Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

Joe...I figured that you wanted to see the picture quickly...
So, I used my 3.5 year old daughter's point a shoot...
My daughter's old Sony uses the MS...which works much better with my F... Makes it quick I guess! I actually have very nice set of camera gear...

Canon 40D...28mm-135 EF IS and 50mm EF 1.4F lenses...
I will tell my wife that Joe gave me the go ahead for upgrade to Canon 7D.
May be she will let me buy one now... LOL.

 

Exactly my point, my pics are shot with a Nikon D300s.

You know I'm kidding, right?

 

Definitely agree...it is definitely ugly...and probably bulky.
But I don't mind it too much...I like to browse the web while watching TV on my couch...I really needed the battery life. About turning the laptop around...It just works better for my bag to have it the way it is...because there are some blank space in between the laptop compartment and the back side of the backpack.
There is alot more room than it shows in the picture...

 

Of course...Nikon vs. Canon...never ending battle...

 

No, it ended a long time ago. It's the Canon fans that think that it's still going on.

Come on, stop posting, fix your hibernate problem (powercfg -energy) & report back.

 

Hee Hee...alright...I will run the powercfg -energy tomorrow...and report back...

 

My F still doesn't fit in my 'laptop bag'.. I have a sleeve that it fits, so I stick that in the section that I used to stick my papers in, and stick the papers where I used to stick my laptop.

 

Alright, Joe...I just ran the powercfg -energy...
I got everything you got...but I have one more error...10 errors total.

This is the addtional one...

System Availability Requests:System Required Request
The device or driver has made a request to prevent the system from automatically entering sleep.
Requesting Driver Instance HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0275&SUBSYS_104D3F00&REV_1000\4&30a90eb7&0&0001
Requesting Driver Device Realtek High Definition Audio

I notice that you got something like as well...due to the non-sony driver installation...but I didn't install any drivers since I got mine...hmmm...any idea on why I got this?

Thanks in advance!

 

As a former Canon shooter (1DS, 1DSMKII, 5D etc), I recall that Canon was known as a "gold standard" for high-ISO shooting and Nikon in turn was the butt of several jokes, when it came to the high-ISO capability of its products.....In addition to the fact that Nikon never had a Full-frame product. Of course with the release of the D3, the "Gold standard" changed overnight.....along with the fact that Nikon now had an FX product.

As a Sony A900 shooter currently, I think competition in the marketplace is a good thing. Keeps everyone on their toes.

 

Okay! My camera is a Sony Cybershot DSCH10 8.1 mp and I barely use the thing, so of course it's not going to do the real world image justice but here are a few I took. Not sure how good these came out or even if this is a good representation of my screen. Hope it's decent. Tried to get better quality and bigger size pics but the forum wouldn't allow me to upload them.

 

OK: Start > search > Device Manager > Sound > Realtek > right click > Properties > Driver tab. Do you see this or an other number?



I had this error after updating from the Realtek's site. I downloaded the most recent Sony_certified Realtek driver from Sony_support, uninstalled the Realtek non-Sony driver, rebooted, installed the Sony_Realtek driver, ran powercfg -energy & the error was gone.

 

"Not sure... if this is a good representation of my screen" - well only you can tell us if the photos are representative of what your screen looks in real life.

Some users & I noticed that our P&S skewed the LCD's representation.

 

It's a great representation. Only loss is of the fine detail the 1920x1080p resolution image. Great color accuracy. The pics are small but an pretty accurate as to the uniform of the image of the lcd on my laptop in general.

 

"...Flashes are for wusses..." - What? I used the biggest flash in the world to make this photo (contre-jour effect) which is now on my powerful Vaio_F11 desktop.

@ mod Tomcat57: that's absolutely on topic as thalazy posted photos of his VAIO_F_SERIES display for our evaluation and others like me tried to do the same with an other brand of camera. Again, here is was you mistakenly deleted:

That will teach me, I used my Canon_SD880 to try to capture the display instead of a Sony_Cybershot DSCH10 like you did.

