Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

Well the tech showed up with a replacement fan assembly, two thermal pads and one insulation pad. The directions had him remove the entire motherboard in order to replace the antivibration pad. Fan unit and thermal pads were pretty easy.

The replacement fan unit had a lower serial number than the fan assembly in the original F11. There is less variable pitch fan whine but the same, constant pitch ringing noise as recorded by members of this thread is still there!

I have attached a picture of the fan assembly. Made by Panasonic.

Strike One!

For those asking, the tech manuals are all online in a company confidential secure website.

 

What the WHAT!?!? It sounds like you got the EXACT same FIXES that I got on mine. So it's still not fixed? Did the tech hear the whistle sound? When he put in the new fan and you still heard it...what did he say??? Did he say it's a normal sound?

Could you tell if the replacement fan he brought along to install for you, was brand new? Was it in a bag sealed up?

Oh my! What are you going to do now????

Thanks for posting that info, very much appreciated!

 

So this means there is NOT any solution !.. What th* * !

Returning Sony F11 to the service does not make sense...

 

Everything was brand new from Sony. I talked to the tech support guy that the installer uses and even sent him the mp3 file. He assured me they will be back. Please remember that here in the US, onsite repair is performed by an outsourcing company. They still need to get a resolution from Sony Field Service (or whatever they are called) who must get the fix from Sony engineering. I really do not think that is available yet as this notebook is too new. The problem is also not a show stopper for the F11. But it is extremely annoying one for those of us that have the issue. The more owners complain to Sony tech support, the severity of the problem gets elevated.

The thermal pads that go on the GPU and CPU are one time use pads. Once you remove the unit, you have to clean the residue and then put on a new pad. It is not your standard thermal heat transfer paste. The pads are in solid form and disolve and flow as the chips get hot.

Incidentally, the black piece of plastic that you can see next to the SODIMMS when you remove the memory cover on the bottom is the i7 CPU socket.

 

I think a general definition is still needed. I ran a stress test on my unit with Prime 95. Then threw on Furmark. As the fan is ramping up there are a couple of spots where the fan whines or whistles as it's accelerating, that is normal and inavoidable with this technology, but try as I might at no point was there a SUSTAINED whistle, not at full speed with the temperature hovering around 80 degrees, not at idle, and not running a bit warm during Youtube and AVCHD playback. (Couldn't use a DVD or Bluray of course due to the player's noisiness.)

So, either I truly can't hear what's there, or indeed it's possible to have a whistle-free F11.

 

Thank you for the photo, keep them coming!

It looks like the fan itself could be removable from the cooling unit, that could be a DIY way to try to fix the problem with an other brand of fan. Next time the tech comes, could it be possible to see the shape of the fan out of the cooling unit?

If you have steps by steps of the cooling unit removable procedure, I'm quite interested as I had to clean/replace fans a dozen times so far here in Costa Rica.

Any links you could post maybe?

 

I did the exact same thing as you did with the exact same observations.

I was planning on making a video about it & post on Youtube but it's been raining today & I have a tin roof so a bit later on I will post back a link to it.

 

One observation I had is that when running fast you can feel the fan, and the plinth is acting as a soundboard for the bearing noise. I can see that decoupling the fan motion from the heat sink by mounting in rubber, and the heatsink from the cpu and motherboard with pliant thermal pads, would control the noise coming from the case of the computer. THAT is probably what has had variation in shipped units, and is the reference for the service bulletin regarding pads and thermal paste..

 

It is possible to have a whistle-free fan. Maybe my hearing is just bad, but I don't notice any whistle. I tried furmark, and I've played games for hours at a time, and all I hear is the sound of air rushing out of the fan...

 

Sounds like the screen on my current Asus matches your "bad screen" description perfectly. Even looking at the screen head on with 0' tilt, I can see inversion already on the top corners. Here's an example of the backlight bleed and the variation of the contrast from bottom to top (oddly enough light images and desktop work are fine, it's just anything dark).

Loving the pictures of the EU Premium screen though, looking forward to seeing it... (updated Sony shipping date of 15th-20th).

 

The benzel itself is black, and even with the bar at the bottom you would be able to see any light leaking through. That was with my cheapo work camera. I will take another in a minute with my Nikon D90.

WLED FHD screen. Not the RGB one. Here are the specs on what I got.

