Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

here is something interesting...The FW screen is somewhat less glossy than the F11 screen.
How does one go about checking if the screen is single or dual lamp?

Vista and bloatware suck bigtime by the way, both of which are on the FW.

 

Whether it has one or two pairs of wires for the lamps. Remove the bezel..

Yah, for Vista-anything I'd start fresh. There are several paths to a cheap upgrade to Win 7, try pursuing that.

 

*Shakes fist* You are (not really, but still ) making it kind of hard for me to decide... I'm still sitting on the fence between FW490 or an F11.
Albeit, if the "solution" to the fan problem (drain it into Hibernation, hold Power button, wait, etc...) works, I won't list that as a con to the F11 and then it'll just be a matter of picking one...

 

If you have the exact model number (the letters after the FW490...), you can go to those official Sony parts sites. I think the plain FW490 (which I think is the CTO) has the screen numbers I posted a bit back.

The whole point of the FW FullHD screen was that it was NOT a single lamp Eco. Of course, your FW's coating is also better. Your screen costs twice that of the one in the F so it has the better coating as well. Some people have even gone so far as to think of that screen as matte (which it isn't) because the glossiness is just enough to be an advantage for color crispness.

Keep us posted....

 

That's To No End's homemade fix for a fan stuck @ 100% all the time which is a rare occurrence & does not fix anything else. I suggest the Unification Post linked in my sig below.

*****

We can see that you voted subpar in the Sony_F_Series Owners Display Poll for the 1080p US display but more than twice as much voted awesome. Only you guys are clairvoyant and all the rest of us are dumb, blind or worst.

You can repeat ad vitam æternam the same argument but the F suits my needs & budget.

 

I had the same problem when I did a fresh install with my own Windows disc. Later on, I reinstalled the factory image and the keyboard light now works as it should.

 

If a retailer can sell F screen for $200 including profit, the difference between the better FW screen and F screen must be not that much for a customer and I dont think most power user that bought F would mind spending a little more for that. Someone in SONY that make this decision better get fired.

 

The F11 still wins for me for everything else other than the screen. I especially am happy that Sony included a number pad. The Z is next on my list and I'll probably still get it during the summer. (The main reason why I'm buying all of these notebooks is to try out desktop replacements for my upcoming office. I very recently decided to go on my own to start a small firm. I will most likely outfit my office with F11's as CAD workstations . The price for the features you get is second to none even in comparison to the E and FW series unless you get it refurbished.

The FW490 I bought was a backup since I no longer have access to a desktop. It is very nice. Make sure you get Windows 7. Vista immediately gave me a headache. The features are quite unfriendly.

By the way, The FW490 was refurbished and it arrived in pristine condition!!

 

I hope this is just a language barrier here; you are happy because you got a good screen. The "Clairvoyant" ones got a bad screen. I got a bad screen and voted subpar, but I'm still happy with the F11 overall.

That's why I want a person to have two F11s in the same room, one with the bad screen and one with the non-defective display, not only for photos but for a Live Human to compare, using all his senses (including Common Sense..try using some of that, Joe..)

 

Must be driver/SONY driver issue then. I did a clean install and dont have this issue, Make sure installed all necessary SONY driver/programs.

 

Will consolidate and edit my post for the Fan @100% fix and how I got to that point in the first place hopefully by tomorrow. That was a good suggestion.

 

Again, pardon for sounding like a broken record, the one-lamp screen, AS SPECCED, was ok, not great, but workable. The specced screen, working properly, is the screen that Joe Bleau and Mangosango got. Sony did NOT plan on a large shipment of these screens having the shading problem, which is a DEFECT, not a design decision..

As I mentioned in late January, the shading was acknowledged as a defect on my first F11, that's why I got a replacement (8 weeks later..!) However, now that there are so many of these screens with the bad polarization, Sony no longer does admit the screen is defective.

Here's the postings where I first encountered the shading problem - in a more optimistic world.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5767325&postcount=1098

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5770986&postcount=1200

 

The bezel marking on the says VGN-FW. I believe this was a refurbished CTO FW. Bottom also just says VGN-FW490. I guess it'll have to be opened up. The few places I visited were actually either reluctant in doing the screen switch for me in NYC, charging upwards of $250 for labor only, or had establishments that looked completely dodgy. The search continues until I can muster enough courage to open it myself.

