/playing music simultanteously). Not bad at all considering what a workhorse it is. I downloaded Portal from my stream account and it plays perfectly. All settings on high or medium. Also World of Warcraft plays fine on this machine. So as far as gaming goes, it is mid-range and does decently. Probably isn't going to play anything new though, at least not on decent settings. The machine does not get hot whatsoever. It also makes very little noise. The hard drive is a bit loud, but only noticeable in a silent room. Final word is, great machine, especially for the price.

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