1 Studio XPS 16 Notebook
1 Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
1 8GB, DDR3, 1333MHz 2 Dimm
1 15.6 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p Full HD WLED LCD, W/2.0 MP, XPS 1645
1 Dell Webcam Central v1.4
1 Facial Recognition
1 ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4670 1GB
1 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP,XPS 1645
1 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive
1 Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish with Leather XPS 1645
1 Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
1 Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface
1 DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron
1 Dell Dock Consumer
1 PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
1 Dell Support Center Software 64 Bit 2.0
1 Dell Connect 2.1
1 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
1 Windows 7 Label
1 Dell, Software, Wild Tangent Inc Games
1 DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic
1 Integrated 10/100 Network Card
1 ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE
1 BluRay Combo Drive
1 MOD,SW,RXO,EZCD,10.3,DE,FI
1 Cyberlink Power DVD 8.3 Blu-Ray Disk Playback
1 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB
1 Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11AGN Half Mini Card
1 McAfee Sapphire MUI, 15-Month
1 9-cell Battery
1 No Productivity Software requested
1 3 Year Limited Warranty
1 CompleteCare Accidental DamageProtection, Inspiron, 3 Year
1 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus At-Home Service, Extended Year(s)
1 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus At-Home Service, Initial Year
1 Banctec In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis Plus Nights and Weekends, 2 Year Extended
1 Banctec In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis Plus Nights and Weekends, Initial Year
1 Soft Contracts - Banctec
1 Soft Contracts - Consumer Complete Care
1 Warranty Support,2 Year Extended
1 Warranty Support,Initial Year
1 Thanks for choosing Dell!
1 LoJack Theft Recovery Service,XPS - 1 Year DHS
1 LoJack Theft Recovery Softwarefor Laptops, 1 Year
1 50GB DATASAFE ONLINE 1.1 FOR SDO/DIM/INS/XPS
1 DATASAFE ONLINE 1.1 50GB
1 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online
1 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks
1 Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)

1 Special Offer $100 off (included in price)
Subtotal: $2,018.00
Shipping and Handling: $12.95
Tax Total: $163.53
Total Amount: $2,194.48

 

I agree, there is a ton of factors & variations that affects vibrations, dampening and consequently resonance. There is a lot of voodoo science & often one unit looks good on paper but the actual assembly in a complex system can make unpredictable sounds.

What makes a Stradivarius violin sound like a Stradivarius & nothing else?

I remember a civil engineering teacher telling us about the construction of a building where the concrete of the fifth (or forth?) floor was always under norm and had to be destroyed & replaced again & again.

They were going nuts checking & changing the concrete recipe over & over and checking the production process until they discovered that the problem was a press across the street emitting very low frequency vibrations that was affecting the concrete curing for that floor only.

The solution was to mount the press weighting several tons on some kind of rubber slabs.

I studied ventilation & the noise level in rooms depended on a ton of factors like duct size, curves, pitch & throw of the grids, air pressure, rpm, etc, etc.

It could also be related to the shape of the blades as you suggested earlier.

I tried to sharpen jackscw's F fan unit photo to read the part #: 300-0001-1262_AY091222164, Panasonic UOQFRRH01DF0 DC5V 0.35A 9Z11V OR UDGFRRH01DF0. Tried some web search with some variations to no avail except for: Panasonic DC5V 0.35A and Panasonic Fan DC5V 0.35A:

- http://pchub.com/uph/catf/SearchIte...$imgSearch.x=8&ctl00$LftNavSrch$imgSearch.y=5

http://www.google.com/products?hl=e...esult_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CBkQrQQwAg

 

Here you go Joe.

 