 

I don't think that Melody was commenting on the Large Capacity Battery but on the backpack.

Looking @ your photos & slrosenfeld’s, the large battery does not look too bulky or ugly IMHO plus it helps natural underside cooling & keyboard typing angle as he mentioned.

If I had gone the the CTO route, I would have gladly chosen the $80 option to upgrade to the large capacity battery as it last 50% lounger vs. the regular one.

I think you made the right choice, don't you?

 

You're right, I wasn't. The battery looks fine, but the way the notebook was stuffed INTO the carry bag looked lopsided, and that's the first time I've seen a user's photo of a backpack rather than a pretty marketing photo. It's not my style at all.

 

hmmm according to the specs shown on sites the Sony Vaio F11S1E/B has 6 mb L2 cache memory. I checked by pressing the S1 button on mine, system information says 1 Mbytes cache memory...

 

I got the exact same version. I wonder why I am getting the error...
I will unstall then reinstall to see if it will fix it...

 

Melody...sorry...my mistake... Good luck on your case search.

@ Joe --- > Yes...I think I made the right decision to buy the LCB.

 

Alright...I found what is causing following error when I run the powercfg -energy:

System Availability Requests:System Required Request
The device or driver has made a request to prevent the system from automatically entering sleep.
Requesting Driver Instance HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0275&SUBSYS_104D3F00&REV_1000\4&30a90eb7&0&0001
Requesting Driver Device Realtek High Definition Audio

Unfortunately...system gives me the above error when I apply the high pitch work around.
When I do the following...the error appears:
Right Click on the speaker icon (bottom right) then click "playback device."
Click on "Recording" tab, then right click on the "microphone" icon, then select "properties."
Click on "listen" tab, then check the "listen to this device," then choose the "digital out..."

When I revert to default setting...then run the powercfg -energy...the error goes away... I done this cycle 3 times to confirm...
And guess what...the high pitch is back...

 

Talking of laptop bags, what are people's thoughts on this?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-Inch-Messenger-Laptop-Bag/dp/B000XHRJAO/ref=pd_cp_ce_1

 

is anyone even happy with this laptop, seems to be alot of complaints

 

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...=8198552921665227486&tab=featuresTab#features

This is the carrying case I use for my F. I had purchased it last year for my FW. It's even got a cd case holder. Looks nice and can fit my laptop and supplies which is a plus.

 

Have you read this thread? There is a mixture of both people who love this laptop and those who didn't or had issues with it. It's no different than any other product especially a laptop. As for me I can say I love it, I have no issues with it whatsoever. I am glad that I made this purchase and look forward to many years of enjoyment with this unit.

 

@ omaroo

That is the nature of a technical forum, we post about hardware and software issues

Read other sections of the forum and you will notice that there is not a 100% perfect laptop currently available



Alex

 

I have an extended battery on the way in fact, going to hit the coffeeshops.. For now the laptop is transported in bubblepack in an old samsonite briefcase. I do believe the Stephen Gould (Wenger) Mythos will be my choice of laptop bag.

 

No, we all hate it..

 

These are my choices, (sales outlet links are not an endorsement)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-39000-00-Laptop-Messenger-Bag-Edge/dp/B000MKKTJK

http://www.just4laptops.co.uk/Products/213-mythos-messenger-bag-black-gray-swissgear-wenger-ga-7496-06f00.aspx

Belkin, is, well, half the stuff I buy from UPS to usb adaptors seem to be Belkin...

 

Or, detach the battery and put it in the pocket of your case?!!!

matt

 

I love this laptop but the weakest part of it (by far) is the screen. I am constantly adjusting the tilt of the screen to make the blacks look better. I applied one of the color profiles and that helped, but this really is one of the worst laptop screens I've used. I came from an Asus G73, and this Sony screen is nowhere near the same league of display.

