Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

Oh no, the XPS guy is back!!!:rolleyes2:

 

Strongly agree..

It showed 6000 problems after installing Office and Photoshop. However System Tuneup was mainly getting all snot-nosed about defragmenting - which has been disabled. Erm, it has to be told about the care and maintenance of SSDs sometime.

 

What would you do?...

I currently own a Sony Vaio FW520D notebook that was purchased in December 2009. I have the opportunity to return my Vaio for a full refund. Please don't ask how or why...it's a long story.

If you were in my shoes, would you:

a) return your FW Vaio and purchase the new F series model?
b) keep your current FW model?

Now I know the new F series has a faster processor, but would I really notice a huge difference between processors?

Your feedback would be appreciated.

I'm going to post a similar question in the FW series forum.

Thanks.

 

2+ hours on standard batter is acceptable to me. I may still do the large capacity upgrade though. I do kinda like how it raises the back and provides more air flow.

I took a look at the Z series. To configure it near the F series specs, the cost is kinda crazy. And I think 13" is just too small for what I'm looking for.

I think I'm going to do just that. The Crucial 256GB SSD is on sale at NewEgg for the same price as it would cost to upgrade to the Toshiba, and in my opinion it's a better drive. Though I did find a review on the Toshiba that said it was pretty decent, and it claims it supports the TRIM function ( Link). I was looking at some super high-end drives like the OCZ LE series and Corsair just announced a wicked fast drive they're calling the F200. But both of those are in the upper $800 range and that's just too much to spend on a drive.

I'm going to take my Dad's Windows 7 Pro retail DVD to do a clean install on whatever SSD I end up buying and use my product key to activate. Then I'll wipe the included 320 GB HDD in put it in an eSata/USB2.0 enclosure to backup onto. Was thinking of cloning from the HDD to the SSD, but it would be easier to just do the clean install and make sure there is no bloatware. Plus, I've read there are some difficulties getting the alignment right when cloning from HDD to SSD.

I'm about ready to order my system, but I read somewhere that if you call in to order that you can get discounts from the service reps. Anyone know if this works or if Sony does military discounts? If so I may wait a couple weeks when I'm back in the U.S.A. and call my order in. Also, have they been pretty fast about getting the system built and shipped out, or have wait times been pretty long?

Thanks again for all the info and responses to my questions. I've been sitting here for hours browsing hundreds of pages of this thread and it's predecessor. You guys rock.

 

i wouldnt have ming getting the z or y series but screens are much smaller, and f series seems much better, and imo one of the best sony have brought out

 

Then why not choose the Windows 7 Pro with the Fresh Start option for $50 if going the CTO route?

slrosenfeld's F Windows 7 Pro with Fresh Start, Start Menu screen grab:



Check the Unification Post #2 for tips & clean install links.

 

6,000 problems, can somebody beat that? But how many Registry Cleaner problems?

Yes, defrag is disabled in System TuneUP for SSD's but works for HDD's.

 

Because I already have Win 7 Ultimate for free from my school, I do not want to pay anything extra.

Yes, I read the F-Series Great Unification Post. Mega-Thanks to lrudyk for compiling it.

 

The problems were from system cleaner, deleted files. But remember that an SSD treats deleted data differently, it marks them but writes new data to unused sectors, then only clears the old data during trash cleanup or using Trim. That plus the fact defrag checking was NOT disabled makes me think Tune-Up doesn't know it's an SSD and that those errors were the normal operation of a solid-state drive.

 

But defragmentation should be disabled for SSD, I get a popup window saying it is before applying the fixes, from memory: ...is disabled by default as it does not improve performance for SSD. Not you?

Edit: or is it only the schedule that is disabled & it still does it fo SSD"s?

 

Agreed about the cost. The price of entry of the Z is pretty stiff, to put it mildly ! In addition to that, it only comes with SSD (no HDD options at all), which is a proprietary Sony RAID 0 setup (600MB/Sec Read and 430MB/Sec Write due to a Quad-RAID-0 setup). The Z is a unique product, since no other product matches the sheer horsepower and componentry it packs, while coming in at 3lbs. There are several lightweight options available but simply lacks the things that are built into the Z-series, like a built in bluray burner. Of course having 1920x1080 resolution in a 13.1 screen is just plain crazy, too !