OMG! I finally finished reading all two threads.
I purchased my VPC-F115FM model from Best Buy on 2-26. I had purchased a Sony Vaio VGN-FW460j/b from Frys on 9-26-09 and was a little less than happy with it. The screen went bad and had to be replaced and I was concerned more could go wrong as it was a refurbished unit. I was just browsing the Best Buy site and saw this laptop.
I was really excited to get a full hd 1080p screen as I have well over 120 BR discs and about 30 dvd's left. Even if the screen resolution made little to no difference just knowing I am watching in full HD would be nice. The core i7 looked promising and would be a huge step up from the Core 2 duo my FW has. So far my screen has only slight backlight bleed from the bottom of the screen so it's perfectly normal (my 52 XBR6 has minor backlight bleed as well).
The keyboard is like my Saturn Ion (a bit unusual and takes getting use to as the ion has a center gauge console). The trackpad is way off to the left, rather than center like most if not all laptops but after about 30 minutes I got used to it. The back-lighting is a welcome feature for me, once I figured how to keep it on all the time (during the dark) I was a happy camper. I don't really have much use out of the number pad but it's nice if I ever get a job as an accountant.
I did have a morse code issue along with an echo (I tested it by placing three fingers along the speaker and moving them side to side as well as blowing into it). Contacted Sony and they had me update the realtek driver and it fixed that issue. The speakers are a blessing in this unit compared to the FW. I remember I had taken my laptop over to a friends to hook it up to her new LCD so she can experience how food hi-def would look on her new tv. I had shown her a clip from Stepbrother's and it was barely audible for us and we had to almost place our ears each up to the speaker just to hear what was being said (it was was embarrassing to say the least).
I can now show people trailers and clips without any need to hook it up to an external speaker. Although it sounds best with headphones on and an external sound system is needed for music and if wanting to experience BD in the home. The speed of this laptop is excellent, it's takes about 1:10 to boot up even though the Vaio care says 2:15. I turned off the auto brightness setting and was amazed at how bright this picture was. The graphics card is great, I am not a benchmark gamer so I cannot compare it to the 4650 in my FW as long as I can play Diablo III when released than I am in heaven.
I made sure to do the recovery discs and even the back-up to make sure if I do have any issues I will be safe. Must say the recovery discs were easy to create and I had no issues whatsoever. My fan definitely has issues as I can hear a sound almost like a hairdryer coming out of the fan (it can be heard even with a stand up fan going (for the warm bedroom). If they do come up with a solution then maybe i'll get it fixed.
I must say I am loving this laptop it's fast and powerful and delivers with a great graphics card and Blu-ray playback. It's much too powerful than what I will ever use it for, but I like it that way. I rarely plan to ever take it out of the house so I cannot comment on battery life but do plan on buying the extended battery in the near future. I cannot recommend this computer enough for those who don't mind a lot of power and minimal battery life as it's to be expected when we are dealing with an i7. For those who use a lot of demanding programs than this should definitely handle them with ease.
There is so much more to write but it would be a novel. I am sure I missed some stuff here and there but I covered most if not all I love about this bad boy.
BTW: Great forum site I got so much great info and advice and I didn't have to ask a thing.

 

Myself, I could never go with a smaller screen than the F, along with not having a numeric keyboard. But if this is not a deal breaker then I think the XPS is in the mix. I do have both laptops in our house and both have a good classic feel to them. The Dell Studio 17 is interesting as well.

 

Please stay on-topic in here, thanks. If I read the title right, this thread is about the Sony F.

 

Fishon. since you have both F &_XPS, how would you compare the glossiness/glare, vertical viewing angle range, body temperature (palm rest for example) & noise emission?

A side-by-side photo would be nice with the same document opened on both desktops, just to see the screen size difference.

What kind of screen do you have exactly on the_XPS?

 

One thing about this laptop; I can't say enough about how easy and powerful it is for working with graphics. This Shearer trio was put together in about 30 seconds in photoshop, and the very FIRST Premiere project will be a video anthology of precode moments of films by Shearer, Kay Francis and others.

I estimate the F11 with i7-720 to be about twice as fast in rendering video as the Q9450 system, and shuttling to be three times the speed using the SSD rather than the firewire drive on the other system. And graphics in Photoshop open INSTANTLY rather then the 4 seconds it takes on the Q9450. And we're comparing a laptop with a water-cooled Core2Quad! This VAIO gets better each time I do something new with it. Unfortunately I can't show benchmarks as with gaming, just results.

 

I think some cracking of the whip is on order. Thanks for raising the point.

 

does the VAIO F have an IR receiver? I know some HP laptops come with a small remote control. Do you guys think I can pair it with the F?

On a different note, I just found out that my laptop was manufactured in 02/2010 (sticker at the bottom of the laptop). I'm assuming it's the 2nd batch.???

 

I don't believe it does. At least I don't recall seeing one anywhere.

Anything in the 02 batch is the REV 2. Mine was also a REV 2.

 

Hey guys, got my 2nd VPCF1 yesterday. Same great machine, this time I think the power brick is reliable. though...

The hard drive vibrates! I thought it was maybe they used a maxtor or something, but nope. Same exact seagate >> And the screen hinge feels like it has a little more play than the last one.

I know it's getting a little anal but damn. Seriously? Do I have to live with a buzzing laptop when I use it on a desk until I go buy an SSD for it? ERrr.. I dunno.

I'm not 100% certain the viewing angle is as good either. This one's vertical viewing angle seems very narrow.

 

Nowhere else to share this exciting info, so here it is:

I ordered a Canon HF S100 camcorder. It records in 1080p onto SDHC cards. I'm VERY eager to start working with these videos (family stuff, hobby stuff) on the my laptop. I'll report back how well the Sony Software and video editing goes on the laptop. Large conversions in AVCHD format using the i7 chip should be like cutting through butter with a hot knife.

Here's crossing my fingers "X" that the cam arrives in good order, and that I can use it for my trip to San Diego with family (Seaworld, beach, etc.).