 

All an after-market retailer is selling you is a screen that is compatible with the specifications of the model number you indicate to the retailer.

The after-market dual lamp screen is not necessarily made by Sharp, the original manufacturer of the Sony FW FullHD dual-lamp screens. There are sooooooo many variables involved that it is foolhardy to believe that a "compatible" screen will perform with the high contrast ratios, viewing angles, etc. of the Sharp original. For another thing, the coatings are possibly proprietary and will also differ.

Believe me, it costs Sony more than $200 to make that dual-lamp FW screen, and that's why Sony often charged upwards of $125 more for it as an add-on option from the cheaper Eco lower res screen. As a part from a Sony official supplier, it sells for just under $700, I believe, while the lower res screen is half that.

 

Wait. Are you saying you want to take the screen from the FW to put it on the F?

And if your model on the bottom says VGN-FW490 then it is exactly the model for which I posted the Sony screen part numbers several pages back. (Hard to understand why people say they want these data and then no one ever looks at it.)

Anyway, I think you said you have an SSD in that model from Sony, right? If so what is its ID in the device manager?

And refurbished doesn't mean "used" and beat-up. It means that all parts had to be tested to be sure that they meet factory specs. So, well, yeah, the chances are indeed good that the computers in Sony's Outlet are all in superb shape.

 

A VGN-FW_Front LCD Bezel wa sold on Fleabay here 5 days ago. Check the large images and save them before they are gone. There is less tabs than on the F & should be easier to remove et reset. Check the How To Remove the LCD + Webcam Angle Correction post. It's no difficult to do, figure about 1.5 hours to swap them taking your time.

Only you can decide if it's worth the effort. If you like much more the_FW's LCD then I would not hesitate to do it. Don't forget to swap the inverters also, a piece of cake.

 

A couple of years ago I was discussing with a Lenovo tech about screens. Factory CTB (Cost-To-Build) would be around $50 for a display, the rest is R&D, inventory management, channel Policies, Shipping, Marketing, and generic Overhead. It costs Sony less than $100 for the FW screen, FOR SURE.. And an OEM display, with Sharp stamped on it, is IDENTICAL to the one used in a Sony-built system - there is no difference. As I explained in an earlier post, OEM grey market suppliers are skipping most of the Channel costs I just mentioned above.

Facts here, PLEASE!!

(edit) oh and, as the grey market works, you will find the displays formerly destined for the FW on the market because they are excess, or the model is discontinued.. you MAY not yet find the exact screens used in the F11s because they are still requisitioned for active production.

 

I've got one of those Window 7 upgrade CD's back when I bought a computer that was able to get one of these upgrades to Win 7, I'll make sure to put it on the FW, if I do decide to go down that path.

I can only order the F11 through Futureshop/Bestbuy here since Sonystyle.ca is currently all out of the "build your own F11 in the colour black" (yes, I'm picky bout' my colours ) so I won't have to worry about Windows 7 for the F11 nor the screen problem (correct me if I'm wrong, but the screen problem is mainly for the 1920 x 1080, no?)

 

Remind us, MelodyMaster, just which dual-lamp 1920x1080 FW screen stamped with the exact same Sony Sharp model number found in the official parts lists _for an FW_ was bought at an after-market retailer?

This is apparently the Sharp part number for the Sony FW490 dual-lamp screen: LP164WD1-TLA1. Roweraay's screen part (not sure if it is stamped on his unit as a Sharp; I thought he said it was a generic) is LQ164M1LA4A. Sony wants $1138.50 for the first part listed for the FW490 and $349.99 for what roweraay bought. (From https://servicesales.sel.sony.com/ecom/accessories/web/index.jsp)

And yes, I double-checked those figures -- and on another FW490 model as well.

EDIT: Okay, Joe Bleau's Sharp screen number and Roweray's screen number are what were used on the FW390 so, yes, it does seem as though, if roweraay's screen is stamped Sharp, that the old stock for the FW390 is out there. Sony charges $349.99 for either of those. WAY less than for one of those FW490 screens.

But remember: the FW490 FullHD is the one that people thought was matte from its special non-glare coating (on the FW threads), and To no End has also stated it has a different coating from the F's screen. And the test specs for the FW490 dual lamp are better than those of preceding dual-lamp screens on the FW.

So, not all Sony dual-lamp screens are "created" equal, are they?

