Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

Hi everyone!

Just joined the forum -- what a wealth of information there is on this thread. Thank you to everyone who has contributed!

I just went ahead and ordered a Sony F series. Waiting for it to arrive. The specs of my machine are:

Intel i7-720QM
500GB 7200rpm Hard Disk Drive
6GB (2GB+4GB) DDR3-SDRAM-1333
Blu-ray Player with DVD/CD burner
16.4" VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080) with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M GPU (1GB VRAM)
Backlit keyboard

Looking forward to receiving it and providing some feedback for future owners

 

Hope you'll find the regular contributors here helpful with any problems (hopefully you won't have any!) you may have with your new F11. How much did you get it for?

 

I ordered it off of eBay for $1400. I've bought laptops from eBay about 5 times before for myself and family members and have had zero problems. I only look at the top-rated sellers though who are offering new, sealed items with a buy-it-now option.

 

Impressive.. I too scratched my head as I walked up to the F11 in the morning. It was deathly quiet whereas I was still expecting the file to be rendering. Good surprises I say!

 

Hi everyone!

I'm just about to order one of these - they seem a great deal!

I'm in the UK - what is the difference between the VPCF11Z1E/BI and VPCF11X5E? The first one is available on the Sony UK site, and the second the Sony Style site. If I spec up the X5E to the same spec, it's £70 cheaper!

VPCF11Z1E/BI (VPCF11Z1E/BI) : Technical Specifications : VAIO and Computing : Sony

https://www.sonystyle.co.uk/SonySty...E_GROUP&ctype=itemList&isHideActive=true)/.do

A few questions though:

I really want the best screen possible. Do these both have it? Is it Adobe RGB?

Is it cheaper to get it with 4GB and buy the extra 4GB seperately?

Is a 128GB SSD worth the £120 extra over the standard 500gb 7200rpm disk? Do they have a limited life span?

Thanks!

 

Hey,

https://www.ewiz.com/query.php?categry=0&s=D3-13S4GS&x=9&y=17

This looks like the exact same 4Gb memory my CTO (USA) came with. Seems like a pretty good price ($147 or so shipped). I guess we should expect the price to drop as the months go by, but this looks pretty good to me.

Gary

 

I wouldn't ever count on memory prices dropping. Grab this.

 

Already did!

Full report Thursday evening if UPS comes through...

 

To those who went the Best Buy route, is there any real negative to getting the one from there other than the added bloatware ? Or should you just go the CTO style ?

 

There's good and bad...

Good:
* Cheaper
* Get rewardzone and bing cashback (not sure if it's still 8%)
* Instant gratification
* If it's clearly defective, they can replace it (unlikely though xD)

Bad:
* It's Best Buy
* If something's wrong, you'll probably STILL have to deal with Sony
* Sales tax you might not have with sonystyle
* No unconditional return policy like sonystyle
* No chance of free accessories or upgrades
* It only comes in black
* The box sucks (XD) and doesn't come with a manual (meh)

 

Just downloaded and started playing with Splinter Cell: Conviction. Still playing around with graphic settings.

Res: 1440x900
Soft Shadow: High
Environmental Detail: High
Anisotropic Filtering: 2x
Anti Aliasing: 2x MSAA
HDR Rendering: Checked
Dynamic Ambient occlusion: Checked or Unchecked so far no difference
Realtime Reflection: Checked
Vertical Sync: Unchecked

Gameplay seems to be fine with these settings with no audio distortion and gameplay lag. However, mouse sensitivity is set to the highest but seems like the cursor movement is a tiny bit heavy.

Anyone with better settings or can recommend a setting here that won't sacrifice a good visual experience but offer sharp gameplay?

So far so good. I don't like the fact that the picture turns B&W when you're out of plain sight. Wish I could turn this feature off.

 

All excellent points -- one other thing to remember is that Best Buy charges a restocking fee (I think 15%) for any laptop return unless they deem the product defective, and I think then they will only give store credit.

 

They also have the 2GB for a really reasonable price
https://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=D3-13S2GS&title=Samsung-DDR3-1333-SODIMM-2GB-Original-Notebook-Memory

 

The reason I went with the CTO was because I was not in a rush.
- Best Buy model has 5400 RPM not 7200 RPM hard drive.
- I wanted to get Win 7 Pro with which you can get FreshStart and avoid all the bloatware
- If you call Sonystyle directly you can ask for and probably get 10% discount ( I did)
- If I want to upgrade to 6GB memory instead of paying Sony $150 I can get it for $55 at ewiz or pay them $150 and get a 4GB stick
- Also possibility of getting old stock from BB and get all the morse code issues etc

 

Thanks mate - I'm going to be gettin it soon as well

 

These are all good reasons to go the Sonystyle way. I would've if I could've.

