Best to return / exchange new laptop or allow Sony to repair?

pinstripes

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Hi, guys...
I was so grateful for everyone's help in deciding on what laptop to buy...and now I have the laptop...and another question!
I ordered a Sony Vaio Eb...and right out of the box, as soon as I turned it on, there was a high pitched sqeal (rather continual). Called Sony and the tech had me uninstall and upgrade the speaker drivers, which seemed to solve the squeal but there is still a vague slight static sound or faint buzz. They ordered parts (not sure what exactly) and are sending a tech out to repair it. Friends have suggested I send the laptop right back and ask for another, rather than accept the repair...because the laptop is brand new and this isn't a good sign. Some say that if you have initial problems, you will probably have others. Do you agree? I've already done a lot of set up and personalization and updates, recovery discs, etc. for the laptop...so would prefer not to send it back, unless of course there are likely to be other issues. I have less than 2 weeks to return it if that is what I choose.

Something else happened last night....I was in Outlook and when I exited to go back to my desktop, the screen background had changed (on its own) back to the default blue color. I had changed it to another color days earlier! Does this happen sometimes perhaps if an automatic update is coming through? Or is this another problematic issue? I think once when I exited from Word or Outlook, the desktop background also had slight diagonal line patterns through it....Not sure what that was about either?

I've never had a laptop before so I am wondering if some of these things might be normal glitches that can occur. Of course I always wonder too if internal damage can happen in shipping that might show up later?

Thank you for your help!
 
Solution
I like the idea of the $50 resolution improvement but paying the extra $100 for a video card upgrade is something you could do without if you can find an option to do that.

Ordering the Full HD display only would be my recommendation.

When you look at the amount of space your editing tools and ribbon bars take up on the screen it often seems there isn't a lot of room for the text you're working on.
If you're a fast reader like me it's very annoying to have to pause and scroll more often. Even using scroll lock and moving the document around with the mouse is only a minor improvement.

pinstripes

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Thank you, Kevin. That feels right to me too, although I'm having trouble adjusting to the 15" screen too. Do you have any thoughts on screen resolution? My best option if I keep the computer seems to be to purchase an external monitor but I understand that won't improve the resolution. I am wishing I had ordered a 17" screen / laptop!
 
Hello pinstripes;
An external monitor will improve the working resolution. The onboard graphics can support resolutions above the native LCD on the laptop screen.
1920x1200 via DVI/HDMI or even 2560x1600 is supported if a Display Port connector in available on the laptop (which Sony Vaio Eb does not have).
 

pinstripes

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Thank you, WR2. :)
 

pinstripes

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WR2...
There is an HDMI out port on the Vaio. Does that mean if I get an external monitor and use that port, I will be able to have better resolution? I think I understand that I would likely also need to purchase an additional cord?
 
If there isn't a HDMI cable or HDMI-DVI adapter in the accessory pack of a new monitor you would want to pick one up.
Check the connections on any monitor you want to think about buying. If the monitor has speakers, a HDMI/HDMI cable is best.
 

pinstripes

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Thank you...What do you think of ordering a laptop, same size, 15.5, but with an upgrade of full HD premium display and ATI mobility radeon? (About $150 extra.) Would that make any difference to my experience with documents and text?
 
Which model of the ATI Mobility Radeon?

The difference in 1366x768 and 1920x1080 resolution screen is important to me. But I realize not everyone else would want to pay that much extra $$. It's a personal preference.
If you happen to have a 1920x1080 monitor on your home PC or know someone who has you can set it to 1366x768 resolution and check the difference for yourself.
 

pinstripes

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The Sony site says: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 GPU (1GB VRAM)--$100. (In order to order this, you must also order Full HD Vaio premium display--$50).
Sorry I didn't include the model earlier.

Unfortunately I don't have a 1920x1080 monitor to experiment with.

Do you find the greater resolution is important to you when you do document work or read text?

 
I like the idea of the $50 resolution improvement but paying the extra $100 for a video card upgrade is something you could do without if you can find an option to do that.

Ordering the Full HD display only would be my recommendation.

When you look at the amount of space your editing tools and ribbon bars take up on the screen it often seems there isn't a lot of room for the text you're working on.
If you're a fast reader like me it's very annoying to have to pause and scroll more often. Even using scroll lock and moving the document around with the mouse is only a minor improvement.
 
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pinstripes

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They won't let me order one without the other. I orignially tried to do just as you suggested...order the full HD display...so I could get the better resolution, but it automatically adds the video card upgrade...and cancels the HD display if you delete the video card. I checked with a sales rep, and she said they have to be ordered as a pair.

I agree re the space for text...So frustrating!

Thank you for your comments....They have been really helpful.
 

pinstripes

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Hi, WR2...Just a quick update. Because of problems I had had with my previous order, they offered to upgrade my new order at a good discount....to include the HD, video card and blue ray optical drive...so I decided to go ahead and try that and am hoping that the higher resolution will help me. Am a little concerned, though, that now the text will be too small! It seemed the best thing to try next, though...and then possibly also adding an external monitor, although now I may need to buy a more expensive monitor to accomodate the HD. It seems to go round and round!...but I'm learning a lot. Perhaps everything in the future will be HD and blue ray, so I'm thinking it might end up being good to have these. Hope they don't make the laptop run hotter though!
Am grateful for this forum and all who participate!
;)