With that said, this laptop is a keeper for me. Everything else about it is great. I am amazed at the speed. While I wish the fan didn't whine, I can live with it.

 

damn. you just shot my interest in this laptop right in the head.

that's all I needed to know.

 

*scans the horizon for Mangosango*

I'm kinda hoping that when I install 'The Settlers 7' game in a weeks time on my 'F' series, it will be able to render all these effects...

http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/33...m/videos/settlers7_trl_enginevideo_31910.html

Let's hope so!

matt

 

Ok, mine arrived at lunch time.

First impressions:

Looks great.
The screen is amazing. Excellent black levels and colour, when it first turned on I was worried that the screen didn't work (because the screen didn't seem to get any lighter), then I got the Windows 7 boot animation and was throughly impressed. I'm sure you'll be able to tell in the dark but it wasn't obvious at all in daylight.

It's not loud at all, infact it's quieter than my old laptop, even under load. From what I'd read in this thread I was expecting loud annoying noise all the time.

Mine has the morse code issue but that's to be expected on most things with integrated Mic. First thing I ever do to a sound-card is mute the Mic, Aux and anything else that isn't the Wave/CD/Midi device. Can't mute it yet for the same reason I can't test it yet, seems it's not working correctly under Ubuntu by default so going to sort that out now.

Installed Ubuntu happily but it didn't detect the Wireless network card so just updating over ethernet now.

 

The morse code noise is not "to be expected" really. It's still a problem in store stock form the first run, but newer runs don't have that tissue.

I agree the cooling can be quiet, my system makes no whining noise nor whistle at all, just the sound of rushing air when the fan ramps up.

Is it the Atheros or Intel wireless card? From what I've read no one has had trouble with drivers for either card under Ubuntu, Debian, or Fedora, nor Hackintosh for that matter.

 

So sony released a set of new E series laptops today in 14" and 17" form:
http://presscentre.sony.eu/content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=5713&NewsAreaID=2

When I saw that, I got mad. Until I realized the 17" only comes in black and white, doesn't really look as nice as the F, and only has a 430m as the fastest CPU lol.

Hrm yikes, my BD drive rattles when I type >> and it's becoming really annoying lol.

 

Is there any way to disable hyperthreading in the BIOS, because id like to do some encoding in divx author and that seems to be the problem for a lot of other people. Any help would be appreciated!

 

It has an LED screen, and can hold two hard drives, a plus for me; however the 17.2" model is getting just a bit too big, and the 14" is just another (pretty) business laptop.

I can't complain that new model alternatives are coming out almost in April, I ordered my F11 in January.....

 

Depends what the software is, I don't know about DivX author since it's not the one I use, but I find the solution is usually to disable multithreading in the ENCODER, the software. The slowdown is due to ANY sort of multithreading, not whether it's a virtual core as in hyperthreading, or a real hardware core.

 

I don't know if this goes for all retailers selling the F series, but I spoke to a worker in the local Sony Store and he said the F is in 'very' short supply right now, with only around 20 coming in to the country for the next fortnight. So anybody like myself on the waiting list may be waiting a while yet.

 

OK, so powercfg -energy is reporting that something in Realtek High Definition Audio does not want to go to sleep, just like your 3.5 years old daughter sometimes.

You can still use the mic fix as shown in the video I posted: F mic whining/Morse code Fix but try, as illustrated below: Power Management > Disable automatically to save power. Run powercfg -energy again, is the error gone?



BTW, when clicking on the speakers icon on the taskbar, the digital audio icon appears besides the speakers but if you select like shown below, it won't show up next time. Make sure by right clicking the taskbar speakers icon > Volume Control Options that only the top two options are selected:



Maybe you could calibrate the battery as suggested in the previously linked posts, try again hibernate and/or sleep to see if your battery discharge problem is fixed!

As Enverex wrote, I also keep my mic muted, applications that need the mic like Skype, etc, usually activate automatically the mic for their needs.