 

I have a quick question, I have a friend who is selling a VPCF115FM/B for $1000 and it seems to be in perfect condition. Doesn't seem to have mic or screen issues. However he changed the hard drive to a 320GB 7200RPM Seagate so there is no way to make a recovery disk. Should I go for it? Watcha guys think about it?

 

Sure why not. At $1000! That's a deal!

You can get a retail windows 7 home premium ISO here (from Microsoft, as far as I know it's legit).

Download Retail Windows 7 ISO from Official Website | Windows7hacker

Then, download the installers from Sony and dump those on a disk too. It won't have the retail goodies (that, you'll need to probably pay sony to mail to you), but it's worth it.

I mean, at worst you have to pay $20 for the sony disks. Big deal XD

 

"Should I go for it?" - No!

Could you PM me his email?

 

Yeah it's really tempting. 20 hr of usage on it so it's pretty dam good. I remember seeing like plastic cover for the plam rest and keyboard so it doesn't get dirty and stuff, any chance anyone know what i'm taking about?

 

F Promo.. (click "Youtube.")

YouTube - Sony VAIO F Series - Born to Perform.

 

Why would your friend sell it,he didn't like it?Hm..mine doesn't come with plastic cover on it..but I'll probably spend couple hundreds more just to get new one.

 

Well with tax and everything for me it comes to a tad over $1500 from bestbuy. My friend said he doesn't need all that horsepower. I mean i remember someone posting it here so I'm like does anyone know where I can buy it at?

 

What is it with all these people who DON'T make recovery discs, then take out the hard drive WITH its recovery partition, then sell the thing without its associated, legal, paid-for software? It's not as if the first owner can DO anything with the recovery stuff on the removed hard drive if he no longer has the laptop!

If I sell my F11 (unlikely) I'll make darn sure I include the Sony-supplied software AKA recovery discs and partition regardless of the "deal" I offer.

Uuhh, hyep, guess I'll sell this notebook - not what I wanted, I guessm'm I'd better screw it up first...

 

BB is not the only one who sells the F, I would get it online from a store that is outside your state. I always get a new laptop, unless I get a used one for free...then I cant comment on that hehe.

 

Well I was looking at that specifically because it had everything i need, high res screen and Blu-Ray with the 330. Terms of prebuilt it seems like that is the best.

 

This is the one that showed on SONY website. I think somebody just grabbed it and post it on youtube. Its been there for the longest time.

 

I'm about to get the same thing, which is VPCF116, not a CTO for around $1300-1400 but decided to wait 2 more months for a newer model of F (a june-july refresh) but by all mean, get it from your friend if you think its a good deal, don't follow my advice, that's just me.

 

My local store told me that they recently stopped charging the restocking fee (returned my F for the G73JH only to go and get my F back a day later).

Wasn't charged the restocking fee.

 

Sonystyle.com you mean? I'd never seen it. It's funny but a while ago I was ASKING for a video promo for the F, and got no response.

Now for the July Refresh video..

 

You returned the G73? Lack of ports, and heat? The N61JQ series seems to be the Asus comparable to the F11.

 

It was mostly size/shape/design that got to me with the G73. I couldn't look at the thing any longer. I was also scared that it would fit oddly (if it fit at all) in the incase backpack that I ordered.

It was a nice machine, but a bit overboard and impractical for me. I'm glad I got the F back.

 

I must miss that..anyway its on

VAIO F Series PC | Sony | SonyStyle USA

Click on features if its not bring you to the features page, click on play.

PS:Sony might include "Remote Play" feature on the next F, since I heard the PS3 just got a firmware update to enable it to connected to future Vaio computers. It's getting more interesting.PS:Sony might include "Remote Play" feature on the next F, since I heard the PS3 just got a firmware update to enable it to connected to future Vaio computers. It's getting more interesting.

 

PS3 'Remote Play' Also Coming To PCs (VAIO PCs, At Least)

PS3 'Remote Play' Also Coming To PCs (VAIO PCs, At Least) - PS3 - Kotaku

http://gizmodo.com/5524429/ps3-remote-play-soon-to-be-on-sony-vaio-laptops

 

Does the Intel Rapid Storage 9.​6.​0.​1014 work with this chipset?

 

The seller currently selling the F11 with optional upgrades is also offering it sealed (still Sony sealed) with the BIN... What seller did you happen to buy it off of?

 

Wow, turns out I was wrong about the whole startup thing. From a full battery, startup takes 2%.

 

Yes it does.

When I got my laptop I first updated all drivers for this laptop via Vaio Update.
I updated the Realtec audio driver to the latest version through their website to get more audio options.
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads...4&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false#1
Then I used http://www.ma-config.com/ to scan for other driver updates, this way I installed the 9.​6.​0.​1014 drivers.
Last I installed the newest Nvidia graphics driver thanks to the post of MidtownHD:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...ate-197-16-gt-330m-10de-0a29.html#post6092381

 

Hi guys , I am wanting to buy the sony F from newegg, I have tried the sony website and if i build it with all of the specs the one from newegg has, it actually ends up being way more than the one on newegg. I mainly am going to use it for maya and just some gaming. It will be the 4 GB, 330M, core i7 black model. What do you guys think ?