 

"...correct me if I'm wrong, but the screen problem is mainly for the 1920 x 1080, no?" - Can I correct you? The 1080p US is a problem for some, not all owners. Again, see: Sony_F_Series Owners Display Poll and that's not counting those @ home happily using their F & not posting in this thread.

 

Thanks for the correction

I don't know anything about these screens and as such, is this 900p or 1080p? It's the F11 I'm planning to get if Sonystyle.ca doesn't have anymore Black F11's in stock in the near future.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...681&path=7ac0f824f4dabb1d0171f9dab321a7d5en02

 

And by the same token, it dosn't include those at home who are NOT happy with their F and are not posting in this thread!

 

That would be the 900p (1600x 900 resolution screen)

 

READ this post.. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=6123545&postcount=2759

Nothing is built in a vacuum, the manufacturs don't say "oh let's build a pretty wheel, I'm sure all the doodad-makers will use it in their upscale models!"

All items are built because they have a CONTRACT. Sony ORDERED a bunch of 16.4" screens for their laptops, so LQ got their machinery and tools in place and started MAKING 16.4" displays. Installing and mounting was not their concern, they were just filling a contract that assured them R&D and milling costs would be covered. So they build and build those screens until Sony says "WHOA, no more, we got enuff..!" so LQ has crates full of unwanted 16.4" screens. Do they trash them? Of course not, they then ship them to a jobber, which is the next step in the grey market channel. That jobber then supplies large outlets who have someone who knows someone and is willing to buy in bulk. Those bulk purchases are of the SAME screens that were destined for Sony laptops. But they have not encountered the costs of SONY shipping, nor contracted charges to cover R&D and milling costs.

Do you think some other party has decided to make 16.4" screens, with all its costs, and expect to make a profit at only $50 a unit? But with NO assured sales volume? Where's their milling equipment, the fine parts such as mesh and filters, assembly times, distibution channel. This is very high technology, it's absurd to suggest it. There HAVE been many cases of counterfeit semiconductors, but I have yet to EVER hear of counterfeit LCD displays, it would have been big news considering the millions upon millions in use.

Oh and 16.4" is unique to Sony laptops, so they are ONLY being manufactured for a limited (though large) market. There's some safety in that since a counterfiet manufacturer is more likely to pick a common size such as 14"

The Sharp-numbered display, and remember the Sharp number is ON Sony-branded parts, is THE display used in F/FWs, without the Sony rip-off.

(edit) and you edited YOUR post about the FW390 after I had read it and responded. Sorry.

 

Nope, not the same token. Many studies show that unhappy customers are more vocal. People having a problem with an F run a search & this thread has a top ranking so it's a magnet for negative reports. If something is working fine, one does not tend to search for other positive remarks simply to add a "me too".

Just compare the poll with this thread. Unhappy users are overrepresented in the thread. It's normal & expected.

 

So you are saying that everyone who doesn't post in this thread, is happy with their F?

 

Come on....

 

I think what Joe is referring to is the "silent Majority". This is the well-known group of people who are happy (usually 95+% of the group) who see no need to state the fact that they are happy. The other group (less than 5%) are the ones who are always complaining. This could be easily seen at a "tea party" gathering the other day, when of the thousands of people in attendance, there wer TWO people who were opposed and stirring up the crowd. The TWO persons who were opposed DOMINATED the media coverage.

This is a very common happening in today's society. It happens in all demographics and on all topics.

 

There is no such thing as 900p, only 720p and 1080 i or p in HD world for now..but you are right, those number was taken from the resolution, you can say it 900p if you like.

By the way guys..

Sony announces 'division two' series of VAIO laptops built by other manufacturers

"Well, here's a bit of a surprise. In an interview with PC Pro, the deputy president of Sony's VAIO Business Group, Ryosuke Akahane, has revealed that the company will soon be effectively splitting its laptop business into two distinct groups. The first, called "division one," will continue with laptops designed and built by Sony as before, but the second, or "division two," will rely on laptops built by other manufacturers. Those behind-the-scenes changes may not be readily apparent to consumers, however, as the so-called division two laptops will still carry the VAIO name, and will apparently have the same "taste of VAIO" and "style of VAIO," with Sony naturally first approving all third-party designs. Presumably, this will also lead to some less expensive VAIO laptops, although Akahane was quick to point out that it's not following the Dell model with different brands at different price points, saying instead that a new brand is "not efficient," and that it wants to "enhance the identity of VAIO more and more."