Thanks for this link. This is the first real confirmation I found, that the 43nm Toshiba 256GB SSD does support TRIM. And the model# they tested with, is exactly the one that Sony uses in the F-series.

Agree about going with an aftermarket SSD option. I think if you can wait a few months, then there are several other options that are supposed to be coming to the market - with higher capacity, faster and more efficient controllers and lower prices. Can't beat that !

 

Yeah, that resolution on a 13" screen is insane.

Yeah, the model number matches exactly and the review itself was pretty positive. But it's not a consumer product and I don't see any product support for it on Toshiba's website, whereas with aftermarket there's the potential for better firmware and other improvements. Plus, for the price NewEgg is giving on it, I think the Crucial is a much better deal. I found NIB ones on Ebay for even less if I want to go that route too.

I know if I wait, they'll get faster and cheaper. But that's always the case. I don't want to get my system all configured then change hard drives a few months down the road and have to set everything back up again. In the immortal words of Ricky Bobby, "I wanna go fast!" I'm ready for SSD now.

 

Hi, radar2000.
I just sold my FW series to upgrade to the F series.
Mine died in 2 days (Just little unlucky)...so I am waiting on a replacement.
For full refund...I would definitely return the FW and get the F.
The 2 days that I had it...It was definitely worth it EVEN with the little problems like very faint morse code noise.
My FW had the P8600 (2.4GHz) with 4GB RAM....and the new F series was so much faster. Good Luck!

AHHHH!!! Come on Sony...start the production on my replacement F!!! I've ordered it again on the Feb 27th and estimated shipping is March 16th. They have not done a thing so far... Sorry...I had to get that out...

 

Then I would suggest to wait till you have the machine in front of, try the stuff you listed to see if you find it useful or not, check the Fresh Start grab & link above as a road map, he said it was a good balance with some useful Son_y stuff.

When clean installing, follow the order suggested by Sony_Support linked here: "STEP 3 - Install Sony Drivers, IMPORTANT: It is strongly recommended that you install the files in the following order:...".

Check also this post about getting back WinDVD & Roxio from the rescue discs you need to create with the F in factory state.

Finally, Search this Thread with: clean install. You may find some useful posts.

Good luck!

 

I need to get Windows 7 Ultimate because I need additional languages. However, I also want fresh start. For some reason, this option is only available for Professional. Has anyone had success calling them and getting a fresh start with ultimate?

I would just do a clean install, but since I've never used 7 before that will probably turn into an all day affair.

If Sony won't help, is it possible to do pro + fresh start and then buy an upgrade from Microsoft to go from pro to Ultimate? I found a home premium to Ultimate upgrade but nothing about a pro to Ultimate.

 

Great, I was afraid your F was already up to date.

 

I did not see any Pro to Ultimate either:

http://store.microsoft.com/microsof...s-7-Home-Premium-to-Ultimate/product/73C70758

http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Windows-Windows-7/category/102

So either get F w/ Home, upgrade Anytime to Ultimate or Ultimate Full & clean install.

 

Thank you for the link to that review of the Toshiba SSD (it's the one that comes in the Vaio F from Sony Style US if you order the 256Gb SSD) It's great to finally confirm that it supports TRIM. I need to do a bit more research to determine if TRIM is automatically enabled in Windows 7 for drives that support it, or if any settings need to be tweaked for it to work, and also how to determine if it is working (if anyone knows this off the top of their head I'd love to hear)
Anyone interested in getting the US Vaio F with SSD should definitely check out this review. It's results are consistent with my experience in actual use. This is one very fast drive. While it may not be the fastest SSD out there, it's big, and it mostly holds its own with the current pack of SSDs. As the review article points out, even in the few areas where this drive lags behind the competition, it's still way faster than any HD.

When I ordered my F, no one even knew what SSD Sony was using, let alone any performance data. The info in the review should be very useful to others like yourself (or me or Rowerray several weeks ago) wrestling with the SSD decision.

Regarding the choice of whether to go with the Toshiba SSD supplied by Sony vs swapping after market, you could probably get a better performing drive for the same price or a similarly performing one for less. But I'll risk stating the obvious that in favor of choosing the factory SSD is that it's ready to go right out of the box with fuss no muss, no worries about mucking up your new machine or voiding your warranty. And, with Fresh Start from Sony Style, you get a pretty clean machine, without the need to do a clean install.