 

You can always call Sony style and talk with them about the price difference. Maybe you can get a discount that way?
It worked for me in the Netherlands

 

Maya with 8 cores is simply sublime (I think many people can attest to that there). For the occasional game, it's fine (see gaming vids in my sig).

Newegg does have good prices, because they probably buy in bulk, BUT, one thing to be wary of. The one from newegg may be an older model with some of the issues that seem to have been ironed out by now (morse code, whine, screen color inversion).

 

Newegg Return Policy:

Standard Computer Return Policy

* Return for refund within: non-refundable
* Return for replacement within: 30 days
* There must be a minimum of 8 dead pixels to declare an LCD display defective and eligible for return.

This is our Standard 30-Day Return Policy. Items covered by this policy (those products for which Newegg states "This item may be returned for a replacement or refund within 30 days only") must be returned to Newegg within 30 days of the invoice date for this policy to apply. “Return” constitutes receipt of the product by Newegg, and not the mere issuance of an RMA.

The following conditions are not acceptable for return, and will result in the merchandise being returned to you:

* Any desktop PC, notebook or tablet PC that is free from defects in materials or workmanship
* Any desktop PC, notebook or tablet PC that has physical damage due to abuse or improper use
* Any desktop PC, notebook or tablet PC that is missing any accessories or packaging including, but not limited to, AC adapter, battery, pack, manuals, carrying case (if any)
* Any LCD on a notebook or tablet PC that has less than 8 dead pixels

You can't play the order & return game with Newegg if the item is not defective.

 

Ughh...just tried these settings again with Fraps and i'm only getting 16-22fps. Turning AA and AF off will fare better. Going native res with everything on high minus AA, AF, HDR, and AO gives me roughly 19-22fps. It will take a hit though to about 14-15fps at small moments during fight scenes.

Still the GT330 can work for this game but it just needs the right balance and i'm not at all experienced with tuning game graphics.

That's where you come in Mangosango!!

 

Hi,

Wonderful forum. I'mplanning to buy the Sony VAIO F1190X and the only thing that is holding me off is the tiny sound from the speakers as explained in the following reviews:

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/sony-vaio-f-series.aspx

and

Notebookcheck: Review Sony Vaio VPC-F11Z1/E Notebook

Is the stock audio driver that comes with it is the culprit? I don't know if formatting completely and doing a fresh install would solve this issue or this issue has already been resolved.

I'm no gamer at all and I'l be using this notebook for HD editing (1080/60p) and playing. Also will be using HDMI to output to my Plasma TV (Full HD).

Btw, is the way to replace the TransferJet module with something else that is useful? I read terrible reviews about it. Finally,is the SD slot accepting SDHC cards?

Please help me in my buying decision.

Thanks.

undervolt.

 

Looks like a cool feature, it stated SONY will announce more detail on may..next month, almost the same time with a refresh. So pretty much the new Vaio computer will be able to connect with PS3?Maybe wireless.

 

Regarding the repair of my fan which was whistling at certain RPMs:

Sony have said that the repair centre has failed to find any fault with the fan, even after extended testing and are returning the machine to me. I would therefore suggest anyone with similar problems doesn't send their machine off to repair but simply contacts vaio support to express their annoyance. If anyone wants to do that and wants to quote my case number to show there are similar cases, PM me.

 

Did you try w/o Fraps?

Which bring me to a suggestion & question: did anyone tried to capture with FRAPS using a fast external HDD connected via eSATA instead of the same HDD where the game is processed or is it simply the extra GPU taxing that causes the slowdown?

 

What driver are you referring to here?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

To clarify my statement - fraps doesn't actually reduce FPS when it's not recording (i.e. when it's just running and displaying your current framerate on the screen). There are two "modes" of fraps (actually there are many more, but for the purposes of this discussion, assume there are only 2): recording and not recording (just displaying the current framerate).

Fraps when recording does tax the GPU because not only does the GPU have to render each of the 2+ megapixels on the screen, it has to encode the video at the same time, whilst writing it to the harddrive.

The limitations in using the same hard drive to encode/play the game come from the fact that the fraps video codes has virtually no compression and results in very large bitrates. When your computer has to load game resources (textures, etc) from the hard drive, while it is simultaneously writing video data, things can get choppy (for example, the framerate occasionally drops to 3-4 fps, or the game seems to stutter for a second). These slowdowns also happen when the hard drive is fragmented, or doesn't have a large chunk of contiguous 4GB+ of space. Using a separate hard drive (that is, a hard drive that is not the hard drive that the game is installed on) should alleviate this issue. It does not get rid of the general ~10-15 fps drop in performance (because that drop comes from the GPU/CPU).