Read the full story here.. http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/15/sony-announces-division-two-series-of-vaio-laptops-built-by-ot/

 

Howdy yall. I hope this helps prospective buyers/current owners. Last week I got my best buy f115fm/b. It's pretty awesome besides the screen. Here's a couple of shots of the screen. The bleeding of the light is mostly at the bottom as you can.

Shot taken with low exposure.
Shot taken with higher exposure respectively. Both are taken with the screen perpendicular to the keyboard/base of computer.

 

It is 1080 screen?Same with my 1600X900 screen,that's why I return it...

 

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.

 

thanks a lot.. 2 down and 3 more to go..

 

On sonystyle.ca, they aren't offering the 1920 x 1080 as a second display option, anyone tried ordering through phone to see if they still have that as an option?

 

Are you suggesting that those who actually have a bad screen, yet are otherwise happy enough to keep the F11 because everything else is ok, are "always Complaining?"

By the way, I can say that my screen is one of the moderately bad ones, but since there's no morse code nor fan whine nor power supply failure nor hibernation errors, my F11 is one of the"good ones.."

Boy listen to me, always complaining...

 

You got one of the fairly good screens, there's the normal lightbleed, but not a complete washout of the bottom and a tendency towards inversion at the top. If you see that arc of lightbleed then it's NOT the polarization problem. Your display is better than mine but not as good as Joe Bleau's.

I notice that the level of concern about ones screen DOES roughly track with how badly the display actually performs.

 

It hasn't been an option for weeks. No, you can't do anything better by phone, any future shipments of the HD screens are long since spoken-for.

At this point I'd suggest waiting for the June pre-orders if you need a 1920 X 1080 display and faster video card.

 

My apologies. It wasn't until these 2 weeks that I took a serious look into thinking about buying an F11. They still offer it on the US site, but that's a moot argument, just wished they'd at least offer more quantities to order Canadian customers.

I suppose I should wait until June to see how it works out, if the newer F models are more expensive than the one I have in mind (~$1200), I may just have to resort back to the ones being sold now.

 

Well, I have been catching up with this thread for the last 15mins on my F11 without any distractions... but there is still one distraction, I regret to say.

The whine is still there with split second to 1 second gaps. Is it quieter than before ? Possibly, but I don't think it is significantly less distracting.

I am going to contact Sony again about this to see what they say.

The thing is, I really like the Matte display and the 16.5 inch real estate . My wifes E series display is pretty good, not too glossy, but to me is too small at 15.5 inch for my liking.

I wonder if the F series with i5 processor is whine-free ?

 

No, this doesn't solve the problem. Thanks for trying though. Anything else? I really think this is a hardware malfunction but I don't have the time to call Sony and they are closed at the weekends here in belgium.

 

ahh that is disappointing Tausif, sorry that it's not been fixed. Having read what people are saying about Sony's attempts at repairing this problem, I have no confidence at all in sending mine away just yet. Seems like a complete waste of time, apart from getting a free cleaning cloth.

I was also wondering if the whine was evident on an i5. I realise the i7 is a powerful little beast and needs to be kept cool, maybe the i5 is that little less powerful to prevent the fan from having to be on and change it's speed so often. I don't mind it sounding like a wind turbine whilst doing something CPU intensive, it's the whine whilst just browsing the internet and typing a word document that is annoying.

Let us know what Sony say Tausif, I have a feeling though that they won't prove to be very helpful seeing as though they've already tried a fix. I suspect they will now suggest replacing something else, maybe the motherboard? In the meantime you've spent out on a flash laptop whilst it's sat in Sony's repair centre week in week out whilst they troubleshoot.

Will it come down to making a decision of accepting the whine, rather than having it sat in the repair centre? I've never heard anything like it from a laptop and really, considering the price paid, it shouldn't be there. That's just my own feeling on the matter.

Thanks for the update

 

I totally agree with what you say. I wonder if all the f series with i7 processors, at least, whine but individual persons sensitivity to it varies.

Has anyone with a whining f11 in the 'States or Canada exchanged it for one that doesn't whine ? I think I have read of a few people who did but only to receive another whining one.