You might consider doing what I did. Get the F with the standard battery, and buy the large capacity battery as an accessory. Sure it's not cheap, but it's way cheaper than going with something like the Vaio Z, or HP Envy 15. And consider the advantages. When you want to be small and light, use the standard battery. When you're around the house, use the larger battery, which raises up the back nicely for ventilation and typing comfort. When you're traveling, take both batteries with you, and you've got about five hours total between the two (depending on what you're doing).

I'll echo the sentiment of many others on this forum--this is one heck of a laptop. Good luck with your decisions.

 

So I grabbed my powerbook g4 out (the machine that the F replaced) today [had it in my book bag over the weekend]). Geez. At least muscle cars had looks going for them. Making me wish I had gotten a silver F series, at least lol.

Wonder what it'd cost to get the silver shell >>

ANYWAY. I'm having a weird issue where my typing gets all funny, random keys that I obviously haven't pressed (control is a common culprit) getting pressed >> Not sure if it's because I jacked up my Windows install trying boot camp drivers (for HFS support), or just my keyboard going bad.

I'll do a fresh windows install tomorrow and let you guys know lol.

ALSO: If you want a 'retail' windows 7 install:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/...links-ultimate-professional-and-home-premium/

The method is unorthodox, but so long as you're using the version you have the license to (on the bottom of your machine), I can't see it being unlegit.

 

guys i read through the thread, and was wondering would the performance be much faster if you do a clean install when you recieve the laptop. I have read there is alot of bloatware right? Also has anyone had a clean install done by sony when recieving the laptop.

 

I'm not looking for a pat on the back, but I don't like to be contradicted at every turn, either.

I was able to loop the GTA IV internal benchmark at 1920x1080 with a mix of medium/low settings for roughly 30 minutes or so last night with no issues (at stock GPU clocks).

Apologies for not taking the time to do proper benchmarks yet, I'll block off some time this week to do so. Unfortunately, the only valid method of benchmarking is to proess multiple runs with both drivers on one system that is otherwise exactly the same, and that takes time.

 

Proper Linux drivers coming soon, according to the NVidia rep:

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=158042

And proper drivers with 330M support coming soon as well, it seems:

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=162180

 

For any of you who may be interested...

Many of you know that I purchased an F11 for a pastor at our church. Well, we also purchased a Dell Studio XPS 9000 desktop for the church office manager. We will be replacing all 15 of the church office computers over a new 5 year plan. Right now most of the machines are between 8 and 10 years old, and they were low end to begin with. We truly needed some power machines for replacement!

Well, the F11 is as follows:

Core i7 720M
8GB dual channel 1333 Mhz RAM
BlueRay player w/ DVD/CD writer
GF 310M video
1600 X 900 display
128GB Crucial SSD
Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
For the next month or so, Microsoft Security Essentials for AV, etc.
Adobe Flash, Reader
Java 64 bit
Java 32 bit
Microsoft Office 2007 Pro Plus

The Dell XPS desktop is configured as follows:

Core i7 720M
12GB tri channel 1066 Mhz RAM
GF 310M video
DVD/CD Writer
1920 X 1080 display (24")
128GB Crucial SSD
Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
For the next month or so, Microsoft Security Essentials for AV, etc.
Adobe Flash, Reader
Java 64 bit
Java 32 bit
Microsoft Office 2007 Pro Plus

I have always wanted the portability of a laptop, but I never liked the keyboard or the performance loss of a laptop. I really struggle with laptop keyboards!

I have been lucky to be able to set these two fine machines side by side. While they are not "apples to apples", I am really impressed with the Sony (well, actually...BOTH!)

The F11 boots faster than the XPS and shuts down faster. From the moment I hit the "restart" button, it takes 44 seconds to reboot, login and become fully ready with the F11. The XPS, on the other hand, takes 58 seconds. Running processes are nearly the same for both, as both have been subject to a clean install and tweaked for the processes we need at the church. The only difference is that the laptop is also running wirelessly.

When I open a program, the F11 is also slightly faster. When I say "slightly", I mean that when I have them side by side, my sight can see that the F11 opens perhaps 1/100 of a second faster. This happens consistantly and if I had to guess, I would say that this could be the difference in two identical video processors drawing different resolutions (the Sony has less resolution than the Dell).

For general web surfing, email, basic spreadsheets, etc., the F11 is equal to perhaps very slightly better than the XPS. The XPS has a much larger and better ASUS HD full HD monitor and is built like a tank. This machine is really beautiful, both inside and out. The Sony has the first notebook keyboard that I can type well on. I also love the lighted keys. The display is fine for me also.

The Dell is dead quiet. the only noise I hear is when the optical drive is running, or a VERY slight fan noise when I tried processing several 12MP RAW photo files at once. The Sony, on the other hand, has a noisier optical drive and has a lot more fan noise when I performed the same multi RAW conversion.

After I ran this conversion once on each machine, I decided to try them side by side. This is where the Dell pulled away. I should have timed it (I didn't think to!), but conversion of 10 12MP RAW files was blazing fast on the Dell compared to my own old Dell desktop. It truly took perhaps 1/3 the time that mine takes, or even less. While my desktop takes perhaps 4 or 5 minutes to perform this batch conversion, the XPS did it in about a minute. The F11 was perhaps 5-10 seconds slower than the XPS, but still, the performance was incredible compared to my P4 2.8Ghz dinosaur.

I must say that this was eye opening! For most day to day uses, the F11 may be a touch QUICKER than the XPS desktop. The only time that I would really benefit from the XPS is when I want the larger screen and faster processing power for photo editing the pictures from my Sony a700.

For this reason, I am seriously considering that I may purchase my OWN F11 intead of the desktops that I have always used. The keyboard may be the clincher for me. It is very easy to type, even with my larger hands.

Bill

 

As stated in the past, photo processing (specifically with a large number of RAW images etc) is one area where the machine can and will use up all of that RAM. The more, the merrier. All of the power of the Quad-core will be deployed in such an application and with more RAM available, the system can load up more images for the Quad-cores to start pummeling away at them.

In my case, these are 24.6MP RAW files (from the A900, with each file around 37-40MB in size) and typically the batchjobs at times consists of over a 100 RAW images. I can see that the F-series is WAY faster than my HP/Compaq 8710W (the difference is in terms of 3-6 minutes of processing time in the F-series, versus 30-45 minutes in the HP).

 

Do the nVidia driver's even work for the Vaio's? I was under the impressoin you had to go through Sony to update video drivers for their notebooks. Even on nVidia's driver download page they say:

"The following notebooks are not supported in this release:
...
3. Sony VAIO notebooks (please contact the notebook OEM for driver support for these notebooks. Sony VAIO Windows 7 users can click here for driver update support)"



Is there a way to get the nVidia drivers to work? I hate having to go through OEM to get support for another company's product.

 

Is anyone else having a voice speech delay when the voice narrator microsoft anna is reading words? She tends to skip the first part of the word that she is saying. It is getting really annoying as the same thing happens when i try to use rosetta stone. If anyone could help with this I'd really appreciate it!

 

For windows (not sure about linux), this has been covered in much detail (and hate/spite) in the past few pages of this particular forum. The new drivers work, but you need to get a hacked version for notebook chipsets and modify a .inf file in order for them to work.

 

It's likely that we'll have to copy over a more complete driver .INF file that lifts the manufacturer restriction on install. These are available from Laptopvideo2go.com, or you can try your hand at editing the stock .INF. I'd go with the former option and grab the .INF from laptopvideo2go.

Some will say this is risky, but there's nothing risky at all from a technical perspective. Sony isn't playing ball with NVidia at the moment for a number of reasons (mainly Sony's refusal to participate in the NVidia Verde automatic driver update program), and for non-technical reasons Sony has forced all Vaio customers to obtain driver updates directly from them.

 

I would shy away from the term "hacked", as it's quite loaded. Aside from the .INF, the driver files are all standard NVidia sources.

Simply put, Sony wants all users to have a single point for their updates: namely, the Sony update utility. While this is great for Sony from a support perspective, it prevents users from installing the most recent OEM drivers, which is of utmost importance with video drivers.

 

Yeah - I didn't mean to come across as one-sided. If the drivers dont work for you, you can always just boot into safe mode and roll them back. No biggie.

I'm looking forward to what kinds of performance benefits these new drivers offer. Even if it's 1-2 more fps, combined with the increase in performance from OCing the card it would make quite a difference. I'll hopefully get them installed after my exams this week

 

Is anyone experiencing the following? Any ideas on how to fix it?