By the way, I noticed that I bent the laptop body a little bit in my bookbag (I toss it in with a few law books every day on the way to class). When I set the laptop on the table, it wobbled a little. I grabbed the opposing corners and bent it back - and it laid flat again. Rawr.

 

I know on some MACS with the 7200rpm drives, they vibrate as well. The 7200rpms will cause more vibrations than 5400 rpm drives. Sure it's not the DVDROM? I know mine was a bit noisy, really noisy.

With the Quad Core it has, it should do well.

 

I would have chosen the much better "Edge-to-Edge FullHD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD [add $250] instead of the 15.6 inch 1080p WLED LCD [add $75] since you were already above $2,000, what's an other extra $250?

If that option would have been available on the F, I would have gladly chosen it, as well as the EU 1080p Premium matte offered on the F EU models. But he, $1,350 was within my budget.

The downside of that 15.6" LCD model for me is the smaller screen with 143 DPI vs. the F's 134 DPI (16.4").

It's hard enough to read as it is on the F 1080p for older eyes w/o scaling "text & other items" @ 125%.

If you are happy with it, that's the most important, just like I like my F.

I had several Dell_Dimension desktops in my office for years, I have nothing against the brand itself.

 

Now that the new ASUS 17" G series is out, why are we comparing to the overpriced XPS?
Let's see some comparisons to the beefy and lovely ASUS G. If that laptop had been available a month ago, I think my purchase choice would have been MUCH harder. Choosing between to great values is a wonderful thing. ASUS computer reviewed at the notebookreview home page: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5571&review=asus+g73+g73jh Costs a lot more, no Blu-R, but highly advanced GPU, and dual hard drives, and ASUS has great build quality. A worthy adversary, if a little big. If one looks at Price erformance, I think the VAIO F still narrowly wins, especially with the mods we've investigated in this thread (second hard drive in optical bay slot, using optical drive in an external power over esata setup), but the ASUS G17 appears to sit in a nice niche for gamers.

 

When I was pricing them both, the Asus was a bit more pricey and a bit bigger/heavier. At least from Xoticpc prices. Biggest thing was it had less ports.

 

Joe, what happened to the post where you had a screenshot of your desktop? Was that a photo or a screenshot?

 

"should be like cutting through butter with a hot knife" - it is. I have a HF 100 myself, it's one of the reasons I chose the F w/ the specs in my sig.

Next time, instead of bending back the body, try just flipping it over, loosen a little bit the screws & the two halves of the body should go back into place by themselves.

What was that saying again? Better to bend then to break, or something.

 

I recall hearing that some XPS models were showing "WLED" on the build sheet, but they really have RGB LED screens.

Thing about the Dell is it costs a lot more than the Sony. lol.

 

Actually the Dell's don't cost more. My replacement XPS was the same cost, and I added much more to it, like 8 gb ram, full 3 year accidental coverage, lo-jack, and it has a better video card and led screen. My sony had 6gb of ram, and 820 processor vs the 720 I have now.

 

Overzealous deletions by the Mods maybe? I notice that sometimes threads become confusing after willy-nilly deletions in the middle of a discussion that happens to be directly about the F11. Don't worry, I'm sure this post will be deleted. Gee, I'm a nice guy, and even I am getting a bit annoyed about the modding on this forum.

Note to Mods: There is nothing wrong with allowing some of the personalities of the posters to come through, it gives better contact with the people who are using that poster's opinions to make an expensive purchase. And it demonstrates what exactly TYPE of people are users of the F11. I've been a moderator myself, and I know what works. And server space is plentiful and cheap.

Delete negative stuff, sure, but why so much about Asus and Dell in a VAIO thread??

If this is deleted I'm outta here..

 

You got that for 1500 after tax?

 

Please keep us updated on progress with Sony. I need to do the same with mine. Thanks.

 

I doubt it.

 

I didn't have a base model Sony F. I had a loaded one and a loaded XPS 16. Both were equal in price but I had more ram, HD, LED screen on the Dell and the Sony had only the 820m processor.

 

Would it be possible if the tech guy replaces the screen, to get a picture of the back of it so we can find out the model and manufacturer. Much appreciated.

 

Yes!

I tried a bunch of system info utilities to find that info to no avail (same for fan speed). Since my display is fine, I don't want to remove the screen to look behind it. If it's ain't...


BTW, have you guys seen the free EVEREST like PC Wizard 2010 by CPUID (makers of CPUZ)? Both 64-bit compatible & tons of info about your system in seconds. Both portable so no install needed.