Also , has anyone had their motherboard as well as the fan replaced to good effect ? I am not aware anyone has to date. Perhaps there is nothing wrong with individual components, but something in the collective design that results in an idling whine that is able to really tick off some people.

Currently I feel inclined to really check out an f series laptop with i5 processor. As much as I like the matte screen of my premium i7 spec'd machine , I have come to the realisation that I would gladly sacrifice it to do away with the whine if I could.

 

sigh, both european (111mb) and us (59mb) fix doesn't work, i still have that high pitch noise :\

 

Any resolution can have a 'p' stuck on the end. as long as all horizontal lines of the display are rendered per refresh. It's only 720 and 1080 that took off with the whole 'HD' thing. If the 1600x900 can refresh all 900 lines at the same time each frame, it's 900p

Apologies for slight off-topicness there.

I recently ordered an F11 (top EU model) from Play.com as it said 4-5 day despatch... However 2 days after ordering it, the item was removed from the website and I was not sent a notification. So as it's sunday, I have no idea where I currently stand with my order.

 

[I edited my post before you responded, multiple times, in fact, but anyway....]

I apparently left off some information which may be of interest.

One of the two FW390 screens is asterisked in the official parts list as "original part has been replaced": A1562369A* LCD UNIT(LQ164D1LD4A)(F)(S) was replaced by A1617803A LCD UNIT(LQ164M1LA4A)(F)(S) -- and neither is in stock!

And ALL of the screen numbers of the FW390 and FW490 were in parentheses with (F)(S) after them as well. I now see that that might indicate supplier information since Sharp and S seem related. Indeed, for many of the FW models I checked, there were actually different LCD housing bezel assemblies for screens for the same FW model, but from different manufacturers (one for AUO screen and one for the Sharp screen) -- for the exact same model number FW490!

In short, when one starts to cross out to a different screen that wasn't the original one for the model, not all 16.4" screens are apparently alike, or the housing bezel assemblies for the same model FW unit wouldn't be different depending on whether one had a Sharp or an AUO screen, would it?

And WHY would Sony charge over a thousand dollars for that screen whose number is not out there in the after-market lists?

Anyways, this is all screen "spec"-ulation and only official specs are of any comfort -- and even then, errors abound.

 

That Eco-brite was it? seems to have been an exceptional screen. My guess is that it was too costly to manufacture and was using technology now superceded, thus it's expensive due to scarcity and manufacturing costs, and there were never any surplus units to hit the grey market.

 

No, the excellent X-Brite dual-lamp anti-glare FullHD screen -- which may no longer be being used on the FW5 series in the states that SonyStyle is clearancing (cf. my earlier posts on the deliberate change of terminology and description on the SonyStyle ordering sites which differs now from when the FW590 model originally appeared).

Sony is NOT revealing any FW5 series part numbers at that official Sony parts site, perhaps because it has downgraded the screen to use the same defective screens that are in the F? Strange....

Ecos were never ever referred to by anyone as being "matte" -- but some people felt that the FW490 FullHD screen was so beautifully lightly-glossed and anti-reflective that they had the best of both worlds. Of course, one doesn't know which screen one is getting in a refurb of the FW490 unless one checks inside. A clearanced FW490 would be the surest bet to having that screen.

As for the technology being superceded, well, I guess if you consider the RGB LED to supercede the very best of the dual lamp CCFLs.

 

Joe, this screen isn't "awesome". At best, the US display is acceptable. I'm not treating a forum poll as an objective measure of display quality, particularly when those voting are justifying their new purchases.

The F11 suits my needs as well, but I don't look for reasons to marginalize those who have legitimate complaints. You really are the worst kind of forum poster.

 

I see you don't subscribe to Joe's newsletter, "The Gospel of F11 According to Joe." It outlines the subset of reasons for which you may criticize the F11, and dictates the tone in which you may do so.

 

I'll take a stab before Joe gets a chance:

Clearly, this is because of the camera / angle / photography ability / time of day / weather conditions / phase of the moon. As his poll shows, the F11 screen is objectively "awesome", and to criticize it is to admit that you have a bias against the F11.

If only I had a link to the ergonomic guidelines Joe posted a few dozen times in this thread, which show exactly how you must view the F11 screen.

If you think that I'm being absurd, Joe, then you should go back and re-read the irrational drivel you've posted in the *two* F11 threads. Over 1,200 posts about the F11 since January? Really?