My F11 has GT 310M and it works great but I notice that when I connect it to a external monitor SyncMaster 2032NW 1680x1050 it doesn't look crisp. With my previous laptop the image was sharper.

So far.
Checked on the NVidia control panel and resolution is properly set at 1680x1050. Changed resolution to other sizes but definitely the native one is the one that looks the best.
Tested monitor with the previous laptop and it looks great.
Tried changing cleartype setting but can't make it look crisp like the previous laptop (2 year old cheap HP)

 

I believe I can wait a week or two. Thanks for the info.

 

That makes sense. Doesn't sound too hard to get around. But out of curiosity, how does the system know there is a manufacturer restriction in the first place? The CPU is Intel and the GPU is nVidia. Sony's got software on the hard drive, but let's say I was to put a fresh copy of Windows on a brand new drive. I take it the restriction is coming from something on the motherboard?

I wouldn't mind going through an OEM update utility if they would at least try to keep up with the drivers. I've had my XPS M1730 for almost two years, and Dell has released 1 driver update in that time.

 

I think that GPU hardware IDs have a vendor component as well, and installer polls these IDs to determine whether or not the install can continue. See a sample .INF here for the dirty details:

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/infs/195series/19686_win7x64/nvdm.inf

 

Hello,

I have a question for the people who did a fresh install. How big is the back-up of your harddrive? I never made one, and I don't know for sure if I have enough memory at home to store it.

Thankyou in advance
Joe

 

@ Joey123

Hey got a question man.
Im also living in netherlands and i ordered the f series too. But when i go to sonystyle.nl and click on the order, it gives me an error:

An error occured including /b2c/z_footer.inc.jsp:
Error in JSP..

Do you also get it? Or is it just me.

Thx in advance.

 

Hello,

The sony website has much bugs and errors. Always when I want to make my own configuration of a laptop, the site chrashes seconds later. A common error I get too is the following "would you beleive a dog ate our website". It's kind of normal. Just wait some hours and you might don't have these problems.

I ordered my vaio f at Wehkamp because of the low price (for my configuration only €1179,-), I'm still waiting to receive it though.

Cheers
Joe

 

It's takes only 2 DVD's to preserve the F's OEM factory state, unless you got a CTO with extra programs factory installed you added to your order, then you may need 3.

I replaced the OEM HDD using these recovery discs, see this post with links: Seagate 7200 vs. Samsung 5400 Windows Experience Rating

 

Hey guys uh, when I sleep my laptop it's never sleeping when I come back to it in the morning, it's off.

This time I went to bed, get up 9 hours later, it's off and 24% battery left.. I TOLD windows not to hibernate it after 60 mins like the original settings did >>

is doing it then?

 

I was very tempted to buy this product when i saw it as well - it seems custom made for the Vaio F11 series. It's wide, has a cooling fan, and the speakers are supposed to be good. What turned me off was that it had such a large lap pad under it. I ended up just sticking with a simple cooling pad, and letting my TV speakers do the work coming from the HDMI output. If I did NOT have an HDMI external monitor with sound, I probably would have gotten the Logitech speaker/cooling pad.

Nice post you made. And very very nice computer!

 

The setting is controlled in the Advanced Power Plan Settings. See http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Sleep-and-hibernation-frequently-asked-questions and follow the directions for How can I prevent my computer from automatically sleeping or hibernating?

Should answer your question.

 

Does anyone know whether I can fit an internal UMTS (3G) modem?

 

u're doing a fine job and I appreciate the drivers updates. In your opinion, should I update my drivers now or wait til nvidia comes out with thier's in mid march?

I don't play taht many games....Fallout 3, Oblivion, Mass Effect 1 and 2 are on my PC now.

 

I'd wait for the official release from NVidia (unless you need fixed-aspect-ratio scaling). Or, you can wait for the Sony-sanctioned release, but there's no telling when that will be.

 

Hi everyone. I have F11Z1EI.

I have some question regarding hardware faults. I have read all past including first part...

I need brief and tangible resource (web sources etc…) that F series’ faulty parts have replaced by services. And there is not any official announcement from Sony. Even I call the Sony repair service; they said there isn’t any problem about F series! … So I need some sources that currently well known problems are solved by Sony repair centers.

My previous notebook was Lenovo N3000 N200 TYPE 769 B3G . Lenovo has never announced about faulty main board. I found the problem then send it to the repair service… My main board replaced with better one under warranty..