 

Since our XPS does not have the i7 processor and has a WLED LCD1600x900, a comparison will be of no use. The XPS is quieter and cooler, has a matte screen which has the limited vertical viewing angle as well, but no glare from the glossy monitor. Both feel great, sturdy with a great keyboard. When I made my choice, requirements made me compare with the Studio 17 . I picked the F and very happy for it.

 

You guys can to to our Off-topic section if you want to talk about avatars. Keep this thread on-topic.

Also, put people on your ignore list if you have problems with someone:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/profile.php?do=editlist

I would prefer not to revisit this thread.

 

Mr. Jeffires, would you please tell us what IS the topic of this forum? It is NOT a support forum, but you are treating it as if it's not a lounge either. Your modding is excessive.

 

As much as I like the star wars references "Location: Mos Eisley", I gotta agree. I want to have a fun yet informative place to be online. Don't cramp my style man.

 

The thread we are in right now is an owner's lounge - that is, discussion for the Sony F series notebook. Any discussion not related to the F series notebook should not be posted here. It is called staying on-topic - we have an off-topic forum for chit-chat.

If you want to reply to my post you may do so via PM.

 

Haha... why was my post about the vaio F's keyboard deleted? I don't understand.... I thought that it contributed to the conversation, of course, unless the laptop's keyboard design/ergonomics/ease of use isn't something that should be discussed.

I guess it was the fact that I put a personal story about how I used the keyboard in a real-life university situation (like I'm sure many students who buy the F will) in order to assess the pros/cons of the computer. I'm thus assuming that personal stories about how the F's performance is like in real-life situations isn't tolerated? Just to keep things clear.

 

The keyboard? Compared to the Apple keyboard I have on my desk (an aluminum one), it feels stiffer, noisier, but also mushier (how does that happen? XD)

However, it still types pretty good - I think the Envy's keyboard was a little better than the Sony's keyboard in that regard.

Hey guys two questions:

1. Does anyone else feel hard drive vibration when their laptop is sitting on their table?

2. Is your front edge of the palmrest sharp? I just discovered the right side of the front of mine is kinda sharp.

I'm slightly disappointed in the quality control but meh. At $1350 they had to go somewhere lol ^^

My friend thinks I'm being a massive crybaby.

 

Your Vaio_F's keyboard post was absolutly on topic IMHO. You spent several consecutive hours typing on the F keyboard, what can be more on topic than your testimonial as an actual F owner in a F Owner's Lounge? An "issue" maybe?

Edit: what? My reply to your post about tipping the F & using an external keyboard is gone too???

I usually always save my posts in a Notepad txt but forgot to do it for that one.

 

BTW, I know about your conerns with the keyboard.

I was playing wolfenstein ET and need for speed shift (demo) earlier, and the keyboard was never an issue. Both rely on multiple keys being pressed/held at the same time lol.

 

Thanks for confirming the uk screens are matte ones. Whilst I would rather have a matte screen the tungsten lighting I have would make a glossy less bearable!

Joe bleua: nice to hear that the f series cuts throughavchd like butter with a hot knife! My concern converting the avchd from my hf10 would still push an f series!! Also it appears the sd slot is sdhc compatible - again something the uk site doesn't clarify!!

Just a hard drive decision to make now I think!! With your video editing should I go for a 7200 over a 5400 or is the difference minimal?!

 

I dunno about all the different displays offered in UK, but the EU Premium 1080p is matte & covers 100% of the Adobe RGB colorspace.

"My concern converting the avchd from my hf10 would still push an f series!" - no worries, it does not break a sweat.

"the sd slot is sdhc compatible" - yes, and it reads it fast.

"With your video editing should I go for a 7200 over a 5400 or is the difference minimal?!" - my favorite answer: it depends.

If casual video editing, both are fine. If a lot of editing then it's better with 2 HDD's, the second one with your footage and a fast connection: SATA or eSATA.

Check these:

Seagate 7200 vs. Samsung 5400 Windows Experience Rating
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5926203&posted=1#post5926203

Sony_Vegas HDD's Setup & Backup
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5974406&posted=1#post5974406

Sony_VAIO F Power Over eSATA Port & ext Enclosures Benchmarks
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5968240#post5968240

2nd Hard Drive Caddy in Optical Bay
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5884419#post5884419

And make sure to check the Unification Post linked below.

 

The SD card reader works like a charm. I accidentally lost some pictures because I was using it a lot, forgot the fact, and swapped my machines lol. Oops.

thought I'd share a pic of my new Sony.
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/OoTLink/computerpics006.jpg?t=1268384097

Anyway, do you think I'd be an if I walked in again and asked to swap out/return because of the sharp-ish edge on the palm rest?