 

So how 'bout those 'nicks? ....Seriously, the F11 has been in "Short Supply" since Day One, or at least since so many were returned with screen and motherboard problems needing parts that became backordered.

 

I believe it, when I exchanged my first one I had a really hard time finding a store that had a replacement in stock.

Now, I can't find them at all lol

Basically, Intel has shortages of i7s, Nvidia is having a shortage on Geforce 330ms (due to production issues, apparently), and we're all having problems with China for one reason or another (first it was Chinese new year, now I'm not sure what it is).

I know I've been seeing people complaining about shortages on macbook pros and those don't even use i7s, lol.

 

This isn't "old store stock". It's a CTO built last week.

Not sure what the network card is, it identifies itself as "02:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Device 422c (rev 35)" but it works fine, turns out I was just missing the firmware.

In regards to the battery being larger than expected, it is 5700 when it claims to be 5400 on the label,

 

Kayron, download the free SIW 2010 and PC Wizard 2010 by CPUID (makers of CPU-Z). Both 64-bit compatible & tons of info about your system in seconds. Both portable so no install needed & have fun inspecting thoroughly your F specs to see if everything is OK.

Check also Windows 7 - Tutorial Index and this naturally: "windows 7" tutorial.

 

Just to clarify for the technically challenged, your battery gauge utility reports in Wh while the battery's label says: 5000mAh. & 54 Wh which is 5400mWh.

To see how much more info you can get about your power settings & battery (network card too) with the free & portable SIW 2010, check this & this with screen captures and battery calibration tip.

 

Ah but actually.. faster ram has a faster slew rate, it can make the change from 0 to 1 faster. One thing slew rate limits is clock speed, but also the buss can only be refreshed once every so many clock cycles, faster ram can be refreshed more OFTEN during a given number of cycles, thus there are more memory reads and writes per second, and more calculations.

This figure is the "Wait State" or latency. Only in the last couple of years has memory also stored its latency figures along with clock speed, to be read by BIOS. If the memory is utilized below its clock speed rating, the LATENCY can instead be reduced; hopefully the F11 BIOS will make this wait state adjustment for underclocked PC10666, as reduced latency actually speeds up memory access MORE than any fractional increase in speed. This is well-discussed in overclocking forums - I actually optimized my Q9450 system by running expensive Premium DDR2 synchronous with the CPU clock, but with very short wait states, rather than overclocking the ram asynchronously - which actually reduces bandwidth

 

As configured, the mixer is very plain and basic, though it's nice that each multimedia application has its own slider, I hadn't seen that before. But my question is, is the more advanced mixer one associates with Realtek, echo, EQ, room type etc. all done up in fancy green, available for the F11? Do we have to install the generic Realtek driver for that?

Thanks..

 

MelodyMaster: No comment on my morse code issue?

 

I can't add anything that hasn't been discussed in the forum since neither of my F11s had the mic-related noise issue.

 

Realtek just posted today a HD Audio Driver R2.45 version here 64-bit. I'm not sure I will try it yet, maybe I'll wait a while to see if Sony_support offers a Realtek driver update certified for the Vaio_F.

I suggest you: Start > search: Create Restore Point and create one before installing it, so you can go back easily to your current system state in case of a problem. Note that it will disable the mic fix settings & may create some sleep/hibernate errors but it's easy to fix as explained here.

When I tried the previous R2.43 version, the only thing it added to my F was 3 dots next to "user define" (canned EQ presets) & a graphic EQ when clicking on it in the > Enhancement > Equalizer tab and some errors in the powercfg -energy report.:



Since using more than one EQ simultaneously sounded real bad with the laptop's speakers, I'm using now only the one found in Media Player:





I also followed the how-to here: Get The Realtek Equalizer Back In Windows 7 to get this toy (echo, etc):



You can also see this on Realtek's audio drivesr download page, which I did not try: