VPCEL
Summary
The Sony VAIO VPCEL are a series of mid-low-range notebooks released by Sony between June 2011 and February 2012.
Medium range of the 2011 VPCE series, they have a 15.5" display with a 1366x768 resolution.
With this notebook (and the VPCEK), Sony decided to use an AMD CPU with integrated GPU, that wasn't very powerful, but reliable and power efficient. Since the CPU consumes only 18W compared to the VPCEH's 35W Intel CPUs, the laptop runs very cool and quiet, only reaching 70c after a long stress test.
However, the use of this processor made it more a budget laptop (frequently used as "first notebook") rather than a medium range laptop, with extensive modes of use. Probably Sony did so in order to steer people looking for a more versatile notebook towards the new 2012 models.
They can be easily recognised thanks to their diamond pattern, shared with the entire E series of late 2011 and early 2012, in the area near the trackpad and in the back of the screen.
These laptops were sold almost globally.
Made mostly of plastic and available in white or black, their strengths are the power efficient CPU and their integrated AMD graphics, but also the large lithium-ion battery (optional).
Detailed Specs
Processor : AMD Dual-Core E-450 1,65 GHz, 2C/4T, or AMD E-Series E-350 (rarer)
Graphics : AMD Radeon HD 6320, or AMD Radeon HD 6310 (rarer)
RAM : 4GB SDRAM DDR3 (up to 8GB, available as optional)
Display : 15.5" 16:9 LED 1366x768
Storage : 2.5" SATA
Battery : 5300 mAh or 7950 mAh (large lithium-ion battery)
Weight : 2.7 kg / 95.2 oz / 5.9 pounds
Original OS : Windows 7 (64 bit)
Daily Usage Today
This device is still usable for very basic tasks like web browsing and text editing today. It may also run cloud gaming, but it probably cannot handle gaming, even with non-resource-intensive games. Unfortunately, these are incompatible with legacy operating systems such as XP (shows a blue screen when installing), so you are stuck on Windows Vista and above.
We recommend upgrading the RAM to 8 GB (if not already equipped) and to switch the mechanical hard drive to an SSD.
This device probably can work on Windows 11 with proper drivers, but it may have stability and stuttering problems.
Downloads
Sony VAIO VPCEL Recovery Discs
You can bypass the model checks of these discs by using SVRP.
Follow our guide to download and install the drivers (as Sony removed Windows 7 drivers and older).
Sources
NotebookCheck and Sony