So I think Sony will do same manner… I think Sony doesn’t want to have bad reputation like Lenovo …

I have an European F series . My F11’s fans too laoud. High frequency high pitch problem still remains even I updated the Realtek driver from Sony …

I have Logitech Optical Laser Mouse v470 that sometimes doesn’t responding!... I have used the Logitech mouse with Archos Internet Tablet (32 GB) and Lenovo notebook before without any problem… So I think Bluetooth driver or software some faults…

By the way, I installed the DELL Nvidia driver with Sony .inf file… I faced BSOD !... So I removed the driver after that…

 

I must say, you are the MAN! Thank you so much for all the game vids you have posted. You do realize that I spend most of my rep giving it to you right? I do have a favor. Not sure how much of a fan of it you are, but how does the site, http://www.onemanga.com look on the 1080p screen? Im a big manga fan and am just dying to get my Sony F ordered once I get my tax money in!

Huh...I was wondering why so many people were quote non-existent posts. Goes to show I cant go away for a long weekend!

Can I ask why you use a triangular ruler instead of a cooling pad or the 9 cell battery?

On another note, has anyone tried removing the battery to see if the unit will work under just the power of the power brick? Wasn't sure if this was supported or not.

 

Yes, you can completely remove the battery and run just on the power brick.

 

I'm currently using a Razer Proclick mouse for Bluetooth, or a Logitech MX1000on USB. How does the Sony VAIO Bluetooth mouse compare? How usable is it?

 

Yes, the F can run w/o battery as mine is @ the present. Just make sure it's plugged in a UPS as this is the main benefit of the battery when plugged. Some on the web say that it prolongs battery life, others say that the trickle charging is good for the battery & the shelf life is the same anyway. I've read contradictory tech support comments on the subject.

I use to remove the battery & the ODD on my old notebook to save weight & help cooling. Maybe I will try it on the F & check the reported CPU & GPU temps w/ vs. w/o them.

-------
"why you use a triangular ruler instead of a cooling pad or the 9 cell battery? " - Because any object to lift the back of the notebook by about 1.5cm is low tech & efficient. I installed the factory state OS on a new drive & a bunch of programs & the fan never left the idle state.

If I would have gone the CTO route, I would have gladly chosen the $80 option & the large capacity battery instead of the regular one for more battery life & better natural ventilation. The weight & bulk difference is marginal compared to the advantages IMHO.

slrosenfeld's comments & photos showing how the VGP-BPL21 looks on his F convinced me. Sadly the $250 price tag on Sonystyle for it is a bit steep for me @ the present, I saw some OEM for about $200 offered by third party sellers.



I have been using my ruler for years, it's cheap, light in my notebook case, can be used as a back scratcher or even as a handy ruler! It barely fits under the two back rubber feet, which is recommended to minimize vibrations to/from the desk.



Any object works, @ home I use a 4.5cm x 2cm x 30cm piece of wood. count_schemula loves his fetish pickle jar lid: "I prop my rear up in a pickle jar lid to allow more air underneath..."

When in some part of Costa Rica where it's 35c in the shade, I plan on using the following as portability is important for me. I don't know yet if this foldaway USB Powered 2-Fan 2100-RPM Cooling Pad for 12~17" Laptop flexes (will report after getting it) but there are good user reviews on the page and it's only $6.41 including shipping worldwide. I ordered stuff 3 times from dealextreme. It took 2-3 weeks for delivery & the service is excellent.





What I like about it:
- cheap
- light
- foldable
- low rpm (22dB) & power consumption (150mA via USB)
- can be used with a cheap A/C USB power adapter
- fits a 17" laptop
- can be used unplugged as my ruler
- positive user comment

I wish current laptops had foldable back feet like you find on keyboards or on old laptops like my very old Toshiba. It would be bad for the notebook cooling pad industry but good for me.

-----
Just stumbled upon this post; ASU_S, Toshiba_and_Sony the ‘most reliable laptops’; Apple_in fourth: "A new study by warranty company SquareTrade..." (Nov. 2009).



Why did notebookreview removed so many flag choices when posting our messages? Can't find anymore the one for Costa Rica

 

So what amount of customization have any of you guys considered/done for your Vaio? Everything from decals, to taking it apart and doing stuff to it.